| Art/Expression |
- Apophysis - continues to be my preferred fractal art program. A big year for it
too, with huge improvements in GUI and functionality as well as some interesting
changes to the external rendering engine, flam3.
- Blog - after trying it, perhaps I'm not a natural blogger, but it's an
interesting challenge that I'll continue with.
- deviantART - I joined when the Apophysis community there was on a high. It's
had more downs than ups since then, but is definitely on the rise again. But the dA
community as a whole has proved to be the most natural place online for me to hang
out, and my art has greatly improved as a result, with the breaking of the 4:3
aspect being the single most important step, in conjunction with proper finishing.
- GIMP - although I've had this for some time, new releases with attendant
improvements in functionality, coupled with different personal requirements, have led
to greater understanding of the software and therefore better results, especially
regarding framing/titling of fractal art.
- Photography - purchasing a decent camera (Fuji FinePix S5500) has opened up a
whole new area of interest, which has initially been channeled exclusively into the
'A Year at Padley Wood' project.
|
| Books |
Continuing last year's theme, modern shamanism and the psychedelic experience
have dominated this year's reading. Three books in particular:
Additionally, branching slightly from the above, is the theme of magick.
Two books:
Also, an excellent year for poetry, with modern works showing that poetry is more
vibrant than for some time. A wonderful pair of anthologies:
- Staying Alive
- Being Alive
|
| Computing |
- Browsing - Maxthon has totally changed the whole browsing experience. As well
as possessing almost as many features as one could desire, it's also the ability
to customise the interface to one's own preferences that lifts this above the rest
in the now rather competitive field of internet browsing.
- Coding - whilst FrontPage was ideal for the HTML beginner, it tends to be
rather restrictive when it comes to navigation. So with CoffeeCup DHTML Menu Builder
to provide a fresher navigation structure, it was time to ditch the WYSIWYG GUI
for the wonderful Max's HTML Beauty++ 2004 - once you've got used to the layout
of proper code, the power of this program becomes apparent and WYSIWYG a thing
of the past.
- Image management - Picasa has rather taken over this function, what with its
dynamic database updating and convenient folder layout (by date created), as well
as painfully hip features like the 'Timeline', a kind of lazy susan of all the image
folders with integrated slideshow.
- RSS (and other XML formats) has been an obsession of the year, culminating in
the creation of my own feed.
|
| Drink |
- Cocktails - best new mixing drinks have been the flavoured vodkas: cranberry,
lime, mandarin and raspberry.
- Wine - Zinfandel from California has been grape of the year, but a special
mention also for an outstanding wine from the Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc
Château Saint Martin de la Garrigue Bronzinelle 2003, delicious now but
will no doubt cellar well.
- Spirits - a very special birthday and Christmas treat has been a vintage 1983
early-landed cognac from Hine.
|
| Food |
- This year, the major themes have been gnocchi,
quiches and wraps.
Even if I say so myself, the gnocchi have been outstanding.
- Particularly good on the home-grown vegetable front have been the top-quality
lettuces from Seeds of Italy.
- Cookbook of the year is The Cranks Bible.
|
| Media |
- Antonio's Venice - a Venetian's passionate examination of his city's long
and illustrious history. Stunning camerawork and some fascinating anecdotes.
- Coast - Nicholas Crane hits it big-time with an excellent series detailing
the variety and history of the British coastline.
- Love Soup - warm and sometimes crazily hilarious comedy from the man behind
'One Foot in the Grave'.
|
| Moments |
|
| Nature |
Every year, some aspects or species seem to have an annus mirabilis
before fading again for a few years; we thought it worthwhile recording
which:
- barn owls - another year of frequent sightings for this magnificent bird
- goshawk - a sudden unexpected sighting
- nuthatch - frequent visitors to the bird-feeders
- winter sunsets - the sunsets of late autumn/early winter were frequent and
spectacular, providing many late afternoons of lurid pink ambience
- a Christmas treat - hearing the darkling thrush
singing on our post-prandial walks
|
| Philosophy |
- Direct experience of universal unity and of
timelessness have confirmed our increasingly integrative approach to life
- Happiness and simplicity are key concepts
|
| Plants |
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