Thin Places [515]
Greetings from the shed...
I’m Christian Payne, photographer and writer. In this weekly dispatch let’s seek out novelty, explore the relations between things, how we share, what we share and consume, plus where we might be going. Thank you for your curiosity.
#TheAction
I started this email a little before 8 AM this morning, and the walk from the house to the shed was slower than usual. The sun was out, with a chill in the air, and I was keen to soak it all up. The love-hate relationship the dog has with one particular squirrel played out in front of me as I crunched across the gravel.
She loves to chase the squirrel away from the bird feeders as it nimbly escapes across the top of the pergola. Then she loves it when, cheekily, it returns a little while later for more sport. I have no idea what she’d do if she caught it.
Once in the shed, I opened the curtains, knowing the sun would soon heat the space. I’m now sitting, facing a blank template with the headings in place and little idea of what will go in there.
I have a title: “Thin Places.” It’s the term given to locations where the boundary between the physical world and the spiritual or ‘divine’ feels unusually thin. For me, this might also refer to places that offer a mysterious atmosphere, a deep sense of peace, or a strong connection with nature.
With neighbors close by and a main arterial route running north-south not far away, I don’t consider this setting a ‘Thin Place.’ But I have known them, even been lucky enough to have traveled and lived in them.
Special places the world over, from ancient Scottish islands to hidden jungle temples and magical wooded valleys in the Alps. It's important to seek out these spaces that nourish the soul.
And while my garden may not be a "Thin Place" as such, it's enough for me, in a certain light, to be reminded of the many profound locations I've been fortunate enough to encounter. Each holds a special place in my heart, reminding me of the magic out there, waiting to be found.
#ThePictures
BBC Radio 2 played an audio clip of this and I had to know more…
Thanks to Artpod for sharing the work of Bruno Bourel with me
In 2015 Michael McCool won a competition to make the 20th anniversary video for the song Born Slippy (Nuxx). This is his video.
And yes… the song is now 30 years old.
#TheWords
I’m reading a couple of things at the moment. Kentucky Ham which follows on from ‘Speed’ that I mentioned last week. It’s ok.
And I’ve just started this book.
Thin Places by Kerri ní Dochartaigh. It’s so beautifully written that I will re-read passages and let them sink in.
Discussing Elon Burmuskoni.
#TheSound
I’m considering audio workflows for the Thinking Digital Conference in May as i’d like to grab audio on the fly using my phone. I'm weighing up the pros and cons between recording straight into the phone with the mic shield over the end of the iPhone, compared to using a dedicated handheld microphone alongside the phone.
By far the best mic I have used with the iPhone is the Sennheiser Handmic Digital. It can cost around £150 online if there is some rare stock, but I have seen one on the CEX website for £52 which is a bargain.
As I no longer have a lightning connector on my device, I bought this cable to work with my new USB-C phone and the plastic cap on the left in the photo separates so the cable can sit into it. Here is an audio sample of the phone on its own vs the microphone.
The phone quality is great and the levels were much louder than the Handmic Digital, but personally I just feel the audio sounds less compressed and a little rounder from the mic.
Once I have recorded my audio into VRP7 iOS app I just need to save it to iCloud and then open up Audioboom in the browser to then upload the file from the iCloud VRP7 folder. (You can also save to other cloud storage.)
The mystery of 44 photos.
Canadian Edith Blais was kidnapped by armed militants and held captive in the Sahara.
#TheConsumed
How to eat like a Celtic druid.
And for pudding? Perhaps something more up to date…
I’ve had some fantastic ice cream in Wales but next time i’m there I need to head to Glaslyn. It’s allegedly the best place in UK and Ireland for ice cream.
#TheThings
In an attempt to step away from the Kindle and its slow enshitification, I took a look at the Kobo Libra Colour. (I also have a huge pile of physical books that need reading but they are not that portable). I only really think of my Supernote A6 X2 Nomad as an e-notebook , but as a premium one-notebook-to-rule-them-all device, I wondered what the reading experience might also be like. You can install the Kindle app on it but I wasn’t going to do that and just synced over some books to see what the native reading is like. I was really impressed.
For a start the syncing is easier than the kindle. I just drop a file into the Supernote app and it syncs to the device. You can view Note (.note), PDF, EPUB, Word, Text (.txt), PNG, JPG, WebP, CBZ, FB2 and XPS files.
The only downside is the amazing screen writing experience is up to there being no backlight layer and it really feels like pen on paper. As 20% of my reading time happens in the dark the Paperwhite has been amazing. But all is not lost as I have found a solution that will mean I can also chisel down my physical book pile while not disturbing a sleeping partner.
I know. It’s not rocket science. It’s just a book light, but they have really come along since I last bought one. This rechargeable clip on LED light is £7 at the moment and features USB-C charging, three colour temperatures and a two year warrantee.
The Supernote case is held on by magnets, so I slotted the light on the right of one and the tilting head means I can fully adjust where the light falls.
It works just as well on physical books and I’m really impressed with it.
An interesting breakdown of heat pump costs and why it pays to use them in conjunction with solar panels and batteries.
Quadlock now sells water bottles. I asked for one. Glad I did.
#TheThanks
Massive thanks to the paying subscribers who continue to support this dispatch and the adventures/experiments that make it. You know who you are. ♥️
If you value these words, ideas and curation, please consider an upgrade to paid…
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Thank you for reading, sharing, liking and supporting a human doing manual work with their brain.
#TheWeb
A well designed ad for Patreon. That eventually gets to the point.
One day you will all be logged on the Documentally community map and I can stop nagging you ;-)
Is babel fish finally here?
How to Debillionairize your phone.
After eight years on Mastodon my server is pulling the plug. although sad that i’ll lose all the words, audio, video and photos that I have posted there, I have downloaded an archive and successfully migrated my network to a new server. As Bluesky is still tech bro funded please consider following me on Mastodon. Just in case.
Some of my other places include Strava for documenting exercise, my audio RSS feed stores recordings, LinkedIn for messaging suits, YouTube for vlogging, a ham radio newsletter, foto for random photos, Bluesky for stuff that is rapidly feeling like Twitter or search G5DOC on Zello to stay in touch in audio. Supporting subscribers also get access to a Discord server. Message me for a link. 👍🏽
Looks like this fusion powered rocket is being built just down the road from me. Might pop down and ask them if they can put Musk on it.
Articles like this have me wanting to write letters again. Who wants a pen pal?
Devon and Cornwall are using drones to plant seeds in the hope they can triple rainforest cover on Bodmin Moor.
#TheEnd
Thanks for reading. All spelling mistakes prove i’m human.
I left it a few seconds too late for getting tickets to an intimate Albert Lee concert tonight… So I might just build a fire and play records. Looking forward to a weekend packing boxes and catching up with friends. Let’s chat soon.
“Heaven and earth, the Celtic saying goes, are only three feet apart, but in thin places that distance is even shorter. They are places that make us feel something larger than ourselves, as though we are held in a place between worlds, beyond experience.”
― Kerri ní Dochartaigh
Feel.
See you out there.
Over…
Great read and listen, as usual. In many ways, we are surrounded by thin places. A conjecture- “All spelling mistakes prove i’m human.” is no guarantee of proof of humanity in these days of incipient digital sentience.
Correction (I'm sure there will be more): Born Slippy is 30 years old. :-)