Tales of Home [7]

In the case of ice blue light is refracted more than red, and pure water cuts down on the absorption, and lack of bubbles prevents other wavelengths of light from being scattered. Not sure if the difference is quite as large for water, but between that and blue skies you may see more randomized blue hitting your eyes.

So that Facebook memories tool thing popped up today and it showed me this picture from exactly five years ago (taken at the Baltimore Museum of Art):



Five years, six college suitemates, four part-time jobs, three girlfriends, two homes, two hospitalizations, a B.A., my first full-time job, my first car ... about the only thing that hasn't changed is this forum being a part of my life.

Oh, and that coat.  I still have that coat.

"...about the only thing that hasn't changed is this forum being a part of my life." - Eldo

Which we're all happy for I thought about this myself recently, how much I've done and seen since I graduated "videregående" (high school ish, you graduate at 18 or 19 depending on what you study). It's weird to look back a few years when you're our age - so much happens in so short a time.

Woohoo Eldo you dont let the grass grow under your feet !

"It's weird to look back a few years when you're our age - so much happens in so short a time."...Ringdrotten,

Ah yes, the invention of the wheel, Stonehenge being erected, The Black Death I remember it well

Agreed, it's crazy how much has changed. Sometimes when I see really old posts of mine I can't help but cringe. But it's neat to have such a record in some ways. Just to think, when that picture was taken, we were about a month away from Dark Planet Day happening.

It doesn't get any less weird the older you get,it gets more weird.

When I think of childhood and compare it to say my nieces childhood, or even my little brothers (25 years my junior) seems ever more distant and quaint.
I spent my childhood mainly outdoors, We did everything from sticks as swords, making bows, swings, exploring, burying treasure, digging for treasure, playing football, or kerbie which you played in the streets because cars coming by was only about once every half hour and 'kiss, cuddle, torture', or 'kick the can', 'three man hunt' getting in fights, helping out on the local farm in summer, messing about in a rowing boat, fishing, camping, the cold war, nuclear drills, wandering in and out of peoples houses when you went round to see someone because no one locked their doors and expected folk to just knock and come in, coal sheds and hating being sent out in the cold and rain to fill up the coal bucket and having your first kiss and rummage about under the stars with the distant cries of one or other of your parents at their front door shouting your name because you should have been home an hour ago.

And on very rainy days when there was nothing decent on the three tv channels, you'd plug in that seemingly innocuous 'toy' the zx spectrum 48k with his rubbery keyboard and play some computer games.....


Yet somehow it was all only 35 years ago.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:It doesn't get any less weird the older you get,it gets more weird.

When I think of childhood and compare it to say my nieces childhood, or even my little brothers (25 years my junior) seems ever more distant and quaint.
I spent my childhood mainly outdoors, We did everything from sticks as swords, making bows, swings, exploring, burying treasure, digging for treasure, playing football, or kerbie which you played in the streets because cars coming by was only about once every half hour and 'kiss, cuddle, torture', or 'kick the can', 'three man hunt' getting in fights, helping out on the local farm in summer, messing about in a rowing boat, fishing, camping, the cold war, nuclear drills, wandering in and out of peoples houses when you went round to see someone because no one locked their doors and expected folk to just knock and come in, coal sheds and hating being sent out in the cold and rain to fill up the coal bucket and having your first kiss and rummage about under the stars with the distant cries of one or other of your parents at their front door shouting your name because you should have been home an hour ago.

And on very rainy days when there was nothing decent on the three tv channels, you'd plug in that seemingly innocuous 'toy' the zx spectrum 48k with his rubbery keyboard and play some computer games.....


Yet somehow it was all only 35 years ago.

That pretty much sums up the childhood I and my friends had too (bar the cold war and nuclear drills ). We even wrote a script for a LotR parody and filmed the damn thing on tape, can't believe I haven't mentioned that on here before Except on rainy days (and some of the sunny ones) I'd play alot with legos or my PS1.

Come to think of it, we made tons of movies after that parody, when we got hold of a digital camera. We used sound effects from Counter Strike to make "action" movies We used powder from fireworks to make bombs, and my father's old Tempo Corvette, those movies turned out hilarious and we had so much fun making them. It's a wonder nobody's hands were blown off

Unexpected stroll down memory lane, but that post brought back some great memories

I must say I hated being a kid at the time, but now its covered by a haze of nostalgia.

I think most people hate being a kid.... feels like such a chore. Not until later you realise how easy it all was, you just didn't know any different.

A college friend of mine put it very well:"What is adulthood but a constant attempt to recapture childhood?"

She also defined adolescence as "a series of near-misses."

She was the most quotable person I've ever known.
("Real Men: Maybe they don't exist. Maybe it's a good thing.")

I don't need o recapture childhood. I have the mental age of 10.

On a good day.

Okay....this is a bit...odd.

My mate popped round tonight, and he, myself and other friend decides to go out for a drive in his car. We ended up at the old castle at Toward, of which I have posted pictures long ago in the past. Its a place, especially at night, I tend to feel a bit weird about when I am there, never quite at ease, and this might be because my ancestors brutally betrayed and slaughtered its occupants. Not that I believe in ghosts as such, but I do believe in grudges, and they tend to hang about a long time in Scotland!

Unfortunately the pictures were nearly all just completely black- what with it being night and discovering when I got there my camera batteries only had enough power to charge the flash once (and annoyingly I discovered this only after using it on the one picture that came out- after that no flash and nothing came out as it was too dark).

Thing is though, there is, um , something in the picture, a fuzzy diffuse shape, a grey smoky haze for want of a better word, which was not there when I took the picture, of that I am absolutely certain. Nor was I smoking at the time I took it (it doesn't look right for a cloud of cig smoke either if it were) and it is very mild to no chance of breath appearing in some weird way- any suggestions?

original picture-



brightened-

I'd suggest a natural explanation.

So would I Blue, so would I- I just cant think of one!

I'd put that down to the limits of our imaginations.

Nessie's brother, the Toward Guy, is throwing a party

Maybe your camera had a funny five minutes or it's a trick of the light?
...I don't have any strong opinions on Ghosts either way (though a relative claims they've seen a few...a couple of guys I knew at school also claimed to have seen 'orbs' at the same place...but I'm fairly certain they were high at the time...) but something about that is a little odd...even creepy...

Its an odd place- with an odd atmosphere.

At the south entrance, just outside of it is a ancient tree of some significance.

Here's the history-

'Sir John Lamont, 14th chief, who had been knighted by King Charles; was pressured into joining Argyll, the Campbell chief and his Covenanting army in opposition against the King during the 17th century wars of Montrose. After the defeat of Campbell forces at Inverlochy, Sir John was taken prisoner and later switched sides opting to support Montrose and his general, Alastair MacDonald (MacColla), a bitter enemy of the Campbells. MacDonald along with Highlanders and Irish mercenaries, crossed Loch Long in boats provided by the Lamonts and landed at the Point of Strone. After defeating a Campbell force, Macolla's army mustered at Toward and then decended on the Campbell lands. The Lamonts had their share in killing and plundering particularly in Strachur and Kilmun before returning home to Toward.

In England the King surrendered and ordered his supporters to lay down their arms and cease hostilities. The Campbells took this opportunity to surround the Lamont castles of Toward and Ascog. Unable to withstand a long seige and with no hope of reprieve, Sir James surrendered the castles, having apparently reached honourable terms. The Campbells later ignored the terms of capitulation accusing the lamonts of being traitors, unworthy of terms.
The Lamonts where bound and kept within the castle, during this time several women were murdered. The survivors were taken by boats to Dunoon and in the church were sentenced to death. A large number of Lamont men, women and children, were shot or stabbed to death and they did ‘cause hang upon ane tree near the number of thirty six persons most of them being special gentlemen of the name of Lamont and vassals to Sir James’. the half-hanged men, both dead and dying were buried in pits. Sir James and his brothers were kept prisoner for five years and it would be 16 years before the ringleaders of the massacre were brought to justice and Sir Colin Campbell beheaded.

The castle today has barely changed since the time of the massacre, hidden away in a small forest a few miles from Dunoon, there's certainly a 'feeling' about the place. A memorial marking the site of the massacre can be found in Dunoon itself.'


Vid of the castle-



Weirdly they used to shoot one of the rounds, Demons Square, of a kids tv quiz show there too! Called Raven.

Have you taken a picture since in similar light? I'm suggesting a finger smudge on the lens.

Thought of that myself Halfy when I first saw it.

There is nothing on the other pictures I took- though they all mainly came out pitch black- but since getting back I replaced the batteries and went outside and took a picture of my house wall at about the same distance with the flash on- but nothing odd there.

Also the lens on the camera is in a housing that extends when you turn it on automatically and which retracts on auto when you switch off- the lens itself is only uncovered when its fully extended so it would be quite hard to smudge the lens.

According to the timestamp this picture- I've brightened it a bit to same as above- was taken less than three minutes later and was the next picture I took- there is no sign of the weird smoky shape though-

I wondered if a tiny drop of water might have steamed or misted up the lens ? it only needs to be microscopic ? OR, there's a fooking spirit wandering about ! I believe in spirits, & I believe in guardian angels. I believe places DO give off vibes & that there is a "presence" where some sort of suffering happened. Thats my tuppence worth

I wondered if a tiny drop of water might have steamed or misted up the lens ?- Azriel

I doubt it, though I cant rule it out completely. As I said the lens is auto covered the instance you switch it off, and i was switching off after every picture in an attempt to save th limited battery power left.
I doubt it was misted up as the temperature was very mild and there was no real temperature differential between inside the car and outside it.

'I believe places DO give off vibes & that there is a "presence" where some sort of suffering happened.'

One of my mates that I was with can be surprisingly sensitive to such things at times, as we were leaving he commented that yeah some bad shit had happened there, but also there was a feeling that a lot of people had also been very happy living there.

Anyone can read or hear about scary stories then proclaim to be sensitive to things. Some people will just say any old shit to make themselves appear to be special. As far as the smudge goes, it's just a chromatic aberration or distortion. Use a better camera next time, a DSLR with a good ISO range should help.

Personally I've never felt anything there, although I'd like to camp in the grounds over night. Could be quite nice during the winter, a nice layer of snow.. love winter camping.

Yes but you wouldn't feel anything if it landed on your head!

And as small cameras go its not a bad one and it was set too low light conditions.

much as I like the idea of a Scottish Dunharrow, I think its probably a haze or bloom of moisture on the lense, specially if you have been smoking near by and its making you foggy..its a bit like when you go from cold air to a warm room and your glasses steam up.

I totally get the atmosphere thing though. I knew I got vibes even as a kid, even before I knew what they were, and a lot of the most extreme stuff happens when I am not expecting anything, and am quite relaxed and ok. So its not the case that I am expecting or wanting spooky stuff to happen therefore it does. quite the opposite, and on occasions its been horrible. Got loads of stories about weird shit happenin. Last time it happened it took me 3 years to recover my equanimity.