Last one out....

Lights are off, doors are locked and there's no sign of life. The hoose is rigged for Silent Running. It must be Hogmanay :o)

Hope you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010.

Awra best, people :o)

Bed now. Shhhhhh......

16 Candles

We joked he'd wake up with a full beard but there are no perceptible changes.

He's becoming a man but he'll always be The Boy. The best son a father could ever ask for.

OMM Name FAIL

OMG i m gay. At least, that's what I thought it said. The "gamy" is a bit unfortunate on its' own, never mind potential anagrams.

OMM-i-gamy. What were they thinking?

Piss-taking potential aside, its' yet another example of OMMs' modular approach to carrying stuff. I like it a lot. Regular readers may have noticed various bottles turning up in photies and a complete lack of tubes sprouting from packs.

Spot the tube? :o)

I dallied with hydration systems a while back and never really got on with them. All that drinking-on-the-go stuff wasn't for me. I like to stop, have a few sips and have a look aboot. And it's an excuse to get my breath back, if I'm being honest :o)

Anyway, nobody's gonnae convince me that a plastic bag and some tubing is cooler-looking than a Black Sigg Oval.

Lost and Found

I went for a quick walk on Sunday. Not far by any means but just far enough to remind me of what I'm missing by sitting on the sofa, smoking fags & staring at the telly.

The Author. In Serious Mode.

Aye, more of the same, please.

"We're in the pipe, five by five."

"Grab your gear, rookie. We're shippin' out."
"Shipping out to where, Sarge?"
"New Mombasa."
"New Mombasa? But......that's on Earth."
"That's right, kid. Seems The Covenant have decided to pay a little visit and the folks back home want us to throw the welcome party. You in?"
"Yessir."
"Boots on the ground in 36 hours. See you down there."

His mind races. First time out as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. A Helljumper. Was he ready? Only one way to find out; put his boots on the line and get ready to drop.

Absolute Badass.

Halo 3:ODST

Happy Shepherds

After the week I've had, I was glad to see the back of it. That it went out in a blaze of colour kind of made up for it. And this settled weather looks like it might hang on for a wee while yet.

Interesting.

High Pressure. The nice kind.

Numb3r5

Couldn't let 09/09/09 go by without posting something. I had something appropriate lined up but I'm fecked if I can remember where I put it.

Here's some numbers in the meantime.

Pure Awesomeness

Nun Attack!!!

There's been a definite nip in the air these past few mornings. Autumn's nearly here and, this being Scotland, Winter won't be far behind. I'd been going through the gear pile and there's plenty of choice when it comes to warm stuff. A lot of it's synthetic and there's a few bits of down in there but there's always room for a bit more.

I had a PHD Yukon Pullover on the wish list but never got around to picking one up in the last sale. But, as luck would have it, I spotted something similar during an infrequent visit to OM. A quick bit of Googling and my mind was made up. Turns out the seller was the same guy that I'd bought the LIM 55 from, months ago. A couple of emails back and forth and a Nunatak Skaha Plus was mine.

Gear Porn

It's a custom job with an extra 2oz of down and a tunnel handwarmer pocket. It is, quite simply, stunning. Packs down small but lofts like an absolute bastard while tipping the scales at 440g. Team it with the PHD Minim 500 and I've got a bitchin' winter sleep-system.

Fuckin' awesome.

Signs

The corn's been harvested and the baler's at work. Proper bales. Not those stoopid round ones. Can't build a fort out of them. Magic.

"Ooo, Shiny!"

The first words I uttered on opening the box that arrived yesterday morning. The postie, bless him, was early and caught me just before I left for work. A good start to the day and on a Friday too.

It had been sent by Ed, one of the "Windy Boys" over on Outdoorsmagic. I'd dropped in there to enquire about something and it turned out that he had one spare. So, after a couple of emails and a monetary exchange, a new Bushbuddy Ultra was mine.


I'd been thinking about getting one for a while now but was spurred into action by The Boy's love (and mine) of an open flame. Even though campfires aren't prohibited up here, it's still a bit off-putting when you're confronted by "Thou shalt not set fire to stuff!" notices at the start of your walk. This seems like a guilt free compromise*.

The Boy made me do it.

All we need now is a dry day before the schools go back so we can get out somewhere.

*The folding fire-box/Trench Mortar was deemed "A bit shite" and consigned to the Oddities box.

Be good to yourself

Getting presents from folk is awfy nice but you should never miss an opportunity to treat yourself too.Any excuse, eh? :o)

Lay down your burdens

I've been meaning to write a few words about the LIM55 for the last few weeks but other than "It's great!", I can't think of anything else.

Oh awright then. I'll try.

It's a tremendously good bag. Seriously, I can't fault it. Everything goes in with room to spare. The big, stretchy outer pockets take bottles, and tents, with ease. The roll-top closure is a piece of piss to use and that wee lid pocket is a work of quiet genius.


I hardly noticed it on my back. I put it on at the car and took it off several miles later with no adjustment in between. The harness and hipbelt are probably about the best out of any pack I've used and that includes the OMM packs I'm always banging on about. (Note probably. I need a few more trips yet)

Speaking of which, the OMM Chest Pouch fits nae bother and that makes me very happy indeed. That, and the wee pockets on the LIM's hipbelt, means that pretty much everything's to hand.

It does look like a sack o' tatties but I can forgive it that. Oh, and according tae The Boy, it goes with my boots, the Nike Tallacs. Matching bag and shoes? Disnae get better than that :o)

Sunday Post

I'd hoped that the wee box from Bob & Rose would've arrived on Saturday morning but it showed up on Sunday. When did posties start workin on the Sabbath?

Glen Derry Redux

It was all a bit last minute but, nearly a year to the day since the last time, me and The Boy headed to Braemar for a wee overnighter. We stopped off at Braemar Mountain Sports, stocked up on Honey Stingers and hit the road again. It's a nice wee drive up the glen wi' some splendid views.


Passing the Aktomobile at Inverey, we turned into the Linn o' Dee car park in no time at all. Packs on, it was a long, hot walk up to Derry Lodge but we passed the time talking about Geography no less :o)

There were a few folk about but we'd got the Ignorant Bastards out the way less than 10 minutes from the car park and everybody else was all happy and smiley.

I counted 11 tents dotted about the lodge but our pitch from last year was free so we bagged it again.


Tea, brews, banter and a wander up to the wee metal bridge followed. We hung about there for a bit and then walked back down on the opposite side of the river, spotting a deer, the only one we saw the whole trip.


It was all very relaxing until The Boy turned his ankle less than 20 feet from the tents. A short period of parental panic followed. I was running thru' various scenarios including how to explain to the MRT why it was that my child was wearing glorified trainers out here in the wilderness. Happily, a platy of cold water wrapped round it seemed to work and the swelling wisnae too bad.

We turned in late and slept late. No rush. Breakfast was taken on the riverbank, in warm sunshine. Magic :o)


The walk back was a tad on the hot side to say the least but it was enjoyable in a slightly masochistic way. Sad to say, it was way too hot for me to even consider a burger from The Hungry Highlander but a can of cold Irn Bru and some of The Boy's Chips'n'cheese hit the spot.

We were home less than 2 hours later and my beloved, bless her, had organised a wee barbie for our homecoming. What a crackin' weekend :o)

March or Die!

We were walking along in companiable silence when I noticed that I was mesmerised by my feet. Specifically, the wee puffs of dust that popped up with every footfall.

"You can actually see the heat rising", said The Boy.

"Aye. It's all a bit Foreign Legion", I replied.

Grinning, we strode on; the miles back to the car disappearing under our dusty boots.

Away mission

Away team to the shuttle bay. And nobody wear a red shirt FFS.

Dual purpose

I like stuff that works both on the hill & off. The stuff they gave us is pish IMHO. Pictured: limited edition Velez Adventure (Black, non reflective. Stealthy as f**k)

Weather: Changeable

Dear Weather Gods, Make your mind up.

Hail to the Master Chief

He stands on top of the communications bunker and looks out across the shallow valley. It's been half a standard year since he last stood on this very spot. Nothing's changed. Behind the mirrored visor, he smiles.


The crackle of small arms fire carries on the breeze but he hears a different song, an ancient one, of times long since past. "Good times".

Living easy, livin' free, Season ticket, on a one - way ride.

Reaching down, he pulls the turret gun from its' mount. "Time to go to work".

Asking nothing, leave me be. Taking everything in my stride.

Jumping down, he stalks forward. The weight of the gun slows him but there's no rush, he's savouring the moment. A pencil-thin beam flickers across his chest. He ducks behind a low rise as the full charge of the Spartan Laser blasts a shallow crater in the earth. "Missed, ya fucker".

Don't need reason, don't need rhyme Ain't nothing I'd rather do.

Moving from cover, he closes in. The big gun's triple barrel's stutter and become a roar as they spin up to full speed. The enemy begin to fall in ones and two's.

Going down, party time My friends are gonna be there too.

He's grinning now. This is why he comes here. This is who he is. As he falls upon them, his battle cry causes all to fall briefly silent; "'moan then, ya fannies!!!!"

I'm on the highway to hell. On the Highway to hell.

Rain stops play

Supplies arrived just in time, along with some pish weather. They'll keep.