Ross Brown dot net

Since we moved to the other side of the world, we have found Skype to be invaluable for keeping in touch. This morning, we were disappointed to find we couldn’t log in. First we thought there was a problem with our DSL (no, everything else works, but rebooted the router just in case), maybe a problem with our ISP? No, can’t log in from work either. Had a look on the Skype website and found this update:

Hello everyone,

Apologies for the delay, but we can now update you on the Skype sign-on issue. As we continue to work hard at resolving the problem, we wanted to dispel some of the concerns that you may have. The Skype system has not crashed or been victim of a cyber attack. We love our customers too much to let that happen. This problem occurred because of a deficiency in an algorithm* within Skype networking software. This controls the interaction between the user’s own Skype client and the rest of the Skype network.

Rest assured that everyone at Skype is working around the clock — from Tallinn to Luxembourg to San Jose — to resume normal service as quickly as possible.

*If you’re a non-techie, try replacing “deficiency in an algorithm” with “programming error”.

I suppose it’s nice of them to try to keep their customers reassured, but it’s contradictory to say they love their customers too much to let a crash or cyber attack break Skype (which I’m pretty sure is impossible to guarantee) BUT they’ll quite happily release a ‘deficient algorithm within the Skype networking software’ which causes the software to become unusable for everyone. Absolutely renders their product useless. Completely.

Recently I have seen the counter at the bottom of my Skype client say there is over 8 million people connected, that’s a lot of customers to annoy.

On the Skype homepage they say they will have it fixed within 12 to 24 hours. That’s a long time to wait for a fix. I can only assume it was some sort of capacity issue, since they’re not being specific and it broke so catastrophically.

There’s nothing like a panoramic photo to capture beautiful scenery (unless you count actually being there, of course). I’ve been taking panoramic pictures for a couple of years now and I thought I would share them with you, as well as some tips.

Here’s the first panorama I took, from the bank of the River Thames in Wallingford (UK).

(Click for a larger version)

I was fairly happy with it, for a first attempt. I used the Canon Photostitch software which came free with my Canon 350D camera. It’s done a fair job of stitching the photos together, but there’s some noticeable lines where the joins have been made. Also, I let the camera take care of the exposure setting, so the sky changes colour across the scene.

I was a bit disappointed with the end result, so I did what everybody does when they want to learn how to do something - I Googled it. I got some useful tips:

Turn Auto-exposure OFF

Turn Auto White Balance OFF

Turn the Flash OFF

Use one Focal Length for all shots in the sequence (manual focus, not AF)

Use one Size/Quality for all shots in the sequence

Use a tripod whenever possible – especially when objects are near to the camera

If a tripod is not available, lock elbows and pivot on one spot – keep camera level.

Use 25%-50% overlap for each shot

Use reference points on the landscape when moving the camera.

Go beyond 360 degrees when shooting for 360 degrees panoramas – mark your tripod with a piece of tape

Create time-based groups – wait no more than 40 seconds between shots

Insert visual dividers (black shots, or a shot of the ground / your hand) between sequences

Be aware that an object in motion may cause problems when stitching

Be aware that scenes without much detail (cloudless sky over flat sea) are more difficult to stitch

Armed with this information, I was certain my next panoramic photos would be better. (more…)

So, I have already blogged about this elsewhere, but since it’s such momentous news (and I don’t post here often) I feel like I should post it here too - today we had our offer on a house accepted.

Subject to a ‘clean’ builder’s report, the house will be ours in 2 weeks and we can move in. No more renting for us, yay!

I had to miss my first NZ work social event tonight because the paperwork needed to be signed etc. It was a shame, I was looking forward to going, but it had to be done. I will just have to make sure I go to the next one.

No doubt there will be plenty of work on the new house to come, but we are both so excited about finally owning our own home together that we are prepared to do anything to make it work.

Keep checking back here and our NZ emigration blog for updates.

The observant amongst you may have noticed that the ‘banner’ image at the top of this site has changed. So the banks of the River Thames have been replaced with a panorama of the river at Gibson Quay in Hokitika. I stitched 8 photos together, using Arcsoft Panorama Maker - I am very pleased with the result.

I have started putting my more interesting pics on Flickr - follow this link to my online NZ photoset.

So, if you haven’t already heard - we are moving to New Zealand. I have just one more week of work here in the UK and then that’s it until I start my new job in Wellington. Exciting times!

There’s heaps of things to organise, but it’s all coming together. Our view has been to have a massive clear out as it’s long overdue (we still had unopened boxes from when we moved 18 months ago), then we don’t have to ship so much over. Shipping is expensive and your stuff takes around 3-4 months to arrive, so if it’s something vaguely useful you will need to buy it out there anyway. We’ve sold loads of stuff and given away more. There’s just a few bits to sort through, but we are nearly there.

Keep any eye on our NZ blog (thebrownz.wordpress.com) for news and updates!

We’ve just come back from a 3 week holiday in NZ. While we were over there, we kept a blog - The Brown Family Visits New Zealand. Have a read, the entries start at the bottom,

Here are some pictures taken over the Christmas period.
Click here for Xmas Day

Sorry I haven’t been putting much up recently, we’ve had our hands full! Sophie is now just over 6 months old and eating her first solids - sweet potatoes and pears are her favourites (not at the same time!).

Our well-deserved holiday in New Zealand is just around the corner… we are counting down the days! We are looking forward to seeing some friends over there we haven’t seen in ages. Plus hopefully the weather will be an improvement on the UK… but apparently they haven’t seen much nice weather so far.

Click here for Boxing Day

It’s been a while since I posted anything here (I bet I’m not the first blogger to write that phrase…) but at least I have an excuse! Sophie Grace is now over 4 months old and weighs over a stone - she’s been taking up most of our time and energy recently (but in a really good way). She’s developing loads; she can hold her own head up, focus on things and she has recently started to chew things. Everything and anything gets a good chewing - fingers, toys, clothes… But the best bit is she has started smiling and laughing - it’s just the best feeling in the world when she smiles at you. I will put up some more recent pics when I get a chance.

We’re planning on taking a trip to South Africa to see Candi’s family next year. We’re hoping to time it when her cousins are off school and the weather is warm. It’ll be really nice to get away for a bit, we haven’t had a holiday for nearly 2 years now and we’re feeling the stress a bit.

My brother Jed has resigned from his 9 to 5 and started his own business. I helped him out with a website (he came up with the company name all on his own) - JB Marine. I hope it goes well for him. Sounds like he’s got enough work to keep him busy at the moment.

They say that you can never predict when a baby will arrive, they just come when they are ready. Last Thursday we had an amazing surprise when our baby daughter was born 5 weeks premature. She shows no signs of ill health and weighed in at 7lb 4oz, which is a pretty decent weight for any baby, especially a premature one. We think she just got tired of waiting and wanted to meet us!
Our fears about not making it to the hopital on time turned out to be nothing to worry about, Mum was admitted in plenty of time (17 hours early, in fact!) and I was able to stay with her throughout most of the labour. She was incredibly brave and only had 2 paracetamol to dull the pain
They are both home from hospital now and I am making the most of my 2 weeks paternity leave. In no time at all I will be back at work, so it is important to me to make the most of this time we have together. So far, I am loving every minute of Fatherhood.

So, say hello to Sophie Grace Brown. I have uploaded some pics to my gallery so I can show her off in true ‘proud Dad’ style!

Click here for the pics or go straight to the slideshow.

Oooh, has it really been six months since my last post? Blimey. Just goes to show how your priorities can change, I suppose! What’s new…. oh yeah, I am going to be a Dad! The due date is towards the end of July - maternity (and paternity) leave is signed off…not long to go now… we are surprisingly prepared - we’ve bought everything we can think of that’s baby related and even the hospital bag is packed and ready to go. Where we live is an equal distance from 2 hospitals - I’m hoping it’s not a quick labour otherwise we may not make it!