Blogging the Gap

Facebook code leaked onto the net

2007-08-15T20:31:00.000+01:00

http://facebooksecrets.blogspot.com/ if an interesting read if you knowledgable with PHP and addicted to Facebook like most people are these days.

P.S I will get around to posting something more meaningful in the coming days - life has been a little busy recently!

Underwater Ice Hockey?!

2007-04-02T11:24:00.000+01:00

I saw this on Reuters yesterday and it looks pretty insane if u ask me! Personally I am really interested in the whole being underwater thing. I'm a qualified scuba diver and have nearly got involved in octopush (basically underwater hockey) once or twice. This looks like something I might try once, but anymore than that I think would be unlikely! I would feel a lot safer if full breathing apparatus was allowed, and a dry suit ;)

According to wikipedia "The first underwater ice hockey world cup was held in Austria in February 2007. Finland finished first, followed by Austria and Slovakia. The other competing nations were Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia." I don't think England will be entering a team in the near future however.

http://www.reuters.com/news/video/videoStory?videoId=17587

Nutters!

Shots from 2006

2007-03-20T11:42:00.000Z

I have been looking through some of my photos from 2006, and trying to find some of my favourites. First up is a photo taken during a trip to South Africa during the summer. Even though I lived in Cape Town for 7 months or so during my gap year I never got around to visiting Robben Island. This time one of the priorities during our week in Cape Town was to visit the iconic museum.

This is a photo of Nelson Mandela's prison cell, cell 5 in section B where the former South African leader spent 18 years of his life. With so many visitors taking photos of the cell it was tricky to get a good shot with a different perspective on it. Hopefully I managed to do that, and I feel using black and white just add's to the atmosphere.

Jubilee at Night

2007-03-04T22:59:00.000Z

Well last night was the first lunar eclispe since May 2004. At its Umbra (or best viewing time) the Moon took on a reddish hue as it was blocked from the Sun by the Earth. The BBC have a very good article on it here. I had set my alarm so that I could go out and take some pictures however I failed to get my 24 hour clock quite right!

When I did go out shortly after midnight to have a look and take some photos, the Umbra had just passed. Unfortunately I don't have the telescopic lens that is required to get good shots of the moon and so I just decided to go and take a few snaps of Jubilee at night instead. It's been something I have been meaning to do for a while so it was nice to finally get around to doing it. Not taking my tripod out was probably a mistake, so careful breathing was necessary to avoid camera shake!

The library is the main focal point on Jubilee particularly due to it rather unique architectural design. Many of my photos centred around this but I really like the following photo due to the increased elevation, and also the reflection from the lake. I crept up a nearby fire escape which during the daytime probably wouldn't be such a good idea, however at half twelve on a Saturday night I don't think security would have been too concerned!

Bangers and Mash anyone?!

2007-03-01T18:49:00.000Z

Not the easiest type of potato to peel.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6407963.stm

A place to call home?

2007-02-05T15:33:00.000Z

Jubilee Campus which is part of Nottingham University, has won awards for its frankly unique architectural design. Quite why I have not really taken many photos of it, is a bit bemusming - especially considering I have lived and studied here every day during term time for the past 18months! I went out today to take some shots so I might be starting a mini-series right here.

This first photo is of the side of the library. As you will see in future posts the library is a really interesting shape and there are a couple of very funny stories related to it but those will have to wait until another time.

Pilot's conversations with Air Traffic Control

2007-01-29T11:04:00.001Z

Some very entertaining exchanges between pilots and ATC.

http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/pilot-conversations-p1.php

The End of the Internet

2007-01-26T15:57:00.000Z

Well it looks like I have finally covered the whole internet...time to go and go and do something else then.

http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm

Pausing to Remember

2007-01-11T13:45:00.000Z

A woman pauses to remember those to gave their life for their country during the Battle of Britain. This memorial was opened in 2006, on the Embankment as a permanent reminder of one of the most important fights in WWII.

Houses of Parliament at Dusk

2007-01-05T12:34:00.000Z

This panoramic shot is of the Houses of Parliament at dusk. It's made up of three shots which have then been stitched together. You could quite easily take a similar photo with one shot and then crop it but you don't get the same file size (4946x1729) or quality.

When you zoom in far on the picture it becomes aparent that there is quite a lot of noise. This is becuase I didn't notice the ISO setting on my D70 had been fiddled with at some stage, however it actually makes the picture feel much more like it's been taken on traditional film.

More shots, including several panorama's, from my trip along the Thames should hopefully be added soon.

Countries I've visited

2006-12-06T15:48:00.000Z

create your own visited countries map

Now that is a pretty cool webiste...nice idea

The most awaited TV Series yet

2006-11-16T12:20:00.000Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDx2-B3BcnY

Enough said really!

Passing through London

2006-11-14T23:59:00.000Z

When returning from my brief visit home at the weekend I stopped for a few minutes just to take a few photos. As it happened the London Eye was bathed in red to commemorate Rememberance Sunday. This was purely a stroke of luck on my part!

Unfortunately I only had about 25mins to snap away whilst walking from Waterloo over to Embankment tube. This was becuase I had a train to catch back to Nottingham. Leaving myself half an hour to get to St Pancras from the Embankment certainly backfired! The tube caused me allsorts of problems but fortunately the lady at the St Pancras ticket office was kind enough just to allow me onto the next train :D

Here are a couple of photos from my brief stop. I was gutted that I didn't have my tripod on me at all becuase at the shutter speeds needed it was very dificult to get sharp images. The panoramic shot was stitched together just using two photos. I only did this to see how it came out - I will need to return and do it properly if I want to get some useable photos (the horizon is at a hugely inaccurate angle)!

In Case of Emergency

2006-11-04T22:16:00.000Z

Too busy to blog, too lazy or just lacking inspiration?

Redgardless of my reliabilty for consistent blogging, heres another photo taken 'recently'. I haven't got my camera with me at uni yet and so I haven't got much fresh material to play with. When I do then I might get a photoblog going - if i'm not too busy ;)

Tech Support

2006-11-02T16:33:00.000Z

And probably doing a better job than many of the Tech Support people I have come across in my time when needing some assistance.

Summer Selection...

2006-10-10T15:50:00.000+01:00

Summer is flying past at quite a rate of knots...

2006-08-04T21:04:00.000+01:00

..if I try blinking I'm pretty sure I will find myself back in Nottingham and in lectures again. University Students revel in the fact we have 3month breaks, and they are brilliant don't get me wrong, however if you don't take some time to appreciate this fact they just disapear!

Anyway I thought I would post one of the photos which I took recently at my cousins wedding. It was held in Helsinki, Finland - and so we had a really nice long weekend break along with other members of the extended Rowden family.

The photos below were taken at the reception where several of us where lurking around trying to get some nice shots. If you would like to see more of them the please visit the gallery I have put online here.

The end of an era

2006-05-08T11:11:00.000+01:00

Arsenal vs Wigan was the very last game ever to be played at Highbury. This historic stadium which has served Arsenal ever since there move across the river in 1913 has seen its last 90min of action, tension and beautiful football. Its only fair then that the commemerate this that I have post a few photos which I've collected over the years. I hope you enjoy them...and here's to another just as sucessful time across the railway tracks at Ashburton Grove.

Easter Foto Fest

2006-04-15T19:00:00.001+01:00

Well I am still alive and kicking in the physcial realm even if I am neglecting my duties in the virtual! Its all been a bit hectic in the past month or so with uni work and then going snowboarding with friends for a week (don't worry im not expecting any sympathy!)

Hopefully I should be posting some new photos from the past few weeks on this page shortly so check back soon. In the meantime here's a photo I took on a exploration around London with my sister for here GCSE art coursework. I am starting to really like playing around with panoramic shots and so here is one of Admirilty Arch.

Hope Has Come

2005-12-20T17:00:00.000Z

Photographs from the Hope Has Come performances are now online.

http://www.panoramicmedia.co.uk/galleries/hopehascome

Enjoy,

Houseparty 2005

2005-11-15T10:34:00.000Z

Photos from the CU Houseparty 2005 now online...http://www.timglass.co.uk/houseparty!

We had a brilliant weekend away on Cefn Lea, Wales (pretty much in the middle of nowhere) for the Christian Union housparty. I was slightly hesitant about going, not really sure if it was going to be worth it but I was proved wrong. We had a real laugh and got to know other people which is always good, as well as getting to know friends a lot more.

I now have my camera with me in Nottingham and so hopefully watch this space for some photos to appear when I get a chance.

How to find a church that suits you...

2005-10-04T14:40:00.000+01:00

With moving to Nottingham it means another chance to get stuck into yet another church and experience the wide varieties of churches that are out there. A brief bit of study into my 'religious' history would ascertain that I have had a relatively stable experience with Church.

Both of my parents came from church backgrounds and so I am very thankful that I have been brought up into such an environment. When I was born we were living in Sidcup, Kent and attending Sidcup Community Church (although I'm sure it was called something else back then); however when I was about 5yrs old we moved to Orpington, which was, and still is, about 15 down the road, to help plant a church there. 19 years on, we are still there, and our family is one of only a couple of families who have been at Orpington Town Church (OTC) from the beginning.

It has been fantastic being part of the church and seeing it grow and reach out to the community. Currently some amazing things are happening with Ramsden (an area less well off than most of Orpington), the Youth and also wider afield into Brazil and beyond.

With going out to Cape Town last January I had the first oppurtunity to really uproot in some ways and get involved in another church, in that case fulltime as part of my 'Frontier Project'. It was soemthing I really enjoyed and relished the chance to see how another church in a vastly different context operated and being able to input some of my experiences, as well as learn a huge amount.

Now here I am in Nottingham, simlilar situation, however this time I have a couple of links and the opportunity to find the church best suited to what I am looking for. This has really got me thinking of what do I 'want' in a church? In Nottingham there is no shortage of possible churches to go to. This can as well as being a good thing be quite a hinderance. Advice that I have receieved many times is that it is really good for you to take time to visit local churches and find something that suits you however don't spend weeks and weeks going on a church crawl! Find somewhere and get stuck right in.

What is the most important characteristic in a church? After several discussions I have had with various people, and in no particular order I reckon that a church with sound theological teaching is very important. If you find yourself going week in and week out to a church where the message being brought is theologically shaky then that is going to have a negative impact on your view of the Bible. Also a message which is theologically very good, but lacks indication on how it should affect our lifes can also be negative - you can easily fall into a trap whereby you doubt the usefuless of the Bible in a modern context.

One of the nicest things about the NewFrontiers family of churches is that wherever I go (especially with my parents) somebody knows me, or I meet somebody who is really good friends with someone I also know. At first is was certainly a bit strange but know I get worried if I don't find anybody. Already with having been to two Sundays at Grace Church Nottingham, I have met several people with such connections. It immeadiately makes you feel like home - something I really thank God for.

"Enter a Saint, Leave a Sinner"

2005-09-28T10:43:00.000+01:00

That was the slogan for the first Bar/Club I had the pleasure of experiencing in Nottingham on Sunday night. I am finally up at uni and at some stage, in between various social engagements, will be studying Computer Science. This being the first week there are the obligatory Freshers Week activities and parties.

The first night was a bar in Town called Templars, which was held for the 200 odd people in my hall so that people can get to know each other a bit better. Personally I am not sure on the theological grounding for their advertising slogan but I didn't find any of the management available for comment! Maybe "Enter a Sinner, Admit your a sinner, then accept Christ" would be a better slogan for many of the students to hear. On Saturday night we have a large party on my campus which all of the other freshers come to, which is titled 'Heaven & Hell'. It is certainly going to be interesting, and I haven't decided yet if it is going to be more sensible to go find something else to do! Assuming I do stick around I will need a good idea for dressing up; the idea of joining the throngs of angels and demons will get a bit boring. Something which could get conversations going will be good... suggestions on a digital postcard (aka email).

It has so far been pretty much constant partying but I can easily see myself spending over £100 before this week is over, so I am going to have to be careful. With parties every night, clubs and societies wanting joining up fees, sports membership, internet connection etc it gets expensive extremley quickly. The importance of student loans are starting to have an impact!

I have met up with other Christians from my campus and they seem and interesting group. All from quite diverse backgrounds, one guy comes from an Anglican church in Oxfordshire and I think his comment regarding the freshers week events was 'O you have been going to those gastly things have you'. I am not sure at the moment how many other evangelical/charismatic students there will be in my CU cell but I think only time will tell.

Currently my room is under seige from all of the pieces of paper and free stuff which you get given at the freshers week fayre. Everything from free frizbees to spatulas, mugs to UV pens and of course the usual complimentary condoms. I will leave it to your imagination as to which items I have used and which had been disregarded/passed onto friends who might have a more urgent need for such! Well I have a lecture of sorts to go to shortly, so maybe I should start organising/throwing out some of this rubbish!

Please give us a shout if you have a spare minute, it would be great to hear how everyone is getting on whereever you might be in the world. Until next time... totsins

Postman pat and his black and white cat...

2005-09-20T13:22:00.000+01:00

A title infringing on the slightly absurd you might be thinking. Well like many things in life understanding the context helps to clear matters up. Last Tuesday whilst wandering towards Buckingham Palace for a bit of sightseeing, after having been following the England Cricket Team from Mansion House to Trafalger Square for the Ashes Parade (photos to appear shortly), I got a phone call from an Employment Agency.

I had signed up with an Agency after I got back from SA, basically looking for some temporary work over the summer. In all honesty they had been pretty useless up until last week, with the only work I have done being with a friend who lives over the road. They had a job which needed filling immeadiately for a week and a half up in London. All in all it didn't sound too bad and so the next day I started working for a Law Firm located in between Fleet Street and High Holborn...as a Postal Clerk! Now I can assure you it certainly isn't the most exciting job in the world, running up and down floors delivering post but hey it provides a bit of cash!

Time to head off to uni next Sunday! It seems to have been a long time coming because I have known for a long while that I wanted to do a gap year before going off to uni. It sits in the back of your mind becuase you expect it to happen but it is something which is due for the future. I think that best explains why whenever somebody asks am I excited I can't really say that I am, it just feels like the next stage on ladder!

Any updates next week coming from Nottingham - and I suppose I will need to think of a new title for the blog. I will no longer be blogging my gap year experiences so any ideas please give us a shout.

Random Garden Shots

2005-09-05T16:28:00.000+01:00

Well I needed to put another post up here and becuase there isn't a huge amount going on around here at the moment, and I haven't had a chance to use my camera a lot, I thought I would just post a couple of shots from the Garden.

This is Milly one of our two cats, both of whom love to sit in the peg basket. Milly is the friendly of the two but both do love to be around and get some attention.