May 20th – Last week, at the floating market, I moaned to my old friend about the p*nct*re palaver I’d had the day before. I arrived home this evening to find a small box sent by my friend, containing a couple of repair kits, some cement, and about 50 extra patches – all my favourite brand – Rema.
It’s a lovely, funny thought. And I’m sure they’ll save my ride many times. Just hopefully not for a while yet…
May 30th – I have a new camera to try out. I usually use a Panasonic TZ70, but having used that brand for 8 years, I often try alternatives to see how they are when I get chance.
Courtesy of a generous friend, I’m currently using a Nikon S9900… and I rather like it. With similar ultra zoom performance, it seems a bit more solidly build, and I have to say, in most situations I’ve used it in, the camera has produced excellent images.
They seem a little vivid, but the macro mode is excellent, and much better than I’m used to, as I found when I tried it on various flowers.
I have this for a couple of weeks, so plenty of time to find the issues, I guess.
April 2nd – The dying art of repairing a puncture. For years, I scarcely bothered, after all I have mercilessly few incidents with the Marathon Plus tyres and road tubes were quite cheap. I just carried a spare or two as I always did. But with a change of tyres, I needed to be more ready to do spot repairs. I’ve tried puncture resistant liners with moderate benefit, and have also gone over to sealant filled tubes. But even those fail, and out on the road this morning, I was slain by a metal clipping that spiked my rubber – the sealant tried bravely, but failed.
There’s no way I’m chucking an £8 tube in the bin, so I bundled it up in a bag, popped in the spare and repaired it when I got home. They do work, as when I took it out, there were three piercing hawthorn spikes as well as the catastrophic failure.
The modern self-adhesive patches are OK, but I don’t trust them like a good, old fashioned kit. My favoured one is Rema Tip Top – good quality patches, and a well-sealed tube of cement that doesn’t dry up in the saddlebag. 10 minutes, job done, and back in the tyre.
Metal clippings on the roads in Darlaston are a pain in the arse – watch out if you’re around the Darlaston Green or Heath Road areas. They fall from the scrap wagons that thunder through there, and unlike puncture repairing, sheeting loose loads seems like a dying art…
March 13th – Today, an old friend entered retirement. I replaced my trusty Panasonic Lumix TZ40 for a brand spanking new, just released TZ60. The little red compact camera has been through an awful lot, and survived, and still takes good pictures, but it is probably on the verge of death; it makes ominous grinding sounds when switching on now, and sometimes, the auto lens cover doesn’t open.
I have had and used the camera for a little over 12 months. Apart from the odd day when I forgot it, it has travelled with me every day in a little sleeve in my pocket. It has taken about 21,000 photos, and doesn’t owe me a penny. This little metal-bodied gem of a camera – boasting 20x optical zoom and great adjustability in a small size – has been dropped, got wet, covered in mud, sweat, tea, and on one occasion, was bled on. It’s operated in frost, snow, howling rain and hot sun. It has been a faithful friend and tool. Almost all the images posted here in the last twelve months here have been taken with it.
Panasonic cameras are a bit Marmite – loved and hated with equal passion. I’ve used them since 2007 and adore them, despite their foibles. With Leica lenses and tank-like build quality, I couldn’t change now. I tried a Sony for a bit in 2011 and loathed it. You get used to stuff.
Several of my cameras have come to sticky ends. Dropped down steps, bounced while riding, stolen. This one seemed to have had a real survival spirit.
The little red camera shows the marks of life, and wear and tear. Ingrained dirt, dents, buckles and chips. They are, although the camera probably disagrees, the marks of love.
The newcomer is the direct model replacement, the TZ60 (oddly, there was no TZ50) – it boasts a higher resolution, 30x optical zoom and more features to fiddle with than I can shake an SD card at. It’s slightly heavier, and larger, but feels good. Just enough features have moved button or changed to drive me mad for a good few weeks. Incredibly, it cost exactly the same as the TZ40 when I bought it. Progress.
I shall pass the red one on to someone who needs it for free, as I do with most of my old tech, and I shall become as attached to it’s black replacement as I am to the red one.
Yes, I’m a geek. But not for the sake of it. Tech I have has to prove itself and be useful. These cameras have proven themselves over and over again. Long may it be so.
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