Geek moment of the day…

For the past few days we have been on an enforced sabbatical from the Internet, brought on from the fact that thieves stole the telephone cables supplying broadband, TV and telephone to our house (and many other houses in the area). Of course, this provided a grand opportunity to catch up (or re-watch) a load

Helicopters exercising over Oiã

The Portuguese military is hosting an exercise in Ovar, near Porto, and each day the helicopters are flying over Oiã. There are only about 8 or 10, but it is fascinating to watch them go over. When you flick through these images, see if you can spot the airmen sitting on the edge of the

Feira Medieval at Troviscal

This year, the local council at Oliveira do Bairro sponsored a Medieval Festival (Feira Medieval) in Troviscal, a few km away from where we live. These medieval re-enactments are incredibly popular in Portugal, and although the weather was not ideal, the Companhia De Teatro Viv’Arte put on a fabulous show. There was jousting, and eagles, dancing and

Sunday afternoon at the Feira Medieval, Troviscal

This last weekend we went to the Feira Medieval in Troviscal, It was a fabulous afternoon, and all of the participants put on a great show, from the sword fighters and the tournament, to the dancers and the snake charmer.

D’oh!

Found while I was looking for some glue to repair my slippers (probably to much information already)…

Feira de Medieval, Oliveira do Bairro 07-09 June

In a couple of weeks there is a Feira de Medieval, presented by Companhia de Teatro Viv’Arte, in Troviscal near Oliveira do Bairro. The Companhia de Teatro Viv’Arte present all over Portugal and a couple of years ago, when we first arrived in Portugal, they had a feira in Mamarrosa. I had never been to one of

An experiment with a GIF (or ‘JIF’) file

The recent ‘controversy’ over whether a GIF file is pronounced as in ‘gimlet’ or ‘gin’ reminded me that yonks ago I had created a GIF file when learning how to use Photoshop  It was created from a tutorial and a stock image, as I recall, then I decided to animate it. The original had a background,

From Hero to Zero

We were watching the news at lunchtime where a new form of protest was seen to be emerging. The Finance Minister, Vitor Gaspar, was at a university in Lisbon publicising his new book. Each time he opened his mouth to speak the audience, mainly students, burst into laughter. This is a far cry from just

The Summer Sports Season is Beginning

Last weekend was the first cycling race of the summer. We’re fortunate that major races, like the Volta a Portugal, the equivalent of the Tour de France, pass Oiã, and one stage of the race finishes in Oliveira do Bairro. The aim of these young racers is to take part in such a race one

Commander Hadfield returns from the ISS tomorrow. Here is his leaving present…

Manifestação, Aveiro 2013

In Aveiro on Saturday 2 March, as in another four dozen cities around Portugal, thousands took to the streets. The “Grândola” was sung and slogans shouted against the “Troika”, the government, unemployment, the IMF, and other more specific causes such as the expropriation of land in Coutada, Ílhavo, for the construction of the Science and

It’s surprising what you find when you least expect it…

I was actually looking for some speaker cable in the attic when I came across this little fellow. It is, of course, Emperor Zurg from Toy Story 2. Now he’s happy in the office next to my Mars Attacks! blaster.

Yesterday on Twitter there was a pure piece of Nerd-gold

This image probably needs no explanation, but for those who don’t know, William Shatner, of Star Trek fame, tweeted the astronaut Chris Hadfield, who is the Flight Engineer on the International Space Station. Hadfield replied to the tweet in the language of Star Trek. The response is something that Sulu or Scotty might have uttered on

He who hesitates is lost…

Well, you know what happened here. I had a beautifully framed image of the cat looking right at me. But no, I thought, I need to be just that little bit to the right before… Damn!

On Halloween, the day that Lucasfilm was bought by Disney…

Grupo Ondas in Oiã

[FAG id=1821]

The rain in Portugal falls… and falls… and…

This is from a few days ago, but you get the drift. It’s been raining. Heavily. This morning I was awoken at 4am, then again at 6am, just with the rain beating down. Still, we are lucky. Yesterday afternoon in Castelo Branco, and again in Alentejo, there were tornados

On a quick trip to London

A few days ago I had a quick trip to London. On the way back I was patted down by the security at Gatwick for beeping through the metal detector (it was my shoes). Standing in front of me, the guard asked, “do you have anything sharp on you?” My immediate response was to say,

Volta a Portugal do Futuro in Carris

Each year, following the Volta a Portugal, the national cycling race similar to the Tour du France, there is a second race for cyclists of the future. Unlike the major race, which stick to the main roads, the Volta a Portugal do Futuro is on the back roads. Fortunately for us, they pass tight outside

Here we go again? Fire spotted in the direction of Agueda

As we get home after an overnight stay in Aveiro, the first thing we see on the hills towards Agueda is a pall of smoke. Let’s hope this in not as bad as the previous fires. The police are still looking for the people who started those fires.