Mike

Mike
Originally uploaded by Destinys Agent.

Had some fun shooting in my local pubs beer garden with my phone the other night. I got our mutual friend, Liam, to light Mike using his own K800i's focussing light giving the picture the red cast. I then took it into Photoshop to add a little grain and darken the background.

30 South Collonade

Reuters head office in Canary Wharf

Big Ship

A large ship is pulled up the Thames past the Millennium Dome.

Put Out

Looks like I've put my back out quite badly. It was OK last night after recovering from an injury sustained erecting an ariel for a friend. I visited my local last night and played a few rounds of pool. I woke up this morning in agony!

This didn't stop me going to Living Reef Aquatics in Dartford to pick up some crickets for my Praying Mantises. John, the owner, has got an Egyptian mantis for sale which I have to say I was tempted with. He is going to get some other mantises and assorted insects on Tuesday. I'm going to attempt a visit straight after work to see. I'm going to try and not be tempted :D While John kindly showed me some Tarantula's and Scorpions he has for sale, I almost passed out. Sadly I had to cut my visit short and get home. I'm hoping I'm a bit more spritely tomorrow since my friend Andy is taking me to a remote control race track for some photography.

Blackwall Vent

Air venting for Blackwall Tunnel

Back at DTC Again

I'm Back :-)

I got a phone call at work today... Apparently, the lads there were swamped with calls so the management picked me to go over and lend a hand, much to my delight. It was so cool to be back with all the people I knew. I did mention how pleased I was to the manager, along with the fact they could leave me there permanently. He said it wouldn't happen, but I thought I'd try. It really does suit me so well. I like the fact there seems always something to do and I also like the comradeship between the IT team and also the teams working in DTC themselves. This doesn't seem to be prevalent in SC, or if it is, it isn't apparent.

Initially I was asked to help out today only but it looks like I'm there for the rest of the week :-)

Back to SC

So I find myself back at South Colonnade. One good thing is that I'm being allocated issues properly rather than having to shadow another engineer.

First one today was a simple re-install of the software that had got corrupted somehow. The second one, the member of staff is uncontactable and the third a simple display issue solved by setting the correct video input to a screen! Oh the joy! Give me something challenging...

In other news, my Ghost Mantis has layed a 4th Ootheca. Looks like I'm going to be overrun with Ghosts. This last ootheca is the size of the first one she layed so, should they be fertile, I should end up with a good few nymphs. I certianly hope so because theres a lot of intrest in them.

Sunday, sunday

I didn't get to go out with my camera. The weather was pretty naff this morning and I was out with Andy buying a few bits anyway. I bought a USB Extension Cable to hook up my webcam to make MantisCAM which you should see at the top of this screen. It updates every 30 seconds but you will have to refresh the page to see. For some reason, it occasionally fails. I'm unsure why. If it continues, I'll have to find another host.

Currently, the camera is directed at my first mantis, the Ghost (Phyllocrania paradoxa). I will try and move it around to view different mantises occasionally.

Barclays Bank

Barclays Bank building in Docklands

I just grabbed this image from the mini-bus on the way back to South Colonnade. The buildings are an amazing size over there...

Quick Move

Well, much to my dissapointment, I'm being moved back to South Colonnade as of Monday. I've really got to like DTC, the team here and the Reuters staff are great. It suits my temperament. I'm hoping that once my training is complete, I'll be able to make my way back to DTC somehow. I'm going to be doing two weeks of 'normal' shift and then into Training the following week. At least the normal shift is 9:00-5:00/30 I can also get there in plenty of time too since the DLR arrives at 8:30ish.

I'm hoping to do some photography over the weekend. I'm not sure where but it'll probably be in travel zones 6-2 so I can use my pass. I'll have to have a scout about and find a likely place to get some shots. I've done Greenwich a load of times and I'd really like to shoot something new. It would be great if it was somewhere quiet and out of the way so I can concentrate on getting some really good images.

South Colonnade

On my way to DTC

Oh what fun I had today getting to work. Apparently there was a landslide on the rails somewhere which led the rail service to cancel all trains apart from those to Victoria. I chose to catch the bus to Bexleyheath and then on to North Greenwich where I caught a Jubilee Line Underground train to Canary Wharf then picked up the Docklands Mini-Bus service to DTC. It took a good couple of hours of sitting on the 190 bus in traffic. The chaos was amazing. I realise how vital the rail service is now.

Once in Canary Wharf, I paused to take a picture of South Colonnade, Reuters head office, which is where my department is based.

All seemed to be OK with travel on the way home. Hopefully tomorrow will all be normal!

DTC - Docklands Technical Center

Where I Work

This is the Docklands Technical Center where I am currently based for work. It's directly opposite the Millennium Dome on the Thames. I've been there for a few months training.

Progression or not?

So, here I sit, in the company canteen located next to the DTC building. I'm wondering where I'm going, if I'm getting anywhere. Since leaving the ITSC, I've been waiting on Fujitsu to increase my salary. Apparently the delay is because 'Everyone else is getting theirs so it will take time...'. Do you believe it? I badly need the cash. I'm treading water with bills but only just. It's hard to work in a place where you know everyone is on a comfortable wage when you're struggling.

The job itself is great. Desk Side Support involves visiting Reuters employees at their desks to fix the problem there and then (most of the time!) which is a far cry from the ITSC where I attempted to fix issues over the phone and then escalate it to guys on the floor. I do enjoy this aspect. Dealing with people directly always gave me a buzz anyway. That coupled with the fact that I'm known from my time as a SME (Subject Matter Expert) for PMO (Performance Management Online) back in my ITSC days.

The trouble with it all is that progression seems to be happening slowly. I'm made to make notes on things I do, which is fine but initially I was under the impression they needed to be comprehensive. the meeting on Monday corrected this and I now know I have to keep them simple, despite submitting simple notes first of all and having them rejected.

I really need to get a life back. Since I gave up Salsa Dancing due to lack of funds, I've not got much of a social life. I visit my friend Andy quite a bit since he's very close in location and he keeps Praying Mantises like me (I started him off!) but I really crave the companionship of a lady. This won't happen at all while there are insufficiant funds available. I have got the offer of free Salsa now though. Wednesday's in Dartford. I've done the owner some favours in the photographic line (See My Flickr Site) so he's happy for me to come along. I'm going to make an effort to go this week, sans camera too. I'm extremely rusty, as I found out when I danced a few last Friday in between shooting photos. I'll have to drop a group and get back into the swing of it.

I'm still waiting on my pair of Atlas Moths to emerge. The male wiggled when I reseated him in the silk pupae. I'm hoping they emerge soon so I can get some good pictures.

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf Tower

I went to our head office today for a meeting. Canary Wharf Tower is over the road so I grabbed a snap while I was waiting for the Docklands Mini-Bus. The meeting went fairly well. The two managers defined a little closer what they required from me. Time will see if I can come up with the goods. Shouldn't be too hard.

Becoming a twitcher

Watch the Birdie
Originally uploaded by Destinys Agent.

I found this Grey Wagtail - Motacilla cinerea while walking round Hall Place in Bexley today with my friend Andy. I was quite lucky because it was firstly on a metal rail but once I tried to approach it, it flew up into a tree at eye-level. This meant I could get a fairly good shot.