A toy not used...

I think I have had my DJI Spark mini drone for about a year. Poor little thing has been sitting on my shelf basically just gathering dust. When I first got it I attempted to fly it in my bedroom. This is not recommended , it attempted to attack me, coming at me with an angry buzz of it's little rotor blades. I then managed to fly it into a wall and it ate my beloved dream catcher which used to be hung on said wall.

DJI Spark

VW Beetle GSR

I am terrible at reading instructions. I just do not have the patience. And I am of the same opinion as Elon Musk who stated "Any product that needs a manual to work is broken."

Shot with my DJI Spark

Shot with my Samsung Galaxy S9

Anyhoo yesterday evening both Ern and I had a ride up the moors stopping near Smidey Shore reservoir and I had a bit play with my little drone. To be honest it was a tad windy, so no real footage. I did mange a few snaps.

 

Today I went somewhere quiet at the top of Wilka's Bank, the Stream Valley. There is a little car park there and again I had a bit play with the drone, trying to get used to the controls. 

Oot with the drone

Crap I know it's around here somewhere

VW Beetle GSR "Grandma"

I also placed the drones gimball in Follow rather than FPV, so the images were a lot steadier when flying. This little aircraft is so cool, just wished the batteries lasted longer than 16 minutes. By the time I set stuff up and figure out how to fly it, it is time to land the thing LoL Sure I will get better with practice. I have to figure out which joy stick is up and down and which rotates. I know it sounds easy enough, but when you are trying to fly and adjust your camera, well I find it difficult. I just cannot multi-task LoL

When a design becomes even better.

Hello
As usual I have neglected my blog for quite sometime. Oh sure there have been things going on, but unlike people who like to tell you on Facebook they are on to their 3rd Jaffa Cake  I figured I would contain myself until I had something of interest to share.

I have been off work, almost all of this month after being rear ended in Tango my Smart car and suffering from a spot of whiplash, so that hasn't been great. Especially as I just thought I had turned a corner health wise. The respiratory consultant I visited, appears to have done the trick with a combination of anti-acid tablets and a nasal steroid spray which makes me sneeze. I guess a cough is a fair trade for a sneeze. I think what has really helped me of course is knowing I am clear of requiring further treatments for the Non Hodgkin's. Back to watch and wait.

Anyhoo rather than bore you with why I have not been around, here is some news and info that I know a few people will be excited to read, well those missing legs, for the rest of you....Err did I happen to tell you I am on to my 4th Jaffa Cake LoL

Some of you may recall that last year I was blown away when Fabtech Systems announced, without my prior knowledge that I would be one of the first people to receive the new BTK Crossover Integrated Cams. It came totally out of the blue. I just happened to pop Facebook on and that is when I found out. Well that was well over 6 months or so ago. Greg Mattson the founder and CEO of Fabtech Systems had been keeping me up to date alongside the designer Brian Bartlett of the situation with the new design.

BTK Crossover Integrated Cams

"I Have a Dream"

As many of you know this is a famous quote by Dr Martin Luther King Jr from his iconic speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Well I too have a dream, and whilst it may not bring me fame and hopefully will not lead to me being shot,for me it is no less ambitious.

My particular dream started back in 2016, when I took a few days annual leave from work and decided to visit Scotland with my then girlfriend. We choose to visit Oban and the surrounding islands of Mull, Staffa and Iona. Oban is a lovely part of the Sottish mainland, however nothing could have prepared me for the beautiful Isle of Mull. I was in total awe of the isle as we trundled along in our tour bus. I believe I have Scottish ancestory, going way back, the Johnstone name being associated with Dumfries and Galloway, so maybe this Scottish heritage called to me, regardless I fell in love with the rolling hills and glens, the wildlife and the overall beauty of the place.

Upon arriving home from our short trip, it was all I could talk about and I began looking at different parts of Scotland with property and land,it became an obsession, a sort of waking daydream,followed by the usual night time dreams, my imagination running riot. Obviously my passion is still afire, probably more so. And when browsing the web I discovered this house,
  

Dream Big

THE house, is situated in a place of unrivalled beauty. I have never been to this particular area, however I know it is just me and deep inside I feel I belong there. Hopefully in this life, if not I will have my name down for first dibs in another. I can just see myself standing proud outside the front door "Johnstone" kilt a fluttering in the breeze...calm down ladies.

Mentally I can fall into the scene of images I have printed off. I can envisage every detail. The smell of the pine needles from the nearby woods, walking beneath the canopy of trees the sound of gravel beneath my feet the waves of the loch gently lapping at the shore. There I can taste the early morning dew, licking my lips against the chilly morning air. An eagle flying above hills and rolling glens. His view far superior to mine and yet I am more than content to just be there. The sky a hue of various blues, with white fluffy clouds, which all reflect upon the loch,creating a mirrored image which takes my breath away. All of my senses attuned to this natural magnificent gift. The scene plays as if on a giant screen in my head. Time paused,mentally I capture the image as if taking a photograph within my mind.
  

Over the years I have been through some tough times and faced quite a bit of adversity. There have been times in my darkest days where there was no rock bottom, it went far beyond that. I felt as if stood on the precipice of a dark chasm. Endless, eternal darkness before me, a stiff wind at my back. It was as if I was on the brink of being lost mentally. Somehow there would be no return. With the support of some fantastic people and arming myself with various bits of knowledge, some taught, some experienced and other bits read I was able to fight back. I have learned that your life is mainly guided by your mindset. If you are feeling lost, negativity can shield you from the light and  when you expect bad thing to happen, then guess what you are going to get exactly what you expected. Yeah some things are out of our control, but hey it doesn't half help if you can change your mindset and try and see beyond the here and now and discover a more positive you.

A simple analogy...

Imagine you have your alarm set for an early morning start, it doesn't go off, you get out of the “wrong side of bed”, stub your toe as you frantically get ready for work. You hobble through to the bathroom to give your teeth a quick brush and drop toothpaste on your clean, now dirty top. As you rush to get down stairs you stumble and sprain your ankle. Now you can't find your car keys and when you finally do, on the way to work you hit every red light. Wow a pretty bad start to the day it can only get worse...Right? WRONG!

Lets look at this morning again. Your alarm doesn't go off, “crap I am late”...“Oh well I had better get ready”. You stretch, it takes a few seconds. You get yourself out of bed, thinking “Mmmm I got out of the other side this morning”. Off to the bathroom you go. “Oops I dropped some toothpaste on my top”, no big deal, “I'll either give it a rub up or change my top”. You take your time down the stairs and discover your car keys are not where you usually leave them. “Ahh that's right I got in late last night and left them???”  Soon you are out the door and off to work. You appear to hit every red traffic light, “ah well I am late anyway and it is a lovely day, plus I am almost there safe and sound”. You get into work a little late,apologise and no one bats an eye. Bonus no bruised toe and no sprained ankle. The rest of your day goes smoothly.

Armed with positivity I am now trying to attract more of what I do want and a little less of what I don't into my life. Yeah the dream or vision of achieving my goal is a very ambitious one, however if I doubt myself then I don't stand much chance. I am sure you have all heard of this Law, it is called the law of attraction. It is a proven scientific phenomena. How many times have you actually thought something was going to happen, or focused on something and as if by magic, not necessarily immediately that thing appears in your life. The majority of the time we don't give it a second thought. 

A bit like the earlier example think bad thoughts and poor me and bad stuff will start flowing to you as that is your current mindset. Start thinking positive and about what you do want and you are more likely to see good things come into your life.

Ok back to this dream thing. Of course, my dream is not just about having this place of exceptional beauty. Although it would be amazing to live there I would still want to do something with my life. It would be no good just owning a house in a beautiful area and saying “well that's it, Job Done”, all I am going to do is retire and find the odd job or go for a ride or walk now and again. 

I have gone on to think ahead, what would I find rewarding and fulfilling. Could I possibly share my dream or parts of it? Yes of course I could. There are many places of natural beauty in Scotland. I would like to invest in some kind of guest/holiday accommodation, within this area I have discovered. From there I would like to go on and offer the opportunity for people to visit, walk, ride or even paddle in the loch. Over night camps and just a real sense of adventure, taking in the sites with amazing photographic opportunities, as well as learning some of the history of the area. I would like to create some sort of retreat, accessible to all, so that people can gather their thoughts and just relax.

It's nice to have peace and quiet at times, however I would not really want to be socially isolated as I enjoy meeting new people and hearing their stories. I could imagine sitting around a camp fire upon an evening and listening to various tales and adventures.

Many of my family, friends and work colleagues think I am off in La La Land. I have even spoken to complete strangers whilst out and about, some of which have gone on to wish me the best of luck with my dream. I am teased openly at times, all good fun. I guess the majority of people never have their own dreams come true so how can they expect mine to. I figure I am putting in so much more effort than most so lets just see. Hey this could be a kind of “I told you so”, watch this space LoL

I wake up on a morning and the first thing I do is think about this house off on the shores of the loch. I have a “dream board” which has various pictures pinned upon my wall. First thing on a morning and last thing at night I look at each picture and visualise, being there and add to my plan. Because I am thinking of this so much and talking about it, yes even to myself lol it kind of feels real and obtainable.

I will leave you with a few of my favourite quotes of the moment.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions”.
Henry Ford (1863 - 1947)
"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, either way you are right."

And in ending I started with 
Dr Martin Luther King Jr (1929 -1968) so here is a quote from him.

“Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step”

Oh and hey this is my dream, so go get your own LoL