Monthly archives: December 2005

A call for readers

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One of the things I plan to do in the New Year is start writing again. I have a couple of ideas but one in particular- a teen’s sci-fi allegory about a ghost Earth- is foremost in my mind at the moment. I want to write the first three chapters then start touting them around publishers and agents whilst working on the rest. To get to that stage I’d like to pass the first drafts out to a few readers for comment. If you’d like to be one of those readers then drop me a line to Ian[at]spinneyhead[dot]co[dot]uk.

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Christmas Round Up

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I’m really cheeky whenever I go home and I use Dad’s railway magazines as a library. As I’m not that interested in the main subject of the mags- the rolling stock- I’d never buy them for myself, but I do like to scour the advert sections for interesting accessories and items that would work well in dioramas. I found quite a few this Christmas.

The Scale shop is due a bit of a refurbishment in the New Year, and this will include the removal of a few products. First to go will be the print your own tarmac and concrete. This is partly because Scale Scenes have taken the same concept and been able top put the time and research into it that it required. They have a selection of downloadable printable models that are free for reuse, as well as textured sheets of brickwork and concrete and roads and paving.

One product I am considering is an expansion on the small scale custom cars I’ve already built, with a commission scheme for people wanting a specific custom for their layout or collection. There are a few sources of base models. There’s Cararama, of course, though they can be oversized for the fussy OO scale modeller. Another source of recent cars is TP Models with their Carkit 4 range. Older vehicles are well catered for, such as the DGM whitemetal kits from Autocraft, which will make good bases for hot rods.

Crafty Computer Paper looks like a good source of specialist papers such as waterslide decal and rub-down transfer paper. Muswell Models has been mentioned here before, but I think they’re deserving of another shout out. And finally, the famous Pendon museum.

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stones in yer head

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stones in yer head
stones in yer head,
originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

I’m sure we’ve all had mornings with that feeling.

The phone line out to this house are screwed up, leading to crossed/non-existent phone connections and spotty broadband. This is particularly annoying as i’m trying to download firefox for my parents.
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so nearly holiday

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so nearly holiday
so nearly holiday,
originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

I wag supposed to have a meeting at ten and then leave early, but the other person keeps getting waylaid by people less important than me and it keeps getting pushed back. I’ve got nothing to do but stare at the computer and wish i was away wrapping presents.
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Gone Racing

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This Flickr photoset is of one man’s home made race track for those palm sized remote control cars that were all the rage a couple of years ago.

via BoingBoing, where a number of readers have been offended by an initial assertion that it was a slot car set and have suggested a selection of alternative sites-

http://www.slotcargarage.com/vintage.htm
http://www.slotcargarage.com/gallery.htm
http://www.slotcarillustrated.com/InTheGroove.html
http://slotcarillustrated.com/Gallery.shtml

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Dover, Pennsylvania returns to the modern world

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A federal judge has ruled that Intelligent Design can’t be taught in biology classes in a case brought against the Dover Area School Board in Pennsylvania.

“We find that the secular purposes claimed by the Board amount to a pretext for the Board’s real purpose, which was to promote religion in the public school classroom,” [U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III] wrote in his 139-page opinion.

The Dover policy required students to hear a statement about intelligent design before ninth-grade biology lessons on evolution. The statement said Charles Darwin’s theory is “not a fact” and has inexplicable “gaps.” It refers students to an intelligent-design textbook, “Of Pandas and People,” for more information.

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