The Day Started Out Well,

we had a telephone call to say that our printer had arrived,

 so off to TukCom to pick up our brand new Epson T13,

and very nice it looked too, so insert that disk that came with it to download all of the drivers and a few other things, all no problem at all, next switch on to start printing, disaster!

this message appeared, despite going through all of the change the ink cartridge options always one or three cartridges would not be recognised, so back to the shop, why is it that when ever I buy some thing electrical this sort of thing happens? anyway after the same thing happened in the shop a new print head was fitted and it seems that all the problems were fixed,

so on to a bit of fun, well at least I thought it was, a Rubik cube, but it is not quite what it seems, it is a anamorphic print of one, it looks 3D,

 but if you turn the paper it is printed on it's true shape is seen,

 it is in fact almost as long as the paper,

 but by moving the paper and camera the perspective is altered,

 you can get a better effect if you cut the paper it is printed on,

 but move the camera angle just slightly and the true picture is revealed,

 the same with Diana's tape, all looks fine,

 until the paper is turned,

 then the distortion of the picture is seen,

again for a better effect I cut the paper the image was printed on to give a better 3D effect, I know too much time on my hands!

 of course if you are really clever you can make the same effect with writing like this sign,

but move the camera angle and all is seen as it is, the only excuse I have is that it was a quiet day, in the evening we watched a couple of films on satellite television and a few more from Swamp People that we had not seen before, then for us we were off to bed.

I Would Not Call This Piece Of Pottery Cute,

but someone must love it,

the piece was made by British pottery manufacturers the Martin Brothers at the turn of the 20th century, it appears that their work is highly sort after, Michael Jeffery, head of 20th century design at auctioneers Woolley and Wallis of Salisbury, Wilts, said: ‘the market is strong for this type of art at the moment which is reflected in the world record sum,’ and the world record sum? the piece went for £50,000 but with all the fees added on the total price paid for the ornament was £66,000, I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

During The Day We Watched Some Television,

also we picked up Diana's dress from the seamstress,

 then before it got dark we made a move into town,

 there were almost no lights on as we made our way along Walking Street,

we had decided to watch some of the International fireworks display from The Pattaya Beer Garden which is the first bar you come to on the right to if you are walking along Beach Road to Walking Street, the countries taking part are from Canada, China, Singapore, Thailand and the United States,

 I am a number, 36 for this evening, 'Cheers!',

 Diana honing her beer pouring skills,

 we ordered some finger food to start,

 prawn cakes, fish wraps and spring rolls with a sweet sauce,

 one of the floating restaurants beckoning,

 during the course of the evening a number of hot air balloons were released this one in the distance floating past the Pattaya Centre Hotel,

 next on our menu some tom yum goong,

 it is a spicy prawn soup normally with mushrooms as ours was, we also asked for some coconut milk to be added for a touch of extra flavour,

 to keep it hot a piece of charcoal is placed under the container,

 or in our case a candle,

 it was actually a bit too hot!

 another helping for me,

 next Diana fancied a cocktail,

 a pink lady, 

 then the fireworks began, 

 we were expecting a few,

 but the show just went on and on,

 not that we were compiling, it was a great show,

 then there was a break before the next country competing put their show on, so another food break for us,

 a slice of pizza for Diana and some chicken strips for myself,

 as another hot air balloon made it's way past the Pattaya Centre Hotel,

 meal finished it was time for a coffee latte,

 and very nice it looked and was too,

 the next countries show started,

 again a awesome show,

 although it does not look it,

 the explosions and the show just never seemed to stop,

 a evening to remember,

 we decided to make a move for home, the show is on again on Saturday evening, also Beach Road is closed to traffic as there are stalls along most of it selling shoes, dresses, food and drinks,

 we walked under the Samsung television with strangely enough a Samsung product being advertised on it,

 by now of course all of the neon signs had been switched on and colourful they looked too,

there was also some street theatre going on as well, Walking Street was packed as you might expect as it is now the holiday season, we made our way to the motorbike taxis, then we were off home, what a great night out and for us after a nightcap we were off to bed.

We Always like Posting Pictures Of Artists Using Different Materials,

so here is one we have not seen before,

sculptor Sergei Bobkov a resident of Kozhany, Russia uses wood chips to create the most amazing sculptures, after creating about 100-150 chips, about 2-3 inch long from Siberian cedar, he puts them in water for several days, then, making use of his surgical precision, he carves the chips into any shape he needs,

he has so far created 11 wood-chip sculptures each one takes around six months to complete, at a work rate of 10 to 12 hours a day, with no days off, so much talent,

I just wonder where he first got the idea from.

We Mentioned A few Days Ago,

that the sea on some beaches in Sydney, Australia had turned red,

it now appears that the sea water in the same beaches also glows blue at night, the blue light was spotted at Bondi and Coogee beaches on Wednesday night, as well as others south of Sydney, a marine microbiologist from the University of Technology, Sydney, Justin Seymour, said the algae glows when the water is agitated, leaving a trail of neon blue, it occurs when there is a high concentration of algae in the water, like the red algal bloom that caused the closure of Bondi Beach earlier this week, the good news is that it appears it is safe to swim, the lifeguard co-ordinator for Waverley Council, Bruce Hopkins, expects Bondi Beach will remain open this weekend, so grab a few tinnies and then decided whether to go for the red or the blue!