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Harvest Bales, Late Summer Mist
Painted from an evening walk through Suffolk. The almost-pink mist and long shadows, combined with the sweep of the field to the epic sky above, created a true and warm sense of space and clarity. Prints and full [...]
The Hidden Context in some Great Movies
I love the cinema and movies. I also make films myself. What stared as a simple passion for the action and adventure in films has become a life long urge to understand what the filmmaker, [...]
Remembering Catherine
"Remembering Catherine" by Basho Today, on the anniversary of her passing, I present a new painting; a present for my mother in law. This digital portrait was painted in Rebelle 5 Pro.
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist | Dungeons & Dragons
**Caution this post contains spoilers for WDH!** My players (9-year-old children, my wife and her 70+-year-old mother) just completed Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, and there follows my write up of the adventure. The piplins! [...]
“Countryside walk” – Digital Watercolour
"Countryside walk" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
The day I met the Buddha, and killed him
Delhi. Many people say they have “done” Delhi, but in all honesty they haven’t. They have perhaps done the tourist parts of New Delhi, or maybe spent some time in an Ashram there – which amounts [...]
Yaks for tea and Tibetan Temples. Living the high life in Shangri-la
"You have to imagine," said the man in broken English, "that this..." he gestured his hands at the view in front of us, "big lake... flood wide and deep... great water!" He broke into a wide toothy smile.
A Wild Sheep Chase
**Caution this post contains spoilers for The Wild Sheep Chase!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons and Dragons with, it being the 80’s and the game not being popular here in the United [...]
Jawbreaker – Ultimate AI Upscaled 4k edition
I was at the gym and, as usual, I was watching downloaded films on the gym's TV while cycling or rowing. I decided to watch the documentary "Samsara" by Ron Fricke and was amazed to see that I had [...]
The Iron Church – Why Do People Quit Fitness Training?
And what the science — and AI — say about how to stop them. I would leave work after a long, hard day in the city and simply have no energy to attend my GoJu Ryu Karate training. I’d [...]
Basho rewrites: Rime of the Frostmaiden – Destruction’s Light.
**Caution this post contains spoilers for Destruction's Light!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons & Dragons with. Now, I am 45 and play with my own children. Yes - I built my [...]
Children of the Red Rose
**Caution this post contains spoilers for Children of the Red Rose!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons and Dragons with, it being the 80’s and the game not being popular here in the [...]
Beijing and the Great Wall – Our final days in China
"So," said Cesca loudly and clearly, just as I was drinking from a water bottle, "What's all this about China and Tiananmen Square?" I almost did a spit take. "Quiet!" I said and I looked around, wiping water running [...]
The Iron Church – Why Do People Quit Fitness Training?
The Four Goals That Run Every Training Programme — And The Adaptive Engine That Serves Them When a new disciple opens Iron Church, we don't ask them to pick a "split." We ask them what they actually want. There [...]
“The Backroad to Bures”
"The Backroad to Bures" by Basho AI image upscaled from 2019. It would make a lovely computer background.
And so I went for a walk…
"And so I went for a walk..." by Basho Painted by hand onto a Microsoft Surface Studio 2 in the software "Rebelle" using a digital stylus. This is near the village of "Mount Bures, Suffolk, UK" [...]
Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, green tea and finding inner peace
I have written before about travellers wanting a point to it all, to travelling. In part this is perhaps seen as them wanting to justify the vast cost of travel; to have a point for spending all that money, [...]
The Iron Church: Why Most ‘AI’ Fitness Apps Are Just Marketing (And How I Built One That Actually Works)
7 AI Pipelines ? 5 AI Prompts, 2 Deterministic Engines. Discover the technical strategy behind building The Iron Church—an AI fitness trainer defined by periodisation science, multi-prompt architecture, and serious consideration of your real equipment. This article is the [...]
The Alam Clock Lesson
Early in my leadership career, I had a junior member of staff who was late to work. Nothing unusual about that, you may think, for are we not all occasionally late into the office? Most of us commute and moreover [...]
“Grandma at the wedding” – Digital Watercolour
"Grandma at the wedding" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
A Basho Film: Australia Zoo!
The latest Basho film: our visit to Australia Zoo! http://www.youtube.com/v/HMHUnNHZ76M Enjoy, Basho
Goodbye Mum
So much of human suffering and pain shares a common cause. We all feel it, but; may not consciously [...]
The political compass
How I have moved thanks to my world travels
Physics versus Philosophy, can these two not get along?
It just has always been my position that Philosophy and Science are not in competition to uncover the secret of reality, and that the attempts by Physicists to paint this dichotomy was self-destructive and not worthy of their time. It is almost as if they are leaving their old enemy of "Religion" alone and picking on a group they don’t think will fight back.
A Basho Film : Australia
A short fun film highlighting our trip to Australia, showing some of the fantastic things we saw in this wonderful [...]
TM M3 Super 90 CQB Mod Guide
The M3 Super 90 from TM is one of the best non AEGs on the market. It uses the now [...]
AIRSOFT: Longmoor Weekend Review
This weekend the Dark Angels attended the Longmoor FIBUA village near Liphook owned and used by the M.O.D.
The Ellora Caves
One of the unique things about India, and one that you never quite come to terms with, is the trains. [...]
This is India
I flipped out my phone and called the hotel. We were waiting outside the Mumbai airport, it was late, dark [...]
“Zombies, Run!” Review : a running game with bite!
I got into running about a year ago after ending up in hospital twice in three karate lessons. After the second time my wife and I had "a conversation" and I agreed to take up a sport less likely to cause injuries. I clearly picked the wrong one though.
Tier 1 Military Simulation – Operation SNAKEBITE writeup
I stood alone in the pre-dawn of the morning and the silence of the surrounding forest was punctuated only by the hooting of owls and the snoring of AQT players as they serenaded the coming sun. I was taking my turn on watch and the firebase was so dark that I couldn’t really see my way to walk around the inside of the perimeter. It was a large base by airsoft standards, about 70 meters long and 20 wide, with several small wooden buildings, huts and fire positions all surrounded by steel barrels acting as the wall between the players and the trees beyond. Every few steps I raised the NVG scope to my left eye and took a look into the gloomy and misty darkness. Through the NVG there were only dark shapes with blurry outlines, suggestive of men among the trees, but these didn’t move so I took them to be bushes. Nevertheless, I gripped my rifle tightly in my right hand.
James’ Travel Packing
What do you need for a year long adventure? Don’t ask me, it’s my first time! Nevertheless, I am taking [...]
SCAR Review
The boys from Snatch review the Classic Army SCAR. - Why are we reviewing the SCAR Turkish? What’s wrong [...]
“CHOJUN – A NOVEL” Review: The real Mr. Miyagi
It is said that you can only truly know someone by fighting them, for in the stress of combat the [...]
Tokyo Marui Pro Goggle Review
After coming home from my travels I accessed my secure shipping container and got out all my airsoft gear. GZ is coming and I wanted to do a ops check and full clean so I would be ready. My old, fantastic, HFC mesh mask had seen better days. After considering the risk of using rusty mesh, I benched the mask and started hunting around for another solution. There was something else too. My team now play 24h milsim games. As I was going to join them, I needed a face rig that would enable me to eat and sleep in the field, but not be a compromise on safety.
The System of the World: Review
** WARNING SOME BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD – AS MARKED** I have just finished the new Neil Stephenson book "The System [...]
Malaysia: Highlands to Langkawi
The Cameron Highlands, well named that they are, are the tea growing centre of Malaysia. The temperature up the top is a good 4 degrees less than in the cities and a nice breeze helps take off a few more. It is a place of gentile rolling tea fields under mountainous peaks. I found this much more to my liking!