"Getting inside, over and under 30-40 foot waves is no small feat, especially with bulky camera equipment, and a goal of finding that perfect angle and lighting condition that makes a perfect shot."
Due to copyright restrictions I can't repost any of Clark Little's cool pics so you'll have to click this link to see exclusive samples of his seriously impressive photography.
Good stuff, eh?
Intrigued by Rocky Thompson's post about "topless gardening problems" I followed the link just to check that the "pasties" reference isn't just a typo, and indeed it isn't. Now I'm aware that we Brits and them Yanks are nations separated by a common language, but maybe this time we are singing from the same hymnsheet. After all, we're no strangers to such pastry-based attire...
Pic shamelesly ripped from http://www.lightningspider.co.uk/serv01/sheridansmith82/index.html
This post by Martin prompted me to update my "GOTO" blogrolls to include a few more blogs and sites that I've bookmarked over the last few weeks.
Links added so far this year include:
They take the total to over 200 links, all supplied free-of-charge, none of them conditional on the target site having a reciprocal link.
I think I'll be having a links sort-out sometime soon - some of the dropdowns are dropping down a bit too much, so they need recategorising rather than culling. If you've any suggestions as to how to do this in a meaningful and useful way, feel free to let me know.
Anyway, feel free to have a mooch through the links - there may be a few that you've not seen before. If you find any errors or omissions, just holler and I'll get it sorted out.
Thanks for the heads-up, Martin 
Looks like the Fieldfares have now started to colonise the blogosphere:
At this rate, they'll be ousting the Robins as the most-featured (feathered) blog-birds.
In my first post of 2009 I set out a few objectives. Well, that year's done and dusted so it's time for a reality-check.
Here's the list again...
1a. More actually getting out and doing "stuff"
1b. Less talking about getting out and doing "stuff"
I reckon I did about the same amount of "doing" as I usually do in an average year, but you're no doubt relieved that I didn't waffle on about it too much. Yeah, that's right - I don't tell you everything. Mind you, this is WordPress, not Twitter.
2a. More "pushing the envelope"
2b. Less "comfort zone" dossing
Having had a relatively high injury-rate last year, I had to be content with just licking the envelope. Fellwalking with injury or in the post-recovery stage was definitely out of my comfort zone, but it was hardly what you'd call dossing.
3a. More meaningful blogging
3b. Less blogging of drivel
You lot can be the judges of that. The total number of posts for 2009 is 145, way less than the 215 totals for 2008 and 2007. Exactly how many of those 145 posts are drivel is a moot point.
4a. More gear-testing
4b. Less gear-envy
I didn't test anything new, apart from the Argos tent. I managed to fight off the urge to acquire a NeoAir, but the attraction of an updated Scarp 2 is still there. - hopefully Henry Shires will eventually get around to making one. As for the envy factor, there's very little kit out there that I've looked at and thought "that's a must-have item". If I'm envious about anything, it's the abundance of hill-time that others seem to have.
Actually, I've just lied to you about the envy thing. Truth be told, I'd like one of these.
5a. More improvement in use of the camera
5b. Less "missing the moment" while faffing with settings
I feel that I've done better with the camera, this being helped by the acquisition of the new lens. That said, I did faff with the settings while in Brum and therefore ballsed-up some potentially-good night-shots.
6a. More time out with the scope
6b. Less time-wasting while faffing with settings
Did well at this. Having the observatory up-and-running has helped a lot.
7a. More progress with astrophotography
7b. Less set-up time
I got my first images of Mars late on in 2009, but still managed to miss all of the major meteor showers due to unsuitable weather. On the bright side, there'll be some new kit here in time for the next closest approach of Mars on 27th January 2010 - this should enable me to make some major improvements.
8a. More Wainwrights
8b. Less use of traditional routes
Yep, did some more Wainwrights, but only seven "new" ones - nowhere near as many as I'd have liked to have done. Current tally is 180 out of 214. Tried hard to plough a different furrow, but had limited success. The solo ascent of the West Face of Ullscarf was fun, though!
9a. More local walking
9b. Less hiding behind the laptop
I failed miserably on this one. Had a few local walks but nothing special. That said, there were so many other things that kept me away from the countryside and the laptop.
10a. And, thanks to George, more data-storage, and hence
10b. less dross on the internal HDD
The huge USB HDD is excellent - how I managed without one for so long is a mystery that I'll never figure out.
So there you go - 2009 in a nutshell. More or less.
But what of 2010?
I reckon I'll stick to the same objectives, and try to do much better.
Whatever plans you have for your New Year, I wish you the very best of luck.
When are we bloggers going to get our "Incoming Links" fixed? We know that other folk are linking to us from their posts, but there's no way that we can search for those links unless you get your act sorted out.
Just in case you're wondering, we're talking about your Google Blogsearch thing - in the dim and distant past it used to work fine, but it's been screwed for ages now, you know it and yet you do nothing, despite declaring the following:
What is Blog Search?
Blog Search is Google search technology focused on blogs. Google is a strong believer in the self-publishing phenomenon represented by blogging, and we hope Blog Search will help our users to explore the blogging universe more effectively, and perhaps inspire many to join the revolution themselves. Whether you're looking for Harry Potter reviews, political commentary, summer salad recipes or anything else, Blog Search enables you to find out what people are saying on any subject of your choice.
(Source)
Come on, it's the season of goodwill. How about sending some of it our way?
To readers of my drivel: if you've linked here and have been disappointed by my lack of appreciation, you know who's to blame. To find out if I'm likely to know about your link, feel free to search for it - go to the Google Blogsearch page and search for "http://beardedgit.com/".
Please bear in mind that YMMV - just don't go there now with any expectation of the results being up-to-date.
I was mooching around on Joe Newton's "Thunder in the Night" blog this afternoon and was reading about his header-pic width problem when up popped a comment by a Keith Tilley. I clicked on his name to see his profile and this led to me finding his "Painting on the Edge" blog. If you're into art and the scenery around Caithness and the Scottish Highlands, you should have a good look around his blog - there is some really good stuff there, where you'll find a link to his website, "Scottish Landscape Paintings" .
Keith's blog led me to Jamie Buchanan's "North Light". Jamie is a hotelier and photographer living in the far north of Scotland, and he's put up some very good photos on his blog and on his other place, "Heilan' Light" .
Go on, have a look, you know you want to.
There's something satisfying about wearing sensible footwear on rocky terrain. Maybe it's the confidence that a stubbed placement won't result in a blackened toenail being forced back through the metatarsals into the heel-unit, maybe it's the protection and support that they afford when negotiating the sharp stuff or just running down screes, or perhaps it's just the knowledge that they're not being used to carry around 3kg of grit or soaked-in water that would negate the weight-savings of wearing Jessiehiker plimsolls (for further enlightenment, see here and here).
Personally, I reckon it has much to do with loving the smell of napalm Nikwax in the morning.
Scarpa SLs - Apaches in a world of Snatch Land Rovers
This February has been a total non-starter. So many things have conspired to cock-up all chances of getting out to do something worthwhile that I'm considering becoming a professional couch-potato and Wii Bowling Power Throws addict (my current top-score is only 733 but I'm working on it).
For me, February is usually the best month to get into some proper winter-walking, but this one was just rubbish. Due to adverse events at home, I've not managed to get suited and booted at all this month. We've the seeds of an idea to get away somewhere for a wildie during March, but let's face it - the chances of there being a return to snowy conditions are minimal. That said, whenever Chris hits the hills for our annual wildie together the weather's always good, so there's always a chance that we'll be lucky again.
Sadly, the scope's been as redundant as the boots. I rehoused and rewired the SPC900 webcam and invested in a few bits of kit (including a Baader MPCC and a Skywatcher LPR 2" filter) to improve my chances of getting some half-decent astropics but I've had no opportunity to use any of them yet, as we've not had one clear night all month. This means that I've not managed to observe Saturn, which is now showing edge-on rings to anybody with clear skies. Comet Lulin (posh name C/2007 N3 (Lulin)) is another target that I'm likely to miss unless the skies clear sometime soon. If you've got clear skies and want to know where to look to see this gem, see here, and if you want to see some nice pics and a mini-movie of it, have a look at this entry on John's Astro Blog. I've just had a quick gander at the latest weather forecast and it's telling me that the skies here will be totally clear here tomorrow night. TBH I don't believe a word of it, but I'll be ready on the off-chance that they're correct.
And don't get me started on the subject of beer sessions - I've a list of cancellations as long as yer arm!
March will have to be a better month. Let's face it - it's not got a lot to beat.
Need cheering up a bit? Mark and Sarah Jaquith's new venture, Wordsplosion, showcases "the best of the worst of the wide world of words", reporting visual SPAG fcuk-ups of the highest calibre. Contributions are welcomed there.
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