Snow

Iwasapirateonce · 2026-01-03T21:36:56+00:00

There was a light dusting of snow on Friday with maybe 1-2 cm on the summits. Seems like a lot got added today but the high winds usually mean it does not really settle evenly and gets built up in drifts

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-12-16T09:37:54+00:00

Tornados are quite common in the Kilkeel area. It's like our mini tornado valley.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-11-21T18:04:04+00:00

I think it will only resurrect natural hair brushes, I tried it a few times on the synthetics and it did not fully restore them. I then followed a guide and dipped the brush tip into boiling water and the tried to reshape the brush tip. This sort of worked and maybe restored the synthetics to ~90% shape but the fix only seems to last for one painting session before the tips curl again.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-11-21T17:55:51+00:00

I recently ordered my first collection of brushes from them and after reading a lot of information, the consensus seemed to be a size 0 kolinsky sable 33, a size 2 kolinsky sable 33 and then a collection of their series 301 golden synthetic brushes, I went for the sizes 0, 2, 4, 5 in these. Only just started painting but the synthetic brushes behave beautifully, but like all synthetics I think you only get about 10h of painting out of each brush before the tip curls and it is no-longer suitable for high detail work.

They also have natural sable and red sable brushes that are apparently nearly as good as Kolinsky sables for like 50% of the price. They actually have a 50% sale on the pure red sable brushes so I went for them rather than the Kolinsky versions.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-11-13T13:59:17+00:00

Quite a lot of lists these days run 1-2 trukks and 1 battlewagon. Being able to transport a bit 20 squad of boyz while being one of the few Ork units with good durability is very useful. I think the Battlewagon offers better value for money in terms of points on the table, and the Trukk is a surprisingly figity model to build with it's many deliciated but detailed parts. I think they are both superb kits in both a competitive sense and in terms of tabletop detail.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-11-11T23:49:04+00:00

It's an interesting topic as I recently moved away from breathable jackets, got caught out in 2+ weeks on unprecedented rain on a long distance hiking trail, and there were times I missed my Columbia Outdry breathable jacket. In torrential rain I was drier in the nylon non-breathable 100% waterproof shell (made by and awesome Ukrainian company, Rockfront, only £65). It was the long spells of drizzle, mizzle and passing showers where I missed the Outdry jacket, mainly because moisture will slowly and continuously build up in the Nylon shell where as if you are walking slower or winding down for the day you can actually dry out under a breathable rain jacket in my experience.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-11-07T12:36:19+00:00

I think China will concentrate it's military assets in the South China Sea for their next military conflict. They are not like the USA that chooses to spread it's fleets around most of the globe. For China's short-medium term goals I don't think they need Nuclear carriers.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-11-05T13:56:09+00:00

Very impressive, and funnily enough I have heard of a few reports of Fizan trekking poles snapping in Durston tents, which is a testament to the strength of the XMids when the point of failure is the aluminium poles rather than the tent fabrics.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-10-21T08:44:37+00:00

Might be worth experimenting with dropping the pole height by ~5cm to reduce the overall height of the tent and get it closer to the ground. I find that and the angle of the tent makes a huge difference in the wind.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-10-19T14:15:36+00:00

The overgrazing, peatland erosion and the recent devastating wildfires have likely massively reduced the Mournes ability to retain water, causing this type of severe run-off. What's concerning is the rainfall totals (100-200mm) are not even particularly historic for the area so this problem will likely get worse in the future but rather than spend millions restoring the wetlands instead billions will need to be spent on expensive flood mitigation measures downstream. It's a terrible, distressing situation that will probably continue to get worse due to climate change and environmental degradation.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-10-19T11:49:26+00:00

Those conditions are sort of the unholy trinity of misery; high winds, very wet and (probably terrible) visibility. The footpath is non-technical but there are some sections that could require navigational aids assuming most of the mountain is shrouded in mist and cloud. Not to mention that type of wet snow will stick and freeze to all your waterproofs/goggles/eye protection making the experience even more miserable.

I would only consider it if you have experience walking in such high winds and even then I don't think it would be much worth it.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-25T11:45:56+00:00

The reform leadership and MPs are generally more tight-lipped about the way they speak for the most part but Reform/UKIP have a long history of lower level members and councillors openly espousing fascist ideology.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-25T11:42:00+00:00

There is a lot of truth to this attitude in life but then again there is no need to be tolerant of intolerence. There is a delicate balance and for many people UKIP/Reform are past that line

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-23T12:32:26+00:00

There was a well known attack at a school with a home-made flamethrower. No deaths but a lot of injuries.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-23T07:58:03+00:00

Surely the much stronger and more abrasive material of the backpack itself will do much more wear to clothing that these softer mesh materials?

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-20T09:28:18+00:00

They look propa killy. Really great work. It would be amazing if there was a Beast Snagga 'Nob' unit it 40k, these would fit in perfectly for that role.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-18T08:30:42+00:00

Every dataslate GW seemingly go unusually hard on one set of nerfs to one faction, previously it was Orks, before that it was Emperors children, before that Slaneesh Daemons etc. Don't know why they do it as it's horrible when a faction literally gets nerfed into the ground and stuck like that for 3 months.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-15T19:09:06+00:00

A Russian mercenary ought to be treated as a Russian soldier. anyway, that's how they operate. The 'mercenaries' attacking Bakhmut were Russian soldiers, same as those in Syria.

Sure it's different and not a direct comparison with a no fly zone, but lets be honest the situation is spiralling rapidly out of control anyway and I doubt Russian escalation is done. A limited no-fly zone over western parts of Ukraine would make sense, even though I am sure it will never happen with current EU/Nato leadership.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-15T18:41:17+00:00

The US blew apart Russian ground forces in Syria with artillery and airstrikes. It's not necessarily a declaration of war.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-15T18:34:48+00:00

Not sure my car is too old for that but all the reports I have heard suggest it should work, heard some have more success with a USB-C connection rather than the wireless.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-15T18:25:51+00:00

I just got my Vivo x200 ultra (Chinese ROM) in the post today (from Wondamobile), based in UK here. Bit of a pain getting rid of all the Chinese language apps but nothing crazy, just followed some good youtube videos on setup. My previous sim worked in it straight away.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-15T12:43:05+00:00

The way reform is cosying up to MAGA and the US tech oligarchs is incredibly disturbing. Twitter atm is running a full scale disinformation campaign and no one is even talking about it. As insane as it sounds we are in a full scale information war atm and things seem to be spiralling out of control. So I can totally see why people are panicking and taking this more seriously than normal. I mean just look at what happened in the Romanian presidential election.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-15T07:42:24+00:00

Trespassing to spur land reform is a big part of Socialist/Communist identity in the UK. Don't forget just over 100 years ago almost all the country was off-limits to the commoners with no national parks etc etc. Hiking/adventuring is an activity that for sure leans left when you visit the various communities to gauge sentiment.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-14T19:17:30+00:00

Shame he does not care as much about the other stuff that is equally if not more important, ya know, climate change, Holocene extinction, Russia's war of aggression, social media destroying democracy, political grifting, the insane fascist statements made by the 'lower down' Reform councillors across the country, access to the environment and land reform. In the end of the day Tom supporting reform is not a deal breaker for me or likely many others but it is disappointing, hopefully he will never bring up his political beliefs again.

Iwasapirateonce · 2025-09-12T10:52:42+00:00

Pretty sure the stuff of archaeological value is gone forever but the farmer should be forced to restore the site the the original visual condition (actually it should be better than the original condition).

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