Just discovered a self-hosted php/mysql url shortening tool – Yourls – which is giving me some ideas about a shorturl/permalink service for the museums sector, prompted when Flickr wouldn’t let me either post the full link to an image on the Imperial War Museum collections database, nor let me post a bit.ly or tinyurl shorturl.

Anyway, this is just a test to see how it works, and the WordPress widget to automatically post to Twitter (a bit crazy testing it with a domain the length of catchingtherain.com of course!).

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Another experimental panorama, this time at the Imperial War Museum. Most of the main attractions are set as highlights, but Microsoft Silverlight is very frustrating in that it doesn’t allow users to hover over something in the scene and find out more. In fact it’s not very good at displaying information at all – I’d have thought it would at least show captions from the titles and descriptions that you set!

Wait a little while and it should automatically go through the highlights, or just click on the thumbnails to the right (again, there must be something not quite right with a piece of software if you have to give people guidance on how to do the basics!)

I’d suggest opening full screen for maximum impact, or see the original on photosyth.net

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We went down to visit our friends Karen & Ian over the Bank Holiday weekend. As we went to leave it was glorious weather imaginable and it was a wrench to get away, but I had to quickly pop up the hill and shoot an experimental panorama, which I’ve stitched and uploaded using Microsoft tools for the first time.

If you don’t have Microsoft Silverlight you’ll have to install it, but it’s easy (just click on the button) and I think it’s worth it!

You can see the full version here, or better still click on the full-screen button to the right of the [-] & [+]

For the technically minded, this was stitched together from 3 rows of 18 portrait format images shot handheld (no tripod) at 70mm 1/320th f8 ISO200 on a Nikon D300. Stitching was done using Microsoft Image Composite Editor and uploaded, hosted and embedded (including highlights feature) on Microsoft Photosynth.

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A test of the Android WordPress application and postings from my mobile. Neat!

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I was recently prompted to pay a long overdue visit to the Horniman Museum, round in Forest Hill, south east London. So last Sunday morning Oliver and I set off for the day.

Wow, it had changed incredibly since my last visit, back in the days when I was working on plant uses in the Centre for Economic Botany at Kew (my first job at Kew). With brand new galleries, a new aquarium, and the temporary travelling exhibition Myths and Monsters (from the Natural History Museum team) it proved to be a great day out.

Myths and Monsters

Even the old natural history galleries, where one is rather fittingly invited to ‘step back in time’, provided some engaging displays; for examples skeletons of apes and early man, together with moulds of brain sizes, give a stark reminder of how we have evolved. Somehow these rather erudite displays seem suitably complemented by the over-stuffed walrus
which takes pride of place in the middle of the gallery.

At the Horniman the theme of culture is a constant one, and we found ourselves watching videos of brass shields being made in Benin, looking at mummies from Egypt, and gazing at the most amazing displays packed full of musical instruments of all shapes and sizes (with a nice little side room where you can try some out, though not the expensive guitars, much to Oliver’s disappointment!).

I shouldn’t forget the gardens. It was hardly the best time of the year to visit a garden, nor was the weather on our side, but it’s good to see that they have just got nearly a million pounds of Lottery money to carry out an extensive refurbishment, including rebuilding the bandstand (from where you get amazing views looking north over central London).

He’d hate me for saying this, but whether it was the stepping back in time, the change in surroundings, or simply a rare chance for us to spend one-on-one time together, Oliver was transformed from ’12 year old going on 18′ into the studious scholar, to the point where half the time he was telling me what things were!

Just goes to show the power of museums of all shapes and sizes, and you don’t get much wider a range of exhibit than the Horniman – well worth a visit, with a wide appeal to everyone.

Check out their website and their Facebook page

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I’m always wary of technology for technology’s sake, but not only is this a fantastic technical feat and a high quality image, it’s also delivered via a rather slick interface …

Gigapixel image of Paris from http://www.paris-26-gigapixels.com

Paris 26 Gigapixels – Interactive virtual tour of the most beautiful monuments of Paris.

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My experiment with Augmented Reality (AR) at Kew has just been featured on the Layar blog …

It uses the Porpoise PHP to deliver the xml-based API, and reusues images and content from the www.kew.org/trees website that I managed.

It has also had a mention on cnet.co.uk and csmonitor.com

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Google today have a Doodle for Kew Gardens’ 250th birthday, and the Queen is paying a visit.

Kew's Google Doodle celebrating its 250th anniversary

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Last Thursday I launched the Hull Trawler Challenge, featuring 70+ images of life on board two Hull fishing vessels from c. 1910.

It’s been a great success. We’ve narrowed down the dates, identified some more of the ships, and even had someone come forward who could well be the grandson of one of the men featured.

On top of that, there’s been a feature in the Yorkshire Post, they’ll be pieces in several magazines next month, and tomorrow I’m being interviewed for the BBC Look North regional TV programme.

All good fun!

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Just a quick ‘heads up’ to say that on Thursday I’ll be launching the Hull Trawler Challenge to tie in with the Who Do You Think You Are? Live exhibition at London Olympia, where I’ll be helping out Pauline Prynne on her stand. Here’s a little preview…

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