Wednesday 12 November 2014

A new toy


I walked past a charity shop yesterday and saw this in the window, so - at £4 - I thought I would buy it.

Of course, it was missing the driver installation disc, but that would only have worked on a P.C. anyway, so I shelved it for the night (and started getting all philosophical instead - it was something I heard on the radio, btw).

In the process of trying to download a Mac-friendly system to use it, I came upon - eventually - a forum which told me that the ordinary 'Photo Booth' on this Mac will run it, so I plugged it in and tried again. Hurrah. It worked.

It is only a kid's microscope, so the quality isn't brilliant, but this is what my dead pet Damsel Fly looks like at 20X. It goes up to 350X, but the image quality becomes too horrible to make it worthwhile.

More time to be wasted.


35 comments:

  1. Sherlock. All I need now is the right hat.

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  2. You were listening to crap radio. If you'd had tv on you could have listened to the top 20 Queen records of all time.

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  3. You certainly didn't have any trouble getting intimate with your dead pet Damsel fly !!
    I was watching Portrait Artist of the Year when Tom was getting high, Rachel !! XXXX

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  4. It was a bargain. If you can be bothered try taking lots of images and stacking them in Zerene Stacker. It costs a fortune but they will lend it you for a month.

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    1. PS. I think a bit of it's leg fell off. If you want to sell it let me know.

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    2. There are about three on eBay right now for about £25 - including software. Best get one of those, Adrian. Half of its arse fell off, and maybe a leg or two which I have only just noticed thanks to Bresser and the Meade Corporation.

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    3. Oh, wait a minute - if you want a bit of the leg, then I can do it for £7 plus postage.

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    4. I'll pass; thanks all the same.

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  5. If you require any dead Hornets, or Wasps, just let me know...

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    1. Rachel supplies me with swarms of live ones, thank you.

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  6. I was going to wonder if, having got your money's worth, the charity shop might buy it back. At a discount, of course. But it seems Adrian would take it off your hands, too.

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    1. See my response to Adrian - £40 new, but £20 used.

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  7. I worry that the Compact but Adorable is becoming full of dead insects and stuff.

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    1. I am going to carry out a sperm count on myself soon - you know, spot the mutants swimming around with one or two active ones with only one tail, that sort of thing.

      If anyone wants to give me a hand with the experiment, then just say the word. You have my email.

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. Removing the biological evidence, eh?

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    4. I changed my mind about saying what I said.

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    5. That's what I thought. Spooky, eh?

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    6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    7. You didn't carry out your threat of giving up the demon drink, I see.

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    8. You were drunk at the time of your comment which was taking the piss and i was sober when i replied this morning.

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    9. Whatever, but could you stop hi-jacking potential conversations by telling me to fuck off on someone else's thread, please? If you want to do that constantly, then at least make your own comment and stop scaring away other people who don't want to get involved in your rantings.

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    10. Any future abuse or anti-social disruption should be sent to: tjstephenson@talktalk.net, then I can ignore it in peace.

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    11. That's right delete the bit you don't want anyone to see.

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    12. I will, don't fret about that.

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  8. It is only a couple of days since I accused you of having an eye for a pretty girl and here you are keeping pet damsel flies - am not sure what to make of it all.

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    1. Neither am I, Weave. I feel a tight-rope under my feet.

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  9. when I first saw the photo I thought it was a room heater - which would probably be more useful

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    1. That was one of the lamest responses to a comment I have ever given. I must have been drunk.

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  10. Size and proportions are everything. I thought it was a an outdoor heater.

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