Sunday 2 July 2017

Liverpool

Liverpool -view from Formby beach.

Ionic Star June 2017



Sunday 20 July 2014

Sefton Coast

I am very fortunate to live near the Sefton Coast, I have found the more that I explore it there more there is to discover. The ship wrecks hold a particular fascination, some are always out of reach, some become accessible at times. The shifting sands and tides, not to mention the weather mean that no two visits are ever the same. I always have a longing to get closer, to find more. Here are some photographs from a group walk organised by the Sefton Coastal Partnership Scheme, 16th July 14

The sands can be very dangerous, and should not be attempted with out an experienced guide. Martyn Griffiths in well known as an expert and his website has much fascinating information on these ships.

Ionic Star - Formby, Shipwreck



Ionic Star - lost 1939. No fatalities

Ionic Star - lost 1939 - was inbound from Brazil


Ionic Star - lost 1939 - Picture 16 July 2014

Bradda, Formby, Shipwreck

Five of the Six Crew Drowned, 1936. Pic 16th July 2014
The wreck further out, top left is the Ionic Star.

 

Pegu, Formby, Shipwreck

Got stuck in 1939, all crew and passengers rescued.
 Not so accessible, without a micro-lite?

Saturday 19 July 2014

Sefton Coast

Dune Hellibourne and Masked Crab


The shipwreck walk has the bonus of exports to point out many things of interest, and my first sighting on the nationally rare Dune Hellibourne Orchid and a Masked Crab
Masked Crab (Corystes cassivelaunu)

Dune Hellibourne (Epipactis dunensis)

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Printing Block

A Printing Block





A friend recently purchased a printing block as a gift, before it was passed on I had the opportunity to scan it. It shows the Marine Lake at Southport. If you zoom in you can find references to bandstands, the Victoria Hotel, Victoria Baths etc. It is not known where the block was used, or when - any ideas?


Sunday 28 February 2010

A Review of Android Sports Tracking Applications

Having recently moved from a Nokia phone to Android I was keen to see what applications exist for keeping track or jogging and how they compared to Nokia Sports Tracker. Good news! There are loads of great applications, largely free - with the sort of features that would have seemed unimaginable a few years ago. GPS tracking, voice coaching, online communities, live tracking, social network integration... all from the phone in your pocket. Some of the websites have rich user communties, supporting tracking of a range of sports.

These are the ones I have found that run on my Motorola DEXT (Cliq). I have tried to sort the features into a table, it is hard to pick a favourite as there are so many great apps to pick from. Thanks to all those who have made these apps available.

Feature Table
Feature Table


Applications, in alphabetical order

Cardio TRAINER (Beta)
http://www.worksmartlabs.com/
The application, and website are very polished with a really attractive user interface. The application is free and includes a High Scores feature which lets you compare yourself with other users.
The free version has all you need to record your workouts and upload to the web. It features music integration and voice announcements that you can set to give a voice prompt against distance or duration.
There are add in utilities for “Weight Loss” and “Race Against Yourself” , they can be tried for seven days before you need to purchase at $2.99 each. Race Against Yourself is fantastic – you select a previously run track and get voice (and visual indication) of how you are doing compared to the previous run.
Once you start the app it puts an icon on the notification bar which makes it easy to get back to the app if you switch to a different application.
The web interface keeps record of tracks over the last seven days and a running total. You can review workouts as a route on map and see date, calorie, speed, height, distance and data.

You can export tracks as GPX or KML for Google Earth and details of workouts to Excel.

It does not keep a record of personal bests, you can share tracks via email. Currently there is no Twitter integration but will share with Facebook if you install the CardioTRAINER application from your Facebook account.
A unique code available from the Settings screen of CardioTRAINER allows access to the web data without the need to create or set up an account.
The team are working on improving the accuracy of the beta version. I noticed the recorded distance does depart from the actual route distance. I ran a four mile route, which was reported as 4.4 miles, the other apps all reported 4 miles.
Verdict:

Pros: Really slick, lots of features, easy to use
Cons: Needs a tweak for accuracy. And lacks Twitter integration their blog hints both are to come soon.

Endomondo from www.endomondo.com
This is an application from a community based GPS tracking site and is fully featured. One novel feature is that of "peptalk" where a person can type in a message on the website, and you get it delivered through your headphones whilst out running. It has audio feedback which is independent of the Android OS. Unlike SportsTracker it doesnt create a list of personal bests but is very slick with a host of features. Sadly selecting map view leads to a force close on my Dext but its fine on a Pulse, both on Cupcake. Endomondo have promised to look at this.

Verdict

Pros: Excellent - free, lots of features, impressive website
Cons: Doesn't track Personal Bests

JogTracker from www.jogtracker.com
This application performs exactly as described, you create an account at Jogtracker.com and upload the tracks. It works well and is simple to use.

Verdict

Pros: Free, functional - works as described
Cons: Not many features compared to some other applications
This application is free and allows you to record a track, and see real time statistics. You can upload to a Google Map or to Google Documents or but it lacks some of the sports based statistics and analysis of Cardio TRAINER and Sports Tracker. It has nice features, works well but its strengths feel more like integrating with Google Maps than being a sports app. The user interface is again good, less "cartoon style" than the others, it feels very professional.
Verdict
Pros: Free, feels refined and polished
Cons: Not as many features for the runner as the other applications
runstar ™ FREE
This application is from http://www.runstar.se/ and like Cardio TRAINER has the promise of more to come. At version 0.8 there is still no ability to upload to the web, but the website and Twitter suggests it wont be too long. At the moment Free Run is available with options for Time Run, Distance Run and Pace Run “coming soon”. The user interface is very slick – and easy to use on the move. It doesn’t feel like an Android app, it doesn’t use the Menu key, it looks more like an iPhone application, the runstar FAQ even has an entry on this. It is very attractive, in the results section the map is nicely done with times shown on 1 mile markers. With web upload and the other features to follow this is one to watch
Verdict:

Pros: Very attractive and intuitive
Cons: Not as fully featured – still a lot in development

Sports Tracker

Sports Tracker is from http://www.sportstracklive.com/ The website lets you upload tracks from a variety of devices and has lots of great features. I was able to save my Nokia Sports Tracker workouts as a GPX file on the handset and then upload them to my new account.
You can play tracks back, see lots of statistics, interact with others and my favourite feature is that it identifies and keeps track of Personal Bests, a table of 15 bests against time and distance. The web also keeps a record of the weather, temperature and wind speed.
The application on the phone is free, and will record and keep track of workouts on the handset, in order to upload them you need to subscribe, at £5.99. I was so impressed it became the first app I have paid for. I emailed a support question and got near simultaneous help.
The app has a more simple and functional interface than Cardio TRAINER or runstar. I found it easy and intuitive to use. It doesn’t feature Music integration but it puts an icon on the notification bar so its quick and easy to get back to Sports Tracker if you switch to another application. It has Voice Notifications but it does this by hooking into the Android OS and you need version 1.6 or higher. My phone is 1.5 and so I can’t use this feature but Cardio TRAINER implements voice differently and works regardless of the OS version.
It integrates with both Twitter and Facebook, you can determine what it Tweets from Start, Finish and new PB. A "tweet" has a link to the workout, example:
It has a Live Track option too, so people can see where you are in real time.
Verdict:
Pros: Easy to use, all the data you could possibly want on the web, lots of features
Cons: Voice Notification not supported on earlier Android phones, subscription needed for web data.

Sunday 25 January 2009

Star of Hope Shipwreck

Ainsdale Shipwreck

Wrecked in 1883 - Ainsdale, crew of 9 survived.
Photographs taken Jan 25 2009