All posts by Oikofuge

George J. Marrett: Cheating Death

Of the eight pilots in the rescue force, three would be killed on rescue missions in the next three months and one would be shot down and survive. A fortune-teller could predict that real bad days lay ahead for the 602nd squadron. I’ve written about George J. Marrett before, when I reviewed his third volume … Continue reading George J. Marrett: Cheating Death

Tertiary Rainbows, etc

In my last two posts about rainbows, I discussed the formation of the primary and secondary rainbows, respectively, tracing their origins to specific light paths through falling raindrops. The primary rainbow ray follows a path like this:For a raindrop at the apex of the rainbow arc, sunlight enters near the top of the drop, bounces … Continue reading Tertiary Rainbows, etc

Sharkit 1/72 Edgley EA-7 Optica: Part 1

This is a resin-and-vacuform kit of the extraordinary Edgley Optica, an aircraft I’ve wanted to model for a while. The Sharkit kit is the only one currently available, though there has been a cycle of rumour and hint from other manufacturers for a while.* It’s pretty basic, to the point of being sparse. Below, you … Continue reading Sharkit 1/72 Edgley EA-7 Optica: Part 1

CCCP 2020: Mona Gowan & Morven

Scraulac (NJ 314056, 741m) Cairnagour Hill (NJ 325056, 743m) Mona Gowan (NJ 335058, 749m) Mullachdubh (NJ 354057, 681m) Morven (NJ 376039, 872m) 17.9 kilometres 800 metres of ascent The Crow Craigies Climbing Party’s meeting for 2020 was cancelled during the Current Unpleasantness. But the three founding members, now into our fifth decade of chuckling and … Continue reading CCCP 2020: Mona Gowan & Morven

Anthropause

ˈænθrɒpɔːz Anthropause: The period of reduced human mobility brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic Over the past few months, many countries around the world went into lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19. Brought about by the most tragic circumstances, this period of unusually reduced human mobility — which we suggest be coined ‘anthropause’ — … Continue reading Anthropause

Arthur Conan Doyle In The Arctic

It is bloody work dashing out the poor little beggars’ brains while they look up with their big dark eyes into your face. Arthur Conan Doyle, Arctic diary entry, 3 April 1880 In February 1880, a third-year medical student from Edinburgh abandoned his studies, temporarily, to sign on as the ship’s doctor of the S.S. … Continue reading Arthur Conan Doyle In The Arctic

Fantastic Plastic Space Station V: Part Three

By the end of my previous post in this build log, I had my Space Station V model almost completely assembled and coated with primer. I decided to keep the station in two halves for ease of painting—the rings would mutually block access to each other once assembled. The first decision was to settle on colours … Continue reading Fantastic Plastic Space Station V: Part Three

Glen Isla: Mayar From The Southwest

Finalty Hill (NO 212750, 905m) Mayar (NO 240737, 928m) 22 kilometres 820 metres of ascent After more than a hundred days in Covid-19 lockdown, the Oikofuge was finally permitted to live up to his nom-de-blog again, and head for the hills. I’d noted the accessibility of Mayar from Glen Isla last year, during a previously … Continue reading Glen Isla: Mayar From The Southwest