Ceud Mìle Fàilte
Thank you for dropping-by, I hope you enjoy your visit. The main content is to be found in the blog, where I discuss everything and anything, but, topics including: photography, nature, technology, food, movies, music, politics, and life in the Highlands of Scotland, make regular appearances.
I commonly write reviews of movies (or films, if you prefer). Some movie reviews are short, others will be discussed in more detail. The scope covered will be mainly mainstream English language movies from the 1930s until the present day.
About me
My name is Iain MacDonald, and I live in the Highlands of Scotland (although I have lived elsewhere in the past). I use Fitheach as my online pseudonym, on this website, on Mastodon, and on Matrix. I am a big fan of Free & Open Source Software, which I use both professionally and at home.
Computing and technology tend to infuse themselves into my other interests, as once you learn some skills in one area it is convenient to use them to solve problems in other spheres.
When not tinkering with computers, I am likely to be found repairing things because living in the countryside you learn to be resourceful.
Of course, man doesn't live by SSH tunnels and kerosene vapour burners alone, so, food, as a subject, makes regular appearances, too.
My latest Life articles
My most recent ramblings can be found in the Life section.
My latest Mastodon posts
Mastodon is a microblogging app that is part of the decentralised web known as The Fediverse. See this article for more details.
Fitheach
Mon, 17 Aug 2026 18:54:04 +0000
Why does no-one use cant hooks in the UK?
They seem to me to be a sensible tool when rolling very large logs.
Smaller cant hooks are available that are attachments on felling levers. However, these are way too small for my requirements.
The hook (also a peavey) in the photo is the only suitable one I can find. It is from a no-name brand, and I'm concerned that it might be too fragile. I would feel more secure if it was a reputable brand. Wood-Mizer is available at a v. high price.
Sun, 16 Aug 2026 10:03:25 +0000
The media aren't allowing the whole "Farage didn't attend the count" story to subside. Claims are made and claims are refuted.
Essex police, as reported by The Standard, released a statement which included this description of their activities on polling day:
"We visited all 51 polling stations, our officers were out and visible on foot, in vehicles and our drone team patrolled by air.”
I wonder what the "drone team" do the rest of the time.
Sat, 15 Aug 2026 18:25:29 +0000
My favourite webpage content:
Sat, 15 Aug 2026 15:08:08 +0000
I've just stumbled across something whimsical, and I love it.
It is a package called xcowsay. Its sole purpose is to display some text in the form of a speech bubble, coming from a graphical cow. For example:
~$ echo this is awesome | xcowsay -t 50
produces the output shown in the screenshot. A typical usage would be displaying text from the fortune package.
If you prefer, there is a terminal version called cowsay, that draws an ascii-art cow.
Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:22:49 +0000
Fascinating!
I've just watched the BBC's Steve Rosenberg interview Dmitry Muratov (co-founder Novaya Gazeta). Rosenberg asked what Russian public opinion was of the war in #Ukraine, now that the fighting has entered it's fifth year.
Muratov replied that it was impossible to gauge because independent journalistic voices had been silenced by declaring them enemy agents. Additionally, mass meetings & demonstrations are banned because of COVID.
Nothing like a a plague to silence dissent.
Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:19:07 +0000
I kind of made a similar comment 8 years ago. Does that mean I'm repeating myself? 😃
https://mstdn.io/@fitheach/100570756428604231