Printer Ink - Sorry How Much?

Its only when I started to realise how much I took printer ink for guaranteed, especially the price!  Clearly if it wasn’t for the invention of printers and ink for them architecture would take a lot longer to produce final portfolios for review.  But why on earth is it so expensive?

Ink cartridges are made out of a small amount of plastic, and have a chip which enables it to communicate with the printer.  Also the manufacturers add a few stickers to help you identify the cartridges.  The ink itself is also relatively cheap, being made from pigments and a splash of water to top up the cartridge.  So when looked closer it’s hard to see why on earth they are so pricey for what they are.

Thankfully to combat this there are places where you can purchase alternative cartridges (non-branded) or refillable cartridges can be purchased to lower overall costs.  However these are a bit unreliable at times.  When buying four or five new cartridges for your printer more than you would expect it would be cheaper just to buy a brand new printer.  But from personal experience maybe not because you have to buy the USB transfer cable separately.  Bit of a scam I think!

None the less I still printed sheets for my folio and will continue to because they are very necessary and handy for architects.  Just hopefully something will be done to change it.  Nice to see that Kodak are advertising how bad there pricing is!

Photos were taken from Kodak Adverts (GoogleImages).....more can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DGJMVeC-Yc

The Problem With The Indian Premier League

The IPL is one of cricket’s most exciting club competition providing masses of entertainment, energy and star players.  These days, Test Cricket is starting to fade into the background with the shorter Twenty 20 version of the game starting to take dominance, not with the older generation though.

Twenty20 is loved worldwide for its big hits, fiery atmospheres, large crowds and guaranteed entertainment for spectators.  This is due to it being shorter and therefore grips a larger audience tighter than 5 day Test matches ever could.

The IPL is an Indian league consisting of 10 professional franchises such as the Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.  Each franchise has an owner who bids for players.  The more money they have the better players they can buy to strengthen their teams.  Similar to the NFL draft but with whole teams and is re-auctioned every year.  The IPL was the first ever sporting competition to be broadcast live entirely on YouTube, due to broadcasting conditions.  However four years after the competition was first set up, it can now be seen on ITV4 in the UK and on several other channels around the world.

This competition has carried a lot of controversy and unfortunate events with it from the outset, from staging it in South Africa in 2009 due to electoral violence and crisis in India at the time, to players choosing to play for money rather than their country which I feel  is a terrible attitude to take.  Also the chairman has always received a lot of criticism from other board members due to again money reasons.

I feel the IPL is a great spectacle however for a sport which is supposed to be very traditional is having too much money being thrown at it, hence the controversy and the dislike from older members of society.  I think the concept should be re –considered and a half way house be constructed in its place.

"Royal Challengers Bangalore" their bought team

Players Love The Competition Despite Money??

Thousands of People Come To The Matches

"6's" Aren't Rare In This Format of Cricket

All pictures are taken from GoogleImages

Lanzarote 2011

After the stresses of Semester 2 thankfully the Easter holidays came along and so did the family holiday to the new location of Costa Teguise on the Canary Island of Lanzarote.  The 7 days in the glorious sunshine were a welcome change to the dull, quiet atmosphere of the CAD Suite. 

Not only was the weather very generous, but witnessing a new culture was a delight.  The architecture was very different and similar all over the island.  The locals were all incredibly friendly, including the taxi driver “Hola Amigo” or “Fernando Alonso” as we liked to call him – terrible driver.  To clear things up, we had the same driver three times…very spooky!  The sealife of Lanzarote was not only fresh and tasty but also stunning, for 3 days we went snorkelling in a man-made lagoon which would become enclosed by the tide.  You could paddle up to your ankles and have shoals of decent sized fish swimming around your ankles.  A truly unique experience to people used to the cold and kelp delights of the North Sea of Ireland.

As the holiday was all-inclusive, that meant breakfast…buffet, lunch…buffet, dinner…buffet, pool bar…buffet.  That also applied for drinks…any drinks! So that kept us all stuffed and refreshed.  Shame that only lasted a week in paradise.

As I mentioned earlier, the architecture was very different to that of the UK and was all very similar to each other in terms of style and aesthetic appearance.  This is due to legal law.  Cesar Manrique who is a local artist and architect thought that after the construction of Grand Hotel in Arrecife which stand 14 stories high that all residential builds should be no more than 2 stories high and commercial buildings no more than 7 stories high.  Also all buildings will be painted white and any timbers should be brown, blue or green.

Our hotel, Lanzarote Bay was wonderful.  Very clean, tidy, very friendly staff and the volume of food they kept churning out was incredible with great variety.  I would definitely recommend it to everyone.  Really hope to get to go again!

Glorious Sunny Day

Deckchairs at Night

The Gran Hotel, Arrecife

Snorkelling Lagoon





Typical Lanzarote Architecture

Slightly more contemporary

All photos are my own

Research Retreat Final Review

Today was the pin up day for our Research Retreat project.  Our main task was to design an artist’s retreat situated at Hospitalfield, Arbroath, which is an lready existing artists retreat. 

Compared to the Habitat project, this one has gone a lot quicker and I have felt that I gained valuable experience and knowledge from the Habitat project to carry forward into this one.

For the retreat, a great emphasis was put on trying to tie your design to the site as best as possible so the inhabitants can have the option of making best use of interior and exterior spaces.  I have looked into this and split between work and living using strips of solid structure and less solid void style strips, made from glazing.  My drawings I felt have risen in standard, as again I kind of know what reviewers are expecting to see in terms of content and standard.  Seeing other years’ work in the crit space has also helped me expand this knowledge.

Because of weather conditions we haven’t had a final review in our architecture careers, so I don’t know what to expect tomorrow.  But I am happy with my design, the work I have put in and how I have presented it all for my tutor and other reviewers.  I cant wait to find out what they think.

HooooOOOOO!!!

On Saturday 19^th Feb 2011, legendary DJ Jaguar “Jag” Skills performed at Dundee University Student’s Union.  A lot of hype was made for this event, with advertising starting weeks in advance.  Also the question of whether he would turn up or not was murmuring through the campus (anyone I know) as he was due to play Fresher’s Week but never showed.   At half past midnight, Jag Skills began…

Jaguar Skills is famously known for playing the character of a ninja. During his live shows he is dressed as a ninja with a full ninja mask so that only his eyes show.  Traditions which have been created around Jaguar Skills include the response to the words "Jaguar Skills" which should be met with "HoooOOO" by the crowd. His identity is also completely hidden and was originally only known by Trevor Nelson. Jaguar Skills also revealed his identity backstage to other BBC Radio 1 DJs Vernon Kay and Chris Moyles as well as the backstage crew at Keele University. His ninja costume is designed to add mystery to his persona.

The thing I love about Jag Skills is how in one night, in one mix you can hear the Super Mario theme tune, Chase and Status, Chesney Hawkes and Chemical Brothers.  Huge variety!

This continuous mix with the infamous air horn and Jag Skills commentator makes for a night of intense fun and craic leaving you exhausted and sweaty.  Yum!  His 2 hour performance made for me one of the best nights I have ever had at the union and have been hooked to his mixes on YouTube.  I really hope he comes back to Dundee to play again.

The Joys of Northern Ireland

Apart from location and company, another plus to going on holiday is the local culture and cuisine which we wouldn’t be able to encounter anywhere else.  Northern Ireland is famous for its Ulster Fry and fresh seafood.  However when I go there on holiday to visit family and our friends holiday home I am always dying to get my hands on a bottle of Club Orange and a bag of Tayto Cheese and Onion crisps.  Even though they aren’t the healthiest of foods I could love, the fact I can’t get them anywhere else makes me grasp any opportunity to have them when I can.

Club Orange was the first orange fruit juice to come on the market. Oliver Grace was the man who blessed the world with it arrival. He bashed those bits up to make it even better.  Club Orange made a brief appearance before the World War 2 and returned in 1945 when soft drinks began to develop in a big way, after the removal of wartime rationing. Club Orange was refined and sophisticated to its present quality which has endured ever since

Tayto is a major Irish crisps and popcorn manufacturer, founded by Joe Murphy in 1954. Tayto invented the first Cheese & Onion crisps as well as the process of the seasoned potato crisps.  Tayto crisps are a cultural phenomenon in Ireland,  and "Tayto" is sometimes used in Ireland as a synonym for crisps.

Recently my Dad has gained a lot of customers in Northern Ireland, therefore like a big kid any time he is over there on business I get the chance to indulge in Club and Tayto even when I’m not on holiday. Result!!

A Summer To Remember!

Unfortunately leaving school was a little bit more emotional for me, because I was a prominent member of the school pipe band (Dollar Academy).  Last summer was what made it such a special year to depart.  We were already Scottish Schools, Scottish, British and European Champions but that didn’t matter as the World’s was the one we all wanted to win.


At  the RSPBA annual World Championships on Saturday 14 August there were over 8,000 pipers and drummers from 16 nations on Glasgow Green, performing in front of more than 55,000 spectators – so many, that it took over an hour and a half simply to complete the entry of the bands into the arena for the march past finale.  We were competing in the Juvenile Grade (under 18’s), up against powerful international opposition, including bands from the USA and New Zealand, as well as more local contestants like Vale of Atholl, Johnstone and George Watson’s College.  This competition was massive for the band.


Preparation went well, and for me nerves were minute.  However as we approached the start line the nerves kicked up a gear.  It wasn’t our best performance of the season and tension lingered throughout the day as we had to wait 7 hours to find out the results.


Once inside the main arena as part of the mass bands the results were announced.  First Novice Juvenile, then 4B, 4A, 3B and 3A.  At this point I was a nervous wreck, nobody could stand still.  Juvenile was up next, but the name of th first place trophy was probably th longest ever which did not help the situation.


“The 2010 Juvenile Grade World Champions are…


…The…Dollar Academy!”




I don’t remember much after that, I think I cried and made a fool of myself jumping up and down but the moment meant so much to me and the rest of the band.  We were placed a clear two points ahead of Boghall and Bathgate Caledonia, and three ahead of the American St Thomas Episcopal band.  The defending World Champions, George Watson’s were crushed into 4^th place.


Not only was this the best day of my piping career, but probably the best moment of my life to date!


The Beginning of Our World Championship Winning Performance



Drum Corps

Our Reaction to the Result

Showing Off Our Victory



"THE" Trophy with a very long name

All photographs were taken by my Dad