Having done a lot of work with elearning material over the years, it was fun to get back into it for a small job via the agency. SCORM wrappers needed to be added to nice looking html site to get it working in a Blackboard LMS.
All pretty straight forward really. Except it had been a while. So I got Google out and began a quick scout-around for new developments.

I was very happy to find Pipwerks.com, and its very useful collection of scripts and API hacks. Kudos there for making the API interactions a lot easier than 3 years ago.

Diversity in the Workplace

Today im getting a chance to do some exciting SEO stuff…. *yawn*

Im also busy trying to get http://www.beadnellbay.info up and running as fast as I can… its getting there.

So, to make it all a bit more fun, here’s a lovely song/video from Boards of Canda to brighten the day (linked via Charlie…thanks !)

In other news, I contacted the Magicseaweed guys and they kindly added Beadnell Bay, so we now have a forecast for the village !

http://magicseaweed.com/Beadnell-Bay-Surf-Report/992/

Also, this is awesome !!

http://www.underwatersculpture.com/

Half an hour on the harbour with the camera proved quite worth-while.

View from above

Harbour boats

Footprints

Marram interference

Lobser Pots with Kilns

Harbour tackle

Mooring ropes

Sand texture

Sailing Club yachts

There are bigger versions in the Beadnell Harbour Flickr set should you need them.

A weekend of drinking and water sports – in the freezing arctic winds – has left me somewhat destroyed.

Skimboarding at Beadnell Bay

Getting back to the desk and the safety of the internet landscape was pleasant, untill it all kicked off again.

Lobster Pot design for a business card

James has to hand in his final photography project on friday, and with the seagulls not playing-ball, i was roped in for an all-day photo-shoot and editorial profile to complete the job.

Then, I found out with a hugely sad heart that a good friend of mine from school, a fellow snowboarder, sailor, surfer and lover-of-life was killed in february whist cycling to work in Notting Hill.

Eilidh’s Memorial Ride from Giles Carlin on Vimeo.

The world is a more than a little worse-off without Eilidh Cairns in it. So sad.

And then then twenty minutes after finding out that news, this news arrived;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8035175.stm

Ben Southall is the new caretaker for the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia. Congratualtions Ben !!.

After last year and the trek around Africa (http://www.afritrex.com) he deserves some time off !.

I look forward to visiting….

Here’s the original Youtube clip for the job.

Some points from the last few weeks…

Banksy is still causing a storm, even without actually doing anything… http://www.flickr.com/photos/i_y_e_r_s/3418682416/

There are some great little surf-culture outputs being touted at the moment. Having seen Searching for Michael Petereson in Noosa recently, im kene to watch this – http://www.waveridersthefilm.com/

Whilst cruising about some surf-based sites and blogs, I found Point Never. This superb little art/surf/culture based Tumblelog is the work of Jimmy Newitt. I used to work at the University of Plymouth when Jim did his Visual Arts BA. Good to see he’s still being creative.

Surf Directory is a new site that’s looking to corner the UK surf market for travel and directory listings… we’ll watch with care.

Bikecar – superb little adventure if your into bikes and snowboards. Order the DVD online now – http://www.bikecarmovie.com/

The photos from the trip around LA I had are up on Flickr.

Zeus pulling it together

I got back into town just in time to see the Easter weekend at Beadnell. And much fun it was too, some fun little waves sunny and offshore. A great way to get back into UK living. Then it was straight down to Cornwall for a combined research trip and Stag weekend with an old friend. Needless to say it was a great weekend, despite there being no surf whatsoever in Cornwall.

The Stag, of course.

So, with the fun almost over for now, its time to get back and start making nice things again . There are a good number of websites in the offing and some video and social-media fiddling too.

And as a last note im going to try and split these posts up into more sizeable chunks !