Micro Blog

Latest news and views from our Social Network

Since Dec 2022 we have been running our own Mastodon server linked to the Fediverse. Social timelines are now in our own hands, not manipulated and free from trackers and intrusive advertisements!

And, what a breathe of fresh air the Fediverse has been. We have made many hundreds of new friends from around the world, mostly related to our mountain and nature interests.

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@[email protected] made a new post: "Been a busy year on the phone front. My current mobile set up 31st December 2025: Only phone with Sim card is a Unihertz Jellystar. This is small, convenient and sits easily in a pocket. Unfortunately, it's Google An...

Looking at this photo, now I realise that it's about time I got off my rear end and headed up into those lovely white snows. It's the best early season snowfall for quite some time, maybe 5+ years?

Got to take advantage whilst I can. Better get my head together and sharpen my mountaineering gear.

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Sat on the summit of Morrón de Enmedio 1080 metres eating our sandwiches and looking at the stunning Sierra Nevada rising above Granada. Stunning views, no wind, warm air (even the volcanic vent variety!) meant lightweight gear. A celebratory drop of anise at the top (traditional evidently) topped off a super day. Hard to believe that we are in the depths of winter.

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Here's a strange image from today's hike in the Sierra Elvira. No filters, no manipulation, nada! Shows a temperature inversion with the city of Granada appearing out of the gloom in the lower half of the image.

Above the inversion layer the Sierra Nevada mountains rise 3000 metres above the city and are in clear haze free air.

The 3 main summits of (L to R) Alcazaba, Mulhacén & Veleta are prominent.

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Just love those mountain days when the early morning cloud starts to dissipate and the light constantly changes thereafter. These are the Cumbres Verdes mountains just outside Granada

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@[email protected] posted [6] attachments: "The Hidden Lake, To Share or Not to Share? Water of a piercing blue, fringed by beaches of sand the colour of the Sahara. We were, of course, immediately captivated. A plan was formed. The secret was offered ...

I'm looking back today and find I'm missing the tranquility of those unknown hiking trails in Patagonia we frequented. The twisted and torn forests of lenga and birch. The not knowing quite what was round the next corner. A fitting tribute to I think


I am at the final stages of writing a book and am now looking for suggestions and recommendations for self publishing.

Preference is for smaller, more simple personal solutions rather than complex big tech ones, but at this stage I just need some ideas.


Post Christmas morning walk with the dogs. Arko looking quite pleased with himself, for some reason!

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@[email protected] made a new post: "Well that's a big relief. Upgraded my OnePlus6 from #postmarketos 25.06 to 25.12 without a hitch in accordance with https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Upgrade_to_a_newer_postmarketOS_release #phosh #linuxonmobile #li...

Short hike up the Rio Lanjarón and back to town via the Cecarta acequia. Short and sweet. Have a great festive period

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Early Christmas present from our local walking group. Says a lot doesn't it, especially the card, which reflects quite amusingly on some of my struggles and inability to find the correct route 🤣 🤣

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@[email protected] made a new post: "It's cold and a bit miserable outside so I've spent a few days setting up a local version of Classicpress (a less bloated Wordpress) to use purely as a CMS, which is then converted automatically into a static site for...

Is this good or bad? Which path is this?

One path leads to a future where wilderness is a gated asset, a serene backdrop for the ultra-wealthy and conservation becomes a luxury business.

The other leads back to the core principles of true ecotourism and public protection, where conservation benefits ecosystems and local communities, and awe-inspiring places remain for all.

reuters.com/sustainability/lan


Some of the most insane mountain photography ever from this amazing winter ascent of Cerro Torre by Colin Haley

colinhaley.com/cerro-torre-win


@[email protected] made a new post: "This is very tempting. The Lilygo T-Display P4 #LoRa for #meshcore or #meshtastic networks. Introductory video from Andy Kirby https://youtu.be/z6IOVYemF20?si=2H0NvYmJW2Uwp9ME"

@[email protected] made a new post: "Just tried @[email protected] chat decentralized calls between phones. Even worked well having a call with my linux based PostmarketOS OnePlus6 Thanks to @[email protected] for the heads up #chat #postmarketos #linux...

@[email protected] posted [2] attachments: "Patagonia’s Price Tag - When Conservation Becomes a Luxury Business I’ve spent five weeks recently in Patagonia, a place that embodies the very idea of pristine wilderness. But on recent visits, something has ...

After many previous failures incl managed hosts going out of business, I've finally got up & running on an old 2017 mini-pc from home

@richard

Allows me to do longer mountain posts with more images & also my grumpy ramblings & failings with technology, without clogging up this Mastodon feed.

As the introductory pinned post states "If you're a mountain person who loves tech (or a tech person who loves mountains), we probably have things in common."


@[email protected] made a new post: "Weekly GNU-like Mobile Linux Update (50/2025): No December Lull https://linmob.net/weekly-update-50-2025/ #linuxphones #phosh #postmarketos "

@[email protected] made a new post: "#Introduction - A new home for longer mountain ramblings & tech dabbling! After years on a managed Mastodon instance, I've finally jumped into the #selfhosted world! Say hello to my new personal #ActivityPub instance...

@[email protected] made a new post: "My home based #GoToSocial instance going well so far. Ok, I'm only 2 days in! Backups being done by Borgmatic (Borg) which seems to be very efficient once set up. Took me a while, but I got there in the end. https://...

@[email protected] made a new post: "Don't think I'll be watching. Rip off #WorldCup. Good article this #Football #Soccer https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/12/2026-world-cup-fifa-trump-gianni-infantino-donald-trump"

@[email protected] made a new post: "This is crazy. No recourse, no recovery. Account gone. Don't trust big parts of your digital life with big tech "20 Years of Digital Life, Gone in an Instant, thanks to Apple" https://hey.paris/posts/appleid/ #ens...

@[email protected] made a new post: "So this #Gotosocial instance is running on an old Zotac Zbox ID18 that I bought way back in 2018. It has 2gb ram and a 64gb ssd drive. Should be sufficient, I hope. I have quite a complex routing setup at home and I ...

@[email protected] made a new post: "Well I think I finally managed it after many false starts and, paid for hosting services going out of business etc. A GotoSocial instance running from my own server at home. I have great hopes for this so I shall be k...

Been a frustrating couple of days trying to install automatic webcam image capture & ftp upload to my website. Most programs are far too complex for this simple situation. Ended up with a simple python script. Doesn't help too when my computer wont stop sleeping, suspending or hibernating.

Then, one morning, all at once everything clicks and works fine 😀


In a few days I've gone from a southern hemisphere late spring/early summer to a northern hemisphere late autumn/early winter environment. Nowhere was this more evident than yesterday when hiking in the Vereda de Estrella, near Granada, approaching the north face of Alcazaba. Just glorious autumnal colours!

Walking

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Back after 3 days of travelling and last night slept the sleep of the gods in my own home. You can't beat nearly 10 hours solid sleep


@Ali just had a thought on the plane from El Calefate to Buenos Aires ... have you thought about contacting suppliers and see if they want gear testing in exchange for images and full on-trail reviews?


Looking out from Cerro Paredón near El Chalten towards the east over Lago Viedma to the mountains beyond. Horizontal lines of steppe, pampas, lake, mountains, cloud and sky. A few icebergs can be seen on the lake surface having broken away from the Videma glacier

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This is quite an unusual image that we didn't realise we had captured until later that day. This is the magnificent Cerro Torre summit in the late afternoon sun. We knew there were condors flying around but didn't expect to see a paraglider appear in the image too 🤣

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The story of our recent encounters with the Andean Condor

scribbles.page/patagonia-diari


The Condor approaching was anything but steady, tossed and jostled by the cliff-face turbulence. She was coming home to find her mate.

With an expert’s grace, she mastered the chaos. She lined up her final approach, adjusted her primary feathers with microscopic precision, and then, folded her wings and dropped like a stone, landing perfectly on a rocky perch just below our vantage point.

Short video of her coming in to land on the cliffs outside El Chalten