Monday, October 8. 2018
On this episode of 'The Bushcraft Bothier' I deviate somewhat from my usual format of wild camping and visiting remote mountain bothies, to bring you a 101 on baking sourdough bread.
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Tuesday, October 2. 2018
A two-nighter at one of my favourite mountain bothies - where spoons were carved, cheeseburgers were munched and social anxiety was discussed.
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Monday, August 20. 2018
A two-nighter involving a wild woodland hammock camp followed by a bothy and a spot of unsuccessful fishing.
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Wednesday, July 11. 2018
A three day solo adventure involving me burning my fingers, wild camping and bagging my 100th bothy.
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Monday, July 9. 2018
Many moons ago I played bass guitar in a band called Jonestown. Recently I acquired a rare recording of our first ever gig at The Bongo Club in Edinburgh (circa 2003), where we supported The Starry Wisdom Cult.
All music and lyrics written and performed by Jonestown.
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Thursday, June 7. 2018
A three day solo adventure into the Scottish wilderness to scope out a couple of bothies and spend an evening wild hammock camping.
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Sunday, May 20. 2018
Creating an ember from friction using an elderberry bow drill.
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Sunday, May 13. 2018
'I'm Scared of It All' is a poem written by Robert William Service.
This poem is spoken through someone that feels trapped in "the haste and the waste of it all", meaning civilisation. The first stanza voices the speaker's distaste of the "terrible town" and all of the big flashy aspects of society. Then, in the second stanza, he talks of the solitude and rawness of different aspects of the wild and states, "I know that I'm safer up there". Throughout the third stanza, the reader gets a description of the unfriendly faces of society and how lonely the speaker feels despite the crowds surrounding him. This is followed by another stanza illustrating the highlights of nature and then two criticising society's materialism. In the final stanzas, the speaker concludes that, "nature is best after all" and decides to abandon civilisation for the wild.
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Monday, April 30. 2018
A circular five day hiking trip through Scotland's Cairngorms exploring the mountain bothies in the region.
Cairngorms National Park is located in northeast Scotland. Officially established as a park in 2003, it is Britain’s largest National Park and located within the heart of the Scottish Highlands. The park has a large upland plateau, and is categorised as a “protected landscape” which allows for limited development within its borders.
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Wednesday, April 18. 2018
Video documenting my April 2018 attempt of the Cape Wrath Trail.
The trail chewed me up and spat me out of course, but my unfinished business with this hike may be tackled again sooner than expected.
The Cape Wrath Trail (CWT) is a hiking route that runs through the Scottish Highlands and along the west coast of Scotland.
Depending on the route taken it can be well over 200 miles in length and is considered to be one of the most challenging long distance walks in the UK. Despite not being an officially recognised National Trail it has grown to be one of the most highly regarded backpacking routes, attracting hikers from around the world.
Officially the trail is not endorsed by the Scottish Natural Heritage and it is not waymarked or signposted. Facilities along the trail are also minimal and it covers some of the remotest parts of mainland Britain.
The CWT is also part of the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) and with many remote mountain bothies en route, it is a bothy bagging extravaganza.
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Thursday, January 4. 2018
Tuesday, November 7. 2017
Friday, August 25. 2017
A midweek trip to one of my favourite off-grid locations, where I attempt friction fire by bow drill for the very first time...
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Tuesday, July 4. 2017
Traditional fire-lighting skills at a remote Scottish bothy...
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Tuesday, June 27. 2017
A four day solo mountain bike adventure into wild and rural parts of Scotland, exploring bothies and places I'd never been to before...
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Saturday, June 3. 2017
With all intentions to spend a solo overnighter at a little lean-to shelter I recently built in the woods, disappointment quickly set in upon discovering that someone had torn it down...
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Thursday, May 11. 2017
The first stages of me building a little lean-to shelter at my bug out location...
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Wednesday, April 5. 2017
An overnight wild hammock camp in the woods, followed by an afternoon in search of a future bug out location...
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Sunday, March 19. 2017
Here's my latest video upload: an overnight recce at a new location. Topics up for discussion include Death, Scottish Independence, Misanthropy, the 'Alone' series, and the imagined joy of seeing Piers Morgan and Katie Hopkins being hit by a double-decker bus.
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Tuesday, February 28. 2017
I've decided to start video documenting my off-grid trips. Still much to learn with the filming and editing process - plus there's a few schoolboy errors in this episode - but the quality should improve with time and experience.
Here's a recent trip I took into the Scottish wilderness to spend a night at one of my favourite bothies...
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Thursday, February 16. 2017
The argument that you only use Facebook to keep in touch with your family and friends is a bullshit one. It's the same piss poor argument that you make by stating that you only read The Sun or Daily Record for the sports pages and TV listings - yet still you end up adopting the same skewed moral arguments that the newspaper presents to you. Somehow, their agenda has infected your weak and tragic little mind.
Wake up people! Delete your Facebook account. You are being psychologically profiled and socially engineered. The days of an open, free, progressive internet are over unless you learn how to use it and manipulate it properly. As Douglas Rushkoff would put it: "Program Or Be Programmed". This 10 minute presentation by Alexander Nix at the 2016 Concordia Summit demonstrates exactly why Rushkoff is entirely correct.
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Saturday, January 28. 2017
'John Anthony West (born July 9, 1932 in New York City) is an American author, lecturer, guide and a proponent of Sphinx water erosion hypothesis in geology. John Anthony West is today the leading authority and proponent of the 'Symbolist' school of Egyptology, an alternative interpretation of ancient Egyptian culture advanced by the French scholar and philosopher, R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz. In the Symbolist view, Egyptian architecture and art disclose a richer and more universal wisdom than conventional Egyptology has assumed.
'Filmed in New York, December 2016, a month before John was diagnosed with cancer. Please show your support for this great man and for his work by making a donation to his crowdfunding campaign.' (The John Anthony West Project website).
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Friday, January 27. 2017
'Punk icon and lead singer for the ground-breaking Black Flag and Rollins Band, Henry Rollins is also a journalist, author, publisher, actor, and globe-trotter. This multi-disciplinary performer calls on his extensive experience and talents as a spoken word artist to deliver a sometimes biting critique of some of the most controversial aspects of American culture. A skilled wordsmith, Rollins pulls no punches in his efforts to raise public awareness to the issues that concern him. An outspoken straight talker, he promises to deliver a hard-hitting and enthralling talk.'
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Monday, January 16. 2017
'A SpaceX rocket flew up, placed a set of satellites in orbit, and dropped back down onto a landing pad in a huge success for the company.
'The successful launch was extra-important because it came four months after a similar rocket went up in a huge fireball, sparking an investigation and potentially derailing Elon Musk's private space company's plans.
'The two-stage rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 9:54 a.m. carrying a payload for Iridium Communications Inc., which is replacing its entire global network with 70 next-generation satellites.
'The satellites were deployed about an hour after launch.
'About nine minutes after the rocket blasted off, to cheers from the control room, its jettisoned first stage landed upright on a so-called droneship in the Pacific Ocean south of Vandenberg - part of SpaceX's effort to make boosters reusable.
'SpaceX has succeeded six times previously with landings on a barge or ashore.
'A camera aboard the first stage gave viewers a you-are-there experience as it returned to Earth, flared landing rockets and made a perfect upright touchdown on the floating pad.' (Independent article).
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Friday, January 13. 2017
'Media theorist and documentarian Douglas Rushkoff weaves a mind-bending tale of iconography and mysticism against the backdrop of a battle-torn Europe.
'In a story spanning generations and featuring some of the most notable and notorious idealists of the 20th century, legendary occultist Aleister Crowley develops a powerful and dangerous new weapon to defend the world against Adolf Hitler's own war machine spawning an unconventional new form of warfare that is fought not with steel, but with symbols and ideas.
Unfortunately, these intangible arsenals are much more insidious and perhaps much more dangerous than their creators could have ever conceived.'
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Tuesday, January 10. 2017
'Former RT journalist Abby Martin has blasted the US intelligence agencies’ ODNI report along with the New York Times for publishing “egregious lies” about her and RT.
'The NYT article, titled: “Russia’s RT, The Network Implicated in US Election Meddling,” claimed that two RT anchors “quit during live broadcasts” as a result of RT’s propaganda, including Martin. The NYT also claimed that Martin said “the network [RT] is a propaganda outlet.”
'Speaking to RT on Monday, Martin addressed accusations that her work for RT was part of a Kremlin propaganda effort and explained how the NYT falsely reported on her resignation.
'“I’ve never actually gotten directions from Putin himself,” she joked, explaining she was simply “trying to present issues that affect Americans and their communities,” on her show, Breaking The Set, “like reporters in a vibrant democracy should be able to do.”
'“The New York Times is no stranger to false narratives,” Martin said, adding that the media outlet “latched on” to the ODNI report, despite admitting it contained no evidence. “The so-called paper of record,” Martin explained, “hadn’t even bothered to reach out” to her before publishing the story.
'In reality, Martin voiced her views over Russia’s involvement in Crimea during an episode of Breaking The Set. While her statements garnered global press coverage, Martin remained working for RT for a full year after her statements, continuing to voice her opinions and disagreements with Russia’s actions in Ukraine and in relation to the downing of Flight MH-17.' (RT article).
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Monday, January 9. 2017
As someone who utterly despises everything and anything to do with the dreaded Retailmas, I once again took to the wilderness for the safe and sane option of blissful isolation...
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Thursday, August 25. 2016
'What may have started as a science fiction speculation - that perhaps the universe as we know it is a computer simulation - has become a serious line of theoretical and experimental investigation among physicists, astrophysicists, and philosophers.
'Neil deGrasse Tyson, Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, hosts and moderates a panel of experts in a lively discussion about the merits and shortcomings of this provocative and revolutionary idea. The 17th annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate took place at The American Museum of Natural History on April 5, 2016.'
Note: It's amusing to watch scientists try and grapple with the simulation hypothesis. Consciousness rarely comes into their argument and they never question their assumption that there is an external reality in the first place (simulated or otherwise). A computational universe does not require the whole to be simulated continuously, but rather it is only the observed parts that need to be simulated. For example: if I look at a tree, the simulation of what is going on inside the tree is not required, until I chop down the tree and observe what's inside the tree. Then that part of the tree can be simulated for the consciousness observing it. Equally, if I don't observe the cells within the tree, then it doesn't need to be simulated until I pick up a microscope and see what is happening at the cellular level. In short, the computational nature of the universe does not need to be infinitely complex, it only needs to be as complex as the scope of what is being observed. Think 'procedurally generated universe' like the game No Man's Sky.
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Monday, June 13. 2016
'As we go about our daily lives, we tend to assume that our perceptions - sights, sounds, textures, tastes - are an accurate portrayal of the real world. Sure, when we stop and think about it - or when we find ourselves fooled by a perceptual illusion - we realize with a jolt that what we perceive is never the world directly, but rather our brain’s best guess at what that world is like, a kind of internal simulation of an external reality. Still, we bank on the fact that our simulation is a reasonably decent one. If it wasn’t, wouldn’t evolution have weeded us out by now? The true reality might be forever beyond our reach, but surely our senses give us at least an inkling of what it’s really like.
'Not so, says Donald D. Hoffman, a professor of cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine. Hoffman has spent the past three decades studying perception, artificial intelligence, evolutionary game theory and the brain, and his conclusion is a dramatic one: The world presented to us by our perceptions is nothing like reality. What’s more, he says, we have evolution itself to thank for this magnificent illusion, as it maximizes evolutionary fitness by driving truth to extinction.' (The Atlantic article).
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Friday, March 4. 2016
On January 12th, 2013, Rupert Sheldrake gave a talk entitled 'The Science Delusion' at TEDxWhitechapel. The theme for the night was 'Visions for Transition: Challenging existing paradigms and redefining values (for a more beautiful world)'. In response to protests from two militant materialist bloggers in the US, the talk was later taken down by TED and placed in a special corner of their website. Before it was removed from their main website it had had about 35,000 views. Since it was "banned" it has been seen by at least half a million people...
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