Anyway, I never take just one photo of anything, so really it's 365 subjects in a year (or so).

I might post one or two, if I ever use anything but my Touchpad to post with.

In fact, attached is one of the first shots... Click to see bigger

Is than statement actually right? Better late than never... I don't really know, that is to say, I'm not so sure.

For as long as I can remember I wanted to travel, see the world and take mind-blowing, history altering photographs during those travels. I still do, but now I have a family and my love for them, and my duty to them, tells me I can't travel around the world, putting myself in harms way. And, of course, there is the little issue of financing it all.

So, as is almost customary, when people get older, the kids grow up, pay for themselves and parents have more time and money to go travelling, which would make the better late than never come true. But I don't think late is good enough. Many people don't make it to late, they never get to do all he things they dreamed of, be it because of love, duty or finances. And if they do get to do the things they dreamed of, they are sometimes too late to really do or enjoy them.

I am 40, and I'm sure this is the beginning of a mid-life crisis, but I don't dream of sports cars, ear rings or tatoos. I don't want to look younger, find a younger girlfriend or anything like that. My problem is, I am happy (mostly) with my life, I love my family and would not like to change at all and yet, if I am asked on my death bed if I have regrets I would have to answer yes. I didn't follow my other dreams.

It's difficult, I really need two lives.

By the way, it's your own fault, I did warn you about the doom and gloom.

I always used to think that you had to be really old to mutter that statement out loud, but I was wrong!

I will complete this post later once I remember what it was I was going to write about...

I worry that my boys are getting way, way, way, way, way, way, waaaaay  too many presents. That's a lot of ways! We have just had trouble putting the kids to bed. I know it's been an exciting day but when one of them sits with half closed, tired eyes and screams at the top of his lungs that he is not going to bed and that he wants more presents then I think we have to re-evaluate our present present "strategy".

I think a few good toys are better than "stocking fillers" and teaches them not to be quite so greedy when they should be happy they didn't get a lump of coal and that they have a nice room already full of toys and aren't living in the cupboard under the stairs.

When the screams of dissatisfaction with the, in my opinion, rather huge amount of presents they've received today was at it's peak, I was reminded of Dudley from the Harry Potter books when he basically blackmail his parents by having a temper tantrum until they buy him a few more presents so that he gets more than the previous year.

I do not want kids like that so I am going to have to explain to them the benefits of not being quite so greedy, followed by a demonstration of the usefulness of a lump of coal.

My wife and I are lucky, we really are. We have two fantastic boys, lovely family close by, nice friends, we're both making a reasonably decent living (still) and we have a reasonably nice house, we have a couple of cars that are drivable and we have one or two gadgets and toys. You would think that would be enough, but somehow its not.

I can't really explain why it's not, but we both have a feeling of basically not being satisfied, which is odd. So what might be the reasons for this totally unreasonable feeling? Well, we see people around us in bigger houses, they appear to be doing better, they appear better organised and appear to have more time for the nice times in life.

This, I believe, is a major failing of modern life, this feeling of not being satisfied, and I think it stems from the pressure of consumerism gone a bit bonkers. When, for example, did it become a leisurely past time to go shopping, or shop on the internet?

I think it's time to simplify our lives, make them less busy with irrelevant and useless projects and past times. However, in order to do that we have some hurdles to overcome, which means more projects. Typical!

Alright, calling this post "The future" might have been a little over the top. Instead, "New years resolution" would probably have been better... So here it is; I will almost entirely stop spending time on non-beneficial projects and spend almost all of my valuable spare time on projects that matter to me, my family and friends and to the new lower standard of living we're all going to have to get used to. In other words, ask "do we/I really need that?" before purchasing, if something is not broken beyond repair, don't replace it, do my sons need 10 trillion toys that clutter up our small house?, do I?, do the job today, get more sleep, get healthier, become happier and so on. Oh! Always ask; am I spending my time the best possible way I can right now?... Now there's a question. Goodnight!

I have many years of schooling in photography, I have a degree, some experience and I still have a passion for photography, however, I find that life is getting in the way somewhat.

I think it was in Harry Potter where Hermoine had a time gizmo that allowed her to be in in several places at once, which let her do lots more in the time she had available... I wonder if I can get one?

Trouble is, I want my cake and eat it. I want to keep my hobbies, play football, take the kids to their things, reluctantly do DIY, play a game occasionally and so on... And oh yes, then theres work which takes up 40 hours a week of my time and 20 hours of my wifes time, in shifts, so that's at least 3 evenings a week gone.

Thing is, I know I have the skills, I have proved that, but I can't find the time to do the required work to get the business going.

That's a lot of whining I know, but it bugs me, so if anyone have some encouraging words I'd sure like to hear them.... Not that anyone reads this blog anyway.

Now, where did I put those happy pills?

Like all kids here he started school at 4-5 years old. I strongly disagree with the school system on that one. I'm from a country where school doesn't start until the child is 7. Let me explain...

The kids in Denmark, when they leave school, are every bit as good at reading, math, physics, etc. The are every bit as clever as the kids are here, and that's with three years less in school. Why is that, simple, they start school at an age where the kids are mentally ready, and mature enough, to take in what is being taught. Here, my son is already tired of school simply because his reading age is 6 years and 4 months, rather than 6 years and 9 months. That means he needs support in school, we need to spend more time reading at home, when all he wants is to play, like any kid his age.

The kids here go straight from school, to A levels, to university, even though university is an entirely different world, and at 18 years of age, they are simply not ready. School is all about repetition, university is all about forming your own opinion, creating your own research... And so on.

This is a little like the tortoise and the hare, the English educational system being the hare.

So why is the system like this, because it's not for the best of the kids? Well, who benefits, society benefits because parents are able to return to work sooner, as the kids are off to school. Parents benefit for the same reasons and because school, for the most part, is paid for by the state. Society also benefits because the youngsters join the working populace sooner and is paying tax much sooner than in Denmark.

I just don't agree...