Mainly Victorian…but getting there.

How has technology changed your job?

Change? What’s that?

I work on the railway, in many aspects there has been a technological change especially in the development of new rolling stock and safety aspects.

However where I am in the East Midlands we still use an awful lot of Victorian technology, and yes you travel over it every day especially if you use the line that goes between Leicester and Peterborough via Melton Mowbray. Here we have signal boxes that still use Absolute block technology with the signallers using bell codes to communicate. The signalling is the Victorian semaphore signal type and the signal boxes all have large amounts of levers to pull using a wire and pulley system to activate the signals. Most of the boxes themselves are listed buildings and can’t be renovated in any way, yes some of them are getting on for 150 years old.

In my job I spend an awful lot of time on this line, I must admit it is very safe and quite reliable, however sometimes the system has issues that need attending and due to a lot of parts being widely unavailable due to the systems age, this is when the new technology gradually gets implemented. It’s taking time but as they say on the railway….

We’re getting there.

Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but who knows when.

Don’t ask me 🤷‍♂️

We’re getting there.

Have a happy and safe day.

Eh…. Not often

How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?

Yes/No

To be honest my Mañana / Procrastination gene has gone into a higher gear in the last few years and I must admit I’m extremely indecisive as well. My goals, or the few I have had, have pretty much been achieved and I’m in a sort of “I don’t give a damn” cruise mode at the moment.

I don’t like saying no to anyone really, it’s just not me and I guess that’s probably why I find my place in society as one of those little worker ants rather than a high achiever. I could have done better, a common statement since school and throughout my adult years.

It kind of breaks me in two to use the word “No” and to be honest I can’t, hand on heart, say that the word has ever featured to as much as restrict my goals or accomplishments in life.

I’m ok, and I’m happy with my lot. Maybe I was just not brought up to say it. Maybe putting restrictions on demands and saying “Yes, but!” Draws a line in the sand instead, and that’s probably as close to the word “No” as I tend to get.

Probably why I’m so damned knackered 😴

Happy day all. Stay safe.

Build your own IONIC Plasma Thruster – NASA secret design

What I really love about technology is that there are some damned clever people out there prepared to push the boundaries. This guy on the Skill Make site took on the challenge to build a NASA inspired IONIC plasma thruster as a DIY experiment.

DIY at its finest

These guys are just way out there when it comes to tinkering. There is no way I’d even consider or even know what the hell i’d do in these situations. But I’m so glad there are people out there doing these really random way out there things that impress the hell out of me.

This is one of those situations. Enjoy.

Is Apollo 11s Lunar module still in orbit around the moon?

In 1969 Apollo 11 completed the first successful landing of the human species onto another celestial object, our moon. We all know that part of the lander is still on the moon but the section of the “Eagle” that took both Armstrong and Aldrin back up to Michael Collins orbiting above in the Columbia module, could to this day still be orbiting the moon. This video by Scott Manley explains how an amateur space fan has used online tools to predict orbits and the potential position of the discarded “Eagle” 55 years later.

Is the Eagle module still orbiting the moon?

I love articles like this, for someone who was a child of the space race era, it is still a fascinating subject to this day.

A gaming device in a tin. How quaint…

Being one of those from the Ham radio community there was always a fascination with putting a Morse code transmitter into a disused Altoids tin (Other tins are available). Here and now though we have a gaming device that can fit in the same tin. Worth visiting Git hub via the link to see the actual boards and the plans for making this a kit version. I’ve signed up, let’s wait and see what happens.

A Cute Handheld Gaming Device That You Can Build In An Altoids Tin

Mr. Twelftree

Who was your most influential teacher? Why?

My School was Little Reddings in Bushey Hertfordshire. In year three and for the year following this, one man became the individual who i class as being the most influential person I have ever met in my life. Even stealing that title from my own father. I’ve written of him before but because WordPress is so repetitive with its daily quotes I’ll just post a link here from a previous post from back in 2024 and 2023.

My Primary school teacher
Me Twelftree – you legend

Have a wonderful day.

Todays Mantra

Simple:

Simple and straight to the point

Have a super day

Deep thinking it’s a burden, or is it?

As I wrote earlier today in this post, Strange dream I touched on the fact that I tend to overthink things, in fact I’m a full blown professional at it. And then, this post appears from the team at Anxiety unplugged project, and it has me thinking about it even more. But on a more positive level.

The Burden of Deep Thinking: Why Great Minds Wrestle with Anxiety
Excellent info as always

Not saying I’m a great mind at all, but some times it’s nice to blow smoke up your own tubes 😂

Earning on YouTube

I follow a number of channels on YouTube. It’s the only social media site apart from this one that I do get involved in. I have absolutely no intention of ever making a living on these platforms as to be honest I couldn’t really be arsed to.

Hugh tells you how it is

However a lot of individuals nowadays want to do just that and make their livings on line.

Now Hugh has a very interesting site for someone like me that likes anything from the retro era. He’s been without a smartphone for over a year and his progress without one has been really interesting to follow.

Hugh does earn from his online presence but to be honest it isn’t a living. He goes through the figures in this video that show all the hoops you have to jump through to earn a living from having an online presence.

Enjoy.

Laser Microphones

Interesting look into building your own Laser microphones in a James Bond/KGB/CIA style.

Spy Tech: Build Your Own Laser Eavesdropper

Enjoy. Just don’t be nosey.