Spotting from Home, or Bored!

 

Bored with rubbish football last night I tried my hand at 'Spotting from Home.'  This is something usually done by those railfans who cannot get out and about these days so instead take pictures from their laptops.  Sitting in bed, bored with Luton Town last night, I picked up my cheap mobile phone and snapped favourite places.  

I decided to do this when watching far off Deshler, Ohio, somewhere in the United States.  Here is one of my favourite views, though usually it is not covered in snow.  The US is under a freak downwards curve of cold air and while Ohio may be used to such scenes further along in Texas, and even New Mexico, they suffered a blanket of thick snow.  A slight dusting they can cope with, several inches brought anguish.  

The engine in this picture is awaiting the passing of a train heading East which crosses just behind the camera view.  This has not yet arrived so our man just sits there and cogitates.  This is a not unusual sight at this point.  These frieght trains have to be well planned before they leave, a train 150 trucks long takes up a lot of space on the railway!

 

Unlike the engineer, that's 'driver' to you and me, I got fed up waiting so I moved to  Waupaca, Wisconsin, no, I have no idea where that is either, and discovered the foundry there was still working, possibly because this engine had just moved some of the trailers, filled with Coke standing in the background, into the furnace area.  This looks to me like one of those little 'wild west' towns that has little to build on but the foundry.  Quite why this town exists is not made clear but it appears to prosper.  Small town America lies before us here.

 

 

This, somewhat darker than it is in real life, seaside image, makes a change for those who do not appreciate the joys of railways.  Videos, sometimes live, of beaches wordlwide are very relaxing I find.  Here we can enjoy the birds gobbling up wee beasties we cannot see, but they know are there hidden beneath the sand.  There is something relaxing about the sea, the light reflecting of the water, the bird life, the air, all gives a relaxing feel to the mind.  I miss it.  

 

 

I used to see this view, from the side, regularly.  Crossing the Forth Bridge heading home with North Queensferry beneath us (give Gordon Brown a wave as we pass) the two road bridges to the right, and a few ships loading content to or from various refining plants.

In the past the Royal Navy at Rosyth, to the right, had half the fleet stationed here.  Vast numbers of ships, including BattleCruisers, were docked all around the area.  In the 50's when I passed a great many ships were still to be seen and Battleship gray covered the area.  Today these have gone, moved by John Major to who tried unsuccessfully to win a seat in Plymouth, thus leading to the loss of thousands of Fife jobs.  Who said the Union was a good idea?  

 

 

Not everyboby gets to see this view.

 

 

What?  Fed up with railways?  Heartless people!

OK, here are some Black Swans, somewhere in I suppose Australia, swanning about in a quiet, gentle, long video, one I often have on in the background.  Lovely to see and enjoy.  The colour obviously is better in real life.

I do like a lot of the old silent movies, hand cranked in the streets, while modern life, before 1914 that is, moved about for our entertainment.  This looks like France, a train arrives and all make a dash for it, the hopeful passengers, the men jumping off as the train slows, a great number of porters and station staff, and overdressed women, must be ones with money, pushing the men aside to get the best seat.

Fashion, you will note, doth make fools of us all!

 

 

Sunday Blast

The morning sun greeted me warmly at 6:30 today.  I was so impressed I soon wandered about the town, basically before anyone gets up and annoys me.  I was annoyed enough!  Facebook played up, and how.

So I wandered about, once again being given either 'funny looks' or 50pence for a cup of tea from the occasional passer-by, and slouched home and shaved my beard off and blocked the sink!  Now I had taken precautions, most of this grey mater was dumped by way of a pair of blunt scissors and a magic mirror.  However even so there was sufficient to lead to a desperate grabbing for Sainsburys best sink un-plugger, once I got the blasted thing open that is. Who can open childproof locks other than a child?

So I start again on facebook.  I had two pages, now I have none!  This could of course be Microsoft's fault,the latest download has been causing problems as always, but suddenly things went off.  I got one back but not the other and now I have none.  Obviously a new page can be created, whoopee, but then we have the bother of building it and if I do not open a new page the FBI will be wondering what I am up to, let alone all those marketing men I avoid by using 'Adblock Plus.'  Talking about that you will notice that while Adblock blocks the advert now on YouTube an advert appears, hidden by Adblock, but must be removed before going on.  That is new, Google must be feeling the pinch also, the virus hits home to the real owners of these Digital Giants!

 
Pop-ups!  How they irritate!  Almost every page demands you check the Cookies!  Every other page demands you 'Subscribe' or select a 'Weekly E-Mail,' yet none offer to just leave you alone!  They come in all shapes and sizes, brightly coloured or dull, cheery or despondent but all demanding and in the wrong place!   
Worse than this is the newspapers who insist on putting videos, often totally irrelevant to the story, on the page and opening, sound on and all, whether you like it or not.  Some have 3 seconds for you to decide, 3 seconds that are wasted as the page jumps up and down fitting the basted thing on the page.  When I am king such pop-ups will be banned, videos must be switched on by the reader, not the page, and those who disobey will be Beheaded, twice!   
Yes 'Daily Record' and yes 'Edinburgh Evening News' I mean you!!! 

What's Wrong With Words?

Now I am getting annoyed, and you know I am always so placid usually, but irked I am becoming. Once again I am plagued with folk making me their 'friend' but not bothering to read my page then expecting me to read theirs or, worse, just click their 'Adsense.' Sorry no can do folks. I do not need yet another smartie telling me how to make money with blogs, I have my own financial advisor (who has yet to pay for the stuff I put on his second blog by the way!) and have no interest in reading your adverts. So please sling your collective hooks!

However the thing that annoys me most this bright sunny evening (and one does not say that too often) is a blog with nothing but videos on each post! Now a blog specialising in photography is a good thing,(and we all know one lass who is very good at the pictures don't we?), there are some wonderful pictures to be seen on the web and each opens up doors into new worlds - usually! However a blog that just gives videos is lazy! I have posted three I think, and each one important and relevant to my minds eye but I think the purpose of a blog is to say something for yourself, not let others do this for you. There is no requirement to be articulate, as you will have noticed, you just have to speak for yourself! Say what you think whatever the purpose of your blog is and say it yourself! It can be humorous, worthy or just howling at the moon, a fine way to spend the night I can tell ye, as long as it is your own thoughts and ideas. Posting videos of favoured sites may be good if done occasionally but not all the time! The one that turned up today made me pine for some of my favourite blogs. These are enjoyable, well written and honest. Whether personal, with a specific purpose in mind, humorous or just filing in the day I enjoy them. They take me into other worlds and bring new friends into my life. A video however interesting cannot do this and one after another just means I pass on to other places. Just think what you have lost? On the other hand we shall forget that last bit shall we?




Now the intellect of the general run of Glaswegians has always, in my humble view, been low. The nature of the beast has been revealed to us far too often for anyone in Scotland to misunderstand their limited appreciation of life and all it has. So when it was announced that the 'Old Firm,' that is the Rangers and Celtic football clubs, have another possible chance to move into the English money spinning league we all had our opinions as to whether this is a good thing or not. Now consider this. Rangers are a club that at the end of the 19th century realised that their main income source came from those around them, many of whom worked in the shipyards of Govan. Many of these had emigrated from Belfast and other Northern Ireland towns and brought with them their 'Protestant, 'Orange Order' bigotry. No Roman Catholic was allowed to work in the shipyards then. By playing on this and ensuring they were the only side in the area (they helped Partick Thistle move to northern Glasgow for this purpose) they became known as the 'protestant team in Glasgow. Meanwhile on the other side of Glasgow a new team had been created by an RC Priest and became known as the Catholic club, Celtic FC. While Rangers played on the 'orangemen' Celtic played on their Irish roots. The 'Home rule' debate at the turn of the century almost led to civil war which was only averted by the coming of the 'Great War' in 1914, exacerbated the problem and polarised feelings between the clubs.

Today this polarisation has once again been encouraged by the recent troubles. Rangers fans waving 'Union Flags' at their games, something no other Scots football club would do, only Scots flags would be flown at them! Indeed so desperate to be seen as linked to Westminster some Rangers fans refer to themselves as 'British' and not 'Scots' and even go so far as to wear 'England' shirts! Of course the rise once again of Scottish Nationalism has also increased their desire for the Union. This leaves them ignoring a thousand years of English oppression to give support to a Northern Irish cause to which they have no connection. Such treasonable actions rightly being denounced by true Scots. Celtic fans in the mean time have flourished as Scots and Irish, or 'Plastic Paddies' as the term goes. many believe in Scotland yet when push comes to shove support Ireland first. Neither club grace Scotland with this bigotry and both have worked together so many times while encouraging hatred between their fans to ensure a more committed support which brings in the cash. The less intelligent, found often in the west of Scotland, rally blindly to their cause.

Here in this picture we see the result of such 'loyalty,' and the effects it has on the befuddled Glasgow brain. Here we have a TV company in a pub asking Rangers fans to hold up a card showing either a Scots flag or an English one, to indicate where they wish to see their team play. "Do you want to see Rangers play in the Scottish Premier League or the English Premier League?" The answer from this Rangers man's drink sozzled brain is to wear an English football shirt, something no Scotsman could ever do, and wave the card featuring the Scots flag! The sad fact is the wee laddie will not see the irony (look 'irony' up in a dictionary Yanks) in this! This guy also has the right to vote you realise!

Hooray! VCR Works!

My technical ability has come to the fore once more. Yes indeed, these paws which can break any device known to man has for once got a technical object into working order.
This is indeed an event! It has taken so long to get this thing working again, just, that folks no longer know what it is! Kids think video belongs in the Victorian age and only folk born before colour television remember what a VCR is.

However tonight I got out an old video of Hearts v Rangers (bad referee, bad pitch and jammy goal) which followed this up with a couple of old Open University programmes and a documentary on the real 'Dambusters.' How delightful and very relaxing to watch programmes with some interest instead of the constant diet of 'pap' which fills the screen these days. If this old boy keeps going (the VCR not me) then I will be able to fill up the time with some of the programmes from the past that lie there staring me in the face. (I really should move them) Mostly old football videos Scotsport and Sportscene (or Rangers and Celtic as they are better named) from the eighties and nineties. Lots of documentaries on interesting things like war and history. You now there is nothing more relaxing while stuffing your dinner down your throat than to watch a few thousand daft lugs blown each other apart in the cause of peace. Great viewing. The alternative is to watch some soap opera in which one woman is dumped by nasty man, another uses someones husband, the bad boy steals from the hero, and several other slag one another off for no good reason!
And they wonder why the nations youth behave as they do?

Anyway, tomorrow I look at the other broken things, the washing machine, the...hold on, lets not be daft. I think I will hold where I am at the moment and let the rest wait until I am ready. The vision of gallons of soapy water soaking through the floorboards is not one I wish to endure.