This week’s self-portrait: 52 Weeks 6/52 (2008 week 14).
Category Archives: photography
Pondering (Thirteen Things) in the Rain
Pondering in the Rain, originally uploaded by kcm76.
This week’s self-portrait: 52 Weeks 5/52, 2008 week 13.
As I took this standing outside the doctor’s this morning I thought we might have 13 medical things to go with it (mainly for the Flickr “Thirteen Things” group …
- I’ve never yet broken a bone in my body.
- I’ve had all the usual childhood illnesses except mumps.
- I’m short sighted and have worn glasses since my mid-teens.
- I have type 2 diabetes.
- I had my appendix out when I was 28.
- I had glandular fever when I was 32, and had 3 months of a nice hot summer off work.
- I suffer from hayfever; and with me the allergy really is to some species of grass pollen.
- I have obstructive sleep apnoea; this means I have to wear a mask at night with gentle air pressure pumped into it to keep my airway from collapsing.
- I was born with a deformed nail on my right index finger; everyone who noticed it assumed that I had damaged it in an accident. I finally had the nail permanently removed after I did rip it off by accident.
- When I was a kid of 6 or 7 I would have a week off school every term with a high fever (nothing else, just the fever). No-one knew why, but our old family doctor eventually suggested my parents take me off sugar; so no sweets for years, but no fever either. I still don’t know why it worked or what the underlying cause was.
- I’ve lost count of the number of crowns I have; it’s at least six. But none caused by an accident; all due to teeth falling apart.
- I’ve had a cartilage operation on both knees (at different times) and my knees still give me pain. But then apparently I also have the beginnings of arthritis in my knees; not surprising as my father had severely arthritic knees.
- I suffer from depression; Churchill’s “black dog”. It’s worse in winter as I am slightly afflicted with SAD as well.
This Week's Zen Question
What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
Ideas in the comments, please!
Me? I’d buy a lottery ticket to win a nice big jackpot, so I can afford to retire.
Or would I be altruistic and magic away religion, politics and war? 🙂
PS. I stole the quote from a photograph on Flickr.
It's Easter
It’s Easter Day. And I’ve spent almost the whole day doing literary society work – well it is the end of our financial year coming up and membership renewal time, so lots of mailing to do.
Just as well I have plenty to do as I don’t like Easter; I think I never have; I always enjoy Christmas but not Easter. And no, it’s not because of my atheism and general lack of belief in anything – I enjoy a long bank holiday weekend as much as anyone. It’s just that I always feel Easter is a dismal time; I don’t know why. Which is weird as I am (marginally at least) affected by SAD and about now start to look forward to and appreciate the lengthening days. Maybe this year feels worse than most as Easter is so early, and it’s grey, wet, cold, and snowing on and off. I’m ready for a 3 month holiday in the sun: sun, sea, sand, warmth, wine, good food. I wish!
Now where did I put that lottery ticket?
Working on the Train
This week’s self-portrait: 52 Weeks 4/52, 2008 week 12.
I was working on the train to Glasgow early on Monday morning.
Double Departure from Alexisbad
One of a series taken at Alexisbad during RailTrail charter from Quedlinberg to Wernigerode, 13/02/2008. This was a special for our photoshoot; the train on the right is our charter train; the one on the left was a service train which had just terminated. And I must say it was a magnificent sight and not something you will see these days during normal service. It would have been even better if there had been the snow we should have rightly had in February. We spent well over half an hour here just standing around; it was a bit chilly even with warm layers, jackets, hats, gloves and scarves. But well worth the wait, I hope you’ll agree!
This completes the pictures from our Germany trip. For me this shot is the star of the whole set, but not by a lot!
1000 Photos on Flickr
Double Departure from Alexisbad
This is my 1000th upload to Flickr in just 2 years and 2 days — so I thought I’d better make it a good one!
One of a series taken at Alexisbad during RailTrail charter from Quedlinberg to Wernigerode, 13/02/2008. This was specially set up for our photoshoot; the train on the right is our charter train; the one on the left was a service train which had just terminated. And I must say it was a magnificent sight and not something you will see these days during normal service. It would have been even better if there had been the snow we should have rightly had in February. This is the sort of thing which Railtrail do well: the tours are well researched with special shots like this set up where it can be done because they know that one of the big attractions of this type of tour is for the photographers, as well as those who just want to ride on “pretty” trains!
I have a feeling we might well do this one again sometime; perhaps in Spring (tho’ not this year).
Copper
Here’s the next batch of photos from our Germany trip loaded onto Flickr. Just two more batches to go!
Admiration
I’ve just put up on Flickr the next batch of my photographs from the Harz Mountains trip last month (in fact we left exactly one month ago today). I’ve got probably three more batches of 8 or so to post, which I will hope to do by the weekend — and I’m keeping some of the better ones for the end; it’s called an incentive to come back again! Although that holiday was hard work, with lots of early starts, it was a great break and I would thoroughly recommend Railtrail as specialist tour company: everything was superbly organised and ran like clockwork; the two guides were friendly and knowledgeable and not always chivvying us to get to somewhere else; all very relaxed. I already feel the need to do it all over again.
Scruffy Triptych
Scruffy Triptych, originally uploaded by kcm76.
Here’s this week’s self-portrait. I was mucking about and decided to try something different: this is a composite of 4 frames taken under identical conditions — well I had only to swivel my chair! I’m not sure if it works, but it’s different.