Pellsons Perceivings

[Pellson]

Always been a "Morning Person". Dad was up at 4:00 am and as my bedroom shared a common dividing wall with the kitchen in our flat no matter how quiet he and mum tried to be I was woken up, and it's stuck    Still up around 6:00 am even though long retired.

My mother is the same, still out and about already at five-ish. I've managed to resist, though.. 

[Rick Lowe]

Always been a "Morning Person". Dad was up at 4:00 am and as my bedroom shared a common dividing wall with the kitchen in our flat no matter how quiet he and mum tried to be I was woken up, and it's stuck    Still up around 6:00 am even though long retired.

My mother is the same, still out and about already at five-ish. I've managed to resist, though.. 

So, a triumph of 'Nature' over 'Nurture'...   

[Pellson]

Always been a "Morning Person". Dad was up at 4:00 am and as my bedroom shared a common dividing wall with the kitchen in our flat no matter how quiet he and mum tried to be I was woken up, and it's stuck    Still up around 6:00 am even though long retired.

My mother is the same, still out and about already at five-ish. I've managed to resist, though.. 

So, a triumph of 'Nature' over 'Nurture'...   

Evolution, I'm told.. 

[Pellson]

Today's been a bit of a serial production paint shop, having put five models through the belly greys. And that feels nice. In particular the Lansens have been sitting around giving me annoying side-eyes as I haven't been working on them for a while. Well - now they're one step closer, at least, and who knows what the rest of the week will bring?

And the world trundles on, seemingly towards disaster. While the Americans are making domestic politics out of supporting someone else fighting their (and our) enemy, the Germans are being German, rather not doing anything at all. Or - worse - do the little they do badly. And looking on, that so irritating prick over in Moscow has signed a policy document detailing the continued march westwards through Europe when Ukraine is pacified. One wonders whether we would get better attention from Washington if we laid out the combined value of the  markets they will lose if the bloody cossacks are allowed to carry on.

Well - I suppose I'm letting my frustration talk more than my sense, and for that I beg you to forgive me, and in all fairness, there is at least for the time being still American presence in the Old World, and for that I am grateful. Unfortunately, however, I did miss a low-pass last week when a BUFF and a BOne did a joint trip over Sweden, but hopefully, there will be more of that. At least if some sense is reclaimed by the US voters. And until then, I'll settle for the odd good shot by others. Such as this.

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Well - let's all have a better day tomorrow.

[Old Wombat]

Not saying anything most of us aren't thinking, even down here.

I'm wondering what a victory by the wealthy criminal in the US elections will mean not only for Europe but for AUKUS, as well.

Of course, watching our own government suck up to the Chinese, again, is a major PitA, too!    

[NARSES2]

Fully understand, and indeed to a large extent share people's feelings on these subjects lads. But let's try and keep them in more suitable places. 

[Pellson]

Travelling up north for a business fair. Usually good fun meeting colleagues from other companies, but the trip itself is somewhat exhausting. It over 800 km's on a train. And as the Swedish rail system isn't what it once was, there is a certain amount of adventure over the journey.

The train itself is a moderately refurbished 1960's unit, mainly rattling along at about 45 mph. The heating could have been somewhat more adequate, but the seats, while solidly worn in, are comparatively comfortable and the staff, being well aware of the time capsule they're running, are nice enough. However, given the from my southern perspective rather rough and inhospitable climate outside, the biggest advantage of travelling in this museum piece ids the reliability. This is one of very few remnants of the Cold War generation of technology left in modern Sweden, and hence one of quite few things that will work, almost regardless of what you will throw at it. And, as said - it's cold outside..

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However, the lousy rail combined with the agricultural (but solid!) suspension of the rail car I'm travelling in makes the otherwise all but unbearable apple autocorrect function necessary as the bumps make my fingers tap any letter but the intended one. It is actually amazing that it manages to interpret most words reasonably given the usual madness it concocts when you're typing reasonably.

Well. I'm on my ninth hour aboard now, still having almost two more to go, and maybe I should take the opportunity to visit the onboard cafeteria, another museal piece bearing a not so distant resemblance to the ones found on East German trains back in the 70's. While Spartan, and all but inspirational, they will deliver nourishing food, if somewhat lacking in taste.
But one can't have it all. I'm getting there. That's also a feat.

[PR19_Kit]

That sounds as if you're REALLY in a rail-borne time warp, amazing. 

We've got nothing that old in 'proper railway' service in the UK these days, but some of the private rail tour firms still run stock like that, once they've been expensively updated to 'modern safety standards'...............

[Pellson]

...aaand to really ice the cake, the overhead line suddenly went out of juice about half an hour (and 30 km) out from the destination. Annoyingly, I actually renovated that part of the catenary system while working on the railroad, and already then, we did have some complaints about the power supply to said section. It seems the owner (government agency) hasn't changed their position on the acuteness (or not) of that supply in the last twenty years.. 

Anyway - three quarters of an hour later, the power returned after a series of redirections, and I got to the hotel after close to eleven hours on a train. That's an effective workday, if there ever was one..

Ah well. Kip time now. Unsurprisingly.

[PR19_Kit]

ELEVEN hours? 

That doesn't sound too much fun at all, I hope you slept well after all that.

[NARSES2]

ELEVEN hours? 

That doesn't sound too much fun at all, I hope you slept well after all that.

My thoughts exactly. I had this vision in my mind of Swedish (all Scandinavian railways actually) being super modern and efficient. I won't moan about GNER again.

Longest rail journey I've made was probably when we crossed the Rockies by train, but that was a holiday and the carriages we were travelling in had been done up to Pullman standard. I did Paris/Barcelona and Paris/Rimini as a kid on holiday, but I don't think they were 11 hours ?

Lovely photo by the way 

[Pellson]

Time for the return trip today. Not entirely by train, though, as the only available connection would have left me on a cold platform in the middle of nowhere from 0420 to 0615 tomorrow morning, waiting for the next connection back home. I'm flying instead, but the price for that is an 0600 wake-up call this morning following yesterday's full-day fair and late dinner. Well - I'll sleep on the plane, I think. And possibly even on the one- hour transfer to the airport.

Said airport, by the way, is the remains of the old and proud RSwAF 4th wing (F4) homebase. They were disbanded as late as in the early 2000's actually having gotten their JAS39 Gripens only a year or so earlier. Today, everyone but the Secretary of Finance is bitterly regretting that shut-down - it is sorely missed given the current security situation in our part of the world.

Well, well. I'd better pack up and get going. Airport transfers wait for no man, to paraphrase the dear Mr Fforde..

[Pellson]

At home, but quite washed out, not least mentally. While fairs generally are good fun, they also do take a certain toll energy wise, and this one was no exception. Also, there is a lot of catching up to do on the regular work as the rest of the world, for some annoying reason, bluntly refuses to pause even for a second when I'm out of office. And that is, frankly a bit rude, isn't it? 

There is an urge to carry on in particular with the Lansens. The next step should be either black (radomes, antennae) or alu for the unpainted leading edges, and likely I'll do both before returning to the blues and greens of the camouflage as both these details will require some post-painting touch-ups. One is seldom as accurate as one would have liked.. 
Anyway - while I most likely won't find any time to pop a tin today, I'm relishing the mojo also when I can't use it. One has to seize the moment as it is.

Keeping the interest up with another quite lovely pic from back in the day.

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This is an early 1960's shot of a local farmer carrying on as usual, putting out his daily milk production by the road for pickup by the dairy company, while in the background, a J32B interceptor is waiting for another exercise day. The everyday Cold War existence as it was.

[Pellson]

Apparently (and perhaps not entirely unexpectedly) I caught something bad at that fair, having had a strong fever last night and felt rather awkward since. Well - tonight is better than yesterday (no shivers for a start), so I'll likely survive. But there's no energy left for anything but sitting in a chair looking daft. Annoying.

Still - I think I'm on the mend, so it's just to dig in and carry on, I suppose. As always.

[McColm]

Apparently (and perhaps not entirely unexpectedly) I caught something bad at that fair, having had a strong fever last night and felt rather awkward since. Well - tonight is better than yesterday (no shivers for a start), so I'll likely survive. But there's no energy left for anything but sitting in a chair looking daft. Annoying.

Still - I think I'm on the mend, so it's just to dig in and carry on, I suppose. As always.

Best get yourself checked out, like you said it could be nothing just to be on the safe side.