Toadfish Monastery

A goog glug of whisky, in the hope that it will cure my sore throat and summer sniffles. Meh. I much prefer whisky when I can actually taste it.

A beautiful and funny little gem from Hungary.
Perhaps something that will strike a chord with Sibliing Zono? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpDw9hxcMkA

And why not let sweet, dear, old Granny O´Grimm read you a nice bedtime story? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIDv1jJhoxY

Quote from: Sibling Zono (anon1mat0) on May 28, 2013, 09:47:06 PM


The problem is that the stupid are taking the rest of us with them, so while I do agree that they may well take everybody further down, their zone of influence would be limited until they wise up. They will not understand until the consequences affect them.

Even a "limited" zone of influence can be a major disaster for a very large area. A Texan relaxation of environmental protection rules for oil drilling at sea will not just kill Galveston Bay and pollute texan shores, just as the fallout from Tjernobyl and Fukushima had significant problems respecting national boundaries.

I'd say that a large part of the problem is narrowmindedness and an inability to see beyond the tip of one's nose. What is needed is not more local isolationism, but an awareness of the bigger world and the realization that noone, not even a conservative gun-toting and god-fearing conservative USian is an island. I'd say that US isolationism and exceptionalism is a major problem in today's world.

Welcome to Corporate Corp, Inc.!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tstaUDUWEcY

Quote from: Swatopluk on May 25, 2013, 10:18:32 PM
An old system is the token on the one track line. It requires that the number of trains going into one direction is the same as in the other. In Britain the token was a ring hanging from a hook on a pole at the height of the driver's side window. A driver coming to one end of that single-track line would take the ring and drive through. Then he would put the ring onto the hook at that end. If there was no ring on the hook, the driver would have to stop and wait for the next train from the other direction bringing it back.
I don't know what happened when some never-do-good country boy stole the ring

The Token Block system is still alive and well in quite a few parts of the world -it was widely used wherever the railways were built with a british operational philosophy. The british, being awfully clever chaps and all, soon came up with several ingenious solutions to the problem of all tokens being in on place, and all the trains somewhere else. The pinnacle of token block systems uses two or more interconnected token block machines, one at each station. The signallers at both end have to operate electrical instruments to enable the release of one token from one end only, after which the staff instruments locked up. They could then only be opened and issue a new token when the first token had been inserted in the staff instrument at the other end of the section of track. The staff instruments had magazines of token staves, so they could cope with imbalances in the service patterns.

German railway signalling developed along slightly different lines, instead opting for the use of block field instruments with indicator discs showing the signaller if the line was occupied or clear.

Theft or loss of tokens as well as other mishaps were handled by an extensive and very thorough system of rules and working procedures. In a way, British railway operations philosophy has put a great emphasis on always ensuring a clear run for the driver and eliminating any possibilities of signalliing faults or even degraded working. The drivers were more or less ensured that if they got a clear signal, they could depend on that signal aspect and then left to run their train as skillfully as possible. Those trains, on the other hand, were and are a bit special. No headlights on the locos, no speeds signposted -the driver was expected to know his lines and their permissable speeds, and, of course, the "unfitted freight". Unfitted, as in not fitted with any brakes on the wagons -they only had brakes on the loco and a hand brake on a brake van in the rear, staffed by a guard.

In Germany, on the other hand, they seemed to delight in inventing new and unusual ways of permissive working, special working, degraded working, exceptional working and so on, making a clear aspect on a german signal something to be regarded with a healthy pinch of salt, or perhaps through rose-coloured glasses. The germans were the one who invented as special supplementary signal attached to a main signal to show that the main signal was not working properly, and then attached further supplementary signals to show the driver how this faulty signal might be passed -all with their own fail-safe and discrete circuits. They also installed propane-fuelled signal lights up until quite recently, all fitted with complete electrical circuitry to monitor the propane flame and sound an alarm if the flame was extinguished. But making the signal itself electric? Undenkbar! 

Quote from: Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith on May 26, 2013, 04:00:27 AMIs that the source of the name "token ring" which describes a communication protocol in electronics? 

The way a token ring network operates is certainly very similar to how one of the above mentioned networks of electric staff instruments work, as well as a old-fashioned open railway telegraph or telephone network.

Do not forget, the railways were very much into secure and reliable communications protocols from a very early time. Some of the earliest modern communications research was carried out on behalf of the railways. Quite a few railways, for example the no-defunct Southern in the US, were also pioneers in the use and construction of computer mainframe networks and computer communications.

Quote from: pieces o nine on May 25, 2013, 08:24:13 PM
Apparently, it's not all natural leadership ability and waving from the engine...   

Oh no, you have to be passionate about customer service, make a perfect milkshake every time and the only fault in your character is that you are too humble and modest, too.

Actually, the milkshake part could be something useful -at least it would show an ability to read and follow written instructions. 

While the selection process is far from over, I have also been doing some other stuff lately -including teaching, of all things.

Most recently, I have thaught a bit about "Tågfärd i system M" -"Train operations, system M". This is basically how to run trains using old-fashioned methods. Instead of the relay interlockings, automatic signalling and computer-controlled route setting that is the norm on most of the Swedish railways today, you go back to basics.

Essentially, Signaller A calls up Signaller B (or, earlier, telegraphed), asking if the line is clear between A and B, and B can accept a train. If B answers affirmatively, A then dispatches the train and then notifies B that "Train 01 departed A right time". Both A and B then make a note in their logbooks that the line is blocked due to a train being on the line. When train 01 then arrives in it's entirety in B, the signaller in B calls up signaller A and reports that "01 has arrived in B". Signaller B might then ask signaller A if she is ready to accept train 02, and so on.

The safeworking of the trains thus depends on the signallers exchanging correct information with each other before dispatching any trains, as well as a few other extra checks. For example, the driver of a train might have a safety order stating that "Train 01 to meet train 02 at B", and thus, the driver of train 01 must not depart from B before train 02 has arrived, or train 01 has recieved a safety order stating that the meet is cancelled or moved to another station.

Most of our trainees have only seen modern automatic signalling (and will only work in those areas, too), so this is something of a cultural shock for them. With modern signalling, you cant go too wrong with the basic assupmtion of "if the signal is green, go, if the signal is red, stop".  However, in System M, the signals are essentially controlled by the signaller with a light switch, and there are several scenarios where it is perfectly possible to have a green light into an occupied track, or out from a station on to a stretch of line which is occupied by another train. Indeed, in some cases you as a driver must not, under any circumstance, move your train, even if a signal is green, until you have recieved a manual dispatch hand signal from the signaller. In other cases, the rules state that you are perfectly allright to pass a certain signal at danger on your own authority, without even contacting a signaller. You should, however, report the fact to the signaller "at a convenient time". Oh, and there are stations and interlockings that are completely without signals, too -which is complete and utter bizarro land to the trainees,

Confusing at times, but it's quite fun, and you get a course in the underlying principles of railway signalling as it developed in Sweden over the years.

Here's a picture of some of my whiteboard drawings when I held a few lessons covering the basic principles.

From left to right, we have "Knotträsk", Gnatmarsh, a fairly large station with some interlocking and signalling, and permanently staffed by a signaller (bevakad), the guy with the red cap. Train 01 is supposed to meet train 02 here, and the signaller is to dispatch trains by hand signal ("TKL ger körtillstånd).

We then come to Svältböle ("Starvecroft"), a station that has fallen on hard times. It is only staffed at certain times (tidvis bevakad) and, at the moment, unstaffed (obevakad driftplats). The signals are set to clear in both direction of the single track -the station is essentially not there for most purposes. Since it is unsupervised, trains can not meet there. However, the siding to the Starvecroft peat bog is of a special type, where a train can gain access to the siding by using a special key to unlock a set of points, enter the siding and then lock the set of points behind them, thus clearing the line for other trains.

After Starvecroft, we come to Wrångsjöö gruva, the old Lake Morose mines. This is a Linjeplats, essentially a set of points located on the line between two stations. These points are uncontrolled by any signaller, and operated by the train crew themselves, again with a special ("K16") key. Again, a train can enter the Lake Morose spur, throw the points back after them and lock them again. They then report to the signaller at the station where they picked up the control key stating that they are clear of the running line and they have the K16 key with them. The signaller then removes the notification in her logbook about a train on the line between Gnatmarsh and Midgewater and can then resume running trains on the line. The words used for this report are "jag har k16 i handen" -literally "I have the K16 key in my hand". Jokes about rules-bending work train crews getting tattoos of K16 keys in the palms of their hands are mandatory at this point.

We finally arrive in "Myggvattnet", Midgewater, yet another continously staffed station with a signaller on duty at all times.

Midgewater is, by the way, the site of a hugely popular annual country fair, with dumpling-eating contests, fierce rivalry between Ladie's Associations as to who makes the most scrumptious rutabaga mousse as well as a cattle exhibition. The throngs of people swarming Midgewater are enough for the railway to lay on a series of extra trains, necessiating the manning of Starvecroft with a extra signaller in order to provide a meeting place for extra trains and enabling the running of several trains in a convoy after each other. The traditional farmhand fight after the country fair of course always makes the last train from Midgewater late, so trains will have to recieve special orders about cancelled and moved meets, as well as new meets with extra trains.

On the other end of Gnatmarsh, there's the coastal town of Herrington and a branchline to Herrington Docks. Herrington station is a very confused place, displaying examples of just about any oddity you can imagine signalling-wise. This sorry state of affairs has fortunately not discouraged the local signaller, TKL Hume, who considers it a learning experience -but that is for another day!

Come on, the little girl who won the contest apparently said that she hoped her song would promote peace and happiness throughout the whole world, so it has to be all good, hasn't it? Also, Swedish TV apparently had some images from a gay wedding blitzing by for a few seconds  in the background of one of the interludes, so that's a major stroke for LBTQ rights all over the world, isn't it?

Sometimes, I am very, very happy that I don not own a TV.






...where is that barfing smiley when you need it?

The chili plants are flowering and budding -looks like we'll get another year of locally harvested Rocoto and  Baccatum.

The carnivorous plants have already made a noticable difference in the number of fruit flies in the flat! Any little bugs Darlica or I catch are now earmarked as plant food, and we do our best to feed the little darlings.

We have also gotten out our little germinating trays, where we grow sprouts. Right now, we have a mixed batch of radish and mustard seeds going. They are quite tangy and spicy, and are very nice as a condiment in a salad or a sandwich, or sprinkled on top of a soup.

Finally, some decent spring weather!
About +15 degrees C, sunny, and windy. And no snowdrifts on the streets, either! We did have those just two weeks ago, but now they are finally gone. Spring was late this year, but now it seems determined to catch up.

One of these days, we simply have to get ourselves a nice old chateau or stately home with a huge garden and conservatory. We'll probably disappear in a tangled rainforest of raspberries, deadly nightshades, carnivorous chili plants and celery stalks never to be seen again... 

With so many applicants, we can afford to be quite rash and despotic in our decisions.

Hello Kitty letterhead? Bin.

The short, introductory, personal letter stretching out for eight pages? Bin.

Can't be arsed with responding in time? Bin

Not including any of the required supplementary documentation? Bin.

Writing in text-speak? Binzzorz

Haven't actually read the instructions on how to make your application? Bin with extreme prejudice.

Writing in, stating that you do not meet a certain formal criteria for prior education, but having a passed exam in virtually the same subject from another school, wondering if you can convert those grades to the required grades?

A answer of yes, you certainly can, here's how you do it, and welcome to stage three of the application process. Would thursday next week be suitable for your aptitude tests?

While this latest test might be open to discussion when it comes to it's methods and conclusions, I would consider it naive to the extreme to completely disregard the existence of class and inequality.

So, the time has come for us to start another round of recruiting to our basic driver training courses. We have had some very favourable coverage in mainstream media, including making the cover of Sweden's biggest respected daily as an example of a decent education with excellent prospects of a job afterwards.

The result is that, at the moment, we have some 700 applicants to the 30 places offered in Stockholm. This with about a month of the application period to go, and these are the ones that actually scraped through the preliminary web-based tests. Guess who has been drafted in to help handling the selection process and administering the serious selection tests? Yup, me.

As a side benefit, I have also handled quite a bit of all the questions that people have e-mailed in to us. "Oi, Lindorm. You're one of those academic types. That has to mean that you can speed-type, Here, be a darling and answer these 386-odd lunatics for me, will you?"

This has been something of a trial.

Dear prospective applicant, it is bad enough that you write in your letter that you do know that the answers to your questions can probably be had by reading our information webpage, but you really feel that you have to have questions answered your way. But when you, on top of that, write a looong, rambling and confused personal letter stating how independant you are, how much you like working on your own initiative and how resourceful you are in finding solutions to problems, you simply have to be taking the piss, no?

Dear prospective applicant, when we ask you, in your personal letter, to provide an example of a situation you have been in when you had to perform some safety-related task, why do you answer by bragging about how you were the sales champion at the advertisment sales company you previously worked for? Did someone get a papercut while trying to sell a few page 27 ads?

Dear prospective applicant, per Swedish and EU legislation, we do require a recent and valid test for drugs and alchohol from all applicants. No, there is no exemption. And yes, while we do not require a compy of your criminal record, some companies do so as a condition of employment. No,. there is nothing we can do about that. And no, there is still no excemtion from the drug testing. Are you nervous about something?

Dear prospective applicant, if you want to project a serious, responsible and employable image, perhaps you should spare a thought for what message an email adress such as "stinkypiss@whatever.com" or "HungLikeAHorse@spammail.com", or "legalizeitnow@wannaberastafari.com",or even "whitepower"godhatesfags.com" might send. Hint: It does tend to give a sharp (or, perhaps: intensely narrow) focus to your employability prospects.

Dear prospective applicant, if you happen to be a complete foam-at-the-mouth-trainspotter who knows the exact number and dimensions of every rivet used in the manufacturing of the boliers of the K4-class steam locos, do not expect us to be impressed. Sweden actually managed to move up to electrical traction about a hundred years ago.

Dear prospective applicant, if you are so dyslectic that you can't read the application form, then train driving might perhaps not be the job for you. While we do our best to help people with learning difficulties (and we really do -that's one of the things I am actually proud of when it comes to my employer), we can't translate all the 3000-odd pages of manuals that form the course literature, and we are not even legally allowed to do so. Likewise, yes, it is a legal requirement for you to be proficient in the swedish language in order to drive trains in Sweden, and no, we can't provide a polish translation of the rule books for you.

Dear prospective applicant, the course does rquire quite a bit of classroom activities, as well as quite a bit of hands-on training. Therefore, it is not possible to take a driver training course as a distance course while you are in Prague getting a MBA from some diploma mill, even if you say that you are really intelligent and have had a Märklin toy railway since you was a small kid.

...and so on, ad nauseum....