NGT6 1315

Cashews for a Chrimbo prezzie? Holy farmer! 🤣

Luxembourgish does sound quite different from German but it’s largely comprehensible at the same time, I think!

Moaning awl. Sounds familiar as the past night has been somewhat restless for me, too. I did make another grocery order when I was awake around 0400, though! Not fully present mentally yet, so I'll try again later. Stay safe...

Well, all of that does make for a change from socks and sandals! 🤣

🤓

More R stuff… Bit of a pity to see the last x Stock go, I think. I always found them interesting and to be a very clean kind of design with their mostly smooth bodyshells. That and the low chassis skirts lent them a rather „forward“ appearance. Of course, intense suburban service in the Ruhr area left its mark on many of these coaches as the years passed!

Caution, R-rated material follows. That means rail-rated, obviously! That's an interesting refurb for sure. Mongolian ex-M62 converted to a GE diesel package. I guess in a country as sparsely populated as Mongolia, you'll want robust and simple motive power first and foremost, so that may very well be a way to go when you want to modernise as well. They did have a major wintry spell down in da deep sarf recently! Watching this, I found myself wondering if anybody ever thought of fitting compatible MU equipment on units such as the 442 and locomotives typically used for route clearing and breakdown assistance, such as the 218. I mean, the Swiss have done that in the past, so what say you put a pilot loco in MU with units and provide at least basic services in this kind of inclement weather with less risk of derailment compared to units working alone.

Cheers all. Well, the lurgy turned out to be COVID. No fever here at this time, but a sniffle, achy head and throat and general feeling of being a piece of lead, if not even neutron star matter. Most of the day has thus been spent on the sofa and groceries have accordingly been ordered for home delivery. I'll be staying at home for the rest of the week. I had messaged my office mate who had been struggling last Wednesday, though she replied she did test herself following my message and came out negative. Well, I guess there's a million other possibilities where I might have caught it! Frankly, given the number of coughers and snifflers I'm seeing on public transport these days, I'll refrain from myself using that as much as possible for the time being. I do realise it's kind of sad when public transport staff avoid using their own kind of service, but I declare I don't get paid for catching bugs! Stay safe, folks. C&Cs as appropriate.

Evening all. My office mate was getting visibly ill on Thursday and, quelle surprise, I am now dealing with the lurgy myself, possibly hastened by two fairly stressful driving shifts through the bedlam that is pre-Christmas in this city… I might be able to get some work done remotely, at least. To offer something along the „if only“ line… How I wish I‘d live to see this day… *sigh*

Cheers all... Some white substance has appeared outside this week, covering the entire landscape. Anyone got any ideas what this might be? Stayed at home with Annika as she had caught a stomach bug. I got some of that as well, but we're both feeling better now. This also put a delay on my getting a flu jab. My GP says a COVID booster jab continues to be recommended only for anyone 60 years and up. Stay safe, everyone… 👋

Cheers all. Everyone’s ropey chez NGT, it seems. Even Annika had a long nap this afternoon, which she doesn’t normally do at all. We might get the first frost of the season by Wednesday, apparently. Congrats and commies as appropriate. Hope you’re all well!

Ah. Good times…

Good moaning awl. Wet and autumnal outside and, to match, I'm feeling a cold coming and will be staying at home today. I'm hearing the HR department was essentially unstaffed yesterday due to COVID, which is making a resurgence here. I don't blame people for wanting as much normality as possible after the pandemic, but I do think it'd be wise to remember some of the lessons from that time. I do see a few people wearing masks again, though for acceptance, I still don't believe we're even nearly where Japan is, for example. Stay safe...

I don’t know if any of you might follow video games any more than I do, which TBH is only sporadically! I recently learned about this game, which essentially deals with androids gaining self-awareness and developing consciousness. I gather there are several storylines one can explore, but the one about a female android called Kara who saves a girl from her abusive and violent father and becomes her surrogate mother I found really moving and thought-provoking.

So, that's me home again and unwinding. A sip or two of uisge beatha will be had later this evening! Did I say that they just don't do this kind of music anymore?

And this, folks, is why you don’t overtake trams on the left (in right-hand traffic, obviously). 🤦‍♂️ The motorist failed to notice the other tram and got themselves wedged between both. This stupidity caused a derailment and an estimated € 20,000 in damage. Only the motorist themselves were physically injured. Nuff said.

It's actually been quite a long time since I last saw this kind of controller. Mobile traffic signals seem to have become a lot more common.

Modern management principles are filtering down to cricket? 🤭

Duel carriageways? Why, that seems to be the norm here nowadays… Moaning awl. Last day of this week in Gotha beckons. I‘ll go straight to the station after we‘re done, so my stuff is already packed up and I’ll return the hotel key when I head out in a few. Stay safe, whatever you’re up to.

That brings back memories of a time back in my teens when Alanis and her music gave me the feeling of not being the only one despairing over the vagaries of human existence. I understand she actually had been there herself for years, so I believe she was being authentic about it. I‘ll also admit I found her genuinely pretty but with something about her suggesting vulnerability in a way I still can’t place even all those years on.

Ah, they just don’t do music like this anymore…

No clichés there at all, there aren't! 🤭

Moaning awl. Cool and cloudy outside. The first and so far only time I had to drive on the "other" side was in Ireland a couple of years ago. I personally didn't find LH driving to be much of a problem, though I can understand how it might be for others. I did find traffic manners in Ireland to be significantly more civilised than they often tend to be here, though, which I suppose helped matters, too. Also, I did make sure we got a rental car with automatic transmission! I decided to obtain a small suitcase here yesterday. I had taken only a travel bag with me originally but while en route to Gotha had found that to be too inconvenient. Have a good'un...

It‘s the Mancunian way. 🤭 This is rad:

Cheers all! I'm in Gotha for my qualification course once again. Given that the company pays for such expenses, I took a hotel locally this time, as I found commuting back and forth for several days on end isn't that conducive to your brain working right when this means you need to get up around 0300 every day and crash out immediately after dinner once you're home. It's quite autumnal by now, and windy. That made tram driving...interesting this past weekend, especially so on streetbound track. Though in fact, Friday wasn't as bad as Saturday as Friday was quite wet, which helped washing contaminants away. Congrats and commies as appropriate...