Modelling mojo and state of mind

[33C]

34 minutes ago, Coldgunner said:

How is everyone doing? I'm a bit meh after Warley as it just didn't seem as fun as it used to be. Been told we're getting a 5% increase this year, which isn't too bad, but offset by the cost of everything else. Suspect the bonus will be lower this year to compensate.

 

I wonder what the senior leadership get...

Tree is up! Decorations up! Diving head first into it this year, no messing about. Got lots of projects to do and stuff to make. Other , outside projects have taken off as well so, busy, busy! Plus, new units to learn. Great. Still, mustn't grumble.

[Coldgunner]

Same old story really, reports all year of record profits etc. then when it comes to bonus time its all "times are tough, we all need to take a hit etc". I'd love to know what bonuses senior management get, cos I can guarantee its not single figure percentages.

[Northmoor]

3 hours ago, Coldgunner said:

Same old story really, reports all year of record profits etc. then when it comes to bonus time its all "times are tough, we all need to take a hit etc". I'd love to know what bonuses senior management get, cos I can guarantee its not single figure percentages.

We had a CEO who thought he could get away with that, telling the City (such as at the AGM) how well were doing, then doing an All Hands with the staff the next day and saying that business was challenging and pay restraint (i.e 1% raise typical) was required.

 

Unfortunately he seemed to have forgotten that since he'd floated the company, many of his staff were now shareholders, which meant they also used to attend the AGM......  The day he resigned (and the new CEO was announced), our share price rose 26% by lunchtime, suggesting that the City had as much confidence in him as the company's staff.

[john new]

Mixed emotions this week. On the positive moving forwards towards finally getting my hernia op done as I got offered a queue jump cancellation (should be next Friday) on the negative lost items. It appears I may have inadvertently dropped my tube of modelling brushes into the last recycling collection when clearing c**p off the work area. Easily physically  replaced but not the sentiment as several had been my Dad’s and others had been given me as presents.  If they are just lost in the house/wrongly put away no idea where I haven’t already looked!

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by john new
spelling mistake corrected

[Coldgunner]

15 hours ago, john new said:

If they are just lost in the house/wrongly put away no idea where I haven’t already looked!

 

 

I'm willing to bet they'll turn up in the most bizarre of places you know. Maybe your Dad pops in now and again to wind you up a bit ;), I'm convinced mine does.

[Blandford1969]

Yup, crappy end to the year. No profits, big losses. Worked really hard to put together a fair redundancy process. The Sales Director ignored it and told one person they were redundant in the first meeting (becasue the customer has given notice) what part of consultation and ideas to aovid does he not get. 

 

Each manaager had a pack of invitations, Q&A, script to ensure fairness, which went to the entire board. FD leaves it till the morning before the seond one to say have you got the invitation - he gets the original email resent - then on the day 'have you got the Q&A' He really just acts like all he wants to do is undermine me. I was so cross I said as much on teams to him - his response was a bully boy response of 'explain yourself' that is not happening. I had fought this horrible bug doing the rounds all week and just though sod it and went off Friday afternoon. Not sure how I feel about Monday at the moment. 

 

No modelling, the bench and study are even more of a disaster zone (death trap my wife said last night) and spent most of today asleep as exhausted so tomorrow has to be mad clearing as the Out Laws arrive on Monday. 

Still the one light is not so much modelling as having had a cracking turn on 75069 last Saturday and a first reaquantence with 2968 next Saturday. They are keeping me sane as I really worry about what next year will bring with the jobs market at my level so rubbish - not many roles and obsessed by having the exact match on sector! Grrrrrr

Edited December 3, 2023 by Blandford1969
My awful spelling

[john new]

On 02/12/2023 at 15:48, Coldgunner said:

 

I'm willing to bet they'll turn up in the most bizarre of places you know. Maybe your Dad pops in now and again to wind you up a bit ;), I'm convinced mine does.

Very weird, as yes they have now reappeared. 😀😀😀 Having bought a few replacements in the art shop on Saturday I guess that was inevitable.
 

Why weird? My last memory of using them was with them in a tubular ex-ginger biscuits tin, hence thinking I’d accidentally binned them inside that tin. I’m certain I did bin that tin. When found this evening whilst looking for something else they were (a) in the place I’ve looked in several times as it is where they were expected to be (b) in a bright pink ex-washing powder tub clearly labelled brushes and (c) I would swear in court the box they were inside had different contents yesterday as it also had other stuff there too.

 

My wife and I are both convinced this house has a poltergeist. 

[MrWolf]

A case of the Bermuda Box Room?

[Lemmy282]

I have them as well. Bit pings off onto the floor, spend ages looking for it, clear the bench just to check in case I was wrong, nothing!

Next day, there is the bit sitting neatly in the middle of an empty building board

[John M]

Its been quite a year, I been under considerable pressure for the last six months as a result of a family crisis which required my 100% attention.

 

The crisis has forced me to focus on my family and finally put the legacy of a breakdown I experienced five years ago as a result of work related stress behind me and move on.

 

Thankfully we appear to have weathered the worst of the crisis and have been able to recover some of my modelling mojo actually spending evenings in the workshop catching up on projects started before the crisis.

 

In my working life I developed a pattern of working under pressure not feeling stressed 'believing that I had everything under control" until I reached my breaking point and became overloaded with stress.

 

This time around I appear to finally understand my limitations, to recognise when I am beginning to feel stressed and do something about it rather than attempt to soldier on. With little opportunity for respite its mainly been a matter of eating well, taking short breaks when I can, talking about it to family and getting a decent nights sleep.

 

Being retired the financial pressure of needing to hold down a job no longer applies, in the past the overload usually arose as a result of taking on too much personal responsibility without the management support and resources to see the job through.

 

 

[Coldgunner]

I've been reflecting this evening on the impact of the internet on mental health...

 

My thoughts? a totally negative impact!

 

On Youtube, I get nothing but anti-woke content pushed towards me (I'm not anti-woke, but not ultra-woke either). Go online, see nothing but people (allegedly) doing better for themselves than I do. Everyone else seems to have tons of disposable income, or always got 'better' things. Facebook is all people doing better than me. Twitter is nothing but politics and echo-chambers. Their algorithms target me by offering me content that will get my goat and gas-light.

 

Yet, I go to the model club, go to the pub, go see mates... I get pleasant conversations all around, even with people who have different beliefs to me. Not to say I've not had positive experiences either, the railway community on social media is generally very positive and supportive. I want to continue uploading my content to Youtube and maybe stick to cars, trains and planes as part of my viewing habits. Just talk trains on Twitter and maybe withdraw mostly from Facebook and not post much.

[woodenhead]

You can remove the cr&p on YouTube by curating your history (or if you are not logged on by deleting cookies).

 

YouTube only feeds you what you watch - so I get mainly trains, drum and bass, MSNBC and canal & boating related stuff.  The things I don't want to see I click on the three dots by the recommendation and tell YouTube to no longer recommend the channel, similarly if you delete from history the videos you wish you hadn't watched it removes them from the algorithm for what it feeds you.

 

Facebook / Instagram is very much about making you think everyone else is doing better than you, what it really displays is mainly people who create an illusion about how good their life is so they don't feel inferior.  TikTok is awful and Twitter/X is no better to me, worse now because it is attracting right wing attention again which only fans flames.  So I basically stay away from all of them, stopped posting on Facebook early into Covid and have not gone back, Mrs W only remains on it because she needs to for work related information.

[Coldgunner]

7 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

You can remove the cr&p on YouTube by curating your history (or if you are not logged on by deleting cookies).

 

YouTube only feeds you what you watch - so I get mainly trains, drum and bass, MSNBC and canal & boating related stuff.  The things I don't want to see I click on the three dots by the recommendation and tell YouTube to no longer recommend the channel, similarly if you delete from history the videos you wish you hadn't watched it removes them from the algorithm for what it feeds you.

 

Ooh, didn't know this, thank you!

[rob D2]

TBH I’m not on Instagram and X , I have plenty of exposure to narcissists showing off without these fantastic channels that give them oxygen 

[Barclay]

13 hours ago, Coldgunner said:

I've been reflecting this evening on the impact of the internet on mental health...

 

My thoughts? a totally negative impact!

 

On Youtube, I get nothing but anti-woke content pushed towards me (I'm not anti-woke, but not ultra-woke either). Go online, see nothing but people (allegedly) doing better for themselves than I do. Everyone else seems to have tons of disposable income, or always got 'better' things. Facebook is all people doing better than me. Twitter is nothing but politics and echo-chambers. Their algorithms target me by offering me content that will get my goat and gas-light.

 

Yet, I go to the model club, go to the pub, go see mates... I get pleasant conversations all around, even with people who have different beliefs to me. Not to say I've not had positive experiences either, the railway community on social media is generally very positive and supportive. I want to continue uploading my content to Youtube and maybe stick to cars, trains and planes as part of my viewing habits. Just talk trains on Twitter and maybe withdraw mostly from Facebook and not post much.

The grass is always greener - it's the human condition isn't it? I wouldn't worry about it, and don't forget that anyone who posts their whole life on the interweb is probably highly conceited or indeed seeking affirmation themselves. There is a whole army of people much worse off than you and I who aren't doing it don't forget! I have nothing to do with social media, except train and classic car stuff for this very reason. I once joined a hi-fi forum as I love music and am fond of my hi-fi, which is pretty good, but once on that forum all I saw was people showing everyone how much incredibly expensive kit they had, leaving me feeling pretty deflated and even a little patronised. I stopped using it and soon felt better!

[irishmail]

28 minutes ago, Barclay said:

The grass is always greener - it's the human condition isn't it? I wouldn't worry about it, and don't forget that anyone who posts their whole life on the interweb is probably highly conceited or indeed seeking affirmation themselves. There is a whole army of people much worse off than you and I who aren't doing it don't forget! I have nothing to do with social media, except train and classic car stuff for this very reason. I once joined a hi-fi forum as I love music and am fond of my hi-fi, which is pretty good, but once on that forum all I saw was people showing everyone how much incredibly expensive kit they had, leaving me feeling pretty deflated and even a little patronised. I stopped using it and soon felt better!

It does seem to be a problem across all social media platforms.  What ever hobby or interest you have there often seems a be a minority who want to show of their latest all singing/dancing product including model railways.   In relation to railway modelling there are some good youtubers who do really good genuine reviews and then you get an element who say you got to have the latest Bac/Horn/Hel/Acc or what ever and say older models are only fit for the skip/landfil.

In relation to Youtube and faceache, I only ever watch or look at railway related stuff but get feeds/suggestions for total irrelavent non railway related junk too. 

[Schooner]

Some thoughts:

• dive in to social media with an aim in mind. Do it, and get out. A bit like productive modeling!
• if you're passively 'consuming' you're likely being taken advantage of ('tho normally nothing more sinister than exchanging your time for ad revenue)
• support (again, just with your time) creators you think do a good thing; block those who do not. Give your algorithm a healthy diet :)
• beware anything which illicits an emotional response. If you read the headline, read the article. Context matters, allow yourself time to get some.

And, as with all things, if you're not enjoying it...don't do it :) It's a tool, no need to have it dictate how you spend your time or how you feel. Study after study show that real-time information sharing (the good corners of pre-Musk Twitter, railway society groups etc) are positive, social comparison feeds (most of Facebook) are not.

[woodenhead]

@Schooner very good suggestions.

 

I know I too can be caught by the aimless passive browsing when it comes to Reddit - I don't login or comment but I like to consume the feed but very wary it is full of clickbait and bots so am careful not to go down the rabbit holes as they appear - it's great though for a bit of daftness at times where you get the most ridiculous stuff of TikTok without having to consume TikTok which to me feels like the spawn of Satan.  Then there is something called Twitch which seems to have a lot of content sharers that people follow whilst they play online games and suchlike, not something I would have any interest in.  I also have little time for the YouTube railway channels where there is a livestream of trains going round an almost basic oval and they read out comments from people in the chat stream and answer in a rather inane manner.

 

I'll admit I also look at the Daily Mail - not for the content because I know it is bigotted and designed to scare people but simply so I can get angry that it does it.  Why the heck do I do this to myself, I really don't know, but I've added it because I just want to demonstrate I am not perfect myself when it comes to controlling my online content consumption, we're all a work in progress until we die.

[Coldgunner]

29 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

I'll admit I also look at the Daily Mail - not for the content because I know it is bigotted and designed to scare people but simply so I can get angry that it does it.  Why the heck do I do this to myself, I really don't know, but I've added it because I just want to demonstrate I am not perfect myself when it comes to controlling my online content consumption, we're all a work in progress until we die.

 

I once worked for Murdoch lol, seen some of the rot from the inside. Daily Heil is in the same league of mind rotting, gaslighting crap. I admit occasionally I'll see a link to an article from them and others like them that do pique my interest. 

 

I have a Times+ subscription, but I ain't ever paid for it lol

[Schooner]

It's annoying isn't it - they're great, and somehow it feels great whilst knowing it's awful. A fairly recent example from the Mail:

 

"Just half of Britons support sending UK troops to Ukraine to train Kyiv's forces, new poll reveals..."

 

Oh dear. Bad news for Ukraine. Public support low, aid at risk. Russia as good as won. Everyone might as well give up now. Woe, woe and thrice woe!

 

Wait one...

 

...so...

 

...half the population polled were for sending British troops into Ukraine? In an era when concensus in minimal and military interventions very much not de rigueur?

 

And hang on, if "just half" (YouGov poll not linked. Typical) support the proposal, that means...*checks*...

 

...31% of respondents were against sending the British Army into an active warzone?! Isn't that the "just"? It's nuts! An astonishing number and demonstration of a huge level of support among respondents; the newsworthy bit which would help us calibrate for and navigate through the real world. Compare to public support for the invasion of Iraq for example:

Aggregate UK opinion poll data on the prospect of British military action in Iraq, January 2002-March 2003. Source: ICM/YouGov.

 

Emotive topics, and I've no intent to start any kind of political chat, just a stark example of a headline being 180-degrees misleading...but we love it!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Schooner
Sp.

[john new]

On 01/12/2023 at 23:53, john new said:

Mixed emotions this week. On the positive moving forwards towards finally getting my hernia op done as I got offered a queue jump cancellation (should be next Friday) on the negative lost items. It appears I may have inadvertently dropped my tube of modelling brushes into the last recycling collection when clearing c**p off the work area. Easily physically  replaced but not the sentiment as several had been my Dad’s and others had been given me as presents.  If they are just lost in the house/wrongly put away no idea where I haven’t already looked!

 

Operation went ok and on time. Still recuperating but now more frustration than anything else as still no driving. Possibility of busting the stitches. Back on the road Monday next week so should make it to the last club night before the Xmas break. 

 

I lost a parent a couple of days before Christmas so it is always a season of mixed feelings. Knowing how the false bonhomie that swills around at this time of year can make things worse just hoping those of you who are facing the black dog can find something positive.

 

[woodenhead]

@Schooner And there will be another article somewhere stating the opposite because the Mail want's to attract everyone to it's site and draw them in for or against the item.

 

I think the word is baiting....

[GMKAT7]

Hello John,

 

I had a hernia repair op on 20/12/21 and it took 2 weeks before I felt able to walk any distance.

 

Driving took until 10/01/22, but it was from Wetherby to Derby (approximately 1.5 hours).

 

Cheers, Nigel.

 

[westernviscount]

On 13/12/2023 at 22:11, Coldgunner said:

I've been reflecting this evening on the impact of the internet on mental health...

 

My thoughts? a totally negative impact!

 

On Youtube, I get nothing but anti-woke content pushed towards me (I'm not anti-woke, but not ultra-woke either). Go online, see nothing but people (allegedly) doing better for themselves than I do. Everyone else seems to have tons of disposable income, or always got 'better' things. Facebook is all people doing better than me. Twitter is nothing but politics and echo-chambers. Their algorithms target me by offering me content that will get my goat and gas-light.

 

Yet, I go to the model club, go to the pub, go see mates... I get pleasant conversations all around, even with people who have different beliefs to me. Not to say I've not had positive experiences either, the railway community on social media is generally very positive and supportive. I want to continue uploading my content to Youtube and maybe stick to cars, trains and planes as part of my viewing habits. Just talk trains on Twitter and maybe withdraw mostly from Facebook and not post much.

I finally committed and removed youtube from my device. I experimented with settings including the removal of the viewing history which was essentially a clean slate every time. I subscribed to one channel (railway related) but found there was still drift towards right wing laced BS such a jordan peterson etc. The "you are aloser not to be rich and its all your fault" types. 

So, purged it completely and feel much better. No social media at all for a number of years and now youtube is gone I guess all thats left is...

Edited December 15, 2023 by westernviscount

[MJI]

18 minutes ago, westernviscount said:

I finally committed and removed youtube from my device. I experimented with settings including the removal of the viewing history which was essentially a clean slate every time. I subscribed to one channel (railway related) but found there was still drift towards right wing laced BS such a jordan peterson etc. The "you are aloser not to be rich and its all your fault" types. 

So, purged it completely and feel much better. No social media at all for a number of years and now youtube is gone I guess all thats left is...

RMweb