Wright writes.....

[Arthur]

 

On another modern technology theme, local news has just reported that a school in Stroud has banned 'fitbit' watches during school hours. These things monitor your levels of activity/exercise. Apparently some kids were skipping lunch because their watches had 'told' them they had not exercised enough.

These are girls of 11-14.

 

Blimey, I use my watch to tell me that it's time to eat. If it's 1, nothing is gonna keep me from lunch.

 

.

[gr.king]

I did type up my own comments on the extreme rudeness of constant users of mobile phones last night, but then decided I had better delete them rather than make them public.....

 

I tend to rate such people as fair game for one or two things that I won't specify.

[chris p bacon]

In defence of the mobile phone (especially smart phones) they have been a real godsend at work. Gone are the days of driving round in the middle of nowhere trying to find a payphone that worked just to find out where deliveries were.

Being able to look up material specifications in a few seconds on the web has given me my evenings as it all had to wait until I got back to the office. Same goes for the many answerphone messages that had to be returned, now they get the answer without the ping pong of messages that used to be the way.

 

I would say that the attitude that the phone is important has been around for quite a while and is not confined to mobiles. On quite a few occasions I have been at a till/shop counter when part way through a transaction the phone rings and the assistant picks it up to answer the call thereby ignoring me. The automatic response from me is to reach across and press the button to disconnect the call.  

Generally it is met with an apology for answering but on a few occasions I have been on the end of a tirade of abuse so have left the shop without purchases.

[Tony Wright]

In defence of the mobile phone (especially smart phones) they have been a real godsend at work. Gone are the days of driving round in the middle of nowhere trying to find a payphone that worked just to find out where deliveries were.

Being able to look up material specifications in a few seconds on the web has given me my evenings as it all had to wait until I got back to the office. Same goes for the many answerphone messages that had to be returned, now they get the answer without the ping pong of messages that used to be the way.

 

I would say that the attitude that the phone is important has been around for quite a while and is not confined to mobiles. On quite a few occasions I have been at a till/shop counter when part way through a transaction the phone rings and the assistant picks it up to answer the call thereby ignoring me. The automatic response from me is to reach across and press the button to disconnect the call.  

Generally it is met with an apology for answering but on a few occasions I have been on the end of a tirade of abuse so have left the shop without purchases.

Good points, Dave,

 

I actually have a mobile phone. I think it's in the car, and it's always switched off. I only have it in case I have a problem on a journey. It's over a decade old. Does that make it obsolete? The last time I made a call on it was over a year ago. That must tell us something about my dependence on it (it wasn't because the car had broken down). 

 

I think you're right that 'rudeness' can occur when someone answers an 'ordinary' phone whilst in the middle of a conversation/transaction. My point about what I perceived as being 'rude' was that the phone was not examined in response to a call. It was just the constant looking at it, fiddling with it and what have you, when we were doing something else. If one operates a railway, operate it (not, most definitely using a mobile phone), concentrate and enjoy doing it properly. Put the bl**dy phone away and drive. At one show, one (guest) operator driving Stoke stopped to answer his phone, causing chaos as he drove far too quickly into a road while not concentrating. I offered condolences on the death of one of his close relatives, because the phone call must have been THAT important. I've never spoken to him since! Over 40 years ago I was called away from the class I was teaching to take a call, to be informed that my own mother had died suddenly. That, I think, qualifies as 'important'.

 

I'm trying to think of an old analogy with regard to the (mis)use of mobiles. How about if one is in conversation with someone and they suddenly pick up a book, effectively ignoring you in mid-conversation?  Might that be regarded as being rude?

 

Last year, my wife and I and two friends sat down to a lovely meal in a local pub. On the adjacent table was a 'nuclear' family - mum, dad, son, daughter. The children were early teens I'd say. None of them spoke to each other. All were fiddling with their phones/tablets. They just grunted their requests to the waitress and, even as they ate, they continued this total absorption. I admit it's none of my business but I wonder how articulate the children will grow up.  

 

As a fully paid up (founder?) member of the Ned Ludd Appreciation Society, I'll be demonstrating my arcane methods of communication (face-to-face talking), making models (soldering) and operation (analogue) at Parmiter's School, Watford tomorrow. There'll be no mobile phone in sight!

Edited July 16, 2017 by Tony Wright

[Guius]

There's no doubt, in my mind that mobile phones are a genuine benefit to most people. It's genuinely revolutionised how we conduct our lives for the better I believe, the ability to contact friends and family, either by a call or text at any time brings a sense of security to the vulnerable and comfort to the isolated. This, however, can't be said of all the uses mobiles are put to, selfies spring to mind.

 

Best

 

Guy  

[Torper]

I would say that the attitude that the phone is important has been around for quite a while and is not confined to mobiles. On quite a few occasions I have been at a till/shop counter when part way through a transaction the phone rings and the assistant picks it up to answer the call thereby ignoring me. The automatic response from me is to reach across and press the button to disconnect the call. 

 

I'm not at all sure that countering one rudeness with another even greater rudeness solves anything.

 

DT

[pom-pom]

There's no doubt, in my mind that mobile phones are a genuine benefit to most people. It's genuinely revolutionised how we conduct our lives for the better I believe, the ability to contact friends and family, either by a call or text at any time brings a sense of security to the vulnerable and comfort to the isolated. This, however, can't be said of all the uses mobiles are put to, selfies spring to mind.

 

Best

 

Guy  

 

Quite agree. I actually work creating websites/applications for mobile devices and many aspects of life have changed for the better, a simple example being the immediate availability of internet information and/or services in our pocket and in 'phoning we now call the recipient rather than the recipient's house.

 

Having said that, your comment on how these devices are used reminds me of the comment oft used by the pro-gun lobby in America: it's not guns that kill people it's the people using guns. And so it is with smartphones... all that's required is a bit of decency and common manners; switch the thing off when appropriate, don't interact with it when in conversation or even the company of another person. But try telling that to a 'social-media' addict... they won't even hear most likely. Drives me nuts. And I do like the solutions mentioned here regarding disconnecting a rude person's call and throwing 'phones in water butts... even though I'd never dare!

[mullie]

I find a smartphone invaluable for work and going on RM Web during my numerous hours waiting for daughter to come out of rehearsals in the car park. I can stay in contact with my wife about getting home from work etc via the hands free and all my favourite music can be played in the car, from the phone, I just leave it on shuffle and it will play for hours.

 

However, as a family we have a strict no phones policy at the table and always try and eat at least one meal a day together, more difficult now one daughter is at University but we do try when she is at home. It's the users that are the problem not the device.

[salmonpastures]

Tony the D9 looks wonderful,,, but,,, it is a "Robinson"!!!!!.

 

As for the rest of the "open communication" over the past "micro-millenium" can I suggest you all contact:

 

https://www.ofcom.org.uk

 

I enjoy being a dinosaur,,, and it drives the kids wild!!!

 

SAD

[chris p bacon]

I'm not at all sure that countering one rudeness with another even greater rudeness solves anything.

 

DT

 

You are quite correct that my action could be deemed to be rude,  but when I'm handing over money I want that persons attention and fail to see why someone not in the room should take precedent.

I would say I haven't done it that often, generally choosing to walk out.

I did see a salesperson at a till in New York, take the phone from a customer and turn it off so she could get her attention.

[Clearwater]

As a parent on a small child, I will confess we use ipads when we're out at meals. Frankly they can be a godsend. We do operate rules. No ipad before we order, no iPad whilst eating. Largely they are a modern version of a colouring book or whatever. The key benefit is that once fed, child is occupied and quiet. We therefore, and possibly others, get to enjoy the balance of our meal in peace. Particularly relevant for longer meals where There are gaps between courses. Of course some people do overuse them as a method of child control...

 

On phones, I agree with Chrispy Dave - they are invaluable if you're out and about and need to find people. No more standing under the clock at Waterloo forelonly waiting for someone who's late. Yesterday I was meeting people at Lords. A quick text from someone to say "we in stand x row b" and I found them straightaway. No need to make a convoluted plan to say if x is full then y else if the wicket is on the grandstand side then bowler's bar row g etc etc. Was also able to arrange to meet another friend in a given point behind the stand as we'd worked out on Facebook we were both at lord's (our respective pictures of the ground enabled us to realise..)

 

Also think about sports teams. On the morning of a match when the game's cancelled due to bad weather, oppo folding the captain can send one text to all to update them. No more complicated rain phone rotas or need to call a manned number at a given time. Yes, there are no mobile solutions but the technology makes it easier and quicker. Why wouldn't you avail yourself of the help?

 

David

[Tony Wright]

After this post, I'll say no more on the matter of mobile phones/devices/tablets. What other names do they have?

 

To many, they must be a Godsend. Since I don't need one (except in emergencies), then what they can do is rather irrelevant to me. I can't text (don't want to), don't do Facebook or Twitter or other forms of social media (other than this thread). One thing I can do (or I hope so) is to spell properly (usually) and have a grasp of grammar. It might be my prejudice, but some of the electronic communications I've had recently appear to show a remarkable ignorance of the tenets of correct English. Contrast that to several hand-written cards/letters I've received in the last few days which are perfectly-written (thanks to the likes of Dan and Sandra). 

 

For a quarter of a century I captained a cricket team. If the game were abandoned, I just phoned folk up (not by mobile) or we just met as pre-arranged in the local pub and either went home or had a drink or two. 

 

Having brought up two boys, we never needed any distractions when eating a meal (even when they were tiny). They just did as they were told. There was no negotiation needed, just firm parenting. Strangely (having just enjoyed a splendid barbeque with both of them), neither has grown up to loath me (though I was known as 'Victorian Dad' by their peers - readers of VIZ will know all about that).  They never had colouring books (by that I mean books with monochrome illustrations to be coloured-in), though both had sketch books from a very early age. I cannot see a mobile device as being a substitute for personal drawing books, and certainly not for reading books.

 

These, of course, are my own opinions/views. That technology moves on there's no doubt and there are many who embrace it. I have embraced things like more modern motors/gearboxes and, to some extent, more modern controllers (though my ancient H&Ms still see yeoman service), but I refuse (as is well known) to embrace digital control (please, no more discussions on that, please). That said, I use a digital camera, and I've no wish to return to film. Perhaps I should investigate the new methods of making things by laser-cutting or 3D printing, but I'm not sure. 

 

As for the march of RTR (made better by new technologies?), I really don't care. Entertaining four delightful chaps last Monday, we finished up in my workshop where there are dozens of un-built (metal) kits, hundreds of driving/carrying wheels and lots and lots of motors/gearboxes. 

 

I happily live in the past, at least for now. 

Edited July 14, 2017 by Tony Wright

[APOLLO]

Mobile phones !!!

 

 

Nuff said !!

 

Brit15

[manna]

G'Day Gents

 

Tony, your still to modern, you use electricity, eat processed food, use pens and pencils, you want to get back to being a real Luddite, kill your own food, use sticks (or fingers ) for writing, charcoal or ash instead of pens or pencils, firelight instead of light bulbs........come to think of it, naw I'll stick with what I've got, Thank you very much, Long Live electricity, Burgers and mobile phones. LOL.

 

manna

[Jol Wilkinson]

The issue with increasingly complex modern consumer technology is whether you manage it for your own benefit, or let it control you for the benefit of others. If the former, you pick and choose what you want from it, as Tony does with his mobile phone. If the latter, you become the "slave" of friends, family, society  in general and those with commercial interests in making money out of you.

[TrevorP1]

Mobile phones are tools. Like all tools they can be used correctly or incorrectly. A chisel can be used to make beautiful carvings but could also be used to kill people. An engineer can make deft adjustments with a hammer but the hammer could also be used to smash things. A mobile should be used to make life easier and more productive, it should not control you.

[Headstock]

Mobile phones are tools. Like all tools they can be used correctly or incorrectly.

 

A mobile should be used to make life easier and more productive, it should not control you.

 

I shall take your advice and equip one with bogies, couplings and a nice coat of teak paint.

[rowanj]

I suppose the recent posts on mobiles and manners, along with the dearth of photos of actual modelling, means that mobiles are not being used for photographic purposes. I actually find mine quite handy for that...

Edited July 15, 2017 by rowanj

[chris p bacon]

I suppose the recent posts on mobiles and manners, along with the dearth of photos of actual modelling, means that mobiles are at least not being used for photographic purposes. I actually find mine quite handy for that...

 

As a camera they're actually quite good, nearly all the recent posts with pictures on my thread are using the phone, I only want them as a record of progress and so take them at the bench then email it to myself so that I don't have to download the phone just open an email. and update.

 

Oh dear....I'm hooked....

[sulzer27jd]

I suppose the recent posts on mobiles and manners, along with the dearth of photos of actual modelling, means that mobiles are at least not being used for photographic purposes. I actually find mine quite handy for that...

 

I use the camera on mine all the time. It is great for getting down to lineside level. I probably reach for my phone now more than I reach for the big camera.

[Atso]

Hello Tony,

 

It was great to see you again today and thanks for introducing me to Geoff Haynes. Also thanks for putting up with me distracting you both for the better part of the morning!

 

I'm really glad that I've finally seen you most recently built B17 painted as the last time I saw it was at Warley when it was still in the brass - I think you said that Geoff painted it. Whoever painted it, they did a stunning job and it has really finished off a great model.

 

Finally as promised, given the discussion about mobile phones and their uses/benefits on here recently, I will make no mention of your urgent requirement to borrow Geoff's mobile phone this morning to ascertain the location of your toolbox!

 

Edit: Oh, how could I have forgotten to comment about your D9! A wonderful looking locomotive that runs ever bit as well as it looks!

Edited July 15, 2017 by Atso

[The Johnster]

I use the camera on mine all the time. It is great for getting down to lineside level. I probably reach for my phone now more than I reach for the big camera.

 

I can even make phone calls on mine...

[Jon4470]

I've noticed that a McGowan GCR Atlantic kit has just sold for £127 on EBay - thought this was quite apposite given the recent comments about the quality of these kits. Clearly there is demand for kits of prototypes not yet covered by the RTR manufacturers.

 

Jon

[The Johnster]

One would hope so.  The role of kits has always been, in my view, to satisfy demand that isn't worth the manufacturers' time, trouble, or investment, which they are able to do by being capable of produced more cheaply and with lower volumes needed to provide a return.  They also, in the bad old day, provided superior quality to rtr items, but rtr has closed the gap very considerably.  The situation was distorted in the olden days by the limited and often odd choice of manufacturers' prototypes, so that basic items such as GWR panniers, Black 5s, B1s, WDs etc were simply not on offer, (Triang Hornby made a not very impressive attempt at an 8750 and a Black 5 in the early 70s, but before that it was K's or Jamieson's, and a lot of work.  

 

There is still, I believe, a demand for kits that make up without too much bother into acceptable well-running models.  Many of the old ranges seem to be difficult to obtain as their producers are retired or passed on, but there is, I believe, an opening for new product from new providers.  Don't look at me, by the way, I wouldn't know where to start, but I reckon, using GWR examples because I know more about them than anything else, something like a 'Metro' 2-4-0 tank, which to be honest I wouldn't expect from an rtr producer, might cover it's costs and provide someone with a useful second income as a kit.  Or an Aberdare.  Or any number of first generation dmus, or emus that are not Southern Region ones (those are well covered by rtr).  Or any number of industrials, steam and diesel.  

 

But it's not as easy as it looks.  To cut the mustard in the modern hobby, a kit needs to be not only well researched and provide the necessary detail, but be capable of simple and straightforward assembly form comprehensive and well written instructions.  And the price of the finished model, inclusive of wheels, paint, motors, gears, pickups, transfers and so on, needs to be, if not competitive, at least relatable to a comparable rtr item.  Any idiot can get those things wrong, but the days of kits that are next to impossible to build and result in a glut on the market of badly made non-runners knocked out as 'professionally hand build scale models' on eBay by people who have given up on them and are trying to recoup their losses are over, or if they are not, they bl**dy well should be!  The modern market is more demanding at all skill levels, not just rtr, and this is A Good Thing in my view, as market law states that the result will be better quality models, at all skill levels.

 

I would like to see modern ranges of kits, sold complete with all items needed to finish the model in a running condition, and specialising in areas that rtr has not involved itself in, not going head to head for market share with them.  What I'd like to see and what I'm probably going to see are not the same things, of course.  I do not find the excuse that 'choice of wheels, motors etc, is deliberately left to the individual modeller' acceptable.  Paint and livery maybe.

[Tony Wright]

Hello Tony,

 

It was great to see you again today and thanks for introducing me to Geoff Haynes. Also thanks for putting up with me distracting you both for the better part of the morning!

 

I'm really glad that I've finally seen you most recently built B17 painted as the last time I saw it was at Warley when it was still in the brass - I think you said that Geoff painted it. Whoever painted it, they did a stunning job and it has really finished off a great model.

 

Finally as promised, given the discussion about mobile phones and their uses/benefits on here recently, I will make no mention of your urgent requirement to borrow Geoff's mobile phone this morning to ascertain the location of your toolbox!

 

Edit: Oh, how could I have forgotten to comment about your D9! A wonderful looking locomotive that runs ever bit as well as it looks!

Thanks Steve,

 

Regarding the borrowing of a mobile phone, yes - caught red-handed. My excuses? Two, really. For one, since I always try and put my heart and soul into something, then that was an illustration yesterday of my zeal regarding hypocrisy! If one is going to be a hypocrite, then no half-measures. And, two, I couldn't remember loading or unloading my toolbox into or out of Geoff's car, so wanted to check. If it had been the latter, then that meant I'd have left it in the car park - unattended for an hour and a half! As it was, it was where I'd put it on Friday evening - ready to be loaded!

 

Thank you for the praise of my models. May I please reciprocate? 

 

 

 

Here's your beautiful D49 in N Gauge (the second picture showing just how small it really is in comparison with my scale). This is work of the highest-quality and deserves a much wider audience. 

 

 

As does your K3. Thank you for the opportunity of photographing them. It will come as no surprise that I used a proper camera!

 

I thought the CMRA Members' Day event yesterday was excellent, though it needs much greater publicity. It would appear very few people even knew about it. 

 

May I please thank all those who bought books/kits off me? I went home with over £100.00 for widows and Cancer Research. 

 

Picking up on one or two recent posts...............

 

No loco kit manufacturer is ever going to provide wheels in their kits these days. Why should they? In times past, DJH used to provide Romford/Markits wheels, only to be told by many that they didn't want them - they preferred friction-fit types, so why should they incur a cost for something they didn't want to use? Alan Gibson used to supply his wheels with his kits, only to be told (by folk like me) that Romford/Markits were preferred, so why should they pay for something they couldn't get on with? 

 

£125 or so seems incredibly steep to pay for an old McGowan kit! That they can be built, there's no dispute, but, even at best, the result is a bit lumpen and crude. That D9 wasn't too bad (built in less than two days) but I was able to predict some of the potential problems and chucked a few bits away. 

 

Anyway, great to see you yesterday, and keep up with that personal modelling. It's inspirational.