Tag: dailyprompt

A job at Jodrell bank

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What’s a job you would like to do for just one day?

WordPress does not have a photo of Jodrell Bank radio telescope near Holmes Chapel in England, so I’ve chosen a random photo of a radio telescope from their image selection.

I love visiting the place, but I wish I had an astrophysics qualification so I could sit in the control room and actually be involved in the discovery of something spectacular, like the radio signal of a pulsar, or the signal from an alien civilisation. To be the first to hear something new. Like Jocelyn Bell-Burnell who discovered the first Pulsar, a fast spinning neutron star that gives off radio signals which can be detected by the radio telescope. She didn’t get credit for the discovery and wasn’t included the nobel prize when it was awarded for the work she did.

If I could be there I’d even enjoy making tea for the astronomers, or just sit quietly in a corner, listening out for signals. I used to be a member of a citizen science group looking out for alien signals. SETI is really interesting and I also like the ZOONIVERSE  group that looks at data for several citizen science projects.

The trouble is if you let me in…. You won’t get me out!

I have none

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What are your favorite brands and why?

Things cost too much so I try and be selective in what I buy. I go to a few different shops and try and buy what’s cheapest, but of a reasonable quality. I don’t want to buy a tin of beans only to find out half of its weight is tomato sauce.

It turns out a lot of own brands can be as good or better than the more well known ones. So they can be cost effective to buy. I also buy food close to it’s sell buy date, it means there are savings to be made there too. I live close to shops so I can pop out and top up with things relatively easily.

As to other things, anyone who knows me knows I’m not into fashion or expensive objects. If I have money it gets spent on bills or repairs or art supplies.

I hate adverts, I never buy things I see on TV or online. It doesn’t tempt me to see expensive perfume or clothing. I’m not a brand buyer, I can’t be bothered with merchandise like handbags or shoes.

So that’s your answer… None.

Yes!

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Do you vote in political elections?

I’ve voted in every election I could. The first time I voted following my families choice, I was young and I hadn’t really thought through my voting intentions, we had always voted one way so I followed suit.

Then I left home, my situation changed. Many conversations followed and I realised I no longer agreed with my family. Much to their surprise I changed allegance. Why? The reality of life was not as I’d imagined it as a child.

I think the important thing to do when voting is to really consider what’s on offer, not just to you, but to your neighbours and friends. Bad policies should not be selected. That means any party that is not bothered about the needs of the population should be discarded. Perhaps we could have more accurate measurement of whether parties have kept their promises?

As a woman I’m proud to vote. I remember all the women 100 years ago who fought for women’s suffrage. If you can find the song on the Internet have a listen to the song “Nana was a Sufferagette”. I think it gives a good idea of how I feel.

My moral compass

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What gives you direction in life?

I’ve always tried to be kind, I hope I care for people. I’ve decided to always try and be pleasant with people if I can. I still react to bad behaviour and think it should be dealt with, but we should have more consideration.

I sat in the pharmacy today waiting for some medication. The shop has had a new computer system and they are still trying to get up to speed with it. The shop was very busy and there were people queuing all the time I was there. Some people were fine, others demanding, and some complained. One woman behind the counter was trying to deal with all of them. She remained patient and helpful despite the pressure. When she came over to get something off the shelf near where I was sitting I thanked her and said I appreciated their help. I told her how I had noticed how hard they were working. She said some people think they are doing nothing. She was pleased that I had thanked her.

It costs nothing to be polite, and a few kind  words can go a long way to making people feel better.

Treat others…

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Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?

… As you would treat yourself .

The world needs balance, fairness, care.

Be considerate of others, it’s something I’ve always thought was a good principle to try and stick to. Before you do something that might affect others, think of the consequences. I think the people in the world could try and be more helpful to each other. For instance 8 men (billionaires) own as much as 3.6 BILLION People. That’s about half the world’s population. Isn’t it about time that things were shared more fairly? I’m not saying everyone could be equal, but perhaps instead of avoiding tax, the richest in society could pay a fair amount.

Have I been camping?

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Have you ever been camping?

Several times, but something always seemed to go wrong!

We went on the train to Wales, we were going to cycle around and camp every day. But we’d only took the fly sheet of the tent not the whole thing. We asked someone if we could prop our flysheet up against his tent, he said yes, then my hubby decided to be generous and bought the man several whiskys in the camp bar, so when we woke up in the morning most of the money had been spent and the forecast was for rain. After a brief discussion (argument) we caught the train home stuck in a guards van with a very loud Welsh rugby team singing rude songs!

Another time we took a frame tent in our car, we put the tent up, only to realise the tent was inside out and the curtains were on the outside. That time my hubby reversed the car over my saucepans! Result, Argument!

Another camping holiday, we cycled 40 miles in sunshine one spring, the weather turned and we had a few nights of snow. We had to sleep in all our clothes. It was minus 11 °C one night. We cycled home and got stuck in snow cycling up a steep hill, we had to take a detour adding 20 miles onto the ride. Result shattered!

Then there was the cycle trip to Cornwall, we were on a clifftop above St Ives. My hubby put his foot through the zip in the middle of the night. Luckily I’d got a sewing kit, so I sat with a torch in my mouth and sewed the front of the tent up, luckily that was our last night there.

We did have a few other more successful trips but we decided to go on caravan holidays instead, and I could tell some tales about them too!

Summer

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When do you feel most productive?

I usually feel better in summer, at the moment the daylight is increasing and I feel slightly more productive. I somehow usually come out of myself in the spring, and as the season progresses I feel more enthusiastic.

Spring flowers

This year? I don’t know, I’ve spent a lot of time just staring at things. My motivation is really low. I don’t go out much so I probably low on vitamin D. I will try and get over the feeling of sadness and anxiety. I would like to be more productive as the days lengthen. I will have to see what happens.

My favourite emoji

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What are your favorite emojis?

The ink block print, “the great wave of Kanagawa” by Hokusai is the basis of the wave emoji that we use today:

🌊

Unfortunately I could not find an image of the original print on the WordPress image search engine, and my phone won’t save images when I click on them. But you might have seen the picture? A towering wave is breaking in foaming pieces over two japanese fishing boats full of rowing men. In the background across the sea the magnificent mount Fuji stands with it’s upper slopes covered with snow.

Hokusai created many images of mount Fuji, but the great wave is perhaps the best known, it is well deserved that it is represented by this emoji. If you want to find out more about Hokusai its worth looking him up online. He was a wonderful artist.

Science and Art

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What topics do you like to discuss?

That’s why I like trying to paint astronomical pictures, like this tryptic of Jupiters pole based on the photos by NASAs Juno probe.

I’ve always been interested in both subjects, I wouldn’t say I was an expert, I will always check my facts if I write about science, but I enjoy thinking things through. And having a visual mind helps me imagine how things work.

Art is my first love, I worry that I will find it increasingly difficult to create since my diagnosis with Parkinsons disease. I would be bereft if I could not continue. I hope that better treatment becomes available, another reason for being interested in science

Finishing work

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Describe a risk you took that you do not regret.

I gave up work to mainly look after my hubby whose mental health was deteriorating. I could have carried on, but circumstances were also changing in my job. The way we worked was reverting back to old fashioned ways which I felt was detrimental to our clients. I’d fought hard to help them more and it felt like their needs were being forgotten while money was saved. Services were being slashed. I had to go, and I never regretted it, I just felt sorry for my fellow workers who I left behind. Covid and other problems meant that I didn’t make a go of my small business, but at least I tried.