Just another picture from a stroll

Strolling around the same area day after day tends to give a limited scope for photography. However, one uses the opportunities that arises - like a small ship passing beneath a bridge.

Who is watching in Sky Watch Friday?

Big Brother is watching YOU!

PS More about Sky Watch Friday at Wigger's World

Summer in ABC Wednesday

It Started out as a Sense of Spring...

...but ended up as Summer in the City!

PS For more about ABC Wednesday, please visit Mrs. Nesbitt's Place. It is well worth the effort.

Next "Bridge-picture"

Just a small reminder that the next Monday for "Bridges Between" is June 2nd. The rules are here.

Ready to fly

A dandelion has-been.

Connecting to Sky Watch Friday

Sky Watch by remote control.

PS More about Sky Watch Friday at Wigger's World

R is for Rune on ABC Wednesday

It should not come as a surprise what my contribution to this weeks ABC Wednesday is. According to the English version of Wikipedia:

Rune is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse word "rún," meaning "secret lore."

The statistics say that there were 19 440 persons in Norway carrying that name in 2006. That means I am not alone - always a comforting thought.

It seems that I am a holder of secret lore, whatever that night be. Since I am no fan of secrets, a further search of Wikipedia is indicated:

The Runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters (known as runes) used to write Germanic languages prior to the adaption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes after. The Scandinavian variants are also known as Futhark (or fuþark, derived from their first six letters of the alphabet.

Aha - I am related to an Alphabet - very fitting for participation in ABC Wednesday. I also enjoyed this finding:

In J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit, the Anglo-Saxon runes are used on a map to emphasize its connection to the Dwarves. They were also used in the initial drafts of The Lord of the Rings, but later were replaced by the Cirth rune-like alphabet invented by Tolkien.

This was very gratifying indeed since "The Lord of the Rings" is my favourite book. However, I did not like this finding:

As forms of Neopaganism can be quite different and have distinctive origins, recognition and usage of runes can vary considerably.

As with Germanic paganism in general, the runes are a major element in Germanic neopaganism used for a wide variety of purposes in varying senses of reconstructionism, depending on the type of group.

New Agers and some Wiccans may also sometimes use runes under various (generally non-reconstructive) conditions, such as divination.

Not my kind of thing at all!

Maybe I should sue the person behind this advertising board for infringement of copyright or something similar?


BTW - this post marks a small jubilee for me - I have now participated in one round of ABC - Wednesday. I started last November with S. I have only missed one entry - G. I would like to make up for that now. The picture below should say what G is for:







PS For more about ABC Wednesday, please visit Mrs. Nesbitt's Place. It is well worth the effort.

It goes with a bang!

During today's Sunday stroll, I found this small sign fastened to a structure usually not seen everywhere. As a hint, I can say that the language is German.


This structure had many components, and some of you may now recognize it for what it is, if not - look below:

Yes, it is a gun - an anti-aircraft gun from WW2 that was placed at Fjell Fortress in Norway by the Nazi's as a defence for the main triple gun tower that was supposed to guard against invasion of Western Norway by allied forces. The tower was initially placed on the battleship Gneisenau. The fortress is not very far from where we live, so I'll probably return to the subject later.

17.05.2008

17th of May - to most people around the world it is a day like any other day. To Norwegians it is THE DAY. It is the Norwegian Constitution Day, or put another way - our National Day. What the 4th of July is to the people in USA and the 14th of July is to the French, the 17th of May is to us - only more so.

The day is in commemoration of the signing of the first national, Norwegian constitution in 1814. After 400 years of Danish rule, the Napoleonic wars had left Norway to be transferred as a booty of war from Denmark to Sweden. However, the Norwegians wanted it otherwise. A national assembly was called at Eidsvold outside Oslo (then called Christiania) and they signed the worlds most liberal constitution on this day. True, after a short war with Sweden, Norway had to accept a personal union with Sweden under the rule of king Carl Johan. But the constitution was kept almost unchanged and Norway had a very high degree of independence within the union until total independence was declared on the 7th of June 1905. But the 17th of May is acknowledged as the greatest day in our history.

Typical for the celebration is the almost total lack of military presence in the various parades. It is the people of Norway who celebrates. It is a civilian celebration.

May you all have a nice day!

A puff from Bob Dylan in Sky Watch Friday

"Blowing in the wind"

PS More about Sky Watch Friday at Wigger's World

Q is for QE2 in ABC Wednesday

Living as I do, I am accustomed to see a great number of cruise ships during the summer season. Many of the modern ones look like Sky-scrapers turned sideways (also known as "hotels with propellers"). However - this one does not. The QE2 (or more officially "RMS Queen Elizabeth 2") is not just another boat - she is a SHIP!

Wikipedia says it like this:

RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) is a Cunard Line ocean liner named after the earlier Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth, which in turn was named after Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Queen consort of George VI. She was the flagship of the line from 1969 until succeeded by RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004. Built in Clydebank, Scotland, she was considered the last of the great transatlantic ocean liners prior to the construction of the QM2. Before she was refitted with a diesel power plant in 1986, she was also the last oil-fired passenger steamship to cross the Atlantic in scheduled liner service. During almost 40 years of service, the QE2 has travelled the world and now operates predominantly as a cruise ship, sailing out of Southampton, England. She will be retired from active service in late 2008, to become a floating hotel at Palm Jumeirah, Dubai.

It is a pity she is going out of service, but she has still a couple of cruises left for this area, so maybe I can get some more pictures?


PS For more about ABC Wednesday, please visit Mrs. Nesbitt's Place. It is well worth the effort.

The fog is clearing in Sky Watch Friday

Never think that a subject once taken is taken for good. Things may change fast.

10:17


10:48


10:57

Agree?

PS More about Sky Watch Friday at Wigger's World

PPS I'll be away for some days, so it may take awhile before I can make the rounds - this time too.

P is for Pacemaker in ABC Wednesday

The contraption above is called a Pacemaker and can according to Wipkipedia be defined like this:

A pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the heart's natural pacemaker) is a medical device which uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart. The primary purpose of a pacemaker is to maintain an adequate heart rate, either because the heart's native pacemaker is not fast enough, or there is a block in the heart's electrical conduction system.

There are very many types of these. According to the manufacturer (Medtronic),

The Medtronic InSync® III device, implanted in the upper chest, is designed to resynchronize the failing heart’s lower chambers in an effort to improve its pumping action.

The casing is made in titanium and had three wires that connected to three of the four chambers of the heart in various ways. It was also contained a battery that was supposed to last for seven years. You may well ask how all that got room in the chest cavity. The copy of the x-ray to the left shows you how it looks (The picture is courtesy of Haukeland University Hospital).

Now you may ask: Why do I know so much about it? The answer is simple: It is mine. I wore it for more than three years. When I had just turned fifty I got a serious, degenerative disease of the heart muscle that fairly rapidly turned into a chronic heart failure. I got this in an attempt to help the heart's own timing system so that I could utilise the maximum of the power that was left in the heart muscle. It did for a while.

And why don't I have it inside any more?. I don't need it. I got a "new" heart.


PS For more about ABC Wednesday, please visit Mrs. Nesbitt's Place. It is well worth the effort.

Puzzle Bridge in between

The rules of the game are here.






It can sometimes be difficult to see either rhyme or reason in what happens any day of the week. One sees one piece here and another piece there, but together they make no sense. Then it can often help to move the pieces around a bit, see what fits together. Maybe change your position a little. Then suddenly you see it all.

I have of course chosen a bridge as an example. If you look at "the picture in the picture", you might suspect that there is a bridge involved, but something is clearly not right. If you first move the pieces around a bit and then yourself - you might find something like what you can see at the bottom:


For comments, please use my other blog.

PS The link above was broken, but has been fixed!

A powerful Sky Watch Friday

Power to the people!



PS
PS More about Sky Watch Friday at Wigger's World

PPS Due to many family duties, it may take awhile before I can make the rounds