mytbc

Logging Nerdery

I’m a travel nerd. I love to travel, which admittedly isn’t nerdy, but how many people who love to travel log all of their flights down to the aircraft type and seat sat in? Probably not too many. To be fair, my logging has left me able to create this image:

I love Openflights, as it makes logging my flights incredibly easy. But I’m not just an airplane nerd. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I also rather like trains. As far as I know, there’s no equivelant tool for logging trains. Also, I’ve taken so many trains in my life it would be impossible for me to log each individual ride. What I can do, and have done, though is to map each line I’ve been on.

This is just a map of the UK trains I’ve been on. I’ve also been on trains in Munich, Paris and Philadelphia, but so few that it’s hardly worth putting them on the map. Still, Scotland looks pretty well covered. Just some in the far north and in the south west to cover, which I could do. I’ve hardly touched England though, so maybe I should work on that.

That’s all I need, more excuses to ride trains. This time to colour in a map.

I'm a travel nerd. I love to travel, which admittedly isn't nerdy, but how many people who love to travel log all of their flights down to the aircraft type and seat sat in? Probably not too many. To be fair, my logging has left me able to create this image: Exported from Openflights to Google Earth. I love Openflights, as it makes logging my flights incredibly easy. But I'm not just an airplane nerd. I don't know if you've noticed, but I also rather like trains. As far as I know, there's no equivelant tool for logging trains. Also, I've taken so many trains in my life it would be impossible for me to log each individual ride. What I can do, and have done, though is to map each line I've been on. View My Rail Map in a larger map. This is just a map of the UK trains I've been on. I've also been on trains in Munich, Paris and Philadelphia, but so few that it's hardly worth putting them on the map. Still, Scotland looks pretty well covered. Just some in the far north and in the south west to cover, which I could do. I've hardly touched England though, so maybe I should work on that. That's all I need, more excuses to ride trains. This time to colour in a map.

More trips I’ll never take

So last summer, on a couple of my days off, I decided to take the train to Kyle of Lochalsh and Mallaig, taking the two most famously beautiful lines in Scotland. And they were certainly beautiful. Indeed, I’d say that they live up to the hype.

According to Wikipedia, I have done two of the four “rural” lines in Scotland. So, I’ve been looking at ways of doing the other two. The Inverness-Aberdeen line is easy, really. Train to Inverness, train to Aberdeen, train home. Can do that any time, and maybe I will. The Far North Line is more tempting though. It is possible to do it as a day trip. It’s tight though, giving you a 7 minute connection in Inverness on the way home. To make it more comfortable, and to give more than an hour in Wick, it would be wise to make it an overnight. Only problem is, there’s no Youth Hostel in Wick. Nearest one is in Thurso, so that’d mean backtracking to there to spend the night.

I mean, it’s do-able. But I think I’ve found a more fun way.

Turns out that a company called Eastern Airways fly three times a day between Wick and Aberdeen, and it’s only (“only”) £115. I mean, yes, that is about 11 times the cost of the train-fare, but it’s a plane! Between two airports I’ve never been to before. Plus, the timing works to get a little longer in Wick, and enough time in Aberdeen to grab some dinner before taking a train home.

So, I dunno. Over 500 miles of trains, plus a 90 mile flight, in one day, for about £130, it’s actually not bad value. Plus the most popular posts on this here blog have been the ones on the West Highland and Kyle lines, so I wouldn’t mind doing a bit on the Far North. But, still, £130?

So last summer, on a couple of my days off, I decided to take the train to Kyle of Lochalsh and Mallaig, taking the two most famously beautiful lines in Scotland. And they were certainly beautiful. Indeed, I'd say that they live up to the hype. According to Wikipedia, I have done two of the four "rural" lines in Scotland. So, I've been looking at ways of doing the other two. The Inverness-Aberdeen line is easy, really. Train to Inverness, train to Aberdeen, train home. Can do that any time, and maybe I will. The Far North Line is more tempting though. It is possible to do it as a day trip. It's tight though, giving you a 7 minute connection in Inverness on the way home. To make it more comfortable, and to give more than an hour in Wick, it would be wise to make it an overnight. Only problem is, there's no Youth Hostel in Wick. Nearest one is in Thurso, so that'd mean backtracking to there to spend the night. I mean, it's do-able. But I think I've found a more fun way. View Wick daytrip in a larger map Turns out that a company called Eastern Airways fly three times a day between Wick and Aberdeen, and it's only ("only") £115. I mean, yes, that is about 11 times the cost of the train-fare, but it's a plane! Between two airports I've never been to before. Plus, the timing works to get a little longer in Wick, and enough time in Aberdeen to grab some dinner before taking a train home. So, I dunno. Over 500 miles of trains, plus a 90 mile flight, in one day, for about £130, it's actually not bad value. Plus the most popular posts on this here blog have been the ones on the West Highland and Kyle lines, so I wouldn't mind doing a bit on the Far North. But, still, £130?

Happir with Flattr

I’ve been pretty happy using Flattr. While it’s nice that it involves getting money, I’m actually just happy to see any of my buttons get clicked because it means somebody out there likes me, they truly like me.

As a consumer, though, Flattr isn’t as useful as I might hope. Yes, I’ve managed to talk Paul and Wilf into signing up for Flattr¹, but it would be a lot nicer if more than two places on the internet that I read had Flattr buttons.

I guess that people with blogs might need more convincing that people will actually click to give you money. It does seem an alien concept, that if people like your stuff they might want to reward you for it. Well, content providers, I hope this convinces you; I have been using Flattr for just under 5 months, and I just made my first month’s profit. I’d have made profit last month if I were a freeloader who never flattrs others, but I am not. I choose to give €3 a month.

I don’t have many readers, but if I can profit through Flattr, then you can too. Sign up, please, so I can give you some money.

1. Awesomely, I got mentioned in FlattrChattr that week, for doing so. Hells yeah, internet famous! back

I've been pretty happy using Flattr. While it's nice that it involves getting money, I'm actually just happy to see any of my buttons get clicked because it means somebody out there likes me, they truly like me. As a consumer, though, Flattr isn't as useful as I might hope. Yes, I've managed to talk Paul and Wilf into signing up for Flattr1, but it would be a lot nicer if more than two places on the internet that I read had Flattr buttons. I guess this is what I'm trying to say. I've helpfully translated it into meme form so that internet content providers are more able to understand it. I guess that people with blogs might need more convincing that people will actually click to give you money. It does seem an alien concept, that if people like your stuff they might want to reward you for it. Well, content providers, I hope this convinces you; I have been using Flattr for just under 5 months, and I just made my first month's profit. I'd have made profit last month if I were a freeloader who never flattrs others, but I am not. I choose to give €3 a month. It ain't much, but it is mine, and it is profit. I don't have many readers, but if I can profit through Flattr, then you can too. Sign up, please, so I can give you some money. Footnotes Awesomely, I got mentioned in FlattrChattr that week, for doing so. Hells yeah, internet famous! back

A wild itinerary appears!

One of, if not the, greatest parts of my new job is the time off. Our shift pattern is four nights on, four off, so if I finished work at 7AM on the Monday, I wouldn’t be due back in until 7PM on the Friday. That’s pretty sweet. As far as I can tell, that’s one hundred and eight hours between shifts every four days. The only problem is I feel like I’m wasting them with my current plan of sitting around, doing some shopping, and maybe seeing if my friends are free.

So, considering that, I’ve set myself a challenge I’ll probably never attempt. Using public transport, how far from Glasgow can I make it in those 108 hours, so that I am back in time for work? Now, yes, using planes I could probably make it to Australia and back, but that feels kinda cheaty, so I’m restricting myself to a plane back, and seeing how far I can get my bus, train and ferry before taking a plane home. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far. (All times are local)

Day 1

0700: Finish work. Head home to change, shower and pick up packed bags

1055: Leave Glasgow Central Station on-board a Cross Country train to Newcastle, arriving at 1334. Cost, ~£13. Spend a few hours in Newcastle before

1545: Catch DFDS bus to the port. Cost, £3.50

1700: Sail to Ijmuiden Ferry Terminal with DFDS. Cost, £130 per cabin, so £65pp if travelling with someone.

Day 2

0900: Arrive in Ijmuiden, Netherlands.

0930: Take DFDS coach to central Amsterdam, arriving 30-40 minutes later, at a cost of £6.50. Spend the day wandering around Amsterdam.

1901: Leave Amsterdam Central Station on-board a CityNightLine train to Copenhagen, at a cost of £88 for a bed in a double sleeper cabin, including breakfast.

Day 3

0959: Arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark. Spend the day in Copenhagen.

1837: Leave Copenhagen on an X2000 train to Stockholm, cost (if booked well in advance) £19.50, arriving at 23:39. Spend two nights in a hostel, so that you can spend Day 4 exploring Stockholm, Sweden

Day 5

0840: Catch SAS flight number 2541 to Edinburgh airport, from Stockholm-Arnada airport. A youth fare is available for £70.10, arriving at 0955

1030: Take Edinburgh airport bus to Waverley station, cost £3.50

1115: Catch a First Scotrail service to Glasgow Queen Street, cost £7.45, arriving at 1206, giving me just under seven hours to get ready for work again.

Now, obviously there’s lots of downtime in this itinerary, so it’s possible that I could go further, but this itinerary lets me visit several cities, rather than pass through them, at a total cost of travel of about £275, assuming I could find someone else to share with me on the ferry. I dunno, doesn’t seem like it’d be a bad way to pass the time.

Probably never do it though.

One of, if not the, greatest parts of my new job is the time off. Our shift pattern is four nights on, four off, so if I finished work at 7AM on the Monday, I wouldn't be due back in until 7PM on the Friday. That's pretty sweet. As far as I can tell, that's one hundred and eight hours between shifts every four days. The only problem is I feel like I'm wasting them with my current plan of sitting around, doing some shopping, and maybe seeing if my friends are free. So, considering that, I've set myself a challenge I'll probably never attempt. Using public transport, how far from Glasgow can I make it in those 108 hours, so that I am back in time for work? Now, yes, using planes I could probably make it to Australia and back, but that feels kinda cheaty, so I'm restricting myself to a plane back, and seeing how far I can get my bus, train and ferry before taking a plane home. Here's what I've come up with so far. (All times are local) Day 1 0700: Finish work. Head home to change, shower and pick up packed bags 1055: Leave Glasgow Central Station on-board a Cross Country train to Newcastle, arriving at 1334. Cost, ~£13. Spend a few hours in Newcastle before 1545: Catch DFDS bus to the port. Cost, £3.50 1700: Sail to Ijmuiden Ferry Terminal with DFDS. Cost, £130 per cabin, so £65pp if travelling with someone. Day 2 0900: Arrive in Ijmuiden, Netherlands. 0930: Take DFDS coach to central Amsterdam, arriving 30-40 minutes later, at a cost of £6.50. Spend the day wandering around Amsterdam. 1901: Leave Amsterdam Central Station on-board a CityNightLine train to Copenhagen, at a cost of £88 for a bed in a double sleeper cabin, including breakfast. Day 3 0959: Arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark. Spend the day in Copenhagen. 1837: Leave Copenhagen on an X2000 train to Stockholm, cost (if booked well in advance) £19.50, arriving at 23:39. Spend two nights in a hostel, so that you can spend Day 4 exploring Stockholm, Sweden Day 5 0840: Catch SAS flight number 2541 to Edinburgh airport, from Stockholm-Arnada airport. A youth fare is available for £70.10, arriving at 0955 1030: Take Edinburgh airport bus to Waverley station, cost £3.50 1115: Catch a First Scotrail service to Glasgow Queen Street, cost £7.45, arriving at 1206, giving me just under seven hours to get ready for work again. A handy map of the route, roughly. Red is trains, blue is boats, green is planes, and black is buses. Now, obviously there's lots of downtime in this itinerary, so it's possible that I could go further, but this itinerary lets me visit several cities, rather than pass through them, at a total cost of travel of about £275, assuming I could find someone else to share with me on the ferry. I dunno, doesn't seem like it'd be a bad way to pass the time. Probably never do it though.

On the Up!

When I quit my job in December, I didn’t really have a long term plan. Short term, I knew I’d go the states for two and a half months, and the long term really depended on what happened during that trip. Turns out I got engaged, so that gives me a long term plan.

Of course, having a long term plan is useless without a way of working towards it, so that’s what Katie and I have been doing. Our K-1 Visa application form was submitted in April. It should take about five months before we hear anything back on that, hopefully that it’s approved and we move onto the next stage, more forms, a medical test and a consular interview. If it’s denied, um, I’ll get back to you.

However, there are other things we need to do to prepare for getting married. For instance, going to America for two and a half months turned out to be pretty expensive, so when I got back to the UK I was broke. So my first priority was finding a job. I won’t regale you with tales of Job Centre Plus incompetence or just general crappiness, but with very little help from them, I was able to find a job that I started last week. I’m not going to tell you the company name, as I got in trouble doing that before, when an automated google search revealed to my boss that I’d written a blog post mentioning my employer’s name. Whoops.

However, it’s a job I’ve worked before, in the same hotel I’ve worked in before. It’s a full time night shift job, 12 hour shifts, four nights on, four off. It’s not, you know, brilliant, but it pays the bills and doesn’t get too stressful. I’m good at it, and it gives me some pride being able to help people when I can. I’m lucky to have found it, and it feels good to know that I am working towards an end goal, to get married to Katie.

When I quit my job in December, I didn't really have a long term plan. Short term, I knew I'd go the states for two and a half months, and the long term really depended on what happened during that trip. Turns out I got engaged, so that gives me a long term plan. Of course, having a long term plan is useless without a way of working towards it, so that's what Katie and I have been doing. Our K-1 Visa application form was submitted in April. It should take about five months before we hear anything back on that, hopefully that it's approved and we move onto the next stage, more forms, a medical test and a consular interview. If it's denied, um, I'll get back to you. However, there are other things we need to do to prepare for getting married. For instance, going to America for two and a half months turned out to be pretty expensive, so when I got back to the UK I was broke. So my first priority was finding a job. I won't regale you with tales of Job Centre Plus incompetence or just general crappiness, but with very little help from them, I was able to find a job that I started last week. I'm not going to tell you the company name, as I got in trouble doing that before, when an automated google search revealed to my boss that I'd written a blog post mentioning my employer's name. Whoops. However, it's a job I've worked before, in the same hotel I've worked in before. It's a full time night shift job, 12 hour shifts, four nights on, four off. It's not, you know, brilliant, but it pays the bills and doesn't get too stressful. I'm good at it, and it gives me some pride being able to help people when I can. I'm lucky to have found it, and it feels good to know that I am working towards an end goal, to get married to Katie.