View allAll Photos Tagged spreadsheet.
Fab Free is the place to be for all the best gifts on the grid! We have our infamous spreadsheet for the SL22B Shop & Hop and here's some free gifts you can pick up there!
Fab Free: fabfree.wordpress.com/2025/06/20/farmers-daughter/
I was haulin' hay, I was feedin' the hogs
And that summer sun had me sweatin' like a dog
So I cooled off in the creek
Then it was back to work in the dadgum heat
I was cussin' out loud, thinkin' 'bout quitin'
Lookin' back now, I'm so glad I didn't
'Cause just when I thought it couldn't get no hotter
I caught a glimpse of the farmer's daughter
in a pot on the patio.
Pale cream pollen load.
For my Honey bees on named flowers set
And will also go on the botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
Kew
for my collection of honey bee pictures on named flowers:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W... I updated the spreadsheet last night and now feel very on top of it!
Kew Gardens
....will go on the spreadsheet:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
March 01, 2016
Monotonous:
[muh-not-n-uh s]
adjective
1. lacking in variety; tediously unvarying:
the monotonous flat scenery.
2. characterizing a sound continuing on one note.
3. having very little inflection; limited to a narrow pitch range.
-----
Generally I like my job; it's challenging and has a variety of responsibilities to keep the brain churning... but today was not one of those days.
What was in front of me this morning was verifying information, which meant going through spreadsheets line by line.
But hey, not every day can be exciting right? And at least I managed to mix it up a bit with highlighters and by throwing in a photo of the day.
Side note: Is Flickr being difficult for anyone else? Uploading has become quite a challenge these past couple days.
Hope everyone has had a good day.
Click "L" for a larger view.
Foggy tree.
This is a spin ICM taken on a foggy afternoon in January, on one of my local walks.
I was aiming for a kind of abstracty look, or the tree which ever you prefer :)
Andrew Haysom's excellent spreadsheet tells me that I am currenly 13.29 images behind on my 100x Monochrome & Toned image challenge, so I had better get my skates on (incidentally that's also good for ICMs).
I've just been away for a couple of weeks visiting my daughter, during which the world did a somersault. So I am now hoping to catch up a bit.
Hope you are keeping well and avoiding the news broadcasts (good for our mental health I think). Take good care of yourself my friend!
Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy the image! Happy Thursday Monochrome :)
[Handheld in murk which may have been daylight but didn't look like it. ICM spinning around the camera's lens axis
Developed from the raw file in Photolab 3.
Processed in Silver Efex going for a dark and moody look. Added a control point to the centre to increase contrast and brightness.
Dark vignette.
Toned in a Selenium look. Added film grain based on Kodak 400Max film type preset.]
Fab Free is your key to the best Shop&Hop experience! Our blog has the spreadsheet cataloging all 360 gifts! Today's S&H gifts from EXiA, Hanzel and MyBags! Details below ;)
Fab Free: fabfree.wordpress.com/2025/10/03/creepy-doll/
"Creepy Doll" by Jonathan Coulton
And there's the creepy doll
That always follows you
It's got a ruined eye
That's always open
And there's a creepy doll
That always follows you
It's got a pretty mouth
To swallow you whole
Visit Fab Free, the home of your Shop&Hop Spreadsheet and the longest running freebie blog on the grid! Want everything in this pic for FREE? Read below!
Fab Free: fabfree.wordpress.com/2024/06/29/woke-up-this-morning/
She said, "You're one in a million, you got to burn to shine"
But you were born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes
When you woke up this mornin' and all that love had gone
Your papa never told you about right and wrong
Hey, but you're, but you're looking good, baby
I believe that you're feelin' fine, shame about it
Born under a bad sign with blue moon in your eyes, so sing it now
Haha! finally managed to post a picture! Flickr has been unusable for me this evening. Hopefully it wont go on like this over the weekend!
Another from Kew (there will be lots more to come!)
One for my Honey bees on named flowers set
And will also go (eventually!) on the botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
Fab Free is the place to be for everything SL22B Shop&Hop! Use our spreadsheet to get your hop done before it closes! Everything I'm wearing was a free gift!
Fab Free: fabfree.wordpress.com/2025/07/18/love-me-not/
He love me not, he loves me
He holds me tight, then lets me go
He love me not, he loves me
He holds me tight, then lets me go
He love me not, he loves me
He holds me tight, then lets me go
He love me not, he loves me
He holds me tight, then lets me go
It's Wednesday evening and I've just got home after spending an hour talking to one of the candidates on the interview shortlist to replace me later this year. That's my fault because I'd said I'd rather do an evening call than at lunchtime, and Katie and I did get to sit in the sun for a while earlier so I'm not going to complain. If in some way I've helped the process that will release me into the community in the autumn, then it will ultimately have been worth it. Occasionally people ask me whether it feels strange talking to people who've applied for the dubious honour of replacing me. Sometimes people will wonder whether I was sad when I announced I was finishing after over twenty years at the college. But actually I've found it very easy. I want to spend more time looking at sunsets and no time at all staring at spreadsheets in confusion. Later this afternoon I looked out of the window at the students enjoying the unusually warm March sunshine and exclaimed out loud at
the unfairness of it all. Why were we trapped indoors on such a beautiful day? "It's not for us," said Katie. There was a tangible note of resignation in her reply.
I've just made the mistake of looking through the west window (which makes the house sound rather grander than it actually is) and can see the sky is doing lovely things as sunset approaches. In fact in the words of young Mr Turner, things are kicking off out there. I can see alternating pastels of pink and blue. I really need to stop looking; there's no time to get anywhere interesting and set the tripod up sadly. Besides which, I'm getting ready for the next few weeks as the clocks go forward and the world around us begins to open up a little. Lee, Dave and I have been very excited about the prospect of being able to enjoy a quiet pint after an evening out again soon as we try to overcome the disappointment of reviewing the images on our camera screens. Bad photos are always somehow better when there's a full glass of Sea Fury in front of you.
This photograph came after another race to the sunset. Ali and I had been east - all the way to Golitha Falls and Minions on the edge of Bodmin Moor. It was one of those languid August days when the sky hung above us, changing very slowly with the hours. There was still plenty of daylight left as we began the journey home, and as we beetled along Goss Moor the clouds slowly gathered into parallel lines and started to colour. I'm a notoriously slow driver, but my right foot moved ever so slightly on the pedal towards the metal. It was definitely kicking off. Convinced we wouldn't make it to a suitable composition I sighed into my steering wheel as we descended Hamburger Hill. But the clouds continued to hang around, seemingly with nowhere to go as the golden hour ushered itself in. By the time we reached Carland Cross I'd decided that a diversion to Wheal Coates was happening, even though I knew the clock was against us. I know what despair is - I can deal with that - it's the hope that always drives me to distraction.
Twenty minutes later we parked at Wheal Coates and gathering the camera bag from the back of the car, I raced towards the Weather Watching Cliff where hastily I set up my tripod. The sun was just about to disappear behind a low shroud on the horizon, but it didn't really matter. The clouds, lit in heavenly tones of pink and orange tell you why. What had started as an idle observation of the sky and had gradually quickened into the final urgent trot across the cliff path had produced a result to remember the evening by. It's taken time to understand it, but this place never lets me down, whatever the season.
Back to this evening, the colours in the sky didn't last, so perhaps I haven't missed a show as good as this one was. But the signs are there - spring is coming and those warm summer days will surely follow.
I think this is the bit where I'm supposed to say happy hump day. The weekend is just that little bit closer.
I have a few pots and troughs with thrift growing - One of my favourite plants and it is a great plant for pots especially if you are not great at remembering to water it. I find it propagates really well. At end of summer i just split some clumps and poke every bit with a root into a module with gritty compost. About a third of them "take" and can be planted on early winter into pots.
There was a single bee working these pots on Saturday. It was pleasant to watch her working these flowers and accumulating pollen loads.
This picture shows nice yellow pollen loads.
This will eventually go on my Honey bees on named flowers set
And will also go on the botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
Ramones - Let's Dance
One of my honey bees in a nicely coloured dog rose. I took the camera for a lovely slow walk yesterday and this was one of many our stops.
Great view of the yellow pollen loads
This will eventually go on my Honey bees on named flowers set
And will also go on my wonderful botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
Julieta Venegas - Andar conmigo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3ORL0kDSgo
Used on NIHBS website nihbs.org/about-us/
also used on cloudforests.ie website : www.cloudforests.ie/climate-action-ireland/our-first-two-...
In truth I'm not the most well travelled person in the world. The gap year hadn't really been invented during my student days and nobody ever invited me to go and pick oranges on a kibbutz or lead a party of holidaying American youngsters on outward bound activities in the big outdoors. I didn't get the memo about the trekking adventure in Nepal and I was on leave the day everyone decided to go on safari to the Serengeti. "Cape Verde," will be the answer Kylie Minogue gives when she answers questions on my life story on Celebrity Mastermind as she surely one day will. "That's the furthest he's ever been from Cornwall. He spent a week being pursued by locals trying to persuade him to spend all his money on trinkets that he wasn't interested in, and I don't think he's in a hurry to go back." I really don't like being troubled by strangers when I'm trying to grab some shuteye on the beach.
Planning an early retirement with just about enough income to ward off starvation isn't going to get me much further really. But I'm far more interested in time than money, hence the big decision to spend more of it doing photography and none at all poring over spreadsheets after the end of September. In recognition of this impending excitement I've just rescheduled some flights for the second time. Fortunately a well known airline with an orange colour scheme is currently allowing its customers to change their flights at no cost; which makes a change from their usual levels of inflexibility once you've handed over your hard earned loot. So in the last few months our plans to go to Seville last summer, which up until today had morphed into an Easter jaunt to Porto have now become a fortnight in Madeira next spring. Those of you who have watched Nigel Danson's latest offerings will already be muttering "copycat" tersely under your breath as you move on to the next image - and of course you're right. I'm going with my better half rather than a small bearded Brummie so it won't all be photography, but the camera will be the first thing to go in the suitcase. Well not in the actual suitcase itself, but you get the picture.
Of course all of this unscheduled premature excitement may come to nought, so here's an image from the furthest point on the map from home to which I've travelled since last March. At the moment North Somerset may as well be at the other end of the universe, but hopefully in time it will start to feel a bit closer again. At least if there's something to look forward to then it makes the fact that the outside world is more or less off limits at the moment that bit more bearable.
So prepare for more entries from the vault in the coming weeks everyone, and perhaps one day I'll have something new to share with you once more. In the meantime, I hope you're all managing to keep yourselves entertained!
at Kew Gardens
....will go on the spreadsheet:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
Mexican fleabane
At Kew
I am going to update my honey bees on named flowers spreadsheet this evening as I haven't done so in 6 weeks and there are now loads from my flickr stream to add!
Here is the link if anyone feels like looking:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
We got the grid covered and here's your guide to the Halloween Shop&Hop for 2025! Come join us at Fab Free, read us daily and join our group in world!
fabfree.wordpress.com/2025/10/02/fabfrees-guide-to-hallow...
Nikon D810 | 80-400 | 400mm | f/8 | Foreground: 2.5 seconds @ ISO 1600 | Moon: 1 second @ ISO 3200
September 2015’s blood moon eclipse rising over Mount Shuksan in Washington State, shot on a rented 80-400mm. This is a composite of two images – one to capture the foreground while there was still enough light and another for the moon as it rose above the mountain about 20 minutes later. This shoot was planned out in advance with the amazing Photo Pills app and a bit of trigonometry. I'd be happy to share the spreadsheet for anyone who is interested.
I'm about 30% into a much more ambitious composite of the lunar eclipse. Stay tuned.
This is Suzie, my beautiful black cat. Constantly wanting attention from us!
I've recently started a new job in retail in RL so I'm working around school hours, days and evenings. This means i have very little time for art. I currently have 3 collages on the go but as you can imagine, it's taking me a long time to make them! 2 will be for Farmers Market and the third will be for whatever other event i have on the to do list! I've lost track! I have 2 days off work this week so let's hope i can get some art done!
Also, regarding the other projects that i run on my other avatar Evelyn -
Blogging Second Life directory hasn't been updated in a long time, i haven't even checked the submission spreadsheet for months.
The Unknown Hunts have come to an end, however i will be promoting new stores through my other hunts. Escape The Ordinary is next. (Also haven't had much time for the hunts either!)
Don't even ask about blogging again! I miss it but it's so much stress!
Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye
I'm talking about the Fairy Pools, but you already knew that. I'm not sure what to write about here so I'm start at the beginning. Fairy Pools was meant to be the first location stop on Tuesday according to my spreadsheet, but the weather rather put a stop to that and so this is Wednesday.
It's an easy drive along the B8009 before turning off onto yet another unnamed single track road, which we managed to miss and ended up in Carbost, where I've since found the Talisker Distillery is based, not that I'm a whisky or spirits drinker but when in Rome! The road meanders all over the place like all the others on Skye except it's worth mentioning that when you get to the forest section (especially after heavy rain), for God sake don't put your wheels off the tarmac else all the rallying skills in the world aren't going to get you out of the roadside bogs. Eventually you come to a clearing and the car park is on the right, which is being expanded as I write this (someone's read my earlier postings).
First impressions, and I'm not trying to put a damper on this, but you can see the falls from the car park and I've/we've seen better! To quote Mrs R... 'underwhelmed'. Nevertheless, we paid the man on the gate, parked up and donned our wellies. The walk down to the start of the falls is easy underfoot but wellies aren't the best soled footwear so unless you intend to stand in water, stick with boots. Now, here's something the guide books or other photographers don't tell you - there are two streams that run across the pathway to the upper pools and both have roughly five large stepping stones to get across. As I mentioned... Tuesday was a washout, and these streams became raging mini rivers that covered all the stones completely... apparently, no one got to see the pools that day.
But today we could and we did. There were many other togs already there at the lower falls and places where at a premium so we ventured further upstream. You've all seen plenty of images from here so I'll not rabbit on about the terrain and all the mountain names (don't know 'em anyway) but this is just my take on the location. I went with the hope of moody skies and Fairy Pools certainly delivered - possibly my best location shoot of the holiday. Although not raining for once, the winds made tripod shots a tad difficult high up, but those taken low from within the gullies fared better... but I'm saving them for a rainy day. Excuse my ignorance but I'm assuming that's Bruach na Frìthe in the distance.
Special thanks to Paul... all those technical details you added to your images for me... finally paid off! First time I've used my filters upside down (and didn't lose the blu tack either) and this is more or less straight out of camera so cheers for that tip.
"Don't be too proud of this technological spreadsheet you've constructed. Your 'first order' seems to be on levels 5 AND 6 now, Dale.
The ability to move your pallet with the Force is insignificant next to the power of YOUR forklift. TAKE IT AWAY!!"
السلام عليكم
spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p87BmW9a50xMN2PPL7jHAZA
spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p87BmW9a50xMN2PPL7jHAZA
spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p87BmW9a50xMN2PPL7jHAZA
spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p87BmW9a50xMN2PPL7jHAZA
spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p87BmW9a50xMN2PPL7jHAZA
نبي نقدم هدية بسيطة ومتواضعة للوالد الشيخ حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني امير البلاد المفدى
وهي تهنئة بمناسبة عيد جلوسه
بتاريخ 27/6
واقل شي نسويه ان ننشر هاللنك بين ربعنا واهلنا
واتمنى انكم تكتبون المعلومات الصجية لان هالكلام راح ينشر في ملحق بالقطري الفصيح انشالله
شباب انشروه قد ماتقدرون نبي نجمع فوق ال 1000 تهنئة
احسن طريقة تنشرون اي صورة للأمير مع اللنك في فلكراتكم
والرساله ماتوصل الا عن طرق متصفح الاكسبلورر مب الفاير فوكس
اشكر اخوي الكواري على تذكيرنا بالرساله
Botanic Park, Belfast
And will eventually go on the botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
Candy Fair 2014 Blogger Days Coming Soon! October 1st & October 2nd. Have you applied yet to join [SL] Blogger Support Group? If not be sure to apply only [SL] Blogger Support Group members will have access to our blogger days!
Click the link below to apply: docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGdyRjZONG4t...
Scilla bifolia -alpine squill.
Very attractive mass plantings in flower at Rowallane at present.
This seems to be an extremely attractive flower for the bees. Loads of them frantically collecting pollen. Interestingly the pollen loads are pure black. (clearly seen in this picture)
A new one for my Honey bees on named flowers set set
And will also go on the botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
You might not hear the news about nuclear disaster in Japan much anymore.
However, the situation of nuclear disaster has not improved anything yet, on the contrary it is getting worse.
On April 19th, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) notified the Board of Education and related institutions in Fukushima Prefecture to raise annual radiation exposure limit from 1mSv to 20 mSv.
20 mSv per year is comparable to the legally recognized dose for inducing leukemia in nuclear power plant workers. It is also comparable to the maximum dose allowed for nuclear power plant workers in Germany.
If the government allows 20 mSv per year for the children. Most likely many of them will get thyroid cancer in the future like the children in Chernobyl.
Dr. Ira Helfland: There really is no safe level of radiation Children are much more vulnerable than adults
www.winonadailynews.com/news/opinion/editorial/columnists...
Nuclear expert, Arnold Gundersen says Fukushima is worse than Chelnovyl because it has not stopped yet. A lot of radiation is leaking down into the ground water. Pregnant women and children need to evacuate much sooner.
www.wat.tv/video/japan-fukushima-gross-miscarriage-3mio3_...
Please click the link below and sign the petition for saving the children in Japan.
spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&userstoinvite=...
Thank you for your support and friendship.
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I'm with the bee on this one....
...can there be a better value plant for a pot on the patio? This one is in its 3rd year and just keeps flowering all summer. Def a top 10 plant for me.
for my Honey bees on named flowers set!
...And also for adding eventually to the botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W... (please do consider checking it out if you have time!)
Undertones - top twenty
Castelwellan gardens
A distinctly yellow honey bee - first 2 segments are glowing - loads of these (Italian or Buckfast crossed with our native black bees ) in Castlewellan (like much of Northern Ireland) - nice photo I think but I'd much prefer to be seeing and photographing good native (Apis mellifera mellifera) black bees here.
decent view of the light yellow pollen loads on display
will eventually go on my spreadsheet: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
Mazzy Star - Bells Ring
Fab Free, the home to all the best free gifts on the grid, and the infamous Shop&Hop Spreadsheet! Today, I'm showing some things I bought with free credit at SL22B Shop&Hop!
Fab Free: fabfree.wordpress.com/2025/07/15/christmas-every-day/
"Christmas Every Day" by Simple Plan
I wish it was Christmas
Christmas every day
We could just let it snow forever
And live on holiday
There would be presents every morning
Under every tree
Oh Santa Claus, if I could have my way
I wish it was Christmas every day
School is out, no work today
So in my PJ's I will stay
Staring at this winter wonderland
The reindeer slippers on my feet
A Christmas Vacation on TV
I feel like I am just a kid again
Visit Fab Free, home of the S&H Spreadsheet and the longest running freebie blog on the grid! S&P has a credit gift at S&H, did you know there's clothes for men? ;) Read below!
Fab Free Blog: fabfree.wordpress.com/2024/07/13/fever/
Mans need some
Water, water, water
This room be
A sauna, sauna, sauna
Always get a fever, fever
From you
You be hotter than some
Lava, lava, lava
in a pot on the patio.
Pale cream, wet looking, pollen load.
For my Honey bees on named flowers set
And will also go on the botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
for Beautiful Bee Butt Thursday
Kew Gardens
....will go on the spreadsheet:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
I don't know how I've been to Seattle so many times and never tried to shoot the skyline across Lake Union from Gas Works Park - what a view! Actually, I figured out this shot while we were out on a boat for the day... We headed over to UW to check out the "sailgating" football scene (boats can pull right up to the stadium to party), cruised by Bill Gates house, then the guy behind Excel's house (it looks like a spreadsheet, literally), and some old dude sunbathing spread-eagle (on a freezing cold beach). Doesn't get much more random than that.
Edited with Lumenzia.
Visit Fab Free, the home of the Shop&Hop Spreadsheet! In today's post I'll tell you were to get everything in my picture for FREE!
Fab Free Blog: fabfree.wordpress.com/2024/06/27/tennis-ball/
We bounce back, bounce back like a tennis ball
Bounce back, bounce back like a basketball
Bounce back, bounce back like a soccer ball
Or really any kinda ball, except a football
365 Day 246. Having stared at a spreadsheet for too long on the screen in front of me, I stared out across the village to the hills beyond. The dog across the road appeared in the upstairs window and seemed to do the same.
This mosaic has been created from pictures posted in 2016 to the "All Free Pictures" group. A total of 943 people have contributed to this picture. Are you one of them?
I have ensured a place in the mosaic for the 90 participants to the "Best Free Picture of 2016" challenge. The rest has been automatically selected to best fit the main picture among the horizontal pictures with aspect ratio around 4/3 and a license compatible with CC-BY-NC-SA, posted in 2016 to the group pool.
The main picture is an adaptation of "the only thing better than a pint is a second pint" from Catrin Austin).
I hightly recommend to see this mosaic at full size to appreciate each individual photo.
You can see the full photo credits here (with position in the mosaic, author name, type of license and link to the photo)
University of Dundee Botanic Garden
one for my spreadsheet:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
& a little music should you like
Amy Rigby - Dancing with Joey Ramone
walled garden at Rowalane
For my Honey bees on named flowers set
And will also go on the botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
Beautiful bee butt Thursday
Botanic Park, Belfast
And will eventually go on my much loved, botanically sorted, spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
For my Honey bees on named flowers set
And will also go on the botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
The Mock Turtles - Can You Dig It?
I recently watched a letcure by a very inspirational speaker Sir Ken Robinson , that touched on topic of divergent thinking. He stated that by the time of secondary school the average child has been educated away from creative thinking, by our institutionalised education systems. He argued that our early education actually forced us away from creative thinking and by the time we enter higher education, or the workforce, we have drastically diminished creative abilities.
Now I find this argument very interesting. Not least because I’m fascinated by developing my own creativity, or because I have children myself, but as I see it, my primary responsible as a lecture in computer animation, is to inspire those students away from their perceived reliance on ‘reality’, ‘facts’, ‘logic’ and to try and stimulate creative thinking.
That said, at the moment I’m brewing some ideas for an article about creativity that I want to write (when I have some time) and I wondered if you good people wouldn’t mind stimulating your own grey matter and offering me some of your own ideas. I do recognise that everybody’s different and will respond to very different things, so I wouldn’t want to be so arrogant and spout a list of my imposed rules on you. I would love to hear what inspires your own creative thinking. So if you wouldn’t mind, please have a go at this with your 6 top tips. (There are no wrong answers)
Anyway to get this started here are some of my ways to stimulate creativity. I will expand on this later...
• Stand on the shoulders of giants
Try to expose yourself to divergent ‘quality’ inspirations. Art, literature, poetry, music, photography. But importantly you will need to work at this and actively reflect your own sparks of inspiration. There is always the danger this may result in subconscious (or conscious, in the lazy person) plagiarism, but the trick is to synthesize.
• Write- Brainstorm
I personally find that the process of writing and editing that text helps me think. It’s one of my systems of reflection. For some reason my brain cannot hold multitudes of visual or creative incites in the forefront of my perception, “I haven’t much ram”, so to maintain the analogy, make sure you carry a removable hard drive or “note/sketchbook” and keep it defragmented.
• Question "Why?
So why should you question? Is the sky really blue? Is the earth really not flat? Do aliens exist? What is the holographic code written in our universes event horizon? What is the sound of one hand clapping? Does it matter if I’m not making any sense? Do you get the idea? If not, why not?
• Change your surroundings
I personally find that putting yourself in unfamiliar and new surroundings stimulates creativity. It makes new neural pathways in your brain and they help you perceive what you think you knew, differently. So, head a different way home from work, force yourself to go somewhere out of your comfort zone with an open mind and let somebody else plan your route. It will not only enrich your life, but develop a wider and deeper pool from which to tap inspirations from.
• Give yourself some time- challenge your habits
It’s important to take time out of the busy routine to allow reflection to develop. This may take the form of a walk in the country, a holiday, or ironically doing something very tedious. I personally find that making some space away from our many distractions (family, work, usual friends, and internet) very productive. This mental space to slow down, enables an environment that is conducive to natural reflection.
• Break the rules (on purpose)
Always ignore what others are telling you... in fact disregard everything I’ve ever said (o:
if a commercial fashion tells you to make it blue, and everybody else makes it blue, then try making it blue with a twist of red... if somebody tells you to place the horizon of your image on the third, then put it in the middle and make sure its slightly blown out, slanted and just that little bit blurred.
Questionnaire and the results
Visit Fab Free, home of the S&H spreadsheet and longest running freebie blog on the grid! Today - the scoop on this gift dress from UNA!
Fab Free Blog: fabfree.wordpress.com/2024/07/10/the-tide-is-high-3/
The tide is high but I'm holdin' on
I'm gonna be your number one, number one
Every girl wants you to be her man
But I'll wait my dear 'till it's my turn
I'm not the kind-a girl who gives up just like that, oh no
Nearly 40 years ago it was very different & on 15th March 1986, we ended up in wrong place at the right time, as all the information we had about The Vulcan Vantrain promoted by the Loco Club of GB & SEG (Southern Electric Group) was from the leaflet advertising the tour several months earlier!
After picking up Roger at Brentwood (convenient for the M25), I drove us to Sole Street & we waited & waited without any sign of the tour, because 1Z25 (0755 SO London Paddington - Ashford [Kent] via North Kent Coast on the leaflet, was revised to run via Tonbridge & Hastings at the last minute, after the line was cleared for mki stock a few days earlier. It got very close passing Swanley at 0921, three minutes early!!.
These photo's have not been uploaded before, because it has taken a lot of time (now available) & effort to research this railtour, as my spreadsheet for that year & the paper notes I still have had no record of it, just lot's of loco & unit numbers taken at Hoo Jn, Sole Street, Ashford & Tonbridge, but thanks to "Six Bells Junction", I think I have identified the trains correctly!!!
73003 - 1Z25 (1315 SO STP Charter from Folkestone Harbour to Ashford [Kent, return of 1216 dep), which was formed of 6 coaches & named The Vulcan Vantrain by joint promoters the Loco Club of Great Britain & the SEG [Southern Electric Group]) - Ashford Area - afternoon - 15/03/86.
I completed a couple of projects last year. In January 2021, Larry and I started a project to achieve 65 summits in the year I turned 65, and we completed that one in September. Over the years, we have travelled throughout Canada, and recently we were thinking about whether we had visited each and every Province and Territory, there are 13. With our trip to the Yukon in 2021, we realized we had indeed visited each one. This year, I thought I would keep track of the different birds I see over the year, and see what kind of number that brings. For me, different means different, and so it won't be an exact species count, as in some species, the males and females are more-or-less identical, and in others they different, and so I will count the males and females in those species as different birds. With Northern Flickrs, there are distinct variations, based on under-feather colourings, with Red-shafted, Yellow-shafted variations, and a hybrid of the two. For this project, I'll count each variation if there is one, and each of the different genders if they are visually different, as different birds. As with my summit project, I'll maintain a thorough spreadsheet. Wish me luck! PS I may turn it into a post-one-a-day project, except the photos won't necessarily be taken on different days. Today I have already four different birds done, but will post the rest over the next few days...
Botanic Park Belfast.
Orange pollen load on display
For my Honey bees on named flowers set
And will also go on the botanically sorted spreadsheet at:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
& music if you like:
SuperOrganism Something For Your M.I.N.D.
Matthias Church
(Church of the Assumption of the Buda Castle)
Budapest, Hungary
09-11-2024
Processed: 03/05/25
I create spreadsheets before I leave on any trip, filled with information on what I want to photograph, and when, so I can keep moving, and get the most out of my time. I had the Matthias Church listed on my spreadsheet for the second of two days in Budapest. It's on the site of one of the oldest churches in Budapest, founded in 1015. It's been remodeled many times since then. In the 13th and 14th century undergoing massive redesigns. The last major redesign, restoring it to an earlier version, was in 1893.
I snapped some photos as I advanced up the street leading to the church. Here is a view from about a block away.
When I got to the site, and angled my camera for multiple shots, I noticed something familiar. I'd photographed so many cathedrals and churches in three different cities in a little over a week. I'd actually photographed THIS church the previous evening. It's flanked by the Fisherman's Bastion fortress, but I couldn't see that from this view. What was familiar was a little model of the church over near that blue gazebo. So I've got shots of this particular church at night and during the day.
It felt really weird when I realized I'd already been there, but had scaled the steps leading to the other side the previous evening, and had taken the bus down the hill.
I watched her and a few other bees for quite a while. Only visiting the flowers that had lost their petals at the base of the foxglove flower stem. See picture in comments for context.
We think of foxgloves as not being attractive/accessible to honey bees but clearly there are exceptions! Presumably these flowers must still produce some nectar after the petal tube has been lost.
A slightly unusual one for my spreadsheet:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_uJANb_oKgIZLEvm0mFjYq3W...
After tireless hours of running, collecting, unpacking and picture taking, Fab Free once again has compiled the grid's best resource to help you navigate the Shop & Hop!
Fab Free: fabfree.wordpress.com/2025/06/19/fabfrees-guide-to-sl22b-...