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What do you use as your computer's screensaver, fellow Crivvies? I've got several I can use, most of them being the front and/or back views from previous houses I've lived in. At the moment, I use part of the view from my old bedroom window in a former dwelling, which I took in 1988 - 16 years after having flitted from the place, and one year after we moved back into the next house we'd first moved to in 1972. (We flitted from that house in 1983, though returned in '87, you see. Hope that makes sense.)
The above scene has a particular significance to me, though it's probably fair to say that it didn't mean anything much when I lived in the house between 1965 and '72. However, my old primary school (the second of two) which you see in the photo was demolished in 2014 - and even if it still existed, it would be obscured by a three-storey building of amenity apartments for the elderly - so to see again the field I played in as a kid (it hadn't really changed in all that time) brings to mind friends and neighbours who are long (and in some cases not so long) dead and buried (or cremated). Not everyone I knew then has expired though, as some of them merely moved elsewhere in the UK, or emigrated.
It's comforting to know that these views are preserved for posterity in photographs, as one glance at them returns me in memory to an earlier period of my life when things seemed so much simpler and better. I also then 'laboured' (though it was no hardship) under the delusion that I'd live forever, and sometimes these days I briefly (emphasis on 'briefly') forget that such isn't the case. So I repeat - what do you use as your screensaver, and does it have any specific significance that you'd care to share with the rest of us? We're all waiting.
A railway line divides my home town into two different parts (I'm oversimplifying, for clarity.) The town segment 'on the other side of the tracks' was visible from the childhood home I left a few weeks before my 8th birthday. My screensaver is a photo of that part of town, albeit taken from a much broader angle (as the view I had as a kid can't be accessed exactly). Even in the 10 years since taking my screensaver photo, parts of that photo have now disappeared. For example, an NHS rehab centre my father was in, about six weeks before he passed away, once marked by a distinctive chimney. Had digital photography been around in the early-mid 70s, more exact childhood home photos would survive, rather than approximations!
ReplyDeletePhillip
I sometimes regret that I didn't get more photos of certain areas of my home town that have now changed forever - or at least until the next change they undergo, whenever that will be, P. I feel I could sit for hours (and sometimes do) looking through old photos (or new photos of old places before they changed) and just think back on earlier times. I really wish actual time travel were possible (even if only visually), so that I could revisit places from my past and get some more and better photos of them. Ah, what can I say? I'm a dreamer! Thanks for your interesting comment.
ReplyDeleteHi! My screensaver on my tablet is of our late cat, Moochie. We found her as a kitten
ReplyDeleteone day on our bird feeder, where I had put the remains of what has to be the worst cheese in existence, Morbier. She was drawn to it's unique odor! We had her for 18 years. She remained with PTSD for her whole life, but we loved her even tho at times she would become feral for a minute or two. As to pictures of past homes, we have loved everywhere we've lived, but where we are presently (now for 16 years) is our favorite. I'm looking forward to many more years here, if I am so lucky. My wife loves taking photos of our garden. If I were more tech savvy, I would have a slideshow screensaver of garden pictures, cats, and friends. But for now, just my cat! Hope you are well. Take care now.
A very poignant comment, LM. I feed a stray cat, which now lives in my front porch - though it comes into my house for its food and sometimes sleeps on my chest as I lounge in an armchair. I also have fond affection for all my past homes, though I've lived in my current one for 48 out of the last 52 years. I take turns with the views from their windows as a screensaver, depending on which house my thoughts are on most at any given moment. I'm not quite as well as I'd want to be, but don't think I'll pop my clogs any time soon. Hope you are well also, and look after yourself.
ReplyDeleteI haven't got a screensaver on my Chromebook laptop but the home page shows an image provided by the computer. There are lots of images to choose from and I'm currently using a Summery picture of a rowing boat on a lake.
ReplyDeleteWould you consider using a family photo, CJ - one with you and your sister and parents? That way, you could say hello to them each day. (I assume a Chromebook laptop would allow you to use your own screensaver?)
ReplyDeleteI already think of my parents and sister every day, Kid, so I really don't need a photo of them on my laptop.
ReplyDeleteI have the default MS Windows screensaver on both of my personal computers (I have a mini PC as well as a laptop) and also on my work computer. On my Firestick, I have the default Amazon screensaver. The reason for this is simple. I am bone idle and have never changed them.
ReplyDeleteSome of the images on the Firestick are stunning and in 4K, I have seen at least one app that has 4K drone type footage of places around the world which are interesting to view.
Is the term 'screensaver' still relevant? I think the original purpose of them was to stop images being burned into the old CRT monitors, hence 'screen saver'. I don't believe that this is a problem with the modern screens, although I'm sure someone will enlighten me. So rather than it being a screensaver, isn't it just a glorified electronic photo frame? Work use the term 'lock screen'.
This from Wikipedia: While modern screens are not susceptible to the issues discussed above, screensavers are still used. Primarily these are for decorative/entertainment purposes, or for password protection. They usually feature moving images or patterns and sometimes sound effects.
Yeah, but it wouldn't hurt, CJ, to be able to see them as well as think of them. Don't let me twist your arm though.
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I just assumed the term meant a picture you saved on your screen, hence screensaver, M, didn't really extend my thinking beyond that. I'll have to start using a wider selection of different pictures though, just for the sake of variety. Not that anyone but me ever uses my computer anyway. A nice one of me would be a good idea, just so I can admire myself without having to look in the mirror all the time.
Hmmm, don't think that I'd want a picture of myself on the computer, it would just serve as a reminder that I'm not the person that I used to be, on the outside anyhow. A shot of my younger self would send the same message, so like some of the other commenters above I just do with a slideshow of landscapes provided by Windows.
ReplyDeleteI do have a photo of my family, wife, son and daughter on my actual desktop - the desk beside the computer desk, as our offspring are now adults and in their own places so I don't see them in person every day.
Don't have fond memories of the old family home, which I left when I was 21, so I find the photo on my desk of my family much more uplifting.
Hi, PC, good to hear from you. I was kidding about a photo of myself, of course, but now that I think of it, I don't think I'd mind being reminded of how I looked when I was taller, slimmer, younger and better than I am now. (In my head, I still think that's how I am.) At least I could take some consolation from the fact that I wasn't always the ancient wreck I am these days.
ReplyDeleteI suppose my old homes represent specific times in my life, and I sometimes wonder if it's really the houses I miss or the times I associate with them. Maybe both? It's a puzzler.
No more reviews of Dr Who, Kid? Have you noticed the new series is using the Who logo from the Tom Baker era?
ReplyDeleteI have a photo from the time we went to see the wildflowers at Carrizo plains national monument. I don’t have one of my photos to show but I can show a nice video of the place from someone else. You may never have heard of it many people don’t know it. But you do know what’s right in the middle of it and why it’s empty. It’s the middle of the San Andreas fault. I’m guessing it looks a bit like the highlands when the flowers are blooming. https://youtu.be/vaEDyl8hhpI?si=4bYTE1nAXnvUV_rG
ReplyDeleteI've been so underwhelmed by it that I forgot it was on and missed last week's episode, CJ. Saw yesterday's episode - and though it had its moments, it just didn't seem like Dr. Who to me. And it's now obvious that the Doc is meant to be gay, which is an unnecessary development in my book.
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I'll have a wee look at your link later, PS - right now I'm gasping for a cup of tea. I'll add a comment here once I've viewed it. Ta much for sending it.
Oops, and no, CJ - hadn't noticed, though I knew it seemed familiar.
ReplyDeletePity you missed last week's Dr Who. It was the best of this series and in my opinion the best episode for many years. Funnily enough the Doctor wasn't in it much.
ReplyDeleteTook a look, PS, and you were right - there are parts of the footage that could pass for the Scottish Highlands, as well as parts of the English countryside. Thanks for that.
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Yeah, AL, I heard it was meant to be good, but I'd completely forgotten it was on that night. Overall, it hasn't really made an impression on me. I quite like Millie Gibson though. Very watchable (and I don't mean [just] in a pervy way).
Kid, call me thick but how is it obvious the Doctor is gay? I hadn't noticed but I do notice a slight Scottish accent at times (because Ncuti Gatwa grew up in Scotland). I agree that Millie Gibson is very good and she's still only 19 - she turns 20 on June 19th.
ReplyDeleteBoth Millie and the Doc exclaimed that some blond guy was hot and then said "hands off" to one another, so it's quite clear that he fancies men, CJ. And there are articles online (which I haven't actually read, but the headlines are a giveaway) which seem to approve of the Doc's 'new' inclinations. What's the world come to? A big jessie is now meant to be regarded as a hero by the nation's youth. Sigh. I prefer men to be men and women to be women - so shoot me.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, CJ, my email inbox is no longer being alerted to comments on my blog (dunno why), and there seems to be a delay in them showing in my blog's 'pending' file (yours just showed up minutes before I published it), so there may well be a delay between you (or anyone) submitting a comment and me being able to see it. Hopefully it'll all work itself out before too long.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy watching the ratings plummet every week. It will soon be cancelled and blamed on the racist, homophobic Whovians and nothing to do with the woke direction it's been taken in. I prefer mysteriousness to gayness - so shoot me as well.
ReplyDeleteDo they still give you a last cigarette before shooting you, M? If so, I'm screwed 'cos I don't smoke. Yeah, when the Doctor first appeared in 1963 he was mysterious. Unfortunately, that aspect disappeared quite some time ago.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else for shooting?
I don't smoke either. You mentioned a cup of tea in one of your earlier comments, that would be my last request. The one thing I can't do without. Will power pretty good otherwise.
ReplyDeleteYeah, a cuppa tea - or a night of passion with Salma Hayek. H'mm, decisions, decisions.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, Kid, the Doctor hasn't been mysterious since the earliest days of the show - even William Hartnell stopped being mysterious so you can hardly expect the current Doctor to still be mysterious after 60 years!
ReplyDeleteDid you know that next Saturday (June 8th) is exactly 50 years since the final episode of 'Planet Of The Spiders' when Jon Pertwee regenerated into Tom Baker.
I've never smoked either but my father smoked 20 a day and he told me never to smoke.
To be fair to me, CJ, I did say that he was mysterious back in 1963 and that that aspect had disappeared quite some time ago. I've said elsewhere a few times that once the show became a hit with kids, the BBC changed the Doc into a benign (but still sometimes crusty) grandfather-type figure. That probably happened sometime in 1964.
ReplyDeleteI've never smoked, never drank alcohol, nor taken drugs in all my life. Yes, you're right - I'm boring.