Posts from @nicklewis

Morning Walk

nicklewis — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 08:15:33 GMT

I just finished a 2.86 km Walk, that lasted for 32m.
This Walk helped me burn 129.0 calories.

Activity Summary


Activity Type:	Walk
Distance:	2.86 km
Duration:	32m
Calories Burnt:	129.0

Description

Just a quick early morning walk to awake my brain! Busy day approaching potential clients lies ahead.

About Me

Web developer, photographer, synth enthusiast, kayaker and family man

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The Flying Scotsman

nicklewis — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:52:27 GMT

https://play.3speak.tv/embed?v=nicklewis/2m45xdvi

OK I’m a nerd and I absolutely love trains! There’s the nostalgia, the feats of engineering, then there’s the good old excuse to dress up in the clothing that would have been the fashion of the 1920s. I’m fascinated by the sounds of the engine and the smells of the steam which is quite hard to describe in words but when you consider the mix of fuel, hot metal, steam and mechanical lubricants (various grease products) - it makes for an odour that can only be experienced in the presence of such beautiful machines!

Can a machine be beautiful? Oh yes!

We caught up with the legend at Newbury racecourse train station where it was scheduled to stop for more around 40 minutes, and as such we were able to take a pretty good look. Trouble was, hundreds of people wanted to get close - as you can tell from my video!

It was a challenge getting close, so got to a certain point and then decided to step back and admire the train from a little further away.
Nowadays the Flying Scotsman spends much of it’s time based at York’s National Train Museum but from time to time you can take extensive tours in the luxury of a Pullman carriage (Orient Express). I believe over the weekend they had travelled down to Didcot, just south of Oxford and then travelled through Berkshire, Wiltshire and back to Didcot via Swindon which is another significant town in our railway history. The passengers must have had a wonderful time.

Built in 1923 at Doncaster Works, it cost just over £7k to manufacture. Weighs 97 tonnes or for context, 16 male Elephants! It’s 70ft in length or equivalent to 5 big cars. It was the first locomotive to reach 100mph and the first to circumnavigate the globe!

If you travel nowadays on LNER, guess which train started this company off? Yup it was that Flying Scotsman!

For a number of years the Scotsman was stranded in the USA after a tour lost money and the service was shut down in San Francisco. In 1973, it was rescued by William McAlpine who paid off the creditors, purchased the train and shipped it back to the UK where it ran for over 20 years, even taking a trip to Australia for a tour there. This is where it circumnavigated the globe and even made a non-stop journey of over 400 miles whilst it was in Australia.

The train underwent repairs in the 1990s and was part-owned by pop impresario, Pete Waterman for a period of time in partnership with McAlpine.
Tony Marchington purchased the locomotive in 1996 for over £1 million.

In 2004, its ownership came under pressure again and a national campaign, raised enough funds to acquire the train and restore it’s national treasure status and that’s how it came be property of the National Train Museum and lottery funds helped restore it to it’s former glory.

What a life the Flying Scotsman has had!

There are some tours coming up soon if you are in the Durham area or want to travel there from other places - Durham Trips and the most expensive tickets are £129 for First Class and cheaper tickets are available for £79 / £49 / £22.95
I’d be up for that!

Thanks for checking out my post. More of this stuff coming in the future.

Video Chapters

0:00 The arrival
1:25 Pullman carriages
3:13 Getting closer to the Loco!
3:57 Traction engine
4:14 Outro

Video Links

Journeys and Experiences with Flying Scotsman Steam Locomotive
Flying Scotsman | National Railway Museum

▶ Watch on 3speak.tv

London Hive Meetup - I missed this stuff

adetorrent — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 09:11:33 GMT

I was honoured to attend a cozy meetup with fellow Hivians in Central London on Saturday. I actually though the meeting happened last month but, thanks to @livingtiwanuk who reminded me last minute, I was able to move things around to be there.

I ran a little late, due to slight delays on the London Underground, but I was able to catch the first session at the pub. The Penderel's Oak is probably one of the best Wetherspoons I've ever been in. The ones near where I live are much less nice, for lack of a better expression. This one looked and sounded like a library. Despite being relatively busy, there were no drunk, rowdy or loud people. Our conversation was probably the loudest there 😅

I like Wetherspoon pubs. I regularly work in them primarily because of the infinite coffee refills 😎

We then progressed to the venue itself, a short walk from the pub, led by the organiser @shanibee, where we were treated to some refreshments after eventually figuring out the elevator.

As usual, with Hive people, the conversation got very interesting, covering a range of deep topics. Hive people know A LOT about such a vast array of topics, which is why I'm always intellectually stimulated around Hive people. I mean, we covered topics like history, geography, climate change, politics, religion, AI, 3D printing and even the price of Hive.

@steevc's little synthesiser gadget was a cool conversation starter too. 😃

We were there for hours, but the time moves so fast. Before we knew it, it was time to head home. It was a pleasure attending and meeting some new faces too. I hope to see everyone again soon.

PS: the Hivians I haven't tagged, I can't remember asking if I could tag you or not so please tag yourself in the comments

Peace & Love,

Adé

Walkthrough: Grow Hive & Lock In Half-Price Ads for a Year

tibfox — Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:44:51 GMT

https://play.3speak.tv/embed?v=tibfox/vjej7pvd

Hive needs new people, and every app on Hive benefits when they arrive. Advertising on 3Speak gives us a way to reach them. Every ad pays the creators and viewers it runs on, so advertisers help support the community while getting their projects in front of people.

But for this to work, somebody has to book those first ads. We think Hive projects are in a good position to get things started. The money stays in the community, more people have a reason to use 3Speak, and eventually those people discover the other apps on Hive and get sucked into the whole Hive ecosystem as we all have experienced it at some point.

We think this could make a real difference for Hive's growth, and we'd love to see more projects get involved.

A lot of you have asked about advertising on 3Speak lately, and a few asked for a walkthrough. This video is exactly that: I book a video roll ad from start to finish. It plays on regular videos on 3Speak.tv and on every website that uses our embed player.

Heads up on pricing: All ad rates are 50% off until 1 November 2026. Book your ad before that date and you'll lock in the half-price rate for a full 12 months, even after the offer ends. So you get a whole year at half price, as long as you book in time. No pressure lol

The 5 ad formats

Here is what you can book today. The previews below are mockups with made-up brands, created with AI, because we don't have a real ad running in every format yet. The ad overlays you see on them are the real 3Speak ones.

Video Roll
Your clip plays full-frame inside the video, with your name, logo and a link to your site on top.

Banner Ad
An image or short video along the bottom of the video while it plays. Viewers can click it to open your site.

Ticker Ad
A one-line message with your avatar and a link, running along the top of the video.

Pre-Upload Ad
Creators watch this spot before they can post a new video on 3Speak.tv

Shorts Ad
A vertical clip that plays between shorts in the 3Speak shorts feed.

Where your ad shows up

Each format has its own price, settings and reach:

Video roll, banner and ticker run on 3Speak.tv and in the embed player used by ecency.com, peakd.com and every other site that embeds 3Speak videos. And soon when we publish live streaming these ads will also play on there but with a different timing of course as livestreams are - well - live and we can not measure the exact position in the stream upfront.
Shorts and pre-upload ads run on 3speak.tv only.

Got an idea for a new ad format? Tell us in the comments. We are happy to add more ways to advertise on 3Speak.

You get what you pay for

If your ad doesn't reach its estimated impressions, the unused part of your payment is credited to your next booking. Book the same ad again and it fills up the rest. You never pay for impressions you didn't get.

Why now, and why Hive projects matter

We are promoting 3Speak.tv outside of Hive right now, and we expect a lot of new creators and viewers to join over the coming weeks and months. Locking in today's half-price rate before that happens is a pretty smart move if you ask me.

There is a bigger reason too. Every ad booked on 3Speak pays Hive creators and viewers. Half of the ad revenue goes to the creator of the video your ad runs on, and viewers earn a share for watching. When a Hive project advertises here, its budget flows back into the community and gives people a real reason to upload and watch on 3Speak.

The way we see it, it feeds itself:

Ads pay creators and viewers.
That brings more creators and viewers to 3Speak.tv.
More traffic means more impressions for advertisers.
More impressions bring more advertisers, which means more revenue for creators and viewers.

Read the full post

Vascular synth has taken an Acid trip

nicklewis — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 11:03:51 GMT

https://play.3speak.tv/embed?v=nicklewis/f07nc410

I was playing with Vascular last night and they've added some new features including this new visualiser and wooooooah! I was taken by surprise by this. It's nuts!!

Be warned: may not be great for people with Epilepsy!!

▶ Watch on 3speak.tv

A NEW FORM OF MOVING (DE/ENG/ESP) - A new post for the #monomad challenge

lukasbachofner — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 04:23:30 GMT

(DE) Jahrelang bin ich mit dem Auto 2x täglich quer durch die Stadt Zürich zur Arbeit und zurück gefahren. Früh morgens war es ja noch ganz cool 20 Minuten durch die noch fast leeren Strassen zu fahren. Der Rückweg von der Arbeit zur Zeit des Feierabendverkehrs gestaltete sich aber zunehmends zäh und mühsam. Die Fahrzeit auf der selben Strecke verdoppelte sich abends. Als dann plötzlich auf allen Fahrwegen und vermeintliche Abkürzungen Baustellen auftauchten, hatte ich nach einer 1-stündigen Heimfahrt genug. So tauschte ich für den Arbeitsweg das Auto gegen den Zug. Und ich lernte damit eine neue entspanntere Form der Arbeitsweg-Bewältigung kennen. Schon in der ersten Woche eröffneten sich mir diverse Vorteile der neuen Fortbewegungsart. Die Anfahrt sowie der Rückweg gestaltet sich nun stressfrei. Ich muss nur an das lösen des Zugtickets denken. Ich kann einsteigen und am gewünschten Ort aussteigen ohne mich auf den Verkehr zu konzentrieren und Parkplätze zu suchen.
Und ich habe wieder angefangen Schnappschüsse zu schiessen. Dafür gibt es an Bahnhöfe genügend. Hier präsentiere ich euch einige davon.
Die Bilder habe ich mit dem Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra an den Bahnhöfen Zürich Oerlikon und Zürich Wetzikon aufgenommen.

(ENG) For years, I drove across Zurich twice a day to and from work. Early in the morning, it was actually quite nice to drive for 20 minutes through the still almost empty streets. The journey home from work during the evening rush hour, however, became increasingly slow and tedious. The journey time on the same route doubled in the evenings. Then, when roadworks suddenly appeared on all the routes and so-called shortcuts, I’d had enough after a one-hour journey home. So I swapped the car for the train for my commute. And in doing so, I discovered a new, more relaxed way of getting to work. Even in the first week, I began to realise the various advantages of this new mode of transport. Both the journey there and the journey back are now stress-free. All I have to do is remember to buy my train ticket. I can get on and get off at my chosen destination without having to worry about traffic or hunting for a parking space.
And I’ve started taking snapshots again. There are plenty of opportunities for that at railway stations. Here are a few of them.
I took these photos with my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra at Zurich Oerlikon and Zurich Wetzikon stations.

(ESP) Durante años, conducía dos veces al día en auto de un lado al otro de la ciudad de Zúrich para ir al trabajo y regresar. Temprano por la mañana aún era bastante agradable conducir 20 minutos por las calles, que todavía estaban casi vacías. Sin embargo, el camino de regreso del trabajo, en hora pico, se volvía cada vez más lento y agotador. El tiempo de viaje en el mismo trayecto se duplicaba por la noche. Cuando de repente aparecieron obras en todas las vías y en los supuestos atajos, ya me había hartado después de un viaje de una hora a casa. Así que cambié el auto por el tren para ir al trabajo. Y así descubrí una nueva forma, más relajada, de hacer el trayecto al trabajo. Ya en la primera semana me di cuenta de varias ventajas de este nuevo medio de transporte. Tanto el viaje de ida como el de regreso ahora son sin estrés. Solo tengo que acordarme de comprar el boleto de tren. Puedo subirme y bajarme en el lugar que quiera sin tener que concentrarme en el tráfico ni buscar estacionamiento.
Y he vuelto a tomar fotos espontáneas. En las estaciones hay mucho que fotografiar. Aquí les muestro algunas de ellas.
Tomé estas fotos con el Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra en las estaciones de tren de Zúrich Oerlikon y Zúrich Wetzikon.

Read the full post

The time I composed an album from an aircraft

nicklewis — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 20:36:33 GMT

We flew out to Madeira last month and on the way I got out my iPad to create some music. I was going to create one or two tracks, maybe come up with nothing more than some ideas that I could use at a later time. It's a great way of passing the time.

I ended up creating 8 tracks and decided to put them out there as an album. I was that pleased with what I had created. I guess I just got into the creative flow and lost all sense of time.

Tell you what the flight seemed to take no time whatsoever, four hours just flew by.

The cover photo is not of Madeira! I wasn't sat anywhere near the window for the flight. This image was from another flight entirely and is of the Gulf of Mexico.

iPad Jam - 131026

nicklewis — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 19:57:57 GMT

https://play.3speak.tv/embed?v=nicklewis/63uz2tzh

I recorded this one over the weekend, as I am aiming to create more progressive mixes that will evolve into sets. I am planning to perform these at local EMOMs around my nexk of the woods. If you've not come across an EMOM before, the acronym stands for Electronic Music Open Mic and they are often really good. I haven't been to one for awhile but hope to be ready to book some slots for next year.

Let me kow if you have such things where you are based, as it would be great to publicise them here on Hive.

https://electronicmusicopenmic.com/

Of course there is always ModCaf which takes place each month on the 3rd Thursday of the month. We meet in Aldershot, London and other places

▶ Watch on 3speak.tv

PeakD update: A new homepage and better everyday tools

asgarth — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 09:39:12 GMT

The new PeakD homepage is live, along with a few other updates from the past few weeks.

Most of us probably go straight to our feeds and rarely see the homepage. But for someone opening PeakD for the first time, though, there are a bunch of things to learn and understand. We've reworked the page to give visitors a better idea of what they can do here and how Hive works.

In case you don't want to read a full post this is a short 15 secs video we made for the new homepage.

The new homepage

The most noticeable addition is the live Hive activity display at the top. You can watch votes, comments, transfers, and rewards moving through the network. If you've been around Hive for a while, it's still quite fun to watch familiar accounts pop up.

Below that, the page covers a few things we tend to take for granted: owning your account, keeping your content on Hive, and being able to use your account and connections across different apps. These can be unfamiliar ideas when you're coming from other social platforms, so there's also a comparison to help explain the differences.

The next sections show what PeakD offers, from writing and scheduling posts to finding topics, joining communities, and using the wallet. There's quite a lot on the site, and new visitors shouldn't have to click through half the menus to find out about it.

Featured communities give people a few places to start reading. There's also a section with other Hive apps, because being able to use the same account elsewhere is worth showing people early on.

The page has had some extra attention on mobile too, especially the activity display and community cards. And the join page has a new layout to make the signup options easier to follow.

Take a look at peakd.com. Even better, try sharing it with someone who hasn't used Hive and see what they make of it. It's easy to forget which bits need explaining when you've been using something for years.

A new login modal, with Hive node selection

The login modal has a new layout and a Hive node selector. You can pick the API node PeakD uses before signing in, with health indicators to help you choose, or leave Switch automatically selected. Your choice is saved after login. If a node is having problems, you can try another one right there instead of having to get into your account settings first.

More control over your feed

You can now hide comments from your Following feed. Turn it on in Settings if you'd rather just see posts there.

Hidden tag filters also support a wildcard at the beginning or end of a tag:

tag-* hides tags starting with tag-.
*-tag hides tags ending with -tag.
tag still matches the exact tag tag.

That saves adding every tag separately when a group of tags shares the same beginning or ending. The * needs to be at one end only; putting it in the middle or at both ends won't work.

Subscriptions, with Horizon coming soon

There's a new subscriptions page on the @peakd profile, replacing the old Store page. You can compare Free and Explorer there, and see a preview of Horizon, which is coming soon.

Subscriptions use HBD recurring transfers through Hive Open Market. Your daily image upload allowance now depends on your plan. PeakD also keeps a saved copy of subscription details, so a temporary problem fetching them shouldn't interrupt your access.

One feature coming with Horizon is Suggest topics with AI, beside the Topics field when publishing. It reads your title and post to suggest tags, with some help from popular Hive topics and topics you've used recently. You can review or remove the suggestions before publishing.

That will be available when Horizon launches.

A few smaller updates

Read the full post

Street Photography –Tokyo Street

harveyword — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:30:09 GMT

There are images that I consider to be quintessentially Japanese, these three images, taken within a couple of minutes of each other in the unfashionable part of Shinjuku represent that image

There is everything that could only possibily be all together in Japan, from the 7-elevent to the kanji writing on the ground, to the way the people are dressed to the tiny cars and the modern architecture in the background to the spirt of the people to the well dressed people on bikes.

And yeah I get that all of these things exist elsewhere, I mean we can but the clothes a Muji, plenty of cities are full of bikes, there is something like 85,000 7-elevens in the world, but here, here is the only place where all of this seems to live together