robert.admin – Page 143 – Robert Raymond’s Blogtorium

March 1, 2015

My old buddies (3/1/2015)

ent to Dark Skies (a.k.a. Wet Skies) Saturday, the annual event that got itself pretty much rained out (even when it wasn’t raining, the sky was boilerplate). It was a real disappointment – none of the scopes were out, I couldn’t find an astronomer to geek with, and about all we got to do was go into a half-dome (canvas) planetarium and watch the pseudo-sky. I rather liked it still – I’m getting better with my constellations and picked Venus off the simulated horizon (heck, I’d looked at it enough over the last few months). Anyway, we looked at all […]

February 26, 2015

Tough Choices (DOG EAR)

ust watched The Wild Bunch at the insistence of my friend Greg. Great flick, and the more I thought about it today, the more I liked it. So why am I talking about movies in a writing blog? Well, for story, in this case. The story has a number of interesting points, one of which I’m very interested by. So, this band of aging outlaws in a changing early twentieth-century West are trying to pull off a last heist, something to set them up for life. They end up stealing rifles from a US Government shipment, getting clean away with […]

February 25, 2015

OpsLog – LM&O – 2/25/2015

ell, it wasn’t as bad as our last club session, but it could have gone better. We had two long trains detail in the same tunnel, and being the tall lanky guy (not running a train at the time) I got to go under and dig them all out. Nothing like a long day in a rolling stock mine. Outside of that, I did get to run – always a good thing. It’s gotta be a pretty bad session to ruin it for me. My engines were purring when I took the inaugural run of the Harris Glen Local up […]

February 22, 2015

Some Remarks (Review)

really like Neal Stephenson. I loved Snow Crash and appreciated Quicksilver (haven’t gotten the guts to follow up with the next two massive books). So when I saw a copy of Some Remarks in a used book store, I had to get it. This is a collection of a number of his articles and interviews, not all of them (some of them he looked back and and decided to leave them buried). But I did like most of it. I’ll admit that his raving about the time period he covered in Quicksilver eventually befuddled me so badly I had to […]

February 21, 2015

OpsLog – P&WV – 2/21/2015

he situation: We’ve got one extra (engine 64) waiting in Rook Yard. Another train is inbound, also an extra, engine 2128. Even though 64 has clearance through the yard, I’ve already dropped the Rook station signal on him. Now to give the order to my station operator (Bruce, who is so good at his job today that he’s the operator for a half-dozen stations). Simple really. Of course, I need to spell all stations and trains to the operator over the phone, to make sure there are no misunderstandings. And here we go. “To Crew and Engineer extra sixty-four six […]

February 20, 2015

New peeper (2/20/2015)

ot the new Orion 120ST scope the other day. Decided after a glum start of the day at work that I’d had enough. Came home and worked out assembling the scope with JB. The instructions were a little crazy (hey, if you are going to name something, show a picture, puleeze!). But otherwise, it wasn’t too hard. We had it together soon enough. My sister pointed out that there was an event tonight, a moment when the moon, Venus and Mars would all be lined up in a tight cluster. Set up the tripod while it was still light, then […]

February 19, 2015

Architects (DOG EAR)

rose is architecture, not interior decoration” So said Ernest Hemingway, the writer’s writer. And at first, I was willing to agree with the statement. Now I’m having reservations. Clearly Hemingway firmed the idea of what a novel should be. His stories were sharp and to the point. I’ve mentioned To Have and Have Not, a wonderful tale that is gritty and sharp and drives towards its grim conclusion. I’m not an expert of 1930’s literature. Mostly, I’m a Sabatini fan, yet I have to admit that he can be flowery in his prose. Lovers labor over misunderstandings, endlessly blushing and […]

February 15, 2015

OpsLog – TY&E – 2/15/2015

‘ve got a couple of favorite trains I love to run. On my own Coast Route, I love the helper, hissing and grunting my way up the long slope through the Santa Lucia Range. On the NS Saluda, I’m always in 720, a long coal drag feeling its way down that 5% namesake grade. I love the Rinker Run on the FEC. On the club line, I’ll opt for the Mingo Local if nobody else wants it. Yes, there are just trains I like, fun and interesting and full of attitude, ones I’ll run until I’ve got them down perfect. […]

February 15, 2015

The Trampling of the Lilies (Review)

et’s just get this out front – I like Rafael Sabatini. I’ve reviewed Scaramouche, The Shame of Motley, and The Marquis of Carabas. I haven’t done Captain Blood but I’ve read it twice and could review it cold. I’ve liked them all. But The Trampling of the Lilies? I’m going to have to luke-warm this one. I figured it was shaping up to the usual Sabatini fare – low-born clerk loves nobleman’s daughter. He professes his love. Then he gets a horse whip across the face. He then takes a shot at the nobleman who’d slashed him and ends up […]

February 15, 2015

Orion twice (2/15/2015)

unny how these things work. Just ordered my telescope – an Orion Astroview 120 ST, from a recommendation by Astronomer Carl the other night. Read the reviews and it seemed just what I was looking for. So that’s one. After dinner tonight, we dropped in at Barnes and Noble and I picked up a book on astronomy and picked up a star wheel too. Looks like I’ll need a red combat light to use it – tried it after Downton tonight in the backyard with a lamp and flashblinded myself. Still, I managed to get some guestomates on a few […]