robert.admin – Page 194 – Robert Raymond’s Blogtorium

March 4, 2012

Piece of Cake (Review)

So why do I like Piece of Cake, outside of the fact that it’s a World War Two flying story? Well, as a writer, I love the book because it does two things I respect any book in doing. These are… 1) It takes a perception of our world (here, the nobility of “the few”) and skews it. 2) Characters get killed. It turns out that Hornet Squadron is made up of infallible, bungling, selfish, vain, and stupid humans. The squadron CO taxis into a slit trench the first day of the war and breaks his neck while trying to […]

March 3, 2012

Carney Barker

As mentioned in Moon Landing, we’d been tasked with setting up a carney across thirty parking spaces on the top deck of a garage. That morning, since I was in charge of set-up, I was out on the deck at 6am, chalking down the markers for where all the events would be. Worked at it until 7am, came in and napped at the desk for a bit (I hadn’t slept well – worrying). And then at 8am, I was back topside, helping to arrange things. Of course, the table people couldn’t get their truck up the garage so fourteen tables […]

March 1, 2012

Moon landing

So it’s not like I have enough to do, what with the dozen train club activities (two nights a week), the book stuff (the club I’ll be speaking at, the UCF festival, and the library speech). No, nothing to do. So somehow, I ended up getting drafted into work’s picnic committee. And where are we holding it? On top of a parking garage. The idea is that each of the three orgs gets 30 parking spots to decorate as they see fit. And there will be activities, food, all sorts of stuff. Fun fun fun! And not only am I […]

February 26, 2012

Folkston Funnel

I’ve always liked the practicality of Folkston, Ga. They were a little nowhere, noplace town sitting right on the CSX mainline that runs out to Jacksonville and carries heavy loads both ways. And in the classic sense of making lemons from lemonade, they welcomed the trainspotters, trainwatches and railfans, building a reviewing stand complete with a railroad scanner and bathroom. Now fans can line the right of way, watching as heavy power blows up and down the line. The club’s been meaning to get out there for some time and, at our last meeting when pushed against the wall, I […]

February 24, 2012

Bangalore Bowling

I’ve never been much of a bowler. Did the kid leagues, rolled 115s or so. Over the ever-shortening decades since then, I’ve held my 115. I can sorta roll straight, so I aim between the center tick and the one to the right and just roll. I think one problem is that I think too much. When I’m walking up with the ball, I’m thinking about work, about writing, about the club and it’s issues, about Early ReTyrement and the challenges it’s facing. My head is like an auditorium on Monster Truck Rally weekend. Sunday Sunday Sunday! And so I’ll […]

February 22, 2012

OpsLog – LM&O – 2/22/2012

It’s one of those sessions where you can overlook the little glitches and everything. We’ve got a full house, a bunch of fascinated guests, and all the trains are moving. So I’m really in the groove, running Black Widow SP F3s on the front of an intermodal train. Sure it looks strange – engines and cars are 40 years apart, but what the hell – I can squint and I’m Coast Merchandiser East on the head end of TOFCs. So it’s cool, the engines are running well and I’m smiling. And I’m just coming into Hellertown and have the long grade to […]

February 21, 2012

UCF Book Festival

Well, this was a big jump – JB saw the notice for the UCF book festival – I’d been kicking myself in the butt for missing MegaCon here in town. So she saw this, brought it to my attention, and when I started to hem/haw, she told me, “Just do it”. I pointed out that given the price of a table, even if I sell 60 of these things, I won’t break even. “Go anyway. Just do that author stuff”. So okay, signed up and I’m in. If any of you are at the UCF Book Festival (March 31) stop […]

February 19, 2012

Flashman (Review)

It was back in sixty-nine. I was a youngling then, eleven years old, not even shaving. We were stationed in Cubi Point, the Philippines, beastly hot, nothing to do (especially if one hadn’t hit puberty yet). And in the base library, I found this book, d’ya see? Flashman. Odd, but it had a strapping big bloke with a sword on the cover – not swinging it, rot the luck, but just standing all satisfied before a seated Indian girl. I was at the age where not much made sense – I’d read Ensign Flandery the year before and while I […]

February 19, 2012

OpsLog – SP Coast Line – 2/19/2012

There are three aspects of operations for me. Pre-ops: I get ready with this sense of tight-stomached dread. Things don’t run well, things don’t work right. I break open engines and try to fix them but they just won’t cooperate. It’s an endless struggle that has me going back in the room over later hours, turning everything on and checking it out. It’s never good enough, and like an actor playing a well-known role, I still feel like puking. I hate getting ready for ops! Ops: Everyone is tooling up, train 920, the Salinas crew, the yard master, everyone’s brake-testing. The […]

February 18, 2012

Getting ready

Well, I’m all set for model train ops (other than a few minutes of “beat to quarters” furniture moves). My wife is not. The dining table is straining under too many magazines, too many Walgreens receipts, her computer, all that stuff. I keep telling her she needs a system, something where things don’t end up piled a foot deep because she hasn’t gotten to them. But this is one of these “minefield” discussions. Married guys know this – I just went out to look at 10:13pm, she’s been at it (supposedly) for two hours and I don’t see any difference. […]