robert.admin – Page 196 – Robert Raymond’s Blogtorium

January 31, 2012

Early ReTyrement Synopsis – Spoilers!

Early ReTyrement It’s always the clever fellows who fall back into time, the gleaming-teeth, hair-part guys with a conveniently useful knowledge of metallurgy, lower Nile politics or even the date of the next eclipse. How handy. But what is some shmoe (a computer programmer, say) went back? What if this end-use user found himself in 300 BC with nothing save the shirt on his back (and no pants, incidentally*)? What could he do? What would you do? Mason Trellis is just this sort of reluctant chrononaut, an everyday guy who finds himself ripped from his glum modern-day corporation and thrust back […]

January 29, 2012

To serve and kersplat

Friday we got out of work early as a reward. Cool by me, since it means traffic would be easier getting home. I’m on the bike with saddle bags. Got an orange safety jacket, flashing rear light, helmet, all that commuter stuff. I’m on the right side of the road – it’s a little moist so I’m doing my curb hugging one-foot off the stripe. Location: Orlando Florida, southbound on 1792, 250 feet short of Lee Road. Anyway, I’m riding along and two cars squeeeeeze past me on the left, really, really close. Like what the hell? So I’m thinking, […]

January 29, 2012

Early-Retyrement-Back-Cover

Early ReTyrement Can a modern programmer make it in the ancient world? Computer Programmer Mason Trellis thought he had problems with corporate nepotism. When an experimental laser punches him 2400 years counterclockwise to the ancient port of Tyre, he discovers greater problems (namely ignorance of metallurgy, chemistry, explosives, history, or even the date of a convenient eclipse). Now laboring in a wineshop, he’ll have to think hard and fast to come up with a way out of slavery and into wealth, power and the arms of the lovely daughter of a high Persian official, all before the war between Greece […]

January 26, 2012

OpsLog – LM&O – 1/25/2012

Last night’s session started at 7:40pm and ran until 10:15pm. But not really. It actually started at 10pm a week before when Mark John and I worked the lading slips for every freight car across the line. The three industrial areas were easy; just flip whatever cars you wished to indicate their completed loading/unloading. The staging was a little more difficult: we had to inspect the car numbers to make sure the right cars were on the right trains, THEN replace the waybills in the correct cars. Martin Classification Yard was the worst; either an overwhelmed yardmaster or joyriding operators had scrambled things. […]

January 23, 2012

Winchester Law (Review)

I’m in the middle of Arabian Nights right now, a long slow slog (though there are gems of wisdom scattered throughout). While trying to get Early ReTyrement seated at a local bookstore, I ended up picking up a couple of used novels, including this old 1988 western by Doyle Trent. I’m not going to review Winchester Law as much as I’m going to review the lost passion of Western writing. I read through the yarn and found long periods where nothing happened. Bill Williams staked out his land. He bought wire. He strung it up. He worried about where the […]

January 15, 2012

Pandemonium (Review)

What would you do if the earth broke apart under your feet, the sky turned black and the mountains fell upon the multitudes around you? Well, if you were a writer, you’d write about it! I mentioned the exibit of John Martin’s paintings HERE, all the biblical end-of-the-world, fire-and-brimstone you could cram into your eyeballs. While there, I picked up Pandemonium / Stories of the Apocalypse, a little set of end-of-the-word short stories marketed to go along with Martin’s display. Now, I’ve read EOTW stories before. Last year while in a down mood, I got two anthologies, one on the […]

January 12, 2012

Share the road?

Strange thing today. Rolling up the Lake Destiny frontage road (a two-lane road with nice clean bike lanes on either side). Saw I was overtaking a rider with a yellow reflective jacket – one like I’d like to get (mine’s orange, too small and not very reflective). But strange, I noticed that the cars were all slowing down, touching their brakes as they passed him. Eventually I drew up behind him and then I saw a couple of things. One: He had “Share the Road” across the back of his vest. Okay, that’s groovy. Two: He was turning up his […]

January 10, 2012

Best of British

Popular western (i.e. American) culture holds that the English are a fragile, cultured (even socialist) lot while we’re a brawny, can-do bunch. But nothing could be further from the truth. In my recent trip to London, I observed countless English cycle commuters making their way to work, in absolutely frigid temperatures with light rain forecast. Yes, driving in the city is a pain and you pay a congestion fee (something like ten bucks a day) so maybe they are forced to ride. Whatever. But I saw men and women riding in, doing what it took to get them where they […]

January 8, 2012

ShowLog – Deland – 1/8/2012

The Jacksonville lift bridge is rattling from a constant stream of rail traffic, so much so that the draw bridge has been down for two days straight. More amazing – if you looked into the cabs of the huge Genesis, Dash-9s and Big Boys, you’d find a 10 year old boy or girl at the throttle and a grinning older conductor sitting back in the brakeman seat, enjoying the ride. It’s our second performance for the new layout at Deland, a great showplace for our new techniques and efforts. Since last time, we expanded scenery 12 feet (the urban Jacksonville […]

January 5, 2012

The eighteen percent solution

“So, my good Watson, allow me to explain how I deduced Lord Witherwank was behind this entire deplorable affair… I say, Watson, are you listening?” “Eh, Wot, Holmes? Sorry, was rather involved in my medical journals.” “But I was explaining my most recent case. And you aren’t even listening.” “I say, Holmes; I am not some sort of…. literary foil for you to explain things to. I am a doctor, with other responsibilities.” “But Lord Witherwank… The stolen jewels… The comb missing but a single tooth…” “Oh, grow up, Sherlock. I can’t always be here as an audience to your […]