robert.admin – Page 197 – Robert Raymond’s Blogtorium

March 31, 2013

Fall of Giants / Winter of the World (Guest review)

Another guest review by my dear ol’ da. I’m stuck in the second book of the Thrones (why do I keep reading gigantic monster books?) So I’ll keep bringing in guests (and writing about old favorites) until I can get caught up. But anyway, here’s another book review for you… The first two books of a planned trilogy that covers the first half of the 20th century. This twofer follows the members of five separate families (English, Welsh, Russian, German, and American) as they experience love, wars, depression, revolution, and all the political currents that ran through this period. I […]

March 28, 2013

Writer’s life (DOG ESAR)

I’m a writer and I stand by that. It’s what I am, from my off-beat views and off-cuff comments to my crazy hair to my lunchtime laptop sessions. Everyone knows I’m a writer (with the possible exception of agents – sigh). But this is what I do, babe. So it’s not surprising that people take notice of this. A while back, one of my Indian coworkers asked if I might chat with his son about writing. I was given samples of his school work (which wasn’t bad) and asked to give him suggestions. So we chatted – he was a […]

March 28, 2013

OpsLog – LM&O – 3/27/2013

I‘ve found myself in a lot of unique positions in my long decades of operations. I’ve bumped into readers of Fire and Bronze. I’ve seen scenery on layouts that was too farcical to believe (like natural tunnel), only to find out that it’s actually true. I’ve worked jobs with people so diametrically opposed to my politics and beliefs that you wouldn’t think I could breathe the same air, but actually enjoyed their company. But tonight I found myself conducting on a four-unit lashup climbing the west grade towards Harris Glen with two young Indian girls, one in the assigned power, […]

March 23, 2013

Twenty Years After (Review)

d‘Artagnan puts it best- “Ah, my friends, it is not civil wars which disunite us; it is that we are all twenty years older. The loyal outbursts of youth have gone, and given place to the din of interests, the breath of ambition, and the counsels of egotism.” It”s been twenty years since the events of The Three Musketeers and time has not suited the famous friends. d’Artagnan is still a lieutenant in the musketeers. Porthos has gained a country estate but not the respect his neighbors. Aramis has taken the cloth and pines for his adventurous youth. And Athos, […]

March 21, 2013

Backing away (Dog Ear)

If you are a writer, you’ll need to learn to deal with defeat. Right now I’m dealing with it, and its not about writing. There is a corporate 5K that I’m trying to train for, as mentioned in my general blog HERE. I’m really pissed about this. I’ve followed everyone’s advice. I’ve stretched and paced and breathed and even eaten mustard. I went from being okay (and then hurting myself) to nearly getting back to where I started (and hurting myself). Two days ago, I barely knocked off a mile and my muscle behind my left calf started screaming. Tonight […]

March 17, 2013

Jogging

You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t mentioned bike commuting recently. That’s cuz I haven’t done it. There is this Corporate 5K in April I signed up for (much in the way eager boys in Britain and Germany signed up for service in 1914). Then I started to figure out this jogging thing. Went jogging with Manjula, a coworker of mine. And yes, in two miles, I pulled something. After that healed, I tried jogging every morning. Started getting into it. Every day, I went a little further. And in a week’s time, I pulled something else and was racked up […]

March 17, 2013

Moby Dick – a counterpoint (Guest Review)

Mike Krzos is an old buddy of mine – we car-pooled to our rocket-scientist jobs for about two years. You get a lot of time to know someone, an hour each way. One of our biggest (and standing) arguments was about the novel Moby Dick. I reviewed it HERE. Now it’s Mike’s turn… Moby Dick. Every person claims to know the story. An obsessive madman, a madman with one leg, possessed by his obsession to the ends of sanity and, presumably, the end of his life. Moby Dick is not a story however, it is a work of art. Just […]

March 14, 2013

Jimmy Allen (DOG EAR)

I‘ve got a new passion. The air adventures of Jimmy Allen… Someone sent me a link to dumb.com, a massive collection of just about everything. Here, I found old radio programs, zillions of them. Since a lot of what I do at work takes 4% of my brain, I found myself listening in. Jimmy Allen has become my addiction. It’s the story of a telegraph delivery boy who saves an airliner (how? don’t know) from hijacking. For this, he is given a scholarship to flight school where he meets Speed Robertson, an ace pilot and solid mentor. The stories are […]

March 10, 2013

In Sunlight and in Shadow (Guest Review)

Captain James Raymond is a retired naval officer and voracious reader – he’s also my Pop. Given his burn rate on books, it’s a natural to ask him to stand in for me while I saw through Twenty Years After. Watch for future reviews by him. A beautiful novel set in New York City during the early post WW2 years. Henry, a young paratrooper returns from war and attempts to reestablish his family leather business. His wartime experiences leading his squad into Normandy on D-day and during the battle of the bulge establishes his character using flashbacks. Love at first […]

March 10, 2013

OpsLog – SP Cuesta Grade – 3/10/2013

Well, it’s been a long time coming. As I mentioned HERE, it’s been over a year since I last hosted ops. I was unsure but had do to it. I resurrected the layout and hoped they’d come. And they came…. The session had some rocky moments. A stuck button. A couple of overrun switches. And a poor level crossing at King City that crews were supposed to whistle at and half of them did not (including, I might add, your humble author). But we got through the session. We […]