robert.admin – Page 2 – Robert Raymond’s Blogtorium

August 9, 2026

The Last Watch (Review)

new series by (I guess) our new author J.S. Dewes, a tale of betrayal and terror on the literal edge of the universe. So rich boy Cavalon, a privileged brat who annoyed his all-powerful granddad in a very rebellions manner, gets “French Foreign Legioned” to the Argus, a decommissioned battleship now serving as a gutted watchpost, eyes on the “frontier”, supposedly watching for the return of an alien horror that all but annihilated us in two wars. Of course, he’s a rich boy in a ship full of angry troops who have all been sent to this outpost in the literal […]

August 2, 2026

OpsLog – TBL – 8/1/2026

o I had an oddly empty weekend and thought maybe I’d run the Tuscarora Branch Line through its paces. For this, I decided to do a number of things. 1. I’d run as many extra features as I could (i.e. deadhead cars and midnight dropoffs). 2. I’d run cars from my TBL collection that I usually don’t run. 3. I’d run the leverman position fully, including a station log and packets, to be issued as if we had a dispatcher. But then, of course, my plans changed. 4. Smiling Jack asked if he could run the TBL. Anyway, sure, I have […]

August 2, 2026

Destroyermen 16 – Fleet of Ghosts (Review)

his all began when my siblings press-ganged me into driving up to take care of my mom for three days. Of course, it’s a full (and taxing) drive each way, so that’s five days. And since there may be delays in my relief, that’s six. So no big deal. Since I’d be driving alone (and since rental cars no longer have CD players) I could not borrow from the library and was sorta stuck, that is, until my pal Jesse bought me a Fire so I could get Audible books. I’ve already reviewed my “test” book, The Last Days of New […]

July 30, 2026

OpsLog – LM&O – 7/29/2026

t was the best of times. But it really was the worst of times. A lot more. So in the last month, I’d had to drive 2000 miles to sit with my mother, who forgets my name. And then there is my sister-in -law, bunked in exclusive Westminster for $6000 a month, yet she still warms my life with nocturnal trips to the emergency room and a constant stream of complaints. She comes with her Halloween House of Hording which we are trying to deal with, what with its trench-warfare hallway clutter, its rubbish-sealed rooms, its condemned wiring and its […]

July 27, 2026

OpsLog – WAZU – 7/26/2026

hey used to say that there are a thousand stories in the naked city. I’d respond by saying – first – put some pants on. I don’t want to see that. And second – that it’s very true for a model railroad op sessions. We’re basically in four places (dispatcher office, Portland and Spokane staging room, remote operations room, and the main layout room). So, even though most of us are in one place (with flock camera coverage across the entire area), it seems that we don’t know WTF is going on. I got called for crew service, basically two […]

July 26, 2026

Lost Cat (Review)

ubtitled as “A true story of Love, Desperation and GPS Technology”, this was an interesting bio from a young woman (Caroline Paul) who starts her recounting with smashing her ultralight and pulping her leg (okay, THAT caught my attention). Finally leaving the hospital, she returns home to her two cats (Fibby and Tibby). So she’s confined with her injury, somewhat smacked out on drugs, depressed, whiny, all those recovery things. And that’s when TIbby goes missing. Weeks pass. Hobbling around the immediate area, calling Tibby’s name, aided by her good friend (and illustrator) Wendy MacNaughton, she starts her quest. Fearful […]

July 23, 2026

OpsLog – LM&O – 7/22/2026

ince nobody in the club watches old black&white moves from the 1940s, let me describe the trope. Generally it involves a collection of optimistic young men and women who need to raise money for their university, town or charity. “Hey, I know! Let’s put on a show!” In this age before montages, most of the movie is them getting ready, making the sets, practicing their lines, funny little bits. And then, opening night. Their big chance! All the players line up and peek through the curtains into the theater’s seating. Nothing but empty seats. “Oh no! But what about our […]

July 19, 2026

OpsLog – OSMR – 7/18/2026

nother nice day being boomers over on the Orlando Society of Model Railroader’s layout. It’s a pretty casual run and they are working out their warrant system. They also are finally getting some locals out on the line – they are using painters tape on cartops to get a rough idea where the cars go. Still, it’s not industry specific – more a take-a-boxcar, leave-a-boxcar sort of affair. And that’s okay. Baby steps. When I heard there was going to be some switching, I started to say “Hey, I’d be inter…” and then someone coshed me. Woke up on the […]

July 19, 2026

Red Side Story (Review)

f you look into my entire Library of Alexandria, you’ll find a review for Shades of Grey, a curious book by Jasper Fforde. Red Side Story is the second (and possibly final) book of the series set up by the author, where a strange, tightly-controlled society with it’s hierarchy based on archaic rules and your ability to see one certain color) comes totally unglued. We have Edward and Jane, my favorite ruf-love couple, trying to make things work around the rule-checking yellows and the governing purples, all supported by the various other hues, with everyone lording over the greys (basically, the unwashed, […]

July 12, 2026

The Last Days of New Paris (Review)

his was the first Audible book I’d listened to after a friend cut through my quibbling about a coming car trip and bought me a Fire. Anyway, I had to test it out so I pulled down a couple of titles that looked interesting, including this one from a favorite author, China Miéville, The Last Days of New Paris. And I pretty much listened to the first section about a dozen times, trying this setting and realizing that listening in a car would be impractical (road noise) unless I came up with a solution. So fix it I did, and since I […]