robert.admin – Page 69 – Robert Raymond’s Blogtorium

May 23, 2022

OpsLog – Hartford Division- 05/22/2022

n the layout, it was a beautiful crisp fall day, the type where a heavy jacket and possibly gloves allow you to enjoy the vibrant fall colors. But, of course, situated in Florida with the garage door open for access, it was hotter than the Sahara – we were sweating our balls off. But hey, that just made operating an engine with a roaring firebox a little more realistic, right? It’s nothing new – I’ve operating in a pet clinic with the smell of wet dog. I’ve run trains in countless dusty basements. We once displayed our N-trak layout in […]

May 22, 2022

We Lead (Review)

losing out the Vanguard trilogy in Christopher Nuttall’s third series in the Ark Royal universe is We Lead, or (as it could be known as “A woman and her Battleship”). Yes, we had the Yamato-like story of the armored carrier that won the first war, and then the heavy cruiser that thumped the Indians, and now we’ve seen weapons develop with Battleships forming the backbone of the new navy. The story is simple – a deep raid using new FTL technology puts Vanguard and her formation deep behind enemy lines. The idea is to thump the alien homeworld and get […]

May 19, 2022

Deaf Ears (DOG EAR)

ot much for today – more like the musings of an old man (old, maybe, but I can still climb up on the roof of the clubhouse with a chainsaw to clear overhanging growth while the youngsters hide from the heat and danger inside). Okay, that rant done, here’s an observation: Whatever you are streaming, you really shouldn’t bother trying to “sell” it to other people. We all have long “my stuff” lists. And conversations between subscribers pretty much come down to… Subscriber A: “Hey, I’m watching ‘Fish Games’. You should check it out.” Subscriber B: “I might do that” […]

May 15, 2022

OpsLog – TBL – 05/15/2022

orried, with things medical looming, about when we’ll have another session on the tiny-tight 2X4 Tuscarora Branch line. Called my friend Greg and arranged for a Saturday session. Opened the call up for the general club membership and got John DeVasto (and, at the last second, Kyle Sarnik). So great – we had four and the Branch runs best with a quad of operators. I was dispatcher (as usual) – Greg took Coal cuz he likes the tally sheet bit. John wanted to try the switching job (since he’s never gotten a shot on that run). And Kyle took the […]

May 15, 2022

Emergency Skin (Review)

little short story by author N.K. Jemisin, and interesting point-of-view tale that unfolds as you read it, like a flower or an onion. Whatever. So there is a human settlement out there, the Founders, who escaped Earth before it collapsed into total environmental ruin. From the clues, you get to understand that they are male, white, and don’t like women much (too emotional). Now they run a freakish society on some other world where the reward is a full growth of skin (so you can move about and bask in white privilege, I suppose). The “soldiers” under them can also […]

May 12, 2022

The Dark Side of your Brain (DOG EAR)

‘ve talked about the brain’s interesting aspects, about how you can go to sleep with a problem and wake up the next morning with a solution. It’s amazing the way the brain processes thoughts and strategies. But there is a darker side of the brain when it runs unchecked through your sleep cycle. Often I’ll wake up at 4am in a sort of night-panic. Whatever little worries I had have been thrashed about all night and become insurmountable, mountains from molehills sorts of things. Anything you were mulling over as your went to sleep suddenly fills you with bed-dampening sweating […]

May 8, 2022

Another Solution (Review)

efore we review this short story, let’s just say how thankful I am for paperback anthologies. I’m currently re-grinding through The Three Body Problem (hey, you don’t even need to wait for the review – HERE it is!) But I don’t want to lug that hardcover monster around so instead I’m reading a little collection I got from a local bookstore, Star Destroyers (that’s the name of the anthology, not the shop). So anyway, I had this collection of stories about big star ships in my back pocket as I went for my long walk. Stopped in a Cindi’s Cafe on Orange […]

May 5, 2022

Multilingual (DOG EAR)

s I always start off these blogs, “XXX simply another way to communicate, so i is covered in this blog”. I write about ways humans communicate. And one way they communicate is through software code. So now you know what “XXX” means in this context. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m writing a game named Pathfinder, an epic adventure of exploration, exploitation, starship crew management, aging and death. It’s a lot of work since Squiffy (the gamebook generator I prefer) has its own language. But to make it sit up and bark, you also need JavaScript knowledge. Both of these I’ve […]

May 1, 2022

OpsLog – WVN – 4/30/2022

here has to be a reason I crawl out of bed at 6 AM, hitting the road by twenty-after, running west for Tampa to operate on the West Virginia Northern. The sunrise in my rearview was breathtaking – the haze turned it into a giant molten ball imperfect with bands of clouds. Two cars pulled over on the side of I-4 to watch it. The rearview mirror gave me enough of a treat and a couple of miles more distance. And the fast food joint I always stop at, I had a quiet coffee over a book, eating an egg-McSomething. […]

May 1, 2022

Fear God and Dread Naught (Review)

o, the war that got started in Vanguard heats up with Humanity and the Tadpoles against another pair of races, foxes and cows, who have the advantage of FTL communications. Captain Susan Onarina has been absolved (with stern warning) of the charge of mutiny (when she turned a stunner on her panicking captain) and saved ship and fleet from destruction. And Midshipman George (Georgina) Fitzwilliam has her own troubles, namely four new middies under her and challenges to her authority. So the Vanguard and the human fleet proceeds to a borderline planet, Unity, to smoke out the aliens and, of […]