Blog – Page 66 – Robert Raymond’s Blogtorium

October 2, 2014

Erotica 101: Legality (DOG EAR)

o I’m happy as a clam. My manuscript has an agent, who hooked me up with a publisher. I’ve actually seen a couple of examples of cover art. I’ve talked to the editor and worked some issues. And so I’m at work and the phone rings. It’s the editor. Do I have time to talk to some folks in legal? And did I get that emailed PDF file of the current manuscript? Good. Good. Fifteen minutes later, I’m in a conference room with a spare laptop, ringing New York back, set on my end. And there’s is my editor. And […]

October 5, 2014

Empire (Review)

his is a first on RobertRaymond.com, a review for an audiobook. But there you go. We listened to it on a road trip up to North Carolina and I figure it counts. A lot of people swear by this form of literature – my commute is too short and often it’s on a bike, but if it works, why not? Anyway, Empire is a tale set fifteen minutes into the future, that of the Second American Civil War. The premise is good – that the rupture between the left and right has grown so significant (on every issue) that a […]

October 9, 2014

Pure crap (DOG EAR)

knew this was going to happen. And sure enough, it did. Was at a local bookstore and picked up a little self-published tome (it’s sooooo easy to self-publish now). And what have I said about writers who can get published nice and cheap? It’s why I don’t like people without training (or sense) getting hold of firearms. Some writers simply are not qualified to be published. First off, he didn’t seem to check his pagination and word-flow. Right-justification can really cause some issues, ones that might need manual correction. So occasionally you’ll see three words on a line, floating on […]

October 10, 2014

OpsLog – SPR – 10/10/2014

odeling in N-scale is problematic. Always small, always touchy, very tricky. But when you see it done well, and see what you can do in tight spaces, that’s when it really shines. It was shinning bright on the Southwestern Pennsylvania RR today, an N-scale pike, part of our ops weekend in Atlanta – Dixierails. Dave Pitcher has a nice run, a high density main broken by a crossing line. The central yard, pretty much on the junction, is a busy place. I’d dispatched here before, a couple of years ago, and wanted to try it now. So things were rolling. […]

October 11, 2014

OpsLog – B&B – 10/11/2014

unning with a junior member, a young kid who’s been at our club for some time. He’s never done TT&TO (time table ops – the most amazing way of controlling trains, one used across a hundred years (until the invention of radios)). He’s a little nerved about it and since we’re running two-man teams, I’m running with him. Last train of the day. We’ve run a local transfer job, a high-speed passenger move (with rights over everyone!) and a local mixed cakewalk-run down from the hallers. and now we’re running up the line to pick up some northern coal for […]

October 12, 2014

War & Space (Review)

like anthologies. They are great for traveling on airplanes (you can always read the start of a story and if you don’t like it, you can move on). This time, I was up in the North Carolina mountains, a reading vacation. Yes, I looked down at clouds at time, but no airplanes, but reading is always fun. But this anthology was almost a bit too much re-reading. So that’s my bitch here – a number of these stories have appeared elsewhere. So bravo for those authors who are making more money for reposting, but as a reader, I’m tired of […]

October 13, 2014

OpsLog – DRV – 10/11/2014

econd run of the day of DixieRails, the PM tick on the Diamond River Valley, a neat HO mountain run. It’s my third run of the day, and – this is a first – I’m still on the same train! See, it’s a transfer run, used by Jimtown Yard and Diamond River Yard to shoot cars at each other (and to sweep the spurs between). So I’ve run one way, then back, and then back again. Maybe I’m tired. How much fuel do these units hold? Am I going to be making yet another run? I’m thinking these things at […]

October 13, 2014

OpsLog – SP Coast Route – 10/12/2014

sually I want to relate something that happened to me, usually if I’m brilliant, but pratfalls are posted as well. I’ve mentioned my mail train surprise (my fault) and my caboose-in-the-face (not my fault). But here’s one for someone else. Paul Lator hosts the great Southern Pacific Coast Line, a fun railroad with CTC but really tight aisles. I’ve run over there for years and always had a great time. I can mention that I’ve watched people crash and burn here. Relevant to this story is the San Luis Obispo yard, where someone (I’m talking about you, Greg Wells) delayed […]

October 14, 2014

ShowLog – Deland – 10/4/2014

y dad, a late-in-life Rio Grande Railroad fan, used to tell me about the railroad’s problems with the AT&SF. Back in the day, apparently both railroads wanted access to a strategic pass (not having the pass meant miles of tunnels and impossible grades). I think D&RG got into the pass first, and actually built a fort staffed with men of ill-repute to defend their right of way. Shots were fired and all that. Capitalism at its best. This was sorta what we faced when we showed up for set up at the Deland Train Show this morning at 7:00am. Turns […]

October 16, 2014

Pure Gold (DOG EAR)

felt jilted by one of my purest pleasures, reading. As you read in last week’s DOG EAR, I had just suffered a ham-strung horror of self-published nonsense, a book by a person who didn’t understand classic noir or basic English. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to read anything soon afterwards. Like a jilted lover, I wasn’t ready to start dating again., Then I stuck my nose in an old yellowed western and my blood flowed again. I’ll review City of Widows soon enough. It’s a great book. Why? Because it has characters who were dusty and trashy and archetypical […]