Dog Ear
July 25, 2024
nteresting day on the road today. Coming home from breakfast with a friend, tooling along in the right lane of a two lane exit, not quite there yet. In my rear view, I spot a BMW FUV coming up hard behind me, maybe 90 to my 75. Of course, while he’s got all the room in the world, he changes lanes at the last second, clipping past my rear quarter for no better reason that it gives him a thrill to pass like a race car driver. Cute, except that we were entering a hard right off ramp going to […]
July 11, 2024
ack in my college days in the early, early eighties, a roommate of mine could often be found in the living room, watching a late night rerun of The Rockford Files. It had only just been cancelled and he was a fan. For those who don’t know what this is, it was a series from 1974 to 1980. The story centers on Jim Rockford (played laconically by James Garner), an LA private investigator who lives in a rusted trailer sitting in beach-side public parking. He gets in all sorts of jams, uses charisma to sometimes get out of them, and […]
June 26, 2024
verything is about recognition. It’s been said that the only reason anyone does anything is for money or respect. I’ve always wanted some heartfelt sign of respect. Oh, I’ve gotten it from time to time. My friend Greg gave me a great model railroad engine (sound and the works) for saving his life. The bloodbank gives me a $20 each time I drop a pint. Still, I’m always seeking it – a true cowboy tipping his ten-gallon hat and saying “Obliged” (and not after you move your liberal ass out of Texas but because, maybe, you saved him from an […]
June 20, 2024
y model train blogs seem to be popular. Every layout I visit knows I’m going to blog them. There is always a running joke about who is getting blogged this time. And then there are all those “On Sheet” pieces I write for another Facebook group, talking the this and thats of model railroading operations. I just checked tonight – there are 667 blogs (not including this one) on my site about trains. Thank goodness it wasn’t one less or it would set off some of the denominationals out there. But think about that – nearly 700 blogs about what […]
June 6, 2024
ith the advent of cheap yet reliable camera technology, people take pictures of everything now. For every train activity we do, I get at least twenty photos “snapped” of the action. No focus. No lighting hassles. Just point and snap. And who hasn’t seen the wave of selfies (where people block otherwise amazing vistas with their own smiling, V-fingered images) or food shots (I saw someone recently in a McDonalds snapping a photo of their burger). Pictures pictures pictures. And sure, I take pictures of things. When we went overseas, I took pictures of places I saw (without me in […]
May 29, 2024
nteresting little event tonight. We were in a chain-ish deli, enjoying dinner. Just quiet time, my wife and I reading over our meals. I had on my My Hero Academia t-shirt on, the character Bakugo, the rival of the hero, a guy who can cause explosions from his hands. He’s loud, crazy and fun to watch. Anyway, when it was check-time, the waitress said, “I like your shirt. And I like anime.” And that got us both wound up, comparing titles and frothing about that media. Turns out she watch all of Bleach (something like 20+ seasons of 24 episodes […]
May 16, 2024
t’s interesting to look over this history of Jimmy Buffett and his hit Margaritaville. After all, he was a guy hanging out in the Caribbean and supposedly wrote this song that resonated amongst all the sad yuppies of the world. The song in its imagined state implies a laid-back lifestyle. But if you look at the lyrics, it’s more about a marginalized alcoholic “wasting away” in the bottom of a margarita glass, who is wandering aimlessly and slowly realizing that he fucked up his life and there is no coming back. The thing is, Buffett was no fool. Soon as […]
May 9, 2024
ccasionally people buy my books on Amazon and Smashwords – gratifying. The pocket change is nice. Of course, the entire reason this site exists is for me to peddle my books while attending more book shows, writing more books and being famous and all. Well, most of that didn’t happen but I have to admit, I enjoy blogging and posting every little bullshit that comes to mind. But still, the minor monetization of the site is part of it, so for every posting (and I have thousands of them), I always add a link to my page with Amazon links. […]
May 2, 2024
hat, I’m still doing this? It’s been, what, weeks since my last DOG EAR. Well, I’ve been busy. First off, I was off for two weeks in the wonderful Netherlands. And as my want, I write a blog each day about what we saw and experienced. That’s all find and good – with my tinytop computer, it’s nice to retire to the quiet lounge at the end of a day and just… reflect. It’s the writer’s thing to do. And you can find all my recent travels HERE. The Netherlands are right at the top. Anyway, I’ve been doing this […]