Only You Can Prevent "FORUM FIRES"!!!

[Anonymous]

Odd

324 pounds[:0][:0][:0] Now that IS a big boy. [:D] I thought I was a big guy at 265.

For what its worth I did not think the other big boy's comments were out of line or trying to be the boss. I don't think he has the power to change or delete any comments on this forum. My take on it is he was merely putting down in a post what most if not everyone should know already about how to behave on a public forum so things don't digress into a name calling bruhaha. Being a leader does not necessarily mean you are the boss, it just means that you are willing to try and make things run smoother and help others.

Actually I thought his choice of a topic name was kind of humorous, whether he intended it or not it is a copy of the old smokey the bear slogan, I still chuckle when I see this topic.

[Anonymous]

Gomez---I would KILL to be 265 again. On looking back I'm sure Big Boy probably meant well, but it came across to me as, "Oh, gee, there goes the neighborhood" and was no way to approach the subject...in fact that type of post is just guaranteed to step on some toes. I'm an old man and I am not going around looking for trouble, but we senior citizens can get a bit crochety when we think some youngster is trying to bully us. At my age I just want to peacefully tinker with my trains and not worry about being bullied. Bullying is for schoolyards and early teen age boys, not old people. Now I have work to do on the next section of my pike so I will not have any more to say on this unfortunate thread. One question, though. Are you UP to 265 or down to 265? You see I'm DOWN to 324 from approximately 385 this summer. And believe me sitting behind this keyboard doesn't help my weight at all. Have you tried Atkins? It works. Odd-d

[Big_Boy_4005]

Thanks Gomez ! You are correct in how I was hoping that this topic would be viewed. I am actually most frustrated with the person who is from this board, and not the newcomers, and have been in email contact with him to try to sort this out.

I am used to a little head butting up front, but I expect things will settle down nicely once everyone adjusts to the new reality.

Sorry Odd-d, got you there, 339 on the scale this morning, but working on it too. You had me on the top end though, 365 max last fall for me. See, all it takes is to find some common ground. If only I could drag my butt away from this computer too.[(-D][swg]

This photo is 11 years old, I would like to get into those overalls again. I still have them in my closet.

[Anonymous]

It's always a pleasure to meet someone heavier than me. Maybe some day we get together and talk trains over a nice All-You- Can- Eat buffet. It's not so much that I am overweight...it's just that I am underheight. Now if I were about eight feet tall.....Odd-d

[Anonymous]

Odd,
I am down from around 275. I am slowly taking it off, since I put it on slowly. I have heard good things and bad things about the atkins. Good- the weight comes off fast, bad- if you eat some carbs the weight goes back on fast. I figured I better start doing something since it was getting hard to crawl around under the layout.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Hey Odd-d, I have a more constructive idea. Rather than an all you can eat buffet, how about an all you can carry flea market of trains? 0 calories consumed and hundreds burned, now that's a weight loss plan!![dinner][swg][swg]

By the way, here's the story of how I got my name.[;)]
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12164

[Craignor]

Odd-d and Big boy,

Glad to see you both burying the hatchet.

I have a friend who whenever he has too much to drink, never admits his mistake, but claims he was "Overserved" by the bartender.

Maybe, this weight issue is not of your doing...maybe you have been overserved![:D]

[Anonymous]

Big Boy---An all you can carry train flea market? You better not commit any sins if you ever expect to find something like that. Some years ago some "helpful" dietician suggested that whenever I was tempted to snack I should just work on my trains. Yeah! Brilliant idea! For years every time I worked on my trains I got hungry. You've probably heard of yo-yo dieters, haven't you? Well I am a bungee cord dieter. Three times I have lost a hundred or more pounds and regained it all. The last time was in 1989 when my doctor put this 369 pounder on the Optifast Diet. I lost 150 lbs in EIGHT MONTHS!. Well it was nice while it lasted, and five years later it was all back again. Last summer I visited a friend I went high school with. He was as fat as I was then....and as fat as I am now. We haven't seen each other in about thirty five years, but there we were, two fatties. We agreed that some people are just supposed to be fat and dieting is just fighting with our own nature. Odd-d

[Anonymous]

Any of you 'big boys' been to the DIMENSIONS chat rooms?
Very enlightening.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainbud

Any of you 'big boys' been to the DIMENSIONS chat rooms?
Very enlightening.

Not I, I perfer to just talk trains. The weight loss thing is not something that I want to really focus on. My goal is just to relax, behave, and try to modify my attitude toward food SLOOOOOWLY. You see guys, I TOO have tried Optifast, with the exact same results as, my new buddy, Odd-d!

My ex wife once weighed over 400 pounds. She was never thin, but when I met her she was under 200. She discovered something online, I'm not sure what, and suddenly opted for gastric by-pass. She lost it all, and ended up meaner than ever, and finally wanted a divorce. I still wonder what prompted all of that.
I don't totally blame it on the internet, as we had been growing apart for years.

I know that you mean well by suggesting it, but the truth is that I just want to quietly do it myself, the same way that I am building my layout. Beside, I don't want to weigh 200, I got down to 216 on Optifast and felt like CRAP. I would be very happy at 275, and those overalls would be BAGGY!!![(-D][swg]

[Anonymous]

Big Boy---When I got down to 210 lbs I was so debilitated I had trouble walking. I just try to hold down the fattening stuff and lose it slowly. BTW have you seen the new Third Rail catalog? (How's THAT for changing the subject away from food? If we kept on talking about food we would probably start snacking big time) Odd-d

[FJ and G]

John Black,

I agree that it seems a bit more laid back here; and I agree with your other thoughts. Heck, we might even be able to talk about smoke fluid here.

Big Boy,

I agree with much of what you say but the delivery was a bit heavy handed. Let's talk toy trains instead.

Dave Vergun

[Big_Boy_4005]

Nope Odd-d, sorry, haven't seen that one yet, and don't get to the train store much these days. The one store in the Twin Cities that is devoted to 3 rail trains, is about 40 miles from me, and I haven't made the trip in almost 2 years.

I'm not really sure what kind of stuff is made by Third Rail, but I have spelled out my recent buying habits on the topic listed below, and have a feeling that they may not quite fit. But because you suggested it, I will pay more attention when I see their offerings.

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13652

But I did see that you posted how you got your screen name, very interesting, THANKS.

This entire conversation IS PROOF that we can all get along, but we just need to take the time to get to know one another. So, I HOPE THAT EVERYONE IS WATCHING.[swg]

By the way Dave I was still typing the above portion of this when you posted your comments. I admit that I was a bit heavy handed, when I started this topic, but at the time I felt that that needed to be said. Since then I have witnessed only the best from everyone.

The underlying problem during this transition period is, fear and loathing of people that we do not know well. Understanding is the key to everyone getting along, and is what will keep differences of opinion, from turning into personal attacks.

I don't mind taking the heat when I feel that a message is as important as this. I know that there some old feelings lingering out there, with a very small number of people, and I was just trying to help everyone make a fresh start, no more us and them, JUST US!!

Yes, I do try to lead, but mainly by example and not dictation, and now everyone knows me better.[:)]

[Anonymous]

Big Boy---I really think you would be impressed at all the full scale brass engines equipped with optional Lionel RS and TMCC and also available as regular two rail O scale at the same price as Lionel and MTH. If you care to look, Third Rail currently has two threads going on the OGR forum introducing their B&O 2-10-2. They include a url for their website. You can see pictures etc of their offerings and ask for a catalog. You don't have buy....remember, just because you are on a diet doesn't mean you can't read the menu.

Your experience with your ex is not surprising. We were warned about this at Optifast. I know I did some things that surprised myself, and when I told the psychologist at Optifast he chuckled and said that was normal and almost expected, but I was mature enough to not want to ruin my family. I'll bey your ex has regained her weight and now regrets her actions. Sorry for my musings about a painful subject that is none of my business. Odd-d

[bluelinec4]

Big Boy
Since I am one of the parties that was involved in the "Yuch" thread that I think caused this one I would like to thank you for trying to bring everyone together. I had stated that I wasn't going to stay here but you and ODD-D's exchanges proves that we could all get along. I look forward to future posts. By the way in your picture is that the layout in the Mall of America?

Ben

[Big_Boy_4005]

Well Odd-d, I will check out the Third Rail stuff, but I'm not into steam, at least not for model purposes. I will admit, that there IS ONE steam engine that has caught my eye though. I saw the add in run 200 of OGR.

Weaver is coming out with a model of the Milwaukee Road Nothrern 261. This is special to me because it is local, and I have ridden behind it in the past, and have tickets to ride behind it on July 2nd. I also plan to do some "chasing" as there will be other excursion runs around that time, and part of the route that it it will be taking is going to be represented on my layout. This will make the ride extra special, and I will share the photos all around here in July.

I also have a set of Lionel Milwaukee Road Passenger cars from 4 or 5 years ago that has no engine, and have never been out of their boxes. In my effort to keep my layout and railroad as true to the modern prototype, I could still run this train as the fan trip that it is.[8D][swg] There is method to my madness!!

That's a very good analogy about looking at the menu!!!

[bow][(-D][(-D][(-D][swg]

---

I met my ex wife just as I was beginning Optifast, so she saw me at my full weight at the time. A year and a half later we got married, and I was already back up to 255, a weight that I started to feel comfortable at. Within a couple of years I was right back to my old weight plus 10 - 15 pounds, and managed to stay there for many years.

Three years into the marriage, just after enterTRAINment had opened she gave birth to our first child. She never lost any of the weight that she had gained from the pregnancy and within a year and a half, the entire chain of events had repeated and we had 2 children. That was it for having kids, but like a snowball rolling down a hill, she kept gaining.

One day shortly after 9/11 she woke up and decided she didn't want to be fat anymore. This is when the trouble really started! She discovered the internet, and two things happened, she found out about the surgery, and she met someone. You pretty much know the rest of the story. I never had a chance.

I'm sorry to go on about my personal problems on a train related forum like this, but in a strange way it does all tie together. Check out this topic from the past on MR.
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12031

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bluelinec4

Big Boy
Since I am one of the parties that was involved in the "Yuch" thread that I think caused this one I would like to thank you for trying to bring everyone together. I had stated that I wasn't going to stay here but you and ODD-D's exchanges proves that we could all get along. I look forward to future posts. By the way in your picture is that the layout in the Mall of America?

Ben

Thank you for noticing Ben!!!! This simple acknoledgment will go a long way toward healing any old wounds that may exist. I sincerely appreciate you saying this!!! It takes a real man to come forward like this, and you have truly EARNED MY RESPECT!!!

You may have noticed that Amtrak Jack has not been around the last couple of days.

This is MY fault, and not anyone else's!!

Jack and I have emailed in the past on different subjects, and I consider him a friend. I sent him a long email the other day suggesting that he take some time away from the forum. I think that he took my email rather hard, and I will have to work to patch things up in the near future.

I feel that I have a pretty fair understanding of the situation here. Jack's experience on the OGR forum left him feeling hurt, and resentful. He came to this forum, and found that he fit right in. As a result of all the recent changes, he felt the need to be very defensive. It was this attitude that set the bomb ticking.

This was my analysis of the situation, and this topic has been my platform from which to try to facilitate the healing process. The one real advantage that I have is that I can remain objective through all of this. I hope that Jack is watching this discussion, and will eventually choose to return to the fun of talking trains, in spite of all that has happened.

Another lesson here is that we should never let frustration turn into anger. We all have feelings.

This topic will remain open as a place that anyone can come and talk openly with me (or anyone else) about anything, not just trains. Think of this as the "fire house" (or is it hose??) either way.[:D][;)]I always check this topic, and consider it something like a home base now. I have met some great people, and made some new friends as a result of starting this, so why quit?

Oh and YES Ben, that is me in front of the entrance to the display at the mall.[swg]

[FJ and G]

The people on the OGR and CTT forum both seem like an equally decent group; maybe not the church choir but a cut above your average hoodlum who spray paints graffiti on trains.

I think that one of the problems in sending syllables over the Internet is that your intended message--minus the body language and tone of voice--somehow, and usually, gets lost in the translation; thus, the frequent misunderstandings and hurt feelings.

So, what is my point?

I'm not really sure that there is one, but I do think that the title of this post; "Only You Can Prevent Forum Fires" is rather creative, as I conjure up a vision of Big Boy, aka Smokey the Bear, putting out a forest fire with his teeny garden hose.

And interestingly, if you look beside this post topic title, you will notice a small icon provided courtesy of CTT, with a fire burning in it. As the song goes, "we didn't start the fire...it was always burning, since the world was turning."

Dave Vergun

[Anonymous]

Big Boy,
You don't seem like a bad guy afterall. Sorry about my previous post.

pax[:)]

[Big_Boy_4005]

Thanks Dave, actually you are making a point. One that is really kind of important, and rather near and dear to my heart.

Its these "stupid" SMILEYS!!

Some people hate them, but I find them very important sometimes. They can help to make up for that lack of tone, that words alone, on the internet tend to have.

I also believe that large text and color have their place, and should not simply be dismissed as shouting. I often use large text to convey positive messages, because I want them seen. I try to use all of the tools available to help make my messages clear. Too much plain text can become a blurr.[swg]

A couple of months ago I politely suggested to Brian (brianel027) that he include a blank line between paragraphs, to help make it easier for me to read. I have always enjoyed reading his responses, but that simple change made a world of difference for me, since he often has many important things to say.[8D][^]

[Big_Boy_4005]

Thanks Joe!!!

First imperssions can be deceiving. Sometimes a wait and see attitude serves us better. I only wi***hat Jack had done that. Now its my turn to wait and see with him. [:)]

[FJ and G]

In some cultures, a smiley face means, yes, I understand what you are saying but I'm gonna kill you anyways.

[Anonymous]

Ah yes, Milw 261, I remember them well. I grew up 4 or 5 hundred yards from the Milwaukee Road Rondout IL to Janesville WI via Fox Lake Il line from 1946 to 1961. They used S class Northerns on heavy commuter runs. I would have to see more pictures or see it in person before I would consider it. The picture in the catalog looks pretty rough. Even though in my O gauge modeling I favor Eastern roads, my favorites, NYC, PRR, B&O and others did operate out of Chicago. It's strange how people visualize K4s and Hudsons stomping around New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and so on, but nobody thinks of them running in and around Chicago. In my heart I am a midwesterner and I would love to have the diversity we NYC and PRR and to a lesser extent B&O fans have in the C&NW, MILW, SOO, CB&Q et c. I keep begging for a C&NW R1 4-6-0(prototype on display in WI).

Loosing weight can be dynamite for the psyche. After I lost 150 lbs it was suggested that I join a health club to work out and keep the weight off. So what did I do after I got there? I joined the aerobics class....you know the ones where all the cute late twenties and ealy thirty somethings work out. For a guy who was always the fat guy that never dated or partied it was totally strange...and very nice to look over and see someone gazing at me. That kind of stuff really went to my head, and I am a male so you can imagine how it must feel for a woman to suddenly be the belle of the ball. The secret is to not be stupid even if someone 12 years younger than you standing 5'6", weighing 112 lbs, aqua eyes and long blonde hair gets possessive with you..........That can make you EAT! The best thing I had was my very patient wife---God richly bless her. I hope time has healed your heart and you have been able to salvage something of your family. Enough of old memories of stupid things. You know the Q operated out of St Paul Minneapolis. Third Rail has a gorgeous O5 4-8-4. I had the chance for a short cab ride after a fan trip when I was a kid. That's as real to me as seeing Milwaukee S class 4-8-4s. As an after thought. I remember being disappointed because the Milwaukee passenger steam engines didn't use steam whistles; they used DIESEL HORNS!! Phooey! That's about all for today. Odd-d

[Big_Boy_4005]

Good one Dave![bow][(-D][(-D][(-D]I try to keep my smileys sincere. [:D]With me, its when you don't see smileys that it might be time to worry.[:P][:-,][;)]

[yellowducky]

I think the word I want to use is "metabolism". We are all different, or are we (some of us are just "fat" on the inside)? I may only weigh 170, but I probably carry as much excess bagage as anybody. If my post doesn't make sense to anybody, that's probably true.

Point is, I smiled (and would put a smiley here, but don't know how to with "Quick Repiy") at this forum subject when I saw it listed, because I knew it would be a HOT topic!

I'm with Big_Boy: "If it has flanged wheels, I like it !!!!!
But wooden railway trains are fun, too(t). Hey, maybe I'll add that to my signature.

This topic has been "very interesting". Just earlier today, I ran across a cartoon in the
Feb.'89 issue of Model Railroader, which I bought at a used book store (aren't all book stores "used" after they're open for business?). Page 14... the caption reads (I didn't know "captions" could read) : "Working weed burner, hmmmph!"
I go now, read ya tomorrow. FDM

[Big_Boy_4005]

Yellowducky, I have found that the smileys behave differently depending on what type of reply you use. On the quick reply, they will be inserted at the end of the text, so if you want them to appear in the middle, you have to insert them at that time, then continue typing. The other option is to wait until the end, and then go back and cut and paste.

The show smile list button will bring up the list, and you can just click on them, but you also can see their composition. Some are easy to remember, and easy to type, and that is a third way to insert them.

The regular reply, and the quote reply allow you to place them where the cursor is, anywhere in the text.

My suggestion is that you just take a blank reply form and experiment, try the forum code too. Hit the preview reply to see your creation. Remember you can always hit reset form and dump it all.

While I was typing this I noticed a thing called forum jump at the bottom of the screen. I can't believe that after all of this time I have never used it.[banghead][D)][D)][D)][sigh][(-D][oops]DUMMY ME.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Good morning Odd-d, I saw your reply yesterday, but since you said you were signing off I figured I had some time.

Its getting to the point that no matter what the subject is, I have written a response elsewhere that seems appropriate. Maybe I've been hanging around here too much, NAH. I get the distinct impression that you are a big steam fan. (NO PUN INTENDED on the BIG part , unless you want there to be.)[swg]

I was born in 1961, from what I read, that was about the time you moved away from the tracks. I never really got a chance to see steam, and therefore never became attached to them. Here's that topic
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13023

Sometimes I have to do a little digging to find those old topics, kind of like a dog looking for a bone. I'm getting smarter in my "old" age though, and when I find them, I paste the links into a special file. So it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks, speaking for this old dog at least, though you might consider me a pup. [;)] WOOF![:D]

[Anonymous]

Oh I remember steam all right. And I was a train nut even as a kid. I remember C&NW, SOO and Milw steam in its day. I also remember the North Shore Line interurban and Chicago trolleys. I only regret that I was not mature enpugh to understand what I saw. In my late teens (while you were on your tricycle) I had some good experiences with steam in Europe and Mexico. I understand that you younger guys can have no concept of the steam era, but I want to stress that there was more to the steam era than steam locomotives. Railroading in those days was a way of life. It was not just a job like it is today. I used to be a Rate Clerk for the Illiois Central and it was the most boring humdrum somnolent job I ever had. The only thing that kept you on your toes was the ferocious and Byzantine office politics. Man! Everybody hated each other. When I quit I never looked back. I heartily recommend that you try to find old copies of Railroad Magazine from the forties. The articles and stories will give you a real glimpse of what it must have been like.

Nowadays railroads are just jobs, jobs that you leave there when you go home. There is no pride, no flair, no sense of accomplishment. no satisfaction in providing the best service........there's only the almighty bottom line. That's why it is always January 21, 1943 on the Mountain Route. THAT was rail's finest hour. And that's why I like to model the past because I am trying to model more than just trains. I'm trying to model a WAY OF LIFE. Odd-d

[Anonymous]

I've been involved in various on-line chat /forum/Bulletin Board systems for about 20 years now. And the one problem with all of them is the fact that inflection & body english cues don't translate. If you're not super careful with your wording, you can offend some one when your intent was a good natured ribbing.

So called "emoticons" don't really help that much, because sometimes those are read as though they were sugar coating trying to "ease the blow." The reader still takes offense, and now thinks you're trying to be cute.

In short, you just can't win sometimes.

Tony

[spankybird]

Hi Elliot and Odd-d,

I found a great set of video taps call “America’s Railroads, The steam train legacy”. This is 7 tapes reproduced from add promotions of the Railroads from the 30’, 40’s and early 50’s. Most of it is steam but it does cover early diesel.

It’s great to see how the railroad industry was king of the U.S.

This is published by Marathon Music & Video.

tom