ctyclsscs I don't think they had to do any testing to find out I'm not normal. But they knew right away. In November of 2016 they found I had bladder cancer. I had two small surgeries to remove the tumors and a round of immunotherapy which works 70% of the time to prevent them from returning. I was in the other 30%. So three years ago I had major surgery to remove my bladder, prostate, lymph glands and anything else they felt like removing. At the same time, they used a piece of my small intestine to "make" a new bladder (or neobladder). The key was doing it right away before the cancer spread outside of my bladder (everything came back that it hadn't). I needed two smaller surgeries after that for scar tissue and a hernia, but so far so good. I'm just at the point now of annual exams to make sure nothing shows up anywhere. Jim
I don't think they had to do any testing to find out I'm not normal.
But they knew right away. In November of 2016 they found I had bladder cancer. I had two small surgeries to remove the tumors and a round of immunotherapy which works 70% of the time to prevent them from returning. I was in the other 30%. So three years ago I had major surgery to remove my bladder, prostate, lymph glands and anything else they felt like removing. At the same time, they used a piece of my small intestine to "make" a new bladder (or neobladder). The key was doing it right away before the cancer spread outside of my bladder (everything came back that it hadn't). I needed two smaller surgeries after that for scar tissue and a hernia, but so far so good. I'm just at the point now of annual exams to make sure nothing shows up anywhere.
Jim
Good luck, thoughts and prayers for continued healing. My dad (85) is going through something similar; we are waiting for the go ahead to do surgery to remove tumor, ureter, and possibly kidney and/or bladder.
At some point in my life I will get a BL2 in Monon black and gold (Purdue colors). I have a Monon F3 A&B; number 66 (my son's number at Purdue). Technically, Monon never had a #66; but they added a 65 to replace a wreck, why not a 66? A little bit of fun, at least for me.
selector I won't post any more about my eating habits as I don't want to impose my new eureka on Brent's interesting thread. However, what you don't want is to combine carbs with fats. Any other combination is fine, but if you have a donut or potato chips, you're very much eating incorrectly. The body will deal with, in order of preference: fructose (only the liver does the work on fructose), carbs of other kinds, proteins, and then fats. If fats are left over after all your needs have been met, insulin will cause you to store the fats at 2.2 times the calorific density of either carbs or protein. So, don't eat the fat if you're going to have oatmeal or Cheerios...or toast. No butter, no peanut butter, no wedge of cheddar... I agree with the previous poster about the modern diet. Who, who lived 10K years ago, had shelves with blueberries from N. Zealand in January? Or grapes from Mexico. Fruit was only eaten when it ripened and was sufficiently decent to eat and abundant in the northern hemisphere, and that means for about 6 weeks in the mid-late summer and some apples into the fall. Otherwise, it was pretty much meat and fat...if you caught it. Maybe some dug-up tubers. Fruit raises blood sugar very quickly (the fructose), but it therefore causes an insulin response. Insulin is a storage hormone...period. What do you want going for you as winter approaches? Insulin. And berries.
I won't post any more about my eating habits as I don't want to impose my new eureka on Brent's interesting thread. However, what you don't want is to combine carbs with fats. Any other combination is fine, but if you have a donut or potato chips, you're very much eating incorrectly. The body will deal with, in order of preference: fructose (only the liver does the work on fructose), carbs of other kinds, proteins, and then fats. If fats are left over after all your needs have been met, insulin will cause you to store the fats at 2.2 times the calorific density of either carbs or protein. So, don't eat the fat if you're going to have oatmeal or Cheerios...or toast. No butter, no peanut butter, no wedge of cheddar...
I agree with the previous poster about the modern diet. Who, who lived 10K years ago, had shelves with blueberries from N. Zealand in January? Or grapes from Mexico. Fruit was only eaten when it ripened and was sufficiently decent to eat and abundant in the northern hemisphere, and that means for about 6 weeks in the mid-late summer and some apples into the fall. Otherwise, it was pretty much meat and fat...if you caught it. Maybe some dug-up tubers. Fruit raises blood sugar very quickly (the fructose), but it therefore causes an insulin response. Insulin is a storage hormone...period. What do you want going for you as winter approaches? Insulin. And berries.
Since the thread has taken a rest from its topic, I'll just lift this up to agree.
My understanding is a simpler one. The body burns sugar. Everything we eat it converts to glucose, then burns it for energy, no matter what the food is. It converts a Jolly Rancher into useable glucose faster than it would convert a spinach salad into useable glucose.
In the end, its about calories. The body digests and converts the food into sugar and burns what is needed. The excess calories, no matter what the food, gets converted into fat and stored in the body.
If it was possible to eat 4,000 calories a day of spinach leaves, you would still gain weight if you only burnt 2,500 calories because the body will take the other 1,500 calories and convert them into fat to store later. It doesn't matter that the excess calories are in the form of low fat high fiber food. Excess calories get converted into fat.
When you burn fat, the body has essentially run out of easy carbs to convert and must retrieve fat cells and convert them into sugar in order to burn it as energy. Unlike bears, humans don't need to fatten up for the winter.
To lose weight, don't eat empty calories. Eat nutritious calories. Be efficient and get all of the nutrients you need while eating as few calories as possible.
This means lay off any snack foods since they come loaded with calories but provide very lttle nutrition, which you are going to need at some point anyway and your hunger will force you to eat more calories to get the nutrients the body craves.
I once searched the USDA site for the "most nutritious" foods, and the top of the list was red meat, followed by chicken, then fish. Fruits and veggies ranked high in one particular nutirient, like Oranges are loaded with Vitamin C, but hardly anything else beneficial. While meats are high in calories and fats (some more than others), they are also high in nutrients. Breads were not very effiicient in delivering nutrients. Maybe this is why the high "fat" (IOW meat) diets with low carbs works for many, because they are getting nutrients by ultimately eating fewer calories than they would with other diets.
- Douglas
ctyclsscs Don't know if anyone is interested but: I am 64 and live outside of Pittsburgh, PA. (like one mile) High school education and some technical school Been married to my wife Cyndi for 31 years. No children. I worked doing industrial drafting until realized how much I disliked it. Then I switched to a production artist at a small ad agency. Around 1988 in a moment of insanity, I blew my life's savings to start City Classics. Still doing that and probably won't ever retire. HO Scale I don't have a layout except for the one I use to display our products. You may have seen it at shows or in Model RR Planning last year. I'm not sure why, but I'm a fan of the New Haven RR and some of the regional railroads from this area (P&WV, P&LE and now W&LE). Outside of modeling, I enjoy music. Everything from the English Invasion (especially The Kinks), all the way to New Wave and Aternative (Springsteen, Tom Petty, Ramones, Roxy Music, Nick Lowe, Lyle Lovett, Echo & the Bunnymen, and I could go on forever.) Just not much classic rock because I've heard it since it wasn't classic. I also enjoy doing artwork, old movies, our pets and studying the Bible. For the last 3 1/2 years my new hobby has been visiting doctors and hospitals for some serious health issues. I don't want to bore everyone with details, but after bring poked, prodded and cut everywhere imaginable (and I do mean that) I have no privacy left. I just didn't want to run on any longer. Jim
Don't know if anyone is interested but:
I am 64 and live outside of Pittsburgh, PA. (like one mile)
High school education and some technical school
Been married to my wife Cyndi for 31 years. No children.
I worked doing industrial drafting until realized how much I disliked it. Then I switched to a production artist at a small ad agency. Around 1988 in a moment of insanity, I blew my life's savings to start City Classics.
Still doing that and probably won't ever retire.
HO Scale
I don't have a layout except for the one I use to display our products. You may have seen it at shows or in Model RR Planning last year.
I'm not sure why, but I'm a fan of the New Haven RR and some of the regional railroads from this area (P&WV, P&LE and now W&LE).
Outside of modeling, I enjoy music. Everything from the English Invasion (especially The Kinks), all the way to New Wave and Aternative (Springsteen, Tom Petty, Ramones, Roxy Music, Nick Lowe, Lyle Lovett, Echo & the Bunnymen, and I could go on forever.) Just not much classic rock because I've heard it since it wasn't classic. I also enjoy doing artwork, old movies, our pets and studying the Bible. For the last 3 1/2 years my new hobby has been visiting doctors and hospitals for some serious health issues. I don't want to bore everyone with details, but after bring poked, prodded and cut everywhere imaginable (and I do mean that) I have no privacy left. I just didn't want to run on any longer.
Douglas, I sent you a message.
York1 John
Back to the topic.
Age: 57. Plan on retiring at age 62. Still have two teenagers living at home until then since I got married late in life by normal standards.
Been on the forums since about 2008, but lurked for a few years before that.
First train set at age 10, 4 years after being totally bitten by the display at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.
Grew up in Grand Island Nebraska where the BNs (CB&Q) Atkinson Branch (to the powder river coal area in Wyoming) crossed the UPs double main line on the east side of town. I'm told that during this period, it was the busiest at-grade freight RR crossing in the country. Unfortunately, I was a model train fan and not a real rail fan so that bit of trivia was unappreciated at the time.
Went to University of Nebraska to recive BA degree in Accounting and Finance, and became MOPAC, BN, and a UP fan.
Accepted a job with a nation-wide company in auditing and financial risk assessment and have worked for it since age 22, 30 years of it in the Indianapolis area. Accepted a promotion to the ATL area in 2016.
Now live in the burbs on the unconventional non-north side of ATL but in a SW county near Newnan GA.
Unlike Nebraska and central Indiana, the woods of south edge of the Piedmont provides tree shade to escape the sun in summer. No snow. Little wind. Love the weather.
Built two previous HO layouts. Currently working on my third, which is the latest iteration of my consistent interest in freelanced/protolanced modern shortlines....set now in the SE USA. Using ex-MOPAC, ex-BN, and ex-UP locos would be a nice achievement, but any paint scheme works.
Used to be a strict DCer but succumbed to the dark side of DCC/Sound about 5 years ago.
I was going to participate, but this thread has digressed to other subjects.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Maybe we should start another thread?
GM&O #1900 Ingalls Shipbuilding by Gary Bechdol, on Flickr
Although I do kind of like the "vestibule" at the rear end. Otherwise
I do have a fondness for the GP30, though. I got to run a few back then and they were quite capable, IMHO. The reason for the high forehead was to hide a too-tall electrical cabinet.
2006 photos 703 by Edmund, on Flickr
Regards, Ed
Joined forum 2003, 9700+ posts.
Age 64
Retired at 60
Civil engineering degree, retired railroader.
I lived in St Louis, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, St Louis, Van Buren, AR, Houston, Omaha, N Little Rock, AR, Salt Lake City, Omaha.
I have worked in HO, HOn3, N.
Current layout fills a 24x24' room
Started out freelance road, then club road, then 1960 PRR, then 1974 PC, then 1970 LV, then 1965 RDG, then 1950 MP, then 1970 RDG/LV , then 1948 RDG, now 1903 P&R.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
dti406...You want something as ugly as a CF7 then the BL2 is for you!...
I agree, and if you don't mind stretching the time period a little bit, you could include the GP30 in the mix of ugly, too.
Wayne
All I can say is...I'm glad the NYC didn't have any BL2s in their roster.
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
SeeYou190
BRAKIE I model in HO although my real love is N Scale..
I model in HO although my real love is N Scale..
Larry, I remember my first thread here about 3 1/2 years ago. I was getting back into the hobby after 35 years. I had modeled N scale when I was quite young so I stuck with it. I was stating the fact my eyes were not as good as they used to be and I wasn't sure if I made the right decision.
You texted "You are in the right scale".
N (Normal) scale
HO (Horribly Oversized) scale
I remember laughing and I have stuck with it since. Guess I'm a Lifer.
This shouldn't offend anyone as I'm sure it's all in good humor. I probably would be modeling HO if I had the room for it.
TF
tin can said: "I also love Santa Fe CF7s." And SeeYou added "I am also fond of the CF7 locomotives..."
They may have looked interesting, but those things were awful to work on. Amtrak traded SDP-40f's to Santa Fe and got two or three of these back for each. SF got the best part of the deal.
They had horrible toadstool seats with arms that dug into your sides, control stands and brake stands that weren't positioned very well. They did ride like typical EMD's, however... smooth. But every time I had a work train and saw these on them, I gritted my teeth, because it was going to be an uncomfortable night...
Locomotives are like books... can't always judge 'em "by the cover"...
dti406You want something as ugly as a CF7 then the BL2 is for you!
I do like the BL-2!
This is the one the STRATTON AND GILLETTE had in N scale 20+ years ago. It still sees occassional service on my friend Randy's layout.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I am 52. I got back in to model railroading back in 2001when my son turned 7. The children are all grown now and we have two wonderful grand kids.
Been married for 30 years.
I work as a fire fighter, been at it for 27 years and hope i can get 5 more in before i call it a day. I am getting too old to drag hoses into burning buildings.
High school education.
I grew up with Hornby OO in the UK.
I model HO scale and focus on the PRR around 1967.
Other activities include cycling to stay fit, and trying to eat better.
Not sure how long i have been on this forum, i came over here after the old Atlas forum shut down. I find i am generally online much less these days which is fine with me.
My favourite part of the hobby is layout building. I do not enjoy track planning.
IMO, that Life Like P2K BL2 in C&O paint; blue, yellow, and silver, is actually a pretty sharp looking loco.
IIRC, LL may have rerun the BL2 in their old bluish box vintage, which would probably have more conventional innards.
I joined the forum in May, occasionally read it beforehand when looking for help on certain modelling topics and prototype information.
I'm 15 years old, and since school has been cancelled amidst unexpected circumstances, I've devoted much of my time to learning about model railroading.
I model HO scale, particularly Conrail in the Piscataway, NJ area, though I don't have a layout yet.
I've been interested in trains since I was 2 years old, when my dad brought me near the railroad tracks to watch trains. My first model train was an Athearn Norfolk Southern train set, with a EMD GP38/40 (can't remember which), and a red NS caboose that aren't as common as they used to be.
I live in an apartment with my two parents. We don't have a basement or any space for a layout, so I keep my model trains in drawers and storage tubs. I'm a member at the Bound Brook Presbyterian Model Railroad Club, which is where I run my trains.
It's nice to learn more about my fellow forum members and I hope all of you appreciate the information I have given here.
dti406 SeeYou190 tin can I also love Santa Fe CF7s. I am also fond of the CF7 locomotives. I wish there was something similar that would fit in with my 1954 date of simulation. -Kevin You want something as ugly as a CF7 then the BL2 is for you! Rick Jesionowski
SeeYou190 tin can I also love Santa Fe CF7s. I am also fond of the CF7 locomotives. I wish there was something similar that would fit in with my 1954 date of simulation. -Kevin
tin can I also love Santa Fe CF7s.
I am also fond of the CF7 locomotives. I wish there was something similar that would fit in with my 1954 date of simulation.
You want something as ugly as a CF7 then the BL2 is for you!
Rick Jesionowski
I model 1954 and I have BL2's, C&O, WESTERN MARYLAND, and ATLANTIC CENTRAL.
Sheldon
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
Joined March 2017, roughly 4000 posts
Age 56
Semi retired, still working by choice. If I don't work part-time I stiffen up like a board with rusty nails in my joints
Blue-collar Education-architectural drafting Learned carpentry, plumbing, electric, and HAVC from my Father
Home, Minnesota
Scale N Layout 4x8 twice around
Favorite is steamers and older locomotives but love the modern day double stackers
Other hobbies and interests
Building Bridges, Woodworking, mountain biking, downhill skiing, snowmobiling, playing and watching hockey, football, traveling, reading, photography, auto body, classic cars, playing golf, hiking, rock climbing, swimming, jumping off cliffs into the water, hunting & fishing, cooking and eating as a sport.
Love creating my own little world with model railroading
OK, I'll play.
Joined the forum in 2015. 588 posts counting this one.
Age 44
Bachelor's in History (for teaching), but working in safety instead.
Lives: Ludington, Michigan
Scale: HO
Also have N that I dabbled in during my youth, O27, G, and starting to gather On30 for a new train around the Christmas tree. That old O27 is just too loud for that.
Layout: Roughly 12x18 plus staging. Based on the "Moth Lake & Mount Ahab" plan. Modeling the late 1940's. (With some modelers license)
Love Steam, first generation diesels, second generation diesels, third gen.....
Other interests: Video games, football, traveling, camping. Would love a classic car, but don't have the time, money, or space.
Mike
Current age 71, married 42 yrs
not retired, actively looking for work, but age is now a big factor.
Loved trains since I was 3. First layout: a 4x8 O-27 Lionel at age 8. Got started in HO in 1959. Had a few different track plans on the same 4x8 up until 1969. Parents moved overseas for a couple of years. Sold the layout, but stored the buildings and rolling stock. Still have all of it, but haven't had a layout since,...yet!
Model UP and SP centered around 1962, but have a small passion for tunnel motors, so I'll allow those with 1960s equipment.
Worked as rock n roll musician for 15 yrs, then got out of the industry in 1980 and got a job drafting and industrial engineering for over 20 yrs. Got associates degree in Interior Design in 2009. Been involved in that since.
After being out of music for 40 yrs, my interest rekindled recently. Now, just slowly starting to learn to sight read music and concentrate on classical guitar. No rock n roll anymore! I dont have to prove a thing to anyone, anymore.
Enjoyed reading everyone's stories.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
tin canI also love Santa Fe CF7s.
Age 61.
Still working, although retirement will happen within the next couple of years. I can retire comfortably at my next birthday; whether I actually do is dependent on how the current pandemic plays out.
MBA. Didn't want any more higher ed, but working in higher ed, it was a necessary evil to advance. I have worked in higher ed for 20 years, started as an accountant; now an administrator for a large Central Texas community college. Before that, I owned a hobby shop for 3 years; and served 17 years in the banking industry (banking started out fun, and got miserable).
Live in College Station, two adult children. We are the outliers in that both my kids received full athletic scholarships to college; son played football at Purdue (started 27 games; 2 surgeries) and received his civil engineering degree. He just moved to Milwaukee; his wife will teach at Marquette. My daughter played volleyball and threw for her track team at Western Carolina. Double degree in construction management / marketing. She is now working on a masters in marketing at UT Dallas. The pandemic has her going to school online; she has moved back home to save $$.
I have 027; G; N and HO. Haven't set up the big stuff in years. My daughter and I piddle with N scale using Unitrack; she has enough stuff, although lately I think she messes with it to humor me. My main focus is HO. I am in a local club, have been in clubs in Abilene and Dallas. I am an alumni member of a modular group based in SW Dallas county; I occasionally run with them at the Dallas train shows. I had a 4 x 6 layout as a kid; when we moved to a larger house my junior year of high school, I got the attic. Caveat was, I had to floor the attic. My dad acquired some old flooring, taught me how to install it. Once finished, I could start a layout. It never got very far, but I could run trains and switch a small yard. Once my dad realized how much time I spent in the attic; he had an AC vent added to cool the place down.
Celebrated my 34th wedding anniversary last Sunday. My wife tolerates my trains.
I have been planning a HO layout based on the ATSF San Saba subdivision that runs from Lometa to Eden. I discovered the old Santa Fe roundhouse in Lometa when I drove past it going to and from college in the mid 70s. I was able to photograph it before it blew down in a windstorm. What i build will be determined by how much space I get in retirement. We plan to move to a place where I can have an outbuilding devoted to trains.
I also love Santa Fe CF7s. Although I also like the trains i saw growing up; Santa Fe Fs; Santa Fe 2-6-2s; red Katy diesels; blue T&P / MP geeps and the shorty cabooses that dotted all of their trains. I tend to assemble trains that I can take and run at club or on modules.
I have been very slow to convert to DCC. I have several engines that I have purchased with DCC, but I have close to 50 DC engines that need to be converted. I recently made my first "hard" DCC installation which involved soldering and replacing headlamps with LEDs. It went well, so there will be others. I also have a bunch of TCS WOW kits to install in some Athearn F and CF7 units. But when I build my layout, I will wire it for dual control.
I have way too much train stuff. I still have lots of inventory from the hobby shop and lots of other stuff I have acquired in the 40 years I have earned disposable income; I intend to divest myself of much of what i have when I retire to finance the train room.
In my younger days (before wife) I did a lot of community theatre in Abilene. I have been diagnosed with type II diabetes; and I have lost 45 lbs. watching my diet and excercising. I try to walk 5 nights a week; 3 to 4 miles a night. We enjoy hiking in Texas state parks; Dallas Stars hockey; and Purdue football. We were big Astros fans until the cheating scandal last year. I abhor cheaters, and until ownership renounces the WS title; I won't have anything to do them. I love to snow ski, but it is too far away, and too expensive.
I love to play online games, mainly COD and Battlefield; got into it as a way to connect with son when he was at Purdue. Have not done as much lately as I recently set up a space in my garage where I can actually work on my train projects.
I eat what I want but mainly 1 meal a day, dinner. Our ancesters never ate a regular breakfast much and proubly didn't eat every day. I also let my body tell me if I need food at any other time, I do need a small snack at times but not much, never used to so must be age. Was perfectly heathy till recently and still am but had some dental issues and the pain that goes with so hopefully that is behind me as any pain near the head bothers me more than most people. But I am back building my railroad and missing cabinet came in so helping finish a kitchen as the last step in a total home remodel for relatives.
BATMAN I suffered horrible Arthritis pain taking Oxycocet and 6 Tylenol every day. Sugar (carbs) is the great giver of inflammation. I lowered my carb intake and within a week I was pain-free after years of a miserable existence. I don't need any help with pain relief at all. Staying fit keeps cholesterol, blood pressure and all other chemistry at perfect levels.
I suffered horrible Arthritis pain taking Oxycocet and 6 Tylenol every day. Sugar (carbs) is the great giver of inflammation. I lowered my carb intake and within a week I was pain-free after years of a miserable existence. I don't need any help with pain relief at all.
Staying fit keeps cholesterol, blood pressure and all other chemistry at perfect levels.
Must not be so with everyone, I wish it worked for me.
I have been on a sugar free low Carb diet for about 5 years (diabetes) and still suffer from terrible arthritis pain and inflammation. I only have one kidney so INSAIDs are a No No. The only thing that works for me are topical ointments and sometimes they help and sometimes not.The Old age thing doesn’t help either, I’m 83 and older than dirt.Glad it works for someone! Living with daily pain is the pits.Thank you guys for the happy birthday greetings, that helped a lot with my pain yesterday.MelMy Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I am very pleased to learn this about you and your success, Brent.
When I went to a family gathering at my younger brother's in Nanaimo about six weeks in, I explained my situation ahead of time so nobody would look askance at my refusal to eat everything offered. Two weeks after that event, I saw my brother again and he thanked me for explaining what I was doing, and why, adding he had lost six pounds in those two weeks. So, IF and low carb works, as we have both happily learned. Whew!!! It's not even a diet! It's more of a change of eating behaviour and a new lifestyle. Anyway, that and apnea are my two new companions in life, and both are under control. May you continue to get relief for many more years to come. After all, you'd like to cash as many pension cheques as you can as well!