"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
My daughter went to a small college in Maine. She had played lacrosse and did downhill skiing in high school, but the school was small and everyone on both teams just did it for fun. They weren't looking for scholarships, and all just enjoyed the activities.
Still, the lacrosse team tried to recruit her. They were looking for a big time commitment, though, for training and practice, hours every day. She told them she was there on an academic scholarship and saved her time for studying.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Mike, it's nice to hear of your daughter's journey through school and the athletics associated with it. It just occurred to me that neither of my kids participated in sports that were associated with the Universities they attended and I find that kind of strange now I have come to realize it.
In high school, my daughter did quite well on the swim team and excelled on the golf team and my son also excelled on the school golf team, however, his life was hockey and that was not connected to his high school. They are both here for dinner tonight so I will interrogate them as to why they weren't on any of the University teams.
Just knocked off 8km, came home and made myself an iced mocha.
I started watching a 10-part series called "The Night Agent". It's about an FBI agent protecting a woman in Washington DC, however, it was filmed in Vancouver and it is obvious that it is Vancouver, so that takes away from the show. Also in one scene, there was a truck as plain as day that said Canada Post on the side of it. Don't know how they missed that one.
The acting is bad, especially the President's Chief of Staff. However, I am four parts in so I'll tough it out to the end.
All the best to all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Howdy diners. Janie, strawberry shortcake please.
Mike, a very belated congratulations to your daughter settling on a school, is a scholarship involved?
I was wondering about Ray, but to see the confirmation today makes me sad. I appreciate AEP528 for sharing that. I didn't know just what city Ray lived in, but recently searched obituaries for several towns in the Finger Lakes region, but didn't find the right one. Was hopeful. So much for that. He will be missed.
Back to my task of resealing the tub surround. Fun fun.
Mike
Must have been riding this train:
Good morning from the land of big trees.
A little before and after in the Jasper area. Someone said the forest will come back at some point......not in my lifetime. Oh well, at least I got to enjoy it when I did.
We have some weather moving in so I better get on the Deere and do a bit of windproofing. Found myself thinking of Ray when I sat down with my guitar last night, music was one of the things we would often talk about.
I might have to go down to Oregon tomorrow with my wife as she wants to see a dog down there. My daughter says she will go with her but may have to back out if the phone rings, so I am the backup. I sure hope she can go because those roads through Seattle and Portland are a gong show for a guy who hates the rat pit style of living.
Best get at it, but first another cuppa.
Feelin a little Restless today.
Good morning, diners. I'll have bacon, eggs, and black coffee, Chloe.
Today is the lull before the storm. I have nothing scheduled today, but then the next several days are full. Retirement.
Bad news about Ray. He often talked about his son in the UK. Condolences to his family.
Our little town was settled back in the late 1800s when the railroad came through this part of the country. We have a big deposit of clay which was a good supply for making bricks. Many of our streets are still brick, over 100 years old. A street was recently redone with a new sewer line, and the bricks were replaced with concrete. The town is offering the bricks to town residents, so this weekend I'm going to get a bunch and put in a small brick section in the backyard for our fire pit.
I have a friend who retired from BNSF, and while he worked, the railroad took out a small town station near here. He got a huge supply of the bricks from that station's platform, and he made a great backyard patio and walkways with those bricks.
For those of you working at jobs enjoy your Friday.
I hope everyone, yes, everyone, has a good day today.
Remember Joe Btfsplk from the old Lil Abner comic strip?
York1 John
It is always sad to hear of the passing of a fellow railroad modeller.
I only knew him as howmus and always read his posts.
R.I.P. Ray
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
I always enjoyed Ray's posts. Hearing about his career and his volunteering was very interesting.
Ray did have a significant influence on my life. His weight loss success was one of the things that inspired me to do the same. I have lost 50 lbs in the last 18 months and I am very happy about that.
As for including non-forum members in the RIP track, I will defer to others. I do recognize that it could get out of hand.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
AEP528 I was not refering to Paul Dolkos. That nobody else seems to know shows that the forums are not a place of real, personal friendships or relationships. https://coegenungfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/846/Raymond-Howard/obituary.html One of the last communications we had from Ray was that he was planning on visiting his son in the UK. There was very recent speculation by at least one Forum/Diner member that that was possibly why we hadn’t heard from him lately. We are not mind readers, and don’t live in each other’s pockets, and generally only learn of members passing by third parties. If you’ve deliberately sat upon this information then I hope you’re satisfied! I do have words to describe you but, ailing or not, the Forum is still a family show, so… The Bear. Edit: Chris, Ray went by the “name” of “howmus”, a great modeller, and a real public-spirited gentleman. If I had ever got to the Finger Lakes Region, I had an open invitation to visit him.
AEP528 I was not refering to Paul Dolkos. That nobody else seems to know shows that the forums are not a place of real, personal friendships or relationships. https://coegenungfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/846/Raymond-Howard/obituary.html
Regards, Chris
I was not refering to Paul Dolkos.
That nobody else seems to know shows that the forums are not a place of real, personal friendships or relationships.
https://coegenungfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/846/Raymond-Howard/obituary.html
AEP528, thank you for posting this even though it let the wind out of my sail to hear it.
I have never met Ray in person or was likely to ever do so even though he kept saying he was going to drive across Canada in his Tesla to visit family on Vancouver Island and we would have to get together for dinner as he passed through.
When I first signed up here I was welcomed by Ray and he helped me a lot with questions I had. I was struck with one scene on his layout and have had something similar to it on mine under construction for a long time.
Ray was a talented and caring human being and I exchanged many, many PMs with him until they stopped working. Most of them were about his/our volunteering and the vast array of things he was interested in. Ray was a very obese man when I joined the forums, having lost the love of his life it was understandable. We communicated a lot about his journey back to fitness and changing to a healthy lifestyle over the years. He was always thrilled when he reached a new level in his fitness journey.
Another area we talked at length about was kids, especially the ones that came from dysfunctional homes that we had come and go in our lives.
Was Ray a friend or an acquaintance, it doesn't matter to me as that does not change the relationship I had with him. Labels need not be applied and why should they have to be?
I think I need to go for a run while I digest this sad day.
CNCharlie Wow, that was a shock to read of Ray's passing. Feeling a little numb. He was a great guy. CN Charlie
Wow, that was a shock to read of Ray's passing. Feeling a little numb. He was a great guy.
CN Charlie
Ray passed away, according to the obit below, in mid June of 2024. He was a modeler, for sure, and would often post here on the forum, in the Diner and other threads. That's how we knew him.
That time frame probably includes much of the long dead sessions we had on the forums, so it's not surprising that we lost touch with many of our members, through neither their faults nor ours. I will miss Ray for his good cheer, his modeling and his stories. See you in the big roundhouse in the sky, big guy.
AEP528That nobody else seems to know shows that the forums are not a place of real, personal friendships or relationships.
Does this make you feel good? Or superior to us peasants? I had many personal conversations with Ray.
It would have been nice to know THIS was who you were referring to.
Dumb. Terry
Terry in NW Wisconsin
Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel
This was posted an another forum in regards to the MR forum.
The future of the MR forum is much less of a concern because there is almost no one left on it and the source of content and expertise has virtually disappeared.
Clearly this person doesn't believe the diner participants, who are the most active remaining members, are providing any content or expertise.
I wonder if that person will stand up an admit to disparaging the diner participants on the other forum?
AEP528I was not refering to Paul Dolkos. That nobody else seems to know shows that the forums are not a place of real, personal friendships or relationships. https://coegenungfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/846/Raymond-Howard/obituary.html
Since being a member I have always thought the RIP Track was for Forum members and nobody else. Their contributions to be remembered.
To have others from outside the Forum mentioned seems a case of how far and wide does it extend? The likes of John Allen are not added to the list, yet is a 'Master' modeller to me; yet a contributor to RM.
Just my
hon30critter I am of the opinion that we should include him in the RIP track. The RIP track is intended to honor modelers. I hope others will voice their opinions on the matter
I am of the opinion that we should include him in the RIP track. The RIP track is intended to honor modelers.
I hope others will voice their opinions on the matter
The RIP Track almost exclusively contains names and avatars of deceased forum members. But there are one or two exceptions. Perhaps the RIP Track should include members of the Kalmbach "family", so to speak. That would certainly include Mr. Dolkos as well.
Just my thoughts.
Rich
Alton Junction
Hi everyone,
The question has come up as to whether or not Paul Dolkos' name should be added to the RIP track. He was not a member of the forums but most certainly was a highly respected modeler.
I am of the opinion that we should include him in the RIP track. The RIP track is intended to honor modelers. I'm not comfortable with excluding someone who's modeling was excellent just because they didn't post to the Forums. That seems a bit petty to me, but that's just my opinion. I'm not trying to disparage anyone who's opinion differs, and I am not suggesting that every person who laid a piece of track who was not a forum member should be added to the list, but I will point out that many organizations recognize people of note who are not part of the organization.
I hope others will voice their opinions on the matter but please let's not turn this into a huge fire storm!
Good morning from the Pacific Rim. 394 fires in BC, 95% lightning caused.
It has been (so far) a relatively smoke-free summer for a change which has been nice.
I took my wife to see a specialist yesterday and then we did 6.4km along the ocean with two of the dogs we took along. We only saw one person the entire walk, it was spectacular weather and scenery.
John, thanks for checking on Brother Lion. I would have eventually phoned the Abbey but was hoping someone Stateside would shoot them an Email.
Tourism in Hawaii is down 22% and the deals are starting to show up, we booked Kona for $369.00 return in January. After covid, the prices went through the roof but are now returning to normal. My whole adult life Hawaii was the place where you could just get on an airplane when you hit the exhaustion wall and go. When I was single I never booked ahead, I would just walk into the office and tell the boss I was taking a month or two off and go get on a plane. Having my own parking spot at the airport where I worked made it easy to do. I always had a small go bag in the car.
Fall is in the air and I have seeded the last area of lawn I was putting in, should be looking good by October. Now through to November is my favourite time of the year as the snow is mostly off the mountains and the hiking is good. The mountains on the Northern edge of Vancouver are filled with lakes which the dogs love. The bears are fat and happy and just give a tip of the hat as we walk by.
I have to take the wife to do a consultation of the Veterinarian kind for a good friend out even farther in the sticks than we live so best get going.
Tophias Rich, is this "Breaking News" or something from a couple of weeks ago that explains why it was down 12 days? Regardless, the communication is a breath of fresh air! Regards, Chris
Rich, is this "Breaking News" or something from a couple of weeks ago that explains why it was down 12 days? Regardless, the communication is a breath of fresh air!
FWIW -
Saw this on Facebook:
Hi all!
Sorry for the short notice, but we have put a freeze on the Trains.com Forums. The Forum is not going away, but we are in the process of updating it and need to temporarily pause posts to the Trains.com Forums. While the forum can be accessed and viewed, you cannot log in, add posts, or create new threads.
Of course, you’re wondering when access will return. The Trains.com Forums are huge, and we want to make sure that all of that information is preserved and threads maintained. So this is not something we want to rush. We will continue to work on the updates for the rest of the week. The team will keep us apprised of its progress, and we will post here whenever we have new information, no matter how small.
Thanks for your patience and support, and we will have the Trains.com Forums open and ready for business as soon as can be.
The Trains.com crew
Firecrown Media
MisterBeasley Does anyone know if Paul Dolkos was forum member? While Mr. Dolkas was a very talented model railroader, a stalwart contributor to the Model Railroader, (I used to look forward to his articles), and probably a good bloke to boot, having used several search criteria, I cannot find any evidence that he was a Forum member. So, in my opinion, despite what I’ve already written, he is not eligible to be included on the RIP track. My reasoning being that we are not being honest to ourselves and the Forum if we start claiming “allcomers”! The Forum may be ailing but I would not like to see it accused of False Pretences! My 1/8 Cheers, the Bear.
MisterBeasley Does anyone know if Paul Dolkos was forum member?
Simon
“A human being must have occupation, if he or she is not to become a nuisance to the world.”-Dorothy L. Sayers
MisterBeasleyDoes anyone know if Paul Dolkos was forum member?
Good morning Diners. Keep the coffee going please, Flo.
John Thanks for checking on Lion.
Charlie The treatment is working as expected. The heartbeat still misses a beat every so often; but then it always has since I was born. It 'scares' a new doctor though. Should have checked my records first.
I have to have a big examination on 10th September to see 'how well I am'.
Other matters.
Dawn is much better. (Cannot have both of us down.)
She sent me off on a three days holiday staying at a railway station in Scotland. Watching trains. It was on my 'bucket list'; one I thought I would achieve.
Thanks for checking in on The Lion, John!
CNCharlieJohn, yes that Stratford. It was a big CNR town and the location of their major steam overhaul shop. The last regular overhaul was in the winter of 1959 and it closed down later that year.
I was really fortunate that my dad brought me along on a CN fan trip around 1962 or so to Stratford. I still have fond memories of that. If I recall we went from Windsor to Stratford and on the way back went to Sarnia before returning to Windsor. Here's an 8mm film that dad shot during the trip:
A while back a fellow did a documentary on the Stratford Shops and he used some of this film.
More Smoke!
Smoke 'em if you got 'em by Mike Danneman, on Flickr