The end of a Rookie Season--a retrospective.

[Bill H.]

Almost 4000 posts in a year.

Did bring you a new ?

J-K... Congrats.

[MisterBeasley]

It's been a pleasure to be freshmen together. Here's to many more years.

[cmrproducts]

Yes and we (The I80 group) would not have met another serious OPs person.

Happy New Year!

BOB H - Clarion, PA

[Don Gibson]

Here's to Chipper: A Philosopher, maybe - but
A ravin' maven he 'aint.

[howmus]

As usual, your observations are "right on brother"! A happy second year to you, and may all your transitions be smooth! [8D][:D][:D]

[andrechapelon]

The student becomes the master.

Good going, grasshopper.

Andre

[Anonymous]

Thanks Chip,
However I can't beleive I've been reading your posts for a year now. Where does the time go?

[Anonymous]

Chip, you're cracking me up over here!!!

[ARTHILL]

If you think you are done, your standards are too low.
If you never start, your standards are too high.
If you're are having fun, you have no standards.

[DigitalGriffin]

I'll add,

1) No matter how good you think your first layout you design is...it isn't. :-)
2) There's no such thing as too much room! (Except in the mousers case)

Here's to being sophmores. (AKA: Wise Fools in latin) *raises a drink*
At this rate Chip, you'll be valedictorian in 3 years. [:D]

~D

[selector]

Chip, it has been a pleasure. I just hope that you can get to where you want to be some time this year.

BTW, you can perhaps add to your list of reflections: if you contribute time and thought towards helping a fellow modeler solve some problems, you will probably solve some of your own. If you are fortunate, you may also earn a new friend.

You did all that in spades. [:D]



Your friend,

-Crandell

[Anonymous]

Good to know you, Chip. Like we say where I come from ..yer a purdy smart feller. Must be nice to have people bumpin topics for you, though. Mine just get lost.

[dougfearon]

Congratulations Chip, very thoughtful observations. The roadnames are still around and I thank God for life. [:)]

[tstage]

That's okay, Chip. Congratulations, anyhow! [:)] It's been a good year all around! [tup]

Tom

[SpaceMouse]

What a run!

We'll the first thing I want to get out of the way is a big THANK YOU. You guys should have been gotten sick up and fed of me within the first month or so. A special thanks goes out to Jetrock and a couple others who made sure I had a decent 4 x 8 track plan even though I could not get the concept of a yard lead no matter how hard they tried.

A couple days ago, someone bumped a question I had the second day on this site. It was kinda sorta embarrassing.

Don't worry, I'm not going to get all sappy. You guys are great and have been patient enough with me through my mitching and boaning sessions and have put up with my twisted sense of humor for a year and if you can do that you should be nominated for sainthood. Although

St. Trains.com

just doesn't seem right. And just as an update, Lil Guy is slated for an old cheapy MRC decoder and may show up in the old west from time to time. And for those of you sick-up and fed of waiting for him to get his wheel back on track, I've had a round tuit earmarked for that since March.

So I should get right to the stuff I've learned.

1) If you want something you are painting to look real, you need at least 3 different similar colors. More is better.

2) There is nothing as hard as it looks but it takes 3 times longer than you expect.

3) No one can understand the NWSL site.

4) It is not isolating the motor that makes a decoder install difficult, it is whether or not you have adequate space that makes it difficult.

5) It's hard to screw anything up so bad it can't be fixed.

6) You can't get a bargain on eBay until you understand what separates quality from junk.

7) No matter how much you may dislike pickles, it is after all, the only thing you can do with cucumbers.

8) There is nothing you can say so plainly online that someone will not misunderstand it–over and over again.

9) A good thread is one that is answered over and over because someone starts the conversation again by answering before reading what other people have already posted. Everyone then has to go back and repeat themselves.

10) There is always someone who can't ignore a troll.

11) A person who wants a layout without figuring out what they want will not get what they want.

12) MTH holds the patents on all Leonardo DiVinci's inventions.

13) Very few things can't be found out if you look hard enough.

14) EZ track is a one way trip to a dead end. It is only easy to snap together in the beginning. After that you have to constantly work to make it perform and look right. And you can't try a different brand turnout if your engine doesn't like it.

15) In the 1860's people typed too fast for typewriters. The keys would jam. Some enterprising chap took the New York Times and looked at letter combinations and placed them in such awkward positions that the typist was forced to type as slow as possible. That is why the QWERTY keyboard is arranged that way. In the 1920's, the sticking problem was solved and the Dvorsak keyboard was invented. Typists with a couple days retraining could average above 300 words per minute. Yet we still have the QWERTY keyboard. People don't want to change their ideas.

The 4 x 8 layout is like that.

16) If you are a good weatherer, you can have groupies.

17) There are some things I just can't do–like stand up in a hammock.

18) The Roadname you grew up with will not exist when you get older. If it exists now, remember there's time. You're not dead yet.

19) The number of stars you have does not make you smart. It does however suggest you need to get a life.

20) Painting all your locomotives red because your kids said they want a Hogwart's layout is a mistake. Except at Train Club open houses–then they are the hit for both kids and adults.

21) God never intended Camelback locomotives to be invented.

Well, here's to sophmores. Sorry, I didn't make it to 4000 posts, Tom.