The little Inn by the wayside
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Oh yeah, I spent my weekend playing war games in the real world. I thought I'd get away from screens, networks and keyboards and have a nice outdoor weekend, but the powers that be had reassigned me to communications. So I spent my weekend with messaging equipment, except without internet access.
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Seems I came back right in time to say: Happy Birthday, eMTe!!! 
I had a wonderful weekend. A childhood friend of mine was marrying his girlfriend, who he first met at one of my birthday parties years ago when she was my flatmate (and both were still in other relationships). Nothing happened at that party and they don't even lived in the same city, but because of both being friends of mine, they met from time to time and fell in love about two years later)So this marriage was a special one for me too, because I'm such an important part in their relationship history.
It was a wonderful marriage and a great party weekend, starting with a barbecue friday afternoon and ending around 3pm today when the last guests left. Got just around four and a half hours sleep the whole weekend, but sure had a wonderful time, dancing, drinking, talking, laughing, remembering old times and looking forward into the future. Now I'm a little bit tired, but still happy about these two people who found their love and their luck and the nice weekend we had.
On my way back, I had a little struggle with the German railroad company, who threatened to call the federal police and throw a 78-year-old man and myself out of the train, because we refused to leave a wagon with a defect air conditioning and move to a less comfortable and crowded wagon instead. Reason was that they had some bad press in the past when people complained about non-working aircons during summer (their aircons often refuse to work when there are high temperatures - wait, what was the function of an aircon again???). We told them we wouldn't complain and the temperature is absolutely fine for us (it was only about 26°C), but they told us that we can't decide and they know better if the temperature is ok for and if we go on refusing they would call the federal police and let them drag us out of the train. We told them they should do so, but maybe they should think about the bad press it would bring them if they throw a 78-year-old man out of the train, because of such a nonsense. They said they don't care. Some time later they came back and said the federal police wouldn't come (what a surprise), but they would call for the local police and stop the train in the next station for as long as it would take for the police to arrive. We decided to give up then, because we didn't want hundreds of other travelers involved in our struggle. We moved to another wagon where it was even warmer for us, because we had to take seats on the sunny site while we had perfect shadow seats before. Whole situation was completely ridiculous, but inside I laughed the whole time, becaus it was so bizarre.
I had a wonderful weekend. A childhood friend of mine was marrying his girlfriend, who he first met at one of my birthday parties years ago when she was my flatmate (and both were still in other relationships). Nothing happened at that party and they don't even lived in the same city, but because of both being friends of mine, they met from time to time and fell in love about two years later)So this marriage was a special one for me too, because I'm such an important part in their relationship history.
It was a wonderful marriage and a great party weekend, starting with a barbecue friday afternoon and ending around 3pm today when the last guests left. Got just around four and a half hours sleep the whole weekend, but sure had a wonderful time, dancing, drinking, talking, laughing, remembering old times and looking forward into the future. Now I'm a little bit tired, but still happy about these two people who found their love and their luck and the nice weekend we had.
On my way back, I had a little struggle with the German railroad company, who threatened to call the federal police and throw a 78-year-old man and myself out of the train, because we refused to leave a wagon with a defect air conditioning and move to a less comfortable and crowded wagon instead. Reason was that they had some bad press in the past when people complained about non-working aircons during summer (their aircons often refuse to work when there are high temperatures - wait, what was the function of an aircon again???). We told them we wouldn't complain and the temperature is absolutely fine for us (it was only about 26°C), but they told us that we can't decide and they know better if the temperature is ok for and if we go on refusing they would call the federal police and let them drag us out of the train. We told them they should do so, but maybe they should think about the bad press it would bring them if they throw a 78-year-old man out of the train, because of such a nonsense. They said they don't care. Some time later they came back and said the federal police wouldn't come (what a surprise), but they would call for the local police and stop the train in the next station for as long as it would take for the police to arrive. We decided to give up then, because we didn't want hundreds of other travelers involved in our struggle. We moved to another wagon where it was even warmer for us, because we had to take seats on the sunny site while we had perfect shadow seats before. Whole situation was completely ridiculous, but inside I laughed the whole time, becaus it was so bizarre.
[quote="eMTe"]I dont think trying to pass the screen in computer game once per 500 tries makes you a geek. Rather a dangerous psychopath.[/quote]
Re: The little Inn by the wayside
So, did I understand you correctly that you were almost thrown out of a train because they were trying to avoid bad press?
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Yes, correct. They had bad press in the past, because on non-working aircons. Because of that they now close the whole wagon once an aircon doesn't work. And yes, they are willing to use force and threats to make everyone leave the wagon. Brillant logic, that will certainly give them good press... 
[quote="eMTe"]I dont think trying to pass the screen in computer game once per 500 tries makes you a geek. Rather a dangerous psychopath.[/quote]
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Railwaymodeler
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Did the DB get bought by Pace recently?
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Old trains never die. They just sit in ruin and wait until the day they are taken in by a skilled craftsman and rebuilt to their former glory.
Old trains never die. They just sit in ruin and wait until the day they are taken in by a skilled craftsman and rebuilt to their former glory.
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Just removed two spambot posts, on here in the Inn, the other in a movie thread.
Earlier, I was pretty tired, and did not get to share the news of the past week. Maria and I were up in Duluth for a few days. Going up, we spent a night at the Boy Scout camp I often work with, and we spent a night there coming back home.
Someone I know who lives up there emailed me a month ago about an old abandoned store, which has been deserted for almost 50 years, which used to be a hobby shop in the late 1930s.
Turns out, the lower floor was only a hobby shop for a few years, from 1938 to 1941. The upstairs was a home for a the shopkeeper. Such buildings were once very common.
Anyway, the downstairs became a few other things after the hobby shop folded. The owner of the hobby shop lived upstairs till his death in the mid 1960s. The upstairs was deserted after that, but the ground level store operated into the 1980s.
Anyway, I found out there was a huge stash of old model trains, and my friend told me that the person in charge of renovating the place is one of his friends, and was trying to get them to sell me the trains.
So Maria, Skoda, and I went up to Duluth. We went to the building, and saw the trains. I looked into two of the large boxes (There was 15 or so large boxes. Each one about four square feet in surface, and about 18" tall), and said "How much for everything here?"
I was told as long as we could get it all out quickly, we could just have all of it!
Maria and I found her car (A Jeep Grand Cherokee, good size vehicle with plenty of cargo space), would not hold eveything, plus the three of us and our luggage. So we rented a U-Haul trailer and loaded it up!
Stopped by the Boy Scout camp on our way home. My dad was up there with a weekend project he had to oversee. He saw the trailer behind Maria's car, and was shocked! I almost thought he was going to fall over when told we got it all for free.
So tonight, neither Maria nor I can sleep now that we are back home. We're going through boxes, nearly all the stuff is still unassembled. We found a gold mine of antique trains!
Plus, while in Duluth, we went sightseeing. Not the usual tourist stuff, but to the industrial areas watching old trains. Was interesting that in front of us at one place was a diesel locomotive made right before World War I, and behind us on a siding was a German-built freight car with at least 32 wheels, and one of the largest freight cars ever made, and quite modern too! We did get questioned by security at one place; A guard simply did not believe Maria was a train enthusiast. He believed her when she demonstrated what she knew by correctly identifying a type of locomotive nearby. Seems the guard knew that railfans come to these places looking for older equipment. He made a joke of "So railroad fan women DO exist!" and let us go take pictures and get a closer look at everything.
Was a great trip! I am a bit surprised Maria can't sleep, as she had a lot of driving today, and Skoda was a bit grouchy earlier in the car.
Earlier, I was pretty tired, and did not get to share the news of the past week. Maria and I were up in Duluth for a few days. Going up, we spent a night at the Boy Scout camp I often work with, and we spent a night there coming back home.
Someone I know who lives up there emailed me a month ago about an old abandoned store, which has been deserted for almost 50 years, which used to be a hobby shop in the late 1930s.
Turns out, the lower floor was only a hobby shop for a few years, from 1938 to 1941. The upstairs was a home for a the shopkeeper. Such buildings were once very common.
Anyway, the downstairs became a few other things after the hobby shop folded. The owner of the hobby shop lived upstairs till his death in the mid 1960s. The upstairs was deserted after that, but the ground level store operated into the 1980s.
Anyway, I found out there was a huge stash of old model trains, and my friend told me that the person in charge of renovating the place is one of his friends, and was trying to get them to sell me the trains.
So Maria, Skoda, and I went up to Duluth. We went to the building, and saw the trains. I looked into two of the large boxes (There was 15 or so large boxes. Each one about four square feet in surface, and about 18" tall), and said "How much for everything here?"
I was told as long as we could get it all out quickly, we could just have all of it!
Maria and I found her car (A Jeep Grand Cherokee, good size vehicle with plenty of cargo space), would not hold eveything, plus the three of us and our luggage. So we rented a U-Haul trailer and loaded it up!
Stopped by the Boy Scout camp on our way home. My dad was up there with a weekend project he had to oversee. He saw the trailer behind Maria's car, and was shocked! I almost thought he was going to fall over when told we got it all for free.
So tonight, neither Maria nor I can sleep now that we are back home. We're going through boxes, nearly all the stuff is still unassembled. We found a gold mine of antique trains!
Plus, while in Duluth, we went sightseeing. Not the usual tourist stuff, but to the industrial areas watching old trains. Was interesting that in front of us at one place was a diesel locomotive made right before World War I, and behind us on a siding was a German-built freight car with at least 32 wheels, and one of the largest freight cars ever made, and quite modern too! We did get questioned by security at one place; A guard simply did not believe Maria was a train enthusiast. He believed her when she demonstrated what she knew by correctly identifying a type of locomotive nearby. Seems the guard knew that railfans come to these places looking for older equipment. He made a joke of "So railroad fan women DO exist!" and let us go take pictures and get a closer look at everything.
Was a great trip! I am a bit surprised Maria can't sleep, as she had a lot of driving today, and Skoda was a bit grouchy earlier in the car.
Without trains America Stops- Support Amtrak
Old trains never die. They just sit in ruin and wait until the day they are taken in by a skilled craftsman and rebuilt to their former glory.
Old trains never die. They just sit in ruin and wait until the day they are taken in by a skilled craftsman and rebuilt to their former glory.
Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Not exactly a model train, but I found this when travelling to my weekend trip.
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Thank you. 
Unfortunately, my day was spoiled by a strong attack of dyspepsia the day before, strong to the point that I was calling manager in the morning to take a day off. Possible aggressors on my sanity include: outdated (?) chicken that I ate on Saturday and 2 litres of water from the mountain stream which I drank on Friday. Chicken sounds more convincingly. Chickens are evil.
The effects slowly wear off, but I still feel an uneasy feeling in the guts.
Unfortunately, my day was spoiled by a strong attack of dyspepsia the day before, strong to the point that I was calling manager in the morning to take a day off. Possible aggressors on my sanity include: outdated (?) chicken that I ate on Saturday and 2 litres of water from the mountain stream which I drank on Friday. Chicken sounds more convincingly. Chickens are evil.
The effects slowly wear off, but I still feel an uneasy feeling in the guts.
"As you have noticed over the years, we are not angry people." (itebygur)
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Railwaymodeler
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Darned back and forth weather. Was cool and damp for a while. Today was much warmer and humid. Popped my bad knee last night real bad, was nearly unable to move for a while. At least Maria was able to help me get to lay down. Imagine a six foot tall man, built like a football player, and now imagine a petite five foot tall lady (She says she is five feet, her drivers license has her as 4 feet, eleven inches), with the man's weight of his left side being supported by her. At least she was able to massage the bad knee a bit, which made it feel a little better.
I am sweating heavy tonight. Just turned on the air conditioner. As it is supposed to be cooler again tomorrow, I did not want to turn it on unless needed. But I did need to.
In a few weeks, at least Maria and I will be back up north for a week or so. The one house we were looking at ended up being sold to a mining outfit. Seems the property the house is on has a mineral deposit under it - I think it is some kind of iron ore - and where the house is, that property is where surface mining would be the easiest. The house was on a big plot of land, which I kind of wanted, as I've always wanted a live-steam outdoor railroad, the kind you can ride on top of the trains, and like that at some amusement parks.
Looking at another property now, in the same county, near a lake, even. Also a large piece of land, very close to the same size. But, it is a bit hillier, which I might like if I build the outdoor railroad. Would make for more interesting running. Thinking about it, when I was a kid, I always wished I could have had one in dad's backyard. I guess Skoda might just have that then! That girl will have the neatest stuff to play with! If it includes an operating miniature railroad in the backyard, I think later on she will enjoy that!
I am sweating heavy tonight. Just turned on the air conditioner. As it is supposed to be cooler again tomorrow, I did not want to turn it on unless needed. But I did need to.
In a few weeks, at least Maria and I will be back up north for a week or so. The one house we were looking at ended up being sold to a mining outfit. Seems the property the house is on has a mineral deposit under it - I think it is some kind of iron ore - and where the house is, that property is where surface mining would be the easiest. The house was on a big plot of land, which I kind of wanted, as I've always wanted a live-steam outdoor railroad, the kind you can ride on top of the trains, and like that at some amusement parks.
Looking at another property now, in the same county, near a lake, even. Also a large piece of land, very close to the same size. But, it is a bit hillier, which I might like if I build the outdoor railroad. Would make for more interesting running. Thinking about it, when I was a kid, I always wished I could have had one in dad's backyard. I guess Skoda might just have that then! That girl will have the neatest stuff to play with! If it includes an operating miniature railroad in the backyard, I think later on she will enjoy that!
Without trains America Stops- Support Amtrak
Old trains never die. They just sit in ruin and wait until the day they are taken in by a skilled craftsman and rebuilt to their former glory.
Old trains never die. They just sit in ruin and wait until the day they are taken in by a skilled craftsman and rebuilt to their former glory.
Re: The little Inn by the wayside
I'm quite sure that any child in their right mind would be more than happy with an outdoor miniature railroad. Actually, I think anyone regardless of age would be.Railwaymodeler wrote: If it includes an operating miniature railroad in the backyard, I think later on she will enjoy that!
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Chroelle
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
When you are done with building that - CAn I come over? 
A very belated but very important message from me:
Happy Birthday eMTe. And sorry to hear that you were ill.
Time is flying for me at the moment. I have some big projects at work, and my own company is a bit busy too, and home is still one HUGE project. And on top of that Molly has fallen sick 3 times in the last 2 weeks. That means little to no sleep, crying kids when up, parents coordination hell and absolutely no time for fun. So, now I am sick as well, and saturday my mom and stepdad are ahving a 130 years birthday (60 and 70) and I have to complete a song for the occasion, and my little sister just got fired (downsizing), my bigger sister is now alone in her political section that covers the parliament here. Her boss just bolted to become a spindoctor for some politician, and my little brother is returning to school, so that leaves NOONE with time or energy to do stuff for the party.
Sometimes it just comes in handy when you become ill. (I know you are not supposed to say that, bad luck, insinuations etc - but it is quite handy at the moment).
I am trying to find some time to play some games, but so far without luck. I am keeping up though with new entries, so I can find some gems to dig into when time happens.
A very belated but very important message from me:
Happy Birthday eMTe. And sorry to hear that you were ill.
Time is flying for me at the moment. I have some big projects at work, and my own company is a bit busy too, and home is still one HUGE project. And on top of that Molly has fallen sick 3 times in the last 2 weeks. That means little to no sleep, crying kids when up, parents coordination hell and absolutely no time for fun. So, now I am sick as well, and saturday my mom and stepdad are ahving a 130 years birthday (60 and 70) and I have to complete a song for the occasion, and my little sister just got fired (downsizing), my bigger sister is now alone in her political section that covers the parliament here. Her boss just bolted to become a spindoctor for some politician, and my little brother is returning to school, so that leaves NOONE with time or energy to do stuff for the party.
Sometimes it just comes in handy when you become ill. (I know you are not supposed to say that, bad luck, insinuations etc - but it is quite handy at the moment).
I am trying to find some time to play some games, but so far without luck. I am keeping up though with new entries, so I can find some gems to dig into when time happens.
Currently testing Life version 2.9 (With added second child)
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www.paed-it.dk - My blog in Danish
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
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(Beta testing in progress)
www.paed-it.dk - My blog in Danish
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
--Mark Twain
Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Haven't seen Pager around for months. Anyone knows if he's ok?
[quote="eMTe"]I dont think trying to pass the screen in computer game once per 500 tries makes you a geek. Rather a dangerous psychopath.[/quote]
Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Last active on these forums: Tue 13 Mar, 2012, so it's been a while.Pater Alf wrote:Haven't seen Pager around for months. Anyone knows if he's ok?
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jayenkai
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Fingers crossed. ... That's near enough when I went into hospital, so it is quite a while.
Re: The little Inn by the wayside
You can send him pm, there's tiny chance he forgot to turn off notification.
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Not to change subject, but I just did the math. So far, as of right now, I have only gotten 10 hours of sleep throughout this entire week. Part from my back and knee problems flaring up real bad, part from having a baby in the home. Amazing that I am still functioning today, but as a side note, I should find out what company supplies McDonalds restaurants with their coffee beans, and start investing in them!
Without trains America Stops- Support Amtrak
Old trains never die. They just sit in ruin and wait until the day they are taken in by a skilled craftsman and rebuilt to their former glory.
Old trains never die. They just sit in ruin and wait until the day they are taken in by a skilled craftsman and rebuilt to their former glory.
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Chroelle
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Sorry to hear Raillo. I hope that your investment at least takes off.
And regarding PAger - well I just went and looked and his Facebook account has been disabled. I have no idea how to contact him unless he left info in the thread we made some 6 years ago or so, so we could get in touch if we strayed off.
But I am hoing that he simply made a decision to diminish his online presence, and that he s otherwise ok.
And regarding PAger - well I just went and looked and his Facebook account has been disabled. I have no idea how to contact him unless he left info in the thread we made some 6 years ago or so, so we could get in touch if we strayed off.
But I am hoing that he simply made a decision to diminish his online presence, and that he s otherwise ok.
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Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
--Mark Twain
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www.paed-it.dk - My blog in Danish
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.
--Mark Twain
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Re: The little Inn by the wayside
Well, not invested in coffee, really. Just drank a lot of it.
Plus recently, one of the police commanders asked me to set his wife up with 20 desktop computers. Despite all the money Maria and I have, I am still a computer builder. I often used to say that regardless of how much money I ever made, I would still build PCs. I meant it, too! His wife needs them for a classroom in a battered women's shelter she is setting up.
Domestic abuse is a major problem around here, and there is not enough resources to go around to combat the problem. I told them $150 per system. Each system includes a tower, keyboard, mouse, monitor (17" CRT - we all felt an LCD monitor would disappear one way or the other too easily!), and cables needed to connect everything.
Even with the money, I still work, and that is something I want Skoda to learn later in life; Just because you may have it easy, do not grow complacent and lazy!
Tonight, however, it is a fussy baby keeping me up. Maria needed to sleep. There's a cold going around, and I told her to sleep tonight, I would take care of Skoda. So in the living room near her crib, on my couch. I can sleep on the couch, but have to be dead tired, as this newer one is not as comfortable for sleeping as the old one was!
Plus recently, one of the police commanders asked me to set his wife up with 20 desktop computers. Despite all the money Maria and I have, I am still a computer builder. I often used to say that regardless of how much money I ever made, I would still build PCs. I meant it, too! His wife needs them for a classroom in a battered women's shelter she is setting up.
Domestic abuse is a major problem around here, and there is not enough resources to go around to combat the problem. I told them $150 per system. Each system includes a tower, keyboard, mouse, monitor (17" CRT - we all felt an LCD monitor would disappear one way or the other too easily!), and cables needed to connect everything.
Even with the money, I still work, and that is something I want Skoda to learn later in life; Just because you may have it easy, do not grow complacent and lazy!
Tonight, however, it is a fussy baby keeping me up. Maria needed to sleep. There's a cold going around, and I told her to sleep tonight, I would take care of Skoda. So in the living room near her crib, on my couch. I can sleep on the couch, but have to be dead tired, as this newer one is not as comfortable for sleeping as the old one was!
Without trains America Stops- Support Amtrak
Old trains never die. They just sit in ruin and wait until the day they are taken in by a skilled craftsman and rebuilt to their former glory.
Old trains never die. They just sit in ruin and wait until the day they are taken in by a skilled craftsman and rebuilt to their former glory.
Re: The little Inn by the wayside
I took a short break from the site, as I was having some personal issues and had to isolate myself from the world for a while, to the point that I even had to take a vacation from work. Should have taken sick leave but hey, then I'd have to explain myself, and I've been taught to solve my own problems. Enough about that, I'm probably back.
So anyway, yah, I miss Pager too. He enjoys so many of the same things I do.
But I'm hoping he's just invested in the "new" girlfriend/wife/whatever she was.
So anyway, yah, I miss Pager too. He enjoys so many of the same things I do.
But I'm hoping he's just invested in the "new" girlfriend/wife/whatever she was.Re: The little Inn by the wayside
7000th post 
! Please drink some beers on my tab!
! Please drink some beers on my tab![quote="eMTe"]I dont think trying to pass the screen in computer game once per 500 tries makes you a geek. Rather a dangerous psychopath.[/quote]