On Sunday, while everyone was getting pre-drinking for the Super Bowl, Smartz and I checked out the Model Train Show at the Evergreen Fair Grounds in Monroe.

I’m again becoming quite the little railfan, and even though I had a small train layout when I was a kid, I never really got too into model railroading. However, since I like trains, I figured that I’d enjoy myself at the train show.

Turns out, I did.

I took tons of pics, trying to get Smartz’s camera to co-operate with macro-close up shot – only a handful turned out as anything interesting.

Check them out, if you like…

Click here!

A company known as Motor Simulation, LCC has invented what appears to be the motorcycle simulator we’ve always never really asked for. I’m sure it’s well put together and sophisticated as all get-out, but, as their press release indicates, it steals the bits of your brain typically used for grammar and puts them to work learning the skills you need to take twisties at 70mph. HOT DOG!

Motor Simulation, LLC has improves safety for motorcycle riders. It’s cutting-edge technology and the experience of it’s management team has designed and build a fully-interactive, high-definition graphics simulator with a fully movable, reactive motion base that simulates riding a motorcycle in real-time, base upon the parameters of physics and not a gaming engine. No simulator has ever been built in history that is as advanced or with as much current, up-to-date technology.

They really has improves safety, I have no doubt. It’s management of build is with up-to-date technology.

See it here.

Well, it’s been about a week since I posted anything. It’s not because I don’t have anything to say. I could go on for hours. But this past week I’ve picked up a couple more hours and it threw me off a bit.

In my free time, I’ve been working on the upcoming Christmas mix. It’s pretty well ready to go. I’ve been messing with the volume level and converting everything to mp3 for downloading purposes (it’ll be posted on Chirstmas Eve). As far as the physical Mix CD, I should be able to mail it out the same time as I did last year’s (first week of December). The packaging is pretty fun, I think you’ll dig it.

I’m also the new proud owner of three of the four first Weird Al Yankovic albums on vinyl. I’ve got his first, In 3-D (with “Eat It”) and the one that nobody bought Polka Party. I had all of these when I was a kid and haven’t really listened to them since then. In 3-D was the one I listened to most. I loved his polka medleys of popular songs. Weird Al is pretty brilliant.

Speaking of nerdy things, I’m going to go upgrade to the new Linux Mint. I’ll probably watch some MST3K after that.

Oh and I’m going to try to write more very soon.

May I admire you again today?

So guess what? I was having a typical crappy day at work dealing with asshat customers and a nearly endless array of things I don’t want to care about when a very awesome thing happened.

I was working the customer service desk when a woman came up to me and said, “hey, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, go ahead,” I said, ready for nothing good.

And so she asked, “Has anyone ever told you that you look like John Cryer?”

Wow!

“Thank you so much!” I was ecstatic! “I haven’t been told that in years.”

And that’s true. I used to get this a lot. “You look like Ducky from Pretty in Pink.” I never saw too much of a resemblance, but lots of people have mentioned this.

Here’s the deal though, since I hadn’t heard it in so long, I figured that I must have grown out of my Ducky stage. It’s true, I gained a bit of weight and John Cryer got famous again with his show Two and a Half Men and he’s still skinny – so I look pretty much nothing like him now.

Maybe I’ve lost a few pounds in the past couple of months (or maybe it’s the lighting at work). Maybe I’ve grown back into (or shrank back into) another Ducky phase. I’m ok with that even if I don’t really see it.

I’m off like a dirty shirt.

March 9th, 1987 began as a routine day for Canandian National Railway engineer, Wesley MacDonald. His job for the day was to switch what he thought was 23 cars loaded ore cars at the Brunswick Mine. Due to a mixup in communication, he received 31 fully loaded up cars. As he pulled those 31 loaded cars behind two engines and began his dissent from the mountain, his brakes gave way due to the extra weight.

Through it all, he remained fairly calm. As the train reached 55mph, then 60, then 70 Wesley knew that he couldn’t make a quickly-approaching bend in the tracks. He contemplated jumping, but chose to stick with the train so that he could sound the horn to warn those up ahead.

He was less than a year from retirement.

It begins as the train’s conductor (still back at the mine) radios to Alfie, the dispatcher, “I think we may have a knee-deep situation on our hands. We’ve grabbed a bunch of cars back here at the mines and uh, we can’t hold them, she’s weighing on us there.”

Wesley himself radios in to give his assessment of the situation. “This is Wesley now. 50, she’s doing 50, and I’ve got no control of her…. An awful goddamn mixup if I ever can survive it.”

The train quickly reaches 70mph when the dispatcher asks Wesley, “is there no way that you can clear… get off of that train for the love of heavens?”

“I can’t get off her,” replies Wesley.

The dispatcher suggests that Wesley bail into a snowbank, but his conductor urges him to “stay with her,” though he adds “you’ll never make that corner.”

Wes concedes, “I don’t know which is worse.” Being so close to retirement, he adds, “When I get done with this they can put me on my fucking pension.”

The train, moving faster than 70mph miraculously makes it around the first corner. The next station has been warned, but Wes drives home the point, radioing, “Get the hell out of the way.”

As the dispatcher calls for an ambulance, Wesley’s radio goes dead.

“Are you on here Wesley?” The dispatcher has lost communication with the train.

The Assistant Superintendent radios in asking if he has communication with the train and that when they find him that nothing should be moved. The railroad is already trying to preserve the evidence, “Tell him I don’t want anything to move when he comes to a stop.”

Alfie responds, “Well… I… If he comes through that switch at Nepisiguit, Ben, I don’t imagine … er … I imagine he’s at a stop alright, in the woods somewhere.”

As railway workers reach the switch, they see that the train has derailed. The whole thing is lying on its side. But where is Wes?

—-

The audio of the communication between the engineer and the dispatcher, Alfie, (along with several others) has been preserved.

You can listen here:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

And down it here.

The transcript of the recording is here. I’ve found that reading along with the recording helps to understand exactly what’s going on.

In the comments section, I’ll add the conclusion of this crazy bit of railroad history.

At our recent excursion to the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, WA, we came across a ride called The Moonwalker. It was a Michael Jackson themed ride that, in retrospect, we should have ridden. For whatever reason (fear) we did not (MJ really is scary).

The entrance of The Moonwalker, which we assume was a fun house (haunted house) ride, was flanked on either side by two statues of Michael Jackson.

I looked these guys over and there was a strange familiarity to them. I looked closer and their faces looked even less like Michael Jackson than Jackson himself did in the last few years of his weird little life.

Then it hit me. This wasn’t a statue of Michael Jackson. This was a statue of Ellwood Blues from the Blues Brothers, repainted and dressed up to look like Michael Jackson!

I saw these guys on Route 66 at the The Polk-A-Dot Drive In, Braidwood, Illinois. Several other places had them as well. The statues are readily available and can be purchased for a little over a grand (check Ebay). Someone obviously bought two sets, discarded the Jake Blues likeness and though, “you know what? Dan Aykroyd really does look like Michael Jackson!” And here we are.

So score one for me and my little discovery.

There comes a time in every man’s life when he decides that what he needs most in life is an air compressor. This happens after he buys the stud finder, but before he has a well-stocked garage.

I have the stud finder and my garage is rather bare. What does this mean? Well, it means that I have the natural urge to own an air compressor.

The thing is, I’m not even sure what I’d use it for. I was filling up the tires yesterday on both of the scooters by using a very poor excuse for a hand pump.

“If only I had an air compressor,” I thought. And it’s true. If only I had one, then this fairly easy and quick job would be slightly easier and a little quicker.

But that’s not all! After some research, I’ve discovered something called pneumatic tools (don’t pronounce the “p”). These are tools that you can hook into an air compressor and that’s how they work. With air. Tools like drills, staplers, drivers and wrenches – all with more torque than you’ve ever seen before in your whole freakin entire life.

Again, these are powered by air. Neat!

My dad has this stuff and for some reason I never really asked about it. How was I to know that I would someday reach a point in my life where I naturally craved air-powered tools? It does sort of blind side you.

Air compressors come in different sizes. Some hold up to 80 gallons of air, some only four. Some are rated at higher PSI (pounds per square inch) and thus are probably more powerful than ones at lower PSIs.

At this point, I’m not sure what I want or need. My dad has a pneumatic dremmel-like tool and I have a feeling that I’m pretty envious of that. He also uses his to pump up tires and the impact wrench is handy as well.

I bet that I could take off all the paint on my scooter and repaint it using the air compressor (yes, there’s such a thing as a pneumatic paint gun)! The possibilities are endless, so it seems.

So there is where I am in my development as a male. I naturally crave an air compressor. I may not know which kind I want or need, but this longing is real and can only be satiated with a decent air compressor.

Suggestions are welcome.