Jeffrey's Trackside Diner: December, 2022 and Winter Trains - Model Railroader Magazine

Morning, diners.  Bacon and eggs.  Someday on my death bed I'll ask the doctor about the breakfast diet.

NorthBrit

A lot of people these days are in a hurry.   Getting nowhere fast.   Driving (almost) dangerously just to gain one car length. 

David, that is a problem in the U.S. also.  There's nothing more satisfying than to be passed by one of these idiots, only to pass them further down the road after they've been pulled over by the state highway police.

CNCharlie

Our first Westie, Ian, was mad about them. He was a very neat eater, only one section at a time he would take carefully from your hand. He even ate his food from a plate in rows. 

Charlie, that's pretty amazing for a dog.  Our Daisy the Dachshund gobbles food down so fast you need to get your fingers out of the way or they'll be victims of sharp teeth.  We never used to feed her people food.  Then the vet told us she had only days to live, so we decided what the heck, we'd give her what she wanted.  Now, 1½ years later, she's going strong and we're still giving her people food treats.  Maybe that's why she is still with us.

Henry, I also had never heard of the term 'bomb' storm until several years ago.  I really believe the TV meteorologists come up with these terms because they know that after years of warning us about 'storms', most people tune them out.  Add the word 'bomb' and you get people's attention again.

Today we are in the midst of a 'bomb' storm.  Snow, 40 mph winds, below zero F temps.  It sounds like snow storms we've had for years, but no, it's a 'bomb' storm.

Jim, Petra really was worth the entire three week trip.  We only spent one day there, but we easily could have stayed longer just to enjoy exploring.  One problem was that our hotel was at the Dead Sea, several hours away.  For anyone who's adventurous, I'd recommend Petra.  It's the only place I know of with that kind of history.

JaBear

I’ve been accused of being “out of touch,” “not up with the play,” “old school,” (the latter I particularly proud of),  ...   Of course, this problem is not just confined to my particular sphere of work, unfortunately is seems to be wide spread!!

Bear, you are right that it's not confined to any one kind of work.  In my line of education, during my career I watched educational 'reforms', technology, self-esteem emphasis, etc. become the norms.  At the same time, educational achievements dropped.  What to do?  Double down with the reforms and blame lack of money for the problems!  The best education came from old teachers using old-style teaching methods.

Kevin, I know you must be drooling over finally finishing all the house projects and you can get started on the 'dream' layout.  Maybe 2023 will be the year you can make it happen.  In the meantime, your SGRR boxcar continues to run around an N railroad in the middle of Nebraska.

Two more 'non-train' vacation photos.  One of the surprises (for me) was the Dead Sea.  I had in my mind visions of a deserted, lifeless, dreary place.  The opposite was true.  The Dead Sea is a beautiful inland sea of fairly clear water with mountain backdrops.  Even though very little grows around it, the palm trees growing there and the hotel resorts make it an amazing place to visit.

It really is true.  It's almost impossible to sink.  This photo of me floating in the water looks like I'm in about three inches of water laying on the bottom.  I'm actually floating in about two-feet-deep water.  You can wade out from the shore and literally just sit down in the water and float.  Amazing!  I got to enjoy Jordanian beer in a wonderful hotel bar.

OK, that's enough of my vacation report.  I promise.

It's a good day to stay inside.  Unfortunately, it's more house-cleaning instead of layout work.

Both mentioned and unmentioned posters, I hope you have a good healthy day today.