The little Inn by the wayside

[Railwaymodeler]

Congrats, Pater! That is quite a lot of posts!

The weekend is ending much too soon. Although most days feel like a weekend anymore, nothing feels like a weekend quite like a real weekend.

Friday evening, the union president from the bus garage made a statement about Pace on the evening news. Maria and I were there too, as were several other drivers they have harassed over the years. The union phone line has been quite busy lately, and Maria and I have received a lot of calls over the weekend from friends, family, and her old coworkers congratulating us on exposing Pace to the public. Twice through the interview on the news, the reporter looked obviously stunned! I wonder how the people of Illinois like knowing how their tax money is being spent now?

Aside from that, with the weather cooling off, we took Skoda to the park before it gets too cool out. Saturday afternoon was actually quite nice for a trip to the park. Tonight it has cooled off more, so Maria and I have the blankets ready, though snuggling keeps us both warm too.

Feels real good knowing that the crooks and criminals are now exposed to the public. Wonder how many people will now come forward with their experiences?

[Chroelle]

Nice to know that justice is getting not only served but called out for show.

Scythe - I hope things are looking up. I learned the same thing, but also learned that blowing off some steam and telling people in here about my issues was relieving. Mostly because noone in here would likely know the other party in my issues, and as such I could stay more or less unjudged. It works as a vent for me.
But its not for everyone I know.
Pager got married sometime ago to a great woman - with tattooes and a bad side. I think he was happy.

PA -congrats on 7k. I wonder how many I have??? (I will propably see in a sec or two.)

I had a yearly meeting with my boss today. One of those - where are you going meetings - and where do you see yourself in 5 years. I always liked them, but this time I was not up for it. I think I have been so stressed and trying to keep up with job, company, family and home that I had no idea where I wanted to be tomorrow - and certainly had no idea where I was gonna be in a year. I had some pointers thought up yesterday, and luckily these were the exact subjects my boss wanted to talk about. And luckily he wanted to praise my progress all in all, so that felt pretty good.

That kind of lifted my spirits after having had some of the toughest, stressful weeks these last 2 weeks. This weekend have been amazing, but in a weird way. We have been rushing things and getting up early and not relaxing at night, BUT we got so many things done that have been haunting us, and that was the most stressrelieving thing I have experienced in a long time. We found time to go for a walk with the kids, and I took the kids out and did some digging in the garden.

So things are looking up for me, but I am still looking for time to drop by on a regular basis. I am sure however that it will come again.
(Especially since I decided that whenever Tanja turn on crap-TV, then I turn on the PCand do something else.) (By the way - Greys anatomy is on)

[Railwaymodeler]

CWF is a place for me to share my thoughts, in addition to getting some good freeware games from time to time.

Funny, though. I don't have to work (Though I do so anyway! On appointment only, though!), and spend a good portion of the day at home working on model railroad projects, but still don't find much time for gaming.

Of course, when I am home, Maria is here too, and we tend to Skoda's needs. Skoda is a fairly quiet baby, but like all babies, she needs her parents to tend to her needs.

I was thinking about it today: Despite all the money Maria and I have, and the fact I still earn income through the computer business, we aren't big spenders still. Even though we could afford to splurge here and there, we don't really. She still has the same wardrobe, as do I. We still go to thrift stores, buy clothes when they are out of season and much less expensive (For example, right about now is the time to buy next summer's wardrobe. Might be a tad tricky as I have been losing weight for a while now). We're pretty thrifty still.

Really, most of the money is there as a fall back if it comes to it someday. With my health conditions there may someday be a time when I am unable to run my shop anymore. At least if that happens now, we got a lot of money saved so we won't have to worry. Then again, it is nice to have for the times I've found the opportunity to buy an old train collection.

Speaking of, the stuff we got recently, that we had to get a U-Haul trailer for, I'm still going through everything, seeing if all the old kits are complete, and determining an approximate value for it all. The value is not really for insurance, but rather just a way of figuring out over the years what I have and a ballpark figure on value. Plus with it all being inventoried, if something happens to me and I pass on, my survivors will know what I have and what it is worth. I've got it set up in my will that my trains are to be put on permanent loan to the Illinois Railway Museum, and sufficent funds out of my estate given to them to build a structure to display them in, so future generations can enjoy them. Most of my trains are 60+ years old, so would fit in at a museum!

Very tired right now, been a busy day. Going to get some sleep now in case Skoda gets cranky tonight!

[Zyx]

Doesn't that just tell you that you're pretty happy with your life?

There are way too many accounts of people coming to sudden wealth, changing their lifestyle, quitting jobs and then spending it all and ending in debt. Of the people I know, it's the ones that most spend on unnecessary things (in my opinion) are the most unhappy (in my opinion) which I think is something I would've never though when I was a teen.

Back then I believed that the main benefit of going to work was that you could afford a car. Today, I could afford a pretty nice BMW but not only would have I zero use for it, it would cost a ton to keep in taxes, parking space and maintenance. And I wouldn't be any happier, because it's just a useless car. I don't even like driving.

I hope your estate also gives money to the Illinois Railway Museum to update their website to this century... =)

[Drasir-Vel]

I'm almost done with my education as Automatics technician. Turns out, i haven't been able to get an apprenticeship in a company, so i've had to take the whole education on the school. I'm a bit unsure of what to do next, because i doubt i'll be able to get a job as an automatics technician. I don't want to go on social security.
A thing i really like working with is programming, and technical drawing like CAD. I'm pretty good at Google Sketchup, and have made a lot of documentation in that. Some examples can be seen here https://sites.google.com/site/stiven343/ (text is in danish though). So i'm thinking about starting on the education as technical designer / drawer. Maybe later, i'll start as an engineer because i'm better at the theoretical, documenting, sort of thing, than i am at the physical and practical stuff.
I've gotten confirmed that i have aspergers, thought not in a debilitating degree. I'm not that good a people person, but more of a systematic, and logical thinker, and i am looking for a sort thing where that skill is a plus, and where you're not required to have a lot people interaction. I find it pretty hard to find that sort of job in this modern day and age

[eMTe]

Should have taken sick leave but hey, then I'd have to explain myself,

Don't you use fake sick leaves in Denmark?

On another note. HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!

[Scythe]

Eww, stop making a fuss...

Heh, well, thanks.

I can only fake a sick leave for so long. I needed a bit longer than that.

[Railwaymodeler]

...I've gotten confirmed that i have aspergers, thought not in a debilitating degree. I'm not that good a people person, but more of a systematic, and logical thinker, and i am looking for a sort thing where that skill is a plus, and where you're not required to have a lot people interaction. I find it pretty hard to find that sort of job in this modern day and age

I have AS as well. Once upon a time, I was really not a people person at all. Funny how being thrown head-first into the world, where the difference between success and starvation, will affect how much progress you make in overcoming difficulties.

Maria sometimes makes me think she may be a very slight case of it. She grasps concepts quite quickly that most people would not. Before her pregnancy, she was under the tabletop of our model railroad quite often too. She is somewhat mechanical minded, as am I. I was reading at age 2, fixing model train motors at 4, worked on Apple IIe systems at age 5 or 6.

She is similar. Her father, now deceased, would build working steam engines as a hobby. She was helping with that at four years old. From what she has told me, he tinkered with mechanical things quite often. He had steam generators throughout the home that could be fired up when electricity went out, which was common in rural Colombia, where she grew up. Quite often I believe he and I would get along quite well. Sadly, he died in a train derailment, his locomotive (He was a locomotive engineer - Maria comes from a family of transport employees, though she is the only one of her siblings to follow that path.), fell off the side of a steep cliff and into a ravine. Ended up being because of a damaged rail, which was common.

I wonder if Skoda will be AS too. I hope so. She shows some of my traits I had as a baby. My dad has often told me when I was a baby, I had a certain routine for bottle feeding, and also for napping. Skoda shows some signs of this.

Frankly, I feel everything with having AS was really for the best. If everything had not fallen into place the way it did, I doubt Maria and I would have met. Figure this: Doctors belive my seizure condition started in first grade when older school bullies beat me severely, bashing my head into the pavement. If they had not done that, so many years ago, I likely would not have had my seizure condition, would not end up on so many meds, would not have had to use transit 20 years later, and would not have met Maria. Nor would everything at Pace have gone the way it did, so the evildoers in management would probably still be doing what they did, and hurting the lives of so many people.

Kind of backs the idea of the ending of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life".

[eMTe]

I know little about Asperger syndrome, except that I always associated it (probably wrongly) with people who approach me and start talking about topics which interest only them and can't read from my face that I don't want to listen. So never do it if you ever meet me. Fortunately, I am aware that there are various people in this world, so I am tolerant, but my irritation is also natural, so I see nothing wrong in it.

What may sound weird, I always wanted to have some syndrome or other dysfunction, because I considered having it very original. My friend frequently pokes fun at me, because I "discover" them from time to time inside myself, but soon it occurs that it's only my imagination. Except mild obsessive-compulsive disorders (which, to my great sadness, become even milder with age) and slight hypochondria I appear to be perfectly sane. I didn't even developed alcoholism, however I always thought that as a child of alcoholic I will become one, sooner or later. Soon appeared that I'm neither alcoholic nor I have depression - I'm just simply bored spending evenings alone and finding new gf puts me back on track. I wanted to have suicide thoughts and during my evening/night rants I frequently talked with people about having them, but later it became obvious for them (and I admitted it openly) that I was just spinning yarns.

My last chance lies in my teeth. Another one started to ache, so I may die from sepsis at last, as I always dreamed, if I won't visit my stomatologist on time. But I probably will.

Sanity is really heavy cross to bare. :\

[Scythe]

I got your wannabe dysfunctions, at some level, except alcoholism (surprisingly as well, since it ran in the family). Exchange that with some drug abuse instead. OCD, check. Depression, check. Suicidal, check (didn't really catch though, one attempt was enough). The only "dysfuntion" I ever wanted was glasses. Which I got at 15, so dream come true.

Just don't bare your "heavy cross" in public, or you'll get arrested. (I think you meant "bear", but the other is interesting as well.)

[jayenkai]

Starting to pull myself together again, and make a few piddly little games using the HTML5 Game Builder PlayMyCode. It's quick and easy, and helps me get back into the swing of things, which is good.
Today I posted a nice remake of one of the games from my old Arcade Slots game. Only took a couple of hours to write, so thankfully I've still got my regular speed-coding abilities intact!

Arcade Slots : Pacman Edition - Pacman, as if it were a slot machine. Best played using a decent modern browser . (Or an iPhing!)

Slowly but surely, I'm getting back to my normal self! *phew* thank munkies for that!

[Railwaymodeler]

I just tried out the Pacman slot game. That is pretty neat! Perhaps one of the casino game companies should make this!

[Pater Alf]

Good to see you making games again, jayenkai! The Pacman slot game is good fun for some minutes. After that it loses a bit of it's charm, because everything depends on pure luck. But I guess that's how slot machines work.

[jayenkai]

Absolutely! A proper slot machine. None of that silly modern "let me stop the reels by clicking on them." garbage that appears to have become a trend, nowadays. What's that all about? Bah!

.. Ok, enough slots, back to the Inn!

Today, I spent much of the day sitting about doing nothing. I also went for a short stroll in the back garden, which left me exhausted, but not as much as it did the last time I tried it. So I suppose I'm getting better. Bloody slow, mind. Grr!

[Railwaymodeler]

Hey, why can't the Inn have a few slot machines in the corner? They do out in Las Vegas, and many of the supper club restaurants in Northern Wisconsin have slot machines, though they don't pay out money, and are strictly for fun - anyone can play them, even those under 18 years old, as without a payout system, it is not gambling.

For another slot machine idea, how about Mario, where the reels could put together a Mario world? A winning combination would make a constant, continuous world. Non-winning combos could be from combing various worlds. Perhaps a 5 or 7 reel slot, first three at minimum from the left have to be continuous. Mario then walks around the level, stopping when a non matching reel is encountered. If he makes it to the other side, he pulls down a flag and enters a castle.

[Scythe]

You know what's funny? Every single immigrant store in this area has 3-6 slot machines somewhere. It's gotta be good business.

[eMTe]

I got your wannabe dysfunctions, at some level, except alcoholism (surprisingly as well, since it ran in the family). Exchange that with some drug abuse instead. OCD, check. Depression, check. Suicidal, check (didn't really catch though, one attempt was enough). The only "dysfuntion" I ever wanted was glasses. Which I got at 15, so dream come true.

Just don't bare your "heavy cross" in public, or you'll get arrested. (I think you meant "bear", but the other is interesting as well.)

Yup. I meant "bear".

My prognosis is that some time around 2050 (or earlier/later) probably half of the people in developed world will suffer from depressions, not to mention various syndromes etc. But what is considered an abnormal state now may be considered perfectly normal (according to circumstances) condition then. (Our brains will start consuming themselves, because they will no longer use their powers to help our survival - the consequence will be that we will on global scale become more intelligent and sensitive than ever, but also we will all become lunatics to some point.) I don't belittle people's problems by saying that I always wanted to have some, but the fact is that I was always curious how it feels like. I work with a guy who is after two episodes of schizophreny (and is also now alcoholic), with one who is alcoholic and depressed, another one who is alcoholic (and maybe also depressed), I have two friends who are on the edge of nervous breakdown and I also noticed during last two years that I have episodes of moodswings, most likely associated with changes of chemistry of my body. So I am naturally interested in such topics, but am also trying to talk about them like they were things that just happen to quite a lot of people in the world, trying to add some humour if possible. I don't pursue talks about such topics, however recent posts prompted me to say something. But I'll better shut my mouth then, I perfectly understand that such conversations can be problematic and rarely pleasurable.

As for slot machines I never liked them, but I do believe that we need to bring the tradition back and nominate somebody for bartender again.

[Pater Alf]

There was a time when we had a bartender???

About the syndroms/depressions: I don't believe that more people will suffer from them in the future. Even todya most of the diagnoses are nonsense, non-existing or invented illnesses that should only bring money to the pharmaceutical industry. When I look at all the medicine that perfectly normal children get, because someone says something is wrong with them (mainly because they are lively), I want to throw up.

[eMTe]

You probably underestimate evolution which is speeding in an unbearable (unbarable ) pace nowadays.

[Pater Alf]

Any proofs for acelerating evolution? So far I can't see any signs for that. And even if it would be there. Evolution normally gives a species some ability to better survive in a hostile environment. What's the advantage of depressions or other psychological syndroms?