Scattered Thoughts . . .

I've often mentioned in this blog about struggling with spinal pain every day.  I mention it often because it is a significant daily pain.  Some days are better than others, however, some days I use a cane.  Some days I can't stand any longer than necessary to move from one spot to another.  Even though the pain stops me in my tracks often or even drops me to my knees, the pain has become a 'normal' every day thing so I actually do think of it as 'normal'.  I understand that and I accept that.  It isn't until I actually see some imaging of my spine that I am reminded of the severity of these injuries and these occasional reminders bring anger to the forefront. Why anger?  I get angry because the Air Force dragged their feet while I was in such intense pain that I could not sleep or think clearly.  Worse yet, they were actually a bit obstinate in acknowledging even my first line-of-duty injury nevermind acknowledging my extensive injuries flaring up in a subs

Back around Labor Day, Lukey came over and we brought his trains outside to the backyard.  Gee's new office is in what was the train room so we currently lack the space in the house for running trains.  Besides, bringing these trains outdoors also provides nicer backgrounds and lighting for photos. This particular day was overcast and dark clouds were moving in very quickly but we figured we had an hour or two before the rain would start.  I was not feeling all that great on this day...  I was feeling lousy enough that I vividly remember feeling lousy on this day.  I had significant breathing problems, I was nauseated and holding back vomit, and I generally felt lousy.  I also had significant spinal pain that was probably adding to the breathing problems and nausea.  We still managed to get the trains up and running in the backyard for a little while though... One of the great things about bringing the trains outdoors is that I can capture some nice photos.  The lighting is realist

New telescopes and microscopes always seem to ship with almost useless eyepieces.  The crazy thing about this is that both microscopes and telescopes are far more enjoyable to use if you have decent and large eyepieces.  You'd think that new products would ship with accessories that make the product enjoyable to use so a new user isn't discouraged or turned off to the hobby but it seems the manufacturers are more focused on spending as little as possible.  The tiny eyepieces that ship with most microscopes and telescopes do not make the new product enjoyable to use... not at all...  and I've seen many beginners stop the hobby because of this.  This means they didn't spend any money on future accessories too which hurts the manufacturers. I, however, prefer to improve anything I own.  I care for everything I own, properly store everything, and properly maintain everything.  I don't even like seeing fingerprints on my stuff! I had already replaced some of my objective