I Can't

Have you ever found yourself in this situation? Someone asks you to do them a favor - not a little favor ... a big one that will take hours of your time. You'd like to help, but you tell them you can't spare the time because you are already too busy with too many other things. But they keep insisting. They say things like, "I'm not in a hurry" and "Do it whenever you find the time." So you finally relent and agree to do them the favor; but when you don't do it soon enough, they start complaining about it.

Hidden Treasures

It is easy to forget how wonderful life is. We have food to eat and clean running water, enough clothing to last a decade, and a nice warm place to sleep at night. We have cars, and computers, and just about anything else we can imagine. Everything is available ... at least for those who still have jobs. And yet, at times, we find ourselves anxious or unhappy. How is that possible? How can our wanton materialism fail to provide us with lasting satisfaction? A brief look at recent pictures from Haiti reveals a kind of desolation most Americans can never fathom. I suppose we have become jaded by the world we live in. So when you finish reading this post: take a deep breath, look around you, and reconnect with your own world. Rediscover the hidden treasures in your life. Today, I'm sharing this ceramic egg - a gift from a mother to her daughter.

Open For Business

The National Capital Trolley Museum is open for business. Today, TTC #4603 carried revenue passengers on the new line. At the present time, only the loop at the visitors' center is open to the public; but work continues on the rest of the line.

The Coming Wave

I attended several courses on foreclosed homes this past Saturday. One of the instructors painted a disturbing picture of the next two years. He outlined numerous reasons why the number of foreclosed homes on the market fell sharply in 2009. The first time home buyer tax credit was one factor. Another was new legislation which extends the time period required to complete foreclosure proceedings. A process which took three to six months in 2008, now takes a year or more. I know there have been numerous governmental efforts to slow down the foreclosure process; but what surprised me was the instructor's claim that the legislation was implemented at the request of mortgage lenders. You see, the lenders have a right to foreclose on delinquent mortgages; but if they fail to foreclose in a timely manner, they risk losing that right. At present there are so many delinquent mortgages that lenders can't process them fast enough - they needed an extension to avoid the risk of failing to foreclose in a timely manner. But he says not to worry. Lenders are working feverishly to get caught up; and the avalanche of Option Arm mortgage resets over the next two years virtually guarantees a flood of new foreclosures in the future.

No Words Required

You can click on the picture for a larger image.

Continuing Education

As a licensed real estate salesperson in the State of Maryland, you are required to take 15 hours of qualified continuing education credits before you can renew your license. This must be done every two years. The sane method involves taking one class every three months or so. If you are a procrastinator like me, they have the special all-in-one plan: One day - fifteen hours of classes. Classes began at 7:00am Saturday morning and continued until 11:00pm Saturday night. What a fun way to spend a Saturday ... and at only 200 bucks, it was cheap too!

Notes from the Lost World

Somehow I managed to lose my shoes last night. How is that possible? I had to wear my tennis shoes to work today. I am so glad they are black. And I walked to lunch so I would have a prepared excuse in case anyone asked - which no one did. But really, how do you lose a pair of shoes in your own home?

Stimulate This

With all of the stimulus money being poured out of Washington these days, you'd think there would be funding to staff every Museum in the country. Here is a shot I took at Steamtown a couple of years age. I love suburban tank engines. I wish this one was undergoing a full restoration before entering excursion service. Alas, Not!

Steamtown is a National Park - you'd think there would be unlimited funding to run an outfit like this. The first time I visited, locomotives were undergoing restoration on site. That kind of work is no longer performed at Steamtown. The Museum is nice, but a lot of the outdoor exhibits are poorly cared for. We can spend a trillion dollars blowing up Iraq and Afghanistan, but we can't even find one billion in stimulus money to fix up the engines in Scranton. I was sure Joe Biden would take care of this when he became V.P.

Character

"The Barley Neck Inn, I knew, took reservations, but my mother would never dream of calling for one. It made her uncomfortable to walk past a waiting line of hungry people to a table saved just for her."

Excerpt taken from the introduction to Still Cove Journal by Gladys Taber.

He Keeps Going and Going ...

I had lunch with a couple of the ladies at work today. They were talking about permanent make-up artists - tattooing eye liner and such. Then one says, "What's up with Andy Rooney's eyebrows? Can't they do something about that." And I ask, "Is he still on TV?" And she says, "Yeah, he still does a spot at the end of 60 Minutes; but I can never hear what he's saying because of those eyebrows." Hmmm ... I wonder if 60 Minutes will ever release Mr. Rooney's commentaries on DVD? Maybe he could become the spokesman for the National Curmudgeon Society. I'd join. We could be like the Red Hat Society for Ladies over 50, only much grumpier. Just for grins, I ran a Yahoo search on National Curmudgeon Society ... and the #1 result is:

Curmudgeonry

What an awesome blog. It almost makes me want to upgrade my Windows 98 so I can see the embedded videos. Wow, I did not know it was against the Maryland State Constitution for atheists to hold elected office. You learn something new every day!

Pole Spotting

I frequently get questioned about why a railfan would collect photographs of an entire series of locomotives - after all, aren't they all the same? Well ... maybe. When they leave the factory, locomotives are like peas in a pod; but after a few years of service, each takes on a personality of its own. Whether it's baseball cards, beanie babies, or locomotive pictures, there's a certain kind of satisfaction that comes from collecting an entire set. I suppose it's a kind of addiction. There was a movie released some years ago entitled "Trainspotting" that came out of Scotland. It was based on a novel of the same name; but somehow the actual spotting of trains was omitted from the movie - instead the movie focuses on an addiction of another kind. Railfans have a need to collect train pictures; and in turn, they provide an invaluable reference source to model railroaders. If you enjoy building and detailing model locomotives, you really need good photographs to work from. I know there is an OCD factor involved here, but it could be worse. When you set out to collect all of the locomotives in a series, you might be talking about twenty, or fifty, or maybe even two hundred pictures. What if you were trying to keep track of all the sparrows in the fields, or all of the hairs on everyone's heads ... now that would be a tall order!

And that brings me to today's post. It's 20 degrees outside and the wind is howling - the wind chill is down near zero. It would be a good day to curl up with a blanket by the fire and read my favorite book. But what if you are a member of the North American Pole Spotters' Association? How can a NAPS'A member sit home on his only day off when there are so many poles to see? I've included a couple of shots from a recent outing. The upper photo shows stamped aluminum numbers mounted on a strap band. The lower shot shows a newer plastic number strip. Notice that the plastic number strip has broken loose in the wind and is hanging upside down. Who would chance missing an event like that? And look at the numbers ... look how far apart they are. Every pole has a number, and back in the offices there are maps - and tax records - accounting for every one. It's amazing when you think about it: millions and millions of poles - all unique - and someone keeping track of them all.

I ran a Yahoo search for North American Pole Spotters' Association and the number seven result was this Wikipedia site on:

Streetcars

You are hereby warned that a body could spend eternity following up all of the links in this article.

A Cold Day in ...

Members of the National Capital Trolley Museum continue to prepare for our public opening. We're getting closer, but there is still much to do. Here's a picture of Saturday's shop gang taken inside the car shops. Yes, that thermometer says 30 degrees! Now that's what I call dedication. At least it's a dry cold, does that help? From all the gang at NCTM (left to right: Bob, Wells, Jim, Eli, Vernon, Eric, George a.k.a. Chainsaw George, and Bill) a "Happy Belated New Year."

Open on New Years!

So, on Friday evening we're driving down the road delivering Chinchillas; and the whole time, my favorite radio station keeps running this ad for Guitar Center's big sale ... including the statement "Open New Year's Day". After we drop off the Chin's, we decide to detour by Guitar Center to check out the sale; but when we got there, they were already closed. WTF man! Who runs a commercial saying "We're Open" after they've already closed? Guitar Center - if you read this - you guys suck. Thanks for nothing.

Happy New Decade!

It's 8:00 PM in Maryland, but in GMT it's already tomorrow. We're heading out to party with friends; but for all my friends in Blogland, the new year is already here. I wish you all A Happy, Safe, and Prosperous New Year! I'm glad the 00's are over, and I'm looking forward to this new decade - a fresh start with new ideas and opportunities. I don't think I could stomach another ten years like the 00's.