6 ms·

Funny to see this - had a similar situation recently (sort of) with a train shop. I couldn’t care less about collecting trains - I bought a train a few years a

by Vaslo 6y ago

Funny to see this - had a similar situation recently (sort of) with a train shop. I couldn’t care less about collecting trains - I bought a train a few years ago for xmas and my kids loved it so I bought a year round one as well. Lionel trains are not cheap and easy to repair. Both have already broke where a significant repair was needed. I watched videos and tried to fix one that wouldn’t fire up at all. Took it to the shop and the proprieties seemed kind of annoying with me as I asked for their help to repair (of course intending to pay). They gave me a lecture about letting a four year old play with a train like this. Usually I’d lose my temper and start arguing but my son really missed the train. They ended up replacing the engine board ($120 bucks) and took forever to get it back to me. I get that people have sacrosanct hobbies like coding, sports, etc. They have to understand that dilettantes like me may want to dabble! Also I am a self taught DBA and never ever use keys. I’ll take in any incoming fire as probably deserved :).

ansible 6y ago
I was nodding along with you (though I'm not into trains anymore) until this: > Also I am a self taught DBA and never ever use keys. I’ll take in any incoming fire as probably deserved :). ... that's like saying "I'm a self-taught programmer, but I never use functions." I mean, yeah, you can still get some things done that way, but if you spent a little time learning what's possible, you might be a lot happier with the end product.
- grawprog 6y ago
  >that's like saying "I'm a self-taught programmer, but I never use functions." Once you've mastered if/else and goto, what else do ya need?
  - ansible 6y ago
    Well, technically... you are correct. It would still be an improvement over the older BASIC dialects, because with those it was common to have a limit to the number of variables due to names being one or two letters.
    - gamacodre 6y ago
      Yep. ZX81 BASIC had 26 string variables (A$ through Z$) and 26 floating point variables (A through Z). No integer variables per se, but you could POKE and PEEK to get at 8-bit values anywhere in memory - which typically maxed out at 16K.
  - zeta0134 6y ago
    Here come the traumatic memories of doing If/Then/Goto on TI-Basic, not understanding the Else or End tokens at all. Turns out each If/Then opens a new stack frame, and because I was never closing them with the corresponding tokens, memory slowly filled while the program ran. You could therefore get a high score of exactly 203 on my PONG clone before it crashed. Good times! But seriously, take a few minutes to learn your tools properly if you use them more than once, it'll make things so much easier. :)
    - devenblake 6y ago
      Ah, I remember this! Lbl A If 1=1 Then Goto A Will always crash after a couple seconds. Used to show it to my friends sometimes as a gag but it sucked to have to work around it. (TI-BASIC uses = for equality comparison (iirc this includes comparing strings(?)) and -> as a single arrow symbol (STO on the keypad) for variable assignment (5->A for example is the same as A = 5 in Python).)
- m463 6y ago
  OTOH, I can see not using subroutines with side effects...
- samatman 6y ago
  In other words, a whole subculture. This used to be very common with VBA, I would expect these days it's more of a Python thing. Someone wants to do something, they find out that the thing they want to do is "programming", and they start writing a script that can do that thing. They add to it, it gets longer, it works. They probably know functions exist but don't really get why they would use one. There's a decent chance they'll never get it, and that's fine. I have roughly ten python scripts I use for this and that, and three of them don't have any functions. I wrote a similar no-function python script for a work thing a couple jobs back, and my CTO was kind of ticked off, said I should know better, and don't submit it for code review again without a main() function and some "proper separation of concerns". Which, fine; it's his company, the rewrite is trivial, I probably cleaned some things up a bit. But the script was fine the way it was.
bombcar 6y ago
LEGO makes (made) trains that are roughly Lionel size and they're much more durable (and though some of the parts are older and expensive, they're available).
- rdtwo 6y ago
  Still make trains but the parts to mechanize em are sold separately
m463 6y ago
I went to a train store a few years back, and yes there was definitely a "trains are serious business" vibe about the place. Maybe it's because most of the customers have white hair and extra money. Thing is, it's hilarious how seriously trains are done! You buy a DCC locomotive and it has lights that light up in the direction of travel. The engine spools up with a delay like a real locomotive with sound increasing, the air brakes releasing and only then does it move. And they have 20 horns to choose from - pick the right one for the regional line you're simulating. Sort of nuts. I was talking to another customer though and he balanced it all out. He said he had too many trains. He told me it was really relaxing to go downstairs after dinner with a glass of wine and run his trains or work on his layout. I think the best train guy was Gomez Addams.
- ineptech 6y ago
  Growing up, I knew a guy, friend of my Dad's, who had an incredibly elaborate train set in his basement. It's clear he had thousands of hours invested in it. I never got in to trains, but I do have a hobby video game coding project, and I'm struck by how similar it is to a model train hobby: * I work on it exclusively in the evenings after the kids are asleep * It relaxes me and gives me something to daydream about during work meetings * It'll never make me any money and it'll never be done The funny thing about my Dad's friend was, he hated showing off his trains. Very few people knew it existed, and even fewer had seen it; he only let me see it once, and my dad was his best friend for 40+ years. Back then I thought he was secretive, or afraid I'd break something. Now that I have my own pointless hobby, I think I understand him better. It's embarrassing to put so much time and thought into something and to have someone see it and say, "Neat! So, anyway..." I guess it's more valuable as a private solace than as a conversation piece.
  - m463 6y ago
    I think it's nice, maybe even necessary, to have something that you enjoy, and maybe you're even good at, but you don't have to care about and doesn't have to become a responsibility. I had little hobby projects, and people were like - you should make this into a product. And I had to fight this sort of "am I too lazy to do it? am I afraid?" but really, I just needed something that didn't have a point. I also think there are a lot of things I didn't "get" as a kid. I remember trying golf as a kid, and I thought "this is so totally boring, why don't these guys ride bikes instead?" And it's only when you get (much) older do you realize people have so much responsibility that getting outside and walking around is a treasure. (of course it could be other things)
msrenee 6y ago
I'm glad rock-collecting isn't like this. There's obviously the people who travel to localities to hand-collect their own samples and the people who just think rocks are pretty. But everyone has been very welcoming since I got back into it and even the most knowledgeable and serious dealer will talk to you at your level. You want a sample of malachite because it's really neat-looking? Great. You want to sit and talk about the composition, formation conditions, and what other minerals form alongside it? That's great too! Also, I have these samples I haven't put out for sale yet, but you seem interested and I really want to show them to you. Having spent so much time in the horse world, the "You like rocks? Me too! Look at this one!" Attitude is so refreshing.
- mycologos 6y ago
  > Having spent so much time in the horse world I wonder if it's about the expenditure. If you spend a bunch of money on something, it's probably natural to get more serious/nervous about it. (Though, for all I know, maybe rock collecting is expensive too.) Or maybe it's about how serious it is to a layman. Rocks are serious! Geologists write papers and hold conferences! Horses, stamps, model trains, people are passionate about them, but it's maybe a little funnier to the layman.
  - msrenee 6y ago
    I've got a lot more money tied up in rocks than I'd like to admit. And I don't have any particularly nice specimens. I just buy what makes me happy. I pay $5-$30 per specimen. There's a lot of things I would like to buy in the $100-$1000 range, but they just don't make me that much happier than my little cheap rocks. Even just getting riding lessons is $30/hour in a cheap area in a low-cost facility. You can get a good horse for free, but board is $250/month, $500 for everything you need if you buy it used, plus vet and farrier bills. Definitely a higher initial cost and I sure don't buy $250 of rocks a month. But I don't think rocks are somehow more serious than horses. There's a lot to know about each and there's a ton of money to be spent on either. I honestly think it's just a culture thing. Horses come with status traditionally and rock collectors tend to just like rocks and then drinking a beer and talking about rocks. There's lots of down-to-earth horse owners and I'm sure there's some pompous asses in the rock collecting world. They just don't seem to be the majority.
ceejayoz 6y ago
Yeah, I took my kids to a train show (having had them as a kid myself) and someone started telling my seven year olds that they have to pick an era and a location so they could make sure they got appropriate stuff. My daughter just wanted the rainbow painted grain hopper. Steered them away before he could ruin the whole thing for them.
karaokeyoga 6y ago
made me think back to this piece on Rod Stewart: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50403561 https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50403561

by Vaslo 6y ago

ansible 6y ago

I was nodding along with you (though I'm not into trains anymore) until this: > Also I am a self taught DBA and never ever use keys. I’ll take in any incoming fire as probably deserved :). ... that's like saying "I'm a self-taught programmer, but I never use functions." I mean, yeah, you can still get some things done that way, but if you spent a little time learning what's possible, you might be a lot happier with the end product.

grawprog 6y ago
>that's like saying "I'm a self-taught programmer, but I never use functions." Once you've mastered if/else and goto, what else do ya need?
- ansible 6y ago
  Well, technically... you are correct. It would still be an improvement over the older BASIC dialects, because with those it was common to have a limit to the number of variables due to names being one or two letters.
  - gamacodre 6y ago
    Yep. ZX81 BASIC had 26 string variables (A$ through Z$) and 26 floating point variables (A through Z). No integer variables per se, but you could POKE and PEEK to get at 8-bit values anywhere in memory - which typically maxed out at 16K.
- zeta0134 6y ago
  Here come the traumatic memories of doing If/Then/Goto on TI-Basic, not understanding the Else or End tokens at all. Turns out each If/Then opens a new stack frame, and because I was never closing them with the corresponding tokens, memory slowly filled while the program ran. You could therefore get a high score of exactly 203 on my PONG clone before it crashed. Good times! But seriously, take a few minutes to learn your tools properly if you use them more than once, it'll make things so much easier. :)
  - devenblake 6y ago
    Ah, I remember this! Lbl A If 1=1 Then Goto A Will always crash after a couple seconds. Used to show it to my friends sometimes as a gag but it sucked to have to work around it. (TI-BASIC uses = for equality comparison (iirc this includes comparing strings(?)) and -> as a single arrow symbol (STO on the keypad) for variable assignment (5->A for example is the same as A = 5 in Python).)
m463 6y ago
OTOH, I can see not using subroutines with side effects...
samatman 6y ago
In other words, a whole subculture. This used to be very common with VBA, I would expect these days it's more of a Python thing. Someone wants to do something, they find out that the thing they want to do is "programming", and they start writing a script that can do that thing. They add to it, it gets longer, it works. They probably know functions exist but don't really get why they would use one. There's a decent chance they'll never get it, and that's fine. I have roughly ten python scripts I use for this and that, and three of them don't have any functions. I wrote a similar no-function python script for a work thing a couple jobs back, and my CTO was kind of ticked off, said I should know better, and don't submit it for code review again without a main() function and some "proper separation of concerns". Which, fine; it's his company, the rewrite is trivial, I probably cleaned some things up a bit. But the script was fine the way it was.

bombcar 6y ago

LEGO makes (made) trains that are roughly Lionel size and they're much more durable (and though some of the parts are older and expensive, they're available).

rdtwo 6y ago
Still make trains but the parts to mechanize em are sold separately

m463 6y ago

I went to a train store a few years back, and yes there was definitely a "trains are serious business" vibe about the place. Maybe it's because most of the customers have white hair and extra money. Thing is, it's hilarious how seriously trains are done! You buy a DCC locomotive and it has lights that light up in the direction of travel. The engine spools up with a delay like a real locomotive with sound increasing, the air brakes releasing and only then does it move. And they have 20 horns to choose from - pick the right one for the regional line you're simulating. Sort of nuts. I was talking to another customer though and he balanced it all out. He said he had too many trains. He told me it was really relaxing to go downstairs after dinner with a glass of wine and run his trains or work on his layout. I think the best train guy was Gomez Addams.

ineptech 6y ago
Growing up, I knew a guy, friend of my Dad's, who had an incredibly elaborate train set in his basement. It's clear he had thousands of hours invested in it. I never got in to trains, but I do have a hobby video game coding project, and I'm struck by how similar it is to a model train hobby: * I work on it exclusively in the evenings after the kids are asleep * It relaxes me and gives me something to daydream about during work meetings * It'll never make me any money and it'll never be done The funny thing about my Dad's friend was, he hated showing off his trains. Very few people knew it existed, and even fewer had seen it; he only let me see it once, and my dad was his best friend for 40+ years. Back then I thought he was secretive, or afraid I'd break something. Now that I have my own pointless hobby, I think I understand him better. It's embarrassing to put so much time and thought into something and to have someone see it and say, "Neat! So, anyway..." I guess it's more valuable as a private solace than as a conversation piece.
- m463 6y ago
  I think it's nice, maybe even necessary, to have something that you enjoy, and maybe you're even good at, but you don't have to care about and doesn't have to become a responsibility. I had little hobby projects, and people were like - you should make this into a product. And I had to fight this sort of "am I too lazy to do it? am I afraid?" but really, I just needed something that didn't have a point. I also think there are a lot of things I didn't "get" as a kid. I remember trying golf as a kid, and I thought "this is so totally boring, why don't these guys ride bikes instead?" And it's only when you get (much) older do you realize people have so much responsibility that getting outside and walking around is a treasure. (of course it could be other things)

msrenee 6y ago

I'm glad rock-collecting isn't like this. There's obviously the people who travel to localities to hand-collect their own samples and the people who just think rocks are pretty. But everyone has been very welcoming since I got back into it and even the most knowledgeable and serious dealer will talk to you at your level. You want a sample of malachite because it's really neat-looking? Great. You want to sit and talk about the composition, formation conditions, and what other minerals form alongside it? That's great too! Also, I have these samples I haven't put out for sale yet, but you seem interested and I really want to show them to you. Having spent so much time in the horse world, the "You like rocks? Me too! Look at this one!" Attitude is so refreshing.

mycologos 6y ago
> Having spent so much time in the horse world I wonder if it's about the expenditure. If you spend a bunch of money on something, it's probably natural to get more serious/nervous about it. (Though, for all I know, maybe rock collecting is expensive too.) Or maybe it's about how serious it is to a layman. Rocks are serious! Geologists write papers and hold conferences! Horses, stamps, model trains, people are passionate about them, but it's maybe a little funnier to the layman.
- msrenee 6y ago
  I've got a lot more money tied up in rocks than I'd like to admit. And I don't have any particularly nice specimens. I just buy what makes me happy. I pay $5-$30 per specimen. There's a lot of things I would like to buy in the $100-$1000 range, but they just don't make me that much happier than my little cheap rocks. Even just getting riding lessons is $30/hour in a cheap area in a low-cost facility. You can get a good horse for free, but board is $250/month, $500 for everything you need if you buy it used, plus vet and farrier bills. Definitely a higher initial cost and I sure don't buy $250 of rocks a month. But I don't think rocks are somehow more serious than horses. There's a lot to know about each and there's a ton of money to be spent on either. I honestly think it's just a culture thing. Horses come with status traditionally and rock collectors tend to just like rocks and then drinking a beer and talking about rocks. There's lots of down-to-earth horse owners and I'm sure there's some pompous asses in the rock collecting world. They just don't seem to be the majority.

ceejayoz 6y ago

Yeah, I took my kids to a train show (having had them as a kid myself) and someone started telling my seven year olds that they have to pick an era and a location so they could make sure they got appropriate stuff. My daughter just wanted the rainbow painted grain hopper. Steered them away before he could ruin the whole thing for them.

karaokeyoga 6y ago

made me think back to this piece on Rod Stewart: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50403561 https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50403561