30 thoughts on “March 26, 2019: La Tortuga For You-Ga”

    1. Old news. Also, Andromeda is not as large as first thought. Looks like Milkomeda won't be as much of a throwdown as originally thought to be.

      There have been a whole lot of changes to our concept of the Milky Way in the past couple years, including the fact that it is a barred spiral, and includes a whole lot more satellite dwarf galaxies in various stages of "digestion". Essentially, it's like how it's easier to see what's going on in the stands across the football field than in the stands on your own side of the field.

      1. That makes sense. I wasn’t sure how widely his activities were known throughout the company, or if such things are discussed, even in passing. I’ve been binging on the videos he created, and while I find aspects of what is depicted troubling (namely, the volum of alcohol consumption), I can’t deny the compelling window they provide onto the built environment around us, a certain way of life, and the profound nautral beauty the rails traverse, particularly out west.

        1. Trespassing is deeply frowned on, but mostly the audience I see (from the Engineering side) are hunters walking along tracks, graduation photos on tracks (!), and other cases of fouling the right of way, not really much about being on the rolling stock itself.

          If you think being a locomotive engineer sounds like a glamorous life, think about who the first responder is to a car or pedestrian struck by a train.

          1. Pops’ department responded to a fair number of those types of accidents over the years he was a fireman. I didn’t ask for details, particularly once I had a pretty good idea of what that looked like.

            I certainly don’t intend to glamorize hopping freights, given the dangers and the trauma avoidable accidents can create for those who must deal with the aftermath. I’m not even what anyone would call a railfan, though I have a casual interest from family connection. (One of my grandfathers was a longtime C&NW worker.) What interests me about the videos is the combination of someone who is very clearly knowledgeable about particular and unusual things, and willing to explain what they see for the uninitiated, with a glimpse into activity that is on the margins, yet nondestructive in its intent (at least in this instance). (And I’ll admit I was charmed by him playing his own versions of topical songs for the videos, and by his generally friendly demeanor.)

            1. For all the focus on Positive Train Control in the news the past several years, far more people are killed at road/rail crossings than in train/train collisions, which get all the press. Also, this discussion is mine and does not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

                  1. Good! There’s been a lot to absorb — not just terminology, but a rough understanding of the various lines & major nodes along them. Some head scratchers have also surfaced, mostly (I’m guessing?) related to Operations.

    1. So that link looks bad. If interested let me know and I will email the presale link.

      [Ed: should be good]

  1. I'm finding The Orville to be a really frustrating watch, particularly season two. While a person can tell they are trying hard to mine topics without obviously stealing plotlines from ST, ST:tNG, and related series, they have had some really quality episodes lately...marred by the little stupid stuff McFarlane throws in. Additionally, the writing doesn't think outside the box enough. For example, there was a potentially good episode dealing with an alien planet's reliance on astrology...but the planet happened to have twelve months in their year, and the resolution had plenty of holes if a person though about it a bit. Thankfully the entire thing hasn't devolved into a sitcom, and it is still reverent to the ST universe (Tim Russ just had a guest appearance)

    1. I found The Orville to be frustrating and not particularly enjoyable from the beginning; I gave up after about three episodes. I've never been a Star Trek fan, but I usually enjoy Seth Macfarlane, so I figured I'd give it a shot. It's clearly not for me.

        1. I gave up most of the way through season one. The humor was to puerile and inconsistent to be a comedy, and the sci-fi too weak and inconsistent to be a decent sci-fi show.

          There were some interesting moments and concepts. Too many fart jokes.

    2. I've been enjoying The Orville. I think from the beginning that they really weren't sure what they were, whether it was parody or trying to be a more serious SciFi show with a sense of humor. I was worried that they were going to focus too much on the Captain having his ex-wife for a first officer or have them at odds with each other all the time, but they've avoided that for the most part. Some of the characters seemed pretty shallow at the beginning but they've been developing them better and giving them more depth.

  2. Dick Bremer can stop moaning about the many early season off days. I think he has talked about it for 12 straight innings.

  3. I'm really hoping that when the season starts, we'll get some new commercials. Nothing against Dick Bremer's Target commercial, but this makes at least the third year they've been running it, and I'm really tired of hearing it.

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