Ten pounds in a five pound sack

Wow, this may be the longest I have gone between posts on this blog. Rest assured, lots of stuff is going on even if the USMRR is in a bit of a hiatus.

First, an observation. I have now been retired from my full time job for about 4 months. It is a great to have finally the freedom to pursue what I like, but real life does get in the way. Taking care of an elderly parent, catching up on deferred maintenance on the house, trying to maintain a semblance of physical fitness, and accommodating my wife's obsession to play golf,  all take up time. Also, I have observed a tendency to just goof off more. When I had a full time job, I had to be more organized and devoted to my hobby tasks, or nothing would  have gotten done. You know the old saying, if you want something done ask a busy person to do it.


With more free time, I have been taking it a bit easy. And it feels good.  I've been playing some video games (well mostly one game, Diablo 3),  enjoying my sports car (and by enjoying I mean washing and waxing), traveling, and even, gasp, watching TV (I am a sucker for those hot rod shows on Velocity channel - somehow we got Direct TV bundled when I upgraded my iPhone on AT&T. We hadn't had cable TV for 20 years!)


Work on the new book is progressing, though it is probably going to be late. The module project is now located in my basement crew lounge, surrounded by the Port of Los Angeles layout.  That puts a crimp on operating PoLA. Work is progressing slowly, and I need to accelerate that, but... see the blog post title. If all goes well, I'll be displaying the module at MARPM (see below).

In addition to the book, I have finally restarted writing articles for the model railroad magazines again. Hopefully, they will get in the magazine publishing pipeline soon.

The 2018 Middle Atlantic Railroad Prototype Meet (MARPM) is less than 60 days away. I have been involved in running the event, as my business, Alkem Scale Models, is the primary sponsor. We have a great event lined up.

Have you looked at the clinics that the MARPM is planning this year? If not, then I suggest you do so, because you will find it is a top notch line up of accomplished modelers, professional railroaders, well known authors, and editors from the model railroad press. See this link for more information. https://www.marpm.org/clinics

We will also be offering op sessions and open house layout tours to some outstanding model railroads. See this link for a list. https://www.marpm.org/open-houses

There will be door prizes, social hours and lots of models on display.   The MARPM discounted room rate at the BWI Double Tree offer expires on August 21st, 2018. We recommend you act now if you want to take advantage of our highly discounted room rate of $104 per night plus tax, which includes a full breakfast for 2 per room per day, free parking, and many other amenities that a first class hotel offers. There is a link to reserve a room at the hotel on our web site.