Have We Become Merely Stereotypes?

Ray Marinaccio

Active Member
N Gauger said:
:) Working on the layout is good therapy!! :D

Model railroading is great therapy.
It's helped me a lot.
The pain in my arms and hands is overwhelming and I would tend not to use them. this lead to my hands stiffening up to the point where I could barely hold a fork and I lost most of the muscles in my arms. The doctors told me this was due to the lack of use.
Through Model railroading I've been able to keep my hands and arms moving enough to keep them limber enough to be able to manage daily necessities. It doesn't do anything for the pain though :(
It also keeps my mind occupied, I'm not one to sit around and watch TV and would go insane if that's all I had to do.
So I'm not some stereotyped nut case that plays with trains. I'm just a nut case doing his physical therapy. :rolleyes:
 

capt_turk

Member
A little something to keep in mind.. When some one calls you a dork, be proud that you are in one of the most elite groups in the world. Einstien was considered a dork, Openhiemer was a dork, I'm sure that Gallilio was considered a dork. How about Michelangilo? The richest man in the world, Bill Gates, has commonly been called a nerd or dork. Virtually all the great creative minds in history have been considered odd ducks. The term nerd, or dork, to me, means inventive, creative, highly intelligent, one who walks to a different drummer, doesn't follow the same-o, same-o path as all the average intelligence "Jocks".
As far as still living with parents? Economic, and health situations can leave little alternative. I know of several situations where the "dork" that's still living with a parent/s is doing to help the elder parents survive. They do it because the "Jock" rest of the family won't help at all. I just spent the weekend with a friend that is doing just that. The 85 year old woman has three sons, and two daughters. None of them help the old woman at all. Usually won't even come visit her. My friend is just a niece, but still devotes all of her spare time and money to help the old lady survive. My friend is one that has referred to as a dork.
I would rather be included in the group of people called "dorks" than be one of the Jocks that have little other interest than watching a bunch of, huge, low intelligence, over paid, Jocks, chase each other up and down a fancy cow pasture beating the crap out of each other over a piece of leather with some air in it.
If it wasn't for the dorks in history, whatever the hobby or interest, the jocks would all still be living in mud or grass huts.
I'll bet Stevenson was considered to be a dork in his time!..........
 
The perception of dorkiness and geekdom comes from those who don't know when to shut-up. I find that most people want few details. Nobody wants to know that its not an engine, its a locomotive. Nobody wants to hear about your three year long search for a RI caboose with the proper handwheel. Nobody wants to hear about the history and evolution of the Chicago and Northwestern Paint scheme, much less why the second generation of yellow was far superior to the fourth iteration of green.

"Pretty cool, huh? Would you like to run one?" By using an old oral exam technique, (answer only the question that is asked. Volunteer nothing.) I find that people ask me more questions AND ask about the things that interest them. As long as your audience is interested in your information, you aren't a geek or a dork.
 

ddavidv

Member
Mmmm, I think the above is an excellent point.
I think we are all a bit guilty of dwelling on various minutia (sp) when discussing our hobby. Asking a simple question like "would you like to run one sometime?" or "do you have a favorite railroad?" allows the other party to tell you what interests them, and you can take it from there and expand upon it.

Most people don't give a hoot about what trucks are on your cabooses, but if you explain you model a certain road or time period because it has certain meaning to you, they will more readily grasp that.
 

N Gauger

1:20.3 Train Addict
That's basically what I learned from The RR Museum, as a Docent, we learn to listen & observe. I do that "most" of the time :D If you listen to someone - you can almost always guess the "Level of Detail" they want to persue...

It works almost all the time & they only learn what they are interested in - without being bored...because as soon as a kid is board - you lost them :( :(

As soon as some of them realize they are learning things.. we lose them too :) :)

Sometimes you see it in their faces...."WaiiiiT a minute... I came here to the Museum to have fun.. Not To Learn Anything!!" :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

:D :p :D :p :D :p :D
 

rcline

Member
After having read what the immature bimbo blonde said, I got to thinking and remembered several times when the immature blonde had stuck her foot in her own mouth. For she is why I don’t care to watch Fox news at all anymore.

I am 49 years old, I own a plastics manufacturing company, I do systems integration work world wide, (will be leaving for the island of Malta in a couple of weeks). I carry two electrical contractors licenses, (Texas and Oklahoma). I am a volunteer fire fighter, emt first responder, (for almost 10 years now), and I have been inside more burning houses and have picked up more body parts from auto wrecks than I care to remember about. And yes, I do still have bad dreams about several that I have worked.
I only get to "PLAY and WORK" on my HO scale layout about 6 hours a week and that's not every week either. So I say to h^%$# with Fox News and it's immature choice of immature bimbo blondes. She has no idea what kind of hard work and dedication that goes into our layouts.
By the way, someone needs to send her back for a couple more of silicone shots, she looking a little lop-sided.
 

eightyeightfan1

Now I'm AMP'd
I have to agree with evrything said also. When I bring pictures of my layout to work, I get Ohhh's and Ahh's. the last company I worked for even had me do a couple of frieght cars(Boxcar, 2 plastic pellett cars) with the company symbol on them.

Just remember folks. Winter's coming. When that blond bimbo is outside freezing her butt off, covering a blizzard in New York City, We'll all be working on our layouts, in our nice warm, basements, attics and layout rooms....Who's got the last laugh now!!!!
 

DT1967

New Member
Actually it's interesting to how much of the blonde woman's comments and attitude are mirrored here. Just as she didn't know if that gentleman lived with his mother and was single we have no clue how or why she got her job.

Blunt and to the point here:

We don't need to put her down to prove that she has no clue about model railroading or the people who indulge in it.

I hope that the producer and director had a little chat with her about making light of the people in the stories. Expressing your opinions and prejudices on the air is dangerous for on-air talent. I had a roomate who worked at radio station that lost advertising for a movie theater because a disc jockey talked about hating a movie on air.

DT
 
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