Sam Posey's is a great book - and I loved to hear from Malcolm Furlow through Sam Posey as well - it was what I needed! Who has the right to criticize? Everybody with a mouth. Don't want to hear critisim? Don't do anything. Unrealistic? YES! So get over yourself and start doing things how you like. I honestly feel most people can't handle it - or don't want to hear it. I don't offer it anymore. This has become a "good enough" culture that we live in - so I stopped caring. I grew up in High school int eh honors/AP english courses. The best critiques were the ones that left the paper dripping in ink. Those I could learn from. The people that said "hay, great job, I liked it?" Those reviews sucked. I got NOTHING out of them. because I personally knew the piece could be better - I just didn't know where. I was further involved in Marching bands - you think the reviews and critiques are heavy in English Courses? Music is Black and White, with a very light Shade of Gray. The Iron Standard is not what I can play versus what you can play and my judgement as so following - it is what you can play versus the Iron Standard. I may not be able to play the Iron Standard myself, but I can hear it - and I can tell you where you miss the mark. It does not take a PhD to hear the difference either! And it does not take a learned man to tell the emperor that he is wearing no clothes... So it comes down to this: you bring a model with shoddy corners, dripping paint, and naked plastic detailing, I'll let you know if I'm in the judges corner. Otherwise, I'm not telling you a single thing about it - my assumption today is, You don't want to hear it. I don't have to be able to make a clean corner to see that your corners are all not flush. I don't have to be able to paint super well to see that your paint is in globs. I don't have to be able to paint at all to see that a painted plastic surface looks better than a bare plastic surface. But I would have to do them well to show you how to do those things - But at the very least, if you knew these issues exist, then you might experiemnt on your own - or seek out one who knows! Mediocrity is nothing more than complacency tied to an ego that can't hear a bad word about one'self.
Oh no, no gators out in the gulf, they all in fresh water, no worries though, we got plenty! :tb-biggrin:
Lived in TX. for two years awhile back, & I swear.........that is the first time I EVER saw a 'gator grill (lol) :tb-cool: (I knew they were fresh water/swamp critters...........I just wanted to get in a dig @ the knuckle-heads)
Sometimes it depends on how the advice/suggestions/criticism is given, and in what tone. This is called tact- a trait not taught in schools anywhere (even in honors courses). Model railroading is a HOBBY (let me repeat that- model railroading is a HOBBY). There are much more important things to deal with than this simple hobby. People of all skill levels are welcome here, whether they stick with a simple loop of track and a power pack or fill a basement with handlaid track, scratchbuild structures, and locomotives with sound decoders pulling weathered cars, and running on DCC. Who are we to look down our noses at the levels of skill and competence of our fellow modelers? Now lest you think I accept mediocrity, I wish to inform you that I work in healthcare, as a clinical lab scientist. The results of my analysis on blood and body fluids go to physicians who use that data to help treat their patients. My results must be 100% accurate EVERY time, EVERY day. Otherwise, patient care is compromised, and harm is done. I have to adher to a very strict set of policies and guidelines, and deal with several regulatory agencies that assure we are operating within their strict policies- I have also gone to inspect other hospital laboratories using these same guidelines, and believe me, I can out-nitpick any of you when it comes to finding deficiencies. Does that make me the bad guy sometimes? Yep, but in the end it's not about hurting egos, it's making sure my colleagues can do what is expected of them. It's a peer review, so our facility gets the same treatment. I have been in this field for 30 years, and have achieved a degree of anal-retentiveness that is scary. After all, this is my livelihood, and patients depend on me. I have seen some characters in my career I wouldn't spit on if they were on fire, and I've been with those who I consider role models and mentors. But it's not also level of ability and competence- it's their ability to relate to their fellow human beings. Same goes in all walks of life, from doctors to ditchdiggers. Arrogance goes nowhere with me, and will be met accordingly. I approach this hobby for what it is- a hobby. I'm somewhere in the middle of the skill level, and am always trying to improve on what I've done. This doesn't make me good or bad, just different. I also don't look down my nose at the efforts of others if they don't meet whatever standards I've arbitrarily set for myself. I learn, improve, I pass along, and it all works. Any advice I'm asked for, I give in a friendly manner. An attitude of arrogance and superiority tends to kill the message. It's that tact thing again....... Maybe it sounds a bit too sunshine-and-puppies for some people, but life is harsh enough. Why bring that attitude into the hobby? If you want to build something so detailed that even the bird poop is accurately shaped, then by golly, go for it. Just don't give me a hard time if, by some unlikely chance you visit my layout, you may see a handrail on one of my lococmotives just a wee bit too thick. I've met a lot of jerks in this hobby, and I have no time for or patience with them. I've also met a lot of decent folks- THOSE people I hang out with. And their skill levels are anywhere from beginner to holy-cow-what-detail. Remember- it's only a hobby..................
Never eaten gator, although I've admired belts & boots made from gator hide. We don't have them critters in this part of Oklahoma (I have to head southeast, to McCurtain County, to see 'em).
Alligators in Oklahoma gave me pause for quite a while. But, yep, they are in the far southeastern part.
Well we've got you whipped over on the Atlantic side - I've seen 'em twice in the Intercoastal Waterway (including the two biggest I've ever seen) and that waterway is just about as salty as the ocean.
evolution of a model and modeler - TrainBoard.com Great topic. If I did it right here is a link to a thread I started last week. I think it is at the very heart of the discussion. My early work was not very good when I started into Z scale. But if you look you'll notice it got better. I am still not satisfied. Here is what I will say is my point. All the kind words helped push me forward. It doesn't take a rocket science degree to see my early scenery needed work. I think, positive people are the key. Positive people! People who are happy to model trains are happy to help improve the skill in others in a positive way. Negative people are just that. Unhappy, and well, they spend so much time bemoaning everything that isn't right, they miss what is in front of them, and what is fun. People at trainboard tend to get it.
