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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.

>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?

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. :)

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).)

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.

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.

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.

OTOH, I can see not using subroutines with side effects...

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.

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.

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)

> 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 like the freedom of not having a point. Some programmers are accused of trying out new ideas at work and messing up the product. It's nice to try new ideas at home on throw-away projects that only live for a week.

I have a saltwater tank and nobody else really understands it either. Same deal really

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.

> 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.

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.

They're minerals, Marie!

Seriously, though, you just described my experience of the coin collecting community pretty well, too. You've got the people who have full collections of mint state Buffalo nickels, and you've got the people who collect coins with animals on them. A full boat of high grade Buffalo nickels can run you well over $50k, while you might not even have to put $50 into your animal collection to have a hundred nice pieces.

About the only thing the coin community goes hard on generally speaking is cleaning or artificially toning coins (using chemicals to apply fake patinas or color). Those are no-nos, and you won't get any respect by doing them. The exception is ancient coins, which, since they're hundreds or thousands of years old, and frequently come out of the ground, usually need some cleaning to be presentable.

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).

Still make trains but the parts to mechanize em are sold separately

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.

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