Meanwhile, at the anime convention...(first day)

[protege]

CPM sounds like one of the guys that would hang out at the hobby shop. By "hang out," he'd always be in there, no matter how early, or how late. This guy, apparently hadn't showed since 1958, was usually wearing dirty, beat-up clothing, and was a bit of a Pennsylvania RR steam fanatic. He sure knew his locomotives, and occasionally would pester other customers about them. He had a *fit* when I walked in with a Penn Central (PRR's corporate successor) pin on my coat once, and yes, I did it just to piss him off Seriously though, he could have been a nice guy, if he wasn't so dirty, smelly, and annoying.

Anyway, he was exactly what the OP described--he fit the negative hobbyist stereotype to a T. The only reason he was allowed in the shop so long, is because the owner felt sorry for him. That all changed when the owner had a stroke a few years back, and had to retire. Seems the owner's son had enough of the guy, and told him to either buy something, or GTFO. Even that wasn't enough--he'd simply wait until the son wasn't at the register. If he got caught, he'd buy something cheap, and leave. That went on until the shop moved...and CPM's bus route didn't go there

[Argabarga]

Wow, railfan rage..... hobbyist rage is the most intense, and at the same time, the most puzzling

Ya know, my Grandpa used to work for the Reading, and I didn't harbor any hate of Conrail for the fact they kinda picked up the pieces when that line went under...

[Andara Bledin]

We used to have a couple of CPMs at the gaming convention I attend thrice annually, but they've mostly disappeared. The demographics have trended a lot wider and more family-attended than they did even just a decade ago, and the CPMs are no longer tolerated.

Although, now that we're a little bigger and slightly more "mainstream," we seem to be attracting the inappropriate cosplayers. Such as the Wonder Woman from last time who had half of her ass hanging out of her booty shorts. >_< At least she was in good shape...

CPMs and their ilk are also a bit of why I now buy my comics online. I may have to put my order in a month in advance, but I get 30% off of nearly everything, so it more than pays for the shipping.

^-.-^

[protege]

Wow, railfan rage..... hobbyist rage is the most intense, and at the same time, the most puzzling.

You'd be surprised how pissed some of those guys get. They blame PC, and the resulting bankruptcy for the downfall of the predecessor lines. Never mind that many of the things those lines were doing--lack of maintenance, questionable investments, government interference regarding crew rules, passenger service and shipping rates--actually helped bring about Penn Central in the first place Nope, PC (which went bankrupt in '70, and folded into Conrail in '76) itself was to blame for everything that went on. Sorry, but no.

People like that are *exactly* why I refuse to join the PRR historical society. From what I understand, it's a good organization, but many of the members are raging fanboys about the line. They won't listen to facts--instead, they look through rose-tinted glasses, and ignore everything else that was going on at the time. Also, even though PC was the biggest corporate bankruptcy at the time, they forget about a few others-- Rock Island (1980) and Milwaukee (1977)...both of which had serious problems, and were eventually shut down or taken over. Yet, PC gets most of the hatred. I don't get that.