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Made it down to Port Reading, NJ and caught Norfolk Southern's Honoring our Veterans locomotive as it shoved a train of ethanol down to Motiva in Sewaren, NJ. Its one of my favorite locomotives and I have been trying to get photos of it for some time now. Mission Accomplished!!

Norfolk Southern's Veterans Locomotive is supposed to be down in Port Reading. I have only wanted a photo of this locomotive since it was painted last year....or was it the year before??

Tonight, as with the past several nights I have been having leg pain. I had been thinking that it was due to blood sugar levels but last night and tonight I tested my blood and both times my sugar was under 180. Now I am at a loss as to why I am in pain other than the diabetic neuropathy getting worse. I took pain meds a couple of hours ago and they aren't doing diddly squat. Ugh, I just wish I were out of pain.

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EriRein
03:04 Jan 27 2016

I suggest seeing your doctor. I know someone who has the same thing. There is too much pressure on your legs. I hope you get better. I have a lot of leg cramps, so I know how it feels. Sometimes, I wake up 3-4 times a night with them. Good Luck!

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cr8054
09:00 Jan 27 2016

Unfortunately I don't get to see a doctor. The clinic only has a nurse practitioner at this point. The best she can prescribe is Tramadol and Gabepentin for the pain. I also take a Magnesiun Citrate supplement which helps but not much. Some of the pain is the neuropathy but I am also wondering if I have sciatica as well since I have been getting pain in the upper legs lately. The tramadol does nothing for that and I have had to take acetaminophen on top of the tramadol and gabapentin. Diagnosing the pain is difficult since I cant do an MRI because I have an implanted diffibrilator. That and the doctors at the hospital usually just write my pain off as me being some drug seeker. One bad instance was I was in the cath lab getting a stent placed. My upper left leg and buttocks hurt so much that they had given me the max dose of morphine and I was still in a ton of pain thanks to the metal table i was forced to be on for the procedure. I didn't get any relief until I was back on the gurney headed to recovery. Thats why I think it may be sciatica. I just want to be out of pain.

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Just some pictures I took after some record breaking snowfall here in NJ.



A BNSF locomotive and a Citirail lease locomotive are on an oil train bound for Philadelphia at Ridgefield Park, NJ 1/24/2016





CSX 7635 is on an train of empty tank cars bound for the Baaken Oil fields for more crude oil at Ridgefield Park, NJ 1/24/2016





CSX 2782 returns to Ridgefield Park, NJ 1/24/2016 after reopening the railroad and plowing snow up Sparta Mountain and to Warwick, NY.





I hope you enjoyed the photos!

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shynne
22:59 Jan 25 2016

My favorite one is the CSX 2782..awesome picture! :)

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cr8054
03:56 Jan 26 2016

Thank you!

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Anyone that knows me ANY length of time knows that I HATE snow. Especially crippling snow storms like the one we had today. It just makes getting around very difficult. Add to that, ice. Whoever designed my house clearly wasn't thinking about where the steps are to the porch. They should be in front but the builders put them on the side. As a result the snow melts and then freezes in the gutters. The excess water then drips between the gutters or over the top and ices up the walkway. I have to salt the walkway and steps several times a day so people don't slip, fall and then sue my family. Its a pain in the butt. I don't mind getting an inch to about three inches once in a while but 2 feet?? Come on!! Thats just NUTS!! Here is a photo of a snowfall that wasn't too bad. I was able to drive from my home to Ridgefield Park, NJ where I caught CSX 7489 an a northbound manifest freight bound for Albany, NY 2/23/2008.







At least with this snow event, the snow was mostly gone by the late afternoon.

Took the new lens out today and absolutely LOVE it. While its slightly heavier and lets in about a 1/2 stop less light, it focuses quicker and I think its sharper than my old Yongnou lens this one replaces.



Two images from this new lens:



CSX 810 is on a southbound manifest freight at Newburgh, NY with a friend of mine at the throttle 1/21/2016







CSX 4029 is on a southbound crude oil train bound for Philadelphia at Newburgh, NY 1/21/2016.

Just got my new lens this afternoon and I am stoked!! I really liked my Yongnou 35mm F2 lens, but its been giving me trouble lately. I got three lens communication errors in just two weeks and one of the errors cost me a photo opportunity. I figure there may be a wiring problem in the lens. Its a cheap Chinese knockoff and I suspect the build quality may not be the best so I bought an EF Canon 35mm F2 lens to replace it. Geez! What a hunk of glass!! This thing is HUGE and weighs about 2 pounds. It seems to be a quality lens. Has really nice movement in the focussing ring and its VERY quiet. Its the only lens I have that has a distance scale. The only thing I dislike is the huge infinity range, I don't understand why they cant make infinity one point like the manual focus lenses made back in the 70's and 80's. Oh well, I think I have bored you all enough. I cant wait to go out and try this thing out. This may be the best lens I have ever bought.

As I waited for the cardiologist at the clinic yesterday, I could not help but notice a glaring sign on the wall stating that if you are 15 minutes late for your appointment and have not called to see if the doctor could still see you, that you would automatically have your appointment rescheduled. Really? What about the doctors who have appointments set in the system for months in advance but still show up an hour or more late every time?? Isn't my time valuable? How about the nurses who have to be there waiting on the doctor as well? Isn't their time valuable. It seems to me, if I am expected to be on time for my appointments, so should the doctor. I understand that once in a while an emergency may arise, but every time the doctor has appointments at the clinic?? Methinks not. I know most people at the clinic pay nothing, but the doctor is still getting paid full rate. I know because I see how much they're charging Medicare and its not peanuts by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe the hospital should start censuring these guys when they don't show up on time. Enough of this rant. Just needed to get it off my chest.

There has been a war on prescription drugs lately and its really ticking me off. Alot of people seem to think that prescription drugs are a problem and want even more regulations on them. While some people choose to abuse prescription pain killers, there are many of us that actually need them and DONT abuse them. All the new regulations recently enacted make it so hard for those of us who need these medications to get them. Either doctors wont prescribe them or we have to go back to the doctor EVERY month to get a new prescription and then go to the pharmacy to get it filled. For some people, thats quite a challenge and for some its impossible as their pain prevents them from doing so. I suffer from diabetic neropathy. That means I have pain in my feet and legs. While i'm not in pain 24 hours a day. When I am in pain, it hurts really bad. I cannot get comfortable no matter how I have my legs. I currently get Tramadol and Nerontin for the pain. The Tramadol does almost nothing anymore and thats 100mg every four hours. I HATE the neurontin. It makes me gain weight and makes it harder to lose weight. Its not doing much for me at this point as well. I have been taking Tylenol on top of what I am already taking just so I can get out of pain but Tylenol eventually will destroy my liver. I cannot get a narcotic at this point because I see a nurse practictioner, not a doctor. This may have to change at some point but its difficult because I go to a clinic run by the hospital, not a doctors office. I have been told I do not qualify for pain management because thats for people who have had operations or severe back problems but pain management is just what I need. Even if I get on pain management or see a doctor willing to prescribe the right pain meds. I then have to go to the pharmacy to get it and of course get all the dirty looks from the employees thinking I MUST be a junkie because I have been prescribed a narcotic. They are in league with alot of other people will wave their fingers and tell me to just suck it up. That they can take pain without meds. Well with all due respect, you are not me. You are not feeling my pain. If you can tolerate pain, goodie for you, but dont expect me to handle pain like you do. Everyone is different. And dont take pain meds away from me because someone else abused them or because some people steal them off of legitamate users to get high. Thats not my problem. Its theirs. Getting people to stop using pain meds to get high is the responsibility of the user and their families. Taking pain meds away from me hasnt decreased the drug problem one bit. If anything it makes it worse as the drug abusers and some people who are really in pain then turn to street drugs which increases crime and drug related deaths. Its time to end the war on prescription drugs as there far too many casualties in this war, myself included.

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queenofchaos
05:30 Jan 16 2016

Good luck with that.



Just like anything, people ruin things for others.



Some people are well maintained on certain medications, while others simply are not.



There is no "happy" pill...



There is no "pill" that will elevate all "pain" symptoms".



Sometimes people have to GET off the medications to actually see exactly where the pain is.



Problem is most people get on them, and then expect to stay on them forever in return building a tolerance for medications- results in needing more and more of the med to achieve the same result as once upon a time



This is a world wide problem.



But thank god, there are other alternatives to pain management.

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cr8054
18:23 Jan 19 2016

Some people may need to get off pain meds to see where the pain is at, but there are others who suffer from chronic conditions like myself that simply cannot be fixed. The best that can be done is run the pain meds to the max dose, then switch to another drug until the body gets used to that, then switch again and again. The goal is to ensure that the patient is able to function with as little pain as possible, preferably none at all. Pain management can be difficult, especially when you deal with doctors who just cannot understand what you are going through. It doesn't make pain any less real and it doesn't make you an addict.

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I have to say that its a sad state of affairs when we cannot get one decent choice from either party for president. There isnt one single rising star in either party. The only person I remotely like is Bernie Sanders and he hasnt got a snowballs chance in hell in either getting nominated or being elected president. It just wont happen. Hillary is a liar and a corporatist and Donald Trump? He's a madman. That guy scares the hell out of me. If elected, Trump will become a dictator and will most likely start a war that will end our nation. He's a snake oil salesman and like the pied piper, he has a whole bunch of brainwashed idiots following him that think he's the best thing since sliced bread. I can only hope that the silent majority will see him for what he is and ensures he never becomes president. I think most people will do what I am going to do in November, Hold my nose and vote for the lesser of two evils. Thats what comes down to anymore as business has taken over politics.

Just sitting at home chilling out. I can't believe that another year is gone and a new one begun. Where does all the time go?

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InvisibleShadows
14:55 Jan 07 2016

down its own path my friend



welcome to the rave & welcome to the hunger

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cr8054
18:24 Jan 19 2016

Thanks!

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