Running Bear's March 2022 Coffee Shop

[troyphoto]

I wouldn't just write off EV or solar panels to being a rich person's commodity. As I've said many times now, Petroleum is on its way out. The government has made itself very clear on that. Somehow, people think they're going to get around that as if they know of a secret gas station somewhere that will always have gas at $1.15 a gallon and that they heat their house on natural gas, so they aren't going to get bit by the skyrocketing electric bill. I didn't really want to put $40K into a panel system or $60K into a car but compared to what they will be when demand picks up and people realize that's the only option, the current prices will pale in comparison. Yeah, yeah, yeah, battery prices are coming down. Uh-huh, don't get your hopes up.

the US just broke a record for largest energy sector auction.... no, not for oil lands

for offshore wind farms. That's a record price for non-fossil fuel leases taken in by the US gov. Someone is willing to invest big $$$$$ in the sector.

From the WSJ:

A U.S. auction of locations for offshore wind farms on the Atlantic coast resulted in a record $4.37 billion in winning bids, officials said Friday, a sign of robust interest in developing renewable energy in federal waters.
Auction winners for parcels covering nearly a half million acres off the coast of New York and New Jersey included a partnership of Shell PLC and EDF Renewables Inc., a partnership of U.S.-based firms Invenergy LLC and energyRe, and a partnership of Engie SA, EDP Renewables and fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners.

 

[TLOC]

Op session today on the D&J Railroad.
Been prepping all week, staging local freights, setting up other trains to come into the division and out of the division. Throttle batteries all charged up. Just have to go hit the grocery store for a few bags of snacks and a bag of ice for drinks. At about 11AM I'll put a couple of track cleaning trains in motion for last minutes dust off of the rails.

Enjoy the operation session May it be a huge enjoyment.

TomO

 

[troyphoto]

heading out in a bit to a local train show. Not been to this one before, so I'm not expecting much.

It's right across the street from our local Texas Roadhouse steak place. Promised the wife lunch if she went with me... Or she promised me lunch if I didn't spend too much. Not sure what "too much" is...

 

[TLOC]

heading out in a bit to a local train show. Not been to this one before, so I'm not expecting much.

It's right across the street from our local Texas Roadhouse steak place. Promised the wife lunch if she went with me... Or she promised me lunch if I didn't spend too much. Not sure what "too much" is...

If no number was given, you have permission to spend until you feel guilty. I have not reached that guilty number, may you not reach it today

TomO

 

[D&J RailRoad]

On several model railroad forums, I've seen notes of trains shows, touting them as massive, major, huge etc. The last few times that I've gone ahead and ventured across state lines to one of these, "mammoth" shows, it turned out to be a one-day event, held in a fire house garage bay, mostly musty boxes of used and rusty Lionel stuff that's been through a few basement floods or Tyco HO rolling stock that the kiddies have used in the sand box.
Last time I was suckered into one of these shows was in Arizona. Traveled over the mountain range to Prescott for a "major, regional" show. Yeah, upstairs in a fire station. About 20 tables of stuff that may or may not work. Mostly estate sales that were childhood toys that had been in the attic for the past 4 decades and never touched.

 

[McLeod]

Good Morning!
Might see a brief thaw today, with the temps headed up to 32F. It's just a teaser, though. We'll be freezing again next week.

It's a good day to go into the basement and do more on the layout room reno. I should have some train tables up come next week.
For the most part, pure procrastination has been the issue so far. For example, I napped on the couch for most of yesterday. It was just such a dark, dreary cold day, that I didn't feel like doing anything else.

Since I have the ceiling open in the basement, I'm actually considering throwing in a 3cond/4AWG Tech cable, to allow for a future auto charging station outside. Since electric is coming, it's best to put a cable in now, so I won't have to tear down the ceiling again.

I just dropped in for a coffee. It's just about day-light, though, so I'd better get that dog walked and get to work on the reno.

Here's my favorite photo of a track-mobile, just for a photo for the road:

I like that photo for the composition and the background.

Have a good one!

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Cloudy and 64°. These winds from the south yesterday and today are bringing Gulf moisture up with them and it will probably rain tomorrow. Meanwhile the humidity is rising from the rather low reading of 15% seen on Wednesday and Thursday. Should see upper 70's again today. Cooler temperatures beginning Monday for a few days.

Somewhat busy but wasted day yesterday. I did the dishes, two loads of laundry, took trash out to the dumpster (three trips), and a lot of other general household maintenance. This morning I have a landscaper coming by to till up a brand new garden plot for me. I haven't recovered enough from the pneumonia yet to tackle it myself. I have had to abandon my old garden of 42 years because it got infected with fusarium wilt a couple of years ago and with all this land, it is easier to just start a new one. Pathogen control is a lengthy process. This has put me about three weeks behind in starting this year.

Thanks to all who commented or liked yesterday's post of my cats; Steve J, Smudge, Justin, Hughie, Tom O, Louis, Karl, Dave B, Chad, Curt, Sherrel, Rick, Guy, Patrick, Gary. I have two more somewhere but I can't remember where!!!

Short day in the train shed yesterday, again! I looked at the paint job on the new structure some more and decided that it looks OK under the layout lighting, whereas it really looked washed up on the workbench. So I will leave it. Meanwhile I added the clear window styrene and glued the two building halves together. No picture today because I didn't take any.
So let's see what I can dig out of the archives this morning. How about a few pictures of the Stone Bakery. It is a kit from Woodland Scenics that I assembled several years ago.

This is also on my list of small projects to complete. I only have too cover the bare plywood around the place.

Ken D&J -

manual says 48A at 240V Single phase

Piece of cake to make that connection. Running the wire through the conduit will take the longest time.
Have a great time with the operating session today.
Obviously living as close to DC as you do has really made you a pessimist regarding government policy. I truly believe that Americans will wake up to this bullshit policy in the near future. Especially when new power lines have to be installed and the NIMBY factor comes into play. Don't get me wrong, as I believe strongly in cleaning up the environment as much as the next person; but let's attack the problem in India, China and third world countries where much of the problem originates.
George -

I hate to tell you this but no one's going to make it on the above wages. It was just on the news family's making a 100K a year are living paycheck to paycheck.

I respectfully disagree partly with your comment. $15.50/hr is decent for an entry level job. The key here is "entry level". Those are jobs for high schoolers or part time college students, or bored housewives/househusbands just looking for extra money. People with families should have real jobs paying more. There's plenty of them around. In some areas, that is actually enough to support a small family. Of course things vary in different states. Here in Texas, the cost of living is not as great as NY or CA, where SALT eats away at one's income. What I see when I read about people making $100K having to live paycheck to paycheck, is things like new vehicles every two years, gym memberships that rarely get used, homes bigger and fancier than necessary and expensive vacations. For goodness sake, these people need to learn how to budget! Sure I lived paycheck to paycheck at times, but I included 25% into savings/retirement most of the time.
Curt - Nice lighting effects.
Dave B - Interesting fact about the dyed fuel. I did not know that.
Gary - I disagree that solar panels are only for the rich. I am not rich and I will most likely install some this year now that I have removed the big tree that shaded the west side of the house. I have to replace the roof first with a metal one.

Well, time to get out of here. Y'all have a great day and be safe.

 

[bnsf971]

I think batteries that can outlast your bladder will become easier to achieve as we age…

 

[IronBeltKen]

Good morning Shop Dwellers!

Just finished doing my 2021 taxes an hour ago, finally. I always have to wait until the end of February because my wife keeps getting all these 1099-NEC statements for income she earned doing medical surveys, and of course they don't withhold taxes from any of that. I learned several years ago to anticipate this, and since MHO doesn't like to be bothered with doing Estimated Tax payments, I setup to have an extra large chunk withheld from my own paycheck so the would-be refund is enough to cover her tax liability. So, this year we netted a Federal refund of ~$350; but it would have been 10x that amount if we hadn't owed the taxes on the 7 1099-NEC's she got. Regardless, I'm just glad it's over for this tax season.

I'm staying out of the discussions on electric vehicles and inflation, since these topics seem to elicit strong emotional reactions. I come here mostly to escape all the anxiety-provoking chatter.

With the taxes out of the way, I can resume working on the coal dumper controls - after I've completed my regular Saturday errands and chores.

 

[TLOC]

Taxes…

EV…

Trains, yes. I wired up the 2 new electrical circuits and turned the master switch back on. The wife is in her kitchen and while baking unless I am called in there I am staying out. But the sister is allowed. They are figuring out their revised travel plans.

Train shows. Even prior to the Pandemic of Covid terribly mishandled in year 1, train shows had gotten stale. I looked at vendor tables but I don‘t want Athearn BB kits overpriced at $10-15. I don’t want someone’s structures kits that are dusty and when I buy them are missing parts.Yes, NOS at decent prices are great but on day 2 of shows I was attending often were gone.

I did attend a 2 day show in Madison, Wi. a couple weekends ago. I concentrated on buying and I was there in the 1st opening hour. As I wrote and displayed in the RPO forum I believe I did very well. Layouts is what I always went for. But the same layouts seem to show up at Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa shows. I barely looked at them in the 3 hours I was at the MadCity show.

The 1 mile walk in 20 minutes and the shower has helped remove the sarcasm from my message earlier today. I meant what I wrote but the first paragraph could have been more tactful, a trait I don’t have much of. No offense was intended to the 99% of readers here on MRRF.

Tom

 

[BigGRacing]

put $40K into a panel system or $60K into a car but compared to what they will be when demand

Sorry DJ, you are in a different world than most of the rest of people, I know very few people that have an extra 100k lying around unless they inherited , or possibly did work hard for it with a very well paying job and yes some people scrimp and save But then they are not living with much either. I maintain though that Canada and the US who both are big oil/ gas developers could make it available to their people a little bit cheaper. Great ideas again usually by those that don’t have to worry about paying for it.

 

[chadbag]

Sorry DJ, you are in a different world than most of the rest of people, I know very few people that have an extra 100k lying around unless they inherited , or possibly did work hard for it with a very well paying job and yes some people scrimp and save But then they are not living with much either. I maintain though that Canada and the US who both are big oil/ gas developers could make it available to their people a little bit cheaper. Great ideas again usually by those that don’t have to worry about paying for it.

instead of buying the $60k electric car they are buying the $80k trucks. People usually aren’t paying cash for these things.

as I’ve said I don’t think electric cars are ready fir prime time as A family’s prime or only car (in most cases). but are great for a second car.

 

[BigGRacing]

TLOC makes great points and I believe a very knowledgeable individual. I have also looked at solar panels and even signed up for our solar city project. Sadly, I would have to cut many trees down in my yard to make it effective and even then it would take near 20 years to make it break even here, at which point, I believe I would either need a new roof and or maybe new panels.

I still stand by my comments though that generally speaking most people cannot afford them currently or choose like some said to spend the money they have on other aspects of living……different strokes for different folks and I think everyone has different trails they have walked, so one size doesn’t fit all for sure. I would love to have a car or truck that can drive all day (300 - 500 Km’s roughly) with solar panels that are also charging the car as you drive…..what happens on cloudy or winters days. And having a second vehicle almost defeats the purpose depending on which aspect you look at it from…..

You all make good points, thank you and I have already learned more this week about different chargers and hopefully the decisions will get easier And maybe options that are a little better.

 

[Patrick]

As much as I'd like to get a backup generator for the house, I'd rather get the house paid for first.

 

[santafewillie]

Tom O - Are those plastic or metal trucks in your post this morning? If plastic, have you posted somewhere how you weathered them?

 

[santafewillie]

Is anything in the media believable any longer?

Short answer, in my opinion, NO.

 

[bnsf971]

Short answer, in my opinion, NO.

Media any more is provided as a source of advertising revenue, rather than serious news reporting.
Any of us can find a “news source” that we agree with without much trouble at all.

 

[troyphoto]

Puts on journalism (MA) hat...

All media outlets have biases and agendas,
They always have and always will
Even in the "golden age" of the Cronkite era. The USA officially "lost" the Vietnam war when Cronkite reported it was not winnable. His bias had been pro administration prior to that (softly, but pro). After he went, observed, then came back and commentated about what he saw, the administration's stance on the war was toast.


If you want to find factual reporting, find real journalists. Do not confuse talking heads on any channel with journalists. The highest-rated talker on cable technically has a journalism degree... but never uses it. Instead, he opts for opining, and pushing agendas by "just asking questions".

Yet, there is a journalist working for the same media outlet, reporting on DC, whom I respect, and trust her to confirm her sources, and report as truthfully as possible from that city. And no, her name is not Pete Doocey.

Turn off the "News" channels. They really are not news 99% of their broadcast time.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

Good Afternoon Everyone....overcast and periods of rain today. We need the moisture for the trees and farmers' crops.

I have no desire for an electric vehicle. I would need charging equipment at home and our cabin and forbid a trip to northern Wisconsin and the lack of charging facilities up there in the boonies. My 2012 Chev Silverado Pickup had 20-22 mph on the highway with a 355 hp engine and my newer 2021 Lexus RX 350 has an average of 20 mpg with a 295 hp engine. Go figure a lighter vehicle and less gas mileage.

I was approached years ago to install charging stations in the parking lot which had over 6,200 parking stalls with the parking deck. The cost to purchase, install (pad and wiring), signage directing drivers to the stations was beyond even thinking about doing the project. Plus the length of time a vehicle a time required for charging made it impractical.

Solar power is the wave of the future along with LED lighting being installed in more commercial buildings. Since I retired in 2012, a major solar installation took place at the center project and the roof is covered with solar panels. Many of the existing interior light fixtures have been replaced with LED's, including the parking lot light towers. The cost over the years is lower and a wider selection of lighting fixtures.

Speaking of price increases...Cathy booked her airline ticket round trip to Arizona and the price of the tickets has doubled in less than a month!

Then....there's the $10-15 dollar BB kits. TomO, I've purchased a few of those kits at high prices since I'm a sucker for odd road names. But, I also purchased boxes of seven BB and other manufactures' pieces of rolling stock for $35.00. Each car was lightly weathered, had KD couplers and equipped with metal wheels. They were from an estate sale and the cars were in great condition and the couplers at the correct heigth. A nice purchase.

I also believe I have a Lynn Westcott box car that I purchased at TrainFest. The car had his initials on the underside of the car. Great story to tell even if the initials belong to someone else!!!

Willie: The Scale Train's gift of free candy confused me at first and I don't know the reason for the gift??? I know we used to order spring bulbs from Holland and each case of bulbs had a large ball of cheese.

My model railroading purchasing in the future with be reduced after my visit to the dentist on Friday. I need eight teeth removed by oral surgery and I have no insurance to cover the procedure which will be done under anesthesia. $$$

I purchased an item on Amazon and wanted to return it fro credit. The item didn't appear on my Amazon's list of purchased items nor on my charge card. A call to Amazon was unsuccessful with the Amazon customer representative telling me to just keep the item. My charge card statement arrived and there was the charge for the item. Amazon will not work with me since they have no record of my purchase and the charge card company can't tell where the charge originated from other than the shipper. Now I'm left with the item and a charge on my card. I contacted the shipper via email for a return authorization and hopefully I get an answer.

Later friends.................

Greg

######################

One of the estate sale weathered BB cars is behind the rusty SOO locomotive. On the track behind on the grade are flat cars from an estate sale that I purchased for $5.00 each.-Greg

 

[troyphoto]

Train show was interesting. That BINGO hall was packed.

My loot (didn't want to overspend with the wife along.)

I was thrilled to see the gents from NEINS... a NorthEast Indiana N Scale club.