Running Bear's October 2022 Coffee Shop


Status
Not open for further replies.
For those who might be up and out in the country, the Orionids meteor shower this morning is quite spectacular. I'm seeing one every 2-3 minutes and they are lasting as long as 2.5 seconds. This year because of the moon, they are a bit more spectacular than the Perseids back in August when there was a full moon. I'm seeing them primarily in the SW sky, traveling in several directions so far. Tomorrow morning may be just as intense.
BBL
 
Smudge617 said:
Now I love my job, I really do.

My day just get's better and better.

My Boss just phoned me, "can I do him a favour" Yes, sure what do you need? I've a Coach coming back from the South of France
Me Ok?
Boss, Drivers not well, we're going to have to take him off.
Me, Okayyyy ????
Boss, I need you to go over and bring the Coach and passengers back.
Me, OK, when?
Boss, Tonight when you get back from this run your on
Me, (to myself wtf?????) Why me?
Boss, your the only driver I've got with continental driving experience and a valid passport.
Me, So I'm taking the company car? Where are they?
Boss, No, we're taking you home first, grab your overnight stuff then to the Eurostar, the group's in Paris.
Me, Oh ! OK, so the other drivers coming back with me?
Boss, No, he'll be coming back in a few days
Me, ???????
Boss, You'll find out when you get there, so I might as well tell you, he's had a heart attack in his sleep, the maid found him, so the body won't be coming back till the post mortem's done.
Me, ????????????????????
Boss, and your staying in his room.
Me, no,no,no,no, no chance find me another room or hotel.
Boss, we'll try, but no guarantee.

Did I tell you I love my job.
Click to expand...
:D I hope they paid you overtime for that one.
 
Morning all,

48° and clear going for a high of 88° later.

Did see some of Willie's meteors on the way in this morning. Wasn't sure which group it was coming out of.

Just got rid of 2 dogs and a cat last Friday, and I gotta get the son's older dog this afternoon. She had surgery to remove a baseball sized fatty tumor, and the old dog (13 year old beagle mix) doesn't need to recover with his 9 month old rambunctious shepherd mix. The 2 do get along, but young and old don't always mix, however I watched a 3 month old while recovering from the 2nd knee replacement and I guess we're both doing fine 12 years later...LOL

Although he is a jokester. Could that rub off at 3 months????? The sense of humor is a genetic trait that flows through my side. I can trace it at least to my great grandfather, although we lost track of the family in Poland for 50 years just after WWII. Story behind that as well, but dad was able to locate and correspond with them. He even visited them in Poland. Would have been a nice trip to make.
 
Smudge617 said:
I found this quite interesting

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used?

Well, because that's the way they built them in England, and English engineers designed the first US railroads. Why did the English build them like that?

Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the wagon tramways, and that's the gauge they used. So, why did 'they' use that gauge then?

Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that same wheel spacing. Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing?

Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break more often on some of the old, long distance roads in England . You see, that's the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those old rutted roads?

Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England ) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.
And what about the ruts in the roads?
Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match or run the risk of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome , they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever.

So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder 'What horse's ass came up with this?', you may be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses' asses.)

Now, the twist to the story:

When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah . The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds.

So, a major Space Shuttle design feature, of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system, was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass.

And you thought being a horse's ass wasn't important? Ancient horse's asses control almost everything!
Click to expand...
Oh, Lord, that's brilliant!!! Gotta pass that one on.

And I'm gonna chuckle all week.

---------

I WAS going to offer up a dumb blonde joke, but I really can't top that. Maybe next week....

In the meantime, and more similar to yours (albeit considerably more lame too): A BIG turkey, and a great Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone was stuffed to the gills, contented and happy. All lounging around the fireplace, digesting. Complements were offered to the wife--the chef--by everyone.

"I'm curious though," someone asked. "Why do you cut the ends off the turkey that way?

"Well...I really don't know. I suppose it's because my mother did it that way...".

A few weeks later and mom has come into town for Christmas. The two are preparing another big feast for Christmas dinner, with another big turkey when the question comes up: "Mom? Why do you cut the ends off the turkey that way?"

"Well...I really don't know. I suppose it's because your grandmother did it that way. Ask her."

Fast forward to the next Thanksgiving. Grandmother is there too for this one, and all three are in the kitchen, preparing another feast with yet another big turkey.

"Grandma? I was wondering...why do you cut the ends off the turkey like that?"

"Well...it's because back in my day I had a short baking pan. We had a small oven, so I had to do it that way to make it fit."
 
That post about the width of the SRBs may be a myth.

space.stackexchange.com

How fair is the claim that Shuttle boosters diameter was dictated by the railroad gauge?

There's a kind of urban legend that the Space Shuttle boosters diameter could have been larger if it was not restricted by the limitations imposed by the railroads, specifically the railroad gauge....
space.stackexchange.com space.stackexchange.com

The link says the limitation was based upon the loading gauge of the railroad, not on the width of any tunnel.
Rail was the only means of transportation for the finished SRBs out of Utah because they were to heavy for air lift and to big for truck. 12 feet is the max height for clearances using the lowest flat car.

Snopes, though dubious in their biased information also reveal that railroads aren't based upon a Roman chariot wheel width.

www.snopes.com

FACT CHECK: Are U.S. Railroad Gauges Based on Roman Chariots?

Does the U.S. standard railroad gauge come directly from the width of Roman chariots?
www.snopes.com www.snopes.com
 
Good morning!

The season is changing quick now. That wonderful, hot, dry summer is being moderated into memory alone. The north country will soon be white, cold, and appearing dead.

It appears the swing gate design will work out, except it requires more than one hinge. I figured that anyway.
SwingGate_10-21-2022 (1).JPG

SwingGate_10-21-2022 (2).JPG

SwingGate_10-21-2022 (3).JPG

I had a back-up plan to put 3x hinges on the gate. Just thought I'd try one first, but, 3 hinges it's going to be.
The tubular metal insert for the 3/8" secure pin still needs to be installed. Might put in two of those, one on either end.
The gate should be completed by days end. I'm just waiting for daylight, so I can use my saw outside.
I've made the gate 12" wide, as I'm toying with the idea of a double track in the future. It's always good to allow for future expansion.

Thank you for the likes on these simple posts.
Didn't know if I was coming in today, because I didn't have photos. Just went downstairs and snapped a few. Took me all of 10 minutes to take the photos and post them.

Anyway, I feel like getting on with it, so I'll see ya'll later. Have a great day!
 
Guy walks into a bar, guy already sitting on a stool, with a dog next to him, second guy asks if he could pet his dog, first guy say sure, second guy asks if his dog bites, first guy say no, its a real softy, second guy goes to pet the dog and it bites him, second guy exclaims you said your dog don't bite, first guy looks at the dog and then the second guy and says "that ain't my dog" 🤣
 
Good morning all, 52° and mostly sunny,

Big concrete pour this afternoon, drum roll, been saving up all summer for this. Would have poured sooner but we had a bunch of unexpected repairs and expenses, also that ugly I work Inflation causing us to be ultra conservative with our money.

Which is more important, food or a job? Ask the Isrealites, they had a job in Egypt but left anyway. Even though they got fed there, they left that perfectly good job and ended up eating that boring Manna for, how many years? Still, the food was more important than the job.

I think the rail width does have something to do with two horses walking side by side. I am finding out in our generation, history can actually change!!!

back later, will leave you with this nice picture from the old, dismantled layout. All these buildings went in the dumpster! I knew that going into it, and don't feel bad about it.

_MG_5520r.jpg


On second glance, the yellow freight shed in the background is on the new layout! Note coal tower in background.

more later, Dave LASM
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 50°, with absolutely no wind. We're expecting a rapid rise in temperature this morning that could exceed 90° by afternoon.

Yesterday's grocery trek went as planned, albeit slow due to the number of folks using the handicap carts throughout the store. I don't disdain those who really need to use them, but I did see two folks who had no problem walking up to and into the store using them. One lady actually got up and hand carried her grocery bags out of the store and left the handicap cart at the end of the check-out line. In another area of the store, I waited patiently for an elderly gentleman to finish looking at items on the lower shelf so I could reach something above him, and he fell asleep! At least it wasn't a medical emergency. Prices are still going up, this week it was mostly apparent on chicken, dairy products and apples. Gasoline at stations near the store had inched up from last week, but not by much.

Thanks for the comments and reactions regarding the latest small projects.

No project work out in the train shed yesterday, I just ran trains, a lot! Here's an old sequence with a scrap train going by the ADM grain elevator.
04-10-11 016.JPG
04-10-11 017.JPG

04-10-11 018.JPG

04-10-11 019.JPG
04-10-11 020.JPG

04-10-11 021.JPG


Tom - Get well soon.

Another who cares? day today, it's Kim Kardashian's birthday.
Everybody have a great day and an awesome weekend.
 
Willie - GREAT pics

Chris, Gary - I gave away as much stuff as possible. Too bad these small items mail so poorly. Most of my track on this old layout was second hand so with the new layout I have almost all new track, makes for much smoother operations. Plus, it is a lot more fun opening a new package than scraping off someone's ballast and "making things work".

Guy - I am looking forward to seeing the swing gate work. It looks like less of a hassle than my lift out.
 
santafewillie said:
Good Morning All. Clear and 50°, with absolutely no wind. We're expecting a rapid rise in temperature this morning that could exceed 90° by afternoon.

Yesterday's grocery trek went as planned, albeit slow due to the number of folks using the handicap carts throughout the store. I don't disdain those who really need to use them, but I did see two folks who had no problem walking up to and into the store using them. One lady actually got up and hand carried her grocery bags out of the store and left the handicap cart at the end of the check-out line. In another area of the store, I waited patiently for an elderly gentleman to finish looking at items on the lower shelf so I could reach something above him, and he fell asleep! At least it wasn't a medical emergency. Prices are still going up, this week it was mostly apparent on chicken, dairy products and apples. Gasoline at stations near the store had inched up from last week, but not by much.

Thanks for the comments and reactions regarding the latest small projects.

No project work out in the train shed yesterday, I just ran trains, a lot! Here's an old sequence with a scrap train going by the ADM grain elevator.
View attachment 154031View attachment 154032
View attachment 154033
View attachment 154034View attachment 154035
View attachment 154036

Tom - Get well soon.

Another who cares? day today, it's Kim Kardashian's birthday.
Everybody have a great day and an awesome weekend.
Click to expand...
Nice scrap train Willie.
George
 
McLeod said:
Good morning!

The season is changing quick now. That wonderful, hot, dry summer is being moderated into memory alone. The north country will soon be white, cold, and appearing dead.

It appears the swing gate design will work out, except it requires more than one hinge. I figured that anyway.
View attachment 154023
View attachment 154024
View attachment 154025
I had a back-up plan to put 3x hinges on the gate. Just thought I'd try one first, but, 3 hinges it's going to be.
The tubular metal insert for the 3/8" secure pin still needs to be installed. Might put in two of those, one on either end.
The gate should be completed by days end. I'm just waiting for daylight, so I can use my saw outside.
I've made the gate 12" wide, as I'm toying with the idea of a double track in the future. It's always good to allow for future expansion.

Thank you for the likes on these simple posts.
Didn't know if I was coming in today, because I didn't have photos. Just went downstairs and snapped a few. Took me all of 10 minutes to take the photos and post them.

Anyway, I feel like getting on with it, so I'll see ya'll later. Have a great day!
Click to expand...
Don't forget to build a nice stop block when the "bridge" is open. Your locomotives better run into that security stop than fall down! Remember the tank car?
 
santafewillie said:
Good Morning All. Clear and 50°, with absolutely no wind. We're expecting a rapid rise in temperature this morning that could exceed 90° by afternoon.

Yesterday's grocery trek went as planned, albeit slow due to the number of folks using the handicap carts throughout the store. I don't disdain those who really need to use them, but I did see two folks who had no problem walking up to and into the store using them. One lady actually got up and hand carried her grocery bags out of the store and left the handicap cart at the end of the check-out line. In another area of the store, I waited patiently for an elderly gentleman to finish looking at items on the lower shelf so I could reach something above him, and he fell asleep! At least it wasn't a medical emergency. Prices are still going up, this week it was mostly apparent on chicken, dairy products and apples. Gasoline at stations near the store had inched up from last week, but not by much.

Thanks for the comments and reactions regarding the latest small projects.

No project work out in the train shed yesterday, I just ran trains, a lot! Here's an old sequence with a scrap train going by the ADM grain elevator.
View attachment 154031View attachment 154032
View attachment 154033
View attachment 154034View attachment 154035
View attachment 154036

Tom - Get well soon.

Another who cares? day today, it's Kim Kardashian's birthday.
Everybody have a great day and an awesome weekend.
Click to expand...
Willy nice Gons, now that I'm building one I look for the details. No...it's not A Gondola is a any gon. Funny how your looking at things differ from a few days before.
 
D&J RailRoad said:
That post about the width of the SRBs may be a myth.

space.stackexchange.com

How fair is the claim that Shuttle boosters diameter was dictated by the railroad gauge?

There's a kind of urban legend that the Space Shuttle boosters diameter could have been larger if it was not restricted by the limitations imposed by the railroads, specifically the railroad gauge....
space.stackexchange.com space.stackexchange.com

The link says the limitation was based upon the loading gauge of the railroad, not on the width of any tunnel.
Rail was the only means of transportation for the finished SRBs out of Utah because they were to heavy for air lift and to big for truck. 12 feet is the max height for clearances using the lowest flat car.

Snopes, though dubious in their biased information also reveal that railroads aren't based upon a Roman chariot wheel width.

www.snopes.com

FACT CHECK: Are U.S. Railroad Gauges Based on Roman Chariots?

Does the U.S. standard railroad gauge come directly from the width of Roman chariots?
www.snopes.com www.snopes.com
Click to expand...
Well if we believed everything that was on the 'net, we'd all be rich, healthy, happy and bored out of our skulls probably. :D
 
I had mentioned earlier this week about the party that my daughters held, honoring my wife and my 50th wedding anniversary. Daughter sent a few pictures.
Here's the "gang". Except for the lady third from the right, the rest of us all went to college together between '69 and '74. We still get together 3-4 times a year to reminisce and remember 6 departed members of the "gang".
1666364635996.png

From l-r, BIL, sister, SIL, brother. MIA is another brother and sister and spouses.
1666364967087.png

Standing to the left is son-in-law with a magnum of Champagne.
Close up
1666365639472.png

My best man making a toast.
1666365587745.png

My two daughters on the left with the daughters of the late maid-of-honor
1666365749577.png

One grandson enjoying the tortilla chips.
1666365814199.png

A good time was had by all.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.



Back
Top