Running Bear's May 2023 Coffee Shop.


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troyphoto said:
I'm up. Probably had one of our last two chilly nights here in NE Indiana for a few months. it's 43 F-degrees now. Lows are climbing back into the 50s in F-degrees through the weekend. By Tues we'll be back to lows in the 60s and creeping humidity at night.

I picked up a small fan to keep on at night. Since we sleep on the 2nd floor (in this part of the US, ground floor = 1st floor), even with increased attic insulation, and new high-efficiency windows, it's about 5 degrees warmer up there at night. And the humidity eventually gets the better of the AC as the outside temp drops. The wife sleeps with one going (helps with her hot flashes). Figured it wouldn't hurt for me to have one on my side.

Finished up the 4 hours director's cut of Gettysburg last night. It was milder on the Lost Cause propaganda than I expected, but not by much. No, I won't be watching Of Gods and Generals for that very reason. While I do want to get to the battlefield sometime soon, it probably won't be this year since they're working on the paths to and around Devils Den, and have part of that section shut off.

Out of the cast, Martin Sheen was boxed in as General Lee. There are a LOT of wonderings why Lee's genius deserted him at Gettysburg. So close to victory on day 2, and pulls back. Then into an idiotic plan that actually began the end of the South's side of the war.

Jeff Daniels was the real star of the show. Along with Sam Elliot. I see why Tom Berrenger got top billing. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the tough guy from Platoon as thoughtful and brooding Gen Longstreet (took me a while to see behind his fake beard and remember where else I'd seen Berenger).

I gotta get my ears lowered later today.

After that, I'm packing to head to Detroit for a game convention tomorrow morning. I'll be helping to run the WWII tourneys. Which means I'll probably have to play 6 games. I will be WW-gamed out for the rest of the summer.
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If you are willing to kick things forward about fifty years to the Spanish American War, do watch "Rough Riders." Also starring Sam Elliot (as Bucky O'Neill) and Tom Berenger. If you want still more Berenger (he's top-notch, IMO) also check out "Butch and Sundance: The Early Days." It was this film where Tom was first identified, I think, as a dead-ringer for Paul Newman, a comparison I agree with myself.
It's also pretty faithful to its hugely famous predecessor "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."
 
Good afternoon all. A few days of sunshine. :cool:
Not feeling 100%. The arthritis in my fingers are getting worse. Doing any scenery work and running trains is becoming hard.

Enough of that. Trains will run. Just at a reduced service. (Now where have I read that recently?)

David
 
Good Morning All. Partly cloudy and 64°, maybe headed up to the mid-80's today. Still fairly nice weather for this time of year. The 100% chance of rain yesterday didn't happen anywhere near us, thus keeping the NWS's inaccuracy record intact. Per them, there's no chance today, but there seems to be some storms about 100 miles west between Wichita Falls and Lubbock.

I stayed busy outdoors yesterday, using the weedeater in some remote areas, and I hauled about two weeks of firewood from the tree that I removed Sunday, over to the woodpile. I still need to remove the stump and I need to actually stack the wood. Over in the garden, I noted flowers all over the green bean plants and I have some Jalapeno Peppers that are about 2-3 days from being ready. The onion tops are beginning to fall over, so they are a few days away from picking. Onions mature when the day length reaches 15 hours here. No red tomatoes yet. Carrots seem to be about 1" in diameter, but I haven't sacrificed one yet to check the length.

We're back on schedule to do the weekly grocery trek on Thursday again, so that will occupy the morning here. Since it's a holiday weekend, soft drinks are 4-12 packs of 12 oz cans for $15. Two years ago it was $12, I doubt that they will return to that level ever. Meats for grilling are on sale as well, but they are easily 50% higher than during the last administration. Chicken has nearly doubled, from 99¢/lb to $1.77/lb. This isn't just me guessing; as a Kroger Shopping member, I can look at my purchase history online going back several years.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I finished up with the current batch of figures. These are a combination of Chinese figures that needed a lot of touching up, some of Chet's figures that didn't travel well, and some of my hand-painted Preiser ones. Here they are after a spray of dull coat, along with some detail parts that I did alongside them.
IMG_3507.JPG

The Chinese ones are the gaudy ones in the left of the bottom row.

Nothing to comment on this morning, as I don't watch baseball and I don't know enough about tire sizes to make any real changes.

Everyone have a great day.
 
ctclibby said:
Swal: I take it that you do not get much snow where you are at? Not much roof pitch along with more than 24" centers - that would be a 'no go' here. Although ... our house roof is 2x4 on 24" center, but the pitch is some kinda steep - you can not walk on it with out holding on to something. Been here like that for most 80 years with no issues so far along with 5ft of snow on top years ago, 4 ft this year.

Later
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Tood I didn't even think about the pitch until you mentioned it. I guess farther north you have to worry about it. The before clear fiber glass roof was installed with a different type of system to hold it up. I looked at my other Rubbermaid shed, and I see there's a much steeper pitch on that one.
Swal

RubberMaid_Shed_01.jpg
 
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Good Morning!

It's 45F this fine morning. The wildfire situation is coming under control and evacutees are returning home. Life back to normal.

I was very sad to hear about the passing of Tina Turner. She was a classy women and a great artist. Her struggles to conquer hardship and rise to fame with humility is admirable, indeed. RIP Tina.

At this time, I am feeling rather overrun with the wife's desire to renovate our entire property in anticipation of her retirement. She would like to see us travelling, fishing, and taking it easy in our retirement. I, on the other hand, do not want the travel. Fishing, hunting, and hobbies would suit me fine. - The main bathroom isn't even nearly completed yet, since I've moved onto outside projects in the warm weather.

Anyway, all those projects are keeping me away from hobby time. That's why I'm not posting so much lately. There's just not much to say with nothing being done in the hobby.

But, I do take some free time and go photograph things that interest me. Like railcars:
CntrBeamFlat_WC 37971_05-24-2023.JPG

Box_DWC 558624_05-24-2023.JPG

Box_BCOL 60266_05-24-2023.JPG

Box_CNIS 412048_05-24-2023.JPG

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It seems to be entirely impossible to find boxcars without graffiti. I don't know where and how the defacing of a boxcar is happening, or if anyone is ever caught and whipped for doing it. Certainly, I have never seen anyone down at the staging area with a spray can.
Defacing a boxcar is a disgusting practice, in my opinion.

And there you have it - a post from the northlands. Have a great day, everyone!
 
Good Morning all,

Another fine day out today. The temps have come down some from yesterday but still comfortable to be outside in shorts.

Took a quick trip to Harbor Freight this morning. I was looking for a long straight edge to draw lines for my storage yard. The website said that they had a 5' steel ruler in stock for about $7.00. I went down this morning only to find the website was wrong, and it was out of stock. I ended up finding a 6' level that will do the same thing but is a level as well for $13. So, I guess it was still a win.

Have a great day all.
 
troyphoto said:
There are a LOT of wonderings why Lee's genius deserted him at Gettysburg. So close to victory on day 2, and pulls back. Then into an idiotic plan that actually began the end of the South's side of the war.
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In my opinion General Lee was a genius, but even a genius can be wrong. I believe his mistake was overestimating the impact of his unprecedented artillery barrage. Pickett's charge was doomed before it began.
 
troyphoto said:
While I do want to get to the battlefield sometime soon, it probably won't be this year since they're working on the paths to and around Devils Den, and have part of that section shut off.
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Gettysburg is a great place to visit.

If you are looking for a place to see this year, Antietam, it is almost haunting. When I took my son, he was mesmerized. He read every monument and he was deeply moved by the experience.
 
Good morning gang (damn near afternoon )

Busy morning at work this morning, I've peeked in at times but now I can finally sit.

Finally a conclusion to the tax debacle yesterday. 1 month ago my Federal refund was hijacked by the IRS in lieu of an outstanding debt for a tax error from 2021. After contacting them they said they sent a letter last year stating the error and that I was to contact them. I never got that letter. I was informed all the hows and whys about the over $3,000.00 (error plus interest) owed, and the following day stroked a check and mailed it. A month goes by and I see the check still hasn't hit the account. I received another letter about it. I called the IRS again and told them when I sent the check and for what amount along with the check number, and they acted like it had never arrived. They would ask more info, then put me on hold, then come back again, then back on hold, this went on for an hour. Finally a little after 7 p.m. Tuesday night the line went dead and I couldn't call them back because they closed at 7. Next day the check hit my account! Amazing ain't it? Which inefficient Government agency was to blame here? USPS or the IRS. My money says it's the IRS. Your Government at work!

I did get more spacer blocks glued to spline last night, but wont have more til next weekend. Still go lots of projects to finish!

BBL
 
NYC_George said:
I guess farther north you have to worry about it.
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Swal, I doubt you have to worry. Looking at the inside of your shed that is a staunch support structure and the walls are not far apart.
Nice work, as always.

I doubt this will happen to you!
www.borail.org

2003 Roundhouse Roof Collapse | B&O Railroad Museum

On February 17, 2003, the roof of the 1884 Baldwin Roundhouse on the B&O Railroad Museum’s campus collapsed due to record snowfall in Baltimore of more than 28 inches. Thousands of pounds of snow, slate, shingles, decking, rafters, posts, trusses, and wrought iron fell onto many of the historic...
www.borail.org www.borail.org
 
Graffiti on trains. In Japan, you almost never see graffiti on trains. Part of it is cultural, but also, if any were to show up, the rail companies would send out about 10^5 workers to immediately remove it. It's interesting what different cultures "allow" and how they react to it.
 
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Bruette said:
Gettysburg is a great place to visit.

If you are looking for a place to see this year, Antietam, it is almost haunting. When I took my son, he was mesmerized. He read every monument and he was deeply moved by the experience.
Click to expand...

I remember some time back, 40 something years ago, Dawn and I visited the war graves in Dunkirk. Before going in we stood outside. A main road with busy traffic. Such noise.

Through a gate we went. No sound of traffic. Serene silence.
We remember the 330,000 or so who came home, but row after row of husbands, fathers, sons are hardly mentioned.

David
 
chadbag said:
Graffiti on rains. In Japan, you almost never see graffiti on trains. Part of it is cultural, but also, if any were to show up, the rail companies would send out about 10^5 workers to immediately remove it. It's interesting what different cultures "allow" and how they react to it.
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Over thirty years ago I played in an international invitational semi-pro baseball tournament in DC. We played following a team from Japan. They left the dugout looking like it had just been professionally cleaned. It was at least the third game of the day. They must have even cleaned up the mess left by the teams that played before them! I had never seen anything like that before or since.

They influenced me. Years later as a little league coach I would always have my teams clean up after themselves.

I think it has something to do with respect. Respect for yourself, others, and the world in general.
 
Bruette said:
Over thirty years ago I played in an international invitational semi-pro baseball tournament in DC. We played following a team from Japan. They left the dugout looking like it had just been professionally cleaned. It was at least the third game of the day. They must have even cleaned up the mess left by the teams that played before them! I had never seen anything like that before or since.

They influenced me. Years later as a little league coach I would always have my teams clean up after themselves.

I think it has something to do with respect. Respect for yourself, others, and the world in general.
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Yes recently that happened at the world cup. Japanese fans left the stands clean

www.nytimes.com

Cheer, Chant, Clean: Japan Takes Out the Trash, and Others Get the Hint (Published 2022)

Japanese fans went viral for cleaning up after a World Cup victory. Fans from other countries are following their example.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
chadbag said:
Yes recently that happened at the world cup. Japanese fans left the stands clean

www.nytimes.com

Cheer, Chant, Clean: Japan Takes Out the Trash, and Others Get the Hint (Published 2022)

Japanese fans went viral for cleaning up after a World Cup victory. Fans from other countries are following their example.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
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I worked at Memorial Stadium, home of the Orioles and the Baltimore Colts for 4 years. In addition, I have been to hundreds of games as a fan. Leaving the stadium, you drag your feet to clear a path in the isles. Otherwise, you will step on something with nearly every step. Until you reach the end of the isle and the steps, only then is there a clear path!

That is amazing to think of fans cleaning up!

Sadly, I let my subscription expire. I could not get past the popup ads to read the story. Having seen what a Japanese baseball team did I have no problem believe that story.

As I often say, "we can learn so much from the rest of the world".
 
Afternoon All,

Started out the day at 70F. I started out doing chores and draining about 3" of water from the pool. MOH wanted a chauffer for several errands that ended up taking several hours. I did manage to get 20 trees completed that I'll plant tomorrow. It's been raining on and off today and I think it's supposed to continue for several more days.

Thank you for the photo likes yesterday.

Joe- We wear Fitbits that if you put it in your pocket when you push something will continue to record steps.

Louis- Nice 1:1 photo.

Smudge- Nice steamers video.

Guy- Great 1:1 shots. I feel the same about graffiti.

Todd- I feel your pain. I've been in the situation where the entire upstairs had to come downstairs to facilitate water damage repair. It included my last layout. What a nightmare.

I hope everyone has a good night.
 
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