Running Bear's Coffee Shop LVI

[Bruette]

Good morning y'all, Happy Friday! 73 and humid this morning, going to the mid 90s.

Louis: Hope things work out for your daughter. Most of my dealings with the Police in Maryland, involved crossing accidents, or car - train collisions on the street railroad. Never had a negative experience, and that includes Baltimore City, Baltimore County, PG County, MSP and Sheriff's departments in Charles Co and Harford Co. All good people, doing a job most people wouldn't or couldn't do. Same goes for the Conrail police and the Amtrak Police. On another note, Ubaldo tried last night, but Scherzer was better. The 8th inning meltdown, iced the cake.
...

Boris I am ever the optimist. All is well, I have faith in my little girl and I am keeping a close eye on her. My grandson is my informant. I don't ask him any questions, but anything that bothers him he will always tell his poppy.

Thank you for your comments about our Police. I know Baltimore city and county police and they are top shelf people! You are so right, most people could not do their jobs even if they were willing. I know I could not!

Same for my birds! The Jays and Sox both lost so we are still only 1 game back! We faced maybe the best pitcher in all of baseball last night. I am encouraged by Ubaldo's performance. I'm happy with 1 run in 6 innings. He has not pitched that deep into a game in a long time.

I would have liked to see us take more pitches to run up Scherzer's pitch count, if we could get into the middle of their bullpen we might have had a chance to come back. I can't fault their aggressiveness at the plate, they have been scoring lots of runs by being aggressive.

Don't worry, we got this Hon! Take that with a grain of salt, I said the same thing in 88 I am a homer.

View attachment 58325 Another cool start to the morning at 37 degrees but we should start warming back uo today and by tomorrow have high temps in the low 80's.

Today is national Dog Day. Guess there a national day for just about everything and for many of us, every day is doggie day.


Louis - Nothing wrong with being a street rat so long as you don't have to visit the cross bar motel. When I was in law enforcement, I made many good friends with some people that some would call rather shady characters. In on trailer park that was in an area that was in my patro; area, there lived a retired woman wrestler, Gloria Adams. She had the nickname "Sheriff of Trailer City". If there were minor problems, she in most cases could settle things down instead of having people call the police for rather petty problems allowing the cops to concentrate on more important things. When ever there was a call there, Even though I was Highway Patrol, I would normally back up the sheriff department if I was in the area. Made very good friends with her and a lot of the residents of "trailer city".

One parting photo before I get to work.

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Catch you later.

Chet I love those animated dogs and they are the perfect bred to match yours!

I will have to give my dogs an extra treat today on national Dog day! I love my beagles!

Good policemen like you made a big difference in my life and I owe them credit for helping me see things in a different light. Thank you for your service. I can tell you there are people like me who love what you did for us.

That sign is a great example of how things don't always have the same meaning across the pond.

Gppd morning, everybody .

I was up early today. My neighbor and I cut up and hauled away a large oak limb that fell in front of our house. It happened as a storm passed through here a couple of nights ago.

Louis ... Glad it was a good b'day for your daughter. ... Regarding police, I think I have mentioned one of our daughters is with Michigan State Police. She is a scientist heading up a department in the crime lab. ... We have neighbors with both husband and wife bring retired Chicago police officers with plenty of stories to tell. He was a homicide detective. ...

...

Garry I'm glad the tree missed the houses! Thank you, we did have fun, but there was a bit of underlying tensions. Life is never perfect, but all in all mine is pretty close!

I have so much respect for our law enforcement officers. They are under paid, over worked, but still do a top notch job!

Thanks to all our law enforcement officers who have and still do protect and serve us all!

 

[GarryCBQ]

Well... Louis ... The less done by government, the better. ... I think the phrase "living wage" is a political phrase, and we need not talk about politics. I don't want to hear about it. .. Good grief. Every time the national minimum wage is increased, the economy slows, unemployment worsens, and incomes decrease. . Also, the government has no business whatsoever interfering with health care, etc. ... Now, there is Common Core to de-educate children. .... Government makes everything worse. .... Deregulation of the rail industry changed it into a prosperous industry from a mostly bankrupt industry. .. . ..National defense is required by the Constitution. The government should try to stay out of other matters. .. Enough said.

Let's talk about trains. The government stinks and politics is a hot button topic.

 

[montanan]

Louis - Hope I don't upset you, but the so called Affordable Heal Plan (Obama Care) has admittedly help some to have health insurance, but I personally know way too many people who have been priced out of the health care market. My son, for one can't afford the prices that they want because he has student loans he is trying to pay off.

The company my wife works for has been struggling to keep heath care affordable for the employees, but since Obama Care has been instituted, the rates have skyrocketed and the employees are having to pay more. The deductibles are crazy. Some plans have a deductible of anywhere from $3,500 up to $7,000 or even up to $10,000. A procedure that would have been covered by plans prior to Obama Care with a small deductible now have to be paid out of pocket because the procedure does not meet the deductible.

I have a friend who lives in a rural part of the state who's wife has an preexisting medical problem, but with his previous insurance was affordable for him. Now, with Obama Care, the cost is killing him, and they have to pay out of pocket until the deductible is met and then the insurance will cover it. He is a very hard working guy who now qualifies food stamps, and needs them to exist.

You can buy car insurance, home owners and renters insurance, life insurance across state lines and this generates competition and helps keep rates low, but the know it all in the government won't allow this. Many of the big health care providers have been dropping out of the health care exchanges because they are losing money. There are now parts of the country where there are no companies even offering health care insurance.

I understand that there are many people who have preexisting conditions and face high insurance costs, but the government was expecting younger people to pick up the slack. They're not buying health insurance. Many of them, like my son, have students loans to pay off and many think that they're invincible and don't need it.

This is quite a problem for Americans.

Why are Canadians and people from all over the world coming to the United States for medical care. It's because of the waiting times they face with their government run health care systems. The government should keep their nose out of it. The government job is to protect and defend the people of the United States and they're not a very good job of it.



That's my two cents.

 

[bnsf971]

Our insurance premiums are going up 76%, and the deductible is going up about 250%.
Looks like it will be cheaper to just pay my doctor bills out of my pocket, and pay the $1600 annual fine for not having insurance.

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Did some outside chores this morning, thank goodness for a small breeze. I ran a train for about an hour today and thought about a future project. I want to do 2 flat cars with Pennsy tractor trailers on them. It will be a off-take of the Pennsy Truc-Train since you can't find the shorter trailers that were first used. Sylvan Scale Models made them at one time.

Phil- Noted

Terry- I'm sorry. What a crappy set of choices.

Louis- No need to apologize for the truth. The latest gouging on medicine, the EPI-Pen in which the medicine inside costs about $1.

Garry- Glad there was no damage.

Eric- I hope you are feeling OK.

At the fuel racks

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[Bruette]

Chet and Garry you guys are not upsetting me, I respect your opinions.

I can't speak for how it is in your respective states. I am

I am not talking about a federal or state minimum wage, that's joke in and of itself. I said the minimum I am willing to pay.

I never paid a contractor less than $25 per, hour most I paid double that and more with bonuses. I have been retired for over 10 years. As an employer I have a responsibility to pay a living wage, It's not political for me, it's morality. I could not even tell you what the minimum wage is. I don't care what the minimum wage is. I am talking about what I am willing to pay so I can sleep at night.

Forgive my rant.

 

[Bruette]

Our insurance premiums are going up 76%, and the deductible is going up about 250%.
Looks like it will be cheaper to just pay my doctor bills out of my pocket, and pay the $1600 annual fine for not having insurance.

Terry check with your state, there are provisions in the new law to provide assistance to people with high premiums and other expenses. In MD they are substantial.

...Louis- No need to apologize for the truth. The latest gouging on medicine, the EPI-Pen in which the medicine inside costs about $1.

I hope everyone has a good night.

Curt you hit the nail on the head, thank you

Great picture!

 

[Bruette]

I'm done for the day, I had more than enough paper work and research for one day!

I think a train picture is in order.

 

[montanan]

Louis - Minimum wage has been a big argument. Seattle has upped its minimum wage and unfortunately that had already caused a number of businesses to either lay off people and in some cases close shop. The wages of a person living in a big city that is barely enough for a person to exist would be a windfall for a person living a a less populated town or a rural area. I am with you and would always pay a worker a premium wage and a bonus if they are a good worker. A lot of jobs that are paying a minimum wage are entry level jobs, food service and such. Not jobs that a person can support a family, but unfortunately some companies are still locked into the minimum wage mind set. By the way, Nice ConRail photo.

Curt - Really like your photo. Nicely done.

Here's a couple of photos of my Chebby dealership. There is a jello Chebby in the back of the showroom, but can't be seen in these photos.



Catch you later.

 

[bnsf971]

Good evening. It's clear and 85.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

As far as I am concerned, the sole purpose of Government is to make everyone else subservient to it!

CURT: That photo absolutely jumps out at you! Such realism of the workers going about their work.
Just screams of another place - another time.
Well done, my friend, well done.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Afternoon All,

Did some outside chores this morning, thank goodness for a small breeze. I ran a train for about an hour today and thought about a future project. I want to do 2 flat cars with Pennsy tractor trailers on them. It will be a off-take of the Pennsy Truc-Train since you can't find the shorter trailers that were first used. Sylvan Scale Models made them at one time.

Phil- Noted

Terry- I'm sorry. What a crappy set of choices.

Louis- No need to apologize for the truth. The latest gouging on medicine, the EPI-Pen in which the medicine inside costs about $1.

Garry- Glad there was no damage.

Eric- I hope you are feeling OK.

At the fuel racks

I hope everyone has a good night.

Curt ..... WOW ! ..... Nice photo .... I feel grimy just looking at it.

Louis ... Nice shot of Conrail.

Chet ... I like the Chevy Dealer.... Can I get a deal on Bel Air ?

...
Below is a photo of a highway bridge which is a kit bashed Campbell railroad truss bridge. .... I have decided to change this bridge. I will use the two truss sides for a new railroad bridge. It will be a span that will be part of the bridge project I am starting to work on. ... This highway bridge will be changed from single span to two span. . There is room for a pier between the tracks behind the dome car and in front of the SD7. ..... More to follow in the days ahead.

 

[Bruette]

One of the most moving statements in Charles Dickens' Christmas tale is by Marley's Ghost when despairing over "life's opportunities misused." Scrooge, trembling with fear and beginning to share in Marley's guilt, says: "But you were always a good man of business, Jacob." Upon which the Ghost cried out in anguish:

Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!​

 

[Bruette]

As far as I am concerned, the sole purpose of Government is to make everyone else subservient to it!.

If you had ever seen one of these pull up in the middle of the night in your neighborhood you might think differently about our free country.

All you have to do is look to social media or any media to see the insane things being said to know we have true freedom.

 

[Bruette]

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[bnsf971]

Good morning. It's clear and 82.

Just an FYI, it's not a good idea to attempt to operate a computer when you have a headache that's so bad you can barely see the keyboard. Both keyboard. I accidentally pulled a Hillary, and spent the next day and a half restoring my data from backups...

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. 70° and mostly clear this morning. Pool temperature finally got back up to 86° Thursday after falling to 80° on Monday. This is probably the coolest, wettest August that I have experienced. Sorry Sherrel! In the train shed I did some preliminary benchwork for my "turnback" loop for the upper deck. The plan is to have it 64" across so I can comfortably make the radius 30" or so. Cantilevering it over the lower deck seems to be workable, otherwise I will have to add a disguised 2" x 2" support post.
Chet - Enjoyed all of the pictures that you posted yesterday, from the platform to the car dealership. I have to agree with your take on Obamacare. Wait, Obamacare, isn't that an oxymoron? On the other hand, insurance companies have been screwing patients with "pre-existing" conditions for far too long.
Justin - 91° - That ain't nothing here in TX.
Curt - Even though I think I have seen the fueling rack photo before, It was a pleasure seeing it again.
Garry - Time for some infrastructure upgrades, is it? I look forward to your results.

Everyone here have a great day.

Willie

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang.
Been absent a few days, a quick scan of the posts revealed some great pics, and a discussion that bordered on the poly-tickle edge.
We might want to keep the health care chatter to immediate members needs or what salve is best to help ease the pain from soldering iron burns, before the big guy with the baseball bat wakes up.

 

[bnsf971]

Karl, I see you're peddling some stuff on that evil auction site...

 

[Boris]

Good morning. 75° and sunny.

Curt: I must complement the work you did to build your Fuel pad. The photo shows just how close to reality your modeling is.

Louis: Gallardo, 1 and 1/3 innings, 12 batters, 7 runs allowed, 6 earned...in NY of all places...and after this series, there are three at home vs. Toronto...I haven't given up on the season, but the meltdown...

I don't really want to get into the health Insurance debate, but between those who dream up public policy, and those corporate types who exploit people in need, we have a real mess on our hands. I'm fortunate in that I have Medicare, and can afford the Supplement, as well as some Dental and Vision coverage, but the cost of all of this keeps going up, even though neither of us doctors that much.

The featured layout in this month's, (September '16), Railroad Model Craftsman, is the "White River Division, of the B&M, by George Dutka. a 12'x14' point to point layout based on operation in the 1950s on the B&M, the CV and the Rutland. Since I'm attempting to build a rendition of operations of the Reading and PRR/PC during either the early or late 60s, I find some of his ideas useful. My dimensions, are 16'x21', so I have a little more space to play with, but this fellow did a good job creating a working rendition of the prototypes.

It's really nice having the family here. I really enjoy the little people.