Running Bear's July 2022 Coffee Shop

[chadbag]

Shooting off your own foot seems to me? The same can of beans can be as much as 85 cents higher difference from Walmart
Out here that was made Law for most stores, and recently upped to 30 cents a bag.
Doesn't bother me - I keep a large stash in the truck at all times. The Spousal Unit keeps me supplied as she can have bags in the seat next to her and walk in to the store without them!

Glad you got the 40 bags sorted out! Best to always check your receipt - several times I have not received the "sale price" as advertised and a couple times charged for 7 items when I had only 6.

This is why I shop for myself and use self-checkout. I get the items I want and can double check the checker And take care of issues immediately.

And luckily our local Walmarts don't have a lot of "People of Walmart" hanging out at them.

 

[TLOC]

Isn't Galena one of the places that Ulysses S Grant called home? IIRC, his time there was... well... notorious...

Yes. From like 1854 to re-enlisting during the Northern War of Aggression he lived in Galena. He was almost poverty stricken even though his wife’s parents in Missouri were slave owners. After the War, 13 business owners purchased the house the Grants lived in and gave it to him as a gift for his service to the North during the War. Galena per the tour guide had many famous political folk living there. There are 5 Civil War generals laid to rest in the town cementaries but not Grant. He never returned (at least publicly) to Galena after he served his 2 terms in office. His real wealth came after his presidency when he wrote his memoirs on a publishing deal Mark Twain arranged for him that paid him 70% commission on sales instead of a normal 20-30%. He was not a good business man and again the house he lived in New York City was purchased by supporters and given to the Grant family. His accomplishments as President had him ranked in the bottom 5 over all but “revisionist” historians have moved him up the list. Personally, what I have read the last few days about Grant is his addiction to alcohol was devastating for him and he fought it. Not a successful business man he did have his moments in success but were short lived. His War accomplishments had him in a lot of those right spot at the right time moments and for that he relied on his West Point training that served him well.

All in all a great visit yesterday. Galena acknowledges Grant as someone who lived there but doesn’t really push IMO that fact. Galena’s biggest attraction since the 1960’s has been the historic downtown business district.

 

[Bruette]

Seems like the Mets may have their number.

But can the Mets make it to the World Series?

 

[Bruette]

I love Wal-Mart, but I only go early in the morning. After that it can get much to weird, even for me!

My wife does all of our self check out. She is lightning fast and like Chad said she "can double check the checker."

 

[chadbag]

Saw this on FB

 

[logandsawman]

Saw this on FB

Interesting story, Chad;

changing the topic, I wanted to circulate this video of my old, fixed up Varney 10 wheeler. A little oil, good cleaning, and new paint job makes this $60 loco and tender a workhorse on my layout. This model, I believe, is about 50 years old. Chime in if you have different information!

The layout is still under construction but I want to run trains too

If you checked out my build thread, this video was originally shared there:

Checking out for today, may be back tomorrow if I don't get carried away in the train room

Dave LASM

 

[kbkchooch]

I love plastic shopping bags! I have one with me when I walk the dog, and when I scoop the cats pan. Great dookie bags!

 

[kbkchooch]

Interesting story, Chad;

changing the topic, I wanted to circulate this video of my old, fixed up Varney 10 wheeler. A little oil, good cleaning, and new paint job makes this $60 loco and tender a workhorse on my layout. This model, I believe, is about 50 years old. Chime in if you have different information!

The layout is still under construction but I want to run trains too

If you checked out my build thread, this video was originally shared there:

Checking out for today, may be back tomorrow if I don't get carried away in the train room

Dave LASM

It has to be at least 62 years old. Gordon Varney sold his company in 1960 to a concern that eventually became LifeLike trains.

 

[Texas Hobo]

Seems like the Mets may have their number

Astros fared pretty well against them

 

[Jaz avalley]

I'd like to know what an "American" accent is. The US is larger than Europe (not including the inhabited vastness of Russia) and so has a gamut of accents to match.

eh?


Sorry

Folks from Chicago in Northern Illinois can’t understand the accents from Southern Illinois which probably is located starting about 50 miles south of the city limits

I have issues with folks from the UPPER Penisula of Michigan. I have no clue what they are saying but they don’t understand me either.

Exactly, In the UK a scouse accent, some parts of Northern Ireland, and Glaswegian/Scottish are just a few that can confuse the hell out of others from the same area, America is vast, but US TV and films choose less obvious accents in the main, but the ‘fake’ British accents especially the bad guy versions are often very styalised and do not actually exist here. I notice subtle differences, but because Actors have decent diction you hear the words, so accents are less troublesome, here in the UK if you meet certain people who roll their constants etc even a native struggles to understand them, but the fake UK accents often leave me in stitches.
Over the years I have liked True Blood, The Hill billies, Dukes of Hazard, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Malcolm in the Middle, Happy Days, Married with Children, Roseanne, Scubs, Mash, The Simpsons, I Love Lucy, Cheers to name just a few, now I bet to an American you can pick out accents, but to me I could not place any of those other than as American, except the Hillbillies which I suspect is over the top.
I do know a lot of much more subtle UK accents, the southern counties, Essex - at least TV) Essex, LOndon, Welsh at least south Wales, most Scots are obvious, as are most Nothern Irish, which can be confused with some actual Eire/Irish, when I first moved here 20 years ago, the accent was ‘foreign’ to me, nowadays I do not notice it. I know over the years I have lost my ~Buckingham accent which some people claimed was posh, but as a council kid I certainly was not posh. I spoke well enough to get a communications job with a global company with its Head Office in Windsor, but that was more my schooling than my backgroundl Accents are in general in the eye of the beholder, we rarely see our own accents, and only notice nuances that different remarkably from our own.
My cousin was born in New York when she first moved here under 10 years old, she had an American twang, she lived local to us for several years moved to Plymouth and her accent changed, then moved to Scotland and her style of speaking changed although I myself notice no Scottish accent, I know she does not consider herself half English and thinks of herself as Scottish, but retains her dual passport.
In the eye of the beholder.
Me I have a Somerset dad, and a Welsh mum, and I have a mixed accent from having moved a bout, Having lived here for 20 years I suspect I have some of the local nuances, but when early on here we had an appeal with the council over building the stables I was advised to leave it to the committee and not attend as I was informed my obvious southern accent could go against me.I refrained from attending, and we got our stables.

 

[santafewillie]

Hooray! It actually rained and is still coming down. At 3:30 CDT it was 101°. By 4:00 CDT, it had fallen to 73° and there is currently (at 4:30) 0.3" in the rain gauge. Power went off for a while, while I was canning some tomato sauce, but I use a gas range so no problem. Granddog is not happy with the thunder. First rainfall since the half inch on July 3.
Earlier today before it got above 95°, I did cut down a half tree that had died.

The other half of the split trunk is still doing well, but will probably also die in the next two years. The half that I cut down is about a 14" diameter trunk and will provide close to three weeks of firewood.
I cut it high enough that the downed tree just cleared the easement road back to the neighbors, so no further trimming was needed today.

Guess what I will be doing next week after the ground cover dries off a bit.

 

[Jaz avalley]

Lol so true.

 

[Jaz avalley]

Sleeping or we were till we heard tap, tap, tap. Can’t believe I heard you from Fort Wayne in Wisconsin!

Good morning

I am the other side of the pond…and I heard him…like a bloody woodpecker…

 

[Jaz avalley]

hmm...
A few days ago, I posted something about charging for bags.
Turns out it's more than just that store. I have no way to see how wide spread it is, but at the very least, every store in my city is being forced to charge a $.10/bag tax.

Uk has same issue, to reduce plastic waste, so they are back to paper bags as well, which is trees instead, better if they rewarded people using own bags, but charging us is soooo much easier

 

[bnsf971]

Shooting off your own foot seems to me? The same can of beans can be as much as 85 cents higher difference from Walmart
Out here that was made Law for most stores, and recently upped to 30 cents a bag.
Doesn't bother me - I keep a large stash in the truck at all times. The Spousal Unit keeps me supplied as she can have bags in the seat next to her and walk in to the store without them!

Glad you got the 40 bags sorted out! Best to always check your receipt - several times I have not received the "sale price" as advertised and a couple times charged for 7 items when I had only 6.

When I have to pay an extra $4 plus tax for bags, that 85 cent cheaper can of beans isn't such a bargain.

 

[Jaz avalley]

Good evening gang
Been absent of late, life has been trying.
Last Friday afternoon, (7/22) I got off of work early anticipating a good weekend. I get home a little after 1 and was informed that the cat has not moved in 12 hours, and wont move to stand up if prodded, and he's just panting. Oh, and the central air is not cooling. Went down to check on the cat, not looking good, wife takes him to the vet while I try to fix the a/c. No joy there.
Called the company that installed it 6-7 years ago, they are more than happy to set up a service call, on August the 8th. I set it up then called a buddy of mine who owns an HVAC business outside of D.C. He can help, but it's way out of his area and he refers a local guy. I call him and he says they will be out tomorrow. (7/23) Great!
Then I go and put a window unit from the garage into our bedroom window. 1 small victory. Finally I hook up the trailer which is loaded with limbs and debris left over from the recent storms, to take to the dump Saturday. Drat, lights on the trailer aren't working!
Vet calls, cat needs IV fluids and 24 hr monitoring , testing reveals possible pancreatitis. They do not offer overnight care. Called Baltimore Pet hospital, full. Frederick MD, full, North Baltimore falls Road, full. Shrewsberry Pa, says bring him right up! So I disconnect the trailer, grab the wife and the cat and head north. Over an hour later we get there and stay for the next 3+hours waiting for them to run more tests and x-rays and they tell us he's staying put and is stable. We get home around 11 p.m. and I know my weekend is shot.
Saturday dawns and around 10 a.m. the HVAC guy calls and says he's on the way. He arrives 30 minutes later and gets to work. meanwhile its already 90 outside, I say no to the trailer rewire/repair. After an hour or so he gets the a/c running, only to have it quit 20 minutes later. More diag, more effort, another burnt fuse but no additional amp load. He finally traces it to a poor internal connection in the outside fused cut out switch. The one place that only HVAC guys disconnect before they service it. Where the connection was bad was red hot! OK, more repairs there and this time it's fixed.
Called the vet, cat seems to be improving but he also has had no BMs in 24 hrs, plus he's not eating. They want to give the cat an enema. I say better you than me. I'll call back in the morning.
I did get the yard cut Saturday while the wife enjoyed the neighbors pool. We are cat sitting for them while they are in Key West for the week. So I am still scooping a litter box daily, even if may cat is in another state! Meanwhile the new Husky has been finding every weak spot in the fence and probing it. I may look into electrifying the fence. It kept the cows in at home.
Sunday afternoon the vet called and said we can come take our cat home, he is feeling better and eating. So we trek north again to retrieve our little bundle of fur and med to administer for the next week.
Weekends total expenditure. AC repair $475.00 1st vet $375.00 2nd vet/hospital, $1,415.78 or $2,265.78
I thought I might get some rest during the work week, but Monday and Tuesday my post-menopausal co-worker must have been having flashbacks and after a screaming match we were both sent to our corners. I honestly was so pissed I borrowed a cig from a co-worker and smoked it clean to the butt. 1st one I had in 11 years.
Yesterday was a normal day, but the rest of the week caught up to me, I had to sleep.
TO cap it all off, today I find out that a friend I have known since I was 15, a former next door neighbor ,high school classmate, for years we had people thinking he was my younger brother, was killed in a wreck caused by an impaired driver, so now I have memorial services this weekend and a funeral to attend this coming week.
I just wanna play with my trains, but it's not allowed.

Ouch ouch ouch, glad cat is better but the cost was horrific, but he loved the enema!, milk to cause diarroah might have been a cheaper bet,but Jen you had to diagnose what to do and IV LIQUIDS MEANT HE WAS LOW ON LIQUIDS, THE -I hate caps!- but the high temps are effecting all of us, my cat is avoiding water so I have stopped biscuits and giving tinned meat with jelly or gravy to keep liquid uptake, they are threatening a hose ban, but with goats and ducks I will have no choice but to use hose, where that leaves me who knows, with my leg no way I can bucket the water required, luckily over winter spring we filled IBCs which should see the polytunnel through any ban,and local we are off an artesian well not a open reservoir so nay not get a ban, unless the local company exports water at exorbitant cost to another area then is low so bans us.
At least my woes doe not involve lots of costs.

Slthough last year husband replaced broken elec shower, himself, so only 99 pounds for the unit
wd did remove a sink from the kitchen and got a free standing Franke stainless steel 2 massive bowls and a drainer for 1,000
this year we took out an old shower and are replacing it, I am tiling to reduce costs, again a cheap electric shower, but then a porcelain base and a glass enclosure, the tiles alone set me back 300 pounds, we also had to repair a hot water tank, and forked out for a second one elsewhere - because we have so much solar, and we thought a second one would mean if one broke we had back up until the first was repaired, maybe overkill but we get FITs a government payment for another 18 years for any solar we produce,use or export, so that will give us back over the years, we added a basin to a stand alone we, so you can wash your hands (cold water only) rather then go to a bathroom, we also got a vey annoying shared pipe between the kitchen and bathroom shower which meant food waste could smell out the bathroom - should have done that years ago, we have spent over 5,000 without the Franke sink, but hopefully this will see us good for a decade or so, fingers crossed. we have so,at pumps and a reservoir from the bungalows roof if water becomes a serious pain, I used it during the last hosepipe ban some tart walking past said…ooo oooooo your not allowed a hose and got the sharp end of my seriously annoyed whats it got to do with you,as I politely teeth gritted explained and it’s not off the mains water it my hose my pump and MY water from our reservoir so feel free to report me, in my mind poked out tongue.

 

[PRR Modeler]

Evening All,

Started out outside trimming trees, bushes and hedges. We met daughter and family at 2 pm for ice cream (grandson finished teenager police academy) then went to DMV where the truck was officially turned over to daughter for grandson. I figure it will save us at least $1k a year. I recieved 3 more Pennsy H21a hoppers today so I think I have enough for both mines now. I also recieved the Blairline road crossing set (wood) for my next layout project.

Patrick- It all looks good.

TomO- Great layout and 1:1 photos. Those steps would keep you in shape.

Karl- You have surely had your trials lately. I'm glad your kitty is OK. Condolences on the loss of your friend.

Chet- Great to hear from you. We have the same issues here with the refugees from liberal paradises moving here.

Willie- Nice progress on the layout.

Guy- Nice job on the oil drums.

Dave- Beautiful sunset. Nice job on the steamer.

Mike- Great news.

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[montanan]

Good evening. Made it back for the second day in a row.

Terry - I am going to have to go back in the pages to see what this bag thing is, but you DO NOT seem happy with it. Sounds like you may be talking about shopping bags. I keep them in a car but usually take the wrong car to the grocery store. When my wife left Montana, she left her car which I got up and going again with a used engine. Was thinking of selling it but my daughter might be able to use it.

Troy - It is amazing at how destructive that woodpeckers can be and they will try to return to the same places. Good luck.

TomO - Don't think I would want to navigate those stair with a few drinks under my belt.

Karl - With the heat that has been cooking us across the country, not having A/C can be miserable. Got to 100 here Thursday but the heaqt pump has done a great job keeping it cool inside. I take my girls for a long walk early in the day and just a short squat and squirt during the day. They just about crawl over each other trying to get back inside.

Louis - It is good to be back. I have missed the forum but am still quite sad that my layout had to be torn down after working on it for over 35 years. I haven't been in a Wal Mart in over 15 years and where I live now, there is no Wal Mart. No big box stores here. There are only 3 fast food franchises here, Subway, Pizza Hut and MacDonalds. I would go hungry before getting anything from these places. Have to go 90 miles into Kalispell for any big box stores or other fast food joints. There are a few good restaurants here plus the Cabinet Mountain Brewery that has some good microbrews.

Willie - That is a decent price for Gas, but being in Texas probably helps. A little over 4 bucks a gallon here. Libby is so small that it doesn't take much gas to get anywhere. I put gas in my Buick twice since i moved here in march, once after a trip to Whitefish for a visit with the surgeon. I usually fill up when I get down to around a half a tank. Only put gas in the Ford Taurus once since bringing it up here. I should forage through some of the boxes that I still haven't open since I moved here and get your items off to you if you still want them. The problem is moving the boxes around with this bum shoulder. I can't reach out to the mail box to get the mail out the arm is so bad. Great photos as usual. Missed them.

McLeod - I don't see another model railroad in my future. I am hoping that my son will be able to move here. The increased interest rates has him and his wife bummed out because they would raise his mortgage payment out of their comfort zone. I only have a smaller second bedroom and absolutely no place but the internet for get hobby supplies.

Dave - Glad that you got out of the Twin Cities area. Was thinking about you when I saw all of that crap going on there.

chadbag - I have been watching videos of cab views of the railroads in Japan. Quite interesting. It is nice to see more of Japan that I saw when I did visit there. Great videos.

Here are a few more old photos.

I have to go. There are a couple of dogs sitting here whimpering because it's dinner time.

Later

 

[dennis461]

logandsawman
I've got two Varney 10-wheelers, DCC with sound and can motor.
Just fixed the number on one tonight, some how I had different loco numbers on the cab.

 

[bnsf971]

Chet, Walmart and Best Buy are charging 10 cents per bag. Two things about this are cheesing me off. First, I was told it is a new law--it isn't. It's their idea of making more money off their customers. Second, at Walmart I got 17 items total when I did a grocery pickup. I WAS CHARGED FOR 40 BAGS.