Running Bear's June 2022 Coffee Shop


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TLOC said:
I saw Coopers comments this morning and my1st thought was sore loser. Too bad bad or missed calls are part of the game. Tampa over the years have had more then their share of good luck. I never thought he was a whiner though. True side of people come out when adversity hits. I am hoping for Colorado to win but now I would like to see Tampa crushed.

The defense kid Makar from Colorado is good but he couldn’t hold Bobby Orr’s shoes let alone be as good as Orr. The hype is getting to be too much. I saw Orr and other then “the Great One”, Wayne Gretzky no one was better IMO
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Tom- i never saw Bobby Orr play in person, but I did see Gretzky & Gordie Howe(in his final year- on the same team as Mark & Marty), who was the one who Wayne idolized(hence 99). Although he was worn down by his final season, I could still tell how great Gordie was.
 
JeffH said:
Eagle Scout here. I loved camping in the winter. No competition for firewood, and no insects.

After College, for several years, I would meet a friend to tent camp whatever weekend fell closest to New Years day. We always had a blast, and occasionally, a Park Ranger would stop by just to be sure we were still alive.

Yeah, this was in the 80's.. I wouldn't do it now.
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I am an Eagle Scout, too. Still love winter camping, however it has been 2 years.

Last summer while camping out near Foxboro Wisconsin woke up around 3 am to the unmistakable song of a whip-o-will. It sang for a good 15 minutes or more. Last time I heard one was 2008.
 
Good Afternoon!

logandsawman said:
I am an Eagle Scout, too. Still love winter camping, however it has been 2 years.
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So was I an Eagle. I still have some memorabilia from that time:
ScoutingBadges.JPG

The scout master was on old WWII 'landed in Normandy' kind of guy; meaner than a two-headed alligator. I liked him a-lot, though. He taught me how to shoot, and how to survive in the forest no matter what season. - I've done lots of winter camping. No problems.

logandsawman said:
Guy - we do a lot of gravel crushing at our county pits. The machinery around here is generally not that new. I had a gravel operation on my last layout.
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Dave - Did you take photos of the gravel operation? I'd like to see.
 
TLOC said:
I had a diesel golf in the early 80’s and Jettas, Passatts and Golfs in the 2000’s. I have also had a Bentley, a couple Porsches and Audi Q3. Other then the diesel freezing up in -20f degree weather I have had no issues with VW. During the 90’s I was driving the Ford Taurus as I was a road warrior. Decent cars the kids hated as they got the hand me downs. Purchased with 15,000 miles from the local car rental Ford dealer. Changed them out at 100,000miles or 18 months, whatever came 1st.

I hate the car buying experience. My brother and daughter revel in it.
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I've been driving VW (Audi including) cars since 1988. Only exceptions are a used Mazda GLC for a year (92-93) when I was in Germany after my Golf got wiped out in a 65 car Autobahn pileup and I had no money, and a Volvo V60 we bought with Sweden delivery in late 2016 and that was wiped out by an idiot hitting my wife in 2019. The Volvo came after the Dieselgate buyback.

The only one that was any issue was the used 88 Jetta I bought in 93 upon returning from Germany. It worked fine for about 5 years, with only a few small issues, but started to act up and my dad, to whom I had given it in 97 after buying a new Jetta GT 97, got rid of it. It turns out that the car had been in 3 accidents before I bought it that were not disclosed (this is pre-internet and carfax and similar services -- didn't learn about the accidents until my dad had a dealer service dept tell him in 98-99 timeframe when he decided to junk it).

All the rest have been great from a mechanical and reliability standpoint. Mostly a few small warranty fixes and then wear and tear items and routine maintenance. Only had to pay for two things -- wheel bearings prematurely in the 89 Golf and some sort of A/C issue in the Passat after many years.

89 Golf (bought new in Nov 88), 88 Jetta bought used in 93, 97 Jetta GT bought new in 97, 2006 Passat bought new in 2006, 2x Jetta Sportwagen TDI bought new in 2013, 2016 Audi A3 e-tron sportback [PHEV] bought new in 2016 and still going. 2019 Jetta SEL Premium bought new. My VWs have been built in Pennsylvania, Germany, Mexico.

I am not counting the 2x Dodge RAM 2500 Cummins Diesel trucvks I owned (late 1999 -- mid 2013 between the two) since VW is not in that market. (But I do consider them German since this was during the Daimler Chrysler era and our friend Dieter Zetsche 🤣 )
 
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My only VW was a used 1961 Beetle that cost me $250 in 1972. It came with over 100,000 miles on it and lasted me until 1978. Great little car and I commuted 100+ miles a day in it for those six years. It had a 36 hp engine that I was able to maintain myself with the help of a book. Heated with engine heat from the air-cooled engine, water pressure in the windshield washers was from a small hose attached to the spare tire and the wipers themselves were vacuum powered from the engine as well. Had to open the front trunk to access the 10-gal gas tank. Kept a can of oil and a toolbox on the floorboard of the rear engine compartment. Got rid of it because we had our first kid and there were no seatbelts to secure a car seat.
 
McLeod said:
Good Afternoon!


So was I an Eagle. I still have some memorabilia from that time:
View attachment 147749
The scout master was on old WWII 'landed in Normandy' kind of guy; meaner than a two-headed alligator. I liked him a-lot, though. He taught me how to shoot, and how to survive in the forest no matter what season. - I've done lots of winter camping. No problems.


Dave - Did you take photos of the gravel operation? I'd like to see.
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I still have some old patches as well!!

edit - maybe you meant the gravel crushing at our county pits? For this year crushing is set for late July. I don't have pics saved, however.

Here are some pics from the gravel operation:

bin2 001.JPG


I made this big bin to load rail cars with (above)

bin2 004.JPG


My operation does not have a crusher, but the excavator breaks the gravel out of the hillside and the dozer loads it into trucks, which keep the Walthers conveyor busy

a final view 033.JPG


In the background you can see them tearing gravel out of the hillside.


Dave LASM
 
I have been driving VW Touaregs for the past 10 years or so. I absolutely love the Touareg... except they don't import them to the U.S. anymore.

My only complaint is that they consume oil as they get older.

I ended up with a Touareg back around 2011 because I was tired of getting 13MPG from my pickup just to have towing capacity.

At the time, the Touareg was the only mid-sized SUV that had any real towing capacity (7,770lbs). That was the lure that I bit. And I'm happy to this day. Even went and bought a 2017 since that was the last model year imported.

I've considered getting a truck again, now that they all seem to have some sort of high powered, supercharged, triple-turbo wonder-4-cylinder motors. But then I figured I wait a few more years to see how often those 4-bangers self-destruct under "normal" use.

I'm sorry... but when I hear those turbos spooling up just to get a bass boat out of the water at a public ramp, my BS meter goes into overdrive.
 
santafewillie said:
Good Morning All. Clear and 74°, heat advisory for today with expected high around 103°. Unfortunately with the removal of the large ash tree last fall, my pool is no longer partially shaded and the late afternoon water temperature is now hovering between 89° and 91°. It's close to 85° in the early morning.

Picked just over 25 lbs. of tomatoes yesterday. Looks like Marinara processing will begin Monday. I also need to pickle some Jalapenos.

Mowed some yesterday and I will mow some more today after the weekly grocery trek. I have my follow-up doctor appointment after the recent stent surgery this morning while I am in town. It's a bit of a compromise as I was supposed to see him 7-10 days after the procedure, but his office wouldn't schedule me until July 5! Five weeks later! Yesterday they called and had a cancellation today so I took the opening. I am not experiencing any issues, but I am not happy with the additional medications. One of them cost me $320 for the first 30 days. I am also experiencing BP of 110/64 at certain times which I don't consider good. Too much medication I think.

We are getting ready for the upcoming two day trip out of town to San Antonio for our latest grandson's christening Saturday afternoon. Leaving tomorrow morning around 0900 and returning home on Sunday. While there, we will be visiting with my wife's surviving older brother for lunch Saturday. Not sure whether or not we'll be visiting any tourist attractions while there as that's my wife's duty. I just drive safely and quickly. One of the roads that I use is known as TX-130, a 91 mile toll road with speed limits up to 85 mph, that bypasses the congested IH35 through Austin. The recently opened Tesla factory is alongside that road about halfway along the route, a bit SE of Austin itself. Texas Highway Patrol usually gives between 11 and 13 mph leeway to drivers on all highways, so it is a quick ride. I have only used that road a dozen times and I have never seen a patrolman yet. It is also electronically tolled so no slowing down for toll booths. Most of the portion on IH35 is 75 mph. It is a 335 mile trip that generally takes right at 4 hours not including bathroom breaks or meals. Since we'll be stopping for both, we'll roll into our hotel about 1500. I can usually make it on one tank of gas.

Thanks for the likes and comments regarding yesterday's post; Steve J, Smudge, Gary, Tom O, Hughie, Karl, James, Moermusic, Dave B, Mikey, Patrick, Curt, Chad, Guy, Jaz, Rick, Joe, Louis, Tom, OB Ken.

Not a lot happened out in the train shed yesterday. Working on that billboard kit or should I say scratchbuilding that billboard. As I posted yesterday, all pieces have to be cut from a sheet of styrene.
The face was OK.
View attachment 147704
The back was a PITA.
View attachment 147706
But I got it done and painted and then cut and attached the two legs.
View attachment 147707
Not my best effort.

Guy - Those new clean freight cars were probably a neat sight for your eyes. They certainly looked good in the photos. I occasionally get to see that with new or rebuilt engines coming from the Wabtec plant (formerly GE) that is in Ft Worth alongside BNSF tracks.
Joe - You're correct that the octane of the gas never came into play when my wife bought the Acura. One of my daughter's had one that she liked and that's what she went looking for.
Ken (D&J) - I also thought self-checkouts were just for a few items when originally installed. The Kroger that I use has 12 of them clearly marked "15 items or less", but it is obvious that many people can't read or count. They also have two other self-checkouts with conveyors for folks with a lot of stuff. Always lines at all of them. At the time of day that I go, there is usually two staffed checkout lanes open and there is rarely a line. I have observed the same actions that you described.

Gotta go and prepare for the grocery trek. Everybody have a great day.
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25ib!my first is not yet red
 
logandsawman said:
I still have some old patches as well!!

edit - maybe you meant the gravel crushing at our county pits? For this year crushing is set for late July. I don't have pics saved, however.

Here are some pics from the gravel operation:

View attachment 147751

I made this big bin to load rail cars with (above)

View attachment 147752

My operation does not have a crusher, but the excavator breaks the gravel out of the hillside and the dozer loads it into trucks, which keep the Walthers conveyor busy

View attachment 147753

In the background you can see them tearing gravel out of the hillside.


Dave LASM
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Ecellentwaterphotographs
 
TLOC said:
I had a diesel golf in the early 80’s and Jettas, Passatts and Golfs in the 2000’s. I have also had a Bentley, a couple Porsches and Audi Q3. Other then the diesel freezing up in -20f degree weather I have had no issues with VW. During the 90’s I was driving the Ford Taurus as I was a road warrior. Decent cars the kids hated as they got the hand me downs. Purchased with 15,000 miles from the local car rental Ford dealer. Changed them out at 100,000miles or 18 months, whatever came 1st.

I hate the car buying experience. My brother and daughter revel in it.
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I had a hill man imp as my first car, it was old even then, then I had my dads Passat, I then bought a spitfire, all red and chrome, with a soft top, my Doberman would sit in the back with the rear unzipped and shove her head out as I drove, she and I used to get honked regularly :D,I still owned it when I met my other half, and he was driving it when some tart re ended him on a roundabout and escaped having pushing him off the roundabout, the car ended up with a broken back, luckily the other half was not badly hurt, but it killed the car.
It was downhill from then, despite a Range Rover V6 4.6l which is big by uk standards,an Audi cd 2000, the Tesla,a Ford Scorpion, a Ford mondo cdx, and others less notable the bmw series 4 coupe black with red leather was the only other chase me car. the other half’s motorbikes were fun, although one horse power is more challenging.But the days when I rode and did dressage are long gone, and I never liked jumping much, cantering and galloping oh yeah, the need for speed.
 
bnsf971 said:
There are gutter guards installed on the house. It helps keep me off ladders every fall.
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No need here. Ever since the stroke 11 years ago, I've had balance issues so I'm not allowed on the roof. No Matter,
next door neighbor's wife runs around on my roof barefoot with a leaf blower twice a year keeping my gutters clear.
All I have to do is hold the ladder. 🙂
 
D&J RailRoad said:
I see the full shopping carts sitting at the self-checkout machines occasionally.
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Ken: At the local Walmart, there is no choice, they normally have one checkout open for the whole store.
ShopRite, still has checkers, but has done away with the express checker. They have two banks of automatic checkers, one for 30 items and under, the other for any number.
Patrick said:
TomO: I was headhunted and the position sounded interesting. We do have a lot of aircraft\aviation in the area, but since the major employers got bought out by bigger companies, there's a lot of outsourced IT in the area anymore. Also the "entrepreneurial" nature of the area keeps IT wages down. I could move to Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Omaha and a bit further away is Dallas and Denver and make about 50% higher wages with a cost of living not that much higher than Wichita. Get tired of businesses in the area complaining about the lack of IT workers, but barely paying them anything. IT is always an expense, but we need it. Been that way for at least the last 30 years.
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Business always whines about being unable to attract / retain quality employees, but expects these quality employees to work for minimum level wages...often banking on a home town discount from those not wanting to relocate. Owners / Executives of these same companies would never dream of putting themselves in the same position.

Today, I watched a real time video of a CSX freight (M 410) passing through a location in Virginia. 3 engines on the head end, distributed power about halfway was an additional 2 units. Total train consisted of close to 200 cars, and took about 10 minutes to pass at 30-35 MPH. All under the control of a locomotive engineer and conductor. That is very high productivity. The crew members haven't had a pay increase in about 5 years, due to the intricacy of contract negotiation under the Railway Labor Act. The carrier acts as if this is wasteful, and wants to reduce wages and eliminate the conductor...(they have brass balls, eh?). Ya really have to wonder about some of these people...
 
Good evening. Local weather site is down, phone sez 64°. It was mostly clear about two hours ago, when I put the garbage out, and it's supposed to be nice tomorrow. Got my electric bill today,significantly lower than expected...actual reading too. Reflects how we have managed to remain cooler than average for late May and 21 days of June.

Most significant event of the day, was installing the bench work for the final section of the model railroad. the engine terminal. One track will also be the program track, once everything is wired and connected. once the glue dries (overnight) I will fit the plywood, then run the track.

Right now the Mets and Astros are tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 9th. The Orioles lead the White Sox 3-0 in the bottom of the 7th. No Hockey tonight.

SMS @ Pureland switching cars06_22_2022 David Paul Photo FB.jpg

SMS crew switching the Pureland Industrial complex in Bridgeport, South Jersey on 06/22/2022. What is unusual about this photo, by David Paul, is that SMS normally uses switchers from their collection of Baldwin Switchers...Maybe they are finally wearing out? Replacement B-23-7 is itself becoming scarce.
 
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