Running Bear's March 2021 Coffee Shop


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Afternoon fellers. Have some items in the snail mail I'm waiting on for some projects I need to get done up. Literally snail mail! I placed an order for LEDs on the 19th. They havent left the state of Oregon. Their state of origin. So I'm not overly thrilled about that. On the other hand my replacement sand tower is coming in today. That should give me something to toy around with. Have my brother who is going to look into my burned out troller throttles. Figure he is my best bet as he builds all of his computers and can solder better than me on electronics. I do good just soldering in track wires. I havent given up on my P2K locomotives either. I can still run them just not any switching. For the time being I'll use my Atlas GP38 for switching. I'm actually glad I'm as stubborn as I am. I'm pretty sure most people would have given up after so much bad luck and setbacks as I've had. The thought has crossed my mind. Then I tell myself that I've been through so much worse. That there is a solution it's just a matter of finding it. If its resetting turnouts. If its filing rails or sanding cork. Which I've done all of the above in the past week. These have brought my layout back to life in one way or another. It's slow steps but it's getting better. Ofcourse this come with trial and error. And I've goofed up a few pieces of track. Of which I have ordered replacements for. Nature of the hobby. Reminder of what not to do. So I'll keep pressing on in hopes that I get back to where I was at before the issues struck. That's all I have for now. I'll stop by later when I get a chance.
 
TLOC said:
Good morning from mostly sunny So. Central Wisconsin where the wind is howling at 30-35mph with gusts 45-55 per the weather app. The temperature will get into the 60’s.

Not much happening today. The rains of Friday and Saturday have started the outdoor greening process. All of a sudden all the spring flowers seem to just be popping out of their winter sleep. More 60’s and the 70’s this weekend will really wake things up. At best May 1st for outdoor veggies to be planted but more likely the 15th. Up in North Central Wisconsin was usually Memorial Day weekend at the end of May. The girls at the greenhouses have proven they can work without Terry’s in person management. I stopped yesterday to check in and they have roughly 3000 Easter Lily’s, 250 Easter Lenten roses, and 1600 Azela’s ready to be picked up by the florists this week by Thursday. They are excited. Terry has a manager and 2 f/t workers plus 3 UW Madison interns which is how the 3 full time started in 2014. Good bonus time for them next week. The Farmers Markets will be starting in 2 or 3 weeks and the carrots, onions, karaobi and Brussels spouts will be ready. Plus other things, but those are what I grabbed yesterday. The hydrophonic tomatoes have been selling but with eating places still at limits in capacity they are way behind seasonal sales. Once the Farmers Markets open tomatoes become gold. If we get the Madison Farmers Market back with no limits around the Capital they will be as good as Tesla stock. Last year was tough on the ladies but they still did ok and Terry was happy.

Trains, I have the bench cleared of model grain structures. I am going to dirty up all the rolling stock wheels and trucks. I have done maybe 10 in the past so doing 40 cars worth ought to be interesting as a basically new experience. It is the start of weathering all the rolling stock.

The serenity of a scene, so calm, so much of the modeled world!
Soon to be clear cut.

Enjoy your day
TomOView attachment 126429
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Do you use heirloom seed or bought in seed I have seen the big companies have targeted sone US farmers bankrupting them if they get seed from the plants, they are now claim D A rights all over the place, and a lot of stuff is now being grown seedless not just for taste but because they can control seed, these F1 hybrids are another case in point,all sneaky ways to steal our freedoms.
 
TLOC said:
Willie great pictures.

The son was at Electric Lady from 1/15/2005 to 11/2005. He turned 20 in May of 2005 and was Electric Lady’s youngest intern ever. They offered him a full time job when he turned 21 but he never took it. He instead purchased a nighttime radio station on land contract in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, ( no help from us) was on the road with a few bands and did studio guitar and piano sessions for bands in Steamboat Springs, Tempe, Mesa, Arizona and Electric Lady in NYC for years until he blew out tendons in his right hand. By trade and education he is a sound engineer but has sold lots of songs, co-wrote with no credits but awesome money for a couple stars. His greatest accomplishment is he and a childhood friend in high school wrote programs for online games they invented. About 2010 he called as he needed an entertainment attorney they could trust. A few of those high school games a couple companies wanted the rights to. The boys made really good dollars after a bidding process when they sold those with no credit which is a big thing in gaming. Lots of non disclosure agreements. They are working now working for a company as independent contractors to fix games others invent but have no clue how to get things right programming wise but the idea is great. He is in Austin and Aaron is in the Houston area. They literally grew up at each other’s houses since they were in pre-kindergarten on Lake DuBay in Central Wisconsin. Now with a MBA he dabbles in whatever he likes and generally does well. Even though we wantEd to eliminate him for a few years ( ages 21 to 25) we have always been very proud of him. The only thing he has needed help with the last couple years are those damn planes. Repairs always seem to be more then quoted. In the last few months he has learned finally he must keep money reserves where he can access them quickly. A couple months ago he asked the bank of mom to help and she said no. He called me and said mom says no. Long story short his bank of mom helped him but she now does his investments.

Tom
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I think our kids have no idea in general yours did far better than most,they Have little appreciation for how many of us earned our homes and cash from nothing,and likely will run through it at a rate of knots when we go, as for wishing them off in a puff of smoke between 21-25...I am more inclined to 18-28/9 jeez kids who would have them lol.Boys are a pain,but many girls spend so long thinking about wether to have kids they are passed it before they want them, my brother has three kids 2 girls both near 40 and no grandkids,in his late 60s he is resigned to the fact he’ll never get one and he and his wife would have been brilliant grandparents. Yours turns his hand to bright ideas a little like an inventor hard to keep grounded.....excuse the pun with the planes
:p
 
Jaz avalley said:
Do you use heirloom seed or bought in seed I have seen the big companies have targeted sone US farmers bankrupting them if they get seed from the plants, they are now claim D A rights all over the place, and a lot of stuff is now being grown seedless not just for taste but because they can control seed, these F1 hybrids are another case in point,all sneaky ways to steal our freedoms.
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Jaz, I actually have no clue on seeds. I will wonder over to the greenhouses on Wednesday and ask. The note is written and on the refrigerator. I now use lists as a reminder. Something that took Terry 40 of the 44.5 years to pound into my head we have been married. Never needed a list at work but I am sure my assistant did.

TomO
 
TLOC said:
Jaz, I actually have no clue on seeds. I will wonder over to the greenhouses on Wednesday and ask. The note is written and on the refrigerator. I now use lists as a reminder. Something that took Terry 40 of the 44.5 years to pound into my head we have been married. Never needed a list at work but I am sure my assistant did.

TomO
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Da should have read DNA,and I meant to say seed bought in from big companies...
 
For those of you wondering about using Beer Bottles as grenades, I was wrong. Such was not the US Army in Korea.

Our Brit friends gave us Private William "Beer Bottle" Speakman

Bill_Speakman_VC.jpeg


(from the Wikipedia entry)
On 4 November 1951 in Korea, when the section holding the left shoulder of the company's position had been seriously depleted by casualties and was being overrun by the enemy, Speakman, on his own initiative, filled his pockets with grenades going forward and pelting the Chinese with the grenades. Having thrown all of the grenades he had taken, he returned for more. Inspired by his actions six men joined him in collecting and a pile of grenades and followed him in a series of charges. He broke up several enemy attacks, causing heavy casualties, and in spite of being wounded in the leg and the shoulder continued to lead charge after charge. Such was the ferocity of the fighting that they ran low on ammunition, resorting to throwing stones, ration tins, and beer bottles. The enemy was kept at bay long enough to enable his company to withdraw safely. The Press of the time nicknamed him the 'beerbottle' VC, something he disliked for fear that it suggested he and his colleagues drank beer while on duty. In fact the beer was used to cool gun barrels.

Hmmm.... I might have to get a 1:160 British private and a bunch of beer bottles for a historical re-enactment scene on the layout. :cool:
 
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Well, it is official now. My personal layout has just been shoved behind the back burner.
My daughter and SIL have decided to build a storage shed for a popup camper, couple motorcycles and a work bench, so a 16' x 20' building will work. I drew up some rough plans about 6 months ago to get a materials list. We checked Home Depot for lumber prices for an estimate.
Last week, we finalized some design details and checked lumber prices again. Big shock as most prices were up over 50%.

Last Saturday, we visited a local part-time lumber mill owner. He will cut untreated pine lumber in custom 16' lengths and 12" wide board and batten siding for about 40% of our estimated lumber cost. It will take 2 to 4 weeks to cut everything, but we are not in a hurry. Somehow, I got promoted yesterday from draftsman and estimator to construction foreman and chief carpenter.
I plan to impart a little of my construction experience to my SIL and two teenage grandsons. We will start with " measure twice and cut once".

I hope to continue a few small projects that I can finish on the club layouts.
 
Good morning gang

38° and clear, heading for a very nice 65°.

The 2-8-0 has been put on hold a few days. The old Champ decal sets striping wont lay flat. The herald and the lettering will, but not the stripes. I did get a Tichy decal set, while it looks good, the decals are too thick to snuggle down over details, the lettering feels 3 dimensional when you run your finger over it. The solution, toss the Tichy, use the Champ lettering and herald, and order Microscale stripes from my LHS.

I hope this works, I've got 6 more undec steamers to paint!

Mikey, it appears you have been railroaded into quite a project!

L8ter!
 
Welcome to Tuesday from southern Oregon! I hope all is doing well. Great photos & comments in the house.
Willie, on the rail question, it's pertaining to rail expansion with ribbon rail and the forces that can result from it.
If there is a gap in the rail that is 1 mile long, and you have a piece of rail that is 1 mile and 1 inch long, how high would you have to lift the center of the rail to get the ends to drop into the hole?
If I knew how to use what ever program on this 'puter to draw a picture I'd do that, but......

EVERYBODY HAVE A GREAT DAY!
 
2Tracks said:
Welcome to Tuesday from southern Oregon! I hope all is doing well. Great photos & comments in the house.
Willie, on the rail question, it's pertaining to rail expansion with ribbon rail and the forces that can result from it.
If there is a gap in the rail that is 1 mile long, and you have a piece of rail that is 1 mile and 1 inch long, how high would you have to lift the center of the rail to get the ends to drop into the hole?
If I knew how to use what ever program on this 'puter to draw a picture I'd do that, but......

EVERYBODY HAVE A GREAT DAY!
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OK, now I understand the question! The original "hole in the rail" threw me off.
 
Cloudy and warm , I finally managed to hacksaw open a can of store brand biscuits this morning for food . Finishing the lighting , still have a little work to do on the backdrop joints .

No lighting pics yet , the dam camera keeps compensating for the light level All my pics look like daylight. I must have something turn on ...white balance or some other obscure setting. Digital cameras are great , but sometimes I pine for the simplicity of my old Rebel 35mm , load ,point and shoot....well almost that simple.

McLeod said:
It is very difficult to find any boxcar that has not been painted up to look like a circus clown by criminals.
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Guy: Judging by the look of it , they were the worst kind of criminals .... talentless and illiterate . Perhaps the education system is not quite robust enough ?
 
GeeTee said:
No lighting pics yet , the dam camera keeps compensating for the light level All my pics look like daylight. I must have something turn on ...white balance or some other obscure setting. Digital cameras are great , but sometimes I pine for the simplicity of my old Rebel 35mm , load ,point and shoot....well almost that simple.
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First suggestion: If the camera is adding flash, see if you have flash set to "auto" - turn that puppy off
Second suggestion: If the camera is not adding flash, it may be adjusting the ISO... see if their is an AUTO ISO adjustment and nix that
 
troyphoto said:
First suggestion: If the camera is adding flash, see if you have flash set to "auto" - turn that puppy off
Second suggestion: If the camera is not adding flash, it may be adjusting the ISO... see if their is an AUTO ISO adjustment and nix that
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The flash is off and the ISO is set to max 12,xxx . I usually operate with aperture priority. I wonder if the aperture is changing .
 
Good Morning!
The guessers made some brutal threats yesterday, near suggesting we would be into a full scale blizzard. The call was for horrific blowing snow, don't travel, high winds with numbing wind chill, and a general stay-at-home and hide kind of day.
So I went for a walk in the forest, and took a couple of Mule deer photos in what was a cool, fairly windy, relatively normal kind of day. There was no snow at all, just an annoying wind. Here's a couple of the photos I took on my walk:
MuleDeer_03-29-2021 (1a).jpg

MuleDeer_03-29-2021 (2).JPG

That would be the gang of thugs who are responsible for me not being able to ever see a flower in my Tulip patch.

It's sunny this morning in 13°F temperatures. So I feel it's nice enough to go down to the tracks and try for a couple of photos. I find walking outdoors very theraputic during the lockdown period. Helps me to stay sane, if I can be considered sane in the first place.

GeeTee said:
Guy: Judging by the look of it , they were the worst kind of criminals .... talentless and illiterate . Perhaps the education system is not quite robust enough ?
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I don't even try to read that crap, as it's near impossible to decipher. I never hear about anyone getting nailed for committing this defacing crime, either. The CN police seem more concerned with an old man packing a camera who dosen't run away.

TomO - I'm very happy you can use and retain my photos. It is indeed up-lifting to know folks appreciate my hobby today, and I believe people will appreciate the pics 100yrs from now even more. That is, if they can still be found. I keep everything filed and stored on flash cards, and not in my cameras.
I take photos more for historical documentation over the artsy type. So far, I have thousands of photos concerning trains, planes, and automobiles, along with buildings, fishing and wildlife. For me, this is an important adventure and a satisfying hobby, even though I'm basically a crappy photographer.

Anyway, it's time to get showered up and hit the road. Thanks for the likes on my posts, and keep the great works coming!
Have a good one!
 
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