Running Bear's March 2025 Coffee Shop
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Good morning! It's 57°F and mostly cloudy in Tipton. Have a great day!
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Boris
Beach Bum
When I first saw this my eyes said beach. Shows where my mind is on this nice sunny day.
santafewillie
Same Ol' Buzzard
Remember when you could replace coupler springs without glasses or Optivisors? At least some of us!
AuburnCentral
Well-Known Member
And find them
Bill Tidler Jr.
Retired NS Signal Construction Gang Signalman
Good morning! It's 57°F and mostly cloudy in Tipton. Have a great day!
The temp has dropped to either 44 or 46, depending on which station I check.
Something just went right. I was able to successfully downgrade my XM radio to the lowest tier plan, instead of the $38.99/month plan that came with the car. No drama, no "you have to call us".
Something just went right. I was able to successfully downgrade my XM radio to the lowest tier plan, instead of the $38.99/month plan that came with the car. No drama, no "you have to call us".
traiNscale
Well-Known Member
what up coffee folks
back from germany and back from a damn big feast wow, iam still full haha.
but was nice at a greek restaurant, had some giros and liver mmmh.
yesterday evening i was down in the trainroom and was working a bit on my small h0 diorama. used some new technics again to see if i can work on a larger scale like that. so there is now some green stuff on the diorama and also a quick small bush i did out of static gras.
here is a picture:
wish you all a great day.
cheers
jay
back from germany and back from a damn big feast wow, iam still full haha.
but was nice at a greek restaurant, had some giros and liver mmmh.
yesterday evening i was down in the trainroom and was working a bit on my small h0 diorama. used some new technics again to see if i can work on a larger scale like that. so there is now some green stuff on the diorama and also a quick small bush i did out of static gras.
here is a picture:
wish you all a great day.
cheers
jay
santafewillie
Same Ol' Buzzard
Good Morning All. Partly cloudy and 64°; it was 69° three hours ago, which is going to be our high for today. Temps will continue to drop all day as the cold front will hit around 0800. Low tonight in the upper 30's. Time for another fire in the heater. It will reverse tomorrow and we'll be back in the 80's on Friday.
Wind yesterday was relentless out of the south in the 25-28 mph range. Same later today except out of the north. This is why the native trees have such strong branches.
Just general chores around the house yesterday, nothing special. I stepped aside and my wife made supper last night. She had bought a pound of Organic Grass-fed ground beef and was going to make meatballs and spaghetti. She had said that she wanted to enjoy that taste. Then she mixed it with a pound of store-grade ground pork (and other stuff) to make the meatballs. Go figure! I enjoyed the taste but couldn't tell the difference. It was enhanced by a quart of my home grown and canned spaghetti sauce made with my own organic onions, bell peppers and tomatoes; and some store bought mushrooms.
Today starts with the all too frequent task of emptying the damn dishwasher. Wife has told me before that we could trade off and I could start cleaning the toilets. I'll stick with the dishwasher! Among other things yesterday, I put the battery for the electric push mower on the charger so I could get to some of the tricky places in the yard that I can't get with the tractor. Mainly around trees near the house and the area around the pool.
Out in the train shed yesterday, I started a new small project. I dull-coated a new Oxford pick up truck, a '65 Chevy stepside model. Then I cut the feet off a couple of figures to use as driver and passenger.
Had to cut off the steering wheel and remount it, as the bottom of it pressed against the seat.
I felt that it needed something else, so I added a sack of grain in the back.
And something more...
A migrant day laborer to complete the scene. It's on the lower level of the layout right near the aisle, but I didn't take a picture of it there yet. I'm going to reset some of the surrounding area first.
Terry -
Tom O - It's too bad that the service at that grocery store is so bad. I do my grocery shopping at a Kroger in Denton. Even on a slow Thursday morning, there are always two manned check-out lanes open. I never have to wait. Interesting thing is that there is a line at the self-checkout registers when the folks could just breeze through a manned lane.The only other place that I go to on a semi-regular basis is a Target around the corner from Kroger. Same there, always 2-3 manned lanes open and a line at self-checkout. I think that it is just a habit with some people, dating back to 2021 (Covid) when there was a definite shortage of cashiers in both places. My wife is brave enough to go to Walmart, where she says there are only self-checkouts. She also refuses to stop and show her receipt on the way out just out of principle.
On the subject of model railroads, that sure is a neat uncoupling device. I'll look into getting one myself.
John - If I got a Walther's kit with good instructions from start to finish, I would think that I was on another planet. But I keep buying them because they are the main model source of railroad sized industries sold in North America. I am used to dealing with the shortcomings.
Just purchase a few extra canned goods to keep in the train room until the track laying is completed. I use track nails, so I don't have to deal with that.
Everyone out there have a wonderful Wednesday.
Wind yesterday was relentless out of the south in the 25-28 mph range. Same later today except out of the north. This is why the native trees have such strong branches.
Just general chores around the house yesterday, nothing special. I stepped aside and my wife made supper last night. She had bought a pound of Organic Grass-fed ground beef and was going to make meatballs and spaghetti. She had said that she wanted to enjoy that taste. Then she mixed it with a pound of store-grade ground pork (and other stuff) to make the meatballs. Go figure! I enjoyed the taste but couldn't tell the difference. It was enhanced by a quart of my home grown and canned spaghetti sauce made with my own organic onions, bell peppers and tomatoes; and some store bought mushrooms.
Today starts with the all too frequent task of emptying the damn dishwasher. Wife has told me before that we could trade off and I could start cleaning the toilets. I'll stick with the dishwasher! Among other things yesterday, I put the battery for the electric push mower on the charger so I could get to some of the tricky places in the yard that I can't get with the tractor. Mainly around trees near the house and the area around the pool.
Out in the train shed yesterday, I started a new small project. I dull-coated a new Oxford pick up truck, a '65 Chevy stepside model. Then I cut the feet off a couple of figures to use as driver and passenger.
Had to cut off the steering wheel and remount it, as the bottom of it pressed against the seat.
I felt that it needed something else, so I added a sack of grain in the back.
And something more...
A migrant day laborer to complete the scene. It's on the lower level of the layout right near the aisle, but I didn't take a picture of it there yet. I'm going to reset some of the surrounding area first.
Terry -
I was advised to take a picture of their license plate, if you can safely do so and have time, and submit it to your own insurance company. In some cases, they will go after them; phone calls threatening legal action even though they're not likely to follow through. In many cases, just the phone call will get the other party to pay up either through their insurance or out of pocket. In one case that I did that, the other driver used the same insurance company and they used it as an excuse to raise his rates. Still didn't pay for my scratch though.
Tom O - It's too bad that the service at that grocery store is so bad. I do my grocery shopping at a Kroger in Denton. Even on a slow Thursday morning, there are always two manned check-out lanes open. I never have to wait. Interesting thing is that there is a line at the self-checkout registers when the folks could just breeze through a manned lane.The only other place that I go to on a semi-regular basis is a Target around the corner from Kroger. Same there, always 2-3 manned lanes open and a line at self-checkout. I think that it is just a habit with some people, dating back to 2021 (Covid) when there was a definite shortage of cashiers in both places. My wife is brave enough to go to Walmart, where she says there are only self-checkouts. She also refuses to stop and show her receipt on the way out just out of principle.
On the subject of model railroads, that sure is a neat uncoupling device. I'll look into getting one myself.
John - If I got a Walther's kit with good instructions from start to finish, I would think that I was on another planet. But I keep buying them because they are the main model source of railroad sized industries sold in North America. I am used to dealing with the shortcomings.
Just purchase a few extra canned goods to keep in the train room until the track laying is completed. I use track nails, so I don't have to deal with that.
Everyone out there have a wonderful Wednesday.
TLOC
Well-Known Member
I read your message on the groups.io forum for YaMoRc. I was investigating the Digkeijis products when the owner was unable to ship products to Iron Planet or anywhere or I’d now be running YaMoRc after Karst started up his company. Lots of rumors regarding the situation at the time in the European model trains press and forums. Too much hyperbole to repeat here. Turns out it’s more than what I needed in a command system but…That crazy spring weather. Yesterday it hit 60. It snowed over night a little and we woke up to this. This may be partly melted from what it was when the family got up. I had trouble sleeping so ended up getting out of bed a bit later.
View attachment 214617
In other train news, as I've explained before, my main DCC command station is a Digikeijs DR5000. Digikeijs was a Dutch company and had this really nifty multi-protocol command station. They were sold in the US by Iron Planet Hobbies and probably some others, but I got mine directly from Germany from Modellbahn Shop Lippe. Digikeijs also had a bunch of other things like boosters, various switch decoders, occupancy detectors etc.
Anyway, the guy who designed it and wrote the software for it and the Digikeijs company had a falling out of some sort (I think they fired him or something but I don't really know -- I am sure its documented somewhere on the net). Digikeijs kept making the stuff and probably hired someone to fix bugs etc but eventually they went bankrupt.
The guy who had designed it and wrote the software has started his own company, YaMoRC (Yet another model railroad company) http://yamorc.de/ . They've designed a new command station YD7010 and also have an upgraded DR5000-level station that they sell called YD7001, And they have various other modules as well. The YD7001 is basically a DR5000 with new firmware and an upgraded network (WiFi/LAN) module called YD9401. They also sell this module separately so you can upgrade your own DR5000.
While I plan on some day buying the YD7010 command station, their new super station, with my current situation of no job etc it's not in the cards. However, I did order, and yesterday it arrived, this updated LAN/Wifi module YD9401 for my DR5000. As I am writing an iOS/Mac based throttle (eventually a lot more), and am currently active in converting what I had already done over to some new technology I am trying to add to my resume, I got the upgrade because it expands the protocols and capabilities of my existing command station and lets me test multiple protocols etc at the moment. And it's also supported, while the stock DR5000 really isn't supported as the company went bust. (The guy who runs YaMoRC and who did the original DR5000 helps answer questions and stuff as he can -- provides as much support as he can).
Anyway, this upgrade module came yesterday and now I have to figure out how to get it installed. There weren't any instructions though the YaMoRC website does link to some YouTube videos, which I have not seen yet, and which I assume show how to do it.
For those interested in this companies products, in the US they are sold at Iron Planet Hobbies. In the UK at DCC Train Automation and a few other places. This is their "where to buy" list from their website:
They have a bunch of different occupancy/feedback modules for various technologies/uses, a booster that can be used with any command station, and a bunch of different service/switch decoder/controllers, and other stuff.
Also, if you have a working DR5000 and are looking to part with it at a reasonable price in the US, I might be interested. I kind of want a stock one to test my software against and as a backup.
TLOC
Well-Known Member
I can’t find coupler springs even if they stay on the bench!
troyphoto
Snarky Old Fart (in training)
Well, Howdy there internet peeps and those with dishwashers.
It's Troy again.
For those of you lamenting packages going walkabout, I had one woman who purchased my book from Kickstarter Notify me that her book was showing (via US Post) as in the facility in Seattle Washington. I live in Indiana. She lives in Tennessee. That's pretty much South. The book needs to go SOUTH. It went as far WEST as it could and still be in the continental US.
I checked this morning and it said Charlotte NC. So it was either the internet pixies getting drunk again, or it's SNAFU at the Post office and somehow it returned.
In other news, TWO of the books I shipped out for my Kickstarter somehow triggered an upcharge from two of the postal facilities.
Says my size was over the reported 1.5 inches. I was using one of those cardboard book-wrap mailers. hmmmm... Note: I package everything, weigh and measure at home. Then I use PirateShip.com to pay for and generate a label. Drive them to the post office and drop them off. The clerk sets each on the scale, so they can check width and length along with weight. But thickness isn't checked right there.
It's been two weeks since I mailed them, so I put a book in the mailer. Hardcover was just over 1.25 inches thick. Even with a label and packing tape it shouldn't have gained a quarter-inch.
Paperback is thinner. Tha means the flaps overlap when closed. Perhaps that was a little thicker?
I measured again. 1.25 inch where the flaps overlap. The loss of the thicker cover on the Hardcover to the Paperback made up for the flap overlap...
They're charging me an additional $2 per those two packages. The question is do I appeal for $4?
Or do I just write it off as a business expense and not go through the hassle?
If it's just those two, I'll leave it alone. If any more come in, I'll file an appeal.
It's Troy again.
For those of you lamenting packages going walkabout, I had one woman who purchased my book from Kickstarter Notify me that her book was showing (via US Post) as in the facility in Seattle Washington. I live in Indiana. She lives in Tennessee. That's pretty much South. The book needs to go SOUTH. It went as far WEST as it could and still be in the continental US.
I checked this morning and it said Charlotte NC. So it was either the internet pixies getting drunk again, or it's SNAFU at the Post office and somehow it returned.
In other news, TWO of the books I shipped out for my Kickstarter somehow triggered an upcharge from two of the postal facilities.
Says my size was over the reported 1.5 inches. I was using one of those cardboard book-wrap mailers. hmmmm... Note: I package everything, weigh and measure at home. Then I use PirateShip.com to pay for and generate a label. Drive them to the post office and drop them off. The clerk sets each on the scale, so they can check width and length along with weight. But thickness isn't checked right there.
It's been two weeks since I mailed them, so I put a book in the mailer. Hardcover was just over 1.25 inches thick. Even with a label and packing tape it shouldn't have gained a quarter-inch.
Paperback is thinner. Tha means the flaps overlap when closed. Perhaps that was a little thicker?
I measured again. 1.25 inch where the flaps overlap. The loss of the thicker cover on the Hardcover to the Paperback made up for the flap overlap...
They're charging me an additional $2 per those two packages. The question is do I appeal for $4?
Or do I just write it off as a business expense and not go through the hassle?
If it's just those two, I'll leave it alone. If any more come in, I'll file an appeal.
Len Turner
Well-Known Member
Good mornin' y'all from a wintry Cheyenne. It's 23 with wind chill of 2 under overcast skies and light snow. Looks like 2-3" on the ground and a 25% of more snow later today. Cold & windy for the next couple of days.
Cardiologist today. Follow-up from last hospital stay.
GI doc appointment went well Monday. Got to do one of those "you know what" procedures next month, but, hey, been there, done that... On the way home, made a light shopping tour at WM and stopped in at Alf's Pub for a Reuben and a Guiness. Not necessarily a fan of either but it's just once a year or so. Got to watching a couple of film noir's I recorded last month. Got to bed about 3am so slept in yesterday. Fiddled about some on the workbench but nothing very productive. I have on hand about a dozen so 36' Roundhouse and Accurail box cars and almost that many 40' wood boxcars, mostly SP/T&NO and Katy. Most of 'em need a little repair and refurbishing. Something to keep me busy until I can get out to the train shed and start on the layout itself.
Jay: nice work on the dio
Willie: Good looking pickup. Really nice detailing on the little folks.
That's about it from here. Y'all have a good day and take care.
Cardiologist today. Follow-up from last hospital stay.
GI doc appointment went well Monday. Got to do one of those "you know what" procedures next month, but, hey, been there, done that... On the way home, made a light shopping tour at WM and stopped in at Alf's Pub for a Reuben and a Guiness. Not necessarily a fan of either but it's just once a year or so. Got to watching a couple of film noir's I recorded last month. Got to bed about 3am so slept in yesterday. Fiddled about some on the workbench but nothing very productive. I have on hand about a dozen so 36' Roundhouse and Accurail box cars and almost that many 40' wood boxcars, mostly SP/T&NO and Katy. Most of 'em need a little repair and refurbishing. Something to keep me busy until I can get out to the train shed and start on the layout itself.
Jay: nice work on the dio
Willie: Good looking pickup. Really nice detailing on the little folks.
That's about it from here. Y'all have a good day and take care.
TLOC
Well-Known Member
Good now very wet morning from So. Central Wisconsin where the rain has started. It will turn to snow sometime this evening. 36f now feels like 24 and heading to 41 this afternoon. Around rush hour at 6 it drops into the high 20’s and that is when the snow should start.
The WeedMan service company just finished the lawn when the rains started. He told me before he started the rain and snow will be helpful. This is the first application put down since we moved here in 2014 that there isn’t some snow piles in the yard.
I need to clean up my bench but maybe even clean the spray booth! I may do that this morning.
From noon to 3:30 I will be at the layout where I am working on his paper mill. But today I am part of the wiring crew. We are adding the feeders to the buss. The feeder wires are dropped every 4-6’. This should finish up all the current track wiring. One of the guys will solder it to the track. He uses a resistance soldering rig. Quick with a very strong but tiny connection. I will be underneath soldering the feeders to the buss. I noticed on the project sheet last night that the framing guys will also be there. I know they have been itchy to start the walk-in 3 level nolix Penisula. They were scheduled for 8 this morning. Should be a fun time as the crew members are a hoot but also hard workers.
Enjoy the day
The WeedMan service company just finished the lawn when the rains started. He told me before he started the rain and snow will be helpful. This is the first application put down since we moved here in 2014 that there isn’t some snow piles in the yard.
I need to clean up my bench but maybe even clean the spray booth! I may do that this morning.
From noon to 3:30 I will be at the layout where I am working on his paper mill. But today I am part of the wiring crew. We are adding the feeders to the buss. The feeder wires are dropped every 4-6’. This should finish up all the current track wiring. One of the guys will solder it to the track. He uses a resistance soldering rig. Quick with a very strong but tiny connection. I will be underneath soldering the feeders to the buss. I noticed on the project sheet last night that the framing guys will also be there. I know they have been itchy to start the walk-in 3 level nolix Penisula. They were scheduled for 8 this morning. Should be a fun time as the crew members are a hoot but also hard workers.
Enjoy the day
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