Running Bear's May 2022 Coffee Shop

[Boris]

Good evening y'all: Cloudy with Calm Wind. 53°

Ken (MD), I have read on several sources, that the WKW DCC TT Controller is wonky. Patience. I was going to install a 90' TT behind my olde Walthers Enginehouse, and run it with a DC controller. Pretty much like I did at Wilmington when I was a Hostler. Not sure I could even do it, but there is insufficient room for the TT on my layout.

Curt: Thanks. I'm kind of pessimistic, and waiting for some feedback from the insurance carrier as to why the criteria changed . Next renewal period, they're done, which won't matter to either of us, just hope to find one more transparent.

Sherrel and Curt: Concerning Phil, I'm saddened to hear that. To be honest, I understand why he feels that way. Hope he can bring himself around. Meanwhile, Captain Weems, it's due time your medical providers do something about your heart. What you described in your post, isn't good.

Steve and Tom O: Best wishes for a successful surgery. You're both on my very long, all of a sudden prayer list.

Over the last couple of days, (via e-mail or FB), I have learned of the recent deaths of three associates. Jim Dunn, PC/Conrail/ NTSB, Mike De Gugliamo, C trick Yardmaster at Oak Island Hump, and Joe Donnelly, Amtrak Conductor.

When I first relocated from Baltimore, to Newark NJ, I found myself assigned as the Night Terminal Superintendent of the North Jersey Terminal...I did not expect this, and to be honest, was probably unprepared for such a position, as not nly did I have Oak Island and Port Newark, but South Kearny and North Bergen. Jimmy was the Afternoon Hump Trainmaster, and Mike was the night shift Yardmaster. Both were most helpful in training their "near clueless boss". Joe Donnelly, was quiet, low profile and no nonsense. He helped me transition from Conrail to Amtrak, when I went there just before the NS/CSX transaction. Except for Jimmy, they were a tad older than I was, actually a couple of years. Jimmy OYOH, was 28 days younger than I. While I have not seen any of these gentlemen in a long time, I still appreciate their kindness and assistance. Yeah, I'm pretty bummed out by all of this.

Health wise, the absense of Rinvoq, has not yet crippled the wife, but she is having another reaction to the two dose Shingles vaccination, she had to take before starting Rinvoq. Almost like having Chicken Pox... not one of our medical geniuses will acknowledge there might have been a problen with her taking shingrex. Problem could also be a worsening of her Fatty Liver, caused by 7 years of RA treatments including infusions.
Doctor told her the problem was either Dermititis or alcohol. Note to judgmental medical professionals everywhere, don't judge her, she hasn't had a serious drink, in over 10 years...(Now me otoh...)

BTW, I am having an Osteo Arthritis flare-up. Everything hurts, and Meloxicam and Arthritis Strength Tylenol are completely inneffective. Doesn't help the bummed out mood.

Orioles and Mets lost, Yankees won. So far in round 1 of the playoffs, Carolina won, and Toronto won. See, not everything is bad.

BS-12 at Ivy City TT (Washington, DC. (10 C crew).

 

[Jaz avalley]

Looks like my 2nd set of water tenders will arrive today sometime from Scale Trains. I am looking forward to that and hope it is the right set this time.....we shall see.

I will post on the RPO thread when it comes in today.....

I am still at home working from home in quarantine. I am still positive with the 'Vid. Still have coughs and congestion. Liquid diet. Fast approaching 20lb weight loss. Not such a bad thing but low energy. I am still doing minor activities to stay moving and sweat out the the bad mojo. I enjoy catching up with everything here.

I did go out on the lake Saturday but was only out for 2 hours to test run boat on all the maintenance I performed on the engine and boat. All went well. Fatigue hits me fast doing little things.

I hope in a few days things will improve.

Later ya'll....

A liquid diet can make you pee away a lot more vitamins, is the liquid diet a dieting choice, or because you do not feel well. lack of energy could be missing meat if you normally eat it, and regardless more brassicas cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower will give you a health kick. When not well beware of a restricted diet, as you body needs a wide range of food for the correct building blocks, if it does not get all the components it then pees or poops away the otherwise useful kit, sometimes in as little as 20 minutes. For this reason any vitamins tablets are always best taken with food. also a liquid diet can cause you to lose a lot of salt, pink salt with minerals NOT sea salt as nowadays it has plastics in it! Lack. Of salt can lead to tiredness, faintness and dizziness. also sone people have low acid stomach content and you may need a boost to aid digestion, as this can go either way, a safe bet is a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with water, it gives several health benefits and if the stomach acids are an issue it can help either way, encouraging you to either push acids or alkalise in general is not a good idea as I could compound any health issues, but that much apple cider vinegar is very unlikely to cause harm and is likely to help, but that said…..

Important
If you were not choosing to lose 20 ib on purpose and do not feel well I think seeing a medical practitioner in case they can find a underlying problem may be in your best interest.

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang. 55° and cloudy looking for A hi of 72°

 

[OBTC 1909]

Good morning all! 58 with a thunderstorm and heavy rain going on now, heading for 74 and rain. Starting to wonder if I'll ever get the garden planted. So much rain!!!
Yesterday was a pretty good day at work, although it was longer than normal. I and my 2 work-study students accomplished quite a bit with projects I've been trying to work on and it made a very positive difference. Had to stay about 3 hours late though to help with streaming a new building dedication ceremony so I'll take off early later this week.
Nothing much else going on. Hope you all have a great day!

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

Was on from home, but didn't get a chance to post.
Currently a cool 42° and cloudy this morning, going for a high of 62°. Supposed to rain the next few days and expecting another 1-2" of the wet stuff in the area. Then temps go into the mid-80's over the weekend. I may get to mow on Friday again, especially since someone put more fertilizer on the lawn. I also have to put some humic acid on the lawn by the end of the month or wait until October. Yes I do have the greenest lawn on the block, but have the 2 neighbors either side of me doing better with their lawns...I still have to get the leak fixed in the sprinkler system, I have a good idea where it is, but with the rain lately, I don't want to dig in the mud. The plus is that with the rain lately is that I don't need the sprinkler system. It's also time about time for the first spray on the apples and peaches. One of the apples is still blooming and I'd like to keep as many bees around as I can. As much as I prefer organic, I prefer fruit to having none.

On a side note, The grandson said he liked the bridge and creek setup as I have it so far. Said it looks like real rocks, but when am I gonna put the water in?

BBL

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps!

It's Troy again.

The BBQ book is off with the Beta Readers, to find most of those pesky typos. I swear, they pop up like dandelions in a midwestern lawn after a good rain.

Still waiting on my new 3D printer screen to arrive. Then it's surgery time. Looks like a 15-minute fix, but I may have to do a firmware flash on the machine. there are three different screens for this printer, and each has different firmware.

Mother-unit news... back in the Hospital. She was nauseous, and not recovering any energy after a few good days. Trip to the ER, and the docs think it might be a UTI... waiting on cultures to come back from the lab. Antibiotics for now, and at least two overnights. However, the Hospital in Goshen opened their new wing. Mom has a big screen TV in her room! And there is a second, smaller TV for visiting spouses/children etc.

Started writing the new book. In this one, a bird-watcher gets killed... any serious birders in this group? And this series is set in the UK, so any Brits with favorite local birds? The only UK ones I know of are the Jackdaw, and the Unladened European Swallow (not gripping coconuts of any kind.)

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Back into the projects around the house here.
I have another op session coming up the second weekend of May.
I have decided to make the theme of this op session, "Intermodal". I'll clear all the general freight cars off the layout and remove the specialty buildings and replace it all with intermodal theme structures. The order of ops will be delivering the right intermodal cars to the right industries. Some will handle TOFCs, some will support spine cars and others will support well cars. I'll advise the operators to bring a magnifying glass so they can read the car numbers.

 

[McLeod]

Good Morning!
Everyday is usually a good day, but, this one is cutting the edge.
It's raining a-bit at 37F, and I need to rototill the garden so the women has something to do and get off my back. Gardening has become more her hobby than mine. At this stage, I would just throw grass seed down if it were left up to me.
Plus, I need to submit a fence quote today. If it's accepted, I'll be out of the train hobby until it's built.

Anyway, while I'm sitting here having a coffee, I'll throw down some new photos.
I went down to the hardware to get lumber prices. There was an SD75 working behind the hardware building, placing freight cars into the sawmill property. The wife was kind enough to wait in the truck, while I snapped a few photos. Sadly, I was on the wrong side of the tracks in relation to the sun:

Plus, I took a photo looking east down the tracks, to where a few more locomotives were parked. The Home Hardware lot is on the right side of the tracks:

I've got quite a collection of prototype rail photos building up. Soon, I'll need to start cataloguing and putting them on permanent flash drive.

Just going to sit back and sip coffee for awhile. Perhaps I'll wish on a star that the market improves soon, before I jump out the basement window.

Have a good one!

 

[JazzDad]

Burlington Northern's most infamous piece of real estate:

 

[chadbag]

After a few weeks they were ready to throw it out the window. They needed a faster this part, a better this part, a higher quality this part etc. Apparently, what most people do is they buy the lowest quality printer thinking they can learn from that them upgrade. With 3D printers, that's not quite the case. It's like each level of quality is independent of the other levels. What ya learn on the lesser quality machines doesn't transfer in the slightest way to a better machine.

My brother started with the lower end machine. He just made his own printed parts to upgrade it (except electronics which he purchased). Some of the more popular machines have plans out there for upgrade parts you can print. You print the upgrade parts, upgrade, re-print the upgraded parts with the upgraded machine. Sometimes do that cycle a few times to get progressively better versions of the upgrade parts. (He is talking extrusion printer, not resin).

I personally have no experience with 3D printers. Maybe someday when we get settled.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Cloudy and 52°, high today a very cool 69°. Thunderstorms again overnight but very short-lived and not nearly as intense as Sunday nights. There's a new 0.5" in the gauge, so 3" in two nights. Rather wet outside. While it is going to be cool today, we're back into the 80's tomorrow with thunderstorm chances continuing until noon or so Thursday. We will be seeing temperatures into the 90's by Saturday.

The cardiologist visit yesterday went as expected. I went in realizing that there may be an issue with a clogged artery somewhere. He confirmed that there is that minor possibility and he wants to do something called a cardiac catheterization. Of course he does, that's how he makes money. He saw no issues with the sonograms, EKG, or any other aspects of the stress test Thursday, except throat/neck irritation at the end. First though, we're trying a temporary medication.
I am not a fan of doctors or hospitals by any means, but I do realize that they are a necessary evil that I grudgingly tolerate. I have never had any form of surgery except tooth removal and implants, and I did not even see any doctor at all from 1970 until 2005. I attribute my good health on several factors, I have never eaten at a McDonalds and rarely eat any fast food; limited use of salt and sugar; growing, preserving and eating my own organic veggies and regular exercise or other physical activity. Although none of this has prevented being a bit overweight! Blame the beer!

I am having a varmint problem in the garden. It's not eating plants, but rooting around looking for food. In the process,, it is uprooting some plants. This is a view after Saturday night that I had to spend time Sunday fixing.

This type of damage can be caused by one of three creatures, skunk, opossum, or armadillo. I have been setting the trap and not catching anything, so I am assuming it is an armadillo. Possums are easy to trap with a little meat bait, skunks I should be able to detect if they are present. Armadillos though do not eat anything unless they dig it up themselves, worms, grubs, crickets or ants, so traps are essentially useless. I have caught them before by setting up two 8' long boards in a "V" pattern to steer them into the trap. But you have to know where they are coming from for this to work. They have quite poor eyesight. Or you can just wait for them to move on which they do naturally after a week to ten days. I did make the set-up Sunday night to no avail, but I didn't have any damage Monday morning. Maybe it was the heavy rain, maybe it just moved on. I haven't ventured out this morning, but from the bedroom window, it appears that the trap is empty. Can't really assess damage if any from that window. Meanwhile I purchased a 150' roll of chicken wire yesterday and I will erect a fence as soon as I purchase or make some fence posts. Grrrh! I was afraid that I was going to have to face this at some point.
As you can see by the pictures, the garden itself is doing well. It's almost time to spread mulch and erect the tomato cages before those plants become unmanageable, but it also needs to dry out just a bit first, to avoid mold.

Many thanks to all of you who liked or commented on the figure painting setup; Louis, Steve J, Karl, Sherrel, Smudge, Tom O, Joe, James, Hughie, Guy, Tom, Curt, Patrick, IB Ken, OB Ken, Jaz, Rick, George.

I continued to do some painting on figures out in the train shed yesterday. I have a few Chinese figures with the same pose, so I cut, carved and filed to make a few different poses.

The fellow in the middle is the original figure. Both of the others needed that "mold void" filled in with Testor's putty. The high overcoat collar was removed from both and appropriate filing of the legs was done on the person on the left. Still need to some minor touch-up on both, but they both work from the three-foot range.
Some others that I just finished or are still in process.

The circled figure in the last picture is a Preiser figure, but all others are either painted from scratch by me, or repaint/upgrades of painted Chinese figures. Mostly painted by me.

Mikey - Thanks. That birdhouse is just another project on the "to do" list. I made it about 15 months ago, installed it and didn't like the white pole I had used. I changed the pole to one with a smaller diameter and painted it a different color. It's still here. I haven't re-visited the area where it is supposed to go, soooo!
Guy - There's nothing sick about painting figures, I do it all of the time. I was already a sick man before I started painting figures. I have painted over 850 now, as well as using 250+ store-bought ones.
You do your layout planning/construction like I do, "on the fly". While I have a rough idea in mind, and even sketch some ideas on paper, much of what I do is put track down, move it, add or subtract some and finally fasten it down. Fortunately I rarely take it up after fastening.
Tom O - Very best wishes on your hospital procedure tomorrow.
Curt - Good luck with the washing machine. Waiting on the parts? Enough time to forget how to reassemble!
Sherrel - Thanks for the update on Phil. I have been wondering since his almost daily "politically incorrect" E-mails have stopped.
Not good reading about your adventures out there. Take care of yourself.
Troy - Good luck with the printer. At least it seems that you know what you are doing.

For lack of anything else, today is the late James Brown's birthday.
Everybody have a great day while I go check on the garden and pick lettuce.

 

[TLOC]

Time maybe for a laugh or two. It has been raining since midnight in So. Central Wi. I am just waiting for tomorrow so here you r:

TomO

 

[Texas Hobo]

Good morning, all! A kind of blah day, overcast and very humid.
Alot real world issues and chores have kept me from getting much train time in. I have been dropping in here from time to time, mostly so I don't get too far behind. Catching up seems to take more time than just popping in for a few minutes now and then.

FEF3 getting ready to take the wee people on an excursion

STAY SAFE

LABER

 

[MikeInHubCity]

We are still awaiting resolution of our dispute with the Part D Medical Plan Manager. (They are a privately held group based in Southern California, who underbid UHC's Plan Manager several years ago...) Wife, goes to her Rheumatologist Wednesday, so she will get some insight then. Unfortunately, most of the effective drugs for RA, all require prior approval, and retail for about the same price...so if the creepazoids decision is strictly based on cost containment, nothing will meet their standard.

The Baltimore Orioles actually won two of three from the RedSox this past weekend. The Mets won two of three from the Phillies also, Amazin! The NHL season ended Sunday, and the Playoffs begin today.

Joe- sounds like the issue I’m having getting my chest CT covered. My PCP, walk-in clinic, cardiologist, PT & pulmonary are all covered in network(which I’ve met my annual deductible, so I only have to pay 25% until I hit my out of pocket max). Imaging, not so much. Any imaging center other than their “preferred imaging centers”(med group with which I’ve had many care issues with) is considered “out of network” with a separate deductible & then only covered @ 50% after that point- which would mean paying the full bill out of pocket. When I tried to get the CT scheduled with their “preferred provider”, they wanted the co-pay of more than my paycheck before they would even schedule the CT. Guess I’ll have to wait to I end up back in the ER to get the CT done.

I'd have preferred not to be reminded of the movers.

Louis- My BIL still hates the team that relocated to the state south of Lake Michigan. He met my sister at the college where they used to hold training camp before the move west.
Willie- hope your stress test went well.
James- sounds like your adventure with COVID is going as well as mine. I was supposed to go back to work Sunday, but woke up in the middle of the night with chills & a low-grade fever(which I hadn’t had since Tuesday night). Hopefully, I’ll be back to work on Wednesday(as long as I don’t have a fever).

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Good News for a change-- KaTE tested negative again this morning, so she will grace my presence here in a couple hours. She did say that she wished to go back and spend the night with sister Irene who still tested positive and does not want to stay alone in the house - it's too "quiet and lonely by herself" + she wants to protect me before my procedure to not catch something. I can very well sympathize with her after the past 4 months with a constant stream of siblings, off-springs, and nursing personnel coming and going!

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Spent the day in the train room finishing cleaning sidings. All that's left to clean is the main line and put the locos and cars back on the layout. I'll probably start putting stuff back on the sidings since it's cleaned. Nothing special on the agenda for tomorrow.

Hughie- Great looking passenger train.

Joe- When I was in my initial planning phase a TT was a mandatory item, for better or worse . Condolences on the loss of your friends. I hope yours and your wife's medical issues can be resolved. Nice shifter photo.

Patrick- Have you shown pictures of this area before?

Willie- Good luck with the garden. We get moles in our yard. Nice job on the "little people".

Sherrel- Great news about Kate. I was able to get hold of Phil today.

Troy- Sorry to hear of your 3D issues. Hopefully it will all get fixed soon. Prayers for your MIL.

IB Ken- On my last TT if I continued to hold the button down it would speed up. The current one doesn't do that. Also, on my current one if you tap the CW/CCW button it only moves a tiny bit making it easier to line up with feeder tracks.

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[moermusic]

It's raining a-bit at 37F,

yeah, & a few days ago weather guessers told us sunny & in the 20's (C ) for most of this wk I'm not tidying the yard till I dont need my winter parka no more

 

[Boris]

" tried to get the CT scheduled with their “preferred provider”, they wanted the co-pay of more than my paycheck before they would even schedule the CT"

Mike: That really sounds off the wall. Last year, when I had mu first CT, my PCP's office coded the script as a "Screening". Private insurance considers Screenings to be fishing, and doesn't pay for them. Medicare,has specific criteria for screenings based on CDC recommendations.

A new trend among providers(Labs, radiology etc), is to try and get you to self pay for apart of your tests, based on the "possibility" that your insurance may not cover the test...Once you sign the "waiver", they won't bill your insurance, just you, at the higher self pay rate.

Medicare, and private insurance will generally pay for any test or procedure deemed to be Medically Necessary, unless specifically excluded. Screenings are not generally considered Medically Necessary.

I would not have had the first CT scan, as I knew I was outside the Medicare criteria for a Screening, but the person who handled my appointment noted it, and messaged the PCP office for a corrected Script. When I showed up, I learned that the PCP never followed up. Intake clerk called the PCP and spoke to someone, who authorized a code change.

Not for nothing, none of us mere mortals are qualified to know the nuances of medical billing..."they", meaning the practitioners, facilities and insurers know the rules, (inside and out). The only reason I know as much as I do, is I had to review and audit all of my MIL's medical expenses.

She frequently self paid for covered encounters, because "the girl" told her it wasn't covered. It's my impression, that this sharp practice has only increased since Covid.

BTW:went shopping at the Acc-a-me this morning, and picked up some Habersett Scrapple..$3.75 / lb.

 

[moermusic]

Yankees won

Barely. Hopefully Jays even it up today !

 

[Boris]

Curt: Thanks. I initially planned for a three stall round house, 90'TT, and service facilities, after seeing aerial photos of the real Stoney Creek enginehouse facility, back in the steam era. Bought everything I needed in advance. However, plans changed, and the final plan has no room for the complete facility.