Bill Tidler Jr.
Retired NS Signal Construction Gang Signalman
WELCOME!
Running Bear's May 2025 Coffee Shop
- Thread starter Bill Tidler Jr.
- Start date
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WELCOME!
In our previous 2 houses we had solar but we paid for it upfront and got money (NOT 100% though) back in tax breaks over a period of years. I know now we can get solar loans (income dependent) via the State of Wisconsin but that’s a recent thing and I’m unfamiliar.
I would ask to see the contract. I would check to see how much solar will be needed to do what you want it to do. I know there are arrays in our neighborhood just by me looking at them that cannot do what the owner says he paid for. I wouldn’t put an array on the roof. We’ve had leaks from the installations previously and those can be costly and the solar company just will fix the leaks at the roof per the contract guarantee. Battery storage is very important as you don’t want more than you need but you also want a bit of excess capacity. At the last 2 previous houses (not here) we had Tesla’s Powerwalls and they were great but those were add-ons and not part of the standard installs. The last 2 places that we had solar also had wind generators.
Mike, if you’re seriously interested I’d really dig online and read up especially on whatever help the State of Illinois offers. The technology is changing constantly so be aware. Even with issues we’ve had over the years IMOO it was worth it. Our costs would have been amortized between 4-6 years (via tax breaks and monthly savings) but that really varies.
I would look online for a solar calculator. I just did one for this house and it’s a 8.5 year payback and about $25,000 out of pocket. I would not do the lease agreements available
Interesting that it's got a LOT of industry leaders discussing the realities of what it means to their businesses and to the hobby.
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WELCOME!
Bill Tidler Jr.
Retired NS Signal Construction Gang Signalman
Good morning! It's 55°F and cloudy in Tipton. 
Bill Tidler Jr.
Retired NS Signal Construction Gang Signalman
You are welcome!
troyphoto
Snarky Old Fart (in training)
Well, howdy there internet consumers ... It's Troy again!
Today isn't going the way I thought it would... It's good, but annoying.
I finally got ACX to release my audiobook rights back to me. No more royalty share with the narrator (she's been duly compensated), and no more EXCLUSIVITY to Audible. Amazon who owns Audible is VERY keen on keeping creators exclusive to their ecosystem. But, for low to mid listers like me, that's not good.
So I have to upload my audiobook files to a total of five different platforms now. And ACX is the MOST finicky of all of them. Should be easy-peezy, right? I have the original files they used to have up, just re-upload them, right?
Nope. They tightened their standards since 2021 and 2022 when these were originally uploaded. So this is what my day is going to look like:
Fortunately, there is a checker for Audacity specifically designed to analyze a file for ACX (audible's input site). I got error messages last night when I tried to re-upload the original files. So, I spent an hour on youtubz this morning learning how to up the RMS, and then drop the peak levels with the limiter.
Even that threw me for a loop. The limiter in Audacity had changed from what the videos from last year were showing for ACX requirements... Fortunately, people grumped and Audacity includes a Legacy option for their EFFECTS palate. Once I found that I could make it work.
I'd set up a macro, and batch run them, but macros have sooooo many variables baked into each setting, I'm not sure if it's pulling my current settings in the Loudness normalization or Limiter. I may play with that for book 2. Right now, I'm manually changing each file. Fortunately Audacity remembers the settings in those two tools from file to file.
Then I upload the file to ACX, it runs a check on it. So far, they've passed ACX checks after I do my voodoo to the files.
Only 4 more books to recalibrate after this... Gonna be a long day. Four books at 26 chapters each, uploaded to five different platforms.
Today isn't going the way I thought it would... It's good, but annoying.
I finally got ACX to release my audiobook rights back to me. No more royalty share with the narrator (she's been duly compensated), and no more EXCLUSIVITY to Audible. Amazon who owns Audible is VERY keen on keeping creators exclusive to their ecosystem. But, for low to mid listers like me, that's not good.
So I have to upload my audiobook files to a total of five different platforms now. And ACX is the MOST finicky of all of them. Should be easy-peezy, right? I have the original files they used to have up, just re-upload them, right?
Nope. They tightened their standards since 2021 and 2022 when these were originally uploaded. So this is what my day is going to look like:
Fortunately, there is a checker for Audacity specifically designed to analyze a file for ACX (audible's input site). I got error messages last night when I tried to re-upload the original files. So, I spent an hour on youtubz this morning learning how to up the RMS, and then drop the peak levels with the limiter.
Even that threw me for a loop. The limiter in Audacity had changed from what the videos from last year were showing for ACX requirements... Fortunately, people grumped and Audacity includes a Legacy option for their EFFECTS palate. Once I found that I could make it work.
I'd set up a macro, and batch run them, but macros have sooooo many variables baked into each setting, I'm not sure if it's pulling my current settings in the Loudness normalization or Limiter. I may play with that for book 2. Right now, I'm manually changing each file. Fortunately Audacity remembers the settings in those two tools from file to file.
Then I upload the file to ACX, it runs a check on it. So far, they've passed ACX checks after I do my voodoo to the files.
Only 4 more books to recalibrate after this... Gonna be a long day. Four books at 26 chapters each, uploaded to five different platforms.
migalyto
Well-Known Member
Good morning all!
Welcome to May already!
A very rainy morning out there. Had heavy rain overnight with a few rumbles of thunder. Supposed to last till mid-morning.
High temp pf 64F. Luckily I tool garbage and recycle to the curb last night.
Last night I spent some time in the basement cleaning track and running trains. Also planning on where to start back doing
some actual work on the layout.
We have had solar salesman crawling the neighborhood the last few weeks. They all are claiming Illinois has new incentives
and we can put solar up for no cost to us. I haven't done any research, but I am doubting the whole cost is covered and I really
didn't want to spend anymore time with him to hear more of the pitch. Anyone know how this works and what is the catch?
Have a safe day everyone!
Welcome to May already!
A very rainy morning out there. Had heavy rain overnight with a few rumbles of thunder. Supposed to last till mid-morning.
High temp pf 64F. Luckily I tool garbage and recycle to the curb last night.
Last night I spent some time in the basement cleaning track and running trains. Also planning on where to start back doing
some actual work on the layout.
We have had solar salesman crawling the neighborhood the last few weeks. They all are claiming Illinois has new incentives
and we can put solar up for no cost to us. I haven't done any research, but I am doubting the whole cost is covered and I really
didn't want to spend anymore time with him to hear more of the pitch. Anyone know how this works and what is the catch?
Have a safe day everyone!
Patrick
What, me worry?
Morning all,
54° and partly cloudy. High of 73° later.
I have "cucumber" weeds in the garden. Wife says leave them and try to control them. I'm of the mind to pull them. Yes we like cucumbers, but the past couple of years they've just been a mess, and obviously one escaped my purvey and tilling this past season.
Out early as I have servers to update on Saturday. Sometimes feel like I'll never get it all done.
BBL
54° and partly cloudy. High of 73° later.
I have "cucumber" weeds in the garden. Wife says leave them and try to control them. I'm of the mind to pull them. Yes we like cucumbers, but the past couple of years they've just been a mess, and obviously one escaped my purvey and tilling this past season.
Out early as I have servers to update on Saturday. Sometimes feel like I'll never get it all done.
BBL
TLOC
Well-Known Member
Good morning from rainy Wisconsin. Sometime overnight it started and I could occasionally hear it falling against the windows. It’s raining hard enough that I’m not walking with the group this morning. I should be out there right now. I’ll get my minimum walk in on the treadmill this morning after Terry is awake. Surprisingly there is no lightning and thunder out there this morning but the winds are steady in the teens and gusting into the high 20’s. Those raindrops sting when they hit the face in those types of winds.
Gasoline is up to $3.39 in our area yesterday. That is about $.40 per gallon higher than January 1, 2025. Our Casey’s gas station also increased the car wash $2.00 at each level starting today. They were advertising passes all of April to beat the increase. One of the local grocery stores held a toilet paper sale last week. They called it the “pre-tariff” sale. Seems most of the USA tp supply comes from Canada as does most of the softwood that the remaining paper mills that produce toilet paper in the Midwest comes from Canada. Terry looked at the sale price and chuckled saying yes the prices were less than regular but not as good as previous sales. We now get our eggs locally for $3.00 a dozen so Terry can’t remember what grocery store pricing is. I know a couple weeks ago they were over $5 per dozen.
I have 4 diesels to check this morning as they will be picked up by the buddies for a train show this weekend in GreenBay. I have 40 weathered freight cars and 5 of my diesels ready to go. While I am not attending at the show I paid for the tables and the gas so 4 cars sold will be needed to break even. Still that’s a bargain for me and for the 4 previous shows they’ve attended 6 was the least sold and this show will be the second largest. Hoping!!!
The grandson’s hockey game last night did not go well. Same team they beat last Wednesday 7-1 beat them at our home rink 7-2 and it was never close or pretty. It was an overall fail but the 1st 3 shots got past our 1st goalie and it was downhill from there. But they are 11-13years old kids and after the game was over most of them were over it.
Enjoy the day
Gasoline is up to $3.39 in our area yesterday. That is about $.40 per gallon higher than January 1, 2025. Our Casey’s gas station also increased the car wash $2.00 at each level starting today. They were advertising passes all of April to beat the increase. One of the local grocery stores held a toilet paper sale last week. They called it the “pre-tariff” sale. Seems most of the USA tp supply comes from Canada as does most of the softwood that the remaining paper mills that produce toilet paper in the Midwest comes from Canada. Terry looked at the sale price and chuckled saying yes the prices were less than regular but not as good as previous sales. We now get our eggs locally for $3.00 a dozen so Terry can’t remember what grocery store pricing is. I know a couple weeks ago they were over $5 per dozen.
I have 4 diesels to check this morning as they will be picked up by the buddies for a train show this weekend in GreenBay. I have 40 weathered freight cars and 5 of my diesels ready to go. While I am not attending at the show I paid for the tables and the gas so 4 cars sold will be needed to break even. Still that’s a bargain for me and for the 4 previous shows they’ve attended 6 was the least sold and this show will be the second largest. Hoping!!!
The grandson’s hockey game last night did not go well. Same team they beat last Wednesday 7-1 beat them at our home rink 7-2 and it was never close or pretty. It was an overall fail but the 1st 3 shots got past our 1st goalie and it was downhill from there. But they are 11-13years old kids and after the game was over most of them were over it.
Enjoy the day
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TLOC
Well-Known Member
Chadbag will probably chime in as he has the most recent experience and he has a good knowledge of Solar.
In our previous 2 houses we had solar but we paid for it upfront and got money (NOT 100% though) back in tax breaks over a period of years. I know now we can get solar loans (income dependent) via the State of Wisconsin but that’s a recent thing and I’m unfamiliar.
I would ask to see the contract. I would check to see how much solar will be needed to do what you want it to do. I know there are arrays in our neighborhood just by me looking at them that cannot do what the owner says he paid for. I wouldn’t put an array on the roof. We’ve had leaks from the installations previously and those can be costly and the solar company just will fix the leaks at the roof per the contract guarantee. Battery storage is very important as you don’t want more than you need but you also want a bit of excess capacity. At the last 2 previous houses (not here) we had Tesla’s Powerwalls and they were great but those were add-ons and not part of the standard installs. The last 2 places that we had solar also had wind generators.
Mike, if you’re seriously interested I’d really dig online and read up especially on whatever help the State of Illinois offers. The technology is changing constantly so be aware. Even with issues we’ve had over the years IMOO it was worth it. Our costs would have been amortized between 4-6 years (via tax breaks and monthly savings) but that really varies.
I would look online for a solar calculator. I just did one for this house and it’s a 8.5 year payback and about $25,000 out of pocket. I would not do the lease agreements available
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Boris
Beach Bum
Gas Prices up in NJ from 2.95 to 3.09. Crude closed yesterday @ $56.83/bbl down 1.38...go figure. Official excuse is changing to the summer blend which contains more additives. Secondary reason, the start of the summer travel season... Oh yeah, Dow closed up, so did the S&P. Only mention on Disney 7 NYC was NASDAQ Down! (0.9%).
The Photo Below has multiple meanings. Think about it.
Today is May Day, celebrated by Socialist world wide...Used to be called Law Day in the US when I was young. I guess not any more. Regardless have a great month of May!
Edit: I forgot May 1 is also a National Day of Prayer.
The Photo Below has multiple meanings. Think about it.
Today is May Day, celebrated by Socialist world wide...Used to be called Law Day in the US when I was young. I guess not any more. Regardless have a great month of May!
Edit: I forgot May 1 is also a National Day of Prayer.
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kbkchooch
"retired" conductor
Good morning gang!
Sunny and 60°, heading to the upper 70s. No basement visit last night except to feed Lord Fluffybutt. Grandson's birthday last night, big #11. They will be moving to NC in July, so wifey figured out where the local golf course was. She contacted them and got him signed up for some Jr. Golf sessions after they move there.
BBL
Sunny and 60°, heading to the upper 70s. No basement visit last night except to feed Lord Fluffybutt. Grandson's birthday last night, big #11. They will be moving to NC in July, so wifey figured out where the local golf course was. She contacted them and got him signed up for some Jr. Golf sessions after they move there.
BBL
NorthBrit
Well-Known Member
May Day used to be a big event when I lived in Leeds. Now not so. Priorities for others is the way now. (I shall say no more otherwise I will get political.)
santafewillie
Same Ol' Buzzard
Good Morning All. Happy May Day. Cloudy and a very cool for this time of year, 60°, but headed for the mid-80's later on. The rain stopped shortly after I made the mid-morning post yesterday, with a total of 3.7", most of which fell in a 45 minute period. It's soggy out there. Standing water in some low areas of the property. My pond is full.
View from train shed window:
Warm-up today and then another chance tomorrow.
Headed out in a little while for the weekly grocery trek. Last week egg price was down to $3,29/doz; let's see where they are this week.
I did manage to wade out to the train shed yesterday, while I mostly ran trains, I did do a little work on the P2K covered hopper. I started on the end cages. It was mostly trimming parts and gluing very small plastic grabs in place.
Note that the side cage in the upper right of picture has two broken steps, not done by me.
While I fixed them, they separated again during assembly, so I'll install the part first and then try to correct them.
Before, during and after installing the grabs on the cage sides,
Did the roof grabs as well.
To be continued.
Marlin - No, the ants here are what we call piss-ants. For the most part, fire ants don't survive the winters this far north. A hundred miles south of here is about as far as they get.
Mike - I believe that Ken (D&J) recently got solar installed, maybe he'll see your post.
Hey Troy, Rabbit rabbit!
Everyone have a great Thursday.
View from train shed window:
Warm-up today and then another chance tomorrow.
Headed out in a little while for the weekly grocery trek. Last week egg price was down to $3,29/doz; let's see where they are this week.
I did manage to wade out to the train shed yesterday, while I mostly ran trains, I did do a little work on the P2K covered hopper. I started on the end cages. It was mostly trimming parts and gluing very small plastic grabs in place.
Note that the side cage in the upper right of picture has two broken steps, not done by me.
While I fixed them, they separated again during assembly, so I'll install the part first and then try to correct them.
Before, during and after installing the grabs on the cage sides,
Did the roof grabs as well.
To be continued.
Marlin - No, the ants here are what we call piss-ants. For the most part, fire ants don't survive the winters this far north. A hundred miles south of here is about as far as they get.
Mike - I believe that Ken (D&J) recently got solar installed, maybe he'll see your post.
Hey Troy, Rabbit rabbit!
Everyone have a great Thursday.
TLOC
Well-Known Member
Found this in my inbox this morning. It’s about the Model Train business and is not about politics
troyphoto
Snarky Old Fart (in training)
For those without Facebook, here's the link to it on youtube:
Interesting that it's got a LOT of industry leaders discussing the realities of what it means to their businesses and to the hobby.
ctclibby
Well-Known Member
Good Morning All!
38F @ 70% severe clear. To be 71F later.
Gawd! May already. Good thing ima old or I would have to 'hurry up' a bit. Borrowed a lawn sweeper to get all the shredded stuff caused by Jake. Ya, so then it is get the rider mower going. Took battery out last fall, but the thing is 7 years old and won't hold a charge. Same problem with the push mower. Usually, 1st thing I do is pressure wash everything - went to change the oil ( Craftsman ) and found you have to tip it on its side to drain oil. Just filled it with fresh gas ... Nothing is hard with this stuff, just adds to the fun of the day. Now to find batteries. Amazon has them as far as I can see, 2 day delivery - will see what the local's offer.
Troy: You may have not noticed - While you do not have the 1/4 rounds in, get those seams locked in. They will get worse and separate more just from walking on them and because they are not tight, any liquid will destroy them over time. Sure, stairway landing, but liquid was the problem that lead you here in the 1st place, right? Even dust and dirt in the cracks are not your friends with Lam.
I finally started to caulk the edges with rubber stuff just to keep the dust and dirt out before hiding it all with molding. Floors will move somewhat with foot traffic which is what they are designed to do. But you do not want anything under them.
Good Luck!
L8r
38F @ 70% severe clear. To be 71F later.
Gawd! May already. Good thing ima old or I would have to 'hurry up' a bit. Borrowed a lawn sweeper to get all the shredded stuff caused by Jake. Ya, so then it is get the rider mower going. Took battery out last fall, but the thing is 7 years old and won't hold a charge. Same problem with the push mower. Usually, 1st thing I do is pressure wash everything - went to change the oil ( Craftsman ) and found you have to tip it on its side to drain oil. Just filled it with fresh gas ... Nothing is hard with this stuff, just adds to the fun of the day. Now to find batteries. Amazon has them as far as I can see, 2 day delivery - will see what the local's offer.
Troy: You may have not noticed - While you do not have the 1/4 rounds in, get those seams locked in. They will get worse and separate more just from walking on them and because they are not tight, any liquid will destroy them over time. Sure, stairway landing, but liquid was the problem that lead you here in the 1st place, right? Even dust and dirt in the cracks are not your friends with Lam.
I finally started to caulk the edges with rubber stuff just to keep the dust and dirt out before hiding it all with molding. Floors will move somewhat with foot traffic which is what they are designed to do. But you do not want anything under them.
Good Luck!
L8r
Here's my feelings on solar. If it was such a good deal and penciled out in your favor why would they need people coming door-to-door to sell it? Here in OR we don't have the sunlight days to justify it, but people still cover their roofs and then are surprised that they have to pay to have them removed and reinstalled when they need their roof replaced. Solar companies out here have about a 20 week lead time to remove them.
It's kind of like residential pest control. Your neighborhood gets infested with sales people in the spring to sell you on the benefits of a contract. You probably don't need it unless you have wood destroying pests like termites and carpenter ants.
I spent 7 years as a commercial pest inspector/account manager. Different ballgame. Tech companies, hospitals, food manufacturing, etc have zero tolerance policies and in most cases are required (and audited) to have a program in place. My job was to figure out the solution, for my techs to follow, so there were no problems.
Willie, piss ants technically known as Odorous House ants are very difficult to control. I've found them nesting in laptops, thermostats, walls, indoor plants etc. They're almost as hard to control as California's Argentine ants.
It's kind of like residential pest control. Your neighborhood gets infested with sales people in the spring to sell you on the benefits of a contract. You probably don't need it unless you have wood destroying pests like termites and carpenter ants.
I spent 7 years as a commercial pest inspector/account manager. Different ballgame. Tech companies, hospitals, food manufacturing, etc have zero tolerance policies and in most cases are required (and audited) to have a program in place. My job was to figure out the solution, for my techs to follow, so there were no problems.
Willie, piss ants technically known as Odorous House ants are very difficult to control. I've found them nesting in laptops, thermostats, walls, indoor plants etc. They're almost as hard to control as California's Argentine ants.
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)