Coffee Shop 15

[blownoutcylinder]

Good Morning ---We're going to have rain tonight and tomorrow with our temp holding around 3-6C until tomorrow afternoon when it will go to 0C then continue to -16C that night---

Rex Tnx for the tip. I use Digikey because I get really good deals on the IC's and things that I use when I make up my weird concoctions that will eventually allow a randomized light turning on/off on apartments and such. I tend to follow my dad that way---gee, what would happen if---OOOPPS tend to be the calls we have.

Jim AIG!?!? YIKES!!!--I know they took a HUGE hit a little while back---This morning I got the news of the company might get split into three gov't controlled organizations--As for the soldering; it is even more, shall I say---AHEM--'interesting' since everyone is selling the RoHS certified lead free solder. That stuff requires a higher temperature to work properly. Gee I get to spend more money on the chips and surface mount LEDs---BTW-how 'deep' is that church(long?). I'm thinking with this laptop--distance from front/back? It is pretty big from the looks of it!

I'm heading into meetings at work to find out what is going to happen with clientel etcetera. I got my hours reduced by approx. 50% so that is no surprise But apparently we's not finished yet
After meetings I'll be getting a chance, hopefully, of doing some MR stuff.
Had to look at door last night--door frame is going to have to be replaced as two of the bigger parts were split into a bunch of pieces. Got friend coming over to remedy THAT sitchimication.

 

[pcarrell]

Hey all! Mornin!

Looks like our temps are going to be good today. Only thing is, you'd best like rain!

Indianapolis, Indiana
Currently: 45°F

Wind: South-Southeast at 7 MPH
Humidity: 93%
Dewpoint: 43°F
Barometer: 30.13 inches
Wind Chill: 41°F

Today: cloudy. Chance of rain showers until midday, then chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs around 60. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph increasing to south 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 50 percent, or so the weatherman says. Looking at the radar reveals a different story. http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/Loop/centgrtlakes_loop.gif

So, I didn't ride today. I don't have any rain gear yet, and I could use some new tires on the bike. Today I'm rolling in the van......my livingroom on wheels.

The wife is doing better this morning, though she was up a good portion of the night. Long about 10pm she got this burst of energy and she just couldn't sit still. I dropped off somewhere around midnight. She was still going strong at 2am when I rolled over. My bet is, she'll be sleeping til noon!

Jim, I hope so too. The doc's didn't have the results yet, which I took as a sign that they can't be too concerned if they aren't stepping on it. We're just chillin'! Thanks for the info though. Makes me feel a bit more warm and fuzzy!

Poor Flo.....I popped my head in once or twice yesterday. She looked so peaceful over in the corner napping. I just crept back out so as not to disturb her.

So whats up with you?

 

[Secondhandmodeler]

Good morning folks.

I'm hoping my work day gets shortened by this coming snow storm. One thing that's nice about a private business is, we make the call as to when the store is closed. On top of six inches of snow, the wind is suppose to be 25 to 30 miles per hour. Good thing I have a good book to read!

Hopefully the coffee shop doesn't get snowed in!

Have a great day!

 

[Nathan Hall]

Good morning to all,
An even nicer day outside today. Temps around 60 and partly cloudy. Might try and go outside after school to see what is running. I'll probably end up catching the Amtrak parade, and hope some of my engineer buddies are running tonight and get some horn action on my camcorder(has it really been 6 months since I used it?). I'm considering putting in an order for one of the new release announced P42's and getting one in Phase IV to start another Amtrak Regional for my layout. I could always run a short Regional or an extra deadhead move. Well, off to school, I've got some yearbook deadlines to attend to.

Hope everyone's day is fun!
Nathan

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Another 6+ hour day? Sheesh!! where'd everybody go to?

Well I got two wonderful pieces of news!!

First was we had our meeting that I was suspecting had job cuts --yes on that one!--and my hours were cut in half to 20 hr/wkand they knocked a hole in our group insurance as well as took liberties elsewhere. At least this one has certification for computer work

The second one I got when I left from the meetings--Our neighbour found out that the idiot who tried breaking into our house yesterday got released this morning at court----- This is his SECOND time he got released on bail--- Snarl grumble gripe----

As for first thing--I'm going to have to make some cuts on my MRR budget and see what I can do without---for now----

 

[leghome]

Where everybody be. It sure has been quiet the last couple of days. I got myself comcastigated today. Do not really care for the TV end of it as we are not getting as many stations as we were on the antenna but this internet connection is sure working great. Downloaded a 7.5 meg file in less than a 1/10th of time than the dial up to connect. Me thinks I am going to likes it.

 

[IronBeltKen]

FINALLY---some signs of life in this place!

BOC - Sorry to hear about your hours being cut! At least [hopefully] you'll have more time to work on that Atrium. And hopefully the 'idiot' won't try to break-in at the same place twice...

Larry - nothing like a fast internet connection, eh? But as I learned after getting my Verizon FiOS hookup, some websites will still perform poorly because of server issues, etc.

Rex - those itty-bitty LEDS are part of the reason I stick to the early 90's for my modeling era, so I won't have to install those frick'n ditch lights on all my locos. They weren't mandatory until 1995

Jim - that church looks mighty huge, do you have enough space on your layout for it to fit - or are you adding an extension?

I hope you guys in the upper Midwest (Corey, Dan) are getting thru the winter storm OK. Check in and let us know how your doing, OK?

Time for another kit building project: Walthers' Merchants Row I. I need to paint the thing before I glue it together, and I'm not sure what colors to start with; I only know that I don't want it to look like the storefronts on the box.

 

[kbkchooch]

FINALLY---some signs of life in this place!

BOC, Sorry to hear about the cuts, but hey, did Spring get a nice Tuna dish for his service??

Larry -I'm Comcasted also, I love it. Out here in the sticks, It might be 5 years before I can get Fios, til then, I'm lovin my cable!

Ken, Face it, it's not the little bitty LEDs that have you stuck in the 90's, you just don't want to be caught wearing some coke bottle lenses just to see um!! Also here's a little hint. If you don't want the Merchants Row to look like the one on the box,,don't use the same colors!!!

Jim - You have til when to finish the church??? Whatta ya doin here!!

Rex, Thanks for the LED link. looks great but I didn't see any axial white LEDS, hopefully they will get some soon. They really look like they would be just the ticket for ditch lights (if they had white).

On the homefront here, caught a stomach bug yesterday that put me down sweating and shaking on the couch, with occasional trips to the "room". No time to get caught holding parts together waiting for glue to dry, no sir! Woke up this morning (actually at noon) and felt much better, and finished planting all the corn!!! Hopefully by tomorrow night I can get the rest of the scenery stuff done and the tracks cleared off for the weekend!

Um, Flo, you might want to take the meatloaf surprise off the menu!

 

[UP2CSX]

Good early morning, everyone.

Up late trying to remember what little I knew of AutoCad so I can get the church plans in there and have it scale it down to 1:87 scale.

Jeffrey, glad to hear the gravel is back in the right place. I hope the foot is improving.

Phillip, I'm sure this is something benign or they woud have her back in there pronto. I'll keep praying though.

BOC, sorry to hear you are getting caught in the downdraft but I'm happy to hear you still have a job. Unfortunately, things are only going to get worse before they get better. The whole AIG situation is a mess. They have 228 subsidiary companies and I don't think even the management knows how much money they don't have. I'm sure the feds wil work some kind of magic to nationalize it without looking like it's being nationalized. I know for sure the common shareholders and bond holders are going to get effectively wiped no matter how they play it. The whole thing is just incredible.

Larry, we have Charter Cable, which just filed for bankruptcy so Lord only knows what happens next. The cable is great for broadband when it works is about 80% of the time. If I could get DSL, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

Corey, I hope the snow didn't get too bad before you closed up and got home. The storm looks pretty impressive on radar.

Karl, sorry to hear about the stomach bug, it's really going around right now. This is when it's good to be young. You have to post some pictures of your corn field.

I need to get the church model done by July 1, which I should be able to do if I put in 2 hours a day, five days a week. Ken, this model is going in the church lobby since the original church was constructed completely from a model but the model was made of mat board and has fallen apart. It's a huge building, with the side walls being 157 feet long and 46 feet tall. The front of the church is about 290 feet wide. The story of how this one guy built it is really amazing and I'm trying to help preserve the history of how it was done with this model. The whole thing will be about 40 square feet in HO so I'll be building it in sections so it can be safely transported. I'll need help from someone greater than me to pull this off.

Cloudy, windy, and warm day here today. It's still 60 now and I don't like the feeling I'm getting from the humid air out there. I'm afraid we're in for another tornado outbreak tomorrow and the area of greatest risk, at least at first, is up in the Tuscaloosa area, so keep your head down, Rex. I think I'll duct tape all the cats together tomorrow.

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

02-27-2009

Good Morning ! from TIPTON IN[/SIZE]

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning.

It's 70 and quite cloudy. The high will be about 80 and it will be mostly cloudy with a chance of rain.

Went to see the foot doc yesterday early in the am and got a good report. The wounds are healing, slowly, but they're healing. In other news, the guy who dug the ditches for my sewage drain field showed up while I was at the doctor's office and filled the ditches in. He did a really good job. There are no little piles lying around here or there but rather it was all smoothed over and compacted. I'll be recommending him to others for sure. Didn't get any work done on the observation car yesterday. I was just too tired. I don't know why but I was extremely tired for most of the day but also extremely restless. I tried to get some rest but try as I might I couldn't get any sleep. It was almost as if I had an IV loaded with caffeine going on a slow drip while in a semi conscious state. I'll try and get back to the observation car today. It's laying here in front of me in many pieces. So is an engine house I got from another modeler. Don't know exactly what I'll be doing with it yet.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 2/27/2009

Wind Chill: 70°F
Humidity: 83%
Dew Point: 64°F

So Far Today
High: 70°F
Low: 69°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 23mph SW

Today High: 80 Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs near 80. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight Low: 55 Cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. West winds 10 to 15 mph.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm18/forum-2/DSCN0591.jpg

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Good Morning. We're very WET today. Getting lots of rain at the moment with temperature currently at 9C. This afternoon we will slip to -4C and go to a low of -16C at night---so ice will be very popular Tomorrow our high will top out at -5C. Great for making Potholes

I'm going to work with one lonely petunia client today but it appears I may already be getting clients for my other services---I got a couple of enquiries on my Email already. After the client visit I'm going to check on a few boooks at the library for atriums and gardens---need some ideas for plantings here

Hope everyone has a good'n!!

 

[tompm]

Good morning folks

It was 53 F as I rolled out of the driveway this bright morning. Our high today will be 60 F but they say we will get rain. On Sunday into Monday we are supposed to get snow.

I have not been making it the forum much this week. Things going on at home and the craziness at work have me pulling out my hair. It just seems like we keep passing the virus of the week around the house to each other. We have not had everyone well at the same time since Thanksgiving. Work has been insane with all the talk of the economic stimulus. Since it has been signed everything has been cranked up a notch. We have a bunch of projects that have to hit the streets by the early summer. It is going to be a crazy spring.

Tonight we have our Cub Scout Pack Overnighter on the Battleship New Jersey in Camden, NJ. On Saturday both kids have basketball games. If it snows as predicated on Sunday we will most likely just stay at home.

I am not sure if the weekend holds any train time but if it does I want to finish assembling an Accurail boxcar that has been on the workbench for weeks.

I hope everybody has a good day.

 

[kbkchooch]

Morning guys,
Little groggy here today. Stayed up til 1:30 playing loco Doctor! Got one of my engines out last night to play, and it wouldn't run. So being the nosy type I am, I started diagnosing it. It's a Bachmann 2-8-0 with a Tsunami decoder. Ist I found a poor connection to the backside of the plug that mounts to the tender. Then after fiddling with it a few times,, said screw it! I removed the entire plug and hard wired the engine to the tender. That plug system is a turd! Still having issues with the engine idling and making its normal steam noises, but when I crack the throttle, it wont move and it shorts out the layout. Back off the throttle and within a few seconds, the layout is ok. Next step, get to the motor! After pulling off the body shell I found a wire, pinched slightly in the frame. I repositioned it and tried to recheck without the body shelll in place. Still wont move, but neat spark show from inside the motor!!! Next step, pull out the motor! Did that, and even on 12 volts DC it will run, but speed is erratic and occasional sparks inside. No not the normal armature type, I mean sparks!! Tried a (too large darn it!) Sagami motor out of my parts box. It runs off the decoder just fine, no issues at all! Oh Boy, now I get to call Bachmann today and try to get them to ship me a motor. No way am I shipping the loco to them! To many detail parts , plus the handmade "rockknocker" pilot (brass). This oughta be fun!
Oh and about those horror stories about disassembling these engines? Actually,it ain't that bad! Just dont remove the bottom plate from below the drivers! That spring loaded stuff in there is not going back easily. It's kinda like hearding chickens( or 2nd graders).

 

[Nathan Hall]

Good morning from Richmond. We are going to reach the mid sixties today, and with rain coming in this evening and just in time for a weekend shower, there goes any plans at catching trains this weekend. If I didn't have school today, I'd be chasing Q410 up the RF&P as he has a CSX unit leading a BNSF H3 7500 series GEVO and a BNSF Warbonnet in ragged paint. 2 of last 3 days Q410 has had foriegn power. Wednesday, it was an ex-CR leading an IC and a CN. Now if only they'll stick a CP on and run it on the weekend in daylight, I'll be pleased. Off to school!

 

[pcarrell]

Mornin'!

Thunderstorms last night, so my desk is a busy one today. Fortunately, in all of Indiana and the surrounding states, I only have one critical problem.....a hospital is down. (LATER EDIT: It was back up in two hours.)

Gotta run!

Prayers for all!

 

[vato loco]

Evening Everyone!

(Warning, Work Related Rant Comming!)

Well, I had a hard week at work, I was getting the Ball fields ready for opening day for tomarrow. Ball season seems to come eariler and earlier every year, well actually it is a month earlier this year. the field's look as well as they can due to the last frost that hit three weeks ago and due to the lack of water due to the Irrigation Well had a cave filling all the irrigaton head with rocks. Now that all is in order things should start to look good again in good time. I remember playing ball 33 years ago as a kid......I never had a field like these kids do! Yet, people still complain and and whine about the fields. Too Fast, Too Slow, Too wet, Too dry, or Bad ball hop due to a minor imprefections in the clay. They blame every Error on the field when 90% of errors is due to the player. People need to realize their kids ain't Pro's and make tons of errors on their own! and stop blaming my fields! These kids need to play one fields like us older guys did!

Now, I have 13+ weeks of complaints and whining Over stuiped crap............They don't pay me enough! O'Well


"Flo, I'll have a 24 oz. steak Large baked sweet potato with butter, sugar, and cinemon also a nice big fluffy salad with blue cheese dressing. and a pitcher of beer. followed by a big slice of apple pie. and put this on Andrews tad!" Andrews buying everyone!

 

[kbkchooch]

Gang,
One 5 minute phone call and the motor for the 2-8-0 is on the way. I almost fell over when the guy told me the price,,,,,10 bucks! Now if they ship Monday as promised, I should have it by Wednesday. Here's to hoping I can remember exactly how it goes back together by then!!!
Jim, you asked for it, here are the corn shots. I'm happy with the corn, but not the backround corn. I still have some searching to do on that. It looks ok from 3 ft away, but up close and above it looks a little wierd. If you notice a shine in the pictures, it's cuz the scenery is still wet! I literally just got done!!

Gotta go clean the trainroom tonight, guests in the morning, Grandsons in the evening!

 

[leghome]

Karl I always go by the 3 foot rule anyway. If it looks good at 3 feet then it is perfection.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Not much happening today. Paid bills this morning, did the grocery shopping, came home and put said groceries away, cleaned the bathroom this afternoon (it's a dirty job but somebody has to do it) then went to parents house to watch Wheel of Fortune with them. They like it when I spend some time with them. Have to go to town tomorrow to see if I can find a tool to change out the washers in the shower faucet. After all that I don't really feel like cooking tonight. I guess I'll phone in a pizza order to Domino's and head into town to pick it up. They don't deliver way out here. I like the thin crust meat feast.