Coffee Shop Number 16

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning.

It's 70 and wet here, as well as cloudy. The high should be in the mid 80's and it will be partly cloudy with a small chance for rain. Hopefully that will go somewhere else.

Finished up a couple of projects yesterday and spent some down time during the storm cleaning up part of the layout. Funny how things get dusty when they haven't been used in a while but if I'm running the trains I can't work on any projects because there's no place to set the tools and materials and if I'm working on a project I can't run any trains as there's tools and materials on the tracks. There's no middle ground here. My father once suggested I build a workbench. Yeah, right. Where would I put it? On the ceiling? The front room is seven feet eight inches wide and thirteen feet long. The layout takes up almost all of that space. There's just enough space left for a kitchen half the size of a postage stamp, a fridge, access to the front door and an eighteen inch wide gap to the hallway. The rear half of the trailer consists of a bedroom seven feet eight inches wide x six and a half feet long. There's a twin bed and wall-mounted racks of DVD's on one side and a TV, video equipment and a dresser on the other side. The five and a half feet in between the front and back is taken up by the hall, bathroom, closet and video-DVD-book rack. There simply is no place to put a work bench. Under the edge of the layout? No can do. The computer and heater got there first.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 4/29/2009

Wind Chill: 69°F
Humidity: 94%
Dew Point: 67°F

So Far Today
High: 70°F
Low: 68°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 8mph SE

Today High: 85 Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight Low: 65 Partly cloudy with isolated showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 60s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm18/forum-2/P4290286.jpg

 

[UP2CSX]

Afternoon, everyone.

BOC, let us know how the mirror trick worked out. Indeed, the travel business in general is going to take a huge hit from this "pandemic" before the hysteria runs it course. There are also several weak airlines, like Continental, that are big players in Mexico travel, that will not survive this mess either. This would not be a good time to be a travel agent or tour operator.

Phillip, I feel for you. I worked many seven day weeks and sometimes it seemed like it would never end. It will, of course, so keep plowing ahead until you can finally tell them all to take a flying leap and retire. That almost makes up for all the work you're doing now.

Larry, I don't think you want to stain cabinets when the humidity is high. I did that once and it took about a month before I could touch the wood without leaving fingerprints. Don't worry about the lawn. As long as it keeps raining, yours won't look any worse than the neighbors.

Corey, the best way to promote rain is to completely detail your car. Now that I think about it, I haven't even washed mine in about a year. Maybe that's why we have a drought problem.

Jeffrey, I'm always amazed at the amount you do with so little space, so little money, and so many physical challenges. I remember when you were being hammered "across the street" because some people didn't think your modeling skills were good enough. I wonder how many of us could have accomplished half of what you've done in the same circumstances?

Well, things have gone from bad to worse for our vacation. My doctor called this morning and said the FDA, under their authority from the "National Health Emergency Act", is prohibiting doctors from prescribing Tamiflu to anyone making non-essential trips to Mexico. He now has a special form to fill out stating the reasons why he prescibes Tamiflu and anyone who gets it has to have a swab sample submitted to the CDC. Nothing to worry about, though, our rights are still safe...for a while. We found a resort in the Dominican Republic which isn't full yet but Delta is not letting people change tickets from Mexico unless your arrival date is no later than May 6. I assume they will keep sliding that window as the hysteria grows but, by the time it gets to our departure date of May 17, it will probably be too late to book any resorts. I'm really starting to get at my wits end here. The whole family was looking forward to a vacation in the tropics since no one but me has ever been to the Caribbean. I guess I'll just go with the flow and try to figure out what to do when I have the knowledge to make a good decision. I've already bought up the idea of making a tour of North American railroad museums but that was shot down in short order.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeffrey, I'm always amazed at the amount you do with so little space, so little money, and so many physical challenges. I remember when you were being hammered "across the street" because some people didn't think your modeling skills were good enough. I wonder how many of us could have accomplished half of what you've done in the same circumstances?

You can do whatever you put your mind to. Anybody who doesn't believe that can look at what I've done in the last five years. If they think the photos are more Photo-shop than model they can come here and see it in person. BTW, I don't use Photo-shop. If good modeling depended on how much money you could throw at it there wouldn't be very many good looking layouts. Fortunately there are any number of cheap things out there that can be used to keep costs down.

 

[vato loco]

Just a quick drive by..........I'm still alive, just been caught up with the politics at work Two parks in my area are going to have there crews pulled and being reassigned to Roving Maint. Crew. My park is one of the two on top of that I might get a 5% pay cut when this happens, I'm not sure but I assume it will be after the ball season. To add insult to injury, this does not mean i won't be layed off in October! I have a 60% chance of unemployment!

On the home front, Not much going with the Lawn service We are -8" of rain this year No rain......No grass grows. on top of that watering restrictions are as is, (NO WATERING!) get caught watering $500 fine from the water police! Yes, you heard me right, WATER POLICE!

As for our new Puppy, RICO! he's doing great the pack has accepted him My son signed up for football tryouts! another year of football might be in my future. My wife will have her surgery for her krohns some time in june. Just a very hecktic time I'll try to stop by more often as time will allow

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Good Evening.

Boy, did THAT meeting go awry!!The mirror worked on some other people---BUT NOT ON THOSE--nincumpoops with giant egos---aherm!cough cough-- I ended up ruling them totally out of order and threw them out. They left after a couple of other people got up from their chairs We finished the rest in 1/2 hour!!
We got the dang issues sent back to their committee to resolve and I gave them a deadline(I just looooove being the chair) of a month--that way an even crankier geezer than me becomes chair---he was one of the people who stood up---

Jim The paranoia grows up here apace as well---the pottery show and sale is THIS WEEKEND in Dundas--which is a part of Hamilton ON and there is rumours afloat-----any kind of trip looks to be an issue this year In fact ANY airline that has flights going to Mexico are seeing ticket sales drop like --well----this could be the end of a few more of 'em

Chris We had these H2O police up here------I started a drip system using a water barrel or two from our eavestrough--they even got piculous about that---you mean you can't use rainwater even? I asked---they backed down-- BTW--nice to see you're still around

Jeff I'm always telling Eric about what you are doing---helps keep his spirits up when he gets some stupid nincumpoop telling him otherwise

Well--I'm going into the trainroom--or as we're starting to call it--den of chaos. Got to start redoing a few things

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeff I'm always telling Eric about what you are doing---helps keep his spirits up when he gets some stupid nincumpoop telling him otherwise

BOC: Pass this on to Eric for me. And for anybody else reading it, welcome to my world.
It's been my experience that 99% of the nincompoops telling me that I can't do something seem to think that I should surrender because of the severity of my problems (believe me, they're bad) and have WAY underestimated my strength of will. I was a mentally retarded child, a victim of brain damage and severe nerve damage due to spinal meningitis. I also have aphasia, a condition that scrambles my hearing. Think of it as dyslexia for the ears. I needed special schooling not only to learn how to interpret what I hear but how to respond. I had to learn to lip read when I was 4 years old so I can more easily interpret what someone is saying. Nerve damage from diabetes doesn't help things any. I have next to no feeling below my elbows and below my knees. All I can feel with my hands and feet is pressure. No touch sensation, no pain. I also have a condition called Charcot foot. You can google that but I don't recommend looking closely at the photos if you just ate. Due to the nerve damage I have mobility problems and I can't keep my hands steady, yet I manage to get some detail work done. I can't walk more than a few hundred feet without having to rest because of the nerve problems. My leg muscles don't work quite as they should. Even though I had to go through nine years of special education schools I'm a very smart guy. My IQ is a documented 187 (the scale stops at 200. The average persons IQ is around 120). I'm a high school graduate and have taken several college courses. I'm a retired computer programmer and self taught computer tech. I've built more computers than I care to count including the one I'm currently using. Some of the technology in it was designed and constructed by me. Now if somebody with all the problems I listed can get as far as I have, just imagine what you can do if you put your mind to it.

 

[vato loco]

Good Evening.

Chris BTW--nice to see you're still around

I may fall off the radar at time's, I'm just skimming the deck!

 

[UP2CSX]

Good early morning, everyone.

Chris, good to see you again. I missed you. I'm sorry to hear all the job uncertainties continue. Maybe all the federal stimulus money will reach Florida in time to avert more job losses. Sounds like Rico must a pretty assertive pup to get along with your two other monsters. I sure hope everything goes well for your wife. We haven't had rain here in 10 days but no water restrictions yet.

BOC, I'm sure glad I'm not in charge of anything anymore. I've dealt with more than my fair share of nincompoops in my time. The hysteria has now come to Alabama because we have two cases of possible swine flu. The state high school athletic association has decided to postpone all post season and playoff games because we're all gonna die!...again. Our illustrious governor couldn't wait to get on TV to tell people not to panic while he was spreading panic.

Jeffrey, your story is sure inspirational if nothing else. Kind of makes me ashamed I didn't accomplish more with the gifts that were given me.

Mexico is out for sure now. Since the WHO raised the threat level to five, the Mexican government is ording all non-essential citizens to stay at home for at least five days starting Friday. That means the hotels will be shut down. As soon as Delta changes the date for May 17 departures being allowed to change tickets, we'll end up in the Bahamas (I hope). It will only cost me about $3500 more for the additional air fare and hotel costs. Now I just have to hope we don't a rogue early season hurricane, which would be just my luck. They interviewed a Japanese doctor, who's a member of the WHO emergency committee, and here was finally a guy who made sense. He's rightly concerned that we will use up all our antivirals fighting a mild flu and then have none available if the H5N1 avaian flu breaks out. That one is really serious and tens of thousands of people will die if we don't have antivirals to fight it. Apparently he hasn't been told that logic and good planning are not what's needed now. Grrr....

 

[vato loco]

Good early morning, everyone.

Chris, good to see you again. I missed you. I'm sorry to hear all the job uncertainties continue. Maybe all the federal stimulus money will reach Florida in time to avert more job losses. Sounds like Rico must a pretty assertive pup to get along with your two other monsters. I sure hope everything goes well for your wife. We haven't had rain here in 10 days but no water restrictions yet.

Stimulus money wouldn't do no good when the elected suits are nothing but drunk sailors The problem my comrads and me are facing is due to over spending and lack of good common sence! The police department is getting stimulus money, but it's only for personal only....not for equipment so i guess the new officers are going to have to walk and carry a pocket full of rock to stop the bad guys with

Basicly my job is in trouble because the peoples wanted more parks! So the elected Suits grabed some State funds/grants which are put away for said projects and built the extra parks. Now we have more property to manage with less money and materials to do it with In the nut shell this was bound to happen and will more than likely continue unil the end of time

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Good morning---going to get kinda rainy and t'underboomy today---and we're going up to 20C today. When I go to Woodstock ON to babysit my sisters cats tomorrow for the weekend it'll be the usual sun/cloud mix with the attendent showers as well. And a high for tomorrow of 15C---it appears the next few days are sun--followed by lotsa rain with sun the next day---

Jim I am seeing that we may have fallen into the ol' bit bucket brainwise. I've seen some strange behaviours coming from our "Knowing Subjects" lately that make me wonder if this might not be the time to "head for the hills--so to speak--" These guys come on radio/TV etc bellowing about how serious this thing is, the media plays this stuff up for all it is worth(the Fear of the week--), then the elected one's shut things down ---and then WE are told not to panic? HUH?--and who told these wise ones to go running around telling us that it is serious? Oh well--I guess we're not going to see an end to this loonie business for a while yet. This will make travel more "interesting", I guess.

Chris Your conclusion is a good one---the human condition seems to be that -----

Have a good one, people

 

[Secondhandmodeler]

Good morning folks.

Jeffrey, you certainly have made lemonade with the lemons life has handed you. Bravo!

Jim, it's only money right! I'm sorry to hear of your headaches. Headaches! Headaches! Do you have the SWINE FLU?

I'm about to dive head first into our second busiest weekend of the year. I can't wait until prom is over! Last year I lost ten pounds during the summer with all of the running around at work. I hope I lose those same ten pounds this year! I seem to have found them and five additional ones!

I painted the sculptamold around the bridge piers last night. Next step is to stain the piers so they look like aged limestone. Then I'll start to paint the river bottom. I need to decide where the actual river bank will be and then what kind of rocks and sand to use for the edges. I may throw down some ground foam just to help define the edges. I'm waiting for the real trestle area to green up so I can get an accurate look for summer. The middle of the river will be dark brown for the most part. The University is actually doing a study on the amount of sediment in this river. It is quite high do to the farms that drain into further up stream. It will certainly make the painting easier than a clear, mountain stream!

My birthday is Friday, so I don't see myself doing a lot of modeling this weekend. I hope you all have a great day!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning

It's 66 and cloudy with rain. The projected high will be around the mid 80's and there's a chance of thunderstorms.

Yesterday was all about layout maintenance. Wiping down the track: Ten minutes. Removing non-attached items: Ten minutes. Vacuuming the scenery: Twenty minutes. Putting non-attached items back in place: Thirty-five minutes. An hour and fifteen minutes. Doesn't sound like much does it? Now consider there was an hour or more between each of those activities and it seems like much more. In total I spent about seven hours yesterday on assorted layout related jobs. That doesn't include loco maintenance, cleaning of rolling stock wheels (required maybe once a year, more like once every two years), checking wiring, testing track power, etc. There's so many things to do on a layout, many of which we don't even think about. Layout maintenance, some face it with due diligence, others wish they had somebody to do it for them, is often considered to be the dark side of model railroading. I take it in small easily managed steps that each have their own pleasures, their own discoveries and their own surprises. I sometimes wonder how many modelers, while cleaning their track, discovered a screw laying between the ties and wondered where did it come from or more aptly 'Oh crap! What's gonna fall apart next?'. I once went to get a loco off the shelf only to find that it had been taken over by hundreds of tiny spider-lings that somewhat violently objected to my handling their home. Well, they should have put out the 'Do not disturb' sign. Placing the loco in question in a plastic bag and filling same with bug spray quickly settled their hash. That's probably the only time I had to vacuum the inside of a loco.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 4/30/2009

Wind Chill: 66°F
Humidity: 100%
Dew Point: 66°F

So Far Today
High: 67°F
Low: 64°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 10mph SSE

Today High: 85 Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight Low: 68 Mostly cloudy early in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 60s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm18/forum-2/DSCN0775-1.jpg

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeffrey, you certainly have made lemonade with the lemons life has handed you. Bravo!

What can I say. I try to do the best with what I have. Would you do any less?

 

[stationmaster]

All, been busy with the nursing home layout the past couple of days. I've run into a couple of those "looked good on paper" problems. I've got most sorted out. We are taking this Saturday off. Some of the guys are going out of state to a large train show, me included, I think. Also a couple of the donations from some of you have arrived and I've been trying to integrate those things into the layout.

Ken, your package arrived yesterday. I like the idea of the silos. So much, in fact, that I went out and bought some PVC and intend to make some for my layout. I also bought some larger to build a tank farm for a refinery. I don't know where I'll put a tank farm/refinery, but I'll have a module of one.

Karl, I received your castings today. All were in great shape. Every time I ship things like that the are received in pieces. Yours are all together.

Thank you, all, for your generosity. Every package I receive chokes me up. I'm normally a pretty tough guy but this project and the gifts from everyone chokes me up.

Jim, boc, Chris, I usually do not argue politics. But in this case I will make an exception. The clan in DC are really fouling things up. I would favor a recall of all of them and, as my granddaughter says, "Have a do over." They all seem pretty loose with my money. Rampant spending, surely followed by higher taxes, is out of control.

Bob

 

[vato loco]

Jim, boc, Chris, I usually do not argue politics. Bu, in this case I will make an exception. The clan in DC are really fouling things up. I would favor a recall of all of them and, as my granddaughter says, "Have a do over." They all seem pretty loose with my money. Rampant spending, surely followed by higher taxes, is out of control.

Bob

Bob, me to I don't talk politics often but due to who I and my wife work for and what's going on with my job it's hard not to talk politics. But it puts me in a unique position when I take about work Who would think being a monkey on the bottom of the totum pole that my job would be so tied up in red tape I can't just goto work and work!

I can right a book on rampant spending! My wife's department looses $400,000,000 a year to fraud! And the government knows this yet does nothing LOL's Go figure

 

[vato loco]

Afternoon, everyone.

I guess I'll just go with the flow and try to figure out what to do when I have the knowledge to make a good decision. I've already bought up the idea of making a tour of North American railroad museums but that was shot down in short order.

Jim, May I sudjest FLORIDA! The Sarasota area is lovely this time of the year! Or Coco beach too

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Chris Several years ago my wife and I plus another couple we knew went for a cruise down the Intercoastal Waterway from up near Chesapeake Bay all the way to Pensacola Fla. THAT was fun!!

We're raining buckets and barrels tonight and I's be getting ready to head for Woodstock to do some photography around the area---I'm thinking of getting some more pix around the Beachville area and the quarries there---seeing as now I have official permiss. to do this! When my sister and I were way younger we used to do all our fossil hunting IN those quarries---no one seemed to bother us---we just watched what they did and stayed out of their way

Bob Did Biden tell people not to go and use planes and such? And then they wonder why people get confused---and panicky.
Now, it be Panic Travel tips for Panic Times

 

[stationmaster]

Chris, sounds like your wife may work for the welfare department.

Jim, here's a vacation for ya!!! http://www.trainfestival2009.com/4449.php

Bob

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

The appointment was so-so. There's no sign of any infection in my right foot. The swelling (so the doc says) is being caused by the Charco condition acting up. It has my foot swelled from the toes to just above the ankle. That's the good news. Bad news is that the cellulitis infection is back, in a small way, but in my left foot this time. When it rains it pours. He's got me back on antibiotics again.

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Have got pretty much all done that needs to be done before I take off for the weekend----had to find 'Spring'. He's now asleep on my backpack. He does this everytime I leave town---

Jeff My wife told me to remind you---(she's our mom now---sheeesh)--look after yourself----she already lectured me!! LOL!!