Coffee Shop XXXIX-9/21/2013

[IronBeltKen]

Hello gang.

Karl - Nice job on the F unit, I've got a few of those myself!

David, I don't have any problems posting pix either. Have you tried bringing up the Forum on IE? If that displays the forum links normally, then you'll know Firefox is the culprit. Failing that, I wouldn't have a clue...

On the subject of browsers: I'm almost ready to give Firefox a second chance. I stopped using it on my old 'puter because every time it automatically upgraded, I would always see more and more error messages saying "[fill-in-the-blank] plugin is not compatible with this version of Firefox." That's when I was convinced to try Chrome. Now, ever since I let Google 'upgrade' my Chrome yesterday, I'm still getting an occasional popup telling me "You are using version 29, please upgrade to version 30." But I am using version 30[!?] Maybe they're mad at me for not accepting that second license agreement for software I didn't want? I have to give them credit for this much though: At least they give me the option to say 'no'. Firefox would just automatically upgrade at random times whether I wanted it to or not. I got tired of seeing the message "Firefox is installing important updates and will start in a few moments".

. . .
Yesterday I wound up clearing away stacks of 'stuff' that has been languishing on my basement workbench. I needed a surface other than my layout to build these FastTracks turnouts. I tossed out lots of items that weren't exactly trash, that might possibly be of some use in the future[?] Things like scraps of sheet styrene in varying thicknesses, old jars of off-the-wall colors of Floquil paint, leftover parts from Walthers cornerstone kits...I'm sure I'll find out in a few weeks what I should have kept when I go hunting for that missing 'something.'

I finally got a chance to build my first FastTracks turnout today. Took me 8 hours - hopefully the next ones will go quicker than that!

 

[bnsf971]

Hello gang.

Karl - Nice job on the F unit, I've got a few of those myself!

David, I don't have any problems posting pix either. Have you tried bringing up the Forum on IE? If that displays the forum links normally, then you'll know Firefox is the culprit. Failing that, I wouldn't have a clue...

On the subject of browsers: I'm almost ready to give Firefox a second chance. I stopped using it on my old 'puter because every time it automatically upgraded, I would always see more and more error messages saying "[fill-in-the-blank] plugin is not compatible with this version of Firefox." That's when I was convinced to try Chrome. Now, ever since I let Google 'upgrade' my Chrome yesterday, I'm still getting an occasional popup telling me "You are using version 29, please upgrade to version 30." But I am using version 30[!?] Maybe they're mad at me for not accepting that second license agreement for software I didn't want? I have to give them credit for this much though: At least they give me the option to say 'no'. Firefox would just automatically upgrade at random times whether I wanted it to or not. I got tired of seeing the message "Firefox is installing important updates and will start in a few moments".

. . .
Yesterday I wound up clearing away stacks of 'stuff' that has been languishing on my basement workbench. I needed a surface other than my layout to build these FastTracks turnouts. I tossed out lots of items that weren't exactly trash, that might possibly be of some use in the future[?] Things like scraps of sheet styrene in varying thicknesses, old jars of off-the-wall colors of Floquil paint, leftover parts from Walthers cornerstone kits...I'm sure I'll find out in a few weeks what I should have kept when I go hunting for that missing 'something.'

I finally got a chance to build my first FastTracks turnout today. Took me 8 hours - hopefully the next ones will go quicker than that!

Ken, when Firefox opens, click "Firefox", then click "preferences", then "advanced" then "updates". You can click "let Firefox check, but ask before updating", or "never check for updates".

 

[IronBeltKen]

Thanx Terry - I wish I'd have known that a few years ago when I first installed Firefox [LOL]

 

[kbkchooch]

Hello gang.

Karl - Nice job on the F unit, I've got a few of those myself!

That IS your F units silly!

On the subject of browsers: I'm almost ready to give Firefox a second chance. I stopped using it on my old 'puter because every time it automatically upgraded, I would always see more and more error messages saying "[fill-in-the-blank] plugin is not compatible with this version of Firefox." That's when I was convinced to try Chrome. Now, ever since I let Google 'upgrade' my Chrome yesterday, I'm still getting an occasional popup telling me "You are using version 29, please upgrade to version 30." But I am using version 30[!?] Maybe they're mad at me for not accepting that second license agreement for software I didn't want? I have to give them credit for this much though: At least they give me the option to say 'no'. Firefox would just automatically upgrade at random times whether I wanted it to or not. I got tired of seeing the message "Firefox is installing important updates and will start in a few moments".

Been using Chrome since it was 1st released. Never had a problem. Of course, IE is a train wreck, but Firefox had issues for me. Multiple upgrades & stuff.
Ken, did you download Chrome from Google, or some internet download site. All that other stuff you had to contend with has to be 3rd party stuff, not Google. Besides, I've got it on my phone too, and my Gmail account allows me so much flexibility that my phone acts like my computer and my computer acts like my phone.
. . .

I finally got a chance to build my first FastTracks turnout today. Took me 8 hours - hopefully the next ones will go quicker than that!

It better, you ain't getting no younger!!

Finally, for all you computer geek types to ponder..................



and how often would it crash??

 

[kbkchooch]

Its kinda like "Where's Waldo" ,"Wheres the Road_Slug?"
ATTACH=CONFIG]39693[/ATTACH]

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Got a lot done on the game today. I drug out some of the old tech books from my old 'SoftWare Designs' company (shut down in 1990) as my programming jargon is quite rusty. There's a lot of the old commands and such that I can't remember the precise use of. Basic isn't that hard once you know your way around it. Problem is I've forgotten a lot of it and have to relearn it without the benefit of the manuals I used to have. I've been looking at some of my older programs to see what I used, how I used it and where. Kind of like relearning a language you haven't used in many years. I did the same when I had to relearn VisiCalc before I could teach someone how to use it on their old Apple II system. For those who might not know, VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet computer program. It was originally released for the Apple II. It's often considered the application that turned the Apple computer from a hobby into a serious tool for business two years before IBM introduced their pc. Well now I'm having to relearn Applesoft Basic. For me it's rather like going back to school and I never really enjoyed school all that much. I'll be posting updates on how the game is coming along not that anybody is seriously interested.

Time for me to call it a day. See y'all tomorrow.

L&A officials out inspecting the track.

A little sandlot baseball anyone?

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

It's Mon 10/14/13

Temperature in TIPTON IN

High temperatures will range from 60 to 64 degrees with clear skies. Winds will range between 8 and 12 miles per hour from the east. No precipitation is expected.

 

[kbkchooch]

Jeffrey
I remember college classes in Fortran & Cobol in 1980, my Professors though Basic was just a toy, or a fad at the time.
I thought Cobol & Fortran were like Chinese algebra written in Swedish.

 

[Boris]

Good Morning! Happy Columbus Day Legal Holiday!

46° and fair this morning. What a weekend, the Devils lost again, the Redskins lost again, (to the Cowboys of all teams), and the Dodgers lost not only two games, but some key players. It's a good thing I don't participate in sports betting.

The derailment gremlin returned to my layout yesterday, as I attempted to run the E7 around the reverse loop. The loco actually picked the points of a PECO curved switch . Now this loco has successfully navigated my layout in the past, and as recently as last weekend. I retraced the route with my Proto PA1, which did not have an issue. So its back to troubleshooting and gremlin hunting the E7.

Enjoy your day.

Joe

 

[Boris]

Jeffrey
I remember college classes in Fortran & Cobol in 1980, my Professors though Basic was just a toy, or a fad at the time.
I thought Cobol & Fortran were like Chinese algebra written in Swedish.

That's a good analogy. In 1972, Fortran was a two hour, one semester requisite, and no one had even heard of Cobol or basic.....But it was still as you describe..

Joe

 

[DairyStateDad]

my phone acts like my computer and my computer acts like my phone.

But dammit, why can't I make phone calls with my Nikon digital camera? ...

 

[Dr. John]

Jeffrey, I love the dinosaur pushing the caboose. It reminds me of the one John Allen used on his Gorre & Daphetid many years ago.

 

[railfan]

The tracking page shows my package of boxcars and coal hoppers arrived at the post office this morning in time to go out for delivery........but...but........mysteriously no further scans were recorded. Then I checked and it's....of course....Columbus Day! Another Holiday with no mail......yay!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeffrey
I remember college classes in Fortran & Cobol in 1980, my Professors though Basic was just a toy, or a fad at the time.

I never attended college or any other place of learning to gain knowledge on computer languages and operation. I did however pick the brains of several noted professors about such languages as COBOL, Fortran and Lisp which are all third generation computer language. Univac COBOL was one of these languages and great as it was for it's time it was woefully obsolete by the time ALGOL (Algorithmic Language) came along in 1958. ALGOL was and still is what's known as a family of high level computer languages. It was the standard for algorithm description used by the Association of Computing Machinery and academic sources for more than three decades. It was the most successful of the four high level programming languages, the other three being the aforementioned Fortran, COBOL and Lisp. It avoided some of the pitfalls of Fortran and gave rise to other programming languages like BCPL (Basic Combined Programming Language), B (superseded by C), Pascal, PL/I (Programming Language One) and C which is a general purpose programming language. Many languages like D, Go, Java, JavaScript, Objective-C, Python and C Shell (Unix) borrowed heavily from C. C++ and Objective-C originated as compilers that generated C code. C++ is nearly a superset of C. Compared to these languages and their forms Basic is seen by many as a toy or at the most a simplified set of tools created by hobbyists working in basements and attics with minicomputers that had sharply limited resources. Probably the most common computer language in use today is ASM or Assembly Language and the most common of that line is that used by Intel's X86 line of processors.

Time for me to drop this before I get accused of being a professor.

Getting back to Basic, the name itself is nothing more than an acronym for Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It's a family of general purpose high level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use. Basic is still very popular even though many people don't even realize they're using it. Fact of the matter is you computer couldn't function without it. In 2006 over 50% of developers for the .NET framework used Microsoft's Visual Basic .NET as their only programming language. The original Basic language was developed in 1964. The acronym BASIC is tied to the name of an unpublished paper by Thomas Kurtz and is not a backronym. It was designed to allow students to write programs for the time-sharing system and was intended specifically for the new class of users that time-sharing systems allowed—a less technical user who didn't have the mathematical background of more traditional users and was not interested in acquiring it. Being able to use a computer to support teaching and research was quite a novel idea at the time. Basic was based on Fortran II, with some influences from ALGOL 60 with additions that made it suitable for timesharing. Initially, Basic concentrated on supporting straightforward mathematical work, with matrix arithmetic support from its initial implementation as a batch language and full string functionality being added by 1965. It's designers decided to make the compiler available free of charge so the language could become widespread. It was also made available to high schools in the Hanover area. A considerable amount of effort was put into promoting the language. As other dialects of Basic appeared the original Basic dialect became known as Dartmouth Basic. During the 1960's and 1970's Basic became widespread and was implemented by a number of manufacturers. Key among these were the makers of minicomputers like the DEC PDP series and Data General's Nova. The language was implemented as an interpreter on the HP Time-Shared Basic system. It was during this period that a number of simple computer games were written in Basic, notably Mike Mayfield's Star Trek. A number of these were collected by David H. Ahl while he worked at DEC and published in a newsletter he compiled. "101 BASIC Computer Games" was also compiled by Ahl, which was first published in 1973. During this period, Ahl was involved in the creation of a small computer for education use, an early personal computer. When management refused to support the concept, Ahl left DEC in 1974 to found the seminal computer magazine, Creative Computing. The book remained popular, and was re-published on several occasions. From this came the advent of microcomputers. It was then an dstill is impossible for a microcomputer to function without Basic. But now I am starting to sound like a professor and I feel it would a good idea to drop the subject at this point.

Now remember that I NEVER went to school to learn about computers or computer language. It was something I picked up on my own from reading books, studying papers and watching countless documentaries on the subject.

 

[bnsf971]

Thanx Terry - I wish I'd have known that a few years ago when I first installed Firefox [LOL]

You can go to oldversion.com, search Firefox, and download version 17 or so.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeffrey, I love the dinosaur pushing the caboose. It reminds me of the one John Allen used on his Gorre & Daphetid many years ago.

That's exactly where I got the idea from. That and the dinosaur pulling the GE back to the repair shop.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good afternoon. It's 79° with 80% humidity. The high will be 85° and will feel like 90°.

Had a rough night and didn't get to sleep until after 2am. So I slept in this morning and really didn't bother getting up until I heard my nurse knocking on the door. No progress on the game thus far today. I really don't feel like messing with it right now.

 

[railfan]

I took an intro to programming course at a 2 year college. It was using Microsoft Visual Basic. There were only four students in the class......as it was at a branch campus in a small town. We all found it to be very challenging material. There was one lady student who ran her own computer support company.....she was doing better with it......not great though. I received an A grade for the course for good attendance and following closely during class........even though I could not write a working program at the end. But I had taken several other computer courses with the same professor before this one.........and was adept and doing well with those. Now-a-days, if you pay your tuition, show up for class, and don't say anything controversial..........you'll likely get top grades.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Now-a-days, if you pay your tuition, show up for class, and don't say anything controversial..........you'll likely get top grades.

Tell me about it! I've been told by a college professor that all I'd have to do is sit through his class, do nothing at all and I would have my certification without as much as lifting a pencil.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Well despite not feeling well today I did some more work on the game. Native Fury is growing slowly. Today I added in the subchart for the rural airport. That only has six blocks which cover three parts of the runway (center, north end, south end), the airport office and pilot's lounge. It's advisable to look around on the runway for a certain object BEFORE entering the pilot's lounge, otherwise bad things could happen to the character. I added a bit of mystery by throwing in an unearthly shimmer at one end of the runway. However the character can't enter this shimmer - yet. The programs size is up to thirty-one diskette sectors.

Well it's time for me to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.