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Good Morning! from Tipton IN.
It's Tue 10/15/13
Temperature in TIPTON IN
High temperatures will range from 61 to 68 degrees with cloudy skies. Winds will remain steady around 12 miles per hour from the south. No precipitation is expected.
Good Morning:
Another crisp Fall morning, and it's supposed to reach 70° today, which is an added bonus.
I found the derailment problem on my reverse loop, a misaligned joint on the curve leading to the switch. The lead wheel set of the E7 climbs the outside (high) rail and rides along until it hits the switchpoint. The real solution is to replace the flex with new flex, and fortunately I have some on hand. This will fix some other issues also.
Beyond that, I have Fall chores to do.
Joe
Good morning. It's 72° with 94% humidity. The high will be 85° and will feel like 88°.
with a
Yesterday I got some work done on the game with getting the airport module tied in starting at line 3000. Today I'll be going back to line 2000 to start tying in the rest of the trek through the forest and it's perils. After that will come an abandoned motel, a series of dunes, a lakeside park. That'll finish off the first file of the game and thus completing the first flowchart. There will be two more files, thus two more flowcharts and a lot more trouble for the games character (I haven't picked a name for him yet) to get through or die trying. The goal of the game is to find an as yet unnamed Native American artifact.
I have no other plans today.
So, do these games you design have graphics, Jeffrey? And if so, how is that done (in really simple terms)?
From the DairyStatePhone
So, do these games you design have graphics, Jeffrey? And if so, how is that done (in really simple terms)?
From the DairyStatePhone
No graphics. It's all text. Read what's presented, make your move and pray that there is not something in the next block that's going to hurt you or worse. Actually 'the worse' is what usually happens when a disaster variable is encountered. Usually nothing happens and you continue but sometimes you could get sent back to an area you've been through already or you could encounter something that wants to do you in.
Afternoon all,
Kind of a dreary day here in North central Indiana.
I think I have decided on a layout to start.
It looks like it will have some expanding possibilities.
If I can get the new water softener installed and out of my train area I can get started on the bench work.
I am waiting for the plumbers to call back with an appointment time and date.
Jeffrey, Like you I have never been to school for any computer training but I love to program in basic.
I will tear an old computer apart to try to make it work again.
I usually program in Visual Basic in either Excel or MSaccess.
I like to make databases. I am not very good at it but I like it.
I usually do database programming when I get bored with everything else.
Or if I need a break from something that is stumping me.
You all have an outstanding day and take care.
Dale
Hello gang, it's sunny and pleasant outside here in 'free' state - in total contrast to the dreary mess that covered the mid-Atlantic this past weekend.
Last night I completed the 12th step of the construction process of my first FastTracks turnout: Cutting gaps into the 4 rails connecting to the frog. What a PITA! Tim Warris makes it look so simple in his how-to video, detaching one end of a jeweler's hack saw blade to weave it between the rails then re-attaching it. But for me at least, that is an
absolute bear to do with only two hands. Adding to the fun, the saw blade broke when I was almost done cutting thru the second rail - so I got to go thru the blade-stringing process all over again. [Believe me, I uttered a lot of "nautical jargon" during this task!
] For future turnout projects, perhaps I'll build some type of jig to hold the saw bow in the needed position so I can have both hands free to re-insert and tighten the blade.
Jeffrey, Like you I have never been to school for any computer training but I love to program in basic.
I will tear an old computer apart to try to make it work again.
I usually program in Visual Basic in either Excel or MSaccess.
I like to make databases. I am not very good at it but I like it.
I usually do database programming when I get bored with everything else.
Or if I need a break from something that is stumping me.
That sounds like a great way to have some fun and pass the time. All three of my Apple IIe's are rebuilds. I'm still waiting on a 650-x104 drive controller for one of them. It's one of the older units with white letters on the keys and the original 6502 CPU.
All in all it's been a productive day. On the game front I finished with the walk through the woods, exploration of the killers cabin, some exploring at the airport (where there's an Area 51sh type of shimmer), looking through an abandoned car, walking over the dunes where ATV enthusiasts have their fun, found an old motel, fell in a river and emerged from the shimmer at the airport. Are we confused yet?
There's still more to go. I have yet to make the park and the abandoned motel. Oh you'll like it. It's a killer place. And that will do it for part one. I'll need to close the file on it. It's almost up to fifty sectors. There's still parts two and three to go and we haven't even gotten to my neighborhood yet. Oh yes, even though this is purely a work of fiction nearly everything in it is based on areas around here.
I had a good day today as well.........due in part that I became the new owner of this stunning Kato G.E. C44-9W locomotive. This is the seventh G.E. 4400 in my fleet, but is the first Dash-9. My collection of classic mini-metals received the addition of two pairs of RISS semi trucks. Someday I might remove them from the packages.....(won't THAT be fun!......lol!)
Good afternoon or early evening depending on how you want to look at it?
Ha a bit of a sore throat that seemed to be trying to gain hold for the last couple of days and Asprin or Alkaseltzer didn't seem to want to get rid of it so I resorted to taking a shot of Jack Daniels last night and then earlier this afternoon to kill whatever bug it is I have and now the raspy sore throat seems to be subsiding considerably. I fixed a good late breakfast and that seems to be helping with the light headedness from the Whiskey
as I don't drink except for medicinal purposes so I feel it.
On the train front I printed up some very small, 'Barber Shop', signs for John as he redid the old kit he had. The little signs are only 7/32" high x 1' 15/16 long and reads: Moe's[angled] Barber Shop BJ's [with] to go under it and all on a light yellow background.
>> Say Ken:
** You wrote: Last night I completed the 12th step of the construction process of my first FastTracks turnout: Cutting gaps into the 4 rails connecting to the frog. What a PITA! Tim Warris makes it look so simple in his how-to video, detaching one end of a jeweler's hack saw blade to weave it between the rails then re-attaching it. But for me at least, that is an absolute bear to do with only two hands. Adding to the fun, the saw blade broke when I was almost done cutting thru the second rail - so I got to go thru the blade-stringing process all over again. [Believe me, I uttered a lot of "nautical jargon" during this task!] For future turnout projects, perhaps I'll build some type of jig to hold the saw bow in the needed position so I can have both hands free to re-insert and tighten the blade.
>> Why not precut the frog rails beyond the Frog as well as the point rails proceeding the frog? Indeed, build the frog as a separate unit?
I use their printed template for general spacing but always use a second PC strip in the frog> point area fro added strength.
Some food for thought.
Ken
I thought the 12 step program didn't come into play until after you had built a bunch of switches!
Sounds like you need a vice,,,or grow a 3rd arm!
Well-Known Member
Staff member
Ken
Sounds like you need a vice!
Good advice. (like we need more vices)
No further progress on the game today. Tomorrow I'll get started on making the subchart for the motel and park. That'll include a few blocks for lake scenes and maybe one or two for the spillway. The motel will be a bit of fun. I'm looking at two floors with four rooms per floor at least. They won't all be normal rooms. Some will have "surprises".
One thing I did today was double the RAM on this computer. I put in two 1GB DDR2 800 memory sticks a friend sent me and I dumped the single 1GB DDR2 533 stick that was in it. It'll only take two so I used the two DDR2 800's. The increase sped the system up by a little over a third. It uses 1.87 gigs for the RAM, the rest goes to VRAM.
Time for me to call it a day. See y'all tomorrow.
Something I didn't mention earlier as it had completely slipped my mind. In between programming sessions today I left the IIe running. I back up all the files just in case then lock the write protect. Well at one point I was out here in the office and I didn't see the cat around anywhere. Well she's upstairs in the balcony curled up on the couch up there I thought. When I headed back toward my room I cast a glance up there and didn't see her. As I entered my room I saw her. She was curled up on top of the IIe. Nice and warm there. All it took was a dirty look from me to send her off in search of another warm place. I'm still trying to figure a way to work a train into Native Fury.
Well-Known Member
Staff member
I would say a dirty look from you Jeffrey, would send mountain lions scampering.
Good Morning! from Tipton IN.
It's Wed 10/16/13
Temperature in TIPTON IN
High temperatures will range from 55 to 58 degrees with clear skies. Winds will remain steady around 11 miles per hour from the southwest. No precipitation is expected.
Good morning. It's 70° with 95% humidity. The high will be 75° and will feel like 78°.
with a
Looks like today may be a wet one. I've worked out a subchart for the motel and park in Native Fury. So far the motel is a single floor. I'll add a second floor later. For now the motel and park is a twenty-two block assignment and that's going to be a long programming session. It starts at line 3500 and goes to line 6000 before it finishes. Maybe I can work a model railroad layout into the lobby. Something with the motel's name in it. I'm calling the motel 'The Empire Inn'. There shouldn't be anybody in it as it's been abandoned for years. The real motel (different name) I'm basing it on burned down shortly after I came here from El Paso. Anyway, the games character (as yet unnamed) enters the motel lobby from the north then can proceed south out the back to explore the park behind the motel or he can go east down the hall which runs east and west. There are eight rooms, four to the north and four to the south that open onto the hall. The character can access the park from the lobby and the east end of the hall. The park runs north-south along the east end of the motel and east-west along the entire south side. The charts below will give a rough idea of the layout. The first photo is of the original flowchart from my initial plan. The area indicated in red is the area I'm working on now. The second is the subchart I drew up last night. The numbers are the starting line numbers of each block. The red lines indicate the path the character will take when exploring the motel.
Afternoon all.
I just returned from the lumber yard with wood to start my new layout.
This will be my 3rd and final attempt.
This one will work.......This one will work...... This one will work...........
Dale
Been busy on the other computer with Native Fury. I have more than half of the motel done. Still have to program in the rooms on the south side of the hall. I also worked a train into the mix. There's an old HO 4x8 layout in one corner of the motel lobby. It doesn't work though. Part of the track is torn up and the locos wouldn't run anyway. Their rubber bands are all rotted away. Mention is made of the layout again when a room is being searched. The character finds a picture of the layout when it was working and the motel owner is at the controls. Mention is also made of the possible object of interest of the game. Indian artifacts can be seen hanging on one of the walls, most notably a ceremonial headdress. Once I finish the motel only the park is left and that's going to be a headache in and of itself. The game now takes up fifty-seven sectors of diskette space. I'm also keeping a duplicate file on a diskette in drive two.
No model railroad action here as I have no active projects to work on. I have to wait until I can get parts for them.
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