Come and see Flo at Coffee Shop 18

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning.

It's 71 and cloudy. The high will be around 88 and there's a chance of rain.

Looks like I'll be mowing the parent's grass this morning. I was intending to do it over the weekend but the weather guesser says it's gonna be WET. So I had to move the schedule up. I have to get it done now because after the 8th I won't be able to do such things for a couple of weeks. Yesterday I went looking for more Krylon Matte Finish but couldn't find it. So I went over to Lowe's to see what they had. I got a can of Valspar Clear Flat and decided to give it a try. I found that it has a better coverage than the Matte Finish and is more uniform. I think I'll be using this stuff now. I did find that it has to be used in a very well ventilated area (no problem for me since I do the spraying outside) as it has quite a strong odor. I haven't seen any ill effects on the model I sprayed it on. No peeling paint or lettering or warped plastic. This weekend I'll be working on weathering a Bachmann Boise Cascade all-door box car and it will get the Clear Flat treatment.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 9/4/2009

Heat Index: 77°F
Humidity: 88%
Dew Point: 68°F

So Far Today
High: 72°F
Low: 71°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 6mph ENE

Today High: 88 Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s. East winds around 5 mph.

Tonight Low: 68 Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 60s. Southeast winds around 5 mph.

 

[tompm]

Good morning folks

It was 66 F as I headed in this morning. High will be 84 F.

It was not a good day yesterday. I took the van in for state inspection. That part went well, finding the coolant leak did not. They found the coolant leak; a hole in the radiator. We are now waiting on a new radiator and hoping the van will be done tonight. Later I got a new cell phone and had a big fight with my former carrier about porting the phone number over to the phone. The old carrier’s customer service has deteriorated over the last six months and is the main reason why I am changing. Now I have to change three more phones over and I am not looking forward to the battles.

No modeling. The mood was not right.

I hope everybody has a good day.

 

[pcarrell]

Mornin' all!

Woke up this morning to low 60's, and lots of dew on the cars. It's supposed to get up near 80 today and sunny, so it should be pretty nice out.

Well, some of you may recall that my daughter recently got in a little car accident. Seems someone ran a red light and she T-boned 'em. Her car was a complete waste (http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/850A0028.jpg), so the insurance company totaled it. They gave us a fair settlement though, so I can't complain. They offered us about what I think I could've gotten for the car on the open market before the crash, so I'm good with it. Anyways, the airbags went off and my daughter was fine other then a sprained ankle. So, for the last week I've been carting her to college and back every day, and that makes the schedule tough. Well last night I found a car for her at a good price, so I bought it and took it home to her. She's pretty stoked about her new Camaro!

(There's morning dew on the car in these pics)
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Camaros/IMG_0709.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Camaros/IMG_0708.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Camaros/IMG_0710.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Camaros/IMG_0707.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Camaros/IMG_0711.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Camaros/IMG_0712.jpg

Not too bad for 2k, huh? It has a V6 and automatic with A/C. It has 148k on it, but it looks pretty well taken care of.

So, whats up with you all?

 

[IronBeltKen]

Phillip - I'm glad the Police investigation showed that your daughter was innocent - no more lawsuit worries. And a new and nicer car to boot - can't beat that, huh!

 

[RexHea]

"Happy Birthday Ken!"
You now qualify for NMRA's, " Senior Club, for the Geriatric Modeler"
(Jim, Larry, Bob, and myself are all members in good standing )​

Got the A/C parts today. The fan motor and cap will only cost me $126@wholesale. Will install this evening and ponder trying to get it back in its shell with just my wife's cousin and me. Don't know if I need the backache or just wait until Monday and get those two linebacker fellows do it for me. It's about 150lbs, but very awkward trying to lift it about even with my head in a two foot space.

Philip: $2k? Judging from the condition in the photos, you should be arrested for Grand Theft Auto . If the mechanics have been taken as good of care as the body, she should get another 50k miles easily. Good find!

 

[UP2CSX]

Afternoon, everyone.

Nice car, Phillip, your insurance agent is going to like you even better now when you get the new insurance bill. Actually, I found out the Camaro with the V6 and auto isn't much more than any other car but if it's a V8 with a five speed and the kid is under 25, get out your wallet. I'm glad your daughter got her new car and I assume her sprained ankle has become unsprained.

Bob, I'm glad to hear you're taking the day off. I don't know if I meet the pack rat category or not. Probably not for trains, since I've been giving away some things I don't need and know I'll never need. Now, with radios, I was king packrat. Back in my early ham days, I think I had a radio in every room of the house, including the bathroom. I just couldn't go to a hamfest and not buy another radio. My late wife was really getting ready to kill me. My Explorer was my take-home car and the entire center console was filled with radios...but that wasn't my fault, the county radio shop installed all of those. Then we got MDC's, which I had to close and swing out of the way before she could sit in the passenger seat. Then I got a Kenwood dual band rig that I could just barely fit in if I mounted it under the dash on the passenger side. She saw me test fitting it and said it was either her or the radio. Needless to say, it went in my other car. I've always been surprised that, between football and numerous back injuries on the job, that I've had so few back problems. My bad rotator cuff is about the only thing that gives me problems although I can get a little sore with an eight hour session crawling in and out under the layout.

Tom, sorry about the radiator and the phones. If they give you any grief about the phone numbers, just let them know you'll be happy to call 1-888-835-5322 and discuss it with them. That's the FCC complaint number. You'd be surprised how cooperative they can be then.

Went to the urologist this morning. Very nice woman and really knows her stuff. I expected to just get a consulatation and get an appointment for a cystoscopy later. She said no, she was ready to do one now! I was surprised but glad to get it over with. She did a good job and the procedure was only a little painful. Luckily, the cysto confirmed my self-diagnosis. I have a "spongy" prostate which, when infected, bleeds easily. She did the whole thing so I could see what was happening on a monitor and I could also see the small, healing laceration in my bladder. The combination of getting bacterial prostatitis and the bladder laceration is what caused the bleeding and, ultimately, a large clot to form, so I couldn't urinate. The cipro took care of the infection and time healed the laceration and I haven't had any problems in about two weeks. With the amount of bleeding I had and how the clot looked on the CT scan, she was actually expecting to find a cancer, but everything looks good. Just one of those perfect storms in terms of illness. I did get a catheter from her so I can take care of the problem myself before it gets as bad as it did, although hopefully I'll never have to use it. Any other problems I have today will be pretty minor compared to what could have happened.

We had a strange little batch of clouds that just hung over us for about five hours this morning and gave us an inch of rain. It was only raining within about 20 square miles of us and, for once, we were the ones getting it. I have no idea why this little patch of rain formed and now it's gone.

Speaking of gone, Erika has joined Kenny in the swine flu grave of tropical storms this year. She's just a remnant low over Hispanola and the reamns probably won't survive long enough to give the Bahamas more than some passing showers. The record for latest date with no tropical system of any kind making landfall in the continental US is September 17 and it looks like we might break that record since there's nothing happening in the tropics now.

Edit: Rex, just saw your post. Wait for the two linebackers. There's a reason we're members of the "Senior Citizens Club", you know. Sounds like you got a good price on the parts and, as long as the lightning stays away, that unit should be good for another ten years.

 

[pcarrell]

Phillip - I'm glad the Police investigation showed that your daughter was innocent - no more lawsuit worries. And a new and nicer car to boot - can't beat that, huh!

It isn't official yet that I know of, but 4 out of 6 witnesses say the other person ran the red. One of the two that disagree is the driver of the vehicle that everyone says ran it, and the other didn't get a real good look, so it looks good. And yeah, I'm thinking I need to sell my van and find another one of those cars for myself!

And is it really your birthday?

Happy Birthday Man!

Philip: $2k? Judging from the condition in the photos, you should be arrested for Grand Theft Auto . If the mechanics have been taken as good of care as the body, she should get another 50k miles easily. Good find!

I know! The thing is in really great shape. It needs tires and a tune up, thats it. I've already got the parts for the tune up, and I've got a line on some American Racing rims with brand new tires on them for a steal of a deal, so she might be getting custom rims too if I can get them for the same price I was going to pay for tires anyways.

Nice car, Phillip, your insurance agent is going to like you even better now when you get the new insurance bill. Actually, I found out the Camaro with the V6 and auto isn't much more than any other car but if it's a V8 with a five speed and the kid is under 25, get out your wallet. I'm glad your daughter got her new car and I assume her sprained ankle has become unsprained.

I'm scarred to think of what that next insurance bill is going to look like, but then again, in 2-3 months she's going to be paying for her own insurance, so I only have to bite the bullet for a short time. As for the leg, it's a lot better, but it's still pretty tender. It was a bad sprain.

 

[IronBeltKen]

Rex - I'm with Jim on hoisting that AC unit: DON'T DO IT YOURSELF! A back injury is one of the most difficult kind to treat, you'll be on a steady diet of ibuprofen and may even need surgery - which even then might not help. I've seen a few friends of mine live thru this nightmare, it's one lesson I hope to learn at their expense not mine.

Phillip - I'd say the numbers are definitely in your favor; hopefully the investigators realize that the one dissenting witness can hardly be considered 'unbiased'..!

Jim - Glad the uro exam went OK, and that you got some much-needed rain on your property for a change. I wouldn't look that gift horse in the mouth, LOL

Tom - I know what you mean by "the mood wasn't right", the job-related stress I was under until a few weeks ago kind of killed my ability to enjoy running trains.

Jeff - hope your parents and sister will manage OK while your recovering from the foot surgery, seems like they're mighty dependent on you!

 

[stationmaster]

Did you say that AC was a 24K BTU? That's a monster. When I worked at Lowes I was setting up a new store. .....in the A/C aisle. I was dragging A Big 24.8K BTU from a stack on the picker while standing on the top shelf of the racking. It decided to head its own way and headed for the floor. I was hanging on to a strap and it took me to my knees. So, here I am, prone on my belly, hanging on to this monstrous A/C unitwaiting for another picker to rescue the A/C.

My store manager reamed my a** good saying I should have let it drop. He said I could have gotten hurt, or worse had it taken me off the racking. I winked at him and said that I wouldn't have let that happen. From that time on I became his #1 "go to" guy.

Bob

 

[tompm]

Feeling a little better. It cost a little over $500.00 to get the radiator replaced in the van so I was not too happy about that. The wife was in a complete funk after we picked it up. However, it nice to drive again and not have to keep one eye on the temperature gauge and I do not miss the smell of burnt coolant.

Phone number two went better. I ported over the wife’s cellphone number to her new phone. It only took about a half an hour to do it and the old carrier only took 2 hours to complete it. She had my daughter transfer (re-enter) all her contacts into the new phone.

We went and got steak sandwiches tonight from Leo’s Steaks in Sharon Hill. They are the best steak sandwiches around. I think they are better than the so-called experts in South Philly. Their regular sandwich is huge. I think I am covered for dinner and breakfast tomorrow.

The humidity is starting to creep up and before the night is out we may have the A/C on. Looks like the kids want to get a movie from On Demand so I am heading to the living room shortly.

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Good Evening people---

Everything is quiet now in our household---the neighbours down the street are hosting a high schoolers welcome bash for the grade 9 kids. We'll see how quiet that'll be and for how long

Jim Some of the showers we had were of that size----small and unpredictable---little bubbles of pop up moisture. Hopefully a few more show up your way

Phil That was a relief!! And the car she got looks good

I'm getting ever't'in' ready for tomorrows run back out to Goderich---this time via Teeswater----

 

[kbkchooch]

Hiya Gang!
Phil, looks like a nice sporty ride! Good score!
Tom, Love the Meatloaf quote, been a fan since Bat1, never gave up the ghost.......Oh and the wife says I'm obsessed with his main back up singer, Patti.........just cuz I drool when I watch the DVDs!
Rex Gotta hire some strong backs with weak minds. Your back will thank you for it.
Oh, and whats the minimum age for the NMRA old farts gang,,,,,in case I want to do some long range planning!

Gotta turn in, got grass to cut and wood to split tomorrow!

 

[RexHea]

Rex - I'm with Jim on hoisting that AC unit: DON'T DO IT YOURSELF! A back injury is one of the most difficult kind to treat, you'll be on a steady diet of ibuprofen and may even need surgery - which even then might not help. I've seen a few friends of mine live thru this nightmare, it's one lesson I hope to learn at their expense not mine.

Oops! Too late. I know all of you are right, but after getting the parts in and testing the A/C unit while on saw horses, I just had to get it into its cabinet. I did get on the opposite side of the compressor, so it wasn't too bad for me, but my wife's cousin's face was still beet red when he left I'll let you know how many times I have to get in the hot tub LOL! Thanks all for the concern.

Bob: Yeah, it's a 24k btu (2ton) Whirlpool and your right, BIG! HEAVY! The bad part of this installation is its in the wall bottom near head high. There is only 2 feet of aisle between the wall and the layout. If we had dropped it, it not only would have created (for real) global warming, but would have wiped out the town of Ashland and all its industries.

Did you guys see that Oregon State fellow punch the Boise player at the end of the game last night. Dang man, he should be banned from college football

Roll Tide! Saturday Evening 7PM ABC

 

[UP2CSX]

BOC, that's the first time I've seen that kind of little group of showers down here. We get what's called a "Wedge" sometimes, when a cold front stalls in Georgia and low clouds and moisture move back west. It's usually just clouds and maybe a few sprinkles but this was the most rain I've ever seen from one of these Wedges. There's another band of showers just to the south of us now that looks it might hold together long enough to get a little more rain. It's nice to have the lawn squish a little instead of crackle.

Tom, radiators ain't cheap, that's for sure. At least this one should last a good long time as long as you don't take rock through it. Those cheese steak sandwiches sound great. Don't have any of those down here.

Bob, sorry to laugh at your story since I'm sure it was sphincter tightening moment but my mental picture of you laying on that top shelf trying to hold a 24k air conditioner unit from hitting the floor gave me a good chuckle. I've done a few dumb things like that in my life, usually with much worse results.

Karl, I don't know what the Official NMRA old fart age is because all the old farts are still fighting about it. I'd say you have a few years to get ready. Maybe we can say it's when you have a colonoscopy and cystoscopy in the same year.

Rex, I knew you wouldn't wait once you got the thing back together. Maybe if I was there with my handcuffs but I think nothing short of that would have worked. One of these days you have to slow down. Didn't see the punching incident but heard about it. That kind of thing used be automatic ejection for the season. I don't know what the ultimate outcome will be but it seems like we've begun to accept a higher level of gratuitous violence in sports. The latest line has Alabama favored by 6.5 points and total score of only 38 so it seems like the odds makers are expecting a good defensive game without much offense. Seems like the opposite of how Alabama has been playing in preseason so we'll see. The good thing is that the Buckeyes are favored by 21.5 points over Navy. Can't get more lopsided than that.

Took number one, who is a rabid Tide fan, out for her birthday dinner. She's 22 now, going on 14. Went to one of those Japanese steak houses where the chef juggles the utensils and such. I wasn't impressed for the price but she liked the show. She has to work 3-11 tomorrow at the nursing home and I don't think the patients will be in control of the big screen TV.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning.

It's 73 and cloudy. The high will be around 90 and there's a chance of rain.

Got the parent's yard mowed yesterday morning ahead of reports of imminent rainfall that never materialized. I finished up the Athearn Southern boxcar yesterday and started in on the Bachmann Boise Cascade all-door boxcar. When I finish with it it will look much different than it does now.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 9/5/2009

Heat Index: 76°F
Humidity: 88%
Dew Point: 68°F

So Far Today
High: 76°F
Low: 71°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 6mph ENE

Today High: 90 Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs around 90. East winds around 5 mph.

Tonight Low: 70 Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows around 70. Southeast winds around 5 mph.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm18/forum-2/P9040101.jpg

 

[pcarrell]

OK, so my wife and I are driving down the hiway last evening during late rush hour. We're toolin' along about 70mph, and all of a sudden, the steering wheel tries to rip itself out of my hands and the whole right front of the van starts suddering and skaking like theres no tomorrow! I grab the wheel and start checking the mirrors. Ya know, it's usually not good when you know somethings wrong with your vehicle and you look around and notice that EVERYONE is moving away from you quickly! The van (a full sized custom van) is pulling hard to the left, so with my path now clear I guide it over to the inside break down lane on the left. Once stopped, I look under the front end and see that the tie rod end on the passenger side has busted clean off. $180 and an hour and a half later we've gotten towed home and it's time for a muscle relaxer pill as I've hurt a muscle on my right side fighting the wheel as it tried so hard to have it's own way at 70mph. So anyways, this morning I swung by the local Autozone and picked up a new tie rod end for a paltry $25. Now I just have to put it on.

Let me tell you what.......THAT was an attention getter!

 

[RexHea]

Morning all! About time for some lunch. Flo, a hot roast beef sandwich sounds grrr-e-a-t!

WOW! Philip, that was down right scary!!! Glad you had the strength to control it.

Bob: did that falling A/C unit change your voice? LOL

Jim, yeah it should be a defensive game. Bama has 9 starters returning from a #3 defensive team last year and VTech has 7 returning. Both Qbacks are new, so it will be a dandy. ROLL TIDE! BTW: always be nice to the Chef at one of those type Japanese resturants .

Karl: we will be glad to submit your name for consideration as an Associate Member of the "Senior Club, for the Geriatric Modeler"

 

[stationmaster]

Easy fix,Phil. Should take less than an hour, provided you can get the old one off. Same thing happened to the better half last year. We carry roadside assistance and towing on both cell phones so the cost was only $5. You will need to have that front end aligned after you get the tie rod end replaced.

Yeh, Jim, I now have one arm 4" longer than the other. lol That A/C weighed a ton. Even with gloves on, the strap left a mark on my hand. But, that's the only thing I had to hold on to, the strap.

Yesterday was a "do nothing day". I puttered around the wood shop a bit, glued up an antique table that I've been refinishing for the past 2 months. Stained a gorgeous hall tree for a friend of Angela's that wanted it refinished. It's a pretty big piece. It's one of the one's that has the umbrella holder, a mirror, and a seat that lifts so that you can hide you "galoshes". And I drank about 4 jugs of sun tea with everyone that stopped by. I must have had half of Marion stop by the house yesterday.

Today promises to be a day just like yesterday. There is a "cruise in-fly in" today at the airport. We may take a "lookey-see" there later this afternoon. I got some video of a B-17 flying around yesterday coming in to land. One has a P-47 flying chase. Not real good videos, I'm afraid. I couldn't see the screen on the camera and some shots are just blue sky.

I'm going to Tom's later to apply a second coat of sealer to the patio, porch, and deck. That should take all of 30 minutes.

Grandson's football team beat the #1 ranked 2A team in the state last night 49-41. I can remember when he was playing Pee Wee Football and couldn't decide on what position he wanted to play. I asked him if he wanted to touch the football on every play. He, of course, said yes. I told him to try center and that nothing happens until he snaps the ball. Well, his build has changed a bit since then. He's kind of stretched up. He now plays OSLB. Not bad for a 15-year-old high school sophomore. I had an old high school buddy tell him of how I played when I was in high school. I hope he doesn't try that stuff today. I was a pretty dirty player and a big hitter. I'd have set penalty records if I were playing today.

Well, I'd better get with the program if'n I want to goof off again today.

Bob

 

[pcarrell]

OK, so I officially feel like an old man now! I got the tie rod end on the van, but man, am I feelin' it! One part was so rusted on that the two pieces of metal had basically become one. That was a major pain getting that apart! I got it though, and I did a lube job on the van while I was down there. Took it for a short test drive and it drives like a champ! Now that I've had a shower I'm really feeling those muscles. My wife, bless her heart, gave me one of her muscle relaxers and two of her pain pills (I don't like taking those because they are for her and she needs them, but today I'll make an exception!), so pretty soon I should be feeling MUCH better!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Philip, I know the feeling. After I finished wrestling with the starter on my car the last time I felt like I had been tackled by a Packers linebacker.