Flo's Place (a.k.a. Coffee Shop #19)

[PNKFLOYD]

Thanks, Veterans!

I would like to personally thank every Armed Forces Veteran on this forum and all current active duty members.
I think we need to remember that there are military veterans from other countries that have made sacrifices for their countries' participation in peace-keeping missions around the world.
Please remember the families of slain and injured veterans. Today can be especially hard for them struggling with their personal emotions.

Thank you, one and all!!

 

[UP2CSX]

Afternoon, everyone.

Indeed, a day to remember all those that fought to defend our freedoms over the centuries. It seems every generation is tested again. I was hoping, 20 years ago, when the Berlin Wall came down, that maybe we had seen the last of war, at least in my lifetime. Alas, it was not to be.

Barry, they looked like some kind of chopped nose early Geep but that big fan above the dynamic brake blister gives it a GP-20 look. Pretty amazing that engines that are now approaching 60 years old are still giving useful service. I'd love to see that Sopwith in flight. There aren't any real Camels left nut there are some Sopwith Pups, so I imagine that's what he has. I forgot to say that, during our five hour layover in San Juan, I got a good look at the island freight hangers and there are still DC-3's, DC-4's, and Convair 440's still flying. They fly inter-island freight and the industry still hasn't come up with a cheap replacement that will do the job of a DC-3. One company had eight DC-3's with only two flying, the other six being cannibilized for spare parts. I don't know how much longer they can keep those old beasts flying, but airframe life must be approaching retirement for the vast majority, since none of them are younger than 60 years old and they have had a hard life in the tropics.

Thanks for tip on the database program, Jeffrey. I'll download it and give it a try. I'll have to hide the results from the wife though. I don't think she realizes exactly how much stuff I have.

Corey, cattle herding is a good description. Between flying on AirTrans, which is really a cattle car operation, and then fighting the mobs on the cruise ship, it really wasn't a lot of fun. I did gain five pounds so at least the food was good. Sounds like your structures are coming right along. A nice cold winter will help you get them all done.

Rex, are you still getting a lot of wind up there? I just had a 33 mph gust.

Mikey, good post. It would be nice if everyone thanked a vet today. I made it a point to shake every soldier's hand that I saw at the airport and thank them for keeping my pasty white butt safe.

Except for the continuing wind, our tropical storm is now headed east, up the coast. We did get enough rain to bring up all the rivers but we were lucky that the ground was fairly dry and the rain was spread out over 36 hours. We've had a few peeks of sunshine and it's 67 degrees, so it's a lot more pleasant than yesterday. My brother and SIL left today in their RV, enroute to their winter home in Yuma. They went on the cruise with us and we had a pleasant visit. I'll miss them but it's nice to have the house back to normal again. I still haven't gotten down to the basement to check out the layout though.

 

[UP2CSX]

I dont no much but my assumption is that coffee is not so big in Japan?
Japan is very big on teas.
Germany on the other hand, must have some interesting coffee culture, its Europe after all.

Huh? I assume there's a meaning here but I'm at a loss to understand it.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Thanks for tip on the database program, Jeffrey. I'll download it and give it a try. I'll have to hide the results from the wife though. I don't think she realizes exactly how much stuff I have.

That's one of the nice things about this program. You don't have to enter prices. Another is that you can enter as many or as few records per file as you desire. An example is a file of records of tank cars only.

 

[PNKFLOYD]

Thanks for tip on the database program, Jeffrey. I'll download it and give it a try. I'll have to hide the results from the wife though. I don't think she realizes exactly how much stuff I have.

Jim- If you find a good way to hide your trains from the wife, please let me know! I have the bottom three drawers of a five drawer file cabinet full of car and building kits. There are a couple more boxes under the layout with scrap styrofoam chunks on them to distract from the kits packed in them.
I have several open shelves with engines and rolling stock displayed. The empty boxes are stacked behind the displayed items. Of coutrse, not all the viewed boxes are empty, either.
However, I may not be as smart as I think I am. I keep finding packets and boxes of beads and bracelet supplies when I have to rumage through her bill paying desk.
I solicit any suggestions!!

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Good Evening

They did not even come close to where I was---doing the dang yard cleanup thing as that is. But I'm going to see whether my bud can get a pic sent here. And Jim, you nailed it--it was a Pup. My memory for those biplane names is not there at times.

Jim Those GP9's are a treat. And what gets to me is that they are in tip top shape---look at the no weathering!!

Mikey Hide them in storage bins!! My room has a large closet that I've built little parts bins in. I've just ditched all the boxes---into the basement storage area. Audrey just gave up with my stuff---heeheehee

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Busy day for me today. First I went to Lowe's to get a new Kobalt precision screwdriver set with 1/2 inch thick plastic handles since I can no longer hold the the tiny metal handle ones I have. I also picked up some fine grit sand paper for use on future projects and a tube of LocTite Super Glue Gel. I inventoried every piece of rolling stock on the layout, right down to the two MoW passenger cars beside the Knutsville foundry and machine shop then disassembling, weathering and reassembling three tank cars and two covered hoppers then repairing three damaged cars. One had a screw hole strip out so one of the trucks wouldn't stay on, easy fix. An Atlas tank car with a broken frame. I had to find an old tube of Super Glue to glue part of the frame back onto the body. The LocTite Super Glue I got is crap. After 45 minutes it was still wet! The third car had a coupler pocket cover busted off. Super Glue to the rescue once again.

 

[UP2CSX]

Mikey, I got five big, opaque plastic storage bins on sale at Walmart for $5 each. Almost all my cars and locomotives are now in those bins, stacked under the layout. You really can't see what's in them from the outside. When she asks me about them, I tell her that's where I store all the boxes from the models. She just gives me that look and walks off.

Barry, too bad you missed the flight. There a few Pup and Pup reproductions still around, mostly because they were used a lot for trainers and home defense, so many survived the war. There are no true Camels still flying today and only seven left as static displays. They were used late in the war as ground attack fighters and the vast majority of the production were destroyed. Those GP-9u's are in fine condition. Must be someone taking a special interest in them. Is that cat at the same feed mill? That is one of the ugliest cats I've ever seen.

Jeffrey, try the Loctite super glue in the brush cap bottle. Much better than the thicker gell type stuff.

Everything has calmed down tonight. Clear skies, cool temperatures, and no wind. Feels like fall. It looks like the remains of Ida are giving the eastern seaboard a worse pounding than we got. It's no longer a tropical storm but there are still tropical storm force winds being reported as far as Maryland tonight. I have no idea why this low is holding together so well since it's mostly over land and should be dissipating. I got down to the basement today and, to my surprise, the layout looked like crap. I had just cleaned it all up before we left it's now covered in dust and little pieces of ground foam all over the place. How the heck can ground foam move all by itself?

 

[IronBeltKen]

Morning yall,

Pretty gloomy weather up here in the Mid 'Lantic. Many people are saying it's Ida, but actually it's something totally separate: 2 competing pressure systems. [Jim - maybe you could shed some light on this?] The coastal beaches are going to bear the brunt of the storm with serious erosion over a 3-day period, along with flooding as bad as Hurricane Isobel in 2003. Glad I don't own beachfront property! My primary concern is the possibility of power outages - they seem to happen anytime the wind gets over 20mph. Also when long-lasting rainfall makes the ground mushy and causes trees to fall over and onto the power lines.

Jeff how old is that dispenser of SuperGlue? I've learned that superglue tends to go 'stale' within a month after I've opened it. The thick stuff never works that well for me, about the only thing it seems to hold together is my fingertips if any gets on them.

Been kinda deserted here in Flo's this past week. Where is everybody? At least this post will keep us on Page 1...

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeff how old is that dispenser of SuperGlue? I've learned that superglue tends to go 'stale' within a month after I've opened it. The thick stuff never works that well for me, about the only thing it seems to hold together is my fingertips if any gets on them.

I just bought it new yesterday.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 49 and clear. The high will be near 70 and it will be sunny.

There's not really much on the agenda today so I guess I'll just lay back and get some rest. I have some movies to watch and some others are scheduled to be recorded. I also have to clear off the front part of the layout as it's badly cluttered due to all the projects I've been working on lately.

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/vv186/Running-Bear/PB120199.jpg

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Good Morning--

We had pea soup fog now we're into the sunshine Gonna go to 13C today---nice

Got some basic buys I gotta buy then maybe get the mock ups for the Thompson Mill #2 placed to see how they will fit.

Ken Those kind of storms could wind themselves up in one big hurry. Hope you don't need an ark ----

Jeff The car shops must be working overtime on your layout The only problem is that there needs be a clean up crew to keep up with all the stuff----which I'm finding out up here---mmm---now where did that screw driver go?

 

[tompm]

Good morning folks

It was 41 F with a chilly rain this morning. Our high will be 51 F with more rain.

Not much to report for the past few days. We were busy doing some rainy day projects around the house yesterday. None of those projects involved modeling, however.

My son’s Boy Scout Troop Court of Honor was a good time on Monday night. He received his Leatherworking, Reading, and Scholarship merit badges.

I hope everybody has a good day.

 

[RexHea]

Greetings and Salutations, Coffee Mates!
Just checking in and catching-up on the gossip. Nice to know I live in the laziest city in the United States. Yup, some outfit/organization/mag voted Tuscaloosa the laziest city in the nation based on overweight, TV watching, and other things. I didn't catch all the detail and it is meaningless, but it was still a slap in the face to our Chamber of Commerce....hey, I'm retired and have an excuse to be lazy. LOL

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Anybody need their coffee spiked with Geritol? I've got 3 Gramps tank cars loaded with bulk Geritol.

 

[RexHea]

Man, I will take a gallon or two.
Nice looking car.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Here's another one with most of the cheap white paint it was coated in washed away.

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Greetings and Salutations, Coffee Mates!
Just checking in and catching-up on the gossip. Nice to know I live in the laziest city in the United States. Yup, some outfit/organization/mag voted Tuscaloosa the laziest city in the nation based on overweight, TV watching, and other things. I didn't catch all the detail and it is meaningless, but it was still a slap in the face to our Chamber of Commerce....hey, I'm retired and have an excuse to be lazy. LOL

And who had the time to put this little waste of time together----mmmm?

I'd see that town as laid back/relaxed------others like to live in cities that are Pumped and Ready for Action!!

------------------------------------------

Hello---

This flu bug thing seems to want to take up residence in my house---Audrey got it then I get it---then it's Audrey's turn then back to me---sheeesh

Got some more of the Thompson Mill site together --- now I'm going to build the thing up and see about doing the railway up----

AAAACCHH!!---have a good evening all--

 

[UP2CSX]

Afternoon, everyone.

Ken, you have a classic Nor'easter going on. A low pressure system, in this case, the remnants of Ida, will start in the Gulf and then pop out in the Atlantic, still fairly intact. It gets over the Gulf Stream, which flows up the Atlantic coast, and regenerates. The Gulf Stream is actually about 5 degrees warmer than the waters in the northern Gulf, so the low has a lot of energy to work with, as well as the energy it generated while being in the warmer waters of the central and southern Gulf. Ida-ex is classfied as an extra- tropical storm because it has all the characteristics of a tropical strom but it's too far north to be classified as tropical. Sometimes, these systems will combine with a cold front coming from the west to create more rain and wind but such is not the case for Ida-ex. It's just a very slow moving, powerful low pressure system. The storm surge at Norfolk was the third highest recorded since measurements began in 1927. The slow movement and strong winds of the storm are responsible for all the high surges and beach erosion now being seen. The only competing system is a strong high pressure to west, which is preventing Ida-ex from moving faster or moving inland, either of which would reduce the damage from the storm. This type of thing happens about once a generation on the east coast and the destruction can be comparable to a moderately strong hurricane hitting the same area. As you say, a bad time to own beachfront property.

Barry, sorry to hear about the bug but hopefully it will be the three day variety and quickly pass. Sounds more like a cold than the flu though, since you usually develop some immunity to a flu virus once you've had it. You can pass a common cold virus back and forth just about forever.

Rex, so T-Town is the laziest city in America? I guess whoever made that up has never been there on game day. Having lived in two of the fastest-paced cities in the US, I'll take our lazy lifestyle here any day. At least we don't go to the Piggly-Wiggly and fight over the last package of tofu.

Jeffrey, I'll take at least one gallon of Geritol. I feel as lazy as the people in Tuscaloosa today. I think I'm still recoving from my vacation. I wonder whatever happened to Gramps Oil and how many tankcars they really had? I suspect there are probably a lot more produced as models than were ever owned by Gramps.

A beautiful day down here in the Heart of Lazy Dixie. Sunny with a high of 72 and just cool enough at night to make if feel like fall. I'll see if I can work up the energy to get down to the layout and clean up all the crud that accumulated while I was gone.

 

[vato loco]

Greetings and Salutations, Coffee Mates!
Just checking in and catching-up on the gossip. Nice to know I live in the laziest city in the United States. Yup, some outfit/organization/mag voted Tuscaloosa the laziest city in the nation based on overweight, TV watching, and other things. I didn't catch all the detail and it is meaningless, but it was still a slap in the face to our Chamber of Commerce....hey, I'm retired and have an excuse to be lazy. LOL

My state is in the top 10 for unemployment! with 1,000,000+ unemployeed and growing everyday! Heck last night the house two door up got robbed again Cop's knocked on my door last night to give my family the heads up! Jacob(our Black lab Chow mix) Informed the K-9 officer nicely that he was on guard! The officer was impressed with Jacob! the neigbors in my hood with out big dogs get robbed! Those of us with big dogs that take craps bigger than a buick get left alone! Lazy hell unless your breaking and entering the sidewalks here roll up by 9pm!