Running Bear’s June 2025 Coffee Shop

[troyphoto]

View attachment 222968

They have any employees left? Or was it the only intern left asking AI for a recipe?

 

[troyphoto]

Sitting here, waiting impatiently on my new M7 resin printer to arrive. It's late enough I won't run any prints tonight, but unboxing, changing the vat film to nFEP (I hate AMS film), and getting everything set will take some time tonight.

EDIT: It will be tomorrow. It's in state, but hasn't hit Fort Wayne yet.

 

[westtexjohn]

Good afternoon to all.............

My ATSF, T1a loco #4195 arrived today. I purchased the #4193 several months ago so these two should look pretty good double headed.

And yes I know #4194 is in the picture. Just use your imagination on the road number.
I purchased the stealth version so I could install a TCS WOW sound steam decoder in both units.

I have not been able to fly my new drone yet as winds have been high all last week. Maybe a day this week the winds will calm.

As I stated a while back, one of my outdoor cats has split the scene. No sign of him in about a week, so I can only guess he found a better place to be. He just showed up on the property about a year ago as if he belonged here and has been here until last week. But the other outdoor male I have really misses his buddy as he meowed more in two days than the whole time he has been here. He was running here and there for about four days searching all their "hide-outs" trying to find his pal. I had no idea how attached the remaining cat had become to the one that is gone. He has calmed down a bit in the last few days and has started eating again.
We have hawks around here so one may have snatched up my missing cat. Or maybe he caught a mouse that had been poisoned, just don't know.

Hope to get some layout time in this evening. And a roast with taters, carrots and onions goes into the crock pot later tonight.

I hope everyone else is doing fine.
Take care......John

 

[santafewillie]

Sad news from the rock & roll world today. Mick Ralphs, guitarist extraordinaire and co-founder of Mott the Hoople, and later co-founder of Bad Company, died today at age 81. He had been bedridden ever since a stroke in 2015.
If you're unfamiliar with Mott the Hoople, here's a couple from their first two albums

This is one of the reasons that I wear hearing aids today.

 

[truckdad]

This is one of the reasons that I wear hearing aids today

If you had stuck with Bob Wills or Hank Thompson you wouldn’t need the aids. Just sayin……

 

[Kusojiji]

Sad news from the rock & roll world today. Mick Ralphs, guitarist extraordinaire and co-founder of Mott the Hoople, and later co-founder of Bad Company, died today at age 81. He had been bedridden ever since a stroke in 2015.
If you're unfamiliar with Mott the Hoople, here's a couple from their first two albums

This is one of the reasons that I wear hearing aids today.

I only knew All the Young Dudes. I heard that they had quite the spectrum of song types. I'm not sure if that was one of your links, but all I see is video unavailable. Might be my ad blocker, but I have seen others come in though.

 

[logandsawman]

Couldn't poke my head in first thing due to an appointment with the vampires, but now that's done. I just need to wait and see what they tasted in my blood.

It's 95F, and my fool self is sitting outside on the patio because... why not? I like heat! The only downside is the constant reminder that the pool pump needs to be replaced. It keeps turning on.. then off... then on... then off... Sigh. The stupid things are expensive, too.

Later today will be a visit to the cardiologist, then I can get back to train room stuff. I finished up a control panel for the outside of the room, and now just need to finish the bracket for the timelapse camera that I'm going to stick up in the corner (really just a Raspberry Pi with a camera module). I want to document my project (which will probably be infinite in this case), and I never think of doing that before I get started on a project, so I'm trying to do it differently this time.

Texas Hobo: It surprises me just how popular RC cars are these days. The hobby store in Leander had an indoor track that people were drifting cars around. It was pretty neat!

troyphoto: I know nothing at all about gaming of that sort, but could you actually integrate the trains into the game? I mean... troop transports! And unique attacks, like running dwarves or mages over with your locomotives...

santafewillie: Okay, now I'm definitely interested in stopping by there. It'll just depend on when I next manage to acquire the social energy to go visit with my relatives up there. =)

Kusojiji:

DeakonKC, Patrick, TLOC, and anyone else I missed: Thanks for the welcome!

Bah. I was going to say more, but I've suddenly got one of those really annoying visual floaters encroaching, and that usually means I'm about to be struck by a migraine. Time to go take a nap and see if I can short circuit that. Not what I had in mind for today...

My migraine only involves the blurred vision illusion the doctor called it an ocular migraine.

The blurriness is there whether My eyes are open or closed, and always lasts 20 to 35 minutes. No real headache other than the annoyance and dell ennui.

Haven't had one since I retired.

I treat it by sitting quietly. If I am driving it is extremely irritating, I have to do that "power through" thing. Really sucks, luckily that has only occurred a couple times in that situation.

 

[santafewillie]

I only knew All the Young Dudes. I heard that they had quite the spectrum of song types. I'm not sure if that was one of your links, but all I see is video unavailable.

They really rocked out before and after All the Young Dudes, which came from their 5th album. These are from their 1st and 2nd albums from 1969 & 1970. Too bad that you can't get the two that I linked to. Maybe look them up on a Japanese site.

 

[TLOC]

They have any employees left? Or was it the only intern left asking AI for a recipe?

Lots of government operations are gutted that’s for sure

 

[TLOC]

Good stormy night. Our storms rolled through starting at 6:45. The rain has not stopped since but the thunder and winds have calmed way down.

Just had a newly retired friend (waited until 70) leave at 10:30. He and his wife came over from a western Milwaukee suburb for dinner and for him to learn about making trees. We made portions of the tree building process as I had some trees formed at each process. He loved the branch forming, the painting, the canopy development and adding the leaves. When we were done with 2 full trees he said the cutting of the wires, the twisting and forming the trunks was tedious, boring and he thought the slowest portion of the process (it’s the part I enjoy the most and fly through).

I told him I have armatures if he wanted to short cut the process. We made a deal. I will make another 259 armatures in addition to the 341 he took home.

I kept 21 armatures because I can always find room for a grove of 21 trees on the layout, a present to a 1st time visit to a layout or the grandkids slot car track. He took the rest. I also had started to form them. I always plant in odd numbers that’s why I kept 21 pieces and they make a good sized grove.

I think he has found a niche in the hobby he will enjoy.

 

[Kusojiji]

They really rocked out before and after All the Young Dudes, which came from their 5th album. These are from their 1st and 2nd albums from 1969 & 1970. Too bad that you can't get the two that I linked to. Maybe look them up on a Japanese site.

I can get to u-tube, but just can't see the links in this forum for some reason. Sometimes I can though.

 

[Kusojiji]

My migraine only involves the blurred vision illusion the doctor called it an ocular migraine.

The blurriness is there whether My eyes are open or closed, and always lasts 20 to 35 minutes. No real headache other than the annoyance and dell ennui.

Haven't had one since I retired.

I treat it by sitting quietly. If I am driving it is extremely irritating, I have to do that "power through" thing. Really sucks, luckily that has only occurred a couple times in that situation.

Ain't retirement wonderful!

 

[Kusojiji]

Looks like we have a typhoon out there wreaking havoc on one of the islands off of Japan. Luckily it will peter out before reaching us as it was tracking straight at us. We've been lucky for the past couple of years. I think it was 4 or 5 years ago that a big one ran us over. It was neat having the eye go over us. I thought it was over so I went outside and started washing all the leaves and salt water off my cars. I think it was past midnight or something. Then I had to do it again...

 

[Bruette]

Another job I couldn't imagine in this weather is a roofer.

I've done that.

The worst flat roofs (for the roofer) are made from coal tar pitch. Tearing those roofs off requires you cover your skin completely, wear a mask and use a cream like sunscreen to neutralize the dust containing sulfur. If not, it will burn you worse than a bad sunburn. Or cause respiratory problems.

When installing an asphalt roof the hottest job is "cooking" the asphalt. That is the guy who runs the propane heated kettle used to liquify asphalt to be pumped onto the roof. The delicate part of the job is to keep the asphalt well above 400F, but if it gets over 500F it can flash into flames. You don't want 500+ gallons of asphalt to burst into flames. It's a fantastic job to have in winter, but it can be brutal in the summer. I know firsthand.

Roofers typically work from sunrise to sunset. But it can be a high paying job for skilled workers. I've made as much as $75/hour as an independent contractor working for roofing companies.

 

[Bruette]

Hi! I'm new! I'll just sit quietly in that booth over in the corner over there; hash browns and Dr. Pepper will do for me...

Welcome to the forum. We are glad to have you with us. And in the coffee shop no less, thank you!

Forgive me for being late to acknowledge you. It's baseball season, win or lose I follow my Birds, the Baltimore Orioles that is.

I also follow other sports, but not like my first love, baseball.

The NFL is easy to follow with only one game per week. Go Ravens!

The NBA is disappointing; most teams don't play much defense until the playoffs. The Wizards didn't make the playoffs this year.

I follow the NHL, but I refuse to pay for streaming services. Go Capitals!

Horse Racing only has three big races per year.

Watching golf is an occasional past time for me.

 

[DirtyD696]

Good afternoon. It's 90 and humid, with thunderstorms thunderstorming around.

I picked up my mail this afternoon, and found some really terrible financial news from the bank I've done business with since 2010.
It seems the credit union, which is supposed to be non-profit, is going broke paying me 4 cents a month interest for the money I have in my accounts, and they are not only going to stop that massive cash hemorrhage, they are also going to start charging a $7.50/month service fee. They will be providing a bunch of services I didn't ask for, and have covered by other companies. According to the correspondence, it is non-optional.
I guess I'll see if I can find another institution that offers a checking and savings account, without a bunch of services I will never use, and won't charge me a fee. It may be a futile search. We'll see...

Bro, right next to cars banks are one of the absolute worst things you can invest money in.

BRB got my .75 percent interest. I'll be a millionaire in about 9,000 years!

 

[Bruette]

Good morning, Everybody!

All is well here in southeast Baltimore, thank God. It's hot and humid. Not unusual for a Baltimore Summer.

My Birds won, that's always good. Thanks to great starting pitching, timely hitting and they flashed some leather! It was their fourth consecutive win vs a lefthanded starter. Which is especially good as they were on pace to be one of the worst teams ever vs lefthanded starters.

Trevor Rodgers had the sinker working getting the Rangers to beat the ball into the ground. Which is perfect for homerun friendly Camden Yards. He went 8-IP, 3-hits, 4-Ks and 0-runs!

Orioles 6 - Rangers 0

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/rangers-vs-orioles/2025/06/23/777394/final

Baseball doesn't fit into my sleep schedule. So, I watch the replays of the games. This has been an unprecedented year of injuries for my Birds. Not surprisingly all these injuries have led to a disappointing won/loss record. Win or lose I watch every game. It is always more fun to watch them win!

My Birds are getting healthy again, "it aint over till it's over"

Life is full of difficulties. I find peace in sports, and with my train buddies. Find your happy place and ride out any storm that comes your way.

"Don't let the bastards get you down"

God Bless Us Everyone!

 

[Bruette]

I guess I'll see if I can find another institution that offers a checking and savings account, without a bunch of services I will never use, and won't charge me a fee. It may be a futile search. We'll see..

Capital One has/had free checking and savings accounts. I have one of each with them, no fees for anything and most transactions can be done online. I can deposit checks with the app by taking a photo of the check. I've been with them since they bought out ING's US banking services in 2012. My no fee business account has been with Capital One since 2017. No fee business check is like finding a hen's tooth. In all those years I don't think I stepped into the local Capital One branch half a dozen times.

Our primary personal bank is M&T. Our account is still free because that was what we signed up for 25+ years ago. They still honor our original deal. The last I knew they no longer offer free checking, but I could be wrong.

I wish you well.

 

[troyphoto]

I can get to u-tube, but just can't see the links in this forum for some reason. Sometimes I can though.

I asked the AI overlords about sharing videos world wide. Assuming the vid is set to public viewing, here's possible reasons:

• Regional Restrictions: Some YouTube videos may be blocked in specific countries or regions due to licensing rights chosen by the video owner or due to local laws.
• YouTube Blocking: YouTube may also block specific content to comply with national laws.

 

[traiNscale]

Good stormy night. Our storms rolled through starting at 6:45. The rain has not stopped since but the thunder and winds have calmed way down.

Just had a newly retired friend (waited until 70) leave at 10:30. He and his wife came over from a western Milwaukee suburb for dinner and for him to learn about making trees. We made portions of the tree building process as I had some trees formed at each process. He loved the branch forming, the painting, the canopy development and adding the leaves. When we were done with 2 full trees he said the cutting of the wires, the twisting and forming the trunks was tedious, boring and he thought the slowest portion of the process (it’s the part I enjoy the most and fly through).

I told him I have armatures if he wanted to short cut the process. We made a deal. I will make another 259 armatures in addition to the 341 he took home.

I kept 21 armatures because I can always find room for a grove of 21 trees on the layout, a present to a 1st time visit to a layout or the grandkids slot car track. He took the rest. I also had started to form them. I always plant in odd numbers that’s why I kept 21 pieces and they make a good sized grove.

I think he has found a niche in the hobby he will enjoy.

Iam interestd in a written tutorial how you do your trees! Because i soon have to try it myself