Running Bear’s June 2025 Coffee Shop

[Bruette]

INDIANA NATIVE GO PACERS

I can't help you with your question, but I'm glad to see another sports fan with us!

I've watched a bit of the NBA finals. The two teams seem evenly matched. I'd like to see better defense from both teams.

 

[Bruette]

Never heard that phrase before. That is utterly hysterical!

I hadn't either and it is hysterical!

 

[Kusojiji]

I watch the virtual railfan stuff on youtubes and was wondering does the PTZ camera that faces past the NYC museum does that face west

You have a link to that feed? I also like to watch live rail stuff.

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

66° and clear this morning, a little light fog in the area and a high of 89°. Storms possible near morning tomorrow, and then again tomorrow evening.

The city is moving email from a .com to a .gov addresses. I'm the one tasked with making this all work and thus far the internet systems don't seem to want to make it work. dealing as the go to between 2 different vendors (our internet DNS host and our Microsoft 365 support group). I told the boss I wasn't creating documentation as it will change before they'll ever do it again.

Karl: I've heard that before. I started as a computer maintenance tech 40 some years ago (damn, I'm getting old!) and I've run into a lot of the same thing. Daughter is a PE Electrical engineer though, (PE means she's licensed by the state), not an automotive engineer. While I'm proud of her accomplishments (all my kids actually), I raz her about being an engineer, especially on stuff like the blower fan. We figure GM started with a blower motor and built the truck around it.

Troy: Thanks for the YT links. I've seen the "why don't you build it elsewhere" stuff on the few episodes of Shark Tank as well.

 

[bnsf971]

I raz her about being an engineer, especially on stuff like the blower fan. We figure GM started with a blower motor and built the truck around it.

An optimist says the glass is half full.
A pessimist says the glass is half empty.
An engineer says the glass is twice as large as it needs to be.

 

[traiNscale]

about sports!
Upcoming weekend are the 24h of Nordschleife! Love to watch this race. will watch with some friends, in the garden on a beamer and BBQ! woohoo!

 

[troyphoto]

Well howdy there internet peeps, and those hoping the PACERS put in Caitlyn Clark for some clutch three pointers.

No, I'm not a sports fan, but I know enough about it to name drop.

Hit the big box home hardware store that has a racing team or two, Menards. With all of those new/used minis the other guy painted, I need to strip the paint from the plastic. Yes, IPA works, but some of these are an older softer plastic. I need something more on the gentle side. So I've got Mean Green, and went to get Simple Green (not sure what the brands are in Europe).

Let the testing commence. I'll soak 24 hours, and give a model from each a good scrubbing with a toothbrush tomorrow.

Left is Simple Green, Right is It's "Meaner" Cousin.

full strength straight out of the bottle.

 

[migalyto]

Good morning all!

Currently 66F heading up to a high of 83F. Skies are pretty hazy. hopefully that will burn off.

Usual Monday chores today. Laundry. and some light vacuuming.

Did visit the basement and work on the layout for a little while last night. Today, I need to pour some more
rock castings. I have run out of good candidates. Just some fill in scraps remain. This is somewhat of a pain
since I dont have a sink in the basement. I have to keep running upstairs to get water and clean up my
plaster mess.

Not much else happing in my world.

Have a safe day everyone!

 

[logandsawman]

Is she tender pick up only? Or one of those split types where the loco picks up from one side of the track and the tender from the other? I've seen a few of the older ones designed that way. If she's picking up through the axle and transfering directly to the frame, then those can get worn, pitted, and iffy. I have a Rivarossi N scale challenger that the front set of main drivers pick up one side and the rear set from the other. The wheels have tarnished so badly that they'll need to be replated.

Now I gotta go watch your video again haha!

Yes, tender picks up one side and loco the other.

Pretty sure I figured out a fix, will be tuning it up this morning..


‐----------'


Good morning all,

57f and foggy this morning,

Did not find out until today the Army celebrated 250 year anniversary over the weekend.

My hat is off to all who served!! Many in my family are Army vets.

Reveals what a problem it can be when my main news sources are the mainstream media and my Google newsreel.

We were supposed to have had rain overnight, that did not materialize...

The train shed is on today's agenda!!!!

More later,

Dave LASM

 

[Marlin39]

Well howdy there internet peeps, and those hoping the PACERS put in Caitlyn Clark for some clutch three pointers.

No, I'm not a sports fan, but I know enough about it to name drop.

Hit the big box home hardware store that has a racing team or two, Menards. With all of those new/used minis the other guy painted, I need to strip the paint from the plastic. Yes, IPA works, but some of these are an older softer plastic. I need something more on the gentle side. So I've got Mean Green, and went to get Simple Green (not sure what the brands are in Europe).

Let the testing commence. I'll soak 24 hours, and give a model from each a good scrubbing with a toothbrush tomorrow.

View attachment 222180
Left is Simple Green, Right is It's "Meaner" Cousin.

full strength straight out of the bottle.

My son uses the purple simple green in an ultrasonic cleaner, full strength, and it takes about 10 minutes.

 

[kgstakes]

Well good morning everyone, I'm sitting here this morning icing my back from pulling a muscle yesterday. Couldn't hardly get out of bed so I called in today. Hopefully go to work tomorrow.

This is a old back injury from high school that flares up now and then but this time I can't really move without pain. My injury in high school was from wrestling, pulled, well actually according to the doctor I ripped both big back muscles and through the years my left side does all the work. I had a electro thing test done to my back a while back to see what the muscles are doing and the doctor said that the left side is doing about 85-90% of the work that your back muscles should be doing.

So, from time to time I get back pain from doing something stupid and yesterday just happened to be one of those days. So, rest, ice, heat, try not to lift anything for a few days and should be back going again.

Other than that, no rain in the forecast that I know of and that's a good thing. Had enough for awhile and need to let it all soak into the ground before that next storm.

Ya'll have a great day and I'll try to do the same.

 

[ctclibby]

An optimist says the glass is half full.
A pessimist says the glass is half empty.
An engineer says the glass is twice as large as it needs to be.

Don't forget about:

A realist says the glass is refillable.

L8r

 

[TLOC]

Good morning from my part of the Midwest! So. Central Wisconsin is wet this morning but heading to a dryer afternoon and mid 80’s.

Couldn’t walk this morning outside so I had the brother on the treadmill and it wasn’t pretty to start. Gave him the ski pole thingys and he was better balanced. Got the mill rolling at 3 mph.

Terry and I need to get away from the house but mainly the brother. He’s complaining about my car, it’s a VW Jetta that I like. He needs something bigger and doesn’t understand why we “only” have 1 car. I keep reminding him he forgets how we were raised and not everyone needs 2 vehicles. I certainly don’t need a big SUV at our age. Heck he even complained about the great pizza we had last night. But this morning the left overs are gone! His assistant is still here but had yesterday off. He has a meeting in Janesville about 50 miles away today and she asked me this morning where she can dump him. She’s a bit tired of him too. She is not from Wisconsin and while she’s been his assistant for 10+ years she is from Idaho. So she is very unfamiliar with Wisconsin but said any old swamp will do today! She also told me I’ll probably not be happy when they get home today! (Not an issue, we are going on an overnight, so tomorrow). I told her I worked for him for 21 years and understand him but he can get very infuriating and whatever he does I will get over it. Entitled little sh..!

We did the house inspection yesterday and the brother did tag along. He had some great questions for the contractor and was actually a pleasure to have with. He just needs to be engaged 100% of the time. It’s his type A personality coming out. One of his comments yesterday was how relaxed I’ve become in retirement. I took it as a compliment. He and my grandson yesterday spent a couple hours or so on the slot car track. But then we went out for pizza.

The daughter’s studio, office and getaway building is complete including the chicken house and run. It does need the landscaping installed. It is about 1000’ from the new house but nestled nicely into the woods. The granddaughter has Down Syndrome and during the year at school they found she has a knack for raising chickens. So her parents decided to build a chicken coop to see if she can really handle it. She has been helping out with the local egg farmer a couple hours after school a couple times a week since March. With school done she will be helping out 4 hours a day. She has a mentor/watcher along.

Terry and I are going gallivanting today and tomorrow morning. We will head up i94/90 to Mauston, Wi. There is a cheese factory that makes a great tomato basil cheese we like and then we will wander around whatever the downtown looks like. Coming back we will do the backroads hitting towns like Sparta, Elroy and Hillsboro and overnight in Viroqua and hitting Richland Center tomorrow for breakfast. It’s called the Driftless area of Wisconsin. Wikipedia says:

Why is it called ‘Driftless’?​

Arriving in the Driftless Area transports you from a relatively flat Wisconsin to a sudden maze of hills. Winding roads roam up bluffs and back down to the valleys below. “Watch for fallen rocks” signs are common along the highways, and flowing creeks and rivers continue to carve their paths.

The Driftless Area, which covers roughly 8,500 square miles, features varied geographical traits.

From the Baraboo Range with hills that cover thousands of acres in Sauk and Columbia counties to the Mississippi River that separates Wisconsin and Minnesota. From Wildcat Mountain towering over the Kickapoo River in Vernon County to Perrot State Park, found at the confluence of the Mississippi and Trempealeau rivers.

But the name covering the area comes from the absence of glacial drift, which the group Driftless Wisconsin describes as the deposits of silt, gravel and rock that glaciers would have left behind had they passed through this part of southwestern Wisconsin.

GET WELL Willie

So you have a wonderful day

 

[Marlin39]

I had room mate that was an engineer. I came home one day and she was trying trying to put a new retractable door sweep on. She was having a hell of time and I finally asked if she had read the instructions. WRONG THING TO HAVE ASKED.

"Dammit, I'm an engineer. We don't read instructions!" I just slowly backed away,

 

[Marlin39]

Good morning from my part of the Midwest! So. Central Wisconsin is wet this morning but heading to a dryer afternoon and mid 80’s.

Couldn’t walk this morning outside so I had the brother on the treadmill and it wasn’t pretty to start. Gave him the ski pole thingys and he was better balanced. Got the mill rolling at 3 mph.

Terry and I need to get away from the house but mainly the brother. He’s complaining about my car, it’s a VW Jetta that I like. He needs something bigger and doesn’t understand why we “only” have 1 car. I keep reminding him he forgets how we were raised and not everyone needs 2 vehicles. I certainly don’t need a big SUV at our age. Heck he even complained about the great pizza we had last night. But this morning the left overs are gone! His assistant is still here but had yesterday off. He has a meeting in Janesville about 50 miles away today and she asked me this morning where she can dump him. She’s a bit tired of him too. She is not from Wisconsin and while she’s been his assistant for 10+ years she is from Idaho. So she is very unfamiliar with Wisconsin but said any old swamp will do today! She also told me I’ll probably not be happy when they get home today! (Not an issue, we are going on an overnight, so tomorrow). I told her I worked for him for 21 years and understand him but he can get very infuriating and whatever he does I will get over it. Entitled little sh..!

Tom, I can relate.

When we first moved to OR my parents came to visit and I said they could stay with us for the week. My dad could sense my wife's tension after a couple of days and said he understood. He said they would get a hotel next time. There wasn't a next time. They cashed out of Silicon Valley and moved 4 miles away from us, to be closer to their only grandchild.

When they left after the week stay my dad said, "just remember.....fish, family, and friends start to stink after 3 days." My wife has never let me forget that.

 

[logandsawman]

Good morning from my part of the Midwest! So. Central Wisconsin is wet this morning but heading to a dryer afternoon and mid 80’s.

Couldn’t walk this morning outside so I had the brother on the treadmill and it wasn’t pretty to start. Gave him the ski pole thingys and he was better balanced. Got the mill rolling at 3 mph.

Terry and I need to get away from the house but mainly the brother. He’s complaining about my car, it’s a VW Jetta that I like. He needs something bigger and doesn’t understand why we “only” have 1 car. I keep reminding him he forgets how we were raised and not everyone needs 2 vehicles. I certainly don’t need a big SUV at our age. Heck he even complained about the great pizza we had last night. But this morning the left overs are gone! His assistant is still here but had yesterday off. He has a meeting in Janesville about 50 miles away today and she asked me this morning where she can dump him. She’s a bit tired of him too. She is not from Wisconsin and while she’s been his assistant for 10+ years she is from Idaho. So she is very unfamiliar with Wisconsin but said any old swamp will do today! She also told me I’ll probably not be happy when they get home today! (Not an issue, we are going on an overnight, so tomorrow). I told her I worked for him for 21 years and understand him but he can get very infuriating and whatever he does I will get over it. Entitled little sh..!

We did the house inspection yesterday and the brother did tag along. He had some great questions for the contractor and was actually a pleasure to have with. He just needs to be engaged 100% of the time. It’s his type A personality coming out. One of his comments yesterday was how relaxed I’ve become in retirement. I took it as a compliment. He and my grandson yesterday spent a couple hours or so on the slot car track. But then we went out for pizza.

The daughter’s studio, office and getaway building is complete including the chicken house and run. It does need the landscaping installed. It is about 1000’ from the new house but nestled nicely into the woods. The granddaughter has Down Syndrome and during the year at school they found she has a knack for raising chickens. So her parents decided to build a chicken coop to see if she can really handle it. She has been helping out with the local egg farmer a couple hours after school a couple times a week since March. With school done she will be helping out 4 hours a day. She has a mentor/watcher along.

Terry and I are going gallivanting today and tomorrow morning. We will head up i94/90 to Mauston, Wi. There is a cheese factory that makes a great tomato basil cheese we like and then we will wander around whatever the downtown looks like. Coming back we will do the backroads hitting towns like Sparta, Elroy and Hillsboro and overnight in Viroqua and hitting Richland Center tomorrow for breakfast. It’s called the Driftless area of Wisconsin. Wikipedia says:

Why is it called ‘Driftless’?​

Arriving in the Driftless Area transports you from a relatively flat Wisconsin to a sudden maze of hills. Winding roads roam up bluffs and back down to the valleys below. “Watch for fallen rocks” signs are common along the highways, and flowing creeks and rivers continue to carve their paths.

The Driftless Area, which covers roughly 8,500 square miles, features varied geographical traits.

From the Baraboo Range with hills that cover thousands of acres in Sauk and Columbia counties to the Mississippi River that separates Wisconsin and Minnesota. From Wildcat Mountain towering over the Kickapoo River in Vernon County to Perrot State Park, found at the confluence of the Mississippi and Trempealeau rivers.

But the name covering the area comes from the absence of glacial drift, which the group Driftless Wisconsin describes as the deposits of silt, gravel and rock that glaciers would have left behind had they passed through this part of southwestern Wisconsin.

GET WELL Willie

So you have a wonderful day

Tom,

We got by just fine with 1 vehicle for ten years, and a lot of people wondered how we did it...

I don't recall reading about your upbringing, but we were farm kids. Mom would buy the day old bread religiously every Monday morning because that is when it was freshest, and it was powdered milk you mix with water in a pitcher in the fridge.

We had a huge garden, she froze green beans and sweet corn, which we ate all winter.

Dad finally had to get a job in town, however kept the hogs and that became the "boys" job. When we sold the feeder pigs, he would divide the check up among us 4 boys. With that money, we were expected to purchase our own shoes, etc. By age 14, they got me a job at a local tree farm, where I was expected to work as many hours as possible.

Was quite effective at removing my fear of work-

Probably explains why I am so reluctant to discard my old project locomotive...

 

[Boris]

Good luck. These are the people that are so bad, they forced Atlas Model Railroad Co to shut down their online support forum in order to keep from dealing with them.

That they did. No matter what the topic, it is their way or else. The individuals that amaze me the most, are the self proclaimed "Insiders", that critique every product the day it is announced, and pronounce them flawed, sight unseen, years before the product hits the hobby dealer.

 

[RhB Michael]

I've seen the same thing happen at the German Stummi forum with new releases from all the majors overseas. Incredible how these people can critique a product they don't yet even have in their hands.

More rain today they said we weren't going to get. I love how the weather Talking Heads gloss over that fact on tV. I was going to cut grass today, but that has now moved to tomorrow if they don't screw that up too.

Cool with a temp and dewpoint of 71°F, and rainy.

 

[Texas Hobo]

That they did. No matter what the topic, it is their way or else. The individuals that amaze me the most, are the self proclaimed "Insiders", that critique every product the day it is announced, and pronounce them flawed, sight unseen, years before the product hits the hobby dealer.

That's why this forum is so much better. I haven't seen pictures of everyone's layout, but of those I have seen, there are some master craftsmen layouts, a whole lot of very good layouts and some ......... a circle with a dinosaur. The point is we all enjoy trains, real or models. I don't recall any one ever criticizing another's layout or train or structure in this forum. A tease here and there, but never criticism. Ask for help and you'll get it.

Good morning, all! A weak sun trying to break through. Warm and very muggy after all the rain we've had. More rain forecasted this week. I will attempt to mow, but I have to quit if I start rutting the lawn.
I had hoped Willie would have popped in for a little update.

STAY SAFE
LATER

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Still here where I don't want to be. I'm still feeling OK but they still don't have an idea what's up! Sadly the echo person has not shown up yet. The stress test this morning seemed to go OK, but the tech lady is not allowed to tell me, but she said that she didn't have to call the emergency room so that was good.
Apparently it rained here all day yesterday but I don't have a window so I couldn't tell. BP is still high and I have a new med to take. But pulse and all other tests are good. Hoping for a release this afternoon.
I still hate typing on this phone!