Running Bear's April 2022 Coffee Shop

[ctclibby]

Todd - you really upstaged me with your Blazer. My '88 burby is all original: motor (350 w/ throttle body injection), drive train, even all the sheet metal is original. A midwesterner can imagine what our salt has done to the body, however it is holding it's own. In headwind and below zero I get 12 mpg, and with tailwind in summer up over 17. I put 1,000 miles a month on her, so she remains to be a workhorse and all around good truck.

Dave, wasn't trying to upstage ya. Just glad to see other 88's out there still running. Mine is not to be a daily driver, gonna be used to chase trains and other outdoor activities as we do like getting outa the house and up some hill or two. You should see the gleam in the wife's eyes when I ask here if she wants to do a 'Tod loop'. Shine shine. Oh, Tod loop is one of those where you grab picnic fix'ns, chain saw, fishing pole, couple of guns and camera. Then you start going with some target in mind to stop, either stop and return or continue on. Usually a couple hundred miles with bar and motel involved. For instance, Libby to TheFish is over 100 miles if you follow BNSF, then 90 miles back on Hwy 2.

 

[ctclibby]

Deer, I have got so many remembrances of those miserable animals either running into my cars while I was driving or them deciding every plant in the yard was lunch, ESPECIALLY, the ones advertised as deer resistant. My home office in North Central Wisconsin was on a level where the window to the office was 1’ above the ground. One night as I was working at the desk the window right above the desk I heard a click against the glas. Just about had a heart attack as there right in front of me was the nose of a deer. That happened again many times over the next 3 years then stopped. We put a 6’ fence around Terry’s huge garden but a couple times in a season would find one or 2 of the animals inside the fenced garden. They could get in but seemingly never could get out. Had to open the double gates and hoped they would find their way out. The water hose spraying them often helped. Our yard was a great wayside for the deer as the yard was on the easy path to the lake so they could drink.

TomO - we have found that whitetail can get over an 8ft fence. Mule deer are heaver for the most part and can't jump 8ft. 6ft is pretty much it and if you get a couple over the fence, put a hot wire on the top ( applies to the 8ft fence too). Elk don't seem to care for garden stuff; if it is not easy to get to. Moose on the other hand just mows the fence down and chomp chomp chomp. Hot wire don't seem to bother them either. Although it has been a couple of years since we had a moose in.
Years ago I was getting a hair cut and in walks this guy looking for cut hair. Barber and I looked at each other wondering why. Guy said that he spreads it around his garden fence on the outside. Apparently the human smell keeps them out. Don't know if that would work in our area as the st00pid neighbors feed the critters. Then they wonder why they don't have any apples or such.

 

[bnsf971]

Good afternoon It's sunny and 81.
I went to the bank and ordered the required statements, 60 of them, at a cost of $2 per statement.
They'll let me know when they're ready to be picked up.

 

[logandsawman]

Dave, wasn't trying to upstage ya. Just glad to see other 88's out there still running. Mine is not to be a daily driver, gonna be used to chase trains and other outdoor activities as we do like getting outa the house and up some hill or two. You should see the gleam in the wife's eyes when I ask here if she wants to do a 'Tod loop'. Shine shine. Oh, Tod loop is one of those where you grab picnic fix'ns, chain saw, fishing pole, couple of guns and camera. Then you start going with some target in mind to stop, either stop and return or continue on. Usually a couple hundred miles with bar and motel involved. For instance, Libby to TheFish is over 100 miles if you follow BNSF, then 90 miles back on Hwy 2.

No problem, Todd

Even though there are a couple rough spots on the body, my wife still likes to take a drive in the country with me!

The interior is amazingly clean. All four electric windows work, to boot!

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Today I finished cleaning freight car wheels. Everything I'm going to put out for my friends coming over is dusted and boxed up until needed. Not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow. I'll give Phil a call in a bit to see how he's doing.

I can't remember if I posted pictures yesterday, but if I did thank you for the likes.. Great memory.

Sherrel- Thank you. Prayers for Kate. No, I was in Navigation. Just learned as I went and had friends to turn to in an emergency (of being clueless).

Guy- I sent you a message.

Karl- That's awesome.

Joe- I follow the discussions on Groups IO but rarely post. Thanks for the history lesson. I had never heard of it before either.

IB Ken- Yeah, Walthers TT's are neat but can be a real pain in the butt at times.

Troy- Very nice job on the figures. What are the red spots for?

Willie- Thank you. I have never thought to prep ground throws before now.

Dave- Thank you. In the photo I use pulled apart WS clump foliage. They have 3 colors and I attached with latex caulk. Glue is too thin to hold them while drying. I easily used 50 bags or more and spent weeks attaching them around the layout. Not a lot of fun.



I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[troyphoto]

Troy- Very nice job on the figures. What are the red spots for?

The red drops/beads are Fatigue markers:

The game allows one free activation (move, or shoot, or charge) per unit each turn. A unit can go over that, but each one generates a fatigue marker. Those markers have various negative effects (raises your chance of being hit in melee combat, etc).

In other MIL news, the wife's mother FINALLY came to the realization that she didn't need her car anymore. This after the auction team had been out to her house cataloging the personal property.

Since MIL now lives in the Senior community, a five minute walk away from us, and has the facility's van driver to chauffer she and other residents out to wherever they're shopping that day (not to mention we family members to take her on errands), she finally figured out she didn't need to pay California level rates for younger folks on her car insurance. No, she doesn't live in California. Indiana has much, much cheaper insurance rates than California. But her rates are above what wife and I paid in Calif, and we're 30 years down the age charts from her.

She was about to need to write that check again, and asked if it was too late to get the car into the auction.

That's her red Buick in front of the rolling stock. Beyond it is a Class A someone else is selling at Auction. Wife and I spiffed the car up yesterday, then drove it to the auction house - IN THE RAIN - today. Of course it rained after we gave it a good shine.

While the wife was inside, I got to do some railfanning of a NS consist running out of Ft. Wayne.

 

[Smudge617]

Nice. Just wanted to let you know the driver (seat) is on the wrong side in the pic

Oh! you wanna go there do you? let me explain.

The driver's seat is on the right, right ?
if it was on the left it would be called wrong, not left, right
so if right is right, then left must be wrong and even two wrongs don't make a right, right
so left is obviously wrong and right is right, OK ?

I can't find the post, but someone said about Coaches being called buses. You've seen the post with the coach, this is one of our smaller buses, including standing passenger it can legally have 65 passenger's, my boss keeps giving me this one, invariably coz some dipstick has broken his Coach and they've nicked mine, which happens quite a bit at my place.

 

[Patrick]

2 wrongs don't make a right, but 3 lefts do....

 

[bnsf971]

Two wrongs don't make a right, but two Wrights make an airplane...

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Greetings folks! It's clear and 86f on the way to a 90f high in about an hour.

So --- the traveling peeps spent the night in an empty house last night; I was told that it was a strange feeling with No others around and No dogs scampering about.

The Wife's morning Covid self test (which was very faint yesterday) showed up really gangbusters this morning. I guess we are going to spend another week, or two, apart. I took meds and extra clothes out to her this morning, but did not go into the house; I did wave at her through the glass and blew a kiss; for the past year all she had talked about was everyone being careful NOT to give the Covid to her Mom and here she contracts the damn stuff herself?

Of course- she readily admitted that going on the trip was a huge mistake!
I simply said - don't worry about it - just try and get well!
MIKE and JAMES have been nice enough to give me some tips on what they are and have been doing to combat the menace virus and I will certainly pass this info on to the Spousal Unit!

PATRICK, TomO tks for the tips on the real estate. Just taking a quick gander at the numbers that I have have - I'm within a couple hundred thou of pulling it off, but dammit - that is what the mortgage is on this place - and to pay this place off would leave us "cash poor" -- hence my delima.
Irene, Kate's traveling sister is one of two executor's and will do a CMA on the property in a couple weeks which will give me time too: "If I could just hit that Power Ball!"

 

[Texas Hobo]

Afternoon! Still awaiting rain. I did get some train time in, railfanning and did some switching. Track appears to need some cleaning, especially the lesser used sidings. I did get a photo of the church.

STAY SAFE

LATER

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Sherrel, hopefully Kate has the latest version of the COVID which is pretty light compared to the first version, but at least she will have the natural immunity to it unless she's been taking the vaccines.

 

[Patrick]

Saw a two ton 3 axle row vehicle pulling 3 gondola cars up the rail this afternoon. One was full of gravel. Never seen that before.

 

[MilwRoader_Steve]

Well, got the wife-unit on the plane to Dallas. House to myself tonight and am already bored! Been working on my track plan and I think I have hit the ultimate! I will post in my layout thread if anyone interested. I think better utilization of the loop interior.

Anyrail is a nice tool - - - allows a thinker/analyzer like me to tweak out 2 gazillion track plan variations!!

Other than that, I pulled up that lead yard track and repositioned it toward the wall some. The problem is that the track did not go square over the Electromagnet uncoupler, and the uncoupler did not work. Hopefully will work better. Wasn't too hard of a job.

Now I think I will go run trains, enjoy a whisky or two. Make a salad for dinner (had burger and fries for lunch) and watch a war movie. TTFN!!

Steve J

PS: Smudge: Back in my Navy days, I had a shore duty which took me to England and Bermuda every now and then. I like the right hand drive! Just very glad the pedals are the same arrangement as here (C-B-A) ... ... That would have been tough. I even adapted to the mirror image shift patterns with not too much trubs. Bermuda was weird though. Left-hand drive car on a left-side drive roads. Good thing we had not far to go and no one drives fast there!

Without fail, upon every return, wifeykins (who did not drive in the UK but lived 3 years in Scotland in her late-teens) would have to at least once remind me: "Sweetie - - we drive on the right side here."

But I'll take driving on the ...um... OTHER side of the road ANY DAY over driving in Naples, Italy!

 

[McLeod]

Good Afternoon!
The wife snagged me to go shopping, so I missed morning coffee. Plus, she made me drive her out to the lake to see if there was still ice. Guess we're going ice-fishing tomorrow, early, so I won't be in for a coffee again.

While the wife was shopping, I went over and captured a few photos of the SD40-2W's that were lined up in the yard. Here's 4 of the 24 photos I took:

Years ago I was getting a hair cut and in walks this guy looking for cut hair. Barber and I looked at each other wondering why. Guy said that he spreads it around his garden fence on the outside. Apparently the human smell keeps them out.

I've heard that if you go out and pee on the trees, it prevents deer attraction. I went out in the dark last year and gave it a try; appears to be a old wives tale. Then again, I don't drink alcohol; maybe that makes the difference.

Curt - Thank you for messaging me.

Willie - Thank you for the great tips on ground throws. I actually never thought about taking them apart and applying an oil-film prior to painting. I'm going to try it, but apply vaseline for lack of a light oil. I've used vaseline before to coat R/C aircraft parts I didn't want glue or paint to affect. Thanks.

Smudge - I really like the buses. Have at least 3x 1/87 buses, all 60's-70's versions of highway buses. I don't need that many on my small layout.

So, I won't be coming in tomorrow in order that the wife's ice-fishing desire gets satisfied. And, I'll see you up above if we fall through and get bottom fishing. I don't think so, though. It looks like there's still lots of ice.

Have a good one!!

 

[troyphoto]

Re: Right-hand drive... if only the Frenchman were still here... you can blame left-hand drive on Napoleon...

He wanted to confuse any would-be English invaders, and switched carriages, right of way to the other side of the road. That way sword-swinging had to go cross body...

 

[chadbag]

PS: Smudge: Back in my Navy days, I had a shore duty which took me to England and Bermuda every now and then. I like the right hand drive! Just very glad the pedals are the same arrangement as here (C-B-A) ... ... That would have been tough. I even adapted to the mirror image shift patterns with not too much trubs. Bermuda was weird though. Left-hand drive car on a left-side drive roads. Good thing we had not far to go and no one drives fast there!

When I was working in Mass as a contract SW engineer around 1999 we had to drive to NYC in order to meet with some friends who had agreed to help us with a problem. My supervisor was in town from the Phoenix office and he and I were chauffeured down to NYC by a guy from the Mass office who wanted to go and had lived in NYC. He had previously lived in the Bahamas, I think it was, and had a RH drive car he had brought back and registered. So I sat in the front left like normal, he was on the right driving. We stopped at a toll booth and I rolled down the window to get the ticket from the guy. The looks on the guy's face were priceless when he saw me sitting where he expected me to be, but saw no steering wheel or other normal driver accoutrements.

When we are in Japan and I am driving along with my Sister in law I always get to sit in the front on the left, as the tallest/biggest person in the group. So it feels normal for me to go get in the car -- spot I always sit in -- except I am not driving. (Japan is the last non-Commonwealth place in the world, I believe, still driving on the wrong side of the road).

 

[Sirfoldalot]

GUY - Most All your photos are good, but the first one you posted is simply great!

I'm sitting here getting snockered off of Kirkland's Margarita mix with my added in Tequila while the Spousal Unit is hibernating away from everyone 6 miles away.
Oh Boy - Is she gonna owe me! How long is this going to take?

CHAD - #2 Daughter was home here a few weeks back from Okinawa. She was almost afraid to drive here in CA. Said that everyone was in such a hurry - Imagine that!
SAUDIA ARABIA (in the 70's) had the worst drivers in the world by far. We used to call it the GM birth control plan with the lined up wrecked cars on the side of the roads. They could not seem to realize that there was an extension of their car beyond the edge of the windshield.
BTW - How is the house coming along? Need an update!

 

[IronBeltKen]

Good evening Shop Dwellers!

Terry - hopefully there's nothing in those bank statements that Medicaid can claim as evidence of "ditching assets." I remember some years back where you were offered a chance to buy the house that you're renting, and you turned it down because you were anticipating your current situation. A wise decision I'm sure!

. . .
But I'll take driving on the ...um... OTHER side of the road ANY DAY over driving in Naples, Italy!

Steve - roger that! I remember during my enlistment when the ship was at Naples, I was riding back from the PX with a bunch of freshly-bought stereo equipment in a Navy vehicle, when the driver got pulled over...by the Shore Patrol! They gave him a hard time because he was driving like the natives; but in his defense, that's the only way anybody can successfully negotiate the traffic of Naples...

* * *
I spent much of the day at my PC hammering out graphic images for the guys who will be operating the trains while I play host for this Saturday's Open House. As I mentioned before, I'm trying to arrange it so that no train will be seen more than once within a sixty-minute period; but they have to be run in the correct sequence in order to do that. Hopefully the diagrams will make the plan easy to understand. (Karl - keep an eye open for this in your email the next few days!)

Good Night - and have a Pleasant Tomorrow!

 

[Jaz avalley]

Joy, Joy! The Spousal Unit and sister arrived back here around 3 PM and went straight to the MIL's home where they will stay alone until more is known.
KATE, my wife, tested positive for Covid with one of the "self-test kits" of which they took several with them on the ship. Tomorrow she will go to a testing facility and have a regular test. While on the ship she managed to contract a pretty bad head cold - I don't know enough to be able to know if she really has Covid, or not. With my heart inversion coming up in a couple weeks - we need to take precaution about it.

And of course, with this new wrinkle, the both of them are having misgivings about going on the trip - so now I get to try and smooth out their feelings too! I did not say a word about their trip, nor will I, but I am smart enough to know that this would happen.

BTW - It does not look as if Kate and I will be able to buy the family home.
It simply would leave us cash poor without any sort of cushion to fall back on.
Even though the place needs some sprucing up - it appears to be worth quite a bit more than I figured just looking at a few surrounding properties nearby and i do not think that the others would go for a lowball bid? BUMMER!

House prices in the uk are at a stupid high as well,which does lead to the possibilities of a crash,maybe walking away may be the safer option at the moment although I appreciate your angst. But if you can buy it outright with no additional debt, ie a mortgage / loan which I would avoid at all cost personally, but a bid you can afford even if it leaves you tight may have an option if it is in a good enough state to not need immediate repairs, can you then rent out anything to help make an income to offset the investment therefore having something in return for the cash sum that will then be tied up.
It is a hard one,you jump left something could go wrong, you jump right something could go wrong. in the current climate cash is also a double edged sword, and then the economies are at risk from the Ukraine situation especially if it develops.
Does the property come with any land whereby you can grow veggies - if your even willing to do so,as a food source could have a factor.
House investment

Well, howdy there internet peeps.

to Sherrel, my heartfelt condolences on your MIL, and the mess of emotions coming with it.

To Terry: man, that sucks all around. Best wishes for getting Marie's situation resolved quickly and as painlessly as possible.

I got in some hobby time. I'm in between books (waiting on the editor to send it back). So I'm down to little projects that don't take a ton of brainpower.

So I 3D Printed most of a Sassanid (Dark Ages Persia) warband (one unit is purchased) and got in a game this weekend. And found out I made a major SNAFU... not a full FUBAR level, but definitely SNAFU.

View attachment 144905

Seems that the Sassanids (still under the Zorastrian leaders. Islam hadn't made its way there yet) loved Cataphract armor (plates of armor sewn onto a quilt-like garment) over their horses. Helped protect the horses. The Archers above are a better representation of what they should have been. You can't see it, but there is only a small bit of armor across the front chest of the horses.

The unit in front of the elephant is what Cataphracts should be, pointy spears and shields on armored horsies. Bringing the hurt to the enemy, after the archers gallop in and soften them up.

Somewhere, I got it in my head that even the horse-mounted archers used Cataphracts armor. Boy was I wrong. That cut the movement of those archers in half! What should have been 12-inch moves were rather short. And those two units got wiped out fairly fast.

Here's how I based another unit of horse-archers:

View attachment 144904

Yep, way too much armor on the horsies.

On a good point, though, I found a use for the legless elephant from a few weeks ago. That was an "Objective" we were battling for control of. I just need to clear enough room on the work table to do a resin pour for water effects. Then add some gravel around the outer perimeter and finish the painting. Gaming terrain needs to be more durable than MRR terrain, unfortunately. The landscape was 3D printed on a filament printer (hence the layer lines). The legless elephant was printed on a resin printer. (I forgot to check the resin levels before going to bed... and "Stumpie" arrives without legs as the vat emptied before they printed.)

Unfortunately, Stompie and Stampie, his two brothers didn't prevail in the battle, but they did keep is bath time from being interrupted by the invading horde of Frenchmen.

View attachment 144906

i love the elephants