Running Bear's April 2022 Coffee Shop

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Dave(LASM)- I was born & raised in South Jersey(15 minutes east of Center City Philly) & lived there for 40+ years, before relocating to North Central Wisconsin almost 10 years ago. This is where SWMBO has lived her whole life & has a much lower cost of living than the Garden State.
 


Good morning all! Foggy, misty and 49 now heading for mostly cloudy and 70. So glad it's starting to warm up again. Still can't get much done outside because of all the rain we've had, but it'll dry out soon enough I suppose.

Been staying busy at work. Lots of projects to work on for the short and long term. Going to one of the other colleges in our district today to check out another distance learning setup that my college president wants me to work on getting for us. Had no idea I'd be working on stuff like this when I got the job but I like working on it. Other projects to work on include running a bunch of ethernet cabling over in the gym complex, but that'll probably have to wait till the semester is over. Definitely no shortage of projects and I'm glad for that.

I've worked on PC's for many years but only have a small amount of networking knowledge. I can easily set up a home network like most of us can, but working on a network the size our college has is far beyond my experience. Fortunately, I'm not really responsible for network operations. Still, I'd like to know more about it so I've been working on setting up virtual machines at home to learn more about it. I set up an Active Directory domain at home using Zentyal Linux just to start getting a better understanding, though I really need to set it up on Windows to get the full picture. Also, a friend gave me an old Cisco switch that I know nothing about, so that's another learning opportunity.

That's all I've got to report. Hope you all have a great day!
 
Holiday is here 😍

So finally started on doing one of 4 million projects I need to get on with, OK, maybe 20 then, this is one of three builds I need to do, kit build, but scratch building is beyond my skill set, new Loco shed, quite happy so far, although the apex on the roof looks a bit dodgy to me, not complete by any means, only the sides and back wall are actually glued at the moment, as I'm using Gorilla wood glue have to wait a while before I move it again, but you get the idea I'm sure.

build.jpg
 
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Morning all,

Been here an hour (came in early) to install the easier of the 2 new firewalls. After spending the night worrying about bricking it, I made my adjustments yesterday and had it ready to go today. 10 minutes of downtime between taking the old unit out, putting the new unit in and powerup. Everything working as it's supposed to (knocking really hard on the wood trim in the office).

One more to do tomorrow morning.

Currently 61° and mostly cloudy with a high of 87° and 2 waves of storms possible. Late this afternoon with a possibility of tornadoes and later overnight with just severe storms.

Did hear back on my interview, they want to hire me, but are delayed 90 days in their opening, so no offer yet. They said they'd see if I was available once they get closer to opening. My thinking is they are being polite and won't call back. For all the complaints in the area about not having people to hire, seems to me they'd be upping their pay. It has been a problem with Wichita for years, complain no IT workers and then offer them wages just above McDonald's. If I were wanting to move, Areas like Dallas\Ft. Worth, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Kansas City, and Omaha all pay 50 to 100% of the wage in Wichita and the cost of living is about the same. Been that way for as long as I've been in IT. Some say it's because we have an entrepreneurial environment in Wichita that needs these workers, but can't afford them.
 
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Got my walk in this morning. Gotta check the brick in the basement to see what OS version is on it.
Goin over to a friends house later this morning to haul some trash away. He's got an elevator on order to install in his house so he can get down to the basement. His legs hardly support him anymore and stairway is way to much for him to handle.
This evening is another county supervisor meeting to wrestle with the new county budget. It'll lead to the final decision on the property tax rate. The new property assessments were done last fall. Right now, my tax is set to rise by 48%.
 


OK, checked the brick in the basement that runs JMRI and ESU LokProgrammer. It's Windows 10.
Just checking around the internet I can find conversations about Windows 11 and JMRI. Some say it works fine, others say they don't know. I think that tells me it's been tried and it works. I would upgrade the JAVA to the latest version first then install JMRI. If it doesn't work, then just uninstall it if it's causing a problem.
The most it can do is compromise your computer, attract a hacker and get your computer locked up with ransomware, right?
 
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Greetings all,

Not a bad day, yest. Met with the surgeon. Said I am a good candidate for a steroid shot. That would take eight weeks to see if had any lasting effect, or am also a good candidate for surgery. No way to tell if a "clean-up" or "repair" needed, but his experience tells him 70-30 in favor of clean-up only. That's a much shorter recovery of 10-14 days, versus 6-8 weeks on crutches for a repair of the meniscus. But no way to tell until he is in with the scope. So even though I am not a fan of the S word, decided to go ahead with surgery scheduled May 04. Some good news - he is real impressed with my x-rays that at age 62 no sign whatever of arthritis or misalignments. Really good looking legs and hips for a codger my age.

Replied, "I am blessed not to have any chronic pains or issues, and I want to get back to that." He thinks surgery will be needed, but made the offer of the steroid shot anyway.

Train Room: Installed the first of two Digitrax UP5 panels so I can now run trains from a different place and perspective on the layout. That did not take too long. So then addressed a problematic Kadee under-track perm magnet uncoupler. Was a bit careless on the install and the magnet was not well centered under the yard ladder track. Tried to figure out a way to pull the glued in magnet without cutting or destroying the track. Was not smart enough, so cut a short piece of track out. TIP: If you go with Kadee under track uncouplers - - do not glue them down. No need if you make a carefully sized cut in your roadbed or sub-road for the magnet. No place they can go. That way, if like me, you must pull them - - - much easier to do. Pulled up the magnet; filled the divot with some scrap packing foam and glued in a new piece of roadbed. I will install neodymium super-magnets in its place as they work nice. The piece of track removed is just about 3 inches in length. Thinking about it through the night, I may go back and cut out a longer section.

True or False: Cut/paste short pieces of flex track will be more problematic than longer pieces.

Then ran trains for a good half-hour from the new location - was fun!

Busy next few days, but hope to get the 2d UP5 installed at some point and finish the repair of the yard ladder track.

Day 2 of Holy Week - - - - - do you know where you will attend Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services yet?

Steve J

PS: Which reminds me. Cute young thing doing a blood draw on me yesterday making the requisite idle chat asks what I do. I'm a pastor. "Ooooh - wow - do you write sermons and stuff?" Yes, and that's why I'm a bit perturbed at the wait today - its a very busy time of year for me." "Oh, really? Why is that?"

S C A R Y
 
Well howdy there internet curve drawers whether you use a yardstick or cardboard,

It's Troy again.

Got MIL out of the hospital and back home. Since move day is just over a week away, wife went to stay all week with her and finish the packing. That means we moved her with computer et to get work done. She just had a week off, and she'll be swamped this week.

Wife asked me if MIL's computer is worth keeping at our place. MIL has a Dell? I forgot to get a pic of the unit, but it does have this:

View attachment 144319
MIL is going to an iPad Pro since she's not even typing emails any longer. Just texting with the grandkids and surfing for bargains on QVC....

And, on the way back I got stopped by this, so I did some rail fanning

View attachment 144320
View attachment 144321
View attachment 144322
View attachment 144323
View attachment 144324
View attachment 144325

That PC has 2 useful years left in it as it is. It will work fine for many, maybe most tasks.
If nothing else you have a Windows key and license if you want to do some big upgrades.
If I were you I would back up the hard drive, just in case.
As Terry mentioned a few cheap upgrades can drastically improve performance.

Thanks for the train photos!

I hope for the best for your family and you.
 
Good Morning!
But, I don't know what's so good about it. There's new snow on the ground, it's 13F out there, and I have to drive the wife into the city for a doctor appointment. I'll bring the camera with me. Perhaps there will be something out there to photograph and jolly me up.

Thank you for the likes and comments on my layout building story.

One thing I might modify would be to put the track going to the bridge (or gate) in the far back to make the approach as straight as possible. Just a suggestion.
Curt - Thankyou. While playing around yesterday, I did change the layout design somewhat. You can't see it in the photo, but, the swing gate itself is going to be at a slight angle, and the 30" curve will drive right onto it. Here's a photo:
TrackPlan_04-11-2022 (3).JPG

I take all suggestions into consideration very seriously. After all, I'm an amateur playing in an experts ball game. Curt, your layout is beautiful, and I believe you are in the know.

I'm going to leave my cardboard, cork strips and yard-sticks on the table while I take the wife into the city. I'll see if the design gets into my head as a good idea when I get back. Here's another photo:
TrackPlan_04-11-2022 (2).JPG


Also, while driving the wife around town yesterday, I was able to commit a drive-by shooting shot of a high-rail truck parked in the local CN yard:
CN HighRail_04-11-2022 (1).JPG


Again, thank you all for the likes on these simple posts.
I need to get busy, as we are leaving for the city soon. The dog needs walking before we go.
Have a great day.!
 
Greetings all,

Not a bad day, yest. Met with the surgeon. Said I am a good candidate for a steroid shot. That would take eight weeks to see if had any lasting effect, or am also a good candidate for surgery. No way to tell if a "clean-up" or "repair" needed, but his experience tells him 70-30 in favor of clean-up only. That's a much shorter recovery of 10-14 days, versus 6-8 weeks on crutches for a repair of the meniscus. But no way to tell until he is in with the scope. So even though I am not a fan of the S word, decided to go ahead with surgery scheduled May 04. Some good news - he is real impressed with my x-rays that at age 62 no sign whatever of arthritis or misalignments. Really good looking legs and hips for a codger my age.

Replied, "I am blessed not to have any chronic pains or issues, and I want to get back to that." He thinks surgery will be needed, but made the offer of the steroid shot anyway.

Train Room: Installed the first of two Digitrax UP5 panels so I can now run trains from a different place and perspective on the layout. That did not take too long. So then addressed a problematic Kadee under-track perm magnet uncoupler. Was a bit careless on the install and the magnet was not well centered under the yard ladder track. Tried to figure out a way to pull the glued in magnet without cutting or destroying the track. Was not smart enough, so cut a short piece of track out. TIP: If you go with Kadee under track uncouplers - - do not glue them down. No need if you make a carefully sized cut in your roadbed or sub-road for the magnet. No place they can go. That way, if like me, you must pull them - - - much easier to do. Pulled up the magnet; filled the divot with some scrap packing foam and glued in a new piece of roadbed. I will install neodymium super-magnets in its place as they work nice. The piece of track removed is just about 3 inches in length. Thinking about it through the night, I may go back and cut out a longer section.

True or False: Cut/paste short pieces of flex track will be more problematic than longer pieces.

Then ran trains for a good half-hour from the new location - was fun!

Busy next few days, but hope to get the 2d UP5 installed at some point and finish the repair of the yard ladder track.

Day 2 of Holy Week - - - - - do you know where you will attend Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services yet?

Steve J

PS: Which reminds me. Cute young thing doing a blood draw on me yesterday making the requisite idle chat asks what I do. I'm a pastor. "Ooooh - wow - do you write sermons and stuff?" Yes, and that's why I'm a bit perturbed at the wait today - its a very busy time of year for me." "Oh, really? Why is that?"

S C A R Y

I think if the surgery is called for, you'd be wasting your time on the shot. Good call on the surgery, which no one wants, but putting off MAY cause bigger issues down the road.

On your T/F question: Answer is it depends. While you want fewer connections electrically, it doesn't necessarily mean that more short piece connections WILL be more problematic. My electronics training says the fewer connections the better. Less places to trace issues around.
 
Greetings all,

Not a bad day, yest. Met with the surgeon. Said I am a good candidate for a steroid shot. That would take eight weeks to see if had any lasting effect, or am also a good candidate for surgery. No way to tell if a "clean-up" or "repair" needed, but his experience tells him 70-30 in favor of clean-up only. That's a much shorter recovery of 10-14 days, versus 6-8 weeks on crutches for a repair of the meniscus. But no way to tell until he is in with the scope. So even though I am not a fan of the S word, decided to go ahead with surgery scheduled May 04. Some good news - he is real impressed with my x-rays that at age 62 no sign whatever of arthritis or misalignments. Really good looking legs and hips for a codger my age.

Replied, "I am blessed not to have any chronic pains or issues, and I want to get back to that." He thinks surgery will be needed, but made the offer of the steroid shot anyway.

Train Room: Installed the first of two Digitrax UP5 panels so I can now run trains from a different place and perspective on the layout. That did not take too long. So then addressed a problematic Kadee under-track perm magnet uncoupler. Was a bit careless on the install and the magnet was not well centered under the yard ladder track. Tried to figure out a way to pull the glued in magnet without cutting or destroying the track. Was not smart enough, so cut a short piece of track out. TIP: If you go with Kadee under track uncouplers - - do not glue them down. No need if you make a carefully sized cut in your roadbed or sub-road for the magnet. No place they can go. That way, if like me, you must pull them - - - much easier to do. Pulled up the magnet; filled the divot with some scrap packing foam and glued in a new piece of roadbed. I will install neodymium super-magnets in its place as they work nice. The piece of track removed is just about 3 inches in length. Thinking about it through the night, I may go back and cut out a longer section.

True or False: Cut/paste short pieces of flex track will be more problematic than longer pieces.

Then ran trains for a good half-hour from the new location - was fun!

Busy next few days, but hope to get the 2d UP5 installed at some point and finish the repair of the yard ladder track.

Day 2 of Holy Week - - - - - do you know where you will attend Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services yet?

Steve J

PS: Which reminds me. Cute young thing doing a blood draw on me yesterday making the requisite idle chat asks what I do. I'm a pastor. "Ooooh - wow - do you write sermons and stuff?" Yes, and that's why I'm a bit perturbed at the wait today - its a very busy time of year for me." "Oh, really? Why is that?"

S C A R Y
Hi Steve,

I always use the longest piece of Flex that fits. Especially on curves. On straight, probably doesn't matter much.

We are now attending something called Free Lutheran, we have very little liturgy, and is a country church with 20 to 40 present.

We love a service called "Stations of the cross", usually very emotional, however usually have to find a Catholic or Episcopal church for that service.

Dave LASM
 
Well, howdy there internet people, and those wondering why pastors are so darn busy this time of year. (Hint, all the spring holidays from various religions as well as Ramadan. Choose your flavor)...

It's Troy again.

I'm sitting here with my mother at her place. I show up and she's sleeping in the recliner, with TV blaring ... no writing for me. Trying to drown out the yammering heads with jazz music through the hearing aid Bluetooth. Neither is conducive to wording the words.

Since mom is still snoozing, she's missing out on the Amish Crack I brought her. And they keep dissapearing as I sit here. I hope she wakes up soon. Too many of them are going to undo my weight loss... ;)

amish crack.jpg
She went to the doc yesterday. Still in AFIB, but doing well on recovery.

Sis and her daughter who live closest to mom say her mind is getting better. I haven't been able to judge yet, since it's nap time.

Her BP is coming down, but still high. She's been on BP meds for as long as I can remember, so not surprised.

Smoked some chicken breasts on the kamado Sunday, and brought two in for my sis to make meals for mom. Low sodium all the way around. Used foil pans with a bit of very low sodium chicken broth to keep them moist, rub was garlic and onion powders with a couple dashes of chili powder.

I had some of the chicken last night. Even with a sweet BBQ sauce applied after heating, I still had to salt the heck out of my chicken. (Trust me, extra salt drives all the heck outta the fowl).

Which reminds me that I need to go get the cooler outta of the car and bring the chicken in before I forget.
 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 73°, heading to 83° later on. Potential for thunderstorms this afternoon. We had a severe thunderstorm watch last night that never materialized. Strong potential for turning on the A/C today for the first time this season, due more to humidity than to heat. Up and down temperatures and occasional chances of thunderstorms makes up our normal spring weather forecast for the next ten days. Much cooler weather coming next week.
I went for my very first ever visit to a cardiologist yesterday. Stuff beyond the scope of my primary care physician. For the most part everything looked good, which I knew from how I have felt the last ten days or so. He wants to do a stress test on the 28th since I haven't had one in over ten years. EKG and heart sonogram both looked good, the only real issue that I have is some lingering fluid in the lungs that the recent CT scan confirmed.
Current outdoor activities for me include mowing, not much since I got the bulk done last week, some casual hoeing in the garden to keep the soil surface broken up, and I resumed splitting the logs/stumps remaining from the tree removal last fall.
What's up today? I need to purchase a few more tomato plants to replace those that appeared to have died from a frost last Friday night. Looks like about a third of them did not make it. On he same trip, I am going to get a new tankless water heater, as the one that I have has sprung a pinhole leak in the heating element that cannot be repaired. I think that it is related to the burnt out element last month. Joe's foreboding turned out correct! Then after lunch, I take my wife to Dallas for five days of babysitting our granddaughter while her parents are out of town.

Thanks as always for the likes and comments regarding the photos and projects that I post; Dave B, Chad, Gary, Smudge, Tom O,, Hughie, Guy, Karl, Patrick, Curt, James, Sherrel, IB Ken, Tom, Rick, OB Ken, George, Louis.

Got home from the doctor too late to visit the train shed, today will be no different. How about a few pictures from the past? Just trains running through the layout.
10-04-20 008.JPG

10-04-20 009.JPG

10-05-20 001.JPG
10-05-20 002.JPG
10-05-20 003.JPG

Dave B - I have several pages of those kind of small projects to do. In some cases, I was just learning things, in others I skipped over to get to something else. I have resolved to tie up many loose ends before I start on the next big project which will be an Ethanol processor.

Everybody have a great day.
 
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Good morning again,

I was having problems with my Samsung Galaxy earlier today, something wasn't working between the gadget and the Forum. Everything is fine on my work computer. I like to minimize my use of the Forum during the workday, so the smartphone is what I usually keep up on.

Flo - I would love a hot cup of coffee and one of those big gooey carmel rolls with pecans. Thank you!

It is 40° and cloudy, supposed to be some light rain today. I heard some frogs chirping by the pond Sunday, also all the ice just disappeared from the big pond on our land. The lakes up here between Sandstone and Aitkin still have ice cover.

I just noticed the unique outhouse in this 1910 photograph. It is circled in red.

outhouse at quarry.jpg


That is one outhouse probably did not smell too bad.

Lots of stuff packed into this photo. I hope to model a compresssed version of the loco shed (clue: soot) and the larger bldg with the clearstory, also will shrink. It looks like they do some processing of Sandstone in there. Looks like a truck trail to the engine shed, otherwise not much for roads, but lots of track, in this area.

more later, Dave LASM
 


TRIGGER WARNING: If you are tired of snow do not continue in this post. Run the other way!

Yesterday it was overcast with periods of sun sneaking through. Got up to around 60F. Then yesterday evening the temperature dove down to 30F and at 10pm it looked like the photo below. About 2 inches of heavy wet and icy snow and it was blowing and coming down. My son hadn't gotten home from work yet so I got the electric (battery) snow blower down and quickly went out and got rid of all the snow on the driveway and a quick pass along the sidewalk in front of our house. Our driveway is quite steep (should be against code to make them so steep as it is dangerous when snow or ice is around which is common in winter, of course) and the wife thought our son would have problems parking.

Over night it snowed another 1/2" or maybe a little more. Today there were patches of blue but it is supposed to be cloudy and maybe a little more scattered snow showers. It was 21F at 5am when I had to visit the little boy's room.

High today and tomorrow is high 30s, with high 40s on Thursday. Each day shows a percentage chance of snow showeers. Then Friday, while still cloudy, a high of 64F again. And the next week after that mostly 60s with a day or 2 of 50s, and partly to mostly cloudy.

You got to love the schizo Spring time.

IMG_5542.jpeg
 
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