Running Bear's April 2025 Coffee Shop

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ALL under the radar because my girl will not be back till tomorrow night. what? what wood? noooo this is here since months. i dont know what you mean :D

Word of warning. That only works if you’ve actually had some wood there for months. Maybe not this wood, but some wood. She’ll have seen it and so knows there was wood there. The fact that THIS wood is new is then easier to “hide”. Also, it helps to keep it hidden for a while, so you can say “this wood? I’ve had this wood *for a while*”. Never use concrete time terms. Always use ambiguous language like “a while”.
 
Then I got her a hobby (a Crikut machine)
Cricut is one of the companies that has contacted me to try and recruit me for work. I guess they’re local (at least where they make their apps). Their recruiter contacted me on LinkedIn yesterday. I’ve been aware of their opening for a while and have been holding off and using it as a backup to apply at if I can’t get something else going. But since their recruiter talked to me yesterday I guess I’ll need to talk to them. I told the recruiter I am out of town with the family and would contact him by the middle of next week.

I’m trying to get a remote position I can work from home. Not a local one I have to go into the office “3-5 times a week”. I don’t know their pay scale but my experience has been that local home grown companies are cheap. Luckily I’m in initial interviews with two other companies for remote positions. The second one contacted me yesterday as well. We’ll see how it pans out. I don’t want to close doors at Cricut but it wouldn’t be my first choice.
 
well, howdy there internet peeps and those watching Smoot-Hawley 2.0

It's Troy again.

MIL is still in the hospital. Another lung xray showed no change in fluid buildup after two full days in with Lasix via IV.

Wife has sprouts!
Screenshot 2025-04-04 at 10.42.38 AM.png


it's new release day for my latest book. It doesn't feel like it, though since this is the one I ran a kickstarter on. And I pre-released it via my direct sales website on Monday. This is like the third release day for it! But it's out there in the world now.

In the book world, we're fortunate that our custom print on demand printers are scattered around the world with multiple facilities. The problems come when an author has promised SIGNED copies of the book, and has to ship them out of the US (or into the US once the reciprocal tariffs kick in from the other countries). Most don't think about having to absorb another $5 or euro or £ on a single book with some stickers and buttons.

As for tariffs in the hobby world, well Steve Jackson games (GURPs, Munchkin, etc) are suddenly in a bind. If they can't get it on a ship out of China soon, their games are going to almost double in price. They made a blog post about it here:

 


Good Morning All. Cloudy with a bit of fog and 53°. It will probably rain today, but how much and when is a matter for Mother Nature to decide. Yesterday's rain was limited to what I reported, ending before dawn; which amounted to a measly 0.14". Current radar shows most of the activity moving north of here. Be careful on the road Patrick. Cold front arrives tonight and temperatures will drop until bottoming out near freezing Sunday about dawn. My new Tomato plants will come inside for a couple of nights as planned.

I made the weekly grocery trek yesterday flying solo, as my wife's shoulder was still aching from something that she did Tuesday. I once again ran into the wife of the retired LHS owner who I supported for 23 years. Our grocery shopping days are the same and I regularly see and speak to her. Or I should say that I regularly listen to her! I used to see Chuck for a while when she was recovering from some kind of surgery and was home-bound. Later in the afternoon, I was able to spend time pulling weeds in the garden in areas that I can't easily get to with the hoe, too close to the actual plants. They tend to proliferate wherever I put the garden from the untended areas around me like along the road easements where neither me or the county can (or will) mow. They're especially bad this year since I was unable to maintain it last year due to tornado debris clean-up.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I continued with the quarterly cleanup. I vacuumed all of the industrial trackage that I didn't get to on Wednesday and started removing buildings for cleaning and repair where needed. I just randomly grabbed Tina's Tick-Tock Shop, an establishment devoted to selling clocks. This structure is one that I bought from the consignment table at the LHS back around 2010. It's origin is a Walther's kit called Vic's Barber Shop. It was bare walls and roof when I got it and it appears that I hastily added an interior and sign to it. However the windows were never completed and the original builder never put any stiffeners in the roof.
View attachment 215895View attachment 215896
I had added the sidewalk, figures, sign and the interior to the storefront a few years agoView attachment 215897
The roof is currently under weights to remove as much of the bow as possible before I add some .080" styrene strips to it. Since most of the windows that need curtains are in the rear, I will just cut some simple pieces of colored cardstock for them.
I cleaned two other buildings without making any modifications. Forgot to take pictures.

Hughie - Thanks for the info. The reason that I couldn't find it is because I didn't open the individual items. Overall it's a neat looking structure.
Joe - Congratulations on the good test results. By the way, I really liked the city scenes that you posted.
Marco -

Never had that problem with my wife. However, I used to go Christmas shopping for stuff that she and my kids could wrap and give me for Christmas. But I would take the new stuff out to the train shed and hand her a bag of Athearn cars from my unbuilt stash to wrap. She never knew that they were mostly the same freight cars year after year.

Lousy start to the day so far. The fog has turned into mist for now. Stock Market is down again today. I'm down 3.5% for the week. Wife wants me to sell which will lock in the losses! I want to buy the dip! So we will do nothing for now since she doesn't know how to work the accounts. She has complete access, but never took the time to learn the trading.
Y'all have a fabulous Friday.
Terry says buy the dip
 
Word of warning. That only works if you’ve actually had some wood there for months. Maybe not this wood, but some wood. She’ll have seen it and so knows there was wood there. The fact that THIS wood is new is then easier to “hide”. Also, it helps to keep it hidden for a while, so you can say “this wood? I’ve had this wood *for a while*”. Never use concrete time terms. Always use ambiguous language like “a while”.
That's great advise! Somehow I believe they always know.

I always found it better to just order the stuff and let her give me the look. It always passes and I still have the items! :D

I live by the words in my signature, it has served me well!
 
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Its always nice to get contractors out of your house after a project.

Ita amazing how even a small project can disrupt your routine!

YES.
YES.

Just a few things to put back now. I shall do that tomorrow. (Dawn might throw a few things out. :D )
Mindst you she has four binders she had from her college days. "Cannot throw them away. The hard work to achieve the qualifications." Dawn says. (I understand her reasoning.)
 


Good afternoon Crew. It's cloudy and 25 with intermittent light snow here in Cheyenne. Winds are from the N @20 gusting to 31+. High of 27 this afternoon and low tonight of 17. Clearing and colder later tonight. Chilly weekend should give way next week to daytime temps in the high 60s and low 70s. Still got some winter to go but we're gettin' there.

Tidied up a few things about the workbench yesterday, Too cold and windy to go out to the garage yesterday or today. With warmer temps expected next week, plans are to get going on the layout space and benchwork. Got GI stuff Wednesday, so no train work that day...

Y'all enjoy the remains of your Friday and have a good weekend. Take care.
 
I really liked the city scenes that you posted
Willie: Coming from you is a real complement. I'm honored. I need to find a better representation of Engine 6, (Like a Mack B). I started the row house background today,after I got back from the Neurologist. Little bit each day.
Stock Market is down again today. I'm down 3.5% for the week.
I suspect either Soros and/or the EU Soverign Funds are dumping to punish us, and now the Short Sellers are jumping in...Won't be long until the naked short sales show themselves. Capitalism in action... I'm not selling...(it always comes back, eventually, and I'm bargain hunting. Everything across the board including Oil and Bonds are down, only Bitcoin and Mexican Stocks are Up, so it is a Tantrum, rather than a fundamental correction. This too will pass.

From what I understand many of the people who accepted the buyout are at or near retirement age, and those discharged included numerous people who refuse to return to the office...That may not be across the board, as the Media is adverse to reporting factual information when sensationalism attracts attention. Everyone forgets that it takes an act of congress to establish or abolish a Cabinet Level Department, or alter some of the other things proposed.
 
As for tariffs in the hobby world, well Steve Jackson games (GURPs, Munchkin, etc) are suddenly in a bind. If they can't get it on a ship out of China soon, their games are going to almost double in price. They made a blog post about it here:

https://www.sjgames.com/ill/archive/2025-04-03
Actually if you can find it one of ye better Steve Jackson Games efforts was the card game Illuminati: New World Order. There was an add on a little after it came out that I only got a small number of cards from. It’d be great one for them to update and re-release with all the world events and stuff since the original came out.
 
That's great advise! Somehow I believe they always know.

I always found it better to just order the stuff and let her give me the look. It always passes and I still have the items! :D

I live by the words in my signature, it has served me well!
Yeah. While I’ve “used” this advise i never deny anything. Direct questions get direct answers. But indirect questions get indirect answers :).
 
Daughter’s team won all their games yesterday and their first game today. The second game is in 1/2 hour and I need to finish my might snack lunch and get back over to the pool.

She scored a goal this morning which was exciting. She only started playing a year ago and is on the upper of the two 18u teams (18 and under) of their organization. Everyone was helping her and setting her up. I missed it as I was late from eating breakfast and taking care of business afterwards so missed part of the game. It was hard getting going this morning.

I guess we got lucky as where we live happens to be in the territory of one of the better powerhouse clubs and teams for water polo. So it’s good she gets to take part on a good team.

It was upper 20s this morning. Today is sunny and mid 40s. Yesterday was schizo weather. It had snowed overnight and in the morning here in cedar city. When we checked in mid afternoon it was probably low 40s but sunny and it felt nice. You could see the water vapor misting off the parking lot. We brought our stuff up to our room and when we went back down it was overcast and snowing heavily. Luckily it didn’t last that long.

Tomorrow there are two games and then we drive home. It’s been a nice diversion.

I still want to know what the guys who invented this game were drinking. It’s kind of a crazy game.

IMG_7614.jpeg
 
Afternoon all,

Getting a couple of quotes to do a bath to shower conversion. Sounds like $8-10 thousand range is the norm. We'll know more when they actually come and measure. Anyone ever work with Bathfitter? They are one of the 2 companies coming out in the next couple of weeks. Not money I really want to put in the house, but doing it will keep us able to stay here longer.

Bbl.
 


Afternoon all,

Getting a couple of quotes to do a bath to shower conversion. Sounds like $8-10 thousand range is the norm. We'll know more when they actually come and measure. Anyone ever work with Bathfitter? They are one of the 2 companies coming out in the next couple of weeks. Not money I really want to put in the house, but doing it will keep us able to stay here longer.

Bbl.
We did a bath to shower conversion back in the pandemic, when Willie’s end of the country froze, and that put the company in TX that made the shower basins about 5 weeks behind.

We paid $7500 back then
 
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