Running Bear's April 2025 Coffee Shop

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps and those with resistors

It's troy again

I'm up. Yogurt please FLO, yep. With Blueberries

I've got a call into my cruise guy. I'm surprised he's still in business since he's about 14 years older than I am. (I think he's 74). We used to be wedding/portrait photographers in the same market. He had the cruise travel agent business as a side hustle since I knew him 20+ years ago. We booked our first cruise with him in 2006. the problem is we cannot talk Poly-tics any more. Used to be able to, but things shifted there in 2015. I still give him my cruise biz, but the casual calls drifted off and don't occur any longer. So the 1/year cruise call is catch up time.

Not sure if we'll book anything this go, but I can have him check with the cruise lines on some of the fine print about cancellations.

In other news, started putting paint on my crusaders. If I were building a G-scale layout, these would be the correct size. But they're giants on my N-scale. Once I get this army finished I'll start working on the 10-15mm tall American civil war figures.

You might notice that the crusader at the far left is slightly 'armless. He's shouting something about "Merely a flesh wound!" ...

Still have work to do on these. Then another 8 dudes from this unit. And another 20 from 2 other units and I can call it done.

WeatherUnderground says high of 46 F-degrees in the Fort today. Froggy and slight chance of wet stuff falling. Need to go hit Target and the hobby store today. Paying attention to what comes out of China, and trying to buy ahead on stuff while I can. I've been checking meds. Even if it's made in the USA, the API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) have a good chance of originating in China. So, I'm buying ahead on vitamins and pain relievers before the prices spike.

METAL WHEELS: for N-Guage. What are the size/brand to invest in? Same with couplers? I'd like to buy-ahead what I can before the tariffs jump too high.

 

[troyphoto]

My guess is another YouTube "influencer" wanted to meet the "uncontacted" tribes...

 

[NorthBrit]

Good morning all. Coffee on the go please, Flo as I have household jobs to attend to.

Cruising Now Dawn is disabled we find that all the brands in the Carnival Corporation the worst companies. They make it so difficult for Dawn.
Having done 84 cruises I doubt we shall get to 90, never mind 100.
We shall see more of the U.K. instead.

Celebrity Apex arriving Lisbon.

 

[migalyto]

Good morning all!

A very foggy morning out there. Its currently 36F and only going up to around 52. A few
possible rain/snow showers later this morning, but doesn't look to amount to much.

The school my daughter goes to did a science project where they had to build a bridge. They paired off and studied the different designs and built it from wood sticks. They then took them to a neighboring school where several schools participated and they went up against the other teams. My daughter and her partner placed overall 5th place, and there school placed 2nd overall. It was a good looking bridge. I asked her if I could use it on my layout and got the typical teenager look of leave me alone.

All the cruise talk the last couple days got me the itch again. I started laying the foundation with the wife last night saying out 20 year anniversary was coming up in October. We shall dee if that gains traction. Im sure she would love to go on another one.

Have a safe day everyone!

 

[bnsf971]

Cruising Now Dawn is disabled we find that all the brands in the Carnival Corporation the worst companies. They make it so difficult for Dawn.
Having done 84 cruises I doubt we shall get to 90, never mind 100.
We shall see more of the U.K. instead.

Have you considered dinner cruises? I've taken several over the years, and while not as major of an event as a destination type cruise, it still can be fun, and you're closer to home, should anything untoward happen.

 

[bnsf971]

He had the cruise travel agent business as a side hustle since I knew him 20+ years ago. We booked our first cruise with him in 2006. the problem is we cannot talk Poly-tics any more. Used to be able to, but things shifted there in 2015. I still give him my cruise biz, but the casual calls drifted off and don't occur any longer. So the 1/year cruise call is catch up time.

I have learned not to talk politics with people I know. If they share your views, all you get is an echo chamber, and if they don't, things quickly devolve into strained relationships at best, and limited warfare and loss of friends at worst.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All Clear and 52°, headed for the low-80's again today. Forecast remains the same for a few days, into the mid-90's Sunday and then a cold front hits and we're back into the 70's for a couple of days.

The weekly grocery trek is scheduled for today, with additional stops for a haircut and then over to Sam's Club for a few items. The rest of the day will be spent in the garden, planting some of the 48 Tomato plants now that the ground is at the right moisture level and temperature. I have 8 Pepper plants also. Whatever I don't finish today will get done tomorrow along with direct-seeding of Squash. I have a pesky colony of piss ants to deal with as well. I've already moved them once, but they went the wrong way or else it's another colony.

Yesterday was spent with the chainsaw cutting oddly shaped and too long logs into uniform 16" stackable firewood. Lots of 8"-12" hunks that go into a different pile. I also prepared the planting bed for the Tomatoes; raking it even and removing unwanted debris to the compost pile. I put pieces of branches into the ground alongside the Green Pea row for their tendrils to cling to and keep the plants off the ground.

I resumed cleaning structures out in the train shed yesterday, I am now finished with the downtown area. I have 6 suburban homes, a grocery store and a grain elevator left to do. Then I'll start on vehicles and roads. I have been doing some vehicles along the way, so there is probably only about three dozen left. I have a handful of 2D background structures to replace. The leaking roof and high humidity that resulted from last years tornado has left many of the printed cardstock ones in sad shape.

These were printed on an inkjet printer and I don't remember whether I dull coated them or not. I have printed new ones on the laser-jet printer and sprayed them yesterday evening. No pictures yet of the new ones, I took some but left the camera outside for now. They do add some depth to the 16" wide shelf there.

Tom O - Hope that Terry's shorting of stocks didn't catch up with her yesterday. I just cannot take the time to do day trading which I do understand (as opposed to shorting which I don't); too many other things to do in life. I guess that it is a hobby to some.
Len - Been there, done that on the pharmacy chase. It's annoying.
Todd - IT guys and gals aren't the only ones who play video games all day long. I've been known to binge occasionally on rainy or cold days. I like those eyeglass cases too, but they're tough to put into my pocket. Mine come from Sam's Club and are free also.
Mike - Y'all have a safe trip if I don't see you before you leave.
Lloyd - Good to see you in the diner.

Everyone have a great Thursday.

 

[troyphoto]

Just had a chat with the wife about cruises and Seasonal Affective Disorder. Haven't chatted with the doc yet, but I've realized I've been dealing with depression this winter. My mother had SAD, and we had to get her a side light, but she was grumpier in the winter than the rest of the year.

I live in the basement once it gets cold. Wife has the office with the window. My basement has no window. And this winter, the cold and the dark just made me not want to get out. I didn't want to go sit in a coffee shop during the day. If I sit near the window, it's cold! And its near the door. More cold! I have to drive there. And drive back. More cold.

But the basement doesn't have daylight.

Wife would love to do Italy for a cruise, but we end up in May/June for that cruise.

If we do a Feb Caribbean cruise, I get some relief from SAD. So I'm pushing for that.

But now I'm wondering how the SAD lights work. I know TomO has one. Anyone else? What did you get, how's it work for you?

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!!

40°and raining. had a little sleet earlier (6 a.m.) but now just light rain. Supposed to be like this til Sunday. I'll need a New Holland baler to attack the lawn at this rate.

Only been on 1 cruise, On the Disney "Wonder" when the boys were little. The food was good, the shows were great, and the boys had a blast but I'm too much of a landlubber to ever do it again. I'd rather take VIA's "Canadien" from Toronto to Vancouver than take another cruise.

 

[TLOC]

Hello from Wisconsin. Raining and damp at 35f degrees. The app says 50 later.

After I wrote yesterday’s report I ended up calling an ambulance for Terry. Miserable day yesterday and she overnighted in the hospital and we ( daughter is here now) are waiting for the Doctor to show up. Not sure if she’ll be released (doubtful) today but for awhile yesterday I thought I had lost her. She’s awake and feeling better but then anything would be! They think her body shut down because of dehydration. That makes no sense to me but we will listen to the doctor

Willie, no issue with the shorts. When she finally was coherent enough after supper to converse with me all I told her is what I knew, the market was up over 2500 at close. Her comment groggily told was, “ the bastard is really manipulating the market”. Than she slept again. The son checked her investment folder (remotely) to see if there is anything out there to worry about. She told me Tuesday night she was ok and looking forward to the Wednesday morning bell.

I slept in her room last night in one of the most comfortable reclining chairs I’ve ever been in. One of the overnight nurses told me they just got it Monday. The daughter brought me my IPadPro this morning. After this I’m going to catch up on the world.

We are fine

 

[TLOC]

Just had a chat with the wife about cruises and Seasonal Affective Disorder. Haven't chatted with the doc yet, but I've realized I've been dealing with depression this winter. My mother had SAD, and we had to get her a side light, but she was grumpier in the winter than the rest of the year.

I live in the basement once it gets cold. Wife has the office with the window. My basement has no window. And this winter, the cold and the dark just made me not want to get out. I didn't want to go sit in a coffee shop during the day. If I sit near the window, it's cold! And its near the door. More cold! I have to drive there. And drive back. More cold.

But the basement doesn't have daylight.

Wife would love to do Italy for a cruise, but we end up in May/June for that cruise.

If we do a Feb Caribbean cruise, I get some relief from SAD. So I'm pushing for that.

But now I'm wondering how the SAD lights work. I know TomO has one. Anyone else? What did you get, how's it work for you?
View attachment 216449

I will send you a message on Sad lights, sometime this mornings. SADs lights work for me


Edit, 8:35. DM sent

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

Clear and 50° high later of a cooler 73°. Hit 80° yesterday.

Wife decided we're going to take out a 24 month no interest loan on the bath remodel. I kind of agree that we can then keep our money working for us. Our current savings account pays better interest if you have more money in it. Nice is that we'd be able to pay off the loan at any time. Downside is I have to keep working (I am planning on working until 70 at least).

TomO: Sorry to hear the Mrs. wasn't feeling good and glad she's getting better.

migalyto: Your bridge story reminded me of when my kids were in HS. The girls had a physics class the they had to drop an egg and have it not break. Grade based on how thick the material was and height at which egg broke or cracked. After thinking it over, I suggested using a gel pack. We were able to have the egg survive at 25 ft testing at the house. They decided they couldn't both use the same item, so one filled a quart zip lock bag with shampoo. Both topped the class with eggs surviving 30ft. They finally cracked, but didn't break at 32 ft. their pads we about 3/4" thick, next minimum thickness was a foam pad at 4" thick and egg survived at 10'.

BBL

 

[Marlin39]

Marlin - I do a google search for specific images for say "bookstore interior images". Then I copy them to my computer and use a document writer or spreadsheet program to make them an appropriate size and print from there on 65# paper. I'm sure that a photo editing program will do the same thing.

Much appreciated!

 

[Marlin39]

I have learned not to talk politics with people I know. If they share your views, all you get is an echo chamber, and if they don't, things quickly devolve into strained relationships at best, and limited warfare and loss of friends at worst.

When it starts up in mixed company I politely just say, "religion and politics are personal and I like to keep them that way." They take the hint and things usually calm down.

 

[NorthBrit]

Have you considered dinner cruises? I've taken several over the years, and while not as major of an event as a destination type cruise, it still can be fun, and you're closer to home, should anything untoward happen.

Never looked at them, but worth a consideration. Thank you.

I wrote to P&O cruises (Part of Carnival Cruise Line) about the poor service to disabled people. That was in 2018. No reply as yet.

 

[Texas Hobo]

This photo shows the tug after it was laid up when Conrail discontinued the Float Operation on the Delmarva.

I thought you were going to say, "this is what it looked like after my time at the helm"

 

[migalyto]

I'll need a New Holland baler to attack the lawn at this rate.

I know right!

I had to break down and do mine this morning . I'm out in a coat, stocking cap and gloves mowing in between the rain/snow!

It was a wet clumpy mess, I ran over the front and sides twice and it still looks awful, but its done! I will deal with it next
week when we get home.

 

[Hawkesburytrain]

Just had a chat with the wife about cruises and Seasonal Affective Disorder. Haven't chatted with the doc yet, but I've realized I've been dealing with depression this winter. My mother had SAD, and we had to get her a side light, but she was grumpier in the winter than the rest of the year.

I live in the basement once it gets cold. Wife has the office with the window. My basement has no window. And this winter, the cold and the dark just made me not want to get out. I didn't want to go sit in a coffee shop during the day. If I sit near the window, it's cold! And its near the door. More cold! I have to drive there. And drive back. More cold.

But the basement doesn't have daylight.

Wife would love to do Italy for a cruise, but we end up in May/June for that cruise.

If we do a Feb Caribbean cruise, I get some relief from SAD. So I'm pushing for that.

But now I'm wondering how the SAD lights work. I know TomO has one. Anyone else? What did you get, how's it work for you?
View attachment 216449

I'm in the same position as you Troy, I spend about 12 hours in the basement with no access to outside lights when I'm at my workbench.
I'm now in the process of redoing part of my basement for my crew lounge and debating the kind of light to use and I would install a few over my workbench also.
Any suggestions?

I have learned not to talk politics with people I know. If they share your views, all you get is an echo chamber, and if they don't, things quickly devolve into strained relationships at best, and limited warfare and loss of friends at worst.

On cruises, I'm on it to relax and enjoy company, so no politics or religion. Out of 20, only once was I asked about my opinion and I replied "Do you really want me to tell you" .... LOL. On my last cruise, I was talking to an Australian and we talked about hobbies, to find out that he was as passionate about model trains as me, so for 11 days we talked trains at supper time and we are now good friends, same with our cruising friends from Denmark. What a small world.

Now I need my first cup of coffee.

 

[Texas Hobo]

Good morning, all! Well, our week of spring is just about over. Summer is about a week away. We are having some really nice weather with very low humidity. All that will change as the onshore flow starts Saturday and the humidity returns.
Haven't had a lot of train time this week. I'm in the process of adding a filter, iron removal filter, water conditioner and a sanitizer to our well. I have noticed I am not nearly as fast as I once was and cannot stay at it as long as I once could. I'm hopeful that today I'll get most of the piping in and tomorrow the sanitizer and the final pipe make up.
My only cruise was aboard the USCGC Gentian. A lovely round bottomed, 180 foot buoy tender. She could have dashed through the Gulf waves at thirteen knots, but to enhance her range, drifted along at eight. Food was good though. Keeping on the table in front of you was something else. (round bottom, no stabilizers). I did get to ride out a hurricane on board. Fifty five crew and only five of us didn't get seasick. Wind indicator broke at 160 mph. The only side excursion was to the Sabine Pass Lighthouse. Here you got to carry big battery packs up the stairs of the unmanned light. Sadly, the lighthouse no longer exists, but the excursion is a fond memory.

A throw down pic from the archives;

STAY SAFE
LATER

 

[Boris]

I have learned not to talk politics with people I know. If they share your views, all you get is an echo chamber, and if they don't, things quickly devolve into strained relationships at best, and limited warfare and loss of friends at worst.

Not for nothing, but political discussion is best left to others, because everyone has their own view. There are actually other things in this world to talk about....and I don't mean the weather.