Running Bear's August 2025 Coffee Shop

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Well, howdy there internet peeps and those with maximum de minimus...

it's Troy again...

Got back from the game store about 1p today. I didn't play, but watched two other games. Lots of may and hem were about!

When I came back, did the sunday chores then started on installing the new 6 panel doors wife painted yesterday.

I thought I had them trimmed to size.

I thought... (there's my first mistake, but you know how that goes....)

The one for my bathroom had to be planed down along the lower half of the outside edge. The door frame is crooked. Then, when I eyeballed where the door latch would hit the door jam I misjudged by half an inch. (don't ask, 50 year old doors had lower door knobs, or the guy at Lowes measured wrong and I didn't check him - I just assumed the knows would be the same distance off the floor)

Now I need wood filler.

AND, on the closet door, it was the one that seemed to need no trimming of the door.

Seemed to... We never close that door, so I had no idea how crooked everything was. Trimmed a 1/4 inch off the top, 1/8th inch off the bottom just for good measure. Finally got the door to close... oops... the frame is crooked. Do I take the frame off, or do I shave the door down? Another trip down the stairs and out to the patio with the door. For good measure, I lopped 1/4 off the side of the door.

It fits. I'll drill the new latch hole in the door frame tomorrow, after I pick up the wood filler for the bathroom door frame. Just in case the door still hates me.

I think I earned my glass of whiskey tonight. Don't worry, it was consumed POST-power tool usage.
 
Good evening folks, only hit 90 here today with lots of sunshine. Good services at church. My Nephew met with a fellow selling some property very close to us and was able to put an Earnest Money deposit down until his house sells. That will be great as they will be less than half a mile from us, so the kids will be over here regularly. Got stuff together for the game convention this week/end. I will be working part of the day tomorrow, then a volleyball game. Y'all have a good night.
PS: Road trip to SFW's for brisket! :D
 


Good evening gang!

Yesterday was lawn care and breaking up a huge pile of brush and converting it to kindling for use in the wood stove this winter, and for the outdoor fire pit. Messed with the Dryer a bit, It works but the accordion exhaust tube has seen better days and it not flowing correctly. Parts ordered from HD. After rescuing the trailer from the back yard I find half the lights not working. So one night this week I have to address that as I have committed to the eldest son to help him take some old furniture to the dump next weekend. I was going to address that today BUT......

I woke up at 7 a.m. and let the dogs out and gave them breakfast. After which I crawled back in bed with the wife and slept til 10. Ate 2 bowls of Corn Flakes and felt a headache coming on so I thought it best to lay down for a bit. Next this I know its 3:30 in the afternoon! The day has gone with my get up and go! So lazy day for me.

good night trains.jpg
 
insomniville said:
Evenin', folks. It's 94F and 46% on the patio today, and I'm enjoying it.

I went to the train show...

I had a lot of fun...

My wallet... did not!

Seriously? These events are flat out dangerous, and I'm glad I found out about it far enough in advance to budget for it. I might have gotten just a tad carried away, even so. I'll post the haul on the "what I bought this month" thread...

It was a good time, though, other than general people overload. I was already partway overloaded by the time I got to the show (Austin traffic plus scads of pedestrians? No thanks!), and then the place was far more populated than I was expecting. I wouldn't be surprised to learn there were 500 or so show goers in the vendor area when I arrived. Plus the crowd from some other thing going on at the venue that one had to wade through to get into the place.

Seriously, I did not need a "how to be an activist" flyer from the people in front of the other thing that was going on... But I digress.

I only went to one clinic, which was so-so. They were doing it in an unsegregated area in a hallway, which was... not ideal. It was often hard to hear, let alone to focus. The content was okay, but not what I was hoping for; leaned more toward a layout showcase, rather than "here's how you use the techniques that went into it".

I assume it was a volunteer thing, though, so can't really complain about the content. Besides, it takes guts to get up there and present!

Unfortunately I didn't really get to connect with anyone in any meaningful way; there was way too much overload going on. In other words, par for the course for me.

I'm considering going back tomorrow, if only to look closer at the layouts and get some good pics (the latter of which I mostly failed to do today), but we'll see. I know my tendencies, and I don't know if my bank account can withstand another visit...

@TLOC: On vendors, there were maybe two dozen or so? Some very good ones, and a few that seemed more "half ass hobbyist" types. Only one actual manufacturer type vendor that I'm aware of; I think it was Scale Trains. Just a basic booth, and I didn't get the impression they were actually selling stuff there, just showing it off. Could be wrong though; I didn't really talk to them.

There were a few hobby shops (Harris Hobbies, Brad's Trains, a couple of others), and those seemed to be the place to be -- well, that and two a few other guys who were selling used merchandise, one of which was an estate sale type.

There was a surprisingly good amount of N scale stuff, but it felt like HO was better represented (which will surprise approximately nobody). There was also a fair bit of O, and even some Lego. Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing much in the way of G, though I might have missed it amongst the O; I'm not as naturally familiar with the sizes in the larger scales.

Almost no Z scale products that I saw, though there was one Z layout there.

All in all, it was a worthy shopping experience. I felt like the pricing on new gear was kinda... normal, where I (probably unrealistically) expected it to be at least a little discounted. Not sure what the norm is for shows like that. Used stuff was well represented though, and if you hunted, there were some really good bargains.

Hope that satisfies your desire for knowledge on that score. :)

In any event, I'm going to go post in that other thread, and then... figure out what I'm going to do with all this new stuff!

Hope y'all are having a nice Saturday. :)
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Thank you for the info. I did talk to the son on Saturday before all communication dissolved on the train. He had a friend look on Saturday and pretty much gave the same report. I have a couple items I've been searching for but I told the son not to go just to look for me. I will hit The Original Whistle Stop in Pasadena as it’s a must stop for me. Close by Burbank has at least 1 train shop so I have some choice while here till Wednesday morning.

Thanks again
 
Marlin39 said:
Been without internet for the last 24 hours. Fiber company came out and upgraded our 23 year old boxes to direct FIOS and replaced the router(s).
Stuff is fast now! We had to drop our land line, but that was just there in case cell service went down.

TomO - You're traveling through the middle of WA, OR, and CA until you get a little north of Santa Barbara. Speaking of SB....were you able to detrain for a few minutes there or earlier in San Jose?
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I de-trained in Sacramento for 45 minutes and talked to the conductor, sleeping train attendant and his trainee. Good people who love their jobs, love people and love to travel around the country and get paid for it. Amtrak is vastly understaffed for on train personnel. The chief sleeping train attendant has Amtrak permission for unlimited overtime. He was today on day 42 of working with no time off. Will take a week starting Tuesday and see his wife when she flies into San Antonio. She is a charter jet hostess! Says he just turned 40 and she will next week. Another 5 years and they will both retire.

I also de-trained in Paso Robles for 25 minutes. We arrived at Union Station in LA 28 minutes early.

More tomorrow
 
Well, howdy there internet peeps and those who believe government agencies should all have names from a Monty Python skit.

It's Troy, Minister of wRiting Obtuse And Weird Recitations (ROAWR)

Been awake since 2 am... kept dozing off but not sleeping. My brain wanted me to do something, but it wasn't ready to write. So I sat down with Chatty, and created an alternate "future history" for my book's world. Lots of polytics involved, so I can't share it here. But the names we came up for govt agencies, and the summaries of their policies are gold!

I can't wait to write about NOBER (pronounced like Knobber, and just as effective).

In other news, wife said she wants a BBQ meatloaf this week. So I'm off to the grocery after I shower. I'll mix up the meatloaf and get it in the freezer. Maybe grill it tomorrow.

Then those dastardly doors await me.

It's currently 56 F-degrees here, and Weather Underground says nothing touching the 80s this week. I can wear jeans again!
 


hey coffe and train friends from around the globe!

iam back from vacation and back at work -.-
i checked my work inbox and i can say, i need vacation soon haha.

the last two weeks i was a bit on the road (discgolf tournament in the swiss alps) but also in the layout room.
so here just for you, 3 pictures from the past two weeks.

IMG_0298.JPG


swiss alps hiking on my girlfriends birthday last week. we did around 18km and more or less 700m in hight.

IMG_0334.JPG


i did finish my woodland scenics learning kit video series.
first episode will drop on 1st of september. 4 are done 4 to cut and edit.

E90925A9-4C66-458C-8EBC-4D6B3D752E57.jpg


started a new "small" project in Z scale ;)

oh and i contacted MRR Craftsman, because iam missing my monthly magazines, well my subscription ended in april they told me.. but i could restart it and they will send me the issues i missed :) woohoo.

wish you all a great start for the week.

cheers
Marco
 
TLOC said:
Thank you for the info. I did talk to the son on Saturday before all communication dissolved on the train. He had a friend look on Saturday and pretty much gave the same report. I have a couple items I've been searching for but I told the son not to go just to look for me. I will hit The Original Whistle Stop in Pasadena as it’s a must stop for me. Close by Burbank has at least 1 train shop so I have some choice while here till Wednesday morning.

Thanks again
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If you have time, maybe you can check out Milepost 38/Arnie's Trains. They're in Westminster, in Orange county.
They also are on Ebay, and do mail order.

https://arniesmodeltrains.com/about-us/
 
Morning all,

Temp slowly dropping as it's currently 63° with light rain. Supposed to remain rainy through the morning and cloudy this afternoon. Today's high a near record 70°. I thing the record low-high for this date is either 70° or 71°. Either way a cool day for the end of August.

Not much happening yet today. Responded to some emails from Friday.


Flo: I have time for a cinnamon Roll and coffee this morning.

BBL
 
Good morning gang!!

68° under sunny skies , heading to a high of 78°. Looks like the rest of the week is more of the same , maybe a few degrees cooler. I'll take it!

Flo, Coffee, dark and sweet, along with an egg, bacon and scrapple sandwich on a Kaiser roll please. Oh and a side order of bacon!
 
Good morning all, it's 70F here, heading to 79F today! WOOHOO! Yeah rain in the forecast but......70s! And the best part is the next 10 days are supposed to only be in the 80s for highs. Plan is to work this afternoon, then run to my g'niece's volleyball game, hopefully I can make it. I've been working my way through the Lady Jaz's layout thread and am very impressed, not only with her skill, but the fun she has with the hobby. Hopefully she will return. Gonna go refill the hummingbird feeder in a bit, it is low and gotta keep the little guys happy. Hope you all have a fine day.
 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 74°, mid-90's today and then a really mixed forecast for the next 10 days.
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The rain chance for tomorrow has now been moved (again) and I don't know about Thursday's high of 96° in this string of much lower temperatures. Wind out of the east starting tomorrow which usually means high humidity and rain. Could mean an early end to the pool season this year.

I spent most of yesterday doing household tasks, dishwasher, the usual Sunday bed linen laundry, the prep for the brisket flat and later on I sauteed the last three Yellow Squash from the garden with a couple of onions for supper. Then there was the brisket. Had to remove all of the old ashes before I could start. Smoked it a bit over 2 hours with my own pecan and oak wood, then wrapped it and finished it off in the oven for another 3 hours. I posted a halfway picture yesterday, but forgot to take one when it was finished. It was quite yummy. First time that I had done a brisket flat; I have done many whole ones in the past. I had to monitor this one more closely than my usual smoking adventures, since my smoker is no longer as airtight as it used to be after it took a 25' trip through the yard during last years tornado. Landed upside down as well.
Today will start with the monthly septic maintenance, a few days early and then some yardwork. That's never ending around here. At least I haven't had to climb on the tractor and mow in a couple of weeks! Although that's easy but time-consuming.

Just a brief visit to the train shed yesterday, as is usual for a Sunday. I just did some layout maintenance in an area that a lizard had disrupted. It knocked over a fence and some figures that were just attached with re-positionable glue. A couple of vehicles were moved as well. Took a while as it is in a less than easily accessible spot where I had to use the stepstool to get to. I am height-challenged and this place is at the back of the upper level. I am overrun with these flat lizards this year. While most are outside running up and down the outside walls, there's at least one in the train shed and one in the house also. I have to be vigilant when opening the back door at night, as 2-3 congregate on the full glass, maybe attracted by the light. Bang on the door until they run off, so they don't jump down and land in the house once the door is opened.

Dave - "Forest bathing" - I do that every day just walking to the train shed!;)

Gene Simmons, singer/bassist for KISS is 76 today.
Everybody have a wonderful day today.
 
Good morning all!

Another beautiful Northern Illinois day today. Currently its only 60F and the high may not break 71F. Humidity is dropping and on my
walk this morning it was brisk with a 7MPH wind. Wish I would of taken a sweatshirt, but after a few minutes I warmed up enough to
not need it. Week weather wise looks really good through Labor Day.

Not much going on today. Most everything was accomplished this weekend. Do have a load of towels in the dryer.

Worked a little last night in the train room, but mainly ran trains and looked thru some stuff for eventual sale to thin some
excess rolling stock.

Have a safe day everyone!
 


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