Running Bear's August 2026 Coffee Shop

[bnsf971]

I know Proboards has a free forum option. “If” Bob decides he doesn’t want to keep paying to keep the forum up, that is an option. I wouldn’t want to do that unless he makes that decision, though. It’s a way, not perfect, to continue on.

 

[RhB Michael]

Grass finished, beer run completed, now on to lunch. This looks to be the pick day of the week temperature-wise, so I'm taking advantage of it in the back yard this afternoon.

Yesterday morning it was raining. I always check the yard for critters after the skunk encounter a few weeks ago, and who do I see digging divots in my back yard?

I'm wondering if this armadillo is the same one that came waddling though here two years ago as a pup. When he visited the first time he couldn't have been mor than 10" or so without his tail. This big guy is all of 18" without his tail Probably a full 3' including his tail.

He meandered around digging up my yard, but when he got closer I walked out and chased him off. Their eyesight is really poor so I was nearly right on him before he took notice of me. He turned around and waddled out of the yard to dig in the neighbors yard I guess.

They like to dig for grubs and worms, especially after a rain when they come closer to the surface.

Lisl killed one of the pups three years ago, and I'm thinking this is his littermate.

 

[ctclibby]

Good Morning All!
57F @ 58% still a little smoke in the upper atmosphere. Can see the near by hills/mountains pretty clear.

I ended up staying 'logged in' all night. Tried to 'logout' multiple times with the dreaded db error message, so gave up closing FF.
Forum is loosing folks, there is nothing close to the number of active users as was in days past. Hopefully they come around and at least check in every once in awhile.

I suspect that both Bots and Hardware are leading to the errors. The 'unexpected db error' is a generic one, as you do not want to show any user the real error which *could* expose something unwanted. Bots do a 'wget' or the like for the index page, then process all the links returned, doing another wget for each of those links .. and down the pages we go ad-nauseam. There are years of data available - take a look at the bottom of the pages for a specific topic, say 'General discussions' - 378 pages. Bots don't care as there are many pages of data are available and each of those are fetched. Apache, PHP and MySql do what they are supposed to do and the data gets queue's in the output buffers. With Bots, there could be a ton of data waiting to go out and Apache does a round-robin get and send. How many child processes is Apache using? There is a limit of 20,000 set in Apache code, so is there room to play? Besides that, hardware is also one of those limits - specifically memory.
I have a ~12yo server: DL360gen9 with 128Gig of memory - It processes each request in 10's of microseconds; with roundtrip of the data ~1000's times the request time, Gigabit network: I am image based, hence a lot longer RT vs html (text) . Keep in mind that each request is processed serially, IE one at a time. With a gigabit network, it looks to the user tons of requests are processed per second. My site's are different than this site - there are no links on the index.html page which uses JavaScript to do some housekeeping then calls PHP for further processing. There still are not any links on any of the pages - all are form based where a button or image needs to be clicked to continue. Bots can not click a form button or image from afar.

Bottom line: Hang in there y'all, it will get better.

Why are Koalas not really Bears? They do not have Koalafications.

L8r

 

[Texas Hobo]

At the moment, only Willy and I are logged in members. There are however 1161 guests.
Yesterday was Dr. consultation day. Not all bad news, not all good news. A few more tests seem to be in order.
No trains have been run for a couple of days. Hopefully I can cure that later

STAY SAFE (visit the diner when you can)
LATER

 

[Texas Hobo]

Have you ever wondered why, with so many guests, our membership doesn't seem to grow?

 

[santafewillie]

Have you ever wondered why, with so many guests, our membership doesn't seem to grow?

I wonder whether those guests have as much trouble navigating the site as we members do???

 

[kbkchooch]

I wonder whether those guests have as much trouble navigating the site as we members do???

I agree, who would want to join something that is a P.I.A to sign into??

 

[montanan]

Thanks
Todd - I had tried to log on a number of times and yesterday really had me frustrated. Tomorrow I have a meeting with a model railroader who is with the modular HO group in Kalispell. They operate on the first Saturday of the month at the Red Lion Hotel. He is into logging and wants what I have. Will be meeting him at Happy's Inn. Half way ain't bad.

I made progress on the shelf layout for those of you that haven't seen my other post. The guardrails came in. It took a lot longer to put in than I thought. To begin with, I missed having some of the tools that I would have liked to have had, plus at my age, the dexterity isn't as good as it used to be.

Here the photo shows how much larger the shelf looks with the mirror. Getting the grass in between the road and rails was quite a job too.

Here's a closer photo of Tschache Oil. I have to figure out sone piping for loading fuel into the trucks.

Here again the mirror enlarges the scene.

This shows the homes.

Here if you look carefully, you can see kids on swings behind the pickup and fence. On the other side of the building there is a laundry line.

Here's the whole shelf. Not much more work, but the hard part willbe either getting, finding or inventing what I need for more details. I am not looking forward to painting figures.

I have been having problems with Logan Health in Kalispell trying to get an extension of financial aid. Can't get through on the phone or have them return calls. I had to post phone a conference call with an Onocologist today but that didn't happen because I didn't get an MRI and blood tests. I was never advised about this so I spent a good part of yesterday contacting the hospital here in Libby making appointments for the tests and then setting a date for the conference.

Willie - There's nothing really wrong with the old Athearn kits. Many moons ago when I was just getting into custom painting and weathering, I bought a raft of Athearn undecorated cars. They were all black. Here's one of many I did for the Gallatin Canyon & Western, A railroad for a friend. He unfortunately passed away befor ewe completed his layout. His wife said that I may as well keep the as I would have more use for them than she would. He had custom decals made for his railroad. I wish I coulod have afforded it when I did mine.

I have to get out of here and head to the kitchen. Have to get started. I make recipes
that I can get multiple meals out of and stash in the freezer.

Todd - That piece of OSB didn't go to waste.

LATER

 

[Snowman]

Well, FWIW, I logged in fine. Took less than 15s.
Haven't been in for a fair while, and forum issues aren't the problem. Just no time.

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps that those afflicted with gremlins

It's Troy again

Wife wanted Pizza again. I know, you're shocked! No pics since I wasn't sure if the gremlins were going to wake up.

Pizza gives us two evening meals unless we go to pizza king. We could get the larger pie there and bring some home, but never do. Might be worth a few bucks to get a second meal out of it.

Made the mistake of thinking I could try a short walk. Maybe a quarter mile, after we got home. NOPE! Maybe did an eighth of a mile, and had to stop twice for the piriformis to settle down. It's still grumpy at me from that experience, and I got back fifteen minutes ago.

Not much else to report. Standing and walking still hurt. It's about time to go lay on the heating pad and watch stupid videos on youtube.

 

[DeaconKC]

Good evening folks, it did hit 100 today. Lunch was very nice nine of us altogether from Church and the restaurant is a really pretty place. Looks over the lake and the food was good. Got on quickly this afternoon and it is behaving right now. Trying to learn some new apps to replace the cable stations we gave up yesterday. Tomorrow morning heading to Conway to help set up for the weekend show. Cross your fingers for me that I can sell most of the stuff I'm taking. I think I may try to build a board of some sort to hold a HO and N scale track. Hmm, could use it for programming as well as just testing. I do have Unitrack in both scales, so it would be pretty straightforward. Wish me luck!

 

[migalyto]

I'm wondering if this armadillo is the same one that came waddling though here two years ago as a pup. When he visited the first time he couldn't have been mor than 10" or so without his tail. This big guy is all of 18" without his tail Probably a full 3' including his tail.

Learn something new everyday.

I had no idea Armadillos were even in Illinois, so i had to look.

Here is the overview:

Armadillos are not native to Illinois, but they have been moving in from the south and are expanding their range northward over the last several decades. Nine-banded armadillo sightings have been documented in southern Illinois since 1979, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is tracking recent sightings in the northern edge-expansion counties.

Overview of Armadillos in Illinois​

Armadillos are not originally from Illinois, but they have been gradually expanding their range northward from southern states. The nine-banded armadillo is the species that has been documented in Illinois.

History of Sightings​

• First Documented Sightings: Armadillos were first reported in southern Illinois in 1979.
• Current Range: As of now, they are found in nearly half of Illinois, with sightings extending as far north as Sangamon County.

 

[Kusojiji]

not native to Illinois

They not getting help in moving? I have seen people in Japan keeping meerkats of all things. So cute and cuddly and ready to chew your head off and destroy the ecosystem in their non-native land.

 

[Snowman]

Learn something new everyday.

I had no idea Armadillos were even in Illinois, so i had to look.

Here is the overview:

Armadillos are not native to Illinois, but they have been moving in from the south and are expanding their range northward over the last several decades. Nine-banded armadillo sightings have been documented in southern Illinois since 1979, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is tracking recent sightings in the northern edge-expansion counties.

Overview of Armadillos in Illinois​

Armadillos are not originally from Illinois, but they have been gradually expanding their range northward from southern states. The nine-banded armadillo is the species that has been documented in Illinois.

History of Sightings​

• First Documented Sightings: Armadillos were first reported in southern Illinois in 1979.
• Current Range: As of now, they are found in nearly half of Illinois, with sightings extending as far north as Sangamon County.

I believe they are technically known as "Illidillos" up in Illinois. Just sayin'.
(Hey, I work with what I've got...which ain't a lot.)

 

[kbkchooch]

Learn something new everyday.

I had no idea Armadillos were even in Illinois, so i had to look.

Here is the overview:

Armadillos are not native to Illinois, but they have been moving in from the south and are expanding their range northward over the last several decades. Nine-banded armadillo sightings have been documented in southern Illinois since 1979, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is tracking recent sightings in the northern edge-expansion counties.

Overview of Armadillos in Illinois​

Armadillos are not originally from Illinois, but they have been gradually expanding their range northward from southern states. The nine-banded armadillo is the species that has been documented in Illinois.

History of Sightings​

• First Documented Sightings: Armadillos were first reported in southern Illinois in 1979.
• Current Range: As of now, they are found in nearly half of Illinois, with sightings extending as far north as Sangamon County.

I’m surprised they can get passed RT 70 without getting squashed.

 

[santafewillie]

I had no idea Armadillos were even in Illinois, so i had to look.

Please welcome our fauna to your state.
The nine-banded armadillo is the "Small State Mammal" in Texas. The Longhorn is the "Big State Mammal". We also have a "Flying State Mammal" as well, the Mexican free-tailed bat, which sometimes overwhelms the Austin area. I believe that Tom O's son has made a fortune relocating bats in Austin.
Not meaning to contradict Michael, but Armadillos would rather eat termites, beetles, grubs and ants; especially fire-ants. At least here in the Lone Star State. I currently have a family of them living under the collapsed floor of my tornado-ravaged barn. Another odd fact, is that the mother always gives birth to identical quadruplets.
Young ones are quite cute, from 2017.

And yes, they are quite blind.
Here's the mama of that one, picture taken 5 months earlier after she got too destructive in the garden.

They need to be coaxed into the trap by setting 2"x 8" boards in a V-shaped trough to direct then into the trap. You cannot bait the trap, since they only eat what they dig up themselves.

 

[DeaconKC]

Learn something new everyday.

I had no idea Armadillos were even in Illinois, so i had to look.

Here is the overview:

Armadillos are not native to Illinois, but they have been moving in from the south and are expanding their range northward over the last several decades. Nine-banded armadillo sightings have been documented in southern Illinois since 1979, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is tracking recent sightings in the northern edge-expansion counties.

Overview of Armadillos in Illinois​

Armadillos are not originally from Illinois, but they have been gradually expanding their range northward from southern states. The nine-banded armadillo is the species that has been documented in Illinois.

History of Sightings​

• First Documented Sightings: Armadillos were first reported in southern Illinois in 1979.
• Current Range: As of now, they are found in nearly half of Illinois, with sightings extending as far north as Sangamon County.

I'm amazed IL Conservation was allowed to admit they have them. Their main office in Springfield denied for years that mountain lions were in the Southern part of the state even though their were many credible witnesses. Finally too many pictures and dead cattle showed up and they had to admit it.

Got the test track put together, just some Unitrack in HO and N held onto a foamcore board with double sided foam tape. Gives me a short, easy to use test/programming track for shows or here.

 

[santafewillie]

I noticed Bob was logged on a few minutes ago. If he comes back, thanks for whatever you did to soothe the forum today.

 

[DeaconKC]

@montanan , Chet I have been using acrylic paint pens from Hobby Lobby and am in love with them for details as I am using tri-focals now myself. Very handy for smaller stuff, especially as I do N scale.

 

[Marlin39]

Please welcome our fauna to your state.
The nine-banded armadillo is the "Small State Mammal" in Texas. The Longhorn is the "Big State Mammal". We also have a "Flying State Mammal" as well, the Mexican free-tailed bat, which sometimes overwhelms the Austin area. I believe that Tom O's son has made a fortune relocating bats in Austin.
Not meaning to contradict Michael, but Armadillos would rather eat termites, beetles, grubs and ants; especially fire-ants. At least here in the Lone Star State. I currently have a family of them living under the collapsed floor of my tornado-ravaged barn. Another odd fact, is that the mother always gives birth to identical quadruplets.
Young ones are quite cute, from 2017.View attachment 272362
And yes, they are quite blind.
Here's the mama of that one, picture taken 5 months earlier after she got too destructive in the garden.
View attachment 272364
They need to be coaxed into the trap by setting 2"x 8" boards in a V-shaped trough to direct then into the trap. You cannot bait the trap, since they only eat what they dig up themselves.

Aren't these also the only non-human leprosy vector?