Running Bear's Coffee Shop July 2024

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santafewillie said:
I'm with you, twist ties work for me and they're free at my local grocery store produce department. I also use them to tie bundles of wire together under the layout.
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I buy these 1-gallon storage bags at my local grocery store, Redner's. They have countless uses, they come with twist ties, and they are cheap! As a bonus I end up with dozens of extra twist ties after using two or three boxes of bags. The twist ties also have countless uses. I tie a few together and make any length I need.
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While I'm thinking of it my wife buys Shopper's Value Bleach at Redner's. It's less than half the price of the other brands. I keep forgetting to mention it to you. Your local grocery store might have another private label brand bleach that is cheap. I know you are a "surgical strike" shopper. A trip down the laundry isle might save you a dollar or two.
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Again, while I'm thinking about it I love your vehicles! Especially the Oscar Mayer and Seagram's trucks. Thanks for sharing your layout!
 
KriegslokBR52 said:
Passat for the American market that the quality was disappointing, the Euro Passats are different and in my country (Poland) highly regarded.
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Yeah both the Jetta and Passat for the American market are designed and built especially for the American market. They are mechanically not the same cars as in Europe (obviously related though). They've been dumbed down and made less expensive and cheaper.

The GLI is supposedly the European model still but the base Jettas (the Passat is discontinued) are special US/Canada models dumbed down and made less expensive and typically made in Mexico.

Our 2019 Jetta SEL Premium is fine but is nothing special. We've had no real issues quality wise with it. But it only approximates the Euro with its cheaper solid axle and other short cuts. And cheaper materials. But it works for a family car.
 
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yesterday we hit our first over 100F temperature. It had been 90s the past several days though last wee, we had a cooling period with some days in the 70s or low 80s. We had several previous periods of 95F + that would then moderate but the first over 100 was yesterday. Supposed to get there today and all the rest of the week until Sunday, when it dips back into the 90s all next week (from low to high 90s depending on the day).

The biggest problem is that the over night temps are not going down that much -- just mid to upper 70s though next week it will be lower 70s with one day forecast as 69F low. This is a problem as it doesn't cool the hosue down (new or old) as much even with windows open. We had been having mid to low 60s up until the last couple days which would at least allow an overnight cooling down. This is particularly important as the new house cooling system is not yet active. It doesn't go up that much but with the heat wave is still uppper 70s inside and that will slowly continue without being able to cool back down over night. Most of the heating is through the windows morning and evening. When it's cloudy the rise in the house is 1/2 as much.
 
Well, howdy there internet subjects, and those with cars.

It's Troy again... with a rant or a vent or something... A tale of three Carols, or is it five Caroles???

Got a call from Mother this morning.... She's not accepting food any more.

It's not as bad as it sounds, but... in a different way it is.

She said they keep screwing up her food order. An hour or so before meal time, the kitchen staff bring around a menu card for the next meal. She ticks the boxes of what she wants, and they bring her meal at meal time. She said she ordered coffee and OJ, and got Tea and apple juice.

Mom: "And there are five Carole's on the floor. That slip is Carol without an E. I'm Carole with an E! So I sent it back. They tried to tell me that was me..."

Me: "I heard you got a roommate name Carol as well."

Mom: I don't have a roommate. But there are five of us on this wing... I'm going to keep sending my food back."

So I sent an email to the social worker, asking him to check into it.

He emailed back that there are only THREE Carole/Carols on her wing. Including her roomate Carol.

Which, incidentally, the other Carol, the one Mom forgot was her roomie for the next few weeks, is on American Hospice.

Back to Mom with an E Carole. I'm wondering if she remembers what she orders for each meal? I hope they have the menu cards labelled with room numbers...

Oh boy... this is gonna be a fun summer based on mom's faulty memory. I strongly suspect the issue is at her end, but I thought I'd better ask the social worker to check into it.

In other news... Here's an upcoming little toy soldier project I'm working on. Halflings in balloons, dropping "boom" balls on their enemies. The halfling pilots are separate for now until they're painted. The goblins on the balloons, well.... this is a Mad Max them from the Tom Hardy Fury Road movie... The goblins are there to be "fuel" for the pilots...

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Grizzled said:
Chet, do you recall who made the Willys wagon vehicle? I have a couple made by Mini Cars (Spanish) and those scale out more than a foot too long (oo scale?). Jordan Highway Miniatures apparently made models of those for a couple of years but I have failed to ever find one.
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I believe this may be the Jeep you are referring to. I have two in 1/87, a red one and a blue on. The tan and white is 1/1 scale. I can't remember who made them and do have a number of others, but don't see and names for a manufacturer.
I modeled 1957, the steam to Diesel era and collected the most accurate HO scale vehicles I could find for over 30 years, starting with A;;oy Forms and moving on from there. I probably have around 200 or so put away somewhere. I still have a couple of boxes of what I was able to salvage out of the old layout. Willie has some of it.
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AemJaY1 said:
that BMW is looking really nice. i also like the BMW 2002 Turbo. Great old car!

The 2002 was a fun car, which led to the BMW 3 series. I had a 2002 and traded it for a 2002 tii. The tii suffered a fatal accident when a truck lost control and plowed through some trees into a parking lot where it was parked. Owning the 2002's is what got me so interested in the Bavaria.
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Dawn's visit to the Hospice went well, considering her challenges. Meeting the nurse she likes made a big difference.

Went to McDonald's after. Not keen on them, but Dawn likes their burgers now and then.

Did a mini-shop and topped up on kitchen essentials, plus a bottle of decent wine. That should disappear later.

Now to cook diner.
 
Good morning, all! A warm, muggy morning, with a 70% chance of rain. I can hear thunder in the distance. Finished the front yard clean-up yesterday, limbs piled at the curb for city pick-up, and hundreds of pine cones. Mowed the front yard. 1.1 M Houstonians still without power.
We are supposed to go grocery shopping but holding off because of rain threat.

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STAY SAFE
LATER
 


Cars. Before my son married, the boss of the company he worked for would ask him to take the car to the gas station and 'fill her up'. Next to the gas station was a office employing young ladies. The looks the girls gave on seeing a 18 year old lad driving a Rolls Royce. Priceless.
Then he helped a close friend driving wedding cars. Not to weddings, but to cleaned and polished for their next event. Once again young ladies would see a 'young kid' driving a Daimler or Bentley.
 
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Been away from the forum so long I forgot how to post and comment on posts.

Took my weiners for a ride this morning. Got up to 99 degrees yesterday and may get there again. They love to ride and after doing what they had to do, the went to car and sat. Easy to see what they wanted. Went up the river to a boat landing and picnic area and let them explore before it got hot again.

Willie - Glad you were able to save the market. Wood kits usually don't do well with moisture. I did see the photo. Nice work.

Troy - The weiners sure look good. I was going to put a rib eye on the grill last night but it was too hot.

Karl - My son has already expressed his feeling about me leaving it to him when I croak. Custom built frame with coil overs on the corners with disc brakes with an LS-3 with a Tremec 6 speed overdrive manual transmission. Got to drive it for a while a few weeks ago when I was visiting in Bozeman. Unfortunately, I have no plave to store it here in Libby. It is kept in a temperature controlled shop or showroom. The Jeep and my Hudson Hornet is at my cousins and the Studebaker is ar another cousins place.

Hughie - New cars are a bit of a sore point with me. I watch quite a few blogs about new cars and have to laugh. It seems that the biggest problem with them is the electronics. The build cars, but they're not worth a darn at it and more and they certainly aren't IT gurus. I refuse to buy a new car because of the touchscreen which controls most everything. When I bought that Bavaria, I could afford it, the insurance and rent on an apartment on E-6 pay in the Navy. I found the bill of sale a while back for my '69 Chevelle, $3,264. My '72 Chevy C-20 4x4 pickup, which I still have, with factory A/C was $3,603. A cheap pickup today is somewhere in the 60K range, if not more expensive. The last new car I bought was the Buick that the deer killed. A new car is probably the worst investment one can make today with the price of new vehicles and the interest rates.
Guess I'm just a cranky old fart.

Photos from the archives.

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LATER
 
montanan said:
A new car is probably the worst investment one can make today with the price of new vehicles and the interest rates.
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A new car has always been an absolutely terrible investment. The big difference between old and the now new: once upon a time one could sort of depend on 100k relatively trouble free miles from a new vehicle least maybe if you didn't buy a Renault Dauphine or a Yugo. I didn't get 10 trouble free miles out of my last new vehicle (2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon). I don't have any expectations of ever buying/needing another new vehicle. I have five currently plated vehicles and my sum total yearly mileage is still less than 5k All but one of those have less than 40k miles on the odometer.
 
Grizzled said:
A new car has always been an absolutely terrible investment. The big difference between old and the now new: once upon a time one could sort of depend on 100k relatively trouble free miles from a new vehicle least maybe if you didn't buy a Renault Dauphine or a Yugo. I didn't get 10 trouble free miles out of my last new vehicle (2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon). I don't have any expectations of ever buying/needing another new vehicle. I have five currently plated vehicles and my sum total yearly mileage is still less than 5k All but one of those have less than 40k miles on the odometer.
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JEEP: Just Empty Every Pocket.
 
troyphoto said:
What about Subaru?
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I had a 2003 Forester. Japanese cars traditionally are rust buckets and this one was no different. Decent engine, but about half of Subaru boxer engines needed new head gaskets a lot sooner than expected. If i had my choice and money to burn, i'd buy the 1998 special edition Impreza WRX, the one with blue metallic and yellow numbers, or early 2000s WRX with the funky looking rounded headlights. But then again i like "spirited" driving.
 


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