Running Bear's Coffee Shop LXVI

[IronBeltKen]

Good evening. Happy Independence Day to all who celebrate it!

After all the fireworks that were set off around my neighborhood over the preceding weekend, I'd had my fill of them - so I just spent the evening continuing to work on the terrain of my 'graded' areas (roads & industrial lots). It was a 3-steps-fwd, two steps-backword type of day. I learned some really valuable lessons about what NOT to do with hydrocal, and to keep airbrush-painted road surfaces as far away as possible from 91% ISO alcohol! I used up ~4 hours repairing the damage from those mistakes.

... Ken in MD - I would be very interested in seeing photos of your "grit in paint" textures. I have several areas that I might be able to use that method on. ...

Willie, I haven't actually tried mixing up that textured paint just yet...OTOH, I did find an alternative use for the texturing sand: I can use it to build-up false 'roadbeds' under my painted styrene asphalt roads. I process it similar to ballast, i.e., soak it in alcohol, push it up under the styrene road surface, sculpt it into the proper shape, then soak it with diluted matte medium and give it 12-18 hours to dry. [Will post photos later]

Eric - looks like you can fit a pretty decent-length train on that track setup!

Sherrell - I forgot to compliment your work on the barrels, nice job!

Lots of other interesting discussions going on, but I just don't have enough time to comment on any of them right now - I was supposed to be in bed 30 minutes ago!

G'nite....!

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Finally got a little work done on the bridge but then I got a call from a friend who needed help getting his Decoder Pro going on his Mac. That took a few hours as he had the most current version of JMRI and my version was 3.8.x. I down loaded the most current version then it told me I needed to update my Java, so I did that but then it told me I needed a more current version of Windows. I couldn't do that so I figured I could just try to follow along what he was seeing on his version by working through mine. Then I got the fatal message on my laptop that hard drive failure was imminent. That's when the screen went black, not blue but black with the single dash slowly blinking on and off in the top left of the screen. I had bought that Toshiba laptop back in 2003. I guess it's served its time.
Off to work this morning. Good chance of rain so I guess I'll drive the truck. Cigars tonight at the cigar lounge.

 

[Bruette]

Good morning!

Ken you could have told your friend, "sorry I am on my way to Baltimore for a crab feast/cook out."

It was a good day to ride and cigars are welcome at my house. How long would it take you to ride 1 mile north of the Fort McHenry Tunnel on I95? The visibility was good and that helps to spot the knuckle heads.

 

[bnsf971]

Good morning!

The visibility was good and that helps to spot the knuckle heads.

what about the panheads and shovelheads?

 

[Bruette]

The more people that show up on the 4th of July the less food I have to give/put away. It's true, I have so much I can't give it all away, but we manage to waste very little.

Ken if you do decide to show up one 4th of July, that would be great by the way, bring the truck. My wife will send so much food home with you, it mat not fit it in your saddle bags.

 

[bnsf971]

Good morning. it's 70 and mostly clear.

 

[Bruette]

what about the panheads and shovelheads?

That's the catch Terry, you have to watch for them all. If you drive enough you see most everything twice.

I missed you on 4th of July. How many hours to Baltimore for you?

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning. I love it when I step out on the back porch at 4:00am and it's 80° and 84% humidity...NOT!

Later.
Willie

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Made it through another 4th with out the dogs going bezerk! We managed to leave a couple TV's on loud enough to drown out most of the fireworks, except for a few local blasts.

It was a hot and dry one yesterday at 99.7, and humidity of 13% - today only 96
Spent yesterday afternoon at Spousal Unit's mom's. The 4th is her birthday and it was her 96th!

Spousal Unit and I are off to LA this morning for the pre opt stuff. We will catch the train in Corona this morning - Corona is one and half hours closer via train, but drive time will eat up half the saving.

As Karl says ... L8tr!

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Sounds interesting Louis. I live about 20 minutes from the Nice bridge over the Potomac. I think it might be a two hour drive without traffic to your place. 3-4 hours in holiday traffic.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning again. Well temperature is now at 75° with partly cloudy skies. Radar shows that we just had a thunderstorm in the last hour, but it no rain hit the ground here. Been lightning north of here since about 3:30. Broke the tractor yesterday, looks like a steering knuckle separated. Looks like something that I can fix, but it is near the exhaust and was too hot to touch when it happened. Got into the pool instead and will get at it this morning. It appears to be a press-fit and I am sure that I can jury-rig something to fix it with.
Not much doing in the train shed, as mowing, grilling and relaxing in the pool took priority yesterday. We'll see what today allows.

Eric - Nice space that you have there. Far more than in GA.
Sherrel -

Willie ... I am still trying to think of a reason that she "needs" you around?
They make machines for sex too, so must not be that!
Must be to repair the dishwasher and mow the grass?
I think I might bury that thing in the NE 40! Take the batteries out first soes it can't dig it's self out.

I don't know, I haven't spoken to her in five or six years...can't get a word in edgewise!
Karl - "Mt. Racksmore", I like it.
Ken in MD - That's a drag regarding the rework. I look forward to the pictures using the texturing sand on both projects. I have a lot of blank plywood and need to explore some variety.
Joe - I see that your governor (Christie) has his own private beach island now.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/christie_tans_while_island_beach_homeowners_burn_d.html

Time to go. Everybody have a great day.

Willie

 

[Raincoat2]

Good morning everyone. 71 and rainy here in SW MO - couple of rain days in store and then a fairly nice weekend.

Had the day off work yesterday so slept late and then hit a few stores in town with sales. Spent a good part of the day working on the new section of benchwork for the layout (photo) - it's the part that allows for one of the posts. Got to rip some 2X4's into legs and put the leveler feet in them and then attach to the frame, but that should be done this weekend. Then one more benchwork section to build (or two, depending on how I build it). This will give us the long mainline that serves the other town as well as a logging camp and a coal mine.



Many of you guys (and girls) probably already know this, but about a week ago we were able to get the 10% veteran's discount that Lowe's gives. I've known for years that they gave a discount, but they regularly refused to give it to me because I'm not retired or disabled military (I did a 4 year stint in the navy) and so they said I didn't qualify for their discount. But one of the checkout ladies told me they had a new policy and system, and to go online and fill out their veteran's discount info and it would be tied to my MyLowe's card so the discount would be given every time I shopped there. It's worked every time since then!


Have a good day everyone.

 

[Burlington Bob]

Good morning, America, how are ya? Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! The wife and I went on a long motorcycle ride, came home and had a cookout, then I washed and waxed our Spyder (motorcycle). I rode our motorcycle to watch the fireworks in our town while the wife stayed home with our furkids. She doesn't like fireworks and neither do they. The put on a darn good show for a small town and the acoustics are fantastic. The echoes from the fireworks is just about as good as the fireworks themselves.

I sent for and received my pension info from the Boilermakers Union. Very seriously considering taking it and finding an easier job to get medical insurance til the wife is old enough to get full SS. Then completely retire and move out of Illinois!

Not much (any) modeling done since I got laid off but plenty of riding! Our oldest granddaughter got 4th runner-up at the state competition for Miss Outstanding Teen and our youngest granddaughter had her second birthday on the 3rd of July. Got both of our kids birthdays in the summer and all of our granddaughters........gets expensive but lots of fun!

Everybody stay safe and have a great day!

 

[Boris]

Good morning. 72 and cloudy. Going to be one of those days.

Joe - I see that your governor (Christie) has his own private beach island now.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...rs_burn_d.html

Willie: Poor ole Gov. Christie....his new football shirt has " They Hate Me" on the back. Actually, the true story is even more convoluted. The State provides a Summer Residence for the Governor at the State Park. The park along with all other state parks was closed because the legislature could not agree on a budget. The Senate leader and Assembly Speaker, both members of the same party, could not agree on a provision requiring Tax Exempt Insurer, Horizon Blue Cross, to use part of their 66 Million surplus (2,6 Million was the actual amount), to provide funding for treatment for people addicted to pain killers. The guv, a member of the other party, wanted the initiative, along with the Senate Leader. The Speaker, a shill for the Insurance company, didn't want to use the surplus because it might cause future rate increases. Ergo, the state shut down. The beach was open to all home owners, and all beaches except the state park were open to all comers. Like so many things in NJ, if the media likes you, it's OK, if they don't, look out. Note: people who own homes on state park land, are not ordinary folk, but politically connected folk from both parties. Budget impasse was solved on 7/3. Parks reopened 7/4. Much ado 'bout nuthin. Lots of fake news. Don't Cross the CEO of Blue Cross.

Actually made some progress on the freight station.Photos from the phone want to upload sideways, so I need to get the camera out. it's ready for paint.

 

[GarryCBQ]

Good morning ..... I hope everyone had a good 4th of July. ... We were at a neighborhood party for much of the day.

I rescued these old photos from Photo Bucket. It is my 4th off July parade.





Also, I installed Flickr in my I-Phone . Now, I can conveniently take pictures that go directly into Flickr. I can also copy old I-Phone pictures into my new Flickr account.

Joe .... Thanks for "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey might have said about the beach controversy in NJ.


Edit ... My model train friend, Dan, is expected to be released from the hospital today. He has improved, but he will have a long, difficult recovery at home.

 

[montanan]

Good morning. 59 degrees to start off the day. Going to be hot for us up here, somewhere in the low 90's again. Doggone hot for us up here.

Little Ginger here cools herself off by laying on the floor or the tile in the entry way. She doesn't like the heat.

Had a heck of a weekend and 4th of July. Spent yesterday morning in the hospital emergency room with my wife. She took a fall at the hot spring pool when some kids running around knocked three people over. She was one of them. Has a slight fracture, just a crack in her right foot. Now she'll be wearing a Darth Vader walking boot for a while. Ended up selling all of the cars that were going to go to auction plus a couple more. One of the guys that bought two of the cars contacted his friend out of state who ended up flying in yesterday afternoon and bought a couple that I did not plan to sell yet. He really wanted my '59 Impala, but that one is not for sale. He made quite an offer, but that car is not going any where.

Eric - Did you get to get any trains running on the test track? Won't get into any road names.

Sherrel - Have a nice trip. Hoping everything goes well for you. Keep us updated.

Johnny - Must feel good to have another piece of benchwork done. Things seem to be coming together.

Willie - The repair on the tractor sounds like some procrastination if you get into the pool.

Garry - Nice photos, as usual.

Hopefully I'll get some time to visit my layout soon, Busier than a one armed paper hanger lately.

 

[logandsawman]

Good morning all, it is 72 and headed for 90 today, right now the humidity stands at 82% Getting ready to get my hair cut, the new job starts tomorrow! I guess there is a day of mine safety, even though I am working in the railroad, frac sand is considered the mining industry so that is where training starts.

Fireworks went on last night till 12:30 (or this morning), they started at 9:15. I think it was a little much, but maybe here in the city that is what they always do!

We went to historic Fort Snelling and watched the military recreations, they marched around the parade grounds in the 1820 gear, fired muskets, and re-enacted a battle from the war of 1812. It was a pleasant way to spend the middle part of the day.

Johnny-- your benchwork is looking good!!!

Garry-- never thought of creating a parade in the model. Nice job!

 

[Bruette]

Sounds interesting Louis. I live about 20 minutes from the Nice bridge over the Potomac. I think it might be a two hour drive without traffic to your place. 3-4 hours in holiday traffic.

Ken, D&J I forgot about northern VA/DC traffic. In the last 10 years I've only been on 495 a few times. Maryland has options to avoid traffic. The Key bridge is a good option to my house if the tunnels get backed up.


It's 79 with 69% humidity under my car port in southeast Baltimore. A comfortable 72 with 56% humidity in my basement.


Chet! HEY CHET! Can you believe I went through 2.5L of Rum and less than .5L of Whiskey?! What is my world coming to. Of course that does not take into consideration the other libations.

Yesterday I had a few Yuengling lager beers and my favorite, Irish Glory, real Irish Poitin from west Cork Ireland. Just so happens to be where my grandmother Kelly came from. Fill a 16oz glass with 3 shots of Poitin, fill cup with ice, top off with lemonade. Add to a blender to crush ice, serve immediately. Refreshing on a hot day. Caution: Alternate with beer to avoid falling on your face.

 

[montanan]

Louis - It is hard to believe that you went through more rum than whiskey. I haven't had a Yuengling in years, but have enjoyed them. I am a big fan of micro brews and am willing to try any of them.

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Hot as Hades today..until late Oct. I completed day two of the pressure washing and everything is done except the pool area. We have some stucco damage I found today so I will be repairing that very soon. The work is never done when you own a house. I received in the mail the corrugated roofing from I believe is from wild west models (it's something west. I'm too lazy to walk upstairs to see. It's made out of a heavy paper with a silver-ish finish that you can paint, put A&I on, or use powders. It looks interesting and I wanted to play with it. They also make some really nice looking shingles.

Johnny- I look forward to seeing your progress.

Bob- Sounds like good times.

Joe- I believe very little on the news these days. Everyone has a agenda and tell half-truths to make their story slant the way they want.

Garry- Very nice modeling and photos.

Chet- Ginger would probably melt here if she thinks it is hot there.

VA Ken/Louis- I think you guys hit on the weakness of chat rooms earlier. The people you find that you would probably be friends with locally live hundreds or thousands of miles away. The upside is you find friends that you would never of met otherwise without the internet.

I hope everyone has a good night.