Running Bear's Coffee Shoppe LIX

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I used to be a fan of the NFL but not too much now. I do have a way to keep Vikings out of your back yard. Just put up a goal post.
 
It's currently 51 and partly sunny - expecting still more scattered showers.

YAY ... Sweet, sweet rain. Official total from a new personal weather station about 1/2 mile from me is 3.92 inches in the past three days. You have to understand that this is 25% of the yearly average for this area.
 


I used to be a fan of the NFL but not too much now. I do have a way to keep Vikings out of your back yard. Just put up a goal post.

Good! But the real issue is can Sherrel"s Packers survive playing inside the Beltway? Go Redskins! :rolleyes:.
 
Good! But the real issue is can Sherrel"s Packers survive playing inside the Beltway? Go Redskins! :rolleyes:.

Redskins look really good. Actually I'm pleased about this with all the grief they have had with the BS over the name and the trials of RG3 (whom I didn't like anyway).
 
Joe - You are the first person that I have seen posting that they would switch back to DC from DCC. I understand the situation you are in already having a DCC system and a bunch of DCC locmotives. Sort of like being between a road and a hard place.

Chet: I'm in the first stage of a build, using sectional track to get an idea how things are going to fit, and I temporarily hook up a DC power supply, because the first engine I reach for is DC. Then it occurs to me, that DC's not so bad after all. Believe me, you can work wonders with DCC, with advance consisting etc., but this is not a club layout or a supersized home layout. My space maxes out at 16'x22.5', and that's around the walls, with a peninsula for variety. Either system will work for me. as it now stands. So, yes, I would go back, if I hadn't invested so heavily into DCC in the past.

I am leaning, toward building the layout to DC Cab control standards, then applying a toggle switch to switch over to DCC control when the mood strikes me. One thing about DCC is you can operate it on a DC layout, without an extensive re-wire, however, the reverse is not true. On a layout wired for DCC, DC operation is limited to one train per power sector. Of course, I'm not currently planning on using my smart phone as an additional controller :rolleyes:, that is, not yet :confused:.
 
I can relate to what you are saying. Getting the initial track work down and testing will probably be a bit easier with DC but then you'll have the wiring in and the conversion to DCC should be relatively simple. For me, when I started my layout, I don't think DCC was even a pipe dream back then. Being that you have already spent the bucks on DCC equipment it really doesn't make sense not to use it.

I know that if I were to have other people operating on my layout that DCC would be a possibility, but as it stands now, I am all by myself up here. Well, not quite, a throttle in one hand and an adut beverage in the other. Makes for a relaxing afternoon.
 
I am leaning, toward building the layout to DC Cab control standards, then applying a toggle switch to switch over to DCC control when the mood strikes me. One thing about DCC is you can operate it on a DC layout, without an extensive re-wire, however, the reverse is not true. On a layout wired for DCC, DC operation is limited to one train per power sector. Of course, I'm not currently planning on using my smart phone as an additional controller :rolleyes:, that is, not yet :confused:.

I had/have the idea of doing exactly that same thing. When I first got my rig going about a year ago, I didn't have a DCC cab but had bought a few engines that were. My other engines were/are DC and a friend had given me an old DC power pack to use in the mean time. All my track feeders come off of a terminal bus and it's fed from the power source be it DC or DCC. Installing a switch wouldn't take more than an hour or so. However, I got over-enthused getting track put down and didn't do any blocking with insulated joiners.
To do blocking on my track now would take some effort however.
I'm likely to leave it all be in the mean time. Actually, I'd be more inclined to put decoders in my DC engines. It'd be nice to see my Chessie U36B or my 2 Sharks run again.
E.
 
Any gun enthusiasts here?
My Marine buddy says a friend of his is unloading his guns on account of his young kids.
The offer today is a Baretta M9 for $200. It's a one-owner gun with original paper work, bill of sale and even the original packaging.
Seems like a pretty decent deal to me.
Thoughts anyone?

If this is inappropriate for me to post about it here, my heart-felt apologies and I'll gladly delete my post.
E.
 


Eric .. If I was 2-300 miles away, rather than 2000, I would jump on it pronto!

That's what I'm thinking as well. Sight unseen, I pretty much told my friend to tell his friend I'd take it. I imagine they'd go for around 5-600 dollars brand new out of the box.
E.
 
I'm interested, but it would have to be shipped to a licensed gun dealer in my state for me to pick it up.
 
Any gun enthusiasts here?
My Marine buddy says a friend of his is unloading his guns on account of his young kids.
The offer today is a Baretta M9 for $200. It's a one-owner gun with original paper work, bill of sale and even the original packaging.
Seems like a pretty decent deal to me.
Thoughts anyone?

If this is inappropriate for me to post about it here, my heart-felt apologies and I'll gladly delete my post.
E.

Heck of a GOOD buy, (don't ask me how I know!) but if it was me I'da kept it on the 'down low' specially nowadays, but oh well, jump thru any local legal hoops with a smile and snap that puppy up PRONTO!
 
I had the doorbell ring and it was a man in Brown who gave me a package I have been waiting for. It was supposed to be two packages but one that was scheduled to be delivered today appears to be stuck in Colorado for the past 3 days.... The one I got is my new toy for my other hobby! Photography. Since my 18-85mm lens decided to go Pffffffftht... and crap out on me and I am not going to spend another $180 sending back to be repaired again... (The problem seems to be rampant with that particular lens.) I decided to get me a bit better piece of glass. This one is an 18mm - 135mm and set me back a little over $600. Got some test photos of it downstairs in the train room just to make sure it works correctly and to see what it can do.

All of these photos were taken with the camera about 3' from the corner you see in the first photo. All photos were done with the aperture stopped down as far as possible (f/22 or above, didn't check how high) in AV Mode on my Digital Rebel Sxi. As I always do with layout shots I used manual focus.

This is at 18mm.

NewGlassTest1w_zpsqrbsb71y.png


These two are at 135mm.

NewGlassTest2w_zpsvlgfj1ll.png


NewGlassTest3w_zpsw5q9c5tm.png


To my old eyes everything I want clean and crisp is clean and crisp... In the second photo I got just about the amount of blurring I was expecting in the foreground... I think I will have fun with this lens!
 
Heck of a GOOD buy, (don't ask me how I know!) but if it was me I'da kept it on the 'down low' specially nowadays, but oh well, jump thru any local legal hoops with a smile and snap that puppy up PRONTO!

No problem with that here in GA. Person to person sales is completely legal here - neither of us are felons.
Guess I might should pull from my IRA and seal the deal just to be sure.

You all stay away from this buy. This is my score!
NG I figured you have strapped one on while in Korea.
Chet, I was wondering if you didn't have one strapped on with the FHP.

YOu guys have convinced me. I'm all in now. The engines can wait.
Deals like this a few and far between. I don't suppose I need to say that.
E.
 
Ray: Wow there is a significant difference in quality using the new lens, vs. the older one. You will have a lot of fun with it. I hope you have good luck with it and get what you want from it.
 
CHET like the SD7 ... So.. what is a Viking with a superbowl ring???

Eric You will certainly never lose money on that deal! I sort of really screwed up in
airizona at a flea market. Friend I was with came upon a widow selling a brand new never fired SW 38 spec for $400.
He didn't have that much cash on him and rather than grab it myself .. I loaned him the money to buy it. Still kicking myself!
 
I just finished installing the new parts BLI sent me for my T1
And one of the wires promptly broke off the connector before it made one lap around my layout.
Anybody wanna buy a BLI T1 4-4-4-4, cheap? Before I set fire to it, and throw its smoldering remains in the dumpster?
The only good BLI steam engine is the BLI steam engine that's in somebody else's house.
 
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CHET like the SD7 ... So.. what is a Viking with a superbowl ring???

Eric You will certainly never lose money on that deal! I sort of really screwed up in
airizona at a flea market. Friend I was with came upon a widow selling a brand new never fired SW 38 spec for $400.
He didn't have that much cash on him and rather than grab it myself .. I loaned him the money to buy it. Still kicking myself!

An ex- Packer.

Terry in Wisconsin
 




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