Running Bear's December 2025 Coffee Shop

[Texas Hobo]

Hughie: Did you know that the car is really a tank car inside? My dad also worked for Linde after he was discharged from the Marine Corps.

No, I didn't know that.

 

[Texas Hobo]

I'm going to guess that the new style tanks began appearing in the early 1970s. Cars loaded with Aragon would pop ogg vapor from the pressure valve on cold nights and made yard employees nervous.

We had a Linde unit within the Union Carbide plant. The Linde unit separated oxygen and nitrogen. I was assigned that unit for about 3 years. Working with high pressure oxygen requires some very strict rules. Just a drop of hydrocarbon would be disastrous. Spark proof tools had to be used and oil free.

 

[Bruette]

What is the scent of a cent?

Not too good these days.

Nope, I'm counting down til Daytona!

And I am happy for you!

tough question, but after a few more beers I still won't have the answer or really care
.

You’re the kind of man who stays composed while many others transform into a beer-fueled expert on everything.

 

[Bruette]

Good morning, Everyone!

I'm beginning to feel like me again. Thank God for antibiotics and for doctors who are smart enough to know when to prescribe them. Most of all for my wife for making my hard headed go to urgent care.

Enjoy you day Everyone!

 

[Kusojiji]

Glad you are feeling better!

 

[troyphoto]

Sounds like a bunch of schitt to me.

But,...
Does the Schitt Schtinctk?

 

[bnsf971]

But,...
Does the Schitt Schtinctk?

Only if you throw it hard enough.

 

[Kusojiji]

I was going to try that American beer with the Chinese name, but this called my name harder...

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good morning! It's Saturday, 25°F and partly cloudy. Have a good day!

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

27° under clear skies looking for a high today of 41° tomorrow a tic warmer getting closer to 50.

Of this early this morning because of the dogs. They decided at 4 AM and it was time to wake daddy and get let out and get their breakfast. Later on, I’ll be heading out to grab some last-minute things and some stocking stuffers. Hopefully I can get to town right before the stores open and I can get done and back before lunch. Wish me luck.

FLO my dear, can I get a plate of biscuits and gravy like Bill has? It looks so yummy!


BBL

 

[SD40 Jim]

Hughie: Did you know that the car is really a tank car inside? My dad also worked for Linde after he was discharged from the Marine Corps

lemme get this straight . . . they fill a tank with a highly combustable gas inside one of the cheapest boxcars known to man (Life-Like) and your supposed to run it on your layout?
Sounds like a recipe for disaster

 

[SD40 Jim]

Of this early this morning because of the dogs. They decided at 4 AM and it was time to wake daddy and get let out and get their breakfast.

gotta love them. My dog did the same.
You just can't say no . . .

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps and those who can say no

It's Troy the meanie again

Seems I offended the Lord of Fuzzbum's sensibilities last evening and this morning. I put the hairball gel on his paw!

Cue the Outrage

Roll the indignity

Never has one feline been so traumatized

To have to lick the tuna flavored gel off his paw

How dare they do this to me!

You see, I only did it because I found a cat turd on the stair landing. He's been using his box. But I started mixing Senior Kibbles in with his Weight and Hairball control kibbles.

If he's using the stair landing, he's feeling something isn't right. So we start with the hairball gel for a few days.

In other news, my new game books arrived from the UK yesterday. I only had three emails from UPS...
1: you'll get it 6:15 to 9:15p
2. we'll be early! 1:45 to 4:30!
3. Nope, we're back to 6:30 to 9:30

Got the "Delivered" Notice at 6:00. They were both Early, and Late!

Two books and a map of the fictional game world!

And for those of you who are Eggs of Hades connesieurs, I spotted this on the book of faces:

I'm not sure if adding the Baby Jesus decor will cut down on the Scent of Sulfur after the eggs start working on the lower GI tact?
Alas, I'm not one for eggs, no matter which variety. If you try it, let us know if the Sctench is reduced or not.

 

[migalyto]

gotta love them. My dog did the same.
You just can't say no . . .

Mine wouldn't let me say know, she is very persistent when she wants something!

This is the Queen of our hour house on her throne waiting for a crumb to fall!

 

[RhB Michael]

37°F here in corn country, heading for 55°F. The temperature is supposed to be up and down for the next few days with today on the warmer side, 44°F tomorrow, and then a slow climb toward the 60s°F starting Monday.

Watched It's a Wonderful Life last night. I was just flipping through programming and decided since I hadn't seen it in a decade it might be worth seeing again. In color too. Strange seeing it in color, but it was as good as always.

Nothing planned today and nothing to fix. Have a great day today!

Servus!

 

[Bruette]

I was going to try that American beer with the Chinese name, but this called my name harder...
View attachment 251993

I would have gone with the Yuengling. An Anglicized version of "Jüngling", its founder's surname and the German term for a "young person" or "youngster". German, not Chinese. In Hungary, members of the Jüngling family are considered part of the nobility.

Yuengling Traditional Lager is one of the best beers made in the USA. Established in 1829, Yuengling is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States, and largest wholly American-owned brewery in the United States. And now I want one!

I’m not a fan of stouts, but from what I know, you chose one of the best. Enjoy your coffee/chocolate/beer.

If you try it, let us know if the Sctench is reduced or not.

It wouldn't make any difference. A side effect of pancreatitis is flatulence, and it can reach maximum stench regardless of what I eat. God bless my wife for putting up with me!

This is the Queen of our hour house on her throne waiting for a crumb to fall!

I'm glad to see you know your place peasant.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and 50° out there when I look at the sky and the thermometer. My version of a weather app. Confirmed by the Weather Underground station around the corner. Looking for upper-70's today and a brief cool cloudy spell tomorrow at 60°. NWS is now forecasting 80's for Christmas Day and the following two days. Record high for Christmas Day here is 83°, last reached in 2021. This weather is great for us humans, but really jacks with the tree's dormant period. Might rain on the 29th!

I'll start in another hour or so with slicing 12# of turkey and ham for the my side of the family Christmas get-together this afternoon. As I posted last week, 51 persons are expected to attend at my brother's home in Dallas. Our biggest gathering in a couple of years. Looks like 8-first generation, 23-second generation and 20-third generation. And there's 14 others who are out of town and won't be attending, including my son and his family.
Nothing else on today's agenda at this time.

Nothing special about yesterday, the usual household tasks; dishwasher, laundry, trash removal etc. Surgery recovery is still proceeding, albeit slower than I wish; but it is supposed to take time. It's not the actual heart ablation, but the entry points that are taking their sweet time about healing. I may be being a little too cautious, but I don't want to take any chances. Next medical follow-up is on the 29th, so I'll know more then. I really miss being more physical right now, especially with our great weather.

We're not too sure what to think about all of the legacy media hype about rising health costs next year due to the BBB passed last summer. We received our drug plan estimate yesterday, and with no change in coverage, our monthly premium will go down by $21/month! It does remain to be seen if our supplemental insurance goes up and we already know Medicare will go up. Medicare never goes down! So right now, it's break-even for us.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I continued with my personal 10 Days of Christmas. Since I won't be out there today, I did days 5 & 6 together. Both were easy. For Day 5, I opened, inspected and tested an Atlas Trainmaster RTR 68' bulkhead flat car, lettered for Trailer Train.

Nothing special here other than a sagging coupler caused by the coupler box cover not being completely screwed down. Easy fix. Got no flash with the truck tuner, unlike the Walther's cars earlier in the week. Atlas has used Accumate couplers for years now, and despite them being plastic, I have never had one fail; so I will leave it alone. After weathering, this car will get a pipe load made from plastic soda straws. I did pull out another car from the stash, but I'll save it for posting tomorrow morning.
Put a little running time on the SD40-2 fleet to keep the engineers happy. I also gave a shot of matte medium to the previous four cars shown last week. They're now ready for their photos and entry into the database.

Louis - Good call. Working in the cold rain isn't good for anyone's health. Glad to read that you're feeling better today.
Yes! The plumber's labor charge was very reasonable to me. But I did give him training on the repair of an electric tankless water heater. Even gave him a busted heating element to use when he is training those apprentice plumbers in his new added gig.
Jacob - I run DC and used red and black 16 gauge for track power. My lighting/accessory buss is also red & black, but 20 gauge.
Gary B - The warning for CoQ10 and blood thinners only applies if you are taking warfarin. I take Eliquis and there is no harmful interaction.
Joe - Good luck with the relocation. I fully understand the circumstances.
Founding member and on and off drummer for KISS, Peter Criss, is 80 today. While they were OK, I never really got into their music and never bought any of their albums.
Everybody have a great Saturday.

 

[Marlin39]

Mine wouldn't let me say know, she is very persistent when she wants something!

This is the Queen of our hour house on her throne waiting for a crumb to fall!

This is where Sugar goes when she is in arthritic pain and wants to be left alone.

 

[TLOC]

Good Morning All. Clear and 50° out there when I look at the sky and the thermometer. My version of a weather app. Confirmed by the Weather Underground station around the corner. Looking for upper-70's today and a brief cool cloudy spell tomorrow at 60°. NWS is now forecasting 80's for Christmas Day and the following two days. Record high for Christmas Day here is 83°, last reached in 2021. This weather is great for us humans, but really jacks with the tree's dormant period. Might rain on the 29th!

I'll start in another hour or so with slicing 12# of turkey and ham for the my side of the family Christmas get-together this afternoon. As I posted last week, 51 persons are expected to attend at my brother's home in Dallas. Our biggest gathering in a couple of years. Looks like 8-first generation, 23-second generation and 20-third generation. And there's 14 others who are out of town and won't be attending, including my son and his family.
Nothing else on today's agenda at this time.

Nothing special about yesterday, the usual household tasks; dishwasher, laundry, trash removal etc. Surgery recovery is still proceeding, albeit slower than I wish; but it is supposed to take time. It's not the actual heart ablation, but the entry points that are taking their sweet time about healing. I may be being a little too cautious, but I don't want to take any chances. Next medical follow-up is on the 29th, so I'll know more then. I really miss being more physical right now, especially with our great weather.

We're not too sure what to think about all of the legacy media hype about rising health costs next year due to the BBB passed last summer. We received our drug plan estimate yesterday, and with no change in coverage, our monthly premium will go down by $21/month! It does remain to be seen if our supplemental insurance goes up and we already know Medicare will go up. Medicare never goes down! So right now, it's break-even for us.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I continued with my personal 10 Days of Christmas. Since I won't be out there today, I did days 5 & 6 together. Both were easy. For Day 5, I opened, inspected and tested an Atlas Trainmaster RTR 68' bulkhead flat car, lettered for Trailer Train.
View attachment 252015
Nothing special here other than a sagging coupler caused by the coupler box cover not being completely screwed down. Easy fix. Got no flash with the truck tuner, unlike the Walther's cars earlier in the week. Atlas has used Accumate couplers for years now, and despite them being plastic, I have never had one fail; so I will leave it alone. After weathering, this car will get a pipe load made from plastic soda straws. I did pull out another car from the stash, but I'll save it for posting tomorrow morning.
Put a little running time on the SD40-2 fleet to keep the engineers happy. I also gave a shot of matte medium to the previous four cars shown last week. They're now ready for their photos and entry into the database.

Louis - Good call. Working in the cold rain isn't good for anyone's health. Glad to read that you're feeling better today.
Yes! The plumber's labor charge was very reasonable to me. But I did give him training on the repair of an electric tankless water heater. Even gave him a busted heating element to use when he is training those apprentice plumbers in his new added gig.
Jacob - I run DC and used red and black 16 gauge for track power. My lighting/accessory buss is also red & black, but 20 gauge.
Gary B - The warning for CoQ10 and blood thinners only applies if you are taking warfarin. I take Eliquis and there is no harmful interaction.
Joe - Good luck with the relocation. I fully understand the circumstances.
Founding member and on and off drummer for KISS, Peter Criss, is 80 today. While they were OK, I never really got into their music and never bought any of their albums.
Everybody have a great Saturday.

Unfortunately the insurance thing for me is real. Congrats to you that you are not affected. My biggest gripe is a company that I had my health insurance with for almost 30 years could drop me because of pre-existing conditions. None of those conditions were there 30 years ago and other than the diabetes not even 15 years ago. Because I was refused insurance by them that opened me to the greediness of the insurance companies. But it is what it is. We could have gone with a plan that only added a 150 a month but co-pays were astronomical and no out of network coverage. Out of network is big for us because we still plan to travel.

When Congress recessed the other day and the party in charge with “the plan” said nothing more will be discussed, I moved the money to the self funded mechanism that the accountants created. We will find out at tax time in 2027 if what we are doing will cause a tax audit

TomO

 

[Marlin39]

Unfortunately the insurance thing for me is real. Congrats to you that you are not affected. My biggest gripe is a company that I had my health insurance with for almost 30 years could drop me because of pre-existing conditions. None of those conditions were there 30 years ago and other than the diabetes not even 15 years ago. Because I was refused insurance by them that opened me to the greediness of the insurance companies. But it is what it is. We could have gone with a plan that only added a 150 a month but co-pays were astronomical and no out of network coverage. Out of network is big for us because we still plan to travel.

When Congress recessed the other day and the party in charge with “the plan” said nothing more will be discussed, I moved the money to the self funded mechanism that the accountants created. We will find out at tax time in 2027 if what we are doing will cause a tax audit

TomO

Our Supplemental Part G is only going up about $40 for the both of us combined next year. Our Prescription Part D is dropping to $0 monthly premium and an 8% increase in deductible which is still negligable. We've been fortunate so far.