Running Bear's January 2025 Coffee Shop

[westtexjohn]

Here in Jersey the surcharge is 4%. Gas stations add 10¢/gallon for CC usage. I'm back to writing checks and gassing up at Clubs like Costco. Greed vs. Greed with the consumer caught in the middle.

Speaking of greed, one dozen extra large eggs at my grocery store in Seymour Texas priced at.......$6.05

It wasn't that long ago you could buy small, medium large and extra large eggs for 39, 49, 59 and 69 cents a dozen.
Avocados used to be 69 cents each.....now $2.69 each.

Thats OK.......my 2.5% increase in Social Security put me right up there with the "rich and famous".

Have a great day.......John

 

[chadbag]

Eggs is not so much greed. My understanding is that the bird flu that has been heavily spreading has wiped out a lot of the laying hens (significant percentage) Either from them getting it or culling the populations where it is discovered in some birds to try and nip it in the bud.

This is why stores only get small shipments in and why they are expensive - supply and demand. Low supply, high demand.

 

[jmupton2000]

Ebay in the UK are about to add buyer fees (approximately 4% of the Buy it Niw or final hammer price plus 0.75p 'Buyer Protection Charge') from early February.

In addition, they are going to hold on to all funds for 14 days from dispatch date or two days after confirmed tracked delivery!!!

People who sell things in small envelopes face not only waiting a fortnight for their money but also additional posting costs to used unreliable tracked services.

Needless to say, a lot of cottage industry small items sellers are set to jump ship at the end of January!

Meanwhile, I attended my local model rail show in Bognor Regis this morning: Not easy to see the exhibits after the first hour due to the cramoed school sports hall used but always worth a visit.

I succumbed to another SP Proto 2000 SD9...

 

[Boris]

Anyone ever worked for a company like this

Yes - Conrail and before them, Penn Central.

 

[Bruette]

As I was getting ready for bed last night Angela said, "is something open, I feel cold air" Nothing was open, but the furnace had been off long enough for the temperature to drop to 60.

I switched on the electric fireplace in the living room and headed downstairs.

The fault code showed a pressure switch failure, which worried me. That happened 4-5 years ago, it turned out to be the motherboard. I doubt I could rig something to make the furnace work if it is the motherboard. I got the motherboard from Amazon for under $90. It's probably $200 now.

I went through the motions hoping it was the pressure switch. I pulled it and tested it, "go to war miss Agnes" it's bad! Holy good fortune batman, I have one! Now where did I put it? Only ten minutes searching and I had the new one in my hand. A few minutes later and the furnace is working again.

I bought the pressure switch before replacing the motherboard. I ordered it without having checked it first. A true "parts changer" boneheaded move. That turned out to be dumb luck.

The only spare part I had was the one I needed. How is that for luck? The real luck was that I didn't return it. Luck or lazy, either way it worked out good for me.

"I'd rather be lucky than good." Being warm is nice too.

 

[migalyto]

As I was getting ready for bed last night Angela said, "is something open, I feel cold air" Nothing was open, but the furnace had been off long enough for the temperature to drop to 60.

I switched on the electric fireplace in the living room and headed downstairs.

The fault code showed a pressure switch failure, which worried me. That happened 4-5 years ago, it turned out to be the motherboard. I doubt I could rig something to make the furnace work if it is the motherboard. I got the motherboard from Amazon for under $90. It's probably $200 now.

I went through the motions hoping it was the pressure switch. I pulled it and tested it, "go to war miss Agnes" it's bad! Holy good fortune batman, I have one! Now where did I put it? Only ten minutes searching and I had the new one in my hand. A few minutes later and the furnace is working again.

I bought the pressure switch before replacing the motherboard. I ordered it without having checked it first. A true "parts changer" boneheaded move. That turned out to be dumb luck.

The only spare part I had was the one I needed. How is that for luck? The real luck was that I didn't return it. Luck or lazy, either way it worked out good for me.

"I'd rather be lucky than good." Being warm is nice too.

Better go out and get a few lottery tickets.

 

[Bruette]

The young, well coached Houston Texans are a fun team to watch. The defense can play lights out. Thier young quarterback is destined to be a star in the NFL. This may not be their year, but it is coming!

In the first half they had 3 punts, a fumble, and an interception. All the while holding the Chargers to 2 field goals. Chargers 6 Texans 0.

The Texans first scoring drive of the half that began on their own one-yard line. The drive was kept alive after the young quarterback fumbled a snap in the shotgun. He alertly picked up the ball and scrambled for room to throw for a 34-yard gain. They capped off the 99-yard drive with a touchdown.

After kicking off to the Chargers they forced a three and out. Then gained enough yards to kick a field goal!

Texans 10 Chargers 6 halftime!

I'm loving this...

 

[Len Turner]

The young, well coached Houston Texans are a fun team to watch. The defense can play lights out. Thier young quarterback is destined to be a star in the NFL. This may not be their year, but it is coming!

In the first half they had 3 punts, a fumble, and an interception. All the while holding the Chargers to 2 field goals. Chargers 6 Texans 0.

The Texans first scoring drive of the half that began on their own one-yard line. The drive was kept alive after the young quarterback fumbled a snap in the shotgun. He alertly picked up the ball and scrambled for room to throw for a 34-yard gain. They capped off the 99-yard drive with a touchdown.

After kicking off to the Chargers they forced a three and out. Then gained enough yards to kick a field goal!

Texans 10 Chargers 6 halftime!

I'm loving this...

Not a big football fan but this one has been fun to watch.

 

[NorthBrit]

Anyone ever worked for a company like this?

View attachment 208862

Yes. The H.R. were going ballistic as one of the staff had not turned in for work. Several calls per day with no answer.

Fourth day man's daughter rang to say her father had died.

No apology from the H.R.

The Union Representatives complained to Higher Management.

Result: H.R. was not reprimanded nor apologised.

 

[Texas Hobo]

Texans 32 Chargers 12, that's a final

 

[rgeiter]

Almost done with this end of the basement. Need more baseboard trim. The white box can be removed to get to the water shut off and sewer pipe clean out.

That big ol’ TV still works great. She’s about 20 years old now. It was my first 1080p. Cost me about $2000 too!

The left side is where the helix will be located.

 

[Texas Hobo]

Wonder if Louis is still awake. Ravens up by 3 td's

 

[kbkchooch]

Wonder if Louis is still awake. Ravens up by 3 td's

Fourth quarter 10 minutes to go ravens are only up by 14 now. I’ll let Louis is chewing his fingernails.

 

[Bruette]

Not a big football fan but this one has been fun to watch.

It sure was Len! I prefer a more competitive game. The second half was a bit disappointing. But the enthusiasm and sportsmanship of the Texans was fun to watch. Not to mention how cool it is to see a young team put it together and reach another level.

The Texans' coaches called a smart game. Turning to their veteran running back to finish off the game was a classic move, NFL 101. The Texans defense sealed the deal.

Texans 32 Chargers 12, that's a final

Congratulations Hughie, to the Texans and all their fans!

That was not the same team that the Ravens manhandled earlier this season. Young teams can be inconsistent, but the Texans have gotten it together at the right time. You never know what next week will bring, but the Texans' future looks bright.

Wonder if Louis is still awake. Ravens up by 3 td's

I was sound asleep; I didn't make it past the kickoff. My wife and I will enjoy this one on the DVR.

Fourth quarter 10 minutes to go ravens are only up by 14 now. I’ll let Louis is chewing his fingernails.

After all the ups and downs of being a Baltimore sports fan all my life I no longer get nervous.

My wife would have been a nervous wreck. One bad turn of events and she will say "they are going to lose" and suffer through the rest of the game win or lose. She can't relax for hours, even after winning if the game is close.

To be perfectly honest this one had me concerned. All week I was thinking back to the last time the Steelers came to Baltimore for an NFL playoff game. That was 1976 against the Baltimore Colts, which did not end well for the home team.

Remember this?

 

[Bruette]

Baltimore 28 - Pittsburgh 14

This win helps to exercise the demons of the past. For some reason Pittsburgh teams have repeatedly thwarted the best Baltimore teams. Both the Steelers and the Pirates. And how many times have the Penguins ousted the Washington Capitals from the playoffs? I know, but I'll leave it at that.

Yeah, this win is sweet!

The Christmas season is officially over as this is the first Sunday after the Epiphany. In addition to Baptism of Our Lord Sunday today is an incredibly special day for my wife and me! Go Ravens!

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

3:24 in the a.m. and we are just getting in from picking the boy up at the airport. His flight was delayed and it took forever to get him through customs and back out to us. Then the hour and a half drive home and of course we had to make a stop at a 24 hour McDonald’s on the way because he was hungry.

Think I’m gonna nap for a little bit.

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good morning! It's 27°F in Tipton.

 

[troyphoto]

Well howdy there internet peeps across the pond who might be awake, and all those celebrating anniversaries!

It's Troy again.

Back ache Day #2 begins. Made it upright for the 3:30 pee run, and stayed up. I'm in the recliner with the heating pad. Seems the Sciatica was masking symptoms of a pulled back muscle. I tried to be careful shovelling snow yesterday. No sharp YOU PULLED ME stabbing pains during the shovelling process. But I stressed something back there.

In other news, my kickstarter for the new book is doing far better than I expected.

People have pledged triple the amount of the funding goal I set. The first three stretch goals (rewards for if we hit certain dollar amounts) I set are blown away, and this is only day 5!

My goal was to get enough $$ to pay for the audio book production. We've technically hit that in gross, but I need another three hundred or so to hit it with Net. I have to buy books, postcards, etc to fulfill the merchandise side of what I promised to deliver.

on the RR front... I'm reading the Kalmach book on yards while parking in my recliner. If I can get upright later today, I'll head out to lowes for more project panels. The problems with only having a Toyota Camry is my hauling capacity is limited to 6 ft long x 2ft wide sheets of foam.

I either purchase 2x2 project panels of 1 inch foam, or I purchase a 4x8 sheet and take a knife and T-square to cut it in the parking lot. I'm leaning toward the later. I can cut a 2x4ft section off an end, then cut the rest into 2x6 sections. and it's cheaper that way. Hmmmm.... I may have a plan...

 

[chadbag]

The fault code showed a pressure switch failure,

Christmas Eve day our furnace stopped working. The fault code was pressure switch issue of some sort. The service guy came (we rent this house so I’m not going to screw around with it) and checked and cleaned a few things including the flame sensor and it’s been working since.

I can’t claim to understand how it all works but he said the flame sensor is a common problem whe. It gets all sooty and the pressure switch failure of some sort is what gets triggered.

 

[chadbag]

The problems with only having a Toyota Camry is my hauling capacity is limited to 6 ft long x 2ft wide sheets of foam.

I assume you don’t have a roof rack or at least rails on the roof? Some place to attach bungles? If you can stick the 4x8 sheets on the roof put either a piece of ply or OSB or a couple 2x4 on top of the foam sheets to keep them bending up, breaking, or flying away.

Time for bed. I was at the house working on the front porch until almost 3am. Trying to get the last few things done so we can do final inspection the week of the 20th. They just require code and safety/privacy stuff, heat, one working bathroom
, etc. they don’t care about finish stuff that’s not code or safety related.

A snow squall came in while I was finishing up on the porch. By the time I had cleaned up tools and stuff and walked around shutting off lights and putting away stuff inside there was a white layer outside. Maybe 1/2”. It’s not supposed to be long term snowfall. Just a squall passing through.

3:40am and time for bed.