Running Bear's January 2026 Coffee Shop

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Good morning everyone.
40° and raining here in western PA. Temps are dropping and will be changing to snow this afternoon. Not planning on going out, but if the wife twists my arm, I might be persuaded to fetch a pizza later for dinner.
Will be working on the layout for at least a few hours. Don't know yet what it will be as the "to do" list is a mile long. But whatever I'll be having fun!

Have a good day! 😊
Jim
 


I have been busy outside in the 50 degree F weather before the cold front arrives with rain in about 3 hours. Tomorrow's high is supposed be only 38 in central Alabama.
My neighbor got an Amazon delivery the week before Christmas. I heard a crunch and by the gime I looked out the front window, I saw the tail end of an Amazon truck.
Then, I noticed my wood mailbox post sitting at a 60 degree angle. After examining the squarish black plastic box, the front left side had a 4 inch triangle on the ground and the door was hanging loose. As a temporary fix, I glued a piece of sheet styrene to the broken side pieces and put a bolt in the door hinge. The post suffered only minor damage.
My repair lasted until Monday when the mailman stuffed a big package into the too small mailbox.
I gave up yesterday and bought a large WHITE plastic mailbox and installed it this morning before the rain comes in. Last year, one neighbor had his metal mailbox mangled by a pizza delivery driver, hopefully, the white box will be visible to people.
 
NYC_George said:
I go to Chase bank today and ask them in person how McAfee was able to us my new debt card number for payment of my McAfee account which is not even up for renewal until 02/20/26 5 weeks from now. I didn't even have time to let them know I'm not renewing it. He shows me on his computer it looks like when your old debt card was canceled, they just used your new one. Yes exactly, that's what they did, and Chase gave them my new account number. He says I don't know why we would do that. I know why because you don't want to miss a sale. Swal

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I've had two unauthorized charges in the last 4 months. Seems they're not the company they were before they were hacked. I will be in the market for a new card co.
 
migalyto said:
And were stuck her for at least the next few years. My wife works for the State of Illinois and you don't want to give that up.

I have lived in Illinois almost my entire life so I have pretty much become immune to all the high costs associated with it!
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Yup, we both worked for the State and had to put our years in as well. Plus we were the caregivers for our parents until their passing. Prayers for you all in that messed up State. Sadly, my hometown of Chicago has become a cesspool.
 
PNKFLOYD said:
Then, I noticed my wood mailbox post sitting at a 60 degree angle. After examining the squarish black plastic box, the front left side had a 4 inch triangle on the ground and the door was hanging loose. As a temporary fix, I glued a piece of sheet styrene to the broken side pieces and put a bolt in the door hinge. The post suffered only minor damage.
My repair lasted until Monday when the mailman stuffed a big package into the too small mailbox.
I gave up yesterday and bought a large WHITE plastic mailbox and installed it this morning before the rain comes in. Last year, one neighbor had his metal mailbox mangled by a pizza delivery driver, hopefully, the white box will be visible to people.
Click to expand...
For the first 30 or so years that I lived here, I had to replace our mailbox every 3-4 years. It is 1.25 miles down the road grouped with 10 others which are actually in a different county than we live in! They all made a very tempting target for teens wielding baseball bats driving by on weekend evenings, and in at least one case, farm equipment swinging too wide while making the corner on to our road. Then about 2010, a new owner purchased the house and property behind that ragtag group of boxes. He didn't like the look of them right next to his driveway entrance. So he tore them all out and built a very stout brick enclosure and also provided the 11 mailboxes to go into it. Haven't had to replace one since then.
 
.SD Jim. said:
I've had two unauthorized charges in the last 4 months. Seems they're not the company they were before they were hacked. I will be in the market for a new card co.
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Unauthorized charges aren't usually the bank's fault. Some store / merchant online / online service you paid got hacked and the data stolen. The bank's anti-fraud services didn't detect the use of it as fraudulent is all that happened.

I'm mostly Chase on cards (for now) since I'm invested in their rewards points system (UR points). That may change as they just totally re-did the Sapphire Reserve points and how they work and it's not worth it any more -- but I have not yet determined the replacement, or what adjustments I will be having.

I've had a few unauthorized charges tried on my Chase cards over the years. They've usually blocked them, canceled my account, and sent me a new card automatically.

The strangest episode I had was a new AMEX card I got like 18 years ago. Brand new account. Got the card, added it to my online access account with AMEX, and there is already a charge on the card to some online wine place. I hadn't even activated the card yet and I don't drink. I called up AMEX. They issued me a new expiration date and security code but didn't change the account number on the card. They told me not to worry about it. The wine charge went away and I didn't have problems with that card again (at least for a long time). About a year ago I had to get my two AMEX cards re-issued. Not because of mis-use but because they had sent me replacement cards after the existing cards expired and I had not yet opened the letters with teh cards. I had gotten them and put them on my dresser and then we moved and the cards disappeared into a box. I needed the cards for something so they sent me new ones. New numbers and everything. Even though the lost cards weren't "in the wild".
 


santafewillie said:
For the first 30 or so years that I lived here, I had to replace our mailbox every 3-4 years. It is 1.25 miles down the road grouped with 10 others which are actually in a different county than we live in! They all made a very tempting target for teens wielding baseball bats driving by on weekend evenings, and in at least one case, farm equipment swinging too wide while making the corner on to our road. Then about 2010, a new owner purchased the house and property behind that ragtag group of boxes. He didn't like the look of them right next to his driveway entrance. So he tore them all out and built a very stout brick enclosure and also provided the 11 mailboxes to go into it. Haven't had to replace one since then.
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A friend of mine once made a mailbox out of welded diamond plate. He would occasionally find pieces of shattered ballbat near it.
 
chadbag said:
I bet the guy in the office was confused and I bet that McAfee didn’t use the new number. They used the old number and Chase accepted it since you’d done business with McAfee before on a recurring basis so it hit that grace period I talked about.

The guys in the local offices don’t always know how the system works behind the scenes.
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No chadbag he showed me on his computer where they used the new number. I have to read over these agreements. The banks and McAfee's. So McAfee is taken out the renewal payment 5 weeks before the contract end date 02/20/26. I thought I had time to cancel the contract. I have to read the agreement of when this renewal payment will be taken out of my checking account. Swal
 
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Cactus League​

Pitchers & catchers first workout | Full squad first workout
AZ: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
ATH: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
CHC: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
CWS: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
CIN: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
CLE: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
COL: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
KC: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
LAD: Fri., Feb. 13 | Tues., Feb. 17
LAA: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
MIL: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
SD: Wed., Feb. 11 | Sun., Feb. 15
SF: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
SEA: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
TEX: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15

Grapefruit League​

Pitchers & catchers first workout | Full squad first workout
ATL: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
BAL: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
BOS: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
DET: Wed., Feb. 11 | Sun., Feb. 15
HOU: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
MIA: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
MIN: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Mon., Feb. 16
NYM: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
NYY: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Mon., Feb. 16
PHI: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
PIT: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
STL: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Mon., Feb. 16
TB: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
TOR: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
WSH: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
 
Bruette said:
View attachment 254371

Cactus League​

Pitchers & catchers first workout | Full squad first workout
AZ: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
ATH: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
CHC: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
CWS: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
CIN: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
CLE: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
COL: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
KC: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
LAD: Fri., Feb. 13 | Tues., Feb. 17
LAA: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
MIL: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
SD: Wed., Feb. 11 | Sun., Feb. 15
SF: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
SEA: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
TEX: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15

Grapefruit League​

Pitchers & catchers first workout | Full squad first workout
ATL: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
BAL: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
BOS: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
DET: Wed., Feb. 11 | Sun., Feb. 15
HOU: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
MIA: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
MIN: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Mon., Feb. 16
NYM: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
NYY: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Mon., Feb. 16
PHI: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
PIT: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
STL: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Mon., Feb. 16
TB: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
TOR: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
WSH: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
Click to expand...
Already? OMG!
 
Bruette said:
View attachment 254371

Cactus League​

Pitchers & catchers first workout | Full squad first workout
AZ: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
ATH: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
CHC: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
CWS: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
CIN: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
CLE: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
COL: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
KC: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
LAD: Fri., Feb. 13 | Tues., Feb. 17
LAA: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
MIL: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
SD: Wed., Feb. 11 | Sun., Feb. 15
SF: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
SEA: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
TEX: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15

Grapefruit League​

Pitchers & catchers first workout | Full squad first workout
ATL: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
BAL: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
BOS: Tues., Feb. 10 | Sun., Feb. 15
DET: Wed., Feb. 11 | Sun., Feb. 15
HOU: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
MIA: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
MIN: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Mon., Feb. 16
NYM: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
NYY: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Mon., Feb. 16
PHI: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
PIT: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
STL: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Mon., Feb. 16
TB: Thurs., Feb. 12 | Tues., Feb. 17
TOR: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
WSH: Wed., Feb. 11 | Mon., Feb. 16
Click to expand...
go cubs WOOOOOOO THIS IS OUR YEAR

between MLB and nascar I'll be busy
 
Good Afternoon. Back again, two days in a row! Had to get back on the computer to fill out some forms for financial aid at the hospitals. When I was in the hospital in Kalispell, one of the nurses was a navy vet and was in touch with the guy that was a regional VA person. I had tried years ago to try to see if I could get help with prescriptions but was rejected because the cut off was around $16,000 a year. The nurse, Katie, said that her contact went over what information I had and said to fill out paperwork that she had been given. She missed me by about 15 minutes when my son picked me up for the trip home. She went through hospital records and found my address and mailed the information.

NYC George - Glad that I don't have to fuss with credit cards. The last time I had to use one was around 4 years ago when a car rental company refused my debit cards. Beats me why as the money is there and they cold get faster. If I use my debit card for Sunday breakfast for instance, the purchase was confirmed and the funds transferred in the few minutes that it took me to get home. I prefer to use debit cards because I can't spend money I don't have, I have had a few instances when I had a debit card hacked and was called by the card company wanting to know if I had made the charge. A camera in Singapore??? Nope, I am home in Montana. The card was cancelled and I could go to the local branch here in town and get a replacement. I paid my property tax back in November when the bill came, $422 with the discount from the revenue department for a single person living on social Security only under so many dollars and get an 80% discount on the first $350,000 of property value.

Getting old sure is a pain, literally. Mike with glaucoma, I have the beginning of macular degeneration and see others having problems. Guess I have been lucky as the first major problem I had was a rotator cuff gone bad and ended up with both arms getting reverse shoulder replacement and now with this cancer BS. Have a teleconference this afternoon with the hospital here and the one in Kalispell for chemo which I start tomorrow.

Never touched pot. Beer and whiskey works fine fo0r me as I know when to stop. Made quite a few arrests for pot years back.

Bill - that looks like a good breakfast.

Terry - Glad to see that you came back from the missing.

Willie - Those are some good looking vehicles. Don't have to get any more but have to try to sell some. You will probably see some more structures and where they came from.

From the archives

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The Doctor pressure tested both eyes and after three applications of the drops they prescribed for me the left eye came down from 30mm to 20mm of mercury. She told me what the right eye was, but I don't remember...15mm I think. The right isn't nearly as bad as the left. I forgot to ask her what the normal pressure for healthy eyes is. I guess I can google that.

So, another drug has been prescribed for my left eye (in addition to my present prescription) at one drop a day. It's an aggressive drug in stopping production of the aqueous fluid in the eye. Now I have one drug (the two drops per day) that helps to drain excess fluid, and one drug to slow the production of this fluid.

Open-angle glaucoma is the correct term for this disorder. Left eye is in the severe category, right eye is in the moderate stage though I don't see any visual differences (yet) in the right eye.

My vision as a result of age has deteriorated from 20/15 in both eyes in my late 20s, to a miserable 20/400 in my mid-60s.

As long as I can still see the trains and know which brand of Bier I'm buying it'll all be OK.
 


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