Running Bear's July 2022 Coffee Shop

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ctclibby said:
Good afternoon all!
56F in Libby.
90F in Groveport, OH.
Got back to Louisville and found out we could not get the 22 we though we had. Gave us choices of 4 other trucks on the lot. Each one had problems and needed help, couple big help. Big boss happened to be following our issues and my big mouth kinda helped us out when I said something like "ok, you have no trucks that are suitable, so we will go down the road and find one". That got his attention. Hense the pix. 2021 with 98K. Everyone thought it was a 22 for reasons unknown.
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All the wanted and unwanted bells and whistles. The one that is most scary is that it will guide you down the hiway bouncing ( sort of ) between the fog line and center line. You do not have to touch the wheel for quite awhile. Navigates around S curves too. Yes, it does complain and pops up a little "hands on the steering wheel" message in the center of the console, but does not turn off. I have a light touch on the wheel when just cruising so I get that all of the time. It does turn off when the lines are gone without beeping at ya, so that could be an issue too. The front looking radar is better than the 20 and it does not give you false positives ... Cone people, overhead signs and such, and it takes a little longer to slow ya when there is something directly in front moving slower than you are. Wether that is a good thing or not, who knows? In any event, it should get us to the end of Oct or Nov just fine.
I think that it can be seen where they are trying to go. Right now the tech is not there and a warm body is needed. I don't feel like a truck driver anymore as all most all of the stuff that keeps you busy is being handled by embedded processors. Next will be tattle-cam setting your speed using speed signs alone the way. It already tells on ya when you slowly roll a stop sign, or you are following to close. Then ya get a text and call from Mike having to explain yourself. The text includes a short muvee that you can watch ... Call it evidence.
Did a good one a couple weeks ago while I was getting on I64. There was a necked down construction zone on the ramp. At the bottom were 2 class 1A stop signs, one on each side of the ramp. Had a truck in front of me so I did not see them ( they were on the ground, not the normal height ). Truck in front blasted through as there was 0 traffic. Low and behold there was a State Patrol sitting next to the one on the right; I blasted by also. The next day Maria got a call from Mike as she had rolled a stop sign and after she was done talking to him, I grabbed the phone and asked " what happens if you blow a stop sign a 60+Mph? ". Got a giggle, then explained what had happened. He said he would watch for it. Guess that Tattle-cam needs the sign at the proper height so he did not get the vid clip. Oh forgot, the Stater did not move.
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Nice rig, a straight 9 or a 4 over 16 ?
I think the rule is the same as here, the sign must be clearly visible to oncoming traffic, probably why the stater was there in an attempt to slow traffic and knew he had no legal right to stop you for blowing through
 
Not so in Virginia. If a sign used to be at the intersection and is gone, you still have to comply with it. If a handicap parking sign is missing from a parking space, i.e. no sign, no paint, no coloring, you're still responsible if you park there. Been there got the tickets, fought em and lost. Ruling: ignorance of the law is no excuse.
 


Morning all,

81° and clear going for a high of 102° later today. Excessive heat warning in effect for feels like near or above 110°.

Not much new going on yet, but the day is early!!! And it is PayDay!!!!! Not that I really remember as it's already spent. Advantage of the wife having the regular bills accounted and budgeted for for the next 6 months. Money is in the bank waiting. We did spend about $700 on our Rt. 66 tours, which isn't terrible, but dropped our big cushion by that much. I guess that's partially what it's there for.
 
Good morning!

We had a lot of storms roll through last night... bad enough to to make our dog neurotic who kept me awake most of the night while he was glued to me. I tried to ignore his whining in the crate, but around 04:00 I let him out and he got up on the bed and tucked himself right into me... then sat there, panting until the thunder stopped about a half hour before the alarm went off.

We needed the rain, so I'm not complaining about that, lol.

I've been making some progress on the waterfront kit the kids got me for Father's Day, and did run some trains for the first time since going to Georgia last month for our daughter's wedding.

I have found, over time, that my Kato N scale SD70ace will tend to pick up lint and stray pieces of foliage that get caught up in the gearing inside the trucks more so than my Atlas C420 does. Not sure if this is just coincidence, or if there's something about the design of the Kato that makes it more finicky in that regard.
 
Well, howdy there internet peeps, and those who love talking fertilizer.

It's Troy again.

Plumbers are here, so I'll keep it short.

Walked out to let them in the gate, and saw the rain gauge. Two days ago it was dry.

Screenshot 2022-07-06 at 8.17.55 AM.png


We're getting line after line of thunderstorms, with periods of rain, or muggy hot in between.
 
Good morning all,

61° and cloudy. Headed for 75 and cloudy, so we do not have to deal with all the heat some of you guys are going through. Our elec bill for May was only $66, June $78 cause we had the AC on some. However, my ATT jacked up our bill by $10, not looking forward to calling them as dealing with them on the phone if a complete NIGHTMARE. Lucky if I can understand the person. Then, the last three times I called they claimed I was getting a special $15 off which never materialized.

Wife thinks they make that up to get us off the phone. Probably correct.

I spread a lot of manure in my day, we had a hog operation growing up and 4 boys did all the work with Dad on the sofa taking a nap. He would come out to the barn once a month or so and yell about how screwed up we had it, then we would scramble. The manure would be runny when there wasn't much used bedding (straw/hay) mixed in. Many confinement operations had a slurry type of manure. Our pigs would go outside sometimes, we had that type of pen.

Troy - you guys really got the rain!

chooch - your story brings back some memories. We had to fill our manure spreader from the wheelbarrow. Wind can really be a factor when spreading the dry chunky kind.

Todd - enjoy the "new" rig, if that is possible


more later, Dave LASM
 
Good Morning!

Willie - That's Armadillo is an interesting looking animal, that we don't have here. I wonder if they are related to the rhino. It looks like a weird, alien species. - I'm happy to hear you're letting it go. There's a reason for every animal on this planet.

PRR Modeler said:
Guy- I thought you were further along with your layout.
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Curt - I suppose I could come up with some type of feeble excuse why the layout isn't progressing as rapidly as your own efforts. But, I'm thinking there's enough manure type talk around here. The fact is, I just work on it when I feel like, the wife's needs can't be in the way, and I'm really just a very slow modeller. If I charged myself by the hour, I'd be a millionaire.

It's still raining around here. The record rainfall has destroyed the wife's thoughts on a holiday. She don't wanna go fishing in the rain.
Oddly, I don't mind the rain when I'm fishing, but, it's no fun going with someone who is cranky.

Yesterday, I worked on the small, annoying detail stuff that a fella just has to do, or it don't get done.
I built the Walthers unconvincing, plastic pumphouse, painted structure foundation supports, painted pipes, put a hand-rail on stairs, and turned an Oxford pick-up into a Shell truck. Here's a photo to prove it:
Layout_07-06-2022 (1).JPG


If it's gonna keep raining today, I'll gloss-coat the holding tanks in preparation for some decaling/weathering and a final dull-coat. I've made tanksicles for that purpose:
Layout_07-06-2022 (4).JPG


Also, I thought I'd spend $1.50 on a Hot-Wheels vehicle. I wanted to see just how outta-line they look when placed next to a 1/87 vehicle. I suppose it's bad enough to save anymore expenditures of $1.50.
Layout_07-06-2022 (5).JPG


One more item. These Walthers plastic oil hoses are totally lifeless. These are the worst excuse for hoses that I have ever seen:
Layout_07-06-2022 (2).JPG

So, I suppose I'll need to build my own, outta lead wire and brass pipe.

Coffee cup is empty, so I suppose I'll be on my way. Have a great day!
 


Greetings all!

Had to drill a number of small holes for a project, 1.2mm to be exact. Pin vise is the best tool, but doing one really to put the strain on my hand. Not fun. So bought this from Amazon:

Two chucks are hex shank with one working well with tiny bits. Worked great for me with my B&D screw gun. The low speed and weight of the screw gun made control a non-issue. Worked well for me. The other two chucks have shanks for use in rotary Dremel-esque tools. I chose the screw gun because I could use the attached light to help these older eyes.
Drill att.jpg
 
Good morning from a wet and storm damaged So. Central Wisconsin that missed our property. We didnt get an inch of rain nor the lightning strikes others in the area got. For like the 3rd time this season the heavy rains and violent storms went around us. There is some tree damage but 40mph winds always take branches down anyway.

Big trap Willie but I do see why!

Hit the low 90’s yesterday but today we won’t get to 80. The rains predicted for this morning are no where to be found on radar on the WeatherChannels app. Terry arrived safely on Maui around 11PM CST or 6 PM there. I plan to see the painting bench this morning.

I have been looking at the 2-burner Weber Spirit II gas grills. My daily grill is a Weber 6 burner built in grill that is just too much for just Terry and me. I have been looking at the 2 burner for years and now that I think I will buy one I was shocked at the prices. 3 years ago I purchased one for my sister when she still lived in her house in Illinois for $299 assembled and delivered. I really want to buy local but the cheapest is $549 unassembled. I will check though at HD after I post this. Amazon has one at $399 unassembled but I need to review the specs as the picture looks like it has plastic instead of a metal base and legs.

Have a great day
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McLeod said:
I'm happy to hear you're letting it go. There's a reason for every animal on this planet.
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Yes there is a reason. I trap and release them all except rodents which are better off as feedstock to my vultures in the barn. Since armadillos like possums and raccoons have a range of nearly 5 miles, I take them 8 miles away, about 4.5 miles from the closest structure that I know of.
 
chadbag said:
I've been talking to myself since I was a kid. I verbalize (quietly) different thought processes and will also rehearse conversations I expect to have beforehand or hypothetical ones (that won't really happen) based on whatever I am doing or what stress I am under at the moment. I also will rehearse the arguments for and against a position that is front and center at the moment.

My kids laugh at me when they pick up on it.

It is just a way to work through argumentation, or various thought paths, etc.
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I rehearse conversation, they never go the way you plan lol. But I do not talk it out.
 
TLOC said:
Big trap Willie but I do see why!
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It's big for this particular juvenile critter, but I have to use it for adults and also for raccoons which can be the size of a bobcat. Normally a trap cannot be baited for an armadillo, they only eat what they themselves dig up. But they are incredibly blind. I saw this one wandering around in the yard, so I went and retrieved the trap. I then studied it's movements for a minute and set the trap in it's path thinking that I might have to corral it in with a branch that I also picked up. No, it wandered straight in; I closed the door manually since I didn't have time to set it up properly.
 
McLeod said:
...
One more item. These Walthers plastic oil hoses are totally lifeless. These are the worst excuse for hoses that I have ever seen:
View attachment 148263
So, I suppose I'll need to build my own, outta lead wire and brass pipe.

Coffee cup is empty, so I suppose I'll be on my way. Have a great day!
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add some character to them using a heat source to bend them in various shapes instead of the identical hup, two, three, four.
 
santafewillie said:
It's big for this particular juvenile critter, but I have to use it for adults and also for raccoons which can be the size of a bobcat. Normally a trap cannot be baited for an armadillo, they only eat what they themselves dig up. But they are incredibly blind. I saw this one wandering around in the yard, so I went and retrieved the trap. I then studied it's movements for a minute and set the trap in it's path thinking that I might have to corral it in with a branch that I also picked up. No, it wandered straight in; I closed the door manually since I didn't have time to set it up properly.
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Seems to me the fire ants were killing off the armadilloes back when I lived in Texas in the 90s. Seems they are nowhere near as common as when I was younger and we'd spend an afternoon chasing them in the pastures late 70s/early 80s. The trick was to catch them by the tail with a quick twist of the wrist to divert the inevitable 'stream' released upon lifting!

Fire ants still a big problem in Texas, SFW? Or have we manages to develop a way to control them?
 


Guy: With climate change, You may have them soon enough!!! 40 years ago, you barely saw them in the southern part of the border counties along the Kansas\Oklahoma Border. They are now found as far north as Nebraska. It was said the cold killed them off, but apparently we no longer get cold enough...Dad always wanted me to pick a few dead ones to drop off in the U.P. of Michigan as a joke.
 
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