Running Bear's July 2022 Coffee Shop

[santafewillie]

Crazy! At 5:00, it was 108°. Then a pop-up storm appeared on the radar about 15 miles away. At 6:00, it's 90° but the storm looks like it will pass about 5 miles north of here. Well we're leaving for a celebratory meal for my retirement anniversary.

 

[Boris]

There have been many great sports broadcasters. Vin Scully has to right at or near the top.
My favorite was Chuck Thompson, voice of the Orioles and the Baltimore Colts. He was more than a broadcaster, he was a teacher as well.
My favorite national broadcasting team was Jack Buck and Hank Stram. For many years these two did the Monday Night Football games for CBS radio. I would turn the sound down on the TV and listen to the radio.
"Humble" Howard Cosell was too much of a know it all for me. He was best doing boxing, but was often flat wrong when doing football. I remember him saying, young Terry Bradshaw (later to be owner of four Superbowl rings) did not have the intelligence to win in the NFL. Cosell was even worse covering baseball. Despite my opinion he was voted Americas greatest TV broadcaster. America does love an obnoxious, mean spirited showoff. Even if he is a fool.
Mel Allen was another legend. I never knew him as a baseball play by play announcer. I came to know him through the weekly TV show "This Week in Baseball" "How about that!?"
Jon Miller is another great one. I could go on and on.
I need to mention Solomon Wilcots. He was my favorite modern football broadcaster. No one understood the game better. He left CBS and has yet to return to NFL broadcasting. I miss you Solomon!

Vin Scully has to be on top, he had a way with words. Mel Allen, Red Barber, Phil Rizzuto and Bill White, broadcasting the Yankees By Samm, Bill Campbell and Richie Ashburn on Phillies Broadcasts, and of Course Chuck Thompson. Cosell was obnoxious...everyone hated him, but he got the ratings. ABC Loved 'em.

 

[Boris]

Train Rides: Growing up, my family did not own a car, so when ever we went anywhere, we went by train. Recall Philadelphia - Pottsville, and Camden to Atlantic City behind steam.

While in college rode a duplex roomette sleeper, DC to Cincinnati via the C&O; Bedroom, Dayton OH to Lancaster Pa via PRR; and a lower berth, Boston to Philadelphia via the New Haven and PRR.

Most recent trip was Amtrak's Auto Train - Lorton VA to Stanford FL in a Superliner Deluxe Bedroom, in 2002. Drove back. Not a pleasant trip, (Return train cancelled at last moment, due to track obstruction).

Of course, I did not include all the job related train rides, too numerous to list.

 

[bnsf971]

The longest train ride in the US I took was from Poplar Bluff, Missouri to Tampa, Florida, via Chicago and Washington, DC. The first two legs were a pleasant ride, the one from DC to Tampa was—not. This was within a couple of weeks of 9/11, and everybody was having to take a train instead of flying.

 

[chadbag]

Crazy! At 5:00, it was 108°. Then a pop-up storm appeared on the radar about 15 miles away. At 6:00, it's 90° but the storm looks like it will pass about 5 miles north of here. Well we're leaving for a celebratory meal for my retirement anniversary.

We've had a couple times in the last 10 days where it is 95F or 99F and a "cold front" comes through and in 30-60 minutes the temp drops 30 degrees or so down into the mid to upper 60s. Rains a little and windy for a few minutes. An hour later back to 75 and then back to 90s within a few hours.

Mostly been hot otherwise. Since end of June and forecast into the future still. A couple cooler days but not much. Mostly the micro-cooling listed above. They've claimed some record days (105F) etc but that is at the airport. I've not seen much over 99F where I am at. I am a few hundred feet higher in elevation and don't have as much concrete, asphalt, and steel around me as the airport.

 

[MikeInHubCity]

The 92nd MLB All Star game did not disappoint! At least not for fans like me that enjoy seeing the pitchers dominant the game.

I can't wait to watch the replay! I would have watched it today, but the heat wore me down. I was done by 10:30 am. The 90% humidity did me in. Worry not, all I needed was rest and I got plenty of that. I feel normal again. At least normal for me at this stage in my life.
I won't be turning any double plays anytime soon. On the other hand, I have not turned or even started one in almost 30 years any way!

Be safe in this heat Everybody!

P.S. Can you believe I can still remember that last double play? I filled in at third base as my third basemen took his turn in batting practice. As we would often do I let the boys play out any hits they got. They would run the bases until we got 3 outs or they scored.
The batter hit a one hopper to my right. I backhanded it (look what I got!) Turned and threw to second. My second basemen in text book fashion crossed the base touching the bag with his left foot as he went by. He planted his right foot and fired a perfect throw to the outstretched first base men's glove. A truly great play for my 7 year old second basemen. That is why I remembered that play. My part was mundane, but his was outstanding, especially for his age!
I wasn't long after I was relegated to coaching from the bench. My health just would not permit me to do anything else. Now I'm out of the game completely and I miss it dearly.
My talent peaked at 17. Injuries took away any chance I had to play at a higher level. I accepted the fact I was a "never was". I managed to play on for almost another 10 years. Not for the $50/game I got paid. I played purely for the love of the game. Many guys in semi-pro ball keep the dream of playing professionally, I never did. I knew I was just playing out my last bit of fun in sports.
To be honest what I miss the most is coaching those kids. There is nothing more rewarding than to see a kid do something they never thought they could. I had every kind of kid. Great athletes to what some would call geeks. All I saw were kids trying to do their best. I made sure everybody had fun, regardless of talent.
Many of those " geeks" surprised some people. One even earned his way onto the all star team. He could not catch a cold, but the boy could hit! He was a doubles machine! If he had any speed at all he would have hit a few homeruns.

I was glad to see that Kershaw proved that he(unlike his teammate who got rocked) earned his first ASG start (finally, in his 9th ASG selection) with a pickoff of Shohei after giving up the leadoff hit, the strikeout of Judge & getting Vlad Jr to hit a routine grounder to his SS for the inning-ending force at 2nd base.

 

[chadbag]

With @Smudge617 mention of the rail problems with their quaint "heatwave" (sorry, I couldn't resist -- that heat is mild for some of us) I did find this article that explains it:

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sleepers-stressed-rails-why-uk-trains-struggle-heat-2022-07-18/

Kind of interesting. They did note the all concrete beds which are often used now in Germany and also in urban areas and with bullet trains in Japan. My understanding is that in the long run they save money but are more expensive up front.

Ballastless track - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Smudge617]

And today we're expecting a high of 70F, and rain, that's more like it.
Ah well, off to work we go.

 

[Bruette]

I was glad to see that Kershaw proved that he(unlike his teammate who got rocked) earned his first ASG start (finally, in his 9th ASG selection) with a pickoff of Shohei after giving up the leadoff hit, the strikeout of Judge & getting Vlad Jr to hit a routine grounder to his SS for the inning-ending force at 2nd base.

I would have thought Kershaw had started more then one All Star game by now!!!
I have yet to watch the game.
The problem in the All Star game is like any other start. No pitcher always has his best stuff. Location is that most important thing for any pitcher. If you leave pitches out over the middle your only hope is it sneaks past the hitter. Not much chance of that happening in the All Star game.

 

[Bruette]

Good Morning Everybody!

I'm not working this morning. After getting over heated yesterday I'm feeling a little bit nauseous.
I'll get some activity when we go grocery shopping later this morning.
My Mom has a telephone visit with her doctor this morning. I want to be fully functional when I sit with her. I won't do her any good if I let the heat send me back to bed.

Have a great day Everybody!

 

[Smudge617]

With @Smudge617 mention of the rail problems with their quaint "heatwave" (sorry, I couldn't resist -- that heat is mild for some of us) I did find this article that explains it:

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sleepers-stressed-rails-why-uk-trains-struggle-heat-2022-07-18/

Kind of interesting. They did note the all concrete beds which are often used now in Germany and also in urban areas and with bullet trains in Japan. My understanding is that in the long run they save money but are more expensive up front.

Ballastless track - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Doesn't matter what the weather throws at us, the UK and a lot of Europe, just can't cope, winter it's snow and ice, we don't have the vehicles to clear our roads that we need to cope with a lot of cold weather, problem is if we did they would just sit around for 5/10/15 years, doing nothing, a lot of expense with little return.
Same goes with our trains, they can cope with the cold, as we don't get a heatwave very often, but when we do, like now, it pretty much closes our rail system

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet mrr folks, and those of you who like the ball of bases, AKA American Cricket.

It's troy again. Today, lets chat about bathtubs, and text messages.

Yesterday was the day! Mom's regular bathtub was to be cut down. My niece, who had Grandma duty, was there with grandma, waiting on the tub cut-out guy to show (supposed to be 8:30 am). Then she'd take grandma out for breakfast, and wherever to avoid the noise and the stench of the work.

They waited

They waited some more.

I told them who in the office I coordinated with...

Another half an hour (10 am) they wander down to the office. Lady calls tub guy.

He's coming tomorrow (today).

So, I'm driving the 1.5 hours to rescue mom. We'll go sit for coffee somewhere. Probably take her to lunch. Just gotta be home to watch the hot action on TV tonight (forbidden topic, so won't say what it is).

Hope the tub guy really shows today. That's a long drive.

Speaking of that topic, Somehow, I got on a contact list for a US Political Party that I don't support. I think I took a survey from a text message once, and either didn't answer the location correctly (I tend to skim read stuff, and miss fields), or I was in that state when I answered it.

So, this morning I have a text message from a political party in another state (not Indiana, where I actually live). I get at least one a week right now. I opt out with STOP, but the other candidates still access whatever database that I've been tagged as a likely voter for their party.

So, I decided to entertain whichever poor intern has to read the responses:

Now, the astute among may surmise that texting before coffee should never be attempted. As I prove above. I managed to misspell "Best' as Bear. Hope the intern gets a good chuckle.

OK, more coffee, then shower and off to rescue mom.

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

77° and partly cloudy going for a high of 102° later.

Only train trip I took was as a young man with dad and my siblings when my youngest sister was born. Went from Grand Rapids to Detroit where mom's parents lived. This was before Amtrak, so it has been a few years...

BBL

 

[bnsf971]

 

[D&J RailRoad]

My families experience with railroads is my Great Grandfather was run over and killed by the New York Central passenger train in 1928 near Battle Creek, MI. Family thinks it's ironic that I would have such an interest in model trains having that event in our family tree. He was 85 years old at the time. Usually walked into town for the mail and groceries along the railroad each day. Engineer said he suddenly crossed the tracks right in front of the locomotive. Chewed him up pretty bad.

 

[Patrick]

Morning again from the office.

Not much yet going on. I've got to find a problem in my network as the new VPN stuff only works through the North end of town and stuff on the south side I can't see. Problem with trying to push VPN users through one link instead of both. I just didn't want to buy additional licenses for the south side as most of those licenses (have to purchase in units of 25) would sit empty when I still have unused licenses for the north dise offices. I know it's in the routing withing our fiber network, by why the unsecure method goes through, but not the secure method. Only effects a total of 9 users, so the 2fa rollout continues.

Forgot to mention that Doo-Dah averages 12 days a year at or above 100°. Yesterday was day 9 for this year, and expected at or above 100° for the next week. Our record was 54 days in 2011. We still have August and early September.

 

[McLeod]

Good Morning.

I was driven out of bed by the sound of a mosquito buzzing around in the dark. An unsuccessful hunt for that little vampire began at 4:00am.

A forest-fire emergency evacuation alert sounded last evening, for the Clearwater County residents. That county isn't very far from where we were fishing, but, I didn't see any smoke in the air while we were there. I'm hoping they get that one under control, before it burns the beautiful country that is our fishing grounds.

The weather is quite pleasant, actually. No rain, and around 70F for the forecasted high. It will be a good day to mow the lawn.

Willie - Happy Anniversary! Hope you had a great feast! That's another one I don't celebrate, especially since the work never really ended. Just got to the point where I wasn't getting a regular pay-check anymore.

Hughie - A push-cart is just as good as an ice-cream truck. Great modelling! I know you are N-scale; I'll bet those figures are tiny.

Curt - I remember you were asking for a fish. The wife cleaned one up for you, and has it ready to ship

Perhaps, some of you might like these tank car photos for weathering purposes. I took these just the other day.
Notice the splatter strip from the wheels on the face of this tank car:

The 1230-3 DOT placard signifies a methanol carrier. Here's some more:

So, today will be walk the dog, yard chores, perhaps some modelling, and likely a nap along the way. Maybe, I'll sit in the garden and try for some bird photos, as well. Retirement is so painful!

Have a great day, folks!

 

[bnsf971]

For anybody interested, the tank car Guy provided pics of hauls methanol.

 

[ctclibby]

If I was traveling overnight, I'd want a sleeper. I've never ridden a train any longer than a few hours, and that was a commuter train between NYC and DC about 15 years ago.

The most scenic train I was on was train From Dublin to Killarney in Ireland, way back in something like 1995. But that was only a few hours, with minimal stops.

I'd love to take a train from Chicago up to Glacier National Park, then on to Portland or Seattle.. stay there a few days, then do it all in reverse.

Jeff plan on the Empire Builder near the summer solstice as Glacier and parts west are in darkness coming from the East. West bound gets to Libby @ 2300 usually and you miss scenery until after Spokane. You do see some of Glacier starting at East Glacier although going through Glacier does not take very long. You might think of detraining in Belton ( West Glacier ) as there used to be rental cars available and then go see Glacier. Going to the Sun road is one we absolutely love. If no rentals there go on to The Fish and get one. Glacier is a hop, skip and jump from there. East bound hits Libby @ 0530 of which Glacier is in the daylight. Isaak Walton Inn is another spot to get off. It is the only "flag stop" on the hi-line. Hotel with bar and restaurant there. We were able to get a rental the hotel set up. There is not much West of Spokane other than sage brush. If you are going to Seattle daylight happens after Wenatchee and you get to see Stevens Pass. Go to the last car and watch out the door just before you hit Cascade Tunnel; 8ish miles which is interesting once. If Portland ( train splits in Spokane @ 0200 ) travel along the Columbia is neat although pretty bland scenery.
Amtrak used to run Great Domes, if so reserve a seat. Not sure if they still do as I do not remember any through Libby in recent years.
All in all great trip. Note that you can not see all of Glacier in a day, takes bout 3 days to take it all in!

 

[TLOC]

Good Morning.

I was driven out of bed by the sound of a mosquito buzzing around in the dark. An unsuccessful hunt for that little vampire began at 4:00am.

A forest-fire emergency evacuation alert sounded last evening, for the Clearwater County residents. That county isn't very far from where we were fishing, but, I didn't see any smoke in the air while we were there. I'm hoping they get that one under control, before it burns the beautiful country that is our fishing grounds.

The weather is quite pleasant, actually. No rain, and around 70F for the forecasted high. It will be a good day to mow the lawn.

Willie - Happy Anniversary! Hope you had a great feast! That's another one I don't celebrate, especially since the work never really ended. Just got to the point where I wasn't getting a regular pay-check anymore.

Hughie - A push-cart is just as good as an ice-cream truck. Great modelling! I know you are N-scale; I'll bet those figures are tiny.

Curt - I remember you were asking for a fish. The wife cleaned one up for you, and has it ready to ship
View attachment 149001

Perhaps, some of you might like these tank car photos for weathering purposes. I took these just the other day.
Notice the splatter strip from the wheels on the face of this tank car:
View attachment 149002

The 1230-3 DOT placard signifies a methanol carrier. Here's some more:
View attachment 149003
View attachment 149004
View attachment 149005


So, today will be walk the dog, yard chores, perhaps some modelling, and likely a nap along the way. Maybe, I'll sit in the garden and try for some bird photos, as well. Retirement is so painful!

Have a great day, folks!

Love the artistic presentation of the fish. Terry says she’ll eat it after I grill it!

Thank you, thank you for the tanker end pictures. I have many side views of tank cars in all sorts of weathering from almost new to that would embarrass me to deliver that to a customer. Maybe 3 end shots and none showing such a great weathering pattern.