Running Bear's July 2022 Coffee Shop

[ctclibby]

My longest train ride.

Baltimore, actually Middle River, Martin airport station to Union Station, Washington DC. and back again. I was ridding along with my oldest daughter as she returned to the University of Maryland.

My longest goes back a few years. North Coast Limited from Spokane to Chicago. 2 1/2 or 3 days ifn I remember correctly. At 11yo I had the run of the train. Mom said in later years that she could always find me as I would have my face plastered in the leading window of the 1st dome car. She would try to get me to sleep once in awhile and would bring up some sort of snack but finally gave up. Flew from Chicago to New Jersey and got to see the NY World's Fair in ?1963. Aunt lived in Jersey. That was also my 1st flight, do not remember what type of plane. Flew back to Spokane from Jersey, Boeing 707 if memory serves.

 

[Alcomotive]

I finally made my choice. T-Mobile made me an offer I could not refuse.

I ordered the new Samsung S22 Ultra and it's only costing me $16.67/month for 24 months with zero interest! I love to use other companies money!

I weighed all the options.
Apple has a significantly faster processor.
Samsung has more ram, 12GB. Apple is still faster because it processor is extremely efficient with ram.
The deciding factor was Samsung's amazing camera setup that comes with the S22 Ultra. Now I have to learn to actually take pictures!
I could have gotten a deal on the new top of the line apple. I'm just to old to try new tricks.

You will love the Samsung S22.......Last year 2021 I got the Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (big phone but has a stylist pen too) because of the camera system AND this was the last year Samsung would use the Micro SD cards. I love the bigger screen and I put it in a Otter Box system with a belt clip. I chose this also as they were having a burn sale on the old models from 2020. I put a PNY High Speed 1TB Micro Sd Memory Card in the phone and to say the least it runs great and I will not run out of space for a while.....

I am not a huge fan of "cloud" systems as I know everyone uses it but I prefer not to. I do have my own cloud system at home on my home server via WiFi that is for personal use and pswd protected etc. It is on a closed network and not tied to the outside world.

 

[TLOC]

Good morning from the hotel room along the shores of Lake Michigan. Slept ok for being in a strange bed. The girls caught a few Coho Salmon of which 1 was a keeper and was put in a smoker late yesterday. I caught a lot of sun and a headache from listening to 2 seniors giggling like high schoolers yesterday. Boy, they can talk…

We got into a pretty decent restaurant along side the marina. Walked out into a completely different weather event and then a few rain drops, about 200’ from the boat we got drenched. Just a 15 minute cloud burst but it felt like I was in a shower.

Today’s plans have of course changed from when we left the house. The 3 of us will head 15 minutes away to Cedarburg, Wi. and walk around with the girls walking into probably every shop they can. I hope there are benches outside on the sidewalks to sit at while they browse. This afternoon will be back on the boat and depending on weather a decision when the boat returns to Kenosha. Tonight we will sleep on the boat.

The boat is 46’ and rigged for fishing. It was built in 1970 and has been interiorly redone a few times and overhauled twice. It was her hubby’s 1974 college graduation present to himself before they were married and he was a lover of fishing Lakes Michigan and Superior but as a couple they made many trips over the years to Montreal via the St. Laurence Seaway fishing along the way. It is very nice, definitely not a luxury boat but a working boat that has been exceptionally taken care of. As I mentioned yesterday, Pat stays on it from June to at least the USA Labor Day.

enjoy your day

 

[ctclibby]

You will love the Samsung S22.......Last year 2021 I got the Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (big phone but has a stylist pen too) because of the camera system AND this was the last year Samsung would use the Micro SD cards. I love the bigger screen and I put it in a Otter Box system with a belt clip. I chose this also as they were having a burn sale on the old models from 2020. I put a PNY High Speed 1TB Micro Sd Memory Card in the phone and to say the least it runs great and I will not run out of space for a while.....

I am not a huge fan of "cloud" systems as I know everyone uses it but I prefer not to. I do have my own cloud system at home on my home server via WiFi that is for personal use and pswd protected etc. It is on a closed network and not tied to the outside world.

James - best thing you can do is to keep it local. Don't know about the password protection as it is on your network. "Cloud" don't ya just love the marketing folks for this? Makes it sound magical. Some server in a data center with NAS that is not under your control. Sure, password protected and encrypted although any Admin ( or data center guy ) can get around that if they truly want. Do you really want your financials on these? Not!
I currently have 2 servers, each in different places JIC something dreadful happens. They are fiber connected which transfers data FAST. Next buy is a NAS of which they are spendy right now just for the box, so I will wait for awhile. Have 2 Terabyte on both servers and I'ma only using 20%. SAS drives for my servers were pretty cheap so adding an additional 16 for the NAS won't be too bad. Time will tell.
Later

 

[logandsawman]

Good morning all,

68° and headed for 82 I think. Yesterday was gorgeous here. Although I had to mow lawn after work and wife had a sore back so was crabby but came out of it some later in the evening.

Cloud - I avoid it like a bad headache. If I really want to save something, I send it to myself in an email and keep it forever that way. There are a handful attachments that way, some purchase agreements, transcripts, a few photos. Maybe not recommended method but works for me.

Guy - great fishing!

Tom - hope sleeping on the boat is good

Hughie - nice layout shot

THANKS to all those who watched my video! Here is another short one from the new layout, shows Groningen, the feed mill at North Branch, and finally the potato warehouse in Wyoming.

The feature is the Racine Wis. box car.

I better get to work, been screwing around most of the morning

back later, Dave LASM

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Overcast and 86°. Only expected to get to 97° today after 108° yesterday. But today is the only day in the 10 day forecast that isn't predicted to be triple digits. The pop-up storm yesterday didn't wet my backyard; this morning there are showers all around here, but not here yet. The radar shows some within three miles away, but that rain may not be hitting the ground. None of this rain was in the forecast until this morning.
Patrick - At my location we average 20 days a year at 100° or above. So far this year there have been 15 days. Our record is from 2011 with 71 days, followed by 1980 with 69. We have set new record highs for 3 of the last 4 days though.

Only made four quarts of spaghetti sauce yesterday as that's all the ripe tomatoes that I had. That's about 18 quarts in the pantry, along with nine pints of plain sauce for other meals. No canning today, as it's time for the weekly grocery/beer trek. I believe that we have four other stops planned. My wife will go on two of those errands while I am at the grocery store

Some excitement yesterday as I mounted the pool deck to get in, and saw the local VFD racing south on the road out front with siren blaring. He was followed about 2 minutes later by another truck and then by an ambulance. Not sure where they ended up as I didn't see or smell any smoke, but they were going at least 60 mph. Most likely the ambulance was just carrying additional firefighters that missed the initial truck. Typically they come from two different VFD's both located about seven miles away in opposite directions.

My only train riding experience came as a kid in Brooklyn, riding the various subway lines (D, N, & R) along 4th Ave in Brooklyn. My aunt took me to the Bronx Zoo once and let me sit in the front car, in the seat next to the conductors booth. Truly fascinating.

Thanks to all who liked or commented on the progress photos yesterday; Troy, Chad, Sherrel, Hughie, Karl, Smudge, James, Steve J, Curt, Patrick, Louis, Tom O, Guy, Joe, OB Ken, Rick, Tom.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I didn't spend a lot of time. I did do some more roadway striping, but not much.

For Curt, here's a couple of pictures of the Fire Department Headquarters that also show some of the striping.

I'll be adding a few pedestrians to this scene next.

Jeff - Sorry that I cannot be of assistance on the painting of the locos. I've never done one and I do not know anyone personally that does them. Don't give up as there are members here that do. You might post in the "Wanted to Buy/Looking For" sub-forum where you might get more responses.
Mikey - Those "scratch-built" doors were scratched with a lead pencil!
Curt - The fire station itself is about 10" x 12" with a 3/4" sidewalk on two sides. Takes up a lot of real estate. See pictures above.
But it is a Walther's kit with the usual Walther's kit issues. Instructions were terrible and the walls bowed in several directions, hence the bracing that both pushed some out and pulls some in, although not completely. Picture from yesterday.

Today would have been Robin Williams 71st birthday. Mork!
Everybody have a great day.

 

[chadbag]

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:
View attachment 148999

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.

I am pretty sure no one is seeing your attempt to annoy them. My email got on a bunch of lists for a party I despise and sends daily mails and requests for funds, from many different party organizations. I always reply with salty stuff. The hope was that someone there would go and clean up their database but they keep coming and I am sure no one actually reads any of it.

 

[JeffH]

Thanks, Willie!

A guy from another train forum offered to do it gratis. I may take him up on it, as I've seen some of the paint he has done on his models. I'd insist on paying him something in order to get the right colors of paint, and would also probably send him a nice appreciation gift like an edible arrangement or a gift card to Midwest Model Railroad, or something like that.

 

[troyphoto]

Not fact checked this one. Perhaps you American Cricket fans can confirm or refute:

 

[troyphoto]

Tub update:

Tub guy hadn't showed by 9am (I'd been there an hour) so I took Mom out to breakfast at the pancake house.

She got the french toast stuffed with cream cheese and blueberries

(I had French Toast and Bacon)

Got back to her apt right as the tub guy arrived. Seems like he came out of Ft Wayne, same as I did, hit shoulder work zone, then an accident. Complained that traffic was slow.

He really sounded like he didn't want to work. But, I'd already paid the fee to the senior apartment office. Told him I'd take mom out (again) and go sit at Panera for several hours. Waiting on my sis to get off work. She can take over mom duty and I'll go check on the tub about 4 ish.

 

[Bonita Grand Central]

Mission accomplished.
View attachment 148811View attachment 148812
We actually ordered two, the other one is a bit different. I will move this one next week a little to either the left or right, after I see the base that the other one has.

That looks so inviting. The umbrella is a great idea.

 

[bnsf971]

Not fact checked this one. Perhaps you American Cricket fans can confirm or refute:

View attachment 149012

According to the wiki, that story, or similar is true. He did hit his first home run just after Armstrong landed on the moon.

 

[Bruette]

You are a good man Troy!

I just dropped my Mom off at home. She had her 6 month phone visit with her doctor. My Mom prefers the phone visit. All is well. She is doing great for being 90 and her mind is as sharp as ever. She may struggle with smart phones, but she still is my most trusted advisor. Nothing tops life experience.
I picked up a Nokia flip phone from the Home Shopping Network. My Mom loves it! It only cost $49.99 and came with one year of service and 1200 minutes. In addition I got a $50 coupon for opening a HSN credit card. She has the phone through Comcast's internet. The cell phone is just in case the internet is down.
I would switch her to T-Mobile's home internet, but she might struggle with streaming her favorite shows. Although she has been using the Peacock app through Comcast to watch baseball. My Mom is worth over paying Comcast to make things easy for her.

It seems I'm in this minority when it comes to the cloud. I love my Microsoft cloud. I have a PC in every room of the house, except the bathrooms and another dozen devices and laptops. The cloud makes it so easy to open any file, anywhere. I do have several external solid state back ups. The cloud makes it easy to access my files when I'm on the road. The cloud also makes it easy when I setup a new PC or upgrade hard drives. I still have one more PC to upgrade to solid state.

 

[troyphoto]

This just in...

Mom and I shared a flatbread pepperoni pizza at Panera.

No pics cause we were hungry....

 

[Bruette]

As far as I know Baseball is closer to the British game of Rounders.
Baseball, Rounders, Cricket and other games with a bat and a ball evolved from many games played in the British Isles as well as on the continent.

Like most anything we call American we have our ancestors from all parts of the world to thank for them.

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Well today was a mixed bag. I spent several hours this morning working on the seatbelt. There is a plastic piece that needs replaced but after going to 3 parts stores and the Chevy dealer I discovered that the part is no longer available. I ordered 2 seatbelt sets online since the Chevy dealer wants $350 for one (not installed) and had to order them.

On the subject of moving Dad's room around. While putting his IKEA table together I discovered it was missing a leg bracket. By this time the top of my head was about to blow off I was so pissed. This required another trip to IKEA but his room is done. No train room time today.

My longest train ride was on AMTRAK from Orlando to D.C and back again. It took from mid afternoon to next day mid morning.

Chad- That's one advantage to being retired.

Hughie- Great scene. I love the ice cream vendor.

Guy- Nice catch.

TomO- Very nice looking marina.

Dave- Another nice video. I really like the last boxcar.

Willie- Nice job on the building and scene.

Troy- Nice shot of your Mom. That's a heck of a breakfast!

I hope everyone has a good night.

 

[Alcomotive]

You are a good man Troy!

I just dropped my Mom off at home. She had her 6 month phone visit with her doctor. My Mom prefers the phone visit. All is well. She is doing great for being 90 and her mind is as sharp as ever. She may struggle with smart phones, but she still is my most trusted advisor. Nothing tops life experience.
I picked up a Nokia flip phone from the Home Shopping Network. My Mom loves it! It only cost $49.99 and came with one year of service and 1200 minutes. In addition I got a $50 coupon for opening a HSN credit card. She has the phone through Comcast's internet. The cell phone is just in case the internet is down.
I would switch her to T-Mobile's home internet, but she might struggle with streaming her favorite shows. Although she has been using the Peacock app through Comcast to watch baseball. My Mom is worth over paying Comcast to make things easy for her.

It seems I'm in this minority when it comes to the cloud. I love my Microsoft cloud. I have a PC in every room of the house, except the bathrooms and another dozen devices and laptops. The cloud makes it so easy to open any file, anywhere. I do have several external solid state back ups. The cloud makes it easy to access my files when I'm on the road. The cloud also makes it easy when I setup a new PC or upgrade hard drives. I still have one more PC to upgrade to solid state.

Sounds like a nice setup. Using the Microsoft cloud is convenient for a lot of people. I chose to do a home made closed circuit system at home using WiFi for the offline server within my home. That server/data storage is not connected to the internet outside of my home. I can access it with my Desktop and laptop via WiFi also with my phone to dump pictures etc. I just choose not to have my pics on the "cloud" world wide web. I use Seagate and Western Digital. I just buy the most for the money per TB etc.

The Best External Hard Drives for 2025

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I have heard a lot people really like using it especially photographers now that a lot of the pro style cameras (Nikon/Canon) have built in bluetooth and WiFi etc.

 

[kbkchooch]

My longest train ride was on AMTRAK from Orlando to D.C and back again. It took from mid afternoon to next day mid morning.

Took Amtrak's Silver Star/Silver Meteor from Baltimore to Miami and return in the early 80's, was a horrible ride. Also Metroliner from Newark To Baltimore years later. A short enough trip that my butt didn't protest the seats too much.

The bucket list includes riding the Canadian from Toronto to Banff some day.

 

[McLeod]

Good Afternoon!

The bucket list includes riding the Canadian from Toronto to Banff some day.

Karl - If I had my druthers, I'd rather take the daylight only Rocky Mountaineer, 8 day trip from Vancouver to Calgary.
https://canadiantrainvacations.com/trips/complete-canadian-rockies-rail
I'm thinking that half the trip from Toronto to Banff would be looking out the window at combines and dirt. There's not a-lot to see when your crossing the prairie's from Winterpeg to Calgary. I've made that trip 4 times by automobile. - It takes 2 days by car, and 4 days by train. Almost one day by car is just getting around the Great Lakes in Ontario.

 

[TLOC]

Good afternoon. If I published a list of all the places we hit today in the car and then checked a Wisconsin map, you would say, were they drunk? No but tired.

Instead of Friday we stopped at Walthers today. Then headed to a City 15 minutes west of there for lunch and a walk around downtown. Then 45 minutes back east to the boat dock at the Milwaukee Ale house where Terry joined her friend on the boat. I then headed west 95 minutes with a heavy foot home and on the Interstate this trip for the first time. We had been using the No highway feature on Maps. Going to unload the car and get ready to view the grandson’s last regular Summer season ice hockey game. Playoffs and locations will be determined tomorrow. What I know is tonight the girls will take the boat to Kenosha. It has not been decided if I join them tomorrow or Saturday. Terry is trying to get her brothers to join for a fish fry tomorrow. If enough say the last minute yes, I will head over tomorrow.

my Walthers purchase was small. 2 cars I have been thinking about for a year. I do like the Walthers Proto line and I definitely will weather both. One medium and the other very heavy. My thoughts always have been to sell the lighter weathered one and keep the heavier for me.

Yes, my priorities are straight. Took the Walthers bag and the Sea salted Dark Chocolate and toffee bars into the house. Put the 2 cars on the layout and snapped the pictures. I will now go empty the car of all purchases and luggage