Running Bear's July 2023 Coffee Shop

[CambriaArea51]

Good morning.... Louis glad to hear the dog is back home.
I have to take mine to the vet this morning.
Coffee Flo,please.

 

[BigGRacing]

Good morning,
Coffee and bagel please! Foggy here today, strawberry picking then working on greenhouse if sunny. Working on steamship if it’s rainy. Hope everyone has a fantastic day/weekend!

 

[troyphoto]

Good morning!

Rainy day in The Fort today. Also the last weekend for the Three Rivers Festival. Probably won't partake of it today. Supposed to have likely showers off and on throughout the day. Tomorrow mostly sunny, with rain hit or miss through the week. Unfortunately, the delinquent trees of Canada may be blowing their second-hand smoke our way next week.

Still waiting on the editor to finish my latest book. Once that hits I'll have a few weeks of sending it out to Beta Readers.

I signed up for another gaming convention in early October for the new game I'm painting figures for. That'll be the second one in this system. The first is mid-August in Hamilton Ontario. Wife is going with me, but she'll be exploring while I'm rolling dice and playing with little toy soldiers.

In October, she'll keep the home fires burning while I head to Lansing Michigan. I need to get my new nightstalkers army finished for the Michigan tourney. Five games of fun!

 

[TLOC]

Good morning from weather confused or maybe it’s the weather guessers in WIsconsin. Rain predictions for yesterday were possibly locally severe before 2, got a sprinkle. At 7PM when all predictions were gone we got 1/2” in less than 30 minutes. The weather apps have been fairly accurate but Terry came home Thursday night and her TV has been on watching the local TV guy. Our chief meteorologist is leaving for Minneapolis to be nearer to both families. He is taking the morning news shift there and said on-air he is doing it to be able to see his kids and the money is better. I know they generally don’t make much in small markets but to be the head guy and go to a morning shift for more money, that’s sad. Terry liked watching him. Our area she told me last night got less than an inch of rain in the last 7 weeks. We now have about 4” this week. Thankfully mostly good steady rains.

Worked on quite a few weathering projects for myself and others yesterday. It was fun.

Today since the wife came back for a wake/party we are heading to a farmers market and possibly an Art Fest. Depends on if the sun pops out this morning. Cloudy, we will go, sunny we won’t. Both of us have medicines that make our skin sun sensitive and it’s been tough on the resident sun worshipper, (her) because she loves being out. Me, I’m fine on the deck or front porch reading off my IPadPro or downstairs hidden away in either the cave or train room.

The wake/party was a good one but not great. Lots of folks were taken aback by no services for him. He was like me, I believe in God but I do not any longer believe in the religions (raised as a Catholic). This is not a debate or discussion, that’s me. You are free to believe anything or follow what you want.

Right now I am scheduled to leave for Nova Scotia on Sunday afternoon. I am ready to play!

Terry told our son in Austin to sell her SUV since he doesn’t want it. It’s a 2021 Hurus with less than 7000 miles. She told me Tuesday, she asked him on Wednesday and last night he asked for a commission. He has 3 offers all more than what she paid for it from 2 dealers in Texas and the dealer she purchased it from in Scottsdale, Arizona. I am glad it’s not coming home, I hated that thing. So, frickin… loud! Yeah, I am getting old and grumpy. I still have a car in Austin, she says I should have him sell it. I mentioned it to him last night and he says he uses it on dates and occasional client pickups. I knew that. It has less than 12,000 miles and I basically drove it from here to Austin and rarely since. The brother drove it from Arizona to WIsconsin. This was my gift from my brother for working 6 months when his company got hit by the ”me too” movement in 2018. The son said he will think about keeping it but will call the dealer in Arizona today where the brother got it, the same place Terry got her SUV.

While typing this I finally sold the 2 gondolas I listed before I left for the travels in May.

Guy initially contacted me 15 minutes after I listed it. I immediately responded and heard nothing since. When we left for the islands I pulled it off the FB sell sites I use. He said this morning he found my reply. PayPal received, I love getting paid!!!

enjoy the day

 

[Boris]

Yo! Happy Saturday! Currently sunny, 81° going to 88° with various percentages of heavy rain predicted through Monday. Also, a flood watch in effect Midnight tonight, through Monday morning. I'm skeptical, as previously predicted heavy rain has not materialized. .

MLB resumed after the all star break. Mets shut out by da Bums, 6 -0 at Citi Field . Baltimore 5 - 2, over Miami at Camden Freight House Stadium. Phillies and Yankees both lost.

Two projects are on tap this morning, 1. Assemble the dumb bell bench, so I have no excuse for not weight training. 2. Install a silent decoder in a Proto 2000 GP-7, (that I thought already had a decoder in it). Funny thing is none of my three P2k GP-7s have the broken axle gear problem (yet), while al my GP-9s, GP-18s and GP30s do.

We walked yesterday, about a mile, first time in over a week, without ill effects. Plan is to do more of the same, later, and keep the momentum going.

Pair of Alco S-4s switching cars at Browns Yard, Old Bridge/Sayerville, NJ in February 1974. Frank Szachacz photo from FB.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Partly cloudy today and a tiny bit cooler at 79°. Ooooh! Now the NWS is saying that it may only get to 99° today and tomorrow there is still a 75% chance of morning thunderstorms and a high of 93°.

An extremely happy anniversary today, eight years ago on July 15 2015 was my last official day at work. Retirement began. I have never looked back! Never regretted it at all. Liked my job until the last 18 months when I was shifted aside for the next generation, but then it got boring. Yes it was nice to go to work and do nothing and get paid for it. But it was such a waste of time to commute 100 miles a day to do nothing! They ultimately replaced me with five people, although two of them had additional duties that I didn't have. Since I was just 63.5 at the time, I chose to wait out the next 2.5 years before applying for full Social Security, living off one of the retirement accounts that I had. That's why it was there wasn't it???? I dropped the financial advisor and self-managed my accounts and I am happy to say that I did really well since. This year alone, one of my ETF's has gained 35%!

Yesterday's grocery trek went OK, at least the grocery part. Home Depot was still out of the liquid chlorine for the pool, so I had to go up the block to Lowe's to get some. Price is the same and both are cheaper than the same brand at Walmart, which I loathe. I got the last six gallons which will not last long in this summer's conditions.

Only a short time in the train shed yesterday, Just cleaned some more structures for now. This is where I am at right now.

It is a structure-heavy part of town. I do need a few more vehicles in this area.

Patrick - Balancing out the knee usage after a replacement was a tough thing for my wife. She always knew that both needed to be done and they were done a year apart Then the infection set in on the first one and it had to be removed, a temporary one put in and then replaced again. So just when she was able to match very well, the whole thing had to start over. Good luck to you.
Tom O - That's too bad about your wife's friends husband. In my circle, wakes are never somber affairs. Life celebrations!
Much better that the jets are F35's than MiG-29's. People shouldn't complain.
Sherrel - I have used duct tape on drain lines before, no pressure right? I have seen some last over 20 years, but some did not even make it 12 months!
David - That Vasa story is really something. Maiden voyage of 1400 yards before sinking!
Louis - Glad to read about Tucker.

Everyone have a great day.

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

10 a.m. and I have completed the 3 S's, been to the landfill and came home and put the trailer away. Wife was doing some house cleaning while I was gone, now she is hitting the showers so we can get our running done, Need to hit the bank, NAPA, Pro Custom Hobbies, HD and go inspect some "She Sheds".

I did get one of the Bowser hoppers assembled last night, but I need metal wheels to do the rest, that is why Pro Custom hobbies is on the list.

The screw in the foreground was an extra with the kit. I will keep it safe, because Mr. Murphy has probably shorted on of the other 3 kits !

BBL

 

[Sirfoldalot]

I believe in God but I do not any longer believe in the religions (raised as a Catholic). This is not a debate or discussion, that’s me. You are free to believe anything or follow what you want.

I am in that same boat with you! Raised a staunch Southern Baptist, but no longer like organized religions. Too much infighting (i'm right, your wrong)!
Disclaimer: This is not a debate or discussion, that’s me.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

7:50 AM and we are at 65 degrees - prob going to be hot today, but they are saying only 95. At this time we seem to be stuck in the mid 90's which with the low humidity just makes for a vern nice day.

Well, being paged to help - so better run for now.

WILLIE, Do not overdo it with the heat and what you been through the last few days. Give your body a chance to heal!

LOUIS - How is Tucker doing this morning?

BBL, I hope!

 

[bnsf971]

Good morning. It's mostly clear and 89.
I got my paycheck yesterday, and promptly blew a gasket. The company I work for summarily decided to enroll me in their 401k retirement plan. I discovered this when I found a $64.81 deduction for it on my pay stub. While I might be interested in it if I had been asked instead of automatically enrolled, and been more than 2 years (less) before retiring, making a 401k more trouble than it's worth, and been counting on that money to pay my bills, I was not asked.
After going through my work, and getting a runaround, with everybody I talked to telling me it's not their problem, and I had consented to this by accepting employment with them, I finally had to call the outside company that administers this. After being on hold for an hour and ten minutes, I finally got to talk to somebody that was absolutely flabbergasted that I wouldn't want to participate in their fine program. Now, I have to go to their website, download and print a form, fill it out, mail it to them, and within 4 pay periods of their receiving the form, they will stop deducting the money, and will mail me a check within 60 days of that point. They will also file a 1099 with the IRS, so I will now have to pay for my filing of my income taxes next year because of having a 1099, which makes me ineligible for the free service. Even if I quit on the spot after finding this out, I'm still going to have to go through all this, still get a 1099, and still have to pay to file my taxes this year.
If it seems I'm livid over this, it's because I am.

 

[Boris]

I am in that same boat with you! Raised a staunch Southern Baptist, but no longer like organized religions. Too much infighting (i'm right, your wrong)!
Disclaimer: This is not a debate or discussion, That’s me.

Repeat: Disclaimer: This is not a debate or discussion. That’s me. Count me among the unaffiliated. Too much arrogance, not enough compassion within the organized church, for me.

 

[JimKrol]

Repeat: Disclaimer: This is not a debate or discussion. That’s me. Count me among the unaffiliated. Too much arrogance, not enough compassion within the organized church, for me.

My take, God may have created the universe('s), but man created religion, and anything man creates, man corrupts.

 

[santafewillie]

Good morning. It's mostly clear and 89.
I got my paycheck yesterday, and promptly blew a gasket. The company I work for summarily decided to enroll me in their 401k retirement plan. I discovered this when I found a $64.81 deduction for it on my pay stub. While I might be interested in it if I had been asked instead of automatically enrolled, and been more than 2 years (less) before retiring, making a 401k more trouble than it's worth, and been counting on that money to pay my bills, I was not asked.
After going through my work, and getting a runaround, with everybody I talked to telling me it's not their problem, and I had consented to this by accepting employment with them, I finally had to call the outside company that administers this. After being on hold for an hour and ten minutes, I finally got to talk to somebody that was absolutely flabbergasted that I wouldn't want to participate in their fine program. Now, I have to go to their website, download and print a form, fill it out, mail it to them, and within 4 pay periods of their receiving the form, they will stop deducting the money, and will mail me a check within 60 days of that point. They will also file a 1099 with the IRS, so I will now have to pay for my filing of my income taxes next year because of having a 1099, which makes me ineligible for the free service. Even if I quit on the spot after finding this out, I'm still going to have to go through all this, still get a 1099, and still have to pay to file my taxes this year.
If it seems I'm livid over this, it's because I am.

You can thank your government in Washington for that. The SECURE Act 2.0 made it mandatory. Your employer is just following the law. As noted, the lame duck Democratic House passed it 225-201. The Senate was a bipartisan 68-25.

SECURE Act 2.0​

 

[JazzDad]

Who has modeled this?

 

[bnsf971]

You can thank your government in Washington for that. The SECURE Act 2.0 made it mandatory. Your employer is just following the law. As noted, the lame duck Democratic House passed it 225-201. The Senate was a bipartisan 68-25.

SECURE Act 2.0​

I see it was "buried in the legislation". Only a government can make a voluntary program mandatory, and add crushing amounts of paperwork and hoops to make it even less "worth it" to the end user. Since this is now political, I'll stop commenting on it, other than to reiterate in my case, it's more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

I do not want two factor authentication on my MacPro!
How do I turn off the popup that keeps asking?

 

[bnsf971]

I do not want two factor authentication on my MacPro!
How do I turn off the popup that keeps asking?

If you already have it on your iPhone, you already have it on your laptop.
If you don't have any other Apple devices, you can go in to "security" and your Apple account settings, and change those, but it is in the process of becoming mandatory.
I finally gave up and enabled 2FA when my phone refused to open the Map app and provide me with driving directions "to protect my account".

 

[Boris]

You can thank your government in Washington for that. The SECURE Act 2.0 made it mandatory. Your employer is just following the law. As noted, the lame duck Democratic House passed it 225-201. The Senate was a bipartisan 68-25.

SECURE Act 2.0​

Thought so, Thanks Willie. I couldn't remember the particulars. They are sooooooo....helpful, eh?

 

[NorthBrit]

Good evening all. The promised stormy weather has been going on all day.
There is mention of religion in this thread. I shall not contribute. -------

Oh! I just did.

I shall go back to writing another story for my Story Time thread..

David

 

[Boris]

Oh! I just did.

Easy to fall into that hole, eh? Just like the other conversation suddenly changed when the facts became known. No one intended for either to become prohibited conversation.

Moving right along, Rapido announced a Southern Pacific, (Amtrak, Canadian Pacific, Panama Railroad), ¾ length Dome Lounge yesterday, provided enough buyers subscribe to the pre-order. Created quite a stir on the Passenger Car List over at Groups io, when one member emphatically called the CP version a "foobie", and another immediately produced a photo of the CP car, and yet another the back story.

Now that Canadian Pacific has completed it's merger with Kansas City Southern, the CEO of CP wanted a dome car for their Office Car train, [Also available for Charter], so thy found an ex SP dome, already stripped and ideal for a ground up restoration / rebuild.
The car is pretty much complete and ready for the upcoming Calgary to Mexico City Inspection Train. Should be a sight as it runs through the CP territory.

Good excuse for Guy to make another road trip, eh?