Running Bear's July 2025 Coffee Shop

ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.


Status
Not open for further replies.
Good Morning All. Clear and 74°. Unusually high humidity is presently at 93% with no wind. Looks like we may have settled into our usual summer weather pattern with the current forecast; mid-70's at night, mid to upper-90's during the day, no rain and light winds (8-10 mph) during the day. This humidity won't last past this morning.

Celebration day today, as today marks 10 years since I officially retired from working for a living. It was a good run of 43 years with the same company through 5 ownership changes.

Slow day yesterday, mostly spent finishing up the summer prep for the garden. Everything is now mulched with 4" of grass clippings (some raked and picked up yesterday morning), and all Tomato plants are now neatly tucked into their cages. There's a bumper summer crop due to the cooler than average early July. I picked about 15 pounds yesterday and there's dozens more on the vines. Those vines which currently are towering over their cages by 18"-24" will soon flop over the top edge and grow wildly. After all work was completed, I irrigated for a few hours. I also picked Yellow Squash which I have been hand-pollinating; it is also benefiting from this cooler July. Other than Jalapeno Peppers, those are the only crops left, as nothing else grows during July-August.
It's back to mowing today, which has continued for longer than normal. By this time of year, the yard usually goes dormant and I get a break until September. Surprising since I haven't had any real rain since 6-14.

Cleaned up over a dozen structures out in the train shed yesterday. About that many left to go. That's it though.

Patrick - It's easy for Okra to get away from any gardener. I stopped growing it many years ago, since I don't eat it and my wife might have cooked it for herself 3-4 times before getting tired of it.
Tom O - I only managed to check off 4 on the list. Two others are habits that I gave up when the kiddos left a few years ago.
Joe - Neighborhood markets were a neat thing in my eyes when I was growing up in Brooklyn. There were dozens less than 2 blocks away. Dad always had a car and we were lucky enough to actually have a garage to keep it in.
Mac - Love the pictures. Continue to have a safe trip.
Troy - Mom didn't ever use soap, but Grandma did.

Everyone have a great Tuesday.
 
73 in east central Minnesota as well. The sky is rumbling but only intermittent drops falling.

I got the hinge pins on the driver door yesterday. Actually turned out pretty darn easy. Also did body work in the afternoon, parked under some cool trees in a steady breeze.

Weather forecast to be somewhat unsettled today, not sure what I will undertake...

Dave LASM
 
Good morning to all you nastiest whose backsides needed to be measured by your elders. I honestly cannot remember getting whacked by mom or dad. I did get my hands whacked at least twice in second grade by the nuns but with a pointer. There was one time my hands were to be whacked and the sister missed and broke the pointer on my desk. I think that one really would have hurt. Mom yelled but was mad because the note also told them they had to pay for the broken pointer. When dad talked to me about listening in school later when finished he asked why she missed. I told him I moved my hands which of course was a big nono when a nun was applying punishment to this sinner. But there were no other pointers handy by then.

Weather in Wisconsin is a repeat of yesterday. 70 now high 80’s maybe 90’s later. Not as much smoke haze as yesterday mornings “ inversion” that trapped the haze till about 10am when the winds cleared the skies.

The granddaughters softball is at 5:30 tonight and we will take her and her brother. The SIL has a meeting in Chicago this morning and will meet us there. His dad and girlfriend will also be at the game. The daughter has a board meeting at 6pm so she will miss everything tonight. This is why we stuck around, to be here when the kids need us.

Maybe around 2 we are going to see Superman’s latest version. The lady of the house decides what time as I don’t care. I agreed to go see it and she has the app on her laptop. It got pretty stuffy outside around 2pm so I’m sure that’s when we’ll go as the theaters are nicely air conditioned but were rarely cold back before Covid. This will be our 3rd movie in the last 2 weeks and also the 3rd since the Covid shutdown. The $5 senior Tuesday tickets are now $6.00 and popcorn while still free is not unlimited.

I have a weathering commission that was shipped priority from Houston last Thursday. What used to be 2 or 3 day priority is now 7-10 days unless you pay for priority express per my mail carrier whom I spoke to yesterday at the curb. Last week Wednesday when he delivered there was another USPS van tagging along behind him. I asked why? He said they were the lastest efficiency experts and were timing his deliveries. He said this group of “experts” are trying to cobble a report together that every block of homes should have just one delivery point like apartment complexes have instead of a mailbox on each lot. Our son when he lived east of Austin in Hornsby Bend had a mailbox similar to apartment complexes. Located at the end of the block. No package delivery, just a note saying the mailbox is too small for delivery and he needed to go to Austin’s central post office, not the close by local one. He hated it

Enjoy your day
 


Good morning gang!

I only ate soap once. Mom always preferred cracking my 🫏 with wooden yard sticks or with the little paddles we played with once the little red ball fell off. Either that or Dads huge hands across my butt. Once I got to about 12-13 years old I got too big for my mother to handle, so I heard the wait til your father gets home spiel a lot!

Another hot cloudy humid day on tap with a chance of storms for the next week or so. Last nights storms hit just as I was leaving work. It was a gully washer! I got home and the wife wasn't home yet. Son #4 said she stopped at the grocery store. 45 minutes later a drowned rat that kinda looked like my Sharon walked into the door. Son #4 was outfitted with rain gear to empty out her car while she dried off a little.

BBL
 
TLOC said:
I have a weathering commission that was shipped priority from Houston last Thursday. What used to be 2 or 3 day priority is now 7-10 days unless you pay for priority express per my mail carrier whom I spoke to yesterday at the curb. Last week Wednesday when he delivered there was another USPS van tagging along behind him. I asked why? He said they were the lastest efficiency experts and were timing his deliveries. He said this group of “experts” are trying to cobble a report together that every block of homes should have just one delivery point like apartment complexes have instead of a mailbox on each lot. Our son when he lived east of Austin in Hornsby Bend had a mailbox similar to apartment complexes. Located at the end of the block. No package delivery, just a note saying the mailbox is too small for delivery and he needed to go to Austin’s central post office, not the close by local one. He hated it

Enjoy your day
Click to expand...
Our development has a central mail box bank for every 18 homes. There are 2 package boxes at the base. One is about 10"x10" and the other is about 16"x16". Anything bigger and they drop it on your porch.
 
My dad was raised in military schools and the military. He was all too generous with a belt, his hand, or paddle he made with holes drilled in it. It didn't take much to get disciplined....less than perfect report card, failure to do exactly as told, etc. I tried to avoid being around the house when he was home. He mellowed out as I got older and bigger. He made up for it by being an amazing grandfather to my son.

My mom had a wooden spoon. She broke it on my younger brother one day and he laughed. That was a bad day.
 
Last edited:
Morning all. Already 79°F/76°F here with storms expected. This grass is never going to get cut. It stays wet all morning and then rains again in the afternoon.

Windows were closed up and A/Cturned on within an hour of rising this morning. The dewpoint jumped by several degrees overnight and it was very stuffy in the house this morning. Dryout nicely now and down to 78°F where I'm sitting.

The train room is in the front of the house, so I put a box fan at the entry door to suck in cool air from the living room to help cool the train room. Might be doing that later and run trains today.

I bought a new guitar yesterday so I'm looking forward to its arrival tomorrow. Never had a hollow body thin line before, so this is going to be a new experience.
 
One day Dawn, I and our two children were visiting my Aunt & Uncle who raised me. Dawn had gone into the kitchen to make some tea. Our son & daughter were talking, "I wonder what is in Mum's handbag?" said our son.
Before a second had past -----

"DON'T YOU DARE," Aunt replied.

Little fingers had never moved so fast.
 
Good Morning All!
58F @ 73% and raining. Not so hard now, but earlier it woke me up. Good, the forest needs it. Might get to 75F later.

I don't remember ifn I told y'all about the heart monitor thingie they gave me when released from the hospital. Wear around neck with 4 stickies placed at strategic locations near the heart. Those stickies move around on their own. Ya, right - tell me all about it. The upper right one has moved twice to my lower belly. One also got stuck to the inside of my shirt. Pulling that one off was a real pita; left all the glue on the shirt; so needed another one. This morning I woke up and tried to roll out of bed; got almost choked by the thing and thought WTF. Found one attached to Maria's left mammalian protuberance probably pretty close to her heart. I can't wait to see what the waveform will be for that! Boy, did I get sh.t when I was trying to pull it off and put back on me. Shower is/was also a pain until I figured out just to unplug them, run through the shower, then pick up the patches in the bottom of the shower and trash'm. Ima bout ready to trash it; only a few days left with it so I will let it be.

hum: since the Sub did not have any input and it was making noise, I assume that it is a powered one. That hum is probably the power supply caps. Should be easy to find and fix, if desired. In my experience, any loose or dirty connection will not cause hum, but you could hear 'scratching' or the like when knobs or sliders are moved. Classic WD40 fixes that problem, solder fixes the loose connection.

I guess we are lucky - UPS/USPS/FedX almost always gets the package to our door. Sometimes one of the neighbors deliver though as we also have.

Started digging the ditch for power and water for Maria's chicken house yesterday. Cut through the wall in the Train Cave for inside access and determined that a saws-all would not be the tool to use for the 2.5" wall hole; 4.5" cedar log needs the hole. Went to ACE for a forstner bit. Geesh, $95 for one. Amazon was my friend. Got a box of the things 1" to 2.75" for half the ACE cost. Just have to wait. Not a problem as I can keep busy until it gets here. As a side note, the ditch can not be 4' underground as the hole in Train Cave wall is only about 28" from grade and I don't want an immediate 90 at the outside exit going down, so 2" PVC to hold the wire and pex, open at both ends for air flow. Should be OkieDokie in any deep freeze. Yes, there will be a Train Cave shut off anyway.

L8r
 


TLOC said:
As a kid I watched Hoyt Wilhem and then Wilbur Wood throw that knuckler in Chicago. I still wonder what was more impressive, watching that knuckler float, watching the catcher stab the air trying to catch it or watching Bob Gibson throw lightning against the Cubbies.
Click to expand...
Thank you for sharing that with me, I enjoyed reading it!

When Hoyt Wilhem pitched for the Orioles 1958-1962, I was not yet born, 1963. The man who raised me told me stories of Hoyt's "dancing" knuckle balls. And I studied his career in my Baseball Encyclopedia, on baseball cards and in other books.

I don't remember seeing Hoyt pitching against the Orioles or on national TV. I don't think I ever saw him pitch. It could be I was too young to remember. After the first half of1969 Hoyt finished his career in the National League. :( No MLB.TV back then, even if there were I would not have been able to afford it.

I did see Wilbur Wood several times on TV, I never saw anything like him before. Phil Niekro was close.

In 1972 I thought the White Sox were unbeatable with Dick Allen, Stan Bahnson, Tom Bradley, Bill Melton (an All-Star in 1971) Carlos May, Terry Forster, Rich Gossage, even former Orioles Moe Dabrowski and Eddie Watt. Not to mention Wilbur Wood! If there had been a Wild Card in those days, the White Sox would have been tough to beat in a short series.

I would always route for teams in other divisions. I was confident my Orioles would beat them in the playoffs. In 1972 I ended up routing for the White Sox. They had cool red uniforms and they had Dick Allen. If Allen was not the best player in the game, he certainly was one of the best. I was only 9 and easily impressed.

I never liked the A's until years later. Even then I respected the A's, but didn't really like them. Too much facial hair, my Orioles were clean cut. It was a thing back then. The A's back-to-back World Series titles (1972 & 1973) earned my respect.

I also saw Bob Gibson on TV. I wanted to be Bob Gibson! I could throw hard, but I could never master the command needed to be a pitcher. Not even in little league. Trying to emulate Bob Gibson's "chin music" and brush back pitches often led to me hitting two batters and that would be the end of my outing. I was even thrown out of a game for arguing that the batter is supposed to try to move out of the way. I never pitched again that season. My coach said I was too valuable for him to lose me for such a stupid reason. The truth is I wasn't an effective pitcher.

Since before I could read, I loved hearing stories of the history of baseball. When I learned to read, I spent many rainy days reading at the public library. I even bought several of those books when the library would get new copies or editions and sell the old ones. When I bought the 1973 edition of the Baseball Encyclopedia at the library, I only had some change in my pocket. The lady at the desk let me have it for whatever I had in my pocket. She told me "You have read it the most, you should have it" and asked me not to tell anyone. I suppose it is ok now after all these years. It was a reference book that could not be checked out, I had to sign to look at it in the library. I was ecstatic to take it home with me. I love that book and I still have it!

Thanks again Tom, you helped bring back some happy memories.
 
Bruette said:
Thank you for sharing that with me, I enjoyed reading it!

When Hoyt Wilhem pitched for the Orioles 1958-1962, I was not yet born, 1963. The man who raised me told me stories of Hoyt's "dancing" knuckle balls. And I studied his career in my Baseball Encyclopedia, on baseball cards and in other books.

I don't remember seeing Hoyt pitching against the Orioles or on national TV. I don't think I ever saw him pitch. It could be I was too young to remember. After the first half of1969 Hoyt finished his career in the National League. :( No MLB.TV back then, even if there were I would not have been able to afford it.

I did see Wilbur Wood several times on TV, I never saw anything like him before. Phil Niekro was close.

In 1972 I thought the White Sox were unbeatable with Dick Allen, Stan Bahnson, Tom Bradley, Bill Melton (an All-Star in 1971) Carlos May, Terry Forster, Rich Gossage, even former Orioles Moe Dabrowski and Eddie Watt. Not to mention Wilbur Wood! If there had been a Wild Card in those days, the White Sox would have been tough to beat in a short series.

I would always route for teams in other divisions. I was confident my Orioles would beat them in the playoffs. In 1972 I ended up routing for the White Sox. They had cool red uniforms and they had Dick Allen. If Allen was not the best player in the game, he certainly was one of the best. I was only 9 and easily impressed.

I never liked the A's until years later. Even then I respected the A's, but didn't really like them. Too much facial hair, my Orioles were clean cut. It was a thing back then. The A's back-to-back World Series titles (1972 & 1973) earned my respect.

I also saw Bob Gibson on TV. I wanted to be Bob Gibson! I could throw hard, but I could never master the command needed to be a pitcher. Not even in little league. Trying to emulate Bob Gibson's "chin music" and brush back pitches often led to me hitting two batters and that would be the end of my outing. I was even thrown out of a game for arguing that the batter is supposed to try to move out of the way. I never pitched again that season. My coach said I was too valuable for him to lose me for such a stupid reason. The truth is I wasn't an effective pitcher.

Since before I could read, I loved hearing stories of the history of baseball. When I learned to read, I spent many rainy days reading at the public library. I even bought several of those books when the library would get new copies or editions and sell the old ones. When I bought the 1973 edition of the Baseball Encyclopedia at the library, I only had some change in my pocket. The lady at the desk let me have it for whatever I had in my pocket. She told me "You have read it the most, you should have it" and asked me not to tell anyone. I suppose it is ok now after all these years. It was a reference book that could not be checked out, I had to sign to look at it in the library. I was ecstatic to take it home with me. I love that book and I still have it!

Thanks again Tom, you helped bring back some happy memories.
Click to expand...
I enjoyed baseball up until I got married in 1976 and we moved to Northern Wisconsin. Out of touch out of mind type of thing. We didn’t get newspapers, no TV reception for NBC (Saturday games of the week)before satellites showed up and we were in the middle of Twins and Brewer territory with terrible AM radio reception. I have always followed the White Sox and the Cubs. I still can give you the daily 1969 Cubs lineup in the ill fated season. The only 2 baseball cards I have left are signed cards of Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio when they were still White Sox. Used to come home from school and watch the last inning or 2 of the Cubs games at Wrigley and later the Sox night game on WGN because they carried almost all the games. If there was an overlap the Cubs on WGN were number 1. Jack Brickhouse and Lloyd Petit did the home games on TV for both teams. Yeah, those are good memories.
 
Morning all,

Hit it running this morning and this is the first chance I've had to even say good morning. All the little issues that crop up due to our change, although, I was able to call the email change project completed.

I was able to have a tomato sandwich this morning, bacon and possibly lettuce would have been nice, but I love me a fresh ripe tomato with a bit of mayo and salt. I read an article about how no one makes that " poor man's sandwich" anymore. "Hello everybody, I'm Nobody!" 🤣

2 days of work before I get the knee done. I have a ton of stuff to try to get done before I'm out. While I'd like to come back as soon as I can get clearance, I keep getting told to take the full time off. Not wired that way I guess.

Louis: Not really a baseball fan, but enjoyed your incite on the game.

try to BBL
 
TLOC said:
I enjoyed baseball up until I got married in 1976 and we moved to Northern Wisconsin. Out of touch out of mind type of thing. We didn’t get newspapers, no TV reception for NBC (Saturday games of the week)before satellites showed up and we were in the middle of Twins and Brewer territory with terrible AM radio reception. I have always followed the White Sox and the Cubs. I still can give you the daily 1969 Cubs lineup in the ill fated season. The only 2 baseball cards I have left are signed cards of Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio when they were still White Sox. Used to come home from school and watch the last inning or 2 of the Cubs games at Wrigley and later the Sox night game on WGN because they carried almost all the games. If there was an overlap the Cubs on WGN were number 1. Jack Brickhouse and Lloyd Petit did the home games on TV for both teams. Yeah, those are good memories.
Click to expand...
Those were great days when WGN carried all those games. Loved it when Harry Carey and Steve Stone were the announcers.

Nice thing was if it was a day game during the week and you missed it due to being at work usually they would replay it at night. Which was great!
 
82 here already and heading for mid 90s. Rain forecast off and on most of the week.
My Mom was the Master of the "One arm run around" when using a belt. For those of you unfamiliar with the term it refers to her holding onto one arm while I made circles trying to avoid the belt. It only worked until I ran up against a piece of furniture! Dad would just grab me by the scruff of the neck and use the belt. Never abused, but they made sure I knew right from wrong.
On the subject of baseball, lifelong White Sox and Cardinals fan ;hey, I'm a Southsider so a Cub hater, although I do love Wrigley Field]. Also a fan of the Cubbies' Rick Monday for his rescue of the flag when a piece of crap tried burning one during a game. Also, never will forget the day Robin Ventura of mt White Sox got six hits off Nolan Ryan!
 


Status
Not open for further replies.




Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top