Running Bear's July 2026 Coffee Shop

[westtexjohn]

I just had yet another jarring, unpleasant surprise from AI. This one in my Kindle. I was reading a book when suddenly and without me asking for it, something called recap popped up in full screen, and in a few paragraphs told me all about the book—including how it ends.
Gee, thanks. Now I don’t need to waste a lot of time reading something because I want to, because AI just spoiled it for me.

Some books I like to read and enjoy, usually reading a chapter or two a night, are usually religious books written by my favorite preacher/teachers. These books usually don't have an ending chapter that is a surprise, but each chapter is a source of information in and of itself.
A historical book is also something I enjoy reading as there are usually facts revealed that are not usually available. And the reader already knows the "ending". The book is more about how the ending was achieved.
However I have only read 3 or 4 general topic ( mysteries/fiction/non fiction ) paperback books in my life. I usually have more pressing things to do than sit and read all the twist, turns and scenarios in a novel. Being single, life things keep me busy. So, oddly enough, that kindle AI feature would suit me just fine, sort of a "Cliff Notes" feature. I could glean the story/meaning/plot of a book in one evening.

On the other hand, I wonder how AI would handle a "recap" on the Bible ?

For those who enjoy hanging onto each word in a book/novel, I could see where the "recap" feature would be a bummer.

Take care....John

 

[Kusojiji]

Do like I do and read the book 7 times, fall asleep at different spots each time, and find something new the next read. 7 different stories from one book. Saves money... haha

 

[DeaconKC]

Good evening folks, had my regulars for Battletech all have to work OT tonight, so I came home early.
@troyphoto your pictures of Giordano's have inspired me. I hate you.
I did hit HL and found their July 4th stuff was on sale, so I wound up with 4 packs of 50 LED red, white and blue lights for 80 cents each! My modules will be a permanent 4th of July celebrations! Battery powered, so they will be easy to set up at shows.

 

[chadbag]

They give you credit for that? Then why pay for prime in the first place? But, I quit prime a long time ago anyway since they don't want to deliver to me, even though they say that the item is fulfilled by amazon and they deliver other fulfilled by amazon stuff.

Prime is dirt cheap in Japan. I usually sign up for a 30 day free trial when I’m there. Once in a while I forget to cancel before I get a bill for a month.

 

[Boris]

Started demolition of my model railroad, with the last runs from Stoney Creek today. The Reading 23 cars behind a DS 4-4-10, the PRR 25 cars behind a RS3.

Train approaching Morton Avenue, enroute to Essington. Now, I pack everything for short term storage, and discard the bench work.

 

[Kusojiji]

Prime is dirt cheap in Japan. I usually sign up for a 30 day free trial when I’m there. Once in a while I forget to cancel before I get a bill for a month.

Yep, $37 / yr.

 

[DeaconKC]

Oh, today's "milder" temp forecast was a little off....

 

[Bruette]

Great job Amazon. Idiots.

As an Amazon contractor, I’ve seen the Amazon "idiots" come up with many so-called “brilliant” ideas. Once they realize an idea isn’t as great as they thought, it just quietly disappears.

They're trying to cut down on driver trips. Consolidate three or four orders to just one.

Amazon is taking many steps to reduce tips. To cover themselves - offers to drivers with tips are now labeled “If applicable.”

We’ve received items ordered through Amazon.com, where tipping isn’t an option, only to have them delivered by Amazon stations that only handle tip-based orders. I doubt the drivers are even aware of it. In addition, offers that do include tips now limit the amount of the tip. I doubt the customers are aware of it or that they are refunding the extra back to the customer. I can tell you the drivers aren't getting anything over the limits imposed by Amazon. Offers with tips typically start at $18/hour.

All of which is why we’ve stopped accepting any offers that include tips. One of the Amazon "tip" stations, Canton is five minutes from our home. We haven't accepted an offer from Canton in years.

Amazon is also trying to reduce the contractors pay overall. I've seen offers for as low as $19/hour to delivery contractors. When I started with Amazon nearly 10 years ago, base rate was $18/hour. After expenses Amazon contractors are falling far below Maryland's minimum wage when they accept offers for $19/hour.

My wife, Angela's diligence in searching for offers and our willingness to go to any one of several of Amazon's stations saves us from having to work for peanuts. I draw the line at $30/hour any less and I am not leaving the house. We have been to Amazon's Edgewood, Dundalk, Hanover, Elkridge and Curtis Bay stations recently. Those are all the stations that have first wave blocks beginning at 3:15am. We prefer 3:15, but we will take anything, even 5am, if that is the highest paying offer. Like it is with baseball adjust or fail. We typically accept 3.5-hour offers and we usually finish in under 3-hours. As long as I can be done by 8am I am happy.

This "dry spell" as one of my cohorts has called it won't last forever. My hope is the $50+/hour offers soon return.

How long is it until the Christmas shopping season begins? One of the many reasons I love Christmas! I never forget Jesus is the reason for the season! All glory belongs to God!

I work to stay active; Amazon is my form of physical therapy. Others are working just to survive, and they’re the ones I worry about.

It's time to go! My little Angel pulled another rabbit out of her hat. I love it when she makes Amazon pay!

 

[Kusojiji]

I'm confused - trips or tips? I didn't know drivers got tips. Do they hang out in someone's yard waiting for them to come out?

 

[bnsf971]

I'm confused - trips or tips? I didn't know drivers got tips. Do they hang out in someone's yard waiting for them to come out?

I've never seen an option to tip an Amazon driver, but Walmart includes a tip in your delivery order. I have to reduce the tip to a reasonable amount for what I get from them. I'm not giving a delivery driver $20 to deliver a $50 order 4 miles, which is how far I live from the store.

 

[bnsf971]

Good morning. It's mostly clear and 78.

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good Friday morning, Coffee Shop! It's 77°F (25°C) and mostly clear.

Weather:
Partly cloudy then becoming mostly sunny toward daybreak then becoming partly cloudy then becoming mostly cloudy late this afternoon. Patchy smoke toward daybreak. Isolated showers and thunderstorms toward daybreak then numerous showers and thunderstorms. Humid with highs in the upper 80s. Light and variable winds becoming southeast around 5 mph toward daybreak then becoming southwest around 5 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Have a great day!

 

[troyphoto]

I'm up.

Flo! Coffee for everyone!

More updates as warranted.

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

67° under hazy smoky skies, looking for a high today of 88°. Air Quality index is 267 this morning which is in the dangerous category. Walked out on the back deck to let the dogs out and immediately was hit in the face with smoke. Smells like somebody forgot to open up the damper on the wood stove.
Wife already had to have a nebulizer treatment this morning. This is bad.

BBL

 

[Espeefan]

1 member 384 guests

Looks like the sky climbing bison granddad maybe be an innocent bye stander per the guy who filmed the aerial adventures. Wrong place wrong time!

Correct. He was well beyond the minimum recommended safe distance. He did not provoke the animal, and it appears this was in the picnic area. Just a guy enjoying the park and wildlife, unlike the biker chick who walked up to one and tried to pet it a couple of years back. He may not survive, so, hate to be a wet blanket guys, but there's nothing funny here.

 

[Espeefan]

Alan- you are just a gluton for punishment doing things like that!

I guess, but once you see one with them, not doing them just isn't right. You have to spend the money on a really good set of tweezers. I have a pair that will pick up a human hair or bend wire. Got them from a jeweler's supply house. The kind they use to pick up those teeny little diamonds. That and using a new blade in the hobby knife when you cut them out. The first one or two are the worst, then you get used to it.

 

[TLOC]

Air quality is at 269 this morning. It hit 290 yesterday when I checked before dinner and after a 20 minute 1/4” of a pop up shower it dropped to 160 but still not good. 67f degrees now with 91% later.

On Tuesday Nest sent a message to change the air filter in the furnace. I had a new box of 18 I opened and left for the new owners. 16x25x1 was the size. We used to do a 90 day change with a #7 MERV rated filter. The HVAC tech a few years ago said when checking the furnace #11 MERV would be better for Terry after he heard her wheezing and a 60 day check on the filter. Nest recommends a #11 and 6 weeks which is of course 42 days. Is it a conspiracy by the furnace filter industry?

This morning at 5 I checked the Nest in the new place after spending a very restless 1st night in the new place. The filter change message was highlited so I checked the filter. At 6 I was waiting for the doors at Homedepot to open. Got the new filter. The filters here are 30” x 32” x 2” so I ordered a 12 pack from Amazon. Our TV gal who does the weather said because the air quality is bad to run the furnace house fan fulltime in addition to the AC. So I Google Gemini on ways to filter the house air and it too said run the house fan full time when the air quality is poor. I asked ChatGPT (yes I was bored yesterday) the exact same question and got a much more wordy answer but it agrees run the house fan 24/7 during air quality alerts

Trying to sleep was tough last night. I heard every movement of the house, the AC cycling and the water softener doing its regeneration/filtering at 2am. I’ll get used to it but it will take time.

I have a friend who last Saturday left to visit their grandson who is spending another Summer as a deck hand on the Mackinac Island ferry. Last year they spent 3 nights in the Grand Hotel on the island at $800 per night. This year they did not stay there as it was $1400 per night and a balacony room facing the bridge was $4600 a night. They stayed on the mainland in Mackinaw City. They then headed west on Hwy 2 towards Duluth but yesterday decided at Hurley Wi to come home. The smoke as they moved west got thicker and Duluth was worst. They will pick it up from Hurley another time.

This afternoon Terry says we will adjust the future arrangements and probably her office. She said the office doesn’t feel right. The movers yesterday as promised were done by noon having assembled her office stuff, 2 bedrooms and placed the boxes as per the drawing. 3 movers from Gorilla Movers that easily could be college linebackers that handles the stuff like it was nothing. The tip went over very well.

Because of the poor air I am heading out to a work session. I will be painting rail as we move to the scenic elements of the layout. My air brushes and compressor are coming along and I have back up bottles of Vallejo. 1st me and 2 partners will use IPA to clean the webs of the rails together for 20 minutes. After those 20 minutes I will spray the rail with the rust color Bob has mixed up and I’ll make any adjustments. 1 helper will continue to clean the web of the rail while the other goes to what I sprayed and using a piece of pine board will wipe the paint off the top of the rail. The goal today is the 300’ of lower main plus the sidings and yard. I told him that’s ambitious but if there truly are 3 in the team it’s possible. I was supposed to miss this session but instead of coming home from the travels tomorrow Saturday we cut it 10:days short due to the heat of Arizona.

Enjoy the day

 

[Espeefan]

Good morning, all! 73 in the Brew City this morning, going to 90 again. We're loaded down with wildfire smoke. Air quality is 394 and you can smell it. City workers are off and some services are suspended. Some visibility issues on the highway yesterday. I'm thinking of hanging a couple of hams on the patio! We need some rain to wash it out of the air, but none is forthcoming. Grass is all brown now. Good time for modeling! I took the Santa Fe F units to the club last night, and they were well received. I need to finish numbering the F-7 set. The nose numbers need done, but my F decals were too old. The small numbers disintegrated when soaked. I'll see if I have a newer set in stock. if I don't, I'll need to buy a fresh sheet. Not sure what I'll do next. I don't want to paint in this weather. What I should do is clean up the workshop!

 

[kbkchooch]

I don't want to paint in this weather. What I should do is clean up the workshop!

I'm wondering myself where painting weather went. We went from 45° to 85°+ overnight. I've got a few locos on a line waiting for paint, maybe this fall??

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps and those with working lungs.

It's Troy again. Only slightly wheezy.

I made a grocery run for a few things we didn't need right away... but one I needed today. The anniversary card for the wife. 39 years tomorrow.

And at the store, I knew I'd better pick up some masks. the only one I had out at home was the spraybooth respirator one, and I didn't want to wear that into the grocery store.

So I did the hold my breath, then pull my polo shirt up and breath through it when I had to. I decided to get the 3M Aura ones, that kinda fold out like a duck bill holding a box.

Put one on as I exited the checkout area.

Even with that on for every little trip in and out of the condo to the garage this morning, I'm still a bit wheezy. Going to hit the rescue inhaler once I finish typing.

Here's why:

It's a good day to stay inside. Fortunately, we have left over Giordanos pizza for tonight.