Running Bear's June 2022 Coffee Shop

[ctclibby]

I used to love heading in on Saturday mornings. I could get more done between 6 and 10AM then most full days during the week and it was much more relaxing without anyone around. Working from home never seemed to be as satisfying to me

When I was a production tech I would go in early - real early. Just like almost anybody else I could get more done in those hours before all the other folks showed up. I could go home early too if the line(s) were running good. As a manager, same thing. That would have been better if I could have talked my assistant into the early part.
As to working at home - pretty much impossible for me as I get distracted to easy wanting to do this or that.

 

[chadbag]

Wow, I feel like such an underachiever. I only made it to Star Scout with all these Eagles. My last camping trip was 50 years ago along the Deerfield River just outside of Shelburne Falls, MA.

I only made 2nd Class...

What I feel bad about is my son made it to Star and was originally going for Eagle but then he kind of lost interest/gave up when it came to the wire and his birthday when it no longer mattered... But it was his decision and not mine so I keep it to myself.

 

[chadbag]

Batteries - Tesla and Generac are the most expensive; both have a 10 year ( 4000 cycle ) warranty and cost more than all of my vehicles combined. With my quick seat of the pants number crunching, we would have a net savings of about 100.00 per month using the lessor power bill ( $220 per month ). ROI probably will never happen or really be out there beyond my sun orbits. I am gonna have to setup a spreadsheet and compare to deep cycle marine batteries to see what shakes out.

This is the one I invested a very small amount in: https://www.storen.tech . I am hoping they take off so when I am ready for a battery they have a solution...

A 10 year battery is no good since they are expensive and are depleted in 10 years (well, down to min 70%).

 

[truckdad]

Getting ready to leave. Pray for me as I will be in the car with my wife for the next 5-6 hours.

So am I Willie. Heading to Lebanon, Or to ride behind a 2-6-2 Praire that sat in my hometown of Santa Maria from 1953 to 1983. My co-worker & I and 2 crane crews moved it from the fairgrounds to the depot and it went to Oregon for restoration. Took 38 years. Santa Maria Valley RR #205. Will post some pics after Sundays ride.

 

[kbkchooch]

A 10 year battery is no good since they are expensive and are depleted in 10 years (well, down to min 70%).

I recently did an estimate for a customer with a Chevy Volt for a drive battery replacement. Parts and labor was over 26k, half the cost of the car when it was new!

If everyone got an electric car, our power grids would fail.

I'm waiting for Hydrogen power, it's not far off.

 

[rgeiter]

I was pouring “concrete” in between two tracks on the layout a few days ago. It looked good so I painted it. Well, last night I noticed it cracked, but in a good way. I couldn’t ask for better concrete cracks!! I like!!

 

[JeffH]

I see a future where we harness solar power to use electrolysis to separate water into H and O2 gasses. Hydrogen is captured for fuel, O2 is captured as the oxidizer. The 2 are then used in a hydrogen burning motor, where the bi-product is water vapor. I figure why burn "local" O2... This would create water "locally" without necessarily consuming any O2 from the "local" environment.

But.. I'm sure there are many things about that vision are unrealistic. But I would think we could come up with a "passive" electrolysis method where all you would need to do is pour a water source into a "Mr. Electrolysis" machine in your garage. Wake up the next day with a fully charged hydrogen fuel cell. You have a combination of solar panels, a windmill or even a small nearby stream turning water wheel, to to produce the electricity to split the water molecules.

If a windmill can run a pond aerator, it should have plenty of power to split water molecules.

 

[JeffH]

I was pouring “concrete” in between two tracks on the layout a few days ago. It looked good so I painted it. Well, last night I noticed it cracked, but in a good way. I couldn’t ask for better concrete cracks!! I like!!

That looks awesome! Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, LOL!

 

[Alcomotive]

I recently did an estimate for a customer with a Chevy Volt for a drive battery replacement. Parts and labor was over 26k, half the cost of the car when it was new!

If everyone got an electric car, our power grids would fail.

I'm waiting for Hydrogen power, it's not far off.

I second that! Hydrogen is the way to go. 8 years ago GM did multiple contracts with the military creating hydrogen powered vehicles and they are still in service today. It is a huge success BUT the problem is how do they make money off hydrogen? Like they do with petroleum? It is always about how to make money no matter what. If the companies cannot make money they will scrap it unless the govt. forces the issue.

Batteries is as dumb as it gets.....all these battery power tools and such will end up in land fills no one will recycle it. It is a shame and a waste. Car batteries they are making today with electric cars.....ya......... who will recycle those? and the cars?

My 2 cents.

 

[ctclibby]

In my somewhat shaded view - So you go out and by a $60K Tesla knowing the battery will be kaput in 5 to 10 years. Now you get to get a new battery for probably the same price as the car is valued at that time. Ok, you think - I will just sell it a year or so before the battery dies. Folks that are looking for a used one have not done the research and probably do not realize that the battery is gonna be an issue. Then they dump the car when that happens. Resale is gonna go through the floor.

I have found that any electronics is suspect when coupled with vibration, so the stated 5 to 10 years of battery life may just be a seat of the pants guess. I suspect that we will find out when there is a couple of hundred thousand Tesla's ( and others ) out there that have aged.

I somewhat like the idea of electric vehicles and if our st00pid government would just allow the market and technology drive the change we would be in a better world. Just pulling the switch as it seems they are trying to do just does not work. On top of that, they are expecting the whole wide world to do the same. And then there is infrastructure for the new stuff. Where is all this electricity gonna come from as well as the space for many cars to charge at the same time same location? Magic must happen with a miracle too.

 

[logandsawman]

Well howdy there internet peeps

It's Troy again.

Not much to report today. Wife is overloaded with work. She's getting that glazed-over look going. Had a bunch of things all drop into the bin at the same time and she's having to heavily prioritize what won't catch fire while she slams through projects. Add in non-helpful people she needs to rely on for answers as she sets up complicated stuff and she's frazzled.

Tonight is the local vocal group's concert here in the neighborhood. They've got an RV with a portable stage that they purchased during Covid social distancing. Problem is, tonight is country music night. I enjoy that genre of music as much as I enjoy root canals, even with the newer, poppier stuff. She'll have to go by herself. Her mother is too unstable to make it in the heat.

She did move her Zuccini over to a different spot on the patio... then read how her lack of growing fruit on the plant may be down to a lack of pollinators. With our wood siding, the HOA/maintenance folks work hard to keep the wood bees under control. I put out a hummy-bird feeder, but those guys aren't helping much.

So, the wife is going to have to start pollinating her veggies. I should look online and see if I can find a bee costume for her to wear when she's out pollinating.

Now that I know what and when and how the plumbing for the wet bar in the basement is getting done, I bit the bullet and did a large amount of the dirty work last night. I had to get under the stairs (with a landing halfway down - so it's a crawl space, not a stoop or bend space.)

I moved the outlet that was behind the cabinets are going, to above the countertop. Added a GFI, and a 2nd outlet.

View attachment 147762
the double outlet in the center of the wall is new. The blank plate is something leftover from a previous owner. I'll add an upper cabinet to cover it, eventually. Plan is two tall uppers and a microwave shelf in-between them so I can make popcorn.

The fridge had been plugged into the outlet I moved. So I added a junction box in the under-stairway and split off another outlet to behind the fridge. There was already a split going to the understairs light and outlet (The Cat has a large, electric, rotating pooping palace under the stairs, hence the outlet). Fortunately, neither of those are wet locations, so the GFI could come after them in the circuit.

And, with one trip back under the stairs to reseat a loose ground wire in the box, I got the two happy lights on the circuit tester.

View attachment 147763
And the GFI even has a little led night light. Bonus! Not that it will do much, but hey. It's a light.

Troy, did I see a cat door?

Why no cat pics?

 

[McLeod]

Hi, again!

I was pouring “concrete” in between two tracks on the layout a few days ago. It looked good so I painted it. .

What did you use for the 'concrete' pour? Also, did you paint the concrete while it was still wet? Thanks.

I see a future where we harness

With today's concerns with charging, fire hazard, range, cold weather operation, and cost of a new Tesla, perhaps we'll all be revisiting another vehicle in the future. Like this sports model:

How about a-bit on modelling.

I've nearly completed the 52 Ford COE. All that's left is some weathering (perhaps), and carving out a windshield. I've left the cab body removable for that purpose:

I believe I've done ok with modelling vehicles this past month. I've increased my vehicle count somewhat:

Oh, I forgot. These all need mirrors. - I'm a wee bit afraid of the tiny work that's involved there.

DaveB - I was talking about layout photos concerning the gravel operation. Thanks for posting the photos. Wonderful work!

Willie - I know you were only kidding with the wife comment. Made me smile, though. I'm sure she is a joy to travel with, so I'll just send a prayer that you have safe travels.

Dave in Penn - I'm looking forward to seeing you're photos of no.205. You're a lucky man, arn't you.

Have a great afternoon!

 

[JeffH]

Troy, did I see a cat door?

Why no cat pics?

Oliver says "Hi."

 

[logandsawman]

Good afternoon all,

70° and very light rain (er, I mean high humidity), supposed to hit 89

I got some track trimmed last night, fit into place, the Bachmann track turned out pretty good with its unique characteristic. Looking forward to Saturday which I hope will bring more train progress.

Electric Batteries - ya, what are we going to do with all the spent stuff. One thing about capitalism, we don't really have a plan for the stuff we make that doesn't go away but is just about useless. It becomes a cash cow in its inception and a problem for the next generation when it is used up. For example, nuclear waste. We still do not know how to handle it. Warning - elec grid barely handles our needs now, what will happen when everyone is plugging in their car. Poorly thought out solution.

Enough griping.

It is far more entertaining to talk about our pets, here is my wife and best friend:

I have this pic on my desktop for when I want to smile. Typical cat, tolerates his human.

more later, Dave LASM

 

[troyphoto]

Troy, did I see a cat door?

Why no cat pics?

Because every time I point my phone at him, he goes into "I'm ready for my CLOSE-UP, Mr. DeMille" mode.

He loves the camera a little too much.

 

[troyphoto]

Here he is distracted by Hummy Birds on the patio in the last year or so.

 

[troyphoto]

Caught him sleeping on the wife's glider out on the patio. Notice the eyes about to pop open so he can charge the camera?

 

[Sirfoldalot]

One of the major reason US McDonalds burgers suck donkey spheres is that their buns suck.

CHAD - When I read this, I spit my coffee out my nose, but it's true!

Yesterday, I had to make a run to the Kaiser Pharmacy because I left the Dr office without filling a "new" prescription .. dumb? Anyway, called the wife and said how bout I grab a sandwich on way home? She said, "anything would be nice".
Now as ARBY'S is on the other side of town from us and we hardly ever go there - I had saw a new hamburger they had and wanted to try it. -- frickin thing was $9.00 - but have to say that it was worth it.

As you may have prob read this far - the bun was fantastic and is what really set off the burger which had almose 1/2 inch of meat - not greasy but good meat - with all sort of garnish. Also picked up a Reuben for the Spouse - but we each shared.
All good!
Thanks for listening ..... I am still several pages behind for the week!

 

[chadbag]

I recently did an estimate for a customer with a Chevy Volt for a drive battery replacement. Parts and labor was over 26k, half the cost of the car when it was new!

If everyone got an electric car, our power grids would fail.

I'm waiting for Hydrogen power, it's not far off.

The Volt has a small battery as it is a plugin hybrid. Teslas stories you hear for their battery replacements are a little less than you quoted for the Volt. Why is Chevy charging 4x the price of tesla on a per kwh basis?

(1st Gen Volt was 16 kwh battery. Later models 18.4 kwh. Teslas start at 60kwh and go up from there)

 

[chadbag]

Now as ARBY'S is on the other side of town from us and we hardly ever go there - I had saw a new hamburger they had and wanted to try it. -- frickin thing was $9.00 - but have to say that it was worth it.

As you may have prob read this far - the bun was fantastic and is what really set off the burger which had almose 1/2 inch of meat - not greasy but good meat - with all sort of garnish. Also picked up a Reuben for the Spouse - but we each shared.

Are you talking about the new "Wagyu" burger? $9 for the combo, right? (Around here the burger alone is around $5.69 or so and the combo close to $9).

It is a good burger. I think the "Wagyu" bit is probably about 3% by weight vs the normal ground beef bit (real Wagyu steak costs like 10x a normal steak for the real good stuff) so I assume they are just adding in a token amount to be able to make the claim. Plus, the reason the wagyu steak is so good is the very heavy marbling of the meat -- the effect of which you lose when grinding it. But the Arby's burger was good. I'd buy it again. I think In-N-Out 3x3 or 4x4 animal style is better but teh Arby's Wagyu "steakhouse" burger is worth the try. I had to try it once and would try it again if I were needing a burger and near an Arbys.