Running Bear's June 2024 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 evening gang!!

Never tried the Tamaiya glues, or Gorilla super glue, but on Walthers Cornerstone buildings I have had good luck with clean 1st, glue 2nd, and paint later. Usually I use Pacer Zap superglue. A lot of my structures travelled a bit when I did train shows and even though the modules were in a trailer with very little suspension, only once did one fall apart due to road shocks.

For the dog owners in the group. My Border Collie LOVES to fetch tennis balls, her little "sister" just like to chew on them. I found a company online that recycles tennis balls for dog play, and they were cheap! 19.95 for 25 balls with UPS shipping! Check out Second Throw Recycle Balls
You should have seen the happy tails when I dumped the box of balls on the living room floor tonight!! :D

WM35 at rest.JPG


Speaking of a Walthers building!
 
NYC_George said:
Tom I ran into a few local 235 members I use to work with who could retire this year because their 55 years old and have 30,0000 hours. I asked them who's paying your health insurance for the next 10 years, I know the union pays for it one year after you leave but after that who's paying. They reply I don't know. That's a big problem, isn't it? Yes, it is.
Swal
Click to expand...
People really have to think about finances, insurance and health before they retire. Nothing is cheap
 
Model railroading scenery is where I’m at tonight. Watching the Oiler/Panther game #6 of the c Stanley Cup finals. Since the start of the playoffs in April I have been twisting wires for tree armatures during intermissions. Used up all my wire during game 5 to just over 700 armatures. I am making 27 trembling aspens for a Montana based layout. Boomer Diorama last week did a video last week about making these. That clicked the light bulb.

Here’s my question?

Has anyone used a Hot Glue Pot?
IMG_6112.png


I’ve never been success with a hot glue gun other than for burning my fingers. To be able to dip the branches without burning my fingers would be more efficient and possibly more precise. I already dip the armature in beeswax and that works well.

Any thoughts
 
Last edited:


santafewillie said:
Louis - There's no doubt that the ACA was a good deal for anyone with pre-existing conditions. Several things about it were not good for me. While the premiums themselves would have been less expensive, the co-pays were much greater than my COBRA would have been. Thankfully in retrospect, I never had to pay any. But most important was the much ballyhooed prevarication "that if I liked my doctor, I could keep him"! That was not true! That's why I chose COBRA. Matter of fact, not only was my primary care guy not covered, but my gastroenterologist was also not acceptable.
Click to expand...
My wife, Angela, was the catalyst. She knew I had previously had three catastrophic health problems. Two of which I paid for out of pocket. I've been self-employed since 1995. Each catastrophe cost me as much or more than the divorce from my ex-wife. (I happily overpaid for my freedom and peace) Three times in my life my savings were nearly wiped out and I had to start over. Angela pointed out starting over for a fourth time was not smart or likely, not with all my health problems. I reluctantly made the call to the navigator. Smartest move I ever made, thanks to Angela.

There were dozens of plans to choose from in Maryland. So many choices that it was all confusing to me. I was lucky to find the navigator. There were many cheaper plans I could have chosen, but the navigator took the time to help me find the one that best fit my situation. I thought of co-pays like deductibles, they save me money. The navigator pointed out eventually I would be paying more. Especially if we need anything more than basic care. I went with a more costly plan with low co-pays.

You are right, I couldn't keep my doctor and that concerned me. My previous doctor, an old West Point graduate (Black Knight), was great, He helped save me money repeatedly. I could see him any day he was working, no appointment necessary, if I were willing to wait and I was always happy to wait for him. He "streamlined" my healthcare choosing only what I really needed and prescriptions that were cost effective. I could have kept my doctor, but he wasn't a part of the best plans available for me. Angela wants us to be protected from another catastrophe. The cheap plans didn't provide that. I've learned a lot about my health problems. But the fact is I don't know one doctor from another. I'm no medical expert and I have complicated issues.

My first visit with the new primary care doctor took nearly three hours. She took her time with me going over all my health problems. She had her staff gather up as many of my health records as possible. All I had to do was sign the forms. The new doctor changed many of my prescriptions, I didn't say a word, Angela asked me not to. God only knows how much this stuff costs; my co-pays are reasonable.

It's a PITA going to all these specialists and tests, but my health has been steadily improving. For the first time since I was diagnosed with diabetes my A1C was below 8, 7.2. The new cardiologist tells me controlling my diabetes is the key to preventing further heart disease. Having pancreatitis makes controlling my blood sugar tricky, at best. I credit all this coordinated care.

I don't make appointments; I watch my patient portal and look for new appointments. I get text alerts too. I can change them, but I don't. Everything from diabetic vision care and glasses, screenings, specialists, and primary care appointments are all handled through the insurance company. I just show up when and where they tell me to go. There are a few things I can do from home, on the computer or my phone. Like diabetic "boot camp" it's a real thing and all done on the phone at my convince.

I have the best health care of my life! The insurance company tells me they are saving money by keeping me healthy. I feel better, Angela is happy, it's been great!

Everybody has a different situation. That is why there are so many options. I'm thankful the ACA got me back in the loop to make a choice.
 
Swal I am so sorry for your lose I know how you feel my wife passed on 4-10-2011 after I don't remember how many doctors and a trip to the mayo clinic and a list of medications half a page long situation similar to yours except she passed at home in her sleep she just gave up
mike
 
Well, howdy there internet peeps and those with weather.

It's Troy again.

Had a long call yesterday with an author buddy who's local to me. I was stuck on what to do with a background character that is a pain-int-the-arse minor protagonist to the main character.

I'd completed his primary arc, but didn't know what came next with him. An hour later, we had quite the excursion laid out.

Later today is the "art show" in the parking lot of the shopping complex next to us. Wife and her sister are going to walk over once her sister gets here about lunch time. I'm not sure if I'll go or not. I'd just want to spend money on non-train stuff. On second thought, I'd better stay here.

Looking at the various weather guessing sites, NE Indiana is going to still have the heat dome, but lose about 10 F-degrees off our our 95+ degrees of the last week. For those of you in Metric-land, that's 35° to 38°C.

Wife had a mild work day yesterday, and found time to whip up some Scotcheroos!

scotcheroos.jpg


Of course, I got mine when the chocolate and butterscotch frosting layer was still all melty.
It's basically Special K cereal (you can use Rice Crispies if you prefer), in a batter with corn syrup and cane sugar. Melt Chocolate chips and Butterscotch chips, and add as a frosty layer. Basically pure sugar with cereal, chocolate, and scutterbotch. Recipe here if you want to try it...

dancearoundthekitchen.com

Best Ever Scotcheroos

After lots of experimenting, I finally have come up with the recipe for Best Ever Scotcheroos! Give them a try and you'll see why!
dancearoundthekitchen.com dancearoundthekitchen.com

In other news, we tried a new-to-us Wings place next to our local Culvers. Mom & Pop mini-chain. I get boneless wings because bones-yuk... they were ok. Wife liked her midwest style Tenderloin sandwich. You can see her sandwich peeking out in the upper left.

wings.jpg


Fries were ok. Wings were OK... I tried the Honey BBQ sauce. I prefer sweet sauces. Not a fan of spicey-hot sauces.

There's a more popular chain of Wings place that is regional that I prefer. Again, chicken nuggets are nuggets either way. But the other place has more burger options.

If we return to this one, I'll try the burger before I chose my favorite.

The secret to the decision is for the wife to have the tenderloin again. Too often, places are hit or miss on how they do the sandwiches. She complains that my favorite place is good on the tenderloins every other visit.

that's it for now. I need to go get a walk in. I've been slacking the last week.
 


Morning all,

77° and partly cloudy going for a high later of a muggy 99°. Heat index near 105° and thus summer begins.

Shoulder doing good since surgery, but not being able to really use it is driving me 🤪.
It is my dominant arm, so that's most of it.

BBL
 
Bruette said:
My wife, Angela, was the catalyst. She knew I had previously had three catastrophic health problems. Two of which I paid for out of pocket. I've been self-employed since 1995. Each catastrophe cost me as much or more than the divorce from my ex-wife. (I happily overpaid for my freedom and peace) Three times in my life my savings were nearly wiped out and I had to start over. Angela pointed out starting over for a fourth time was not smart or likely, not with all my health problems. I reluctantly made the call to the navigator. Smartest move I ever made, thanks to Angela.

There were dozens of plans to choose from in Maryland. So many choices that it was all confusing to me. I was lucky to find the navigator. There were many cheaper plans I could have chosen, but the navigator took the time to help me find the one that best fit my situation. I thought of co-pays like deductibles, they save me money. The navigator pointed out eventually I would be paying more. Especially if we need anything more than basic care. I went with a more costly plan with low co-pays.

You are right, I couldn't keep my doctor and that concerned me. My previous doctor, an old West Point graduate (Black Knight), was great, He helped save me money repeatedly. I could see him any day he was working, no appointment necessary, if I were willing to wait and I was always happy to wait for him. He "streamlined" my healthcare choosing only what I really needed and prescriptions that were cost effective. I could have kept my doctor, but he wasn't a part of the best plans available for me. Angela wants us to be protected from another catastrophe. The cheap plans didn't provide that. I've learned a lot about my health problems. But the fact is I don't know one doctor from another. I'm no medical expert and I have complicated issues.

My first visit with the new primary care doctor took nearly three hours. She took her time with me going over all my health problems. She had her staff gather up as many of my health records as possible. All I had to do was sign the forms. The new doctor changed many of my prescriptions, I didn't say a word, Angela asked me not to. God only knows how much this stuff costs; my co-pays are reasonable.

It's a PITA going to all these specialists and tests, but my health has been steadily improving. For the first time since I was diagnosed with diabetes my A1C was below 8, 7.2. The new cardiologist tells me controlling my diabetes is the key to preventing further heart disease. Having pancreatitis makes controlling my blood sugar tricky, at best. I credit all this coordinated care.

I don't make appointments; I watch my patient portal and look for new appointments. I get text alerts too. I can change them, but I don't. Everything from diabetic vision care and glasses, screenings, specialists, and primary care appointments are all handled through the insurance company. I just show up when and where they tell me to go. There are a few things I can do from home, on the computer or my phone. Like diabetic "boot camp" it's a real thing and all done on the phone at my convince.

I have the best health care of my life! The insurance company tells me they are saving money by keeping me healthy. I feel better, Angela is happy, it's been great!

Everybody has a different situation. That is why there are so many options. I'm thankful the ACA got me back in the loop to make a choice.
Click to expand...
Great story
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 74° this morning. Today we start what our weather forecast shows to be at least a 10 day run with highs at or near 100°. It's Summertime here in North Central Texas. Hot and dry is an easy forecast for the NWS.

Yesterday's delayed weekly grocery trek went off without incident other than stupid, inattentive drivers all over the place. Especially those who suddenly change lanes without signaling or even looking. Had four very close incidents yesterday, only one was at 75mph, the rest were in close confines of the city. Saw a lot of other stupid situations that didn't affect us. Gasoline prices were holding steady at between $3.29 and $3.39/gallon everywhere except the rural convenience store near us where it was still $3.05. Using my Kroger fuel points, I paid $2.39 for 15.75 gallons.
Got a haircut but skipped the Sam's Club visit. Sometime yesterday, a private individual came down the road out front and picked up all of the scrap metal from the tornado. He had a trailer load. Sadly he didn't see one piece near the road underneath a fallen tree at my place, so I will still have to deal with that one.

I spent a little time out in the train shed yesterday, but most of that time was spent running various trains. I didn't do any switching, just running from staging yard to staging yard. I did get a little more painting done on some of the Chinese figures that I am working on.
IMG_0346.JPG

Painted flesh on the four unpainted figures and did two shades of brown, one girl got blond hair, black and some blue on others. The fellow in the bottom right originally had yellow pants. I repainted them and made his hair brown instead of black. I'll be painting his tie to finish him off.
There's others still soaking and some that I haven't started yet.
The person in the middle on the bottom used to have a scarf that I carefully shaved off.
IMG_0344.JPG

Since these Chinese figures are all pirated[?] copies of Preiser figures, they all tend to be a bit too heavily dressed for my flatlands USA layout.

Tom O - I know that my tax assessment is rather low compared to many, but it has it's drawbacks. Crappy road out front, easement that may get mowed twice a year if we're lucky, no garbage pickup, no snow removal equipment (rarely needed anyway), takes the sheriff's department 45 minutes to get here, etc. But it is worth it in the long run.
Patrick - Follow that PT's advice or you'll be back for a redo.
Chad - The insurance that your wife has may not care about intervals, but Medicare sure does. Best to get into the routine early.
Karl - Is this nationwide computer hack affecting your place of business?
Troy - Your diet would send me into a diabetic coma! It all looks good though!

Everyone have a great Saturday.
 
Good morning to all. It’s going to be one of those weather weekends! Rain sometimes, T-storms that may or may not pop up but the constant in all this is the heat and humidity. It remains high with the AccuWeather app saying it’s at 97% right now. When it’s that high, shouldn’t it be raining? I never did understand humidity! 85f degrees for the high but the heat index will be 95!

After the 1st picture yesterday was hung the rest went easy. I ended up borrowing the condo’s maintenance worker on duty, another 10’ step ladder and $20 later we had the damn thing hung. It was a 4’x6’ monster of a painting that we hung in her entrance foyer that was hung above the entrance arch to the rest of her condo. My own 10’ and 8’ step ladders I took with me were fine for the other pictures and with a few breaks I finished hanging what she wanted by 5:30. She owes me a dinner as I wanted to be home for the hockey game last night. I missed the 1st period but saw the rest of a great Oiler win.

I was invited to a pool party rain or shine at the daughter’s today but begged off. But the daughter has me grilling anyway this morning. She dropped off Thursday 300 chicken wings to be grilled. I put them in 3 marinades Thursday and pulled them out at 6 this morning to dry. The grilling will go fast and they just need to be re-heated later. The SIL will handle the dipping sauces and re-heat. I also marinated and boiled (not in beer, these are for kids) 50 brats that just need to be grilled.

Because of the weather I most likely will be in the train room. I have 3 tank cars to finish changing out the ScaleTrain couplers to the Kadee shelf couplers. I will then add those 3 cars to 12 more from the storage drawers and test them out. If all goes well today on the layout I will be looking at working on paper mill yard. Testing and tweaking section by section. The guys want to start op testing in August and be part of a local 5 layout rotation by December. The goal is to operate an 8 hour shift in a real 90 minutes to no longer than 2 hours.

Enjoy the day, stay cool
 
santafewillie said:
Troy - Your diet would send me into a diabetic coma! It all looks good though!
Click to expand...
So far, I've been able to make insulin in the right doses pretty easily.

What I didn't show you was the big bowl of (canned) broccoli and cheddar soup I had for lunch. I don't view that as exciting enough for a pic. Nor the cup of blueberry yogurt, and two strips of microwave (precooked) bacon I do each morning for breakfast.
 
Well - Doggies - Sports fans! While I was not paying attention, the temp has been showing off.
On the 17th - the high for the day was 75 - steadily climbing to today's estimated 98 degrees.

Finished my 5 injections (working on raising my WBC) yesterday; now if I can force myself to consume enough liquid to lower my Creatine for starting Chemo sessions again.

LOUIS - enjoyed your medical dissertation !

I'll return in a while - The Spousal Unit has an MRI this morning 65 miles away?
Gotta make tracks!
 
TLOC said:
People really have to think about finances, insurance and health before they retire. Nothing is cheap
Click to expand...
True. My own experience mirrored your comments. Finding pertinent information is difficult though, because everyone's circumstance is different, and one size fits all generic planning articles usually doesn't do it.

Take the 401k, for instance. Much depends on the employers plan, the employee's contribution level, and selection of investment options, as well as the length of time participating in the plan.

Same applies with healthcare planning. Much depends on individual circumstance, individual health, and individual resources.

In both cases finding accurate, unbiased information is difficult....
 
Boris said:
True. My own experience mirrored your comments. Finding pertinent information is difficult though, because everyone's circumstance is different, and one size fits all generic planning articles usually doesn't do it.

Take the 401k, for instance. Much depends on the employers plan, the employee's contribution level, and selection of investment options, as well as the length of time participating in the plan.

Same applies with healthcare planning. Much depends on individual circumstance, individual health, and individual resources.

In both cases finding accurate, unbiased information is difficult....
Click to expand...
Agreed! Insurance info IMO is tougher than finding good financial advise
 


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