Running Bear's June 2024 Coffee Shop

[migalyto]

If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough...

And there's not a lack of dumbness in todays world!!!

 

[Boris]

Question for those of you with AARP memberships. Does it do any good outside of supplemental insurance?

A. No! It's a waste of money,($16/5 yrs), as you can shop around and do better with everything including supplemental insurance. While you have time, learn all you can about Medicare (A&B), Medicare C (Through a private company), Medicare D (Drugs), and all your options including combining it with C. All D is through private providers. Medicare. Gov has a wealth of information you can digest provided you take the time not to overload.

Personally, We use traditional Medicare, and our supplement is with United Heathcare. Our D is through a Jersey Blue Cross affiliate. (They also offer B supplements). Nothing I have tried through AARP, has worked out for us, including Delta Dental and AARP's eye care affiliate. For supplements look for a plan F if you can get it...otherwise your deductables will be excessive...remember you get what you pay for...While adjusting for your current health situation, look ahead to what might happen..with aging, comes the unexpected.

 

[Boris]

there's not a lack of dumbness in todays world

Do tell

 

[Patrick]

Karl: I wondered where CDK Global came from. I worked for Reynolds and Reynolds in the late 80's and at that time ADP was the only real competition.

2nd tomato is turning. Kind of a greeny pink. Got 5 more cucumbers and the corn is starting to tassel.

 

[Boris]

This is one quiet Saturday. It was hot today, 97° at the Reservoir, and 100° on the front porch. Now it's down to 76° at the Reservoir, and last I looked 80° on the front porch. The heat broke when a storm passed, but it only left a enough rain to wet the street and patio.

Sunday, is predicted to have 95° temperatures and more rain than today...The lawn's already in burnt grass summer mode, which is what happens here when its hot and doesn't rain for 8 days...Amazing, that none of this bothers the weeds though.

Not much going on this weekend, on Monday, my contractor comes to replace the attic level side vents. The foreman was here to take measurements for both this project and another three or four weeks down the road.

Tomorrow looks like a good day to grill Hot Dogs. This time, Ball Park Angus Beef "Bun" sized. If I get ambitious, and fry up some peppers and onions, I can serve Newark style "Italian Hot Dogs".

 

[CambriaArea51]

Looks like we have a new resident in our neighborhood. This is the scene next door this morning.
View attachment 192355
Yep! A baby Texas Longhorn. I think that the white cow is the mama, and the brown bull to the left is the papa, since he's the only bull in the pasture. And yes, that eccentric neighbor does have a fountain in his watering pond. I don't know whether the other mature female is expecting or not.

Good thing they don't come out with long horns.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

Morning folks

Summer is being greeted with another morning sans clouds at 41 with a forecast high of 73. Difficult not to like that.

Damn. My condolences Swal!

A friend sent me a link to a Marketplace post (I absolutely refuse to join Facebook) a few days back that listed some Globe-Wernicke barrister sections in Helena. Turned out there were more of them so yesterday my friends in Clancy picked up six, along with a base and top, and all are now upstairs. Three of those sections will need a little attention.

A number of errands and a resupply trip to Costco on the morning's agenda.

I did get a few more slides scanned the past week, all circa 1973-1974.
A few from a visit to Charles Bovey's collection at Nevada City, Montana and from a Long's Peak trek.

Wow, beautiful scenery. And that steamer is cool too. In one month (if i live that long) i'm heading out west for two weeks. Planning to do what i've never done yet; explore Union Pacific mainline all the way from around Lincoln, Nebraska to Las Vegas (did just Nebraska part few times). I'm wondering if that little steamer is still in Montana, as i'll probably do that state heading back east.

 

[migalyto]

A train toying with a cat on a layout.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

Good evening...late, late evening. It's starting to feel like summer here in the Northeast, 100 today. Went out for a ride in the Audi with hopes of hitting the mountains and doing some hiking (got to acclimatise for the western desert heat next month). While driving around Harrisburg, my coolant warning light went on with beeping...well that's it for that and i filled the coolant up before the ride. Got off the first available exit, popped the hood and found growing bubble on the lower radiator hose:

The bubble is visible right by the screw clamp. Got a silicon tape at a near by Advance Auto and wrapped some around offending area. Eventually made it to the house and got the hose replaced...improvised since no hoses are available for those vehicles (1990). Last few weekends worked on the large sedan anyway to sort out other issues; got the front passenger side window regulator motor with whole lift mechanism in, so now a little more breeze while driving

Here someone dumped the brushes with wiring out of the old motor and just put the motor housing back, and inside the door without replacing the motor. Why do people do that?

Another small issue was the missing trim piece at the C-pillar, good luck finding those.

Last weekend i ended up at this large junk yard and located of all things Audi V8 of the same vintage. The trim while different style, had same exact dimentions. At the junk yard a few surprises, love that Jag:

Too bad they're electric nightmares.
The Audi V8 was pearl white metallic, it wouldn't look good with my blue color, so i shot some black and a clear over the trim pieces and put them where they belong:

After the coolant hose was replaced and coolant filled and checked, i decided to do something about that worn steering wheel leather. Went to my local supermarket and got a bottle of leather die. Now the steering wheel looks almost new:

Slowly but surely coming along and it feels good when someone on the road gives thumbs up, as these models are practically extinct.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

I can only guess, but I'm sure some of it ends up here.

View attachment 192369

This is that 30% processed.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

Sheer stupidity.

And another Darwin award winner

 

[KriegslokBR52]

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!

View attachment 192340

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...

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

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.

View attachment 192341

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.

All this stuff is deffinitely not good for your health

 

[Smudge617]

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps, and those with hoses that function

It's Troy again...

Woke up at 2:30 with tinnitus back up to a 7. It was a manageable 4 when I went to bed (still using the wave sound machine on the nightstand, and an under pillow speaker to get the ear that's pressed against the pillow).

Tried hitting the recliner, and only dozed, not slept, for an hour.

Figured it out an hour later when I finally went upstairs and started coffee. It was raining.

I'm in Fort Wayne, in the Green 70s zone, mid-right side. The good news is that stationary front for the heat dome over us is shifting. That should knock 5-10 F degrees off our highs. Today might hit 80. That's a relief. But it will be mid to upper 80s all week.

Seems like my body reacts to changes in the barometric pressure.

This morning, while watching it rain, I had a bowl of Special K cereal. My mother's father really liked Special K, so I've liked it too. But I haven't been a cereal eater for decades. It was an easy carb to cut out of my diet. But, with Scotcheroos in the house, we've got more than half a box!

That reminded me of an ages old problem: What to do with the milk left in the bowl?
Do you:

• dump it?
• drink it from the bowl?
• Keep adding cereal, eating, add more cereal, etc til the milk is exhausted?

I re-discovered that I just keep adding and eating more cereal til the milk is gone.

 

[santafewillie]

That reminded me of an ages old problem: What to do with the milk left in the bowl?

Give it to the cat!

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good morning!
It's 79° in Tipton.

(Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license Wilson Hui)

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

I do not have an AARP membership. We looked into it and discussed it with many family members and friends. It's not that expensive but all you actually get is a list of places that offer AARP members discounts; travel, hotels etc; many of which are available to any senior that looks it up on the Internet. For example, they offer a 10% discount at Schlotzsky's; but I get that anyway just by asking! You also get access to games and activities designed to stimulate brain health, including puzzles and quizzes. Your junk E-Mail and snail mail will increase by a factor of at least 10!!! They exist to sell you their products like life, home or auto insurance. In a very few markets, it is competitive but mostly not. A lot of their informative articles are excerpts from articles already on the web. They make a lot of their money by selling your personal information to their stable of business clients, so you will also get E-Mail and snail mail from them as well. Their Medicare supplement when we looked at it was no better than we got from Blue Cross of Texas, but it cost about 10% more. They have an advantage plan as well, but it (along with most others available) exists for them to make a profit.
Better than AAA??? Not from what we found out, maybe about the same. They do offer a comfort zone to those who may be apprehensive about retirement, but if one actually does their homework, much better options exist.
They are actually a non-profit organization, but I have read that their officers and directors live pretty high up in the world. This I cannot verify.
My advice is to check them out along with as many other options that you can, and then decide which ones are best for you. As I already posted, their membership is not that costly and can be dropped at any time. When we looked at it, it was $16/year for a couple, $12 for the first year if you set up auto-renewal.

I have been a AARP member for many years (25+) and I average about one email a day and mail count is likewise low and have no complaints about them. I do have United Medicare Advantage through AARP and have been happy with it also.

 

[bnsf971]

Good morning. It's 75 and clear.

 

[NorthBrit]

Good morning all. A sunny day 19c and rising.
A few household jobs to attend to, so better carry on.

 

[NorthBrit]

First time I have tried an Air Fryer. I think it turned out well.