Running Bear's June 2026 Coffee Shop

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bnsf971 said:
I’ve mentioned that supposedly to help fight against bots and AI intrusion, Fleabay has been forcing me to verify myself with every action I take on their website. This morning, I got a popup message from them telling me if I used a passkey I wouldn’t have to constantly verify myself. So, grudgingly, I set a passkey, which also required setting a passcode and facial recognition on my iPad to use it. After that, I was able to browse an item without verifying myself.
Once.
Now, instead of having to verify myself, I have to use the passkey to browse or do anything else on their website, which means that now, instead of having to verify myself, I need to enter my passcode and submit to facial recognition with everything I do, and everything I browse. I don’t see any benefit at all for this, since I’m still having to perform multiple tasks to simply look at something.
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When I'm browsing eBay, that verification stuff is hit or miss on my system. Sometimes it will ask, or start to verify the IP and then continues to the page I called up. Other times I have to do a Captcha puzzle. It's very random.
 
Ok, I will pass that on. He was in the eastern med '77-'83, and must have had some serious responsibilities at what was a young age.

I will pass on these two items:

AFSC 99104 designates the Air Force Specialty Code for a Systems Repair Technician.
This is an obsolete, historical AFSC from the United States Air Force. The code was historically used to identify technical specialists responsible for the repair, maintenance, and calibration of highly specialized, classified scientific and atmospheric research equipment, including seismographic and electromagnetic pulse monitoring systems.

[BTW, I do realize that comes from Patrick]

31650G2, Missile Systems Analyst Technician (WS-133A-M/CDB) Minuteman II in other words. I met a Titan II tech one time, but other than both being missiles, that's where the similarity ended.

Unlikely, obviously, but we'll see.

I will also tell him you are a knowledgeable "rocket man," unless you would rather I don't. Thinking of Artemis here.

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As far as "hobby tech" goes, I do seem to recall someone here was a SSN guy, and I came across another back in earlier sim-racing days (SSN).

There was even a third (SSBN). Small world sometimes.

I myself am a mere layman, BTW, and FWIW.
 
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Good morning Crew! 64f degrees now heading to 80 later. It’s beautiful weather but dry. The lawns are browning as most of the neighborhood does not water. There are 3 that do, 2 at around 6am when I walk by and the other around 8pm. This morning one of those $3600 robotic lawn mowers was angled stuck on the curb and every now and then you could hear the spinning. The programming must have gotten corrupted as this machine cuts Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. So it’s been there since last night as I saw it around 8 on my walk

The movie today will be the Tuner at 2:15. The trailers looked interesting.

Granddaughter plays in baseball at 7:30pm. The Miracle League of Dane County. A super program for special need kids.

Terry finished up the financial review yesterday for our combined and my separate stuff. Today she is doing an experiment. She started feeding this morning my stuff with my encouragement into ChatGPT to see what it thinks I should do.

Enjoy the day
 


By the time I got out of tech school and was assigned to Whiteman AFB, the Titan II was on it's way out. When we were in Electronic Principles class as a whole group, half of us would be separated after EP. One half went to Titan classes, the other half went to Minuteman. The class I was in was the last class that would see Titan students.

I don't know the exact in-activation date(s) of the Titan system, but it was long past its prime. It was complicated, required an immense man-hour expenditure for maintenance, it could be dangerous as was seen with the explosion in Arkansas, etc., etc. Solid-fueled Minuteman was a much easier system to work on and maintain.

Coincidentally, as a kid, I built and flew a lot of solid rocket motor Estes rockets. I got hooked on that while in Germany as a dependent. The older kid in the next building built and flew these rockets and I was fascinated by them. I was always at one of his launches. I never built one myself until returning to the States. It must have been around 1971 or 1972 when I built my first rocket. I was hooked on rockets and space systems ever since and up until today. I've studied nearly every space launch vehicle since Apollo.
 
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Yeah, I built and flew a few Estes rockets too. Alpha 3 (plastic fin section) first, and later a V2 and Redstone. There were others, but never any D boosters. They were just too expensive.

Always wanted to try a down-look-camera payload, but they were also too expensive. These days you could fly one with a AF-2 off a Mosquito.

--------

I do also remember it said of the Titan that if you dropped a wrench socket down into the silo the Atlas was so thin skinned it would likely result in an explosion. Dunno if that's what happened in AK.
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 70°, supposed to be a bit cooler today with clouds rolling in after noon. Just 92° instead of the 95° from the past two days. However, the NWS has removed the rain from today's forecast, sending up Patrick's way instead. Thunderstorms remain in the forecast from Thursday through Tuesday, with the heaviest days being over the weekend.

Another busy day yesterday, finished mowing the yard and picked more Green Beans from the garden. Hot weather interspersed with mild weather is playing havoc with their bearing cycle right now. I probably won't get another "big batch" this season, but rather several smaller batches every 3-4 days. Don't know whether or not I'll get enough at one time to pressure-can another batch or not. Yesterday's harvest was about 3 pints...enough for 3 meals for us. I'll see what comes up.

Today is going to be a weedeater day, a task that I severely dislike. I either have to put on blue jeans in 90°+ heat, or suffer through the nicks and cuts on my ankles when I wear shorts. The pool is coming along, though not as rapidly as I would like it. It's warm enough to get in, but still quite murky. Kinda like the local lakes!

All of this military jargon and acronyms confuses me!;) Thanks to all who served, no matter what you did.

No update from the train shed, as I didn't spend any time out there yesterday. Pool, mowing, garden, granddog, wife out of town and other stuff is occupying my time right now.

Tom O - It bothers me that folks say that they will call me, and consider a text as a call. I miss a lot because I don't carry my phone with me unless I leave in the car...even then it's iffy! But a real call rings in my hearing aids from about 200' away, so I can come in and return the call. I have not gotten into the habit of checking my phone for messages every ten minutes like a lot of folks do. My wife on the other hand, has stuff (I don't know how much), routed through her Fitbit watch and gets texts there!
The mortality realization is finally setting in with me as well. I fought it for years.
Kusojiji - Stay safe.

NOT MEANT TO BE POLITICAL - It's primary day out in Kalifornia, so get out and vote if you live there or not. As an open primary state, all candidates from all parties are on the same ballot. There's 61 candidates for governor! Good luck finding your person.

Late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, was born on this day in 1941. He sadly passed away at age 80 in 2021.

Everyone have a great day. Tuesday I think it is!

EDIT - Added Charlie Watts name!
 
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So I'm working on patching the ceiling gopher holes, and installing Hockey Puck LED lights down in the basement, and one of the little buggers sticks his head out to see what the commotion is.

I grabbed my Distilled Antarctic Glacier Water sprayer and chased him around the basement ceiling. That water is the only way to keep them away.
 
troyphoto said:
View attachment 266988

So I'm working on patching the ceiling gopher holes, and installing Hockey Puck LED lights down in the basement, and one of the little buggers sticks his head out to see what the commotion is.

I grabbed my Distilled Antarctic Glacier Water sprayer and chased him around the basement ceiling. That water is the only way to keep them away.
Click to expand...
You COULD mold yourself a gopher-lure out of plastique explosive, the same way Bill Murray did in Caddyshack...but you'd risk blowing the ceiling tiles downward, the floor above upward...or both.

Still, I'll bet you get that (stuffed) critter!
 


Good morning folks and good luck to you members of TB&BCoCG&BP! [The Brave & Bold Chasers of Ceiling Gophers & Basement Prairie Dogs]
80F here already, supposed to pass 90 today with possible thunderstorms. Making a run today to Walmart, deciding whether I should dress normally, or go in Walmart Camouflage in pajamas. Might get some train time in today on a new engine house from Kato. Will decide whether I want it or another Tomix engine house for my home layout or to go on a corner TTrak module.
Lifting my coffee cup to you all.
 
Good afternoon. It’s mostly sunny and 90.
I found and bought something that I think will help my storage problem with my N scale rolling stock.
I found a used wooden machinist’s toolbox, and t turned out the felt-lined drawers are just the right size for N scale cars.
I’ve already loaded the stuff that won’t fit on the layout, and have room to spare.
This means, among other things, I can dispose of the falling-apart cabinet that was holding my stuff, consolidating space and making it feel less cramped.
 

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I'm giving away 300 feet of the Lionel track I have stored in one of my bedrooms. Two of my classmates wanted to start a model railroad so their picking it up Thursday. I have to make sure all my trains are in good running condition because they'll want to see my railroad run while there here. Everything has to be clean when they come so I'm cleaning the house and the train room today. I found out they wanted the track at one of our classmates monthly breakfasts. Swal

Classmates_05_28_26_03.jpg
 

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That looks suspiciously like one that Harbor Freight sells
bnsf971 said:
Good afternoon. It’s mostly sunny and 90.
I found and bought something that I think will help my storage problem with my N scale rolling stock.
I found a used wooden machinist’s toolbox, and t turned out the felt-lined drawers are just the right size for N scale cars.
I’ve already loaded the stuff that won’t fit on the layout, and have room to spare.
This means, among other things, I can dispose of the falling-apart cabinet that was holding my stuff, consolidating space and making it feel less cramped.
Click to expand...
.
 
troyphoto said:
View attachment 266988

So I'm working on patching the ceiling gopher holes, and installing Hockey Puck LED lights down in the basement, and one of the little buggers sticks his head out to see what the commotion is.

I grabbed my Distilled Antarctic Glacier Water sprayer and chased him around the basement ceiling. That water is the only way to keep them away.
Click to expand...
I see them, I see them.
IMG_7145.png
I thought u were crazy for a minute but now I cannot find my Antarctic Glacier water. I’m using the handy dandy Artic ice water, begone creatures of the holes!
 


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