Running Bear's March 2025 Coffee Shop

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Joe - I have read some of your previous posts about the long wait times for some medical treatments. I guess that I should consider myself/wife lucky that we don't seem to have that issue in our area. The longest that either of us has had to wait is about 10 days, most doctors will add an appointment in under 5 days. I have my own theory, but to discuss it might be across the imaginary political line here.
Willie: First of all, it's not political, at least in the conventional sense, because this has developed over decades. (At least the 40 since I have lived in Jersey). That covers a lot of politicians.
Neurologist: 3 months between visits some practices the wait is 6 months.
Rheumatologists: 6 months for initial visit after referral. 4 months between subsequent visits. Practices vary, some longer.
Cardiologist: 4 Months between encounters.
Orthopedic: 1 to 2 months for initial visit, Pain Management 2 months after determining need (initial visit 1 month).
Primary: Depends on how busy they are at any given time. Had to schedule Surgical Clearance visits with PAs, to fit in the 30 day prior window.

According to an AARP news magazine article - (credibility?) - many med school grads go into research, rather than treating people. Also Med schools have a large number of foreign students...(supposedly)...who may not bother to stay and become certified here.

The Surgeon for the Hernia, 6 weeks for the referral visit, 6 weeks for the surgery. Dermatologist was a little quicker, 2 weeks for initial, 4 weeks for the procedure after the biopsy result came back.

Most practices have three or more locations. One Neurologist (connected with the practice I'm using) schedules one day per office, per month, and belongs to multiple practices...plus he teaches at Rutgers Medical School...

Not sure what the real problem is but they are churning a great deal of revenue for themselves...(And after three visits...I still have no answers).
 
Good afternoon, all! We got a pretty good dose of rain overnight, almost 2 inches. After a gloomy start the sun has half-heartedly appeared. Not a lot happening here.

Willie - This what I have been working on. I still need to repair the groundwork around the building as it has a smaller footprint than the building it replaces. One positive, no stairs. After looking at the photo, I may need to change the color of the sign.
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STAY SAFE
LATER
 


It could be a conductivity problem with the rails.

I would try a conductivity enhancer; they have worked well for me.
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If you only need a small amount (Why buy more than you need?)
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Yeah I probably need to clean the track. I just took it from the box that I had placed it in when we moved and the previous house was dusty as well.

That’s why I said I would deal with it later. It’s only in one location and with what I’m doing is not a real problem. Though I do occasionally have a problem with giving some throttle and nothing happening — needing to give a little push. It’s probably dirty track.

I use WD40 Contact Cleaner. No, not WD40 water displacement lube. Same brand but different product. They make a non polar contact cleaner that works really well. It turns out a lot of cleaners and things like alcohol and stuff we commonly use are polar and it causes micro arcing which leads to that black gunk on your tracks. The better cleaners are the no polar ones. This thread and specifically the reply I linked to below talk about it. The reply links to a (maybe no longer there) article from a U.S. model railroad magazine that looked at the issue and rated different cleaners and talks about polar and non polar cleaners etc.


The spot I’m having a problem with is also right where my power leads go under track and attach to the rail joiners I use and it’s possible a slight loss of contact is happening where the rail is slightly elevated on one end. If the train is fast enough it doesn’t happen or happen as much I think so it can get by whatever issue there is. I’ve not really tested it at various speeds but that’s what I’ve noticed I think.
 
I hear you, and I agree. It's almost impossible to get any sort of treatment for anything more serious than a cold, without an unreasonable wait. My question in your case is whether you can even travel out of your area to get treatment without dispensation from the insurance carrier. Some plans limit you to your home county or region...(which is why I stick with original Medicare and a Supplement, rather than a Part C).
I have to pay an additional $20 to my usual co-pay. Not too bad for better service in an "out of area" location such as Dallas. But I already pay an additional $62 per month. I guess it depends on what price tag you put on your health. Having to pick the lesser of the evils as insurance companies get rich and pay great dividends to their share holders. Its about the money, not your health.
 
Good Evening All. Well, even though it wasn't in the forecast for today or tonight, it appears that we are currently under a severe thunderstorm warning right now. The rumbling is constant and the sky has been lit up like a 4th of July sky. Time to turn off the computer and batten down the hatches. At least the garden will be happy! Full report in the morning if I still have power. I'm not usually up this late at night, but the noise is incessant even with my hearing aids out.
 
I use WD40 Contact Cleaner.
That is great stuff. I use it too but not on my railroad tracks. It's not because it doesn't work. I save it for when I need the spray power to get into small areas. It is mostly non-polar, but it does have a small amount of Isopropyl Alcohol. Which makes it a versatile cleaner and helps it to evaporate quickly.

To be honest the whole polar, non-polar debate is overblown, in my opinion.

Non-polar solvents work great at dissolving non-polar substances, like oils and greases, which I believe are often the culprits behind most residue buildup on track surfaces and rollers. But Isopropyl Alcohol works well for small amounts of oil and grease as well. Using polar cleaners like Isopropyl Alcohol just means you must clean the track more often. Again, this is just my opinion.

I first clean my tracks with (91%) Isopropyl Alcohol. Next, I wipe it with a clean dry cloth. If there is any residue "black gunk" on the cloth I repeat the cleaning with the (91%) Isopropyl Alcohol. Then I treat it with one of the three (mostly non-polar) conductivity enhancers I posted. It works for me. My Lionel Christmas layouts run trouble free for 6-8 weeks or more after being cleaned.

I know people use all kinds of stuff. From Automatic transmission fluid to Naphtha and everything in between. There is always someone recommending something or another. I have stockpiled (91%) Isopropyl Alcohol and the three conductivity enhancers. I'll use what I have until it's gone.

When it comes to micro arching, I have no clue. I do know arching can contribute to the buildup of carbon or “black gunk” on wheels and contacts. With the lights off I would expect to see it, but I seldom have. When I did see it, it was due to a bad connection at a track joint. It could be different with sensitive DCC of which I have little knowledge. I don't see it as a factor with my AC Lionel trains. Legacy, Lionchief or conventional.

I suspect most of the “black gunk” I wipe off my rails is a buildup of oil and or grease from my locomotives and rolling stock.

Bottom line: whatever works.

Yeah I probably need to clean the track.
I think that is all you need to do and WD-40's contact cleaner will certainly do the job.
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Keep up the excellent work!
 


Good morning, Everybody!

Amazon recently introduced early morning hours (3:15am) for Flex drivers at the station in Dundalk. Which is less than 2 miles from my home. Leaving me more time on my hands early in the morning.

There is not much about Amazon that is consistent. One thing that is, change!

Have an enjoyable day Everybody!
 
Well, howdy there internet peeps and those with clean contacts (or even those with shady contacts flying under the radar...)

It's Troy again...

Glad I got my MMR booster vax about 10 years ago. The college I was teaching at had a Mumps outbreak, and we had to either provide proof of vax or get a booster. It was easier to get a booster... because the local Health Department laughed when I asked if they had digitized vax records from when I was a baby.

It's written (in pencil) in my 1960s vax record book my mother and the doc kept up to date. But that wasn't allowable with the college health dept.

Still, with my almost 90 y-old MIL, no sense in taking a chance of giving anything to her. One bout of illness could be deadly with her heart conditions.

Thought I'd give the gardners an update on Wife's indoor grow facility.... you can take the girl out of the farm, but not the farm out of the girl.

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She's got plans to move or transplant some of them out to her normal garden boxes. I'm supposed to build some rolling platforms for the boxes, and she'll push them around the patio to maximize sun exposure. Here's some of what she's got gowing now:

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Zucchini: May not be warm enough in her office to get them to grow fruit, so it may get moved to the outdoor garden boxes in a few months.
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I warned her that she's eating the radishes. I like them, but they do NOT like me. My innards get tied in knots when I eat them. Her lettuce is "leaf lettuce" so she'll be eating that along with her spinach, a little at a time. Carrots are self explanatory.
 
Good morning from a wild overnight storm in So Central Wisconsin. We had lightning hit a house about 4 down and behind us and a couple trees in the yard next to them. Between the lightning and fire trucks this morning my rain gauge had 1.75” of water in it. The official numbers are unavailable on the local NWS website that got turned off unexpectedly last week

We had a great time at the Red Hot Chilli Pipers concert last night. I’d see them again tomorrow if tickets were available.

Enjoy the day
 
Good mornin' crew. Cloudy and 30 with light snow and drizzle here in Cheyenne this morning. Winds are relatively calm NE @ 7. Looking for a high of 45 this afternoon and low tonight of 31. More light snow and drizzle throughout tonight and tomorrow.
Quiet day yesterday. Didn't feel quite up to going to MRR club but did get some train shed & workbench time.

Watched Astros game on local Fox station last night - 2-1 over the Mets. When we lived in Texas, we got daily Astros game on Fubo TV RSN package. We were in Astros market area so no MLB TV live stream. Here we're outside the Astros market area so we get live stream on all teams except Rockies and they're including MLB Network with the sub. Haven't pulled the trigger on it yet.

Snowing/drizzling again. Had plans to get out a bit later for shopping and dinner. Beginning to look like another stay-home day and Door Dash dinner. NJ(ret) is still a little skittish about driving on slick streets.

Time for a coffee refill. Y'all enjoy the rest of your weekend and take care.
 


Morning all,

Busy couple of days, but I really didn't get a lot accomplished. Had about 1/2" of rain overnight, but since large hail was forecast, I left the rain gauge in the house. No hail or storms here overnight. Just as well. Temp was 80° yesterday and 56° for today. At least temps still above freezing expected for lows over the next week or so. Peach tree is blooming!

BBL
 
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