Running Bear's March 2026 Coffee Shop

[Kusojiji]

Kuojiji there is a learning curve to all this. With the 244 song playlist I created I really don't need the 10 CD player unit anymore, so I threw it out but keep the stereo speakers which I plan on powering with the new computer speaker amp I bought from Walmart for $32.00. I also bought a golf cart speaker unit I plan on using on the course for $28.00. I have added some songs to the list that now brings the total from 168 to 244 songs. 168 people have taken a look at the playlist as of today. Swal

View attachment 260972

Yep, I can imagine. I don't have a youtube account, so I wouldn't know. But your playlist is very nice!

I see that amp has a 12VDC input, making it versatile for a lot of uses. I've used DC converters like this (there are many different input and output models) to provide the voltage that a device needs. I have one that steps >12V to 5V to allow my pumps to run off my solar battery (~13.8V).

This one can be used to step down golf cart power to 12V.

https://www.amazon.com/Converter-Voltage-Regulator-Reducer-18V-58V/dp/B0D9MG6QZH/ref=sr_1_7?crid=8WCZ4R7L270B&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nXydpQQNqqBsQNgJNPC9Psc2lqKZMfhc1RVBgOHrsZBgKlsQrBImUXyEzdLa-8s9BxGrET5NA8SnTKKEv5M5A84-opi1e4IHtCeapRI0n6_TLMtkaBqqhgzUGcQzCUfc0C5DHGGeglwJb_MY3Ivqf7Q4bXEkgaaFUzbwaoOmhrPyXpKqJQ3oEl1eZBIOmI5Y1PBBaqinfyZnepvrBKfWj2wVY9iQbFp7ojzXUcJfCOH--4-kXGOTNvqGAUhyomtxGRMrJ8XeM7kIbioxpqLdgRXyiZDxWyoBVmQUGXnKSNk.iE84bFKJ_PuTBVYedO0L4NtZoRJKhOU78tPa2gd6xNo&dib_tag=se&keywords=12vdc%2Bbuck&qid=1774249228&s=electronics&sprefix=12vdc%2Bbuck%2Celectronics%2C241&sr=1-7&th=1

 

[traiNscale]

Monday FUN day!

Well well well, i heard something about a Air canada Machine hit a firetruck while landing this past weekend. but cant remember the airport.
on the other hand, "my" airport is up and running. yesterday it was warm around 15 celcius, today its still okay but for the rest of the week, it maybe will be snowing again...

past weekend my friend did print some easter rabbits for my easter dioramas iam building this year.
so i did some priming while the sun was out.

I will now paint them, and then build some small dioramas in a picture frame for easter.
after the easte rbrunch, i will give them out to my mom and everyone that is attending the brunch
--
on sunday, we did start painting our "bathroom" downstairs. All the walls got the first coat and the ceiling got its special primer, because the ceiling is a fucked up material, where normal paint will not stick. so i had to use a special primer first. tonight maybe first coat of the ending color. so sunday evening was a "quick" lunch.

Just some veggies and some chicken in the oven then tv chill and bed.

oh and one thing i also did on the weekend.
after that North East Scale Lumber did not write me back on any plattform, i did my research and i Found Mt Albert Scale Lumber (now owned by Fast Track). So i wrote them, and bam got a answer almost instant. So after some chat i decided to order a load from Mt. Albert. that means, switzerland soon has again Scale Lumber Stuff available! Woohoo!

And that wrapps up my weekend i would say
Wish you all a great start into the week.

Cheers
marco

 

[bnsf971]

Good morning. It's 55 and mostly clear.

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good morning Coffee Shop, it's Monday! The temperature is 36°F (2°C) and mostly cloudy.

Have a great day!
Wow, a 28° drop since yesterday!

 

[Kusojiji]

Geez, I thought I was the only one who like Exile Kiss You All Over!

For consideration: 10CC The Things We Do For Love, Dave Mason We Just Disagree, 10000 Maniacs Because The Night, John Stewart Gold, The Pretenders I'll Stand By You (used in Ladyhawke), Looking Glass Brandy, Maria Muldaur Midnight at the Oasis, Mott The Hoople All the Young People, Henry Gross Shannon, Starland Vocal Band Afternoon Delight, Eric Clapton Forever Man, Three Dog Night Shambala, The Cowsills The Rain, The Park & Other Things (may be too flowery).

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

55° with light rain should be done by about 10 AM. Looking for a high today of 62° sunny and windy later.

 

[migalyto]

, i heard something about a Air canada Machine hit a firetruck while landing this past weekend. but cant remember the airport.

It was LaGuardia in New York.

2 killed, LaGuardia airport closed after Air Canada plane and Port Authority vehicle collide

A passenger plane collided with a fire truck on a LaGuardia Airport runway late Sunday, killing both pilots and injuring dozens of passengers, some seriously.

www.yahoo.com

 

[migalyto]

Good morning all!

A cold 29F this morning but temps do rebound a bit later. High will be around 45F under mostly sunny skies.

Usual Monday household stuff around the house today Not much else going on which is good.

Have a safe day everyone!

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there internet peeps, and those who are wondering if you can smoke Snowman's cow weed...

It's Troy again.

My drug of choice is still whiskey. And donuts. Not sure which is worse.

I hear from Louis last night that all is well, he's just in a busy cycle.

This morning I slept in til after 6a !!! It was nice and cool out. We had a window in the back room open a smidge, and that made it nice and chilly but not cold in the sleeping area. It's 34 out there now. High of only 41° F today.

I'm hoping to break out the Folding Solar Panel array and start seeing how they perform under various conditions. Interesting note on that:

My wife falls toward the political propaganda podcasts, and she doesn't always investigate the science behind claims. She assumed bright desert conditions were much better than cooler northern climes due to long hours of daylight, and rarely any substantial cloud cover. Cause thats what the people who don't have experience assume.

Friends of our who live in the Vegas area are about to start building a summer home up on Mt. Charleston. He's a retired Boeing engineer, and they fall in the same political camp as my wife. But, Jim is great on diving deep into tech and learning all he can. He set up his old Drafting Table, with his power eraser tool, and all of his analog tech to draw straight and curved lines, and has his own blueprints and engineering diagrams mostly complete for the new home.

Wife learned they were researching Solar arrays and whole-home battery systems for their summer home, but it had to withstand winters too... Wife commented that it must be nice in vegas for solar... They popped her bubble and said nope! Summer time sees a drop of about 40% efficiency off the solar output, due to the panels exceeding their optimal operating temps. And summer in Vegas is looooong and hot.

I did find a few youtube vids on the Solar Power circuit where homeowners were showing that cooling your panels with water mists brings you back up to good output ranges under the blazing Vegas sun.... But, Water in Vegas being wasted on Solar Panel cooling? Not going to happen more than 1 or 2 per year to keep the panel fronts clean.

I should probably dig into looking at how solar performs in the various climate zones across the US, and see just where we fall. But it would be more to satisfy my curiosity more than practical knowledge, since the HOA will be a pain at best if I want to add solar.

Here's some pics from yesterday's game, just in case Louis pops his head back in to catch up:

 

[ctclibby]

Good Morning All!
32F @ 66% clear

Made it back from Missoula bout 1400 yesterday and pretty much fell apart. Got 3 of the 4 'Pods' thingies loaded. She got the uHaul version which are smaller than the actual Pods version. 2 of them were metal everywhere and we could 'load them up'. The other two were plywood and screws with a 2000Lb limit. What? How would you know if you were over 2000Lbs? Anyway the metal ones got what I thought were the heaviest/bulkiest items - 3 book cases and almost 50 of those black with yellow top bins. Also found out that they make 1/2 size ones too and all stack together just fine. Ya, stuffed stuff where we could... We wore the kids out keeping them focused and moving stuff from the storage garage to said pods. We were kinda surprised that happened and figured it would be us that got worn out. They still have some stuff in the apartment that needs taken apart and generally fussed with but the storage garage is empty so they will be able to get out of the apartment tonight - getting damage and April rent back. Jordan's boss wanted her there for the State inspection. Jordan is/was the one that dealt with all the requirements for the pot store, so she sprung for a motel for them through this week. You should see those requirements - couple of 3 ring notebooks full.

So I was talking about Strawberry Patch a couple of post previous. Pix does not do the damage justice. Other side of the the tracks used to be a dense line of trees/brush and you could not see in the place. Make it big, house to the left ( unseen ) has part of the roof missing, and that shed you can see in the distance is now bowed. They got the tree off of it before the pix.

Other side of the ..um.. driveway. The white is a 1 foot diameter Birch. Those are pretty usually pretty stout.

L8r

 

[Rubicon]

Morning folks, 33F and cloudy, not supposed to go beyond 35F today.

Off to my office for a while.

 

[KriegslokBR52]

Good morning gentlemen. Back to work, but the weekend was spent up in New England. Initially i wanted to check out the Greenberg Train Show in Wilmington, Massachusetts. Made it up there after noon. Since i was not far away from Vermont border, i decided to finally use the opportunity to see Wallpole, NH and check out the nice scene of railroad under Bellows Falls. Swedish double unit leading iron ore cars on the European layout:

Wallpole, where long time ago Steamtown had its headquarters:

Through girder turntable is one of the rarest of its kind:

In the south part of the yard there was parked former NJ Transit "Pig" belonging to Vermont Rail System:

Closer to the roundhouse:

On the west side of the river is town of Bellows Falls with its famous tunnel:

An opportunity was there to walk the tunnel, which ...

I ended up in White River Junction for the night.

 

[RhB Michael]

Good morning. 36°F out there this morning. Brrrrr. St. Louis set another record at 90°F yesterday. Should be near 90°F again by Thursday.

No rain, we missed all of the thunderstorms and now the wind has calmed itself overnight.

Nothing planned for this Monday. Have a great day all.

Servus!

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

36° and clear with a high later of 60°. cold front yesterday dropped us back closer to normal for late March.

Almost have the bathroom ready for the paint touchups. New base cabinet is 2" narrower (width) than the old cabinet and there are ridges from the years of paint buildup that needed to be reduced. I have to have this done by Friday morning as the flooring guy is coming in to put the "new" flooring in. The LVP has been in the basement for about 3 years. Kind of excited to get it done finally. I figured yesterday we still have about $15,000 to $16000 in a relatively small bathroom. Mostly due the all the fixtures being replaced. The walk-in shower was the biggest expense.

I don't think I'll get to the garden this year. I'll probably till the mulch and rabbit manure (granddaughter saves the stuff for me when she cleans her pet rabbit cage).

 

[TLOC]

Good morning Crew. 2 weeks ago this morning we woke up to 61f degrees and it hit 77 later in the day. Last week Monday was the Midwest Blizzard of 2026 and ended up with 11” of wind blown drifting waist high snow. Today it’s 26f degrees and the high should be in the mid 40’s. Last Monday’s snow is 99.8% gone from the yard except for a clump near the street and mailbox. No possible shade and it defies logic that with days of 50, and 60’s temperatures the clump maybe 6” deep and maybe 28” across is still there.

If I was an unpaid worker I would be suing my employer for unpaid wages and damages. We have a neighbor who is reporting every day he is scheduled. He claimed at the local grill last night one of his coworkers is letting various illegal items scanned at the check-ins through. Is the story true, who knows but if elected officials are getting paid something is drastically wrong. The guy says the Union said they cannot get unemployment because while they are getting $0.00 checks, that technically is considered a payment. Who’d have thought!!!

The daughter and family drove down to OHara in Chicago yesterday and flew out to Fort Meyers, Florida for the week. Just under 2 hours to get through TSA!

The Wisconsin Badgers Women’s Hockey team earned their 9th NCAA championship since 2006 at College station, Pa. yesterday. We didn’t go as getting to Penn State (host) is not a fun adventure. 3-2 beat again Ohio State! I think last year’s team might have best the best talent from top to bottom with 2020 (cancelled by Covid) really close. This year because of the Olympics was a strange but fun one. The winning years.

2006, 2007, 2009, 2011
2019, 2021,2023 , 2025 we were at these!
2026

Coach and his wife now that the season is over will again join us on Thursdays as we venture out for brunch around the area! Great guy

Some morning bench time but this afternoon my layout starts to officially come down.

All cars and locomotives are packed away. Buildings and scenery are next. The paper mill will be on the Penisula and operations will strictly be switching. I can run long road trains at OPS Sessions and that’s now what I mostly do.

Access from 3 sides, each square is 12”. I should have the room clear by Friday. Aisles are 3’ wide as minimum. We will be gone most of April so it will be down before we head out next week Tuesday. Start up in May. After talking about this for quite sometime, I’m finally doing it.

Have a great day

 

[TLOC]

Morning all,

36° and clear with a high later of 60°. cold front yesterday dropped us back closer to normal for late March.

Almost have the bathroom ready for the paint touchups. New base cabinet is 2" narrower (width) than the old cabinet and there are ridges from the years of paint buildup that needed to be reduced. I have to have this done by Friday morning as the flooring guy is coming in to put the "new" flooring in. The LVP has been in the basement for about 3 years. Kind of excited to get it done finally. I figured yesterday we still have about $15,000 to $16000 in a relatively small bathroom. Mostly due the all the fixtures being replaced. The walk-in shower was the biggest expense.

I don't think I'll get to the garden this year. I'll probably till the mulch and rabbit manure (granddaughter saves the stuff for me when she cleans her pet rabbit cage).

Kitchens and bathrooms are the best return on your dollars spent. Glad you’re getting it done. Enjoy it

 

[troyphoto]

Good morning Crew. 2 weeks ago this morning we woke up to 61f degrees and it hit 77 later in the day. Last week Monday was the Midwest Blizzard of 2026 and ended up with 11” of wind blown drifting waist high snow. Today it’s 26f degrees and the high should be in the mid 40’s. Last Monday’s snow is 99.8% gone from the yard except for a clump near the street and mailbox. No possible shade and it defies logic that with days of 50, and 60’s temperatures the clump maybe 6” deep and maybe 28” across is still there.

If I was an unpaid worker I would be suing my employer for unpaid wages and damages. We have a neighbor who is reporting every day he is scheduled. He claimed at the local grill last night one of his coworkers is letting various illegal items scanned at the check-ins through. Is the story true, who knows but if elected officials are getting paid something is drastically wrong. The guy says the Union said they cannot get unemployment because while they are getting $0.00 checks, that technically is considered a payment. Who’d have thought!!!

The daughter and family drove down to OHara in Chicago yesterday and flew out to Fort Meyers, Florida for the week. Just under 2 hours to get through TSA!

The Wisconsin Badgers Women’s Hockey team earned their 9th NCAA championship since 2006 at College station, Pa. yesterday. We didn’t go as getting to Penn State (host) is not a fun adventure. 3-2 beat again Ohio State! I think last year’s team might have best the best talent from top to bottom with 2020 (cancelled by Covid) really close. This year because of the Olympics was a strange but fun one. The winning years.

2006, 2007, 2009, 2011
2019, 2021,2023 , 2025 we were at these!
2026

Coach and his wife now that the season is over will again join us on Thursdays as we venture out for brunch around the area! Great guy

Some morning bench time but this afternoon my layout starts to officially come down. View attachment 261111All cars and locomotives are packed away. Buildings and scenery are next. The paper mill will be on the Penisula and operations will strictly be switching. I can run long road trains at OPS Sessions and that’s now what I mostly do.

Access from 3 sides, each square is 12”. I should have the room clear by Friday. Aisles are 3’ wide as minimum. We will be gone most of April so it will be down before we head out next week Tuesday. Start up in May. After talking about this for quite sometime, I’m finally doing it.

Have a great day

Is the diagram the current layout, or what it will become?

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear skies and 55°, NWS is forecasting cloudy and a high of only 74° today, and back to our normal 80's tomorrow. Next cold front on Friday night.

Shortened work day yesterday due to church, but I did get the Green Bean row planted. Then I dug out the three hose sections and watered the bed with the sprayer attachment. Due to the lack of rain in the forecast, I'll have to do that every 2-3 days for about a week and a half. Did the bed linen laundry as usual and some other stuff that I don't remember. Sliced and grilled some Pork Tenderloin for supper.

Today begins with another doctor visit, this time for the semi-annual visit with the dermatologist, tomorrow is my wife's follow up with the ophthalmologist after her recent laser surgery. Then Wednesday, I have the neck ultrasound to check something. One thing after another!

Out in the train shed yesterday, I began ballasting track. I did all of the LH spur that I can do without extending into the yard which isn't ready for it yet. I also did about 20" of main line on that side.

I was delayed a bit since I hadn't ballasted in a while. I usually paint random ties different shades of brown to represent replaced ones, but I had forgotten to do this before I started yesterday. So I had to do that before I could proceed. A little sloppy right now, but I can clean it up after it dries.

Snowman - I definitely have a "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" here in my yard. I especially was shocked by the Mountain Lion, which I photographed on three different occasions, but it was actually on the adjoining property. No bears in this part of Texas.

Recently, there has been a lot of postings on this forum, some resurrecting old topics and some new stuff. I am having trouble keeping up without it becoming a full-time job! I am probably missing some things that I would otherwise be interested in. I have been late in responding to a couple of posts after they got buried by newer stuff.

Everybody have a great Monday.

 

[TLOC]

Is the diagram the current layout, or what it will become?

New plan

 

[migalyto]

New plan

By coming down, do you mean new bench work as well?