Running Bear's May 2024 Coffee Shop

[troyphoto]

Sharing for your enjoyment: (less than 8 min to watch)

Some really excellent scenery work here. This is what I aspire to.

Sadly, the Layout is/was for sale. Nothing on the page I saw says if he was able to relocate it.

 

[chadbag]

It's been cooler. We;ve had several nights where it gets down into the upper 30s at night. Warmest day got to 70 but its been 50s or low 60s most of the week for the high. Lots of periods of cloudiness.

This was yesterday's solar generation (pic below). You can see it was cloudy for the first half of the day. Looking out my basement window well it looks darker but the solar generation chart for today is smoother and higher but definitely had some clouds go by.

The sad thing is I still have to have the heat on in our current home as it cools down at night and the women complain when it is cold in the morning. (Not that the 68F setting I have it at is warm). Its a smart thermostat so I let it get cold at night (after 9pm) and have it set to have the house back to 68F by the time people get up. I had turned it off for a while as it wasn't diving down way cold but then its been cold the last week and I had to turn it back on

Today is the daughter's last day of school for the school year. Technically there is a day or two next week but nothing important happens and no one goes. In today is only her second day going this week as she's had a cold and nothing to do as she was up to date and teachers were basically letting kids catch up with they are behind on. She'll have finished her first year at the public HS. She was a sophmore. She'll be a junior. Prior to this she had been at a charter school for middle school and her freshman year. With my son leaving the house and my work schedule it was too much for us to drive her across the valley to the charter school (my son would step in a couple times a week to help). She wanted to go locally anyway where her neighborhood and church friends go though she misses her charter school friends.

In other news my son got his visa for Japan 2 weeks ago and will be leaving the Portland area on the 1st for Sapporo via Tokyo. His two aunts will meet him at Haneda airport in Tokyo for his layover to see him.

 

[Texas Hobo]

Good morning, all! A warm start to the day, 85. On the plus side there is a 12 to 18 mph wind and slightly overcast. I spend 2 and a half hours with our contractor yesterday picking out and up all the necessary materials for the shower install starting Monday. I sure hope the Conductress likes it, you see, I was left to my own devices to do this. I did show her a picture of the tile. A picture is like a swatch of cloth or a strip of paint in a brochure, it really doesn't give a good image of what the completed item is going to look like.

George - I have used both a lawn tractor and a zero turn on my yard. I saved about a half hour using the zero turn. I have very few obstacles to mow around. It does take a little getting use to, but once you are comfortable with it you just zip around. I went with a 42" deck since I have a 48" gate to get through.

Guy, TomO - If you think about it, what TomO's police chief said is true. Scammers are generally not even in this country. They are using sophisticated hardware and software to not only run a scam but hide from authorities. Then there is the number of scammers. How does the local PD know who and where someone is making "ghost guns". How do they locate all the dark, dank basements and abandoned buildings where lethal drugs are being manufactured. How are police depts. going to have the tools to find all the criminals? How are they going to keep up with the criminals who are making so much money and have the ability to get the latest and the best equipment to stay ahead of authorities?
As I typed this, I wondered, are my 5 yr. old and 8 yr. old great granddaughters being taught what to do when a active shooter is in their school? I cannot imagine what simply going to school is like today. My, the world has certainly changed.

Willie - The road signs look good. Also, some nice photos of some of our wildflowers. Since you missed the bluebonnets, allow me to add them.

STAY SAFE
LATER

 

[D&J RailRoad]

The biggest concern when I was in elementary school outside of Detroit in the 1950s was tornados.
We did the occasional tornado drill or the fire drill, but now, people want to impose their ideology society and use the schools as their platform.

 

[Texas Hobo]

The biggest concern when I was in elementary school outside of Detroit in the 1950s was tornados.
We did the occasional tornado drill or the fire drill, but now, people want to impose their ideology society and use the schools as their platform.

I don't remember any concerns other than what Sister Mary Alice was going to do to me because I forgot my homework. The only drills I recall were fire drill and Civil Defense drill, where we all went into the hallways, no talking please, and sat against the wall with our heads down.

 

[PRR Modeler]

Afternoon All,

Started out the day with a walk at a frigid 70F (relatively) under a full moon. The heat is supposed to ramp up this weekend. Dad's computer will be ready in a bit so I'll have to pick it up. The tech said there were 3 remote access programs on it and that he had turned off the anti-virus at some point. MOH will be in Daytona Saturday and overnight for a friend who has a son graduating from HS.

Patrick- I wish you the best with the surgeries.

Louis- Thanks, but I just needed to rant.

Swal- $5k to "Norton" via Western Union.

Troy- The room looks better than I expected. That was a great story but also a bit sad. That is a lot of gaming pieces.

Willie- The flowers are very pretty. How long do they last?

Tom- That's cool.

Bill- Cool (literally) photo.

Jay- Congrats on the purchase.

David- At least it doesn't seem urgent.

TomO- I have a similar unit in my garage. They put out a lot of light.

Guy- Great CN photos.

Hughie- Beautiful flowers also. I remember the air raid drills in the early 60's.

I hope everyone has a good day.

 

[santafewillie]

The biggest concern when I was in elementary school outside of Detroit in the 1950s was tornados.
We did the occasional tornado drill or the fire drill, but now, people want to impose their ideology society and use the schools as their platform.

I don't remember any concerns other than what Sister Mary Alice was going to do to me because I forgot my homework. The only drills I recall were fire drill and Civil Defense drill, where we all went into the hallways, no talking please, and sat against the wall with our heads down.

In Brooklyn in the 50's, we did air raid drills about once a month, fire drills not as often since the school was not really combustible. After we eventually moved to Texas in '61, we did tornado drills but only in the early Spring. Active shooter drills are a sad commentary on today's society.

 

[McLeod]

Hughie - I believe the police who say they don't have resources equal to the criminals. However, I also believe that if they put as much effort into finding scammers as they do in finding murderers, they could find a few. I could suggest looking very deeply into Surrey, BC, as the origin of some of the scamming call centres, and high-up drug dealing.

I'm a very primitive, old-school type of man. If I were king, I'd have the lower more obvious minions beat until they told where. Then work yourself up the ladder until you find the originator. Seems like a simple and inexpensive methodology to defeat the criminal mind.
But, I'm not king and they'll never make me king. Most modern folks don't like primitive people, even though we're just 20th century replays.

 

[John from Indiana]

Today is Bob Dylan's 83rd birthday. Great songwriter but he has one of the worst voices in music. My opinion only.
Everyone have a great Friday.

My wife loves him, and I am quite the opposite. Every song starts out the same with a nasal "Heeeey". He was better pre-electric guitar days

 

[John from Indiana]

Today is day 3 without an A/C. 82 outside feels like 89 and a chance of rain and thunder. 70 degrees in the basement, which is above temperature (mostly 66-68) A/C won't be installed until next Wednesday. Got to take Joan to the doctor in half-an-hour, at least the car A/C works.

 

[NorthBrit]

Good evening all. A gin & tonic no ice please, Flo.

Bob Dylan - I like his music.
Scammers - It is annoying that telephone companies allow them to set up. Make their 'kill'. Close down without paying the telephone company for use of telephones. Then re start with new numbers from the same telephone company. Here in the U.K. a lot of scammers are in Africa.

In the train room earlier. Did a little scenery work. I must work out a form of timetable. Some locomotives are getting running time, others not.

 

[Bruette]

They remind me of Black-eyed Susans.

My favorite Black Eyde Susan.

The official drink of the Preakness.

Named after Maryland’s state flower, this refreshing drink was first created in 1973 by Harry Stevens, one of Pimlico’s longtime caterers. Here’s how you can make your own Black-Eyed Susan at home:

Black-Eyed Susan Recipe​

Ingredients:​

• 1 ounce bourbon whiskey
• 1 ounce vodka
• 1 ounce peach schnapps
• 2 ounces orange juice
• 2 ounces sour mix

Instructions:​

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Pour in the bourbon, vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice, and sour mix.
3. Shake well.
4. Strain the mixture over crushed ice into a tall glass.
5. Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.

 

[bnsf971]

David, the phone numbers are virtual numbers. They don't really exist other than what a computer program created. The scammers almost all use voip service.

 

[NorthBrit]

David, the phone numbers are virtual numbers. They don't really exist other than what a computer program created. The scammers almost all use voip service.

I stand corrected. However the scammers are doing it they have U.K. telephone numbers that divert to Africa and wherever.

 

[bnsf971]

I stand corrected. However the scammers are doing it they have U.K. telephone numbers that divert to Africa and wherever.

Likewise here. They have become so "good" they appear to be calling from a local to me number. It's called neighborhood spoofing.

 

[migalyto]

Likewise here. They have become so "good" they appear to be calling from a local to me number. It's called neighborhood spoofing.

They sometimes use your own phone number

 

[chadbag]

They sometimes use your own phone number

or more sneakily, they'll fake a number in your same exchange, to make it look like a neighbor or someone local.

Ie, your number is (701) 555-1212 and they'll call you from (701) 555-9816

I've been known to play along with the "tech support" scammers and pretend I am doing what they tell me to do. Some of the things they ask you can Google so you can tell them you see what they expect you to see. (Things that every Windows system has but they make it sound like a setting on your computer). I'm not even on Windows. I've had some of them on the phone for 15-20 or more minutes. It gets to the point where you cant string them along any longer but then I tell them that they've been scammed of their time, that they should get real jobs that don't harm innocents, and to get off my **#^%*(#* line. I've done it a few times like that. Once I had a script like what they were following pulled up on my computer. Goal is to waste their time.

I've also had them hold while I go get "the boss" or whatever just leave the phone on the desk (back when I was in an office and we had an office phone). Usually they'll hang up after a minute or two but I had a guy still waiting after a good while when I picked it back up and told him the "the boss" was out of the office.

 

[Grizzled]

Today is day 3 without an A/C. 82 outside feels like 89 and a chance of rain and thunder. 70 degrees in the basement, which is above temperature (mostly 66-68) A/C won't be installed until next Wednesday. Got to take Joan to the doctor in half-an-hour, at least the car A/C works.

Here's some free AC. About noon today out the front door.

 

[Boris]

They remind me of Black-eyed Susans

I was thinking the same thing, except the with the Susans the flower stands out. My wife said they remind her of something called a "Cone Flower", similar but blue in color. In any event that's 9 acres of beauty to gaze upon.

 

[Boris]

Today is Bob Dylan's 83rd birthday. Great songwriter but he has one of the worst voices in music. My opinion only.

Growing up in Desolation Row, He was relevant. His voice wasn't as bad as mine. Guy was a great writer. My opinion.