Running Bear's May 2026 Coffee Shop

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Good Morning All!
52F @ 75% slight rain.

Although not a rocker and nobody has mentioned, Cher has one of *those* voices. I think 'Traveling Show' shows it off the most. Carpenter, Carnes, Nicks, Benatar, Slick, Turner, Houston and a few others I am not remembering right now are always great listening. Not to start anything, how about males? Sure you have Crosby, Martin and others; Steve Perry to me wins hands down. And to the Eden/Montgomery choice - lets not forget about 'The Perfect Sleeper' aka Joey Heatherton. Maybe slightly before them though.

@John from Indiana: Ya used to believe that the VA hospitals were akin to the those sleazy bars down in dog town. Circa 85 I got hit/run by car which blew out my right knee. Had no medical at the time so the VA was the only choice. Completely changed my mind back then. These days, there is no comparison at all between the local ( and not so local ) hospitals and the VA - VA wins hands down as their whole attitude has changed and they seem to actually care about us patients. And we are not even talking about all the stuff that is provided: Hearing Aids, necessary drugs, Glasses ... etc. They are now is our goto choice if we have the option.

@Marlin39: Pretty much sounds like what I did to myself a couple of weeks ago; although it was a sheet of OSB not gym weight. Chiropractor 2 times which helped but it came back after I would go do something, like walk or sit down. I tried all sorts of twisting and bending, Icy/Hot and ibuprofen with no pain until everything wore off. Finally forced myself to get on my stomach on the floor; elbows and toes, then lift back up in the most curve I could do, wait a few seconds then go the opposite direction and wait a few seconds. Finally heard/felt that very low vertebra pop back in of which that stabbing pain pretty much went away immediately. Still took 2 days for those muscles to relax letting the other pain go away.

Rambled!

L8r
 
54°F out there this morning, looking for 70°F around 1500. I was going to cut the grass today, but the cooler weather has slowed the growth. I hate cutting when I can't see the last strip I just cut to get the mower aligned for the next strip. If that happens, I know it's still too short to cut again.

I've been touching up the house the last few days, and today I have to vacuum. I have a small load of laundry in and then that's all caught up. I hope to get into the train room later today for a few hours, but that depends upon getting my chores finished.

A few days ago I finally pulled the trigger on a cheap Chinese shack-in-a-box HT radio. These things are intriguing as they have many more bells and whistles than most of the name brand HTs like Kenwood, Yaesu, ICOM, and Alinco. I have a Kenwood TH-D74 which for several years was Kenwood's flagship HT until the TH-D75 was released a couple of years ago. It has most of the bells and whistles on it too, but it doesn't receive or transmit HF frequencies. It also isn't wide-open in the VHF public service band.

I did a lot of homework on this radio and watched a lot of bench testing on the electronics. It doesn't do anything exceedingly well except 2-meter and 70cm, and is outstanding in those two bands, but it is somehow a very attractive shack-in-a-box hand-held. The radio is clean as a whistle with no spurious harmonics above -60db on any transmit capable band, and that greatly surprised me. I started getting excited after I saw multiple tests of different radios of the same make and model.

It also includes cross-repeater operation, airband RX, 27, 28, 29 Mhz TX/RX, full HF receive, APRS (beacon ony), GPS, Bluetooth programming, mic gain control, a hundred or so set-up selections, upper and lower sideband for HF, CTCSS, and DPS, NOAA WX and WX Alert, and many more features. All for under $100 with shipping, no tax, and no tariffs.

Each keypad button is customizable, it has three VFOs that each can be transmitted from, channel scan(slow), search, etc., etc.

The only downer is that the screen is nearly invisible outdoors. It can be seen, but not in direct sunlight and has to be shielded with a hand in even overcast conditions. Seems to be well worth $85.
 
ctclibby said:
Good Morning All!
52F @ 75% slight rain.

Although not a rocker and nobody has mentioned, Cher has one of *those* voices. I think 'Traveling Show' shows it off the most. Carpenter, Carnes, Nicks, Benatar, Slick, Turner, Houston and a few others I am not remembering right now are always great listening. Not to start anything, how about males? Sure you have Crosby, Martin and others; Steve Perry to me wins hands down. And to the Eden/Montgomery choice - lets not forget about 'The Perfect Sleeper' aka Joey Heatherton. Maybe slightly before them though.
Click to expand...


IMOO, nobody, and I mean nobody should ever be allowed to sing White Christmas besides Bing.

I remember Joey Heatherton from mattress commercials when I was a kid.
 


troyphoto said:
Where's your closest VA? You're near South Bend, IN, correct?

I know we've got one here in Fort Wayne. Not sure if SB has one or not. Hate to see you drive to Chicago for all of that.
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I will NOT go to Chicago for anything. The VA we go to is in Crown Point. Both Joan and I had knee replacements in South Bend. I am very impressed with the efficiency of the VA hospital. Hardly any wait time at all. Plus all those years of paying for prescriptions is my fault, should have went to the VA. I take about 12 scripts and the money saved is money in my wallet; plus the mail me the medicine; can't beat that
 
Good morning folks, hope that all backs improve today.
62 here right now and sunny, might hit 72 today. Yesterday was in the 50s and damp. Did our next to last Bible Institute at Church last night, it will be nice to have the Summer off. Great course but three hours does get long sometimes. Also had some folks come by and give us a price on redoing the Master Bathroom shower. Their price was fair and their reputation is great, so we put down a deposit. Should get done in around 8 weeks, taking two days for the actual work.
Heading out in a few minutes, Circle K has .40 cents a gallon off gas today for their club members and the van is almost empty.
Got paint inside some tunnel portals and on some other parts of the layout this morning.
 

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Well howdy there internet peeps and those who can see the sun. It's Troy again. From the basement writing cave.

Here's my current situation:

i-N7R3P8c-X2.jpg


I waited til now because I only had 23 ft of cables and it took that long for the sun on the patio to get close enough... The wife's office is in the bump out section to the right of the door (her window is above the blue jug).

She's running on one battery for everything office except her 3-bulb lamp.

If it's direct sun, then this is the story:
i-wfHH32f-X2.png

The scattered Indiana clouds are decreasing that. A good sized cloud takes it below the threshold to charge (I believe that's about 40W). The solar panel is a 200 watt Renogy N-type. It's only at an 8° angle, but that's one 2x4 on edge under it.

Today is battery and solar learning day.

I did order a set of 50ft cables. Since we'll be without power for about 8 hours while the new breaker panel goes in, It'll be nice to know the wife's power is taken care of once the sun is up (if we get sun that day.)
 
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troyphoto said:
Well, howdy there internet peeps and those with aches and more aches

It's Troy again.

I put the wife on battery power today to see how long her office will run on our Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2. Her office has a north facing window right in front of the desk so she can get by on natural light, but usually has a three bulb LED floor lamp going. We'll leave the floor lamp out of the equation for now. I left it plugged into the wall, not the power station. Her laptop and two monitors are hooked into the battery pack. right now the battery pack says it should more than last the day.

View attachment 265192
And if you're wondering, Sherman's constant companion, Mr. Peabody is keeping the Fiber Optic internet connection running upstairs.

I stopped by the hobby store yesterday, but didn't purchase anything. I did however, notice the next area train show will be in Van Wert OH on July 17 and 18.

With me going to check out the HO club that has a travelling sectional layout, I expect they'll be there, along with the N-scale group. I'll go next tues to check out the HO group. If I get a good vibe from them, I may have to look at purchasing an HO DCC loco to take along. I'd want Conrail or BN if I stick with my layout's theme. But I'm not sure if the club has a limit on what they run? Since they don't have social Media or a website that I've noticed, they may have conditions.

The problem is the train show...

They picked the best weekend out of the summer for it.

"Hey Sweetie! want to go to the train show for our anniversary weekend?"

Yep, that will go over well. :eek: 🤣
Click to expand...
Go with that instinct! It will be marriage of 50 years in September for us. Its the beginning of show season in Wisconsin. Do not under any circumstance go to a train show on an anniversary weekend even if she says it’s fine. It’s never fine and ok is never permission to go. Though you probably have learned that…
 
ctclibby said:
Good Morning All!
52F @ 75% slight rain.

Although not a rocker and nobody has mentioned, Cher has one of *those* voices. I think 'Traveling Show' shows it off the most. Carpenter, Carnes, Nicks, Benatar, Slick, Turner, Houston and a few others I am not remembering right now are always great listening. Not to start anything, how about males? Sure you have Crosby, Martin and others; Steve Perry to me wins hands down. And to the Eden/Montgomery choice - lets not forget about 'The Perfect Sleeper' aka Joey Heatherton. Maybe slightly before them though.

@John from Indiana: Ya used to believe that the VA hospitals were akin to the those sleazy bars down in dog town. Circa 85 I got hit/run by car which blew out my right knee. Had no medical at the time so the VA was the only choice. Completely changed my mind back then. These days, there is no comparison at all between the local ( and not so local ) hospitals and the VA - VA wins hands down as their whole attitude has changed and they seem to actually care about us patients. And we are not even talking about all the stuff that is provided: Hearing Aids, necessary drugs, Glasses ... etc. They are now is our goto choice if we have the option.

@Marlin39: Pretty much sounds like what I did to myself a couple of weeks ago; although it was a sheet of OSB not gym weight. Chiropractor 2 times which helped but it came back after I would go do something, like walk or sit down. I tried all sorts of twisting and bending, Icy/Hot and ibuprofen with no pain until everything wore off. Finally forced myself to get on my stomach on the floor; elbows and toes, then lift back up in the most curve I could do, wait a few seconds then go the opposite direction and wait a few seconds. Finally heard/felt that very low vertebra pop back in of which that stabbing pain pretty much went away immediately. Still took 2 days for those muscles to relax letting the other pain go away.

Rambled!

L8r
Click to expand...
Cher and Joey Heartherton. Both seemed to be to be used up, never fresh looking in my eyes. Both great looking ladies but something off to me. Cher never looked happy or as dad used to say, she looked used and abused and put away wet! Loved the voice but look, nope…
 


TLOC said:
Go with that instinct! It will be marriage of 50 years in September for us. Its the beginning of show season in Wisconsin. Do not under any circumstance go to a train show on an anniversary weekend even if she says it’s fine. It’s never fine and ok is never permission to go. Though you probably have learned that…
Click to expand...
I have not been able to attend the Historical Gamer Paradise known as Historicon for being on that same weekend every year.

And a Cozy Mystery gathering for authors was on that date as well.

Number of each attended: Zero.

I knew the procedure.
 
Finally finished my cleaning chores today. This is the first deeeep cleaning I've done since Lisl passed away two years ago. I can't believe where dirt can accumulate. I almost hate to start cleaning, because once I do I get fanatical about it.

Cleaning baseboards, window sills, the tops of double-hung windows, under chairs, behind tables and bookcases. I finish one spot and see something else that need attention. One spot after another. It's relentless. But, now my house is finally cleaner than it has been since I brought Lisl home as a pup.

Looks great, no clutter, everything shines. Didn't make it to the train room and now I'm too tired to run trains. Dinner in a little bit, a movie, shower, and bed is about all I'm going to manage the rest of today. But my home sure looks good.
 
Well, got the Missus out for a few minutes this morning, kind of wore her out, but she is definitely on the mend! I spent time this afternoon figuring out some layout spaces. Then attacked one of two duplicate buildings to try to change the visuals enough that it wont be obvious they are identical. Paint applied and then touched up some old Bachmann figures [remember the old 12 pack people with neon skin?] and then added them to the building. Added window attention for blinds and curtains. Second building's awning is drying from it's primer coat, then it will get a little more love.
1778190146074.png


1778190236772.png
 
RhB Michael said:
Finally finished my cleaning chores today. This is the first deeeep cleaning I've done since Lisl passed away two years ago. I can't believe where dirt can accumulate. I almost hate to start cleaning, because once I do I get fanatical about it.

Cleaning baseboards, window sills, the tops of double-hung windows, under chairs, behind tables and bookcases. I finish one spot and see something else that need attention. One spot after another. It's relentless. But, now my house is finally cleaner than it has been since I brought Lisl home as a pup.

Looks great, no clutter, everything shines. Didn't make it to the train room and now I'm too tired to run trains. Dinner in a little bit, a movie, shower, and bed is about all I'm going to manage the rest of today. But my home sure looks good.
Click to expand...
Did you still find some stray dog hair?

After we lost our first lab we still found little clumps for a while after she passed.
 
What a great day! I bought airfare, rental car, and hotel for a trip to San Diego. It's to get away, visit one of the greatest zoos, and see the SIL/husband/nieces. I got out of going to Europe since Nicki needs 2 more implants, but did this to make everyone happy. There is nothing inexpensive about this trip. Even the zoo costs $78 per person admission.

.....and to top it off I received an "adjustment" letter from the IRS today. They want about 40% of my refund back. They didn't state the reason, but I thought TurboTax would have done it right. I went straight to the IRS web site and gave them their money back by EFT. I really don't even care the reason why. As I explained to my wife, "the IRS does not have a sense of humor." I just paid it, hopefully got off their radar, and moved on.
 
troyphoto said:
solar panel is a 200 watt Renogy N-type
Click to expand...
If you are planning to get more panels, then you could get a splitter like this

And get diodes

Amazon.com: 5 PCS PV Solar Panel Connector Male/Female 30A Built-in Diode Solar Wire Connectors Waterproof Anti-backflow : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Amazon.com: 5 PCS PV Solar Panel Connector Male/Female 30A Built-in Diode Solar Wire Connectors Waterproof Anti-backflow : Patio, Lawn & Garden
www.amazon.com

This would allow you to wire up several panels together. The diodes would prevent the shaded panel from absorbing the power from the panels in the sun. This way, you wouldn't have to reposition the panels as clouds or the shade moves around.
 


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