Running Bear's October 2022 Coffee Shop

[Espeefan]

Absolutely, no disagreement here at all. If there is sufficient chlorine and copper to be an environmental threat, there is sufficient copper and chlorine to be harnessed for commercial use. This process by use of contemporary technology, can create clean jobs and systems that resolve all issues. We just need to be open minded about it.

I've spent nearly 40 years in the water/wastewater business, so I'm a little more aware of these issues and technologies than most folks. Desalination is very similar to the EV discussion that took place here (which I stayed out of ). It's a promising technology that isn't quite ready for prime time. Water produced that way costs five times more than with other existing technologies. In Carlsbad CA a Desal plant that serves 110,000 people was built at a cost of $1 billion. Even with the California price factor built in that's a crap ton of money for the amount of people served! There are similar problems besides the high costs. Toxic wastes, a distribution & support infrastructure that doesn't exist yet. Making the water isn't in itself toxic, but the membranes it passes through must be cleaned periodically. This is done chemically, and the stuff is nasty so you get acids, heavy metals, and large amounts of salt. Dealing with that adds to the cost. It is a problem we'll need to solve sooner or later, and I hope they do. For now as with most of these problems our country faces, I'll quote Winston Churchill: "The Americans will do the right thing. When they've exhausted every other possibility."

 

[Espeefan]

A chilly 39° currently with a high today expected of 60°. Frost advisory trough 8:00a and then tonight the bottom falls out with an overnight temp of 28°. I hope we get it as the pollen has been bad this year. Suppose to freeze again Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
Cold enough this morning that as I get closer to the office, the "Low Tire" warning came on in the truck. Usually means 1 tire is lower than the other 3 and always happens when the chilly weather starts. What I hate about these particular sensor (or maybe it's the cheap truck), is they don't say which tire it's reading low. Usually it goes off when it's pouring rain, snowing, or extremely cold wind chills and then you have to check ALL 4 tires to find which one is a little low. I'll probably correct it at lunch time.

My Pacifica tells me which one, and gives me a graphic showing all four tires and their pressures. It's nice but I usually end up airing all four tires up a little anyway. Then there's the day it will finally fail. Wonder how much that'll cost me?

 

[TLOC]

Good morning from the chilled portion of So. Central Wisconsin. We have something called S..W in the forecast this morning. That white stuff won’t stick around as it’s really just white rain but the fact its mentioned is annoying.

Post office, a swim, the treadmill and the paint booth are my things for the day.

Enjoy the day

 

[troyphoto]

It is a problem we'll need to solve sooner or later, and I hope they do. For now as with most of these problems our country faces, I'll quote Winston Churchill: "The Americans will do the right thing. When they've exhausted every other possibility."

Ayn Rand was incorrect... the altruistic entrepreneurs are few and far between. What I've observed in American business is the quick easy buck wins out over the long term, better for everyone investment to make $$$ down the road.

I'd have thought we'd have great plastics recycling by now... but, instead, we ship our waste overseas, and let them landfill vast amounts of it or dump it in the ocean.

 

[logandsawman]

Good morning all,

28° and Cloudy, it is a blustery Fall morning but I must have a good weekend cause I feel pretty good, even woke up on my own, slept well last night and got a lot of work done on Saturday.

I have several pics today, will post them in various places so as not to bore everyone

Chad - your house is really taking shape!!!!

Nuclear energy - we are still storing all the nuclear waste in vaults. Frankly, we don't know what to do with it. How much land is becoming a big dump, and that will be a problem some day.

Desal - we need more water for golf courses and house developments in the desert. Need to set some priorities.

Well I got this area of the layout done, the hillside leading up to the quarry:

The hillside was just all brown paint, added shrubs and interest, some india ink and alcohol

more later, Dave

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Partly cloudy and 58°. Not as chilly as the weather geeks had planned. They still predict highs in the upper 60's for the next three days with lows in the 30's tonight and tomorrow. The additional rain yesterday never materialized after the 0.75" Saturday night, at least not here. It was enough to settle the dust and will allow me to run the mower without choking. Not much really needs mowing since it hadn't rained since 9-1, but there are scattered weedy patches that need leveling off, and the area within 20' of the house which I watered.

Today is a day to resume outdoor projects for me, not sure which one to do. I will probably mow some and I have a pile of brush (I always have that) that needs shredding. Garden is OK for now, but I need to make sure that the sprinkler is in the correct position in case I need to ward off any possible frost damage for the next two mornings. Log splitting could also happen depending on many other factors.

Thanks for the comments and reactions to yesterday's post.

I did another mini-project out in the train shed yesterday. Years ago when Larry (the old fart) decided to get out of model railroading, I bought several hundred vehicles from him. 46 of them were vans, many with "custom" paint jobs.

I selected one of the ones that I hadn't used yet, to turn it into an "everday" van.

Added a driver,

and a paint job,

and found a suitable decal set to use.

Now I have another useful vehicle on the layout.

Who knows what this day will bring.

Smudge - Regarding when to paint, I look at the overall structure before I decide whether to paint before or after assembly. Really large structures I tend to assemble first, as dealing with the glue surfaces can be tedious. Smaller structures I usually paint first, or at least prime them. It also depends on whether I will be spraying them, either aerosol can or air-brush painting; or brush painting. I tend to have better control with brush painting and do that ahead of assembly.
Looking at the Machine Shop, I would opt for assembly first and then spray painting. Since the windows and doors are separate, there may be minimal glue surfaces to scrape inside, depending on how careful the spray painting is done. Have fun.

This year, today is National Boss's Day. It was actually yesterday, but in event of a weekend it happens on either Friday or Monday. I can no longer be the object of this day since I retired from being a boss 7 years ago.

Everybody have a great day.

 

[Smudge617]

Good Morning All. Partly cloudy and 58°. Not as chilly as the weather geeks had planned. They still predict highs in the upper 60's for the next three days with lows in the 30's tonight and tomorrow. The additional rain yesterday never materialized after the 0.75" Saturday night, at least not here. It was enough to settle the dust and will allow me to run the mower without choking. Not much really needs mowing since it hadn't rained since 9-1, but there are scattered weedy patches that need leveling off, and the area within 20' of the house which I watered.

Today is a day to resume outdoor projects for me, not sure which one to do. I will probably mow some and I have a pile of brush (I always have that) that needs shredding. Garden is OK for now, but I need to make sure that the sprinkler is in the correct position in case I need to ward off any possible frost damage for the next two mornings. Log splitting could also happen depending on many other factors.

Thanks for the comments and reactions to yesterday's post.

I did another mini-project out in the train shed yesterday. Years ago when Larry (the old fart) decided to get out of model railroading, I bought several hundred vehicles from him. 46 of them were vans, many with "custom" paint jobs.
View attachment 153752
I selected one of the ones that I hadn't used yet, to turn it into an "everday" van.
View attachment 153753
Added a driver,
View attachment 153754
and a paint job,
View attachment 153755
and found a suitable decal set to use.
View attachment 153756View attachment 153757View attachment 153758
Now I have another useful vehicle on the layout.
View attachment 153759
Who knows what this day will bring.

Smudge - Regarding when to paint, I look at the overall structure before I decide whether to paint before or after assembly. Really large structures I tend to assemble first, as dealing with the glue surfaces can be tedious. Smaller structures I usually paint first, or at least prime them. It also depends on whether I will be spraying them, either aerosol can or air-brush painting; or brush painting. I tend to have better control with brush painting and do that ahead of assembly.
Looking at the Machine Shop, I would opt for assembly first and then spray painting. Since the windows and doors are separate, there may be minimal glue surfaces to scrape inside, depending on how careful the spray painting is done. Have fun.

This year, today is National Boss's Day. It was actually yesterday, but in event of a weekend it happens on either Friday or Monday. I can no longer be the object of this day since I retired from being a boss 7 years ago.

Everybody have a great day.

Managed to read this, just, Willie don't know why youve got strikethrough on ??

 

[Alcomotive]

There may be a big change in my tall viaduct project. I went to order the items I needed and it's over $300.00 for everything. I only budgeted $1000 for the whole lower deck renovation. I don't want to be like James have no money left for the Big E show. I think I'm going to go with 6 Atlas deck truss bridges. Their highly detailed and cheap $9.49. Their 9.75 inches long that 3 X 9.75 = 29.25. The space is 30 inches works out perfectly. Every abutment on my layout is made out of PVC board which I made myself. I can't even find a 2 track 12-inch-tall abutment in stock anywhere. It will end up being a $100.00 job. I'll even buy James lunch at the Big E train show. I know he'll be low on funds at the rate he is buying out hobby stores.

George

You're funny guy! Being single and still working.....has it's advantages I am looking forward to the Big E! I already appropriated funds for that with no one to answer too! We will have to do meetup for lunch for sure! I hope more guys can and will attend. Nothing like hanging out with folks within our hobby! Side note I never pay full price....I like wheeling and dealing. What can I say I got lucky this past month with JPs Hobbies going out of business and buying whatever I needed at 50% off..... Funny thing though he still has a lot of stuff.

The viaduct project is looking fantastic! I have been following your progress. Awesome!

 

[bnsf971]

Managed to read this, just, Willie don't know why youve got strikethrough on ??

Sometimes his computer lirps out, and randomly strikes through text.
I fixed it, it should be easier to read now.

 

[Boris]

I'd have thought we'd have great plastics recycling by now... but, instead, we ship our waste overseas, and let them landfill vast amounts of it or dump it in the ocean.

Rand's philosophy, like progressive philosophy, is theoretically sound, but doesn't work out in practice. Same goes for the Fast Buck conservatives that run our banking system. In the end we are left holding the bag for all of this. Plastics recycling and other "green" initiatives quickly turn to because of cost containment. Jersey's plastic bag ban is another example. now reusable bags are being dumped into landfills and into the ocean because no one thought this out, they just passed a law that sounded good. When are we going to learn? We have to think these things out, and leave politics out of our decision making. otherwise, we just go around in circles and accomplish nothing.

 

[Alcomotive]

Morning folks! Cooler weather this morning. 37 degrees F. Yesterday it topped out to 72 at one point. This morning drive was nuts. FOGGY was the theme! I get really irritated with people who still do not run their vehicles with their lights on....ugh! Especially white vehicles....

I made it to the office safely though. It has started to rain today.

Today not much to report other than waiting on a few packages to arrive. I checked on my super dome order and that guy still has not sent it but I know he is a bit slow at processing per his record and other comments. He did say in his blurb when selling he works 12 hours shift etc so I will be patient. He is 15 days in so far....we shall see. I have another Bluford Shops transfer caboose coming too! A couple other items as well. I did work in the train room organizing and cleaning. Made a little dent but I have a ways to go. I hope to post some pics of that as well sometime this week.

My older sister has heart surgery coming soon...on the 25th of October. She is 2 years older than me. I am nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I worry about that whole ordeal. I am hopeful and praying all will go well.

Ya'll have a good day and a good week! It is nice to come in here and chat with ya'll. Flo' can I get a cup of OJ to go!

 

[santafewillie]

Sometimes his computer lirps out, and randomly strikes through text.
I fixed it, it should be easier to read now.

Thanks Terry. I have no clue why this happens. I have tried to develop the habit of following up when I post, but got complacent this morning. And it just happens in random places which is hard to understand.

 

[Smudge617]

Sometimes his computer lirps out, and randomly strikes through text.
I fixed it, it should be easier to read now.

Thanks

 

[Smudge617]

Thanks Terry. I have no clue why this happens. I have tried to develop the habit of following up when I post, but got complacent this morning. And it just happens in random places which is hard to understand.

I know this happens to you sometimes, I wasn't complaining, just an observation, mind you, it did bring a smile to brighten up my day

 

[Alcomotive]

Rand's philosophy, like progressive philosophy, is theoretically sound, but doesn't work out in practice. Same goes for the Fast Buck conservatives that run our banking system. In the end we are left holding the bag for all of this. Plastics recycling and other "green" initiatives quickly turn to because of cost containment. Jersey's plastic bag ban is another example. now reusable bags are being dumped into landfills and into the ocean because no one thought this out, they just passed a law that sounded good. When are we going to learn? We have to think these things out, and leave politics out of our decision making. otherwise, we just go around in circles and accomplish nothing.

Personally I think our older generation had it right when we recycled glass and paper. I still prefer paper bags when I grocery shop. I use the paper bags at home for a number of things. I am one of those guys that like to re-use or repurpose things around the home. I sometimes use reusable cotton/denim bags when I do a big haul at the store. Not to mention my cotton bags are washable in the laundry. I dunno I just try to be mindful about waste and re-use or re-purpose things. I mean all the plastics we have and do not recycle is ridiculous. Here in NY upstate they used to pick up recyclables now they stopped that 8 years ago citing cost etc. They have very few areas which are far away where you can drop off the recyclables but it is not open at decent hours for people to access it etc. It's a pain in the booty. I try to be creative in reusing certain items even in our hobby etc.

 

[bigfoot13]

Finally got a video clip of the ARR ribbon rail cars that I've driven by several times recently. Looks a little more manageable to model then what I've seen in the lower 48.

 

[Smudge617]

Good Morning All. Partly cloudy and 58°. Not as chilly as the weather geeks had planned. They still predict highs in the upper 60's for the next three days with lows in the 30's tonight and tomorrow. The additional rain yesterday never materialized after the 0.75" Saturday night, at least not here. It was enough to settle the dust and will allow me to run the mower without choking. Not much really needs mowing since it hadn't rained since 9-1, but there are scattered weedy patches that need leveling off, and the area within 20' of the house which I watered.

Today is a day to resume outdoor projects for me, not sure which one to do. I will probably mow some and I have a pile of brush (I always have that) that needs shredding. Garden is OK for now, but I need to make sure that the sprinkler is in the correct position in case I need to ward off any possible frost damage for the next two mornings. Log splitting could also happen depending on many other factors.

Thanks for the comments and reactions to yesterday's post.

I did another mini-project out in the train shed yesterday. Years ago when Larry (the old fart) decided to get out of model railroading, I bought several hundred vehicles from him. 46 of them were vans, many with "custom" paint jobs.
View attachment 153752
I selected one of the ones that I hadn't used yet, to turn it into an "everday" van.
View attachment 153753
Added a driver,
View attachment 153754
and a paint job,
View attachment 153755
and found a suitable decal set to use.
View attachment 153756View attachment 153757View attachment 153758
Now I have another useful vehicle on the layout.
View attachment 153759
Who knows what this day will bring.

Smudge - Regarding when to paint, I look at the overall structure before I decide whether to paint before or after assembly. Really large structures I tend to assemble first, as dealing with the glue surfaces can be tedious. Smaller structures I usually paint first, or at least prime them. It also depends on whether I will be spraying them, either aerosol can or air-brush painting; or brush painting. I tend to have better control with brush painting and do that ahead of assembly.
Looking at the Machine Shop, I would opt for assembly first and then spray painting. Since the windows and doors are separate, there may be minimal glue surfaces to scrape inside, depending on how careful the spray painting is done. Have fun.

This year, today is National Boss's Day. It was actually yesterday, but in event of a weekend it happens on either Friday or Monday. I can no longer be the object of this day since I retired from being a boss 7 years ago.

Everybody have a great day.

Ok, thanks for that, I'll admit it would be simpler to assemble first, no glue or finger marks to deal with after the event.

The paint samples I did need to be looked at again, but I see me having to mix my own, as I would like something similar to what's on the box and none are anywhere close, so I'll clean the samples off, think primer grey for the interior as I want to add interior lights to it, less chance of light bleed that way.

At some point I need to pick yours and Jazz's brains as to the simplest way of painting figures too.

 

[CambriaArea51]

At some point I need to pick yours and Jazz's brains as to the simplest way of painting figures too.

Buy the ones already done.

 

[moermusic]

My Pacifica tells me which one, and gives me a graphic showing all four tires and their pressures. It's nice but I usually end up airing all four tires up a little anyway. Then there's the day it will finally fail. Wonder how much that'll cost me?

my garage floor avgs about 10 C tire at 36 psi back out to a -30C day. pressure way down now (about 6-7 psi)

 

[santafewillie]

At some point I need to pick yours and Jazz's brains as to the simplest way of painting figures too.

Unless you need a whole lot of them, Tom's advice is best.

Buy the ones already done.

I have over 1000 already on the layout and about 300 still to paint. But here's what works best for me. First, use a fine pointed brush and wear Optivisors. I find that enamels work best but they are more expensive and there isn't as much variety. I gather 30-40 figures and lay them out on a piece of 9"x12" cardboard (cereal box type works best) that I have divided into boxes with a pencil. I mark each box with a color, red, blue, black etc; there's a bigger box marked "drying".

I first paint all figures with a skin color, I use Testors Cream for Anglos and a light brown for others. As they dry, they go into a box on the piece of cardboard for the next color. If I intend to clothe them in blue jeans, they go into the blue box, black suits into the black box and so on. Then I go to the next color and do everything in that box. Some boxes are marked "fix" or "think", and I also have one each for hair, shoes and belts/ties. I always paint the lighter colors first then go darker. I paint shoes and hair last so I have a "handle" while I paint the rest of the figure.
I keep that piece of cardboard next to the workbench and whenever I paint a structure or vehicle, I also paint anything in the corresponding box. I do not often finish a single figure from start to finish in one session. they move from box to box until finished. Some go back to be touched-up. After I have a dozen or so completed, they all get dull coated. This protects from chipping and fading. I have tried the alcohol/India ink wash but it doesn't work well for me.

I have recently gotten a large assortment of already painted Chinese manufactured figures that always need touch up or complete re-painting. Lots of flash as well.
Preiser offers large assortments of 100-120 unpainted figures which is quite economical, costing US 5¢ each. Painted Preiser figures run about US $3 each. I have recently started using them as well as Walther's, Woodland Scenics, and Noch; that gives me a lot more variety and poses. Bachmann and Atlas also make unpainted ones in smaller packages. Oh yeah! Upon recommendation from Tom O, I recently purchased some figures from MiniPrints out of Canada that are really cool. I intend to get more.