Running Bear's October 2022 Coffee Shop

[D&J RailRoad]

I saw another ebay sale where the same seller sold one for over $700.

 

[TLOC]

Dinner last night was from the grill as it will be tonight. Huge chicken breasts with skin. once in a great moon Terry will buy the chicken breasts with the skin still on. I grill those when she’s gone. Tonight, ok, I can do a steak! Bacon wrapped rib eye. Grilled Brussels sprouts and at most 7 steak fries.

Good morning to watchers of an auction we all seem to be overwhelmed by, red meat eaters, gamers, photo takers and model making people in general. A decent unexpected morning so far in So. Central Wisconsin. 48 now heading into the 50’s after being told today would be high 30’s on the Weather app the last few days.

Made a trip before supper to the grocery as a 3# maximum of 85/15% ground chuck was on sale. Terry called me from Maui telling me to go. While there, $1.48 for a 6 pack of 16.9oz bottle of 7up products was across the aisle from the butcher. I got 2 diet Dr Pepper. Sale is daily through Friday, not in the regular ads but notified in the rewards club. I was told to go and I will go every day it’s on. Terry uses 3# of 85/15 ground Chuck in her spaghetti sauce batches. $1.98 per pound! Heck, I’m thrilled I found the soda sale. She is about the ground Chuck! We both win and it’s just 3 miles up the road.

Thanks again to Guy for posting the ends of the Centerbeam cars. That is still my weathering project this week, 2 down, 3 more to go.

While I am doing weathering projects I have been spending 1 hour at least daily on the layout. Fixing track, testing track and cleaning glued ballast to rails. 7 hours into the cleanup and I am about 1/2 way through the layout. Hey, testing track takes time, the cleanup, not so much.

enjoy the day

 

[TLOC]

That's up $52.37 in six minutes. You have to love the .37c though

Yep, never really followed EBay auctions before and the cents surprised me.

Now you know why I never bid on these things, I figured 450 and Alcomotive replied 600+. The other thing is Eric Brooman runs his equipment so while its in great shape, they definitely are used.

 

[Bruette]

My dog and I are going to eat a lot of steak over the next few days. My wife doesn't like red meat very well, so I'm planning to have a nice Porterhouse tonight... probably a bone-in ribeye one night... maybe a less expensive Sirloin another night. Hell... maybe I'll just do up a small rib roast and have leftovers for 3 days, LOL.

OK... taking suggestions for red meat for dinner... Whatchu suggest? [not doing Wagyu, or however it's spelled]

I like your ideas! Especially sharing with the dog!

 

[ctclibby]

Good morning all, 36° and cloudy, a little light rain, gonna be cooler today

KenDJ - your back story, often a bed of thorns in there somewhere

Curt - your crossing pic/video posted a couple days ago, looks GREAT

Guy - swing gate is fine. You may have some fudging to do over time with those close tolerances, the wood has a tendency to shrink/swell some over time

Here is a pic of one of my favorite box cars. I just noticed the big gaps in the rails. Made a nice clickety sound, plus no expensive locomotives on my railroad

View attachment 154438

TomO - so you are Vietnam era. I was in fourth grade during the worst of it, images from the TV and Time magazine still haunt me. I believe it was an awful time for our country. I am sure much worse for the soldiers.


Another shot from the old layout

View attachment 154439

more later, Dave LASM

Dave: From the Vietnam era there were *lots* of video and still images put up on TV and those images are embedded in peoples minds ( soul to maybe ). You might ask you doc about PSD and see what shakes out. Could be something, or maybe not but worth the check.

I am waiting for the DSO at the local VFW to get in so I can find out about me. If I do have PSD it is probably more mild than many of the other returning vets. I suspect that we all have put it away somewhere, but certain things bring it roaring right back. My doc suggested it to me to find out as she could not assess it as she had no training for it. It all started with my doc when the wife happened to tell her about the time I woke her up with my hand on her head telling her to 'watch out for the chopper blades'. So it is indeed embedded in me somewhere. Was planning on finding out from the DSO about tinnitus as that comes with a 15% disability, so am going to add the PSD stuff.

Later

 

[Bruette]

The sprayer nozzle cracked on the downstairs kitchen sink spewing water everywhere! I used a pair of vice grips to crimp the hose, no more leak. My wife is back in business, and I will pick a new one tomorrow.

Now back to my Beagles and the couch.

 

[ctclibby]

High school from 1966 to 1970. The nightly news bombarded us daily with pictures and reports from on the ground. It’s what made Dan Rathers career on CBS. Very traumatic for many but those nightly reports helped end a stupid action. Americans rose up. The problem though was the terrible treatment our military received when they returned home. No solder should ever be treated the way VietNam vets were. IMO our military should should be paid better, have free health care for themselves and family for life at any USA medical facility not just the VA. You know like what Congress has given themselves

Tom: I am one of those with the terrible treatment - not bragging or anything like that. Got spit on trying to get from LAX to Camp Pendleton to rotate out. Lost my uniform in a hurry. Same for when I was a citizen again, except that the uniform went back on before boarding the plane to Spokane as they would move you to 1st class with all the booze you could drink and the stu's were darn cute. Once in Spo all the folks were more or less normal and didn't really have any problems. Of course, I do not think that I have ever put that uniform back on. It just hangs there in the closet in plastic along with Dad's and Maria's waiting patently.

As to the free health care, VA does that for me now. If I need something the almost local ( Spo ) VA hospital does not have or deal with, they send me to the closest facility that does. That trip used to be to Spo, but lately it is here in Libby, Kalispell, CDA or Spokane.

Later

 

[NYC_George]

Our shower head started leaking last night and I can't find either of my plumping pliers. Where could they possibly be? I took some regular pliers and tried to remove it and the pipe broke off in the copper nipple. Luckly I could grab enough of the chrome pipe, and it peeled out of the fixture. Now where the heck is my dremel tool so I can clean out the threads. That's missing to.
George

 

[Bruette]

The Veterans of Vietnam are among America's finest!

The American Military's response to the Tet offensive is one of the greatest in all military history. Individual soldiers rose to the occasion and met the challenge head on.

 

[JeffH]

My Father was flight surgeon in the Air Force. That's the only way he could afford the tuition for medical school. He was at Shaw in the late 50s, as a member of the Voodoo Medicine Men. He went in after Korea, before Viet Nam.

 

[Bruette]

Our shower head started leaking last night and I can't find either of my plumping pliers. Where could they possibly be? I took some regular pliers and tried to remove it and the pipe broke off in the copper nipple. Luckly I could grab enough of the chrome pipe, and it peeled out of the fixture. Now where the heck is my dremel tool so I can clean out the threads. That's missing to.
George

I'm sorry to hear that, George. I know firsthand how frustrating that can be.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Didn't go to Vietnam but still experienced the protests.
In 1969, got the treatment at Detroit Metro. Punched one boy in the face and the rest got control of their mouths.

 

[Bruette]

The sprayer nozzle cracked on the downstairs kitchen sink spewing water everywhere! I used a pair of vice grips to crimp the hose, no more leak. My wife is back in business, and I will pick a new one tomorrow.

I ordered a replacement from Amazon; it is $7 cheaper than Home Depot and it will come to my door!

 

[Bruette]

Didn't go to Vietnam but still experienced the protests.

Thank you for your service, Ken. All Veterans are heroes in my book! Combat or not, you and the others were ready, willing, and able.

 

[NYC_George]

I knew this was going to turn into a big project. I have to take out the sheetrock wall in the closet to get at the plumping. A plywood wall goes back in case I need to get in there again.
George

 

[Bruette]

Tom: I am one of those with the terrible treatment - not bragging or anything like that. Got spit on trying to get from LAX to Camp Pendleton to rotate out. Lost my uniform in a hurry. Same for when I was a citizen again, except that the uniform went back on before boarding the plane to Spokane as they would move you to 1st class with all the booze you could drink and the stu's were darn cute. Once in Spo all the folks were more or less normal and didn't really have any problems. Of course, I do not think that I have ever put that uniform back on. It just hangs there in the closet in plastic along with Dad's and Maria's waiting patently.

As to the free health care, VA does that for me now. If I need something the almost local ( Spo ) VA hospital does not have or deal with, they send me to the closest facility that does. That trip used to be to Spo, but lately it is here in Libby, Kalispell, CDA or Spokane.

Later

Thank you for your service!

 

[santafewillie]

I knew this was going to turn into a big project. I have to take out the sheetrock wall in the closet to get at the plumping. A plywood wall goes back in case I need to get in there again.
George

Been there, done that! Except it was a contractor (handyman) who installed one of those unilevers in the shower when we had our bathroom remodeled with a completely tiled wall. He turned it on and got hot water when he turned it to the cold. He went through the wall in the other bathroom on the other side to see whether or not he hooked the plumbing up backwards. No! He then explained the issue to me when I got home from work, and I pointed out that we were on a pier and beam foundation with the pipes exposed under the house, which he knew from installing the drain. Since it was 113° that day, the water in the cold water pipe was also 113° and if he ran it a while longer it would cool off. He sheepishly redid the sheetrock wall and matched the paint.

 

[JeffH]

So... many of you now know that I attended a military high school, and started going there when I was pretty young. Being a military school, students were assigned to a company. Each Company was made up of about 70 kids... 2 platoons comprised of 3 squads, each squad being 10 kids. Then you have the platoon leaders, company commanders, NCOs, yadda yadda yadda...

Each company had what they called a "Unit Military Officer" who was part of the JROTC program that was in place there when I attended (JROTC is long gone now). Our Unit Military Officer was Master Sergeant James Hunter Smith. He was one of those "advisors" who was in Viet Nam before we were "officially" there. He was there to advise the south's army how to use US weapons and tactics.

Sgt. Smith led a group of "Rangers" at Culver. The Rangers were a group of students who were selected to play war games with the Indiana National Guard twice a year. Imagine a bunch of 16-18 year-old kids, led by a guy like Sgt Smith up against a bunch of guys in their 30s and 40s doing guard duty a weekend each month.

We were issued M-16s with BFAs and also would get smoke grenades. Our job was to try to get from point A to point B without getting caught by the Nat'l Guard.

[Edit to add] Sgt. Smith was a great leader. One of those kind of people who made you feel smarter after you make a mistake. He taught us how to repel, and how to make your own swiss seat from a 6' length of rope. We didn't just repel... we learned how to walk down the side of a wall, using nothing but a rope, and your uniform as a tool. Now... Culver had a really nice indoor riding arena for their Black Horse Troop, and we would learn how to do all this by using the interior walls with all that soft sandy soil at the bottom to cushion the fall from 10 feet up, LOL. I can tie a bowline around my chest using only one hand thanks to him

 

[logandsawman]

Patrick - I use the rail joiners to connect power to my slide out as well. It was way easier than I imagined

Jeff - I would go for a plain old steak grilled over a wood fire. I "don't need no expert telling me how to cook meat". Baked potato with sour cream and butter in abundance!

TomO - totally agree - re: Viet nam

Willie - the feed mill is DELUXE. I don't remember seeing it

Todd - I was diagnosed with PTSD a couple months ago. No cash cow, however, since I still do fine in the work place.

Guy - you are an excellent carpenter, plus I love the neatness!


later...

 

[JeffH]

I'll probably use the grill some, but for the ribeye, I plan to pan fry it in about a 1/2 cup (maybe more) butter, just enough to get a good sear, then put the whole pan in a 400 degree oven until its a hair warmer than medium rare...