Running Bear's September 2022 Coffee Shop

[Bruette]

Time and a half.
Of course, 1.5x0=0...

Double time on Sundays?

 

[JeffH]

I was debating green energy the other day, and made the assertion (without really knowing the facts) that "whatever the United States does to reduce air pollution would be a drop in the bucket compared to the impact that some other countries could have. So I set out to see if I could find data to support my postulate.

I came across this data online, and calculated air pollution (PM2.5) produced per 1,000,000 people, then sorted worst to best. I was shocked to see the U.S as the best on a per capita basis. PM2.5 is a measure of Particulates suspended in the air that are 2.5 microns or smaller. Burning fossil fuels (and wood for that matter) are a major contributor to high PM2.5 readings.

There are several small, poor countries at the top of the list (meaning they are the worst polluters per person), but try to convince me that Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE can't afford to improve on their air pollution problems.

Then look at raw production of PM2.5, and you will note that Spain produces about 8% more PM2.5 than the U.S. does, yet it's population is one seventh that of the U.S. Poland produces twice the PM2.5 with 1/10th the population.

If Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE and Mongolia could combine their efforts to reduce their combined PM2.5 by 4.9%, it would remove more PM2.5 from our atmosphere than the entire US contributes. So, please tell me how even a 50% improvement in the U.S. is going to move the needle when other countries have much more low hanging fruit.

country	particlePollution	pop2022	Pollution/Pop*1M
Macau	23.5	695,168	33.80
Bahrain	46.8	1,472,233	31.79
Mongolia	62.0	3,398,366	18.24
Malta	9.4	533,286	17.63
Cyprus	19.7	1,251,488	15.76
North Macedonia	32.4	2,093,599	15.48
Iceland	5.6	372,899	14.88
Luxembourg	9.6	647,599	14.82
Bosnia and Herzegovina	34.6	3,233,526	10.69
Armenia	25.5	2,780,469	9.17
Kuwait	38.3	4,268,873	8.97
Bahamas	3.3	409,984	8.05
Latvia	13.3	1,850,651	7.19
Georgia	20.1	3,744,385	5.37
Lithuania	14.5	2,750,055	5.27
Kyrgyzstan	33.2	6,630,623	5.01
Croatia	19.1	4,030,358	4.74
Estonia	6.2	1,326,062	4.64
United Arab Emirates	38.9	9,441,129	4.12
Bulgaria	25.5	6,781,953	3.76
Serbia	23.3	7,221,365	3.23
Singapore	19.0	5,975,689	3.18
Puerto Rico	10.2	3,252,407	3.14
Laos	23.1	7,529,475	3.07
Slovakia	16.1	5,643,453	2.85
Hong Kong	20.3	7,488,865	2.71
Israel	20.8	9,038,309	2.30
Greece	22.5	10,384,971	2.17
Ireland	10.6	5,023,109	2.11
Costa Rica	10.4	5,180,829	2.01
Denmark	9.6	5,882,261	1.63
Jordan	18.3	11,285,869	1.62
Hungary	14.6	9,967,308	1.46
Nepal	44.5	30,547,580	1.46
Syria	32.2	22,125,249	1.46
New Zealand	7.5	5,185,288	1.45
Afghanistan	58.8	41,128,771	1.43
Czech Republic	14.5	10,493,986	1.38
Austria	12.2	8,939,617	1.36
Norway	6.9	5,434,319	1.27
Cambodia	21.1	16,767,842	1.26
Switzerland	10.9	8,740,472	1.25
Kazakhstan	23.6	19,397,998	1.22
Uzbekistan	41.2	34,627,652	1.19
Chile	22.6	19,603,733	1.15
Sri Lanka	25.2	21,832,143	1.15
Guatemala	20.2	17,843,908	1.13
Belgium	12.5	11,655,930	1.07
Finland	5.6	5,540,745	1.02
Romania	18.3	19,659,267	0.93
Ghana	30.3	33,475,870	0.91
Portugal	9.3	10,270,865	0.90
Iraq	39.6	44,496,122	0.89
Taiwan	17.2	23,893,394	0.72
Peru	23.4	34,049,588	0.69
Sweden	6.6	10,549,347	0.63
Netherlands	10.9	17,564,014	0.62
Saudi Arabia	22.5	36,408,820	0.62
Uganda	29.1	47,249,585	0.62
Myanmar	31.0	54,179,306	0.57
Malaysia	19.4	33,938,221	0.57
Bangladesh	83.3	171,186,372	0.49
South Korea	24.8	51,815,810	0.48
Ecuador	8.6	18,001,000	0.48
Algeria	21.2	44,903,225	0.47
Poland	18.7	39,857,145	0.47
Angola	15.9	35,588,987	0.45
Ukraine	16.6	39,701,739	0.42
South Africa	21.6	59,893,885	0.36
Vietnam	34.1	98,186,856	0.35
Thailand	24.3	71,697,030	0.34
DR Congo	32.1	99,010,212	0.32
Argentina	14.6	45,510,318	0.32
Australia	8.0	26,177,413	0.31
Italy	17.1	59,037,474	0.29
Colombia	14.6	51,874,024	0.28
Pakistan	65.8	235,824,862	0.28
Iran	24.3	88,550,570	0.27
Turkey	20.6	85,341,241	0.24
Spain	9.7	47,558,630	0.20
Canada	7.7	38,454,327	0.20
France	12.3	64,626,628	0.19
Indonesia	51.7	275,501,339	0.19
Ethiopia	20.1	123,379,924	0.16
Egypt	18.0	110,990,103	0.16
Mexico	20.0	127,504,125	0.16
United Kingdom	10.5	67,508,936	0.16
Philippines	17.6	115,559,009	0.15
Germany	11.0	83,369,843	0.13
Nigeria	21.4	218,541,212	0.10
Japan	11.4	123,951,692	0.09
Brazil	15.8	215,313,498	0.07
Russia	9.9	144,713,314	0.07
India	58.1	1,417,173,173	0.04
China	39.1	1,425,887,337	0.03
United States	9.0	338,289,857	0.03

 

[logandsawman]

I keep old photos on a solid state external hard drive. [Knock on wood] So far no issues...

I keep mine on those thumb drive storage devices, maybe the same thing?

For some stuff, I put it as an email attachment and send it to my other email address, like purchase agreements, transcripts, other important stuff.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Good info Jeff.
I did note there was no report on N. Korea.
We clean our air up for it to flow to other countries to enjoy while we get the exhaust from countries who don't care.

 

[Boris]

One I did like was the Greek Islands restaurant on Eastern in Greektown. I knew the owner and Chef. He previously ran a fancy hotel in DC I can't remember the name. of it

We used to eat lunch at a place called Samos, on, I think, Haven off Eastern. Almost right across from the Greek Orthodox Church...The Pastor, used to come over for his free Gyro. Eastern Avenue had everything back then. Mikulski Brothers Bakery was a mandatory Saturday Morning stop.

The "Likely to offend" portion was what was probably used for the removal and censorship along with the 2nd paragraph of the quote above. Whether it was founded or not, the powers that be could remove any post on a whim

Todd: We all Have read this, and mentioned it several posts ago. To be honest, our moderators have looked the other way, for numerous grievances in the past, including photos that some find offensive. The "censorship" was unprecedented in its abruptness and harshness. That's all there is to it.
Also unprecedented, was the disappearance of all active moderators almost concurrent with the "censorship". I realize that I'm beating a dead horse here, , but I found the action offensive and threatening. If the owner wants to kick me off, that's fine with me. My clicks will go elsewhere. Shame is, this is one of the most friendly and congenial sites on the internet...which is another talking point as to why this was so unusual.

Yes. We know.

Thin ice here... Non Political answer..."Try that he is an abrasive, arrogant, deceitful New York Businessman".

Unfortunately, for you guys, best forSum I've found, love it here, so your kinda stuck with me.

Smudge617...We noticed. Happy to have ya on board.

Bay Head Yard, NJ

 

[JeffH]

I'm sure the data is a bit flawed, but directionally accurate.

I wish common sense was still common. I'm all for making improvements wherever we can, but sometimes, we need to step back and do a sanity check on things rather than blindly follow people who either are misinformed, or have hidden agendas...

The world is a bit upside down right now... not from an environment perspective as much as from an common sense perspective.

I learned a long time ago to think critically.

Reminds me of a quote that goes something like: "Great minds talk about theories. Avergae minds talk about current events. Small minds talk about each other."

 

[Boris]

Good morning.
Our favorite Frenchman has once again run afoul of the anti-spam program, and his 14 current user id's have been blocked.

In other news, I've asked Bob to look into recruiting some help, since I seem to be the only active moderator.

1. Welcome back...we were worried.
2. Sacre bleu!

 

[Alcomotive]

So glad I do not live in Florida anymore.....that hurricane Ian is going right over my old house! After 17 years of living there nope and nope. No more. It's even more dense in population now than when I was there.....and not to mention the people are more dense too....lol.....sigh. A lot of my buddies are out of power. What a mess it will be for days to come.

Anyways in the office today. Cooler temperature seem to be here to stay. I have a feeling we will not be having an Indian summer. When I went for a drive last Saturday, I posted those pictures I notice on my drive several paper wasp nest up in the trees. They were up quite a ways too. Not good!

What Does Weather Lore Say About Wasps’ Nests?​

Weather lore tells us: If you see a wasps nest built low to the ground, expect little snow. If you see one built high, expect a lot of snow. The official weather lore rhyme goes like this:

See how high the hornet’s nest, ‘twill tell how high the snow will rest.

 

[santafewillie]

This is a catch up post, or at least starting that way.

Tom O - Belated Happy Birthday to Terry. And I guess Happy Birthday to you tomorrow. Boy, that's a real drag losing your pictures. Sure hope that you can recover them.
Todd - Your wife is not the only wife who's a news junkie. My wife can watch the TV news, follow Scott Adams on her tablet, read the MS feed on her laptop and catch up with the grandkids on the phone! All at once!
While the terms and conditions don't mention them, it has been generally accepted that religion and politics are not discussed.
Joe -

And I feel that economically, I have been hurt by the policies of both major political groups, so I'm skeptical of all of them.

Ain't that the truth. They all screw the citizens at every step of the way. And now they appear to be screwing a certain member of their club who sold his allegiance.
Careful here Willie - Regarding the mods and posts removal, at least two of his own posts were removed. The forum owner has not logged in since February, although he may have been lurking. We really only have one active moderator any more. Neither Willis or Tony have been around in years
Curt - Yes, I have been to that museum and the one today in Alabama before. The one in MS is always changing as they add new stuff quite often. As I found out yesterday, the O scale one in Foley AL underwent some changes while they were shut down due to Covid. In addition, I am always finding new or hidden views that I never saw before. Just like at home, I can look at the same layout over and over and never get tired of seeing it.
Chet - Continued best wishes on your shoulder surgery recovery. You posted about the haters yesterday, which reminds me of my niece (by marriage to my nephew), She hates him also. I pinned her down at a family gathering in 2019, and asked what he did to cause the hatred. She had no answer!
Steve J - Good to see you back.

That's my blabber for now. I'll be back after my nap with more pictures.

 

[bnsf971]

Todd: We all Have read this, and mentioned it several posts ago. To be honest, our moderators have looked the other way, for numerous grievances in the past, including photos that some find offensive. The "censorship" was unprecedented in its abruptness and harshness. That's all there is to it.
Also unprecedented, was the disappearance of all active moderators almost concurrent with the "censorship". I realize that I'm beating a dead horse here, , but I found the action offensive and threatening. If the owner wants to kick me off, that's fine with me. My clicks will go elsewhere. Shame is, this is one of the most friendly and congenial sites on the internet...which is another talking point as to why this was so unusual.

What is unusual is the number of active moderators has dropped to almost nil, and every time I tried to get a consensus from whoever was there, the answer has been (if I got an answer at all), "whatever you think is best". In the last several instances, I've had to act (or not) as I saw fit, with no input.
With everything going on at my house (we had my wife's life celebration service last Saturday), so things may have been abrupt, and honestly, my thought has pretty much been, "I don't have time for this right now". I am effectively an army of one, including our sister forum, and sometimes things behind the scenes have made my actions less than smooth.

 

[JeffH]

I used to moderate a couple firearms forums. Technically, I'm still a moderator on HKPRO.com, but I have not been active there since around 2011 or 2012.

I'll never agree to be a moderator again. I don't have the patience or tact I used to have. And it's a thankless job to begin with.

I'll agree that this seems to be the best (for me) model railroad forum as far as having fairly laid back people who frequent this place. I also like MTF, but there are several, shall we say "strong personalities," there who seem to like to pick nits and obviously don't like each other. Makes it awkward when a newbie asks a question, and then 2-3 members hijack the thread while they argue about the topic... basically scaring the newbie away. Or worse, they type up a 5-page dissertation that goes down a rabbit hole barely relevant to the question.

 

[santafewillie]

What is unusual is the number of active moderators has dropped to almost nil, and every time I tried to get a consensus from whoever was there, the answer has been (if I got an answer at all), "whatever you think is best". In the last several instances, I've had to act (or not) as I saw fit, with no input.
With everything going on at my house (we had my wife's life celebration service last Saturday), so things may have been abrupt, and honestly, my thought has pretty much been, "I don't have time for this right now". I am effectively an army of one, including our sister forum, and sometimes things behind the scenes have made my actions less than smooth.

Terry - While I don't always agree, I fully support you as a moderator. I hope that the situation is resolved in short order.

 

[Boris]

The world is a bit upside down right now... not from an environment perspective as much as from an common sense perspective.

What is unusual is the number of active moderators has dropped to almost nil, and every time I tried to get a consensus from whoever was there, the answer has been (if I got an answer at all), "whatever you think is best". In the last several instances, I've had to act (or not) as I saw fit, with no input.
With everything going on at my house (we had my wife's life celebration service last Saturday), so things may have been abrupt, and honestly, my thought has pretty much been, "I don't have time for this right now". I am effectively an army of one, including our sister forum, and sometimes things behind the scenes have made my actions less than smooth.

Terry: I understand your position, and what you have been up against. I respect your decision, even if I didn't like it. As I said to Todd, I'm beating a dead horse. As you know, I try very hard not to be partisan. Sometimes I'm successful, other times I'm not as successful. It's over as far as I'm concerned, time to move on. I'm also happy to see you are still keeping an eye on the forum. I was worried for a while...especially with our other friend flying off to parts unknown. (Hope he's ok).

 

[Bruette]

Eastern Avenue had everything back then.

It surely did!
Eastern Avenue was just the avenue for the locals. "Goin down ne Avenue Hon"
Shopping malls put an end to all that. Like the internet is doing to many retail stores.
I lived one block off Eastern Avenue in Essex from the time I was born until 1979. Before I drove, I was only a short walk or one Bus ride, the number 23, away from anything I wanted or needed.
I've lived only a few blocks away from Easten Avenue for the last 18 years and God willing, till the end of my time.

 

[Bruette]

Terry - While I don't always agree, I fully support you as a moderator. I hope that the situation is resolved in short order.

Same here!

 

[Bruette]

Boris,
I thought you may find this interesting.

Haussner's Restaurant - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[AmtrakCr74108]

No, but it's possible both were 2/3rd motors....

View attachment 152391
Half of a GG1 is better than none...or G1 or G6 4-6-0? or 4846/2

Was this the one used for a snowplow?

 

[troyphoto]

What is unusual is the number of active moderators has dropped to almost nil, and every time I tried to get a consensus from whoever was there, the answer has been (if I got an answer at all), "whatever you think is best". In the last several instances, I've had to act (or not) as I saw fit, with no input.
With everything going on at my house (we had my wife's life celebration service last Saturday), so things may have been abrupt, and honestly, my thought has pretty much been, "I don't have time for this right now". I am effectively an army of one, including our sister forum, and sometimes things behind the scenes have made my actions less than smooth.

We have a sister?

DAD! You got to tell us youngfolk these things...

You don't keep her locked in the attic do you?

 

[bnsf971]

We have a sister?

DAD! You got to tell us youngfolk these things...

You don't keep her locked in the attic do you?

RailroadForums.com - Railroad Discussion Forum and Photo Gallery

RailroadForums.com - Railroad Discussion Forum and Photo Gallery

railroadforums.com

 

[troyphoto]

Ugh... trying a new resin in the 3D printer:

For those of you in the hobby:
NEW: Elegoo ABS-Like 2.0 for durability and flex on models.
Old: Sirayatech Fast

The NEW is STINKY! I'm wearing a mask when I'm in the printing area, and I'm running my small paint booth fan while the resin is in the printer.

Not a fan of the product, but do like the results.

think I may figure out what skeletons I need printed, and bang those out tomorrow, then bottle it up and stick it in the Emergency Use Only spot.

I was warned that it was stinky. And a few people have developed allergies to it. If I decide to keep using it, I'll have to get a better ventilation system for that room.