Running Bear's September 2025 Coffee Shop

[Kusojiji]

So your jaw acts as a barometer? Too bad it has to be pain though.

 

[NorthBrit]

THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Focus on Consistency:
Keep working consistently towards your goals, even if it's just with small efforts, because these small steps accumulate into big achievements.

 

[migalyto]

Good morning all!

A quick check in.

Woke up this morning to heavy thunderstorms rolling thru the area. Its about cleared out now.

We have a volleyball tournament all day so I wont be around much.

Have a safe day everyone!

 

[TLOC]

Good morning from my part of Wisconsin. It rained overnight for the 2nd night in a row, though Thursday night was just a trace in the collection beaker! This happened of course after 5 days of being told no rain until next Tuesday! It’s why they get paid to guess and miss…

Anyway, last night was anything but a trace and when it stops I will check the collection beaker. I heard the distant thunder at around 4:30 as it moved closer. The closer it got the louder and seemingly more frequent it was. At 5:05 I thought the house had been bombed. It felt like the house lifted up and dropped, it was a doozy! So basically from 4:30 till now (6:33) it thundered and the light show has been pretty impressive. Radar shows the lightning strikes are still hitting but mainly about 10 miles northeast of me. I can heard the thunder though as a constant rolling

I got a reply from my Endocrinologist as she joined us for dinner last night. She does recommend to some of her patients who have a tendency to forget to take the thyroid replacement medications to take it at bedtime. She says it’s mainly forgetful people or those who can’t seem to wait that 30 minutes before eating that should take at bedtime. She said she’s not forgetful but has to eat before work so she takes her thyroid meds before bed. I’m not that person as I don’t believe I’ve ever missed a pill. I also am able to wait the 4 hours to take any calcium. But, I took my pill last night right before bed at 11:45 last night with a 12oz glass of water. She also said do not drink cold water for meds! So it was right out of the reverse-osmosis filtered faucet.

I am so glad I read the forum after I had dinner last night. If I had I’m not sure I could have eaten the lamb chops we had on the grill.

Today we will getting the grandkids for a few hours. The daughter is going to the Badger/Maryland football game that starts at 11am. The son in law is staying home to rest. His kidney stones still have not passed but his pain is tolerable if he stays relaxed. The g/kids like it here and if it continues to rain we have plenty of indoor stuff.

I’m adventuring into Ai. I purchased a Carrera hybred race car system that is slotless last week. It arrived yesterday after being held at UPS for a few days. 1/50th scale cars on a pad

I will open it and test it today with the grandson

Tomorrow 2 buddies are coming over in the morning. We are going to triple check if I can add an upper deck to the layout without lowering what I have. I have operated on a few layouts that were too high and uncomfortable. I currently stand at 5’9” down from 5’10.5”. Getting old is not for the faint of heart! The layout is set at 52” and with the slot track and the spray booth both moved to the daughter’s craft shop I have room for a helix. I’m hoping to re-invigorate my love of my layout and if this doesn’t do it I may take it down

Be well

 

[Kusojiji]

She also said do not drink cold water for meds!

Awe cr@p. I hate drinking tap temp water.

I am so glad I read the forum after I had dinner last night.

haha, sorry! Gross doesn't just refer to weight or amount... Glad you had the chance to enjoy dinner.

 

[troyphoto]

Tomorrow 2 buddies are coming over in the morning. We are going to triple check if I can add an upper deck to the layout without lowering what I have. I have operated on a few layouts that were too high and uncomfortable. I currently stand at 5’9” down from 5’10.5”. Getting old is not for the faint of heart! The layout is set at 52” and with the slot track and the spray booth both moved to the daughter’s craft shop I have room for a helix. I’m hoping to re-invigorate my love of my layout and if this doesn’t do it I may take it down

Be well

I'm the same height, and my upper deck is at 54 inches. You might need to go with an elevated walkway if you add that second deck. I'd have problems seeing one at 64" (a 12 inch rise over your lower deck.) 64 is right at my eye level with crocs on my feet.

 

[Marlin39]

I had an interesting day Friday. Nicki and I had 10am appointments to get our flu shots, at the pharmacy. We were getting checked in and she suddenly said that she was feeling nauseous and dizzy. Shots don't bother her and these symptoms have never happened before. All of a sudden she starts convulsing and blacks out. Thankfully I caught her, eased her down, and protected her head. EMT's were there within minutes. She was out for less than a minute.

I took her to the ER after the EMT's determined she didn't have a seizure or heart attack. All her blood work came back normal at the hospital. The ER doctor said she had a sudden stress that caused her BP to drop. We were in and out of the ER in 2 hours.

My wife was blessed with bad teeth....a lot of it is her fault. She loves her hard and chewy candies. She can't leave the gym without grabbing a handful of Tootsie Rolls. She knows better, but......

She went to the dentist on Thursday and found out she had 10 cavities and we're heading to Europe in a couple of weeks. That's the stress that caused this. My unnecessary extra stress, after all this, was seeing what our out of pocket dental bill will be.

We're going to try again Monday to get our shots.

 

[ctclibby]

Tomorrow 2 buddies are coming over in the morning. We are going to triple check if I can add an upper deck to the layout without lowering what I have. I have operated on a few layouts that were too high and uncomfortable. I currently stand at 5’9” down from 5’10.5”. Getting old is not for the faint of heart! The layout is set at 52” and with the slot track and the spray booth both moved to the daughter’s craft shop I have room for a helix. I’m hoping to re-invigorate my love of my layout and if this doesn’t do it I may take it down

Be well

Tom: Was not sure ... your upper deck is set to be 52"? I am shooting for a 54" 2nd level. I am 5'9 also and descending. I played with some shelve upright runners attaching a couple of 18" shelve brackets @ 34" and 54" adding 10" to them. 28" is the max reach in width for most of the layout. Ya, well I found that I could not reach in enough to do any kind of work. No way I was going to rerail cars/engines as you know sooner or later... This was especially true if I had to reach over something. So I threw out the 28" requirement on the upper level and am going with 25" and will require no trackwork ( other than single/double mains ) further than 22" in. To do work I still need to get up on some sort of riser, both for better eyeballing and reaching with tools. Yes, I know that 20" between levels might be 'out there' but it works out to around 16" after you figure the 2nd level thickness and I wanted room for taller buildings and scenery on the lower level. Time will tell on that one.

L8r

 

[RhB Michael]

71°F/67°F this morning at 0900. A little stickier today, but the temp will remain in the low to mid-80s with a slight chance of a storm later today. Chances of rain go to 50% starting tomorrow through Thursday. Farmers have started harvesting over a week ago now because everything is drying out. Even with late season spring rain that delayed planting. Some bean fields are still partially green, so they are waiting a bit longer for the moisture content to be reduced before harvest.

Corn is steadily coming in now and fields are disappearing daily around here.

Oktoberfest is in full swing now. I did not get up early enough for the parade or the tapping of the barrel. If I had, I'd need a nap before lunch. I'll be firing up the grill in a couple of hours for brats and chicken and then tip back a few Paulaners or HBs after lunchtime listening to brass band music and watching Oktoberfest on German TV.

Have a great day!

 

[TLOC]

Tom: Was not sure ... your upper deck is set to be 52"? I am shooting for a 54" 2nd level. I am 5'9 also and descending. I played with some shelve upright runners attaching a couple of 18" shelve brackets @ 34" and 54" adding 10" to them. 28" is the max reach in width for most of the layout. Ya, well I found that I could not reach in enough to do any kind of work. No way I was going to rerail cars/engines as you know sooner or later... This was especially true if I had to reach over something. So I threw out the 28" requirement on the upper level and am going with 25" and will require no trackwork ( other than single/double mains ) further than 22" in. To do work I still need to get up on some sort of riser, both for better eyeballing and reaching with tools. Yes, I know that 20" between levels might be 'out there' but it works out to around 16" after you figure the 2nd level thickness and I wanted room for taller buildings and scenery on the lower level. Time will tell on that one.

L8r

My current layout deck is 52”. I’m thinking of 12 to 16” separation for the next deck. We do some set ups tomorrow to see how it works out.

I don’t want to pull my current deck cantilevered off the walls but I have a feeling I will have to. That’s why the testing tomorrow. I could drop the current 52” down to 42 to 44” and still use my stage skirting so 42” is the absolute lowest I will go. 16” seperation puts me around 58 on the high level and that’s a concern.

I have operated on layouts at all heights including one where you roll around in office chairs as the lowest level is 36”. That was ok but not something I want to do.

I’m not a fan of risers but the last layout that had them a couple weeks ago it felt fine. So I have not ruled risers out.

Thanks for the ideas

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and 69°, supposed to hit 94° today; rain has been removed from the forecast for tomorrow.

I continued to cut and stack firewood yesterday, getting a good workout in the process. Today will be weedeating day and I have a bunch of large logs to split. New chainsaw works as expected and of course I spilled chain bar oil on it the first time that I filled up the reservoir. Got a break later on, as my wife insisted that she make the pot of chili instead of me. Unfortunately she's back on the Keto diet so there was no cornbread.

Once again, I spent my time out in the train shed yesterday, culling out locomotives. It's a complex process that involves running everything with various trains back and forth on either level! Many still run very well and it will be tough to retire them. So far, 8 have been decided on, I just need to find 12 more. The level of detailing on 30+ year old Athearn Blue Box locos just doesn't match anything made after 2000, even those that I added details to. Mechanically, none of them beats a Kato or ScaleTrains engine. Today I will be checking the old Atlas and Walther's engines.

Tom O - If the morning dose with the DDP has worked for 15 years now, why change it just because there's a new study? It seems to me that there's new studies all of the time that contradict old studies. I think that they just reflect the personal bias of the persons doing the study. While it worked for Todd's wife, everyone is different.
Marlin -

I can confirm that everything was processed/sold, but the squeal.

I remember one of my grandmothers used to keep a pig tail next to her range to grease her cast-iron skillets.

The USDA inspectors watch everything from guiding the hogs from the pens to the kill room, to the kill process, to the dressing of the hog. They watch it live and it's being video recorded. They inspect every animals entrails for disease before stamping the carcass for further processing.

Yep! I had a buddy who did that for a decade or so. He was actually very complimentary of the plants that he was assigned to.
Terry - Good luck with the rest of the move. I hope that all continues to go smoothly. One thing that I learned about having friends help with the move, was to have the beer only at the destination, not at the origin. Learned by watching others move.
Louis - I experienced the Schnapps ritual first-hand when my company sent me to Austria for 2 weeks back in 1984. Every meal!

Sophia Loren is 91 years old today.
Everyone have a wonderful Saturday and a great weekend.

 

[Marlin39]

I'm just under 5'9" and my track board is at 48". I wanted it to be easy to reach across 24".

 

[Marlin39]

Willie - The 4 years we lived in the Sierras I used to cut and split 2-3 cords of oak every year. I actually really enjoyed cutting and splitting, but I just hated stacking. It seemed like it took 2x as long to stack as all the cutting and splitting combined.

 

[ctclibby]

My current layout deck is 52”. I’m thinking of 12 to 16” separation for the next deck. We do some set ups tomorrow to see how it works out.

I don’t want to pull my current deck cantilevered off the walls but I have a feeling I will have to. That’s why the testing tomorrow. I could drop the current 52” down to 42 to 44” and still use my stage skirting so 42” is the absolute lowest I will go. 16” seperation puts me around 58 on the high level and that’s a concern.

I have operated on layouts at all heights including one where you roll around in office chairs as the lowest level is 36”. That was ok but not something I want to do.

I’m not a fan of risers but the last layout that had them a couple weeks ago it felt fine. So I have not ruled risers out.

Thanks for the ideas

Tom: Sound like you have a plan. Do have a question though - how tall is Terry? Seems she checks you and the layout out every once-in-awhile.

Also, 36" high with chairs. One of those things I checked before deciding on lower height. Ya, 34" for me and you can sit and run trains if you desire. In my case, 54" upper and 20" separation allows me to look down onto the lower level without bending at the knees so that is why 34 was picked. Taller folks will have some ducking to do....

Have fun!

L8r

 

[kbkchooch]

Good morning gang!

Back from the dump already. New dryer vent to install today in addition to the lawn. Noticed today the front door frame needs repainting, and the garage door frame as well. Oh boy, the joys of home ownership!

BBL

 

[Jaz avalley]

NOT ENOUGH SPORTS ON!! heck even the sports video games ain't cutting it today lol

I have never appreciated watching sport,
The other half has been paid to be a goalie, played rugby lost teeth,boxing won medals, he has two hobbies where he could win medals if he was so inclined, he is not.He use to watch Liverpool or Blackpool but a long time ago lost the will. He does research his hobbies, a lot,
Me I have played tennis (school )hockey (also school got kicked off the team was goalie three of theirs heading in for a goal I know I could not stop so came charging out hockey stick high, apparantly scaring the bejazus out of your opponents is frown on, we won the game, but I was not allowed back on the team despite team mates asking. horse riding for years inc dressage, little jumps ok not fond off anything over 3ft and have done 5-6foot on a stubborn horse his choice NOT mine, another rider had to dismount and grab the reins and force his head down towards the floor to stop him, did not put me loved riding. I would go watch show jumping live as it was close, but boring on TV.
oooh did watch wrestling, especially team wrestling, and on tv, until they were driven off prime time. tried badminton not impressed. Dance shows are ok but repetitive.
I prefer my sport real and me taking part, so does the other half sometimes while driving!

 

[Jaz avalley]

From a review of local restaurant........

While the regular menu holds solid renditions of sweet and sour pork and Kung Pao chicken, the real attraction is the “Wild Side” menu, chock full of the bizarre and unfamiliar. On this side of the aisle, strands of sour & spicy jellyfish, chunks of stir-fried frog jumping with pickled chili peppers and pork stomach strips are the norm. From a small sampling of the exhaustive list, “The Other Parts of a Pig,” makes a strong impression: a tin fire pot engulfed in flame and holding a cauldron of pork intestines, burgundy cubes of blood sausage, and soft tofu in a salty, five-spice broth.

In Hungary on holiday I was eating this absolutely gorgeous sliced sausage, almost a salami, cooked on an open grill, when some one translated the contents, pig brain, fresh pig brain killed that morning the brains hand squished and mixed with some non meat products shaped and thrown on the grill……
…………l
Brain took a while to digest this, had already swallowed, had some in my hand, inspected carefully to see it was well cooked, and thought …..well it is really delicious, looked at the other half clearly thinking pretty much the same then we grinned and carried on eating - yes I did still look to see it was fully cooked.

 

[Jaz avalley]

From the previous chat about women remembering as you can see my brain is choker full of strange and unusual memories usually attached to emotion I wonder if that embeds it better?
Occasionally I remember far off memories that I have not thought of in decades…is this a dementia issue?!
I lose my phone regularly (but to be fair that was always the case)
I wonder myself sometimes how there is enough space in their for all the unimportant details that swirl around, but often I remember items that made me laugh and am grateful for the capacity
I certainly hope there is a heaven and I get in (fingers crossed) and that I get to keep those memories, some of which I have hear on this very forum and laughed heartedly at.
It seems a shame that when you die you just poof are no more reflecting for a short time by those who have memories of you for good or bad.

I like the idea of the universe basically moving forward until it is stretched out like a rubber band then ding rebounding so we exist again in reverse, birth gets a little bit yuk at that point but to be fair it’s a bit yuk now. Then I think …. I would like to think it’s not a tennis ball back and forward (especially for those whose life is not good)I hope as a species we can somehow evolve and be better. Even if if in the long distant future we are no longer human….hmmmm

 

[Bruette]

@Jaz avalley My mind also brings up things long forgotten.

When I read your post, this came to mind.

"Well, I know it's hard for you to know the reason why
And I know you'll understand more when it's time to die
Don't believe the life you have will be the only one
You have to let your body sleep to let your soul live on"

Those are lyrics from Black Sabbath's A National Acrobat"

While not long forgotten, I thought it was fitting.

 

[RhB Michael]

Brats and chicken are done! Lunch is just minutes away.