Morning Folks,
Another eventful day here yesterday. My sister phoned me at 5:00 AM to tell me my uncle had died (Mom's sister). He was 68 years old. Had a heart transplant 5 years ago then a bout with shingles brought on by meds to keep him from rejecting the heart, then 4 years ago he had a major stroke that left him unable to walk or stand without support. He really had a rough go of it. While Mom was on phone with news of herbrother's passing she had a vaso-vagal response (passed out) hit her head requiring 7 staples and cut her arm 6 stitches. She has a black eye and is pretty beat up. Seems like lately it never rains but it pours.
The Mrs. had her stitches taken out of her foot. Toes are still swollen and purple, too tender to put on her regular shoe yet.
Weather here is nasty. Not quite as cold today, but we had a dusting of snow, with more snow and freezing rain to come. Schools are closed today in MD for election day. Most schools are polling places. Wish they would hold elections on Saturday so we wouldn't miss school for the election, it messes up the calendar and pushes the end of school further into June. We may head out to Mom and Dad's to go to the funeral early today so as to avoid the worst weather.
Take care,
Mitch
Bob Mitchell Gettysburg, PA TCA # 98-47956 LCCA# RM22839
Good Morning from Blueberryhill....
It is a snowy 19 degrees. Coming down lightly. Going up to 36 today, with a mix of freezing rain and sleet. Driving will be fun.
Today, I am staying home. Don't need to go out in this weather. I have a few things to do and then I will spend some time running trains. Good day for it.
Chief....You folks have a nice cruise. Keep safe.
Mitch...Sorry for the loss of your Uncle. Glad your wife is healing. It took my wife a good 4 weeks to get back to a normal shoe. Good now.
Well, Dining car has rolled in and it is time for breakfast. Then, it will proced to " points west ". All aboard.
Y'all have a great Tuesday.
Chuck
Brutus wrote:Hey, Sir James, I'm going to skate over to Doug's later, maybe we'll bring the pups over for a late night snack? Kurt, you up for it? I think Nick is probably asleep already....
I'm in! Lacin' up the skates!
Kurt
Mitch: Prayers for your mother and the rest of your family.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
Good morning all,
Absolutely horrible driving conditions this morning. Did not drive over 50 the entire way in. They closed the city schools, but have the county on a two hour delay, so the music festival is canceled for tonight. Lucas is relieved as he was going to have to take an English test early this morning because the teacher wanted to stay "on schedule". I keep forgetting that school is not for the kids (you would think I would learn that after three kids by now). I did some track work last night at the YMCA and went shopping with the wife. I see where the dining car arrived from "Points East" and is loaded with the usual fare. I hope everyone has a good day.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
ChiefEagles wrote: sir james I wrote: Chief- it appears you know batteries so if these 4/6 amp chargers that most stores sell are not good for the batt. why do they have them? I have a boat,not deep cycle,and a lawnmower batt. I have always charged them about every three weeks during the winter without any ill affects with this type of charger. Oh well on with the day,,,,,,,Sir JamesSr J. You are probably OK. The Battery Tender is even better. A cranking battery will not discharge [and sulfate] as quickly as a deep cycle. Deep cycles need to be discharged to half charge [use a floating light or car light] which is 12.5 V. Then recharge to desulfate. With a 3 stage charger, this is not necessary. With the Battery Tender, it is not necessary. Protable chargers will usually under charge or over charge a battery.Lee, believe what you want to. Has nothing to do with wineing and dinning. It has to do with TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE. I'm not going to comment on your battery manufacturer. You would not like it.Later.
sir james I wrote: Chief- it appears you know batteries so if these 4/6 amp chargers that most stores sell are not good for the batt. why do they have them? I have a boat,not deep cycle,and a lawnmower batt. I have always charged them about every three weeks during the winter without any ill affects with this type of charger. Oh well on with the day,,,,,,,Sir James
Chief- it appears you know batteries so if these 4/6 amp chargers that most stores sell are not good for the batt. why do they have them? I have a boat,not deep cycle,and a lawnmower batt. I have always charged them about every three weeks during the winter without any ill affects with this type of charger.
Oh well on with the day,,,,,,,Sir James
Sr J. You are probably OK. The Battery Tender is even better. A cranking battery will not discharge [and sulfate] as quickly as a deep cycle. Deep cycles need to be discharged to half charge [use a floating light or car light] which is 12.5 V. Then recharge to desulfate. With a 3 stage charger, this is not necessary. With the Battery Tender, it is not necessary. Protable chargers will usually under charge or over charge a battery.
Lee, believe what you want to. Has nothing to do with wineing and dinning. It has to do with TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE. I'm not going to comment on your battery manufacturer. You would not like it.
Later.
Chief,
I will give you one other piece of advice about batteries and alternators; make sure that the battery you are charging hasn't been charged by an alternator that had its diodes go bad as that alternator has done damage to the battery by introducing A.C. current to the battery and both the battery and alternator will need replacing!
I trying to help you to be safe!
Don't care what you think of Johnson Controls, as I am not working for them.
Lee F.
Morning all!
Supposed to rain here in south Florida for a couple of days and get a little cooler. The weather man always it will get colder, has not got below 45 this winter down here so I say it just gets cooler.
Trying to find another joib as Avis was a total pain with the late hours.
Still waiting on the model trains from Historic Rail.
GOOD MORNING,
Mitch -Prayers to your family
We have yesterdays high of 14 right now, but it still feels the same as the zero we had Mon. morning. The expected snow from you guys has not reached here yet. I'm kinda sleepy this morning as Brutus,Doug, and Kurt stayed till almost 3 am. Ate my chips and banilla ice cream, But their welcome anytime. The rest of my day is open so I'll just stroll around....Stay warm,,,,,,S.J.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
Good morning all
Slept in till 8 a.m. to recover from night shift, and just finished a pot of coffee. Weather is nasty out. Cold and snow with a glaze of ice. Glad I did not need to get out, but the bride is working in PEDs at the hospital.
Mitch-Prayers for the death of your uncle and healing for your mom and wife
Don-Don't work up too much of a sweat changing out those filters, would not want you to catch cold when you turn on the A/C.
Well I broke down and bought two new batteries for the truck. I intentionally did not run the truck and I'll go oit today and see what the voltage is and if the truck will start. I did notice that the case on one of the batteries was leaking and I wonder if that path of leaking eloctrolyte could of been the problem in the first place.
Going to work in the garage some putting things into place and hope to get some train time in today.
May god bless
Jim
cheapclassics wrote:Good morning all,Absolutely horrible driving conditions this morning. Did not drive over 50 the entire way in. They closed the city schools, but have the county on a two hour delay, so the music festival is canceled for tonight. Lucas is relieved as he was going to have to take an English test early this morning because the teacher wanted to stay "on schedule". I keep forgetting that school is not for the kids (you would think I would learn that after three kids by now). I did some track work last night at the YMCA and went shopping with the wife. I see where the dining car arrived from "Points East" and is loaded with the usual fare. I hope everyone has a good day.Keep on training,Mike C. from Indiana
Mike--
Don't even think about blaming the teacher or the school, you can thank your President and his "No Child Left Behind" BS. The teacher is just trying to save his/her own skin and follow senseless directives.
Oh, by the way............. 343 days 2 hours 16 minutes until Bush leaves office
Jon
So many roads, so little time.
Morning all... Brutus glad your Mom is doing well. (Got caught up on my reading.)
Sorry to hear about your uncle Mitch. Hope your Mom's and Wifes recovery is speedy!!!
Should be an interesting day. Going to deliver about 30 rolls of paper to the Academy Awards. Chris is going with me, we deliver to the Kodak theatre. They have their printers set up there. Made arrangements for a behind the scenes tour of the Theatre, while it is being preparred for the Oscars. Then I get the rest of the day off. Will do some more wiring, (replace toggle switch), and possibly start working on wiring the switches up.
Don't forget your lap top, Chief! Hope everyone has a great day!
Don
jonadel wrote:Mike--Don't even think about blaming the teacher or the school, you can thank your President and his "No Child Left Behind" BS. The teacher is just trying to save his/her own skin and follow senseless directives. Oh, by the way............. 343 days 2 hours 16 minutes until Bush leaves office
Oh yeah, great, then we'll get a Socialist in there...wonderful....sorry..no politics...trains...
Well, yeah, hey there its going to 70, it's cloudy and waiting on thunderstorms and rain here in paradise. Could really use some precip, wild fires everywhere, seen 'em in SC & NC, some nearby here in the swamps. Talking about having another firestorm like in '99..hey Lee, You ready for that?
My 1666 parts came in, just need to get some time to do the repairs. Very excited, would like to get my Dad's 1666 done and running for him. With tax time & refunds, looking to pay some bills a little for the savings and maybe another TMCC steam engine, that would be nice!!!
Mitch---prayers for your family..good that your wife is getting better.
Chiefie..have a good cruise and no sunburn for you. Come to think of it...don't over eat...the food on them things is just too good and very plentiful, breakfast on the deck on the ocean is too cool.
Later!
I am the monster in your head...And I thought you'd learn by now, It seems you haven't yet.I am the venom in your skin --- Breaking Benjamin
Jon-- no problem.....Schools here concentrate on the FCAT (comprehensive test) and screws up the rest of the teaching schedule. Nonsense in my book. (BS more like it)
No offense, we're all friends here, aren't we? It's all good!
jonadel wrote: cheapclassics wrote: Lucas is relieved as he was going to have to take an English test early this morning because the teacher wanted to stay "on schedule". I keep forgetting that school is not for the kids (you would think I would learn that after three kids by now) Don't even think about blaming the teacher or the school, you can thank your President and his "No Child Left Behind" BS. The teacher is just trying to save his/her own skin and follow senseless directives.
cheapclassics wrote: Lucas is relieved as he was going to have to take an English test early this morning because the teacher wanted to stay "on schedule". I keep forgetting that school is not for the kids (you would think I would learn that after three kids by now)
Lucas is relieved as he was going to have to take an English test early this morning because the teacher wanted to stay "on schedule". I keep forgetting that school is not for the kids (you would think I would learn that after three kids by now)
I have 2-little ones that will be entering the school system in the next few years....The No Child Left Behind seemed to have a good idea behind it...
Any ideas on how to get the grades up in schools?
In a few weeks we'll being going to visit our daughter, and family, in Elkridge, MD. Her subdividion is just off of US-1 north of MD-100. I vaguely remember mention of a place in Jessup for train watching. Does anyone know of the site or can suggest someplace with a lot of activity? Worse comes to worse I'll try to find a parking space at the BWI station.
Sitting around the house all weekend is boring as h***. I've been to the Baltimore museums a couple of times already.
Hi GIZ,
MITCH sorry for the loss of your UNCLE. Hope all is ok with WIFEY?
BRUTUS hope MOM is feeling better and in not so much pain.
And prayers to all who need em.
laz57
kpolak wrote: jonadel wrote: cheapclassics wrote: Lucas is relieved as he was going to have to take an English test early this morning because the teacher wanted to stay "on schedule". I keep forgetting that school is not for the kids (you would think I would learn that after three kids by now) Don't even think about blaming the teacher or the school, you can thank your President and his "No Child Left Behind" BS. The teacher is just trying to save his/her own skin and follow senseless directives. I have 2-little ones that will be entering the school system in the next few years....The No Child Left Behind seemed to have a good idea behind it...Any ideas on how to get the grades up in schools?Kurt
I am going through this dilemma a second time with a grandchild. There are too many "ifs" when our children walk out that door in the morning. My local school system can't even do something as simple as settle on a class scheduling model, stick to it, and make it work. The only thing I will suggest here that will cause the least amount of controversy is this. Control what you can control. Your child in your home. And quality time.
If you can teach and mentor your child and be involved, daily, you can give them a lifelong edge. The child that shows up at school day one better prepared and with a love for learning will have the best chance for academic achievement.
Sitting with a 2-3 year old and playing numbers and letters games, reading to them, playing with them, and listening to them. If a child can master reading, writing, arithmetic, and language skills----if only through sheer repetition----the educational edge is huge. ALL learning builds on these. Given a choice of a video/tv, or having me read to her, my granddaughter (just turned 4) chooses reading. That took some brainwashing early on. Let's just say it's a good hobby for her that needs to be nurtured.
Communicate heavily with your child's teachers....You may be truly surprised at how much they do care about your child and how far they will go in partnership with an involved and respectful parent. It's always better to have both ends working on the middle.
That's my 2 cents.
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
Will GIZ,
So far we got about 4.5 inches o snow. I shoveled my driveway and neighbor ladies and they are choked up again, time for the snow blower. Later about 7ish.
Well here it is what I started yesterday on prep period at school and ended this morning.
MY trolley line (DA DOUG MURPHY LINE), I have about 20 feet of line that goes over the far end of my layout, this is my coaling area. I constructed the base plates by ripping 3 sections of poplar about 1.5 inches wide, placing sleepers every 16 inches, and air nailing all together. It was real easy construction. I then have 2 sections of homesote on top, one 9inches by 8 feet 6 inches and another 9 inches by 40 inches the last section is 12 inches by 8 feet. I tapconned the wood brackets to the wall, 6 brackets with two tapcons each. The bridges are scatch built from wood and a few brazing rods. The 12 x 8foot wide is where I,m either going to have a stream scene with GIZ trout fishing or a army re-enactment of the battle of the buldge ot something like that?
DA DOUG MURPHY LINE
DATs what I did on my day off.
B good or B gone,
Laz the pictures are nice. I wish I could post some, but I have none of the needed equipment.
I do have one witness thou,Kurt saw some photos taken with an old fashion film camera. At least when the roll is done I get my pictures developed they don't stay locked on a memory card. It started snowing about 3pm so tomorrow morning means clean the driveway and walk again. I recon I'll be back before bed so till then. Bye-Bye,,,S.J.
Greetings from my class' lab where my students are all working mightly on their projects so I can check in with the pot. Laz, I'm honored.
Kurt, don't worry too much about elementary school grades. Read, read, read to them. They'll like the one-on-one time too. We've home schooled our kids up to high school, not for any ideological reasons, but because one-on-one tutoring is a great experience. Motivating and encouraging the older ones is an ongoing challenge for me, as you have heard on this thread. Speaking 'professionally', ending up in the top half or even better, top third of ones high school class, scoring decently on a standardized test like the ACT or SAT, participating in a range of activities - where leadership is somewhere displayed - and paying attention to a college's application. Of course, like every one of these opinions, your mileage will vary...
Thanks for the prayers, guys. Thanks everybody! My sister talked with my Mom and Dad at the hospital right after work. She is getting regular pain medicine now. Due to the really severe arthritis she had, my Mom's leg was sort of bent and didn't ever get full use and also the tendons and muscles had tightened up due to non-use. So, now things are adjusting with a new knee. The first pain meds bottomed out her blood pressure. When the 2nd pain medicine made her feel sick to her stomach, my Mom, who was obviously not thinking right, woke up and never called for more medicine all night. When my sister called to talk to her first thing this AM and heard how much pain she was in, she called the nurse and told him what the situation was and that he just needed to keep giving her medicine, because she was too "tough" to ask for it but in terrible pain, even if it made her feel sick to her stomach. Thanks to all for the kind emails and prayers - I was at work and only had a few of the email addresses, but you guys came through as always.
Mitch - prayers for your Mom and family and sorry -- what a shame to lose your uncle with all those problems. Sounds like he was really in bad shape.
Prayers for all those who are in need, God bless us all and our loved ones especially.
Super busy at work - gearing up for training next week, then they will be out of town for 3 weeks, then return for more Brutus training. Should be fun, really!
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
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