2008 and the Coffee Pot is still on and over 3 years. Here we gather as friends with trains. Sweet ice tea too.

[sir james I]

Morning All

Just checking in. Sun, windy,and No snow at all. Speaking of retirement I get a pension from the post office so I am not allowed much S.S.since I went on medicare three years ago My S.S. has not gone up one cent.medicare increases have taken all of my cola.Plus I pay a chunk of money to have Blue Cross. oh well on we go to see what today might bring.Fri. the 13th was last sunday so everyone is safe today.          Sir James

[dwiemer]

Brent, Jon has some good advice.  Seems the folks living the life are much better resources than the "experts" who are supposed to advise folks.  I had a chunk of money to invest back in the late 90s.  When I told my broker I wanted to split it 50/50 between Lucent and Lockheed, he said "Just put it all in Lucent, Lockheed is a do-nothing stock".  My Lucent went from about 45 to 2 and my Lockheed went from 16 to over 100.  Best part about brokers....they get paid whether their advice is good or not. 

Been a long week with little in the way of train work.  Plan is to do plenty of layout work this weekend.  I also have to do some work on the dollhouse project.  I hope the hospital leaves me alone long enough to get some important work done

Chief, Yankee front is moving in this weekend.  Time to batten down the hatches.  We are planning on staying in, holding down the fort (staying warm), and preparing to repell the yankee horde.  Will get the fireplace cranked up and relax.

God Bless,

dennis

[laz 57]

HI GIZ,

  Good to be back on the POT.  Needed to take some time off and do some stuff.  End o marking period here and got all the kidos done with projects.  Kidos did some nice stuff.  Now a new BATCH.

  TMCCMAN, COLLIN, yep been there with the knee thing.  Had 3 ops on them while playing Football in college.  No fun.  Prayers for ya.

  MARTY, i'm checking out that NS too, don't tell CHIEF.

  FIFE, we're blaming weather woes on you this time?  But thanks for the 2 hr delay today, I'll keep blamming you if you keep giving 2hr delays.  Watch your topknot.

 B good.

laz57

[ChiefEagles]

Same with me.  NC State Employee Retirement System is rich.  Gasoline prices are eating up my monthly retirement.  When I retired, we paid about $100 per month for gasoline.  Now almost $400.  The Legislature regulates the retirement cost of living increase.  They only gave us 2% for two years and 2.5% last year.  Gasoline has gone up more than that.  Time for me to run for Legislature.   Actually, my House member votes the way I would and did not vote for the budget due to poor increases for State Employees and Retirees.  As she says, everyone is more interested in funding their pet projects than paying employees.    

[Anonymous]

Brent--
You have several options with your 401k if you leave your present company and at your age, you shouldn't concern yourself with the value or the market. It's cyclical and you will be fine, in fact since the market is down now it might be a good time to increase your contribution. History tells us it's only going to grow during your life time, it's been a great ride the last 18 months, it will happen again.

Jon

Jon,
I'm not worried for the long term, but I would hate to lose any money the company put in! If you know what I mean? And yes, if I do leave I will be increasing my contribution as much as I can, get in while the market is low is what I say.

Chief - Talked to my Dad last night (same boat as your friend) and he was quite upset. He still has enough to remain 'retired' but he's lost a bunch over the last 12 months. Good thing my Mother is still working. I asked if they cancelled their trip to Australia for next month... long period of silence on the phone... Dad says 'You there?' I said, 'Yes why?' He said, 'Didn't work.' LOL!!!!!

[jonadel]

Brent--
You have several options with your 401k if you leave your present company and at your age, you shouldn't concern yourself with the value or the market. It's cyclical and you will be fine, in fact since the market is down now it might be a good time to increase your contribution. History tells us it's only going to grow during your life time, it's been a great ride the last 18 months, it will happen again.

Jon

[cheapclassics]

Good morning all,

It is supposed to be sunny but cold today in SE Indiana with temps in the 20s.  We shall see.  Tmcc man, good luck with the surgery.  Did weights and kicked the soccer ball around at the YMCA last night.  Did some financial aid stuff for Lucas and called some family members.  Lucas got his script and practice schedule for the show, and there may be some conflicts between that and work so we will see how that goes.  Just the usual fare on the dining car, but looking forward to lunch at SteaK'n'Shake today.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[ChiefEagles]

TGIF

Man of many words.

Morning all.  Cold but not below freezing so no black ice.  Hope Town behaves today.  Get work done at home.  Off to cook breakfast.  Brent, my fishing partner and Town Council buddy is retired on his stocks and etc.  He is crying too.  Good luck to both of you.  Chat later.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is a cloudy 20 degrees. Going up to 31 today, with cloudy skies. No snow on the ground.

Today, I have a few things to do around the house. Usual chores, and a project to finish. Then, I will spend some time running trains and doing some cleaning in train room. I need to work on my scale FP-45. The rear truck gears froze up. Plenty of lub. I think some ballast got caught.

Well, as Buckeye said......TGIF.

Here comes the Dining car. Breakfast. Be back later.

Y'all have a great Friday.

Chuck

[Buckeye Riveter]

TGIF

[Anonymous]

Mornin' Fellas.

Grayson - I take it that is good news about your brother? Hard to tell sometimes when it comes to surgeries and such. Glad he is alive though! Congrats on layout construction!

Fife - Good movie quote regarding Laz! He doesn't much look like Timmons, and I would actually put my money on Laz vs a Pawnee!

DonB - 60's is COLD? Try 6's!

Mitch and Chief need to watch what they say to reporters... their writing skills are good but their listening skills need a bit of work! (the reporters, not Mitch and Chief)

No call or email from the recruiter... I'll give them till noon, then I'll email.

More bad news - checked my 401K this morning. 1 year ago I was up 18%, today I'm down 1%, the stock market is really taking a hit.  Just hope it rebounds before I leave this job!

[mitchelr]

Morning to All.  I put a fresh pot on, but I had the last bagel for breakfast, sorry no leftovers.  Two hour delay for schools here.  Roads are not too bad, but need time to get parking lots and walks cleared. 

Meeting a newspaper reporter this AM for a story regarding the new school.  Last time I met with her in August, she misquoted me really badly.  I guess I'll have to speak slowly and distinctly. Maybe I'll offer to edit the article for accuracy.

More bad weather forecast for Saturday.

Have a great day.

Mitch 

[Nick12DMC]

'Morning...Nick, I know you're up, it must be 1015 or so...Mrs Devil works UK hours, for Black Rock...She's been at work since 3am your 8am.

I'll warm up the pot...sitting here at JAX, waiting for my flight to the Cold Weather..Raining hard here about 50 or so.  Hopefully next time I check in I'll be HOME (JERSEY HOME).  Plans for dinner in a nice Itailian restaurant with my parents, my sis & BIL, and Best Friend and his wife.  SHould be a good time 

TT ya later

Rich 

Morning all,

Rich, 3am start. respect to Mrs Devil.

Heavy rain here today. I won't mention fuel prices...you don't want to know.

Catch you later folks

Nick 

 

[dbaker48]

Sure can't blame Don B and Dougsnotagrump.  They are all shook up, burned up and washed away by mud.

Thats for sure !!  Its been down right cold here, and windy.  Had 40-80 mph winds yesterday, temps low 60's.  Which states are it that is having the global heating affects?

Colin - Hope that goes well for your knee, Gods Speed !

Grayson - That's great news regarding your brother, he sure has been through a lot!  Glad its working out.  BTW, I sure enjoy reading your posts!  We need to watch you real close so you don't get too much influence from Big Bird.

edw - Does your company have any branches in Calif.?  Or even party time?

Planned on working on shelving tonight but got caught up with wifes family, so things put off for a day.  That's OK, its "just" a hobby.

Lots and Lots of things to comment on!  But bottom-line, hope the weather isn't too severe, the job situations work out for the best, you all feel better that need, the overworked get some time off, and above all you find time for your trains and they stay on track!   

[ChiefEagles]

Colin, best of luck and may God guide your surgeons.  Remember, there is an watching over you.

Grayson, fighting them back as hard as I can.   Glad you and your Dad are getting the layout started.

Lets blame all this bad weather on Fife.  Haven't picked on him lately.  Sure can't blame Don B and Dougsnotagrump.  They are all shook up, burned up and washed away by mud.

BTW: colards were good.  Put some of wife's sweet pickle relish on them.

Good night.

[fifedog]

Just spent 1 hour on layout; a little ballasting, a little scenery, lots of cleanup, then 15 minutes of double-headed Chessie action.  Now checking back in while consuming my favorite adult beverage.

tmcc - Good luck with that knee.  As for the trees, it can be tedious.  Actually need more for the right "look", but I do need to move forward.  I highly recommend SCENIC EXPRESS trees for getting the biggest bang for the buck.

rt - 5 more years, just 5 more years...

laz57 - Someone recently inquired about you,"I wonder why he don't write?"  Glad you didn't meet up with any Pawnee out there in the sticks...

88 - somewhere between tree 326 and 402 I got the knack of snapping that glue gun around at the right moment.

 

 

[sir james I]

Yea Brutus ice is bad news,if I  had to chose and I would prefer neither, I would take snow.Broke my knee once on a day when rain turned to snow covered the ice stepped into a small hole in the sidewalk, that was it. six weeks in a full length cast and I thank about twelve trips to rehab. Strange that knee injury has never bothered me. A fractured heal on the otherhand has hurt for years. First thing my wife did was wax the stairs to the train room.

[edw]

edw - you guys hiring?

Yes, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is practically begging for engineers and scientists. They want to hire 1,000 new Patent Examiners a year, for each of the next several years. They are even offering hiring bonuses up to $10,000. However, new examiners are not eligible to work from home immediately because they have to undergo training for the first couple of years. And, the PTO campus is in Alexandria, VA, isn't too far from your location.

[dwiemer]

Good Evening Y'all!

     Colin, good luck with the surgery.  Make sure you follow up with your PT.  My knees were done about 24 years ago.  They work fine, but I can feel it when it gets cold out.  One great thing about south Georgia, it doesn't get that cold too often.

     Jason, I am bringing my family to Disney a week from today.  Will be there for a week.  I have a meeting and the hospital is picking up the tab.  I have to pay for the family's Disney Tickets, but otherwise that is it.  Brutus will be there for a few days too, so perhaps we can all hook up.  I will be staying at the Contemporary.  Hope to escape for an afternoon to check out  a train store or two.

     Well, was another late evening with being on call.  This is one of the worst weeks of call I have had in a long time.  Picked up Dominos Pizza as they had a special that they donate a portion of proceeds to my son's school on certain days.  Got the pizza home, waited for wife to bring kids home from daughter's ballet class and just as they walk in the door, I get paged to go do a case.  Came home, ate a few slices of pizza and a bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and Reese's Pieces . 

     A long day scheduled tomorrow, so I do hope to get at least a little train time in.  I have made a bunch of progress, only to be ground to a halt this week.  All this when I get the Legacy system and can't even use it yet.

Anyway, God Bless,

Dennis

[Brutus]

We'll be there, Sir James -- just gotta find my iceskates!  ;)

Brent, good luck on the offer, hope it goes through for you.  TTFN

[magicman710]

Colin, I have been pretty good. Hope all goes well with you.

Well, as I told you back in Augest, my brother got in a bad accident, ran into the back of a 18 Wheeler on a ramp. Well, pretty much all went well with him with a few plastic surgurys and hes pretty much back to normal, expect he has a pretty bad scar on his left cheek. Today he went back from some more surgery on his eye to lift it up a bit. (He once had a problem with it were he couldnt close it, it was scratched in the accident). Went to see him at his house tonight and his eye was pretty swollen, but its all good.

Me and my daddy are going to start on the layout tomorrow. Yay!

Theres a train show in Savannah at the National Gaurd Armory this weekend. I have been going sence I was 6.

BEEN A RAINY, YANKEE DAY. NOTHING BUT MISTY AND COLD. CHIEF, WE NEED SOME REINFORCEMENTS!!!!!

[sir james I]

EVEVING ALL

Saw reg. gas this morning at a Speedway $2.75,The last time I saw that price was in Toledo after thansgiving. Its 35 and lite rain but cold is coming and they say will stay for awhile.

Brutus-I picked up some butterpcan at kroger this morning and Chewy some crunchy peanut butter so swing on by.............Sir James

[Anonymous]

Colin - sorry to hear about the knee mess. Take care and get it right... trust me. I can tell 2 - 3 days in advance of damp weather... [tdown]

RT - PA's GodFather (aka Governor) raised their Gas Tax by 10cents this past summer, now I fill up before I leave for PA, put $10 in before I leave and then fill up when I get home.  Last trip two weeks ago PA was 20cents higher than in MD.

Laz - Crabcakes... now if I could get a filet mignon with that I'd be a happy man

edw - you guys hiring?

Sturgeon - Glad you're doing OK.  Hope all turns out OK.

DougM - will try and call tomorrow, or Saturday during round #2 of Buckeye's revenge...

No call from the recruiting company tonight... wonder what that means?

Had to plow the driveway tonight... 6 inches here... heavy wet snow... no match for John Deere though... pushed right through it! Then spread 80lbs of salt on the driveway - now it is the clearest driveway in the plan... neighbor stopped by and thanked me for salting his section of the shared driveway... he is supposed to get next load of salt too (I have a tow behind spreader for the salt, best investment yet that is not train related - next to John Deere of course).

Can't get the image of Fife covered in hot glue gun strings out of my head... think Fife swatting cobwebs and making situation 100 times worse than if he just let it go... LOL!!!

[edw]

I saw gas priced at $2.799 on the way home tonight.  Didn't stop as I had filled up this morning expecting the usual Thursday mid-morning price hike.  Would have been rather late getting home if I needed gas as the lines of cars waiting to get to the pumps were pretty long.

Talking about bad traffic and high gas prices, I feel for you guys. About two years ago, my employer instituted a work-at-home program where they allow me to work from home full time. They provide me with a complete workstation (computer, laptop, wireless router, dual 21" monitors, printer/fax, VOIP, etc.), and they even pay for ½ of my monthly internet bill. I only go into the office about 1 hour each week to pick up mail and attend the occasional meeting. And, best of all, I can do my job whenever it is most convenient for me, 24/7.

Now, just because I have a cushy setup doesn't mean that I can't relate to the problems you guys are describing. Why, just the other day my dog was sleeping on the floor in the hallway leading to my office, and I had to detour all the way around through the dining room just to get to work. And back during the summer, I pulled into a gas station, and when I popped the little door over the filler cap, three wasps flew out and almost stung me. I guess it had been a while since I had last filled up.

[MartyE]

Evening all.  Hope everyone is good.  Just finished booking my rooms for York for Spring and Fall.  Advantage of traveling for work...FREE ROOMS!  Saving $119 between the 2 dates.

Been Legacying for the past few hours.  Hoping to get a Chessie or a N&S at greenber.  Personally and don't tell Chief, I'm hoping for the N&S.  I see more of them around here than Chessie.

Nite All 

[rtraincollector]

Colin sorry missed it forst post some how read over about your knee. Hope all turns out fine. Good luck.

[jmkk]

 Evening . Slept 12 hours boy did I need that. Going to have me some left over soup,some icecream and head to work. Eight more hours of work this week and then 3 days off.  3 days next week then fly to orlando for a long weekend just me and the bride. Yes we took the kids this past summer  10 days of Disney . Now its our turn,going to visit our friends they both work at Disney. They got us in this past summer and want to take us this time for a more adult visit. Just have to find out what kind of gift to get them to show our thanks. Some thing they cant say no to and they cant return.  got tickets for $124 each round trip last minuit.Have a great night all talk to ya in 11 hours.

Phish glad your ok

Colin good luck with the knee.

 Almost forgot if Iam flying over the Chief does anybody have any thing special for me to DROP off.

 The wife said gas was $2.82 at Shell on the way home

 Jason

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Evening all

Pretty miserable in Southern Ohio, the earlier snow melted but continued to mist all day.  Took a walk to work on the sore hip.  Ordered an attachment for my extension ladder that turns a section of it into a chicken ladder.  It attaches to the upper rungs has a wheel on one side a hooklike end on the other.  Once attached you roll the ladder up the roof and when the top is over the peak you flip it over and the hook holds the ladder against the roof.  I used one years ago when I did more roofing but didn't think I'd need one on a small job.

Cleaned up the train room.  Put stuff away, swapped locos and consists.  Dusted shelves and layout.  Love that swiffler.

Gas around here is $3.09.  Seems like it is always higher.

Colin-Too bad about the knee.  The forced knee range is BAD.  A snip is less painful. 

Going to get supper ready for my bride, she had to work late.

May God bless

Jim 

[Blueberryhill RR]

Colin.....Good luck to you, my friend. You are in my prayers.

Chuck

[Brutus]

Cold but no snow in St. Louis - folks coming in from Illinois to work downtown ran into sleet and a big accident early today though. Glad I live on this side of the river since I work downtown - not a lot of access from IL to St. Louis and if there is an accident it really backs up!

Had a big piece of Digorno's pizza, yummy! Still have some room for icecream, though!

Folks might want to check out the guest blog on ogaugwatch about making a bridge.

TMCCMAN, I sure hope the surgery goes well and you get full range of motion again - what a hassle, huh?  Hang in there, I had surgery on a broken leg just below the knee about 31 years ago and it's been fine so far.