FEB EDITION: 2009 #2 Coffee Pot. Here we gather with friends with trains for chats, 4 years of coffee and sweet ice tea.

[jonadel]

Dennis--

No offense taken, no apology needed.  Musicians and actors should keep their political mouths shut in a concert.  Period.  If they want to go hold a political rally on a campus at the student union, fine, I think we agree on that.  I've never heard The Boss live but I sure would like to, if he got going on a political rant I think that might be the "let's go get a beer moment".  I don't ever remember Duke or Count or Dizzy or Chase or Woody or Miles making political statements, all they made was the best music ever.  Cheryl Crow and Willie N. all had a political statements----- excuse me, pardon me, BEER MOMENT   I'd still go to the concert for the music, that's just me.

[sir james I]

Good Evening All

We had a nice day for around here 38 degrees but Wed. it's going down again, then back up. Well I had a chat with Doug,another with Charlie, and Brutus, and my train show friend, but no train running today. Had a good supper so all is well here..banilla and cupcakes are waiting...S.J.

[kpolak]

Evening all!

Ran trains with 4-yo, sort of...she mostly played with the crane!

Dennis:  Quite a bit of difference in the Santa Fe 0-8-0 from the set, compared to the Lionel Lines 0-8-0.

Kurt

[ChiefEagles]

Oink Oink, the sow's ear is back from a BUSY long day.  Only two meetings tomorrow.  Then may hit the road to the lake house for a day and night.  Got two meetings Thursday evening and night.  Do I would stay longer.  Escape!!!  Now for some popcorn.  Did service my pickup this morning [oil, lube grease fittings. filter and rotated tires].  Was a good day to lay on the concrete.  Was in the 60's again.  Cooler and raining now but not freezing.  Weather person says snow flurries. ?????  Will have to drop like a ton of feathers to do that.  Feathers???  A ton of feathers is the same as a ton of bricks.  Too warm.  Hey, on Extreme Trains.  The fast container train one.  Noticed he kept jumping from one train to another.  One was even hopper cars.  One had a big NS right in the middle of two UP's.  I kept seeing black and watched real careful.  Soon caught it.  Was watching DVD'd versions and saw the fast reefer one today.  That guy is nuts.  Everything will cause a wreck or derailment.  Too dramatic.  almost news time.  Later    

PS: someone must have slithered in and voted the POT down again.  I had it started with 5 stars.

[Brutus]

Greg – prayers for job! JimSP – prayers for daughter’s job! JohnF – prayers for cure for cancer.

Doug - love your layout and a great video too!

DougDG - does the sign need to have self-contained power since it can be moved?

New pot is fine with me, now we know the routine!  Wow - ice cream cookies, banilla and Kurt has rootbeer too!  Let's go guys

[dougdagrump]

Unless I missed it nobody mentioned Muddy Waters. I think Willie smoked to many of them funny cigarrettes, among other things.

Brutus, It will be self-contained power supply. I picked up a really small wooden box with a hinged lid, about 5x3x1, at one of the local craft stores. The "billboard" structure, 3/16x1/8 basswood strips, will go on the upside down box with the connector to the electronic control and power supply passing thru a hole in the base. It's thin enuff to sit on the roof of most of the buildings and be hidden by the building facade. This is my first attempt at something like this and trying to work with this little bitty stuff is a real pain. Made a few booboo's, they don't effect anything but appearance so I can live with it.

Dennis, When we used to go to Park City to ski Mrs Fields corp offices were rite on main street and every nite after dinner we went by for desert. We would walk to every place in town so I always managed to pick a place with Mrs Fields between the lodge and the restaurant. I thought that just not to long ago they went belly-up, after Mr & Mrs split up.

[RockIsland52]

Here's the last post of the day or the first one, depending on your perspective.

First, prayers for the friends of Dennis' and John F's wives.

I was reading the weather reports from yuz guyz, Doug and Don on the left coast, Roy from Texas, and even Chief's.  Then our weather came on.....another 6" of the white stuff in the next day.    The downside is more snowblowing and shovelling. The upside is that the fresh snowfall covers all of the yellow snow from the puppy.  Man, can that pup crank it out!

Spent a few hours helping a friend update a resume.  He was surprised at how much value he added to his firm when we quantified the costs he pulled out of the business and the efficiencies he developed.  He got laid off while the less productive stayed on board.  Very discouraging, left him confused.  The good old boy network is alive and well, sometimes not in a good way for many who work hard and productively but nonetheless find themselves looking for work.

Don......when you were vacuuming the pool, did you find your speedo from the "busted hot water tank" escapades?  Throw it out.  It doesn't look flattering on you.

Doug......lucky for us the Rocky Mountains contain most of that inadvertant California gas production caused by Super Bowl cuisine.  My daughter featured Mexican food at her place.  Between the refried beans and the peppers......yow!    Was almost tempted to sleep with the window open last night.  Even the puppy was whining.

DougM.....thanks for the youtube link to your layout video.  I didn't know you had some serious track footage, and I liked the way you have mitigated any power dropoffs.  Fortunately you didn't nail the throttle because that may have spelled the end of the video camera passing through that bridge overhang!  Better take the Jack Daniels cold treatment.

Wes......I can't think of anything I dislike more than moving.  I look around our place and realize how much useless junk we have accumulated over the years.  If we could just get the kids to remove their junk, I'd have some decent train space in the basement.  My garage is also a disaster.  It stores their camping gear they "temporarily" dumped off here last Fall and countless bags of clothing they haven't worn in a decade.  I'm tempted to issue a final vacate order with a drop dead date, then relocate their stuff to the curb on trash day.  I am sure others in this Forum have the same dilemma.  Wife says I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill.   Then complains we need more space. 

John F.....thought about your suggestion.  If I broke my posts up into smaller ones, I could boost my post count.  But then Dennis would be lost, and Chief would get on my case for running up the score.  Seems like we visited that territory last year about this time.   Thank you for the link to your pictures.  Enjoyed them. 

Kurt......running the trains with the 4 year old.  Priceless.  They grow up too fast but move out way too slow.

Jon......you got to see some of the great musicians and performers of our times.  I saddled myself with a mortgage when I was very young and before I was married.  Had to focus my extra cash on video/audio home entertainment , necessary household appliances , home repairs , and lawn/garden paraphanalia .  BTW, The Brooklyn Bridge was out and about at the same time Chicago was making their splash, late 60s and early 70s......but they were a one album wonder.  Here's one for you.  I attended a concert in which Sly Stone actually showed up, much the worse for wear.

and good night.

Jack 

[kpolak]

dougdagrump

  Unless I missed it nobody mentioned Muddy Waters. I think Willie smoked to many of them funny cigarrettes, among other things. 

Don't forget John Lee Hooker, and Buddy Guy!  It was a few years ago now, but Buddy Guy had a place in Chicago, that features all these old superstars of Blues.  Buddy's usually there, and sits at the end of the bar.  I'm not sure if he or it are still around, Doug?

Kurt

[mitchelr]

Morning Folks,

Busy day here at the Coffee Pot yesterday,  I too am jealous of all of the great acts you guys have seen. Chicago has been a long time favorite.  Back in the day I was a huge Yes fan and also Emerson Lake and Palmer, saw them multiple times, also Santana.

 Weather here is not terrible, some flakes expected but not as much as forecast.  Mainly a dusting so far.  Today I have an all day training, best part is they are serving breakfast and lunch. Not often does the Board spring for meals, much less two meals.  Surprised they didn't cancel to save $$$, budget is going to be really bad with housing sales down and state income revenues down along with other budget cuts.  Hopefully this too shall pass. They are cutting 40 teaching positions, worst I've seen in 30+ years.

Got to get going. Hope everyone has a great day.

Mitch

 

[laz 57]

HI GYZ,

  31 and not to bad here, little snow here today then getting colder.  Suppose to hit 50s by weekend?

Stay Frosty,

laz57

[Wes Whitmore]

We put a reasonable offer on a house we are interested in last night.  Let's hope they bite.  Here are a few pictures of the add-on shop extension.  It's 8' x 39', and needs insulation, more power and lighting.  Great potential though. 

Wes

[jonadel]

Last thought about musicians.  One of the most inspiring trumpet players to my kids was Maynard Ferguson who recently passed away, he was a screamer icon (high notes) and he surrounded himself with some of the best musicians in the world.  His Bop Nouveau band was unbelievable, I always felt comfortable taking my kids to his concerts and they came home inspired.  The other two that I forgot to mention was Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa, even though those concerts were almost 40 years ago I still remember them clearly.

Jack--I should also mention those were the BS days (before Sharyl) and BC days (before children) but more importantly, those concerts were very affordable.  I look at ticket prices now and I just close my eyes and get out the plastic.  What do I listen to now?  The last two concerts within the last year---Anne Murray, we would walk across a frozen parking lot with wind chills well below zero to hear her any night (which we have) and Harry Connick, Jr.  We heard Harry one year ago this month, one of the best concerts I've heard in my life, unbelievable.  He, like other great musicians surrounds himself with the best players on the planet plus his banter with the audience is absolutely hilarious.

 

[Anonymous]

Mornin' Fellas.

Long day yesterday getting the End of Month Reports finished.

Wes - nice space! I have 3 8' Shop Lights you are welcome to if you get it. That would be more than enough light for that space! I'm installing some recessed can lights in the ceiling to replace the shop lights, they just don't belong in the space I'm about to remodel.

JohnF - Sorry to hear about Jean's friend. That is rough. Prayers will be raised.

Roy - Need to email you about the 'power' solution we discussed in October...

Concerts... Mine have included:
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
George Jones
Linda Ronstat
Clint Black (2)
Reba McEntire
Rush
Metallica
Jimmy's Chicken Shack
Green Day
Pieces of a Dream
David Benoit
Chris Boti
Dave Coz
Mindy Abair (hubba hubba hubba)

And some others that I can't remember

[Wes Whitmore]

Thanks Brent.  I'll come over and get them, then hang them out of the sunroof on my way home!

 

[cheapclassics]

Good morning all,

It is Snohioing in SE Indiana with temps in the 20s.  Did very little last night.  Did weights at the Y and a little juggling.  I asked my Norwegian soccer friend how many juggles she could do and she said 70 was her best so my 7 means I am 10% as good as her (at least in one aspect of the game).  At least that gives me a target to shoot for, but then she said some people could do over 1000 in a row.  And of course (for those who have been here for a while), all of the above info just pales compared to the fact that I got an e-mail from her in the first place :-)   Work was good yesterday and I surprised myself with how much I got done.  Still fighting the cold I got from Doug on the Tardis the other night, but I slept well and did not have to drive.  May just stay home tonight.  Mrs. Fields cookies on the Tardis?  I am so there.  I will even drive.  Beacon will be lit.  Patrick, leave the beacon on and we'll fly by to pick you up.  I had the regular fare on the dining car this morning.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[ChiefEagles]

Good morning.  Partly cloudy and cold.  At 2:30 AM it was snowing up a "storm".  Sticking to the grass and my storage area roof top.  At 8 AM no snow to be seen except on my turnip patch.  Temp is 35.  Lucy is here trying to help me type.  Off to cook breakfast of sausage and waffles.  While eating, watch the rest of a DVD'd Extreme Trains.  Got a meeting at noon and one at 1 PM.  Rock, glad you are getting more and more snow.  gives you something to do during the day.  Clean places for the pup to poop.  Anyone heard from Patrick?

Have a great day.  Prayers for those mentioned and those who are looking jobs.  May we not loose any here.

Guys, got to ignore the sauced out over the hill band teacher.  He gets on the bottle due to the blizzard conditions he lives in.  Then he gets on his rants.  He is really a nice guy when he is sober.

[anjdevil2]

Mornin' Boys...

Cold and windy here in Paradise up to 50 today, wind making it feel colder.  I got a call from the LTS's owners wife, he's in ICU with sepsus...Dennis I'm not sure what that is, but feel free to chime in...kidneys were shutting down, but now it's better, so a little prayer would be appreciated. 

I know 2 of youse giz have  acquaintances with the big casino, prayers out to those as well.

Went to bed early last night, I was exhausted  0500 is way too early in the AM for me, that's for sure..

Bands, huh?  OK, I'll try to remember who I saw:

The Who (once)
YES (many times)
Emerson Lake & Palmer (The Pirates Tour)
Beach Boys (many)
Dokken
Whitesnake
Scorpions
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (jealous?)
RUSH (2)
Beaver Brown Band (Eddie & the Cruisers) at Asbury Park(2)
 

I think that's all of them.  Would like to see Bruce without the commentary and Joan Jett (my daughter saw her and I'm jealous) 'cause her music is good and she's hot for 50!!!!!  Maybe Metallica and Queensryche.  That stuff just gotten way too expensive (Bruce's tickets here were $100 and up).

That's all the news for now - tried to get to Denny's for breakfast - OVERFULL PARKING...so not today..!

[RRCharlie]

Good morning from chilly South Georgia. Rich; you got my curiosity up so I looked up sepsis on Yahoo. Sepsis is a situation in which the body puts on a major fight against some infection.

[jonadel]

Chief forgot to post the concerts he has been too, he's much to modest but I've heard that he even has the autographs that were personalized for him.

Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Sibelius, Handle, etc.  Chief is that old, trust me.  He even took the boys out in his reed boat for some trolling but they made him go back to shore when he pulled out his bottles of moonshine.  I can just see Chief & Beethoven (remember Mr. Beethoven was deaf), Chief telling him fish stories while swigging moonshine, what a sight that must have been

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Good Morning from cold but sunny Southern Ohio

I never was much of a concert goer, I think I've been to 3, and I'm not sure of that.  Not into music.

While the youngest daughter looks for a job, the oldest who was a waitress at Bob Evans got promoted to a management position and she is flying to Florida for a training session so we will have the grandkids for the next few days.  It will be fun.

Got a few little jobs to get knocked out.  Take care all

May God bless

Jim

[anjdevil2]

Mel - sent you a PM..!

[kpolak]

I'm with a lot of you on who I was able to see live...My group of friends tendered more time in the small local music (not dance) and comedy clubs.

• The Who
• ELP
• Yes
• J Giles Band
• Jimmy Buffet
• The Ramones (@ Michigan State Fair)  (crowd of about 30)
• Social Distortion (@ a small club in Ann Arbor, the Blind Pig)  (crowd of about 50)
• Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
• Charles Mingus Big Band 

 Great memories with great friends!

Kurt

[sir james I]

Good Morning All

Can't go to concerts or the movies, too loud. I have a noise in my ears that never goes away  and "loud" makes it worse. We have however seen singers who  do not have to scream over the noise of a band. Sunny but cold 19 this morning, lower tomorrow and then ah, warmer for awhile. I think  the guy that left the rant was one of those that come in here from time to time, don't understand it  so they complain. Everyone welcomed him and he responded to no one. Maybe even a plant.    Enjoy your day....S.J.

[Ole Timer]

I've only seen a couple but RIVER DANCE was my pick of all the shows live or taped . I was lucky my oldest son took me to it ... the first original one .... right down front ! Lord those lil irish girls made me feel young again . They are fabulous !

[cnw1995]

Morning all. Brrrr. freaking cold again. Kept the Dearborn station tower in sight walking to work wishing I could take the Santa Fe somewhere warm. Kurt, Buddy Guys' place is a few blocks away. Jon, Mothers was off Rush St. for a long time. You guys have sure seen some nice shows. I haven't been to many concerts.I would've liked to have heard the Big Bands in their heyday. Mike C, thought of you whenever I saw Danica on Sunday.

Worked on the layout last evening. Wired up a homemade turn-table using a plastic lazy susan. Not happy with it yet. Did manage to glue my fingers together working on a portal to Thomas' engine house. For the first time, I successfully ran Percy, James and Thom into their new house tracks.

[phillyreading]

Good Morning,

Sunny and near 65 here in south Florida. Going down to freezing tonight or tomorrow night, Laz you are going to get really cold if it goes down to freezing in south Florida as you live near Harrisburg PA and it will be extra cold there this week unless the weather man is wrong.

Got my trains running yesterday, the MTH nearly smoked me out of the room. The Williams S2 steamer must have too much fluid again as it won't smoke.

Yesterday I noticed the Coffee Pot thread locked after I posted so I emailed the Cheif real quick. Seems we need a new pot every month now, guess the coffee grounds were getting too messy at CTT office or their coffee machine is going bonkers! Maybe the new website causes things to crash very easily.

Off to do shopping chores; K-Mart, recycle place(haz-mat items) have used AA batteries to dispose of and some used engine oil, some 35 pound plastic cat litter buckets(recycle people won't take those at curb side pick-up, they leave a sticker on them saying you must take it to haz-mat to dispose of), they take the 20 pound buckets but nothing larger. Going to scrap metal to sell old copper pipes I cut out when water heater went bad and take the old brake rotors from the wife's car. They are within four miles of each other so I do what I can to make a dollar or two on scrap metal as well.

Lee F.

[MichRR714]

 Good Day to all.  Had a nice chat with SJ last night.  Going to try to stop in to see him this week or weekend. 

 

Wondered if anyone else heard the rumors that Lionel has given walking papers to 23 guys at the Chesterfield, MI facility?  Hard times here in Michigan and for the country.

 

Sure am anxious to look at this new catalog....

[dwiemer]

Good Afternoon.   Rich, sorry I was not on this morning to respond to your question.  Sepsis is BAD!  can get to "Septic shock" in  a heartbeat, so it is serious.  You mention his kidneys shutting down, that may indicate that it started out as a kidney infection that got out of control.  Once they get a good dose of antibiotics on board, and they can flush things through, the kidneys may come back.  A rather dicey situation as too high a dose of antibiotics can also kill the kidneys.  Once you start down the road of organ failure, it just gets worse...onto other organs, etc.  Some end up on dialysis for a time or even forever.  The kidneys can also shut down as a result of infection spreading from elsewhere and taking over.  Again, heavy antibiotics given for the infection can cause kidney damage, so lots of questions remain.  He could also respond in quick order to the antibiotics and do well.  The next week will be big in determining how things will go. 

John F., sorry to hear of Jean's friend.  It hurts when our loved ones hurt, I am sure Jean is upset and as in my case, just have to be there for them.

Doug, oh Willie Nelson....I have a CD of him singing "Pretty Paper"  it sounds like someone dying in the bathroom (don't ask how I know what that sounds like).  He is super talented, but, unlike Clinton, he didn't exhale.

Regarding other greats, I enjoy Buddy Rich for a great drum solo, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday, etc.
for concerts I have gone to, when I was with the Fire Department, we went to a ton of concerts at the Meadowlands.  Some of the best were Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, Philip Glass, Drifters, Four Seasons, Martina McBride, Reba, Nashville string, Richard Elliot, Crosby Stills Nash, Diana Bogart, Chubby Checker, oh I can't remember too many more CRS?

Wife and I actually got to spend a few hours alone this morning as all I have is paperwork to take care of and didn't have to come in till about 11am.  I am still on call, so who knows when I'll get out of here.  Plan on getting some things done so the end of the week will be as good as possible.

God Bless,

Dennis

PS: Rich, if you need to PM or email me if you need anything further.

[anjdevil2]

Dennis - pm sent!

[RockIsland52]

GregM......PM sent.  Jack