Interesting past couple of days. Yesterday morning opened the door from the house to the garage and pushed the button to open the overhead door and heard an EXPLOSION followed by what sounded like breaking glass. The tremendous noise was the coil spring breaking into two pieces.. Fortunately, no broken glass as replacing the spring was expensive enough. I think what I thought was breaking glass was just the lift cables coming loose.
Today I attempted to replace the O2 sensor in the catalytic convertor on the Impala. Code indicates it is bad. My brother who was a professional mechanic for many years said I would be able to do this myself. First tried to remove old one using a crow foot wrench. Not happening. So I went to Autozone and rented an O2 socket kit. Tried to remove with the larger socket in the kit. Broke the socket. Went back and got another kit. Still not happening. Talked to my brother again and he suggested heating with a propane torch. Chicken to do that as I had soaked with liquid wrench and didn't want to start a fire. Try again after letting the liquid wrench soak for a couple days.
Karen says thing always happen in three's. Wonder what will break next?
The Indians are really beating up on the A's, 13 - 3 in the top of the sixth.
Good evening all,
IIABSDISEI with temps in the 80s. Lucas and I mowed the yard. I walked to the YMCA and did weights and walked back home. Had lunch. Drove truck to shop to have AC looked at, walked to YMCA again and back home. Rested a while. Went outside, edged sidewalks and trimmed the fences and other areas. Tired. I had bran muffins on the dining car for breakfast this morning. The "saucy wench" did the housework so the next two days are pretty much free. IRL is at Watkins Glen. Last year's winner is driving last year's second place car and hopefully that will translate into a win for AJ's team. Beacon is lit. Who is driving? Is Don B's neighbor going to be there? I hope everyone has a good day.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
Hey Mike - I got a card from Don's neighbor yesterday, it said "MMMMOOOO XOXOXOXO" What do you think that means? Wes is driving tonight, he's been goofing off too much lately like Bob, playing with blood pressure meds. Hope you guys are both doing better ASAP!
Went to see Transformers 2 which was great, but really long! Picked up a $6 screwdriver set and tackled Thomas this afternoon. I would have to remove the eye mechanism to put in the tmcc board though, so I will have to get some wire and shrink wrap and make a tether to the S C Ruffy car. Now I wish I had bought the sound board too, lol! Oh well - I might add that later. Tomorrow I will get 5 colors of wire and some shrink tube. Need to make a fake load for the car. What does it usually haul on the tv shows, anybody know?
Nice talking with RT, SJ and Wes tonight. Now I'm watching Get Smart with the kids and enjoying a Sam Adams Ale (not the Summer Ale, regular kind). Beacons on the screen and plently of Ales and Rootbeers for everybody, plus some Old Mills for the traditionalists TTFN!
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
Morning all geting ready to go to work but wanted to first stop in and say Happy 4th of July to you all
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Happy 4th boys! Sunny & 66, in what is being touted as one of the more pretty Independence days in the Mid-Atlantic region. Plans are to go to the swim club, before fifey has to report to work at 1800 for the fireworks detail. Will have my hands full from 2100-2230, so don't call me then Chief...
I am a person with a very active inner child. This is why my wife loves me so. Willoughby, Ohio - the home of the CP & E RR. OTTS Founder www.spankybird.shutterfly.com
Happy July 4th !!!!!!!
May your country remain STRONG and FREE!!!!!
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We got SUN!!!!!!
Can you tell we've been getting desperate for this?? Now I get to cut the lawn, do weeding and move plants out on the garden patio----etc---etc---etc
Have a good one-----
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Aloha all. Happy Fourth. Took the youngest to our local carnival - just like a movie set, with all the characters working the midway - and the visitors. He had fun - five rides, one game, cotton candy - and it cost only $23.Brutus, everyone knows S.C. Ruffy are ballast contractors in Tidemouth. And Sodor's balllast is a tad bigger than what we see in the States. You'd be OK with any sort of rocks - say a cover of them on a foam rubber insert. GregM, glad you're OK- that's not something to fix on your own. I had one of those coils break and go right through a wall.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
USA
"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
Good Morning from Blueberryhill....
It is a sunny 65 degrees. Going up to 77 today with some clouds.
Happy 4th of July to everyone.
Today is busy. Lots of chores to do and then I will relax, and watch the Nascar race from Daytona. Ballgame tonite. The Indians really beat up on Oakland last night. I wish they played that good every game.
Dining car was here for the usual breakfast.
Y'all have a great Saturday.
Chuck
Doug - thanks for the info! Gonna hit the stores for some wire and stuff, guess I will look at some "cover" for it too Wife gave me a long shopping list. Finally quit raining and looks like all clear for now - woke up with a big storm overhead and it really pounded down rain for a while.
Happy Independence Day to all!
Tardis will have to use the Cloaking Device and Forcefields tonight so we don't get shot down!
Good morning all,
It is cloudy in SE Indiana. Lucas and his girlfriend are here so we will probably play a board game. The "saucy wench" and I will probably go see "Transformers" today for some mindless entertainment. Ryan Hunter-Reay did not have a good practice session for AJ's team during the first session. Hopefully it will improve. I had bacon, toast and cereal on the dining car this morning for breakfast. Beacon is lit. I hope everyone has a good day.
Happy 4th Everybody!
We had a wonderful rain last night. First big thunderstorm we've had here for the season. Actually got a decent's nights sleep for the first time in over a week, so apparently my dietary changes are working. With the blood sugar under control the meds are keeping the BP under control, maybe even overshooting a bit. Legs are doing better, but I still have to minimize how much time I am up and around.
Supposed to go to a party later with a bunch of medical types. How ironic is that? They will undoubtebly stick me in a lawn chair, feed me a burger w/o the bun, and toss me vegetables on occasion. Later we will try and catch the fireworks from the roof of one the university garages. At least with all the rain they won't set the grass on A Mountain on fire.
Recently related my favorite 4th of July story recently and thought I'd share it here as well. I was doing my summer pilgramage to the rez in South Dakota (which of course I am not doing this year) and it was a few days before the 4th. It was our day off from projects, and I volunteered to help fix a van of one of the sisters whom we have befriended in the town we work in. One of the other members on the trip who I had replaced an alternator for in the church parking lot came with me to help. It was around dusk and I think I was still fighting a stubborn plug wire up against the firewall. The kids in the nearby houses were lighting off fireworks. The Lakota kids just love fireworks. Well it was summer and fairly dry and they managed to set some of the grass on fire, then more grass, and then the base of a telephone pole. The kids and the fireworks disappeared, but then they were right back w/ buckets and garden hoses and put the fire out. Then back to the houses and doors shut and lights off, so when the RFD arrived the fire was out and there was no one to blame. It reminded me of two of the best things about this country. The spirit of adventure and bravado together w/ a sense of responsibility. We just kind of smiled and laughed and went back to work on the van.
Have a good 4th!
Bob
Tucson, AZ (aka the Ol' Pueblo)
Home of the Mt. Graham & Arizona Eastern Boiler Shops
Good story, Bob. Steady rain here. Good basement day. Glad parade and fireworks are tomorrow - Bride going bonkers prepping for this graduation party nee open house for the daughter. That means we all have to go bonkers - I'm sure everyone knows how that is.
Happy 4th all !
Be sure to save some room for Apple Pie & Ice Cream.
Doug M., Been there done that. If you think it's bad now just wait awhile for the grandkids.
Gotta run, need to finish cleaning & servicing yesterday's trains then pack up for tuesday.
Remember the Veterans. Past, present and future.
www.sd3r.org
Proud New Member Of The NRA
Happy 4th to all! Took son #2 to Metrolink station this morning and saw him off on a trip to Salinas on the Coast Starlight (Amtrak). for car races near Monterey. Wife and I thought we would have a quiet weekend. Wrong!!! Son #1 invited himself and his family to come over for 4th festivities. That means we have to cook so went to the store and got all the stuff for cookout plus a watermelon. No fireworks this year. Neighbor town where they had them discontinued last year account most people viewed from outside ball park and did not pay to get in. Our town has no fireworks account fire danger. There will probably be enough illegal fireworks to watch anyway. Trains running pretty good on layout with no major malfunctions. Switch repair seems to be working OK. Z4000 fixed voltage puts out 14 volts for switch machines. I think 15 or 16 would be better. They seem to misfire sometimes unless you push the button squarely. Hauled out and rediscovered a lot of my old music tapes this afternoon so I'm listening to them on walkman while doing this. I bought a new flag for the 4th but we have lost it somewhere in the house. I put up a little one I found in the closet. I'll probably find the new one by Christmas. Prayers for all the walking wounded on the Forum. Get well soon!
Now go watch Yankee Doodle!
Ray
SPMan
Oh boy food galore, had a planned meal with friends, got home and the neighbor had a yard full of people and handed two big plates of food over the fence. Sooooo no banilla tonite, but those of you who want some may dig in...S.J.
Happy 4th Guys... Hope everyone had a great day!!!!!!!!!!
Beautiful day today in Northern Michigan......
Charlie a.k.a. MichiganRailRoad714 (Charter Member TTC)
Just a quick "flyby" - neat stories, thanks for sharing guys! Well, after the storms ended around noon, my son and I did the shopping and didn't get home until about time to go to a party at my brother's house. Wife lasted a couple hours before we had to come home. I picked up some wire, shrink-tubing, and a new soldering iron today too :) Also some thin plywood strips and some aquarium gravel. I will try and wire up Thomas and S C Ruffy tomorrow evening with a tether. What would be a good "wire nut" to keep the tether from pulling through? Maybe just a tiedown pulled really tight on the inside of the holes?
TARDIS is ready, cloaking device is working and ready to fly - see you guys in a few minutes
Good Morning everyone. Was a nice 4th here as we went to some friends who have children our kids age. They are from the same church and he is with Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. Just kidding for all the Marines out there. Anyway, it was a nice day with plenty of swimming and some good food, topped off with good company. Got home last night and everyone crashed.
Today, I am on Camera 1 which is the main one for the service. Then, tonight, we have the "Freedom Fest" at the sports park. That is the place that was built with proceeds from the movies and from extra giving from the church membership. It is a park open to the community and has soccer, baseball, football, tennis, equestrian, ect. Today, it is being opened up for a full fledged celebration of the blessings we have in this great country. Plenty of military presence as well as fireworks, etc. They are looking at about 10000 people to come join the fun. The weather is supposed to cooperate, so it should be a good crowd.
Bob, sounds like you need a good endocrinologist to straighten out the diabetes. Can be hard to nail down. Things as mundane as Orange juice can have a big impact on your triglycerides and sugars. Good luck with it.
Have a blessed day and week ahead,Dennis.
TCA#09-63805
dwiemerBob, sounds like you need a good endocrinologist to straighten out the diabetes. Can be hard to nail down. Things as mundane as Orange juice can have a big impact on your triglycerides and sugars. Good luck with it.
Don't be surprised--if you start checking your own bloodsugar that certain foods do funny things to it--I've had 1 chocolate bar do zilch to the bloodsugar yet a tiny orange make the bloodsugar fly into the next galaxy. Bananas tend to do the same dang thing.
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Set up some more fireworks with the neighbour last night. Ended up with about 100+ people show up for it---more $$$ for the neighbourhood youth group----anyhooo--
Got sunshine this morning----and a high of 24C. Getting cloudier tonight and tomorrow back to a 70% chance of rain-----we seem to be also looking at a few days of this ---again
Going to get mor weeding done in the Veggie patch. Then a privet bush needs more trimming and then some floor work in the basement------
Have a good one people-----
Aloha all. On way to church - bride is in a drama and I am on camera one too. She's not feeling too well. Hope she makes it through. Just one service today. Brutus, why don't you try Annie or Clarabell instead of S.C. Ruffy - roof comes off - lots of room. Maybe you don't have them.
Rained most of yesterday but cleared in the eve. Beautiful today for the daughter's party - and parade and fireworks - don't know why the town does them on Sunday but this year it works out.Finished re-setting up the layout last night - just in time. Hope to trouble-shoot things later before guests arrive. I noticed a wire had ripped out of the bottom of my modern semaphore. Hope I can open 'er up. Happy Fifth!
Mornin' boys. Mornin' English. Overcast & 68 here in the Mid-Atlantic region. Nothing planned for today, which is just what the doctor ordered. Things ran smooth last night, even though our fire department insisted on running baws to the wall on a shed fire, right through the most congested area...
It's a cloudy 65 degrees. Going up to 75 today with rain most of the day.
I am taking it easy today. Ballgame this afternoon and I will watch it in the train room. Need to do some dusting. Other than that, not much is new here.
Great Nascar race last night. Tony won in the last lap. That will go down in history, as a video.
Dining car was here and we had the usual for breakfast.
Y'all have a great Sunday.
Good Morning
Sun and 70s today. I waved the diner train right through the station this morning, Still feel full from yesterday. I did not eat a lot of any one thing, just a little of most everything. Groan. The house still smells like gunpowder from all of last nites illegal fireworks. But I did notice there seemed to be less than past years so I think the economy had a lot to do with that. Well everyone rest today tomorrow is monday again...S.J.
sir james I The house still smells like gunpowder from all of last nites illegal fireworks. But I did notice there seemed to be less than past years so I think the economy had a lot to do with that. S.J.
The house still smells like gunpowder from all of last nites illegal fireworks. But I did notice there seemed to be less than past years so I think the economy had a lot to do with that. S.J.
Around here there were more "home fireworks" than I can remember in previous years. At one point it seemed like a couple neighbors were engaging in a little "dueling fireworks." Watched the North Canton fireworks from neighbors porch. Trees are getting too big to watch from the deck.
Going to go to family reunion today, need to get on the road, couple hour drive each way.
I made it to the party and we were able to catch the fireworks as well. My legs actually did pretty good, but I'm still avoiding stairs. I tell you this is a heck of a time to start dating someone, but at least she is a surgeon, so she understands a lot of this. And no, I didn't pick her up when I was in the hospital, this was already in the works.
After getting home last night I was feeling fairly tired, maybe the blood sugar is going the other way now. I haven't started testing my own yet, but I think that's in the cards. The small amounts of carbs that seem to have set me off are surprising to me, but I guess this is not so unusual. Until we can do more tests next week, I'm staying on the doctor's diet as that does seem to work for the most part.
Clear but hot and humid today. We are in full swing monsoons for the beginning of the season. If any of you guys got the dream-plan-build DVD it's worth checking out. Some very basic stuff regarding tips and such, but the layouts are awesome. Really enjoyed the interview with the guy who set up an O-gauge Norfolk & Southern layout, and actually rode a Y6B as a kid. The stuff legends are made of.
Well of to church. Everyone have a good weekend!
Bob, best wishes on getting your blood sugar etc. under control. I have recently been diagnosed with high triglycerides (500) and the doc has put me on meds plus diet and exercise. I have been sticking with it for about a month and a half now. Hope it is doing some good. 4th of July food sort of wrecked my diet but I'm back on it today.
Busy couple of days here. Had Friday off,so I got an early start on the normal weekend chores and project.
Spent Saturday enjoying the holiday festivities. Started with a trip to the farmer's market, then a stop at the coffee shop, then walked down to the courthouse and claimed a section of curb to watch the parade drink the coffee and eat the goodies from the farmer's market. A little light rain started with the parade, but nobody seemed too upset by it. Went to the art show after the parade, out ot lunch, car show at the fairgrounds (behaved myself - didn't enter mom's minivan in the burnout contest!), home to string trim and edge the sidewalks. Fired the grill up for dinner, then got a call from friends about going to the dirt track races. Shut the grill off and off to the dirt track. Good program, even if I had to pick bits of track off of my chili dog. Next time we spectate there, we're going to sit in the bleachers on the pit side of the track - they are cleaner, as they are on the entrance into turn four instead of the exit of turn one where the bleachers on the spectator side of the track are.
Noticed my wife and I made the picutre on the front page of today's paper - we can be seen on the curb in the background behind the Model A that is the subject of the picture.
No train activity. Just waiting on a package of bits & pieces from Train Tender.
A belated happy 4TH.
Prayers for those in need.
Back to work tomorrow. Got to keep Social Security solvent, ya' know.
Hello
Got the trimming, weeding, cutting, refinishing and cleaning done. Now we are preparing stuff for tonights fireworks display. There are already people out at the sports field where we did last nights display!
gotta rush off and get things done------have a good evenin'!!
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