Aloha all. A grey and cold day in Crystal Lake where the bride wants to 'wrap up' Christmas shopping. Sigh. Jack and MikeC, unfortunately, as you know, there's no easy way through Chicago - I usually go around it on I-294 > I-290 > IL 53 > I-90 but then you end way out there by NavyJack and me. I especially like how eight lanes go to four before reaching the spaghetti bowl of interchanges downtown. Sir J, that sounds like a delightful day - and I appreciate the fresh pot 'o Joe. As Jack mentioned, I recommend grabbing a date night whenever possible - if you have enough of them, you eventually pass through the mundane, day-to-day things you have to communicate about and can talk about other fun things, like ... trains. or rather, you get to listen to whatever your bride wants to talk about whilst thinking of toy trains. It's sure hard when the kids are young though. i appreciate having a built-in babysitter (older kid).
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
SJ,
I am starting to see your point about the battery dependent trains. I am just starting to wake my PS2 locos up that haven't been run since early 09, and they keep forgetting their DCS info..
Brent,
I am glad to know that I am not alone on running out of time to get trains ready for Christmas. I keep working on Flyer locos, but the list seems to keep getting longer.
I got the 314AW back together last night and it runs, smokes, and whistles quite well. More later.
Good Morning from Blueberryhill....
It is a foggy 26 degrees. Frost. Going up to 50 today.
Today is an easy day. I have a few chores to do and a project to work on. This afternoon is PT and a nap. Good plan.
Dining car is here with the usual breakfast.
Y'all have a great Thursday.
Chuck
Hi GUYZ,
40 here, lots o wind yesterday, all da leaves are down now. Hope they all blow away.
Stay frosty,
laz57
Good evening all,
A very cold, wind, rain storm rolled in this afternoon - I actually thought it was freezing rain for a few moments. I had to leave work to pick up the kids and their bikes from school. This storm was not in the forecast when we sent them out the door this morning. Fortunately for me I was able to get my morning run completed before the weather turned foul. The wife made homemade macaroni and cheese and salad for dinner tonight. My kids are fortunate their mom cooks meals like this; they will never have to eat that boxed stuff.
R.I. Jack - I completely agree on having date nights. Unfortunately we have not had one in a while due to the baby. We do not have family very close by, and we are not too comfortable leaving a 4-month old with teenage babysitters. My wife's parents will be here for Christmas so we will have one or two then.
88 - Thanksgiving is next week so you better get cracking on the layout.
I watched The Ultimate Fighter and now it is time for bed.
Good night,
Joe
Good evening guys. Was stuck late as we had an emergency case. Fife, "some dude" strikes again.....GSW to chest. Some day, they are going to catch "Some Dude" and all these mysterious shootings/stabbings/etc., are going to come to a halt. Our movie that should be out next year deals a lot with gang activity, perhaps it will have a positive impact on these thugs.
Bob, I hear that there is supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. Best time to see it is the few hours before dawn. I think I will be inspecting the backs of my eye lids about then.
Well, I see that the first Gitmo prisoner tried in civilian courts was acquitted of just about all the charges. Things like this really cause me to question the decision makers of this country. My personal thought is that they can do like Charlie Daniels says in "Simple Man", chain them to a stump in the swamp and let the alligators and snakes do the rest. They can put the child molesters and drug dealers with them.....OK,
Have a blessed night,Dennis
TCA#09-63805
Evening all. Tired. Hope all are well. Early morning meeting in Raleigh.
Jack, ours is called the Batmobile. I'm sure it was bought with a grant.
Sleep tight.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
Howdy guys - thanks for the well wishes. They took Char off of food restrictions and cut her TPN in half so hopefully she will be eating more real food now. Prayers for jobs and good health for all. Had to take off early today as number one child missed his bus, so I had to pick him up at the school. I told him next time he will have to wait 2 hours in the office staring at the wall 'cause this is a one time deal Tardis will be ready shorty, just waiting for some more beacons to show up. TTFN!
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
RI Jack no snag with female landlord more of a snag with lack of funds as doing other things some train related some not but not layout related.
Bought 2 20LB turkeys today bought a 14 the other day. so we have plenty of turkeys for the year we like to cook a few a year as it good cheap cat food for our cats also.
Been a few rough days at work as been short again so when I'm off next week I'm going to relax a little and do somethings around here I want to get done. Switch out stoves finally from electric to propane. ect ect.
Hope all been having a good week.
Talk to you all later.
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Good evening
Ok I put fresh coffee on again. Sun and 50s today, thats a nice day for this time of year in Michigan. Spent the morning running trains, loads of fun and everything ran right off the shelf without a battery. Sorry about that but those things annoy me to no end. I'm ready for another rootbeer and banilla. Beacon is humming....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
Morning Guys!
Jack: not just no but HECK no!! I'm staying here for the Holidays...all of 'em! The Princess has stated in lieu of presents, a trip to New Jersey for Christmas is what is desired...I'll be going to my brother & SIL in Centerville, VA for T-Day.
Breezy and 66 today...loving life off of Exit 8 today!
Brutus, Good Job on the interview..
Bob - in case I missed it!
Getting started on the Christmas layout for the fire dept. today. More fun! Lots of stuff from storage.
Chief - msg sent.
for our intentions including Char!
See ya in a bit!
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
Good morning all, found out friend was in the hospital a couple of days ago with gaul bladder surgery. Doing OK now. Took dinner over to his family last night. Friends are taking turns. His wife has health issues as well and is unable to work in the kitchen herself. Some family members are staying with her until her husband gets back home.
Weather forcast for the weekend calls for showers. Hope that doesn't mess up our Cal Stewart train meet. It's all indoors though. I will be there rain or shine.
later,
Ray
SPMan
Mornin' Fellas.Jack - no the tires on all our vehicles are the same size. They have to be on my 325xi and the Murano since they are AWD vehicles, I don't know of any BMWs that have different sizes front to back. As for the repairs, yes the car has been fixed, looks pretty good to. Nice thing was the repair shop gave us a bottle of touch-up paint... now I don't have to go to BMW and buy their $40 touch-up paint kit!Had to order new floormats for the 325 today. The driver side front was folding where it passed the pedals and was causing problems with the accelerator and brake pedal. When I called service about it they said I had to replace the mats... so I looked around and found a set for $165 that comes with a lifetime warranty against stains, folding, wear, etc... should be here in a week or so.Nothing going on train wise. I do need to get started on the christmas layout and fast... Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks!
Good Mornin' Ya'll From Overcast and Temporarily Clearing Taxachussetts,
Today was trash day, and the disintegrating carved pumpkins are no longer.
SJ.......chew on some caramels. That should get you back into the dentist chair in short order.
MikeC......I was born, raised, and spent most of my life in Chicago but have been living in Taxachussets for 23 years. Go back to visit both families (mine and wifey's) and both sets of friends . DougM may chime in here, but I find how they added/configured the local versus express lanes on the Dan Ryan (94) and the Kennedy (also 94) Expressways confusing. I know where I am going and how to get there. But their signs have you constantly on the alert, wondering what lane you should be in. Sometimes the right lanes and sometimes the left. Combo of spaghetti and Nascar. The traffic? Between the constant road repairs and the sheer volume of vehicles, traffic is almost unavoidable and makes one's route choice just as bad as the next. Last time approaching by car from points East went smoothly because it was 1AM.
Bob.....a Mach 2 switch? I didn't know they even made Mach 1 switches.
Joe.....with kids, there never seems to be enough hours in the day. If I had it all to do over again I would follow the example of a close friend of mine. When he and his wife started having children he set up one night a week for a husband/wife date night, on Saturdays, so they could have some quality alone time away from the constant onslaught of responsibilities and chore/errands. Never deviated and always made sure they had trusted babysitters with backups. Quality time alone together, good for the marriage, good for the family, and something to look forward to at the end of an exasperating work week.
Chuck.....how long do you think your wifey will let you off the hook when it comes time to go do the weekly grocery shopping? My wife takes the "misery loves company" approach, but usually just lets/expects me do the shopping, hauling, and the put away process. She hates it too. When she puts stuff on the grocery list she always fails to be specific. Brand, size, flavor, amount. Plus she seems to gravitate to products the store carries but always seems to run out of. I bet I phone home for clarification or the selection of an alternative twice every shopping trip.
Chief.....those sobriety checkpoints here always result in several arrests. They always start at midnight and are conducted at random points throughout the year. One favorite spot is at one end of a bridge over the Beverly/Salem harbor because once the inebriated are on the bridge they are captive, can't turn around and go back the other way to elude. The police set up a motor home type vehicle to do the "processing" right on sight when some are suspect and have to undergo field sobriety tests and blood alcohol. They will process about 250 cars and get about a 5%DUI hit rate. The number of repeat DUI offenders are scary. And the number of "unlicensed (suspended or revoked), unregistered (expired), attaching plates, uninspected (expired), uninsured" that are nailed would lead one to believe one in five on the road shouldn't be there.
Re the prices on ebay that seem to go up as the holidays approach. Seems that way to me. Plus there also seems to be more prevaricating about condition. C4-6 becomes C5-7. I am always amused when I follow a particular engine or car that has been relisted constantly for the past 6 months at some outrageous price with no nibbles, either at auction or buy it now, just keeps popping up.
Fife should be pulling his yatchet out of the Atlantic soon. We still have about 20% still in the water this far North.
RT.....any progress with your train room? Or has there been another snag with the female "landlord"?
Rich.......have you started making plans for your Christmas sojourn South yet?
Brutus.....drooling, belching, hitting on the interviewer, and picking your teeth were missing in your "list of things not to do when interviewing,"
Any of you guys have offset tire sizes that came on your vehicles? Where they cannot be rotated front to back and visa versa? Up Nawth that becomes particularly problematic and expensive when you wind up with a pair on the car that have not quite reached the end of their useful life but are not adequate to get you through the winter snows. Then you are forced to match what is on the car (brand, model, ratings).
Later, gang.
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
Good morning guys. It is a beautiful day here. I am on call and the case load has been on the quiet side this week. This has allowed me to go in late and get to enjoy some quiet mornings at home.
Jack, yeah, I do need to get some trains running. I can do it, but then I have to clear all the tools and supplies off the layout that I am using to do the scenery. Not too much needs to be done for me to be satisfied with the layout. I just need to take more time with it. Regarding your state's situation, too many short sighted people are in charge of things. We have both a coal fired plant in progress to being opened as well as a new nuclear plant that opens it's first reactor in 2012. Of course, this all can be sidelined if the current EPA administration, or if one of the other federal agencies tries to "help". They recently had a story on Michael Garrett, CEO of Georgia Power in which he outlined these efforts. Of course, you are from the state of "The Big Dig!"....so, how is that working out for ya?
Brutus, keeping the prayers going. Will add your promotion to it. Sage advice from Mr. Murphy. Those are certainly things to avoid. I have found that you shouldn't do it at home either as wives seem to take issue with them.
Chief, I know better that to mess with you. Not sure how that big city mayor feels about you, but I won't ask either. Just watch to make sure he doesn't order all signs leading to Rosyville to be removed.
Watching the news gets downright depressing. Seems no end to the spending in DC. Glad we don't run our house finances like these fools run the federal finances. I like what Reagan said, "cut the taxes and make the government live within it's means". Next news story is about a National Geographic story on the war on the boarder. More than 60 reporters have been killed in the last year....think it is time to turn off the news!
Hope everyone has a great day.Dennis
Good Morning
Overnite rain is gone, 50s today.
Wow a whole morning without a medical appointment, what shall I do. Ham, eggs, taters and 1 toast for breakfast.
My banilla last nite came in a glass with rootbeer. yummy.
S.J.
Aloha all. Cold and cloudy here in Chicago. Nice photo, Mike C! Glad you took my advice, Brutus, invariably, it works. Bride is back from her retreat - an escape from me no doubt - it's a two year / 8 retreats / spiritual growth thingie.
Morning all. Big storm hit about 12:15 last night. Hard winds and rain. Lots of damage in neighboring towns but none here as I have been told. Did see two big storms cross over the lake. Taking it easy. Meeting at 4 PM. Chat later [dogs calling to come in].
Jim,
Yes, the gutted one with the controller was $250. I am thinking that I should have kept it and stripped it to upgrade the complete one. I do like this 312AC, but the 314 control box is HTF and pricey.
Bob,
Thanks.
It is a windy 46 degrees. Going up to 58 today with wind and rain. Yuk.
Today is a busy day. Grocery shopping for the wife. She loves it in the rain. I will be doing a few chores and some paperwork. Not much else new.
Dining car arrived from "Points West". Breakfast is the usual Cheerios.
Y'all have a great Wednesday.
51 with big storms last nite woke me up at 1 AM. Windy day here today. All B safe.
Good morning all,
IIABSDISEI with temps in the 50s. Some much needed rain came our way yesterday. All I did last night was watch "Glee" and the results of "Dancing with the Stars". Surprise voting results, but I hope people do not make too big a deal out of it. I had a good day back at work. Should be a quiet day today. I had bran muffins and Cheerios on the dining car for breakfast before sending it on to "Points East". RockIsland52, I think we put about 1,000 miles on the PT Cruiser for that trip. The most we did was the first day, and just the actual travel thru Chicago was the only stressful part of it. TBIL anytime and I can drive again. I hope everyone has a good day.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
Another quiet night collecting photons now that the computer types have gone to bed. My boss and I replaced the Mach 2 limit switch tonight with a temporary replacement (a lot cheaper of course). We have a pair of replacements that will go in eventually that also are not rated for the speed of sound. My brother worked on F-15's. I'm going to take the dead one and show it to him at Christmas and see if he recognizes it.
Thanks for the comments on the 8607. Haven't had the chance to run it on a loop yet. It is a UP engine NavyJack, but it didn't come w/ the tender, so I will be repainting a plastic tender from the 80's in Navy colors.
RIJack - I have helped assemble a Bailey bridge from WWII when I was in the Seabees. They work very well.
Jim T. - nice Flyer work and cool video!
8N - have you seen the Demotivator poster about meetings? "None of us is as dumb as all of us". If you haven't seen any of these check out their site for a good laugh.
Bob
Tucson, AZ (aka the Ol' Pueblo)
Home of the Mt. Graham & Arizona Eastern Boiler Shops
The second week of deer camp is the greatest time of year.
We drink, play cards, and shoot the bull, but never shoot no deer.
The only time we leave the camp is when we go for beer.
Sage advice from Da Yoopers.
Vacation yesterday. Spent a big chunk of it in the dentist's office and at the eye doctor. Came home with new bifocals. Those are going to take some getting used to.
Long days at work again this week. I'm getting 'help' from others now on my hot project. Some think we need to have daily situation meetings. I pointed out that I'd rather actually work on the the issues than sit in meetings and talk about them.
All for now.
The days just don't seem long enough right now, and I don't seem to have any time to get on here until late at night. Work was busy today, and then I had to pick up our daughter from her ballet class. I was still conducting work via Blackberry to and fro the ballet studio. My wife made chicken and dumplings for dinner and it was very good. She has been on a baking rampage recently and our house is filled with homemade lemon bars, pecan bars, and chocolate fudge.
I had some free time earlier tonight and I watched part of a French movie (English subtitles) about a woman avenging her husband's death. It was on an HD movie channel we get, and it was a 1968 French adaptation of a Hitchcock movie. I cannot remember the name though. While rocking the baby to sleep I watched some college basketball: Louisville over Butler, and Mich. St was whooping S. Carolina; now at halftime.
Chief - If I ever visit Raleigh, I'll verify your statement with the mayor.
S.J. - Pass on the banilla; I am too full with the other desserts in the house.
Brutus - I'm glad the interview went well. It sounds as if you received some sage advice.
Happy birthday, Bob - guess I missed it. I do that sometimes, lol!
I think the interview went well. There is a practical test on Friday and then should find out later that day who was selected. I followed Doug Murphy's two points of advice - I did not pass wind when I sat down and I did not flick boogers during the questioning
Tardis is about ready, just getting on the extra load of banilla and pecan icecreams. TTFN!
Evening all,
Jim - That was a real nice 314, too bad it was gutted.was it $250 for the gutted 314 and the controller? The 312 is really nice too.
May God bless al you guys and those you love
Jim
SJ, simular. Spiral cut glazed baked ham, potato salad [wifey's famous] and asparagus. UMMMM
Dr. gave me more Leviquin so replaced my 5 and will take the rest. Never got a lot of rain here. Got a bit at the lake house so the radar showed.
Need to get up to train room and clean things up and run some.
Christmas movies on Halmark Channel. I may watch NCIS.
Later.
No post since this AM so I tossed the old coffee. My body doesn't like this time change, thinks it's bed time and it's only 6:10 PM. lol. Old filling was replaced quickly and kroger just got a fresh batch of 29 cents per pound turkeys..Yes they are good we have ate them for several years now. Ham slice, mashed taters, and cream peas for supper...Banilla is ready for later...S.J.
Demay watched the MNF game. It was not much of a game since the Eagles beat up the Redskins pretty good. Good night, Joe
watched the MNF game. It was not much of a game since the Eagles beat up the Redskins pretty good.
HEYAAY!!! Watch ya mouth. Us EAGLES always win. Ask Raleigh's Mayor.
Morning all. Slept late. Cooked boloonia, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast.
Rich, send me an email so I can email you a video. Its about what if we had an Italian President from NJ. Anyone else wants to see it, let me know.
Off to Dr's apt. Light rain here. Suppose to get a good "downpour" later. Will be good for the turnips and the deer feed plots.
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