Aloha. Watched more Ivor videos last night. It's 60ish and humid. Just back from taking the pastor to lunch for a little encouragement. Never go with anything to say, just let him talk. Looks like it might storm. On the way home, found 5 lbs of aquarium gravel for only $1 to try out on the new coal elevator. Jim, congrats on your new job. You've truly been diligent along a long road. Jack, it was in the 80s-90s for three days two weeks ago - and since then, about 30 degrees below normal. Chuck and Joe, That was a big win for the White Sox over the resurgent Tribe. Jake Peavey pitched well, coming back from severe shoulder surgery. Is it really Memorial Day next week? John, love that 'working on the wires' story. Brent, good luck to you on the adoption.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
Congratulations Jim T. !!!!!!
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
PROBE,
BIG CONGA on the NEW JOB!!!!
YOU DA MAN!!!!
laz57
Congratulations Jim !!!!!! B]
GREAT NEW !!!!!
Don
Jim, congrats on the new job.
Well the sun finally came out and the temp reached 70. I've been working on getting the train room back into some kind of order after the meet here Saturday. Banilla is ready for the thingy so head this way..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
Laz....When is Don Baker's OTTS suspension completed? Did he ever send you the money he was fined for his indiscretions?
Think good thoughts, do good deeds!
All,
Thanks for the support. It is deeply appreciated.
Brent,
Good luck to you and Susan. BTW, I am also glad to see someone else who dislikes Hawking.
Brutus,
for the family.
Jack,
You know me well. I am back on the hunt now that it'll be in reach.
SJ,
Do you have any experience with 313 Bascule Bridges? I need some counterbalancing spring guidance.
The testing went well, and I am back to sitting by the phone waiting for the next call. I palyed around a bit more with the 313 this morning. The sound of the motor, which reminds me of that of a blender, really adds to it. It needs a few small parts, but I am very happy given what I paid.
Just a quick stop in to say hi to everyone. Been away for awhile with alot of work. Sorry to have missed alot.
Jim - Congrats. I hope this will make the wait worth it! Good luck!
Ray
Bayville, NJ
Life is what happens to youWhile you're busy making other plans - John Lennon
Boy, the glossy black aquarium gravel worked perfectly with the coal elevator. I got 5 lbs for $1.... Shouldn't Don be still suspended for being naked in the city - oh wait, that was his old neighbor.
60, cloudy and rain most of the day. The sun did make a breif appearance about 6pm.
Won a Wheaties scout size boxcar on e-bay last night. Looks to be in good shape and was cheap.
All this talk of meetings at work. We have frequent meetings to talk about work that needs to get done to prepare the way for new product production. Only thing is, those that are needed to make the decisions rarely show up to these meetings!
Have I ever expressed my 'the grass is greener on the other side of the fence' theory? The grass on the other side of the fence is probably just like the grass on this side of the fence. The lower viewing angle just makes it look better. Companies are the same way - the all have aobut the same assortment of 'weeds'.
All for now.
Property taxes!!! Grrrr! I think some went a year or two ago and got adjusted. They wanted to raise ours, but got a new appraisal as all property in our county went down about 15 percent street value.
Brother-in-law came through with flying colors and no obstructive CAD. Think he will be on meds for the rest of his life though.
Have to find where I packed up my fasttrack so I can run my new engine. Spent all my gift money plus a bit more, but it is really cool and got a great deal It's O31, so won't run on the O27 circle I found last time to run the Dewitt Clinton.
Nice chat with SJ tonight and a short talk with RT too. No world problems solved, but we did devise a way to detect the una bomber's DNA. We just have to get him to international waters first!
TARDIS is ready and we have brownies to go with the icecream.
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
Good evening all,
The severe thunderstorms we've been watching out for all day have not shown up yet. Perhaps they will wake me up tonight. The wife made biscuits and gravy and eggs for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I ran the trains for about 30 minutes with the baby - no pile ups. Then I wasted two hours trying to download a song on iTunes for my daughter. I was never a fan of Apple and tonight's experience made it worse.
Hudson John - That is a great story, I laughed out loud when I read it.
Dougagrump - Since I am in the Air Force, my son has been around planes his entire life. Ever since he was very small he would pretend anything he had was a plane, even sticks. Although I did not attend the AF Academy myself, I have many friends and acquaintances who have and they have provided me with valuable insight which will help my son.
AF53 Ray - I'm glad you stopped by; I figured you were traveling to some games. The Yankees won again tonight - their third in a row.
Good night,
Joe
Evening!
Buckeye - no worries - Don B sent me the fines so you can release his suspension
jim (probe) - congrats man!'
Brutus - good news!
HS Band end of year banquet tomorrow night. This is the next to last one!
Will have an early one tomorrow so no time to check in before i hit the road.
did not get any rain today - maybe tomorrow. 80's, partly cloudy and humid.
Have a great evening and a great day tomorrow all!
Regards, Roy
Buckeye Riveter Laz....When is Don Baker's OTTS suspension completed? Did he ever send you the money he was fined for his indiscretions?
He does not care as he now is a major charter member to the BTTS [Best Toy Train Society]. This membership is shared with Dennis W., The Chief and Roy M.
Off to bed. Got in at 9:45.
Scotty is still in there for American Idle.
Sleep tight all.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
RockIsland52 lionroar88: Hudson#685: Roy, Do you actually get anything accomplished at the meetings or is it just do more with less and I am sure that you can figure it out? I hate meetings. John John - they are trying to figure out why nothing is getting accomplished. Brent............... Jack.
Hudson#685: Roy, Do you actually get anything accomplished at the meetings or is it just do more with less and I am sure that you can figure it out? I hate meetings. John John - they are trying to figure out why nothing is getting accomplished.
Roy,
Do you actually get anything accomplished at the meetings or is it just do more with less and I am sure that you can figure it out? I hate meetings.
John
John - they are trying to figure out why nothing is getting accomplished.
Brent...............
Jack.
Youz guyz pretty much nailed it. And we are trying to create a process so it is repeatable and measureable!
Good Morning,
Quiet day so far. According to the weatherman, it is supposed to clear up today and a nice weekend.
I see that we all have the same opinion about meetings.
Roy, "Measureable", do not forget "The Scorecard". Useless BS. time to get off my
Traindood: Do not forget the Morning Mayor, Harry Harrison. First on WMCA AM, I believe 1962, one of the original "Good Guys", with his Holiday Song, "May you always" and later up to his retirement a few years ago on WCBS FM. He teased Mr. G the Weatherman also.
Brutus, great news about your Brother in Law.
There is more about my son and I want to be a Lineman story. one day he removed all of the swings on the swing set to make his own "Lineman Training Center". We used to have a skill rodeo yearly at the Training Center. They had activities for the kids including bucket truck rides and a pole climb among other activities including letting them operate a small backhoe. He loved it. He was hooked when I took him up in the bucket. Then he was torn between being a State Trooper or Lineman. Now he is focused on the State Trooper.
Have a Great Day,
BUCKEYE,
CHUCK is the treasurer and he in the by laws of OTTS gets all the money that is generated through fines of misconduct. I think DON tried to do a fast one and send a boxcar of CHEERIOS to CHUCK instead of the hard cash? Gee and I was looking forward to the PITZA PARTY we were going to have while spackling the walls with GRITS.
Hi GUYZ,
Another rainy day AGAIN! Maybe making hay tonite, then fire with wife.
CHUCK & BUCKEYE, TGIF!!!!
Good Morning from Blueberryhill....
It is a wet 55 degrees. Rained, again, last night. More rain today. High of 72. The grass is green.
Today is a busy day. I have an errand to run and the usual chores to do. I might be able to squeeze in a nap later.
I have reached the opinion that the Indians ate too much Mexican food, while on the West Coast. They are really in a slump. Don Baker has the same problem. Maybe at home, they can have some good Yankee food to bring them back to life.
Speaking of Don Baker, as Treasurer of OTTS, I have received a cashier's check from him, to cover his fines for $10,872.09. I also got word from Union Pacific that a box car full of Cheerios is on it's way. So, we will schedule our annual OTTS Pizza and Beer Party at LAZ's house and invite the usual 300 people. Any beer left over , after the party, will be donated to LAZ, for being a good Host. Last year, we gave him 3,000 gallons of Old Mil for his hospitality.
Dining car is here with CHEERIOS for breakfast.
Buckeye & LAZ... TGIF ( This IS Friday, isn't it?)
Y'all have a great Friday.
Chuck
CHUCK,
LOL!! Which reminds me to order all those PORTA POTTIES for our annual event. Hopefully BUCKEYE will get us a discount. Last year the only one we had was over flowing.
Good morning all,
IIABSDISEI with temps near 80. Bad day at the track yesterday. Swiss Miss decided to get some air time at the track the hard way as she bounced and flipped several times in turns 3 and 4. Some burns on her hands may keep her out of the race. Oh and Penske was 1,3 and 4 on the speed chart. Mowed dad's yard last night. Cleared out more stuff. TBIL and I can drive. I hope everyone has a good day.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from indiana
Yes, LAZ, Buckeye has been assigned to make sure there are 37 PORTA POTTIES, delivered to your house and placed around your yard. Buckeye was the right person for the job, as he has the most engineering experience on the subject. I will require a PORTA POTTY , on wheels, which is motorized. A special one has been ordered for you, LAZ, with a 250 gallon holding tank for liquids.
Quick morning drop by from a BTTS member - wait? Chief? - that could stand for Buckeye Toy Train Society !!!!
Have a great day all!
Aloha. Looks like sun and 60s today. Good news, Brutus. Not about taxes though. TGIF. Looks like I'm the only one in the office today. LOL
TGIF
LAZ, I'm looking forward to the big party . Forget the porta johns, we are sending the crews to your house to start building the WWTP with smelly logoons.
Good Morning
61/70 today
jim/probe, the 313 was a rare item to find by the 70s, so the only ones I saw were bought/sold at the store. I never needed to fix one. My repair manual says that turning the screw clockwise tightens the spring. It says don't do this unless the bridge is out of balance. Well I cut the grass 2 days ago, now I gotta get out there today and trim...TGIF for the working folks...S.J.
Mornin' FellasHad some issues connecting to work from home last night because my laptop downloaded and installed IsuckE9.0... so I found a site that tells you how to uninstall it and automatically revert to IE8.0. Then I had to uninstall the remote access software and reinstall it... finally got connected about 11:30pm.For those interested in doing this... search Uninstall IE9.0 - there is a Microsoft site that explains it very well.---I vote for the new train society to be BATSTDNITC
Buckeye's Awesome Train Society That Does Not Include The Chief
Good Mornin' Ya'll From Overcast/Rainy/Warming Taxachusetts,
The Boston Red Sox won again last night and remain the hottest team in baseball after their worst start in about 65 years. Won 9 of their last 11, and four of these with ninth inning walk-off victories just in the past week. Both pitching and hitting are finally coming around. If you look at the Major League Baseball standings, most of the Divisional races have 3 or 4 horses in close proximity to the top.
Low 50s now. Rain on tap (again, what else?) on and off today and tomorrow, but we may also get the temps up 10 degrees, approaching 70 by Sunday. Lawn can't wait much longer, until it dries out enough to not clog the mower. Since I have to bag the clippings and avoid caking inside the mower deck, I may have little choice but to try another approach. If I can get a couple of hours of no precipitation, I may see if I can get parts done piecemeal.
Prayers for those getting wiped out by floods in the Midwest and South. I have said this before on the POT. We may have our weather challenges up here in New England. Snow, cold, and the damaging winds from the "N'oreasters." Then there are the hurricanes that generally are passing a couple hundred miles to our East, leaving us with just the fringe elements. But by and large we are blessed to not experience what these poor folks in the flood prone areas are now experiencing. Imagine losing your home, your personal belongings and keepsakes, and your life's work.
Brutus......our true market property values up my way are off about 25% from the peak which was overinflated, overpriced, and overheated to start with. Available single family dweiinings are plentiful, interest rates are "interesting," so I don't see a significant upward swing for house prices for a couple of years in my area. That puts our cities and towns in a property tax bind, and they are furiously monkeying with the rates to keep the incoming tax money adequate to sustain the bloated budgets. However, in Taxachusetts we operate iwith a voter mandated cap of 2.5%. The property taxes can't be raised by more than 2.5% per year unless there are specific budget items voted on by the citizens to override the 2.5%. By and large these override votes translate into "go pound sand (emphatic no!). The powers that be in the cities and towns that did get the voters to agree to overrides soon found that no matter what, their municipality had to make some tough choices. The mayors were always back asking for more overrides the following year rather than biting the bullet, cutting expenses, and reducing the waste.
8n.......had to laugh at your "grass is greener" comment. A friend of mine called a couple of weeks back to ask for some advice. He has been with the same (large and financially sound) company for 7 years, hates what his job has become (do more with less or the beatings will continue), knows there is no end in sight, and feels unappreciated.. He's salaried. An 11-12 hour day is now the norm for him, is not enough to keep up, and his job has seriously cut into his family life. So he asked me if he should switch jobs and take a position he was offered with a start-up. I told him he has to weigh his risks. He has to decide for himself if he is lucky to have a job, or if the opportunity for something better is worth the risk. I noted that what he might discover by changing jobs is a different parking lot with a different sign hanging out in front.... and little more. That, and more often than not the start-up will fail. This is what comes to all of us with family responsibilities and rising overhead that won't go away. Is it better to work with what you have and make it work or roll the dice? There is no "right" answer.
LAZ.......we trained dogs outdoors in the intermittant rain last night. The purpose is to work the dogs in elements they are either uncomfortable with or downright detest.....doing it because the handler says so and is to be trusted and followed in all decisions and situations. In the rain and cold the Dobermans initially balked and protested like they were being tortured, while the happy labs acted like it was all great fun, tails wagging the whole time.
JimmyT......it sounds to me that over the longer term your Mustang will become your daily driver, the PGT will be your garage queen, and the Sunfire will be put up for adoption. A set of dedicated Winter wheels and Winter tires should get you through the snow with the RWD. Should be a lot of "pre-owned" tire/wheel choices out there on the Bay that will fit.
Roy, Chuck, and Buckeye.......did Don also pay his reinstatement and late fees? We'll have to remember to take down all of those "WANTED" posters as well.
HudsonJohn........you are blessed to have a son who has a firmer sense of where he wants to take his career. Many of our friends repeat this refrain: " My son/daughter (grandson/granddaughter) has ideas; but these ideas are too vague and she/he seems stuck in choosing a path."
Brent........a light at the end of the tunnel for the bathroom project. Sounds good.
Chief.......how does one become a member of the BTTS (Best Toy Train Society)? Is there some sort of initiation ceremony of eating grits? Is there a secret handshake? Whom do you pay off to get in?
Re meetings......Roy, you got that right! It's all about repeatable and measurable benchmarks with documented and implemented process. I agree that most meetigs could get twice the amount accomplished in half the time if they could start on time with the necessary decision-makers present, stay squarely on topic, silence folks yakking just to make their presence known, avoid outside-the-room interruption, and end on time. Add in a hard copy recap of deliverables (who, when, how, impediments, solutions) and that is a step in the right direction. It seems that communication sucks. The higher- ups don't seem to really know what is going on where the rubber hits the road. Then they get uncomfortable, and then another unnecessary meeting gets called. To mitigate the communication gap (in the places I've been) shared high-line and brief weekly departmental status reports. Much of the wasted noise and confusion dropped way off. "We don't need another meeting. We need 'to do, to execute.' Read the status reports you received, then call the responsible manager with your unanswered questions and concerns." Managing the higher ups is the order of the day so that the foot soldiers can git 'er done. Now, if only there was enough infantry remaining........
Joe.......I hear ya about the gadgets and the never-ending technology changes. My nephew pointed out last month that there are changes afoot in the "television" sales industry. This past Christmas, Super Bowl, and Final Four sales periods saw flat sales relative to prior years. The first thought was that it was the economy. The fact of the matter is that the TV market has become saturated and that there is a change afoot in the 18-40 year old demographic. It is estimated that 70% of American households have a relatively relatively new and current flat screen (except for DougM with his 26 year old RCA ). And the 18-40 year old demographic is gravitating towards Ipads and other smaller devices to watch what they want to watch. His company has been told by the big box stores that the amount of floorspace dedicated to conventional TVs will be scaled back to make room for the "other" viewing" devices. Somehow I can't bring myself to believe that the masses will ever prefer to watch something on a dinky screen if they don't have to. Has anyone out there make the leap to 3D television?????? I took a pass when I bought 6 months ago, can't even find my reading glasses half the time. The other half, I find the dog chewed them up.
Prayers for those who need them.
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
laz 57 Hi GUYZ, Another rainy day AGAIN! Maybe making hay tonite, then fire with wife. CHUCK & BUCKEYE, TGIF!!!! laz57
Laz.....isn't that the same thing?
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