RE:COFFEE POT #5 May 1, 2011 for all to take a drink and chat. 6+ years and going. Plenty of fresh coffee and sweet ice tea to drink. Plenty of GRITS for the Yanks.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is a clear and sunny 60 degrees. Going up to 82 today with sunshine all day.

Today is a busy day. I have two projects to finish and the usual chores to do. I want to spend some time outside, enjoying the weather. Maybe a short nap later.

Indians got beat up again. I think they got some bad food, when they were out on the West Coast.

Dining car is here with the usual for breakfast.

Y'all have a great Saturday.

Chuck

[RockIsland52]

Good Mornin' Yall From Overcast Taxachusetts,

Just a quick spash and go as I have a lot of stuff to do today in prep for our granddaughter's big day tomorrow.  Church at 9AM and later a cast of about 40 will descend on our place to celebrate with a cookout.

Thanks to Joe, Dennis, DougM, and all who commented on our schools and the home schooling options, and the concerns we all have about our children and their education.  AF Ray may have said it best when he posted that the parents always have been and still are at the core of our children and their academic and social development.  

What is a parent to do?  Our best, nothing more and nothing less.  I will leave this thought on the table.  If you asked me the primary differences between the education process now and when I was a child, I would not be at a loss for an opinion or ten. 

To me.....the curriculum plate is beyond beyond overflowing while the depth of the fundamentals (focus) have been watered down in the process.  The administration and consequently the teachers have been handcuffed (with both curriculum and discipline matters).  The dynamic of the nuclear family in support of the children at home has eroded, and we adults have overfilled our own plates at the expense of our children (grandchildren).  Finally, the relative simplicity of life and society has been lost to superfluous information and electronic overcommunication.  That to me is the recipe for the perfect storm.  That is what I think. 

I think most of these things are either fixable or can be mitigated, but it all starts at home.  To me, there is no replacement for the quality time (not mindless quantity, filled with distractions) a parent or other family memeber spends with a child, whether that be sitting down and monitoring/helping with homework, discussing problems, or just doing things together......some mindless and some educational.  There has to be some fun in there or I have lost my audience, my grandchild.  

It comes down to "making time."  I have to consciously force myself to shelve everything (adult) that will still be there tomorrow or is less important, turn off the gadgets, and focus on my granddaughter, one-on-one, with no distractions. She may not initially like my not so subtle drilling her on (say) math, spelling, geography, or history.....until I turn it into a game, a fun game, one I make sure she wins.  She often asks why I turn off my phones and the TV, but she quickly seems happy I chose her over all else.  And she is learning.

I see so many Potters pouring themselves into their children and it gives me joy.  I embrace that, I admire that, and it leaves me knowing that there indeed is a solution, a better way to educating our kids.  When parents step up.....

Jack

[laz 57]

Hi GUYZ,

  Big storms blew in last nite and we go MORE RAIN!!!!  NO trout fishin this weekend.  That means more grass to cut.

DON BAKER well said.  This is just a gag on lots of stuff that the people here who have actually met physically, with one another.  At no time do we try and exclude anyone from conversations.  If you were to meet us an event like YORK where sometimes it is the first time in getting to know these people you would just fit right in.  After the last photo shoot at YORK, I think there were at least 5=6 different conversations going on and as one broke up people would venture back and forth to different groups and converse more.  All told about a good hour to an hour and a half was spent just talking about everyday life.  The same thing happened during THE GREAT GRITS CAPER II, we spent 2 + hours just talking and having a fun breakfast.  This is not a click.  If you were to show up and meet you would see for yourself.  I know there will be people who roll their eyes on this one.  Oh well?

Stay frosty and watch your topknot,

laz57

[sir james I]

Good Morning

57 and still gloomy.

Home school, my parents would not have qualified. For a parent that is, home schooling would be a good choice. No plans for the day so I'm going with potluck...S.J.

Don B., Laz,  your York antigrits gag was the greatest.

[AF53]

Good morning all!

Hot and muggy already and there's alot to do today outside. Some gardening, repair/update the grill with new parts and much more. So it looks like it will be a day for shedding some pounds!

DonB - As far as I could tell, from someone who isn't a member of anything, I just sat back and laughed. I saw the humor in it. But some peoples feelings I guess may have gotten hurt? I hope not because this is a great group here. One that I believe would never intentionally want to hurt anyone's feelings.

Jim - You and Char have been through alot. It looked like things were improving lately, but with some bumps in the road. Hope they end soon.

Dennis - When the going gets tough...........they page you. Nice job!

Joe - The Yanks lost a tuff one last night. These west coast trips make for long nights!

Jack - Your Saux won last night (again) and occupy the top spot. Don't get too use to it.

Chuck - 3 in a row? What's up with that? Although you still have a big lead with SJ's Tigers being only .500. Where's Al Kaline when you need him?

Later

Ray

[dwiemer]

Good light late morning everyone.  While sleep was much needed, it was not to be.  Everyone was being quiet to let me sleep when...BOOM, a tray was knocked over in the kitchen.  Hard to go back to sleep after such a startling wake up call.

Don, yeah, it has never been an issue for me, but I think that your post was probably needed.  Certainly for those who are new and may be looking at us as a bunch of crack-pots, or for those who may be offended.  I am more thick skinned, and perhaps thick headed (ask my wife).

Jack, Ditto on the education.  Our church has a sign that reads, "Whoever wants the next Generation the most, will get them."  It is true, we can't complain about what our kids learn at school, or what they learn from their friends if we don't take the time to invest in them and control their environment.  I am a firm believer that while we can't always control what our kids see, we can raise them so that they can make a godly judgement and have discernment.

Brutus, hope Char is feeling better today.  It is tough when the ones we love are not well.  I will include her and your whole family in prayer today.

Chief, hope you are having a fun time at the lake.  We had some heavy storms come through last night while I was working.  Saw quite a bit of water on the ground and lightning.  Hope it doesn't interfere with your weekend.

Gotta get going.  We are getting ready for  a trip and my wife is anxious to do some shopping.  It is obligatory that if we go out of town.  Hope that each of you has a blessed Memorial Day and please remember why we are celebrating.

God Bless,
Dennis

[SPMan]

Good morning all and wishing all of you a meaningful Memorial Day Weekend.

Haven't quite digested all the talk about logos and membership in various groups etc.  I thought and still think it is all in fun.  I enjoy the comraderie of ALL members of the pot and do not wish to upset anyone.  Just my two cents worth.

Ray

[Anonymous]

Brutus and Don,

                               Well said.  I personally don't see any reason anyone should be offended.  It isn't inappropriate or vulgar, so I really don't know what the big deal is.  It is clearly in good clean fun and nothing more.

  As for the clique issue, that really isn't an issue.  That is a function of social interaction, plain and simple.  From online forums, work, school, or wherever, that occurs naturally when people interact with one another.  The worst thing one could do is assume that the clique isn't welcoming of others.  Just jump in.  I was one of those that felt like an outsider when I joined the CTT forum in 2003, but I quickly learned that it was all in my head.  Once I jumped into it, I felt like I fit right in, and regrettted not giving it a try sooner.  The way I see it, the more people that get involved, the better.

 

[LawsonFarmsRR]

green97probe

Brutus and Don,

                               Well said.  I personally don't see any reason anyone should be offended.  It isn't inappropriate or vulgar, so I really don't know what the big deal is.  It is clearly in good clean fun and nothing more.

  As for the clique issue, that really isn't an issue.  That is a function of social interaction, plain and simple.  From online forums, work, school, or wherever, that occurs naturally when people interact with one another.  The worst thing one could do is assume that the clique isn't welcoming of others.  Just jump in.  I was one of those that felt like an outsider when I joined the CTT forum in 2003, but I quickly learned that it was all in my head.  Once I jumped into it, I felt like I fit right in, and regrettted not giving it a try sooner.  The way I see it, the more people that get involved, the better.

 

Well said Jim. I don't know what specifics Brutus is referring to, so I can't comment on that. I know it is all in good fun, and I have seen kidding among Pot members ( Buckeye and Chief comes to mind) that might seem like real fighting to someone new to the Pot, but it realy is all in fun.

Pat

[Buckeye Riveter]

For all those who have  been here on the pot less than four years,  I'll set the record straight.  When the Chief showed up on the forum, this thing was dead.  Then he challenged me to a dual so I met him in Wheeling, WV with swords drawn.  Unfortunately it was a dead heat and then LAZ and Chuck showed up on the forum and we invented the snow gun to blast Roseyville, NC every winter with Ohio Snow.  After six scouting raids into the deep south, the Big One is being planned for 2012.

Now everybody knows.

[LawsonFarmsRR]

Buckeye Riveter

For all those who have  been here on the pot less than four years,  I'll set the record straight.  When the Chief showed up on the forum, this thing was dead.  Then he challenged me to a dual so I met him in Wheeling, WV with swords drawn.  Unfortunately it was a dead heat and then LAZ and Chuck showed up on the forum and we invented the snow gun to blast Roseyville, NC every winter with Ohio Snow.  After six scouting raids into the deep south, the Big One is being planned for 2012.

Now everybody knows.

See what I mean? The Buckeye Chief show continues.

Winter 2012 gives me the time to assemble and distribute my Snow Gun Deflecter Shield to all below the Mason-Dixon Line (and a few above the line outside of OH).

Pat

[Blueberryhill RR]

Indians won today !!!!!!!!

[rtraincollector]

hey not a lot going on just taking it easy

[dbaker48]

Afternoon,

Had a really great afternoon!  Got off work (1/2 day), then home and was playing with the trains!  For some reason decided wanted to play with Lash Ups.  Built 2 different ones,  (All MTH engines).  The first one was 3 engines;  Headed up with a RailKing Big Boy up front, then a RK SD70, a ACe4400 Dummy, and finally the ACE4400 engine.  The engines were pulling 34 cars.  The other Lash-Up , consisted of 2 engines, the first a UP Mikado, and followed up with a NYC A5 switcher.  It was pulling about 12 cars.

I had both trains running in opposite directions, with the smoke ON !  It was awesome !!  Took no time and I had the room almost filled with smoke.  They were all running perfect.

Did learn a little about engine id's in the remote, and impacts when running those engine in a lash-up.  It is definetly best to dele the lash up when your done, rather than leaving it in the remote.

Hope everyone has a great day and fantastic weekend !   Stay safe.

[sir james I]

Good Evening

61 and the rain returned about 2 hours.

Banilla is ready for Brutus and the thingy crew.

S.J.

[traindood]

Evenin' fellas and gals:  Hey Don: Anyone with half a wit would know these postings by you guys are lots of fun.  Keep up the good work!  Hey Jack:  Some pepole say its envirement, others say education that  determines a student's destination. I say its probably a combination of the two. I know one thing, wifey and I practiced tough love with our three and am proud of all of them.  They did good by themselves and us. Couldn't have asked for more. Hey Dennis; Thumbs up on your post!  Right on!     I was going to post a somber message about Memorial Day, however instead i will let everyone reflect in his or hers own special way.  I know I will.  God, Continue To Bless America!    later. 

[Brutus]

Laz - I know it, you guys are the best and can't wait to sit down and buy you an Old MIlls one of these days! 

Don - well said.  My point was that WE all know it is in good fun, but it might not SEEM like it to some.  I"m keeping my TARDIS logo and I hope you run that up on your posts or the BTTS or OTTS or anything you like   Anybody wants a TARDIS - just PM or email me.  If your BTTS is broken, I think I can help you fix that as well

Well, today I did some plumbing - I didn't get to the point of pressurizing the new stuff yet - sure hope I got it right   I still have a couple cuts and 7 joints to sweat.  Quit for dinner and then Char had other chores for me like getting our old computer desk out of our bedroom and taking it to Goodwill.  It weighed a couple hundred pounds, I swear!!!  My son helped and then all four of us had to heave it up into the bed of the truck.  She seems back to her old self again!

TARDIS is ready and we have rootbeer, Old Mills, and whatever you want, frankly - full service line

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

IIABSDISEI with hopefully another such day tomorrow.  All this concern about which is better, North or South, grits or cereal, and other minor issues can be settle by remembering the Hoosier Land is the best because the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" takes place in Indiana.  Nuff said.  LOL!   Speaking of which, to answer Dennis W.' comment concerning a certain Princess, when she first came along, I think everyone wanted her to succeed and she certainly has captured the imagination of the fans.  However as time has gone by, I think her ego has exceeded her talent and her achievements.  I think there is at least one female driver who is more than equal to her ability and at least two or three more who could be, and I often wonder what Sarah Fisher could have done with an equally talented team.  While Danica going to NASCAR would not help INDYCAR, it would not be the devastating blow it would have been 2 or 3 years ago.  Moreover it would be extremely dumb for her to go to NASCAR now.  She can have almost any ride in INDYCAR for as long as she wants, but if she does not succeed in NASCAR in a couple of years, she is done. 

Now for my race predictions.  More than likely Team Red will win again, but it will not be easy.  The best Penske is 5th and only one Target car is in the first two rows.  Team Schmidt has 3 cars in the top 6 and one is a former winner.  SFR has a proven oval driver and AJ's team has been strong all month long.  KV has some good drivers as well.  Could be very interesting.

I hope everyone has a good day.  Go Vitor, "Special Ed", Swiss Miss, Pippa and Bia.  Special shout out to John Andretti as well.  I will give a full race report tomorrow night.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[wrmcclellan]

Evening all!

Strange weather here. Some areas hit 100. Wind is howling. 30 mph today and local weather issued small crafts advisory so looks like any chance of boating is out this Memorial Day weekend - a first for me in the past 30+ years. Temps drop back to low 90's tomorrow but the howling wind stays. Trees look like we are in a hurricane area - bent over. Wind is constant with some really nasty gusts.

As Don B and Brutus said - all the ribbing, jokes, puns, etc., are same for a group for folks who have known each other, short or long term, and who meet daily at the local Coffee Shop to shoot the breeze. Sincerely wish for no one to take offense, but should join in the good natured humor/ribbing.

So went to the mall today. Intent was to see the new "Pirates", but it was sold out except the 3D version. With my poor eyesight and corrective lenses - I cannot see a 3D movie as the red/blue, or polarized, "glasses" they give you do not work with my glasses. All I see is blurry stuff or the red/blue outline as a blur. Very rarely can I catch the 3D effect. Movies cost too much to attend to not be able to enjoy it without a blurry picture..

Talking about TV, a 3 month and one week old Westinghouse LED 26 inch TV we bought at Target just burned out. The way Target presented their 3 yr extended warranty was they would take care of it. Wrong. I have to ship the TV to one of two Westinghouse repair centers. No local repair. Westinghouse informed me that all shipping is my responsibility (box is huge) and that if it arrives damaged they will not repair it. Guess what. I kept the box it came in and the box is not good enough to ship it without repacking into 2nd box.  I will learn that the next thing I buy of this magnitude will have local service or no sale.

Have a great evening all!

 

[dbaker48]

traindood

Evenin' fellas and gals:  Hey Don: Anyone with half a wit would know these postings by you guys are lots of fun.  Keep up the good work!

Decided I would keep those efforts to email, and outside of the public forums.

[Demay]

 Good evening all,

It's been a busy but nice Saturday.  The wife and kids spent last night at the wife's parents so I slept in until 0800.  I went for a run and then knocked out my chores: mowing and cleaning the grill.  I also jumpstarted the laundry for the wife - and I didn't ruin anything.  The wife and boys arrived home about 1600 and then we went to dinner.  Our daughter is staying with the grandparents for a few days.  After dinner, the 7y/o son and I went to a baseball.  The Junior College World Series is in town now.  These are fun games to attend and these young men play some very good baseball.

Thanks for the well wishes for our daughter.  She is doing better every day so I believe she is healing fine. 

It's late now so I'll catch up on some of your comments tomorrow after church.

Good night,

Joe

[fifedog]

Mornin' boys.  Sunny & 71  here in the Mid-Atlantic region.  S'posed to head to Nap-town for a nautical flea market and waterfront dining.  Had big birthday bash for niece's 1-yr old twins yesterday.  Still tired.  Still sore. 

Big day for race fans.

NFL sides better do something soon.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is a beautiful, sunny 72 degrees. Going up to 84 today with sunshine all day.

Today is an easy day. There is baseball, Nascar Coca-Cola 600, and Indy 500 to watch on TV. I also would like to spend some time outside enjoying the weather.

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend. Remember the Vets.

Dining car is here with Cheerios for breakfast.

Y'all have a great Sunday.

Chuck

[laz 57]

HI GUYZ,

  Nice and cool here but had rain again at about 7 AM, just a sprinkle but it is still wet.  Cut grass and played with push mower.  Couldn't start it and tried everything new plug, changed gas cleaned air cleaner, cleaned jets in carberator, all to no avail.  Then I looked at choke cable and found there was lots o play in cable.  Tightened it up and pulled it, VIOLA, it started right up.  Oh well now my mower is set for all summer cleaned and anew.

Stay frosty and watch your topknot,

laz57

[cnw1995]

Aloha everyone. Weirdly dank weekend - dark, coolish, and damp. Keeps me from doing outdoor chores which is great! Very foggy this am.

Isn't it about time Buckeye had another birthday? 

I sure enjoy the teasing and kidding on this thread. And invite everyone to join in. Speaking of which, I never got an OTTS membership certificate, just one for ITTS. I'm seemingly the only member.

I'd like to enjoy the paper, races and ball-games on TV today ... but since we'll be having another couple over for supper, I'm sure I'll be put to work.

Thanks to all of you on this forum thread who serve or served in the military. I salute you and the rest of the nation does too.

[sir james I]

Good Morning

64/80 today, storms expected later as usual. OTTS has been on here forever and  no new members have ever been accepted that I know of. So OTTS is grandfathered. But if the pot is going to start others that say you can, but you can't, I hope the pot does not self destruct...S.J.

[AF53]

Good Sunday morning to you all!

Nice day today as number one daughter arrives soon to spend the day, as usual. Number two daughter arrives later as the three kids and I are doing a "Dinner and a Movie" tonight. Don't know if my SIL or the others will be joining us. Number two daughter will be preparing dinner. Movie of choice is mine and it's "The Godfather". Surprisingly the two girls never saw it before. Wifey wants no part if it (except dinner) and will spend time in another room watching something else.

Got most of my chores done yesterday but did not finish the grill. After cleaning it out I noticed the burners need to be replaced, four burners will cost about $100 and we are contemplating just buying a new grill. The humid air just eats away at those burners, although they are about seven years old.

Enjoy the day,

Ray

[Hudson#685]

Good Afternoon,

AF53, Ray, Idea if I give you $100 towards the new grill and you give me $100 towards the purchase of the engine, we can tell the wives that we each contributed to the purchases. We should work for the Federal Government as financial advisors.

John

[AF53]

John - Great idea, I wish I thought of that first!!!! But I'm thinking that we could both do better with $200?????

Ray

[dwiemer]

Good afternoon everyone.  Just back from church and lunch with the family.  Tonight's service is out at the sports park.  Since I am on call, I will have to stay home.  Phone service is limited and if I get a call, it may take too long to get back.

Church was good, as usual.  We had a nice tribute to the vets before the service.  With a Marine Base located here, we have a significant number of active duty as well as retired guys in the church. 

Hoping to get to some trains this afternoon.  I have been a bit slack on that lately.  Have some scenery lately and it is turning out well, but it is a long process.

God Bless
Dennis