Hello all,
Continued prayers for Chuck & family as well as Brutus & his.
Glad to see everyone is safe from the storm. We only got clouds a stiff breeze and one 20 minute rain storm.
Hudson , be careful
I tried to post Sunday AM but site was down.
Mrs has her 1st day o' school today. She said this morning Only 179 to go,
Still trying to get ahead of garden.
Mrs & I went to see The Help last evening. Very good movie. Dennis we also saw preview of Courageous. Looks very impressive
SS fund calls
Prayers for those in need
Banks, Proud member of the OTTS TCA 12-67310
Aloha. A pretty day here. Mom visiting unexpectedly due to his flight east delayed until Thur. Just heard one of our faculty persons died - expected it - but without any family or a will, it'll be a real complicated mess. He was an 'original' hoarder. I'll have to clean up and store the items in his office. Counted 36 unopened boxes from a move here a few years ago. Piles of stuff everything to the ceiling. Heard he also has a condo like this and a storage unit. State'll get everything eventually. Lesson here: get and update your will.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
Good Mornin' Ya'll from Crystal Clear Taxachusetts,
Low 50s last night again here with a pattern now of 50s overnight. 430,000 still without power in Taxachusetts. Cleanup from wind destruction and flooding continues for so many. Rich's post about the loss of a safety worker's life struck home in the aftermath of Irene.
Watching the horrible flooding in Vermont.......places we had been and had visited last Summer when we went camping there. During the height of things here near the coast, the beaches, jetties, piers, and coastal walkways were being hammered by the high winds, the high tide, the storm surge, and the high waves. I can understand why people stand in awe of Mother Nature and want to witness it up close and personal. But the police and other safety workers spent an inordinate amount of time and effort trying to clear people out of the water and from locations which clearly put them in harms way. Every time someone gets "in over their heads" a safety worker has to risk life and limb to save them. Last night my son was watching repeat TV footage of such things on the local news and commented: "Let em drown."
I want to offer my continued prayers for Chuck and his brave wife, Paula. And for Char and Brutus on her recent brush with GVHD. These incidents take an emotional toll over the long haul that cannot be measured. Hang in there! And may God bless you and keep you strong. RaySP.......glad to hear the muscle relaxants are helping.
Got yet another long call from one of my sisters yesterday. Her PC died weeks ago, and she has been procrastinating over the age old "repair versus buy" decision on a replacement of her 6+ year old laptop. She overthinks things, and in the interim she has had to use library computers to get done what she needs to get done. Then she got the bright idea it would be easier to call me, began calling me daily to look stuff up for her. It has gotten annoying and time consuming.
LAZ........you can't retire. The educational system as we know it will go to hell in a handbasket.
Chief.......was watching the continued footage of the N. Carolina damage from the storm. Glad to hear you were spared.
SJ..........smart move with the boat. Now you get to use it anytime you want and let the son worry about all of the upkeep, maintenance, insurance, and storage.
DougM.........it is beginning to sound like you are going to have to invest in a trailer hitch for your wife's new wheels to effectively operate the DMTA (DougM-Moving and Transit Authority) and shuttle the kiddies and their stuff to and fro college. Next year at this time a U-Haul rental truck may be required.
JoeyD......is your family going to join you for your AL. training before you all head off to points Far West?
AF Ray and JoeyD...........my guess is you will be doing what I will be doing tonight, watching the Evil Empire play the good guys here in Boston. Should be a good battle; but with Sabathia versus Lackey, the Bums have the edge.
Roy.........107 degrees ?!?!?! You folks down Texas way must have quite the electric infrastructure. If it is not too personal, how many KWH do you use a month to keep your house comfortable? My electric company must be losing customers due to our "customer choice" program. When my cost per KWH hit $ 13.9 cents, I called them and declared they were the high priced spread by far and that either I got a better price or I was history. They said nothing. Lo and behold, the next month's bill came in at $ 9.9 cents per KWH. That was followed by $ 8.9 cents a couple of months later. Now $ 7.9 cents for the last bill. All of the ancillary charges and taxes remain in place, costs more than the actual charge per KWH, but at least the price of something I have to have is moving in the right direction.
Dennis.........at the rate you are going, the kids should be done with school by St. Patrick's Day.
Gotta run. May check back in later. Prayers for those in need.
Jack.
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
Morning all!
Prayers for the east coasters cleaning up from the storm. So sorry for the destruction in NE and particularly VT.
Jack - My wife pays the elec bill but I know it has hit $500+ in a hot month. I do know the power company hand delivers the bill by a guy in a suit presenting it on a velvet pillow . It has been so hot here for so long this summer that we just got a toxic algea bloom in the lake we cannot pump from due to zebra mussels. I am hoping the toxic algea will kill some zebra mussels??
Chief - a tin can with string and "droid" written on it will typically not text too well. I guess you could pull the string tighter and drum some Morse code into it?
Continued prayers for Chuck and Char and any others in need.
Have a great day all!
Regards, Roy
Good Morning
Home from grocery shopping, WOW the store we have gone to for years has raised prices on everything, not just a little but a whole heap. 1 example a can of hot dog chili went from 59cents to $1.29. Good thing we can't talk about the government here. #&(%##. It's warm and sunny all week,,till the weekend then high 80s with possible showers through Monday of course...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
RI I feel the same way about those weather channel people standing out in a hurricane, like they couldn't broadcast pictures from an open doorway. One will die some day. Flying debris is also a big factor.
As for the boat I did intend to sell it but this way like you said I still have a set of keys.
Good Afternoon from Soggy Jersey,
Just finished my dinner, still at work and it looks like 16 hour days until we get everyone hooked up and the equipment back in shape, because we have another Hurricane, Katia, on its way.
Spanky, the properties will be checked tomorrow.
The word in Jersey is flooding. Rivers are breaking records for flood levels. As Spanky showed the picture of the section of I-287, there is a lot more of that around.
Rich, I wonder how the Firehouse in Middlesex by the river made out. Good luck with the repairs to yours.
Thoughts and Prayers for Chuck and Paula. Also for Brutus and Char. And not to forget the fallen EMT trying to save a life.
Sorry, but I wont be on the Tardis tonight. The good news is that the banilla was saved.
John
DJSpanky RockIsland52: AF Ray and JoeyD...........my guess is you will be doing what I will be doing tonight, watching the Evil Empire play the good guys here in Boston. Should be a good battle; but with Sabathia versus Lackey, the Bums have the edge. And me!!! Tonight my two favorite teams are one and the same: the Red Sox, and whoever is playing the Yankees! As for Sabathia, well, so far this year against the Red Sox he's 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA. And the Red Sox batters have a .324 batting average against him. We'll see how he does tonight. No matter what happens in this series, I suspect the Red Sox and the Bronx Bummers will be meeting in the post season.
RockIsland52: AF Ray and JoeyD...........my guess is you will be doing what I will be doing tonight, watching the Evil Empire play the good guys here in Boston. Should be a good battle; but with Sabathia versus Lackey, the Bums have the edge.
And me!!! Tonight my two favorite teams are one and the same: the Red Sox, and whoever is playing the Yankees! As for Sabathia, well, so far this year against the Red Sox he's 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA. And the Red Sox batters have a .324 batting average against him. We'll see how he does tonight. No matter what happens in this series, I suspect the Red Sox and the Bronx Bummers will be meeting in the post season.
Spanky........I heard that CC was livid with himself after his last performance against the Red Sox, and he went on a diet. Word is he has dropped 17............ounces.
Still at work so.........
Jack - I will monitor the game on me cell. You got me wondering what you were thinking the the edge goes to the Yankees. Withh CC on the mound????? You guys have his number this year so much that you should pick up some of his salary!
Later
Ray
Bayville, NJ
Life is what happens to youWhile you're busy making other plans - John Lennon
Good Evening
72 now. It got stuffy for awhile today so turned on the AC till sunset. I didn't do much after shopping this morning, just some small household chores and of course break time on the couch. John saved our banilla and we have a good supply so fire up the thingy..S.J.
Evening all
Continued prayers for Chuck and Paula.
Really pleasant today. Temps are cool. It feels great. Windows open and exhaust fan on.
The football team practiced hard tonight. They are really starting to get it.
The bedroom addition is going to get started in the next few days. I contracted getting it in the dry and I'll finish the inside in my spare time (what spare time?)
Oh well, what doesn't kills you makes you stronger.
God night and may God bless
Jim
Good evening all,
Continued prayer for Chuck and Paula
Slow day here. I have been just taking it easy to give my back a chance to heal. As long as I don't do anything strenuos or crazy I don't have any pain. I can only stand or walk for a few minutes and then I have to give it a rest. I did get out in the train room this morning before it got hot and ran a few. I also put my MTH Santa Fe caboose back in service after I fixed the coupler which fell off. There is some kind of spring that is used to keep the coupler centered but it must be laying on the layout somewhere because I couldn't find it. So I'm just running without it and the coupler works otherwise.
V8 Dennis, sounds like you had a nice trip on the Coast Starlight except for the air conditioning going out. That happened to a friend of mine this summer who took a private car trip on the back of Amtrak all over the country. It was on a dome dining car and they had to set it out in Chicago to get it fixed.
I have reached the point on my layout and shelves to where I can't add any additional trains. Every track and shelf is full. I have to pack some of them up or build more layout/shelves. I spend most of my time just clearing a place so a train can run but I'm not complaining. I remember when I had none.
I guess the next big train show here won't be until November when the Cal Stewart meet returns to Pasadena, California. I have participated in running one of the display layouts for the past few years but I think I will have to pass this time because I can't get around like I used to and I definitly cannot function with a floor layout.
Got to run now cause I'm on KP duty tonight.
SPMan
Good evening guys,
Continued prayers for Chuck and Paula. Glad to hear that Char is at home, prayers for her also. Also Prayers for Ray, back problems can be a real bummer.
We had only minor damage from Irene, granddaughter and I spent Monday afternoon cleaning up leaves and branches (twigs), nothing larger than your thumb. We were very fortunate, no loss of power and no damage. They county had some problems with power outages and some flooding. 1700 in the county still without power this morning, haven't heard figures since then. Hopefully all have power by now.
Roy, We had a high today of low 70s, bet you can't wait for York!
A local dealer says he has orders for 4 of the new centipedes in the Lionel catalog. At $2199.99 I am not one of them. It was a slow day at the RR Museum of PA as most schools have started. Ours doesn't start until the 6th as they have a school building which is not ready yet due to construction. They were even working on it Sunday.I hope all of those with storm damage do recover swiftly.
Prayers for Chuck and Paula, Ray, and those hit by the storm or who died saving others. Glad to have Char at home and we pray for her daily also. She took it easy today, but she's going to try and go back to work tomorrow. This weekend, I'll put her and the kids on Amtrak and they will be picked up by her folks in KC. They'll come back on Monday, and I'll pick them up. Doc okay'd the trip, so it's still a go. He set most of her meds back to what they were 2 weeks ago, but did make some changes again. So far, no problems
Miss you on the ride, John - but glad you and your family are okay also! Keep that banilla coming, we never seem to have enought
We're heading back into high temperatures again. Roy - is there anything that will kill those zebra muscles for the long haul? I hope they don't just lose a reservoir!?
TARDIS is ready, freddy - let's hit it!
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
Good morning all,
Prayers for Chuck and Paula and Char and Brutus and all the rest. Some good news. I finally acquired the rest ot the 500 series cars that were in the "Lionel Classics" line from the late 80s and early 90s. May sound impressive, but there were only two sets made and two Christmas cars. Still, never thought I would even have one piece, let alone the entire set. One of those rare "collector" moments. High school boys won 6-0, but may have lost their starting keeper for the rest of the season. Went for a walk with the wife last night and rearranged some furniture. I hope everyone has a good day.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
Good morning
68/70s overcast
No breaking news this morning, just checking in..S.J.
Aloha. Nice day here. A touch of rain overnight. My mother is here for a quick visit so I'll take the time to spend with her before taking her to the airport tomorrow. Good to visit with the grandkids. Boy, those zebra mussels in Lake Michigan are something - they've changed the whole eco-system - they filter the water so clearly that you can see deep into the depths - that's bad for the fish and growth that used to like the more cloudy depths. And they need to be near-blasted off the intake pumps and vents. There's photos of the drought's effect on lakes and fields near Roy in the newest National Geographic. Not pretty. Jack, I get those type of questions all the time- that should be a quick decision for her - don't repair it; get a new netbook - they're very inexpensive.
Good Mornin' Ya'll From Crystal Clear Taxachusetts,
Continued prayers for Chuck and his Paula, and for the continued good news on Brutus' Char. Jim, I think she's allergic to you.
A ton of folks are still without power here in New England. We have quite a few friends that lost it 3 days ago up in NH and still don't have it back......none with generators.
HudsonJohn, sorry to hear that you are standing under that waterfall of work.....16 hour work days. Getting folks back on line isn't quite as simple as clearing downed trees and reconnecting some wires. Saw on the news that helicopters are being used to supply small towns in VT. with vitals, cut off from civilization because the roads and bridges are kaput AND under water. I am still amazed I didn't lose power here in Taxachusetts......
JimSP.........I am glad you have the opportunity to coach youth sports on the front end. It is gratifying to see the kid's progress and its impact on their self esteem. Even better to see them feel a belonging to a team. And even better to see them having fun. What I don't miss are those few parents who try to live vicariously through their children, take exception to every move the coaches and refs take, and are never satisfied their child is getting enough playing time. Some coaches capitulate to the parental pressure and turn fun and what is supposed to be a learning experience into something too serious. I had a few "confrontations" in my day with parents (Dads) humiliating themselves and their children from the sidelines. My advice if this happens to you......take the high road and don't never lose your composure. So glad to hear you will be breaking ground on the new, much-needed addition to your home, and may God bless your progress.
MikeC...... on your coaching as well. I don't know much about knucklehead parents at the HS level, but I hope by that point the kids are somewhat effective controlling their parents' demeanor. Congratulations on scoring the Lionel Classics 500 series cars. Matched sets look so impressive, and the rarity would drive my fun factor up a few notches. Moving furniture? Women have this gene they are born with that compels them to have one move the same furniture over and over, but they never quite reach a "satisfied" state of mind. As long as the better half doesn't start shopping for new furniture you are in good shape. Keep moving the existing stuff without complaint.
Brutus.....one thing I wished ever since we moved East a couple of decades ago was that our families and life long friends we left behind lived closer (than 1,100 miles). Hope Char and the kids enjoy their visit with the grandparents. The flying or driving back and forth a couple of times a year to visit still seems like far too little to me and the wifey.
Jef John......glad to hear you were spared the brunt of Irene. Like you, I love yard cleanup with my granddaughter. She always wants to "help." Maybe this sounds gross, but I have her help me with poo patrol (dog). I send her out to find the piles while I follow her around with the pooper scooper. Sometimes I even offer her a deal......"find 10 piles and I will take you for ice cream after dinner." Of course, she always exceeds the goal but gets so excited when she does it, gets even more excited over the trip to the ice cream stand.
RaySP..........glad to hear your cranky back is coming along. I think you should promote yourself from display operator into the position of "train csar" at those functions. The rest of us will be glad to appoint you.
V8Dennis.........after the kids in my family were long since up and out of the house, my Dad made a point of going to further away places with my Mom, would fly somewhere, and then eventually take the train back home. Like the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago. Your trips up North and back must be fun. You get to enjoy a relaxing ride and see the Left Coast scenery! The mountains must be a sight.
AF Ray and JoeyD.........I think you guys stand corrected on your pre-game observations for last night's Yankees/Red Sox game. As I stated in my pre-game concerns, starting pitcher for the Red Sox John Lackey was the weak link. That and the fact that the good guys left more guys on base last night than the U.S Army leaves on theirs each night.
Roy......... $500 for a monthly electric bill to run the A/C? Ouch! I guess running around the house naked is out. But your cooling costs are really not much different than what my home heating bills can be over the course of a routine late Fall, Winter, and early Spring. I suppose we each get annihilated but in different ways and at different times of the year. I could cut my Winter fuel costs in half if I had the option of switching from heating oil to natural gas.....but their are no natural gas lines I could hook up to in my neighborhood with no plans by the gas company to supply service to my hood......too expensive for them. Propane is out because of residential zoning restictions in my town......the houses are too close and the lots too small. Unlike a couple of decades back, electric heating of homes up my way is not a fools choice any more, would cost far less than what I am paying now......until you add back in the cost to change out HVAC systems and all of the related expenses. Would take too many years for me just to break even in the exchange.
Gotta run! Later, gang! Maybe I can drop in later.
Jack
Brutus, DougM, and Roy......re Zebra mussels, AKA "Missouri's Most Umwnted " species. Did some reading and discovered there is no known way to eradicate them from fresh water locales. They are most prominent in and around the Great Lakes, though their presence has spread.
The zebra mussels were discovered in the Great Lakes in the late 1980s and are not indiginous to the US, thought to have been first brought over from the Balkans, Eastern Europe, or the Soviet Union either attached to the hulls of ships or let loose from ships' water holding tanks. They propagate like crazy, do not have enough predators (birds, fish) to wipe them out (eat them), and the only thing that can be done is contain them where they are found.
Too small to be an economically viable human food source. And since they feed by taking in water and filtering out any content for their food, they also take in and retain toxic (to humans) contaminants. That is why freshwater places infested with them appears so clear as DougM suggested.
Water purification/filtration plants, nuclear power plants,and sewer plants constantly fight them (spending significant sums annually) with chemicals, scraping, filtering, steam, and dry heat, etc. Chemicals are effective against them, but their use is impractical and far too expensive. You'd have to wipe out the entire aquatic ecosystem in a lake with chemicals, for example, to hopefully wipe them out.
jefelectric Roy, We had a high today of low 70s, bet you can't wait for York!
John - airline tickets and hotel are secured for Oct!
Jack - anything that kills zebra mussels kills the rest if us. They are migrating here due to boats and possibly birds. We have directives from TX Parks and Wildlife to make sure your boat is washed out and allowed to completely dry out (cooling system) before dropping it into another lake - particularly if you have launched in an infected lake. As Doug says - they pose the biggest problems to local ecosystems, water pumping plants, and power plant cooling systems. They are about the size of your little finger nail and attach to the insides of pipes and cooling systems. They love nice warm moving water and we currently have lots of that here!
We have big wildfires again in the Possum Kingdom lake area. 25 homes burned last night - completely to the ground. Even the brick veneer collaspes. Fire was over 7,000 acres last night and 0% contained.
Another hot one today - 100+ - but predicting high 90's starting this weekend.
My alma mater, Texas A&M, is pretty determined to move to the SEC. Not sure that realize they will get clobbered in the SEC, but apparently they are used to that.
Have a great day all! Continued prayers for Chuck, Char, and those in need, particularly the east coasters.
Mike C, congrats on those cars! Roy, why is A&M moving? Is the Big 12 turning into the Texas conference? Our bigger scourge is apparently these ugly 'ol Asian Carp. Almost at Lake Michigan. Took the youngest to the park with his g'ma; now gave him a job to earn some money cleaning out some old bins. He's next going to set up a lemonade stand.
laz 57Hi GUYZ, Nice morning here today. Yes we use to start school day after labor day and get out 1st of June. But because of in service days school just keeps on going. Oh well 178 days to go but who's counting? ME!!! Yesterday coming home from school our Math Teacher now retired had a sign in his front yard stating, FIRST DAY of RETIREMENT and its GREAT! Gotta smile out of me. Stay frosty, PRAYERS for CHUCK and CHAR, laz57
I do appreceate a guy looking forward to retirement with excitement! Ben there, done that. Way to go Laz
Pat
RFD-TV --- Rural America's most important network!
699 - really... gotta end on an even 100# for once!
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