COFFEE POT #10 October 2011 for all to take a drink and chat. 6+ years and going. Plenty of better coffee and sweet ice tea to drink. Plenty of GRITS and Cheerios for the heart.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is 52 degrees. Looks loke some rain today with a high of 72.

Today is a busy day. Paula is taking me for a haircut. This should be be fun. Can't drive yet and need some help getting into chair. I think I will take a nap afterwards. Other than that, all is going fine.

Dining car is here with Cheerios for breakfast.

Y'all have a great Thursday.

Chuck

[cheapclassics]

Good morning all,

It is rainy in SE Indiana.  Work is a mess. Was all caught up on most routine "Stuff" and a whole boat load came in yesterday.  Too much going on.  Watched 2 episodes of "Glee" last night on Hulu.  Paid bills.  Still have money left.  Surprise, surprise.  Will owe on mini-van for new struts and shocks.  Rides nice.  Wife gets eyes checked today.  Long days ahead.  Regular fare on dining car.  TBIL anytime.  Have a good day.  Vegas and Indycar.  Be there Sunday on ABC.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[RockIsland52]

jefelectric......please accept my humble condolences to your wife and you on the loss of your father-in-law.  Prayers too.  Another torch is passed to our generation.  

RaySP....... .  Just don't get too rowdy or Fife will have to slap the cuffs on you.

Jack

[ChiefEagles]

This so and so software just ate a long post of mine.

Had busy day after sleeping late due to meds.  Still sick but keep going.  Meds make you sleepy.  Been rainy off and on.  Wifey and I did go out for dinner.  Been busy on computer and phone ever since [Town stuff].

Rich, Verizon ~#%^* [words that can not be typed here] has ordered me a new Droid.  "Keyboard" screwed up.  Just suddenly.  Wifey says news said all smart phones are acting up this week nation wide.  Lady did not say that today.  Second trip this week.  Put my foot down and got new one ordered.  Yes, as long as the cell part works, they order them overnight.  Yes to that one too, they have them in stock at the store but will not let you have one.  If all is DOA, they give you a loaner.  If Verizon didn't have the best coverage nation wide, no one here would have Verizon.  Here it has such great coverage as they bought Alltel.  Alltel had upgraded services here before being bought out.  Verizon's customer service is lousy.

Now off to bed.  Got skin cancer surgery on left hand tomorrow afternoon.  Wifey has to drive me home.

Sleep tight

[submmbob]

New seals are in. Heat trace installed. And new receiver optics are installed. Too many trips up and down the stairs to count.

Jack - whenever I'm on the roof I make loud seal barking noises. Most of the folks on the mountain think I'm nuts.

Ray - Happy Birthday!

Anj - 75 PSI! Nice!

Got to wire in the new heat heat in the morning and install the GPS unit. More fun at the top of the cage including drilling holes @ 10,500' + 70'.

Off to find a pillow.

Bob

 

[8ntruck]

Cold front moving through today.  Seems the rain hit all around us.  Too bad.  We could use some.

Jefelectric - condolances for your FIL.

Found out that some shirt tail relatives are camping here in town.  My MIL's cousin and his wife.  Does that make them my 1st cousin, once removed?  Anyhow, met them at a resturant ans had a nice dinner and conversation with them tonight.

My wife's canasta group is meeting here tomorrow.  I'll have to re-arrange furnature and set up card tables before I turn in tonight.

All for now.

[AF53]

JohnF - Sorry to here about your FIL, never easy dealing with a passing of a family member.

SPRay - 75???????   Hope you enjoy the day!

Jack - When I thought about a video of fifedog I was thinking that if he put on a long black wig he might resemble Tiny Tim tip toeing through the tulips!

Ray

[anjdevil2]

Hey Guys!

Quick post, I'm getting tired and my Princess has homework

York is out, I have no one to truck the Princess to and from work...April is a go, for sure.

Fife - hope you get it!

SPManRAY - Happy Birthday and many more!!!

Looking at another Fire Dept/Christmas layout for Santa Parade - I was asked to do it again, soooo.....

Blueberry - ALWAYS good to see you here!

Had a chance to check the oil pressure in the 383 today (via drill on the oil pump)  Valvoline 20-50 Racing Oil produced an OUTSTANDING 75 PSI....I am VERY happy...

Jack - the Pistol Grip is pretty common...the shifter mechanism is a Hurst Super Shifter...I hope to get back on it soon.  Some of the under car stuff is difficult laying on your back....

Had a class on appliance fire behavior which was REALLY cool, last night....

Dennis, thank for the e-mail...Hackensack is quite a trip, but I appreciate the lead.  Didn't see the FDNY posting, but I'll look again...my droid has been a real PITA lately...

See ya tomorrow guys!

[jefelectric]

Good evening,

Again it's been a while since I posted.  My FIL passed away last Thursday and the funeral was on Monday.  This was expected by still we feel the loss.  He had been suffering from dementia for over two years and recently had deteriorated rapidly.

Off to York tomorrow, doesn't look to be a big group of CTT forum members, but Roy posted the picture time on the York thread, so we will see how many show up.  Don't really have a list this year, but I'm sure I will find a few items.  The weather is not going to be very nice with clouds and occasional showers.

 

[sir james I]

Good Evening

59 and we had some game delay rain. Banilla is ready, ok I'll toss in some root beer too..S.J.

[rtraincollector]

Not much going on today. got the 4 MTH standard gauge villas and to me they look closer to scale O gauge villas so there to small to me for standard gauge but they will be real nice to go with my O gauge so maybe its a sign that I need to continue working with O and forget the standard gauge lol so what to do with the switches I bought well guess I could sell and get my money back out of them as did get a good deal on them.

not much else going on today.

talk to you all later have a good night all

[fifedog]

SPMan - Deep Creek is just outside of Oakland, MD.  You have to think regionally, as it is right across the line from PA to the north, and WV to the west and south.  The thought has occurred to me, that if I had to give up the yatchet, I would probably purchase a trailerable  sailboat, like a Chesapeake 20.  Maybe even teach vacationers how to sail.

  Just spoke with realtor a little while ago.  Seems the current owners may not be on the up-and-up.  Stay tuned.

[Anonymous]

Fife,

           Thanks for signing that.  Is the Grass Hog what they were advertising on TV recently?  I saw that it could go through just about anything, and I was thinking that I could use it to take out the stuff I have to mow around.  The fact that it can go through metal is a dealbreaker with a pool though.  I can see it now...

Jack,

              Get it fixed before it has a chance to spread. 

 

I figured I'd post while I take a break from Forza 4.  I got the Luxury Lines Madisons from Marty, and they look good behind the 783, but a few more cars couldn't hurt.

 

[rtraincollector]

Here goes all your preorders you been hoping to get befor christmas http://news.yahoo.com/stricken-ship-cracks-captain-faces-nz-court-114754126.html

[dougdagrump]

Afternoon All !

A cold front must have come thru, it's down to 102*.

Jack, You must know that SWMBO is not always correct but they are never wrong. Your comments about the "lawn care" remind me of an episode we had some years back. We decided it was time to scrape the popcorn ceiling, no asbestos content, so I had picked up the necessary supplies but had a desk to finish and get ready for delivery. So what does SWMBO do ? No prep done, covering walls / flooring / etc, she starts scraping! What A Mess.... 

Ray, Sounds like a heck of a breakfast, hope it wasn't all in the same bowl.

Test went well on monday, haven't heard from my cardiologist yet. This was the third echo test, on the first it appeared to have damged about 40% of my heart(some believed I never had one) but the second showed some improvement and hoping the third shows more. Yesterday was crazy though, went down to attend our first CHF support group meeting. Unfortunately they had forgotten to send us our parking permit so we had to park way out and walk in, oh well that qualified as my exercise for the day.

Getting the halloween layout together, most everything unpacked and most roughly located where I want them. No work down there today, just to dang hot. Guess I'll just have to watch the Tiggers, I'll be happy with either team going to the dance. Detroit because I liked some of the "old timers" they had or the Rangers because a former Padres now with the team, Mike Adams, who did so well here with a team that couldn't put it together.

Brutus, Hope Chewey gets better soon. 

Safe travels for the YORKIES and may you find all the goodies you  need seek.  

Chief, Hope you're feeling better in your battle with the "crud".

Chuck(a.k.a. Toots), With great joy we see you posting again.

Gettin' tired, gonna go veg and watch the game.

Later dudes & dudettes. 

[RockIsland52]

Northwoods Flyer

RockIsland52:

Northwoods Flyer:

RockIsland52:

 We did something similar when we attended a family reunion North of Wausau and Northwood's neck of the woods, up to Rhinelander Wisconsin.  We took a detour to Rib Lake  where my Grandparents lived (my Mom's folks). 

     And you didn't stop in here  for a visit?!   Jack I'm hurt.       You would be welcome anytime.

Northwoods Flyer 

The reunion was way before I joined the forum and came to know you.  Otherwise, I would have stopped by your place, parked the semi down the street, hidden in the bushes, and waited until you went out to break in and pilfer your entire AF collection. 

Jack 

  Jack,

I'm thinking it would take you and a few stout men a significant amount of time to pilfer any part of the Northwoods Flyer Collection.  In fact you would have to fight your way past our Airedales, who would gladly lick you into submission.  In any case.  I hope you do make it back to this part of the country again.  We'll have to swap stories about growing up in Chicago.

BTW  In reference to the origins of your forum name on another thread.  Should we assume that since your Lionel  Rock Island engine didn't have a dimple on top that you don't have one up there either? 

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Greg,

The dimple on the top of the Lionel 2031 AA Alcos was added in 1953, the second and final year of production, because the plastic tops were warping/melting in one dime sized spot.  The dimple was added at that spot in the mold to prevent the warping due to the heat.  Adding a small heat shield instead might have been an easier approach.

I don't have enough brains to generate that type of heat and warpage on the top of my skull.  And I keep all hammers and Louisville sluggers carefully hidden from my wife.  Frying pans, however, are flat, spread the load, and leave no dimples or dents. 

By the way, spent a lot of my early Summers at Harper Lake, Rib Lake, Spirit Lake, and Lake Crawlingstone up near Minoqua which is near the big Indian reservation, all about 60 miles North of you, off of either 13 or 51.  We kids would always take the train home to Chicago from my grandparents' at the end of the Summer, out of Waussau.  And the Hiawatha used to run through the Edgebrook neighborhood of Chicago's Northwest side, just two miles from my house.  Picture an at-grade crossing in an urban residential area with the Hiawatha ripping by at 100MPH!!! 

Jack.

[Northwoods Flyer]

RockIsland52

Northwoods Flyer:

RockIsland52:

 We did something similar when we attended a family reunion North of Wausau and Northwood's neck of the woods, up to Rhinelander Wisconsin.  We took a detour to Rib Lake  where my Grandparents lived (my Mom's folks).  

 

 

 

     And you didn't stop in here  for a visit?!   Jack I'm hurt.       You would be welcome anytime.

Northwoods Flyer

 

The reunion was way before I joined the forum and came to know you.  Otherwise, I would have stopped by your place, parked the semi down the street, hidden in the bushes, and waited until you went out to break in and pilfer your entire AF collection. 

PJ

  Jack,

I'm thinking it would take you and a few stout men a significant amount of time to pilfer any part of the Northwoods Flyer Collection.  In fact you would have to fight your way past our Airedales, who would gladly lick you into submission.  In any case.  I hope you do make it back to this part of the country again.  We'll have to swap stories about growing up in Chicago.

BTW  In reference to the origins of your forum name on another thread.  Should we assume that since your Lionel  Rock Island engine didn't have a dimple on top that you don't have one up there either? 

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

[cnw1995]

Happy Pre-Birthday, Ray!

[RockIsland52]

Northwoods Flyer

RockIsland52:

 We did something similar when we attended a family reunion North of Wausau and Northwood's neck of the woods, up to Rhinelander Wisconsin.  We took a detour to Rib Lake  where my Grandparents lived (my Mom's folks).  

     And you didn't stop in here  for a visit?!   Jack I'm hurt.       You would be welcome anytime.

Northwoods Flyer

The reunion was way before I joined the forum and came to know you.  Otherwise, I would have stopped by your place, parked the semi down the street, hidden in the bushes, and waited until you went out to break in and pilfer your entire AF collection. 

Jack

[SPMan]

Good morning all,

Chuck, I had Cheerios for breakfast but added soft boiled eggs and toast.

Jack, You're right, I will have to keep after those people who rent oxygen equipment.  I would like to get this whole trip nailed down so I can relax before the travel date.  Re cooking and grilling, I need to take gas grilling 101 to learn how to care for the monster.  I bought a new one this summer but have yet to fire it up.  My old one allowed grease to just drip into the fire but the newer ones all have burner covers and grease trays underneath.  It sounds like a lot of clean up required each time you use it to get rid of the grease accumulation on stuff.  I sent in the warranty info.  Never did get a confirmation or anything.  We could not find a serial number on this thing but we sent in a copy of the receipt and date and place of purchase.  Reviews say that the burners are the weakest link in a lot of the cheaper models so they are the first thing to go.  I paid around $200 for mine but maybe that is considered cheap nowadays.  My old one cost about $35 and lasted over 20 years.  I would be happy if the new one last half of that.

Fife, where is Deep Creek?  The only one I ever heard of was part of the inland waterway in Virginia.  Part of the waterway was called the Deep Creek Canal.  Old timers called it the George Washington Canal in that area because George is supposed to have surveyed it in his younger days.  I used to go to a Boy Scout camp along that canal.

Going to Mexican restaurant tonight with social group.  They advertise peach marguritas but I will pass since I am now a Tee Totaler.  I can just sit around and watch all the personalities change.  Anyway, I like the food.

Got a surprise visit from the daughter of our former next door neighbor (now deceased).  Real nice to see her.  Their whole family are nice people.  We miss them.

Brutus, hope Chewy is doing better.\

Doug M, we have a lot of those wind farms in the Southern Part of California also.  Used to see a lot of them near Palm Springs when I worked on the railroad on the way to Indio and beyond.  They sure changed the appearance of the landscape.  I liked it better when it was natural.

Tomorrow, I will be 75 years young.  Grateful that I made it this far.  We will  celebrate my birthday along with my grandson's.  His is on the 17th so we will have a cake together on Sunday.  Probably go out to eat tomorrow though. (again)

later,

Ray

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sir james I]

OK Tiger fans, let's see what happens today. If the Tigers even up the series there's still hope.

CTT staff I purchased a Marx price guide today, just want you to know some of us HAVE been waiting for a new one.

The new inspection car is nice, runs good but slow. It would make a nice remote control Super Streets car but I don't see much run time on a large main line. Oh yeah it's hump day so get to it..S.J.

[Banks]

Jack,

I wish there were more people around here to object. They are sprouting worse than weeds. Each one wiping out several acres of woods and creating an eyesore.  As well as the high $$$$$$ subsidies from the State. Without that they wouldn't be feasible. They wiped out one area where I used to hunt deer. Just seeing them makes me frustrated and they are visible from my back door.    I'll stop here 'fore I get my BP up

V8 Vega. Good luck with your new "friend". Don't worry about the $$$

[Northwoods Flyer]

RockIsland52

 We did something similar when we attended a family reunion North of Wausau and Northwood's neck of the woods, up to Rhinelander Wisconsin.  We took a detour to Rib Lake  where my Grandparents lived (my Mom's folks).  

 

 

     And you didn't stop in here  for a visit?!   Jack I'm hurt.       You would be welcome anytime.

Northwoods Flyer

[fifedog]

RockIsland - Monthly, I tell my kids: 1) Get away from Baltimore 2) Get out of Maryland.  Only the youngest princess will "have" to accompany us.  The rest will be up to them.  Non-government sector jobs should be in abundance in Moorefield, or nearby Winchester.

[RockIsland52]

Waiting for the grass to dry out a bit before I resume my assault.  Heavy rains on the way later today, so I have to hustle.

DonB.....prayers continue for your FIL's complete recovery.    I was glad Dennis jumped in here with his observations.  He knows his stuff!!! 

Brutus......I hope Chewy isn't in any pain.  Bladder infections can be brutal.  IMHO ten days on the antibiotic may be a tad on the short side with this type of canine infection.  I'd ask the vet if it is OK or adviseable  to extend it to 14 days to beat this thing down on the first pass, or I'd have Chewy rechecked day 10.

SubmmBob.....why are you repacing the seals on the roof?  Are the old ones sick or retiring?  They can be heavy suckers if you have to haul them up and down 70 feet, especially if they are elephant seals.

MikeC......sorry to hear your soccer team lost after finally playing as a team , but glad you finished the season on a personal high note.

Fife......good luck with your offer on that retirement home.  You have been talking about this move for a couple of years, and I know it means a lot to you and your wife.  What is the take on this "move" with your Princesses?

Banks and Pat.......farming sounds like a totally brutal activity with never ending weather issues slamming you in the face each season.  You guys are tough!  No quit in you!

Chuck......was glad to hear you continue to make solid progress.  You mentioned a couple of weeks ago you hope to make it down to the train room by Thanksgiving.  Prayers you meet that target.  

LAZ........you are lucky to have neighbors with dogs that get along with each other.  In my neighborhood it seems like we have cornered the market on asocial dogs.  And less than responsible owners. 

SJ........you are wrong about our collective take on the Tigers.  DougM, Charlie, 8N, me, and even AF Ray have all signed on.  Roy, not so much.    By the way, re cooking, if it comes in a box, a jar, a can, or can be cooked on the grill, I do OK.  Why on earth would you shut down the grill this early for the season?  I grill year round, saves cleaning up a big mess in the kitchen.

Jon......my wife and I share your love of the road.  But we do it by car.  In the past 18 months we have taken road trips to as far West as Chicago, plus Vermont (camping), Maine, New Hampshire's White Mountains, Niagara Falls and the Finger Lakes, the Berkshires, and Ohio (Cleveland's R & R Hall of Fame).  We especially like keeping the schedule flexible and somewhat open.  Re your sidetrip to your grandparent's homestead, that was special.  We did something similar when we attended a family reunion North of Wassau and Northwood's neck of the woods, up to Rhinelander Wisconsin.  We took a detour to Rib Lake  where my Grandparents lived (my Mom's folks).  It has been 50 years since my sisters and I had last been there.  Like you, we had so many fond memories of our annual trips and Summers with our grandparents.  The house and grounds looked in excellent shape, just as we had remembered their homestead......albeit as adults the house did not appear as large as it did when we were kids.   To my sisters' utter horror, I jumped out of the car, ran up, and rang the doorbell.  "What are you doing?  You can't just go up there and do that?"  These folks may have thought we were nuts, complete strangers waxing nostalgic with them about their home with stories from a half century ago.  Who cares?  They proudly gave us the tour. 

Dennis.......I hear ya about the half dozen home visits by a social worker prior to adoption.  Best to be thorough in these matters.  Too bad DSS isn't as thorough with foster homes and post adoptive placements.  Sad in too many instances. 

JoeyD........you wanted to nap in class???  Good for you!!!  Now I am certain you are normal despite your rooting for the Bronx Bums. 

AF Ray.....you want to see Fife playing his ukelele?  It would be best if he dressed up in a tux and then put on a vituoso performance like Itzhak Perlman. 

RT and Pat.......maybe Chief wouln't be getting these sniffles etc. if he spread gunpowder on his grits instead of his "red eye' gravy concoction.  I think he prepares the gravy from well aged Reb road kill. 

RaySP.......stay on those guys like white on rice regarding the approval for your batteries.  They are pushing paper and could care less about you.   Murphy's Law: If it can go wrong, it will.  This trip is too important to have any last minute snags.

DonB and DougM......ever notice how good some folks math gets when they get shorted on their change?

Rich.....glad to hear about your progress with the Roadrunner.  Was thinking about you/it when I was watching "Chasing Classic Cars" with Wayne Carrini last night.  He was out shopping a huge collection of classic cars for a client just prior to an auction.  The guy with the collection had a zillion perfectly restored muscle cars, including an unrestored all original ZL1 Yenko Stinger (1969?)......estimated to go at auction for up to $750,000!!!  You mentioned you have a Hurst grip shifter in the Roadrunner.  Those are rare, no?  I put a Hurst Super Shifter linkage in my first "real" car, a pre-owned 1969 Corvette Coupe with the 350 ci/350 hp/350 lb.ft. optional engine.  Hope you can survive the 3 days without your Princess.   By the way, you asked "What's a clique?"  That is a military and a HAZMAT term for a distance of .62 miles, the safe distance one must stay away from the Chief avoiding toxic gas when he eats too much REB roadkill.  

DougM........I hear ya about the wind turbines.  They sure are tall and unsightly.  The power company here in eco-Taxachusetts wanted to install an entire farm of them about ten miles East/Southeast out in the Atlantic ocean off Cape Cod and the islands (Nantuckett and Martha's Vineyard).  Apparently the monied thwarted that with the "not within eyesight of my backyard oceanfront property and favorite sailing/yachting grounds" retort.  The environmentalists, usually in favor of the green projects, objected because the construction and the transmission cables from the turbines and the mainland would disrupt and run straight through the right whales' migratory path.  The proposal died because the power company said it was NOT economically feasible to put the turbines further out to sea to counter the "issues."  Funny how running the transmission cables out an additional  15-20 miles or so is not economically feasible, yet at one time it WAS economically feasible to run telephone cable clear across the Atlantic from the US to Europe!!!!  The price of cable must have gone up. 

V8Dennis........I hear ya about the automotive forums.  Too many folks on them appear illiterate and love to sound off and give advive on things they know absolutely nothing about.  Takes 5 minutes sometimes to decipher two sentences with all of the typos, run-on sentences, no punctuation, and misspellings.  And they light up defensively and rudely if you disagree with them or ask them to take more care in what they type because you can't figure any of it out.

Buckeye and Brent are still AOL and/or MIA.  Guess they don't love us anymore. 

Later, gang.

Jack.

[fifedog]

Banks - The sailboat (the best and oldest use for wind power) will stay berthed back here on the Chesapeake.  It will be available to all of the Fifelings (granted they get their boater's certificate), and will be a raiding vessel for Fifepop and any new crewmembers.

I heard a recent survey on the radio, where some 60% of respondents were in favor of paying higher energy prices for wind tech.  Judging from the poll taker, I'd gamble the survey was given somewhere's around College Park

RockIsland - Picked up the new electric Grass Hog.  Sure, it has a double spool, but you can carve up cement with it.

...and garden hose.

...and tennis shoes.

...and shins.

[RockIsland52]

Good Mornin' Ya'll From Partly Sunny Taxachusetts,

I assaulted the lawn yesterday.  Mower motor oil full, check.  Gasoline in tank, check.  Extra gas in gas can, check.  Blade height set a tad lower, check.  Weed whacker and leaf blower at the ready, check.  Extension cords (usually borrowed and misplaced by son) at the ready, check. 

 I hit a one hour snag when the weedwacker ran out of line, and I had to run out and get more.  Since I was now running behind schedule, I made a management decision and decided to splurge and buy the pre-wound spools for "ease and convenience."  Long story short, the end of the line you need to slip through the feeder hole was also pre-wound and "buried"....took 5 minutes to find the correct loop and fish out the loop with the end without having the whole spool go "boing" and unravel on me.  So I only got the front and the sides done. 

Wifey then observes:  "Haven't you finished yet?  What about the back yard?  Why do you make such a project out of mowing the lawn?  Don't tromp all of that dirt on you into the house.  You smell to high heaven!  I'm hungry.  Did you start dinner yet?   

New England has its different ways.  Dates back to Puritan times.   When we moved out here many years ago we had to adapt.  Some towns totally banned the sales and serving of alcohol.  No sale of alcohol outside of "state' stores.  We also found that most of the stores were closed on Sundays, except for food, gas, pharmacies, and essentials.  "Blue laws."  Sunday is a day of rest, I get it.  I learned quickly that if you run out of beer for yorself (or guests), or tequila for the wifey's margeuritas, it better not be on a Sunday.  

The pols and the legislature then proceeded to outlaw "happy hours' and discounted drinks (women drink for free), for our "safety" out on the roads.   

Fast forward to today.  After decades of political wrangling over the "moral" issues with gambling,  it appears Taxachusetts is now on the cusp of passing legislation to allow a casino or two.  Mind you, the pols in their twisted logic figured all along that horse racing and dog racing and one of the highest per capita lottery sales in the nation somehow were not the same as casino gambling.  The first three are "moral' gambling while casinos were not.   

I guess "morality" goes right out the window when the pols came to the realization that we are running huge budget defecits with high unemployment and no end in sight.  At the same time the citizens have become somewhat intolerant of taxing our way out of this mess.  Hence the imminent casino bill passage.....they need the freakin' tax revenues.  End of story, or almost.  So much for "morality."  Now casino gambling is apparently OK.  God must have straightened them out in a special legislative session. 

But it gets better. 

The problem is, in this 11th hour legislative frenzy, the restaurant and bar owners came out of the woodwork and cried "foul" over the casino deal.  Apparently the pols decided was OK for the casinos to offer free drinks 24/7/365 but it was still not Ok for the bar and restaurant owners to do something similar with happy hours, promotions, and discounted drinks.  I suppose the pols logic was that people who frequent casinos and drink pose no "safety" threat when they drive home while all irresponsible drinking behavior only takes place outside the casinos in the bars, restaurants, and at home.  

You guessed it.  The pols caved instantly and we will now see happy hours, etc., reinstated for the bar and restaurant owners. 

Money is a funny thing, ain't it?  Politically, it trumps "morality" and "safety" I guess. 

Jack

[sir james I]

I'll have to read this morning's post later. Heading out to Wild Bill"s with my train friend. The new Lionel TMCC GT inspection cars have arrived. Don't know how they got TMCC in there but I'll give it a try S.J.

[cnw1995]

Aloha from another beautiful fall day in Chicago. Looks like this run is nearing its end tonight. It's been great! Charlie, thanks for honoring DougDG and me and Dallas and Denver with your Big D. Fife and Banks, I think wind machines belong on the prairie. Along I-65 in Indiana, there's a gigantic farm of five story monsters as far as the eye can see. Tres impressive. Fife and Laz, I'm tired from your days. Hours of diversity training today. I promise to keep my mouth shut.

[Banks]

Fife

I was there a few years ago. Had a crew working on replacing the car dumper at the power plant. No windmills there then. I agree they are a waste of tax $$$$$

You going to move Yachet to Deep Creek?