RE:COFFEE POT #11 November 2011 for all to take a drink and chat. 6+ years and going. Plenty of coffee and sweet ice tea to drink. Plenty of GRITS, oatmeal and Cheerios for the heart.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

fifedog

I have a Proc-tor appointment tomorrow too.  Will you hold my hand...?

Fife: you won't feel a thing. I've had two already. There's nothing to it.

[MichRR714]

Chief... Great job on the video! 

 

Good luck in the morning.

[Brutus]

Hey Chief - good job on the video!  I've got you on my cell phone now too - had you on the house phone and when I got your text it came up as a phone number?!  All fixed now

Well, we were sure worried about Chewy.  The doctor thought it was a tumor, so they did the ultrasound.  He was pretty sure.  Luckily, it turns out to be some kind of crystals in her urinary bladder.  We have her on a special diet for GU problems already.  They will do a surgery in a week to clean them out and let her bladder heal up.  She also has a hernia, so they will fix that as well.  All should be well, although we are still concerned due to her heart murmur.  I thought we were going to be making a really serious and sad decision today and this was really a relief, thank God.

Well, for my upcoming birthday I'm getting one of the ATSF RMT BANGs (S-4) locos from Trainworld for a pretty good price.  That should be fun - only my 2nd Diesel engine

TARDIS is ready and banilla and cookies and cupcakes are on me boys, wife has been baking!

[submmbob]

Boy, you guys can type...

Very clear out tonight. Waiting for the next source to come up. Boss is here beating on the computer system as well.

RIJack - hope they get the power situation figured out soon in your neck of the woods.

Jeffrey - about 10 years ago I gave away all my HO stuff to a father and son who were interested. Lots of Tyco stuff in there. Kept only a couple of German pieces. I hear you on the size constraints. I only have a 4 X 8 O-scale set-up and that's probably all it will be for the indefinite future. I guess that's the reason I started messing around in N-scale.

JimProbe - sounds like you and I both have problems of getting more cars than we can drive at once...

Excited about UP #844 coming to town. Thanks again for the heads up SPRay. May chase it up to Phoenix and out west a bit. Been a while since I've seen some live steam. Not since the Freedom train in '76 have I seen anything this big before. Makes the engines on the Ely Route seem like switchers.

Brutus - diesel engines!? Never that! (Maybe if it's an Alco...) Actually gonna sell off the Williams SW 1500 I bought last Christmas. Nice locomotive, but just doesn't do it for me. I need side rods, eccentric valve gear, and smoke

Joe - glad to hear you and the family are safely in Japan. I have a Sakai tinplate set from there that my grandfather picked up when he was stationed there after WWII (he was an AF chaplain). May have to have you keep an eye open for some more Sakai stuff...

Four more hours to go on this 23 hour day. Starting off on nights is a looooonnnnnggggg day...

Bob

 

 

 

 

 

[laz 57]

Hi GUYZ,

  33 and a bit cool here.  GOLF today last day.

FORE,

laz57

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is a cold 36 degrees. Looks like we may get some rain today. Going up to 48 degrees.

Today is busy. I have an errand to run and some chores to do. Then, I will take a long nap. Didn't sleep good last night. Right knee is starting to ache from exercises. Need to rest it.

Dining car is here with Cheerios for breakfast.

Y'all have a great Thursday.

Chuck

[cheapclassics]

Good morning all,

It is cloudy and rainy later on in SE Indiana.  Well, the season came to an end last night.  We went down hard with the final score being 2-1.  Our lead in the second half evaporated on a free kick, and a shot with a minute to go from way out cleared just under the bar to give the other team the win.  I played well again and no one got hurt so it was not all bad.  I may try to find some indoor soccer of some sort to get me thru the offseason.  TBIL and I can drive tonight.  I see where Ed Carpenter is forming his own team.  Not sure where that leaves SFR for next year.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[Demay]

Konbanwa (Good evening),

The weather was fantastic again today.  The family and I ventured off base for lunch today.  We ate a local Japanese place (Japanese fast food) which served shredded beef and onions over rice.  It was very delicious and it came with some soup and some various side salads.  One was basically coleslaw, but it was very fresh and crisp.  The other two were similar to Korean kimchi.  The wife, princess, baby, and I enjoyed it very much, but our older (8y/o) son refused to try it.  He has three years to warm up to it.  One thing I learned last week which is very important in Japanese dining is to finish all the rice; it is good etiquette to pay homage to the rice farmer.  So since my wife and princess were unable to finish all theirs, I scraped away every bit of rice for them.  Thank goodness Japanese rice is very sticky which makes it easier to pick up with the chopsticks.  As for the chopsticks, it is not good to stick them straight into the bowl of rice and leave them there.  That is something they do at funerals.

Subbob - I'll be on the lookout for all kinds of toys.   I'll let you know if I see any Sakai.

Dennis - We checked out the lemon lot.  We ended up buying the van from a Navy member stationed out here; she advertised it on a local online classified ad.  However, I need to find a cheap car for myself so I'll continue to scour the lemon lot for new arrivals.

Brutus - I'm glad things are looking up for Chewy.

Jack - Fortunately, my bank caters to military members and knew we moved out here so the funds are still flowing.  The train budget has not been cut yet.  I bid on some prewar items this morning but was outbid at the last second.  I suspect something was rotten in Denmark as I placed my high bid with 1 minute remaining and I was the highest bidder until 1 second remained. 

Sayonara,

Joe

[cnw1995]

Aloha from a dark and windy Crystal Lake. This'll help blow leaves off the trees. Ran trains last night. Brutus, the Bang is sure a sharp-looking engine.  Chief, you have a new calling as an actor. Roy, hope everything goes smoothly.  Jack, something in me doesn't want to let the utility be able to shut the a/c off usually at the peak of the hottest day of the year. I'm on their budget plan which evens everything out.  Joe, that brings up memories. My youngest ate just peanut butter sandwiches for almost a month.

[Anonymous]

Bob,

         I've got a long way to go before I can really drive this one.  Here is Part 1:

watch?v=zRnyi5yXglk&feature=feedu

My dad was checking it out while I was at work last night, and he said the radiator is shooting a stream of coolant towards the belts, so that probably explains the squeal.

The audio isn't the greatest with this Canon, and I don't sound that nerdy.

 

[sir james I]

Good Morning

46 and overcast.

Looks like 50s for awhile. Chief I watched some of your video I figure you have Mayor on your shirt so they know where to take you home. ..You gotta learn that grits and alcohol don't mix. Had a nice chat with Brutus and Charlie last night, just general chit chat, no world problems solved..S.J.

[KRM]

Cold, rain and wind here today = no work!!   Slept till 8:30 and it felt good.

Yard is coveren in a new blanket of wet leaves. 

Jim Probe, Looks not too bad for it's age. Have fun.

Guess I will go to Farm & Fleet

Kev.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 47°, mostly cloudy, wet and breezy with a NNW wind at 8 mph. There's a 30% chance of rain this morning but clearing out by noon. The high is due to be 63° and it will be mostly cloudy.

We got some rain last night but it didn't amount to much. We may get some light rain this morning. The boys out on Fort Polk are having a lot of fun making big booms but I don't hear any thunder. Anything dense enough to show up on radar is passing over east Louisiana heading ESE into Mississippi and there's nothing showing to the west of here. I'll be going into town later to get the rest of my grocery shopping done. I picked up some items recently in a trade. One of them is a track cleaning car that uses a dry pad. Initially I looked at it as being useless as all I have to do in the way of cleaning is give the rails a quick light wipe after any long period of inactivity. No real cleaning is involved. I've come to realize that I can have a loco push this thing around the layout and it can wipe the dust off for me. Being it's harder and more painful for me to get around than it was just a few years ago anything that can make things easier and save me from some pain is worth a shot. Getting to the east side of the layout requires opening an access hole from underneath and getting to a standing position in that access is a royal pain in the butt. That access allows me to get to about seven feet of track that would otherwise be out of my reach. If this little cleaning car can wipe the dust off that portion of track why should I torture myself.

[RockIsland52]

Good Mornin' Ya'll From Sunny Taxachusetts,

It appears we have dry weather for the time being with seasonal temps on tap.  May hit 60 by Sunday or Monday. 

The electric power companies in New England are looking worse by the day if that is possible:  when interviewed by the media, the spokespeople for the power companies say one thing while the presidents of these same companies say the opposite.  My conclusion, the spokespeople will be fired.   

CT., for example.  600,000 "connections" still without power last night, down from 850,000 at the height of the outages.  So the impacted civilian and business headcount must remain well over one million in CT. alone.  About five days, and only a 30% reduction of outages?. 

The cavalry (outside contractors) say they have not been paid since they assisted in the last go around with the August Irene storm catastrophe, while the power companies said "all" were paid.  That is a quote.  They then retracted that when the media started listing unpaid contractors they themselves had already spoken to.  More backpedalling.  "I don't know about that"  followed by the statement they were still processing invoices and the unpaid contractors would be paid. 

Many of these same outside contractors, when called upon for last weekend's storm, decided to go elsewhere where they would be paid (burned once.....). 

The companies also told the media they pay standby fees when ramping up for storms, then were informed their own internal written policies and personnel say they won't and don't pay standby fees.....got caught there. 

The timelines demonstrate too little was done way too late.....which flies in the face of "We care about our customers."  Many outside power companies and contractors not impacted by the storm, and quite willing and able to lend a hand, confirmed the former, saying they responded to those companies and States who first asked for assistance. 

Another CT. power company spokesperson interviewed in the field tried to explain that the storm's events and severity could not have been foreseen.  She then had to quickly change the subject to the task at hand (power restoration and timeline).  Why?  She was informed that the entire planet had a week's advanced warning about timelines, locations, severity, and heavy snow impact from the meteorologists on the news warning folks 24/7.   

Now the "fix" according to the politicians is more legislation. 

Meanwhile, those in operations and in the field are working tirelessly far above and beyond the call of duty, only to be nastily confronted by the wrath of the electric customers who have been without power, day 6.  They are the true heroes in all of this.  Do they get any thanks?  Do they get any respite?  Nope.

The reason I have continued this line of thought is simple.  This morning it is apparent the news media has now moved on to items more sensational.......Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian, and Michael Jackson.......while arguably millions in the Northeast continue to suffer greatly..... physically, financially, and emotionally.  Who EFFECTIVELY speaks for them?  The power companies' brass?  The politicians?  It will be the staus quo again the next time when the same tired propaganda is spewed and the words on a piece of paper (legislation or policy) are found to be just that.  Empty words.  

Say a prayer for the citizens and business owners in the Northeast.  They need it. 

Jack

[jonadel]

So, Jack how do you really feel?  Corporate world at it's worse, sorry it's affecting so many folks that actually pay their bills on time.

Now you know how I feel about all the Presidential wannabe's that are now in our state pounding the pavement with Broken Promises (great old jazz tune).  Since we are first out of the chute in January with our caucus process the airwaves are already full of it right now.  I keep telling the boss we should move to St. Johns in the VI until next May then we would not have to suffer through the run for the White House.

 

[RockIsland52]

More from RI52.......

MikeC.........proud of you, even though soccer is not my favorite sport.  You left it all on the field and shoud be proud of this past season.

Chuck......your posts are an inspiration to the rest of us.  There is no quit in you.

Roy.......this gives new meaning of "taking one for the team." 

SJ........my grass is still growing, albeit more slowly.  I figure my last Fall cleanup will be another two weeks off or more, too many leaves still up above. .

Fife.......better you than me, though 2012 marks my next scheduled "adventure" down the hallowed halls of extreme plumbing. 

Chief........the video was superb, but it would have been more exciting and effective to see Officer Amy body slam you to the asphalt and then taze you.  The donuts table and the dog biscuits were a nice touch.    Around these parts the surprise DWI roadblocks snag about 15%, similar to yours, though ours are only conducted about twice a year.

Kevin........so THAT is what caused all of that smoke in the air up my way.   I sure do miss the days of yore when the Fall leaf cleanup was legal and was a wonderful annual family affair.  The kiddies "helped" and waited with great anticipation for the burning to begin.  That unmistakable smell has stayed with me.

Brutus......I know you and Char might be a bit apprehensive about Chewy's procedures next week.  But at the least you finally now have an accurate diagnosis and a treatment that will resolve the issues.  In a couple of weeks Chewy will be as good as new, thankful for the relief.  We will all be thinking good thoughts for a most successful outcome.

LAZ........why is this the last time you will be golfing for the season?  Around here, the hardcores use flourescent yellow or orange golf balls and seem to be out on the courses year round when the snow isn't too obtrusive.

Bob.........man, your days can be quite long!!!!  You must be related to Dennis and the Chief.

JimmyT......thanks for the video and the commentary.  Nearly all of the stuff you pointed out on your new acquisition appear to be simple and relatively minor to rectify.  I was surprised at the great overall condition of the sheet metal and the original interior.  An exceptional find if I do say so myself.

Gotta run.  Later, ya'll.

Jack.

[SPMan]

Good morning Chief, enjoyed watching your video.  Nice job of impersonating a drunk driver.  Also gave me a chance to tune up my ability to communicate with that lovely North Carolina accent before I get to my sister's house this weekend.  I've been out here in California so long, I have probably lost mine but my sister sounds like your lady police officer in the video.  They must have deleted the bloopers in the video.  Didn't see that part.   Good luck on the deer hunt.

Will try to get all my traveling stuff together today and keep it simple for the security check.  My son who travels all the time is clueing me in about what to expect at check in.

Have a good day all,

Ray

[Blueberryhill RR]

Well, got the report on my bloodwork and everything is fine. Cholesterol has come down, due to Cheerios. (205). Was 225. Drove to the bank today(drive-thru) and Hardware store. They also, have a drive thru. For me, anyway. Took an hour nap. Think I will wait a couple more weeks before tackling the basement steps.

Chuck 

[wrmcclellan]

Afternoon all!

Proc-Tors reports was all good. Clean out was successful - but kept me up until 2 am. Slept for a while and now watching "Riding the High Iron" on TCM. Lots of SP diesel/yard action at the beginning.

Jack - the real issue is all the time management/political people today put into out-talking the other guy and using the noise to obviate the truth. Us radio guys call it "locked on transmit."

Chuck - congrats on the news.

Brutus - our dog just had some fatty tissue sacs and a tumor removed and doing fine. Good luck on Chewy!

Have a great day all!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Went to town earlier today. Went to Lowe's first and got a couple of cans of starting fluid for my van. It doesn't start so fast in cold weather. A one of two second spray of the fluid assures a hit on the first crank. Also got a four pack of super glue and a bottle of super glue gel, two packs of 2 x 3/8 brass screws. Then on to Wal-Mart for the remainder of my grocery shopping. On the way back home the wind had increased to 12 mph from the NW with 30 mph gusts. That gets to be fun when you're driving something that has the aerodynamics of a billboard. And now I have to go back to Lowe's. I got a cartridge filter for my Shop-Vac and wouldn't you know, I got the wrong one. Fun, fun.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

The Shop-Vac hangup now has a new filter but not the type I wanted. Lowe's doesn't the 903-98 cartridge. I'll have to order it online when I have the money for it. The filter I put in is a combination of several filters. A foam sleeve topped by a paper filter topped by a fine mesh cloth filter. Anything that can get through all that is indeed very fine. I also picked up a half-pint can of mis-tinted satin paint. It's very close to an emerald green.

It's cooling off here. The temp tonight will be in the upper 30's.

[dwiemer]

Good evening everyone.  Just finished a report for the social worker in preparation for her visit here this weekend.  I had to collect all resources that may be needed for when we bring the kids home.  Now, got the thing done and the printer is not being "found" by the computer.  I mean, it is right here, next to the screen....can't you SEE it?  Just kidding.  little issue that is probably saying I need to update drivers.  Have that going on while I visit here.

Chief, I know you are a man of many talents, but a seamstress?  Who'd a thunk it?  Good luck with your hunting trip. 

Hope everyone has a great night.  "
God Bless,
Dennis

PS: Jack, I think this storm caught a bunch of them off guard.  I know Georgia Power sent up a bunch of trucks to New Jersey.  Hope it doesn't take much longer for them to get things back to normal.

[KRM]

 

Looks like I will have a few days off because of the rain.   Not going to be many trucks that can get into the fields for awhile.

Helped the son-in-laws dad with his well pump today and saw some neat stuff at the Local Menard’s. I placed a post on that stuff. Still want to go get the 2010 set for $189.00.

Showed a Utube video of it to wifey to soften her up if one should show one day. 

 Jack, I did not intend to smoke you out but I could use some help with all of these leaves if you’re in the area.   

 

LAZ

, that was a great video you posted, mad me think to better days.

Jim the Green Probe,

let us know how the progress goes on the fix up.

Sounds like Becky may get in the magazine. Can’t think of anyone more deserving. Her work is inspiring, makes me want to go to Howard Johnson's.

Time to go play,

Have a good one,

Kev.

 

 

[sir james I]

Good Evening

Roy thumbs up on the test results, sure is nice when it's over eh.

46 degrees, cloudy all day, rain stayed south of us. I don't understand, I got CTT & OGR +TCA all sitting here and I can't seemed to get into them. Oh a little now and then but no progress. I did run some trains though. Got banilla and rootbeer so come on by..S.J.

[ChiefEagles]

Three does and a fox.  Shooting only antlers right now.  We have a full doe season here with antlered deer.  Not interested now.  No squrriels?????  Put up two more auto feeders.  The one I put up earlier at another stand is being cleaned up.  Fred was on that one.  Saw nothing.  Not even a bird.  My stand is in the corner of a small field.  Lots of doe tracks and several big buck tracks going and coming to and from the BIG fields across the road.  All tracks were fresh as they had some rain Tuesday.  Must be coming out at night??????

Pam bought more material for making Christmas scarfs for dogs.  She loves this sewing thingy.  Rains coming tomorrow.  She is talking about us sewing for the day.  

Sir J, you figured out why I have lots of "Mayor" shirts.  Then they can bring me home.  

Tired.  Popcorn time.

Sleep tight.   

[Banks]

Hello all'

Stopped by mainly to encourage Becky to contact Rodger. Check her Christmas Layout Thread.

Chief Great Acting (If it was acting)

Demay,  I've been beat several times by a one second remaining bid. There are programs that place your bid for you that way, for a small percentage.

Finally dry enough to pick corn yesterday (not by much)

Off to bed. Try to get back in the AM

 

Prayers for those in need

[anjdevil2]

Good Evening , guys

Quick post after fire drill...clean up continues from Irene at the Fire House....it's starting to look like something again.

Brutus - Good News on the Chewster!

JimT - Nice Buy!

And no, my car wasn't damaged, I was on the fire truck...3 other NJTP drivers have scrapes and dents however..

Although, I do need to replace the 344,000 mile neon.  Irene's wraith has seen to that.  Soon, I think.

Caught up with an old friend yesterday.  I Princess was in tow and they haven't seen each other in 3 years.  We had a great lunch the 3 of us.  Princes said I was a DA for letting her go...go figure...

Fife - hope your plumbing is in order & Roy - Glad yours is ok!

Devils lost last night but beat the Flyers tonight....I'll take it.

about 80,000 still without power up NORTH of here...Dennis's old stomping grounds in Bergen, Hunterdon, Sussex and Essex counties.  We were ok.

HudsonJohn - still looking...

Chuck - a "Good Job" is in order...keep it up!

[Brutus]

Hey guys - cold and rained most of the day.  I think we will have a couple dry days and then more storms.  I hope John Hudson is okay?  Haven't seen him on the messenger thingie and I heard they got hammered up that way again.  Nice chats with the boys last night and with just me and Jim tonight. 

Going over to a buddy's house tomorrow for some pizza and movies - I think we'll watch Dylan Dog and Spooky Encounters.  We'll see what he has too, of course. 

Thanks for the kind thoughts and encouragement about Chewy.  She's our fuzzy daughter and we are just so relieved it's something that can be fixed. 

Joe - glad you guys are fitting in there in Japan!  Watch out for the tv shows.  A lot of the cartoons they show here from Japan have had a lot of stuff edited out of them that is not appropriate for kids at all!  REALLY bad stuff man.

TARDIS is ready and I can't wait to make a rootbeer float, so let's get moving guys!  We can cruise over and check out that probe too :)

[submmbob]

Another quiet night here collecting photons. Weather is going south on us. Supposed to get high winds and a chance of snohio tomorrow and this weekend.

Never got the N-scale consolidation I won on the bay. Seller emailed that he dropped it while packing it. Refunded my money promptly though.

Chief - well done on the video.

Jack - sounds like a nightmare up there.

JimT - interesting to see the details of a first generation. That steering console is wild. Looks like a bit more room to work under the hood w/ the 4 cyl rather than the 2.5 L V-6.

Ray - hope your travels go well

Bob

 

[AF53]

Jim - I spoke with HudsonJohn tonight and he is very tired. He said that he was handling 120,000 volts and the only advice I gave him was to stay away from water!

Ray