Coffee Pot #2 Febuary 2013 SIX years [April 1 is Anniv.] and going strong and its for all to chat. Plenty of coffee and sweet ice tea for all. Come and join us and chat. Farina for the REB'S

[sir james I]

VALENTINE'S DAY

Temp is 37 and the clouds are still here. Hair cut's, a few groceries and Lowe's has been my morning...S.J.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

cnw1995

Jeffrey, is Waffle Shoppe related to Waffle House - my favorite place to visit south of St. Louis?

Nope. No relation.

[wrconstruction]

Jack I don't want the *** thing.  She wants to sell off every thing and hole up in this thing for the rest of our lives.  Not quite my style.   the one she wants looks like a Tour Bus.  I wouldnt mind an upscale  medium sized tow behind to use a week here and there, but her and I's retirement plans are way off from each others

gots run

ryan

[RockIsland52]

Jeffrey........I was glad to hear that you finally started getting caught up on some sleep and that you are spending more time outside the throne room.  I think it was the balogna sandwich that cured whatever was ailing you.  

RT...........hope this morning finds your fever and chills gonzo.  From your posts it sounds like something you have just won’t let go.  

Chief.......I hope you are making progress with your crud.  You need to take a day off with nothing to do and all day to do it.  Like reclinerize and snooze for a day.   

FIFE......that was a one horrible mishap with the officer being shot by the shooting instructor.  I am certain you have your own theory behind how this could possibly happen.  Perhaps someone may have gotten complacent.  Prayers for that officer, his family, and the force.  

KEV.....easier said than done, but I might be inclined to pay my Doc a visit if I were you, maybe nip something simple in the bud.  

Ray SP.........was sorry to hear the long term prognosis for your church buddy’s wife.  Getting him out and about is about the best thing for him.  I am certain that the group dinner out helped quell some of the feelings he may have, feeling somewhat isolated, helpless, and alone.

JoeyD and MikeC........it is a good thing that the two of you are a half of a world apart while the wives are gone or who knows what trouble the two of you might get into.  

Jake.........thank you for the pictures of your growing collection.  They look pretty impressive staged side by side.  

Ryan.......we have friends that have gone the RV route and for different reasons.  From towable 5^th wheels to full blown self-propelled “ships” that can also tow their cars.  One couple took a 6+ month road trip to explore the country.  Another thought camping would a great longer-term past time.  Still others theorized they needed the portable “home” to avoid their year around hotel/motel/restaurant costs and related travel expenses travelling hither to and yon for “dog related events.” 

One common thread in their ownership seems to be that they spend a significant amount of money and time acquiring and then maintaining these things.  They have to have a convenient and safe place to stash them while not in use.  They are finding more and more that some of the campgrounds they have routinely used in the past have cut back on electric hookups (etc.) and amenities necessary for self sufficiency, making advanced reservations more difficult to acquire when they need them.  The initial enthusiasm wears thin.  Then they take a bath when they sell them.  To me, all of this sounds like owning a boat (where the happiest two days of ownership are the first and the last).  My opinion.....might be better to either rent one when needed, avoiding all of the downsides of ownership. Or use hotels/motels and fork over the $$$ as needed.  I wonder how many times one has to use an RV annually just to break even $$$-wise versus the alternatives? 

Bob........I read with interest your 4WD headache and particularly enjoyed your observation about “soft people” and what seems to be the automobile engineers’ deliberate attempt to make simple things more complex and expensive for the owners.  Is it for a guaranteed revenue stream for the OEMs post purchase?  I think so. 

In order to check the fluid level in the transfer case on my crossover, full-time AWD vehicle, I have to take out the fill plug and stick my pinky in the hole. (read run the car up on ramps and climb under the car or have access to a lift).  There is no dipstick!!!!!!!!!  To change out ANY dead light bulb in the front end, one has to either remove the entire front fascia (what the dealerships allegedly do and charge you an arm and a leg for labor-wise).  Or you have to jack up the front end, remove the applicable left or right front tire/wheel,  loosen up the fender well splash panel, and access the dead bulbs that way.  My front fascia has two low beam headlamps, two high beam headlamps, two separate daytime running lamps, two fog lamps, two amber running lights, and two other lamps whose purpose I have yet to figure out.  It is feasible for the cost to the owner to swap out one dead light bulb to generate a bill that says:  “Replace dead running lamp bulb.  Bulb = $3.00.  Labor = $120.

 

I enjoyed the observations on retirement.  I consider my 91 year old father-in-law with my 89 year old mother-in-law.  Then I realize that they never in their wildest imagination they never thought they would live this long and would be self suffiecient until they cashed in.  Or that the upkeep on their modest home, uncovered medical expenses, Medicare premiums/co-pays/deductibles, prescription drug expenses and the donut hole, Medi-gap insurance premiums, having to pay someone to do what you can no longer do yourself, and property taxes would be eating them alive.  Or that their savings, retirement plans, and social security benefits would be barely enough to keep them afloat.  Retirement and passing on a modest inheritance as we once knew it or thought it would be or should have been may very well be a thing of the past for many of us.

Later, gang. 

Jack

[cnw1995]

Aloha and Happy Valentines Day. I got a bag of little five-cent toys that I've been leaving one out each day for the youngest to discover - and hid a box full of kid- valentines and chocolates all over the house for the bride. She's given me one candy a day this month with a clever saying on it. Though she's too busy to celebrate today. We're quite the celebrators I guess. LOL.

LV, great line-up shot.
Jeffrey, is Waffle Shoppe related to Waffle House - my favorite place to visit south of St. Louis?
Fife, I'm sorry about that training accident! I think you would love a 4-4-0-based layout. When I was in N scale, that's exactly what I had - lotsa of old interesting buildings! Very simple operation - no signaling, etc. Lotsa of "color."  It was so fun to research the first line out from Chicago passing through my town in 1854.  
SubmmBob, I am reminded of a former boss who swore by his old UNIMOG. 
Jack, when I lived in Chicago, we used to clear our own spots on the street to park and put chairs and all sorts of things in them to 'save' the space.

[submmbob]

Happy Arizona Statehood Day!

101 Years of Statehood!

And I think it may be some other holiday as well that I can't remember...

[wrconstruction]

Good morning, Half day of work for me, as I and taking wife to early dinner (well, its an hour drive from here) so all said and done, it will 3 till we eat, hope to be home by 8pm.

All you can eat Prime Rib and Filet Migion. Its gonna far from romantic, more like a Cave Man tearing up a bear!   We went to this last year and were there for three hours. Needless to say, I think they lost money on me.

Couple odds and end to take care of this AM and i'm out. 

Once again, Last night, we had one of those "nothing will stay on track" operating sessions.

Just dont get it, one night every thing is FLAWLESS, almost boring. Next night its such a fiasco I just unplug it and go upsatirs.

Later

Ryan

[cheapclassics]

Good morning all,

IIABSDISEI with temps in the 40s.  Daughter is doing better.  Situation on that which I cannot talk about is getting worse every day.  Decisions I have to make are d----d if you do and d----d if you don't.  I cannot win no matter which way I go.  At some point, I have to cut my losses and walk away.  Had to go to funeral home last night for former co-worker's wife who passed away suddenly.  Life creating a real vacuum right now.  No beacon tonight.  I hope everyone has a good day (maybe I will have one sometime).

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[RockIsland52]

Good Mornin' Y'all From Sunny and Balmy Taxachusetts,

Happy Velentines Day!!!!  I KNOW to a person all you guys are all excited by it, the highlight of your day. 

Thank you for all of the well wishes on our recent battle here in the Northeast with Snowmageddon Nemo 2013.

Now for the aftermath........  Since the snowfall ceased Saturday night after the 18 hour barrage, the daytime temps have been rising.... over 40 the last two days with the same on tap today.  You should see the snow mountains in the mall parking lots.  They will be around for a couple of months.

The snow height has been declining (melting/settling) each day.  Last night an overnight front lipped the South Shore and the Cape and deposited another 4" of snow.  Not all have gotten their power back in Southeast Taxachusetts!!!  Today is the power companies' target for eliminating the last of the outages. Some school districts won't reopen until next Monday. 

Road crews on the major metropolitan arteries have been able to cut back/finish clearing the breakdown lanes and knocking down piles around exit/entrance ramps to restore "down the road" visibility.  And the annual pothole season has officially commenced........hitting one at 60+ mph on the highway = a bone-jarring experience.  This annual rite of passage will have the tire guys, tow truck guys, and the wheel and suspension businesses busy for the next 6 weeks.  

Locally in my town crews have been removing snowpiles all week from the downtown areas and trucking it away somewhere, and street parking has returned to near normal.  Other crews have been busy using heavy equipment to dig out the fire hydrants.  And with the temps over 40 many folks can be seen running around dressed like it is Spring.  And the City has turned up the heat on the homeowners who have not cleared their sidewalks, a wave of fines has commenced.  

Further South in Boston proper, all of the narrow one lane side streets have finally been reopened but many cars remain totally buried at the curb.  The "this is my personal  parking place" wars have commenced where some one digs out their car/a spot and claims it as their own by blocking the spot (when they drive off) with chairs, garbage cans, sawhorses, and ominous ownership signs whatever.  There is just no place down there to put the snow.  And gunfire will probably commence shortly.

Later, gang.

Jack

[jeffrey-wimberly]

blownout cylinder

candlelight dinner later on...off we go to do dis... span="" id="mce_marker" data-mce-type="bookmark">

Gee, that 'Party' smily still ain't right.

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Good morning. It's 31° with 100% humidity and patchy fog. It'll be sunny with a high of 62°.


Well I looked outside and it is indeed foggy. That thick cut-it-with-a-knife, feel-your-way-with-a-toothpick type of fog and from what I can see it is indeed patchy, one big patch!

I should be getting some items in the mail today and hopefully a certain package from Canada. With this stuff I'll be able to work on some more projects.

No particular plans for today. I should be able to do some more vacuuming on the layout provided that I'm not interrupted.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning

Dull and snowflurries here...about an inch expected...

Got a few thing need done here...  candlelight dinner later on...off we go to do dis... span="" id="mce_marker" data-mce-type="bookmark">

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill RR....

It is a cloudy 30 degrees. Going up to 49 with cloudy skies.

Today is a busy day. I have a bunch of chores to do and a project to work on. I will be busy until lunchtime.  Nap will be nice.

Dining car is here with Cheerios for breakfast.

Y'all have a great Thursday.

Chuck

[jeffrey-wimberly]

submmbob

Have seen multiple vehicles w/ this setup fail over the years. We even converted one to a hand shifted cable that eliminates the diaphram. Manufacturer problem you say? Nope, every darn one has there own goofy electronic shift-on-the-fly system that fails in some way. We put manual locking hubs on both our Fords. What was wrong w/ a transfer case lever and manual locking hubs?! "Oh, I have to stop and get out.." Lock the darn hubs in BEFORE you start driving and leave the T-case lever in 2WD until you need 4WD. If you're not doing high speeds you can do this all freakin' winter.  This stuff started as a marketing gimmick and is junk for a population that has largely gotten soft. If I ever need to buy another 4WD for personal use I will get another IHC Scout or a Pinzgauer and to heck w/ all these over-plumbed, grocery-getting, glorified station wagons

Yep! It's a well known fact that the more you over check the plumbing the easier it is to stop up the drain.

[Lehigh Valley 2089]

submmbob

LV - nice line-up there!!

Thank you.

The 2020 has a E-unit problem that I will address sometime in the future, first I'll clean it best I can, and if that doesn't work, I'll just replace it.

The relay in the 2026's tender for the whistle doesn't seem to be working right. I've cleaned it, so I think it may be shot.

Anyway, good morning. Happy Valentines Day.

Hush Day here at Towanda Area Jr/Sr High School. Basically what it's about is that the girls try to get the guys to talk to them. The guys are wearing these cheap dollar store necklaces that they have to turn over should they talk to a girl. Last year, the guys tried to get a girl to talk to them, and I was successful.

[Demay]

Konbanwa,

The first day of my 5-day mini-vacation was nice.  I woke up at 0630 and went to the base gym to run two miles on the treadmill and then did a quick weight training workout.  The wife had a Japanese culture club event this morning so I stood in as the kids’ teacher today.  I am not as nurturing as my wife so the kids are never thrilled when I’m running their daily school activities.  We all survived and no one even cried.  We just finished dinner; the wife made a chicken enchilada casserole which was great.  I need to help the wife pack for her weekend trip.

The wife picked up plenty of goodies and a couple small gifts for the kids for Valentine’s Day.  We never received or gave gifts for Valentine’s Day growing up, but the wife’s family did.  She bought me an enormous bag of Swedish fish candy – I love those things and can eat them by the handful.  I wrote her a poem.  I wrote her quite a few poems before we were married and for about the first year or so of our marriage but not recently.  She was greatly surprised.  I’ll buy her some flowers on Sunday before she returns from her weekend trip; it was pointless to buy them today since she leaves tomorrow and she wouldn’t be here to enjoy them. 

Fife – That’s a shame about the training accident.  I was never a General fan, but I tremendously enjoy Lionel’s Nutcracker Route set.  It looks great under the Christmas tree.

 Sayonara,

Joe

[submmbob]

Hello all

Back at work for another spell. 4WD decided to flake out on the way up. Was able to deal w/ it in 2WD until I got to a decent hill on the snow-covered dirt road tonight. Stopped and put the chains on the back and proceeded although a bit clankety clank due to the fact that one of our wonderful employees forgot to put the bungee cords we use to tighten the chains up back in this vehicle The transfer case on this vehicle (GM) goes in electrically and then the system uses ported manifold vacuum to suck on a diaphram that pulls on a cable that locks up the front differential internally. Sound Rube Goldberg enough? Well to add to this they put the piece with the vacuum diaphram UNDER THE BATTERY TRAY Have seen multiple vehicles w/ this setup fail over the years. We even converted one to a hand shifted cable that eliminates the diaphram. Manufacturer problem you say? Nope, every darn one has there own goofy electronic shift-on-the-fly system that fails in some way. We put manual locking hubs on both our Fords. What was wrong w/ a transfer case lever and manual locking hubs?! "Oh, I have to stop and get out.." Lock the darn hubs in BEFORE you start driving and leave the T-case lever in 2WD until you need 4WD. If you're not doing high speeds you can do this all freakin' winter.  This stuff started as a marketing gimmick and is junk for a population that has largely gotten soft. If I ever need to buy another 4WD for personal use I will get another IHC Scout or a Pinzgauer and to heck w/ all these over-plumbed, grocery-getting, glorified station wagons Rant over.

And yes, we should probably replace our old style chains w/ the new camlock style. One instance where they have actually improved an old design.

Where was I? Oh, collecting photons again...

Mike - glad to hear your daughter is doing better

LV - nice line-up there!!

Jack - go to hear that you made it thru Snowmageddon

Corvair didn't get the sway bar bushings yet, but we got the lower shrouds on and replaced one of the old paper and wire heater ducts w/ a plastic one. The heater blower motor also needs to be replaced, but that will have to wait for another paycheck or two. Even w/ just the one hose replaced there is some heat coming into the car

Moved into a smaller storage unit Monday, in the rain Well, it was the day I rented the truck to move my tool locker into storage and move a bed and desk to a friends place. Fortunately, we got the furniture moving part done before the rain started really going. Got it done, but was a bit damp when I got back for dinner.  I'm now in a 10X10' unit instead of a 10X15'. Saved me $20 a month at least. That, the two Covairs, and my 4X8' slice of heaven in the new house is my little chunk of the universe for the near future.

Got the Marx State of Maine boxcar today Boy is she a beauty! May have to find some more of these if I can get a good deal like I did on this one. I travelled on a Bangor and Aroostook bus once back in '82 from Presque Isle, Me to Bangor, Me, so it's kind of in the family. I brought the whole Marx train w/ me this time, so I'll try and post something on SPF.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

sir james I

Coffee's cold

So? Use a blow torch.

*

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According to package tracking I should have a couple of goodies coming in tomorrow. It should be two Atlas FP7's. There may be a couple of other items tomorrow. If not tomorrow then a couple more days.

I'm very tired, so it's time to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.

[sir james I]

Coffee's cold

Temp went to 42 with some sun this afternoon. We never did get out today. So there's no breaking news here. The banilla will be ready for the Tardis chat...S.J.

[fifedog]

Evenin' boys.  Evenin' English.  Snohizo alert here in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Well, I was wrong about Big Bear scenario.  Seems he was holed up right across the street from the PD command post.  Terrible training accident across town from here, where a new officer was shot in the face by an instructor.  Seems like lots of bad news in Maryland at the moment.

Me, I'm hangin' in there.  Seem to be coming out of the haze I've been in.  For some reason, my attention has turned to wanting a LIONEL General or two.  Really have been studying up, and I may be in the market for an 8701 or 8630, and maybe an original 1872 come YORK.  Not sure where I got this 4-4-0 bug, but possibly started from the Nutcracker General ornament fifemom gave me.  I have even linked my thoughts to a layout based on the early 20th century (1909-1913) Hampshire Southern RR (now the South Branch Valley RR/formerly B&O), which runs near our property in WV.

Stay foamy .

[SPMan]

Good morning all,

Went in for the ashes this morning.  Long mass today with extra things to talk about.

Jeffrey, hope you are over your upset by now.  I had one or should I say two incidents in the last week but I think they are probably related to my Chrones disease.  I have been maintaing a delicate balance by taking 11 pills a day to control it.  However, certain foods will push me over the edge.  I suspect some of the commercial made canned soups are causing problems.

Went out with our church social group for dinner last night.  Had a nice top sirloin with salad and baked potato.  Ordered medium but it was more like medium rare.  Was good though.  Too hungry to send it back for more grill time.  One of our members, the one with the wife in nursing home, was there.  Says his wife is in this home from now on.  Pretty sad.  Am trying to do what I can to help him but he is pretty stressed.

I think they probaby got the cop killer yesterday.  They had him cornered in a mountain cabin after a gun fight which wounded one officer and killed one deputy.  The house caught on fire somehow and the killer did not come out.  They had not found a body yet as of last night but haven't heard any news yet today.  My bet is that he is toast!

I have thrown in the towel (for now) on my MTH premier E6 ACL diesels.  After taking one last crack at it yesterday, I have concluded that it is definitely an electronic problem so there is nothing else I can do unless I want to throw some more good money after bad on this thing with a repair station.

Prayers for all who still suffer,

Ray

 

 

[Lehigh Valley 2089]

May like this photo KRM. This fleet is just from one year's worth of time collecting, and I am real happy about it.

[KRM]

wrconstruction

And further more, I don't know who will be driving the RV, cause if

Good one Ryan. 

  My marriage is 180 degrees from yours. My wife is 9 years younger than me and I am retired she is not. She gets up at 4:30 AM and I get up when my eyes open. 

 On the days off they are the same. It may take her till 3:00PM to get dressed.

Went and washed the truck. It is 44 degrees on the North Bluff. been feeling sort of wierd. I may have to go to see the quack.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Went to Wal-Mart this morning with my father so we could both pick up some things we needed. Then it was over to the Waffle Shoppe for breakfast. No goodies in the mail today. Maybe tomorrow.

[wrconstruction]

Ray, SJ, Kev, others,

My wife gets insane vacation time like 6 weeks or so.  so every other month, she takes a week off. which is fine, its her time, its paid, etc. 

But what drives me nuts, is she lays around the house all, has NO hobbies, etc, and the when I get home from WORK she wants to drag me out gallyvanting all over town, cause she sat at home all day.

And it will get worse, as shes got 10 years on me, so she'll be retiring way before me, and being self employed, I may just have to work to end any way.

And, her retirement plans differ 180 degrees from my retiremnt plans. she wants to sell the house, buy an RV and travel all over tarnation, where as my retirement is planned in the new barn.

And further more, I don't know who will be driving the RV, cause if I get dragged along I'll be in the back drinking beer.

Ryan

[KRM]

AF53

 SJ (and other retirees) - While my wife is now a stay at home daughter for my mother-in-law, the two of them have cabin fever a lot. They want to go out but for me, who works six days a week, I want to stay home on my one day off. There are times when I contemplate retirement, but at 55 way too young, I'm not sure it's for me. I just don't know how you guys do it.

 

 Ray, you got to work your way into it. First stop working 6 days a week then stop working OT. I got out at 56. I did not plan on it and it took some adjusting as I am sure John will tell you,,, but it on the worse day is better than a working day. After all I worked for 40 years almost full time since I was 16. So it is time to have some time off. I wanted to do better than my dad who only made it through 3 years of retirement before his health went south and he spent the last two years checking out. My thoughts are,,, if you think you can afford it, do it. You can always do a part time thing to pass some time.   Heck, Laz has been so busy since he retired we have not heard from him.

[ChiefEagles]

Morning all.  Rainy and cool but not cold.  Took Finn and Lucy to groomers early this AM.  A little sore from workout.  Got back and watched hunting DVR'd on TV.  Got meetings this afternoon. 

Ray, I was busy.  Just did not workout and get sweaty.

Well, SS check deposited right on time.  Thanks to all of you who work.

Later.

[AF53]

Good Morning All!

Off today as the office will be slow  and I need to start using my vacation days I carried over from last year. I'll pay HudsonJohn a visit to help clean around the house and also take the wife and mother-in-law out for lunch.

MikeC - Great news on you daughter, she's been through too much, and hope things work out for you regarding "other things".

SJ (and other retirees) - While my wife is now a stay at home daughter for my mother-in-law, the two of them have cabin fever a lot. They want to go out but for me, who works six days a week, I want to stay home on my one day off. There are times when I contemplate retirement, but at 55 way too young, I'm not sure it's for me. I just don't know how you guys do it.

Chief - On "getting better". You can only stay home and "wait" to get better for so long. I believe a good way in feeling and getting better is to go out and do something. At least it works for me.

RIJack - Looks like things might warm up for you by Friday, I bet you could use it.

Ryan - RIJack said it best. Women never stop needing attention. And when the roses are delivered to her at work she smiles for a week (and if for some reason she stops smiling by the second day, just ask her "who are the roses doing?").

Brutus - I won't go into details because you might not have seen it yet but I would rate The Walking Dead episode a solid 7.

Later

[KRM]

cnw1995

Kev, Doc Dreadful's Zombie Lab is a great gift. My youngest has it.     

 I hope so Doug but boy is it gross.

So tell me the truth, has your son made you eat any of the brains,  bugs, skin or barf?????

[sir james I]

Temp is 30, and of course cloudy.

A few errands this morning and then my usual afternoon. It seems granny always has something to keep us from getting away for more than a few hours. Gotta stop at Lowes for a new sump pump hose good ole plastic tape didn't stop the leak this time...S.J.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 45° with 90% humidity. It's cloudy this morning but will be clearing later. The high will be 58°. Somebody up north left the door again.


Well I had a descent nights sleep and I feel much better than I did yesterday. Today I may get a chance to change out the decoders on a couple of locos. They have Bachmann decoders and I'd like to upgrade them Digitrax. Now the question is do I use my two DZ125's I just got or do I wait a bit longer for some DHWH harnesses I have coming and use a couple of DH123's I've had laying around for quite a while? Decisions, decisions.