KEV
See my favorite drink I was drinking.
Red barn at the other end of layout. Just added Church.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
Snow rain mix tonight.
I went to Menards and did get that Cripple Creek lumber shed for the layout. First thing I have got for it in over a year. Got the water RO guys tomorrow but will place it when I can and share pictures as soo as it is set up. I like it.
Had to get the wife a grow light and make a shelf for it to pull it off but now she can watch her plants grow and I can play with my trains.
Joined 1-21-2011 TCA 13-68614
Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL.
Afternoon team!
50's and all snowhizo gone! A light freeze tonight and then we are hopefully done with Buckeye's weather!
Dishwasher leaking onto floor - spraying into a corner - appears to be a split in the lower wash arm - causing it to spray directly into the corner seal. Seal is good. Drying the spray arm out for a test wrapped with tape where the split is. Spray arm is in stock and available.
Kev - good luck to the grandaughter!
Regards, Roy
Good afternoon,
I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Yesterday is was dry and sunny and it will be that way today too, and probably hit 55. Have a great Sunday!
Thanks Chief, Jax is already there. He shipped out with a trailer full of horses a few days ago. DIL rented a house in Ocala for a week for them to stay in while the show goes on.
Menards has 11% off this week, our local store still has two of the Cripple Creek lumber sheds,,,, I may have to go! Water guys claim they are going to install the RO system tomorrow so I have to move some stuff around in the basement so they have room to work. Not much else, just cloudy and ABOVE FREEZING for a change.
Buckeye - They certainly look like a first rate outfit. And #19 looks ready for her "makeover".
So, was wondering where FifeMax was overnight. He was "trapped" downstairs, in the dark. Appears that someone dammed up his path by emptying both toy baskets...
fifedog Buckeye - Make a suggestion that the museum offer up scrap pieces of #19 for fundraising. I would certainly buy a little piece of movie history. Oh, and happy birthday.
Buckeye - Make a suggestion that the museum offer up scrap pieces of #19 for fundraising. I would certainly buy a little piece of movie history. Oh, and happy birthday.
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
Things are starting to melt!!!!!
Grand-daughter, Madyson, her horse, brother and mother are heading to Florida for a show. Her and her thoroughbred are ready. Hope her the best of luck, but she don't need luck, Jax and Madyson are a great team.
Thanks Roy!
I'm expecting the same reaction to those energy bills that Santa Anna got when he visited Texas in 1836.
Wayne
Wayne- a huge issue with our energy "marketplace" website is it allows the entity advertising their "deal" to be quite misleading. So they attract you with really low rates and the fine print is very hard to understand. What catches many people is once your one year deal is up the rates can go up significantly. As many folks do not pay good attention they go past the end of the first year introduction and "bam". Sorta like when your internet provider 1 yr deal expires.
However - the particular case of the folks who signed with an entity called "Griddy", they got it in the shorts big time. As I understand it (and it is likely more complicated), Griddy was selling folks electricity at near wholesale rates for a $9.99 per month base fee. Griddy did not do long term contracts with generators, buying/reselling using spot market rates. Fine when everything is normal. One can get a lower rate than those of us with normal annual contracts as spot market rates can be low outside of extreme heat and cold times. However - when the grid got strained, spot rates (for excess capacity) soared, so Griddy customers were paying the same as a utility (up to $9K per MWhr). Griddy customers had no ceiling for their rates. This is why in several cases, folks are getting hit with $2000 to $16000 monthly bills (driven by the 5 days things were bad - in other words just 5 days drove their bills through the roof). It was forseen and the Griddy CEO actually informed his customers of what was going to happened and suggested they drop Griddy asap (however - just as with internet there are penalties for dropping your contract within the first year with most providers - this may not have been the case with Griddy). BUT - the transfer of your energy supplier to another typically takes 7-10 days, so the Griddy customers were hosed anyway.
I can attest it is extremely difficult to understand what your true rate for power is when perusing the state power website. Our local consumer Dallas Morning News watchdog Dave Leiber regularly "roasts" the Public Utility Commission (Which he has relabeled "utility commission" in his articles as they do nothing for the public).
The other element I am waiting for is Texas has laws against price gouging during emergencies (like Katrina and Harvey) and one can report entities like grocery stores, home supply (i.e. Home Depot), gas stations, etc., for price gouging. To me the $9K per MWhr being charged to anyone during an emergency is guilty of price gouging
I am sure the energy companies probably get a pass on this...waiting for more on this one.
Tragically around 20 people died due to hypothermia or CO poisoning. One 14 year old in Dallas succumbed to hypothermia in his sleep in his bedroom.
wrmcclellanI challenge someone from the industry to tell me that is not true and not crack a smile!
Roy, what can you tell us about those sky-high energy bills we're hearing people are getting? The press being what it is I don't know what to believe.
OK Spank, nothing's changed much since you left in 2012, a bit more built-up now but nothing really radical as far as I know. C-ville's about an hour away from us so we don't get out that way too often.
The club is expecting to have a one-day train show out that way in either July or August at the Rivanna Volunteer Fire Department Hall, not finalized at this time. It's usually a good show for us.
Afternoon all!
It is above freezing - hooray! Snowhizo melting very fast!
It was further revealed the way the contracts for the power generators to the grid operators (N TX is ERCOT) work....this is choice!
The generators commit to the amount of power (MW) they will deliver and a contract price per/MW. Should they fall short, they are required to purchase electricity on the open/spot market to fulfill the requirement. It is their loss to absorb as they cannot pass the higher MW price to the grid/consumer as they have to stick with the contracted price.
Recently this would have meant that an operator falling short (i.e. a turbine failed) would have paid $9000/MWhr vs the more normal $15/MWhr (I think I have that right). Regardless spot prices in emergencies can be astronomical. The plant operator has to eat the difference.
Here is where it gets good - if the plant goes completely off-line, there is no penalty at all! They do not have to provide any energy to make up the loss if they are completely off line!
I can see it now....
Plant Mgr to CEO - BOSS! we have a turbine down! We need to purchase spot market power at $9000/MWhr to make up the shortfall!
CEO to the Plant Mgr - Shut it all down! Make it look like it is weather - spray some water to freeze up any working valves!
I challenge someone from the industry to tell me that is not true and not crack a smile!
Spank, we live in Virginia, about 18 miles west of Richmond. Anything you need to know just ask, we'll answer as best we can.
40 and sunny. Strong breeze. Wind chill is lower. Slept till 9. Coffee and a chocolate iced cream filled from Krispy Kreme. Sat and watched TV [home improvement shows] with Wifey. Now to get moving. Feel fine now after 2nd shot. Yesterday about an hour after, I felt a little dizzy "off center". Got better as time pasted. Went in Train Box and ran Lionel diesel that Mike Reagan fixed. Then set up aux water tender for N&W J he had put Legacy control board in. Makes back coupler and backup light work.
Actually I was informed I needed to drive Miss Daisy.
Enjoy your day.
Good morning from the Valley. Thank you Roy for remembering. We can always count on you.I had a wonderful day spending time at the Roundhouse taking photos of the Chief Mechanic ultrasonic testing the boiler thickness on No. 19 for the 15 year FRA inspection. Afterwards I roamed the 18 stall roundhouse and back shop taking more photos. The facility manager and I discussed the checking situation in the wood trusses.
Mornin' boys. Blustery 22 along the Patterson Creek cut-off. All my girls are among us this weekend, as well as the three grandsons. Curly-top already has the toy baskets scattered on the den floor (and that's where they'll be til tomorrow night). We'll run trains several times, to be sure.
Hello there, Roy.....continued Prayers. Glad you're doing ok with the cold. Don't watch news much but saw some crazy stuff in Texas. Got about 7 inches of snohio Monday into Tuesday with 1/4 inch of ice on top of it. Then 4 more Wednesday night to this morning. Just enough to keep it interesting. Whole clan spent a couple hours sledding and snowmobiling Tuesday. Probably do it again soon. Not much progress again on kitchen, dealing with the snohio. Did get the cabinet removed ready for the dishwasher and scrubbed most of the cabinets. Hope the dishwasher shows soon. Watching a bit of TV, off to bed soon. Prayers for those in need and the end of this pandemic.
Banks, Proud member of the OTTS TCA 12-67310
Re the Texas grid and power outages. Ignore what you hear on the news or the internet. A lot of it is oversimplified, being penned by unknowledgeable dummies, and trying to pin any one item is impossible.
The short reality it is the power generation companies failed miserably. This is not in the news in any significant way. Every single generator in TX - wind, solar, gas, coal, and nuclear experienced partial loss or complete loss of capacity due to the extreme cold.
Why - because our "open" market is a joke and the scheme forces generators to skimp. The governor is trying to pin it all on ERCOT, which is a non-profit umbrella shell that attempts to coordinate all the independent power generators for the energy they push into the TX grid (the grid in N Texess is operated by ONCOR). A tough job since each generator does not really know from year-to-year how many customers will sign up with them. Why is the governor blaming ERCOT - cause ERCOT does not really lobby and provide contributions to politicians campaigns. If the politicians attack the generating companies, then they will reduce political contributions.
It is always about money in politicians/business people's pockets.
A secondary issue is ONCOR rarely implement rolling blackouts. The substation switchgear operated by ONCOR rarely gets exercised, is aging (some is over 50 yrs old), and guess what? - failed in the cold temps (we all know extreme cold or heat causes failures not normally seen). So they tried rolling blackouts - the switchgear switched off an area - and then it would not reconnect. If you watched the news - even though almost every single generation capability/plant experienced some level of failure - due to inability to reconnect portions of the grid - ERCOT was telling generators to SHED significant load (in one case Wed night - 64 MegaWs!) as there was no place for it to go. Coupled with other equipment and line failures in neighborhoods (ah - alot more aging equipment), the diaster was compounded even if your neighborhood as a whole was not blacked out).
Further - these extreme cold events are regular here, not rare. About every 5-10 years. In the past, prior to 2011 (the last really big cold snap) and prior to our corrupt "open" market scheme - we did not experience this level of issue. The state has overbuilt residential/business and no significant generation added. It takes 10 years to build new gas generation. A bit less for solar and wind. There will be no solution forthcoming.
The solutions/legislation attemped after the 2011 mess was made toothless (ah - the crooked politcians/lobbyists) by changing rules into suggestions.
So the politicians will squeal and everyone will forget until the next time as usual.
Snowhizo starting to melt. Daughter and SIL informed by their apartment mngt that water should be back on by 3-4 pm today. We should be back to just the 3 of us, down from 6 + dog, tonight. Missus looking forward to "normal" here at the hacienda...
Buckeye - Happy B-Day?
Still feeling a bit better or at least level each day. Its slow but its a blessing!
Son did an excursion and streets are clearing - but the melt will freeze tonight around 6-7 pm into something treacherous.
Shelves at the grocery stores are bare...glad we stocked up well in advance.
Good morning. Slept till 8. Was 32 when I got up and light rain. Must have had a good shower before I got up. we have 1.57 on the weather station. 34 and warming. still some ice in the neighbor's pine trees. Nothing else has ice. Getting ready to go get 2nd shot.Today Show showing the horrible things in Texas. Houses solid blocks of ice inside due to water pipes. Sad. Some people in charge of power grid need to pay.
Buckeye, Happy Birthday [we guess]. As usual, presents in the mail. According to guessers, we are headed for warmer and DRY weather. Have a great day. Stay well and warm.
Mornin' boys. Weather is clearing out of the Alleghanies, and heading for New Jersey. Woke up to 4 deer at the bird feeder. Took a quick vid for Wifey, who tends to miss the wildlife.
Did meet up with the lab courier, who managed to strike a guardrail out on I68 during his rounds. Came home to shovel drive, and now my lower back is a bit stiff. Getting older, and fatter.
Did chisel and scrape out the bad spots on the bathroom remod, but after sanding, was too pooped to apply drywall mud.
Good evening all,
Got a litttle bit more snow. Did shovel some more as well. City in its wisdom a few years ago mandated these big bins on wheels. Fine when the weather is good, not so fine when the shovel path is not big enough to let them roll thru. Spent over 3 hours with coworker and others trying to resolve a software problem created by a certain agency's requirements and our internal mechanism for obtaining said software. It is a real SNAFU. I hope everyone has a good day.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
For the life of me I just can not understand people who do this. There are a lot of people that have passed that I did absolutely not agree with on almost anything but I would not do that kind of stuff.
Remember the Veterans. Past, present and future.
www.sd3r.org
Proud New Member Of The NRA
DJSpanky If I have nothing good to say about someone who passed, then I don't post and denigrate that person because I didn't like them, didn't agree with their opinions or whatever.
Thanks Spank. Some days I wonder if the world's running out of adults. You just proved they're not extinct.
V8VegaNaturally ABC TV news came up with as much negative as they could about Rush Limbaugh.
No surprise. Even though the man's dead they still fear him, which would have delighted him.
The AP storys (among others) I've read about Rush are editorials, not obituarys or biographys.
For an honest appraisal of the man check the conservative press or Fox News.
By the way, I haven't listened to Rush in years. At one point around 2010 or so I lost all interest in political talk radio, like someone flipped a switch in my head. But I'll say this much, in all the years I listened to him he never lied to me. That speaks volumes, as far as I'm concerned.
33 and very light rain. Had a strong pour down earlier for about 5 minutes. Had some icing in pines next door. Just got out of virtual Human Services Regional Networks meeting [I'm chair]. Need to look outside.
Listen to this. State Health Plan for employees changed from United Health Care [had for years] to Humana. Vision Ins. and Dental Ins. is United Health Care. Went to eye DR. Usually do exam and glasses at same visit. Can't do now. Have to make two visits or double co-pay. STUPID Going back at 1 to do glasses.
CBS news really blasted Texas power grid. Didn't winterize. 25% solar and wind [now not working]. Natural gas plants but coal backup which didn't go on line. Even without storm, not enough power to go around.
Hope all stay warm and safe.
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