Took the car to the garage this morning to get the tires changed to the fur-lined winter boots and the overdue inspection service done. The bill was running up to Euro 200, which is not a lot, but a lot for the 300 miles we drove since May. I used to do twice as much in a week! I wish I knew how to get around without a car!
Edit: I got TOPS, so the bill is on me today!
2nd Edit:
I completely missed out on the fact that we have a national holiday tomorrow and all shops are closed. Just checked the fridge and we have enough food to cover that day. No it´s not Halloween, but the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of a bloke called Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses onto the door of the All Saints Church of Wittenberg, marking the start of the Reformation.
His translation of the Bible into the German vernacular (instead of Latin) made it more accessible to the laity, an event that had a tremendous impact on both the church and German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the writing of an English translation, the Tyndale Bible. His hymns influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant clergy to marry.
I think it is safe to say, that Luther changed the world, more than any other person since.
Afternoon folks!
Sun is shining after a couple days of very heavy rain here in the Finger Lakes Region. We are still under a high wind advisory for most of the day though. Water has found its path into the basement as usual and I have been keeping the siphon going to limit the wetness dfown there.
Still have a massive amount of stuff to get finished in the next few days for the NMRA. Right now I am almost out the door to drive to a local srip mall outlet near Waterloo to see if I can find a new suitcase to use when I head out to the NER Convention next week. My old suitcase is about 40 yuears old and has seen better days. It is also getting hard for me to cvarry from the check in counter to my room which is usually situated as far down the hall from the elevator as possible..... Time to arrive in the 21st. century and get one with wheels on it I think.
Best get myself moving... Catch up to everyone later!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Ulrich. Interesting history. Thank you for sharing it.
Ray . Did you get to church on time yesterday ?
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Heartland Division CB&QRay . Did you get to church on time yesterday ? Whistling
But, of course! Even got roped into being an usher for the 10:30 service. My son's family were ushering and my DIL decided she would rather save a pew for us and got me to take her place. Ushers, not only open the doors,and hand out the bulitens, we also get to collect the offering. Was fun working along side my granddaughters too.
Just got back from the Samsonite Factory outlet over in the Waterloo Premium Outlets (Huge strip Mall of all kinds of "trendy" stores...)Where I caught a 50% off sale on Luggage. Bought a replacement for my 35 to 40 year old suitcase. It is still pretty good size even with 50% off... Ok, I got a $200 piece of luggage for $99. This one will probably last the rest of my life with it being used once or twice a year for a weekend.
Later!
Garry,
The car would not throw a DTC in the system. so the scan tool showed nothing.
I finally got to thinking how it was acting, like choking down when you spray throttle body cleaner in the intake. I found gas in the vacuum line coming from the fuel pressure reg, so excess gas was getting sucked in and causing it to run rich and the computer was trying to trim it lean, so it would buck and jump.
joe323 S***rs has lost a customer for life.
To anyone who is making a large purchase, I would be very careful about buying anything from Sears if you want to have a warranty. As you may be aware, Sears Canada just bit the dust. Gone! Caput!! All their wonderful warranties are now not worth the paper they are printed on. According to a significant number of industry analysts Sears Roebuck won't be long for this world either.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Read this
Just got back from the Samsonite Factory
I was thinking, wow that would be neat to see.
Then I noticed you said "factory outlet"
The car and last night's world series game has my brain fried.
(Yawn!) Excuse me! This working at 0600 and having to wake up at 0415-0430 is taking it out of me. I even fell asleep Sunday afternoon after work with my laptop sitting on my lap.
On a different topic...
Hobby Front: Latest car to join the fleet. This is an Athearn RTR that I relettered for the NP. Load is custom built with various sized dowels stained with PS Acrylic Pine Wash. The support poles are 3/16" dowels painted with FolkArt Coffee Bean and Apple Barrell Granite Gray. The load is also detailed with some black sewing thread. I have a pair of ExactRail NP flatcars for the idler cars to go under the poles.
Evening Diners
Flo, Ed, Gary, Inch, Angelob, Brent, Ulrich, Jan, Galaxy and I will have a please.
I am Screwd, Blue and Tattooed.
Had to do the unthinkable today. Took out a high intrest loan at 34% to help covred the next 3 house payments. Just trying to keep my head above water till I get SS. Saving's is just a memory at this point.
Sue's car repair. What I was hoping was going to be a $100.00 repair has turned into a $800.00 repair and I was afraid of that. What I was hoping was a leaking thermostat housing turned of to be a cracked intake manifold, common on Ford 4.6 liter V8's. I have knowen of this problem for some time now but with my Towncars with 4.6 liters never had the problem even with 230,000 miles. When she wanted this Mercury Grand Marquis I told her we should pass on this one, but she loved it. I have no hope at this point of getting it fixed.
Later, Ken
I hate Rust
Good evening all.
Flo - A nice slice of that chocolate cake, and a glass of milk, please. Thanks.
Weather - Cold, wet, and miserable. 'Nuff said there.
W*^k - Sold a fridge, and a freezer today. Fridge sale got me an extra $10 spiff, plus whatever commission from the sales. (And, depending on where we placed, maybe a much higher spiff...)
Pittsburgh trip - Just missed a train both times, based on scanner transmissions. So, only a couple of (on ground) plane shots of the cargo carriers, Fed-Ups. The weather was less than cooperative for anything else.
Now, I must clarify a few things... Out of necessity. (Warning! Long winded post to follow!
hon30critter joe323 S***rs has lost a customer for life. To anyone who is making a large purchase, I would be very careful about buying anything from Sears if you want to have a warranty. As you may be aware, Sears Canada just bit the dust. Gone! Caput!! All their wonderful warranties are now not worth the paper they are printed on. According to a significant number of industry analysts Sears Roebuck won't be long for this world either. Dave
Technically, Warranties are by the manufacturers, not the sellers... And are designed to protect the manufacturer, not the consumer. The manufacturer will warranty the product, but only if certain conditions are met, simply to avoid being sued. (Whether or not it protects the purchaser is not their concern.)
Sears is only a seller, they do not manufacture any brand at all.
Craftsman is owned (and manufactured, in the tool sector at least) by Stanley Black & Decker Corp. (Tractors with the Craftsman name are either MTD or Husqvarna made.)
Kenmore appliances are manufactured by various companies, depending on the appliance. (i.e. a Kenmore Elite 61553 Dryer is actually manufactured by LG. You can tell by the way the door opens. That feature is exclusive to LG made dryers.)
So, Kenmore appliance warranties will have the same clauses as their manufacturer's matches (under their own brand names) do.
Water heater warranties in particular are really tough, as, while the tank itself may be warrantied for more than 1 year, other parts may, or may not be. If they are, the only way to get those parts, without purchasing them at your expense from a parts dealer, is through a factory service tech, which will be paid their service charges at consumers expense.
Water heaters sold by anyone, Sears or elsewhere, all have this, or similar, clause in their warranties.
And, with all major appliance warranties, if the parts are covered, the tech charges, trip charges, and labor charges, may not be. (Especially after 1 year.)
One company, (which I will not name on the forum, but is very well known) has a warranty on their fridge linear compressors for 10 years. After year 1, the consumer must pay for the service tech's trip charge(s), roughly $80-$100 each trip, diagnostic charge(s), and labor charge(s). So it is not just water heaters, and it is not Sears, as Lowe's, Home Depot, Best Buy, and other big name stores also carry this brand. (And, this brand does not make water heaters...) This clause applies to the ones that carry their own manufacturer brand label, and the ones that they make with a label that says Kenmore.
And, While Sears Roebuck, as a corporation, is in trouble, independently owned Sears Hometown Stores are doing just fine. (They are Sears in name only.)
Sears Roebuck no longer carries any Whirlpool products, while Hometown stores, which again, are independently owned, do. Hometown stores have their own corporate team, seperate from Sears Roebuck, with their own contract with Whirlpool, to carry, sell, and acquire, those brands appliances. (Whirlpool also makes Maytag, Amana, and Kitchenaid.) Hometown stores are now the only place that carries all 10 major appliance brands.
And, Sears Hometown stores Protection Plans, which are available separately from the product manufacture's warranty, are handled by A&E Factory Service techs, the exact same service techs that Best Buy, Lowe's, and Home Depot all hire out for their extended warranty stuff too. Those protection plans, from hometown stores, cover all expenses if the appliance breaks down due to a defect, is hit by a power surge, or stops working due to normal wear and tear. (Even covers anywhere from $250-$300 food loss protection on fridge/freezer purchases. No manufacturer's warranty does that!) And, Hometown stores will ensure the customer is taken care of with these, no matter who needs called.
So, while I can't speak about Sears Roebuck customer service, Hometown stores offer excellent customer care, but, if it falls on only the manufacturer warranty, our hands are tied. We can only help so far before the manufacturer warranty clauses are hit, and that is, unfortunately how it goes. Anywhere you buy appliances.
Also, on this note, if anyone in my tri-state area (1 HR or so drive from NW PA, including, but not limited to, Erie, Crawford, Warren, Mercer, Venango counties of Pa, Cattaragus, Chataqua counties NY, Ashtabula, Trumble counties OH.) is shopping for any major appliance, send me a PM, as there is another well known brand, (again, un-named on the main forum) that is not honoring any manufacturer warranties in this area, as they do not have any factory trained service techs in this area. If you go with their product, but only the manufacturer's warranty, you will not get parts or service for any appliance from that manufacturer, or anywhere else, without paying all costs, parts, labor, etc... out of pocket at all. (One of the manufacturer's warranty conditions is that there must be a factory trained tech in the area to provide the warranty service for the unit. If there is not one, the warranty is null and void.)
If anyone would like more info on those points, please send me a PM, as I will not add any more info on the main forum for that. (Other than to say, I think you all now know exactly which retailer I am employed by..... )
Ok, that's all from me tonight.
Hope all are well, and all have a great night!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
ricktrains4824Technically, Warranties are by the manufacturers, not the sellers...
Hi Ricky:
You sound like me when I worked for Sears when it was in its prime! What we sold, and what people believed in, was "Satisfaction Guaranteed", and it actually meant something. That was the warranty that I was referring to. The warranty documents said "Sears", not "the manufacturer". Even in cases where we were giving the customer a copy of the manufacturer's warranty, the understanding was that the customer would deal with Sears, and then Sears would deal with the supplier. That was the warranty I was referring to. I should have been more specific.
The bottom line is that Sears as a whole used to go to bat on behalf of their customers. In virtually all cases Sears would handle the problem and then see what credits they could get back from the manufacturer. (By the way, I'm glad to hear that Sears Home stores in the USA are still abiding by that philosophy.) Now former Sears customers in Canada will have to deal directly with the manufacturer. That will be a hit and miss proposition. I have personally experienced a situation where the manufacturer refused to honour their warranty on a window repair because my contract was with Sears.
Sorry if I painted with too broad a brush. Just keep your eyes and ears open. A lot of loyal Sears Canada employees just got ripped off when the company folded, 12,000 of them in fact. They lost all their severance pay and their benefits, and their pensions may be reduced by 19%. My advice to you is that if things get nasty, don't hang around until the end. If there are clouds on the horizon and they offer you a package, take it!
Cheers!!
Good Morning!
A short night for me, but it seems as if we will have a nice morning!
Got an enquiery about the layout from a bloke in Como/Italy, but there is no way how I could have it shipped to this place. I answered him I´d be happy if he could arrange for the pickup of the layout. I doubt he will come back to me.
Today´s video shows steam on the famous Settle - Carlisle line.
The Settle–Carlisle line (also known as the Settle and Carlisle (S&C)) is a 73-mile-long main railway line in northern England. The route, which crosses the remote, scenic regions of the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines, runs between Settle Junction on the Leeds to Morecambe line and Carlisle near the English-Scottish borders. The historic line was constructed in the 1870s and has several notable tunnels and viaducts such as the imposing Ribblehead.
The line was built by over 6,000 navvies, who worked in remote locations, enduring harsh weather conditions. Large camps were established to house the navvies, most of them Irish, with many becoming complete townships with post offices and schools. They were named Inkerman, Sebastapol and Jericho. The remains of one camp—Batty Green—where over 2,000 navvies lived and worked, can be seen near Ribblehead. The Midland Railway helped pay for scripture readers to counteract the effect of drunken violence in these isolated communities.
The line was the last one in Victorian Great Britain completely built by hand.
In the 1980s, the Settle-Carlisle was scheduled for closure by British Rail. This prompted rail groups, enthusiasts, local authorities and residents along the route to fight a successful campaign to save the railway. In 1989 the UK government announced it had declined to close the line. Since then passenger numbers have grown steadily to 1.2 million in 2012. Eight formerly closed stations have also been reopened. Several quarries have also been reconnected to the line. It remains one of the most popular railway routes in the UK for charter trains and steam specials.
Enjoy!
Well, I did it. I took my first midterm exam in nearly 25 years. It was for the Masters in Supply Management program I am taking. Wow. My brain may be getting more pliable by going back to school, but the test was almost more than I could handle. I had 4 hours to complete the test; they said it should take about 2 hours. It took me 3:57:30 to finish. When I first looked at the problems I panicked they looked so foreign. I took my time, thought it through, and finished with a respectable 86% on the test. Who says you can't teach a old dog new tricks.
Richard
Heartland Division CB&Q Ulrich. Interesting history. Thank you for sharing it. Ray . Did you get to church on time yesterday ?
Yeah, well, church is upstairs and to the left.
You wouild think that *I* could get there on time, no?
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
BroadwayLionYeah, well, church is upstairs and to the left. You wouild think that *I* could get there on time, no?
So.... You were "Lion" in bed?
Sorry, couldn't resist!!! LOL
Morning diners,
It's been busy isn't it.
Layout Construction 5:
I continued the layout with a lot sanding removing the rough edges and pointy tips. I ruin my fingers with skin peeling off around the nails. Later on I use a hammer as my scrapping tool to remove the sculptamold off the road and city sides. Then I was doing this the sculptamold was still wet in the middle when I was standing it smooth. I will paint it next week.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Good morning Diners,
Brunhilda, I'll have an extra large coffee with lots of cream, please. And, when Ken and friends come in later, their are on me. Sounds like they can all use a break.
Well, as some may know, I finally got a picture posted from Dropbox, but the pic wasn't visible in the post. Had to post from my computer since my iPad, which I usually use, wouldn't do it. i knew it posted because when I tapped the box with the question mark in it, the picture loaded. Now I have to figure out how to make them visible to you folks without the extra step.
Ray: if I didn't say so earlier, congrats on the article. That's quite an accomplishment, and some fine modeling too! Although you missed one tiny spot..... Also, I hope your MMR review goes well with NMRA.
Ulrich: very sorry to hear that you must sell all of your modeling stuff. I hope it's not as bad as it sounds. For what it's worth, I've thought seriously of getting rid of my HO stuff and moving to S scale (for several reasons), but I've had some of those cars since 1959. It would be hard to let them go.
A true story: a family friend of ours husband had died and now she was alone in a house. Her daughter wanted her to come live with them. So MOH and I helped her pack and listed her furniture on an on line site. She sold her furniture and the people started hauling it out the door. I could see the tears starting to swell in her eyes and the look on her face told all. Her life was going out that door! At least that's what she felt. Yes, sometimes physical things represent a significant part of our lives. I think it's more than just letting go of the past. Not sure exactly where I'm going with this. Anyway, I hope you can relate.
Hello to everyone, and I hope everyone is OK, safe, and warm.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
It's getting a little chilly out there, so let's have something to warm our bones, eh?
Let Flo know if you'd like a shot of something extra in yours, and I'm not talking cinnamon.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Happy Holler weenie to y'all!!!!
may the ghosts and gobblins pass you over as not tasty enough!
At work, doing a partial shift so my shift mate cantake her kid for tricks and treats!
Nothing much new to tell.....same old same old.
My heart is still in A fib, annoying to say the least. But maybe they can fix that and the cardiologist can tell me how to live wth onset heart failure.
No treats from us, we darken the house and go to bed early, I can't be bothered, didn't like haLLOWEEN AS A KID. the most annoying thing as a kid was even though we passed out cnady, we got windows soaped and TP'd anyway. Supposed to be TREAT or yopu get a TRICK on you. But nowadays they have pretty much done away with all that. No one wants to get arrested on Haolloween, and if yur house is dark, its well known to pass it by. MY OH will be home in bed in a dark house.
DONT FORGET, In the USA where applicable, TURN YUR CLOCKS BACK an hour, and you get an extra hour of sleep on Sat nite/sunday morning the 4-5th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, Im just waiting for dark to come and my relief to show up....
have a great one yall....
-G
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Kids begging for candy from strangers is a bit weird. In the world capital of childhood obesity, I just don't get it. Nor do I get all these tombstones that have sprung up on front lawns. If I had a recent death in the family, that would be the last thing I would want to see on my neighbors lawn.
Around here the little kids come early, then the older kids, then older kids still from outside the neighborhood and they don't bother to wear costumes. The lights will be off when they arrive.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Sticking with the humor theme:
Why was the king of beasts allowed to testify in the court case? Because he said "I'm lion and I'm not lying."
Hobby Front: Got the drop end and loads home with the rest of the cars. Also got the log cars and the coal hopper put back in their boxes. The log cars went back to the table and the coal hopper didn't get back in the storage container. (Not ambious to open the container.) Also got the bridge area sloped. (Too cold to do any fine scenery e.g. Sculptamold.) Also started the process of realigning the shop tracks in order to make them work better to turn them into their own yard. I also want to put a paintshop type structure in there somewhere as well. Still, of course, working on the GP20s. (Lots of projects as usual.)
Scary Eveing Diners
Flo, Ed, Gary, Inch, Angelob, Brent, Ulrich, Jan, Galaxy and I will have a please. What, UP 831 is buying, is this a Trick Flo? It's not? Great I could use a break UP 831.
Reading Front Work was Dead, not one lost soul came into today! Sad part I was close to having a good month, I was in spitting range of breaking draw. Another $2500.00 in the last 4 days would have done it.
Ever Feel Like You Wonder What You Will Be When You Grow Up? That is how I feel tonight. Had to belive between 30 and 50 year's old I had the world by the ass. Now I am hanging on for dear life.
galaxyDONT FORGET, In the USA where applicable, TURN YUR CLOCKS BACK an hour, and you get an extra hour of sleep on Sat nite/sunday morning the 4-5th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No you don't..... You just get back the hour of sleep you lost last Spring!
Evenin' folks!
Janie, I could sure use a cup of hot decaf right now... Actually really didn't have supper, but have been snacking on stuff called candy every now and then (and some more nutricious stuff as well). Can't wait to take my blood sugar reading tonight!
The first couple Trick or Treaters I had tonight were my Granddaughters. That makes it worth doing all the decorating and buying candy right there. Of course they didn't get candy from me. they got a half dozen freshly baked Butterscotch Toll House Cookies I made this afternoon. They agree those are much better than the candy handed out by other people. All the other spooks at the door get candy as It is not considered OK to hand out home made treats unless you know who made them.... I put up 5 kerosine lanterns for decorations along with one Jack-O-Lantern in the window.
My DIL brought the Little Shih Tsu doggy all dressed in a super dog costume too. She wasn't going to bring him in the house until I told her he would be fine as he gets along with kitties fine at home (besides my cats are considerably bigger than he is). He came in (on a leash) and my two cats just looked at him completely unafraid. He came over and sniffed Blackie. Blackie reached out and sniffed his nose. No problems at all. I do think my kitties think he is the ugliest cat they have ever seen!
The next group to show up was one of my old students (the guy who repaired the living room here after it got water damage) with his two little kids. Had about 16 or so kids here total. Weather was cold and damp and only a couple people in my neighborhodd had their lights on to accept visits from the kids. Too bad in a way. I have always enjoyed seeing them especially when I know they are the children of my students from way back.......
The new near field monitors speakers arrived this evening and have now been installed in the train room and checked out. They work very well and are much smaller than the old Tannoy speakers which are now being used as choir monitors at church. The choir director didn't want any part of the speakers until somebody set something heavy on the little old ones that were on poles and were not working well after being knocked over several times over the last 25 years..... Some idiot put something fairly heavy on one of the speakers (which was already cracked) and the entire thing fell over snapping the mounting in half... Then all of sudden they wanted me to donate the near field Tannoys! First Sunday after I hooked them up he said, "Wow! What a difference!" Of course my 18 years of doing pro live sound and recording, not to mention I studied Acoustics my Sr. Year at Eastman School meant I didn't know anything. Little by little the "powers that be" are now listening to my advise and finding the sound has gotten considerably better in the sanctuary. LOL
Quote for the day: "The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it." - Mark Twain