I have heard that before Charlie. I just hope I never have a day where I need to kick a lion to survive
Speaking of Brother Lion, I wonder where he has been lately. I kinda miss him too
TF
TF, If you are that close to a lion and need to kick it, you won't survive. On our last safari in 2019, we were observing 2 male lions after a kill, eating what was left of a Kudu, anyway a female decided it wanted more to eat but one of the males wasn't up for that. In a matter of 5 seconds it lept off the carcass, covered about 20 feet of ground and gave the lioness a swat it soon wouldn't forget. It was a little unnerving to know that if a lion wanted to get us in the vehicle it could do so and so fast you wouldn't have time to do anything. The guides in Botswana aren't allowed to carry guns but it wouldn't matter as they wouldn't even have time to shoulder the weapon if that lion decided on us for dessert.
I wonder if Lion could be tempted out if he knew a herd of Wildebeest had been spotted in N. Dakota.
CN Charlie
Lions you should read https://www.amazon.com/Man-Eaters-Tsavo-Peter-Capstick-Library-ebook/dp/B00I1W23XQ
Tsavo is in Africa and they were trying to build a railroad bridge, while 2 lions feasted on 100 workers. They would stand on the guy in the bottom bunk, to drag the guy in the top bunk out to within hearing range, as they crunched on his bones.
In Africa Toyota has the market over Jeep and the landcruiser is not like what the giant SUV you can buy in the US. It is a hardtop Jeep vehicle that can be converted into a convertible. I met a guy who said a lion attacked the landcruiser throwing his body against the door. His claws peeled the door down. No one got hurt.
We met a pet giraffe at a ranch in Tejas. He or she was quite friendly.
Like everything else there are bad lions and good lions
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Henry, a movie was made about the man eating lions called The Ghost and the Darkness that starred Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer. We have the DVD and it is a good movie.
The Toyota Land Cruisers are indeed different from the ones here. They basically have everything from the cab back including the rof removed and 3 tiers of seats added. I've ridden in quite a few but prefer the Land Rover version as they are far amoother riding.
I don't understand this.
Last year, after the lockdown in March, Florida refused to close the hotels and end Spring Break. All those kids met down here, then returned across the United States, and that event is often credited with being one of the major initial main sources of spread.
Now... Spring Break is in full effect again. All hotels are packed 100%, no rental cars can be found, and the beaches are full. This year is the worst Spring Break since the 1990s. There have been so many arrests, and the parties are out of control. There is grafitti and garbage everywhere.
One of my friends that has a condominium on the beach says it is like a war zone down there.
The East Coast is even worse.
This just seems terribly irresponsible to me when we are so close to the end.
Sorry to everyone that gets exposed to one of these super-spreaders when they go back home.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I feel your frustration, Kevin. There are a lot of people out there that just blow off the advice of the highly educated.
When I was a kid and seat belts in cars were the topic of protest, people would say accidents happen to other people, not me, I am not wearing a seatbelt, my freedom is more important. Now, most of those same people would not drive ten feet without a seatbelt done up. It is all about education and change and human nature shows we hate change. Education is a wonderful thing. I would never debate an anti-vaxxer, but when I see a discussion between an anti-vaxxer and those that actually know a bit about biology like Drs. or bio researchers it makes my eyes roll heavenwards. Just ask an anti-vaxxer about vaccines containing live virus vs those containing a dead virus. They have an opinion without ever cracking a book.
Tile guys were here for about six hours laying more tile, they have a hard time not boxing themselves in, but should be done tomorrow and then the grout on Thursday. My garage is easing a sigh of relief as there were about 8000 lbs of tile in there. They are some fussy tile guys, that's for sure, trimming every little thing so the job is perfect.
Got the statement from the insurance company today, the cost of replacing the floor in the kitchen /family room was $38,000.00. That was a big job, it took a week just to get the old stuff up. The old stuff was high-end stuff from Italy we had put in in 1996.
I tore up all the floor in the front hall, office, laundry room and powder room and put down 12.5mm ply for underlay. I don't think that is a job I will ever take on again.
Doing the master bathroom is the next biggie and the rest will not be much work as it is a simple floor replacement. Then the whole house will be done. The master bathroom is quite large but I can have it gutted to the studs in a day and then start putting it back together. There is a learning curve, but now I have done a few it goes pretty quick.
If we stay here long enough we will get the windows done along with new front doors at the same time, the quotes for that (28 windows) are in the $50,000.00 range but the new owners can deal with that and choose the windows and door arrangement.
We are going to Vancouver Island next week to pick up my daughters' stuff. She rented a place for a year and spent a total of three weeks there as the University was shut down due to covid. We will look at some waterfront acreages while we are there as we still would like to build our own custom house. Starting to feel a little too old to take that project on though. Even having it all built for you, is a lot of work.
Liked reading about the vehicles used in Africa. We have gone to some very remote places here and have come across the grocery-getter SUVs that had no business being off-road, in trouble. They would have multiple flat tires due to city slicker tires ( as we liked to call them) Or ground clearance so low a dusting of snow gives them trouble. Our truck has more than proved itself going to the most remote ghost towns hours from the pavement going over huge logs, rocks and lots of other crap. My kids often talk about those adventures.
On the trip where the above pic was taken, we stopped for a pee break and were sitting looking at the map for a few minutes before we got out to do the deed. Just as my friend was putting his hand on the door handle to open the door, I yelled NO! A giant Grizzly was looking in the window at us. We drove down the road a little further for our pee break.
Parks Canada teaches a course on Grizzly Bear attacks. If you are attacked you have a 76% chance of stopping an attacking bear with a gun and a 93% chance of stopping it with bear spray. We choose the bear spray but have on occasion packed a police special shotgun as well alternating the rounds between slugs and shot as recommended. Only in the early Spring are Grizzlies ever a problem.
It is another quiet night as exams are going on and I have been told not to exercise the sound system. I'll go watch TV in the bedroom with the wife, as soon as she starts snoring I can turn Ghost Adventures on. A few weeks back I mentioned the cable company dropped our bill by $30.00 a month, gave us 5G internet a well as a better phone plan with long distance to Europe now free. Also, the guy said you now get every channel we offer included, we only had basic service before just so I could watch the Hockey. I think the wife figured out we now get 586 channels. Some of those Italian and Eastern European stations have some pretty racy stuff on them, cruising the dial is becoming an interesting pastime. The fact they are not speaking English is hardly noticeable.
All the best to all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Always something good cookin' in the Diner!
CNW, Baraboo, Wisconsin, 1981 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
ATSF, Los Angeles, California, 1970 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
A big green EMD gives a hand to some ailing GEs:
Green leader on the Chief by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
Speaking of a beautiful place:
South Draw shadows by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
I was up at 6:30 this morning for an 8 AM doctor appointment. Please arrive fifteen minutes early they admonish. And I was.
I arrived all masked up, told the receptionist I was here and ... "We're sorry, the doctor isn't feeling well today. He took the day off."
"We would be happy to reschedule for you — Arrrgh!!
I was back home by quarter to eight. At 9 AM I get a robo-call from the health care professionals. Doctor so-and-so will not be in the office today. We hope this will not be an inconvenience for you...
But patients who arrive late for appointments are charged a restocking fee!
Pfft!
Regards, Ed
BATMANParks Canada teaches a course on Grizzly Bear attacks. If you are attacked you have a 76% chance of stopping an attacking bear with a gun and a 93% chance of stopping it with bear spray. We choose the bear spray
When we were in BC a couple of years ago on a Grizzly Bear tour, all our guide carried was a can of bear spray. He quoted roughly the same statistics regarding the effectiveness of bear spray vs a gun against a Grizzly attack. However, he also noted that Black Bears are not nearly as disuaded by bear spray. It is much less effective against them.
I'm glad that bear spray works so well against Grizzlies. Moma Grizzly got to within 60' of us while chasing a salmon down river towards us! Fortunately the fish saved us from any further trauma by turning back upstream and taking moma bear with it. I was giggling like a fool at having had such a great view of the bear. Dianne was somewhat less impressed!
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
BATMANParks Canada teaches a course on Grizzly Bear attacks.
All this talk of 'kicking a lion'. No wonder Brother Lion has gone.
Hope he returns soon.
We like pussycats. Had them around the house until Dawn took bad.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Good morning all. "A grand day indeed"
Kevin. We have the same carry on over here. People having parties etc and disregarding the rules. Then they want us to feel sorry for them if they get Covid.
A day of 'pottering around the house'.
Coffee time.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require
Good Morning,
Dave, I read your story about your grizzly encounter and you laughing but your wife was upset. A similar thing happened to us in Africa. We were watching a herd of elephants cross an open area. They filed past until the last one, a male. He looked at us about 100 feet away, flapped its ears and charged. I didn't know a Land Cruiser could go that fast in reverse but it wasn't fast enough as the ellie was gaining quickly. Luckily it broke off the charge. Ater the tracker, guide and myself burst out laughing. My wife was terrorized and in shock. That ellie could easily flip the vehicle and crush it. She thought we were really stupid to laugh about a dangerous situation. The guide had a rifle mounted above the dash but there was no time to get it and doubtful it would stop an ellie.
Well I'm back in the doghouse again. I won't go into details but what was a trivial issue to me and likely anyone else was a major blowup to her upstairs. Not sure when we will be talking again. Going into the 4th year since her breakdown and after some good progress, covid fears have knocked her back to square one and beyond. I'm starting to develop a thick skin but not sure if that is good.
Nice out again today. I usually can't pump the snow melt that fills the pond until late April but at this rate it will be late March.
Time for another coffee.
Afternoon Folks!
BATMANWhen I was a kid and seat belts in cars were the topic of protest, people would say accidents happen to other people, not me, I am not wearing a seatbelt, my freedom is more important. Now, most of those same people would not drive ten feet without a seatbelt done up. It is all about education and change and human nature shows we hate change. Education is a wonderful thing. I would never debate an anti-vaxxer, but when I see a discussion between an anti-vaxxer and those that actually know a bit about biology like Drs. or bio researchers it makes my eyes roll heavenwards. Just ask an anti-vaxxer about vaccines containing live virus vs those containing a dead virus. They have an opinion without ever cracking a book.
Yep, absolutely right! I remember back when I was in High School NYS made it a law that everyone riding in the front seat of a vehicle had to have a seatbelt on. Of course our old Dodge truck didn't have seatbelts so we just ignored it. Our old but new enough to have seatbelts Rambler American Station Wagon did have them. One morning when I was a Senior in High School and had my licence we had an emergency on the farm (water problem I think) and by the time my dad and I had it fixed I had missed the bus. Dad let me drive to school but had me take my mom's car as he needed the truck. I got in the car and sat right on the belt buckle. Said a few bad words, and since it was already in my hand buckled up.
As I pulled up to the school there was a 4 corners where there was a 4 way stop. I had to go through the corner and around to the back of the school where faculty and student parking was. An old (84 year old) gent had just dropped off his grandkid at the main door of the school and was coming out the to the intersection on my right side. He didn't see the stop sign and just kept going! When He finally saw me he accidently stomped on the gas instead of the brake. He t-boned the front passenger side of the rambler. I was thrown towards the passenger door but the belt allowed me to hold on to the steering wheel. I was able to just turn the wheel enough to miss the huge maple tree straight ahead of where my car was headed. Missed the tree by less of a foot. If I had not had the seat belt on, I am pretty sure I would have been badly injured and likely killed!!!
I ended up having to go to the police station (the other driver didn't have a belt on and went to the hospital.....). I was scared silly to say the least. The Chief of Police wanted me to sign a statement so they could arrest the old man in the car. When he left and the officer who took me down to the station told me to ignore the SOB chief as the old guy would be losing his licence anyway and it would just cause a lot more hurt for him and he would have to go to court for no real reason.
Ultimately both cars were totalled (although dad tried to have the rambler repaired. It failed inspection a couple months later...). I always buckled up the seat belt after that, BTW. My Father decided he should use seatbelts as the law said after that as well! To say he was scared s******less would be an understatment!
Same thing is true with those today who think there is some horrible conspiracy to keep them from their "right" to not have to follow guidance with the Virus. I know of few around here that have changed their speeches after one of their older relatives caught the virus and died from it... They don't like to talk about what they used to spout either. (Don't try to remind them of their stupidity!!!)
Enough said!
73 and stay well!
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good evening all.
Charlie. This Covid has a lot to answer for. I have to 'force' Dawn to go into the garden or to the car just for us 'to get out'. we thought it was going to end soon, but we have been informed (because we are in the vulnerable group) to stay indoors until the end of March and possibly longer. Only allowed out to go for a walk or essential shopping.
Dawn can only walk a very short distance. 18 steps at best is her 'long walk'. At least I have the train room, but the Covid is affecting her (and many others).
'Tonites Special'
Curried Fish Tray Bake with Turmeric Yoghurt
Greek Yoghurt Strawberry Surprise.
Stay Safe Everyone.
A little Guinness is in order for tonight.
Some of the office personnel get some fun posing for the photographer at the American Car & Foundry plant:
Lot 3447065 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
This was part of an order to re-equip the Empire Builder.
Lot 3447068 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Lot 3447037 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Lot 3447058 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Go For The Green!
Sully Springs green by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
Greenhorn Trestle by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
Happy St. Patrick's Day...
Cheers, Ed
Good Afternoon,
Got my covid shot booked today. It was opened up to age 73 today and that is my age. The online registration was fast and easy. I got an appointment time in a minute. It is for April 1. The age criteria is dropping fast. My MIL said the process was fast with very little waiting. She was in and out in 45 minutes. You get a time slot and they are right on time so kudos to Manitoba Health.
I'm feeling better today. I do have a thick skin developed in 35 years of commercial credit. Approval or rejection of all new dealer applications was my call and I got abuse from our own sales dept when I turned down an applicant they wanted. A sales manager even hung a sign in my dept that said 'Sales Prevention Dept' . I just treated it as a joke and left it up for a long time.
Regaeding seat belts, my Dad had them installed when he bought a new 1962 Galaxie 500. We always used them.
CNCharlie The age criteria is dropping fast.
My wife qualifies for the shot with the latest drop here in Florida. I need one more drop so I qualify... Then I am going on vacation!
*** Actually a road trip. I am always on vacation. ***
CNCharlieIt was opened up to age 73 today and that is my age. ..... The age criteria is dropping fast.
That would not be my conclusion.
Virginia has had an age 65 limit for quite some time, they however the registration was a mess, with multiple agencies having multiple lists.
In fact, I got a call today from the very first list I signed up with a couple months ago. Too late, my 2nd is Saturday
I planted some onion sets, radish seeds and day lilly bulbs this week. I am ready for spring.
Hello Railfans!
Top of the morning to yas! Well morning for me i spose. My sleep routine is a bit off again.
Thank goodness this is an all night diner and i can still come in and raid the ice box. Though passing through on my way in here, i did have to do a double take.... it seems ive seen those black shoes before, hmmmm .
The hitching post and i were discussin earlier how boring its getting around here (my place). Cant do anything in the train room - waiting on a few things to show up and they isnt posed to be here til Monday.
Though aside from parts, i did manage to buy a couple of smiles for my face this week. 1) a lil MDC/RH 0-6-0 and 2) now hold the eyeroles.... a TYCo SF F7-A. Oh yeah - 4015! Much like kids they werent planned buys, they kinda just popped up.
I was perusing thru my boxes of 'unopened xmas presents for retirement' and came across my old 4015 from yestercentury. Ofcourse, ole 4015 wasnt looking that good, and certainly not original. Back in those days, i was quite the tinkerer with trains. Had to know what made them tick.
Whats wrong with ole 4015? Shes an FL9-A now . A Warbonnet Red FL9-A. Seriously, no kidding. I have no clue why i did that but i had mated the rear truck from an E unit inplace of the rear Blomberg on the 4015. Oh holy heck in your hand basket - WHY? Kids!!!!
Well, onwards into the models i find a B unit of same vintage. I had totally forgotten i had this one. So when i saw the 'other' 4015 floating on the 'bay', i decided to snag it and get an 'original' back in possession. And IF, ahem IF(!) i can find the original truck, i will swap it back. This will give me a nice A-B-A set. A nice homage to my Model Railroading youth.
The 0-6-0 just happened to float by as i was fishing out the F7 and was at an awesome price. In pristine looking shape (yeah, well see AFTER it gets here), all it needs is a motor. I just happen to be in the market for old Mantua/Tyco motors and parts because of another project (project #4,782 - an old Rodgers loco).
Not a bad week hobbywise, though all is not honeysuckle n roses. I also came across a perfect set of AmTrak cars (NIB!) that were really pulling at my 'buy me now strings'. When you have a modelling addiction as bad as i do you have to know when to say when. I thought 2 locos this week was enough. Those red marks on my caboose side are from where i been kickin myself.
Lastly, i also caught sight of the Broadway 2-8-0's that oddly enough come in PM flavor. Once i regained conscienceness, i realized a car payment wasnt in my plans so i very quickly moved on. The model looked nice.
OK folks thats enough steam from the poop deck, and no more cake in the fridge. Hope all are well this fine rainy day. See yall round the beanery!
Clear Ahead!
Douglas
Howdy ...First, I sincerely thank each of you who posted thoughtful comments and words of encouragement regarding my recent health situation. ... I am starting to feel somewhat better in recent days. I believe it will continue slowly improving. I’m way behind with non model railroad stuff. I have glanced at your recent posts. You guys are certainly busy.
Everybody: ....... Have a good night.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
PM RailfanI was perusing thru my boxes of 'unopened xmas presents for retirement' and came across my old 4015 from yestercentury.
I bought a 4015 for myself last year. I held out until I found one with the yellow air horns.
I wish I had a before picture of this house. This house is on a prominent three lot corner building site in my neighborhood. This one was built in 1974. It was a terrible eyesore for the last decade.
It was bought, rehabbed, and flipped. The new residents have just moved in. It is a pretty good looking house now. It still has some of the silly looking 1970s features, but it is so much better to look at.
You cannot tell from the front elevation, but this house is over 4,000 square feet and has an additional "1/2 floor" on the rear overlooking the lake.
Garry: Thank you for the update... we are pulling for you & a fast recovery.
Heartland Division CB&Q I believe it will continue slowly improving.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Good morning all. A grand day indeed. Summer is on its way.
Garry. Good to hear from you. Keep looking forward, never back.
I managed to run some trains yesterday after 'freshening up the scenery'.
I wanted to bake a pie today, but Dawn said to bake it on Saturday. Other food in the refridgerator to eat first.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
Good Afternoon All,
Just a regular to go. Middle of the day in a week of Mondays with a steady drizzle coming down and s**w predicted tonight. Good to hear from Ken and Garry. I agree Ken with the way things seem to be going for you a pile of avoidable debt is not a good idea in general right now.
Garry - I have the likelyhood of kidney issues due to the blood pressure meds I take but I guess for me, the tradeoff is worth the risk. Hope you feel better soon.
Atlanta mext week then back to Sebring where I hope to avoid most of the "breakers" though we fly into and out of West Palm Beach to get there.
We were supposed to close on the new house Monday and that got put off because the title search wasn't done. We had a walk through Tuesday and that was fine but we returned to the shop to a message from the lawyer that there was a problem with the title. Hopefully it can get ironed out quickly as everything else was ready to go and we now will have to pay for the privilige of having our interest rate locked in after the date the loan was supposed to transfer to the seller. This on a house that has only ever had two owners. Glad we have a worry wart for an attorney.
Bear - I loved Dunedin. Built on hiily land and looked very European to me (what do I know). Walking around the two days we were there was a treat plus the train ride.
I guess my family neve quibbled about the seat belts. When we moved to California they had just been mandated there for all cars and we had them put in our 59 Plymouth wagon. Just the two for the front seat even though we carried 6 people in it. Go figure. The 62 Ford wagon that replaced it had belts of all 6 positions which made more sense. I wore them from the beginning and as wild as I was then, it is probably the reason I'm still here. Now the no mask, no distance, party hearty thing I just don't get. Guess that means I'm getting older.
I too have some Tyco stuff put away. When I got back into the hobby, I started with some dime store Tyco train sets - New Haven of course though they didn't have EMD stuff until the FL9's and a couple of Geeps at the end. At least they had the right paint scheme. The New Haven did have the largest fleet of DL109's which I remember from early days. They were allowed to order more during the years of WWII because they could haul passenger trains by day and double up as the power on freights at night. Needless to say they were all pretty well used up by the end of the war and none survive today in any museum. For that matter to the best of my knowledge none of the New Haven steam or electrics survive either with the exception of an EF4 from the batch acquired at the end from the Virginian after they were taken over by Norfolk Western. The RS-11 we have at the museum survived only because it was sold to and retreived from a quarry in Georgia and we got it because they had worn the flanges off the wheels and it was too expensive to fix.
Well back into the shop I go. If enough goes wrong for long enough eventually something has to go right. I hope. Ciao, J.R.
GMTRacing Atlanta mext week then back to Sebring where I hope to avoid most of the "breakers" though we fly into and out of West Palm Beach to get there.
I wish I had my vaccination, I would drive over to Sebring and check it out.
Someday this will be over...
Good evening all. An easy going day.
Just been informed by the Government we can go out from the 1st of April. I hope it is not an April Fools Joke. Having said that, they say it could all change!
Oven-Baked Beef Mince & Black Bean Chilli.
Stay Safe.
David,
Hope your edict from on high comes true. I'm sure even a stroll about would be welcome at this point.
I get my second shot next Tuesday. Hope I don't have a big reaction as we are short people and I don't think anyone can fill in for me if I can't travel. Until this pandemic is more over I will mask up and be cautious anyway but I can't just close down. Not a fun last year for sure. J.R.
Hi JR.
I myself can get about reasonably okay. It is Dawn who has the real challenge with not being able to walk far. I just have to be with her 24/7.
Come April we will be able to visit family twelve miles away without any worry of Police stopping us.
Tonite I saw Dawn smile properly for the first time in over a year.
To celebrate, it is 'open house in the Diner'.
NorthBritTonite I seen Dawn smile properly for the first time in over a year. David
Glad to hear it. I have a very dear friend with MS who has left her home only twice in the last year. She had a decent job before her illness and is now barely able to afford her medications. She only got her 1st shot last week.
JS ask your doctor to check your uric acid. My internist checked mine e,very year and when I asked him why, he said he learned it from his senior partner who was a Nephrologist and the uric acid is an early sign of renal dysfunction. Of course anyone can have a high uric acid for other reasons. He was looking for a change.
Went to the store looking for scallops tonight. Krogers was $16/lb, Martin's $18/lb and the seafood specialty store was $23. I ended up with a Sushi tray for $11. The was a dab of Wasabi, it was HOT
OT I got a call from Soda Springs Calif. I looked it up, populaton 81?
I got the quote to paint my house today. $3,250.00 for the whole job.
Pressure washing, fixing two tiny cracks, getting rid of the nasty growths, sealing, priming, and painting with Sherwin Williams Emerald Flex.
This guy comes recommended, and he painted a couple other houses in the neighborhood that look great. He does not use a sprayer, rollers and brushes only. I don't know if that is good or not.