The Coffee Shop (a place to chat) Est. 2004

[egmurphy]

Okay, in order not to seem un-American, I had the required hot coffee this morning (while the a/c was still on).

Kids down here get out of school at the end of June (like the 30th) and go back on about August 23rd. So that's 7 weeks of summer vacation. But they had two and a half weeks off at Christmas and another two weeks at Easter.

Trains will probably take a back seat today. My young niece finally had the cast taken off her arm this morning (after 7 weeks) and we'll probably all go to the beach for the first time this year to celebrate. Normally we would have gone earlier, but since she couldn't get the cast wet we figured better not try it. So by tomorrow this time I ought to have my first bad sunburn of the year.

I suspect this afternoon I'll consume a lot more cerveza fria than cafe caliente.

Hasta luego

Ed

[Anonymous]

Why would you retire and move to Mexico, why Mexico?????

[egmurphy]

I suppose I could say for the beer and tacos, but really it's a result of a lot of things. I had worked a lot in Mexico and was familiar with the country and felt comfortable here, I speak Spanish fairly well, and more importantly my wife is from here and all her family is here.

There are actually a lot of Americans and Canadians retired in Mexico, but they usually tend to be located in one of the better known areas like Lake Chapala (near Guadalajara), San Miguel de Allende, or coastal places like Puerta Vallarta. We're out here in the middle of nowhere, basically because DW's family is here.

Lots less stress, but a heck of a long drive to my local hobby shop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ed

[lupo]

if I look outside [xx(] now and read Ed's posts I can think dozens of reasons to retire in Mexico[:D][:P]

[Noah Hofrichter]

QUOTE: Originally posted by lupo

wow Noah only 8 days?
how long is your summervacation?

It's approximentaly two months. The state made a new law last year that we can't start school before labor day, so we start the tuesday after. We only get either a week and a half off for christmas of spring break, and my understanding is we'll never have both. Our spring break this year was only a five day weekend instead of the usual week long spring break. This way thought we don't have to go as far into the summer and we get a longer continuous break (to work on the the trains) Sooooooooooo [sigh] you win some you lose some, it all works out the same.[:D]

Noah[:p]

[Anonymous]

if i had to go to summer camp, id drive myself nuts without trains.

[egmurphy]

Well, not to argue over little points, Noah, but if you've only got 8 more days of school and you don't go back until after Labor Day, that sounds closer to three months vacation. A pretty good deal no matter how you slice it. I still remember (vaguely) being excited as school vacation drew closer. It also seems that this "new law" is only going back to where things used to be. When I went to school (back before you were a gleam in your father's eye) we used to get out around mid-June and always went back the Tuesday after Labor Day. That's why Labor Day had always (until recently, it seems) been the traditional 'end of summer' holiday.

By the way, the beach was great today. It was a bit overcast and windy when we got there, and I guess that kept a lot of people away because it wasn't at all crowded. Clouds blew out after a while and it turned real nice. Glad my wife put sun block on me so i only have a nice pink glow instead of being well done. Water was just right, cool enough to be refreshing, just a bit of a wakeup as you got in, but warm enough to be very comfortable after a few seconds. The cerveza was real cold.

Got my tall iced coffee in front of me right now. I've decided it doesn't matter if drinking iced coffee is un-American as I'm outside the borders anyway. Go ahead and report me to the HUAC. :-) <<<<sign of computer challenged older person who doesn't know how to put those colored smilies (much less Lupo's animation) in a post.

By the way, since this is a model railroading forum, don't we have to include something on topic in the post to stay legal? Like I could say "...and while at the beach I paged through the latest edition of Model Railroad Planning 2004..." just so we don't go too far afield. Or is it sufficient to talk about the coffee?

Hasta manana

Ed

[lupo]

morning y'all
was a peacfull day at the shop, not much going on,
Ed if you want to put in smilies in your post hit the "Show Smilie List"button on the left next to the quick reply box. doubleclick on the smilies you want and they are in the post!
This topic was created to share off-topic chit-chat without annoying the serious posters
post about anything you want
have fun!

gonna make some fresh coffee or soup now, Jim might pop in any time now

[dave9999]

Good Morning Lupo,
How's the weather in the Netherlands? Hot as hell here in Florida. I was going to work a little while today,
but...... Hey, you can't work all the time, right. Dave

[lupo]

Morning Dave and Jonathon!
wheater is sunny, temperature low 60, windy and some shattered showers !
no work for me today, gonna start another 60+ hour working week tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by lupo

Morning Dave and Jonathon!
wheater is sunny, temperature low 60, windy and some shattered showers !
no work for me today, gonna start another 60+ hour working week tomorrow.

Lupo [:)]

I know what you mean. [:(]

This last week I worked 62.78 hours officially. That doesn't count the time they screw us out of in cleanup after the bell has rang. [:(!]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by egmurphy

I suppose I could say for the beer and tacos, but really it's a result of a lot of things. I had worked a lot in Mexico and was familiar with the country and felt comfortable here, I speak Spanish fairly well, and more importantly my wife is from here and all her family is here.

There are actually a lot of Americans and Canadians retired in Mexico, but they usually tend to be located in one of the better known areas like Lake Chapala (near Guadalajara), San Miguel de Allende, or coastal places like Puerta Vallarta. We're out here in the middle of nowhere, basically because DW's family is here.

Lots less stress, but a heck of a long drive to my local hobby shop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ed

I understand completely, Is it generally cheaper to live in Mexico, I've heard this once or twice but not from anyone who really lives there.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by lupo

Morning Dave and Jonathon!
wheater is sunny, temperature low 60, windy and some shattered showers !
no work for me today, gonna start another 60+ hour working week tomorrow.

Hey ahhhhh, Lupo, question...Whats a shattered shower?????[:D]

[egmurphy]

You asked "Is it generally cheaper to live in Mexico, I've heard this once or twice but not from anyone who really lives there."

While that's a very natural question, it's so open ended that it's difficult to answer with any precision. It so depends on where you live, in what style, and how that compares to how you live in the US or Canada. You'll get different opinions from everyone you ask. My own take on it, is that if you want to try to live the same lifestyle you do NOB (north of the border) it'll cost about the same. I believe many people are retired and living more economically down here, but I believe they have adopted (as I have) certain changes in lifestyle.

Some things cost less (housing, generally, although it depends a lot on where you are and what you are looking for in a house), some things cost more (cars), and some are almost the same (gasoline, although it was more expensive until the recent price increases NOB). I think we live, to a large degree, a more simple lifestyle. I don't have the latest toys (we're not talking trains here) and I'm not tempted to run out and buy the latest flat/wide/H-D/superscreen TV or whatever. None of my friends have them, I don't see them in stores (at least where we live - you can easily find them in the bigger metropolitan areas), and so ignorance is bliss. I don't actually watch much tv so the example is purely for explanation, but the principle applies to other items. "Recreational shopping" is not a very common pastime where we are.

I also believe you could retire/move to many small towns in America (or Canada) that haven't been "discovered" and find inexpensive housing and lead the same simple lifestyle without having to deal with the problems of different language (unless you move to Quebec or certain parts of Mississippi) or culture shock (same exceptions apply). You need to want to move to a foreign country for more reasons than just the idea of living for less.

Feel free to ask more questions, or if you want we could take it offline. [:)]

(Lupo - thanks for the tip on the smilies - never saw that option on the left - think I might have gotten to "Show Forum Code" and froze).

Ed

[Anonymous]

phew. I don't get out of school til the middle of June ( close to my birthday)
gimme a cup of coffe. black please

[Noah Hofrichter]

Ed,

Your right. It's too close to the end of the year and my brain is going to shut down mode a little early this year. Let see 1+1=2, 2+2=22, 3+3=33, 4+4=16 uhhhhh......... uhhhhhh...... thats all I can remember right now, I'll let you know if I think of anything else- oh!oh! I just thought of another one. 5-3=8. yeah, thats it! [:D][(-D]

JC train, when's your birthday, I must be close to mine. Mine's June 25th.

Noah

[n2mopac]

Hey dudes, what's up? [8D]

Back from a short hiatus (is that how you spell that? [8)]) as my computer contracted a trojan horse virus and CRASHED AND BURNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!![:(][:(!][xx(][V][banghead] But, after a WEEK of getting my files off of it in between lockups and when it would actually allow me to log on I finally was able to reinitialize the system. It took an entire day to get my software loaded back on, but I am finally up and running again. [:)][:D][:p][^][C):-)] (Don't you hate it when people overuse thes smily things?) When I finally logged back on my "Active Topic" list was like 6.8 mile long--so I think I will just start with today and let the rest go.

Anywayy . . . good to be back. Hideeho and blessings to all.
Ron

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by n2mopac

Hey dudes, what's up? [8D]

Back from a short hiatus (is that how you spell that? [8)]) as my computer contracted a trojan horse virus and CRASHED AND BURNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!![:(][:(!][xx(][V][banghead] But, after a WEEK of getting my files off of it in between lockups and when it would actually allow me to log on I finally was able to reinitialize the system. It took an entire day to get my software loaded back on, but I am finally up and running again. [:)][:D][:p][^][C):-)] (Don't you hate it when people overuse thes smily things?) When I finally logged back on my "Active Topic" list was like 6.8 mile long--so I think I will just start with today and let the rest go.

Anywayy . . . good to be back. Hideeho and blessings to all.
Ron

Ron [:)]

I had a smaller computer problem Saturday / Sunday. I deleted cookies. Shouldn't have been a problem at all. But for some reason I couldn't get back on the internet. I keep trying and trying but to no avail. So I finally said the heck with it, got out the HP computer disks and reformatted the drive. Of course I lost ( A G A I N ) all the pics that the forum members have sent me but at least I am back online. I should also be free of any adware. [:)] Stay away from Smiley Central, it is loaded with adware. Many programs you download sneak it in on you as part of the download agreement. You don't even know it is there., that is UNTIL you use MS Internet Explorer Browser.

I also have to reload MSN Messenger. I tried earlier today but after waiting 20 minutes for the download to complete, I got an error message saying that the download failed. [:(!] I haven't been on msn messenger much lately because of working so much. I MISS YOU GUYS [:(] [:0] [;)] But I shall return. [:D] Maybe not on a PT boat, hopefully a C 425 [:D] [:D] [:D] . Of course I would gladly settle for a C424 or even a C420. And I wouldn't mind an RS3 either. [;)] [:D] [;)] Oh heck, any Alco will do. [:D] [:)] [:D]

Well I am having Mexican (again) tonight. So I better check on it. I am hungry. Doesn't everyone eat at 1am? [:p]

[lupo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by emeraldisle

QUOTE: Originally posted by lupo

Morning Dave and Jonathon!
wheater is sunny, temperature low 60, windy and some shattered showers !
no work for me today, gonna start another 60+ hour working week tomorrow.

Hey ahhhhh, Lupo, question...Whats a shattered shower?????[:D]

[#oops] I guess the bathroom after a stampede? [:-^][:-^][%-)][%-)][%-)][D)][X-)][banghead]
I ment scattered

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?scatte01.wav=scatter

JIM!!
[C=:-)][C=:-)]
I eat at 1 am!! [dinner] I have breakfast at 1.00 [dinner]

[cwclark]

hi everybody,...well it's monday morning again..(YUK) and back to work..the coffee pot is extremely slow this morning..spent the weekend on starting to build a model steel bridge..I've only got two trusses completed and have three more to go...went to the LHS (a mere 45 miles from my house) and got all his plastruct beams and some styrene to complete the scratch built bridge..it's going to be the first project on the new layout....the coffee is ready..now where's my cup...typical monday...have a good day!....Chuck[:D]

[CP5415]

YEY, Monday of a long weekend.
Too bad I have to travel today into the heart of cottage country for a family function. UGH!

I haven't touched the layout in a week, which sucks. I have an Athearn AC4400 I hope to get back from the paint shop tomorrow. I freind is airbrushing the body for me.
Then all I need are the detailing pieces for it so I can try to get it as close to my RTR AC4400 as possible.
I need to find some energy to continue on with structure building. I guess I should try to get some sleep at night instead of surfing the net for more ideas then huh!

Gordon

[egmurphy]

Personally, I'm asleep at 01:00. I can understand Jim eating when he gets off shift work, but what are you doing eating breakfast at 01:00 Lupo? [?][%-)]

No coffee this morning, again it's too hot and humid out. I was sweating like a dog during our walk this morning, and we don't go exceptionally fast. It was already in the low-mid 80's (around 26-27 C) at 07:00. Having a tall glass of sparkling water with fresh lime juice instead.

Since I don't have room to set the layout up yet, I'm going to try to get up the energy to build a small diorama so I can take a few photos and try some differemt scenery techniques. Today could be the day...............

Ed

[Anonymous]

I can understand why E G doesn't drink hot coffee when it is so hot down there, but I have to have my coffee to wake up. I get in bed about 3 am if I get off at midnight. Then I am up between 7 and 8 am most days. Tonight we are going on 10 hour shifts so I won't get home till 215 am, and I won't get in bed till around 4 am. So no matter what the temperature outside is I MUST HAVE MY COFFEE. I am not a morning person with getting so little sleep.

Yall have a good day. [:D]

[cwclark]

I'm sooooo glad i don't shift work anymore...spent 18 years on shift until they finally gave me a day job...night shift was the worst, especially when it's about 3 AM and your body is tell'in you to shut down and the boss is tell'in you to stay awake for the next 4 hours...the only drawback between shift work and a day job is that i only get off on the weekends and holidays instead of 3 or 7 days off in a row when i worked on shift...we used to work 4on nights 3off 3 on days 3off 3on nights 3off 4 on days and 7 off before it started all over again...now it's just 7-4 5 days a week

[lupo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by egmurphy

Personally, I'm asleep at 01:00. I can understand Jim eating when he gets off shift work, but what are you doing eating breakfast at 01:00 Lupo? [?][%-)]

Ed

most people where I live have breakfast at that time ( 01:00 forum time) because I am 7 or 8 time zones ahead of you, as I type this my dinner [dinner] is in the FoodNuker [C=:-)]
and it is 17:51 [:D]

[egmurphy]

Lupo - You know, after I posted that I started to think that you might have been jerking us around with that time difference thing [(-D] but I was too lazy to go back and edit the post.

Jim - coffee has never worked much as a stimulant for me. The wife and I normally share a pot of coffee just before going to bed and it does nothing to keep us awake. Likewise in the morning, I can't say that I notice a difference whether I have a cup or not. But I do enjoy it. [^]

Side note - no progress yet on the diorama. Had too many side things to take care of this morning. Plus my printer is acting up and has decided not to print and I'm still wasting time trying to debug it. Still some time left this afternoon, so don't lose faith yet.

Up to 35 C now, about 95 F, fortunately there's a breeze blowing.

Later

Ed

[easyaces]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

QUOTE: Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

Hi Jim, I should start one of these over on Trains.

Mookie could be the waitress.

[:P][;)][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]

Somehow I don't think Mookie would want to be the waitress. She would probally like a cup of coffee or tea though. I do hope we have some nice railroad books and photo albums of trains on the "coffee tables". I think we all like to look at pics of trains. [;)]

Hey, does the coffee shop serve, Southern Fried Chicken and Fried Catfish, I have really been craving some Fried Catfish here lately. [;)]

Jim, the thing about Mookie is, I find much of what she says to be simple chat with a few trains thrown into the mix. I know she likes trains, but not everyone can be an expert. I know that I'm not an expert when it comes to the real thing, but I can hold my own here on the modeling side. Actually I think she might get a kick out of it if I set one of these up and called it Mookie's Coffee House.

As for the menu, I think you'll find VIRTUAL FOOD rather dry, but at least the conversation is good.[swg]

So who among us is really an "Experts- Expert"? We're all here for the love of the hobby, and we all learn from each others tips and tricks! Everyone benefits! Need I say more!

[Noah Hofrichter]

[begin ranting]

I have a question to pose. WHY DOES H2O HAVE TO FORM IN MY BASEMENT!!!!!! The past couple of days I have had a slight flooding of the basement, and I've had to go down with the shop vac about 7 or 8 times yesterday alone to suck up a 10by5 foot area of water each time. The water isn't comming in that fast but its just the fact that it keeps comming. even when it hasn't rained in 18 hours it still comes in and within 2 hours fills up the "bay" that were trying to keep the water in so it doesn't spread to the rest of the basement. The water is just comming right up through the floor, not even from the surface of the ground. It goes just a tad bit under the layout and hasn't hurt it at all so far (except for the fact that all the people are lying over on their sides from the numerous times I've bumped the table while using the shop vac). They're predicting more rain tonight. It's has been raining at least every other day for the bast few weeks and the water table needs to reset but God for got to hit the restet button. My good news is the WSOR local came early enough last night for me to see him again. At one point, the tracks near the end of the sub, a bike trail runs beside it. this trail replaced the rest of the sub that was torn out a couple of years ago. The train runs parallel about ten feet from the bike trail for 50 yards. He dropped a car off and was moving back towards the crossing when I decided to keep pace with him and began jogging. He didn't speed up much so I sped up. I took off and slowly and made my way past the two moving engines till I pasted the front of the engines and split off to get back to the car so my dad could drive me further down the tracks. This whole time my heart was beating really really fast. then the reality set in. I had beat a moving train. (so what if he was only going 5-10 miles per hour[;)]) I was superman[(-D] (you know "Faster that a speeding train" or something like that). So that's my big news for the day, and besides that I made it through another day of school. Only 7 more days, 7 more days. Got to keep saying that to keep going, 7 more days, 7 more days...7...7...7...7....7....7....7....7...

[end ranting]

Noah

[egmurphy]

Well I don't know Noah, the water problem sure sounds like a side effect of global warming and melting of the polar ice cap to me, but what do I know?[%-)]

Congrats on outrunning the train, Supe, but iirc it was "..more powerful than a locomotive.." Doesn't matter, you got to see the train up close and personal, more than I can say. (And it's not likely I could outrun it either.)[:D]

You can do 7 more standing on your head. Start planning your vacation schedule......

Oh yeah, actually started the diorama. Min progress, but it's a beginning. By pure coincidence there was a thread over on the Atlas forum on using foam for scenery, and one of the responses linked to a thread a few months ago where a guy was constructing a diorama and did it with foam and provided step by step photos and instructions. What timing. Onward tomorrow.[8D][yeah]

It's about time for some nice cool iced coffee..........I'll put some in the fridge for Lupo and Jim, it ought to be just right when they start looking for their coffee!!!!!

Hasta manana

Ed

[Anonymous]

I see Lupo is here. <Quick Reply can't use Smileys>