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

[TheK4Kid]

I 'retired' over 2 years ago after medical problems made it next to impossible for mne to hold job. I'm too big an insurance risk. I found out very quickly that without a hobby or two or three, that the biggest part of retirement is BOREDOM! Since I have had model railroading as a hobby since the age of 4, that's not a problem. Another hobby of mine is building computers, also programming them. As a result of that hobby, I built my own computer from the ground up. It does everything the other ones do and also things that none of them do, or would want them to do, unless you're a hacker, which I am, though not a malicious one.  already belong to several special computer forums to which members are 'invited'. With the help of these hobbies, I don't get bored easily, which is a good thing, otherwise, no government database would be safe. Just kidding.

Hi Jeff,
 Hey, I have been trying to post photos. Tried Photobucket, uploaded successfully, but as I follow the steps to post on MR forum, all I see is the small square with 3 small colored dots in it.
I have rather old PC, but it's running the latest version of Firefox, and I can switch back and forth to IE
as I am also running a program that's sort of a combination of Windows Millenium, and Windows 95, and also 98Lite Pro.
But when I switch back to IE, posting pics is no better than Firefox
It allows me to totally separate windows from IE, and basically all the software microsoft thought I might like to have is gone.
Therefore this old 400 Mhz custom built machine runs at about 1 to 1.2 gig performance, however it is not overclocked, and is powered by an AMD K63 processor which by now is an antique,

It really is time for a new machine because some of the newer programs simply won't run on this one at all. I am also a private pilot and need to use some software for proficiency training, so I'll need a new machine.
Several computer IT friends tell me to go with the newer Dell machines, like the 521 series and to stay with the AMD dual core processors as they are superior in many regards.
I think I'll just forget about posting pics on here until I get a new machine.
Anyway, what's your opinion on Dell?
Then again one of my IT buddies can easily turn a Dell machine into a real hot rod.
he built this one.
I will have to say he did a good job, as in 8 years, it's never crashed totally, and with a tune up about every 24 months has lasted quite awhile.
He did all the custom software installation on it also.
As far as hacking, and it's not malicious, go for it!

I have a friend who has already bought anew Dell XP70, and has 3 wrap around monitors.
Nice setup! And he is like you, already "hot rodded" it.

Best regards,
 Ed

[NeO6874]

Hacking by definition:

- To write or refine computer programs skillfully.

while it isn't the only definition, it is generaly the one attributed to "lawful" hacking... the illegal stuff is generally "cracking" - as in cracking passwords...

[Anonymous]

I 'retired' over 2 years ago after medical problems made it next to impossible for mne to hold job. I'm too big an insurance risk. I found out very quickly that without a hobby or two or three, that the biggest part of retirement is BOREDOM! Since I have had model railroading as a hobby since the age of 4, that's not a problem. Another hobby of mine is building computers, also programming them. As a result of that hobby, I built my own computer from the ground up. It does everything the other ones do and also things that none of them do, or would want them to do, unless you're a hacker, which I am, though not a malicious one.  already belong to several special computer forums to which members are 'invited'. With the help of these hobbies, I don't get bored easily, which is a good thing, otherwise, no government database would be safe. Just kidding.

Do you think its good to tell all the little ears in here that's its ok to do hacking,like you do?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I 'retired' over 2 years ago after medical problems made it next to impossible for mne to hold job. I'm too big an insurance risk. I found out very quickly that without a hobby or two or three, that the biggest part of retirement is BOREDOM! Since I have had model railroading as a hobby since the age of 4, that's not a problem. Another hobby of mine is building computers, also programming them. As a result of that hobby, I built my own computer from the ground up. It does everything the other ones do and also things that none of them do, or would want them to do, unless you're a hacker, which I am, though not a malicious one.  already belong to several special computer forums to which members are 'invited'. With the help of these hobbies, I don't get bored easily, which is a good thing, otherwise, no government database would be safe. Just kidding.

[Paul W. Beverung]

Time change? I don't need no stinking time change.

Just practicing for when I retire. I just spoke to the HR guy that handles that and said 2 Febuary  if the CFO says ok. I also found out that I have 4 wks vacation that I can take before I retire but after I retire I won't get paid for more then 2 days. Figure that out if you can.

I'm going to check out for now. I'lll see you all later.

 

[dansapo]

What kind of phone systems do you service?

We are an authorized Samsung dealer, but we're also a CLEC (we provide local and long distance dial tone) so we will service just about anything.

I used to be a certified Panasonic digital installer.The panasonic line is great,The dealer support stinks.
Yes,I've been fielding calls also about the time change.

[SilverSpike]

Looks like I got TOP today! Lunch is on me....

TODAYS SPECIALS

Crab and Corn Chowder

Oyster and Artichoke Soup

Shrimp Creole with rice

Lamb Kabobs with Wild Rice Pilaf

White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Rum Raisin Sauce

Oh you're GOOD!

Soups on..... so come and get it.....

Thanks for the birthday celebration too!

 

[pcarrell]

Looks like I got TOP today! Lunch is on me....

TODAYS SPECIALS

Crab and Corn Chowder

Oyster and Artichoke Soup

Shrimp Creole with rice

Lamb Kabobs with Wild Rice Pilaf

White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Rum Raisin Sauce

Oh you're GOOD!

[pcarrell]

What kind of phone systems do you service?

We are an authorized Samsung dealer, but we're also a CLEC (we provide local and long distance dial tone) so we will service just about anything.

[pcarrell]

Tomorrow I will be 45.

Hey! 

The CFO recognizing that the construction project is well underway gave me a gift certificate to the local train shop, wow, which was a great treat!

That rocks!  Good woman you've got there! 

Thats quite a list of things you've gotten done there too!

PC, nice exterior photo of the house, now we need to see the inside!

I can get some of those too once the boxes are out of the way!

BTW, nice fruit display you got there for the light and lean selections.

I thought it looked rather tasty!

[dansapo]

Morning all!

Crazy day here!  Time change over the weekend has everyone calling today to find out how to change the time on their phone system.  So far I've had like a million calls!

Oh, gotta run!

What kind of phone systems do you service?

[SilverSpike]

Monday, October 30, 2006

Good morning fellers!

Café au lait for me today! And how about some beignets too!

Looks like I got TOP today! Lunch is on me....

TODAYS SPECIALS

Crab and Corn Chowder

Oyster and Artichoke Soup

Shrimp Creole with rice

Lamb Kabobs with Wild Rice Pilaf

White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Rum Raisin Sauce

Monique and Ben treated me to dinner Saturday evening to celebrate my birthday. Tomorrow I will be 45.

The CFO recognizing that the construction project is well underway gave me a gift certificate to the local train shop, wow, which was a great treat!

Spent about 4 hours in the train room on Saturday, here is today’s progress report:

Piedmont Division

Construction Completed

• Attached transition piece sub-roadbed ¾” plywood finishing lower sections to staging area.
• Glued down cork sheets to staging area.
• Attached backdrop hardboard to staging area.
• Applied spackling to hardboard screw holes and sanded (Sun)
• Painted first level backdrop light sky blue color, two coats.
• Sanded down cork roadbed for configuration tracks.
• Measured out next section for hardboard backdrop area

Construction Planned

• Third coat of sky blue paint on hardboard backdrop.
•  First coat of sky blue paint on staging area hardboard backdrop.
•  Attach sub-roadbed ¾” plywood to remaining lower level areas.
•  Attach cork roadbed to remaining lower level areas.
•  Attach track and switches to staging area.
•  Measure out New River Mining Co. footprint for track area.

PC, nice exterior photo of the house, now we need to see the inside! BTW, nice fruit display you got there for the light and lean selections.

Jim, I know what you mean about back tracking. I have been planning for so long that getting to the building stage is finally starting to make progress. You know the whole “Dream, Plan, Build” thing, I am now living all three zones, but the dream and plan parts have been going on for years, the building part has only been about the past 5 months now. And you are right about the bayou. And yes, I have some light version on all my recipes, but for starters if you cut the portion size in half you get only half the calories.

Hoople, congrats on the Gooooooooaaaaaaaallllllllll……

Noah, glad to see you getting some trains running, and good luck with school.

Der John, nice scenery work there, I like that tree.

Dick, I did not know that about Red! I remember watching Celtics games years ago and he always had a cigar, he was a great coach and inspiration to many.

James, nice train show photos, looks like it was a good show!

Cheers,

Ryan

[pcarrell]

Every year people forget to reset their clocks even though they've been reminded days, even weeks, in advance.

There used to be a town here in Indiana that was divided.  Half the town was in one time zone, the other half was in another time zone.  To add to the confusion, only one of those time zones observed daylight savings time, so for half the year the two sides of town were an hour apart, the rest of the year they had the same time.  It was crazy!  I think thats why they made the whole state to be in one time zone last spring.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Morning all!

Crazy day here!  Time change over the weekend has everyone calling today to find out how to change the time on their phone system.  So far I've had like a million calls!

Oh, gotta run!

Get used to it. Happens all the time here.

You change your time constantly? That must be confusing!

Every year people forget to reset their clocks even though they've been reminded days, even weeks, in advance.

[pcarrell]

Morning all!

Crazy day here!  Time change over the weekend has everyone calling today to find out how to change the time on their phone system.  So far I've had like a million calls!

Oh, gotta run!

Get used to it. Happens all the time here.

You change your time constantly? That must be confusing!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Morning all!

Crazy day here!  Time change over the weekend has everyone calling today to find out how to change the time on their phone system.  So far I've had like a million calls!

Oh, gotta run!

Get used to it. Happens all the time here.

[pcarrell]

Morning all!

Crazy day here!  Time change over the weekend has everyone calling today to find out how to change the time on their phone system.  So far I've had like a million calls!

Oh, gotta run!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning and top 'o' the day to all of ye. Bacin and eggs for me, thanks. Wind Chill:  61°F

Humidity:  88%

Dew Point:  58°F

So Far Today High:  62°F Low:  54°F Rain:  0.01" Rain Rate:  N/A"/h Gust:  9mph SSE

High: 78 °F
Low: 65 °F

Today
	High: 78     Increasing clouds. Highs in the upper 70s. South winds around 10 mph.

Tonight
	Low: 65     Mostly cloudy. Warmer. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds around 10 mph in the evening becoming light and variable.

[grayfox1119]

Good morning to all, bright blue skies this morning, cold 38F at 7 but up to 44F now, and still quite windy from the big storm on Saturday.
All of Nantucket was without power this morning due to high winds.

Did any of you guys read the article in the latest issue of TRAINS mag on trains in snow in Northern CA? Quite interesting and some really nice pics in the snow. They have quite a job keeping those lines open in Winter.

With all the outside yard work all done in prep for Winter, now we can finally get started on completing the layout design.

See you guys at lunchtime.

[NeO6874]

[rant]
AAAAH! I HATE PEOPLE WHO BID AT <1 MIN ON EBAY!!!
[/rant]

I've ben (not so patiently) waiting out the last 3 days of an auction, which I've had the high bid on for... only to have it stolen at the last second by someone..... grrrrrrrrr... that is SO frustrating!

 

I know the feeling but thats why its called an auction so sorry to say (not really) is why I'll put a real low ball bid on an item or save on an item and come back to the end because unless you put a real high bid on an item it will happen almost every time.

 

Morning all I'll have the turkey bacon with scrambled eggs and whole grain toast please girls oh yes a large OJ from eds place also.

yeah... thing was, I was winning with a margin of ~$20 between the current selling price and my max bid, with <2 mins.  come back to the computer about 5-10 mins later to do the PayPal stuff, and all I see is a "You lost" email...

that was the frustrating part of the auction, not the losing.. I wouldn't feel as bad if I was winning by like $0.50 or something and lost... but $20!?

Oh well, nothing I can do about it now... was a nice lookin model though..

Found some other things though, and was able to snag a NYC 2-6-0 for cheap (was a mistake buy that the seller made at some point)... maybe I'll win these auctions...

'Morning all. 

I'll have a shortstack with an OJ.

[dansapo]

Morning everyone.
    GMTRacing -
    Thanks for the heads up on the 44 tonner. Hey what's the power to weight ratio on that Lotus- 7?
   

[Train Master]

good morning.

watch whatcha say cause the little pitcher with the big ears is here.

eggs an ham please

just killin a little time before going off to school, know some o you remember what that is

 

[GMTRacing]

Good Morning All,

   a regular to go please Zoe. Sunny, windy, but mild out this morning. My y'all were a talkative bunch this weekend. Wasn't on much as I got chores done inside and spent some time doing backdrop buildings for the museum display in the evenings. It was easier at home with all my stuff at hand.

   OZIim and Nigel - nice pics - just figured there were no clouds in the sky when you took the refgerence photos Nigel, so no need to duplicate clouds.

   E-Bay is always a crapshoot as far as getting sniped is concerned. Even if we submit at one minute, we've been knocked off. Only bid on stuff that's out of production anyway. WWW.Trainworld.com has the Bachman 44 tonners on sale at a good price. Not sure what roadnames, but a quick phone call will let you know.

   I don't get too much from my LHS anymore as they seem more interested in large profit Lionel stuff and stock little for HO beyond Woodland Senics basics and rolling stock kits. I did order a C-Liner in New Haven green/gold form Branford Hobbies as they can supply one in the correct 5 axel construction (from the Canadian folks). Even though I model northwest Connecticut and they ran little beyond RS's Budd cars and FL-9's , I have a soft spot for the New Haven locomotives that become available and keep getting even models that never ran in the Berkshires. I also got an IHC 4-6-4 Hudson that I will try to bash into an I-5 streamliner.

   All for now as work beckons. The Lotus 7 is coming along nicely. Loti are giant killers on the track as our 23 regularly beats V-8 powered sedans and Porsches with it's 1.6 litre twin cam much to the competitiors dismay. There is however some truth to the rumor that Lotus stands for Loads Of Trouble Usually Serious as they can be a bit fragile. CUL,,J.R.

[rtraincollector]

[rant]
AAAAH! I HATE PEOPLE WHO BID AT <1 MIN ON EBAY!!!
[/rant]

I've ben (not so patiently) waiting out the last 3 days of an auction, which I've had the high bid on for... only to have it stolen at the last second by someone..... grrrrrrrrr... that is SO frustrating!

 

I know the feeling but thats why its called an auction so sorry to say (not really) is why I'll put a real low ball bid on an item or save on an item and come back to the end because unless you put a real high bid on an item it will happen almost every time.

 

Morning all I'll have the turkey bacon with scrambled eggs and whole grain toast please girls oh yes a large OJ from eds place also.

[wetidlerjr]

Good morning ! from Indiana.

10-30-06

 

[Anonymous]

Good morning



Happy MRRing 

[inch53]

 Mornin all, coffee Zoe
Gotta another nice day to startsunny, an warmer to start then clouding up with rain forecast for later tonight and tomorrow.
 Worked outside most of yesterday, so no MRR to speak of. Did watch a some football and part of the race.

Hey RT,,, liked the amish pickup

Jim CG,,, hope the camera does well on Ebay. Sorry to hear bout bankruotct though. I ended up doing that 20 years over medical bills the insurance refussed to pay. It was a big relief when it was over.

Jeff,,, nice looking engines before and after.

PC, that 1'st engine makes an apperance through here some times. I think I've got a pic it too, but haven't found it yet.

Ngartshore,,, thanks for the pics. Back drops looking good and some good looking engines. Some of those come through here every so often.

Inch,

You'll have to post some pics of the real thing when the pass through next time! What happened to the clouds comment, I was expecting one!

Nige.

You said you hadn't got the clouds on there  yet, so wasn't worried bout it. I haven't the pics of those engines yet either, but I'm still looking

Nothing planned for the day, got kids again. This is starting to become habbit again. Think Mother's going to be gone this evening, so may get some MRR time, have to wait n see. Catch ya'll laters

inch 

[ngartshore350]

Hey Jeff,

Nice shots!

Regards,

Nige.

[grayfox1119]

NIGEL: I can't be too "cheeky", I was an EE also before I retired...started with Vacuum tubes, I hope your old enough to remember those funny glass things! LOL

Watched some football this afternoon, the Patriots don't play until Monday night, but sure saw a lot of upsets.

Well, it's time to turn in ...I hope we can sleep tonight, the wind is still howling at 25 outside.

See you guys for breakfast,

Auzzies, please remember to turn off the coffee pot, you guys are the last to leave the CS.

[dansapo]

[rant]
AAAAH! I HATE PEOPLE WHO BID AT <1 MIN ON EBAY!!!
[/rant]

I've ben (not so patiently) waiting out the last 3 days of an auction, which I've had the high bid on for... only to have it stolen at the last second by someone..... grrrrrrrrr... that is SO frustrating!

I know. I was just bidding on a B&M 44 tonner and lost .No good #$%%.Dirty  rat &*&$.This was my first ebay atempt.But I know what their worth and I know when to stop.Some people dont.
But hey there are many more to bid on.