Elliot´s Trackside Diner, Mark XX

[TMarsh]

Hey! They let me in early! Thanks guys, (well it was early when I started this (7:30am), by the time I post it....who knows) I'll take, oh, how about a pumpkin pie with lots of real whipped cream. It's not just for dessert anymore. Yup, the whole pie. Sit back down guys, I'm gonna eat it.

Without thinking, something I do frequently, Sunday at approximately 1130am CST I cleaned my temp internet folder out. Cookies and all. Something I try to do occasionally but this time I locked myself out of the diner just as I was about to inform Two Truck he could relax because RBF means Root Beer Float here, I couldn't get the door open. So, I peaked in the window as I would pass by until now. Odd you guys couldn't hear the rapping on the windows. Hmm. Oh well, at least I could enjoy the pics. Thank goodness for WPF! That's a great one by the way Sawyer, entering the trees.

Mark- My Mother also refers to them as Black Cows. She also referred to Coke Floats as the same. Kinda confusing knowing what we were going to get, though usually we didn't have Root Beer at home so it was a better than even guess it would be Coke, but since the Coke version was just as tasty, we didn't much care.

Tom- That's great the "Deck" turned out so well! Say, do the weather guessers a favor would ya? When you put that baby on the Yuba, keep the garage door down so they won't think the suns out because of that smile!

Inch- Just my luck to have to w**k tonight and miss the free feed at the Golden Corral. I think it's great they do that. I know they do very well all year long, and it is only four hours a year, but still.... That's a lot of grub to give away. Eat well! Say what do you think of that Jalapeno Fish? Yuuuuuuummmy!

Garry- for your BIL

Well I didn't make it to the train room at all this weekend. Very disheartening. Since it rained all day yesterday and is suppose to rain again today and tomorrow, I doubt if I'll get in the fields by tomorrow so I hope a couple of hours today and most of tomorrow will get to be spent on the layout. Wiiiiiiiiith any luck. So, best get moving to do my morning stuff before wor...... (sorry) w**k this afternoon.

Have a Great Day!!!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning. It's 64 and wet. we have heavy clouds and the rain is coming down. The high will be about 66 and there's a chance of thunderstorms.

I have the brick work on the DPM building painted. Later today I'll start on the flagstone colored trim. This evening I have to take my mother to town so she can get certified as a voting commissioner. Since I'm going to be there anyway I'll go ahead and get certified myself. Heck, it's something to do.

[Robby P.]

 Good morning.  Seems like we will have nice weather all week.

 I was pretty busy yesterday.  Getting some stuff out of the attic for the wifes new job.  I haven't touched the layout in a few days.  Maybe today I can get something moving.

 Hope everybody is doing good.  

 Have a good morning.

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning--

Nice and cool out here this morning. Going to be sunny with our high at 8C

I'm going to be doing housew**k then doing a bit of reading up on my seminar work for the afternoon sessions---then it'll be off to do some w**k paperw**k---

Ulrich: I generally do not like moving BTDT---having said that I found the best way was having someone else do all of it My father had a coupla brass y-3's that he gave to me when I was thinking about getting into MR. I got them done up in SP lettering and had them lightly weathered---they still get used on a certain club layout----doubleheaded---coaldrag---

Chloe, I'll have a coffee and a toasted bagel please----thank you----I'll be at the RC for now--

[Blazzin]

  "Hot Chocolate please"

  Two Truck!  Nice fine work you've done there.. keep us posted.

  Well its getting late here on the west coast, most of you are all in bed.. so will I shortly.  About the only person getting up right now.. is Ulrich,  Petra and maybe Jeff inf a few hours.  So I'll leave you with a nice morning pic of Japanese koi for Ulrich, Petra and Jeff.  Good moring to you~

[Two Truck Shay]

Evening Zoe, I guess I'll try one of those RBFs you guys are making famous...

Yup, now I see why everyone is ordering them!

On my project, the masonite spline assembly is slow work, but I'm very happy with the end product. I heard about this idea from Jim Reising's website (Thanks again, Jim!). I completed the staging level loop tonight. Left to do on this level is the subroadbed for the staging yard on the North wall.

Homasote roadbed is on order, as is some sample track pieces. I am considering Code 55 track by Micro-Engineering, Peco, and Atlas. I have a little time before I will spike anything down, however. I still need to do some sanding and build the grade that will connect the staging level to the mainline (inches) above, but at least I was able to hammer in the masonite spike tonight!

I'm off to bed!

[Anonymous]

 Good Morning Everyone.

Still dark outside, not even six o´clock. The Diner is already open? So it´s Zoe for the morning shift? Hi, Zoe,  coffee for me and a toasted bagel, please n´ thanks.

Today I have to  attend a seminar on job integration for the elderly -  am I an elderly person already? I am only 53 and still behave like a 6 year old when I see a steam loco ...

Vincent - I am married to Petra for more than 25 years now. With that mileage on the record a wife turns into SWMBO - that´s She Who Must Be Obeyed. Never bite the hand that feeds you... I have already found a settlement - I don´t talk about a train room in the attic - it is a train corner now. Actually, the room is not big and has a sloped ceiling. Part of it will have to be used as storage for all the gear we probably will never use again, but cannot part from . The remaining part is big enough to revive my Alaska RR plans posted earlier - but without money this will take decades to realize.

Jim - we won´t be moving the boxes ourselves. My brother jumped in and is paying for the moving company. There is no way I could possibly do that myself. Unlike in the US, we have very rarely built-in closets and cabinets, so it is all heavy furniture, which requires two strong gorillas men to carry it upstairs. Leaving our home is still putting a heavy tax on our soul. The new flat will also be a good place to live in, with a lot of German "Gemuetlichkeit", so that will help us to get over the loss. After all, there is also a benefit to it - a lot less w*rk for Petra and me to keep the place tidy...

Ray - as soon as we have survived the move and have settled a little, Petra will resume to provide strudels, cakes, pies and other goodies for the chow hounds in here...  She used to teach nutritional science and home economics and knows what can be done about that bad toe. Maybe I can talk her into writing a recipe book (which I will have to translate). Her father suffered quite a lot from the gout and showed a lot of improvement with the "gourmet diet" she had developed for him.

Tom - that loco is a jewel - aren´t you a lucky guy to have bought for so little? Those old brass locos are of unreached quality. I doubt, that a MTH or BLI loco will run like that after 40 years. I remember having a NWSL D&RGW HOn3 T-12 4-6-0 which ran like a jewel. It had cost $ 160 when I bought it in 1976. I painted and lettered it - and sold it.

Garry  - my prayers for your BIL´s surgery!

You all have a good start into the new week!

 

[ns3010]

Thanks Jim! In our school, a 93 is an a, and a 92 would be a B+

JimRCGMO

Uh, what was that blur that went by?

Whoops, I posted the photo, but never gave a description!

I was trying a few pan shots, but they all failed. But then this one looked more like a long exposure shot, so I tried that. Since I can't control the exposure settings on my camera (it's full auto, all the time), I just ran the train really fast. I had it at full throttle, so that created the blur.
It was shot at f/2.6, 1/2 sec., ISO 100. Lighting was natural sunlight, coming from the glass door behind me.

I want a new camera, with more features, so if that ever happens, I'll experiment with this some more on my new layout (when that actually gets built).

Speaking of the new layout, I have a problem. I had originally planned to buy a few tank cars. But now I'm thinking that maybe I can start with benchwork with that money, instead. Maybe I'd get to the beginning of track, depending on how far the money I have goes. Since Thanksgiving is now a 5 day weekend, and I'd probably have 2.5 days to myself (Wednesday, which was just added, Thanksgiving morning, and Sunday, since I'll probably be down the shore on Friday and Saturday). If I can buy some lumber before then, I could start with the benchwork, and maybe the surface. I doubt I'll have money for track, but I can take some of the E-Z Track that I'm using now and put it on top of the new table...

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Hello ..

I'll have a coffee and a S of SPP. (Slice of Southern Pecan Pie).

Just back from Nashville. My brother in law (Nick) there is having surgery to correct a blocked artery in his neck to reduce risk of another stroke. He just had heart surgery last mont hfor a valve and some arteries there. This surgery will be in the morning.

With LocTite gel glue, I use it for small parts. I put a dab on a scrap piece of paper and then use a tooth pick to put it on the parts to be glued. Only a small amount is needed.

 

[Packers#1]

Packer

I missed the first half of the Green Bay / Dallas game because of work. I saw the second half, and Green Bay's defense whooped on on Dallas!!

 

I watched the game until 7:30 left in the 4th when I had basketball. Wish Dallas hadda been shut out though, but oh well, lol.

[Packer]

Hey ya'll. An RBF for me.

I missed the first half of the Green Bay / Dallas game because of work. I saw the second half, and Green Bay's defense whooped on on Dallas!!

Tom, nice stroke of luck there!! Never heard of a whale-back tender before, and I like the design; however, I still remian partial to Vandys.

Barry, never though of checking out goodwill for train stuff. So one more place to check.

Ulrich, who brings home the money?!?! It's your attic!! (of course, this is coming fom a 20 year-old who hasn't had a girlfriend for nearly 2 years.)

Garry, does the Loctite gel superglue stay in place? I've had issuses with CA not staying where I put it, and wanting to go where I don't want it to go.

[JimRCGMO]

Afternoon, er. Evening, Janie - is Joe still buying RBFs? Nope? Well, I'll still have a RBF, please. Hopefully, I won't hit TOP again, after looking at all those bowls of chicken noodle soup that Barry was putting away last night.

ns3010

Report cards came today. Lowest was a 93 in Algebra 2H, which is a junior honors class, and is really hard. So not bad. And the overallGPA for the quarter was a 4.0.

  Outstanding job there, Joe! Depending on your school's grading scale, your Algebra grade would be at least a B++, and possibly an A-, so great job! Uh, what was that blur that went by?

Jeff, hope they get your operation to take out the IV soon enough (and that there's a short but good recovery afterwards.

Calif.Tom - that's a first for me on your 'Deck' there; hadn't seen a tender like that. When you said camelback, I was thinking of that old loco called a Camelback (Bowser? MDC? whoever...) - ah, whaleback, I mis-recalled... From first glance at the tender before opening the bigger version, I was thinking it was a Vandy tender. That is one pretty loco, all right. The guy's widow probably will be getting a better return on his money invested than if he'd only invested in scenery or freight cars or something other than brass. And as you said, the locos will likely be receiving TLC and will be appreciated by the new owners, plus there will be some grateful MRR'ers who will get to experience owning a brass loco who otherwise never would have.

Ulrich, you take extra care not ot overload yourself with doing the flooring, okay? Don't need you having to go back in the hospital and delay you & Petra getting into the new place and making it your own. Better hold your ground (and use Audrey's argument to persuade Petra...)! Ah, I see you are taking it better on yourself with the flooring (good!). Be sure to get some help for moving your boxes once you have them all packed up, you hear? That is the hardest part of moving that I've found - hauling boxes up the stairs to the new place. Catch some and rest up, friend.

Todd, congrats on taking - what, fifth? sixth? in the cook-off (sounds better when you don't know how many entries there were, doesn't it?). Good to hear that everybody (besides the judges) had some chili that they could enjoy. As for the Kirby stuff, I think there may be one of their repair places in town. I'll look it up tomorrow and do a little calling around to see. (That was funny about your buddy and the owner beating out the cook...)

Phillip, good to hear of the progress for your son and your wife. Nice to treat her to a trip out - heck, I'm sure for her, getting anywhere outside the same four walls of the bedroom is a treat! And how'd you hide the tire tracks on the wood flooring from her, by the way?

WELL!!! Randy (TwoTruckShay), I'd say that somebody needs to inform Wikipedia that their listings for RBF are woefully incomplete, Amen, indeed!! Harrrrumph! (Janie, would you leave a message for Vinnie, please? Tell him we may need his, uh, persuasive powers...)

Well, Inch, it turns out we don't have one close by (Carbondale's the closest), and since tomorrow night's MRR club, I probably can't make it and get the free grub. So I guess you and Deb will have to eat one for me, okay?

Ray, good to hear the toe's coming along. How long does gout take to get gone, usually?

Well, I didn't get to the painting after my sinus and cold attack yesterday, but this afternoon I got the apartment vaccuumed, and got half the layout de-dusted (the shopvac has a short power cord, and I didn't want to hunt down an extension at the time). Also got a bunch of older photos scanned in for sending to my lady friend in the Belleville area, including me walking across the Mighty Mississippi:

Okay, so it's the headwaters, but it IS the Mississippi River! Geesh, a guy makes a little joke...

Should have a steel rails load and another PS 2893 covered hopper (ATSF) coming in this week (sale-priced from Walthers). Yeah, another 2893, which really is at the long end of my RR's time period. But it's the grey ATSF one, which will be useful when I re-letter and re-decal my Santa Fe (oxide red) 2893's to backdate them to a more appropriate appearance than the 'Billboard' lettering style that's on them.

Well, I'd best get myself heading for home. Had some stiffness in my right side of my neck this morning, but at least the fever and some of the sniffling is gone. Want to be rested up and ready for the 'w' thing tomorrow. Prayers for all those ailing, recuperating/healing up, resting, repairing or in need of comfort for other reasons (which covers pretty much everyone in here). Gonna pick up a half-gallon of ice cream on the way home, just because...

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Well I picked up a few things today. I got some more paint for the DPM building project. I wanted flat latex flagstone gray in a sample can but they only put satin in the sample cans. That was OK for the baked brick red but I need flat for the flagstone, so I had to settle for a quart. I'll not be running out of that color anytime soon. I also needed a small flashlight for working on the layout when I'm working on structure lights and can't have the main room lights on. They come on and the layout lights turn off. A penlight would be too big so I got a Maglite Solitaire. It's only about 3 inches long and can be taped to one of my fingers. It fits neatly into the Dremel attachment box which is 7" x 4". It requires only 1 AAA battery and I have tons of those around. That's what almost all my remotes use, so I have several 16 packs of them in the junk drawer. I got the flash trimmed off the DPM kit parts this morning and will probably start painting them tomorrow. I do however have to go to town in the morning to make a bank deposit. That shouldn't require any more than 45 minutes at the max between when I leave here and get back. The way I drive I'll be surprised if it takes more than 20.

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Zoe just a RBF and a Mexican Sundae if you would.  I'll be at the rivet Counter for a few minutes. 

Spent all day at the Great Batavia Train Show.  Had to leave the house here before 7AM to get to the show on time for setup.  The show is held at Batavia Downs Race Track.  Last year I found I knew about 6 people at the show, 3 of which were vendors.  Today I spent most of the time yakking with a lot of people I knew.  That included a gentleman whose son was one of my Boy Scouts way back when and was on my Troop Committee for a couple of years.  Never knew he was into trains....  I also had a few NMRA Members looking for help with their membership and such, so I didn't get a whole lot of modeling done at the modeler's corner.  I did have fun though.

Ulrich glad you are getting everything done for the move.  I know it must be hard, but once you are settled into the new home, you can started on all the other things you need to do (like get that layout space in the attic!).  Just don't get on the wrong side of Petra!  She might not bake us all those great goodies......... 

I would love to sample each of those chilis that have been described.....  I did treat myself to a Beef on Weck with a bit of horseradish today for lunch.  Back on the diet for the next several days....  Actually the toe is gradually getting back to normal, whatever that is?

Need to get everything unpacked and put away, so I will check back later!

73

[inch53]

Evening all, how bout a southern eggnog Floe.

Way behinder again so this is just a quick stop to let ya'll know Golden corral's having their Veterans eat free dinner tomorrow evening [5pm-9pm]. For more info, http://www.goldencorral.com/military/

Me n Mother plan on going, plus a stop at Lowes for a new bathroom sink, since ours decided to start leaking

Catch ya'll laters maybe

[twhite]

Afternoon all from Chilly/Cal: 

Six degrees cooler today than yesterday, we're supposed to have a rather large Alaskan front dipping down here around Tuesday that is supposed to leave snow down to about the 3000' level, with generous amounts of rain and wind here in the Valley. 

We'll see.

Well, I thought long and hard about going back over to the Roseville show and exhausting my wallet, until I was reminded by Spooky that 1:  I have a Sunset Z-6 coming next month that I still have to pay the balance on, and 2: it might cut into her Chicken of the Sea tuna budget.  

So I stayed home and worked on the "Deck".  Took it apart and cleaned out the gearbox and oiled the motor.  I don't know what kind of lube was used on it, or how long it was in there, but it had turned into some kind of weird 'glue' like substance.  I used liquid detergent and an old toothbrush after disassembling the gearbox, then gave the KTM open-frame motor a couple of shots of oil.  Turned her on and she whirred very happily.  Greased the disassembled gearbox with LaBelle grease, put the whole thing back together, flipped the big lady over on her back on the cradle, applied the power and--WOW!  That reduction gearbox makes the open-frame motor run so smooth and quiet that I don't need to replace it with a can--at least probably not for a couple more years.  Ran it upside down fifteen minutes in either direction, then put it on the test track.  She just dug in and crawled.  Very responsive loco for a 40+ year old lady.  And she's a heavyweight.  I think the loco alone is about 5 pounds.  Still can't beleive I got her for the price I did. 

So, I'll take her out to the garage a little later and run her around the layout a couple of times to see if she likes my radii--not worried at all about the grades.  She should, she's got a little more side-play 'give' to her than my newer Rio Grande 2-10-2, and THAT big lady is very comfortable on the layout.  And if she likes my radii, then I'll hook her up a train of PFE reefers.   I'll probably go on an SP running kick for a while.    Okay, okay, I'll PRETEND that Yuba Pass moved north into the Siskiyou's, LOL!

So that was my half-hour weekend project. 

Best to all, prayers to those in need.

Tom

 

[markpierce]

blownout cylinder

Our RBF---stands for Root Beer Float---heeheehee

My paternal grandfather called that a "black cow."

Mark

[blownout cylinder]

Two Truck Shay

I'd order an RBF, but after doing some research, it does not sound very appetizing:

RBF - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

RBF is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:

R. Buckminster Fuller
Reel Big Fish, a ska-punk band
Radial basis function
Rassemblement Bruxelles-France
Round-bottom flask, a piece of laboratory glassware
Raw Binary File, a file format used by Altera for programming electronic devices
Remove Before Flight
Renal blood flow
Big Bear City Airport
RBF Consulting
Refined by Fire
RbF may refer to: Rubidium fluoride

Our RBF---stands for Root Beer Float---heeheehee

Good Afternoon

Had one seminar to do --my co-facilitator did the other while I went off to do some work on some other stuff----

Tomorrow will be interesting --we are going to see the first Transit strike in 30 years hit the city of London ON. I have my vehicle ready for action tomorrow to join the fray as it were. An interesting bit of  stuff fell out'n the woodwork today---it appears that certain upper/senior mgrs got what amounted to a 33% increase in the past three years while crying the blues about the problem of having no money----I'm leaving it there---no need to go on a rant now

My elevators for the Thompson Mill spur are coming along--I'm now looking for raw material to scratchbuild some grain driers----

Chlooe, I'll have a RBF with a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (SRP) please---I'll be at the RC for now---

 

[ns3010]

Evening all. Janie, I'll take a bacon cheeseburger and a RBF, thanks.

Tom: That "Deck" is beautiful!

Ulrich: I concur with Barry, a train room is good for your health!

Not much new from me, other than this:

In other news...
Transit has begun to retire the Comet IIIs (finally, they're crap). 18 cars were stored in Bay Head last night, replacing 18 Comet Is that were moved up to the MMC. Also, there one Multilevel car hooked up to a PL42AC for testing. Methinks we shall start seeing ML/PL42 sets roaming the Coast Line now.
Eric: Keep an eye out for that stuff!

 

Ugh, school tomorrow.
I'll be at the RC if ya wanna chat.

[Packers#1]

 Hey folks, finally posted some update pics. Here's one and the video link, the rest are in WPF.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjW2LCNhU9w

[Two Truck Shay]

Mornin' all, just coffee, Chloe.

I'd order an RBF, but after doing some research, it does not sound very appetizing:

RBF - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

RBF is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:

R. Buckminster Fuller
Reel Big Fish, a ska-punk band
Radial basis function
Rassemblement Bruxelles-France
Round-bottom flask, a piece of laboratory glassware
Raw Binary File, a file format used by Altera for programming electronic devices
Remove Before Flight
Renal blood flow
Big Bear City Airport
RBF Consulting
Refined by Fire
RbF may refer to: Rubidium fluoride

[ns3010]

Afternoon all.

I'll be catching up and doing more homework.

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Ulrich .... I really like that steam loco photo. .. Best wishes to you and Petra with the moving. I suspect, there could be sadness leaving your previous home. I recall you posted a photo of a really nice house. Prayers for improvements to your health.

PC ..  Prayers for continued heeling from surgery for your wife and son.

Barry and Jeff ......... I have been very pleased with Loc Tite gel type super glue. I use it often. Also, it does a good job of attaching my thumb my fore finger.  

 

 

[Anonymous]

 Good Evening,

it is pitch-black outside - the street lights  are out of service. Good, now no one can see me having a beer! I brought some along, 2 cases of Flensburger Pils, our local brew - very tasty ! Not like Loewenbraeu, that´s just Bavarian dishwater  Chloe, the beer is also for the girls and you, but don´t tell Vinnie. Vinnie? I hope I did not wake him up!

W*rk is done, well almost. We could not finish all what we wanted to achieve today. I am slow, but I don´t want to run any risks by overw*rking me right now. We will be able to make up the time, though. Moving is now scheduled for Tuesday, November 24th - that leaves Petra and me plenty of time to pack up all the gear we have (way too much). 

Garry - I am sorry, Petra is too busy to make some  more Strudel, but she promised me to make a load full after the move. Here is yet another pic of the German loco using an upside down whaleback tender:

 

 It is a class 52 Decapod built in the late 1950´s, based on the WW II Kriegslokomotiven design (war engine). Quite a number of those (and similar) locos still see service in numerous rail fan specials.

Barry - concerning the use of the attic for a layout - well, the last word is not yet spoken. 

I will be going  pretty early today, I am tired, but happy that thing start to move on. 

Philip - I am so glad to hear that you, your wife and your son are on the right track to recovery!

Thanks to all of you for your support - words cannot tell how much this means to me!

 

[pcarrell]

Sounds like a nice guy Todd.  As for the family, they're doing pretty well.  My son is walking, though slowly and carefully.  Youth tends to make the heealing go quicker you know!  My wife is still pretty sore, but her staples come out tomorrow, so that should help.  She can walk to the bathroom and back from bed, but thats about it.  I took her to church last night in a wheeelchair and then out to ddinner with friends, so she got to get out of the bedroom for a while.  (I think she'd go crazy if I didn't take her out every once in a while, ya know?)

[TMarsh]

Hey Philip, How's the family doing? White bean and chicken sounds good. Good luck! Yup, sold it. I'm not a real competetive person. I mean I ty to win at whatever I do, such as bowling, chili cook off's etc. But am never upset if, more like when, I lose. Makes it much more enjoyable for me.

EDIT: Oh, on selling it all. The trucking company that hauls grain for the elevator, Bottrel Farms from Petersburg, Said he would buy all the remaining chili if there was any, up to ten quarts for the elevator workers to eat on. That turned out to be ten quarts exactly. Real nice guy for doing that. Had he not done it there would have been 10 quarts left over. Not for long though, we would have froze it and I'm sure Brenda could have sold it over a few days.

[pcarrell]

Todd, we have our own chili cookoff coming up in a few months.  I've been working on a white bean & chicken chili recipie for this years contest.  Too bad you didn't bring home the bacon (the big prize), but at least you didn't bring home any chili!  (You sold it!)

[TMarsh]

Morning all, coffee please. I ate before I came in. Thank you. Today: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 50. Northeast wind between 14 and 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Tonight: Rain. Low around 41. Northeast wind between 15 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Not looking good for several days to come either.

Well I won the chili cook-off. No that's not true, but I did get second place. Aw shucks, that's not true either, I only got third. No wait, no I didn't. I took the third place ribbon and his empty crock pot to him. Truth is I didn't win. I should have because I made the best chili there, but I didn't. I guess the judges don't know what chili is supposed to taste like. And to top it all off, the ice cream machine at the Casey's was broke. Chili and no ice cream chaser. UNHEARD of. No, seriously, there were only six entries, and I'm sure glad I wasn't a judge. They were all great! Different types, hot, mild, medium, thick, thin, red. For only so few entries it was surprising that the styles were so varied. I sure would have a real rough time deciding who'd take second and third place. It was fun. Especially since no one went in there expecting to win. Hoping yes, expecting, no. We all know that chili likes are so varied (as proved by the entries ) that the judges may or may not like your type of chili even though many think it‘s fantastic. The cook at the restaurant entered and didn‘t place at all like me, and the owner of the restaurant ( a women) and my friend (there all my friends) who owns the bar part took second and third respectively. However the crock pot that went down the fastest because the people were buying it, after tasting of course, was the cooks who didn't even place. Like I said, tastes vary, especially with chili. Next year, same chili's different judges, different results. Sold every drop of every pot. Success we had. Like I said, there wasn't even a so-so chili there.

Went in to the restaurant last night for a pizza. The owner and my buddy were wearing their ribbons on the fronts of their shirts on display. Having a great time rubbing it in about winning and the cook not. He was a good sport. He had to be, he had been giving them the talk all week about how he was going to take the trophy and his chili would be so good they'd just give him second and third too.( he now claims there was no chance of wining for him as he is an "outlander" and small towns don't accept "outlanders") If he'd have won, it would have been him giving it out. Oh boy would he be giving it out! Great bunch of folks. All are laughing.

Jim- Kirby, if your not familiar with it, only sells through their network of shiesters. Their product is outstanding, but many of their sellers are not so. I buy mine at a Kirby repair shop ( non-shiesters. They're out there, the non'sheister types), not a sales place. At least not new sales. You could also try E-bay, but they're usually from sales stores and want list price plus shipping.

Lee- ?????? Require you to buy their light bulbs? Our power company, Ameren /CILCO, sent out a while ago , an order form for CFL bulbs (if we even call them bulbs anymore)of all kinds. But not a requirement to buy any. Offering these bulbs was supposed to satisfy some Gov't requirement that required them to pass along some money they got or something, I can't remember, to their customers. These bulbs purchased in lots of twenty, mix or match, was suppose to give us significant savings to entice us to buy these bulbs. As long as the money from the Gov't held out, of course. These kinds of deals don't last forever. So you were only allowed to purchase twenty at a time. After you recieve your bulbs you may order up to twenty more. If There is still money. Nice people to give us a break on bulbs using Gov't money huh? With shipping, they were cheaper at Wal-Mart. We only use Incandescent in very few fixture now.

Barry- I figured as much about the Super Glue. It would be nice if they made both. Instant and the new improved safer version. Sometimes a third hand is needed for the accelerator so it's not used at this facility. Sometimes a faster set would be appreciated. Othertimes, with small parts, a slower time is needed. Aim ain't what it used to be   

Ulrich- Stand firm! Be strong! It's your space! You're the boss! You're the man and the men rule!

Whoa! (he he) just kidding ladies. (Ahem) What? Brenda's not here is she? (uh -oh) I best get a move on. Yes dear. Coming.

Have a Great Day!!!

[blownout cylinder]

LSWrr

Jeff, I don’t know what happened to super glue, back in the day it would instantly bond anything together, not as fast as bonding two fingers, but overall it was fast.  Now you have to add a accelerator or something to make it set fast.  Someone must have decided what made super glue work fast was harmful to the environment and caused it to be banned.

Not so much environment as safer to use----especially with little ones abouts

I remember hearing about an incident wherein a parent of a little 2 year old discovered that there child was tasting this CA hence got finger bonded on tongue. Rather than attibuting this to an OOPS and just learning from it someone got excited and 'watered it down' so to speak

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning. It's 62 and cloudy. The high will be in the mid 70's and it will be partly cloudy.

Not much going on today. I got some brick colored paint yesterday so I can continue work on a DPM kit, the Front Street Building. It's easy to assemble but as anybody who has built a DPM kit knows, assembly isn't hard but painting is a pain in the butt. All the details are molded on so that makes it all the more difficult. This promises to be fun. I also may have another Bachmann UP GP40 shell on it's way through the mail. That's if the owner can find it. I have a Bachmann GP40 frame that's screaming for a body. I have a couple of Atlas shells that will fit but I don't want to use them. The detail on them is sadly lacking (it was great back in the 70's) and the hand rails (though virtually unbreakable) are incorrect. I have two 70's era Atlas chassis that have Bachmann shells on them and they look great, especially the UP one that's been patched for the L&A. My paint brush is chomping at the bit to get it's bristles onto another UP loco.