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Elliot´s Trackside Diner May 2010 Locked

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Posted by Robby P. on Friday, May 14, 2010 8:32 AM

 Good morning.  No storms yet, but maybe some later today.

 Well its off to work in a couple of hours.  Also the brother-in-law is coming to town.  He's staying for a few days, and his girlfriend is coming with him.  

 Still working on the driveway.   I will have to take a picture and show how much weeds I still have to do.  I did pass buy a mulch/rock place yesterday, and they have a 5 ton rock for driveways for for $135, and thats with delivery.  Not a bad deal.   I thought about it.

 Well I hope everybody has a good day.

 "Rust, whats not to love?"      

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 14, 2010 8:40 AM

 Good Afternoon, Folks!

Just a coffee for me; Zoe, please!

No news about my mother other than that they have found some kind of infection in her body, which made its way to the heart and caused a failure. She is on antibiotics and numerous other medications to stabilize her.Monday we will know more.

Coming Wednesday I will have an interview for a job with our labor administration - the same agency that had sent me to the useless IT training. If you can´t beat them, join them! At least it is a silver lining on the horizon for me for better days to come.

I have been following up on the discussion about the car insurance rates. I sometimes wonder, how the insurance companies come up with their rates. It is as complicated here as it is on your side of the Big Pond, but not anywhere near as expensive. I pay about 20 $ a month for my 16 year old Merc. liability only, including a rebate for 35 years of driving without a claim and the age of the car. I think this is fairly reasonable.  Driving without  being insured is a criminal offense here. You cannot get your car registered without a proof of your insurance. Even with the rates being apparently much lower, the insurance companies make BIG profits.

Well, I´ll be out for the moment -CUL!

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Posted by Blazzin on Friday, May 14, 2010 9:13 AM

    "Chloe.. coffee please.. I got up early"

   Lee.. Jeanne found your last post very interesting.  I read it to her as she got ready for work.  So, I ask her.. "So what do we pay for electricity anyways?"

 Now of course she goes.. "Well.. we do have 2  pond pumps running 24hrs a day for the fish... and the tv's and computers are left on all the time.. and..the lights on.. "

"Ok.. ok.. ok.. how much do we pay?"

 "Bout $250 a month.

"OOOUUU" "I'm gong to start turning off lights and the sorts."

  But then again .. as Todd.. put it.. run em.. run the AC.. lol.  \

  One time my sister really went through the house.. saved every watt she could.. thought she lower her electric bill.. kept coming back the same.. no matter what she did.

  She calls up the electric co. and they tell her.. her 6 bedroom house.. is rated for using so much electricity, whether she cuts the juice down or not.  From that point.. oh yeah.. she did turn off lights .. tv's and the sorts.. but she didn't worry too much about it from then on.

  NOW for something New and Totally exciting.. lol.. well for me anyways .. get this.

  My layout has hit the skids.. complete 'Zero Time' as I call it. lol  I've been trying to round up certain / various street light and lamposts.  Nothing out there as far as N scale has me really interested.  I really want this bottom section to look nice.. because thats the one area.. you'll see up close. 

  It would seem the lamposts run about 12volts.. and some about 6 volts.  It would also seem as if the lamposts / street lights are of various sizes.. and blend over into the group of HO/N scale.. 52 mm and higher.

  So as I gather up certain / various sizes.. I'm planning on placing the taller ones up front and the smaller ones.  Yes 'Forced perspective' .. ooouu.~

  Although.. it seems as if there is always some compromise (yes a settlement of differences by mutual concessions) between wanting / having lit streets at night.. with a big bulb.. and a very large stand.. well they both seem  big to me.. but the wrought iron on it is nice.  The road signs.. (upper left) are a example of size.. compared to the bulb.   I have other street lights coming from China. But  take a look at these~

100_1288.jpg picture by Blazzin55'

  Yeah.. its  N scale.. and nice.  ON a side note here.. look to the far right.. comes in clear plastic.. for missing windows~ 

  Honestly.. what do you guys think.. about anything concerning lamp posts.. and street lights... or even these.. or the ones from China?

  Care to give me a link of your lamposts?

  Lurkers included.

 

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Posted by Packer on Friday, May 14, 2010 9:19 AM

Morning ya'll

Got the car back together last night. I'm going to get it aligned later today. Then I'll resume bodywork. In speaking of which, does anybody know where I can find some of the rubber beltline trim pieces for a 87-93 mustang? I've only found one place that has them and it's $80 per piece and I need the 2 pieces for the passenger side behind the door.

Jeff, so they can charge a different rate for a bright color? Nuts, I only got a red one because it was the only car I could find that the lenders (parents) would allow me to get. There was a green T-bird SC (supercharged 3.8l V6) and a silver 5.0 T-bird that were less (and in better shape) than my 2.3l mustang...

Todd, Now I really wish I had a blue, black, grey, or silver one. I have USAA but I guess I'll shop around to see if I can find a lower rate.

Kieth, I'll second what Chris said.

Ray, those are B23-7s. Given that they are GEs, they may smoke as much as a steamer Tongue

Vincent

Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....

2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.

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Posted by Blazzin on Friday, May 14, 2010 9:34 AM

  Ulrich my friend..  I am so glad to hear from you.  I feared the worst.  I wanted to write .. but decided not to.  I'm at ease .. with a sigh.. for the meantime.  Thank you for the udate.  We were all concerned. 

  For you younger ones.. health is very important as you get older ... you start to worry about .. about certain things.  You know the body is starting to go.. you look in the mirror.. and my God.. nasal hairs.. where in the heck did those things come from?  Some are so long.. you'd swear its an inch long.. and attached to the back part of your nose.. tears well up .. look closer.. .. OH.. my.. G.. my eyebrows are growing.. look at this big long one.. another incher.  Look again closer.. and you'll see black kinky hairs growing right out of the middle of nowhere.. ON YOUR EAR lobes !  I've got this long blonde hair on my arm.. every year.. once a year I pull it.. it grows.. about 5 inches a year.. right now.. its about 2 inches.. right on par for the year.

 When I was your age..  I could hold it.. for ever.. now.. 'little or no warning' especially around running water.  To my understanding as I get older .. I'll get the feeling like I have to go.. but can't.  The list goes on~

  But Ulrich.. Jeff.. Rob (mil) .. yes we're all concerned.  But no matter what.. we have each other.

Keith

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Posted by howmus on Friday, May 14, 2010 10:23 AM

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe I'll have a breakfast bagle and lots of dark roast coffee in a FGLK Mug!  What the Drak RRoast is still perking?  OK I'll wait. Grumpy

Blazzin
You know the body is starting to go.. you look in the mirror.. and my God.. nasal hairs.. where in the heck did those things come from?  Some are so long.. you'd swear its an inch long.. and attached to the back part of your nose.. tears well up .. look closer.. .. OH.. my.. G.. my eyebrows are growing.. look at this big long one.. another incher.  Look again closer.. and you'll see black kinky hairs growing right out of the middle of nowhere.. ON YOUR EAR lobes !  I've got this long blonde hair on my arm.. every year.. once a year I pull it.. it grows.. about 5 inches a year.. right now.. its about 2 inches..

I see kieth has found the "other" side effect of THAT Polish Chili he has been eating.......Whistling

Ulrich glad to hear your mother is on the mend (hopefully) and good luck with your interview!

The electricity conversation is one I have stayed out of until now....  Interesting, around here when I use less electricity, my bill is lower.  Of course, I pay as I use it not on the fixed monthly bill. I like to know there is a "cost" to having the TV, computer, refrigerator (my dad used to say "CLOSE THE DOOR!"), etc.  I am also on the NYSEG Solutions 100% Green plan which puts wind power, solar, and small hydro power onto the grid.  Cost?  It runs me about 1¢ per KWH more than standard to do THAT.  Last month's electric bill was $68.16.  Yes I heat with wood and Natural Gas so I use much less electric than most of you would.  NYS is planning on getting more wind Turbines up and running with our utilities ASAP.  NYSEG Solutions now has a program for solar panels (and they used to say we don't get enough sun here to make it cost effective.....) where on suitable homes, the home owner will break even (the cost of the installation per month will be about the same as what you save on average in electric costs).  Also the City of Geneva just unanimously passed a code change allowing small wind turbines and solar to be installed in the City of Geneva (with all the needed and proper EPA paperwork and reviews of course).  This was done over the mass objections of those who are convinced that rotating turbine blades will cause us all to go nuts and the magnetic fields caused by solar power will cause cancer....  After the meeting they both took off their aluminum foil hats and put up for sale signs on their pyramid houses.... (It's time to play "Spot the Loony")  Zotos International Corp. has started the paperwork to put up a pair of wind turbines on their factory property to power their factory.  (Be afraid!  Be very afraid!!!)  OK, back off the SoapBox

Got a little bit more done on the Erie/Buckrus Steam Shovel for the quarry last night.  Another one of those "simple" Jordan kits.........  Have a lot of outdoor yard w*rk to get done and need to start on the program for the Scholarship dinner as well.  May not get much time for the hobby today.

Have a good one!

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 14, 2010 10:40 AM

 Back again, for a short visit.

Zoe, how about a RBF for me? I have not had one for a long time. Thank you, madam!

My electricity bill runs to about $100 a month,but is a monthly installment only, with balancing done at the beginning of each year. As we have all "green" appliances and those energy saving light bulbs installed, I do expect a refund. Yes, and we switch of the TV and other things on "stand by" with a master switch every night - saves us about $ 50 a year - not much, but a lot when you live on a shoestring budget.

Germany is a "green" nation by self acclaim. Wherever you go, you see those Banged Head (expletive deleted)  wind power thingies, ruining the country side. Wind power is by no means economical and you hardly see them turn. Building those towers gets heavily subsidized - without those subsidies, the pay-off period would be something like 200 years, but only when the price for energy doubles. Unfortunately, if a nation decides to go "green" and ecological, there is little room for people left. It is all but a big scam to get money from us.

End of rant! (Promised)

Ray - I thought that Keith´s Polish Chili Verde is so strong, it keeps your hair from growing out of your nose and ears. Must have misunderstood something - as usual. Blame my poor knowledge of the English language.

 See you tomorrow!

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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Friday, May 14, 2010 11:00 AM

Packer
Jeff, so they can charge a different rate for a bright color? Nuts, I only got a red one because it was the only car I could find that the lenders (parents) would allow me to get. There was a green T-bird SC (supercharged 3.8l V6) and a silver 5.0 T-bird that were less (and in better shape) than my 2.3l mustang...

Being that it only has a 4-banger the rate will likely be lower than one that has a V6 or V8. Those bigger engines put out a lot of power and can get you into trouble real fast. My van has a V8 and a posi-trac rear end and it can get really squirrely when it starts losing traction. One wheel will lose traction and the other one will grab and all of a sudden the van will start fish tailing.

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Posted by LSWrr on Friday, May 14, 2010 11:38 AM

Keith, search for a bay seller called wehonest and look at their N-scale street lights

Thoughts and prayers to those in need….

BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret)
 L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes

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Posted by howmus on Friday, May 14, 2010 11:47 AM

Afternoon everyone!

Ulrich, I guess we will will just have to disagree on the wind energy issue.  At least in this area wind energy is already competitive with fossil fuels for power.  If I recall correctly the payoff for the turbines at the Cohocton wind farm near where I live is going to be 50 years, and it is estimated they should be able to be used for close to 100 years.  The farmers love them as it provides a source of income on a steady basis and has kept many from foreclosure and sale.  They also provide tax $$$, have improved the infrastructure of the area, and provide good local jobs!  If you are interested more info is available here: http://www.cohoctonwind.com/cohocton/economic.cfm

Personally I very much prefer to have these next door:

Than one of these: http://www.wesjones.com/death.htm

Ok, I'll go back to hiding in the back booth.....Wink

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 14, 2010 12:05 PM

 Ray - I am in general agreement with you. But here in Germany, we have areas which have so little wind, that those turbines are utilized less than 10 % of their capacity. It is purely a political issue, with a lot of detrimental effects to bird life ( and underwater life, if we look at those off-shore wind parks).  Wind power is abused as an instrument to raise the prices for energy. And, as long as we cannot store the energy properly, they work only in conjunction with fossil fuel or nuclear power plants. As the old time sailors knew "whenever you need a wind, there is none"!

 

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Posted by howmus on Friday, May 14, 2010 12:19 PM

Sir Madog
Ray - I am in general agreement with you. But here in Germany, we have areas which have so little wind, that those turbines are utilized less than 10 % of their capacity. It is purely a political issue, with a lot of detrimental effects to bird life ( and underwater life, if we look at those off-shore wind parks).  Wind power is abused as an instrument to raise the prices for energy. And, as long as we cannot store the energy properly, they work only in conjunction with fossil fuel or nuclear power plants. As the old time sailors knew "whenever you need a wind, there is none"!

 

lol!  I see what you mean.  Those should up on the hills where the wind blows (maybe they were measuring all the wind from the.... Ah, I won't go there).  The Wind farms around here have been very careful to put them where they can do the most good for all concerned.  As for the birds and the bats, around here at least the percentage of the birds killed  by wind turbines is something like .003% of the total.  Much, much higher percentage killed trying to fly into window panes.  I have had a few killed by the windows on my house.   I guess there is a "cost" to all our actions.  I go for the ones that have the least effect when possible.  And yes I still like to have the lights go on when I flip the switch....WinkWinkBig Smile

BTW, the 500 turbines in the Cohocton Project are now providing all the Electric needs of 50,000 homes in the Northeast.  I have stood at the base of one of them while it is operating and it seems that the blades are only moving very slowly.  In actual fact the tip of the blade is traveling around 100 MPH.

Take care!

In other news, I forgot to mention last night as I was leaving the Scout Service Center on the outskirts of Geneva, there were 4 deer grazing on the lawn next to the building.  Cool sight!

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by blownout cylinder on Friday, May 14, 2010 12:25 PM

mmmmm----up here in the great farmbelt region of southwest Ontario we have been getting a lot of them getting put up on prime farmland. Many of the farms have been bought up and have been converted over to these ---erm---things which has caused a little more concern of late because of where they have been placed.

BTW---not only have we seen a 10% increase in terms of our energy bills but we are now faced with a 13% increase in the tax we pay for this!Grumpy GROWL!!SoapBoxBanged HeadAngryDisapproveWhistling

 Now---I'm off my soapbox-----for nowWhistling

 

Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry

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Posted by Heartland Division CB&Q on Friday, May 14, 2010 1:01 PM

Ulrich ... Sounds like you still ahve your share of situations. By now, your quota of bad luck has expired, and it's all good luck after this. ........ Do those wind turbines "prop up" the economy? WhistlingConfused

Our electricty comes from a local coop which gets the pwoer from TVA. TVA is hydro-electric, coal, and nuclear. I've not seen any wind turbine near here.

GARRY

HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR

EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU

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Posted by Cederstrand on Friday, May 14, 2010 1:08 PM

Extra strong Italian Roast coffee in an oversized  Union Pacific  BIGBOY mug, please.

I would love to be off the grid with a wind turbine (of the type Jay Leno has) and solar, but they would have to pay for themselves (in my lifetime) to make it feasible, which they do not do here at this point. I would expect as technology continues to advance, one day they might.

Have a great day y'all.

Cowboy Rob

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Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Friday, May 14, 2010 1:55 PM

 Made up this front plate and frame for the van. Until I can get something better it'll have to do.



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Posted by Packers#1 on Friday, May 14, 2010 4:07 PM
today was good. it was senior awards day so my butt pretty much lost all feeling. had to sit for 3 dern hours! but I was with friends so it was all good. and then we didn't do any work the rest of the day so life was rather good!

Sawyer Berry

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Posted by markpierce on Friday, May 14, 2010 4:15 PM

Just bought a one-ounce jar of Poly Scale paint costing $4.85.  Returning home, I compared it to a similar jar of PS paint purchased some time ago from the same LHS.  The price label on that one was $2.49, and the paint was still good.  Sheesh!

Mark

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 14, 2010 6:27 PM

 Well, Good (fill in, whatever time it is in your neck of the woods)...

Closing in on 1.30 am and my night´s already over. Zoe, whatever the guys are having, fill it up again. I am celebrating post # 2,000 right now, so the tab is on me!

 

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Posted by JimRCGMO on Friday, May 14, 2010 8:58 PM

Evening, Chloe - I'll take a cup of coffee in a go cup, please. Thanks!

We'll see if I can get a post done without interruptions.

Blazzin
And the building is plastic.. but very heavy duty type of plastic.. If anyone wants a pic of inside.. cuz well whatever.. I'd be glad to show you?  Is it rare .. hard to find item?

 

Keith, that's a Magnuson kit - probably is resin, I'm guessing. They must have made N scale, although (being in HO scale myself) I hadn't heard of it. There's a company called Scale Structures Ltd. (connected with Alloy Forms - they make white metal vehicles) that I think bought the dies from Magnuson (or some of them) and now makes a lot of the old Magnuson kits. Now, whether SS Ltd. (there's a company name they should've thought through first) makes the N scale kits or not, somebody would have to check their website. Hope THAT totally fogs things up for you... Wink Oh, the Magnuson kits were good ones (if you look at the Scale Structures, Ltd. website, you'll recognize some similarities to some of the Walthers kits - which I suspect 'borrowed' some ideas from Magnuson). Like your 'old-timey' street lamps.Smile

Jeff, having worked in insurance before, how much do/did they 'adjust' the rates based on one's credit rating? That's always been a sticky point for me with insurance companies, since I think that so long as they get paid, it's none of their beeswax. (Hey! How did that SoapBox get under my feet?) Good to hear you're getting your transportation going again. Thumbs Up

Speaking of getting things up and running again, I'm still waiting on my laptop to get back from the shop. Asked them how many others were ahead of me, but didn't get an answer yet. Tonight, I have enough of a connection at home that the desktop is usable. Better than the itsy-bitsy keyboard alternative, anyway.

Ray, I like that new diesil the FGLK acquired. Yeah!! No need to repaint it anymore, IMHO. Smile,Wink, & Grin How're the mountaintop mods coming along?

Rob, I hope you got a recording of your wife telling you it was okay to spend My 2 centsMy 2 cents on MRR'ing. Whistling And congrats on the painting sale!

Lee, I'd kinda wonder if the Mail Pouch on the barns was more common than the Coppertone one. I know I'm planning on putting a CMP on the roof of the barn kit I will be assembling (at some point in time). That, and/or the Meremac Caverns (though the Caverns signs were more prevalent in the Midwest than in the Southwest, I'd guess).

Ulrich, I would consider it sweet justice for you to get a job with the Ministry of Jobs (or whatever its name is). Bow Sorry to hear of your mother's health problems. AngelAngel And Wow!! - that's puttng those 'windmills' kinda close together, isn't it?

Mark(Pierce) - I don't blame you on the price of paint, having a few older Floquil bottles that I think (other than needing some mixing) are still good. Even have an older metal (pint?/quart?) can of Diosol. Shhh!! Don't tell the EPA I have that much, or they'll send over the hazmat folks! Whistling

I hope tomorrow to get some pics of the Scale Scenics (not to be confused with the SS Ltd. I mentioned to Keith) pallets I put together last weekend posted. They're kinda nice and not too hard for even me to  put together.

Hope everyone gets a good night's sleep tonight (myself included), prayers for all of us in need of healing comfort and/or a good night's rest.

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape Girardeau

(with still about a dozen pages of posts to catch up on tomorrow)

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Posted by der5997 on Friday, May 14, 2010 9:12 PM

Hello everyone:

Ulrich: Sorry to hear about your mother, I'll be praying for  her. Good news about your job possibility.

Keith: Thansk for the PMs and your concern. Link to lamp post? Here's one of the 40 China Source ones I got recently. They come with a pack of 80 Ohm resistors, but I'll play around with a string in series and see what resistance I need to cut the 7.2 volts ( 5 volt rated transformer from some small electronic thing in a yard sale) down to about 5 for the whole string. I've mounted this one on a scrap of board to hide the wires, but you can see what hey are like out to the side. That's a Ford Taurus for size comparrison.

As I was saying to CapeJim and Keith, there's beena whole lot of life intrudung on my Diner time! Plus, I've been accumulating evilBay hours getting a few things together for various projects. A built-up N Scale Model Power Malden Station I thought was going to save me time and effort arrived today. It turned out to be HO Banged Head The description (which I have saved) clearly says N Scale...so we shall see what the vendor is going to do about it.

I'd better say goodnight, as it's that time again. Goodnight all, and God Bless. Prayers for all in need of Healing, Comfort, Prosperity and Peace.Angel

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Posted by howmus on Friday, May 14, 2010 9:46 PM

Evenin' folks!

Flo just a cup of decafe for me.  I'll go sit in the back booth and try to stay awake.

Been busy today although most of the day was spent here at the computer updating the information for the MLK Scholarship Dinner next Wednesday.  THAT also involved several emails and a few phone calls to people to be sure they knew they were on the program.  It looks like we may end up turning people away as we are having the usual group of late callers (deadline for reservations was last Monday) and we had as of noon today all of 8 dinners left.  There is a limited amount of seating in the space we hold the dinner and the dinner orders had to in on Wednesday.  We usually have a lot of dinners up for grabs at this time.....  I think getting Arun Gandhi as our keynote speaker may have something to do with the filling of the space!  

Also managed to mow close to half of the lawn and trimmed a tree back THAT needed to have a bunch of suckers removed at the base of the tree.  Even managed to find a few minutes to continue with the Jordan Steam Shovel Kit.....  This one is the most finicky of all the Jordan Kits I have done (and I have done quite a few).  It has several parts that are nearly impossible to glue in place.  You get one spot where it should be and it moves in another spot.......  Oh well, It is giving me a chance to say a lot of those words I seldom use. WhistlingEvil

Catch you all later!

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

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Posted by ns3010 on Friday, May 14, 2010 10:25 PM
Evening all. Haven't been in in a while. Great news! The season ISN'T over! Since I was cleared this whole time, my coach said I could keep playing if I wanted to! So today was my first time playing in a week and a half, and I'd say it was pretty good. Varsity won 11-9, JV lost 7-3. BUT. I scored in the JV game! About friggen time! Been playing 7 years, and my first goal. No, I'm not THAT bad, I just play defense. Well, it's getting late, so I gotta go. Hopefully I'll catch you guys tomorrow.

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Posted by Packers#1 on Friday, May 14, 2010 10:34 PM
Joe, know what you mean bout that goal. I mainly played defense in soccer (by choice), and I scored once the past two seasons. kicked the ball on a roll just behind midfield, so the thing traveled over half a field, looked like it was going to go maybe 30 feet over and past the goal, but the wind was so fierce it shot the ball almost straight down into the net. I was PHYSCHED!!!!!!!!!! always wanted to do that and got my chance :D whoooooooo, haven't used my brain at all today. and thank the lord, I needed a day like that!

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Posted by Blazzin on Saturday, May 15, 2010 8:49 AM

    "Chloe  coffee please.. thanks.. of course.. when you have time."

 Der John.. wow.. I think you hit a sore spot with me.. when you mentioned EBAY.  For years we've had ebay and afterwhile, that sort of thing really gets to me.  An easy 500 wins.. from bikes to swords.  Why?  Because.. well several reasons. 

 First, you already paid shipping .. once.

 Second, you'll have to pay shipping again, and if not you'll still out some money on the original shipping... because of his/her mistake. 

 Although, some sellers will put the the dimensions on the listing just in case.. and if you didn't actually take that into consideration.. well thats .. partially your fault for NOT taking notice.

  I have also taken into consideration.... Is this a beginner seller.. or a seasoned seller that should know better.  But my only real issue.. and it just happens to be Ebay's issue, Is the item exactly described?  Does the photo match the item you received?  I've actually had a photo taken down..after I bought the item and paid for right then.. only to have the photo taken down within 50 mins.. then it was used on another item... selling another (katana sword) using the same picture.  I notified ebay of a 'Bait and Switch' then.. and when I received the sword .. well sure enough I got some old one.. and it wasn't like the pic I had saved.

  How would you like to bid lets say on a MR building?  You think you won a building but its a kit.  No where on the listing does it say Kit.  This happened to a friend of mine I've met through the forum here.  Now this person ate the money.. and just plainly gave the seller a big fat Neg Feedback.  Why..?

A seasoned seller.. he should have known better.  But case in point here.  My friend only wanted a simple..

  "I'm am sorry" 

  Working in a hospital.. a very high profile hospital.. we had to have special classes of "Taking Ownership of the Problem"  Better than half of the problems that arose would be taken care of by just the use of the words.. "I am so sorry, lets take care of this."  "This is my mistake.. I am truly sorry" 

  Well the seller replied.. "Just send it back"  as if there's no problem.  Never mentioned it was his mistake.. or that you will be out at least one of the shipping charges.. the full refund.. does not include shpping both ways... and yes.. ebay refunds money.. but all my friend wanted was a simple "I'm sorry"

  Did I even mention the hassle of returning something?  Packing it back up, going to the post office?

  And now.. the world's smallest rant. 

  I hate Root Beer and licorice jelly belly's.. they shouldn't be mixed in with the other goodies.

  I'll be in the booth.. reading for awhile.. if anyone cares to talk.... who knows.. maybe I'll post some more pics.. of me hitting the skids on my layout.  I''ve ordered the lamposts.. from China.. and I hope its not on a 'Slow boat from China'.  Heck I live on the west coast.. the closest thing to China.

 

  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Kentucky
  • 10,660 posts
Posted by Heartland Division CB&Q on Saturday, May 15, 2010 8:54 AM

Good morning!

busy day ahead. 

 

GARRY

HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR

EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU

  • Member since
    June 2004
  • From: Orig: Tyler Texas. Lived in seven countries, now live in Sundown, Louisiana
  • 25,640 posts
Posted by jeffrey-wimberly on Saturday, May 15, 2010 9:26 AM

 Went to Lowe's and picked up some items I'll need to start work on the van for painting. I got a 1/4 sheet heavy duty sander (as the light duty one I use for the layout would never survive), 6 packs of 1/4 sheet sandpaper, a couple of packs of full size sanding sheets to use as needed, a couple dozen rolls of masking tape, 10 cans white spray paint and 10 cans black spray paint and 2 different sizes of letter and number stencils. One thing that'll be on the left back door is the message 'FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!'. From halfway up the sides to the roof (with the exception of the doors which will be all white) will be black. From halfway up the sides to 1/4 of the way down will be white, from there down will be black. The front, including the hood and the roof supports framing the windshield will be white with the Dodge lettering on the hood done in flat black. I'm not going for a full paint restoration job here. I have neither the money or energy for that. Most of the body already has primer on it. I intend to sand back the areas where surface rust is showing through. I figure just about anything will look better than the splotchy primer gray/light blue/dark blue/ faded black is has now. Besides, the white and black plan I described is the same one I use for my Midland Gulf (L&A subsidiary) locomotives. I can figure out how to work in the Midland Gulf logo later. As far as the gas tank and steering column are concerned, if the scrap yard network can't locate them I can make a poor mans fuel cell from the gas tank of another vehicle secured inside the rear of the van with that area closed off to keep gas fumes out of the passenger area. For the steering column I'm sure my nephew and I can cobble something together that will work. We're a couple a gear heads with slightly different specialties. He'll take parts from two or more vehicles (not always the same type) to build a vehicle that works and is street legal. As for me, one of my hobbies used to be building hot rods and sleepers. A sports car getting it's doors blown off by a hot rod isn't all that unusual but a sports car getting the paint sucked off it by a beat up looking old family sedan with a 700 hp crate engine under the hood is VERY embarrassing for the owner/driver of the sports car. I had a good hearty laugh with that when I sucked up a Dodge Super Bee and blew it out the tail pipes of my '94 Century. The guy didn't know I had a modified V6 stroker engine in it. To add insult to injury I gave the Super Bee (He wanted to race for titles, how could I resist) to a friend of mine so his son would have something to drive to (high) school! We did of course put a governor on it so he couldn't go over 80. I can't take credit for the V6 stroker engine in the Century. That was put together by a friend of mine who lives near Alexandria. He used to build race car engines for a living. The last sleeper I personally built from the ground up was a somewhat rebuilt 1968 Dodge Coronet (Aspen R/T) that had a weak 318 in it. I pitched the 318 and it's tranny and slipped in a 426 Hemi with a 3 speed automatic with overtake (overdrive on steroids) and put in a 2 speed differential. Believe it or not it was considered to be street legal! The engine had a cross ram high rise intake with two 4 barrel Holley's feeding gas to the thirsty engine. It didn't pass many gas stations! I never did find out exactly how fast it would go but it was clocked at 161 mph on a race track with a very experienced race car driver handling it. He said he still had over an inch of pedal left and it was running smooth. I certainly had no problem blowing past a '78 Vette with it. I sold the Coronet in 1985 for $5,000 to a street racer. He loved it. I helped to build/rebuild cars for some years after that but the Coronet was the last one I did on my own. I dropped that hobby when my health no longer permitted me to do it.

Running Bear, Sundown, Louisiana
          Joined June, 2004

Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running Bear
Space Mouse for president!
15 year veteran fire fighter
Collector of Apple //e's
Running Bear Enterprises
History Channel Club life member.
beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam


  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, May 15, 2010 10:03 AM

 Good Afternoon,

it has been a busy day for me - I put in the missing baseboards in my "train room". This had been high up on my HD list for some time now and I kept postponing it, but this morning I had to give in to Petra giving me a certain look... Big Smile In the process of it I pulled a muscle in my back - it hurts like the Evil

My mother is is on a slow way of recovery. There is no water in her legs and in her lung any more and the new medication she gets seems to do its job. Monday we will know more, the candles remain lit.

Jeff - sounds as if you are in for a fun job Big Smile I am sure the van will look nice. Some how I feel that a van is the right set of wheels for you! Like to see pictures of it once it is done Thumbs Up That black & white color scheme begs for the name of the car being "The Skunk"

Keith - brother, we share the taste for root beer and licorice jelly beans! My remembrance on the taste  of root beer is a mix of sun tan lotion and 7up - brrr.

Zoe, dear, I´d like to have a mug of dark roast coffee, and a slice of that delicious apple walnut pie, thank you.

See you all a little later!

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Finger Lakes
  • 10,198 posts
Posted by howmus on Saturday, May 15, 2010 10:06 AM

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe I'll have the Eggs Benedict with a pot of dark roast coffee in a FGLK mug.

Got up this morning to find my old cookie jar in a thousand pieces on the kitchen floor..... I guess the kitties were playing on the kitchen table during the night.  I didn't hear a thing!  The cats just looked at me as if to say, "The dog did it"!  They both know I don't have a dog so they didn't get away with THAT one! Grumpy  The cookie jar was a wedding present to us from a very good High School friend.  It has been chipped and repaired a couple of times in the last 44 years.  Didn't survive this time.........

"While riding in my Cadillac,
What to my surprise.
A little Nash Rambler was following me -
About one third my size.
"

Now why is THAT song running through my head???

My son called and wants to borrow the truck to get some luan from the lumber yard to repair the old boat he has.  he should be arriving any minute now, so I will make this short.  Hope to finish the lawn today, and change the oil in the old rototiller in hopes of getting the garden started.

Catch you all later!

73

Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO

We'll get there sooner or later! 

  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Marion, Iowa
  • 1,263 posts
Posted by AmanaMedic on Saturday, May 15, 2010 10:45 AM

howmus

"While riding in my Cadillac,
What to my surprise.
A little Nash Rambler was following me -
About one third my size.
"

Now why is THAT song running through my head???

 

Beep

 

BeepMischief

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood Mornin', I'll take the "Heart Association" special for breakfast...NO! Not what the AHA would prefer a man eat...rather, the kinda breakfast THAT makes one a cardiac customer... (with apologies if needed to our cardiac customer friends).

Beep                                   Beep

JEFF: For a moment, I thought you were trying to paint the van to look like a cop shop (or Geek Squad van)...then remembered your locomotive paint. You then confirmed it about a half-a-second later.  "Freedom isn't free!" Amen. Maybe you can wake some dolts up to that fact.

 

His horn went beep beep beep.

ChrisEight Ball

The Cedar cRapids Industrial Branch: Proudly Shipping Yesterday's CrunchBerries Tomorrow!

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