Elliot's Trackside Diner July 2010

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Yes, Ray, the buttterfly photo looks nice. Perhaps, next time you can zoom in on a mosquito. Any chances of winning a prize with one of them?

Keith ... Your swtich points should move freely.   So that's what the water scene was about. I bet Atlantis had no rail service. ......  A question about the photo with the houses. Was that Duke lurking behind the blue house?  ....  I hope the infection gets better.

[der5997]

Ulrich:

So the MIA list could be reduced a little, but still no word from Jerry, Sam or Bama. I hope, everything is OK with them!

...Jerry says he's been somewhat tied up lately as his son is moving, and he's been helping with that. Also, there are some dental issues, andhe's on meds that make things a bit more fuzzy that usual.   Anywho, he says Hi! to all.

Ray: I chose #3 for the variation in the flower colours, and the fact the butterfly was in a not "same old same old" position. I like the bees too

Keith: I hadn't noticed until now (and I'm not a Stargate fan  - unlike my daughter - ) that the red tag things on the portal are asymetric. What's with that?

Tea time. TTFN.

 

[TMarsh]

Howdy, not much to say other than Wild Parsnip is nasty, or so they say. I've also heard it referred to as Poison Parsnip. Tried to use that as an excuse to not eat Parsnips as a kid. It didn't work.

Trimmed up some trees today, I took my time because it's a tad warm out there and I realized I'm retired so I  can do that. Later, I HOPE to mix up a batch of POP and dip some paper towels in it for the first layer of the hillside I've been working on off and on.

Main reason to stop in is the diner is getting down to one from the bottom of the page. Don't want to be sent to another siding.

Welp Brenda just hollered supper, BBQ ribs (oven, I was busy and since it was around the house she didn't want to stop me) Cooked cabbage and potatoes, some kind of vegetable and potato salad. Desert, Blackberry cobbler, with Blackberries from her bushes. Brought an extra in for you guys. I'll leave it here on the RC. Dig in. 

ADDED LATER- (burp) Toothpick please. Yup, the wife can cook ribs. Not as good as me, but preeetty good.

Just checked out Robby's railfan pictures. Looks real good! How long you think before the guy gets the lumber out of his truck to fix the fence? Doesn't look like the wifes too happy.

[howmus]

Evenin' Folks!

Folks!......  Anyone here???

Flo just a cup of decaf and a seat in the back booth to relax a bit.

John (Der), I kinda liked the fact on photo #3 you can see right through part of the wing on the butterfly and it is an unusual position for the photo....  Garry?  A mosquito?  Well if you will stand real still out on the porch, we can see if they are biting.  I might get a good photo with the 100mm....  Might take a while...  Oh yes they do pay out $25 each week for what they feel is the best shot.  The weekly winners are then put in a pool at the end of the year and the overall winner is chosen.  THAT one gets #250...  And it's free to enter.

Spent most of the day out at Boy Scout Camp with Troop 1.  Got one more requirement done with one of the Scouts for the RR Merit Badge.  They have a couple new Scouts who also want to get the badge.  We also went over the plans for the Eagle Ceremony next week.  The Scout receiving the Eagle is the first Scout in our Council to receive the award and be severely autistic as well as the first Eagle in his troop.  He has overcome a lot to earn the rank, and he truly deserves it!

Also got to chat with some staff members I haven't seen in a few years.  I told the Camp Director it is great to be out at camp and not have to be "in charge" of anything!

Just read an email from my sister the Arteest!  She has been doing her Summer Art lessons this week for a bunch of kids.  They looked at the photos and all picked #1 (as did she).  So #1 it is.

Have a great evening!

73

[TMarsh]

howmus

Just read an email from my sister the Arteest!  She has been doing her Summer Art lessons this week for a bunch of kids.  They looked at the photos and all picked #1 (as did she).  So #1 it is.

Uh oh. That's the one I picked. You might wanna rethink it. (chuckle) Think about my artistic abilities then make your decision. Of course, I may get lucky now and again.

Hittin' the hay early. Prayers for those in need. 

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning. It's 73 and mostly clear. Lots of stars visible. The high will be 97 and it will be mostly sunny.

Getting an early start today as I have to take my mother to Alexandria for a doctors appointment this morning. Went over and cut my parent's yard yesterday while it was still cool. They're still waiting for a guy to come and pick up the dead tree that was cut down in the front yard a couple of weeks ago. Supposedly he wants to cut it up for lumber. No particular plans for today other than that already stated.

[Anonymous]

 It is 95 F outside and the road workers start to put up signs "Don´t litter - keep Germany brown".

Lunchtime!

Zoe, I´ll have a RBF and a burger platter with a Salade Nicoise as side dish, please.

A tornado hit our northern coast yesterday, killing two people and causing considerable damage. We are grateful, that we live quite a bit away from the coast, although a walk on the beach would be nice now. Ah, well, a little forest fire in our neighborhood could be put out before growing into something big. Some  had flung his cigarette butt out of his car  - fools never die!

It is just too hot! And no relief in sight ...

John - thank you for extending Jerry´s greetings. Good to hear, that he is OK, well sort of ... 

 A good day to all of you!

 

[blownout cylinder]

Good Morning

We're seeing a high of 86F today with the humidity at 75%--that should bring us to near 102F-----oh, and a 30% chance of those ol' t'underin'boomers possibly.

I have too go and get more bloodwork done this morning so I'll be busy doing that ol' runnin' 'roun' doin' stuff thing . This usually means a chance to check out the LHS on the way back home, heeheehee.

As far as any grass fires we had about 4 of them here so far. One was about 2.5 acres in extent just outside of Atwood. All of them caused by idiots with nothing better to do than to light fires.

Anyhow whooooooo---You all have a good day-----as I sit, at home, with my coffee and breakfast bagel from Tim Hortons-----

[Robby P.]

 Good morning.

 Another day of work, and maybe some MRR later.   That's pretty much my day.  

 Hope everybody has a good morning.

[TMarsh]

Morning. Today: Sunny, with a high near 92. Heat index values as high as 103. South southeast wind between 3 and 10 mph. Gonna be sticky out there. Ooo, not quite as sticky as Barry, at least we will have a 6 degree jump on him for the humidity level. I'm stoked.

Though I didn't get into the Trainroom, I did manage to get a couple things done around the house yesterday. Lifted the trees in the front and got the neighbors limbs off the garage roof, so now I just have to lift the tree in the backyard and contemplate another tree. Not this year, but next spring.

I did get a visit from a TruGreen "evaluator" She tried to sell me their tree and shrub service. "Just $45 a treatment" she said. "I think it went down because of all the jobs we do in your area now" she said. "Actually," I said "it went up. It was $35 year before last." You see we have had the service for three years prior and it didn't do any good. The only thing is the trees are too big to spray, (they only spray up to twenty feet. Something they did not tell us before so they sprayed anyway to no avail. Besides it didn‘t work below 20 feet either.) and the majority of our plants that are affected by the bugs are either flowering, or fruiting. So, when there is a bug problem, they can't spray those plants. So I said to her, " I'm not going to pay $45or $10 more than before, for literally 6 bushes, since you now say you can't spray the trees, and it didn't work on what you did spray anyway." She claimed they used the wrong chemicals apparently and they would use the right ones this time. I looked at her, blinked my eyes a couple of times and said....."Um...No. But I'll tell you what, THIS time you spray and if I see improvement, then we'll deduct the $45 off the total of what I paid you for the 2 years of wrong stuff used until I get the entire amount returned in services for the useless treatments you just admitted to." No response. She changed the subject to grass. " Looks pretty good, needs watered...." "I don't water and I won't." "Oh well, a good aeration in the fall will...." " Look, you do have a very effective lawn service, weed and fertilizer thing going. I figured it up and I spend $30 a year spread over 6 treatments more for you to do it than if I were to do it myself. Not counting any "redo's" on my part. With that I'm happy. If you didn't do it, I would have weeds all over because I would not get around to doing it half the time. Again, I'm happy with that service. The rest of your services aren't worth a plug nickel to me."

Well, I didn't expect to get into all that. I just planned on saying, since it will be so sticky today, I plan (hear that Keith? Plan) on doing the plaster cloth thing first thing this morn then head in to see Mom and take her some Blackberry cobbler. Then work tonight. Thank goodness I'm up front tonight, kitchen will be hot. Real hot. Real, REAL hot. Real real REAL... (bonnnnnnggg!!!)

Have a Great Day!!!

[howmus]

Mornin'..... er..... uh... Afternoon I guess!

I did check into the diner earlier today, but never posted......  Zoe, I'll have a cheeseburger with fries covered with gravy and a cup of Dark Raost Coffee in my FGLK mug!

Todd and Barry, you can keep the heat!  It is a comfortable 73°F outside the door here in the Finger Lakes right now.  It will hit 84 about suppertime, then come back down soon after THAT.  We had a storm come through last night just as we were on the Parade Field for Evening Colors.  Had a couple good rumbles echo over the camp, so we were moved inside the dining hall very quickly.  About 10 minutes later it was a full deluge.  Had just under an inch of rain in about 2 hours.  Lots of mud when I left camp about 9PM.

I have been w*rking on the wood pile after getting the splitter up and running.  I went to start it and found all the bolts holding the motor in place were loose.....  Had to find some wrenches, got it tightened up, and she started on the first pull.  I should get most of the pile done this afternoon except for a few pieces THAT are too long for  the stove. 

Then I'm planning on creating part of quarry for the SLOW......

Catch you all later!

73

[Zandoz]

Hello folks.  Headed for 90 again here today, with a unit train load of humidity.

It's been a crazy couple days here.  Wife is not feeling well, and has not worked at all this week.  First thing yesterday morning, the power supply on my computer kicked the bucket.  Since it took all of about 30 seconds for online withdrawl to set in, I figured I'd drag out the old laptop.  I remembered that it had some kind of software problem last fall, but I didn't think it would take to long to fix.   Yeah right!  11: 30 last night I ws still fiddling with it.  Late afternoon yesterday, we had a heavy rain that was being blown in an unusual manner.  During the storm I took a bathroom break....on the way back, at the doorway where the new addition connects to the house there was a big puddle, and drips from above....a roof leak.  The contractor/friend who built the addition came right ove, but by the time he got here the rain was over, and of course he could not find the source of the leak.  He came back again this morning, and got in the attic trying to find the souorce...again no luck [shrug].

On a good note, my contractor friend has offered to help build the folding train table, when he has time between jobs.   We decided that te first thing to be done is to cut down a sheet of foam to my proposed 66"x36" size, then trial fit it in my room.  If that size does not work, we'll whittle it down until it will, then I'll have to come up with a layout to fit.  Between him helping me with the now defunct benchwork in the train/storage building, and now talking about this, I think he's getting the tran bug again.   Years ago he had a suspended from the ceiling HO layout, that was dismantled before a move...now he's talking about setting it up again.

[claycts]

Well it is hit as hell in S.C. but cooling off. Humidity is around 60% so nit as bad as Florida was. Sneaking in some train work but not much getting the modified ready for a race on 7/24 so got lots to do.

Glad to see the "DINER" is still open.

[cudaken]

 Zoe, a Mountain Dew pleas, to hot to eat with it being 98 today.

 First I like to say thank you all for a kind welcome to the dinner. After visiting the other day I must say this is a fun places. 

 Second, I am officially over what ever I had and feel normal again! 

TMarsh

Ken- OK, gotta face to a name now. Somehow I expected you to be a bit scruffy. Fellow MOPAR guy don'tcha know!! Being one of ‘em I know the type. Good looking family, I am a sucker for dogs. Say is that an Irish Wolfhound or Scottish Deerhound? My cousin raises the latter and I can't really tell the difference

 

 Ah, Tmash, did I disappoint you and not look scruffy? Or was I sufficiently scruffy for you? Far as the big dog, Sonya is a Irish Wolfhound and you are right, looks like a Deerhound. Wolfhounds are bigger but I am not sure by how much. Sonya in the picture weighed in at 170 pounds, little small for a Wolfhound. Tiff, the little white dog is a American Eskimo, she wights 15 pounds.

 Charlie, glad you found some amusement in my trails and tribulations.

 Speaking of that, I goofed again this afternoon. I had been running two engines as a MU but had booth decoders sat at address 3. Turned on the Digitrax SEB and hit program changed address to 51 and hit enter. Heard a couple of beeps then silence from the RR. At the same time I saw WRONG flash across the DT 400! Then I saw I was in Page mode not OP's. Then I saw the Track power light was off, OMG what did I do now, the SEB is not working, could I have cooked a decoder? Started pulling engines, finally pulled 12 that where on the track and track power light was still not on!

 Then a dim light went on. I seldom use Page, but don't I have to turn the tack power back on using the TD 400? Yep, that did the trick as far as track power. But, now I have to change all the address and get the engines back to there trains, and most are in hard to reach spots. Oh well, to hot to do outside yard work to day anyway.

            Ken, messing up again.

[AmanaMedic]

 Good afternoon...bucket of ice water and an IV set-up with a liter of Lactated Ringers (LR) solution and 14 ga angiocath please 'n thank-you...no, no, both are to-go. I have to cover a Class 4A Regional Softball Final game this evening; just getting prepared.

CUDAKEN: Hiya! Good to meet you Sir... 

RAY: Does the Scout camp have a lightning detector? North Liberty Fire bought one for the baseball/softball complex...supposedly (depending on who you talk to about it) it's a reliable unit THAT will detect out quite aways away. 

JEFF: Always good to see a Geep Thirty 

ULRICH: I'd almost forgotten you guys get the "swirly things" (tornadoes) too... we've got a shot at a few yet tonight with high temps in the 90s and obscene dew point readings for suffocatingly high humidity.  Do the weather speculators on TV go into a frenzy over there too? Some around here get a real aerobic workout dancing, jumping up and down, hooting and hollaring during their "wall to wall" coverage. Incredible. Here, it seems each channel has to out-do/out-extreme the other when the funnels start to drop. I'm not sure where the line between "information" and "entertainment" is anymore...

 

Welp, on THAT note, time to get ready to go cover the "big game."

Chris

[Packer]

Hey guys

Not a whole lot going on today. I have worked on the body of my car some and have most of the bondo work done, but the barrage of rain storms has kept me inside. They may only last a little bit, but going outside in 90 degree heat with 175% humidity isn't very fun.

Here's my new RS-11 with my one of my GP9s. I'd like to Mu these to together after I get sound in one of them since they are both ex-np locos. (my other 3 Gp9s are all CB&Q). I like the way the RS11 runs alot. so much so that I am thinking about using it as a template to match my locos to it. Don't recall if atlas locos really need to be broken in like athearns or some protos.

John, Sorry to hear about Rosie.

Robby, looks like your town is really coming along

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 While in Alexandria today I stopped off at the LHS and picked up a couple of items. A D&RGW 40' Cookie box and a 2005 Crown Vic fire chiefs car.

Looks like the Walther's site has crashed ... ... Again.

[JimRCGMO]

Good Evening Chloe - yep, it's me again, and I did NOT drop off the face of the Earth, actually... I'll have a ribeye steak (medium), broccoli, a Greek salad, and a glass of Finger Lakes wine, please. (At least in here, there's no down-side to any of those)

AmanaMedic

but I just wish the food ***, nanny-staters, and self-appointed do-gooders would just stay OUT of my food. I didn't even know what a "trans fat" was until they started banning them. Coke tasted much better in the 70s and 80s, McDonald's fries were THE best when they cooked 'em in the beef fat and salted the heck out of 'em. I've noticed THAT I'm dumping MORE salt into food to get it to taste "like it used to." Is it good for me? Probably not. My sole concern with food is FLAVOR and filling my guts. IF it ultimately does me in...at least I wasn't slogging through a plate of styrofoam, cardboard, soybean paste, and tofu...  I fear we are in a time of increased regulation, decreased liberty, and much greater involvement of others into our personal lives...and I don't like it one bit!!!

 

Hey, Chris, I'd agree with the biggest majority of what you said - I'm no fan of those 'nature bars' that taste like unrefined cardboard. However, I am glad THAT the food processors/packagers are marking the nutritional content, and more so lately. About two weeks ago this past Monday, we had a 'pre-diabetes' screening at w**k (weight, BMI, blood sugar, full cholesterol, etc.), and I was NOT happy with my numbers (blood sugar 107, HDL too low at 24, LDL was - I forget specifically - too high, at least my triglycerides were low enough). So IRL (THAT is, outside of the Diner), I've severely cut back on my sodas, ice cream, and I don't think I've had chocolate since then except the last portion of the fudge ripple ice cream that I finished off earlier this week (still have the orange sherbet in the freezer, as I think it won't do too much damage). I don't like it (would love it if I had someone else who would help me stay on track with walking - devilishly hard to maintain motivation in this hot weather and get everything else I would like done). Hey, soapbox! Back in your corner, I'm done now. But Chris, I hope you get THAT other newspaper job (and more money there, too)!

Oh, I did fine somebody who had the Sylvan HO scale 1950-53 model La France fire truck. Just need to get some of that orange stuff (GoJo?) to wash off the mold release gunk before I start painting/assembling it. Haven't made it any further along on my Athearn RDC kitbashing project that Gary asked me about in an email earlier this week. But I figure (as I told him) that after I get the body shells a bit more prototypical in appearance, I'll have to extend/rebuild the chassis, regear some of the drives with the Ernst regear kits, and also re-wire them for DCC as well. If I'm lucky, I might have some done by Christmas.

DerJohn, sorry to learn of Rosie's passing. I can recall way back when the Diner was still the 'Coffee Shop', and how you'd finish often by saying you had to walk Rosie the dog. Glad your neighbor was able to help with getting Rosie a resting place. Enjoyed several of your emails, by the way.

CN Charlie - I've heard about making those waves (on your layout, not the others...) that gloss acrylic medium (see your local art supply place) and some careful brushw**k can get some decent waves on your ocean/lake/river.

Today the weather got back to the heat advisories again (for the next 2-3 days or so). Heat indexes/indices were into triple digits this afternoon (about 80 percent humidity, so I'm sure Jeff would feel right at home in SE Missouri today, right?). Thank Heaven for air conditioning - we'll deal with the electric bill later...

Looking over the MIA list, I'd guess that Bama (Eddie) might be busy with w**k and family (I am hoping that's it, since that would leave him some MRR funds accumulating, maybe). Sorry I missed Cuda Ken - it's been a while since I spotted him in here.

Zandoz - to the Diner (belatedly on my part)! I'll have to go back and find where you described your MRR'ing plans, etc.

Yep, Jeff, Walthers sure is down - or else they've gone back to 300 baud modems on their servers, so to speak... Guess I won't be adding anything to my wishlist there tonight!

At w**k, the new crisis w**ker might be getting over the shock of having to actually answer calls as part of her/our job (I think she might be...) This week, I've had one of our interns (she's closer to my age than the 20-something newbie on the team) shadowing me as she finishes up the hours she needs. She's actually got the hang of things (and has a better w**k ethic than the newbie). Off the record, even our supervisor would like to hire the intern for crisis. Now, if they'd only find the money for her salary and hire her after she finishes her degree this fall/Dec.

Had one PITA at a local police department who was a total PITA about a week ago. I have seen THAT one five times (to the point that I know her home address from filling out my forms so many times ). About every officer at the station feels about as warmly about her as I do, I'm pretty sure. Hope I don't have any calls related to her this Sat. and Sunday when I'm on-call again.

Ulrich, stay as cool as possible there with that weather you're having; sounds as nasty as ours on this side of the pond and the Muddy Mississippi. Hope you, Petra, and the rest of your family are doing well.

I did get my (leaking) kitchen faucet replaced by the landlord, and after thinking I wasn't gonna find an adapter for my Pur water filter to re-attach it to the (new) faucet, I finally found an adapter in the box that came with the faucet (probably a couple of years or more ago). The city water here is kinda hard - I should've taken pics of the encrustation on the old faucet where the leaking water evaporated around the knobs and spout.

Well, I've taken up enough space and time for now. Am continuing to keep those Diners in need of comfort, healing, sleep, and otherwise on my list. Keep my efforts to reduce my numbers on yours also, please.

 

Blessings and a good night's rest,

Jim in (Muggy) Cape Girardeau

[howmus]

Evenin' Folks!

Flo, just a decaf and maybe one of those chocolate brownies with a scoop, no make THAT 2 scoops, of vanilla ice cream and lots of chocolate sauce.  I'll go sit with Jim and console him on the #s...

Hey Jim, I sure wish I could get my blood sugar down to 107 again..... Don't feel bad, I am also trying to get some weight off and outside of the diner am watching every mouthful.  I have a Zucchini Squash THAT will be ready to pick tomorrow or Friday.  This is the start of fresh garden vegetables in diet, and they will be the major part of the diet for the next 3 or 4 months!  I can pig out on many of the veggies and not have to worry about the sugar or gaining weight.  Oh and Chris, I also think it is a good thing to have all pertinent stuff on the labels of Manufactured Junk Food, etc.  I believe in the "Right to Know" idea.  I also believe we all have a "right to ignore" it if we want..........  Remember, on every 3rd. street corner of every American city, there is a donut shop.  On no street corner of any American City is there a Broccoli Shop! 

I decided to split and stack as much of the wood today as I could.  Have done about a face cord and have one maybe 2 wheelbarrows full left in the driveway.  Today the high temp was 79°F where tomorrow they are saying 89°F and higher humidity.  Also got the chain saw back up and running.  Bought a new gas can, mixed the oil and gas, and filled her up.  After about 8 or 9 pulls she still didn't want to start.  I was thinking I had really messed it up, gave it one more pull and it started right up.  It idled like it is supposed to and has its power back.  So....  Guess it WAS just old gas. Had a meeting early this evening with the Head of my church's Property Committee where I outlined a proposal for the Sound recording part of the sound system.

Then..... About an hour ago I actually got down cellar and did a bit on the layout.  Tomorrow i hope to beat the heat and stay down there most of the day.  well at least untill I have to go to the RR Hysterical Society meeting at the Museum....  We will be operating a diesel and a couple of cabooses for rides up and down the line.....  Don't want to miss THAT!

Later!

73

 

[TMarsh]

Good evening Diners and peekers! Hmm, nobody ate the Blackberry cobbler so I'll have some with a healthy serving of that hand cranked real vaniller Ice cream please.

Guess what! This morning prior to me leaving to do the Mom visit, I did the Plaster covering for the hillside!!!! Now I have some more to work on. Yipeee! Pretty happy with myself I am. That little addition will lay the backing for Gold Creek and I hope make that area come along. I still need to add some filler plaster to even some parts out and then color the plaster, decide where I want to have some exposed rock, if at all, and then some ground cover, scrub and some trees. All this leads into the two main areas that fill the back of that part of the layout. The B&B on the hill and the post office/ bar and dance hall, which will be another scratch build, along with a snack stand if room permits..

Zandoz- First, I'm sorry to hear of the computer problems but glad you found an alternative to stay in touch. Second, sounds super the contractor is going to work with you on the layout setup/stand thing. Third, um....mind if I ask what your name is? We here in the diner kinda become a bit friendly and well, Zandoz sounds a bit, oh I don't know, distant. Now if you say your name is Zandoz I'll feel stupid.

Ken- I'd say sufficiently scruffy. When it comes to the Irish and the Deer, does it matter how much? LOL They are both biiiiiig dogs! I think you'll like it here. More train stuff gets talked about than some think, but like a club meeting, not all train talk.

Jeff- looks like the FD now has a potential parade car.

Jim- I agree with you and Chris. Don't give up on making the bad things, but let us know what is in stuff so we can make the choice. Most things aren't bad for the average person in moderation and that's the key, moderation.

Welp, tomorrow, I plan on spending the majority of the day with Ray, a bit of distance apart, but the same plan. Gonna be another roaster here so they say.

Prayers for those in need.

[AmanaMedic]

 Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood Evenin', plate of cheeseburgers and a bucket of ice water please 'n thankya.

Well, after six scoreless innings, the bad guys got a 2-run homer. The Good Guys (gals, actually) never got on the scoreboard. The other team I cover won 14-0 in 4 innings (mercy rule), so they will go to State Tournament in Ft. Dodge. Not sure if THAT and Mr. Boss will send me or not. Tomorrow is the deadline for applying for media credentials, so they had best make a decision forthwith and posthaste. If not, and they send me...they will have to send petty cash to cover the gate fee. Once inside the sacred grounds, I'd be able to find the dude in charge of media passes, and then be cut one for the day. I had to do THAT last year for State Baseball...what a pain; and all 100% preventable.

howmus

Oh and Chris, I also think it is a good thing to have all pertinent stuff on the labels of Manufactured Junk Food, etc.  I believe in the "Right to Know" idea.  I also believe we all have a "right to ignore" it if we want..........

I agree with you 100%. Informing is fine...dictating, well...I just don't dig it.

JIM: Hey, good to see you in here again. Glad you found an "ALF," can't go wrong with an American classic!  I haven't applied for THAT job just yet...I'm weighing pros and cons, doing much cogitation, etc. I'm not quite to the analysis paralysis on this...but it is weighing heavily on the brain.

VINCENT: Was THAT a Proto 2000 BN geep??? If so, are they any good? Eventually I'll need a pair (renumbered) to match the Iowa Northern's pair of ex-BN units. 

 

Time to process the photos from tonight... have a good night,

Chris

[CNCharlie]

Good Evening Diners!

We had quite the thunderstorm here last night. I thought I'd get to bed early, well before midnight anyway, but the storm made other plans for me. Again I was out in the pelting rain hooking up the submersible sump pump  before the pond overflowed. Glad I kept all the rain gear from when I had the sailboat. We got about 1 1/2 " of rain in 2 hours and at times it was really a downpour. Got a little hail too. Those hail stones smart a little when they hit the old bean with only a thin layer of fabric to protect you.

Ken, I wasn't making fun of you with your train trials. You just put into words many of the same things I've gone through, so believe me I can relate.  One thing I did to hopefully minimize what happened to you with acidentally reprogamming all your addresses, was to put in a "block" to cut the power to the loco service yard.

Jim, I recently bought a resin barge for my harbour and was advised at the LHS that the special release agent sold by Sylvan smells and looks just like Goo Gone so that is what they recommend. I washed it in detergent and then rubbed some Goo Gone on it and had no problem getting the primer to stick.

Speaking of fire trucks, I've been meaning to ask Chris if he has seen or even heard of the units produced by Fort Garry Industries. They build them right here in Winnipeg not far from where I work. I think they mostly do pumpers.

I haven't painted the bedroom yet as my wife keeps coming up with other plans for me. Drat, I guess I'll just have to put it off until another day. So far I've managed to do that for about a year and a half.

Not much happening on the layout. I am installing some details in the harbour such as bollards, life rings and so forth. I put  street lights in the village but haven't hooked up the power yet as I need to get some connectors. I looked under the layout and that was a mistake. If I ever have a problem I don't know how I could source it as my wiring is a little messy. Oh well, it made sense at the time and it all still works. I actually ran a train for a while last night, a short freight pulled by a Spectrum Consolidation. I really like that little loco. Runs great, looks great and sounds great too.

Today I got out an iPod that has been sitting unused in my drawer for over 2 years and so I thought I should at least try it out. It likely will be amazing what it can do if I can ever figure it out . The instruction book is 72 pages on line. I'm not really that keen on walking around listening to music but thought it might be nice when I have to sit for hours on business travel.

Yikes this is getting long and it is almost tomorrow so I had better say good-night for now.

Good-night,

CN Charlie

 

 

[LSWrr]

Good morning all,

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 100. South wind around 7 mph. Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. Calm wind becoming south between 7 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. West wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

[Robby P.]

 Good morning. 

 I'm off to detail the MIL car.  Oh................We are also suppose to get the Sonata today.  It was mainly "touch ups" that the other body-shop had to do.   Its just been 10 1/2 weeks, that's all .

 The "brother in law" is suppose to come in today since the weeding is Sat.  I can't wait till this is over!!  They ( the MIL and wife) were yelling into the phone so loud the other day, neighbors were looking.  Why???  The BIL was being rude.   I'm sure the fireworks will be going the next few days.

 Today pick up the Sonata and maybe go by a LHS.

 Vincent.....Thanks for the comments.  I still have much more to do.

 Hope everybody has a good day.

[blownout cylinder]

Hello

And a good morning to all of you--

We're getting the humidity advisories in effect today thing as we're going up to 92F and a 85% humidity---should reach 104F no problem now Yesterday we reached 87F and got just under 88% humidity for 102F------yay

Anyhow, I'm going to find out how my bloodwork is doing--yesterday was an I&R thing that was done. All that measures is how thin my blood is--I'm on those ding Warfarin pill things---if it is at a certain level then I'll be able to not have to do this ding weekly bloodwork and go monthly then---

Then, after I find that out I'll be checking out another hobby store that apparently just opened up up here---

Chloe, I'll have a coffee for now please--I'm at the window booth checking out the scenery---

[TMarsh]

Morning. Today: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 93. Heat index values as high as 105. South wind around 7 mph becoming west northwest. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Tonight: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. North northwest wind between 3 and 5 mph.
Well, I got the garbage to the curb and sweated. I should have known because the windows are fogged up on the outside. Miiiight just be a bit humid out there. Ya THINK!  I have some things I need to do "out there" but for the most part I may just spend most my time in....Toddland (of which I'm king). There is plenty to do in there. And all constructive too!

Tonight is the annual stock holders meeting for the grain elevator so, as a stock holder and as the husband of the Asst Manager, I shall be enjoying a free dinner. They will also be giving patronage checks out and I do have to pay taxes on it, so I could consider it getting paid. It's a job. Someone has to do it, it might as well be me.

Have a Great Day!!! And try to stay cool.

　

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 Good morning. It's 75 and mostly cloudy. The high will be near 100 and it will be partly cloudy.

I see Walther's website is still down. The more things change the more they stay the same. They felt that the site needed revamping and now old man Murphy is taking his vacation there. Nothing on the agenda for today as far as I know. You think I'm gonna be out in near 100 degree temps if I can help it? Yeah, right! I'll be inside where it's cool. It'll give me a chance to weather the new D&RGW 'Cookie Box' boxcar. I've already dusted up the fire chief's new car. What a shame the town doesn't have a car wash. Guess he'll have to take it over to the diner and have a bunch of bikini  clad cheer leaders wash it while he sits back and enjoys the sights while his heart rate goes up. Maybe they can wash the crew bus too. No reason to deprive the rest of the fire fighters. Well, better get the 'Cookie Box' over to the weathering station.

[Anonymous]

 Good Afternoon Folks,

well, it is a little cooler today, after we had some rain during the night. We have opened all windows to let some of th fresh air cool down our flat. Still way too warm for me, though.

Zoe, I´ll have a RBF and stay here at the RC, just to wait and see who will drop buy.

Ray - I like the dusty look of the fire chief´s car - somehow, I can figure you sitting in there! Nice close-up shot.

Barry - I had to take some of those blood thinning pills for quite some time, with a weekly check to boost. How I hated that! Took me up to half an hour to stop the bleeding. I remember a day, when I was in a hurry to go to work, I did not take that time. When I arrived at my office and took of my jacket, my secretary looked at me and fainted - the sleeve of my shirt was completely bloody! I am happy that I only have to take an aspirin a day now.

Robby - talking about a Hyundai Sonata, guess what they sell in Germany for? $ 38,000!!!

Todd - I know you have had little time to work on your layout lately, but how about some new pics? Not that I am curious 

A good one to all of you!

Edit: I have been toying with an idea for a display layout in "my LHS". The available space is limited to about 1´ by 3´ - too small for anything serious in terms of operation, but big enough for something spectacular. 

I came up with this:

The setting is somewhere in rural Japan, you can see the rice fields in the plan. It´s in T-Gauge by Eishindo, which is scale 1/450! A train is as big as a pencil. Now if that is not spectacular. Btw, it is a type of contest, when my entry wins, I can build the layout and even get a little pay for that. After Christmas, the layout would then be mine.

 

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, a couple of those Bavarian Creme doughnuts to go along with my dark roast coffee in a R&GV mug would do nicely this morning.  Be sure you shake out all the calories when you bring them over.  Thanks!

Currently 80°F here in the Finger Lakes according to the new and (very not) improved Weather.com website.  Going up to around 88°F today by mid afternoon.  A good day to stay down in the train room....

Sir Madog

Ray - I like the dusty look of the fire chief´s car - somehow, I can figure you sitting in there! Nice close-up shot.

 

Uh, Ulrich,  THAT's Jeffrey I think....  You'd be more apt to find me in something like this...

Oh!  It looks like "Walthers Not In Stock" is back up and running this morning........

Catch you all later!

73

[JimRCGMO]

Almost lunchtime, Zoe, so I'll have a BLT and a RBF (no sugar added vanilla ice milk), please 'n' thank you. 

howmus

Hey Jim, I sure wish I could get my blood sugar down to 107 again.

Hey, Ray, I don't want this to turn into full-blown diabetes; don't need another expense out the paycheck, I figure!

Robby, saw you town pic, and your farmhouse one, too. You're doing fine there! I love the fence beside the garden, especially - though I think they need to re-nail a few of the cross-braces on that fence... Glad to hear the shop's done with the Sonata - almost seems like they should deduct your 'rental fee' for letting them keep it all those weeks. But it's good that you have the vehicle back again.

Barry- I&R?? Inspect and Reject? (a la Alice's...)

W**k's been pretty good so far - had a couple of calls, and got called by our mental health NP for assistance, which turned out to mostly be arranging a ride for a client to the ER (NP had already arranged with the unit, and they just needed the client medically cleared). Took longer to write up the documentation than it did to find a case worker to run them to the ER. I guess otherwise, the heat advisory is keeping people away. Aw....

Good to hear Walthers is back up again. Think I'll use the Diner's WiFi to check on a few things over my lunchtime...

Hope everyone can dodge the heat today (even if it means being FORCED to go down to the train room...?)

 

Blessings and prayers,

Jim in Cape Girardeau