Elliot's Trackside Diner November 2011

[gear-jammer]

I need lots of strong coffee this morning, Chloe.  Today is the big dispatching marathon.  Instead of 1 four hour session, it will likely be 2.  The MR's doing the operations have not operated on my friend's layout before.  Larry's job will be to encourage them to stay on the timetable.

Joe,  Congrats on Rutgers.  What are you studying?

Curt,  As usual, thanks for posting great photos.  Your layout looks like a fun one to operate on.

Ray,  You are a hard worker.  We have wood to stack.  Do you want to help us when you are done?  We have done many of the American Model Builders laser kits and find them very straight forward.  We have not done the ones that you mentioned.  Let me know how they turn out.

Rob,  I hope that it is your memory and not the coyotes.  Our previous neighbor used to shoot coyotes regularly as they went after his chickens.  He has moved and the population is on the increase.

Barry,  Funny photo.

Ulrich,  A friend said that when he lived in Germany, there was a silo that had a climbing wall in it.  On the top was a pub.  The only way to the pub was to climb the wall.  I am not sure how they got down.

Happy Birthday to CN Charlie and Johnboy.

Sue

[TMarsh]

Good Morning!! Coffee and waffles with butter and maple syrup please, Thank you.

Sunny, with a high near 61.

I should have the fitty six fowd done today if I’m left alone. Just need to pick up the front shocks today around noon. Why noon? Oh, NAPA is two blocks from Popeye’s Chicken. It’s Crawfish festival you know. Love the Crawfish basket. And that creamy horseradish sauce is…..MAN! That’s good. Anyway, bout time I get the snowblower gone through like Ray. Usually park it in the garage between the cars, but with the way things were this year, well there is no room there. Yet. Another project I suppose.

Ken- Set up, I guess, isn’t exactly the right word. More like… seems some would rather you not succeed as the “boss”. You know, the usual resentment from people who have to train their supervisor. You know. Don’t know how to put it. Um… they aren’t going to do much in the way of helping you to learn the job. However, many times when that does happen, your attitude often makes the situation turn around. Just like what you’re doing. Jump in there learn the job and don’t give up, most times wins them over. But you know how some probably feel. You could even be the third guy they’ve had to teach the job too.

Galaxy- Oh believe me I’m fully aware of your brisk winters. I do not envy you one bit. Ken and I are about 90 miles apart and real close to the same Northyness and Southness so I can give a close compare to our usual temps by saying “ours”. But yah, I don’t think I could survive up were you are. Brrrrrr. And when you figure out how two people dirty that much clothes, you let me know. And toilet paper. We go through as much if not more toilet paper than we did when the kids lived here. I don’t get it.

Joe- CONGRATULATIONS!!!! That’s great news on the accepted to Rutgers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Charlie and Johnboy!!

Just remembered, I’m out of furnace filters, best stop at Wallymart on the way back today.

Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ...... to CN Charlie and Johnboy!   Are there two cakes here?

JimCG ... Glad you stopped in here.

Rob ... Speaking of coyotes, we see them around here sometimes, too. Reminds me, I learned the people who are trying to rebuild the nearly extinct population of red wolves have a problem because when they release young ones into the wild they are likely to breed with coyotes. I would suspect a coyote-wolf mix would be unfriendly to small livestock on a farm.

I hope to work on scenery this morning, and non-mrr stuff outside this afternoon.

I suppose when the diner leaves San Diego, it will travel up the old Santa Fe line to Los Angeles where it can catch an eastbound train. We should stop at the original Disneyland between SanDiego and Los Angeles. A trip on the old Disneyland Railroad would be fun.

[Curt Webb]

Morning All,

I will just have a cup of coffee please. MOH made cinnamon bread french toast this morning. Not much is going on today. I will probably play with the camera for a bit and go to the club. I still go there pretty much every week but now it is for the friends more than running trains like it used to be.

I think my new work partner is going to work out. He has really good skills and actually impressed me on one call, and he is trying to fit in.

Garry- I have only seen 1 coyote here and it was at midnight leaving the WDW complex. He was trotting across the road.

Johnboy and CN Charlie- Happy belated birthday.

This is looking away from my diesel servicing facility

 

 

Everybody have a good day. 

[galaxy]

The train left San Diego a long time ago, and now we have stopped for side excursion trips to the Grand Canyon. There is an extra fee for this ride, but be sure to check out the AARP discounts available to the members who are 50 and over and their spouses or  legal partners. If you are 50 or over or your other half is, then sign up quickly at aarp.org to enjoy the many benefits!!! **

Read all about available trips and select your poison here:

http://www.thetrain.com/

Other trips may be  in the offing. Sorry folks, it seems STEAM train is no longer running at this time...only vintage diesel.

** {disclaimer: I am not affiliated with either AARP or THE Grand Canyon Railway}

[thortenney]

Good morning gang! I finally got my lazy behind out of bed.  We got about 8 inches of snow last night. and its still coming down. I am gonna get out there and do some shoveling. My little dog Snoop (snoopy) wont go out unless I shovel a trail and some grass for him he is a spoiled wimp but I love him! I bought a dish heater for our satellite dish last year. I need to get it out and hook up the wires and plug it in. after that It's layout construction time!! I have a club meeting today at 3pm.Someone is doing a hands on clinic on layout design. (perfect timing for me!) Well I will see you all this afternoon .

                                                                    Thayne.

[Cederstrand]

Coffee in a Burlington Northern mug, please.

Had one of those insomnia nights. Utterly exhausted and not feeling well today.

Forgot to mention, last night when it sounded like the goats were being surrounding by coyotes, I went down and let them into the barnyard. Put them back out into the pasture this morning. Guess this will need to become part of my routine now.

Have a good day all.

 Rob

[howmus]

Mornin' everyone!

Zoe, I'll have a breakfast bagel w/ cheese and sausage...  Huh?  No not the Barry sized one, the normal sized one.....  And a cup of dark roast coffee in a FGLK mug.  Thanks!

I've been sitting at the kitchen table watching the frost melt off the neighbor's roofs this morning while doing a crossword puzzle.  Surprisingly I am not sore from all the w*rk I did yesterday.  Sue and Rob, I'll gladdly help you folks with the chores after I get mine done......  Last year the wood pile finally got finished in early June, so it may be a while before i make it over to your places.   Since it was still 33°F outside whe I turned on the computer an hour ago, I relit the wood stove.  Manét has taken up residence in front of it and is staying toasty warm....

I have to go to Canandaigua again today and feed my sister's cats.  Then I get to pick her up at the Amtrack Station in Rochester this evening.  Train schedule says it will arrive at 8PM......  I figure I should be there around 9:30 to wait for it.

Guess I best get doing some of the slew of things THAT need doing around here.

Later!

73

 

[JimRCGMO]

Good Morning, Zoe, I'll have the #2 special, scrambled, with wheat toast and blackberry jam, a glass of Ed's OJ, and a Rio Grande mug of coffee, please. Thanks, and good to see you back again.  Oh, and when Garry gets in, will you let him know that I *did* come in the front door (as usual). Thanks!

Slept pretty good in my Pullman berth last night. Thought I might've heard Duke snoring somewhere down the hallway, but not for sure on that. Debated about sticking my head out the door and saying "Berkshires" just to check if it was him (but I didn't).

blownout cylinder

Got a new computer hooked up and running now...

Asus M5A99X With 6 core AMD CPU, 2 2Tb Seagate HDs (internal) plus one 4Tb unit externally, 16 Gb ram, Tower case, and 2 24" monitors.... all that fun stuff ...heeheehee. This is all for my music stuff......

Hey Barry - yeah,... right..!! Just music, eh - are you sidelining by w**king as a DJ now? (And you can guaranteed us you won't be putting any game software on that monster, eh? )

Garry, I guess that you could always move to Arizona - they never change for DST there. That's a nice loco there in your photo (and the rock cliffs are pretty good-looking, too! (Keep 'em coming, Garry!)

Ray - on your cobblestone building, what about carving the walls from a plaster/Hydrocal sheet? It'd take some time, but might come much closer to capturing the detail of the stonew**k. (You could make a mold of the walls after you were done, so you could reproduce the walls later if needed/wanted) Just an idea for ya.(Ah, I see Todd already suggested carving...) Or, what about make a form with wood strips, pour a small layer of plaster in that, set your small stones in rows, and then pour fine sand in (after (re-)wetting the plaster or putting a thin layer of glue/adhesive (white glue dries clear, right?) over the top (and Dullcote it once you have it weathered). ('nuther idea...)

With Ken and Todd (and others) talking about training for your job, I think it was just in the last couple of years that my w**kplace starting official training (I'm not counting those online courses that everybody hated to do - site would time out on you if you got called away for something, and then you had to start over... ). I figure the main reason our agency started doing regular training was that their accrediting organizations required us to have it. But with that, we now have (every other month, so far) our staff meetings with training, so it's an hour and a half, and it's held over at the admin. building (such fun...). I think companies (with some exceptions) nowadays don't like the cost to actually train someone, so they will only do it if made to. I think when I started, the biggest part of my 'training' was one video and another day or so of reading the huge policy binders (all the stuff I was supposed to know and follow, natch!). Can anyone say, "CYA"? (Okay, Zoe, put away the soapbox, I'm done... for now).

NSJoe, congratulations on the Rutgers acceptance!

Johnboy and CN Charlie - sorry I missed the actual date(s). A belated Happy Birthday to both of you!

Thayne, I think you get the "First Diner With Sn*w For This Season" award. Eight inches of the stuff?!

Yeah, Galaxy, your 'new' story on the B of A just confirms what I said I thought about their board/officers. (Dumb, dumb, dumb...) Guess they figure they can stonewall the person paying them and try to collect 'just a bit more' from them (or at least, until the TV stations get sicked on 'em). I know about that selling loans business - my student loans were all done in Missouri (through MOHELA), but somewhere along the route (maybe when I consoldiated them some years ago), they got sold to some Pennsylvania loan authority/company (no problem so far with them, but I'd prefer to have somebody more local than that when I have questions). Hey, and thanks for the side trip to the Grand Canyon!

[Ray:] Actually, I am way ahead of myself with this as I have to do drawings of each side complete with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one to be used against me......  Opps, old song running through my head.....  (I can play the accompaniment for you, if you like...)

Well, the porter let me know that my laundry is ready at my compartment, so I need to go put it away. Will (hopefully) get pics of my carved-balsa-wood-and-caspia trees this afternoon. (Think the conifer stuff I have may be too big, so the photos may be 'in process' ones)

 

Blessings and prayers,

Jim in Cape G. (who comes in the front door, thankyouverymuch)

[blownout cylinder]

 

 blownout cylinder:

 

Got a new computer hooked up and running now...

Asus M5A99X With 6 core AMD CPU, 2 2Tb Seagate HDs (internal) plus one 4Tb unit externally, 16 Gb ram, Tower case, and 2 24" monitors.... all that fun stuff ...heeheehee. This is all for my music stuff......

 

 

 

Hey Barry - yeah,... right..!! Just music, eh - are you sidelining by w**king as a DJ now? (And you can guaranteed us you won't be putting any game software on that monster, eh? )

Jim:  I've got 3 DAW programs working in it..plus a whole pile of VST's...something like over 400+ I think(?) . These DAWS are as follows Sonar X1...http://www.cakewalk.com/products/sonar/

Reaper 4...http://www.reaper.fm/...and...Presonus Studio 1 version 2...http://www.presonus.com/

Of all the various VST's I have in there...the ones I'm using the most of right now are Arturias The Lab

http://www.arturia.com/evolution/en/products/ALE61/intro.html and NI's Komplete series  http://www.native-instruments.com/en/news/world/komplete/ as well as IK's http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitubefree/features/...you can haz a full on recording studio in that one little box...heeheehee

---------------------------------------------------------------

Good Afternoon

Going to be interesting seeing how this will format in IE9 ...

Perfect sunny day..it got to 56F here..so far...

Today has been kind of quiet..had one lonely petunia call..someone from work looking for a specific address and could not find it...

[Cederstrand]

Uh Oh, please advise? One of the lug-nuts (front wheel) got semi-stripped on the end that is suppose to seat in the rim hole. Best I could do was screw it down flat side against rim, until I can get a new lug-nut. It's on the Camry's front wheel. IS IT SAFE TO DRIVE this way???

After swapping out the spare with each front tire, the vibration proved not to be from a tires/wheel.

-Rob

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Cederstrand

Uh Oh, please advise? One of the lug-nuts (front wheel) got semi-stripped on the end that is suppose to seat in the rim hole. Best I could do was screw it down flat side against rim, until I can get a new lug-nut. It's on the Camry's front wheel. IS IT SAFE TO DRIVE this way???

After swapping out the spare with each front tire, the vibration proved not to be from a tires/wheel.

-Rob

Yes, you can drive the car with one lug nut missing from a wheel. I've done it many times over the past thirty odd years. But do get a new lug nut as soon as possible. Use one of the good ones for a size comparison. Many auto parts places have a sizer board that has different size lugs on it. Just try it on them until you find the one it fits on. The size will be listed above or below the lug. One of the most common is 19mm.

[Cederstrand]

***Jeffrey, Thanks!!! That's a relief, as my sister will be flying in soon (not sure which day) and I'll have to pick her up from a shuttle that actually comes up this way. I'll definately try to get a new one asap. We will be needing to drive it a fair amount next week. -Rob

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I finally got the L&A decals put on the Front Range 'Shorty' covered hopper. I'm running low on decals now. I guess I can try making some. I have decal paper but my old printer will likely screw them up like it almost always does. The hopper has been sprayed with Clear Flat and is drying. I'll post a photo tomorrow morning.

[JimRCGMO]

Evening, Janie - I'll have the open face roast beef sandwich with a side salad and some steamed broccoli veggies, please, with a glass of your best Finger Lakes wine. Thank you.

blownout cylinder

Jim:  I've got 3 DAW programs working in it..plus a whole pile of VST's...something like over 400+ I think(?) . These DAWS are as follows Sonar X1...http://www.cakewalk.com/products/sonar/

Reaper 4...http://www.reaper.fm/...and...Presonus Studio 1 version 2...http://www.presonus.com/

Of all the various VST's I have in there...the ones I'm using the most of right now are Arturias The Lab

http://www.arturia.com/evolution/en/products/ALE61/intro.html and NI's Komplete series  http://www.native-instruments.com/en/news/world/komplete/ as well as IK's http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitubefree/features/...you can haz a full on recording studio in that one little box...heeheehee

Okay, Barry, sounds impressive - but that 'puter setup (and even moreso with all those (pro-level) music programs on it) isn't your average home setup, right? (Well, unless you're planning on being the next Adam Young, anyway)...Got me curious, y'do. (Oh, your blog page looks like a good start there! )

Dennis, that was strange on your 'Kennedy' search - were you using Google, Bing, or who? My Google search tonight turned up nothing like that in the first three pages. Or did you use Google and hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button? I do know they have some older issues of the Coffee Shop (and maybe the Coffee Pot was a version before those I know about).  As for that rear mirror problem, I think it is just the (bad) luck of the draw sometimes. I had to re-glue mine on one car (more than once) when it was summertime (something about the heat messing(TM) with the bond, maybe).

I'd said I was going to post some progress (more or less..) pics of my home-made pine trees, so here goes. This first one shows (at the top) the basic (carved/whittled) balsa wood that will become the trunks for the trees. In the lower ones, I've taken a Zona (or Xacto or other) saw blade and scratched it up and down the balsa to create pseudo-bark texture:

Then I painted the wood (I used Roof Brown - what I had available):

and followed that up with a grey paint I had (think it was UP Harbor Grey, maybe), using a flat brush (and trying - mostly unsuccessfully - to just hit the high surfaces). Then I poked some holes in the 'trunk' where the caspia 'branches' will go:

I had got dried caspia and had sprayed it with a can of kinda olivey-green paint, and have started gluing some of the caspia into the holes:

Next, I will spray Dullcote or a Matte Medium spray on the trees and sprinkle W-S conifer foliage on the branches. However, when I checked my bottle of W-S conifer foliage, I found that I had bought the coarse kind, and I think I'll need at least medium - if not the fine version - of it.

But that's some of what I've been up to, MRR-wise. When I was carving/whittling the balsa wood, it reminded me of way back in Boy Scouts (or maybe even in Cub Scouts), when they would have articles on whittling your own neckerchief slide (to make various objects/shapes/critters). Think I might be a little better at this now (except that I think the articles used basswood, which was a harder wood, and less prone to the cut sometimes getting away from you, as a couple of the balsa pieces just may have for me...

Hope everyone's had a fun MRR'ing day today. I've already asked the porter about if they have a little hand vaccuum I could use (plan on starting a few more trunks for my 'pine' trees tonight if the rails aren't too bumpy).

Prayers for comfort and healing for those needing them, as well as a good night's rest and sleep for all you Diners.

 

Blessings,

Jim in Cape G. (where it's cooling off tonight - about as cool as standing out on the back platform of the observation lounge car...)

[Cederstrand]

Extra strength chamomile tea, please.

***Jim, nice work on those trees.

Brought in the goats again, just as the first coyotes started yipping. Going to hit the hay early tonight. Desperate for more sleep.

Rob

[cudaken]

 Evening Fellow Dinners!

 Flo, thank you dear.

  Happy Belated Birthday Charlie & John!

 Rob Hum, still vibrating. Next thing I would have looked at is the CV joints. Normally when the start to go bad they make a clicking sound when you are truing, but they are spinning and could cause the vibration.

 Bank Of Stupid! Folks that know me know how I feel about Bank Of America, I think Peggie is in charge! They finally got me to the point I did not care if they took my house, I was tired of dealing with the idiots on the phone! If what I have been told by Illinois Hardest Hit Program is correct I will be closing on my loan in about 3 weeks! Todd I will let you know as soon as I know the date! I have to drive up to where Todd lives to close.

 Work Front Went to my new store today, and again I am glad I did. I am now being trained by a Manager and not a wrench that was made a manager. Learning how to look up parts, that is a big part of the job. I am now being made to do it (not that I never not wanted to do it) and not having some one step in and make the screens fly by in a blur.

 Todd I all so know what you meant, I had to train more than a few bosses. But I felt sorry for them! I knew the cross hairs where on there forehead just waiting for the kill shoot!

 Got Bankers Hours this week! Seems the current manager does not know I am a Manger In Training. He has me in a salesperson slot. Sales persons only work 40 hours, I am on salary at a way higher rate. I will use the extra time to study more and not have to help customers. 

 See you all later.

           Ken

[galaxy]

Good night, Ladies...

Good night, Ladies...

good night,,,oh SORRY!!! Wrong song!!!

GOOD NIGHT FELLAS!!

I'm going to leave you now...

 DON'T FORGET!!! For those in the USA who turn back clocks!!! Tonight 2 AM becomes 1 AM!!!! We GAIN an Hour of sleep!!!

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Rob ... I hope you sleep much better tonight. 

JimCG ... Your trees look very good!

Galaxy says were are in AZ. 

Here are some photos of when Shelley and I rode the Grand Canyon train a few years ago. We sat in the dome. The dome car looks like a Budd Car that once was on the NP or the GN. Both NP and GN painted over their stainless steel dome cars to match their trains. Now the cars are stainless steel. 

1. ... Ready to depart Williams, AZ. 

2. .... The log station at Grand Canyon seen from the dome car.

3 .... Here I am again. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

cudaken

 Bank Of Stupid! Folks that know me know how I feel about Bank Of America, I think Peggie is in charge!

Hello, Bank of Stupid. My name Peggy. How may I help you?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Time for me to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.

[howmus]

Evenin' folks!

Janie, just a decaf for me, thanks.

Got my sister and her Mexican house guest back from the Amtrack Station in Rochester.  They spent the last 3 days in NYC mostly at the Metropolitan Museum I think (to hear her talk about it).  I was shocked that Amtrack was not on time tonight......  Never heard of such a thing!  It was actually 12 minutes....... EARLY!  Yep, 12 minutes ahead of schedule!  They both said the train was great and they wouldn't hesitate to take it again.  He said it was much smoother riding than the trains in Mexico and very comfortable.

I went to Michaels today and picked a bunch of colored pencils THAT Robby had recommended some time back for coloring brick.  I started to paint the mortar on the Powerhouse with a blend of acrylic paints i thought would do nicely last night and ended up with the worst looking pink walls I have ever seen.  So I went looking for suggestions, and I hope this method does better.   The Design Preservation plastic brick walls are a horrible bright red color to start with and a wash of paint just didn't make it.......

I brought in almost all of the last of the wood left from last year so I hope to start moving wood to the back porch tomorrow.  I also got the tire blown up on the wheelbarrow to aid in the process.  Little by little.....

Rob, Hope the goats are all safe in the barnyard and you can get a good nights sleep!

[edit] Jeff, if you call my house, THAT is how the machine answers the phone now.....  Can't tell you how many people have left totally incoherent messages because they could stop laughing and catch their breath........  Hey, today was switch your bank day!  Any of you get rid of your banks?  (I stayed with my Credit Union......)

BYW, what was all the caterwauling going on earlier?  Oh, THAT was Galaxy singing?  I'll have to give him some lessons I guess...  He just missed being my classes when he was a kid you know.

Hope you all have a great night!

73

[thortenney]

Good evening everyone!

 I had a pretty good day, I got a few things done. I made some progress on the benchwork. The s**w melted quite a bit and the new satellite dish heater seems to be working fine. I bought a new drill today its a 1/2" Milwaukee (electric) seems to be pretty nice. I am gonna hit the sack soon I want to get a early start on my benchwork.

Jim CG,  Your trees are looking great! Please keep the pictures coming!

Ray, keep us posted on your brick and cobblestone progress please! I have a couple of brick buildings in the making and I am interested in redoing the bricks on them. Last night I got out my truck driver Atlas and Took a look at your part of New York state I also figured out where you had to go to feed your sisters kitty's. All this time I thought you were driving clear to Canada....  I am going to search out our other friends in the diner on my Atlas. I think it's fun and I am curious where you guys are at.  

GOOD NIGHT EVERYONE!

                                                             Thayne.

[ns3010]

Evening all.

I realized last night after I posted that yesterday was three years since I joined the forums. Wow, does time fly! Thanks everyone for always being there to talk to and discuss trains with.

Got some layout work done today. Ballasting is now about 95% done, but I'll need one more canister of ballast and another bottle of scenic cement before I can finish it. The mainline is done, so all THAT's left to do is a section of the yard lead and an industrial siding.
Today, I also picked up some wire and IDC's from Radioshack. I hooked up the bus wire to the feeders that I already had in place, and so far, it works like a charm. I have two more pairs of feeders to solder, and I'll need several more packs of IDC's, before the wiring can be done (which fortunately, is mostly painless).
Here's a section of the layout showing completed ballast work. This section will need A LOT of trees and a signal before it can be called done.

Also, I won this (in HO scale) on Ebay, and now I'm just waiting for it to be shipped. It will eventually be patched as TSR 3502.

(Photo not mine)

Thanks everyone for the congrats on the Rutgers acceptance! It sure feels good to have at least one out of the way. Too bad all of them can't have a decision in five days...

Happy (belated) birthday, Charlie and Johnboy!

Sue, I'll be going to college for mechanical engineering. I hope to get a job in railcar/locomotive design (working for EMD, Bombardier, etc.).

 Well, it's getting late (early), so I'd best be heading out.

Peace out for now,

-Joe

[galaxy]

AHEM!!!

It is now 2:22 AM EDT 1:22 AM EST!!!

GOOD MORNING!!!

It is SUNDAY, November 6th, 2011!!!

ALL Day!!!

Honest!!!

[Anonymous]

Good Morning Folks,

´Tis was late again, yesterday, but now the move is done! At least those things, that Petra and I could contribute. Fortunately, there is not much left to do, just a few minor tasks. It will take some time, though, for the old folks to settle down.

Yesterday´s mail brought a surprise package! It contained a Kato C 11 class 2-6-4 T steamer and a set of 4 passenger cars! What a surprise! I am now able to run that steam railfan special, either pulled by my class D v51 Mikado or that little tank engine.  That should give me a kick in my lower end to start w*rking on the next module!

Here is a sneak preview of what I got:

Have a good day!

[fec153]

Good mornig everyone.  - Thayne- Find Orlando Fla. on your map Go northwest just a tad and you find Winter Garden[Curt] .Then, just a bit more,northeast you will find Eustis,Mount Dora and Taveres[Fliip].

 Flip

Blessings and prayers.

[blownout cylinder]

JimRCGMO wrote:  Okay, Barry, sounds impressive - but that 'puter setup (and even moreso with all those (pro-level) music programs on it) isn't your average home setup, right? (Well, unless you're planning on being the next Adam Young, anyway)...Got me curious, y'do. (Oh, your blog page looks like a good start there! )

Thanks! The computer set up is really not so much a home computer in the strict sense of the phrase...it is my off-line DAW..the only time that thing is on-line is when I have to register a piece of software on it or when I end up uploading music into Soundcloud.

BTW...love how those trees are working out!! 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good Morning.

We are looking at sun and a high of 60F today..a gorgeous day to go to w**k in!! 

Ulrich:  Like how the modules are looking there!

Well(not so deep and murky)...things are kinda looking up here a bit healthwise..I seem to be getting my blood sugar numbers to go in a sensible order now...instead of going up just before I even eat the numbers are going lower before I eat...for awhile there I was thinking that my numbers where going a little coocoo on me..and that I really did not need to eat..that even the thought of food would make the numbers go up... ....so now the numbers are doing it the right way...heeheehee

My next appointment is with the ...colon specialist...yay..on...Tuesday...I'll have to become a liquid drinking fish/lush/whatever and get that thing done..then..the next day...I get to get bloodwork done..and the next day...cardiologist appointment...so...not much train time next week......maybe I'll find a few minutes scrabbling around....

Anyway...Flo, I'll just have a coffee for now please..I'll be at the RC....

[Cederstrand]

Strong coffee in a SUNNY & SOUTHERN mug, please. Can hardly see the screen with the morning sun (glare) on it, so will look at the pics later.

If I missed anyone's Birthday, a happy belated one to you.

Finally got some halfway reasonable sleep last night. With the house so cold, the CPAP has been having a condensation problem in the mask, but I wore it anyway. Does make a difference.

Today will be spent on paperwork.

Have a good one all. -Rob

[cudaken]

 Morning Dinners

 Flo, coffee to go please.

 Ulrich, good to see you working with the trains again. I sure would not mind having a package like that showing up!

 Felt good to get a little extra sleep, but we all will be paying for it at the end of the day.

 See you all after work.

             Ken