Good morning. It's 71° with 100% humidity and patchy fog. The high will be 72° and feel like 78°.Not much going on today. Got a 'Lobo Drives' disk drive coming in today. Also expecting a 10-pack of blank disks, a DVD and two Apple II program disks (Mystery House, Computer diagnostics). Now that I have a color monitor on the //e I may play some Starfleet1 today. Never seen it in color. If the weather doesn't get too bad I may be able to work on Oliver's adventure a bit too.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Richard
Mornin' everyone!
Galaxy, I PMed you back....
Zoe, I'll have a hot bowl of oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar along with my dark roast coffee this morning.
Currently 55°F under hazy gray skies here in the Finger Lakes today. May get all the way up to 60°F this afternoon. Snow has officially melted in the Finger Lakes at the moment.
I hope to finsh up one wall and get another almost finished for the Blacksmith's Shop today while I am down cellar doing laundry. Also have to run a couple errands and bake cookies for the party at the Museum on Saturday.
Best keep moving... Later!
73
[edit} Man! I miss the spell check!!!!
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/4309
The gift I got for my niece just arrived a little while ago via Fed/Ex from Wal-Mart. Still waiting on others. Got a game of Starfleet1 going earlier. It looks rather good in color.
Mail delivery was a little late today. I got two boxes, both containing one disk drive each. The first is an ordinary Apple Disk II 5.25" disk drive. It came with a diskette already in it. Hooked the drive up to my boot boot card (slot 7) and ran a full test on it. Drive speed perfect! Read/write function perfect! Operation is very quiet. I then booted the diskette. It was extremely anal about booting from slot 6 so booted from there. It's a game called 'Infidel', a Zork type text adventure. It seems to work very well.The other drive is a 5.25" 'Lobo Drives' disk drive. Runs good but it's noisy. Sounds like dry bones being rubbed together. It quieted down a bit during testing. The drive speed was at 198.7, the extreme low side of the speed range. I reset it to 200.4, the nominal setting halfway between the extreme low and extreme high speeds. 200.4 is as close to perfect as it's getting. While not an Apple drive it's what's called 'Apple compatible'. It recognizes DOS 3.3 (mostly what I use) but doesn't recognize ProDOS. I could fix that by replacing the 'Lobo Drives' control board with an 'Apple' control board but then it wouldn't be a 'Lobo Drives' drive anymore. It would be a drive with the 'Lobo Drives' name on it. I didn't check to see if it recognized CP/M but then I won't be using it for running CP/M programs.Fed/Ex delivered the item I got for my niece. She's gonna flip when she sees it. I'm expecting more stuff tomorrow. A 1-pack of blank disks, a game disk (Mystery House), a tools disk (diagnostics), a DVD for my BIL (Red, Bruce Willis, go figure), a model kit for my nephew (Munster Koach).My father got me a 'gift' yesterday. A set of print cartridges to be used in his HP J4550 All-in-one. I figured it would be something he'd benefit the most from. Well I tell you what, I'm gonna put some use on those cartridges.Photobucket techs are goofing around with the settings again.
Evening All,
Hope everyone is doing well.
Sitting here thinking about the layout and the major changes that I started today. Right now it is a 13'x8' rectangle with 2 large openings in the middle that requires crawling under the layout to get to them. As I am not getting any younger I decided to change that to a single loop continuous track in a U shape requiring extensions on both sides of the left end. I am also going to widen the track curves on the right end so I can run whatever steam I want to do. I will have to modify the sidings also. I am probably looking at 6 months work but that is OK. I have found I really enjoy working on the layout.
Went shopping earlier today and bought gifts for our grandsons (games and models to build).
Jeff- Hope you are doing better.
JohnBoy- Hope and pray you are doing well.
It is hard to believe that how bad the weather is in the rest of the country, Canada, and Germany and we will have highs around 83 F at least until Tuesday here.
Hope everyone has a good night and prayers for those in need.
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/
Curt WebbJeff- Hope you are doing better.
Evenin' folks!
Janie, just a refill on the decaf please...
Jeffrey, glad you are felling better!
Curt... Too hot for me down there... Today was pleasant here in the Finger Lakes. Got up to 57°F. Didn't even need to wear a heavy coat outside! What do the skunks think of your layout changes?
Tomorrow I will be getting the PiP inspected and doing some electrical work for my sister in Canandaigua. Will also need to drop off a pile of checks at a bank there for the MLK Committee Sholarship Fund. Later she will be taking me out to dinner.... Dutch Treat most likely.
This morning a local Rochester Radio/TV Station had a few viseo segments on their morningt news of a local TV/Radio announcer who is also a Model Railroader. The other gentleman (Jim) and his son who they interview at the guys home is a friend of mine out at the museum. His 8 or 9 year old son has worked as my assistant on the caboose a few times as car host Nice folks! Enjoy! http://www.13wham.com/news/features/this-morning/stories/125-tom-georges-trains-pt-1-1087.shtml
And then there were 5!!!
Not completely finished with them but getting there. Three more walls to do doors and windows in and I can assemble the main part of the building.... PROGRESS!!!
Have a great night everyone!
Building is looking good Ray.
*
Today was a little busy for me. As I posted earlier I got two disk drives today. An Apple Disk II and a 'Lobo Drives' 5.25 floppy drive. Both tested good. The Disk II is flawless. The 'Lobo' turned out to have a serious problem. It was destroying the start and catalog tracks of some disks. I tracked the problem back to the drives internal control board. So that board is now in the junk box and an Apple board has been installed in it's place. That also meant changing the drives interface cable. A 20-tab card edge connector wasn't going to work on a board with a 20-pin connector. So now I have a drive with a 'Lobo' chassis and an Apple control board and the 'Lobo Drives' logo on top. So is that a 'Loble'? or an 'Appblo'? or an 'Appobo'? Whatever it is it now runs DOS 3.3 and ProDOS and would probably run CP/M if I put it on slot 6. It still sounds like dry bones rubbing together. I then spent a couple of hours repairing the destroyed parts of the disks that had been effected. That's where a good bit copy program comes in handy. In most cases only one sector of a track was effected so only that one sector had to be replaced. All of the disks involved were copies. That's why I still have original software with viable backups that are 30+ years old.So the Christmas gifts for the family are starting to come in. So far I have the gifts for my niece and my BIL sitting over here against the wall. My father is enjoying his new shoes. I'm still waiting on the gifts for my nieces husband, my nephew and my sister. My step mother has made it plain that she wants nothing from nobody so that's exactly what she's getting.Time to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.
morning coffee in the diner..
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Please pause for a moment to reflect on the memory of Nelson Mandela. Having lived through most of the 20th century myself, I was thinking that of all the great leaders, Wilson, Roosevelt, Churchill, Kennedy and the like, Mandela stood above them all. He took one of the most racist nations in the world and turned it into a model of tolerance, all without firing a shot or raising a hand in anger.
I choose not to mourn, but rather to celebrate a long life well lived, and finally ended in peace.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
-18 degrees outside at the moment. I have turned off the air conditioner, and the cool air intake fans to my office/server room. Of course the intake fan is still open to the outside to the temperature here has gotten down to 60. There is no heat in my office, so if I want it warmer, I'll just have to turn on more servers.
Or else retire to the train room. That can be too hot in the summer, but has a big fat radiator, with lots of steam in it for the winter.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Good Morning All!
Flo, Just a big ole mug of java,,,
Its lightly raining, temps around 50. Supposed to cool down laterHot coffee on tap for right now, then some paint work to do. then later, pick JR up from school, drop some engines off to a customer, then go to a friends house for a run session tonight! Now that I didn't have to take SWMBO to and from work, I might get something accomplished today! No, the EX still is being her normal uncooperative self. I just found a nice helpful lady at the DMV. She actually was able to release the title from the Ex's encumberances and get me a new, clear title and tags on the spot yesterday!!! Now the bad part, it cost me $293.50 to retag my own car! $135 for normal registration(2 year), $20 bucks for new plates, $100 bucks for a new title and $38.50 for vehicle sales tax (Minimum amount acessed) So I had to pay sales tax on a car I already owned. Maryland, the "free state", where nuthin is free! Yup, and I didn't even get kissed!
Ray, that blacksmiths shop is really turning out great, can't wait to see it done!
Lion, I thought that mane would keep winters chill at bay!
L8ter gang!
Karl
NCE über alles!
Good Morning,
Mr. B, I share your sentiment entirely. Very nice post regarding Nelson Mandela, truly one of the greatest men of our time.
When my wife and I were in South Africa this past spring, we went to the last prison where Nelson Mandela was held. We were lucky to visit the house on the prison grounds where he lived even though it isn't run as a tourist site. In fact it is just being kept much as Mandela left it. The fellow who was our guide works for the prison and gave us a lot of wonderful anecdotes of Mandela's time there. He even climbed the lemon tree that Mandela planted there to get us a lemon. We will be planting the seeds now and hopefully it will grow.
Sure hope Johnboy is doing ok and doesn't have to outside today as the windchill in Regina is -44C this morning. Ours is only -33.
CN Charlie
jeffrey-wimberlyFed/Ex delivered the item I got for my niece. She's gonna flip when she sees it.
What'd ya get her? A spatula?
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
26 degrees here in sunny western kentucky (oops) in Wintery Western ky 1/2 inch of ice and sleet on he ground and still sleeting. Snow to come later.
Howdy, everybody. ... Coffee and a doughnut plese.
Yesterday we put up our Christmas tree. Not much model railroading to reprt.
Prayers continue for JohnBoy. He had some difficult medial appointments already, and has another one today.
Hello MoeLarryCurly .... Good day to stay inside and hope we don't lose power. .. We are recalling the Kentucky Ice Storm of 2009. We were stranded in our house by that storm. We went 9 days without power, land phone, cell phone, and county water. ...
Here's today's forecast:
Winter Storm continues today.
A strong winter storm will continue to bring a wintry mix of precipitation to the area today. Significant snow and ice accumulations will result.
PS >.. Barry .... If you are looking in. We miss your posts.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Garry,
I was without power 7 days during 2009. we had one power blink last night. At work now was slick driving in.
Zoe, I'll have the #2 special, eggs over easy, bacon, home fries, and a double order of sour dough toast to go with my dark roast Seneca Lake Blend Organic coffee please....
RIP Nelson Mandela...... One of the greatest statesmen that has ever lived. A life spent serving and helping the cause of freedom and equality for all people! One of the things that impresses me about the man is that they say he never lost his sense of humor even during the truly low times of his imprisonment. May his legacy continue to help those who still fight for human rights all over the world!
JohnBoy, my prayers still going out for you. May everything go well for you in this time.
Thanks for the kind comments on the Blacksmith's shop! As it is coming together (after almost two years since I first did some photos and measurments) I feel more like working on the project. I have a bunch of odds and ends on order from Caboose Hobbies for it. May arrive today as a matter of fact.
I will be heading out to Canandaigua early this afternoon... Of course the weather may go downhill starting about then. There is a winter weather advisory for several counties nearby. They have my county listed. but I think most of the stuff should be South of where I am.... I hope!
Hope everyone stayds safe in the path of the storm!
Well
I DID Include a prayer candle for Mr. Mandela, but, I had trouble getting it posted this Am so it somehow got dropped out?
I went to the CU and did the banking..now if the money in the ckg accnt coudl stay tere, i'd be happy. No actually I'd move it to savings.
MOH's monthly/quartely/wheneverwefeellikeit meeting revealed MOH will be getting a bonus for Xmas and a new E-pad..dunno the brand but will work in the field for them. SO that is good news! A BONUS! Been so long since we had one of those, I'd be surprised if we know how to handle it! ANd it's NOT a turkey!
CARS: NEVEr, I mean NEVER "be a lender or borrower be"..NEVER put it in more than one name, NEVER let a driver who is NOT on your insurance never let them drive it, NEVER lend you car to someone, I mean NEVER. ASK me how I know! Did you know it can cost LESS to carry THE MAXIMUM insurance on your car, IF you have good driving records, and great credit and pay in advance than to have the minimum insurance MOST people buy? That's right. ANd NEVER borrow anyone's car that you are not insured on either!
WEll, MOH is home now, so later...
TMarshTMarsh wrote the following post 5 hours ago: jeffrey-wimberly Fed/Ex delivered the item I got for my niece. She's gonna flip when she sees it. What'd ya get her? A spatula? Laugh
Good afternoon. It's 36° with 100% humidity. The high is supposed to be 42° but I don't think we're gonna make it. Low tonight will be 32°.Had an eye exam to go to this morning and I'm just getting to where I can see the text good. Fifteen inch monitor ain't cutting it. Don't have that problem with the //e as it's hooked up to a flat screen TV and the characters are 5/8th's of an inch tall. Too bad it's not internet capable. I received two floppy disks today. Mystery House, a text/graphics game similar to the old MS-DOS game Sleuth. The other is an Apple IIe Diagnostics disk. My //e checks out with flying colors. First order of business was to make copies of them. That gave me the chance to see if the Lobo/Apple drive was up to the task. It performed brilliantly. Also received a box containing a 10-pack of double sided, double density floppy disks. They're formatted for 360k IBM but it's easy to reformat them to Applesoft DOS 3.3.Nothing else going on today.
Center Picture :
Where you tink youse is takin my yellow PORSCHE ? I got emotional ties to dis here car ! MTDS PS , very neat scene .
I see postings have been few between today. WOnder what everyone is up to? SHopping I suppose?
Went to the mailbox. I am a bit surprised I guess that my package from Hawaii isn't here yet. I guess Xmas is REALLY slowing thigs dwon. I would have normally had my pacakge LAST FRIDAY, if not LAST THURSDAY! I checked tracking..still in San Fran? WHy in the world SAn Fran? Why not Hononlulu to LA to ROchester and then here. LIKE USUAL? dunno
I am chilled and it is warm in here, and I have the shaky vertigo thingy andother ailments, so I am DEFINITELY coming down with something! I think I go back to bed till MOH comes home..
Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello?
There is an echo in here.
I wonder how many are without power and not posting due to the storms ah-ragin' across the Mid states/ we are getting some frain {FR eezing r AIN} now. Snow is to follow later.
Meant to say , if I haven't already, that the tree {minus the under the tree layout this year}, the lights and the few under it seem to have brightened up MOH, being the first Xmas without MIL, whom MOH was so fond of and loved so dearly. How do I know? MOH has investigated the gifts a bit, and although the tree lights are on a timer to come on at 3:30 Pm, MOH hit the bypass switch to light it earlier! Also MOH has a job-wise reason to do some "shopping". Better MOH than me..I will avoid any store BUT the grocery store until after Xmas! MOH has gotten weepy a bit, but has maintained some basic control, not that letting the water works flow is a bad thing.
Havea great night!
Evening guys,
Been doing some painting and running trains today. I think the thing I love about this hobby is that you can just get lost in your own little world and forget about any real problems. Trains and christmas for me go hand and hand as I got my first train set when I was a kid at christmas. My dad gave me his old American flyer set a couple weeks back plus a old Lionel trains steamer that was his grandftahers.
Tomorrow Im going to do the same, work on my trains and get lost again in the layout. After doing a few real chores first,lol.
Cant wait until I can get my nephews there own model trains, they love trains.
My eyes are still smarting a bit from the exam this morning but at least there's no longer a halo around the on screen text. It's nice to know that my eyes are in good shape. There's very little damage from my diabetes. One amusing thing, a few minutes after my father dropped me off at the eye clinic a woman came in with her young daughter in tow. I found out a little later she was six. Anyway the kid looked around and her gaze locked on me, her face lit up and she pulled on her mothers arm and yelled 'Look mommy, it's one of the men from "Duck dynasty"!'. I didn't know if that was good or bad. My hair and beard are a bit longer and bushier than usual. Turns out they're both avid fans of the show.I got those ten IBM diskettes reformatted for Applesoft DOS 3.3. I formatted both sides so that gives me the equivalent of twenty disks. The Lobo/Apple drive is working great! It's set up on slot 7 as drive #1 with the old Franklin drive as #2.Time for me to call it a night. See y'all tomorrow.
Janie, just a refil for my decaf please...
Does anybody know why this thread startes with page -1 then goes to page 0??? Heckofan upgrade they did huh?
Spent most of the day at my sisters house in Canandaigua after dropping off some checks for the MLK Committee at the very big and ritzy local bank... (I've hated the place since I was a kid!), then had the PiP get it's NYS Inspection (It passed with no problem... Better have at one year old), then went over to sisters house and did a bit of electrical work for her to make plugging in her Holiday Lighting for outside a bit more convenient and safer. She went grocery shiopping while I did that. I figured she would be not terribly happy because it would be different than what she had been doing for the last 30 years... She actually decided she liked what I did after I showed her how to use the little on/off switch on the three way extension cord. Themn we went out to dinner at her favorite Mexican Restaurant (I don't care for Mexican food...). She paid for dinner as a thank you for watching her cats while she was in the "very far". Her outdoor kittie (ferral, half tame cat) has disappeared and she is beside herself wondering what has happened. He was a sweet cat and quite friendly after he knows you, but went berserk the one time she took him inside!
Jeffrey, glad the eyes are doing well! Duck Dynasty, huh? Yeah I can imagine you fitting in well with those guys... That is one of my older son's favorite shows, BTW.
It is gently snowing outside at the moment. Not supposed to amount to much here. Tomorrow night is our "Holiday" party out at the Museum... Started the tradition last year and had a great time so we are doing it again.
Catch you all tomorrow!