Good morning. Thought I'd drop by on my way to the train show. Sunny and it should get into the 50s today. I hope so, because I've got to drain the garden hoses and roll them up for the winter. They had some ice in them yesterday.
V8Vega My old XP does everything I want except for a while now it freezes up about every other day and I have to turn it off and back on. Is there a way to fix this? I only allow myself a certain amount of time on the computer before I go to bed or have to go someplace and then if it freezes up I am NOT pleased to say the least.
My old XP does everything I want except for a while now it freezes up about every other day and I have to turn it off and back on. Is there a way to fix this? I only allow myself a certain amount of time on the computer before I go to bed or have to go someplace and then if it freezes up I am NOT pleased to say the least.
What's the nature of the problem? Does it just stop dead, with stuff still on the screen, or does it give you the "Blue Screen of Death" with a bunch of cryptic numbers on it? And, is there anything in particular that you're doing when this happens?
I've had both of those over the past year. The Blue Screen was a malicious virus that had damaged, of all things, the USB driver software. It would crash the computer every time I plugged in the digital camera to download pictures. I was able to find a copy of the driver online from the board manufacturer, and that solved that one.
The other problem was just a straight lock-up - it just stopped with whatever happened to be on the screen. I had just straightened up my office, and put the side cover back on the computer. I found a little utility to display CPU temperature, and sure enough, it was hotter than it should be. So, I took the side cover back off, and jiggled the wires of the fan and cooling pump. So far, so good.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
OK. I have no idea why it made the rest of my post link to photobucket, but it did. No need to click on it.
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.
Today's quotes:
{for Galaxy:}:
-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.
Evening Foksez! How Yall? Flo, a round for everyone, and hold my usual please, Ken bought me one already!
Cuda Ken - Thank yee for the beer mate! First and foremost let me put your mind to ease. I was quoting what "howmus" said. In essence he was jabbing you, and I was provoking him. His reply was "sure i will throw down the gauntlet for Ken", and Im thinking Heh! This should be a good race!
So no way for a moment were you "bragging" in any bad form. And no again, you dont come off that way either. Matter of fact, the bragging you DO, do is befitting a car nut. We all love our favorite cars right? And dang sure we like to tout them a little. As long as someone is not obnoxious and disruptive, then a little bragging is competitive. And that is what makes the thrill of it. Darn good spirited competition! If you didnt catch it, one of my snarky replies ( "Line them up!" ) was aimed at the Porche guy over there >>>>
Gotta love picking on those Porche folks! But at the end of the day my friend, they are just cars, were just humans, and it if wasnt for either.... we'd have NOTHING. Bragging? Naw, good stuff.
Computers - well then, if im the new IT guy then I guess im gonna have to earn that title (before! i finish my beer). Here goes -
First off, telling me this was given to you with a ton of 'junk' on it is a good indication as to why it boots slowly, and has problems "lagging". Im sure some work could be done there to speed that up. You mentioned games and video etc, but one way to surely slow down a computer like those do, is antivirus software. You didnt mention if you had that too. Word processors arent that bad on puters. Yours certainly should runs those type programs fast.
An 80gb drive 'more than likely' is 5400rpm as you said. You must look at the label on the top of the hard drive itself and see to be sure. You can do this when you clean it next (HINT HINT!!! ).
Yes in XP seek out your "Task Manager" and you can see what is running 'behind the scenes' on your PC. No computer in the world can run on just one program. There are many that are needed to operate your PC. Then you have to run even more when you run excel, game, or video. Multitasking = Multi resources! I am not aware of what it takes for JMRI to operate with. Since Im new here I may not have mentioned I model in ADC.
Yes another program in the background could cause a delay in control of your trains allowing accidents to happen should that background program be using a resource your JMRI needed. Totally possible! Even happens on todays modern PC's. Its just more of a BLIP than a BOG.
But then, why worry about fixing this computer if your looking at a new one? Oh man yes, advancing to 64bit PC is SHWEET !! I will send my thoughts on the T3400 your eyeballing privately if you dont mind. Talk to you more in a bit....
V8Vega - hold on there pardner, you need not only 'blow it out' but you gotta skin that thing and git in there with a soft brush and vacuum. You gotta git in there where the cooling fins clog with who knows what. Well, the hair of two dogs, and one carpet, thats what. PLUS, PC's with smoking owners its a tad worse, you know why. You gotta remove dust from all the nooks and crannies. And while your in their, give the board a good look see. Check for any 'discolorations' like a burn mark or something. If your feeling adventurous check the cabling and connections. Make sure they are not blocking air flow around important chip areas. Clean your fans! then when all nice and bristol fashion, before you put the side of the case back on, start that puppy and make sure your fans are all working properly. If yes, then replace side and have fun!
(Heres one for Galaxy to quote in a hundred years - "One doesnt need a degree for computers, only a screwdriver or sledgehammer. " - PM Railfan, right after he finished his beer.)
Just which chrome book were you wanting? Arent there like a dozen types? Give me a model number or name and I can give a better informed answer.
Note to all please- if you do have a question you are totally allowed to be as specific as you can when you ask me. No matter how many beers Ken buys me.
Thats it for now folks, I bid you all a good evening! PEACE!!!!
PM Railfan
Evening Dinners
Flo, Beer please, and give that Buick guy one as well.
Work was sure not what I hoped for today. No where near as busy as I was hoping for, plus I had to work with Nancy. At one point when there where no customers she told me "Ken, you are one of the best sales people we have." Then the but, seems I do everything wrong! You would have to know Nancy to understand. I just grin and agreed with her.
Douglas When you say I brag about my cars am I coming off that way? I am proud of them because I bulit them. In the case of the 69 Charger R/T it came from a junk yard just before it was to be crushed. I bet the crucher by 15 minutes, it was in line.
On the computer Guess you are the new Dinner IT person. I do a little personal book keeping with Excel nothing fancy. Maybe once a week play M/S Comabat Sim WWII Pacific Theater and maybe some other old games. I have not bought a new game in 10 years. I watch a lot of U Tube, sometimes NBC TV Shows. I all so use JMRI Decoder Pro to run my train layout.
I have Charter Cable internet, I think it is 30 Gigs. I run the train layout while I am on line like now. After a long period of time being on line when I want to control a train engine there is a pause before I can reset the speed? It is like the syatyem is back up? Has been a problem a few times when I have not been able slow down a train and it ramed one in front of it.
It all so starts slowly, well it seems that way to me. This computer was given to us by a relative of my wife. Had ton of junk on it. I all so think one of the main problems is there is a lot of background programs running I dont need to run. On Windows 98 I knew how to turn off say Words but not on XP.
Current computer has the following.
CP is a Intel 4 2.80 GHz
Ram is 2 GB and as of now I have 1 GB free.
Hard Drive is 80 GB and I have 38 GB free. I am guessing it is a 5200 RPM hard drive.
So what did you not like about this computer?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-T3400-Core-2-Duo-2-4GHz-80GB-HDD-4GB-RAM-DVD-CDRW-Loaded-w-Win-7-/361102594167?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item5413645077
Yes, I would rather have a 64 bite CP. But it should be faster than what I have.
See you all later, Ken
I hate Rust
Good Evening,
Well we had a tropical heat wave here today with a high of 30F!! It was cloudy though and tomorrow there will be a little snow.
Seeing all that snow in Buffalo reminded me of a snowblower that would really come in handy. Just google V8 snowblower for a youtube video. Some guy in Ontario built a walk-behind unit with a 454 Chev putting out 400hp. It shoots the snow 126 feet. The sound is amazing-- probably loud enough to cause a roof avalanche. Bet the neighbours are really happy if he fires it up about 6 a.m.
Well I haven't quite finished the ballasting. I have to glue down a couple of sidings yet and do some touch-ups where the glue didn't hold.
We hope to set up the roosting box tomorrow so the birds have someplace warm to go on cold winter nights. This year we have set up 5 feeders plus 2 suet logs and a heated bird bath. Last year at this time we had zero feeders but my wife has really taken a interest in birding so it has been a major project here. I can't complain as I enjoy it too and now I don't need to make up excuses for my latest RR purchase. Mind you we are now in 'econo' mode with the trip coming up next year.
It is amazing how many diners were or are into cars in a major way. I am interested but have never owned a car that was just for fun. Just at the point where I could have purchased one I was bitten by the sailing bug so I got my thrills at 7 knots. Mind you with a boat heeled over 25 degrees, punching through 3 or 4 foot waves, spray coming from the bow, it is lot more thrilling than the speed might indicate. I had a sailboat of one type or other from 1974 until 2009, with the last one a 27' Aloha that we enjoyed for 25 years.
Well just about time for Hell on Wheels which is sort of railroad related so I best sign off for now.
CN Charlie
Sorry about that folks, but life happens. Now where was I.... Oh yes -V8Vega......
V8Vega - Generally I do not offer 'fixes' without a hands on appraisal of your puter. I will leave you with these ideas as they tend to usually be the culprit for puters that lock up.
1) cleaning. No one ever takes the time to vacuum and dust out their machines. This is the #1 killer of computers. DUST! Especially if you have pets. Pets compound the dust problem exponentially.
2) overheating. Not everone runs motherboard programs which monitor things like temps, usages, fans speeds, etc. Not everyone is a geek. I understand that. However, everyone better become some form of geek if you want your puter to last. Much like your car for instance, you have to check everything and make sure it is running up to spec. A faulty fan, or clogged fan vent can cause overheating. Electronic gadgets are well known for locking up or even burning up when not kept clean. Clean = cooling for computers.
3) updates. While it is good to use them, not all updates work. There are literally millions of versions of puters, hundereds of makers, and everyone does it differently. It really is hard to write code that works on ALL the platforms. Updates can work on one puter, but not the next.
Updates can also work in reverse. Meaning, your puter worked great before you updated, then crashes after you recieve a new update. Not uncommon. ALWAYS run restore on your puter before it is updated, as in create a restore point first, reboot, - then update. Gives the update clean buffers to load from and use. Helps elliviate mistakes and over runs.
4) Software itself. As above, not all updates work. the same is said for general software. Sometimes it just wont work. This is why they put "requirements" on software and hardware boxes so you can figure this out before you buy something. Is it possible V8Vega that you loaded something that just doesnt jive with your system? A program can work on the outside, but something as simple as a subroutine of said working program will crash you, or lock you up.
5) Bad load. Sometimes you load software that you know will work, but for some reason this time it doesnt. Try reloading. Not all software loads perfectly the first time. Glitches do occur. Either through a dirty AC connection (your plug in the wall), static on any one of a number of power lines, or even if you do something else on your puter while loading. Multitasking is nice, but dont do it when you load software. This is a no no.
6) old age. Many if not all XP machines are old now. Electronics, contrary to popular beliefs, do wear out. Especially the power supplys in PC's. Alot of folks add upgrades to their puters but never realize they are adding power demand to the supply which after a while can be detrimental.
V8Vega there are many other problems it could be. These are just the top ones that normally are the reason for your problem. Again, without being right there to diagnose your puter, I cant say for certain what it can be. Is there any error codes reported? Any certain program it crashes on? More info would better help me help you. Just let me know i will do what i can from here.
And to all you MR folks out there, if you need help, let me know. Be glad to.
One more thing before I go - WELCOME back Mr. Dispatcher. Im new here, im Douglas -PM Railfan. PLeasure to meet you.
Well folks ive rambled enough today. Spose im gong to mosey on out of here and go spend some quality time with the significant other. Everyone have a great evening and stay warm.
Thoughts going to those in the EMPIRE state area. Please be careful - flooding and roof collapses are imminant. Please be safe! Thoughts of NYC Hudsons raising clouds of smoke and snow fill my head as they race along. PEACE!!!!!
- Douglas
Well
~i got a package today. A big box, big, big box. I knew it would be if the 13 of 14 items I ordered were in there! The 14th is naturally on back-order, since the last month and was SUPPOSED to be in the 7th! Since they still didn't have it bythe 15, and had informed me the "items have been picked and are on hold"...I called them up and said "send what you have ready already"!
~One item has to go back, three will have to wait til MOH decides "yes" or "no" on the, AHem, holiday morning.
~Expecting another package with a "replacement" in it and a return slip for Postage paid. I will have to pay for insurance and Return Receipt requested. I ordered 2 similar items, one for me, one for MOH and they both came with damaged parts,one interchangeable. They have a 10 day return policy {who has a TEN day return policy??? what happened to THIRTY days?}. I am over it now, but they are nice, and sent along the replacemtn for one, since the parts that ARE interchangeable, are, I can swap out the bad from the one i keep and send it back with th defective one.NOt saying WHAT, as MOH MAY read this!
~MOH is awaiting a package with stuff for me for the, ahem, holiday.
~So we are each awaiting one. Then MOH still needs to order 2 things for me needding my CC..i said "GET IT DONE NOW"...BEFORE TG day! LIke Mr. B siad...no sense in risking it more than we have to now!
~oooh, oooh, I got the necklace I mentioned before for MOH. GOt it at half price no less! It was on clearance anyway at just 25% off, but I talked the saleslady into {my adopted niece} it, and she could "legally" so to speak sell it to me for that price at 50% off {that is sell it to me at that price just like any stranger}. Probably COULD have gotten more if it didn't sell by that, AHem, holiday, but I don't want to risk waiting, as MOH has had an eye for it..and you know what they say about "happy..."{personally I find we are both needing for things to be "happy" for each other to be at ease,it is not all one sided}.
~Guess WHERE um presents are being hid? In the TRAIN ROOM...Under and beside the TRAIN TABLE. SO I can put them out by TG day as it is a little early, but I put up the 2' tree then. Love the twinkling of the lights, and miss them whne they are gone. So presents can start inign up under the tree...just not certain ones by the heat vent...they may melt...
well, dinner will be left over beouf...Heat N eat. Like that.
~Wednesday is my spinal nerve injections so tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday I have lots of prep work for TG and That means a LOT of stuff to do. I think we invite my father over for Thursday, and later take dinner to my FIL. FIL won't come out,{stubborm old cedger, of which I am becoming one} and if weather is bad, My father won't come out. SO we MAY have to deliver both dinners.
~Speaking of my father, he is now an octogenarian as of today! I told him "80 is the new 60"...and he absolutely roared with laughter!!! Then he said "i'm not so sure of that!'...
well, laundry is calling my name.
later gators
jeffrey-wimberly37 degrees in Rosepine Louisiana this morning. Low was 28.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Top of the Morning to one and all, whats the good news from the top of the mark? Flo, that breakfast food smells good! I will have the blue plate breakfast special and ofcourse, my ususal - Pepsi, no ice, frozen glass, stirred not shaken.
Well we have a briskly cold sunny day here (its always sunny here dangit!) and looks to be a good day for model railroading! Gather round folks and lets tell some more fish stories.
GALAXY - "PMRAil fan: We have all been "stoopid" as Todd spells/calls it. SO don't feel bad, I'll bet I have been wrong mroe than I have been right, and on ocassion, MOH {My Other Half} Reminds me of it frequently!!!"
- i think i could be the king of stupid though sometimes. As I get reminded too by my better half. What gets me is i do such simply stupid stuff (like i mentioned) that i am suprised i dont catch myself. However, you learn from mistakes. Personally, after i get over the embarrasment, i find it a challenge. I spose thats a healthy way to look at it. Your Sam Becket quote today is spot on for me!
Now if you love turbos and fun cars YES i highly recommend you get a GN. They are the fastest living rooms ever built. Make great daily drivers and are VERY econimical. They sticker at 23/28mpg. And they can do it! Not bad for 300 horsies under the hood. The Monte Carlo is also a sexy car (but not as much as the Buick). Both are the same body (G body) but have different power options. The Monte didnt come with a V6. And its 305 v8 was a slouch considering it should have been a 350! The cars themselves are tanks (build wise) not considering the power trains. Heavy, steady, and well built for american cars. Good up to 150mph before the front ends start to float (aerodynamic limit). Dam good for eating Vettes, Rustangs, Ricers, and the like. Im am biased I know, but you just got to get one to see why. Im quite sure you 'other half' would love it too!
INCH53 - Thank You for the welcomes! Pleasure to meet you! Wish we could do tricks like putting cars 'inside' the school but we had what i would call a jailhouse for a school. No windows, regular steel doors (not wide for large object to be moved thru), the place resembled a cold war bunker! About the only mischief we could produce was climbing the water tower next to our football field and spray paint some glorious rhymes. Our principles got off easy!
Mister Beasley - Let me tell you, the forum has been IMMENSELY helpful. Thus why i had to bring my problem here. I was told to go check electrical forums (non MR). I kinda chuckled because no one has answers like we modellers do!!
I would like to point out a very special person who IMHO seems to have his 'stuff' down! Name of Randy, and his handle is RRinker. So special shout out to Randy for being of great help! Not only that, but he tolerates boneheads like me and our non-sensical questions. A very, very knowledgable person!
Ya know, a lot of hype is going around last couple of years about XP and Microsoft dropping it. Personally i highly recommend XP. It is a GREAT op sys., even if now outdated. Speaking of which, yes eventually you wont be able to use it online as your browers and other things on XP will not function with 'todays' way of doing things. So just unplug it from the NET and keep trucking! Will last as long as the computer its on holds up. Certainly a cheap laptop would get you by on the NET. So you got a good thing going.
Im not sure why Win7 would seem inferior. It really is an op sys that can top XP. Win8, even though it is actually Win7 with a new GUI is a piece of shinola! Unless you like your Windows controlled by an Apple phone desktop, Win8 isnt for you. Win7 though is totally a computer mans op sys. I havent found anything yet it cant do. And very fast too. Win7 was truely the answer to better XP. I hope you get to experience more of its good side, albeit a computer at work might be locked down a bit, and thus limiting you. Give it another chance, I would like to think it could serve your purposes very well. And if not, you STILL have that rock hard op sys XP. Pretty much unbreakable!
Just do me one favor - maintenance!!!! Puters need it just as much as our models do! if not more. They get dirty and dusty. Micro dust! It is a killer for computers! You actually need to get a fine bristled, soft brush ad dust off everything manually. Not just vacuum. Dust can get into those tiny crevaces where the IC chips are soldered to the board. This causes shorts! And the particulates are so small you cant see them. Thus vacumming wont really help. Ive seen many puters bomb like this. Twice a year do this to your XP machine and it will out live you.
HowMus - lol, well since the cars are gone, how about we arrange a walker/wheelchair race ? How long has it been since gas was 29.9! Makes me feel old when i think back to the good ole days. And I dont know about yall but I miss cars ive had in the past. Sounds like also your wife would fit in with this crowd. Ive been known to 'sailor talk' quite often. Especially when dealing with cars lol.
On to concept one - HOLY FREAKING COW! Now THAT is a sexy a$$ car! I want one! Look at those lines! My goodness that car looks like it doesnt even notice air. Only one problem though, I hate having to step down to get into a car. lol. Not as spry as i used to be. Thanks for sending that link. Made my day as far as cars are concerned. Love that color too though im partial to Buick Black. Put that car in Darth Vader trim and I will take two! How does all that hp sound? Well i will tell you..... LETS Hear it! Aye! Music to the ears!!!!
Good luck today on geting some RR work done. Get back in and tell us the results!
V8Vega - Whats in the cloud? Nothing I want, let me tell you. Being in the computer field since all this stuff has come about has made me very skeptical. Everything i knew would happen is happening. ID theft, account thefts, you name it, i warned against it (as many others did too). But here we are.
IMHO the cloud is just another gimmick. And empowers those wrong doers because essentially you just handed them all your info. Ofcourse there is security everywhere. As a programmer though, i can safely say EVERYTHING is hackable no matter the amount of security you use.
Simply, if you dont put it out there (your data) it cant be stolen.
Folks, i know ive run on here a bit and my time has ended for now. I need to run some errands. I will be back later and finish where i left off with V8Vega. More to say there about your XP locking up.
Please excuse my abrupt leaving. Be safe until i return folks and enjoy your day. PEACE!!!!
-Douglas
Well it's good to be back, How has everyone been ?. It's been almost a year since I've gotten on the website due to the fact that my moniter got broken in a move. NO the person that broke it did not offer to buy a replacement.
I'll stop in latter to chat so you all have a good day/night.
Mornin' everyone!
"We're havin' a Heat Wave...... Tropical Heat Wave...." Yep! Temp outside is all the way up to freezing this morning here in the Finger Lakes. Currently 32°F under cloudy skies with a high today all the way up to 41°F. Buffalo, NY is about to get rained on!!! Doesn't that sound like fun with 6 feet of snow laying around...? Should result in a lot of roofs caving in and major flooding in unusual places.
Galaxy[, I prefer the great quote, "If at first you don't suceed, try, try again. Then quit! No sense making a ---- fool of yourself..." W. C. Fields
galaxyPMRAil fan: We have all been "stoopid" as Todd spells/calls it. SO don't feel bad, I'll bet I have been wrong mroe than I have been right, and on ocassion, MOH {My Other Half} Reminds me of it frequently!!!
Personally I've never been wrong. I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.
BTW, Douglas, sure I'll throw the guantlet down for Ken, but unfortuately both my BIL and all his cars are long gone now. Bernie died of a bone related cancer back a few years ago, and the Jeep? It sat for years next to a workshop he had on his land and ended up being scrapped I think. I did get to drive it for one week when my 1960 VW bug got totalled (Cost me $20 to fix the rear lights and drive it for another 10,000 miles) when I was a Junior at Eastman School of Music. The Bug cost me $3 a week (at 29.9¢ per gallon) to drive from Canandaigua to Rochester and back 5 days a week. The "Jeep" went through $25 worth of petrol to do the same thing and could only do 65 mph with the 283 redlined..... Had a bit of torque it did! I almost got arrested when some of Bernie's friends saw me driving it and didn't know who I was. Luckily they did recognize my wife who told them where to go and what they could do, and why we had the the vehicle.... (Her father was a plumber and she knew some very, ah, colorful language.)
If you like the Tesla, you will love the Concept One!!! How does 0 - 62mph in 2.8 seconds sound? When you get to the site click on Concept One and then on Video. How does 1088hp sound? It can also brake from 62mph to zero in 31.5 Meters! Lateral G-Force 1.4 G... You can read it all under Specifications on the same menu.
Hoping to get some photos of a couple things I hope to get done on the layout today... Time will tell. Have a great day!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good morning! Mmmmm....that coffee smells good. The wife is out of town, so I'll have Jimmy Dean sausage, eggs and English muffins, if you please.
I'm in day 1 of nine days off. Then it's 2 weeks of work, a couple of stray Mondays and I will be done with work, finished, outathere. Today is the day to risk my credit card's security at Home Depot and get the lumber for the next benchwork. Tomorrow is a train show, and some football action.
Welcome to the Diner, Douglas. Your project on the DCC forum sounds interesting. I hope we were of help. A number of us over there take great pleasure in solving problems by remote control. No one is born with DCC knowledge pre-loaded, and every one of us has asked questions that we would now classify as "everyone knows that."
This place seems a bit underpopulated. It's quiet. Too quiet. Hopefully, our missing brethren will be back soon. Best wishes, gentlemen.
I am perfectly happy with my XP computer. It does all I ask, and it's still running reliably. We have Windows 7 on our desktops at work, and quite frankly, it strikes me as an inferior product. I did look into workarounds for running Gameport devices on Windows 7, but there didn't seem to be any. What's on my machine now will work as long as the machine does. At some point, my browsers will probably age out, they won't support some features, and no one will make an upgrade for XP. At that point I can get a cheap laptop for browsing, and keep my XP machine for gaming.
Mornin,,, an irish coffee and a short stack please Janie. Getting a bit of sun this morning, it pose at be rainin, course we pose the have freezing rain over night night didn’t get it either. Rain will move in later high round 50. A 90% rain tomorrow with high in mid 50’s.
DOUGLAS,, welcome to the diner…
RAY,, when I was still in school, 6 of us put the coaches bug in the gym lobby, not once but twice.
Trains, well you’d a thought UP owned the tracks instead of CSX. Had 1 W bound UP mixed freight pull into the S passing tracks. Shortly after had 2 E bound UP, 1 mixed and 1 haulin auto racks n containers went through.
Been busy the last couple day with chores, getting ready for company, and with the knee problems Mother’s havin, she not much help. She has an MRI Tue, they’d better find out whats wrong, ur I’ll be upset. Thoughts for all those in need n hope ya’ll has a gooden.
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/4309
Oh, I nearly forgot:
~Garry:I am sorry to hear yours has an "attachment" to it. And, OH, the 944 was a NICE car...it has a bit of a story too. I went in to the local Porsche/VW/Mercedes dealer and looked at a brand new 944, the target of my, er, um, "affection". The 944 WAS desinged to be the "entry level Porche" at the "lowest offered entry price" {like the Mercedes 180} and was $20k. I drove it and was PLEASEd, to say the least, at the age of 22. Then the dealer salesman pointed out for $18k I could have the 2 years pre-owned 944 turbo...so I drove IT. MAN, TO say the least, the TURBO Then became the "object of my affections"!!! IF I was going to buy one, I HAD To HAVE the turbo! The Trbo had POWER - the 944 regular was OK, in that department, BUT the turbo blew the 944 regular away!Both were red. But then I went and looked at a Chevy full sized fully loaded {before "fully loaded" trucks were commonplace} with A/C, cruise, tilt, cloth interior, power everything, 4x4, long box etc. Black with a silver middle pannel. SHarp looking for a truck! It was $17,500 plus everything came to just over $18k. SA I said, I NEEDED the truck for working purposes, and my GMC S-15 pickup was my trade. The full size CHevy loaded truck won out...I looked later a couple years to see about getting a 944 turbo or eve regular once the truck was paid off early, but I decided NOT to buy it, and save the money instead. I don't hav the money any more, but I MAY still have had the Porsche 944 turbo. NOw I look for funsies, but *sigh* If we have money and the right one comes along, I MAY...IF I can talk MOH into it,and I can get into the darn thing now. I'd love to have a "fun car", or else a few other models from the same era! That Grand National mentioned above posts, sounds nice.... Or a monte carlo SS....
PMRAil fan: We have all been "stoopid" as Todd spells/calls it. SO don't feel bad, I'll bet I have been wrong mroe than I have been right, and on ocassion, MOH {My Other Half} Reminds me of it frequently!!!
Ok, y'all MAKE it a great day!
Here is your quote for the day:
Language is the archives of history. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.
Here's one for Jeffrey:
Scuze' me, coming through. Putz alert! My goodness did i ever fubar a couple of days ago. Flo?.... gimme a burger, you know.... the ones you serve to stupid people!
So im working on this project. Pretty much so involved in it that I completely didnt think we have a DCC and Electronics forum here. Silly me thinking a DCC question went in General Discussion. You ever feel like your having one of those days where the whole world is a tuxedo and you are a pair of brown shoes?
So not only does MR move it (they shoulda just deleted my insanity), but my post has already pretty much been answered. Flo, make that two stupid burgers please!
Oh well, how was everyones day? Better than mine I hope. This is what i get for leaving my front door! lol. Thanks to those above on my welcoming, and pleased to meet you... I apparently am the town idiot.
Ken - before i recommend a computer i ask what the user plans to do with it. Hate to see you spend $$ and not get a puter that meets your needs. Let me know your use for a puter and I can better judge the T3400 you like. At this moment, I think you can do better.
Your Dell Dimension 3000 came out in 2004. Yes, anytime you can add a video card with its own memory is a help. Having its own memory frees up system memory for other things. Which translates to a faster running computer. The T3400 your looking at is 32 bit. It has to be to run Win7.
Howmus - "It was great for blowing away that little thing that Ken brags about..." Was that a gauntlet i heard dropping?
Actually found out we have a Tesla owner here in town. Dang sneaky little things! Came up along side me and never knew he was there until i heard the tire noise. Looked over and "DANG! Its a Tesla!" i exclaimed to my friend riding with me. So I gave the well to do looking driver a positive nod then cupped my hand behind my ear as if to hear something. Next thing i know he just takes off. Very odd these new fangled buggies, that throaty under load loud exhaust i was used to hearing was missing. But i didnt care that much, i just saw my first Tesla.... and loved it!
BTW, if you pulled a stunt like you did in my school youd be under the jail. They frowned on students driving ( i wonder why?? lol ), yet there was a student smoking lounge. Go figure that one!!!!
Sorry to hear the sound of music is not as beautiful to you as it once was. I think i would loathe the day that happens to me. Seems to be a part of life just as breathing and eating. Guitars werent the only thing i managed to make music with. Yet the instrument of choice i preffered. Started with percussion instruments (snares, tri-toms, timpanis, then onto drum kits), then moved into brass instruments (coronet, trumpet). None really suited me until I picked up string instruments (bass, guitars, etc). Would love to do some piano work but thats a very large and expensive endevour. Especially since like you, i only mess with trains now. I still make music but do it digitally with a keyboard and mouse. Not as rewarding as actually playing, but lets me get the urge out to create. And also gives me the use of instruments of all types. So i need not purchase another again. Now thats saving money in a hobby!
Mister Beasly - Being now and then i myself have been known to endure a game or two, I was plaqued by your problem of certain things not being supported by Win7. Have you tried ....
1) contacting the maker of your joystick/yoke to see if they have an emulator or support driver for your product to get around the Win7 problem?
2) sought out a third hand company emulator for your product? Sometimes you can find them out there. With as many gamers in the world you can bet someone somewhere is making something to fix this problem. Being that Win8 is at its core just Win7, having two operating systems (and 10 is on the way) ahead of the software makers wont fly for long. Ive used emulators before (on Win7) to simulate playing those silly little console games like playstation and xbox etc. in which I had to use a Nintendo like controller. Not saying there is one for your product, but you never know. I ended up later finding a Logitech controller (Nintendo fashion) that was USB. So i went to that and dumped the emulator. My point being, there should be something out there for you.
3) if your happy with what you have, disregard #1 and 2. Thats all that matters!
Well folks I spose thats about it for the moment. Nothing grandios to report. Its cold, and a bit windy. Cought one VRE on my way home making today was not a total loss. I guess I will turn the mic over to the next and enjoy my stupid burgers. Just my luck i bet the ketchup bottle is empty and my fries are cold. PEACE!!!!
Good evening.
i spent some time with the model railroad today, but not much. I enjoyed running the SD24's when I had the time. Too much non-model railroad stuff today.
Galaxy. The 944 would have been nice I bet. This 928 has a story to it. We received it in trade for a travel trailer we were trying to sell. The car was in bad shape, and we are slowly restoring it. Problem is there is too little money in the budget for it. The travel trailer was one we helped Shelley's sister get to live in. Shelley's sister had lived in Florida and had a number of very serious problems down there. We rescued her basically. She had no money, and Shelley bought her a greyhound bus ticket to Nashville. We drove to Nashville to get her, and all she had was the clothes she was wearing. We tried to help her rebuild, but poor health caught up with her, and she passed away. That is why we had the trailer and ultimately got the Porsche.
I hope to have more time for model railroading tomorrow.
Cheers, everybody.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Evenin' Rob! Just a stab in the drk, but if it has a fuel filter on it, that could cause the problem. I know our 80 tonner out at the museum lost one of the prime movers twice this year due to one of the pair of filters (just like motor oil filters on those). As soon as one of the mechanics showed up and replaced the filters with new ones she started right up and purred like a.... ah... not like a kitten, more like a Tiger...
Ken, Back when I was teaching in Waverly, NY, in 1971 I bought the last VW Bug I owned (I think that was #7 and was the only new one. most were 10 or so years old and had well over 100,000 miles on it before I bought it). That was the year of the "Super" Beatle. Came with 60hp behind you pushing... A couple years later when the original high back pressure muffler failed, I replaced it with a glasspack straight through extractor exhaust. That gave the car a significant boost and made it sound, ah, rather more powerfull than it was (about 75hp). In the Intermediate school where I spent most of my time there was a 6th. grade teacher named Chuck Holler who told his 6 graders that no car made can beat a good runner (human type) going between two telephone poles. Yep, he said it was physically impossible to do. His class came down to the music room and told me what he said. Some of them also told the building principal. Chuck and I had a great time for a week or so that spring picking on each other in front of the kids about it. I said My car could beat him running any day. Finally the principal (who was a character and a half and one of the best people I ever worked for) set up a School Event in front of the Building for Mr. Holler, Mr. Howard, and all the 6th. graders to view this science experiment. I did check out the distance carefully one day when I left school to be sure I could do the 40' or so between the poles all in first gear.... I pretty much figured he would beat me as it is an experiment of inertia and stuff.
So, on the appointed day, I took out the spare tire and removed everything I could from the car (back Seat and stuff) and at the end of school I went out to the parking lot a few minutes early to start and warm up the Bug. Another teacher was the starter, and he lined up the front of my Bug with the first telephone pole. I was in the street and Chuck was running on the sidewalk. The thing that was supposed to let Chuck win the race was that he would already be running and I couldn't start until he passed me (he was a fine athlete). So Chuck started running and I gunned the engine and had it almost redlined when he ran past. I beat him by about 5 feet... The teacher starting us and several of the kids told me later I popped the front wheels up about a foot off the ground and they didn't come back down until I was a third of the way to the next telephone pole.
The principal was absolutely roaring and so were the kids! Mr. Holler was not happy! Every year after that untill my family moved away from Waverly we did a "reinactment" of the great VW/foot race for the end of the year Sports day. It was done on the track around the football field and I would let him get a good start and then roar up beside him and the two of us would complete a lap in a tie... I did have a lot of fun teaching there!
I'll have the House Dinner Special, please.
***YGW, does coal dust enhance the flavor of the coffee?
***Todd, interesting about the oil. I will be giving this a try in a few days. I expect it will work as well as the three of you car guys have suggested. Then once all cleaned out and with fresh oil, the question will be, did I wait too long and damage anything.
Any idea why a tractor (McCormick CT28 w/ diesel engine) cuts out/shuts off for no apparent reason? Makes no difference which gear it is in or how much throttle or what chore I am doing with it, simply shuts off. Starts back up immediately with a turn of the key.
Cheer! Rob
Flo Beer Pleases
Day Off If You Want To Call It That. Did some running and raked the leafs again. That in it self is a workout.
Computer Front. Went to Best Buy and bought another stick of DDR 1 Ram. My Dell 3000 now has the Max Ram the mother board can support, which is 2 GB's. I am really pushing it limts right now. I am doing a high speed AVG scan, on line and running JMRI to control the engines. While it is doing better than when I only had 1.5 GB's of ram, still not what I want.
Ray so you where / are a VW guy as well. My Dad did not want me to become a Hot Rodder like he was. Has a stell plate in his head from rolling his Supercharged 57 T-Bird. So my first car was a 1963 VW. He all so swore I would never get the 68 Road Runner! I bought a 67 Engine, installed a 2100 CC Empi Barrel and Piston Kit with a 82MM roller bearing crank and used 68 302 Z-28 rods. More than likey you know the drill so I will not go into details.
Douglas More than likely I will be asking you some Computers Tips. I think a seprate (spell check ) Video Card with it's own Memeory might help. But after the Hoildays I do want to move up to just old and not real old. From what I have found on line my dell dimension 3000 was made around 1993?
This is a online store that is down the street from where I work a few days a week. http://stores.ebay.com/Executive-Personal-Computers/_i.html?_fsub=7372229&_sc=1&_sop=1
My company buys from them so I should be able to get a discount in person.
I like this model and $ range.
Tell me waht you think. I rather have one that run 64 bit but I see none listed as now.
http://s83.photobucket.com/user/cudaken/media/Real%20Cars/MeandtheRunner32yearsago.jpg.html]
Later, Ken
Zoe, I'll have a short stack of Buttermilk Pancakes, Real NYS Maple Syrup (and a pat of real butter too), couple sausage links on the side, and a large pot of Seneca Lake Blend Organic Dark Roast coffee to start the day.
Lake effect is gone now in the Finger Lakes and the big yellow thing is peeking through the clouds at the moment. Current temperature is 22°F with a high this afternoon of 28°F and a low of 18°F tonight. Hoping the solar array will clean itself off and make a bit of electric for me today. I may have to get out the roof rake and help it along. Weather guessers are calling for a major warm up in the next few days so the 7 feet of snow that fell in some places near Buffalo may melt very quickly resulting in some very bad flooding. Death total for the storm in the Buffalo area is now 13 people.
Garry, I'm wondering if the old rotary snowplows came out on the CSX in Western NY? It would be great to see those old girls in action, but I really don't want to be anywhere near Buffalo or Watertown at the moment...
Still haven't got everything together for the publishing deadline.... That means we will have to do a lot more advertising on our own somehow. Not happy!
Weclome aboard, Douglas! You do have a lot of the same interests as many people who hang out in here. I was into cars in my youth, but in a bit different way. I did love to drive my BILs "home modified" hot rods, like a little Jeep that he pulled the 40hp flathead out of and droped a Chevy 283 into. It was great for blowing away that little thing that Ken brags about from stop light to stop light in Canandaigua way back in the 60's. Think 4 wheel drive and blue smoke rolling off all 4 wheels... Personally I had a souped up 71' VW Bug that I used to do wheelies with in the school parking lot.... Today I would have been fired on the spot, but I had a couple principals that thought it was cool.... These days I try to see how far I can go on a gallon of Dinosaur Dung crap in my Plug in Hybred Prius. Have averaged 74 miles per gallon over 24,500 miles so far. Not even close to the record for those cars. I want my next car to be a Tesla! No way I can afford it though. I was a professional Musican (Voice, Classic Guitar, and most all other instruments to some degree) for 48 years. Taught Music (k-12 and some college level courses) for 32 years. Now deaf and even with very powerfull, "state of the art" hearing aids, music doesn't sound good to me anymore. Rather remember in my mind the beauty I once knew. At this point in my life I'd rather play with HO and 12" to the foot scale trains.
Take care and be blessed my friends!
Good morning and happy Friday!
Penny's plane is off the coast of Delaware right now, headed south. And I'm setting up for a week off, costing me only 3 vacation days.
Ken, I am still running XP on my home machine. I bought this computer a few years back, set up to be a good gaming machine. I had to second-source a copy of XP online, since Microsoft was no longer selling it. My problem was that Windows 7 will not support Gameport devices. In fact, I could not even find a Gameport card that would plug into the motherboard on this machine, so I had to get a USB-to-Gameport converter. Even with that, Windows 7 wouldn't support my flight simulator yoke and pedals, so I would have had to replace those. No thanks. XP works fine for me.
Well maybe i just found a new grub shack to tell all my fish stories! Thanks muchly for the welcome folks, always a pleasure to be accepted. I will do my best to keep the convo enlightning.
So lets see, where to begin. I guess what got me here is cars so thats a good spot. Yes, I know, im not doing my GN any favors by letting her sit. Truth be known i DO want to drive it. All the time to be honest. But ya gotta know, those cars are trouble makers. Everywhere i would go there is a Mustang, Vette, or other hopped up heebie jeebie mobile that always want to throw down.
Now dont get me wrong, I certainly love to oblige. As we all do - right? But Im older now. Trying to focus on my first love. No, not my high school honey, but trains. Cars are very expensive! Besides, I made the decision that when my daughter either graduates college, or gets married (which ever comes last!) she will get the car as a gift. Im not giving her my trains!!!! So i think my GN needs to be stored. Otherwise, she wont get anything but an old worn out brick, and I will be in jail for all the street racing. Tooo addictive!
I see someone mentioned computers. Maybe I can be of use here. Ive been in computers since before Bill Gates was a household name. So if you need help, please ask.
**Sidenote to Cuda Ken - Win7 is capable of doing quite alot of stuff. Including running old programs (down to 16bit stuff, below that and you have to use virtual emmulations such as "XP Mode" which comes buried in Win7. NOTE** your computer must be capable of handling virtuals. To find out, just check out your CMOS during the POST cycle. Somewhere in there will be a switch to turn it on or off (default usually is off). If you dont see the switch, your PC cant do it. As an example of Win7's old program capabilities, i still play Sid Miers "Rails" game from the late 80's on my Win7x64 machines. HMU Ken and I can walk you through it. Also, LOVED the pic of your "Z Eater". Especially the livery. Well done my friend, well done! Gotta love those old boxy looking designs, my god what sexy lines! Long and sleek. Looks fast just sitting there! **
I guess for the rest of you car bums like me (especially you Porche owners hee hee) all I can say is lets line them up! Is the old addage still true - loser buys the beer? If I win, can I still come into the diner? lol
Lets see.... aside from trains, computers, what else is there...... Oh yes! Before arthritis started setting in and other lifes little hassles I am also a musician. Fortunately i was born with that special gift of music. I didnt let it go to waste. Along with my GN in the garage i have a nice Washburn extended (29 fret) guitar sitting somewhere around here. Much like my GN, she doesnt get played. I make music digitally now. Samples can be requested. Pretty much trains, cars and loud guitars are my greatest passions. Add skirt chasing too, though that subject is probably taboo here. Rightfully so.
I opened by mentioning fish stories. I spose it wouldnt hurt to mention a boat purchase was made two years ago. Replaced the transom and motor and now have a pretty decent excursion onto the water during summer months. NO, there is no trailer hitch on my Buick!
Well folks, i spose thats about it for now. Looking forward to more discussions. For now, I will be sitting here enjoying the brew Ken bought me and mulling over the menu. Hope Mel is in a cooking mood today. Everyone have a great day today and do hit me up if i can be of service. I chose a big booth so come on over and sit a spell. Lets chew some fat!
Respectfully,
Douglas
'PM Railfan'
PS: I dont do third party photo sites, but if your interested to see the GN's, just ask. PEACE!!!!
Heartland Division CB&Q Our toy here is a thirty year old Porsche 928S
Our toy here is a thirty year old Porsche 928S
When I was "young and foolish" I LOOKED at and seriously contemplated a Porsche 944 Turbo. I stopped by to look at and test-drive a new 944. It was Ok. But then they had a 2 year pre-owned {such cars are never "used"!} 944Turbo, and that once became my desire! In red of course!
Problem was, and reason why I didn't get it, was that I did lawn/garden care at the time nad new fully loaded 4x4 pickup was in the cards as a vehicle I NEEDED rather than the 944Turbo that I WANTED.
I still comb craigslist for them {generally only listed in summer] and dream...I say dream as I dont think I could now get into the darn thing with my cane leading the way!
Other problem is atht the porsche dealer aroudn here has been closed for ahwile, and I would have to take it up to Syracuse to get dealer type servicing...
Ah, to dream, perchance to own...
I still dream...
A BIG HEARTY to PM Railfan:
This is the "designated non-train thread". The only one on this site.
Here we CAN talk about our daily lives and what-not, just not certain, ahem, "flame war topics" or "deviding topics" that people have strong opinons over.
AS long as we stay away form such things,and keep it clean here, the Hosts pretty much leave us alone to talk about the weather, other "hobbies", our daily hum-drum lives.
SO, Join us more often, and tell us about yourself !
Today's fine Quote:
Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do. -Voltaire, philosopher (1694-1778)
Flo Beer and give that Buick guy sitting in the corner a as well.
Computer Front. Been driving my self crazy reading specks and worrying I might make a mistake. My biggest worry is my old hard ware and software. Will Windoes 7 support my old Words program, HP 720 camera, joy stick and games? I have seen a 64 bite XP Pro program, but there is no support, will AVG protect the new Computer?
Think maybe I found the answer, run dual hard drives. One with Windows 7 and the other my XP Pro? Need to read more about it and all so figuer out why I need / want a faster computer!
CNCharlie You sure it was a 70 Road Runner? Reason I say that is a 70 Road Runner is stock form did not have a huge air scoop. Now, 1969 had a flat black lift off hood with a big scoop. But, there has been plenty of aftermarket made with the 6 barrel (Plymouth is 6 Barrel, Dodge was 6 Pack) hoods.
YGW Rather have a gutted N&W engine than a decoder eating complete engine!
Todd Happy to see you drop by!
PM Railfan I have found many of us train people are all so car people as well. Take Todd, he has owned is 1970 Road Runner for I think 32 years. Comparied to me, he just got it. I got my 68 Road Runner when I was 17, Mom and Dad bought it when I was 12. I have owed her for 43 years. Then there is Blow Out Clyinder he is a old drag racer like me and that is where is screen name came from.
Just because we like trains does not mean it is all we love. That is one of the great things about the dinner. We can talk about trains, stereo's (Rob and I are Audiophiles) coin collecting (spell check) or our health or lack of it.
Far as your GN sitting, you do know you are not doing it any favors. Drive the darn thing!
Here is a picture for you.
http://s83.photobucket.com/user/cudaken/media/Charger%20Site/RunnerracesII_zps813fdef0.jpg.html] Back when I was racing in the 80's. If you look close you will see Z-Eater on the side. Cuda Ken
Back when I was racing in the 80's. If you look close you will see Z-Eater on the side.
Cuda Ken
Good evening...
Mr. B ... I think you will like wireless. Also, I hope your wife has a safe trip. I know I get more model railroading accomplished when my Main Squeeze is out of town with me staying home.
Galaxy ... I had read the CP was talking about selling the D&H but did not know NS was involved.
PM rail fan. Good to see you in the Diner. Our toy here is a thirty year old Porsche 928S
Todd. I enjoy your Toddland reports. Bummer about the buffet closing. Watch out for the model railroad bug which commonly bites in the winter months.
Ray ... Feel free to venture over to Buffalo for rail fanning. There must be some snow plowing on the railroads there.
Jimmy ... Wow.. The camera train took a nose dive. That must have stirred up excitement.
CN Charlie. .. Interesting your wife learned how to drive with powerful car. No tickets , I hope.
YGW ... hope your Thanksgiving week is a good one.
Model railroad progress. ... I am pleased to say my two Atlas Silver Series SD24's now have Soundtraxx Tsunami decoders installed. I am very happy with the results.