Good Evening,
Another balmy day up here with a high of about 45F. Virtually all of the snow has melted but then we didn't get much this season.
Rob, yes you can join Unitrack to Atlas. I've done it. Simply remove the unitrack joiners and replace with Atlas. Should work to put in a bridge.
Not much going on with me, and little RR activity. I just can't seem to get motivated. I am thinking of buying a BLI Mikado when the do the next release later this year as I really don't have many road engines and only a Consolidation for a pure freight loco. CN crews called consolidations 'hogs' but I haven't got into the habit yet. Similarly they called a caboose a van.
I did have a scare last week and went over to the emergency as I had some blood where it shouldn't be. Turns out it was a diverticulosis issue. I had colonoscopy which verified that everything was ok. Oh well, I was due for one anyway. I spent 2 days and one night in the emergency unit.
Hope Johnboy is doing ok and his procedures get him swallowing again.
CN Charlie
Italian roast coffee in a STORMY SOUTHERN mug, please.
Question: Since there do not seem to be any bridges and trestles for Kato (HO scale) unitrack, I'm wondering if that Unitrack wouldn't match up OK with Atlas "if I remove the unitrack joiners"? Could solder them together if I must.
Have been taking today off while Mother Nature does her gusty wind & rain thing.
Healing thoughts for those in need.
Cheers! Rob
Good Afternoon, everyone!
Been pretty busy around here of late...had some people over to run some trains around..this time ...NO INCIDENTS!!!!
Then got back into the workshop and started putting some beacons into the cabs of some RS3's here...and, of course, fat fingures drops LEDs all over the place. Better than knocking a full storage unit with 500 resisters and 0609 parts all over the floor
What'll I have? Oh, a 15lb tub of poutine with some pulled pork as well please....just my appetizer...
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
G'day, as our friends in the other hemisphere sometimes say.
Sunny, but still pretty dang cold, and it's going to stay that way for a while. The snow on the roof is no longer a problem, but there's been minimal melting for the last few days.
I heard from my wife, and she's finally booked a return flight from Florida. She'll be back in 3 weeks, after almost 3 months down there. Her parents are now happily in assisted living, but they're still leaning on her to do routine errands for them. I told her she needed to extract herself from that situation before they get to accustomed to it.
I played with my IR LEDs and phototransistors again last night, this time with a meter on the circuit so I can see exactly what's happening at the component level. It turns out that the IR LEDs are very, very directional, and a tilt of only a few degrees can make a difference between a working and non-working system. I also played with the room lights, and found that the system works pretty well as I dim the room down at night, but there's a point where it just stops working at all. I can live with that for now for the flashers-only crossing, but for the one with the gates I've got multiple tracks and I really need to get the IR system to work.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Garry - Cocoa puffs !!! I would rather have the Wheaties. With a few slices of bananas, little sugar sprinkled in
Bear - Firewood !!! With temps like that who needs firwood ? Your low is higher than our high !
Mark - 45 minute commute ? Only in my dreams. I am 1 1/2 one way on a good day !
Vega - Heck at that price give me a dozen
Vincent - Isnt that just like life. When you have money you have no time. When you have tiem there is no money ?
Things are getting crazier at w**k gotta run
Ken has anyone heard from Cuda Ken ?
Galaxy - That heat iisue - sounds like it is time to call the manufacture and ask them for a solution.
TTYL
YGW
Good morning. .... I'll have Wheaties. Save the Cocoa Puffs for YGW and the Trix for Barry ..
Mark H ... Good to see you, and I am gladd the daily drive is shorter.
Galaxy ... Thanks for the update on Ulrich.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Mornin' folks!
Zoe, I'll have a nice hot bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar and a cup of Marrakesh Express Dark Roast Fair Traded Coffee in my R&GV RR Mug Please. What? No just put the coffee in the R&GV RR Mug, not the oatmeal.... Sheesh!
Supposed to be sunny here in the Finger Lakes today! Could be a 25 kWh day if all goes right. Bear, you poor fellow..... Your low today will be several degrees higher than our high! Currently 28°F with a high around 38°F sometime later. Good thing about the lowish temps right now is that it is slowing down the melting of the sn*w still sitting in massive piles in the back yard, garden, and out by the roads. Didn't get any flooding yesterday in the basement. I will have to watch closely today. BTW, the panels are now 100 kWh away from having produced 10 Megawatts of electricity for me.
Forgot to tell you. Yesterday when the contractor was here he wanted to get a chunk of the ceiling to make sure he wouldn't be dealing with aspestos... So I went and got a linolium knife from down cellar. He cut a small chunk and dropped it into a plastic bag I gave him. Looks at it, and his eyes got very big. He says, That's mostly rotted wood! I nodded my head and told him that was why I told you we may find a lot more needing to be done when the project gets underway. I do think where he got the sample was one of the places the roofer reinforced the ceiling with another 2 x 4 when they did the roof. I know he used four 4' x 8' panels of plywood up there and put in some new 2 x 4s. Now I have to get the report from the insurance company. Since I don't have a good working hearing aid for the T-cell, I will likely have to wait until I get mine back next week.
Better get myself going and doing the stuff I need to get done today. later!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Ok, I heard from Ulrich; under seperate cover, He IS home, but not at all feeling well now.. He will naturally let us know when the transfer is fully recieved.
The furnace seems to be running now, OK, but for how long? That's what I'd like to know!
AH, geeze JaBear, getting down the 41 at night, such a shame! and 67 day time a double shame! we feel sorry at you but not with you, as we have had a very rough winter here in the NE/NEW England states!! It was THE COLDEST FEbruary on record in these here parts! And with multiple days UNDER 10F, and multiple nights under 0F, it ain't no fun. OUr faucets basically ran all winter long, without, the pipes WILL freeze! This week at night we still have to drip the faucets to keep them from freezing at nights. And snow was at or setting records too. We know now with your winter approaching we will probably see more of you in here ! Tomorrow is the first day of spring, and we are expecting SNOW, and will acccumulate! Today's high is like 20? maybe 25? Not sure but NOT as warm as we had it last week,,,,there is always "one last hurrah" or "gotcha" winter has for us as RAY alluded to, and winter imposes itself on us here in the NE US. March is never over til it's over,and with Easter the 5th of April {kinda early} we WILL have snow afterwards quaranteed.
ah well
-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.
GOOD Thursday Morning! March 19th, 2015!
March 19th, 2015!
for those in need: HEALING ENERGIES, POSITIVE THOUGHTS!
HEALING ENERGIES,
POSITIVE THOUGHTS!
Today's word:
Today's quote:
We open our mouths and out flow words whose ancestries we do not even know. We are walking lexicons. In a single sentence of idle chatter we preserve Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Norse: we carry a museum inside our heads, each day we commemorate peoples of whom we have never heard. -Penelope Lively, writer (b. 17 Mar 1933)
MAKE IT A GREat DAY!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Hi everyone,
It's been a few weeks since I've been in the diner, thought I'd stop in and say hello.
A nice snifter of Cognac would do me just fine...thank you.
I'm two weeks into working the new job. Actually the same basic job as before, just with a subsidiary company. Basically...the same stuff but a different place. Day shift and no shift differential now...$160 a month less. That hurts...puts a damper on buying from MB Klein, or anyone else for that matter. But in the big picture...I'm not having to drive into Reno and dealing with kamakaze drivers. I'm saving myself 42 miles a day of driving. I figured if I stayed at the Reno facility, I would have ended up in the grave or in jail driving in Reno. Either slumping over at the wheel or putting my...personal carry...into action and going to jail.
Anyway. The drive is still 39 miles one way. What really bugs me is that it's 13 miles from my driveway to the parking lot of where I work...as the crow flies, yet I drive 39 miles to get there. Hopefully the car maker Tesla gave Nevada the right incentive to finish the highway known as USA Parkway. That would make it 18 miles to drive to work. But the one thing nice about my current drive...I get to pass and pace 70 mph trains along I80 on the old SP overland route. That definitely can make my day.
I guess that's enough of my idle stuff.
Good night all.
Mark H
Modeling in HO...Reading and Conrail together in an alternate history.
Packer Garry, never a boring day when something doesn't go as planned. I didn't even mention my computer has been acting up lately; and I am planning to never buy another HP anything again. My printer stopped talking to my computer out of the blue (both HP) and the computer automatically tries to reinstall it and fails every time. Then it closes all the programs and reboots. and when it starts back up, it starts the process over again.
Garry, never a boring day when something doesn't go as planned. I didn't even mention my computer has been acting up lately; and I am planning to never buy another HP anything again. My printer stopped talking to my computer out of the blue (both HP) and the computer automatically tries to reinstall it and fails every time. Then it closes all the programs and reboots. and when it starts back up, it starts the process over again.
We've had a couple of Dells, used to be provided by my boss, and taken care of by the company. Now this one, our first one EVER on our own, has been nothing but a pain! OUr HP printers NEVER were! This computer has had the OS reinstalled on it and we are looking at getting a laptop as a backup as MOH has to work reports via the computer....So we are NOT sure we want another Dell, But which one? I believe you can get lemons of anything these days. Guess you don't notice the repairs if the company pays for it.
SPeaking of lemons, We can home to a cold and muy frio house again! The igniter THEY JUST INSTALLED 2 weeks ago, failed yet again! This is the 4 th igniter in 4 or 5 years, and many of your old timers have heard my complaints aobu the "new reliable" Miller furnace we had installed 4 or 5 years ago. We have repalced everything in it that makes it work, except teh blower motror! {SHHHH! IT'll go next!} AS I told the guy tonight, we are replacing the whole brand new furnace and getting tired of it. HE said they are finding out now that igniters that are SUPPOSED TO last 10 years are only lasting 5,but this is almost a yearly basis for us to replace ours!! I asked if there could be some kind of electrical surge in ours that is burning out the igniter! He said he was wondering to, but didn't test anything.
Well, ULRICH siad he had an appt for his "ticker" again today as it was acting up again, ANd I havent' acknowledgement that he got the message about the wire, SO now I am worried he may be in the hospital again! And I see he hasn't been in here, Say prayers!
I was SUPPOSED To have an MRI of the L shoulder tonight,but had to cancel due to the heat problem. So now it is tomorrow night.
later
Afternoon guys
Kind of an odd day. I worked a short shift again, and i took a 4-hour nap when I got home. I have some sleep to catch up on. Working like I was doing was really tiring.
YGW, I would need a darned good job to pull off 3 girlfriends, lol. And that's not really my style to roll with more than one either. Ever since I left the 3rd job, she has been wondering why I don't come up to see her all the time. Truth be told she lives like 40 miles away, my car seems to get around 20 mpg average now, and premium gas has gone back up to over 3 bucks a gallon now that spring break has started again. Leaving the 3rd job gave me time to see her, but now I kinda am a little short on funds to make that trip as often as she would like (almost daily), and I have some sleep I need to catch up on. Go figure
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
Good afternoon
Nice outside, kinda cool but no wind right now...
Having a good day so far with the family here...they're going through to Windsor to deal with some family matters for the BIL.
I had some fun last night with Spring...our 16 year old kitteh who was in a frisk last night...he even climbed up the corner of the hall bookcase upstairs and ever so typical knocked a whole pile of books and CDs off the top corner shelf...that was were I found him after hearing a herd of charging rhinocerii ... all cuddled up.
RAY: Dietary contributions eh? ....Flo....I'll have a 5lb hamburger with a bunch of sauteed mushrooms and onions with a tub of Poutine as well please...I'll also have a couple of Pecan Pies as well as my 50 cup urn of fortified coffee...
Whoa - Garry are you feeling sick ? Just oatmeal and OJ ? Thats all ?
Galaxy - I think there are a lot of politicians who need to be sent THAT word.
Vincent - LOL I misread your post I thought it said 3 girl friends and one job !!!
Homwus - dealing with insurance can be a real Pain !
Mr. B - Keep that scale when YOH steps on it it will make her day !
Gotta get back to w**k
Wow! I lost 15 pounds last week! Then I gained it all back overnight. Guess it's time for a new bathroom scale. Seriously, I have lost weight, and last night at hockey I felt lighter and more nimble. I attribute it to retirement. At work, we had a cafeteria with a pasta bar and a grill, and then I would go sit at my desk for the rest of the day. Now, I've got to make my own lunch and I'm hopping up and down from the basement workroom to the kitchen to the office to the train room, all on different levels.
It was close to 50 here yesterday, but then a front came through and the cold wind howled through the trees, bringing the temperature down below freezing where it's been ever since. Bah. I'll be going skiing next week, though, so it's probably good to have cold weather to hold the snow.
Still working on those grade crossings. The system works perfectly as designed, but I want to make it work in the dark, so that means adding infrared LEDs. It looks like I will need to do this detector-by-detector, carefully setting each one up with a meter to get it properly aligned. The phototransistors are mounted between the rails, looking up. There is too much incidental light to mount them horizontally looking across the tracks. So, now I'm exploring ways to hide the IR LEDs above the tracks a few inches. I'll be looking at billboards and telephone poles at the train show this weekend.
Ulrich Update; all checks have cleared, and the funds translate to 975.24EUR for him, after the exchange rate. {US$1.00=0.9165 EUR} Were wired today, and he should have access on Monday the 23rd!
SO it is now done, THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED and DONATED, I KNOW I APPRECIATE IT, AND SO DOES ULRICH! He should be back posting regular and driving soon!
So, now I have PT later on, and an MRI of the L shoulder tonight, that ought to be fun.
so whats up with you all?
Mornin' everyone!
Zoe, I'll have the #2 Special this morning. Over easy on the eggs, bacon, home fries, and a double order of the Sourdough toast, please. Oh, yes Marrakesh Express dark roast coffee in the my R&GV RR mug.
Contractor just left. He says the next step is to get the estimate of what they will pay from the insurance and then he will find out what it is really going to cost to do the oitems on the insurance list.... Fun and Games! After we haggle on the amount the insurance will pay, then he will set a date to do the work.
There is a blizzard going on outside the door here in the Finger Lakes this morning. At the moment I can barely see the house across the street! I am very tired of Winter!!! The white STUFF is coming down sideways as well! Currently 27°F with a high of 33°F.......... Maybe? Good news is it won't last long. Tomorrow is supposed to be 39° and by Saturday ir will be 48°. Winter's last Hurrah I hope! Oh, BTW, the weather Channel says right now there is a 0% chance of precipitation..... Right!
Have to check and see if the siphon needs to be started. Later!
Good morning .... I'll have oatmeal and OJ please.
Vincent .... Good to see you. Your life apparently is not boring.
Galaxy ... That is good of you to send a card to JohnBoy.
Evening Guys
I haven't been in lately because I've been too busy with 3 jobs and a girlfriend. I put in 2 weeks at one of them and am finally off the hook. But now things are starting to go south with this girl. I have had 0 time for trains since the last time I posted, other than going to the train club.
One of the train club members had a stroke recently. He seems to be recovering though. Last saturday my UT4R died, but then it seemed to come back to life today. Luckily one of my friends lent me his DT402R until i can either fix my UT4R or get it replaced.
Carwise my 1994 Mustang still runs well. Just the ABS has a glitch ever since I installed the Cobra brakes. When the system is on, it seems to kick on below 15mph. I've disabled the system the until I can figure out what is going on (I think bad or dirty sensor). Luckily it's pretty hard to lock the brakes (I've tried intentionally) and the braking distance is really good now.
Johnboy, I don't think you'll see this, but good luck with the surgery.
Ken, I have a neigbor like that. He's almost like you and that guy crossed. He has like 4 really small dogs that he lets out. He used to have a auto-body shop in town, now he does it out of his garage. He has a late-60s early-70s Dodge (I think it's a Dart, maybe a Satellite) that he painted purple with black stripes.
I'll try to stop by in some more.
OK
Saw the surgeon today.I asked if "it was his best work?", But he only chuckled nad said "ti was a good job". I can dispense with the sling UNLESS it gets "tired",then I should re-sling it! I can now shower,but must be careful of "overloading or damaging" the incision. I can "range and motion" it but It feels weird, it feels like he has put in a piece of matierial in an odd place, maybe to help replace the bone he "ectomied" from the collar bone {cut out} and to keep the other bones apart taht he shaved off. it feels wierd!
Then we went form NO appts tomorrow to 4! I see PT {Physical Therapy}, nad MOH sees our regular dr. and I have an MRI for LEft Shoudler....Then I have to squeeze in the bank to wire Ulrich: as the last check should have cleared by Yesterday {acutally last week, but allowing for all to actually clear} SO I can send that off and get it off our minds. I have to send Ulrich a seperate cover email as I SEe hwe actually put nose to teh screen to write to us today, he cant wait for his "peepers".
Then thursday and friday we have appts. too! No rest for the weary.
Naturally MOH thinks it si now tiem I retook ALL my chores, none of which MOH did willignly while OUT FORM WROK..if AT ALL..like never vacuumed at all in two weeks, i am going to fein extreme pain at that to MAKE MOH do it.
BOy that shoulder feels wierd now that I cna move it. I found out reaching out to teh nightstand wiht right hand is still a NO-NO! At least as of yet! Intense pain!
GARRY: AND others: I have had a big giant round candle lit for johnboy! I have decide to get a card and manually mail him a get well card the old fashioned way! It will cost to mail to Canada, but well worth it! He WILL survive and gain back his swallerin' abilities! I knwo he will!
Well, athta is aobut all.
Good evening diners, time for corned beef brisquet, boiled cabbage and potatoes and a Ginnesse. Happy St. Patricks day to all.
Jim
Rob Thanks any of that stuff still brewing ? Been a ROUGH day. The site here crosses two boundries. The county and then the city. This morning the county guy was out beating us up and told me to shut the site down and lock the gates. I refuesed and we had an animated discussion about why he didnt have the authority to do so. He had bad information...Then teh City inspector showed up and tore us up. And failed teh model home inspection. Part of the reason - someone stole the aluminion gutters off of the house !! A few weeks ago someone tried to burn the second model down. Guys I hope you all have a great St Patricks day and here is a for those in pain, sick or hurting. And here is several for John boy
Folks I have been beat up today and I am calling it a night,
OH PS - My Bride made an upside down pinapple cake, a beef roast, home fries, collard greens, home made bread and mac and cheese . up - GARRY PLEASE leave some for the rest ! Blown out HURRY BEFORE Garry gets here. Heck the other day there wasnt even a crumb !!!
A quick coffee TO GO, please.
Ken, inconsiderate neighbors like that would definitely make my blood boil.
Thanks for the Johnboy updates. Continued healing thoughts for him and others in need.
Picked up the first bits of lumber so I can at least start on some new bench work. Hope to start on that Thursday, when the rain arrives.
Back outside I go, have more stuff to get done today.
Afternoon folks!
Chloe, I'll have a ham and cheese sandwitch, toasted on whole wheat bread, a side of french fries, and a cup of decaf coffee for lunch...
Got the Bathroom fan fixed this morning. The fan could be replaced so it wasn't too expensive. Water has now started oozing in the basement. Have to start the siphon several time a day now and plan to have a wet basement every morning until the rest of the sn*w is melted and the ground has dried up a bit. The contractor will stop by around lunch time tomorrow to give me an estimate on the living room rebuild. Things are starting to fall into place on all the problems I think.
If the sun decides to come out for a while this afternoon the solar array may hit the 100 kWh mark so far for the month today. Chilly and windy out there. Current temp. is 34°F and calling for a high of 40° today. Don't think it will make it... Windy as well with a 30mph wind and gusts up to 37mph. Ooooo! The sun just appeared and from the look of the sky it may stay out for a bit!
I will be heading over to my son's house to get the girls off the bus today. There is a bout a 20 minute wait until their Mom gets home from the school where she teaches, so someone has to be there to meet the bus (district policy).
I have been working on some track laying and a bit of scenery for the return loop at the end of the layout for the past several days. Not much to photograph but will get some shots in a few days.
Barry, good to have you back in the diner! I have missed your dietary contributions...
Ulrich, hope your new glasses arrive soon! Don't forget to show us a selfie of them.
For the others who have been having health problems, I will include you in my prayers...
Have a great day out there!
Good Morning
Wind, wind, and more wind here. And ccold again...we'll see the mighty 34F today going to a low of 22F tonight...yeehaw....
Going to get some basic survival groceries in here then going to get the car looked after later in the afternoon.
Flo, I'll just have a cup of coffee for now please...thank you.
Thanks for the updates on John, guys...we'll have a bunch of prayer candles lit...
Ulrich, remember: When Irish Eyes are Smiling. Hang in there. Yours will be smiling soon, too.
Ken, have you spoken directly with the police department's animal control officer? Making a generic call to the department won't get you anywhere. Also, try taking a picture of the offending dog when it's running loose.
I took part in an interesting bit of automotive ballet yesterday. I pulled up to a traffic light on a 4-lane road at one of those designed-by-colonial-era-cows intersections one town over. I was in the left lane and there was some traffic in the right. Cars pulled in behind. Then, we all saw a problem. An immense auto carrier was trying to make a left on to our street, and it just wasn't going to make the turn, even into the 2 lanes available.
I checked my mirror. The car behind me was basically parallel parking into the other lane. The car behind him backed up. This gave me room to back up and clear a third lane for the auto carrier to make his turn. All of this happened with no explicit communication, whistle signals or lanterns. We just all did it. The light turned and we all went on our way. I just thought it was pretty neat, and it brought a smile to my face.
Top o' the mornin' to ya all!
Flip just now sent another email saying the following.
"John is into a series of operations. Depending upon the success of each and recovery time it will months till it is over. ..... might be a two year process. He is in good spirits. (And in good hands.) "
Ulrich ... A long lasting candle is needed.