YGW - I couldn't agree with you more concerning the 4 letter word w**k. Left the office at 23:00 last night only to be back at 09:00 this morning. Enjoying a bit of a break at this time before the first of 4 headaches rolls in in 30 minutes. We are going through one extreme to another; first we are drowned by rain and now baked.
Garry - praying for you for better days ahead.
Got to run.
All the best.
Joe F
BigDaddyThey sound like cicada killers not yellow jackets. They sting their prey, they don't go around stinging for the fun of it like yellow jackets.
I don't think they were cicada killers as cicada killers are usually black and white. These were very big (likely young queens just out of hibernation), over an inch long, and are probably in the genus Vespa. Looked very much like this:
http://mypestprevention.com/2011/04/yellowjackets/european-wasp-isolated/
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Hit the darn wrong button again! Had a 400 word post going as well!
Sort version, got a fence bid from lowes I may take. Post will be sunk 3' foot, 5' gate, and fence will be 7' foot tall for $1700.00. Bid is for only the pool side of the fence. Rest I have to take care off. Last photo I posted of the back fence.
What I got done today.
Way better, outside of the fence is painted. With all the rain did not have time to do both sides.
Ken
I hate Rust
Good morning. The sun is shinning and it is supposed to be around 85 degrees today. Seems like summer is here. Plan on working on setting my homemade forms to pour one section of porch foundation. I started this project last fall and poured the footing slab and then it started raining and then winter came. It has been so wet this spring that I just haven't felt like crawling around in the mud. One of the joys of retirement is you can always put stuff off until a nicer day.
Layout front, glued down some more ties. I have enough stained to do another two feet of roadbed. Then its back to staining another batch.
Ken, how much fence does $1,700 buy in terms of feet of fence? I'm faced with dealing with a very old rusty chain link fence where the post are rusting off at ground level. One of these days the thing will just fall over. At least I don't have neighbors who are bugging me about doing something about it. One neighbor has offered to help take down the section ajoining his yard but I am not ready to give the only decent section of fence up yet.
V8Vega, the brake repair bill looked pretty reasonable, especially for California. Finding a mechanic you can trust is always a good thing.
Time to get going. Have a great Friday. Last night was a good night to be a Pittsburg Penguins fans as they won game seven and advance to the Stanley Cup finals starting this coming Monday.
Jim
Rain and more rain around here. Tornado touched down about a mile west of my work location yesterday; destroyed three houses, damaged 60 more. No deaths reported, few minor injuries. We had about 7 inches at the house, but nothing in the house. Our home campus is closed today because they had between 13 and 20 inches of rain yesterday, lots and lots of flooding.
I had been fighting something that centered around coughing fits; missed three days of work. That hasn't happened (missed more than a day of work) since I had a cornea transplant in 1989. I took last week off to spend time with both of my college kiddos who happen to be home at the same time; probably the last time that will happen, in the summer at least.
Missed my sister's cancer surgery because I was sick and did not want to pass it on to her or those around her. Pathology report was good; she is officially cancer free; although she still has to undergo radiation because she had an aggressive kind of cancer; the radiation is to keep it from coming back. We will see her this weekend as her youngest son graduates from high school tomorrow.
Tin can - Thats pretty close. Did you have horizontal rain and hail ? Good news and I bet that is a relief to get the cancer free news on your sister
James - What type of fence do you want prices on ? Chain link ? 4', 6' ? I work with a large fencing company and I can get there pricing for you but need more details.
Ken - What did that break down to per foot ? Will they be putting concrete in the hole ?I hate it when that happens ! I have accidentally lost many messages
Howmus - We used to have these old apple trees at our home place. There were these HUGE bees that looked similiar to yellow jacket but they were about 10 times bigger. I think some were between an inch and an inch and a qaurter ! I always steered clear of those things. They came around and ate from the fallen fruit on the ground. I got stung once ( my fault ) and man did it HURT ! They had an oranges brownish tint to them.
Reinhard - LOL ! Do you have to go out on the concrete ? I have built a few buildings near your area. I used to hate it. In the winter it was awful. The wind blew through like no tomorrow and during the summer you couldnt catch a breeze to cool you off ! Would you like for me to email you a few pictures that I showed you last week ?
Garry - Hope you are healing and I will continue to pray for you.
Lion - Hope a wildebeast hasnt caught you with its horn and knocked you out or something worse ?
Ulrich - Hope you are okay.
DER - Where are you ?
JaBear, Jeremy, Flip, Henry, Gary .....Howdy hope to see ya in here soon !
TTYL
YGW
Good Evening!
A quiet day and I am thankful for that! I need to relax and having a quiet day sure helps. Nothing much to report, other that my friend Claus called me, anouncing he will be picking me up tomorrow morning so we can start w*rk on the benchwork for that planned Z scale layout. I am really looking forward to this!
I do hope that some of the MIA´s show up again. Most of us are in an age in which a longer, unannounced absence makes one worry!
Haved a good one (in fond memory of our friend Jerry Cox)!
YGW: No hail; rain was coming down in sheets. Tornado was rain wrapped. Rain still coming down today; found out that two of the ladies in an adjacent department here at work had damage to their homes by the tornado, one was significant.
Very excited about my sister's news.
Well, it looks like a 50/50 chance of thunderstorms the next two days, but a good chance of a dry but partly cloudy Memorial Day. Well, even if it rains all three days, it doesn't matter, 'cause I do my ribs in the oven. 225 degrees for about 4 hours. They fall off the bone.
Thought I'd give you guys a heads-up... I just handed off the first article for Great Model Railroads 2017! It's an HO scale Rock Island branch in Kansas. Now I just have 9 more to go in a little more than a month...
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Cicada killers
I think I am ready for medical marijuana. If anything wakes me up at night, I am up for the next 3 hours. A trip to the bathroom at 2:30 did it last night and then the dog decided to puke on the rug at 5:30. I've been wasted all day.
Staring at my RS1 trying to decide where a speaker can possibly fit.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Evenin' folks!
Janie, I could use a cup of decaf, please....
BigDaddy, yep, that is a cicada killer.... They are not at all agressive and only sting if they are handled roughly (at least that is what the experts say). They perform a good service by keeping the cicada population in check and therefore prevent cicadas injuring the trees they parasite for food while they are developing. Body markings and wings are different from the Yellowjackets that were in my house. (Totally different Genus.) Haven't had any more so I think they were just ones that woke up and found a hole from where they over wintered into my dining room...... My next door neighbor was out spraying tonight for any that may have decided to build nests under his window shutters on his house. He did get a few wasps come out so he probably got a couple nests. So far I haven't found any wasp nests around my house. Paper wasps I don't mind. Mud daubers are also not a problem. They are good insectovores and provide a valuable service. Yellowjackets? I just don't like them turning into several thousand and then have me step on their ground nest unexpectedly.... Don't ask!
I spent most of the day working outside trying to get the flowers in and the vegetable garden finished. Haven't planted my carrots yet, and haven't been able to find any parsnip seeds. There is only one other place I might find them and that is at the Seedway Office in Hall, NY. About a 20 mile round trip. We got a good shower early afternoon today so I didn't water the garden tonight. Got more of the lawn mowed, but decided to stop when the skeeters came out!
YGW, what you mentioned sounds like bumble bees. http://a-z-animals.com/animals/bumble-bee/
If what you saw are fuzzy they are probably bumble bees. If not they may be the large variety of the yellowjacket like I had. Bumble bees are an excellent pollinators and there was an experiment going on right near where I live at the Cornel Agricultural Experiment station a few years ago on their use to serve as pollinators where honey bees have been decimated by pesticides and other causes. They used to come over to my house and polinate vegies and flowers. interesting little things. Very docile and won't sting unless you try to handle them. They can be used (and are) inside green houses to pollinate tomatos and some other plants. We used to get colonies of them in the barn when I was growing up. My dad used to enjoy having them around and taught me to respect them.
Hope everyone has a good night out there!
Hello all,
Many wishes for a good Memorial Day Weekend to everyone on here.
I have a computer again, I put off buying a new one for a bit, but now finally have a solid HP Envy laptop. I wanted to put Avast on the computer as I had a valid license for Avast Internet Security from my old laptop. However, when I called their tech-support, I'd been told it would be problematic because of the Windows Defender and McAfee systems already installed. For $119 they offered to have a technician remotely access the computer and take out the stock programs and install Avast Internet Security properly. I said No Thanks as I'm sure I can do something similar for way less money. I'm going to get a second opinion after the holiday when my local computer guy is available to consult again.
On the MR front, I finally got two of my F&C milk-cars painted, and lettered. They just need couplers and they will be ready to put into a train. One is a Borden's Butterdish car, and the other is an NACX flatcar with the milk tanks on top. It is also lettered for Borden's.
I'm getting ready to take the plunge and try out Sergent couplers, I've always wanted to and since I do not interchange rolling stock with others at the time, I'll give them a try.
I ordered a Weller variable wattage soldering station, and when that's in, I'll install a TCS-Wow in my BLI/Sunset model of PRR K4s 1361. This model has been a slow-going project. I first got the BLI model in January, but between waiting on other components, and just finding time to work on it, it's taken me four months, and still needs the electronics, paint, lettering, and couplers. I'm not on a deadline but I keep on thinking, wow, wish I could have gotten it done by now.
Alvie
Good Morning everyone.
I've been in moving-mode for the past 10 days. So far 3 nights in our southern home (aka the basement renovation) - looks good with a few tweaks to be done yet. Sorry that I've missed all the recent posts, but I will carry on. We've had (needed) rain showers for the past week, but I managed to start on the neverending yardwork, mowing. The bears appear to ne active again. Today looks sunny, but I'm busy with a few things... (oh well, the yard can wait - the office organization is the priority. I'm also helping an elderly friend sell his train collection (On30 stuff and scratch-built S scale). coffee to go please. chat with you all later, have a great weekend everyone.
cheers, krump
"TRAIN up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" ... Proverbs 22:6
Thanks to all that served and those that gave all.
A couple neat pics of a Ma & Pa engine and a streetcar snowplow from Baltimore. I saw a train cross that overpass once, growing up. I looked for it every time after, but the line stopped running shortly afterwards.
https://shar.es/1d8yAo
yougottawantaLion - Hope a wildebeast hasnt caught you with its horn and knocked you out or something worse ?
LION catched da wildebeest. Him was hear, but too lazy (being full of wildebeest) to edit up a picture for you.
Here is todays picture from the root of the Bway LION...
Funny how the same people stay on the train platform after the train leaves.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
YGW - I am on the concrete which gives a very nice reflection this time of year. The wind in the winter is a different story and when you want it, for instance this time of year, it is far and few between. Pictures would be great and will send you a PM after this post.
Garry - how are things going?
I wish to thank all who served and for those that made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy our freedom and the freedom to pursue such hobbies as MRR. God bless you all.
Have to run, the first of four for me is winging its way toward IAD.
Good afternoon all.
I will have a Barry Burger, fries, and a big chocolate milkshake. Thanks Flo.
Weather: 86, (already) sunny, hot and very humid. (Dew point is above 70)
W**k: Got stuff thrown at me (literally!) by a former associate and was informed by her that I had "done her transaction wrong" because her receipt said she paid $10 less than the item price... She used a $10 coupon. (Duh!) When you use a $10 coupon, you don't pay that $10, so the receipt will show it as $10 under sticker price. (Especially when you only buy one item with it....) I was then forcefully informed, that, as she is a former manager, I have zero right to "tell her how things work" when I started to answer her issue. (That is when the stuff came flying through the air at my head.) My response? "I will gladly explain, respectfully, to you why the price shows the way it does, but you need to show me the respect I deserve first. If you can not do that, the door is right there (while pointing towards it) and I will not stop you from leaving. Either show some respect, or we are done here." She then asked me, "Just who the **** do you think you are, dude? Don't you know who I am?" I answered, ", First off, my name is Ricky, not dude. Secondly, I know exactly who you are, ______. (Name withheld to protect the stupid.) I am more than happy to assist you, but you need to show respect first, as this behavior is unacceptable." She then said "Then you also know I am the former store manager here." I responded by saying "Yes, you used to be, you no longer are. As I said, I am happy to explain how this works, but if you can not show respect, we are done here, and the door is right over there. I will not stop you from leaving, but do not expect anything else from me either." She then asked me, "Where do you get the nerve to speak like this to a former store manager? Who do you think you are?" My final response, before walking away from her, was "The person whom you are trying to intimidate, and failing at, that's who I am. We are done, you are free to leave." I then walked away. The current store manager was trying not to laugh, as the old manager treats everyone there that way, and the assitant manager was laughing in another area of the store over the whole thing. (She left shortly before I started there.) We then received a phone call, shortly afterwards, from the district manager, as the grumpy former associate complained about my service. When I got to where the stuff came flying through the air at me, the district manager said "Wait, she threw something at you?" I said yes, and he then said "You are fine, she knows better than that, I do not care what was done afterwards, she can not throw things. Her complaint is now being dealt with, by being tossed out." (At least he has my back!)
I was also informed, the next day, when I sent the mid-day report, that I needed to get a new account, as I could do better than that. (I had zero, but had no customers yet that day, as I had gotten there just before the report was due.) I told him that I had just gotten in, so let me do a few transactions first. About 15 minutes later, sent the note that I had I gotten one. (Still sit second in the store, 2 back of the other manager who is leading it.)
Hobby front: Got the spray booth I had ordered, surprised by how much air it actually moves! Once sealed up, it should do even better. Now I will be able to do some additional weathering, and not be concearned about outdoor conditions, as it will be vented to the outside. Now to practice some airbrush weathering techniques on some older, junk cars. (Not to mention custom painting of cars and locomotives, when needed or desired.) Lots to do now!
Hope all are well, and that all have a nice weekend weather wise. (I know most have outdoor plans this weekend, what with many getting an extra day off.)
Gotta run, going to a funeral of a friend of the family before heading in to w**k this afternoon.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Hello, everybody ...
I'm still really busy. It was a week ago today, my Mom passed away. Since then, it was funeral, and taking care of her estate. I'm driving back and forth between KY and AL in the mean time.
Thanks much for all the comments to me.
Did anybody locate Galaxy?
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
I just woke up from a nap I had to take when I came home later in the afternoon. My friend Claus picked me up this morning and took me to his place, where we spend all day building the benchwork for that Z scale layout. It´s all finished now, but still waiting for the paint to dry, so no pictures yet. Claus will be bringing it to my place tomorrow, then I can share pictures with you!
I am rather tired now, despite the nap. It´s was nice to have someone to chat to and to do some w*rk together, even if it was exhausting. I have to be careful not to overdo it, though.
Garry - I sent an email to Galaxy a month ago, but have not received an answer. I am deeply worried.
Well, heading for the hay - CU tomorrow!
Evenin' folks....
Ah, I see Ulrich is here. Chloe, I'll have a tall glass of unsweetened iced tea to tide me over to supper and cool me off.
Ulrich, I look forward to seeing the new project as it comes together!
I've been out doing w*rk on the lawn and garden most of the day in the +90° heat. I go out and do some things for 15 to 20 minutes come back inside to cool off for a half hour and then go back out into the over for another 15 to 20 minutes........ Got my half hour of sunbathing in late morning and was drenched in sweat when I came back in the house. Temperature has now come back down to about 88°F from the high around 93°F earlier. I need to finish the triming with the string trimmer and then water the flowers and garden before supper which will be leftovers.
My son was supposedly out on Seneca Lake fishing most of the day. Hope he caught one big enough to enter. Oh! This weekend is traditionally the "National Trout Derby" here on Seneca Lake. They expect over 1,200 entrants in the derby. This is a big tourist weekend in these parts as in nearby Waterloo, where Memorial Day started, they have a huge celebration and March on Monday. That will include all kinds of interesting stuff, even antique farm tractors to go along with all the military marchers (from the Revolutionary war to Vietnam), and lots and lots of poly-tick-ians waving and smiling to try to get more votes next fall. There will even be a battery of Black Powder Cannons being set off in one of their parks by the Outlet from the Lake. I plan to stay out of the way (home basically). I may end up over at my son's house tomorrow for a picnic, if he finishes his fishing in time....
OK... Back to the trimming! Catch you al later.
Tin can - what is rain wrapped ?
Howmus - I looked up the bee on line. Took a while but they call it a " Giant Wasp" or European wasp ". Very nasty if you accidentally pick one up and disturb it's lunch on the apples. I know what a bumble bee is, stung by one of those too !
Garry - for safe travel.
Ricky - I am VERY IMPRESSED that you stayed so calm. Well done.
Reinhard - Which type of photos do you wish to see ? Buildings, landscape, trains ...? I will send some samples tonight.
Lion - LOL full ! Hey the guy in yellow looks like he just missed the train !
Henry - that looks like a cold ride !
Krump - Bear ! We had a bear about a 1/2 mile from my house yesterday.
Alvie - what are Sergeant couplers ?
V8 - have you had your sugar or heart checked recently ? Do you have sleep apnea? All three of these have symptoms that will cause you to be tired.
Steve - look forward to the articles
All the Vets out there Thank you !
Evening Dinners
Flo, please.
I am real worried about work, or should I say lack of customers! This is a big Sales Weekend and I was afraid I be over ran with customers, boy was I wrong! Only 3 customers all day? 2 of the 3 bought but nothing good. I am really getting worried about income and paying the bills. I have been making around a extra $800.00 a month in spiffs / commission. This coming check I use to make the house payment, maybe $75.00?
Jim The fence I will have installed is wood, it will be 7 foot tall and no gaps betten the boards. The run I want done will be L shaped and is 90 feet.
YGW Lowes price is $19.06 per foot were the other bid was $28.89 per foot. Lowes would have been $17.93 per foot, but I like the idea of the post being 3 foot deep and not 2 foot. Gate will be 5 foot wide and they need to use 2" X 6" post to support the extra weight. They will use concrete in the post holes and there will be 11 post.
Later, Ken
YGW,
Sergent Engineering couplers are the closest one can get to scale, operating couplers. Sergentengineering.com I ordered enough for 24-cars, 2-dozen scale dummies, plus assembly fixtures, and uncouplers. They'll require assembly work, but I don't mind. One problem is they're not compatible with Kadees, or Kadees clones. I don't mind personally, but that can be a drawback for many people.
Got a Weller variable wattage soldering station and a TCS Wow decoder today. I'll be looking forward to getting my K4 project up and running fairly soon.
Good morning!
I thought the wife had gone to church, so I made just enough coffee for me (2 cups) and put on some good ol' rock 'n' roll. Then she drives in, obviously not in church, so I had to turn off the music (she hates rock 'n' roll) and I bet she'll drink my second cup of coffee, too.
I got my rock 'n' roll fix last night at the bar. A few beers and a little dancing, too. Kind of weird, since I'd invited a woman I know to join me for the evening. Just friends, but I suppose you'd have to call it a "date" to be truthful about it.
Third date for music and dancing, with 2 different women, in 4 nights.
I love retirement.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I had an enjoyable day today. My friend Claus and his Welsh wife Joy dropped by to bring the benchwork we had built yestarday. It has nicely dried over night. We enjoyed a nice cup of coffee, a slice of delicious cake and a few hours of cheerful and entertaining conversation. Today is one of the rare days I actually feel well.
The two just left an hour ago - enough time to mount the legs on the"table", which looks like this:
It´ll be quite a long way to walk down until the lyout will look close to this:
I hope y´all are having a good Sunday!
At least you're having fun!
Long days without a post, didn't feel like talking.
I was searching BNSF Bethgon coalporters today, I realized again I would need 2 material red 8 sets with one add-on. Original BN 8 set with 2 add-ons, and a BNSF powerbar 8 set.
Have a good Decoration Day, renamed Memorial Day.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Hi guys
thought I'd pop in. It has been very warm here the last few days ( 34c ) I had to help my aunt take apart her old shed today. I stepped on a nail that went right through my shoe and into my foot. Bled a bit and didn't hurt that much when I did it but is very painful right now and a little swollen. I will have the call the doctor in the morning to see what she thinks. I had a tetanus shot a couple years ago but hope by not going to a walk in clinic that I don't have a infection that buried itself in my foot. Hope you guys down south have a good holiday tomorrow
Janie, I could use a Butterscotch Sundae with peanuts and whipped cream. What, Of course I want a cherry on top, and I also want a cup of decaf caffee to go along with it!!!
Ah.... Jeremy, you might want to get yourself to that walk in clinic tonight! Really!!!
I have started to post here a couple of times today and got stopped before I went very far...... We have been under storm warnings here in Central NY much of the day. I hope my son got out of the lake and home before the one that came across Seneca Lake arrived. That one was a small storm but did have some thunder and lightning in it! One went through to the West of here a couple hours ago it took down some big trees in the town of Bristol (Canadaigua Lake area) and had both strom lightning and winds up to 60mph with it. Several more cells have been through over to the west as well, some with some damaging hail and wind. We only had the small storm that I mentioned earlier.
The ones that came through had some major downpours with them involving several inches of rain in a very short time:
* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK... CENTRAL LIVINGSTON COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK... SOUTH CENTRAL MONROE COUNTY IN WESTERN NEW YORK...
* UNTIL 945 PM EDT
* AT 640 PM EDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN ACROSS THE WARNED AREA. UP TO THREE INCHES OF RAIN HAVE ALREADY FALLEN. FLASH FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN SHORTLY.
* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE... GENESEO... LETCHWORTH STATE PARK... AVON... MOUNT MORRIS... HONEOYE FALLS... CONESUS... BRISTOL AND LIMA.
So now we are under a flash flood warning to the West of here....
I'm going to head down to the train room and put more diliuted plaster on a hillside.... Catch you later!
Flo, Barry Buger and a beer please.
A nother slow day at work! Monday I will be working with Nancy Jerrys Friend and Co-Ower of the company. This could be intresting, but I rather work with her than Jerry.
Before work I cut 3/4 of the backyard for the first time this year. Reason has been all the vines and tree limbs that was in the way. Still have a lot of stuff to drag out that has been cut down, but there is more that needs to be cut down.
After work I draged out a few more vines and limbs. Then I cut down some stuff a long the side of the house. All so got the front yard cut, think this is the 7th time I have cut it this year.
Out of things to say, over all a boring day.
On this Memorial Day, prayers for our brothers and sisters who did not come home, and prayers also for those of us who did.
J. White
Saigon/Phan Rang
Operation Ranch hand 63