NWP SWP My dad has agreed to let me use the family truck and the zero turn mower were going be buying in the spring for my business till I can afford my own equipment...
My dad has agreed to let me use the family truck and the zero turn mower were going be buying in the spring for my business till I can afford my own equipment...
Zero turn mower? Truck!? Why, these kids today don't know how good they got it!
I did all my mowing with a self-propelled mower. That is, I propelled it myself. And I got to the job sites on my 10-speed bike. My father made me a 3-foot-square cart I towed behind the bike, carrying the mower, weed whacker, two gas cans, hand edger, broom, rake, and garbage bags. All muscle power! Which explains why I was 175 pounds back then. Good thing there are no hills in that part of Florida.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
I've done my share of push mowing, and far as the truck goes, well it's kinda hard to ride a bicycle 20 miles from the country to the nearest neighborhood on rural highways without shoulders, but yeah I got it easy...
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
NWP SWPHello I am Fidel Castro!" *ground crew blankly stares* then one says "so?"
Taking the high road and being kind and respectful will drop walls faster than if you treat someone with disdain or hate. Just look at how a well trained Police officer treats a down and out street person, someone who is intoxicated or a hardened criminal. It is with respect and caring. Doing so goes a long way to making things better for all involved. Me thinks you take TV and Movies to be real life.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Good afternoon Diners,
Brunhilda, I'll have an extra large coffee with lots of cream, please.
Well, the Winter Olympics are going on full tilt boogie for this week and the next. I must confess I'm an Olympics junkie. MOH and I sit and watch every night up to the ending of the day's coverage. We don't have cable. Of the two, I prefer to watch the winter games, which is ironic because I hate winter with a passion. Guess maybe it's because I can sit inside warm and toasty while the events are going on.
Rick: I've had similar experiences in retail. It's just amazing how much and how often customers just plain lie to get what they want. We all know they're lying and still mgmt still gives in because they want them to come back and buy more. That's the disappointing side of customer service. Don't let them get you down. I know, easier said than done.
Steven: That's the entrepreneurial spirit. If I may make a suggestion, why not run it like a real business. Assume that the equipment and resources are a capital expense. Deduct a predetermined figure from your monthly income and apply it to overhead. Determine your hourly labor cost, fuel cost, wear and tear maintenance cost, etc. You might have some fun, and you'll learn a lot about what it takes to have and run a business.
Ed: Love the cranes and dozer at the work site. After all, model railroading is fun!
Ray: For your reading pleasure.
"Reminds me of when we were on safari in the wilds of Afganistan. Someone lost our corkscrew, and we were forced to live on food and water for several days." - WC Fields
Nothing on the MRR front to report.
Hello to everyone, and I hope averyone is OK, safe, and warm.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
That was supposed to be humorous...
NWP SWP That was supposed to be humorous...
"I exercise strong self control. I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast." - W. C. Fields
"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people." - W.C. Fields
And most important: "I have been in the entertainment business some forty-three years, and I have never said anything detrimental or anything that might be construed as belittling any race or religion. I would be a sucker to do so because you can't insult the customers" - also W.C. Fields
Well I made it out of the surgical place alive and mostly well today. I am a little punchy at the moment due to getting a sum total of 3 hours sleep last night, as I tossed and turned for half of the time, and, of course, woke up at 3:05AM and watched the clock untill it almost went off at 3:25 so I could get up and consume the second container of drain opener for the sewer cleanout needed for the "Procedure!" My son arrived at the proper time to chauffer me over to the place. Then I spent the next 20 minutes proving that I am actual whom I say I am. (Evidentally there are lots of people who get up and go over there and impersonate other people so they can have a colonoscopy just for fun......) Was asked my birthday at least 13 times before and afterwards. I always say, "I don't know" that happened when I was very little..... I complained about writer's cramp to several nurses and office staff because of the few hundred times I had to sign pieces of paper before I could get out of there. Have no idea what most of them were except they all said "read carefully" on them...... I was rather pleased that my blood pressure and heart rate were in a low range..... So they gave me oxygen during the "exploration". The nurse said it was probably due to the effect of the "stuff" I had to drink being a strong dehydrating agent....
They have changed the way the room is arranged since the last time I had it done. I was able to watch an interesting video of the inside of my intestines and already new what the doc was going to tell me in recovery...
Actually he said I was better this time than the last time when I had 7 polyps (IIRC). This time he only removed 3, and he won't know exactly what kind they are until the lab gets their share of the take.... He did say worst case scenario I get to come back and see him again in 3 more years....... The nurse who discharged me said NO! when I suggested I was going to come home and play with Ex-acto knives all afternoon.... She had just told me to just rest because of the sedative I got!
Then my son chauffered me back home after which he went over and filled his car with gas (it was on empty) using my TOPS Card to get a 70¢ per gallon discount, and came back with the usual half a dozen doughnuts for us to consume. I won't need to fill the VOLT with fossilized dinosaur dung until sometime in early April so I figured he should get some use out of the discount before it expires. We polished off the doughnuts and two pots of coffee chatting about the old days (only back to when he was around 50+ years ago), and discussing the availability of good looking older ladies I might want to chase. All told not a bad day. Even had fun tooting to get all the accumulated air out of my system during lunch....
"I'd rather have two girls at 21 each than one girl at 42." - W. C. Fields
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Ray glad you got it taken care of. I am fuming. I had an upper and lower endoscopy, with biopsies at both ends. The anesthetist charged 20% more than the surgeon. Medicare paid 60% for the GI guy and 10% for anesthesia. I understand there is a disparity between the charge and what you get paid, but to charge more than the surgeon, for a not very difficult anesthetic, is unconscionable.
Facebook, which has been accused of manipulating what you see, showed me a post to the WM historical society (which I follow) that one of there employees has been arrested for stealing artifacts.
They also showed a Baltimore National Railwayd Historical society post (don't follow) of a railfan trip on the Maryland Midland RR. Didn't know they had railfan trips or Whitworth engines. For you guys with Facebook access https://tinyurl.com/y9yk5s7h
Edit: Olympics enough with the Curling and the Biathalon. Ice dancing, there is nothing I could say that could possibly be construed to be politically correct.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I knew that, I was making a point to those that didn't and were about to get their Ninja stars out.
I have had quite a few visits to the Hospital in the last three years for procedures. Including a couple of surgeries. No paperwork, no signing, Just swiped my Drivers license/Care Card and was told to follow a certain colour line to the right part of the Hospital and was repaired. The only time we took out money was to pay for the parking when my wife picked me up. $4.00 for parking is outrageous!
They wanted to keep me overnight after my shoulder surgery but I protested and said my wife is a Vet and she can keep an eye on me, so they relented and let me go home. The only problem with having a Vet take care of you is the way they take your temperature.
I also had another surgery and had twenty sutures on my back. I went back and the Doctor took out twelve of them and just said get your wife to take out the rest of them on the weekend. Works for me.
The owner of the furnace company came and took the furnace all apart and we inspected a badly corroded heat exchanger. He said, "you are lucky you have CO detectors". The furnace is only 8 years and 4 months old. He refuses to sell that brand anymore after three generations of doing so and will only do warranty work for them. We are getting a new furnace and a HWT while we are at it as ours is fifteen years old and we can't believe it hasn't failed yet.
Dinner is ready.
All the best to all.
Evening diners,
Went to the club this afternoon, cleaned some car wheels, cars are about 75% done, have to go over all track once more to ensure cleanliness, also I suggested we lay about 2ft of shop towels dampened with alcohol and the drag cuts of cars over it twice to ensure all the crud is off the wheels...
Nothing much else going on...
Hi, Folks
Just got done with my chore for the evening. The dishwasher kept filling with "Backwash" from the drain line where it attaches to the disposer. It is a Kenmore and probably going on 20 years old.
Turned out to be a pretty straightforward repair. The check valve is near the front and easy to access. After the drain hose is removed from the pump, a simple yank on a little retainer removes the flapper which had some gunk on it preventing it from sealing. I cleaned it out and put it all back together but I left the access trim off until I get a whole new check valve for a whopping $13. from Amazon.
howmus Was asked my birthday at least 13 times before and afterwards.
Anymore when I talk to the medical provider people I say my first name, then eight-six-fiftysix, then my last name. They look at me quizzically at first, then the little light goes on.
There's a 1991 movie that William Hurt is in called "The Doctor" where the tables are turned and he has to be on the other end of the stethoscope. Funny thing is, all the things he goes through, filling out forms, show your ID, sorry the doctor is running a little late this morning, fill these forms out again, etc. have not changed one bit since then.
I had my third colonoscopy last month and the doctor said when I was done, "I'll see you in ten years". Best news I've had in a while
Glad to hear you are getting a new furnace, Brent. Was the old one affected by the water back-up in any way?
Here's one from the archives. Not the Monongahela Valley but former PRR trackage just the same. 1998 at Davis Tower in Newark, Delaware.
Railroad_0016 by Edmund, on Flickr
I hope this finds you all well—
Regards, Ed
Ray:
Glad the 'procedure' went well, although I'm not sure that the words 'well' and 'colonoscapy' belong in the same sentence. I'm sure it wasn't fun! Hopefully the results will be negative for you know what.
I'm due for one fairly soon. For the last one I had the doctor couldn't do a proper job of examining me because the clearance procedure hadn't worked as well as it should have. I have only had one polyp so far and it was benign. My mother had colon cancer when she was in her 60s. She lived to 92!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I jut turned 50, so I know what is coming when I go for my physical this year.
.
I am not looking forward to this.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good morning everybody ... Coffee and a donut, please.
Here is some Redneck Medical Terminolgy
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Good morning, Diners! For those who have been on a clear-liquids-and-Jello diet recently, here's today's breakfast special. Dig in.
Morning diners,
To bad I can't eat that breakfast Steven. It's Ash Wednesday I (we) can't eat meat.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Mornin' folks!
Garry, love the medical dictionary! That will get copied and past on....
angelob6660 Morning diners, To bad I can't eat that breakfast Steven. It's Ash Wednesday I (we) can't eat meat.
Ah, well being presbyterian, I sure can! Thanks Steven O!!! That will probably help get my cholesterol levels back up for me as well... Pass the ketchup, please.......
Currently 37°F on it's way up to 49°F this afternoon here in the Finger Lakes region of NYS today. Tomorrow should be in the 50's.
I got a call from the surgery center this morning to see how I was doing. I told her "fine, no problems". Then said that the best part of the day yesterday was the doughnuts I had my son go out and buy for lunch! She roared and said she was sure that was a whole lot better than the "procedure"!
I've got a bunch of financial items to take care of today for the MLK comittee, so I best get my shower and tackle the day headon!
"Even the intellectual crowd will have none of me. Physically, I look like one of them. Graying at the temples, I walk with a slight limp and wear thick glasses." - Groucho Marx
Steven Otte Good morning, Diners! For those who have been on a clear-liquids-and-Jello diet recently, here's today's breakfast special. Dig in.
This is the kind of breakfast that helps me maintain my figure.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
Good morning diners.
Flo - Seeing as SteveO is supplying the breakfast, I will have that, and a OJ please. (Yes, I know it's now Brunch, but, who says I can't have eggs for lunch anyways?) Thanks.
And, thanks SteveO for the breakfast! (Or, in my case, brunch.)
Dave (hon30critter) - Yep, I've had that happen before. I normally don't take jerk customers personally, but, when they start lying to, or about me, they made it personal, so now I start to play along... Respectfully of course, but most times they dislike it when I start playing.
Helps when you have a manager that backs you up and won't take the stunts being pulled by jerks.
My manager will call the stunts exactly as they are, most times before I do.
Ray - No offense meant, but, I can think of better ways to get donuts....
Weather - Warm today, so hopefully all the ice melts.
Hope all are well, and all enjoy the day!
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.
Howdy ...
Steve O .... I never sausage a big breakfast before....
Ray .... Glad you like the redneck terminology.
Good afternoon diners!
It is officially Spring/Summer here in the Bayou State, 83° and high humidity...
I am definitely glad that the cooler weather is departing...
Steven Otte NWP SWP Zero turn mower? Truck!? Why, these kids today don't know how good they got it! I did all my mowing with a self-propelled mower. That is, I propelled it myself. And I got to the job sites on my 10-speed bike. My father made me a 3-foot-square cart I towed behind the bike, carrying the mower, weed whacker, two gas cans, hand edger, broom, rake, and garbage bags. All muscle power! Which explains why I was 175 pounds back then. Good thing there are no hills in that part of Florida.
NWP SWP
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
Hey where's the juke box?
Oh, there it is!
Steven OtteFor those who have been on a clear-liquids-and-Jello diet recently, here's today's breakfast special. Dig in.
I was just passing by the Diner and smelled the sausage cooking! Pork tenderloins on the skewer, I assume? Delicious! Flo, may I have a little shredded colby/Monteray Jack cheese sprinkled on top?
Thank You, Steven!
Happy Valentine's Day, Folks.
It will soon be pleasant weather in the Monongahela Valley and a visit to Frick Park will be the order of the day!
PC_Monongahela_10 by Edmund, on Flickr
Henry Clay Frick has a rather colorful history in the Pittsburgh area. He helped to finance the PRR and Reading Railroads. He was a major player in the Carnegie Steel Corporation and his actions during the great Homestead Strike garnered him a bit of negative publicity. He was also a charter member and financier of the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club which some of you may recognize as having a few problems with their spillway on Lake Connemaugh back in 1889.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Clay_Frick
I hope you good folks are doing well... I hear news of some problems in Parkland, Florida? No real details as yet
Cheers, Ed
Steven OtteGood morning, Diners! For those who have been on a clear-liquids-and-Jello diet recently, here's today's breakfast special. Dig in.
SteveO, where was that picture taken, what restaurant? I might be making a road trip!
HEy all. YEah, ive got some more mon valley photos. I'll post them later
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
Afternoon all!
Hobby Front: The yard project is creeping along as to getting the needed pieces. However, as to when it will actually get built, is up in the air. Due to all the snow, Dad asked me not to get the framework lumber until it warms up. (16' boards would jam up the works with a tractor in the bay. A foot and half or so of snow doesn't help with that either. It's not like the lumber yard in question is going anywhere.)
However, it does give me an opportunity to get other projects done.
Have a good evening all.
It is 1630hrs on the West Coast, 8c under the Sun. We had 8cm of snow overnight, our power went out from 0030hrs till about 0430hrs. Didn't care as the furnace is in pieces anyway. Our gas fireplaces keep the joint toasty warm.
We get the new furnace and hot water tank tomorrow just in time for the weekend, -8c and probably some more snow.
Ed, the corrosion in the secondary heat exchanger was a combination of water and an issue with the polypropylene coating. Our heat exchanger looked worse than the yucky pics you see online of the problem. We feel fortunate indeed. We are getting a York furnace this time, I have not read anything bad about them so we will keep our fingers crossed. The furnace guy said the matter-antimatter inducer on the old one will fail in 18 months if it is like everyone else's. At that point, the decision for a new furnace was a no brainer.
The kid is really happy, he Facebooked me minutes ago that he got 100% on yet another History exam. He said it was really hard as he had to write essay questions on four rather obscure countries and name cities and geography of them as well. He has his Mothers photographic memory that's for sure. I guess if you are in global affairs, you had better know the Globe. He signed a lease on a house for next year, a 20 minute walk from the University. Him and five others.
Time to watch some Olympics. I was always a pretty good athlete but watching these kids sure can burst your bubble. I still want to try the skeleton. YEEEE HAAAAA!!!!!!!
All the best to all. Korean fair is on me tonight, When in Rome.
First time in snow.
SeeYou190 I jut turned 50, so I know what is coming when I go for my physical this year. . I am not looking forward to this. . -Kevin .
Those digital exams are not as high-tech as you think.
Thought I'd share these links to two diagrams of Keddie Yard I found... Might make a good layout...
https://www.wplives.com/diagrams/yards/YD027.php
https://www.wplives.com/diagrams/yards/YD026.php
There's a little more examples of the Mon Valley, with a side trip down to the next valley over, outside of Smithon PA along the Yough river.
We also have a TON of abandoned grades out here, and abandoned tunnels. So here is an example. The abandoned Graham tunnel outside of Monongahela. This tunnel was on the Donora branch of the Pittsburgh and West Virginia railway, built in 1930