Good luck with the quit plan Ken. Everyone knows, it's a tough act to follow. On my third and successful attempt. I found I had to temporarily knock off the sauce for about six weeks to get it done.
In the words of Joe Walsh "The smoker you drink the player you get"
I wish you success and good health. You can do it
TF
Ken: Well done. Keep up the good work. Baby steps...
Richard
Ken thanks for reminding me who GeePee35 is. Good to see you Galaxy. I had forgotten. The night shift scrambles your sleep patterns. In the old days I would be called to the hospital to do a D+C in the middle of the night. I could be there and back in bed in less than an hour, but not be able to go back to sleep. I would wake up the next 4 nights at the same time as the phone call.
AARP, AAA, AMA, NRA Vinne will be mad if I say more than all these organizations have an overwelming obsession with selling you insurance.
OTOH - smoking and diabetes?
My wife has a friend who is about 50 ish. A couple years ago she was a 9 out of 10. Now, she has a junky cough every couple minutes, her voice has turned gravely and she is getting smokers lines all over her face. Her husband died a couple years ago after a second smoking related cancer. Throat the last time.
I also have a doctor friend who stops by on his way from NY to FL. As soon as he opens his car door, I can smell it from 8' away. Not just the door, the trunk. It's a sour smell for us non smokers. Surely he isn't smoking in the trunk. They want us to stay with them and visit Disneyworld. We can't decide how to tell them no way.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Ken, stick it out, one hour at a time.
My three worst times when I quit: #1 -- driving, #2 -- having a beer, & strangely enough, #3 -- eating anything chocolate.
You will be happy when you've done it. Don't get discouraged if you fall back, just start over more resolved. I was over two packs a day, and it was difficult, but it can be done.
In the mid 1980s, my wife had a hospital stay in a double room. She called me on the phone, very upset, and told me to come to the hospital and demand a new room. The patient in the next bed was an older lady dying of lung cancer. Her two sons were visiting her, and all three of them were smoking, in the hospital room!
I'm officially tired of winter. It was in the 20s when I got up to walk this morning. Warmed up into the 40s this afternoon, but I think I'm ready for actual spring weather.
York1 John
I went to the new cardiologist yesterday. He told me my pacemaker was only giving me a heart rate of 40, not the 60 I had a while back. No wonder I was tired!
I had the pacemaker examined and adjusted today. It had been picking up extra heart impulses, and the rate was not increasing with demand. I do feel better now. It's going to rain tomorrow, but I'd like to get out for a good walk to see if I'm really better.
I'm buying a house, so soon I'll have a train room and I can set up my layout again!
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Hey Ken!
Congratulations on the lifestyle change! I wish you huge success!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Today's LION...
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
BroadwayLionToday's LION...
We were expecting a Friar Tuck bald spot and a big stick to sweep the path of surly bandits.
BroadwayLion Today's LION...
I thought you were joking before, but apparently not!
Are you associated with a particular religious order?
My brother converted to Catholicisim in college and is now a Jesuit, though not a monk. As far as I can see it's been great for him.
Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading.
Good Morning
I'll have a coffee, black please and one of those mini cups of espresso.
I have to admit, I always thought Lion was joking too. He always has been a bit of a jokester on the Forum.
Well,... that's a good quality to have. Humor is always a good thing. Now I know there's never a dull moment at the Monastery. Not with Him being member of community.
Track fiddlerI have to admit, I always thought Lion was joking too.
Really you guys? OK, I guess you didn't know Lion.
Have you ever taken a look at his sub way lay out?
All of you that think you need sophisticated DCC systems to run multiple trains on the same track, along with multiple tracks, should take a look.
Lion has a great web site on "lay out of him".
Mike.
My You Tube
Good morning, everybody ....
Lion ... It's good to see your pictures, past and present.
I worked some more on my coal mine project yesterday. I still have much work to do with it.
Below is a Rock Island train in Chicago.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Lotus18 some assembly required by J.R. Mitchell, on Flickr" alt="" />Good Morning All,
Just a regular to go please. After taking last weekend off to nurse the bum knee, I am taking another day today to start final assembly of the Lotus 18. I felt well enough to enter the HSR Walter Mitty at Road Atlanta leaving here the 22nd.
Catch y'all later - got stuff to do. J.R.
Nobody really knows anyone on the Forum here completely. I have always enjoyed Lions words and his unique sense of humor.
Even better now that I know what he looks like
Lion. Do the other community members enjoy your trains? I bet they do
I am back at home in Sunny Southwest Florida.
.
I had a great trip back from Georgia yesterday. We stopped in Ashburn for a look arround. Ashburn is one of my favorite cities in Georgia. It is very cute with a downtown that is hanging in there. They have a wonderfully fun Fireant festival every year. During the festival there are paper mache fireants all over the city. The high school art students all get involved, and it is really a great community event.
They even painted their SOUTHERN caboose in a fireant theme.
Ashburn is home to Carroll's Sausage Company, one of the most delicious tourist traps on Interstate 75, it is at mile marker 82. I bought a couple of pounds of hot country sausage for this week.
A NORFOLK SOUTHERN train rolled through Ashburn while I was there.
We stopped for lunch at the Smok'-N-Pig Bar-B-Q in Valdosta, Georgia. This is not a great barbeque spot, but they are consistently good, and they can get you back onto the road quickly. I had the Saint Louis Style short ribs.
Very few things bring warmth to my heart like crossing the state line and finally being home in Florida again.
For dinner, since the diner is in Illinois this month, we stopped at Joey D's Chicago Style Eatery in Sarasota, Florida.
Joey D's is a local chain in Sarasota with 4 locations. They have been there 25 years. The family is from Chicago. It is a great fun place to stop for dinner.
I had two Chicago Style Dogs and fries. Joey D's makes a great Chicago Style Dog with all Vienna Brand ingredients. Such a treat.
I unloaded my new steel storage cabinet and returned the rental van.
What a great trip! What a great week!
Keep having fun.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Sparky Rail Good evening everyone- The Museum of Science and Industry. I sure do have a couple of strong memories there. First, of course, the layout. I was there as a very young kid, must have been somewhere around 4-7 years old, that would have been 70-73. It was the first time I ever saw a layout anywhere near that large. I had seen silver and red Santa Fe war bonnets in my big brother's train set, but never blue and yellow like they had there. I was awestruck. But the thing I'll probably never forget is that coal mine exhibit exibit. I remember being absolutely TERRIFIED the entire time we were "underground", after the ride on the "elevator". Then the relief when we just walked out into the museum! Whew! Yeah, musta been closer to 4 than 7...
Good evening everyone-
The Museum of Science and Industry. I sure do have a couple of strong memories there. First, of course, the layout. I was there as a very young kid, must have been somewhere around 4-7 years old, that would have been 70-73. It was the first time I ever saw a layout anywhere near that large. I had seen silver and red Santa Fe war bonnets in my big brother's train set, but never blue and yellow like they had there. I was awestruck.
But the thing I'll probably never forget is that coal mine exhibit exibit. I remember being absolutely TERRIFIED the entire time we were "underground", after the ride on the "elevator". Then the relief when we just walked out into the museum! Whew! Yeah, musta been closer to 4 than 7...
That would have been the old Santa Fe Layout built my Milton Cronkhite in O scale. Incredible layout in its own right. I saw that a couple of times. You really had to go up in the balcony to really see many areas. Many of the engines of it are still up in a display. The new one is incredible as well. It took quite a different direction from the old one being in HO. I hope you have seen it too. They modeled large sections of the loop (downtown to translate Chicagoese) with the buildings all lit and individually modeled. All of the scenery is dramatic running across the country to Seattle. It is also much more accessable and viewable being a walkaround design whereas the old one was a huge rectangle.
Good morning from the very soggy left coast of the GWN.
UGH! Spent the entire day yesterday putting new/replacement potlights up in the kitchen. A year or so ago I removed all the fluorescent lights, redid the ceiling and put in new potlights from Costco, they kept failing and that meant a whole new light fixture, not just a bulb, live and learn. The wife says Costco told her to bring them all back so she will, however the ones she got to replace them required a 1/4" larger hole even though they were suppose to fit the same size as the ones I took out. GRRRR! So I had to cut a 1/8" off the circumference of every hole. I am paying the price today with the arthritis in the pain and suffering dept.
Ken, good luck on the effort to get healthier. I think people forget how good it feels to be healthy and fit and so many of today's kids have never known what being fit feels like. If you are under 28 years of age and can't run 2 miles in 10 minutes or less, shape up!
While Diabetes will never go away if you get slim and fit it can be like you hardly know you have it. A lot of people will spend a $1000.00 a year on blood pressure meds to mask the problem instead of getting/staying fit and eliminating the problem. If you have a leaky tire, do you just keep putting air in it, or do you fix the tire?
I changed my workout from an endurance type training to a HIIT program a couple of weeks back and my BP has been between 103 and 107/ 68 to 74 HR 55 to 65, a drop of about 10pts on the BP. HIIT training makes your metabolism run higher longer and helps with weight loss better. With me it means I get to eat more and I am feeling even better than I was. Last Saturday I had three double Rum and Pepsi's a pile of ribs/beans/spuds and three big hunks of chocolate cake. No worries I rarely do that and it doesn't matter when I do.
Whether it is finances or health issues or anything else, all I can say is read, read, read. The more educated you are about anything the easier it will be to stay motivated and accomplish what you set out to do.
Not sure if I can get on the bike today, we will see.
All the best to all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I hope you are as happy as you look. That is the look of a man that really enjoys his life.
Batman, just make sure you get the right lights, if there is insulation against them, you need the IC rated, that's here in the states anyway, not sure by you.
Maybe go with LED and not have to worry about insulation contact.
mbinsewi Maybe go with LED and not have to worry about insulation contact.
When I remodeled my kitchen I found a kit in Home Depot to retrofit an existing recessed can light to an LED bulb and new bezel. The kits worked perfectly, look great, and were much easier than replacing the whole fixture.
mbinsewiMaybe go with LED and not have to worry about insulation contact.
My mistake Mike, I used recessed lights, I think these are the ones she got.
The LED bulbs are replaceable, unlike the first batch that were a sealed unit and were supposed to last long after my time on this planet.
There used to be a sunshine (type) fluorescent ceiling that I removed and I just fired 4" holes in the new ceiling and put in the new lights. Took a while to trim a 1/8"s off each hole for the new ones.
It is quite noticeable, the lower power consumption over the last ten years as we have been slowly upgrading each area of the house with EE lighting. A new furnace and HWT last year made the natural gas consumption plummet. Even with the annual price increases, our bill is still much lower than back then.
Good afternoon... I’ll have a Chicago style hot dog please.
Mr. B ... I was going to comment on your post earlier but was distracted before completing my post. Anyhow, I’m glad your pacemaker is now up to speed, and I hope your heart condition improves. Best wishes with the new house. Let us know when you can get your layout back together.
Kevin ... It sounds like you had a good trip in GA. It is a nice state.
LED‘s for household lighting . ... For floodlamps in can fixtures, I simply replace old bulbs when they burn out with LED equivalent bulbs. I made no changes to the fixture. ... I changed 4’ fluorescent shop lights in the model railroad room to 4’ LED shop lights.... In the garage, I had an electrician convert the fixtures from fluorescent to LED. Basically, he removed the ballast from them. .. I am pleased with the new LED lighting.
Restaurants ... I was surprised somebody mentioned problems with Cracker Barrel. We often eat there. It is always clean. Dishes and tableware are clean. Service is prompt. Food is good. Prices are reasonable.
Afternoon Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a and leave a stein outside for Ulrich.
Thanks for the words of encouraement folks. But I am still deep in the woods for now. So far I have had 18 cigarettes and still going. But far from I would have been last week on a day off.
Rode the exercise bike a minute longer today. Got a tad winded but I am going to keep it up.
Brent, did you say run 2 miles in under 10 minutes? I think when I was in the Army my best time for 1.5 miles was 6:38 minutes? Or was that a mile?
BisOn the down side, I gained about 120 pounds.
Bis Was it because the food tasted better or because you just wanted something to do or taste?
Kevin You live your life from the mouth to your stomach! Every time I read your post I get hungery!
Trains are running well.
Later Ken
I hate Rust
Heartland Division CB&Q I was surprised somebody mentioned problems with Cracker Barrel. We often eat there. It is always clean. Dishes and tableware are clean. Service is prompt. Food is good. Prices are reasonable.
My experiences with Cracker Barrel have been similar to yours. The fact that I can go there anytime of day and get the beakfast is another big plus. I have had very few bad experiences there.
cudakenKevin You live your life from the mouth to your stomach! Every time I read your post I get hungery!
Thank you! Nice to know someone is reading my posts!
cudakenBrent, did you say run 2 miles in under 10 minutes? I think when I was in the Army my best time for 1.5 miles was 6:38 minutes? Or was that a mile?
OOPS! Sorry, Ken, I think in metric and most on here are from the U.S. so I usually get my conversions right but not today. I screwed up my distance. I meant 2KM which is about 1 1/4 miles.
A bunch of stuff I have read over the years seem to indicate that 28 years of age is the magic bullet age. If you were in good shape up until you were 28, it has benefits through the rest of your life. Of course, if you are in shape past that age it is even better.
If I may make a suggestion on using the bike. Set a distance, say 20 miles on low tension. Then ride that every second day. You don't have to do it all in one go, even if it takes four or five rides to get it done go that root. You may need four or five showers but your wife will think you're smelling pretty good. It won't be long and you will knock off that 20 miles all in one go before you know it.
Until you get in shape do not push yourself so you are out of breath. You should be able to carry on a conversation while riding. Six months from now when you are in incredible shape you can push it and when you stop or really slow down you will have your breath back in 15 seconds or so. My recovery time (to normal breathing) from flat out seems almost instant these days.
As you get better times on the bike the urge to smoke will decrease as your subconscious will be telling you that not smoking will make you perform better and that will make it easier to quit.
Also what you eat will make you feel a whole lot better and after a while, you will look at food in a completely different way. I enjoy a pigout as much as anyone, but after doing so I just don't feel that great for the next couple of days and then looking at hotdogs, burgers, fries and other such stuff actually makes me feel ill. I live on fruit and veggies and dairy and usually have one serving of meat per day.
Eat protein for your muscles, we buy almonds in bulk at Costco. If your muscles hurt, eat a couple of handfuls of those every day but not a lot as they are mega calories. Don't be hungry, eat constantly throughout the day, small amounts.
This is what I eat most days.
Wake up.
2 cups of coffee
Banana
Ride bike
1 slice of toast with 2 eggs, 2 tomatoes, onion, and cheddar cheese all in the frypan.
throughout the day
2 or 3 large oranges
an apple
almonds (two handfuls)
cheese sticks
Dinner is whatever the wife makes. She cooks amazing healthy meals.
3 or 4 nights a week a giant bowl of popcorn covered in butter.
I'll have cereal like granola at bedtime as I need the calories if trying to lose weight you should not eat after dinner.
I don't drink much, but hard alcohol is better than beer or wine for weight loss, none is best if you are trying to lose weight.
Once you get into shape and have your diet figured out you can do what I do and eat and drink whatever, whenever. Burning it off down the road is no work whatsoever. In fact, I enjoy the extra time I put in, it is like a drug that makes you feel really great.
Don't lose more than 5 pounds a month or it will come roaring back anytime you take a break and you will need breaks. I take a week or two off every three months or so, when I return to working out I am more capable than I was when I stopped for two weeks. The body loves to rest.
You can do it! Six months from now you will think it is the best thing you have ever done.
Kevin it looks like you had a lot of fun on your trip and you're really good at finding
From all the pictures I can only assume it was pleasure instead of business this time. Otherwise I don't know how you get any of your work done Then again I didn't see your wife standing next to you in any of your photographs but maybe she was the one taking the picture.
Well,... welcome home. You're checking in and I'm checking out. Laughlin, Nevada red eye flight at 4:20 a.m. Round trip air and hotel is darn near free.
You guys,... I have to hurry up and sleep really fast tonight as I have to wake at 1:20 in the morning, have a quick coffee and get to the airport on time. At least 2 hours in advance isn't like it used to be.
I will make sure I drop a few postcards to all my Forum friends here while I'm away. You guys are important to me.
Hold down the fort and leave the Railroad Lantern on for me. I'll be back.
Track fiddlerKevin it looks like you had a lot of fun on your trip.
I sure did. My wife took all the pictures. She will not let me post her picture in here.
I am enjoying Black Beans & Rice today made with the sausage I bought at Carroll's.
Travel safe, and do check in.
I am leaving again in 7 days.
I think I am safe from Vinnie if I talk about sports, and thanks for the early release, BTW.
Our international members may not know the 3 biggest horse races in the US are the Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. The owners of the racetrack in Baltimore (Preakness) have let it deteriorate to the point where 7000 seats have been condemned as unsafe. The owners have another racetrack about 20 miles away and want to move the Preakness there. It is in a much better neighborhood. The City is in an uproar, but I'll bet their non Preakness business is minimal.
I've never been to a horse race, and we also have steeple chase races in Maryland. I have seen fox hunting, which is pretty cool. I was squirrel hunting and the fox was a good 5 minutes in front of the hounds. They use a chase SUV full of beer.
Caught the end of today's coverage of the Masters. As a kid I used to watch a lot of golf. Trevino, Palmer, Nicholas, Player. Tried the sport in high school and I was terrible. Today the only recognizable names were Woods and Nicholson.
Did not go to the Mini-Con NRMA in PA. Worked on the roundhouse floor. With a lot more work, I could add more layers and bring it up to the level of the rails. It's not in a place where the interior would be featured, so I think I will paint it, glue it down and be done.
Like the famed "Army-Navy" game near Philly, horse racing was a good source of revenue for the railroads:
Bowie_PRR_TTb by Edmund, on Flickr
They even made money hauling the horses around in specially outfitted horse cars. That made horse sense
Back in February, of 1961, there was a wreck involving one of these Pennsy trains. Some accounts I read mentioned race goers climbing out of the overturned cars and hot-footing to the race track in a hurry. They probably had some money on a "sure thing"!
http://www.gendisasters.com/maryland/1418/bowie%2C-md-train-wreck%2C-feb-1961
Later in the day the grandstand caught fire. They would have kept the race going but the smoke was so thich you couldn't see the track so they canned the last race!
Cheers, Ed