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So, how has this virus affected you. Locked

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Posted by CNCharlie on Saturday, April 18, 2020 2:47 PM

Ah yes a nice steak would be great about now.

We have a restaurant in town called 529 Wellington that serves the best steaks I've ever eaten. Apparently they use only Sterling grade beef. 

We also have a small specialty grocery that has a board in the butcher shop area with the age of the steaks listed. Most are at least 60 days some 90. I always thought one of the keys to great beef was the aging. 

Mr. B., if you are considering a Weber, I would suggest looking at a Napoleon too. We have one that is 20 years old and has the original burners. When I was in the hardware business we had a dealer in Toronto who specialized in grills. He said Webers are good but Napoleon is better. 

All this talk of beef and all I have now is a coffee. Oh well. 

CN Charlie

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Posted by Lazers on Saturday, April 18, 2020 3:06 PM

This Virus has created me a disjointed, 'Work at Home - Build my MRR Baseboards' effect, rather than an affect. I'm supposed to be head-down, writing Risky Assessments for Machinery and yet I keep leaving my Desk, going into my MRR room and doing a bit more. This Lift-out section has proved real tricky and these Baseboards are not my best work, leaving a lot to be desired. Not helped by my Wife insisting on carpets thru-out and so it has proved difficult to keep all level.

Today I had to cadge some Timber from my neighbour, since due to Lockdown, no way could I obtain some unless I was building a House. (all I required was 2 pieces 17" long) I had to cut-down some 2"x2" Rough sawn, Pressure-treated and turn it into 1"x2" PSE, using my Wood Plane & UK version of Harbor Freight, Hori/Vert Band-saw. But it's cut & fitted. It's not brilliant but I'm not complaining and I am very grateful to my neighbour for helping me out like that.

Ebay UK has proven another distraction. I am ever checking for HO Wagons suitable for my MRR and have picked-up a few right-price models. But it gets a bit addictive, almost a cross between Online Gambling and Daytime Television Junk Goods and Litigation Lawyer Advertisments.

We have a week of real good weather ahead and apart from shopping for FOOD etc., it's "Stay at Home, Stay Indoors". Paul

"It's the South Shore Line, Jim - but not as we know it".

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Posted by gmpullman on Saturday, April 18, 2020 4:02 PM

Lazers
"It's the South Shore Line, Jim - but not as we know it".

Here's one OK, make that two, for you, Paul!

 SouthShore_104-Michigan-City by Edmund, on Flickr

I was fortunate to have ridden the old South Shore a couple times in the late '60s and early 1970s. What a blast!

 CSSnSB_111 by Edmund, on Flickr

Enjoy, Ed

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Saturday, April 18, 2020 4:04 PM

We have a new local favorite restaurant.  It's a small family run Italian place.  We have been there a couple of times earlier, but now it's just takeout.  On the other hand, the full menu is available, and all entrees are half price.  They were reasonable before, and now they are quite a bargain.  They were so busy last night that they gave me a pickup time an hour after I called.  I guess their business is good.  They are making a lot of friends.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by Lazers on Saturday, April 18, 2020 4:35 PM

Cheers for that, Ed. The old South Shore footage on Youtube is something to behold, that we just don't do, here in the UK and you are lucky to have had experience of it. At the moment I am watching Switching at Arcelor Mittal, East Chicago (c/o SkyhawkACE123) on my other PC. Again UK Railways can't hold a candle to it. Best regards, Paul

"It's the South Shore Line, Jim - but not as we know it".

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Posted by mbinsewi on Sunday, April 19, 2020 7:02 AM

The ETERR has some SS motor cars.  

Mouse over "HOME", slide down to "About", a menu opens to the right, go down to "Car Roster".

The first column is the car number, click on that for a photo.  

I've seen that "Little train that could" decal before.

The ETERR runs on a 5 mile section of the former T.M.E.R.&L.Co. from East Troy to Mukwonago.

In Mukwonago, there is a connection to the CN (former WC, former SOO)

Mike.

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Posted by richhotrain on Sunday, April 19, 2020 7:47 AM

How has the virus affected my modeling efforts, you ask?

Well, I am in the middle of ballasting and landscaping my new layout, and I am running out of 70% isopropyl alcohol. It is out of stock everywhere, what with people hoarding it for disinfectant purposes.

I'll bet that Kevin probably has a tank in his back yard loaded with isopropyl alcohol. Hey, how 'bout it, Kevin!

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by mbinsewi on Sunday, April 19, 2020 8:58 AM

Here ya'go Rich.  Up in Ringwood.  Although, it is the 99%.

https://www.cqconcepts.com/product-category/isopropyl-alcohol-99/

Pick what size container you want.

I won't tell Kevin! Laugh

Mike.

 

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Posted by richhotrain on Sunday, April 19, 2020 9:22 AM

What really hurts is that when supply was available, I could get a 32 ounce bottle at Walgreens for $1.49.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by rrebell on Sunday, April 19, 2020 10:09 AM

gmpullman

 

 
rrebell
Funny thing about steak houses. Out here they have a chain called Black Angus. In my fathers day they were fantastic but had gone way downhill.

 

Around here it was Ponderosa Steakhouse. My dad loved it. To me it was like the K-Mart of Meat Ick!  I think they all closed up or were bought out and renamed in the late '70s.

Whatever kind of meat they were serving, they used SO much tenderizer on it that you were running to the head about ten-minutes after eating it.

No thanks. Sure, there were some good steakhouses around, Brown Derby was one, Delmonico's another. 

We buy a side of beef from a local farm about once a year and have a meat packing house nearby butcher it to our specs. Outstanding Dinner

Regards, Ed

 

We still have a Ponderosa here, never had a steak there but went for the Malibu chicken and salad bar. They have been all over as far as quality and price. So bad now we never go and way overpriced. Bet they are one of the casualtys of this virus. I wonder if this will bring the final demise of Sears, being privat now it is hard to tell but JCP is proubly gone. Shows you what a bad CEO can do, can't belive anyone would back a new company of his. 

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Posted by rrebell on Sunday, April 19, 2020 10:20 AM

richhotrain

How has the virus affected my modeling efforts, you ask?

Well, I am in the middle of ballasting and landscaping my new layout, and I am running out of 70% isopropyl alcohol. It is out of stock everywhere, what with people hoarding it for disinfectant purposes.

I'll bet that Kevin probably has a tank in his back yard loaded with isopropyl alcohol. Hey, how 'bout it, Kevin!

Rich

 

I only use 91%, got mine a long time ago from Wallgreens, if you were near by you could pop over for a bottle as I use wet water for my balasting etc. instead of alcohol, just use that for staining. Trainwize, still building my foam mountains, wondering if I should go pop out of permanent in one corner (can get to track from hole cut under if needed).

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Sunday, April 19, 2020 10:59 AM

richhotrain
I'll bet that Kevin probably has a tank in his back yard loaded with isopropyl alcohol. Hey, how 'bout it, Kevin!

Actually, no I don't. I do not use alcohol on the layout.

I use Kodak Photo-Flo for a wetting agent.

When local camera shops and home darkrooms went out of favor to digital photography a decade ago, I bought out all the supply from Harmon's Photo, I have about 1.5 gallons of it. That should be enough.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Sunday, April 19, 2020 4:12 PM

We have gotten tired of the way the supermarket near us has decided to enforce their version of social distancing on everyone.  Too many lines, restrictions on the number of people at one time, and even telling us which way to walk down the aisles.

So, today the GF drove to a farm stand some distance away, and I went to a butcher shop a couple of towns over.  The meat was better quality for a lower price, and the vegetables were fresh and not all picked over.  This could become the new normal.  We are really looking forward to dinner tonight.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by herrinchoker on Sunday, April 19, 2020 5:10 PM

I have some 200 proof silver rum that I use for medicinal, not railroad, situations. The third run can be interesting----I use the front end for fire starter. Fried up some backstraps last night, took two rump steaks out for tonight, donated by a nice 4 pointer. Along with baked sweet potato, and mixed veggies, some good!

 

herrinchoker

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Posted by BigDaddy on Sunday, April 19, 2020 5:42 PM

I will admit that it is true this week.  Spam calls have decreased.  Just got one, but it might have been the first in 2 days.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by gmpullman on Sunday, April 19, 2020 6:01 PM

mbinsewi
Here ya'go Rich.  Up in Ringwood.  Although, it is the 99%.

Back in my GE days I got a request to help clear out some lab storerooms. They were hauling chemicals out and paying Chemtron to haul the stuff away.

A couple of the boxes were four-liter jugs of 99.5% reagent-grade alcohol. I asked the lab manager if I could save the company some money by taking a box or two off their hands? "Take all you want, we can't use it, expiration date has passed".

 Alcohol_VWR by Edmund, on Flickr

Well, sixteen years later it seems the stuff is just fine for layout use Surprise. Wow! I just looked at the VWR site and this stuff is $120 for the 4L jug!

https://us.vwr.com/store/catalog/product.jsp?product_id=4542435

Sometimes I miss that place Whistling

Pork spare ribs for us tonight. DinnerDinner

Cheers, Ed

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Posted by richhotrain on Sunday, April 19, 2020 6:36 PM

BigDaddy

I will admit that it is true this week.  Spam calls have decreased.  Just got one, but it might have been the first in 2 days. 

Same here. Why exactly is that?

Alton Junction

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Posted by BigDaddy on Sunday, April 19, 2020 6:45 PM

richhotrain
Same here. Why exactly is that?

Maybe Coronavirus scams are more lucrative?  There is a site that logs comments on spam calls, 800notes.com   There are spam calls from the same number that have been happening for years.  They change from Microsoft calling to tell you your computer is "causing problems on our server" to the IRS is going to arrest you, to duct cleaning, home renovation, zero credit card interest rates and many more.

I'm enjoying the lack of jet travel, living 15 miles from BWI.  I saw 1 commercial jet and one C 130 all day long.  In normal times they start flying over my home at 4 am. 

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by York1 on Sunday, April 19, 2020 6:47 PM

gmpullman

 A couple of the boxes were four-liter jugs of 99.5% reagent-grade alcohol. I asked the lab manager if I could save the company some money by taking a box or two off their hands? "Take all you want, we can't use it, expiration date has passed".

 

 

 

Remember the days when we couldn't decide if flammable or inflammable meant the same thing?

York1 John       

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Posted by BigDaddy on Sunday, April 19, 2020 6:56 PM

Reagent seems to be Denatured Alcohol.  The methanol can be adsorbed through the skin.  Wear gloves.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Sunday, April 19, 2020 10:11 PM

Weekend Update:

Delicious dinner.  Home-grilled filet mignon, baked potato with butter and local bacon, local asparagus and home grown salad, plus a fine bottle of California wine.  Finding two new sources of food in one day s a true bright spot.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by Track fiddler on Sunday, April 19, 2020 10:12 PM

BigDaddy
 

 

"Ooh ah  

Mother should I build the wall"

 

PF

 

 

PirateLaughTF

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Posted by gmpullman on Sunday, April 19, 2020 10:24 PM

 

BigDaddy
Reagent seems to be Denatured Alcohol.

The ACS Reagent grade designation indicates compliance with specifications found in the most recent edition of Reagent Chemicals published by the American Chemical Society. Currently, that designation applies to 430 reagents. Each of these reagents must meet all of the specifications described in the reagent monograph in order to be labeled ACS Reagent grade.

I have the understanding that Reagent Grade is a level of purity of a group of chemicals approved by the ACS.

Yes, I'll wear gloves.

Inflammable, yes that term does seem to fly in the face of reason Indifferent

BigDaddy
They change from Microsoft calling to tell you your computer is "causing problems on our server" to the IRS is going to arrest you, to duct cleaning, home renovation, zero credit card interest rates and many more.

A fellow I know had his computer locked by the "red screen of death" and he called some phone number to get the "unlock code" or whatever.

He said he was talking to Microsoft because when they answered the phone they said it was Microsoft!

So he sent them $350.00 worth of Apple iTunes cards! Bang HeadBang HeadBang Head He was proud of the fact that he outsmarted them by not giving them his credit card number.

To this day I haven't convinced him that he was a victim of a scam. He wound up taking his PC to a Microcenter store and they debugged it for him.

 

Cheers, Ed

 

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Posted by Track fiddler on Sunday, April 19, 2020 10:32 PM

I'll go with that oneYes

Thanks for that Ed

 

 

LaughTF

 

The things that people buy into

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Posted by rrebell on Sunday, April 19, 2020 11:21 PM

gmpullman

 

 

 
BigDaddy
Reagent seems to be Denatured Alcohol.

 

The ACS Reagent grade designation indicates compliance with specifications found in the most recent edition of Reagent Chemicals published by the American Chemical Society. Currently, that designation applies to 430 reagents. Each of these reagents must meet all of the specifications described in the reagent monograph in order to be labeled ACS Reagent grade.

I have the understanding that Reagent Grade is a level of purity of a group of chemicals approved by the ACS.

Yes, I'll wear gloves.

Inflammable, yes that term does seem to fly in the face of reason Indifferent

 

 
BigDaddy
They change from Microsoft calling to tell you your computer is "causing problems on our server" to the IRS is going to arrest you, to duct cleaning, home renovation, zero credit card interest rates and many more.

 

A fellow I know had his computer locked by the "red screen of death" and he called some phone number to get the "unlock code" or whatever.

He said he was talking to Microsoft because when they answered the phone they said it was Microsoft!

So he sent them $350.00 worth of Apple iTunes cards! Bang HeadBang HeadBang Head He was proud of the fact that he outsmarted them by not giving them his credit card number.

To this day I haven't convinced him that he was a victim of a scam. He wound up taking his PC to a Microcenter store and they debugged it for him.

 

Cheers, Ed

 

 

I was going to comment but I just couldn't come up with anything witty enough to fit.

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Posted by maxman on Monday, April 20, 2020 12:46 AM

BigDaddy
They change from Microsoft calling to tell you your computer is "causing problems on our server" to the IRS is going to arrest you, to duct cleaning, home renovation, zero credit card interest rates and many more.

I often get these calls that come up as 800 service on the caller ID.  They claim that their purpose is to clean up the computer and make it run better.

One time when I had a lot of time to kill I told them that I agreed to do as they asked.  First they asked that I connect to a specific web site.  I kept typing in the website (or pretending to) and then kept telling them I was getting a website not found message.  The gave me another website and I did the same thing.

Then they told me to hit one of those keys at the bottom of the keyboard that has the Microsoft flag on it.  I told them my keyboard didn't have one of those on it.  I must have had them on the phone for over an hour before they went away frustrated.

The last time they called I told them that I was more than willing to do as they asked, except that the police had confiscated the computer.  Total silence at their end.

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Monday, April 20, 2020 8:21 AM

We also have a small specialty grocery that has a board in the butcher shop area with the age of the steaks listed. Most are at least 60 days some 90. I always thought one of the keys to great beef was the aging.

So many years in the past, I was at a standard of living I couldn't afford such luxuries regularly so I've never really learned the finer points about steaks.  Intuitively, I've always though aging is bad for most foods except maybe red wine and some cheeses.  You know, bacteria and experation dates seem to apply to mean foods.  Does steak meat have a much longer shelf life?

In principle, organic matter breaks down over time during the decaying process.  I suppose a steak that has sat for 2 or 3 months will have gone through that process and be more tender.  Being ignorant of the organic and biologic properties of meats, how does steak remain safe to eat after so long while others meats and foots might be considered unsafe or bumping up against expiration dates?  Edumcacate me plz. Clown

 

Lazers
Today I had to cadge some Timber from my neighbour,

I learned a new word today.  My wife is from the UK and I've been married to her 9 years and every now and then she pulls a new word out that I've never heard, but cadge is a new one; I don't think I've heard her use that word yet.  

I had to look it up:

cadge
/kaj/
 Learn to pronounce
 
verb
INFORMALBRITISH
 
  1. ask for or obtain (something to which one is not strictly entitled).
    "he eats whenever he can cadge a meal"
     
    Similar:
    scrounge
     
     
    beg
     
     
    borrow
     
     
    bum
     
     
    touch someone for
     
    sponge
     
     
     

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by Steven Otte on Monday, April 20, 2020 8:41 AM

Folks,

While this is technically an off-topic thread, this thread does have a topic... how the coronavirus pandemic has affected your modeling.

Posts that are off that topic belong in the Diner.

--
Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editor
sotte@kalmbach.com

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Monday, April 20, 2020 9:17 AM

Getting back "on-topic" (meat is off topic so I'll look for a reply over at the Diner)

The pandemic hasn't really affected my modeling much at all, other than it takes longer to get some supplies from a few vendors.  I still have to work my 40 hours and my wife being off has house projects going so what little extra time I may have due to not having to commute gets eaten up with working deck rehab, garden planting and other house projects.

Over the weekend I did get most of the peninsula benchwork leg braces installed (and some additional open grid cross pieces and sides installed.)

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Monday, April 20, 2020 2:51 PM

I thought I would not be gaining weight at home, but when I put my jeans on today they felt a bit tight. Surprisingly, I have gained 4 pounds in the past two weeks.

I have not been eating much, and I have been working vary hard on the house. Plenty of physical activity for hours on end.

Bummer.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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