BATMAN SeeYou190 Grasshoppers have a lot more fun than ants. Yes, they do, but the Grasshoppers go running to the ants when there is no pizza left. My two neighbours are definitely Grasshoppers.
SeeYou190 Grasshoppers have a lot more fun than ants.
Yes, they do, but the Grasshoppers go running to the ants when there is no pizza left. My two neighbours are definitely Grasshoppers.
I thought I learned my lesson from that story book when I was a child. Apparently I didn't!
When I grow up I want to be a grasshopper. So I can run next door to Brents, when I'm fresh out of Pizza at my house I would remember to take my fiddle with
P.S. Voice texting can be somewhat dangerous sometimes, if you don't make the corrections before you post
TF
Here's a photo of their replica "John Bull" taken at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania from a trip there in 2005. My grandson still talks about that trip.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
Track fiddlerWhen I grow up I want to be a grasshopper. So I can run next to Brents when I'm fresh out of pizza
And you would be welcomed along with everyone else TF.
Man those washing machines are heavy.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Good Morning,
We have been going to Thief River Falls about 4 times a year for the past 25 years. Our friends actually live on a quarter section north of town but we are in town every trip. It is a nice place and has a good restaurant that does great ribs. Outside the train station is a Soo Line mikado on display. The small roundhouse and turntable are still intact, at least they were last time I looked. North of town there is a locomotive re-builder. All sorts of old diesels sitting outside. Once we went to a craft fair at the arena. I have never seen so many blonde, blue eyed kids in one place. When I was a small lad I would have fit right in.
I have to make a bird seed run soon.
CN Charlie
K
I am always prepared for a hurricane!
My house has impact windows and a category 5 roof, so there is zero work to do there.
My car can move at 70 MPH, hurricanes rarely exceed 15 MPH, so they cannot catch me.
Not much chance of me ever freezing. The only fear from a power outage is loss of air conditioning, I think we will survive.
The house is always full of snacky-food, so provisions are not a concern.
What many people do for hurricane preparedness is absolutely silly. They get dry beans and rice, and lots of canned food. Pallets of bottled water and survival gear. Hurricanes are not the Zombie Apocolypse.
All you need are big blocks of ice and about twenty 5 gallon buckets of water to flush the toilets.
You just need to make it ten days, that is all.
After hurricanes my kids were out in the neighborhood eating bags of doritos and drinking ice-cold pepsi while the "prepared" neighbor kids were hoping their dad could get the propane stove fired up so they could eat kidney beans with warm water.
All those young ants would come over and beg for twinkies and nutty-buddies!
Grasshoppers for the win!
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good evening all.
Hurricanes. We have been in only one. Crossing the pond on QE2. Interesting to say the least. Next day the Atlantic was like a millpond. So calm.
I did not make a Cherry Pie. Instead I baked a Egg & Bacon Pie plus some Strawberry Jam Tartlets.
English Fish & Chips with Mushy Peas. Simple and easy.
Stay Safe.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
The issue in Texas is, it is hard to be prepared for something that happens once every 100 years.
Here in KY we had a bad ice storm in 2009 , power was out for weeks for some folks. I was out for 7 days. I do not have a generator, but I have Kero Heater, Coleman lanterns and coleman stoves and a fireplace. Water is city and hotwater heater is gas. So I could cook , keep warm, shower etc. have lights.
I stuck all of our freezer and fridge goods outside in the cold, so I did not loose food during power outage. Someone on another forum complained about having to run generator for fridge during ice storm. I said heck put it outside.
I had to bone up on Kerosene and some other goodies before this last round of winter storms, we got hit by three in a row, ice storm the first one, 9 inches of snow second and 3 inches of snow the third. Roads are clear now, but they were bad for about a week.
When I lived in Texas we had an ice storm in Houston , They would not cancel college classes no mater what. so I had to go during the freezing rain. I was the only one on the parking lot with an ice scrapper in my car. i could have made big $$ scraping windshields that day, I had to laugh beacuse people were trying with cassette cases, spatulas etc. People in Tex also do not know to start you car and let it run as you scrape so it will warm up.
Yeah but the traffic jam caused by all the others tryiong to leave will get you.
SeeYou190All those young ants would come over and beg for twinkies and nutty-buddies!
Nope! My kids do not eat junk food. My son made as much as $2000.00 a day doing movies and TV work. He was categorized as a "Special Extra" just for his ability to run and climb all day long on set. He made good money being fit. In one show he wore the superheroes costume and ran after the bad guy at full speed over and over again for 14 hours. After he did that he got more work than he could handle. He also plays very competitive hockey when he can. Effort reaps rewards just as being prepared does.
My wife has a degree in nutrition and we are well aware of the chemical soup found in pre-packaged food, not to mention the junk.
The generator keeps the freezer and fridge going and if the disaster strikes in the growing season, there are plenty of vegetables out back waiting to be picked.
BATMANThe generator keeps the freezer and fridge going and if the disaster strikes in the growing season, there are plenty of vegetables out back waiting to be picked.
Looking_West by Edmund, on Flickr
Once the freezer is emptied out there will be some grilled chicken on the barbie
IMG_4718 by Edmund, on Flickr
Plus plenty of bass and bluegill in the pond —
Largemouth by Edmund, on Flickr
We have Mc Nuggets, too
IMG_2392 by Edmund, on Flickr
The generator is enough to run enough appliances and the water pump and heater, but not all at once. That's OK. Not everything has to run at once, I balance the load. Been through a few 2-3 day shutdowns to test the system.
The 2003 northeast blackout was caused by some low-hanging wire vs. high growing trees right here in NE Ohio. A "software glitch" shutdown 10 million Canadian customers and 45 million in the U.S.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003
The report states that a generating plant in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb northeast of Cleveland, went offline amid high electrical demand, putting a strain on high-voltage power lines (located in Walton Hills, Ohio, a southeast suburb of Cleveland) which later went out of service when they came in contact with "overgrown trees". This trip caused load to transfer to other transmission lines, which were not able to bear the load, tripping their breakers. Once these multiple trips occurred, many generators suddenly lost parts of their loads, so they accelerated out of phase with the grid at different rates, and tripped out to prevent damage. The cascading effect that resulted ultimately forced the shutdown of at least 265 power plants.
Cheers, Ed
moelarrycurly4The issue in Texas is, it is hard to be prepared for something that happens once every 100 years.
Very true.
We usually close the schools here if the temperature drops below 45 degrees after sunrise because NOBODY is prepared for that kind of cold weather. I'm not joking around. If you wanted to prepare, you really can't do it locally. No stores sell heavy coats, long underwear, or any cold weather gear. Long sleeve shirts are only on the racks for a few weeks around November/December.
If we were to ever have a deep freeze, it would be a disaster just like Texas, just like a tropical storm hitting the New York / New Jersey area. We shrug off tropical storms like nothing, but up there they are caught with no idea what to do. They even call them "super-storms", we call them rainy days.
I remember a few years ago a hurricane hit Canada, and they were caught clueless with no plan at all.
moelarrycurly4My car can move at 70 MPH, hurricanes rarely exceed 15 MPH, so they cannot catch me. Yeah but the traffic jam caused by all the others tryiong to leave will get you.
The traffic is not as bad as you see on the news. It is funny as we evacuate. We will hit congestion for a few miles, and that is where all the news crews are filming. A few miles later... 60 MPH and no cameras!
Normally I can drive to Valdosta, Georgia in about 8 hours, no rush. During the Hurricane Irma evacuation, the day before landfall, the trip took 11 hours or so. Not bad.
The worst congestion was right after the Florida/Georgia line. In Florida you can drive on the shoulder lanes during evacuation making Interstate 75 a five-lane road. Once you cross into Georgia, it drops to three travel lanes as normal again.
I made it to Atlanta the next day with only about an addtional 60 minutes over normal travel time required.
gmpullmanWe have Mc Nuggets, too
SeeYou190I remember a few years ago a hurricane hit Canada, and they were caught clueless with no plan at all
The East coast gets them occasionally, I don't think they are that clueless and they seem to manage quite well when they do.
Since 1850, Canada has been hit by 240 hurricanes, according to data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That's about one or two per year, on average. This may seem like a lot, but not if you consider that more than 2,100 Atlantic and Pacific storms were recorded since then.
We had one here on the West Coast in the early 1960s.They are called Typhoons in the Pacific. Those monster West Coast trees coming down caused lots of damage where I lived.
In 2008 I think it was we had a bad blow and on our property we had 13 trees come down. Seven of them were between 80' and 165' tall fir trees up to 5' in diametre. That was a whole lot of firewood I had to give away.
Howdy....
MLC metioned the 2009 Kentucky Ice Storm. It was one of the worst ice storms ever.
We were cut off from the rest of the world by heavy ice and broken trees. We spent 9 days with no electricty, no county water, no land line phone, and no cell phone. Our only source of heat was the gas log in the fireplace, and it was not enough. We used heavy blankets. Similar to MRC, we placed freezer foods outside, and we put refrigerator foods in the garage. We did not have an abundance of drinking water, but we had some other beverages. We drank cokes, other soda pops, and fruit juices. We also had beer, but we did not consume much of it. In the daytime, we sat near wondows and read books. I also, put together an HO building kit (City Classics Diner) at a table next to a window.
Since then, we purchased a generator, and we made changes to the house wiring so we could use it.
...
Ed ..... You mentioned the Northeast Blackout of 2003. That was another adventure for us. We had arrived in the Detroit area a few hours ahead of it. We went there to attend a wedding, and we were staying at a nice hotel in Troy, MI.
We were getting ready to attend a rehersal dinner. Shelley was in the shower, and she asked to set up the ironing board and plug in the iron. At the exact moment I plugged in the iron, the lights went out. Shelley yelled at me thinking it was just one of my practical jokes. I explained to her the lights of the whole room were out, and I must have tripped a circuit breaker when I plugged in the iron.
I called the front desk to report the problem. At first, nobody answerred. A few minutes later, the front desk clerk answerred, and he explained the entire hotel had no power. He said they were contacting the power company. About twenty minutes later, I called him again for an update. He told me there was a widespread blackout from Detroit to New York City.
I recall saying to Shelley: ... " How do you like that? I plugged in a iron for you, and I triggered a blackout all of the way to New York CIty!"
The next few days were quite an adventure. We had already used the rental car enough to have a near empty fuel tank. Gas stations did not have working fuel pumps. We were stuck.
Being resourceful problem solvers, we obtained bottled water from a conferance room. Our hotel closed its restaurant. So, we walked to a nearby hotel which had a restaurant using ice for storing meat. They made meat sandwiches.
There was no running water, and after a while our toilet was stinky. Thereafter, we walked to the public restroom, and its toilets smelled even worse. The hotel cloesed its swimming pool.
There is much more to this story, but I'm running out of time. Eventually, power was restored, and the bride and groom had their wedding.
Everybody: ..... Have a good night.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
My dad told me about the 1938 New England hurricane. That brought a lot of flooding and damage to many areas of New England and it tracked into Canada for a bit before dissip[ating.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938_New_England_hurricane
This was his back yard in Barre Palins, Massachusetts. The Ware River branch of the Boston & Albany is back there somewhere!
NE_1937-8_0011 by Edmund, on Flickr
Ken, great to talk with you last night!
SeeYou190It is funny as we evacuate. We will hit congestion for a few miles, and that is where all the news crews are filming. A few miles later... 60 MPH and no cameras!
It's funny you mention that.
We've been worried about our daughter and her family in Texas. The news programs show the state completely falling apart.
She called yesterday and told us not to worry. She said the national news went to the very worst places, and filmed the very worst situations, and made it seem like it applied to the whole state.
Schools were open, stores were open, people were going to work, the power was on, the water system was working, etc. The only change was that in her suburb, they were not to drink the tapwater for a week as a precaution.
York1 John
Brent, I know you had a picture of your hockey rink. Even though we are hundreds of miles south of you and TF, we have some hockey teams here.
https://yorknewstimes.com/news/state-and-regional/cant-get-enough-axtell-dad-builds-hockey-ice-rink-for-junior-storm-son/article_3b7d4e06-9e2e-5b0d-8145-e61d36a0cfc0.html
Good evening
Hockey teams are certainly good John. I wish I wasn't too old to become a part of one today.
We went for an in and out short grocery shop today. All she bought was the few essentials needed to make homemade pizza.
That was all that was needed for me. I was next in line and bought her the flowers I saw her admir after I lagged behind a bit. You got to keep em Happy! And do you see all the cards behind that she gets in the mail! My Judy is very well-liked!
And I do have been known to pay attention.
It took a while to find the flour aisle after I found the flower aisle and the good sausage and all the other fixings.
After all that the homemade Pizza wasn't quite on the list tonight because we stopped at the Mexican restaurant El Loro.
We did have the rather large margaritas. Actually two as John suggested when you go to a Mexican restaurant
Naps were taken when we finally got home and homemade pizza is on the list for tomorrow night because we have all the fixings for it now.
And I have the King Arthur flour for the perfect crust
Track fiddlerAnd I have the King Arthur flour for the perfect crust
Costs a little more but I think you'll like it TF.
Our (hard) water is somewhat high in calcium. I don't know if it really makes much difference but I use distilled water, warm it to about 110° F then add the yeast with a tsp. of sugar.
I'll scan the Rustic Dough recipe I use in a few minutes.
Crust_Pizza by Edmund, on Flickr
I have a heavy-duty Kitchenaid with a dough hook that makes kneading a breeze, but you can work the dough the old fashioned way, too. We have some fancy dough-rising containers that are handy for that task but you can improvise here.
Hope you have good results and keep trying until you do. I add a pinch of salt to the mix as I'm adding the flour but that's up to you. The crust is a bit bland without it.
Cheers, and bon appétit, Ed
Here's a PSTC Philly Transit "Brill Bullet" car I rode today.
Philly_Transit by Edmund, on Flickr
This is a pretty neat transit system!
Tomorrow we take what is remaining of the Reading North Penn from Philly to Bethlehem, Pa. and look at some of the big steel works there!
Reading-905_Philadelphia by Edmund, on Flickr
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and appreciation for our extended tour, folks! I'm glad you're having a good time
Evening all.
I got the laundry room floor up, that was a real bear I'll tell ya. The hardwood/subfloor in the hall came up much easier. We also decided we need to do the three cabinets in the Laundry room so that means redoing all the plumbing. It is no wonder I never learned to program decoders other than the basics, no time.
John that hockey rink looks about the same size as mine. Great memories playing to the wee hours with the floodlights on. Where I grew up we had a pond that froze over, great times.
I sure feel like a rum and Pepsi but the only booze in the house right now is a $300.00 bottle of port that my cousin from England gave me 40 years ago. I need to decant that properly before I drink it. It wasn't $300.00 when he gave me the two of them, but it went up in value considerably over the decades. We had one last year and it was really good.
Oh, look it's our old kitchen!
Pizza sounds really good right about now, not sure what we are having.
All the best to all.
BATMANAntonov AN-2 with Shvetsov Ash-62 IR engine 1000 hp
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
York1Even though we are hundreds of miles south of you and TF, we have some hockey teams here.
We do too... I am sure everyone has heard of the current world champion Tampa Bay Lightning!
Tampa Bay is having a very good year.
SeeYou190 York1 Even though we are hundreds of miles south of you and TF, we have some hockey teams here. We do too... I am sure everyone has heard of the current world champion Tampa Bay Lightning! Tampa Bay is having a very good year. -Kevin
York1 Even though we are hundreds of miles south of you and TF, we have some hockey teams here.
If the Rays had just beat the Dodgers another game, Tampa Bay would have had an amazing year -- World Series Crown, Stanley Cup, and the Vince Lombardi trophy.
If they don't watch out, Tampa Bay will have the most liked teams, and at the same time, the most hated teams. It's always that way when teams win a lot.
SeeYou190York1 Even though we are hundreds of miles south of you and TF, we have some hockey teams here. We do too... I am sure everyone has heard of the current world champion Tampa Bay Lightning!
WHO????!!!!
SeeYou190 York1 Even though we are hundreds of miles south of you and TF, we have some hockey teams here. We do too... I am sure everyone has heard of the current world champion Tampa Bay Lightning! WHO????!!!!
SeeYou190 York1 Even though we are hundreds of miles south of you and TF, we have some hockey teams here. We do too... I am sure everyone has heard of the current world champion Tampa Bay Lightning!
That's all right Bear, when I move to NZ I am bringing my hockey gear with me. I'll fill you in.
SeeYou190I am sure everyone has heard of the current world champion Tampa Bay Lightning!
Stanley Cup champions yes, but the European hockey league should get a crack at any NHL champions before the World Champion crown is presented. I think we will see the two leagues square off annually at some point.
BATMANthe European hockey league should get a crack at any NHL champions before the World Champion crown is presented.
I agree! Of course, it will be a Canadian team that wins everything!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Tampa Bay has 12 Canadians 10 Europeans and 6 U.S. players. Europe has become a hockey mecca and in my opinion, is comparable in every way to North American hockey. I would like to see a world champion.
In the 50 years, they have been in the NHL the Vancouver Canucks have never won the Stanley Cup. Vancouver has Stanley Park donated by the same guy (Lord Stanley)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Stanley,_16th_Earl_of_Derby.
But seeing the Canucks win the Stanley Cup before I croak will make me a happy camper.
Stanley Park.
Track fiddlerOhhh! She is just as cute as my little Brittany.
It is hard to believe that picture is 15 years old!
We had so much fun building CosPlay costumes together for years. Such fun memories. Doing crafts and hobbies with all the girls was a treat, but CosPlay was the most fun.
York1She called yesterday and told us not to worry. She said the national news went to the very worst places, and filmed the very worst situations, and made it seem like it applied to the whole state.
I am glad to hear your daughter is OK. Worrying about the kids is terrible.
Last year a crane collapsed in Seattle near where my daughter was working. My wife saw it on the news and was fretting for hours until we finally heard from our baby.
BATMANStanley Cup champions yes, but the European hockey league should get a crack at any NHL champions before the World Champion crown is presented.
I'll bet the Miss Universe pageant was really upsetting for you.
Saturday used to be my favorite day of the week. Now it is one of my least favorite. The weekdays are nicer. The neighborhood is more quiet during the week.
I might actually hit the rack before 4:00 AM tonight. It is almost 2:00, and I am feeling tired. I woke up an hour earlier today than I did yesterday, so maybe my rythm is shifting.
Take care all.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.