Good evening all. The good news is we are moving (slowly) out of lockdown. In two weeks time children can go back to school.
Creamy Salmon & Spinach Fusillioni followed by Apple & Tangerine Fruit Salad with a Strawberry Peach Sauce.
Stay Safe.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
York1 I know that houses in your area are all built hurricane proof, so I get the concrete block walls. Do the roofs have any kind of special construction for hurricanes?
As far as I know, there are different standards. Houses built to "Dade County" specs can withstand a category 5 hit.
I have Category 5 windows and roof, but my house was built before Hurricane Andrew, so the specs were lower. When the roof was done I had the trusses retrofitted with hurricane straps, and the lanai roof trusses were rebuilt and brought up to current code.
I believe building code on the West Coast only requires being able to withstand a category 3 storm. I do not recall a hurricane greater than category 3 hitting the West Coast where I live.
The biggest differences in building since Andrew have been how the trusses are anchored to the walls, and the types of fasteners that are required to hold it all together in 120 MPH winds.
Now most severe damage from storms is from falling trees and flood waters.
gmpullmanMy house was built in '77 a few years before I moved in. It has blown-in cellulose insulation. I hate that stuff. While remodeling the bathroom just a week ago I tore the drywall off the outside wall because I knew what I was going to find.
My house has very thin insulation above the ceiling, R-16, and the walls have no insulation. I guess the cinder block counted as insulation when it was built.
I have been incresing the attice insulation in areas where I have been working, but I cannot do the entire structure.
gmpullmanThanks for the Miller, Kevin. That's my usual brand.
Anytime... enjoy!
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good morning from the West Coast where it is O/C but pleasent.
hon30critter Hi Brent, Beautiful images! You are a lucky guy. Dave
Hi Brent,
Beautiful images! You are a lucky guy.
Dave
Yes I was and when I was a kid it was just normal, as an adult I realize it was something to cherish.
Talking about insulation, We have blown-in fibreglass, it is knee-deep when you go into the attic(s) When I bought it the house inspector was really impressed at how much there was and jokingly said the builder must have owned the insulation company. It was the builders own house and he went above and beyond in many areas. When I do work up there I take a plastic snow shovel to move the stuff out of the way.
John, have you thought of giving those heating wires a go on top of the guards. Just plug them in when they freeze up to get things moving. You could do a small test section next year.
Spanish moss is beautiful. Gord has a song about it. I used to play this one a lot as it was one of those songs your fingers just love to pick. The old arthritis kind of put a damper on playing it though as there are some big "stretches" my fingers can't make anymore, maybe on a good day.
Yesterday, my wife went to renew our contract with the company that provides our phone/cable/internet. We had minimal channels as the TV does not get watched except for hockey or Netflix, Amazon or Disney which are internet. They gave us 5G internet, a better phone plan and every channel they can provide which is about 500 channels as far as I can tell. Not that we will watch them. The best part is they dropped the price to $30.00 a month. The guy said the price may go down again as there is so much competition. The wife asked if the price could be lowered more if we didn't get all those channels and the guy said nope you just get them all now for the same price.I took a quick spin through all these channels, it is unbelievable some of the crap on TV.
Time for the 1000 calorie burn on the bike ( the cost of drinking rum) and then we are off to buy new cabinets for the laundry room. These Renos are wearing thin, I'll tell ya.
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 have lots of big trees around my house. The result was that I had to clean gutters every couple of weeks.
I installed some gutter guards that have holes for the water to go in, but keeps the leaves out.
Bad move. They kept the leaves out. But ... the snow settled on the tops of the gutters. Then, under the snow, some ice formed and covered the holes. The result is that the water drained over the tops of the gutters, and I got icicles, which I've never had before.
This spring, I will remove the leaf guards, and go back to cleaning gutters.
SeeYou190Two weeks ago I shared this picture of another new house under construction in my neighborhood. This one is replacing a house that was torn down.
That's pretty amazing progress so fast. I know that houses in your area are all built hurricane proof, so I get the concrete block walls. Do the roofs have any kind of special construction for hurricanes?
TF, I hope your family's job situation improves.
Not much of a train, but this was in City Park in New Orleans, about 6 blocks from our house. The kids loved riding this train. This park has large numbers of Live Oak trees covered with Spanish Moss. A neat place.
York1 John
SeeYou190I wonder how long I have been blowing expensive A/C into the attic space.
Up here in the snowy north I always observe roofs and particularly eaves with huge icicles hanging from them. That means there's a "hole" in the insulation somewhere in the attic and the heat is escaping and heating the snow on the roof directly above, the water from the melted snow runs down along the shingles under the layer of snow on the roof where it re-freezes at the eaves.
Another no-no is venting an exhaust fan into the attic space. LOTS of moist air condenses on the under side of the sheathing and makes a big block of ice and also rots the sheathing.
My house was built in '77 a few years before I moved in. It has blown-in cellulose insulation. I hate that stuff. While remodeling the bathroom just a week ago I tore the drywall off the outside wall because I knew what I was going to find.
Sure enough, the insulation had settled and much of it had never even been distributed in the wall cavity. If it hits an obstruction, say a run of romex going horizontally, it will build up on top of it but not "flow" any farther down the cavity.
I try to correct this any chance I get while doing remodeling.
DH, Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1974 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Thanks for the Miller, Kevin. That's my usual brand
Cheers, Ed
Good morning all. The Heavenly watering can is working overtime here in the North of England.
Brent Lovely pictures. Thanks for showing.
Dave. I have added more to my layout thread.
A busy day with grocery deliveries etc.. I might get time in the train room.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
I still have some Miller High life leftover from the Super Bowl, so help yourself.
Two weeks ago I shared this picture of another new house under construction in my neighborhood. This one is replacing a house that was torn down.
Look how far it has moved along in just a few days.
I had an unpleasent surprise today. I cut an access hole in the ceiling to get to the HVAC air return so I could hook up the new returns from the guest bedroom and the master bedroom.
Fortunately when I was up there, the air conditioner kicked on, and I felt a cold blast of air. That cannot be good. I cut another big access hole in the ceiling, and I found a 5 inch duct had become disconnected from the pyramid duct board manifold on the far side of the house.
I wonder how long I have been blowing expensive A/C into the attic space.
So now I have two huge holes in my ceiling for access that I never planned to cut. This just added a lot more work, but I am very happy I found it. This is a money drain for sure.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critterShe used to have a nice home close to Deep Cove on Cliffwood Dr.
Deep Cove is beautiful, spent a lot of time there swimming and boating.
These final two scenes of the TV show Super Natural were shot in my childhood playground and I would go back and walk the dogs there until I moved away from NV at 40. It was a bit of a gut punch when I saw this as it made me miss it even more, especially when the character looks around and says yup he made it to heaven.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdq2TtG_voA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINxvEo9ohE
It is closed to all motorized vehicles except for the film industry. We started watching Super Natural because my son had a bunch of good friends on the production. I liked it as it reminded me of the X-Files.
I drove up through there to the gates with my daughter today and she wants to get back and take some photos in the forest.
My playground growing up.
Lynn Valley had/has some of the tallest trees in the world. All these places you would go to just taking the dog out for a walk. I think this is why I can't grasp the idea of living armpit to armpit in the city.
BATMANI grew up in North Van in Lynn Valley, where does/did your sister live.
I don't know exactly where she lives these days. All I know is that it is in a new high rise condo in North Vancouver. She used to have a nice home close to Deep Cove on Cliffwood Dr. The first bit of that street was really steep!
Good Evening,
TF, hope you are able to get things sorted out soon and that things go well.
Brent, did you see the photo of the Royal Hudson in the latest Classic Trains? When I was 16 we moved to Coquitlam and I had to take my driving test over as there wasn't a reciprial agreement with Ontario. I took my test in New Westminister. That was summer of 1964. Sure has changed since then. My last 3 years of high school were in 3 different provinces. To me it was an adventure.
Getting late,
CN Charlie
Thanks, Bear and everyone else that tagged along for this criss-cross continent ride
Speaking of video, let's have a look at some Anthracite Road action:
I like the fellow narrating some of these films, and the transfer is very well done.
Maybe Randy will stop by to look at some of this Reading film?
I visited these areas several times in the 1970s and, like so many of us, just took things for granted that this stuff would never disappear. Talk about boom-to-bust.
The CP 972 was on the head end of one of the excursions I rode back then.
1971 NRHS Excursion by Edmund, on Flickr
Tomorrow it is off to Scranton, The Electric City, and a visit to Steamtown!
hon30critterGlad you had a good time with your daughter, and congratulations to her for being able to manage the hills in North Vancouver. My sister in law had to learn how to drive all over again when she moved to North Van several years ago. She went through three sets of brakes in about the first two months!
Thanks Dave, I grew up in North Van in Lynn Valley, where does/did your sister live.
I think British Columbia in general is hard on brakes, that's well known.
My daughter is not intimidated by any road. We would go ghost towning where being a hundred miles from the nearest paved road was not uncommon. Putting the truck in 4 low would barely get us up or down some of the dirt paths we went on. Nothin scares that kid. I would even let her drive the truck in the backcountry long before she was old enough to drive.
I am pretty calm in all situations and have trained a few people to drive that no one else could. The secret is not to just tell them what to do, but explain why we need to do them. It then makes sense and the problem driver does know best, but it is the proper best, not what he perceives as best.
The Federal Government logged every mile I drove in 36 years. I never had an accident and logged over two million miles. Mind you they spent tens of thousands of dollars in training on me as I had to drive some very sensitive stuff. I even did some driving for the military and RCMP.
Getting vehicles of every size out on the skid course is a lot of fun.
I always get a kick out of people that say others don't know how to drive as that usually applies to the person that is saying it as well when you see how they drive. They don't know what they don't know.
I have a standing job offer to go train any time I want.
My sister is just a terrible driver and in 54 years of driving has never had an accident, I swear it is because they see her coming and get the heck out of her way.
BATMANThat's all right Bear, when I move to NZ I am bringing my hockey gear with me. I'll fill you in.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
BATMANWent for the five-hour driving lesson with my daughter into Vancouver and then to the North Shore
Glad you had a good time with your daughter, and congratulations to her for being able to manage the hills in North Vancouver. My sister in law had to learn how to drive all over again when she moved to North Van several years ago. She went through three sets of brakes in about the first two months!
Our son Cole was not a natural born driver. He had a hard time trying to maintain the line going around curves, and he would drive too fast in residential areas. In fact I gave up on trying to teach him myself because I couldn't maintain my composure. It was not exactly 'quality time'. Today he is a great driver but I won't take credit for it.
Let's close out this weekend with another look at Norm Charbonneau's 3 rail layout, shall we?
I've always admired well detailed O scale layouts. You can get away with fudging some of the finer things in the smaller scales but in 1/4" to the foot it ain't easy
TF I hope things work out well for you and the family. Fingers crossed!
TF to the rescue! You are a good man.
Went for the five-hour driving lesson with my daughter into Vancouver and then to the North Shore where we took a break and walked the seawall in West Van instead of into the forest. It was 14c and just beautiful. She took a ton of picks with her new camera, a Canon EOS90D Santa put in her stocking. She tried all the filters and lenses and thoroughly enjoyed herself.
Had her drive around the downtown core parallel parking on both sides of the street as most are one way. She is sharp and will pass the test no problem.
Lots of ships at anchor today.
Glad Dad moved us out from Winnipeg in 1959, came out on The Canadian. It sure felt like Spring today.
Picked up a bottle of rum and whiskey on the way home arriving just in time for a feast on the table from the wife.
Ten years ago almost to the day in Hawaii, it was quality family time. They grow up too fast.
Maybe again next Christmas if the scourge ends.
I guess she has had more practice driving than I remember!
Spent 5 hours catching up with my daughter, I call this a perfect day.
Track fiddlerI will be sending this warmer weather up North to CN Charlie and all the rest of you Canadians up there too eh! You all need some of this mild Winter Weather up there too!
Thanks TF,
Warmer weather is always appreciated but we in southern Ontario are doing just fine. Dianne has been playing pickleball outdoors whenever it's not snowing or too windy. I'm sure that CNCharlie would like to have things a bit warmer though.
Just letting you guys know I may get a bit scarce for a while.
There's problems at Judy's work since the new Schmucks bought the Hotel and my oldest daughter is experiencing some problems that may take some time and effort for me to unravel.
I wish all you guys the best
TF
I wish you well and a safe trip into town Ed, and that you come home just as safely as you were before you left
Sometimes the day gets lazy and I didn't even make my homemade pizza yet.
I got the very best next thing though.
The second best pizza in Minneapolis and it has the cool Steam Locomotive logo on the box so it can't be too bad. Even the Broadway Lion would approve I think, but I have never asked if they have wildebeest as a topping though.
Don't even bother researching if you ever travel here. Just take my word for it that the only better Pizza up here is Delano's. But it's farther away and perhaps may become a little more dangerous as it's a rougher part of town.
Yep, That was me. I couldn't help myself that I had a piece hanging out of my mouth while I was taking the picture
Track fiddlerJust when you think you have the perfect dinner planned for the evening, Along Comes faster rats with better food.
Not better, just what we're in the mood for tonight. Our homemade pizza (we double the recipe and make two, I like mine "deep-dish" and Dee Ann likes hers thin crust ) is finished after we've been eating leftovers the past couple days.
I bought a whole beef tenderloin (backstrap we like to call it ) when it was on sale around the Holidays and I cut it up into filets.
Well, I'm saddled up for my trek into town, first time in two weeks! Be back soon...
Better days in Bethlehem!
LV, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1939 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
I stood in this very spot during a 1971 NRHS convention. I'll try to find a photo later.
Really!!!
Just after I have been in anticipation for two days looking forward to that homemade pizza with my mouth watering like a sieve for the better part of the afternoon. And it isn't even made and done yet as it needs to be timed for when I go pick Judy up from work so we can enjoy it together.
And then Ed has to show up on the Forum and announce he has Filet Mignon on deck, acclimating to room temperature for dinner tonight
Just when you think you have the perfect dinner planned for the evening, Along Comes faster rats with better food
You might as well just throw the round slabs up on the countertop out of the refrigerator Ed. I'm sure the Lion would show up right away with one whiff of that steak, as I will too.
Looks like back to the grocery store tomorrow.
I'm beginning to feel like a little Humming Bee, Buzzing in for a little more nectar, everytime I think of something else to eat
Thanks for the advice, TF and Kevin. I used Redgard on the poured concrete of my front porch when I put quarry tile over it. Had some left over but after ten years I'm not going to use it, I'll just buy another pail of it.
TF, there's two or three main brands, the Redgard goes on pink and dries to red and the ones you're thinking of are a teal color (USG Durock and Aquaguard?) and dries blue.
I have some Hardie backer left over so I'll make a niche out of that. I took pictures of the framing so I know exactly where each stud is and I set some 2 x 6s in for attaching some safety grab bars into solid wood
Hope your pizza turned out OK, TF.
Its Filet Mignon for us tonight
A beautiful place —
WM, Cumberland, Maryland, 1975 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Helmstetter's Curve on the Western Maryland, named for the farmer that owns that beautiful pice of land there.
Good afternoon, diners. 2:00 pm is too early, but since we are going to be eating dinner two hours early, then cocktail hour is early, too. I'm not sure why my wife wanted to eat so early today.
I'm working on making some crossing signals for the layout. I went to the hardware store and bought the smallest washers they had. They will not be scale, but for my fingers, they will work. Only you expert layout people will be able to tell. At least I've got the Arduino code fixed. Next issue will be installing the light sensors under the track. I'm not quite sure how I'll do that yet.
gmpullman I looked at some of these "niche" they sell which are nothing but a simple box made out of lightweight cement board. Some of them go for a hundred bucks or more! Any reason I can't make one myself and waterproof it with Fiberglas reinforcement and Redgard?
Ed, I think the premade ones appeal to people with limited tools/skills and would not feel comfortable cutting it themselves.
I bought a one-piece molded plastic niche for my shower years ago. It was easy to install and did the job.
Smart Man!
Waterproofing is first-hand but to be sure, there's always second hand! Just in case!
It's funny that it is called Red Guard Ed.
It is light blue in color and goes on nice drying to a darker blue, thick like rubber.
I have always used it on the Dura-rock tile backer at the bottom two feet of the shower stall and over the floor creat pan very faithfully over the years.
The rubber membrane liner is under the pan and up the walls as the job is done right. Red gaurd is the extra assurance needed so you can sleep well at night.
I have never had a call back, Ever!
The Little town of Bethlehem sure ain't what it used to be
Parts of the property have been turned into retail space and, what else, a casino.
Bethlehem by Edmund, on Flickr
One of the things that hurt Bethlehem Steel, I believe, was its inland location. Raw materials required more handling than mills that had direct lake access.
Thanks again for all the kudos and support!
I'm off to the Big Box to get some Redguard ($50/gal!) for a bathroom tile job. I looked at some of these "niche" they sell which are nothing but a simple box made out of lightweight cement board. Some of them go for a hundred bucks or more! Any reason I can't make one myself and waterproof it with Fiberglas reinforcement and Redgard?
Shower Niche Amazon
BATMAN Have you seen Tpol from Vulcan?
Have you seen Tpol from Vulcan?
Yep!
And I didn't need any of those little blue pills either
SeeYou190I'll bet the Miss Universe pageant was really upsetting for you.
Upsetting? Not at all, but it is pretty presumptuous. Have you seen Tpol from Vulcan? Was she even asked to compete?
Good morning, from the damp West Coast.
I have this huge steel desk that I put on FB market place for free. It would be good for a workshop or barn. Someone asked if I would deliver it 80km away and could not understand why I declined. The scrap metal place is 25k round trip and I'll probably get a whopping $3.00 for it. It cost bucks to move my F-350 with the 7.3 ltr down the road.
My daughter and I are supposed to go for a long drive today to practice for her driver's license. We are going to Vancouver for a couple of hours of big city driving. Vancouver is very pedestrian/bike orientated and while it is very easy to drive around the downtown core there are many things you need to pay attention to. She'll be behind the wheel for four hours. We'll take a break and go for a short hike up in the mountains to the North. We bought her a Canon D-90 camera for Christmas and she wants to take some rain forest shots. She has taken a lot of photography/video courses in the last few years and has some amazing work. We will then head home.
She can fill the tires, check the oil, coolant, change the air filter, wipers and change a tire. I consider these the basics.
She had no interest in learning to drive but is getting offers from around the world to attend some Anthropological digs and driving is a must. She is heading towards medical forensics so I guess digging up really old things goes along with that. There is a research position with NATO where she would be working with the Canadian and U.S. military on a research project that has really caught her interest. Her academic achievements are opening up some interesting opportunities that's for sure.
Ed, I am soaking up all you are posting like a sponge and really appreciate it. You have a lot to offer with your vast knowledge of all things RR. My knowledge is quite limited so I just sit in the back booth and take it all in.
That engine failure on that B-777 in Colorado was quite something. I bet those passengers had more than one pina-colada when they finally got to Hawaii.
That reminds me, I need some rum.
gmpullman I'm not sure anyone cares much about the railroad interests here but I'll keep posting things of interest until the end of the month. One more week. Cheers, Ed
I'm not sure anyone cares much about the railroad interests here but I'll keep posting things of interest until the end of the month. One more week.
I hope your kidding me Ed? I have appreciated your ongoing dedication to the hilt!
I have said Thank You a few times but possibly not enough. I always taught my son and daughters manners of saying please and thank you is never done too much but can be under done sometimes.
Maybe I should practice what I preach!
Thank you so much for hosting the Diner this month and last month and all your Great participation you provide
It has been thoroughly enjoyed by me as I know it has been by others here as well
Any time in life when I realize someone's feelings possibly got hurt somehow, I will do whatever I can to remedy that situation.
I, of all people do realize, what you're doing isn't just like pushing a button. It takes a lot of work to put things together that you have been doing. You are very much appreciated here Ed
The dough recipe was also appreciated by Judy and I. She has it filed in her recipe drawer and she Thanks You too
Track Fiddler