Good Morning,
I'm still here, just haven't had much to say for a while.
Feeling fine, enjoying another mild fall so far with temps 10 degrees F above normal. The 80' elm beside our house is all yellow now and quite spectacular. For the past 10 years fall is getting later as the elm is turning colour at least 3 weeks later than it did 30 years ago. All the flowers are still going strong. Very few migrant birds so far. We are afraid many didn't make it with the late spring.
Nothing much planned for today other than picking up some live meal worms from the pet store. The chickadees love them and start to let us know about 3 pm that it is worm time by flying around us. They go through 50 in about an hour.
Need to get the rear brakes done on the car as the pads are down to 3mm. Could wait until spring as we drive so little. Think I will get them done by a shop nearby and save $250 from what the dealership wants.
We were recently offered a Westie pup but reluctantly turned it down as it could outlive me. Hate getting old but I don't feel like I am. Can still run up the basement stairs and do so at least 20 times a day.
Keep well,
CN Charlie
See I am top of page so a coffee and donut are on me sent from a virtual Tim's.
Hi Charlie
Good to see you back as I missed you. Stopped back home for another tool I forgot this morning and an early peanut butter and jelly sandwich with cherry preserves for a make shift lunch
Glad to have ya back! I like to have all my good Canadian friends accounted for eh! ...
TF
Good afternoon fom the Delaware Wetlands. We are still getting the effects of Ian. Nothing serious, just wind and rain and coastal flooding.
My old tablet computer seems to have crossed whatever bridge computers take when they expire. I'm using the girlfriend's tablet for the moment. I need a new one. I'm thinking of a laptop. I have never been comfortable with Android devices and doing everything with fingertips.
Good to see CNCharlie back. I must admit I check the RIP Track every month to make sure I'm not on it.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
trying....
- Douglas
Good afternoon, diners. I'll have a bacon burger and fries, Flo.
It's another perfect fall day here. Temps in the 70s, and sunny.
I hope Kevin gets his power back on soon and can contact us. I'm sure he will have some stories to tell, good and bad.
Our house has several bedrooms that are only used at Christmas when the family all arrives. My layout is in one of the bedrooms. My wife has allowed me to move the bed to another room, and the room is now officially a train room. I'm getting some shelves built in the closet so I can get the train materials put away.
CNCharlie, it's good to hear from you again. I admit I was starting to worry a little. I missed your reports on the birds. We have been having eight male cardinals at our feeders at the same time. I hope they all stick around once the snow comes. They are a very pretty sight in the snow.
This photo is outside a small town about 50 miles east of the Spring Creek Model Railroad store in Deshler, Nebraska. It says the RR bridge is unused, and I have not been able to find this place. It would be about 60 miles southeast of me, so it sounds like a neat place to spend a day bridge hunting.
Edit: I just checked Google maps, and it looks like this bridge is right in the south part of a town -- should be easy to fine. I can't tell for sure, but there is a trail near there called Chief Standing Bear Trail. It looks like a neat place to explore.
Colorful river scenery by John Carrel, on Flickr
Have a great day, everyone.
York1 John
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Courtesy of Dreamstime
I might just paint one of my bridges Red! Even if someone thinks there's something wrong with that
Good evening
My journey through life I have always considered the source of people I have brushed paths with.
This floor I'm working on, I will get rid of the squeaks. I met the woman that lives underneath and you could drop a feather on velvet and she would not be happy with that
I just get paid for what I do Kids and I can't do any better than my best!
Mark my words that this one is going to bite me in the hiney...
Good afternoon from the Sunny West Coast where it is 25c today.
Sat on the patio as the Sun came up and after a couple of my giant mugs of Tims, played the guitar for a couple of hours when the wife left for Costco. Then got on the recumbent bike for 30 and had a decent go, flat out for a solid 20 minutes.
The wife wants to go for a walk with the dogs so I'll do 5km with her and then she heads home with 3 dogs and I'll continue further along on a much steeper part for another 5km with our male.
TF, Just refer Ms. Grumpy pants to the manager or whoever hired you. Not your problem in my book. I have some Glen left for later to help get over Ms.Whiney.
I had a young lady call me the other morning with a tax question, she makes about 60k a year. She has a slight disability that entitles her to some tax credits. My wife has been telling her for years to use TurboTax so she will likely not miss any deductions or tax credits. Now her employer deducts tax from her pay as per normal. The first question I asked her was how much Federal tax did you pay last year. She goes, I never pay tax, I always get money back.
Her Dad has always done her taxes and he will not spend the money on a program like TurboTax. It was always done the old fashion way on paper that they would go get at the Post Office. I let the wife take over helping her out as I could not stop rolling my eyes long enough to be effective, A fault I tend to have. Long story short, she could go back ten years and is getting a refund of $24,865.08. I wonder what ten years' worth of TurboTax would have cost her.
Good to have Charlie drop in, nice to hear from someone from my hometown. Charlie, maybe an older dog would be a possibility, we often place older Goldens with seniors that don't want the rigors of puppy training. The wife has it in her contract that any dog that cannot remain with the owner comes back to us. We have had very few back, but the ones we have gotten back were mostly re-homed to seniors.
John, that bridge looks like a great place to explore. What kind of wildlife do you have in the area? Cougars are the only thing I worry about as they will go after a dog even if a person is standing right there. Bears have never caused us problems, we consider them part of the surroundings.
Great to hear Brother Elias is on his way back to the subway, that should lift his spirits.
Walk time. That'll take me up to happy hour which is a prelude to the Canucks playing tonight. What a great day.
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."
BATMAN TF, Just refer Ms. Grumpy pants to the manager or whoever hired you. Not your problem in my book. I have some Glen left for later to help get over Ms.Whiney.
Sounds good to me!
I had a good peace and quiet relaxing time on your porch last night with You and Glen.
I'm in for another round. Tip it up Brent and we'll gaze off into the distance of the beautiful coniferous trees circumferencing your property line and that one trail that goes off to the Northwest I want to walk through one day...
A distant Ship Smoke on your Horizon
Evening diners. Flo, a chocolate malt please.
Wow there's been a lot of activity the last few days here in the diner! Seems the diner is busy when I'm too busy to come in. Hmmm. Hope that's just a coincidence.
This last weekend was crazy. I warned you guys about what could happen and it did. Thank goodness my oldest stayed down at college. I ended up taking a 2.5 hour nap Sunday afternoon and was still tired at 10:00 for bed. Such a short and yet long weekend all at once. I need a vacation.
Swamped at work this week, which certainly helps the day fly by, but does nothing to help me catch up on everything I'm somehow expected to accomplish.
Hope Kevin makes out okay once all is said and done down there. Pulling for him.
Have a good evening gentlemen.
Mike
CNCharlieI'm still here, just haven't had much to say for a while.
Hi CNCharlie,
Good to see you back.
When I was telling everyone about our trip to Lake Superior, I forgot to include the birding parts. We saw a couple thousand Sandhill Cranes just east of the SOO on our way north. In our past sightings of the cranes they were usually quite far from the road but this time they were within 100 ft. of the shoulder. Unfortunately the highway was fairly busy so I didn't want to stop on the shoulder and there were no sideroads close by.
We also had our first ever sighting of American Pipits. They were on the lawn right in front of the deck at the cottage we rented. They're not the most spectacular bird by any means, but to a bird watcher, any lifetime first sighting is a big deal.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Dave, Charlie, and others, do you write down or somehow track what birds you see? Do you have a system of what birds you may want to see but haven't yet?
My wife is the bird expert here, and can identify many birds by sight or sound. I am slowly learning, but it seems like a big mountain to climb just to learn all the info.
Your medical monitor sure is thorough, Brent!
Olive oil? by Edmund, on Flickr
There's still time, you know...
Similar to your lady with the taxes, the wife of one of the electricians I w**ked with was employed by GE but at another plant. He brought in a dog-eared manilla envelope one night and asked me to look at this "stuff" and see if there's anything in there worth keeping.
His wife was going through old files and was going to throw it out.
I began to sift through the papers and as it turns out, there were a bunch of GE stock certificates some of them dating back to the 1970s before there were a bunch of 2 for one and even three for one splits! A couple of the envelopes inside haden't even been opened and there were certificates inside.
I got my calculator out and looked up the dates of the splits. On one certificate alone was issued in 1970 and this saw eight splits, one of them a 3:1.
100 shares of GE in 1970 became 9600 shares in 2001! After I was done I passed the envelope back to the electrician with the news that there was roughly $135,000 worth of stock in there. His wife hadn't paid a penny for any of it, it was all ESOP or bonuses given!
His wife had no clue. I wonder if she ever cashed any of the dividend checks that must have been sent out every quarter?
Well, the electrician was sure glad to get this news. Lucky thing they didn't shred them or toss them in the fireplace!
Update from the Sunshine State:
Kevin got a chance to look at some of the contents of the storage unit and the damage is not as severe as he first thought. Many of his materials were in 17 gallon totes and these offered some protection. Some of the paper and wood items are probably not so good and a musty smell is prevalent, of course.
He said Home Depot brought in a tank truck with gasoline and offered it to employees in need! A neighbor was able to score some ice so that was helpful.
Still no sign of any official presence. His roof damage was not too extensive, thankfully. Very few areas have any power restored.
I passed along the well-wishes from the folks here and I'm sure he misses us all.
Cheers, Ed
Toto, I don't think we are in New York anymore.
BroadwayLion Toto, I don't think we are in New York anymore.
Ya We Are!
BroadwayLionToto, I don't think we are in New York anymore.
But we can always go back at a moments notice:
I visited New York City maybe a half-dozen times and enjoyed every visit. This was back in the late '60s and early '70s of course. Not sure I'd have as much fun these days. I prefer to remember it as it was then.
rr872 by George Hamlin, on Flickr
rr1307 by George Hamlin, on Flickr
My ex Cleveland Union Terminal "motors".
Good Grief!
I hope Bear has a hold on things while not getting along with his friend Sasquatcb
Good evening all.
Glad to see the update on Kevin having not as much damage as he could have.
I have a few friends on the other side of Florida, they had no damage.
A friend down in Puerto Rico had very minor damage, and is already back to his normal there.
I was going to post a few trains in the fall pics, but I'm geting a "403 - Forbidden" on my Flickr account.
I will try later, and catch up on everything else then as well.
Hope all are well, and all enjoy the evening.
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.
I wish the very best for my buddy Kevin and his Family.
John
Track Fiddler
Don't forget to vote:
https://explore.org/fat-bear-week
Bulk up for a long winter...
MisterBeasley commented: "I'm thinking of a laptop. I have never been comfortable with Android devices and doing everything with fingertips."
Right now at best buy, costco, amazon (perhaps some additional places) you can get a MacBook Pro 14" (or 16") for $400 off regular price. That's the best deal I've ever seen on a new Mac since I started using them in 1987. Base model 14" comes with 16gb of RAM and a 512gb SSD (which is VERY fast).
Quite happy with mine, and I got it before the sale with a veteran's discount of $200. Again, $400 off is a very good price...
Always did like the Green Machine!
Track fiddlerPolitical??? Republican, Republican, Republican.
Huh?
Regards, Ed
Anyone hear from Kevin P. yet? I scrolled through all these posts and didn't see his avatar. I don't expect him to be posting pics of trains right now, but I figured maybe one of you is in contact with him. Is he digging out? Are they alright?
-Matt
Returning to model railroading after 40 years and taking unconscionable liberties with the SP&S, Northern Pacific and Great Northern roads in the '40s and '50s.
Yes
crossthedog Anyone hear from Kevin P. yet? I scrolled through all these posts and didn't see his avatar. I don't expect him to be posting pics of trains right now, but I figured maybe one of you is in contact with him. Is he digging out? Are they alright? -Matt
If you scroll up this page, you can read some of the reports. Ed has gotten several messages from Kevin. He's without power, but his house survived with only minor damage. There's quite a bit more info in some of Ed's posts.
https://youtu.be/kmZoQFYYx8U
And around the Lake, Monsters come out of the sky and they stand there...