Good morning Diners. A large coffee please, Flo.
A busy day ahead with a lot of little jobs to do.
Scenery Egyptian style.
IMG_0205 by David Harrison, on Flickr
Scenery at Clarence Dock Yard.
IMG_2585 by David Harrison, on Flickr
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
The best outdoor speakers I've ever had are these Yamaha models:
https://a.co/d/cCQLbkq
The first pair I had lasted about twelve years and even held up pretty well being right in the open weather for the last few years where I had an outdoor patio. The current pair are under a protected pavillion area.
It was just that kind of day around here today.
Sixteen Paws by Edmund, on Flickr
Scenery — B&O style:
Thomas Underwood Coll B&O195 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Thomas Underwood Coll B&O483 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Thomas Underwood Coll B&O504 by John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
gmpullmanI used to have an envious 7.1 surround system.
I will say that my 7.1 in the living room makes a real theater experience at home.
I am looking at replacing my main front speakers. I built these speakers about 25 years ago. Each one has a 12" subwoofer, and that is not needed now that I have a good powered subwoofer. I am looking at a pair of Klipsch speakers with built in Atmos channels. They are only about half the width, and that will allow for less congestion on that wall.
The new 5.1 in the master bedroom really impresses me. It has 4 small 2-way Polk Audio speakers and a Polk Audio center speaker. All of these are built into the vertical sections of the tray ceiling. These speakers sound amazing. I have an 8 inch subwoofer in the ceiling concealed behind an air return grill. It really makes the room come alive.
Out back the four speakers surround the porch. They are cheap off-brand center channel speakers that I selected because they most closely matched the size of the air vents I put in the soffit. They do not sound great, and are not loud, but they are plenty good enough for background music outside.
I never turn anything up loud enough to shake stuff up, but I could.
hon30critterWe don't want our neighbours to have to listen to our music (I wish they had the same point of view!)
Me too. It seems we always have one rude household in the neighborhood that thinks we should all let them select the music for us. I won't spend the money necessary to do that.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Hi Everyone,
I know it looks like the only time I show up is to comment on music. Wellll, that's not exactly the case. ill have to appear more often to avoid such impressions.
However, country music has gone through some dramatic changes. The genre started adopting rock rhythms and phrasing in the 80's. Around 1990 the labels dropped almost all of their established artists and signed a bunch of younger "newcomers." These people grew up playing rock as well as country so that now country can be summed up as rock with a twang. That's the short version, but it's basically what happened.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Mike Danneman sure can find the scenery!
North of Cape Girardeau by Mike Danneman, on Flickr
I used to have an envious 7.1 surround system. Over the past few years with downsizing I now can get away using decent sound bars with subwoofers. I rarely watch the DVDs on the 'theater' TV upstairs and mostly pop a DVD into the 42" plasma (now an antique itself!) in my model workroom. There was a time I could make the glassware shake off the shelves when playing Top Gun or listening to the Hueys in We Were Soldiers. I guess we kind of outgrew that.
Best wishes to all —
Regards, Ed
BATMANf I eat real food, nothing manufactured, and don't lift heavy things I live pain-free with no need for any medications. More of my friends and acquaintances are going in for new hips and knees. But it is the ones that are making their bodies pack an extra 50-100 lbs that have to get it done. The body wasn't designed to carry that, especially the joints. Good muscle tone keeps things aligned as well.
You got it! I just wish I had started 30 years ago! For me watching carbos and fat intact is the big "must do". Being diabetic I have a huge sweet tooth and that is not a good thing. There is a gent who runs over at the fieldhouse that had a son in the same class as my youngest. He is a retired Doctor and he and his beautiful wife often exercize at the Fieldhouse. The Doc just ran in a 5k competative race. I don't know where he finished, but I know he finished the race. He is...... 92 years old! What really touches me is every few laps at the fieldhouse he slows down and reaches out for his wife's hand. She takes his hand, gets up and walks a couple laps with him, then he gets back to running! That guy is one of my hero's!!!
I am trying to talk a lady that goes walking with me (and then we have lunch together) to driving to a Mennonite Farm nearby and have a day of Railbiking! I think that might be fun and a great use of a few miles of abandoned track near where we live....
https://www.flrailriders.com/about
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
[quote user="howmus"]
howmusI didn't do quite that good this morning and only did a 5k inside at the Fieldhouse this morning. That said I have a decade of survival more on the planet than he does.....
Not sure what the future holds for me, Ray. Two things will do me in with my bad arthritis and lay me flat. One is eating carbs, the inflammation food. The second is carrying weight. When I have to carry weight such as moving many 40 lb bags of dog food I am in agony the next day.
Hmmm, look what just showed up. At least it is a small amount today.
If I eat real food, nothing manufactured, and don't lift heavy things I live pain-free with no need for any medications. More of my friends and acquaintances are going in for new hips and knees. But it is the ones that are making their bodies pack an extra 50-100 lbs that have to get it done. The body wasn't designed to carry that, especially the joints. Good muscle tone keeps things aligned as well.
This will never be me.
I am at 11% body fat and feel great and the wife likes it. I think if I eat properly and stay active I should be fine for a lot of years to come. Of course, I come from a generation of kids that if we got hungry while out playing, would pull a carrot out of the ground, wipe the dirt off on my jeans and eat it. Now they run in and eat a box of Oreos instead.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
01 118 Struggling in the Wet. Love the trees and 50 shades of green.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brw6Kly_gdM&ab_channel=PoweredbySteam
BATMAN SeeYou190 I can't imagine replacing all that with one tiny round speaker. We have three Alexas in the house. To answer our questions there is the little round speaker, however, they are all hooked up to significant sound systems in the house, one in the living room, one in the kitchen family room, and one in the train room. When I want to listen to music or listen to a lecture or something else along those lines, I just tell her to turn the sound system on in one, two, or all three rooms, and the music quality is top-notch. Alexa is used constantly in our house, best tool ever.
SeeYou190 I can't imagine replacing all that with one tiny round speaker.
We have three Alexas in the house. To answer our questions there is the little round speaker, however, they are all hooked up to significant sound systems in the house, one in the living room, one in the kitchen family room, and one in the train room. When I want to listen to music or listen to a lecture or something else along those lines, I just tell her to turn the sound system on in one, two, or all three rooms, and the music quality is top-notch.
Alexa is used constantly in our house, best tool ever.
Hmmmmm...... Way back when I was a poor Public School Music Teacher, (we were the worst paid school system in NYS) my family lived in a large Trailer Park outside of the village. Our next door neighbors (former friends I might add) decided to have an all night...... ah.... We'll call it a party (involved a lot of Booze, and other, ah stimulants, etc., some activities we shouldn't discuss here and very loud music.) This was on a Saturday night and I had to be up and at Church to direct the choir the next morning. The party died down around 4am. (Nobody left, they were all, uh, unconcious, I guess, but the music at least stopped. I think the police may have stopped by too.)
So at about 6am, my wife and I got up, moved my fairly large home music system, outside turned the volume up to almost burn out the speakers and played this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfwAPg4rQQE
Just the opening section..... Before you listen, be sure to connect your computer to the biggest and best sound system you have, stand back and turn the volume up to "BLAST"... ]
A few minutes later several people left the house next door and went home.
That is my absolute favorite introduction to a major sound poem!!! The introduction is supposed to be the Creation of Heaven and Earth! Richard Strause knew how to create Romanticism!!!!
Enjoy but be careful of your ears!!!
SeeYou190I can't imagine replacing all that with one tiny round speaker.
SeeYou190I have a 7.1 surround sound in the living room, 5.1 with all in-wall speakers in the master bedroom, stereo speakers in the garage and train room, and four speakers built into the soffit on the back porch. I can't imagine replacing all that with one tiny round speaker.
Hi Kevin,
I'm sure there would be no comparison, but the tiny box suits our purposes perfectly. We are not stereo afficionados. We like our music in the background so we can still easily hear each other and our guests talk. We almost never play it at more than 1/2 volume and yet it can be heard quite nicely throughout the entire main floor. We don't need speakers on the deck because the Google thing is right beside the patio door that leads to the deck, and we don't want our neighbours to have to listen to our music (I wish they had the same point of view!!)
I will say again that the sound quality is really good for the size. There is no distortion even at full volume, and the bass/treble balance is perfect IOHO. Will it rattle the windows? Nope, and we don't want it to.
Enjoy your music system!
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Good afternoon (believe it or not) from the Sunny Finger Lakes region of New york State!
BATMANWent for a 10.5km scoot in the cold pouring rain with my buddy on Friday and covered a lot of rough up-and-down terrain in pretty short order. Scrambled up a very steep 193-metre climb without slowing down. The dog is in all-wheel drive all the time and I was shifting into all-wheel drive as well at times on some really steep parts grabbing onto the rocks. We were both needing a hose down when we got home but felt terrific.
I didn't do quite that good this morning and only did a 5k inside at the Fieldhouse this morning. That said I have a decade of survival more on the planet than he does.....
I do hope that Spring hangs around for a while now that it seems to have found this area... Lady that I enjoy hanging around with and we walk a few miles on trails now and then tells me she is checking out some on line stuff on rails to trails here in the area.... One thing I intend to talk to her about is that there is a Mennonite Farmer nearby that purchased a short (3 to 5 mile) rail siding that still had rail and turned it into a track car line that people can rent and get some excercise with. I need to drive over to where the line starts and check that out....
The lady has pretty much healed up from a torn Meniscus a few months back....
hon30critterThat tiny round box has entirely replaced our old stereo system
I don't know. I have a 7.1 surround sound in the living room, 5.1 with all in-wall speakers in the master bedroom, stereo speakers in the garage and train room, and four speakers built into the soffit on the back porch.
I can't imagine replacing all that with one tiny round speaker.
MisterBeasleyTry finding a good oldies station.
Hi MisterBeasley,
We use the Google music service provided by YouTube Music. We play it on our little smart box thingy (same sort of thing as Alexis) and we can get pretty much anything that we ask for. The trick is in knowing what to ask for. If we just ask for a specific band or singer it will play music exclusively by those artists, as least until their repetoire runs out. Then it will switch to a similar genre.
However, if we ask for a specific song, it will play that song and then play a variety of songs by other artists from that era and genre. Our favourite is to ask for 'The House of the Rising Sun' by the Animals, and the variety of music that follows suits us perfectly for hours. We get compliments from our friends saying how great our music selection is.
It also does radio stations, weather reports and much more. It can do grocery lists and to do lists, and it can act as an alarm clock. That tiny round box has entirely replaced our old stereo system and it is well worth the monthly fee. The sound is also terrific considering its size.
For oldies, I just listen to itunes on my computer. I have loaded over 20,000 songs from my collection of around 5,000 CDs. I have plenty of custom playlists in itunes for any mood I am in. I have all the oldies.
I listen to the radio for new music. No local stations meet my mood, so I listen to it over the internet.
WMNF from Tampa and KHYI from Dallas are my two favorites. I used to listen to a station from North Carolina that only played live recordings, but they switched format a few years ago.
Good Morning,
Well the predicted snow didn't arrive, only a very light dusting, not enough to even sweep. Now a Colorado low is to arrive with perhaps 10" of the stuff on Wednesday. Not holding my breath.
Not a fan of Country music so never listen to it. We get an internet channel called Stingray Jukebox Oldies. Playing But I Do by Clarence "Frogman"Henry right now. There are other channels with newer stuff. I guess classic rock depends on your age. I also listen to classical. We have a local station here that is all classical and CBC still has a fair amount.
Dug out a gondola that came apart and plsn on re-gluing it today. It is part of the work train. The Pacific is still sitting at the station waiting for orders. Maybe they will come today.
CN Charlie
If you want decent radio, you pretty much need satellite or even Pandora, and I think there might be a couple of more.
The Sirius channel 59, Willie's Road House is all the country classics.
Thanks for that ride David. Good thing locomotive engineers don't get carried away trying to follow GPS like some car and truck drivers, can you imagine an NS 110 car unit coal or ethanol train getting lost on that? haha!, or a 150 car CSX container train?
OOOPS! I had TOP !
How about an early lunch!
Have a great Monday!
Mike.
My You Tube
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
Good morning everyone. Chloe, I am craving something salty, please just bring me a plate of fresh french fries.
mbinsewiThe reason the country music I listen to is on Sirius radio, particularly Willie's Road House, Outlaw Country, Blurgrass Junction, and occasionally Prime Country.
I usually stream (listen live) a station from Dallas, KHYI The Range, that plays new country, but not what I saw last night, more of down and dirty country. They are very enjoyable and play songs I hear nowhere else.
SeeYou190 It is obvious that "Country Music" now means something very different than I thought it did. -Kevin
It is obvious that "Country Music" now means something very different than I thought it did.
Try finding a good oldies station. Most that bill themselves as oldies just play hair bands and screamers. My daughter is older than some of the music they call oldies.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
York1 That looks like a fun ride.
That looks like a fun ride.
NorthBrit"Be careful kiddies. There's a train comin'." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPClBQBF_Hc&ab_channel=BigJimVideoProductions
David, that's kinda neat how some of the homes along the tracks have grass planted between the rails and they cut the grass with the rest of the yards. That looks like a fun ride.
York1 John
Good afternoon Diners. A cup of Assam tea and a couple of oaty raisin cookies please, Brunhilda.
Country music sure has changed over the years. Dawn and I used to attend Festivals, but not now.
"Be careful kiddies. There's a train comin'."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPClBQBF_Hc&ab_channel=BigJimVideoProductions
SeeYou190It is obvious that "Country Music" now means something very different than I thought it did.
The reason the country music I listen to is on Sirius radio, particularly Willie's Road House, Outlaw Country, Blurgrass Junction, and occasionally Prime Country.
What's on the local am/fm "country" station is called "Bro-country", by the underground folks, and is mostly fake "country" boys in ball caps, going down "dirt roads" they never have really been on.
Good Morning Diners. Janie, bacon and eggs with a side of wheat toast please. Throw an extra egg on there for me too please.
Started pulling the carpeting off the stairs in our house that I'm redoing yesterday. Got 2/3 of them stripped down to bare wood before I stopped as the trash bin is filling up fast. Will get the rest of them after it is picked up this week. Problem now is the dogs are afraid to use them. The stairs are steep and without the carpet are challenging for them to get good footing on. I'm going to have to come up with something of a short term fix as it's going to be a while until the new treads are all in and a runner is installed.
SeeYou190"Country Music" now means something very different
First soccer game of the season for high school tonight. I'm resisting going as my daughter won't be playing as she is still recovering from knee surgery, but my wife "suggested" we need to go to this first game to show our support. Whats worse is that looking at the opponents their first two games, they are going to get creamed. It's going to be painful to watch.
Mike
A giant “corpse flower” famous for its rotting, putrid smell is set to blossom at the New York Botanical Garden — for the first time in four years.
Officially known as the Amorphophallus Titanum or Titan-arum, the flower can grow up to a jaw-dropping 12 feet tall and take as long as seven to 10 years to bloom — with the blossom only lasting 24 to 36 hours.
That makes it a rare sight for New Yorkers looking to experience its foul fragrance, which has been said to smell like rotting meat, at the garden’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory in the Bronx.
The botanical garden has set up a live-stream to allow flower fanatics across the globe to witness the stinky sight — sans smell.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I just watched the Country Music Awards.
Good Afternoon,
Just waiting for the snow to start. The forecast keeps changing, now more is forecast for Wednesday.
Today I cleaned all the dust off the vehicles on the layout and the roads. Not running trains as my wife is sleeping. The engines are noisy. She woke up with a bad headache. I read the the freezing can cause headaches and the dentist used a lot.
Brent, when you go to trainfest keep an eye out for a fellow selling and repairing brass. My expert goes to that show. He specializes in CP steam and if you are in the market he is very fair. I can send you his name if you wish.
Time for something.
Buried utilities are great. Unfortunately many folks don't realize that the wire comes out of the ground someplace.
Good afternoon from the edge of the Pacific Ocean where it is soggy and cool.
Went for a 10.5km scoot in the cold pouring rain with my buddy on Friday and covered a lot of rough up-and-down terrain in pretty short order. Scrambled up a very steep 193-metre climb without slowing down. The dog is in all-wheel drive all the time and I was shifting into all-wheel drive as well at times on some really steep parts grabbing onto the rocks. We were both needing a hose down when we got home but felt terrific.
We have an outside tub for the dogs with hot and cold running water. This guy jumped right in and loved getting blasted with warm water.
The wife took one look at me and my calorie burn and pulled a 1lb top sirloin out of the fridge for me. Told me not to drop any mud on the floor on the way to the shower.
Not bad for a 66-year-old geezer that is full of arthritis.
I have been chatting with my daughter a lot lately, she comes home Thursday for the summer, can't wait.
Eleven days til I or we leave for Calgary. Wife may come if she is up to it.
Trans Canada Highway just East of Lake Louise 1935.
It is a slightly better road today.
I spent a long day with my son watching trains a few years ago in the Rockies, he often talks about that day as it was a real quality time for the two of us.
We sat here enjoying the scenery and trains for quite a while. I think we are about 20km East of Lake Louise. The elevation at Ogdon (Calgary) is 1035m, where this photo was taken along the Bow River is 1450m, the continental divide is 26km to the West at 1680m.
I like to think these engines are saying "almost there boys, gettin' er done," they were grinding hard.
Of course, there are a few more ups and downs before they get to 0m at Vancouver. Nothing better than mountain railroading and listening to all that power on high.
When they twinned the CP mainline they lessened the grade so that explains this photo.
I have some Rocky Mountain granite I am painting in the trainroom, so best get at it. But first I will get old Blue eyes qued up on the CD player.
All the best to all.
Good afternoon, diners. I just came in the door, and in ten minutes I'm headed out again.
MisterBeasleyNewer communities like mine were all built with buried utilities from the start, so we're much less prone to that kind of wind damage.
Our area is the same. The utilities are all buried, so we very seldom lose power. But for some reason, even though everything is underground, our cable TV and Internet go out when there are high winds. Somewhere in the system, the feed to our town goes out in high wind. I have no idea why, and the cable company sure won't say anything except there is a "disruption".
It's good to hear from everyone, even if there's no important news.
Have a good rest of the Sunday!