Murphy - that is part of the family. More relatives here until after this weekend or so. But you should do a group hug because they are bringing spring!
BOC - glad you are back! I wonder if the Chatterbox could get a group health policy? Seems like each one of us brings something different. From checkups to surgery.
Johnny: You are right!
Tree: Fire sale in SF before finished building? Wow! We continue to have brush fires.
Joe - we sent a Norange out of town with enough black smoke I told the Driver the fire trucks will be running around looking for that brush fire that keeps moving!
Lunch trackside. I almost hate to admit to 60 and sunny, so I will just keep it to myself.
Moo....
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
SJ, I envy you the trackside lunch, though Pat and I ate our burgers from Hamburger Heaven by the tracks earlier this week. She put extra olives on hers, and we had an order of fried mushrooms, something I wouldn't indulge in if I'd been alone.This afternoon we revisited the scene of the crime (Elmhurst), because we both had dental checkups. While Pat was in the chair, I was out catching a very spectacular westbound manifest: the lead engine was UP 1996 (the SP heritage unit), followed by UP 7400 (the pink-ribbon breast-cancer unit) and a couple of others. In the train I saw my first 2014-built freight cars (a pair of TBOX cars built by National Steel Car, built last month) and a UTLX tank car that had to be close to new...definitely a higher number than anything I'd seen in that area before.And, thanks to a less-than-stellar dental checkup, I'll be back there next week, filling my tooth and hopefully my appetite for exciting stuff on the tracks.
P.S. I'm glad my teeth are less than stellar...if they were too much like stars they'd be coming out at night.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
BC - I will e-mail you some $$$ - you e-mail me some burgers and shrooms!
Carl, your complaint about having to return tot he dentist reminded me of Ogden Nash's poem "This Is Going to Hurt Just a Little Bit." I won't quote the entire poem, but the last few lines are as follows:
[After undergoing all sorts of things] And you totter to your feet and think, Well it's all over now and after all it was only this once, And he says come back in three monce. And this, O Fate, is I think the most vicious circle that thou ever sentest, That Man has to go continually to the dentist to keep his teeth in good condition when the chief reason he wants his teeth in good condition is so that he won't have to go to the dentist.
Note: "monce" and "sentist" are Mr. Nash's spellings.
He also wrote a nice poem "Riding on a Railroad Train," which tells of the greater joys of riding on a train than those found when traveling by luxury ship, by gasoline wagons, or by "the wings of flying dragons."
Johnny
We don't really have any problems with our dentist--he's very good, and he has a capable (and lovely) staff. We gladly go in twice a year to have our regular checkups, and I've been known to pop in to say hi, wish them a merry Christmas, etc., or to borrow their bathroom when the station is closed and they aren't.This time I have a small cavity on the inner surface of an upper incisor (#10). Not a surface where one normally expects to develop a cavity. I doubt that Novocain will even be required.The dental office, by the way, is about half a block from the tracks, with a normally unobstructed view of the trains at a grade crossing from the waiting room. A couple of weeks ago our favorite radio station played about 30 short poems about animals by Ogden Nash (he was narrating them...nobody does it better, of course). Most of them I hadn't heard before.
Today's a cooler day, with a stiff wind (I've heard the term "blustery" used very often this year; today and tomorrow both qualify). I'll hike out to the store later this morning (of course the store happens to be near the tracks, at the crossing at which I can see signals in both directions), but other than that, we'll spend the day indoors here.
In my childhood, my favorite bit of Ogden Nash's wisdom was "If called by a Panther, don't anther".
Norm
evening
wish we had more snowmelt up here in Nw Ohio. Csx is still plugged up.They let a grain train out of the elevator siding but no telling when they'll get to move.The engineer said hi picture takers on the scanner. Need to get things put away.Tomorrow is church and sunday school.
stay safe
Joe
Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").
59 degrees, sunny, 45 mph winds N, extremely dry and a raging grass fire just west of our train watching spot about 1/2 mile. I am listening to my scanner and they have just about every rig in Lincoln proper fighting the fire. The fire is threatening homes in the area and also businesses (1 had fire on the roof).
2 things: If I had a new home or a business in that area, which has always been just grass and weeds and is just now starting to develop, I would have the nicest lawn of only dirt and maybe a small evergreen of metal, with underground sprinklers!
And in a few days, it will be interesting to look at all the charred areas around the tracks on our way to train watching. This is very close to our Amtrak tracks, but seems to be heading parallel to them. I am going to hazard a guess that there is a careless human involved in this.
Trains - always exciting.
New York state finally saw the writing on the wall and banned all outdoor burning from now until the middle of May. It's cut down on the number of grass and brush fires we see, but there are still those who insist on burning off grass or brush piles. If we can help it, we'll have them written up.
The state also banned "burn barrels," much to the chagrin of many a country resident. They have traditionally been one of our biggest headaches for starting grass fires.
Cold today - with occasional snow showers. Still, it's been above freezing, so the snow continues to melt. There's just so much of it!
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
I seem to have teed off some of my FB friends by taking exception to a picture of two teenage girls holding hands as they walk along the top of the rail, complete with some flowery prose describing friendship.
I pointed out that they were probably trespassing, and all the other usual safety stuff, and ended up pointing out that the whole thing would have been just as effective in any number of other settings.
Just because many of us walked along the tracks as kids doesn't mean we should be romanticizing it.
People never let dangerous situations interfere with their entertainment.
Everyone working the fire earned their paycheck! Plus we had several fires north of the city that involved a lot of our rural depts. I have lived here all my life and do not remember ever having a 3 alarm grass fire. Guess we are getting to be just like everyone else - I want a country/ocean/mountain setting so I will build right in the middle of a forest/pasture/hang over water....
Larry, I'm with you...I had to chide one of my Facebook friends for his profile picture showing him and his two-year-old son walking in the gauge of a single track. If it's near where they live it could have been either the UP Belvidere Sub or the EJ&E. I told him it wasn't a good idea, and he "liked" my comment...but he hasn't taken it down yet.
afternoon
ma nature turned up the chill factor. Got the vehicles washed.Getting ready to go to the Ymca for Sunday school tonight.Going to play basketball.Matt said he wants to swim.He's working on his book report to finish it up.We had to send hugs to Indy today.Might go wed. It depends on how my Dad feels.Off to do chores.
joe
Mookie I have lived here all my life and do not remember ever having a 3 alarm grass fire.
A couple years ago one of the departments in the southern part of the county was called for a "large" grass fire. We're used to 1-2 acre deals, with 10 acres being a pretty significant event. This one came in close to 100 acres.
There were brush trucks there from three counties - the chief told me he knew it was a big deal when he arrived from work and saw a truck from the next county on the scene.
Nice day today, if cold. At dawn it was about +9F. Still, we sold out all of the chicken 500 halves) and no one was left wanting.
They called Brush 10 - which is a new one to me. What does a brush truck do? Is it a tanker? I am wondering if it has either been at Air Guard or in the county somewhere, since I don't remember hearing any of that on the local city tones.
A question:
Wondering if anyone else is experiencing a small problem with the chatterbox. When I click on 'last post' it takes me to a blank page. It only happens in chatterbox, and I'm wondering it it's an IT problem or something on my computer.
I had that last night as well...Chatterbox only. Obviously I don't have it this morning.Gotta run...we have a train to catch!
Now it seems to be working properly.
Trivia: Robins in the area....Snow has vanished.....Spring just around the corner.....As we advance into this week, weather is to become warmer....19 this morning, however about 40 this afternoon.....
Question: What are they doing at the Roanoke site we visit via web cam....It appears even more track may be installed judging from activity recently and currently on cam.....
Me, I'm working to re-gain strength back.
Quentin
I had the same problem. The reply count said 615 when I first saw the problem, but if I went to the first page then hit the >> on the page count, it went to the last page which had 12 or 13 entries in it. With a reply count of 615, there should have been 616 total entries, so the last page should have had one entry (15 entries per page). When the last page actually hit 15 entries, it started working again. Wonders of modern technology!
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Sorry - I got too close to the server. My computer ju-ju aura is far reaching...
I have been beating on the door for about 7-10 days now. We seem to always be the red haired stepchild.
Can't get in the door, go in the window.
Q - glad you are back. Can you say what you tangled with?
Went to put water in the bowl for the birds and had a robin tapping his foot not too far away. . His bathtub was full of leaves and water was low. Boy am I glad they can't talk!
mudchicken Sorry - I got too close to the server. My computer ju-ju aura is far reaching...
MookieThey called Brush 10 - which is a new one to me. What does a brush truck do?
Brush trucks are generally intended to go off-road. That means they'll be 4x4's, and won't carry as much water and equipment as a regular structural engine, but do tend to carry wildland-specific gear. Higher ground clearance is a plus.
Ours is a Ford 550 4 door with a utility body and a "skid unit" with a 250 gallon tank and a 250 GPM pump. It is also equipped with foam if we want it. While the longer wheel base isn't as amenable to "off roading," it can still usually get us where we need to be.
Cape Cod and eastern MA like their "brush breakers," which can take out small trees:
On the plains and in the southwest, they favor the flatbed style (although you'll find them nationwide):
The west coast likes a slightly larger version (again, you'll see them all over the country):
We also use ours for medical responses and motor vehicle incidents, so it carries BLS equipment.
.....J , we really don't know.....Assuming it's a spider bite {with poison}, from somewhere...Have no idea where. We're certainly not overrun with spiders here in the home.
Started as some would call an "ingrown hair", and it just got my attention by scratching on it, and day two.....uh oh...Redness, and then larger....Then to Dr....several days of treatment...after making incision to drain poison, however I lost all my appetite and went down fast to point it had to be hospital....5-days of bottles via I V with antibiotics. 9 more capsules after I got home....and now treatment {by me}, twice a day with meds on the "wound" and topped with a right size band aid....Will be back to the Dr this coming Fri. Wound is now looking good.
Gaining strength is what I'm working on now....It really got me down. I believe poison such as this can take a person all the way down if not treated....It almost did.
And Jen.....and Driver....Thanks for the private message...Appreciated that.
modelcar glad you are feeling better.have chores to do.Need to check on Matts homework too.
Q - glad you are recovering! After this winter weather, there must be a new snow/ice bug?
Tree - thanx for info. We do have several rurals right on the edges of the city - and we do use the tanker which lives at National Guard. Will listen very closely for the next few months to see if this is something we use more frequently, since I don't see any moisture in our short term and lots of grass fires. Now I kind of know what to look for.
Joe - are you going to advance a grade when Matt does?
......Thanks Joe...we're trying hard to get "back up".....
Quentin, that spider wasn't radioactive, was it? Hope you're back in the swing of things soon!
I notice no one is rushing to fix the Chatterbox. Came in through the window again. Should sell tickets to watch that....
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