Can you northerners please keep your weather up there? We had a little snow/sleet/rain early this week followed by a couple of mornings in the teens (Wed. & Thur). Most of the major bridges and many highways were closed. I've had my fill of the news on TV about the cold; nothing else has been going on anywhere else in the world. They had been telling us to stay off the roads, then they sent their camera vans out all over to show us the ice and snow on the roads. They also showed us demos on how to scrape ice off of windshields, how to let the water run to keep pipes from freezing, and later, how to boil water. The last is because with all the broken pipes, the pressure in many communities got low enough that there was concern about possible contamination.
We were OK here, but my concern now is that I may have lost my citrus trees. I have a navel orange and a satsuma tree which will tolerate temps into the mid-teens; for Wednesday morning they forecast a low of 20°F so I didn't worry about them, but in the morning my thermometer read 16°F, and it's next to the house, so open-air temperature is likely a couple of degrees colder. I don't know how well known satsumas are to the rest of the world, but they have been a local favorite for as long as I can remember. I think they are a type of mandarin, and they are like the shmoos of oranges--they are made for eating. The skin practically falls off, and the segments are like little bags of juice.
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"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Thanks, MC, for a good post-prandial laugh. I doubt I will ever forget the runoff in the early spring of 1984--people caught fish in at least one street downtown. Not only was there much heavier snowfall in December, spring came to the mountains earlier than usual.
Johnny
We're enjoying a bit of a thaw right now, but not with the flooding we got last time.
Won't be too bad for the drive to the train show tomorrow, and I need a couple of mild days so I can work in the garage on the toy chest/bookshelf daughter has ordered for granddaughter.
But I'm sure we'll see more of the white stuff...
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...
Sir C: I get the very normal, every winter feeling that this will be us (4-8) in about Feb/Mar/& April....We are, as usual, a little slow here....
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Johnny: Past tense of snow is runoff.
Mooks: Willy knows not to miff da cat. He's making sure da white stuff tracks thru Ashland and points east. Otherwise the student body at Weatherliar U is shovelling out Lincoln.
Looking for 4"-8" of the overdue white stuff tonight.
I'm nervous. Winter storm watch/warning for Nebraska - up through (threw) about 20 miles west of us. We should escape everything. What if they are right? Really gives me something to ponder....
Deggesty(if the past tense of "throw" is "threw", why is the past tense of "snow" not "snew"?)
Johnny,
We are currently enjoying a reprieve from the cold, snowy, blowy ravan ravenges of winter weather. C'mon April. I hate to wish away a couple months of my life but I am tired of the cold. Perhaps I should drive to Florida to visit a high school friend of fifty years.
Norm
Last night, one of the local guessers wore the white coat that his father (who worked for the same station) wore when he was going to predict snow. When I looked out the window this morning, I saw that it indeed snew (if the past tense of "throw" is "threw", why is the past tense of "snow" not "snew"?)
mudchicken - seems that the FCC is stupidly going to allow ground based transmitters (after killing this a few years back) on a frequency close enough to mess with the GPS L1-band (1575MHz) for Ligado (successors to LightSquared TelCom)
- seems that the FCC is stupidly going to allow ground based transmitters (after killing this a few years back) on a frequency close enough to mess with the GPS L1-band (1575MHz) for Ligado (successors to LightSquared TelCom)
Oh for Pete's sake....
{Censored} MBA and lawyer types who have no clue on how radio works and why the {Censored} bands adjacent to the GPS downlink bands were set aside for space comms ONLY.
On the other hand, maybe Lidado may opening themselves (and their customers) to being sued every time a GPS receiver glitches.
Grumble, grumble
Good for you, Joe. Even a short train - it would still be an uncomfortable walk, first out and then back. Wonder if there has ever been a BO like that on the 1st or 2nd car from the head end?
afternoon
Ns was busy again by work today.An Ns eastbound was having a bad day.Stuck brakes on the 5th car from the rear of the train.Also the 2nd locomotive needed repair too.I saw the conductor and took him back to the head end of the train.Mamma's tire got replaced now maybe things can get back to normal.Chores to do.
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").
It's a problem those of us in the ham radio commuity know all too well. We don't "own" a lot of bandwidth, but there are plenty of folks who look at what we do have and see dollar signs.
Few realize that hams are (and have proven to be during recent events) the back-up when cell and other data networks go down. I can talk to a lot of people using a 12 volt battery powered radio and a portable antenna. I did that last fall during a contest from a location with zero commercial infrastructure. We can send data and pictures, too.
But we're just a bunch of geeks who are wasting bandwidth someone else could be making money on...
The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.
Test Post: How long Till It Hits The Newswire Dept. - seems that the FCC is stupidly going to allow ground based transmitters (after killing this a few years back) on a frequency close enough to mess with the GPS L1-band (1575MHz) for Ligado (successors to LightSquared TelCom)...DOT is already yelling "foul!" along with just about every surveyor in the US. The new transmitters effectively jam GPS and by association, PTC. I bet the knucklehead Dems in the senate and congress, in their push to find out why PTC isn't already up and running 100%, have no idea this crap is going on (beyond all that cash to their re-election campaign keeps showing up under the table) How long till this hits the newswire?
WLW 38 states and 2 planets.....
Mamma had a bad tire this morning.The plot thickens on Ns in Archbold.The sperry doddlebug is still near our warehouse.In the siding track is a stack train.The engines are separated.Don't know if the lead unit or 2nd unit has a problem.Have chores and errands and mammas tire to do so I'm taking Friday off.
Found WLW's tower on Acme Mapper: 39°21′11″N 84°19′30″W
It is a beast!
A short distance west I find VOA MetroPark, which I presume is where the
VOA facilities were located.
Interesting stuff!
mudchicken(and then there is Cincinnati's WLW, "the blowtorch" - whose original broadcasting facility north of town was later the 'Voice of America" through the efforts of Powell Crosley.)
The Voice of America's transmitters were separate from the 700 kHz transmitter but it was on the same farm near Mason OH. The original WLW transmitter was a 500,000 Watt transmitter that had downspouts talking to people. Any joint of dissimilar metals nearby could act as a receiver. When the FCC put a 50,000 Watt limit on broadcasters, the original 50,000 Watt exciter of the final 500.000 Watt final stage became the transmitter. It feeds a 747 ft metal tower built in 1933. Later in the fifties, WLW put a newer higher fidelity transmitter in service. The WLW AM transmitter fed a single tall antenna.
See http://www.j-hawkins.com/wlw.shtml
The VOA had multiple antennas that are/were wires strung between muliple wood poles. They were spread over a mile square area. When I toured it back in the fifties, it was wierd to hear large transformers that were over 7 ft tall and about 15 ft square talking. See more at:
http://www.voamuseum.org/the-museum/what-to-see/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
(and then there is Cincinnati's WLW, "the blowtorch" - whose original broadcasting facility north of town was later the 'Voice of America" through the efforts of Powell Crosley.)
BOB WITHORNSo Balt, how'd ya do?
3rd on Saturday, 4th on Sunday when the car broke - nothing big but caused me to stop on track. Sebring can break any car!
Homestead the prior weekend was a constant thrash! Changes I made didn't work and I had to go back to the original configuration - after I blew up two clutch belts and didn't set a qualifying time on Friday or Saturday and missed Saturday's race. Ran Sunday and got a 3rd.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
So Balt, how'd ya do?
Ns had a stack train in the siding when I left work.Also a sperry doddlebug looks like it didn't get very far today as well.I don't know if they tested our track into our warehouse or not.One of the bosses is a railfan too.It could come in out of the cold at least.Chores to do.
Spent the past two weekends racing, first in Homestead, FL and then in Sebring, FL. While the visible hurricane damage is not as severe as I had witnessed back in 2006 after the multiple hurricanes including Katrina had struck Southern Florida, what I witnessed this year was damage to the large advertising signs - mostly the type that have a aluminum light box to hold the lighting elements and a large plastic cover that displays the verbiage on both sides of the light box. Very few seem to have either survived and/or been repaired since the storms happening in the middle of August.
Locals may know where these businees are, however, outsiders have no idea unless you can see the name on the building.
Murphy Siding It's so cold..... we're freezing our cabooses off! Proof- I haven't seen a caboose in like, forever.
It's so cold..... we're freezing our cabooses off! Proof- I haven't seen a caboose in like, forever.
A local equipment rental outfit had on their marquee - "Every Train has a Caboose." I still haven't stopped in to correct them...
If you want cold, you could have joined me at the pump panel of our engine early this morning as we tried in vain to save a house built in 1850. A malfunction in a wood burning furnace following a power outage was the probably cause.
It was about 7 degrees. Freezing hoses and frozen ground were concerns.
Due to the numerous void spaces that the fire had no problem finding, we ended up bringing in a track hoe to tear the building down.
I'm tired, and will sleep well tonight, even after a four hour nap after we got everything back in service.
Murphy the caboose for Csx to use around Defiance gets lonely in the yard quite a bit.I had to wait on the NS local uptown when I got off of work today.Matt was on time today.Chores to do.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
CShaveRRI already know that my PSA levels are still undetectable (my regular doctor mentioned that today).
"Zero-point-zero" was not so good for John Blutarski, but in this context it is sparkling. Let's hope that it keeps down in that region.
Joe: Oh, Deere!I'm currently hoping to see my first 2018-built freight car. My target is some UCRY (Utah Central) stack cars that I know are being built. Earlier orders of these cars have come east under load on BNSF, so that's where I'm tending to go a little more frequently. (Oh, for the weather and the energy to bike the six or so miles over hill and over dale like I used to!)Passed my physical today, with slight anemia noted. Also, I seem to be settling--my height has dropped by a couple of inches. No corresponding drop in the weight...how long before I'm wider than I am tall? Tomorrow I visit the radiation oncologist for my semi-annual consultation. I already know that my PSA levels are still undetectable (my regular doctor mentioned that today).
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)
Still snowing here in NW Ohio.After lunch Ns had a frieght go east with plenty of Green tractors in the mix.They had empty cars to pick uptown when I left work.Plows were working out on the roads too.Time for chores here at home.
Electroliner 1935Larry, I presume the highway department plows eventually cleared the road. Did anyone hit that ice while driving? Coming upon that at night could be disasterous.
They used loaders.
Not sure what time it actually flooded. It's a state highway, but not a major thoroughfare.
But no, you wouldn't want to hit it...
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