Running Bear's October 2019 Coffee Shop

[Raincoat2]

Johnny , welcome to the club! I've been on meds for that over 10 years now, and even though I try to walk that narrow path I do slip from time to time. I can stay away from most sweets, but carbs (complex sugars) are my downfall. Now I have a good selection of diabetic cook books, and have found other ways to keep my belly happy!

Karl - yeah, my wife and I have been watching diet for many years. That spike in my blood sugar reading really surprised me. Will do the meds and continue to watch diet, and see what happens.

 

[Raincoat2]

Good morning everyone. 50 and sunny out there, with some fog on the way to work this morning.

Karl, Willie, Mike, Lee, Chet, Wheeler, Louis, Garry, Patrick, Chessie, Sherrel, and anyone I missed - thanks for your likes and comments on my post last Friday.
Everyone - thanks for the birthday wishes for my wife.
Sherrel - thanks for your comment on the photo of main street that I posted last week. I like making the town look busy.

I made some progress on the lumber company area of the layout. Took photos, and sent them to my computer, but they don't make it to the computer. Have no idea what's going on. When I get things figures out, I'll post the photos.

Birthday Celebration - Had a great time at the B&B last Friday with my wife as part of her birthday celebration. By the way, that B&B has a great breakfast - we took a half hour or more just eating and looking at the scenery out the window. Did some shopping and antiquing on Saturday, then stopped at an apple orchard on the way home and bought a couple of bushels of apples - my wife likes to make homemade apple sauce, and I like to bake them!! Yesterday the kids and grandkids all came over for dinner - barbecue and all the fixins. Rained most of the day, so we couldn't do anything outdoors. Tomorrow is her actual birthday, and we'll go out to one of the restaurants that gives her a free meal!

Have a good day everyone.

 

[chadbag]

Be careful with Walmart and wholesale club tires Louis. The reason they have such great prices is that they are selling their "spec" tires. Call a Michelin dealer, get a price and a manufacturers part number. Now call Walmart (or Sam's ,Costco,BJ's or your Aunt Philomena) and get the same info. More than often, the part numbers wont match. Why? Because the tires are not the same. Usually it's the same tire with lighter construction or less tread than the original.
Just make sure you are comparing apples to apples, not apples to lemons.

I have no personal experience with tires (from warehouse places) other than Costco, but I am pretty sure that the Costco tires are the same as every other dealer. I used Costco tires for years and never saw any longevity, durability, or other differences/issues from factory tires from elsewhere (either new with the car or when I got them elsewhere on occasion).

I've also started buying my tires from Discount Tire -- when they have their sales, like Black Friday or whatever, they are usually on par with Costco sale prices. But Discount Tire has been rotating my tires, doing flat repair, and the like for free now for years and I figured I could give them my business in return. (Costco offers that for tires you buy there but if you still have original tires on the car from when you bought the car, you are SOL until you replace them). Also, there is a new Discount Tire less than 2 miles from my house, while Costco is a bit further (and I live in the mecca of Costcos, with at least 9 different Costcos within an hour of my house, and 6 or 7 of those within 30-40 min, including the largest one in the world).

 

[GarryCBQ]

Good morning ....

Louis ....... Here is what Terry said yesterday ....... "As for politics and religion, the forum membership agreed to limited discussion of them in the coffee shop, as long as things don't get out of hand." ........ Some of the Coffee Shop patrons briefly made their point and moved on. Others were neutral as they made general comments about politicians in general. Most refrained from politics. So, I don't think others were out of hand.

Johnny ....... Happy birthday to Dena . .... Sorry to hear about your blood sugar situation.

Willie ..... It looks like you started another fun project, a background building. I liked the Walthers modular kit I used to make my large bakery.

 

[Bruette]

Be careful with Walmart and wholesale club tires Louis. The reason they have such great prices is that they are selling their "spec" tires. Call a Michelin dealer, get a price and a manufacturers part number. Now call Walmart (or Sam's ,Costco,BJ's or your Aunt Philomena) and get the same info. More than often, the part numbers wont match. Why? Because the tires are not the same. Usually it's the same tire with lighter construction or less tread than the original.
Just make sure you are comparing apples to apples, not apples to lemons.

Karl, thanks for looking out for me! I had no idea, I've been away from the game to long. Knowing Costco's philosophy I'd doubt they are doing that, but that sounds like something in Walmart's playbook and Walmart owns Sam's Club. I never liked BJ's anyway. When I took a free pass BJ's sent me it reminded me of a cheap Costco imitation, same with Sam's Club.

I'll give you a little known and unpublished fact; if you buy something from Costco and you are ever unhappy with the quality, they will give you 100% of your money back, no matter how long it's been. Nearly 20 years ago I use to buy printers from Costco for my customers who bought my computers. They always stood behind the printers, even 2-3 years later. My daughter works for Costco and tells me they still do that with everything they sell. I never worry when I buy anything from Costco and I can't remember the last thing I returned for poor quality. Costco is first rate across the board in my book!

What I do when I buy tires is go to the manufacturers website, in this case and the last, Michelin. I get their MSPN (part number) as Michelin calls it. The internet has made manufacturers price and fitment guides obsolete. Then I special order my tires from Costco or wherever. I do that to insure I get the correct size, load and speed ratings. I had no idea some were playing games with quality. Back when I worked for Firestone we made lesser quality tires, but never put the Firestone name on them.

I double checked and when I used Costco's online guide for selecting tires I came up with the same MSPN for the tires I special ordered. Just because Costco is not playing games does not mean others are not, Buyer beware!

I did find Costco to be the best deal in this case at $417.12 with the $110 instant rebate for the set of 4, mounted, balanced and tire disposal included. Plus 6% state tax, of course. I could have gotten the tires from American tire, a wholesale dealer for about $79 each, maybe less, but I would have to mount them or have someone else do it and that's not cheap any more. I need to face facts, I'm getting too old to change tires by hand. Passenger tires are worse then truck tires!

 

[Bruette]

Louis -[Quiet sounds]

I liked that very much!

 

[montanan]

Good morning. 36 degrees and partly cloudy. Should get up into the mid 60's but it is forecast to go downhill from there with a winter storm warning starting Tuesday night and low temps in the single digits on Wednesday night. Mike, Johnny, get out your long Johns.

Should head back to Las Vegas where it's warm. I am more than happy with the results of the auction. Tried to get some photos of my cars when they came off the truck but they ran me off and was getting ready to be moved to the main viewing area. Did manage to get one of the '60 Impala before I was ousted. This was restored to original condition. No resto-mod like the '59. Never drove it much because I couldn't stand the Power Glide transmission.



The auction was a no reserve auction so I didn't have to worry about having to bring anything home but there was always the chance of having extremely low bids. I didn't have a lot of bucks in what went to the auction, but a lot of time. Didn't pay a lot for what I had so the work that went into the cars was well worth it. Curt - This is part of our retirement.

The auction was a bit intimidating as I am not used to being in crowds but I did enjoy it. Saw many high dollar what I would call late model (2005 and newer) Mercedes go for 10 to 15 K. My wife kept me under control and although I did bid on a few cars, I stuck to my limit and got out bid. (thankfully).

A lot of posts to catch up with.

Willie - Can't believe all of the detail on those Santa Fe dash 9's. Incredible. Nice weathering on the grain hoppers also.

Ray - Nice photo of the dome car. I just loved to ride in them on out trips east. Probably my favorite car next to the dining car.

Sherrel, Willie- When we hit the road, we don't lolly-gag. With the higher peed limits in the western states, you can cover a lot of ground without traffic like there is in the eastern states.

Louis - Good photos as usual. Nice to see what was posted on a full size screen. The phone doesn't do them justice.

Z - Good photos of the museum.

Lee - Enjoyed your box car and reefer photos. I have a few old Silver Streak wood lit box cars running on my layout. Back in the day, they has so much more detail than most plastic ones. Here are a couple of the ones I did for my Logan Valley. They started off as undecorated kits. Can't really use the 36 footer on the layout because of the arch bar trucks as they can't be used in interchange service. Was going to send it to Dave Banta but he never sent me his address. Like the town photos also. Think that PennsyF unit could be a Tyco.



Terry - Nice photo of the GE unit.

Garry - I really like your city scenes. Great photos.

Going to go back and check the posts. Tried to keep up with them on the phone, but I was most likely distracted over the weekend.

Later

 

[PNKFLOYD]

My oldest daughter is a school teacher. I think that is one of the most important jobs in the world. I was disappointed when my daughter changed her college major in the University of Maryland from economics to education. When I saw her with the kids I was very pleased. The world has enough millionaires, what we need is more good teachers!

My youngest daughter is a single Mom and she also has a son. I'm glad to see you fill the shoes as male role model. You are not only a good dad, you are a good grandfather as well. I know first hand what a blessing it is to spend time with our grandsons.

God be with you my friend!

BRUETTE- Thank you for the kind words. As I am sure YOU realize, I do these things out of love for my family and for their success in life.
I am constantly amazed at the kids and adults that come up to my daughter and hug her while out shopping. She teaches 6th grade science and I have 3 seconds patience with that age kids. My grandson is a high school senior, works part time, has an "A" average and has earned a partial scholarship already to the Univ. of Alabama. He still enjoys trains, but not as much as his girlfriend.
I think train modelers have a special connection with children because of a common interest in trains. Our club displays layouts during the Christmas season at a children's science museum in Birmingham, Alabama. We volunteer during the weekends to mingle and talk to the visitors. I talk to kids from two to 102 about our interest in trains. I think it gives kids a chance to see many positive role models.

 

[Bruette]

Louis, the van is still made, just Chevy no longer applies their bow tie to it:
https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/commercial/nv200-compact-cargo.html

Thank you Terry, but my cousin's company, Koons does not have a Nissan dealership. Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Kia and others, but no Nissan. They do however have a Mercedes dealership. My family and I don't get any great, special pricing, we get a fair price, but she gets a referral bonus and I know we did not get screwed in the complex contract that is car buying, I don't read all that fine print and I don't have to fight if I need warranty work.

The year before last I had a tire blow out due to belt separation. The dealer, Koons Chevy, did not know how to do an in house adjustment, but I still got a check to cover the cost of the tire. Maybe it was the off the wall OE tire, American Cargo, I don't know, I don't care, I wanted my money for the failed tire!

Not to mention my local Nissan dealer is run by a bunch of idiots!

 

[chadbag]

Three interesting Costco stories:

1. I had bought a dehumidifier for my basement office when I lived in New Hampshire back in the late 90s/early 2000s. It worked fine, and I used it for several years. I eventually got a recall notice from Costco on that dehumidifier. I knew I would be moving in about 6 months to Utah, where no dehumidifier is needed, so I figured I would take it in on the recall before I left and get it fixed or whatever they had in mind for it, and then try and sell it. So as we got close to the move date, I bring the dehumidifier to Costco and tell them I had gotten a recall notice (I may have had the postcard as well -- this was some 17 years ago), and the guy wanted to know whether I wanted a new one or get my money back. Those were my choices. I was flabbergasted as i had used it for several years. Naturally I took the money back.

2. About 5 years ago or so, I bought a microwave at Costco. A year later it was misbehaving and I went in to get a copy of the receipt, as I had lost mine, so I could bring it to the manufacturer's warranty station to get it looked at. The Costco guy told me I could just bring it back and return it for my money back. Again, flabbergasted at the generosity of Costco in the policies.

3. My brother had bought a large screen LCD TV at Costco. He used it for several years. He bought an HD-DVD (remember those -- the Blu-Ray competitor that eventually went away?) and for some reason, even though all the interfaces on the TV and player were supposed to be compatible, the HD-DVD player would not play to the TV. He went in to Costco to look at new TVs and was talking to the guy there about why he needed to get a new TV, and the Costco guy told him to bring the old TV back. He did, and Costco basically gave him his money back which he applied to the new TV. He wasn't looking to take advantage of them but they offered... (They have since updated their TV return policies to not be as lenient -- I guess too many people were taking advantage of it to get cheap upgrades).

Lots of things I try and buy at Costco if I can because I know there is no hassle if i have a problem. I don't tend to bring years old products back for return as I don't find that ethical (unless they send me a recall notice or explicitly invite me to). But even in the short term, it is much easier to bring a TV back to Costco after a month than to try and ship it back to Amazon or New Egg or somewhere or deal with returns at a less compliant local vendor.

 

[Bruette]

Louis, Where in the heck is mine $$$$$$$

As smart and as talented as you are you should be in business for yourself! How about Karl's custom model trains? I'll buy one, two, probably too many! Can I get a discount on my first purchase for making the suggestion?

Maryland makes it easy, through the website you can set up an LLC in minutes and it costs very little. If I remember correctly it's free to get a Federal ID number. They both even have people available to answer all kinds of questions! I don't know about your local county, but Baltimore City can be a little bit of a PITA to deal with. Oh well nothing to it, but to do it!

 

[Bruette]

Hey, Louis - Yeah, I've already cut back on potatoes, bread, and rice - some of my favorite things to eat!!! And just in time to celebrate my wife's birthday with a big cake and icing, wouldn't you know it

Try not to worry about what you can't have. Be glad for what you do have, another day above the grass!

Doctor recommended to me to make vegetables half of what I eat. I have not hit the goal most days. I got no excuse I love most any steamed vegetable!

 

[santafewillie]

Louis, Where in the heck is mine $$$$$$$

Did you look in Elijah Cummings pockets?

 

[Bruette]

Louis ....... Here is what Terry said yesterday ....... "As for politics and religion, the forum membership agreed to limited discussion of them in the coffee shop, as long as things don't get out of hand." ........ Some of the Coffee Shop patrons briefly made their point and moved on. Others were neutral as they made general comments about politicians in general. Most refrained from politics. So, I don't think others were out of hand.

Are you implying I was out of hand?

If you are content with that in your mind, what can I say?

No further discussion on the topic is needed.

 

[Bruette]

Did you look in Elijah Cummings pockets?

Aint gonna bite, can't do it, would not be prudent.

 

[Bruette]

BRUETTE- Thank you for the kind words. As I am sure YOU realize, I do these things out of love for my family and for their success in life.
I am constantly amazed at the kids and adults that come up to my daughter and hug her while out shopping. She teaches 6th grade science and I have 3 seconds patience with that age kids. My grandson is a high school senior, works part time, has an "A" average and has earned a partial scholarship already to the Univ. of Alabama. He still enjoys trains, but not as much as his girlfriend.
I think train modelers have a special connection with children because of a common interest in trains. Our club displays layouts during the Christmas season at a children's science museum in Birmingham, Alabama. We volunteer during the weekends to mingle and talk to the visitors. I talk to kids from two to 102 about our interest in trains. I think it gives kids a chance to see many positive role models.

I do realize, that's why I said what I said. Love is the driving force behind most good deeds.

I have all the patience in the world for kids. It's the adults that can piss me off. I can't suffer stupid and or lazy adults.

I don't know, I think train people are like any other group of people. Some good, some bad and some just down right ugly. Thank God I'm a good looking man and modest too!

Give your daughter a hug for me and tell her I said thank you. She has our future in her hands. And thank you for raising such a wonderful person.

 

[kbkchooch]

Did you look in Elijah Cummings pockets?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!

 

[Raincoat2]

All - weirdest thing - I always take photos with my phone, then send them from the phone to my computer where I can manage them, and then post from the computer to the forum. This morning I sent two photos of progress on the lumber company area over the weekend, and they wouldn't come to the computer. Finally, THREE HOURS LATER, they showed up. Never had that happen before, and no idea why. Since then, I've tested it and the photos come immediately.

Anyway, here are some photos of the progress I've made on the lumber company area.

"Before" photos:


Most recent photos. I've added a gravel parking/loading area in the front, and a gravel log yard out back. Also put bumpers at the end of the two spurs, and extended the "finished product" spur (the one on the left). Still need to put in a gravel road over one track to get vehicles in and out to the road. Also took down the one hand-painted background section but still have to improve that panel. Still have to finish the landscaping and scenicking in this area, but this end of the town is starting to look better.

Have a good day everyone.

 

[Beady]

Are you implying I was out of hand?

If you are content with that in your mind, what can I say?

Louis, just hold on until Saturnalia/Yule; I'm already collecting zingers.

 

[Bruette]

Louis, just hold on until Saturnalia/Yule; I'm already collecting zingers.

What is that like Merry Christmas you f%$#!

You truly are a sick man, I love you!