Coffee Shop XXXIII 06/21/12

[RexHea]

Barry, your weather sounds like what we are just now coming out of....well, except for the humidity.

Dang wife won't let me drive the new Explorer. So far, I've only been "allowed" to drive it to the barbershop and to the dealership for the tow package install. Just as long as I have my Tough Truck, I will make it through this. Sympathies accepted and appreciated

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Dang wife won't let me drive the new Explorer. So far, I've only been "allowed" to drive it to the barbershop and to the dealership for the tow package install. Just as long as I have my Tough Truck, I will make it through this. Sympathies accepted and appreciated

You sound like a certain teenager I know when his parents wouldn't let him use their car to take his date to the prom.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good afternoon. It's 90° and feels like 101°. The high will be 98° and feel like 107°.

Got the part I need for the van. Also got a large bottle of brake fluid and the short steel line that goes between the brake hose and the brake line manifold on the frame. The connectors on the old one were messed up. It's been a long time since I bent a brake line to the shape it needs to be using just a small pipe bender but I managed it without incident. I actually got it very close to the original. I haven't done stuff like that for nearly forty years. Always used a powered bending tool. Put the old line in one side and the new line in the other side, press a button and presto.

Went by the nursing home this morning to take my mother some things she wanted. Nothing really special but it makes being there a little more bearable. Some cans of soup, some small bottles of Sprite Zero, some bananas and grapes. She was asleep then and i didn't want to wake her. I went to the parts store from there and found they didn't have my part yet. The truck bringing it had broken down. So I went back home and waited a while. Close to noon I called and they had it so I went to get it. That's listed above. I went back by the nursing home. There wasn't a wheelchair available so had to walk all the way down the hall to her room. My father says it's seventy-five feet. He needs to check his measurement! My sister house is seventy feet from end to end and that hall is MUCH longer than that, almost twice. She was awake this time so we talked a bit. She appreciated the effort I went to. She wishes they would heat her soup longer. She likes it hot, not lukewarm. From there I headed back home. And that's been my day.

 

[tootnkumin]

Barry, your weather sounds like what we are just now coming out of....well, except for the humidity.

Dang wife won't let me drive the new Explorer. So far, I've only been "allowed" to drive it to the barbershop and to the dealership for the tow package install. Just as long as I have my Tough Truck, I will make it through this. Sympathies accepted and appreciated

That's a new one, you're not allowed to drive the new car, but you are allowed to "play'' with trains. I guess you'll have to be thankful for small mercies. (Can you get some testosterone shots from your doctor)

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

My van is back on the road. The brakes work great. Went to town to get gas. $3.699 a gallon for regular. Prices is starting to get ridiculous.They passed stupid a long time ago but haven't yet gotten to ludicrous.

 

[Trussrod]

Barry, your weather sounds like what we are just now coming out of....well, except for the humidity.

Dang wife won't let me drive the new Explorer. So far, I've only been "allowed" to drive it to the barbershop and to the dealership for the tow package install. Just as long as I have my Tough Truck, I will make it through this. Sympathies accepted and appreciated

Say Rex,
I can tell by the tone of your voice your the next thing from being in deep depression over this issue, due to the fact your so deprived in so many other ways!

May I suggest you create various new delivery scenes on your layout and photograph them with your fancy Canon Rebel and even from some unusual angles to help relieve the extreme frustration you must be feeling right now. Don't forget to use your DCC hand controls to make all the appropriate whistle signals at the wright times too. There, there, now, aren't you starting to feel better already.

I'll send you the bill shortly. LoL

 

[tootnkumin]

Rex

When you get told, as I was when having a "discussion" with my wife, "well, I LET you have your trains", then you can feel sorry for yourself.

(not getting many expressions of sympathy here, are you )

 

[Trussrod]

Looks like rain will dominate the weather here in the Blue State - assuming the dart throwers at weather.com get it right. Wish some of it would fall on the areas that desperately need it.

Now that I've got all the rolling stock back on my layout, I'm doing test runs of the operating scenarioes I ran in XtrkCad. Most of them have succeeded; one trouble spot was a sharper-radius curve leading into my steel mill. It worked fine when I shoved cars of similar length back-and-forth along it by hand, but when I tried pulling a train with a six-axle locomotive, its coupler swung out so far it pulled the trailing hopper car sideways off the track!

On closer examination I saw that the curve was 'jutting' at the derailment spot. No major problem, the track was still unballasted, so I was able to just yank it out and put in a gentler curve. It appears to work, I tested the same 'problem' loco and hopper car multiple times in both directions - and no derailments [yet]!

Say Ken,
It's the derailments that make operation a challenge and keep your Engineer skills sharp. Wasn't that you that had the really bent up and down track going into the Steel Mill Building or large warehouse. I thought that was so prototypical looking and presented a challenge of just main line ho-humm running.

In fact on my layout when I made the transition up to the raised section at the Serpha Copper & Iron Works the sloping riser was cut considerably less than perfect unintentionally and that section of track presents a real challenge to push cars up the curved grade so they don't derail. It's a challenge and I enjoy it!

 

[tootnkumin]

My van is back on the road. The brakes work great. Went to town to get gas. $3.699 a gallon for regular. Prices is starting to get ridiculous.They passed stupid a long time ago but haven't yet gotten to ludicrous.

Come over here Jeff, I passed the pump yesterday and ULP 91 is $1.55/ltr

(4 ltrs = 1 US Gallon)

 

[kbkchooch]

Gang
Looking a Rex's situation from here, I don't see a down side.
Rex has a full sized, manly machine to cart his butt around in, not some girly little SUV that hopes to be a truck someday.
Depressed? No!
Depraved? Well mebbe!

 

[Trussrod]

Good afternoon from the Western U.S./ Good evening in the Eastern U.S.,

Say Flo & Francine how are my favorite ladies? Yea, I've been detained of late and not been around much lately. Lets see, I think some cold soda, and probably the burger special you have and some Vanilla Fudge Swirl Ice Creme for dessert.

It's still fairly Hot out here, Ww says it 91.6* but it feels much warmer & the humidity is only 9% but that feels off too. Plus without Air Conditioning it's not that comfortable to work on the trains or layout except maybe in the evening so I hope the cooler weather gets here fairly soon. It would be good to get some rain as everything is very dry and it a real chore trying to keep the front yard raked & watered. Not that anyone can see it but the Fall is starting already due to lack of water so I always have many Oak leaves to rake up. Maybe I can sell them for ground-up ground cover??

Well it time to get to watering again so talk with everyone later.

Oh, Rex,
Chin up now, it's really not all that bad is it??

Take care,

 

[RexHea]

Jeeze fellows, I thought you would feel sorry for me. Instead I get abused, here, on my model railroad forum: spoiled, limp, pseudo depression, and depraved. Heck, that's OK! I did pick up on some good ideas that would help relieve my frustration....now what did I do with that testosterone vial.

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Rex

When you get told, as I was when having a "discussion" with my wife, "well, I LET you have your trains", then you can feel sorry for yourself.

(not getting many expressions of sympathy here, are you )

pppfffft.

Audrey just looks at me in a particular manner...I go to my mancave....

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Good Evening

We actually got to 84F feeling like 96F today...under the dull non-rainy skies of London ON.. Supposed to get thunderboomers and such tonight but we'll see whether that happens here....

We are still paying around $1.28 a litre here for regular...works out to roughly $5/gallon...

Have a good evening!!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Dang wife won't let me drive the new Explorer. So far, I've only been "allowed" to drive it to the barbershop and to the dealership for the tow package install. Just as long as I have my Tough Truck, I will make it through this. Sympathies accepted and appreciated

Take heart. You could be driving this:

 

[kbkchooch]

Jeeze fellows, I thought you would feel sorry for me. Instead I get abused, here, on my model railroad forum: spoiled, limp, pseudo depression, and depraved. Heck, that's OK! I did pick up on some good ideas that would help relieve my frustration....now what did I do with that testosterone vial.

Rex, what are friends for??

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Time for me to call it a night. Got the part I needed for the van, the new caliper and brake line are on, pads on both sides have all been changed out, brake system was bled. Road test was great! Got a Bowser roadrailer kit in the mail today. Not sure what I'll do with it or even if I'd put it together. Went by the pharmacy today to get two meds they missed on my last visit. I took in a list of eight meds and they filled six. Still not sure how they managed that. They were happy enough to to get me the two they missed before. Well see y'all tomorrow.

 

[bnsf971]

Jeeze fellows, I thought you would feel sorry for me. Instead I get abused, here, on my model railroad forum: spoiled, limp, pseudo depression, and depraved. Heck, that's OK! I did pick up on some good ideas that would help relieve my frustration....now what did I do with that testosterone vial.

Rex, what are friends for??

If your friends can't abuse you, who can?

 

[tootnkumin]

pppfffft.

Audrey just looks at me in a particular manner...I go to my mancave....

Ah yes, "the frown"

 

[Trussrod]

Jeeze fellows, I thought you would feel sorry for me. Instead I get abused, here, on my model railroad forum: spoiled, limp, pseudo depression, and depraved. Heck, that's OK! I did pick up on some good ideas that would help relieve my frustration....now what did I do with that testosterone vial.

Say Rex,
Now that's the spirit buddy, keep yourself built up, after all it's our duty as your friends to get toughened up so when your real enemies come at you you'll be able to shed the insults like water off a Ducks back!! Of course at this point your probably trying to figure out who's who as far as friends go? LoL

Hey we just didn't want you getting Soft on us!! Ok?