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+--- Thread: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! (/showthread.php?tid=9237)
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RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - ezdays - 12-03-2022
Good morning all. Jim, sorry for your family's loss. It's especially hard when there could have been a chance and even worse during the holidays.
Today will be darn close to freezing, a high in the mid-60's with a good chance of rain. I haven't a clue when, I see three different forecasts, one says a high chance as early as 8:00, another says not until later this afternoon. Where do these guys get their information, obviously not from the same source.
Did sleep in a bit, but got to be ready for my cleaning lady, she could come as early as 7:30. I know people that will actually clean their house right before the cleaning lady shows up, "don't want the lady to think I live dirty" says this one gal....
Gas here is dropping slowly, a few stations are under $4.00, most are still well above $4.00
Have a great weekend.
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - FiatFan - 12-03-2022
Greetings, gang.
Clear and downright chilly this morning at 6 degrees. Yesterday's high was 52 so somewhat of a shock to the system. High for today is only supposed to be in the mid to upper 20s.
Yesterday went well. Good workout at the gym followed by getting the oil changed and a couple of piddly projects done around the house. After that it was fire up the space heater time and sit on the front porch with my laptop. All in all a very pleasant day. This morning is a basketball game for one of the great-grandsons and this evening is a birthday party for another great-grandson.
Jim - my condolences on your family's loss
All stay safe.
Tom
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - sir james - 12-03-2022
Hello Blue
Cloudy and 41, rain has passed but very windy this morning.
Jim sorry for your family's loss.
We are both trying to get over this nasty cold like crud so no adventures from here this week.
S.J.
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - FiatFan - 12-04-2022
Greetings, gang.
18 now headed for 42 later under sunny skies.
Had another good day yesterday. Basketball game in the morning then got the laundry done. Late afternoon I picked up the pizzas for great-grandson's 4th birthday party. Today I need to pay a couple of bills and just to burn some calories I'll walk them to the appropriate destinations.
When I went to record the mileage after I changed the oil on my car the odometer read 66666! I now have a new respect for (and fear of) my car!
All stay safe.
Tom
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - ezdays - 12-04-2022
Good Sunday morning to ya all. Yup, we've had a nice steady rain since yesterday morning and it's still raining lightly now. We have about 1/2" here in Surprise, over 3/4" at the Phoenix airport. It was downright cold yesterday, never got too much into the 60's. It could rain for a while yet and that's fine.
They had the Christmas light parade last night in downtown Phoenix, lots of vehicles and floats decorated in lights and folks riding on them. I'll have to wait to see the news to find out how that went, just a tad soggy I suspect. One truck is from somewhere in our neighborhood and a day or so after the parade, they drive around all our streets very slowly playing very loud music, but a sight to see with thousands of lights on every part of the truck. For me, I have my new pre-lit tree and a few ornaments on it. I started to decorate it and saw that you couldn't see the balls two feet away, so I gave up. Somehow I just don't have the spirit or energy this year, maybe when my cold goes away I'll finish decorating.
That's it, gas dropping a few cents, one Circle K has gas for $3.45, another Circle K a few blocks away is $3.88. I'm sure the same truck delivered the gas to each one at the same price, does that not constitute gouging?
You all stay warm and safe.
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - TMo - 12-04-2022
Another 3-day weekend has come and gone. Yesterday was spent at our parish's Christmas Bazaar - I was in charge of the "Wise Man Cave" in the Magi Marketplace. People donate crap they want to get rid of, and a remarkable amount of junk makes its way into homes. There were a few RR-related items, but nothing I wanted or figured would be worth trying to sell. My original plan was to work until 10 AM and then go home to watch the World Cup match against the Dutch. Nobody else showed up in my room, so I was stuck. Probably a good thing - the US is out, and I don't really care to watch the rest.
76 days until I'm retirement eligible (at age 56 and 4 months). Frosty morning on the way to mass, had to be lower than 35 at 7 AM.
Started refurbing a small desk for my wife that she picked up from my mom. Sanded it and applied a gel stain. Ran over to Home Depot and picked up some polyurethane that I'll be laying down in the coming days. While I was there, I looked at some better lighting options for Mud Run. Found a tilting 3-head LED unit and picked up a dimmer. Got home and installed, wired the dimmer hot and only got a brief jolt when I touched both sides of the switch. Early returns are good - much more consistent light with great uniformity, and the dimmer's gonna be very nice to get the right light level. I think my future photos should be a lot better as a result.
My wife picked up some snow crab that was on sale, nice treat we just polished off. Currently winning an auction for another Reading GP39-2 (an Atlas). If I win it, I have plans to retrofit it into another Delaware and Hudson 1976 transfer to run it with the Apollo and maybe retire one or both of my C628s. While I'm waiting on the auction to end I have to put my creative juices in gear and pen this year's Christmas letter. This Hobo Camp letter was a delaying tactic to avoid starting and to start getting the juices trickling, but it's time to get cracking.
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - BR60103 - 12-04-2022
Tmo:
Are you planning to retire directly out of employment or wait a bit (another job?) Check on what are called "Other post-retirement benefits". Often, these do not apply if you postpone collecting the pension. (It is also possible that the company does not supply any. Oops.)
I'm having connectivity problems. Cable TV is not providing most of the channels. The cable co has promised us a new box. They did that almost 2 years ago as well.
Internet is sporadically flaky. We listen to radio over the internet (wi-fi radios) and these seem to drop the connection frequently. The computer connection went down twice since 8:00.
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - TMo - 12-05-2022
(12-04-2022, 08:25 PM)BR60103 Wrote: Tmo:
Are you planning to retire directly out of employment or wait a bit (another job?) Check on what are called "Other post-retirement benefits". Often, these do not apply if you postpone collecting the pension. (It is also possible that the company does not supply any. Oops.)
I'm having connectivity problems. Cable TV is not providing most of the channels. The cable co has promised us a new box. They did that almost 2 years ago as well.
Internet is sporadically flaky. We listen to radio over the internet (wi-fi radios) and these seem to drop the connection frequently. The computer connection went down twice since 8:00.
I work for the Army, supervising engineers who test equipment before it gets into the hands of our troops or trying to improve what they've got. It's a good and interesting job, and at this point in my career I'm going to stick it out until for about 6 more years. 62 is a bit of a magic age, I'd be eligible for Social Security (if it still exists) at that point and there is a pension increase that kicks in to incentivize staying that long. Thanks for the warning on post-retirement income, there are definitely some hidden hurdles out there! Hope they straighten out your connectivity issues - it can be aggravating to rely on something you pay for and not get consistent service.
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - ezdays - 12-05-2022
Good morning all, welcome to another work week and the countdown to Christmas. It was a wet weekend, and maybe more this week. Just to show how dry this year has been, we officially have just under 5" of rain for the year, about half of normal. And Lake Mead is got just a few more feet to drop before they shut down the generators. We get a lot of our power from the dam and so does Las Vegas, can you imagine playing poker by candlelight. We have a nuke power station about 50 miles from here, but from what I understand, most of that power goes to California. I remember when they built it, Arizona Public Service started putting a charge in everyone's bill to pay for its demolition whenever that happens, it's hidden, but it's there. I wonder if the folks in California are paying that too.
Not much change in gas prices, what's that saying, "up like a rocket, down like a feather", well, we're feathering our gas prices here. We are just about the highest in the nation except for a few parts of California. As for temps, we will be below average for a while, mid to high 60's, then next week, down into the high 50's for a few days. Brrrrr....
Not much else going on here, got a few appointments and am in the process of making a few Christmas presents that should keep me busy for a while. I never know what to get some family members so I try to make something personalized that they can display. I can't say what because Pat is our webmaster and also my son, so I can't give anything away here.
So, that's it for now, have a great week, stay warm and stay safe.
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - FiatFan - 12-05-2022
Greetings, gang.
Cloudy and 32 this morning in the remote reaches of northern Iowa. Maybe 36 later with a chance of snow/freezing drizzle/some form of precipitation.
Yesterday was pretty quiet. I did take the bills to their intermediate destination (mailbox) and got in about a 2 mile walk. Big project for today is to water all the house plants (about 22). That number is up by one. Last summer I put some annuals outdoors but most did not survive. I brought the lone survivor in but it looked pretty sickly. It has surprisingly recovered and appears to be doing well. Not much else planned for today.
Gas was down to $2.93 yesterday.
All stay safe.
Tom
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - Charlie B - 12-05-2022
Good morning.
I had a good day in the train room yesterday. I got my Baldwin Passenger sharknose running and installed a decoder in a 3 truck Shay. I repaired 4 ore Jennies and had time to run some trains.
I find it interesting that they are still generating at lake Mead. There is more to the formula than using water, with a 200 foot drop in head it takes a lot more water to generate the same amount of power. I think the formula is H X CFS X62.5 /550 =KW H is the head in feet and CFS is cubic feet of water per second. the 62.5 is the weight of a cubic foot of water. It looks like they have about 750 feet of head total at high pool and a drop of 200 feet that is a serious increase of water use. We have had droughts many times so I wonder how bad this one really is, or is the real reason behind this the increasing need for water by the massive increase of populations in these areas over the last 50 years. The stress changes on the concrete in the dam could also be a factor.
I still have some sticks and leaves to burn and it looks like a good day for that. I have to do it in our fire pit because of the chance of sparks but the ground and fields are still wet from the week end rain so little problem there.
Praying everyone stays well
Charlie
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - sir james - 12-05-2022
Hello Blue.
Gloomy at 43 degrees.
Not much from here. We did attend our train club Christmas party yesterday.
Lowest corner gas I saw was $3.19. $2.50 at Sams club.
S.J.
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - FiatFan - 12-06-2022
Greetings, gang.
Another cloudy day underway this morning. 22 now headed for maybe the mid 30s and a slight chance of snow. Thursday is looking a little nasty with rain, freezing rain, and snow possible.
Routine day yesterday and today will be the same. Swimming today at the gym followed by...?
Gas was down to $2.85 yesterday when I was out and about.
All stay safe.
Tom
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - Charlie B - 12-06-2022
Good morning
We have rain but warm temperature for December,
I managed to burn the pile of sticks and leaves from the willows that had fallen into the yard so I count that as my chore for yesterday.
I worked on the trains again. painted the DGLE on a brass Baldwin AS 616 and I will try to get the clear on it today. I have the power train done so all it will need is a decoder installed.
Several months ago my wife bought one of the cheap air brushes for cosmetics for my daughter to try with paint. It worked so well I decided to research and I found a review about one (Not the same as hers) and bought it. I used it to paint that model last night and did it inside my small little office. I used Floquil thinned with lacquer thinner and did not notice any smell at all despite no fan for exhaust, I was pleased with the results and the ease of clean up.
If I can find a hobby shop open today I may make a trip, otherwise I will work in the train room once again because it is raining here.
Good day all
Charlie
RE: The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #IX.. Stop In!!! - tompm - 12-06-2022
Good morning, folks
It is a dreary 43 with some drizzle. The bulk of the rain is scheduled to show up this afternoon with a high temperature of 52.
Given today’s weather I wish I was back in the Bahamas with the sunny 80 degrees days. We got back from the cruise early Sunday morning. Since cruise was from Bayonne, NJ we were able to drive to and from home. Thusly we were home by 11:30 AM. Spent yesterday recovering and unpacking. We also had to run to the pharmacy and grocery store.
There were no trains on this trip. However, I did get an interesting photo of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge as we passed under it on the way back to Bayonne. It was a lucky shot as I woke up at 5 AM and saw the bridge through the balcony doors.
![[Image: Pu0jrTW.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/Pu0jrTW.jpg)
Before I left, I discovered that two of my PRSL Broadway Limited P70 coaches had couplers that are too low on one end. Upon close inspection I found that the frames and shell do not meet up correctly. Last evening on one car I was able to glue the frame and shell to correct height and now the coupler is at the correct height. On the other I must put the coupler back in place after somehow it popped out. Before I do that, I must replace the missing coupler spring.
Tonight, I have physical therapy. Maybe afterwards I get to the P70 coach.
I hope everybody has a good day.