Jeffrey's Trackside Diner For June, 2021!

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
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Flo, I’ll have bacon, eggs, and coffee.

Saturday morning! Isn’t is strange that while working for 45 years, the term ‘weekend’ meant something. Now in retirement, Saturday is just like any other day of the week. Life in retirement is great!

David, it sounds like you have a great hobby shop you deal with. We’ll be looking for pictures of the tanks.

Henry, we used to eat steamed or boiled crabs in New Orleans. We loved them, but it depended a lot at which restaurant you were in. Once a week, an elderly neighbor used to boil crabs and make crab cakes. At her back door, she would have a collection of flea-bitten cats who would gather to go through her garbage cans.

MisterBeasley, working your way through 24 different craft beers sounds like fun. I would join you for any of them except the IPA ones. I don’t like most of those.

Ed, it sounds like you had a good day entertaining Kevin. I think I’ve mentioned in the past that my wife grew just up a couple houses from Lake Erie in Euclid. She hasn’t been back for 40 years, but we will try to get there next year. She says the same thing as Kevin – northeastern Ohio is beautiful country.

Kevin, it sounds like you are having a great trip so far. Have fun visiting your old friend in West Lafayette. I love all the pictures.

Dave, that’s good news about your car. It sounds like you have a good dealership there.

Mike, I know what you mean about the amount of work just putting in a light entails. Several weeks ago, my wife had me do the same thing. To her, it was just ‘put a light there’. To me, it meant tons of work. She watches too much HGTV.

I hope TF checks in with some South Dakota pictures.

To

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Good day Diners! A black coffee and a blueberry muffin svp.

Yes, A&W is our go-to for breakfast. Their fishburger not as good however. I see I wrote halibut, but I must have been dreaming; should have said haddock![:$]

Found out that I wired the ditch lights incorrectly for that DN163A4 decoder, so I’ll switch the wiring and see if I get any joy. However, I think I am also going to have to wait to get individual surface mount 800 ohm resistors for each light - that will take a few more days after Monday to come from Digikey. After Monday also because I need to get a reply from their tech dept as well.

In the mean time there is the yard to rend - and the summer shirts to get out of storage and ironed. Summer may actually happen!https://imgur.com/0jCphCKhttps://imgur.com/0jCphCK

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Howdy …

Kevin … Thanks for psoting pictures of your trip. It is fantastic you could meet with Ed. Yes, it would have been nice to get a picture of both of you and his caboose. Not surprised to hear Ed has a pleasant personality. Your perssonality is also pleasant. I am riminded of your visit here which certainly was enjoyable.

Dave Critter … That is good news about your car repair.

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Good morning from the beautiful West Coast, though a little cloudy and damp today.

It is nice to follow Kevin and TF on their road trips, I wouldn’t mind going on one myself but there is too much going on around here to leave at this time.

We have been getting some outrageously high offers on our house lately but we are too busy to think about moving with my wife having to deal with her elderly parents. We did drive up the coast North of Vancouver yesterday and looked at some nice waterfront homes but in the end, decided it is not a good time to downsize.

We took two of the dogs on the trip and stopped at some remote beaches on the way home. We were the only ones at two of them and they were shooting a movie at the third. We stood and watched a scene being filmed not 20’ from the two actors doing their thing. I asked one of the P/As what the movie was and he said “Harry and Megan 3” We have not even heard of Harry and Megan 1 or 2 and they are working on 3.[(-D] The actors looked like the Royal couple but we couldn’t figure out the context of who they were until we asked. We stopped at a well-known seafood joint for a very late lunch and then headed home.

Dave, that was a good break from Honda on the paint. Dodge did paint on one of our caravans that was peeling years after the warranty was up. Dealers tend to be more expensive than other places for repair, however, the thousands of dollars I have saved through things they have fixed no-charge through service bulletins issued by the manufacturer is long and I am a lot of money ahead for that reason alone. My 21-year-old pick-up just had a three-hour repair done, no charge as it was a service bulletin fix which is where they fix it for free but it is not a recall. Plus I have never paid for sensor replacements and I have had three go on the truck.

Had a phone appointment with the Doc and he gave me crap for not getting my annual blood panel done as it has been over two years. I said OK, I promise to

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There used to be a cat around here I called “Phoebe Cat” because we saw her by Phoebe Drive. All our streets are named after less common birds. Phoebe Cat looked clean and well cared for, so I hope she had just gotten out for a while. There are enough predators outside that we always keep our cats inside.

Brent, I think fasting for blood work depends on what tests I’m getting. I have diabetes and I take meds for cholesterol so my blood chemistry depends a lot on what I’ve eaten earlier.

The GF is smoking ribs for dinner later. We’re having another couple over. We did that last week, too, and had a great time. That was a surf and turf night with shrimp, clams and grilled steaks. Our neighbors to our left don’t live here in the winter, but his Dad had a knee replacement and needed a place to stay with a downstairs master bedroom, so they were here. We thought they deserved dinner, so we invited them over. Great time.

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Yep! My doctor(s) always orders fasting blood work. This last time my A1c was 5.1. My doctor actually asked me if I had ever been formally diagnosed as diabetic. I told him yes! He replied that 5.1 is non-diabetioc. I grinned and told him my former doctor put me on some major meds when it got to be about 7.4! His eyes got very big and he just stared at me. I guess my lifestyle and excercize regimen are working for me… Even now if I eat te wrong thngs my blood work later will bump up to where I don’t like it (even though it is still OK).

Just got am email that the NMRA Region Convention in October is on!!! So I am starting to make plans to drive to Wedstford, MA to get to it. YES!

Just got the lawn finished (Mowed, Trimmed the sides, and blew the errant clippings back onto my lawn. City likes us to not leave it in the road…). Temperature is 88°F out there! I didn’t do it all at once… LOL

Oh… Caught another mousie down on the layout. Commited suicide for some nice sharp cheddar cheeze I used… That makes 6 total. Grrrrrrrr!

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Brent, my doctor says don’t fast, while my wife’s doctor wants her to fast for the blood work. Not sure why.

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Good evening all. Just a quick catch-up. The last of the grandchildren have gone home. The house is quiet.

No to run trains. It is dinnertime.

[dinner] Mexican Style Beef with Guacamole. Coconut Yoghurt to follow.

Stay Safe Everyone

David

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In my case it’s a blood sugar thing. Are these tests before breakfast? That’s usually the case. “Fasting Blood Glucose” is an indication of how well the body is handling blood sugar. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.[2c]

Shirts all ironed (17) so bring on summer! Thought of running a train while the ironing was happening - but didn’t want to bring out all the gremlins at once![:o)]

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I just get the basic blood test that looks for trouble, they usually take three to five tubes worth out of me along with the poop and pee screen. I think anyone diagnosed with a condition would get a more refined test that likely could require fasting. I did do some quick reading on the changes made in having to fast or not and whether or not they apply to someone is up to the Doctor and/or if the lab is up to date with new equipment.

It doesn’t matter what condition someone might have, in the end, the individual should learn all there is to learn about their individual issues and they will do more to help themselves in the end as we are all different. I would be bedridden if I relied solely on the medical establishment. Proper nutrition changed my life completely around. I was on medications for a number of years while waiting for my spine to fuse from arthritis. I started doing way better when I started to read and read and then told the Doctor what meds I wanted to try. Now my spine is completely fused and looks like a melted candle on an X-ray. I take no meds since removing refined sugar from my diet. I love Rum and Pepsi but rarely have it as I’ll be on the pain train in short order. Refined sugar also really inflames the gut and digestive tract which over time can lead to cancer. We all know people that have/had cancer. The ones I know/knew had high sugar content in their diet.

I convinced two of my old geezer (same age as me) friends to go off refined sugar as they were on Proton-Pump inhibitors for severe indigestion that would inflame their guts. That drug is nasty long-term. Not only did their gut improve enough they didn’t need them anymore, and they lost a ton of weight. One just bought a new $5000.00 bike and started riding again. He did 75 kms yesterday.

It’s funny how some people’s cars are in perfect shape but not the people.[(-D]

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I don’t doubt what you are saying in the slightest. I use no refined sugar at all now. Removing that actually started when I became diabetic, but I was still eating way too much carbohydrate and fat. Carbohydrates basically digest into sugars, I think (remember that from somewhere), so my just feeling a whole lot better is much of what has led me to up the excercise program. I am at a point now where my doctors do not want me to lose much more weight and are very pleased with the wieght I am at. I would like to get another 15 to 20 lbs off and hope to do so now that the Virus (or lack there of) allows me to be out and around more… I really enjoy running 3 or 4 5k’s every week at least. Need to work more on upper body strength but I am not too bad in that respect for a 74 year old guy.

I do really wish I had started this 20 or more years ago! Have a feeling I would have lived a more enjoyable life and might have found a lady to enjoy it with… (grin).

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Yep, they do. When I got smart I went to an extremely low carb no sugar diet and went off all pain killers and anti-inflammatories within a week and I was taking oxycocet and Tylenol just to get out of bed. Eating sugar(carbs) is like taking inflammation medication and like I said it doesn’t affect just the joints but the plumbing as well.

Like you Ray, I felt so good eating what our body was designed to eat instead of what big business wants us to eat I got back into incredible shape. I was in very good condition before the Arthritis got its claws into me though. I had about 15 very bad years while my spine fused.

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Good evening Diners,

Brunhilda, coffee with lots of cream, please.

This past week we’ve had something of a heat wave here, which I don’t mind at all. Been in the low 90s F. Although I’ll admit I don’t do heat quite as well as I used to.

Kevin: How did you find all of those neat attractions to visit? Hope the remainder of your trip goes wonderfully.

I’ve been listening to some old Glenn Miller tracks, specifically from the 1940-41 band. That was when the band was reportedly at its zenith. The bass player was of particular interest to me. His name was Trigger Alpert. It was reported that he brought some needed swing to the band, and I believe it. The music at that time was mostly downbeats with not much up beats or back beats. But, in Miller’s music the down beat was very percussive and it was relentless. I think it was largely due to this guy. Rather than bore anyone by going on and on, i am just amazed by it all.

A little more current, I’ve also noticed that Ringo Star’s drumming gives equal weight to the kick drum as well as the snare. One could say, so what else is new? True, but I’ve noticed that when other people do covers of Beatle songs, they more often than not, hit the snare, but subdue or not even mike the kick drum. Pointless trivia I suppose. Anyway, thanks for listening.

(Edit): Tomorrow June 6th, is the 77th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion AKA: D-Day. A special hats off and sincere thanks to all who have ever served. And, special remembrance to those who didn’t make it. May they never be forgotten.

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Good evening fellow diner patrons.

We started out today in Lafayette, Indiana. The BNSF made a very brief visit with us at a crossing.

After we left Lafayette, we travelled through the Indiana farm country and saw an endless progression of beautiful barns.

Indiana has some of the best limestone quarries in the country. This county couthouse has a plaque and display in front of it describing how the stones were quarried and finished.

The train star of the day was found at Linton’s Enchanted Garden in Elkhart, Indiana.

We arrived there just as they were closing. The last train left the garden area, and I was able to walk around the displays. There are some wonderful miniature buildings back in the Enchanted Gardens. This would be a great place for a 7 1/2" gauge live steam railroad.

After we crossed into Michigan, we encountered another train.

We saw this beautiful bridge in Michigan. It is a roadway bridge, but still worthy of sharing.

The ballast on the railroad tracks in Michigan was like none I have ever seen before. It was half black and half white, and had a nice salt-and-pepper look to it.

That is all for today. Tomorrow we are heading for Mackinaw City, Michigan.

The World Is A Beautiful Place.

[img]

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Kevin, I love that ballast! I was going to use cinders for the mainlines but now I’m having second thoughts. The ties would show much more clearly with the salt and pepper ballast. It would need to be toned down a bit but it is an interesting option.

Happy travels!

Dave

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I google model train attractions for the area we are in. We also get off the highways and stick to 2 lane roads.

Today we could have gone to Mr. Muffins Trains in Atlanta, Indiana, but I have been there three times already. It is an incredible Lionel layout that everyone should visit if they are ever North of Indianapolis.

-Kevin

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Its just after midnight so — good morning all

I’ve always believed Ringo deserved more credit for his contribution to that band.

I don’t often post music tracks but a while back I stumbled upon this very talented young lady:

I sure do like Big Band and swing. Music tastes change with my moods but I go through a Glenn Miller phase every now and then. Theater pipe organ, classical piano, then on to Springsteen and Pink Floyd. Some variety.

That ballast sure looks neat, Kevin. When I see those blends offered by the model retailers I wonder what they were thinking but you have proven there is a prototype for the salt & pepper look.

I’m still absorbing the enjoyment of our visit yesterday and, of course, dozens of things pop into my mind of things we should have talked about. The Intermountain ball-bearing wheelsets, the Stratton & Gilette box car (did you see it?) forgetting to take photos [sigh]

So while still feeling great this morning we got some terrible news [:'(]

Let me fill you in about “Oscar”

As it turns out, Oscar is one of the neighbor’s cats. We kind of suspected this and Dee Ann put a collar on him with our phone number on it. We got a call later that day (only a week ago) and talked with his family, whom we happen to be familliar with and they were glad we had him neutered and all. We explained that we thought he was homeless.

OK, so Oscar (or Thor as his real family named him) made his rounds around the neighborhood. We can share.

This morning Dee Ann got a call asking for his vet records. Thor was in bad s

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Yep, that ballast is certainly different. Very cool pics Kevin, barns, and churches.[Y]

Had the kid and girlfriend for dinner as it was the girlfriend’s birthday. She asked the wife for a specific meal and got it. She is a great kid that grew up with extremely overbearing parents and has become a completely changed person since hanging at our house.

I am so behind the tech times, the kid is telling me what is going on at work for him and I just don’t get as much of it as I should being all tech. It is going well for him and that’s what matters. He must have given me 4 or 5 big hugs while he was here and I could see his girlfriend feeling a little envious of our relationship. She will get her share of hugs as we break down the defences her parents made her put up.

The kid says he may need to attend a conference in New York and the girlfriend can’t get away. He asked if I want to go instead. It depends on when the borders open up but I may go if the offer still stands. I have never had the slightest urge to go to NY but if it is a free trip I may tag along. All our trips together have been for hockey tournaments so this would be a little different. I will wander the streets while he attends business.[(-D]

I sold the three solar heating panels for our pool yesterday for more than I paid for them new, now that’s a deal. Not blowing up the pool this year as it gets very limited use. We got our money out of it though and then some. A lot of long conversations while floating around.

I watched Stephen Kings “Mr Mercedes” series on Amazon and really enjoyed it as the acting was superb. The only bad performance was Kate Mulgrew. In some scenes, she had the down South accent and then didn’t in the next. Anything that keeps me staying up to watch the next episode is good in my books. I need to find something else now. Suggestions? I really like limited series.

Time to

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That possibility would help restore my faith in fellow man, Brent. Accidental but stupid. Thor’s family said he began to look lethargic the day before. That would have been the time to act. Vet said fluids, or a blood transfusion sometimes works if caught soon enough.

Well, we do the best we can do —

C’est la vie, Ed

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Gidday Chloe, I’ve put the homemade seafood pie in the oven, and there maybe some left over to share around. Speaking of fish burgers, the nicest ones I had were made in the airport terminal café on Horn Island, up in the Torres Strait which lies between Cape York, Australia and Papua New Guinea. Fresh caught fish, battered, and buns baked that morning, lettuce, tomato, mayo and sweet chilli sauce, lunch fit for champions!!

OK, Ed, a belated Big Thanks for hosting us in Randy Rinker country. Sorry to read about Thor/Oscar, while still unfortunate I’d like to think that Batmans accidental poisoning theory is right.

Also, a Big Thanks to Kevin and Mr.TF for sharing their journeys. Safe travels to both of you and your Good Ladies.

My young fellow and his girlfriend came and stayed last night, I cooked a roast chicken dinner and we savaged sampled a bottle of Appleton’s. Her-in-Doors was a very Happy Camper! They are both Young Professional’s and speak a slightly different lingo to Her-in-Doors and myself, which to our minds means we’ve do