Monday, June 30, 2014

Just for fun!



Men can read smaller print than women can? Women,
however, can hear better than men.
---------- --------- ---------
Coca-Cola was originally green.
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It is impossible to touch your small toe with your tongue.
--------- --------- ---------
The State with the highest percentage of people who
walk to work is Alaska.
--------- --------- ---------
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness is only 28%.
--------- --------- ---------
Now, get this… The percentage of North America that
is wilderness is 38% ! !
---------- --- ------ ---------
The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of
eleven is $16,400 -- true.
--------- --------- ---------
The average number of people airborne over the
U.S. in any given hour is 61,000.
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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
--------- --------- ---------
The first novel ever written on a typewriter was ‘Tom Sawyer’.
-- ------------ --------- ----
The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile
National Monuments.
---------- --------- ---------
Each king in a deck of playing cards
represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
--------- --------- ---------
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
--------- --------- ---------

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse
has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.
If the horse has one front leg in the air,
the person died because of wounds received in battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person
died of natural causes
------ --- --------- ---------
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence
on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson.
Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature
wasn't added until 5 years later.
--------- --------- ---------
Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace.
--------- --------- ---------
Q. Most boat owners put a name on their boats.
What is the most popular boat name requested?

A. Obsession.
--------- --------- ---------
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you
have to go until you would find the letter 'A'?
A. One thousand.
--------- --------- ---------
Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield
wipers and laser printers have in common?
A. All were invented by women.
--------- --------- ---------
Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. HONEY
--------- --------- ---------
Q. Which day of the year, are more collect calls made
than any other day of the year, even though it’s harder
to do today?
A. Father's Day
--------- --------- ---------
In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed
frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened,
making the bed firmer to sleep on.
Hence the phrase...'Goodnight, sleep tight' .
--------- --------- ---------
It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000
years ago, that for a month after the wedding, the
bride's father would supply his new son-in-law with
all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer,
and because their calendar was lunar-based, this period
was called the honey month, which we know today as
the honeymoon.
--------- --------- ---------
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts.
So in old England, when customers got unruly, the
bartender would yell at them, 'Mind your pints and quarts,
and settle down'.
It's where we get the phrase, 'mind your P's and Q's'.
---------- --------- ---------
Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a
whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups.
When they needed a refill , they used the whistle to get
some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by
this practice.
--------- --------- ------ ---
At least 75% of people who read this, will try to
Touch their small toe with their tongue!



Today's funny :0)




http://jmanandmillerbug.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/MaxineMM.jpg




Another tree bites the dust!

sfd







Oopsie!




Hubby got it down, though - he always does!

(My hero!)




Friday, June 27, 2014

Friday Night Steam

Grab a cold one, sit back  and ENJOY!











Southern Railway 630 was built in 1904 by the American Locomotive Company (Richmond Works) for the Southern Railway. It is a 2-8-0 Consolidation of Southern's Ks-1 class.  The 630 was used on Southern in regular freight service until her retirement in 1952. December of that year, the 630 and sister locomotive, 722, were purchased by the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad and numbered 207 and 208 appropriately. In December 1967, both locomotives were traded back to the Southern for use in their steam excursion program and restored to their former identities in return for a pair of former Central of Georgia Alco RS3's. The steam locomotives headed main line excursion trains over the entire Southern system until 1983 when both were retired again from the Southern in favor of larger power. They both were leased to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. 722 was later loaned by Southern's successor NS to the Asheville Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society of Asheville, NC. TVRM ran the 630 until 1989 when she was yet again retired. 630 was donated to TVRM in 1999 by NS. Shortly thereafter, 630 entered TVRM's restoration shop (now Soule Shops) and underwent a thorough ten-year restoration -- one of the most thorough restorations performed on a steam locomotive in the U.S. in recent years, including frame work and complete running gear overhaul. 630 returned to regular service on TVRM in March 2011 and is currently participating in the "21st Century Steam" program developed by Norfolk Southern.



Southern Railway 630.
Power type: Steam

Builder: American Locomotive Company (Richmond Works)
Serial number: 28446
Build date: February 1904

Configuration: 2-8-0
Gauge: 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver diameter: 57 in (1.448 m)

Fuel type: Coal
Boiler pressure: 200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Cylinders: Two, outside
Cylinder size: 24 × 30 in (610 × 762 mm)
Valve gear: Southern
Tractive effort: 46,700 lbf (208 kN)

Career: Southern Railway
Class: Ks-1
Number: 630
Retired: 1967 (revenue)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As far as steam engines go, the scrappy Southern Railway 630 locomotive is on the small side, but from 1904 to the 1960s, it was prized for its ability to keep rolling over hills, through tunnels and across shaky bridges.
But the little engine that could has seen better days. Mothballed for nearly 20 years, its flat-black boiler no longer bubbles, its headlight is off and its whistle is quiet as it sits beneath humming fluorescent warehouse lights at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.
But old No. 630 won't be silent forever. Every day -- one piece at a time -- Shane Meador and a crew of seven or so men bring the locomotive back to life. The work is tedious. Volunteers and experts like Meador and his crew have rebuilt nearly every part of the 100-year-old engine, and they hope to power it up for tourists by spring.
  • photo
"For me, it sometimes seems like the work is going slowly, but when you come in and see progress and you see the train coming together, it's a real motivation to keep going," Meador said.
In truth, work on the train has been going on for 10 years or more. No. 630 needed massive repairs to everything from the frame and running gear to the boiler and even the lighting. In all, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum expects to spend $500,000 to get the steam engine back on the tracks.
The work is being paid for by museum donors and visitors. Norfolk Southern donated the antique locomotive and gave Meador a leave of absence from his full-time job as a Chattanooga-based railroad machinist to work on the engine.
Once work is complete, the commercial rail line plans to borrow No. 630 for special events, but the locomotive mostly will be used in Chattanooga for tourist excursions from the museum.
"Steam engines are noisy and big; they're romantic and they draw a crowd," said Bill Schafer, director of strategic planning for Norfolk Southern, who also sits on the museum's board. "We are proud of our railroad, its history and employees. We want to showcase that."
At one time, there were more than 2,000 Southern Railway steam locomotives on tracks all over the region, Schafer said. There were more than 200 just like No. 630 in the railway's fleet.
But most rail lines switched from steam power to diesel in the late 1950s and 1960s, and almost all steam engines were scrapped. Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railway merged in 1982.
Today, there are fewer than 15 surviving Southern Railway steam locomotives as well as 400 other older rail cars and equipment, according to the Southern Railway Historical Association. The Southern Railway 1401, a glossy green locomotive with gold trim, is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
FEW REMAINING
Steam locomotive engines gave way to diesel in the 1950s. Now only eight Southern Railway coal-powered engines are on public display.
No. 154: Chilhowee Park, Knoxville
No. 401: Monticello Railway Museum, Monticello, Ill.
No. 542: North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer, N.C.
No. 630: Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, Chattanooga
No. 722: Great Smoky Mountain Railway, Bryson City, N.C.
No. 1401: Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
No. 1509: Southeastern Railway Museum, Duluth, Ga.
No. 4501: Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, Chattanooga
Source: Southern Railway Historical Association


Restoring No. 630 comes at a good time. The museum's No. 610 steam engine, a former U.S. Army locomotive, has only days before it must be retired for repairs.

 Federal law requires that steam engines be used for only 1,472 days before having the boilers broken down for repairs.

Once No. 630 is in service, crews will turn their attention to a third steam engine, No. 4501, which needs repairs, too, said Steve Freer, a spokesman for the museum.
"In a perfect world, we would work on the 610, too, and have them all in service for our 50th anniversary next year," Freer said.
Last week, Meador and his crew finished insulating No. 630's boiler. Previously, the steam-powered engine underwent pressure testing with the Federal Railroad Administration standing by.
The museum had hoped to have the engine in service by this winter, but the work has taken longer than expected, Freer said. It should undergo final tests after the holidays and be ready for tourists no later than the spring, he said.
The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum owns the largest collection of former Southern Railway cars, engines and cabooses, according to the Southern Railway Historical Association. And when No. 630 goes back into service, it will enter a small club of working steam engines.
"There just really aren't that many running around the country," Freer said. "That's why we are so excited to get this running again."



Today's funny :0)








Yum-yum-yum!

Lucy found a big, fat, juicy beetle!  She went at it like she hadn't eaten all day.





Here's Charlie and Shirley running over to see what kind of treasure Lucy has




They weren't quick enough - it was all gone by the time they got there!


Thursday, June 26, 2014

Steps

They can be wet...
File:Expect a wet foot if your taking these stairs^ - geograph.org.uk - 791236.jpg

Grand...

Staircase Room Passageway Wallpaper Staircase Room Passageway Wallpaper




Like a spiral...


stairs spiral staircase metal








Plain...
Pithole carriage stone, July 2013CC BY-SA 3.0
Niagara - Own work



Stairs In Woods

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=14396&picture=stairs-in-woods



Sorry, someone removed this picture:


http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-ima




Layered...






ChandBaoriCC BY-SA 3.0
Doron - Own work


Or like my favorite...




Today's funny :0)


Misplaced my glasses.

Yesterday my daughter e-mailed me again asking why I didn't do something useful with my time. Like sitting around the pool and drinking wine is not a good thing. Talking about my "doing something useful" seems to be her favorite topic of conversation.

She said she was "only thinking of me" and suggested I go down to the senior center and hang out with the guys. I did this and when I got home last night, I decided to teach her a lesson about staying out of my business.

I e-mailed her and told her that I had joined a parachute club.

She replied, "Are you nuts? You are about 80 years old, and now you're going to start jumping out of airplanes?"

I told her that I even got a membership card and e-mailed a copy to her.

She immediately telephoned me, "Good grief, where are your glasses! This is a membership to a Prostitute Club, not a Parachute Club."

"Oh, man, I'm in trouble again. I really don't know what to do. I signed up for five jumps a week."

The line went quiet and her friend picked up the phone and said that she had fainted.

Life as a senior citizen is not getting any easier, but sometimes it can be fun.







No eggs...

Haven't posted pictures of Charlie and the girls for a while:









Didn't get any eggs for two whole days. Don't know why. They have been pretty quiet mostly - even Charlie, but I'm sure they will make up for it! It's been getting more humid out and chickens don't like humidity. They can take the heat a lot better.

No matter what time I let them out in the morning 6:00,  6:30 or horrors, 7:00 am,  they go in the coop right before 8pm. Charlie goes in first, then calls for them. It's always in the same order: Lucy,  Laverne and then Shirley. It's still light out at that time, too. I've been letting them run around in the yard a lot more lately after supper; maybe they are tired. (or getting old!)

Ethel would always wait for a treat before she went in, even if it was dark out. I still miss her and her beady eyes.

I gotta get more hens......



Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Need a machinist's help...

Below is a  picture of my Dad taken in 1979 next to one of his "machines" when he worked at Theta Instrument Co. before Rockwell bought it out.. Can you identify it for me?





When he was younger, he worked for Chicago Pneumatic in Garfield, NJ.


Anyone know what "T-2" means?


Would appreciate any information you could give me. Thanks!