Sunday, June 26, 2011 Lethbridge

5:00 am

The temperature is +7 C, with a high predicted of +17 C.

From the Environment Canada website:

Today Increasing cloudiness. Showers beginning this morning. Risk of a thunderstorm this afternoon. Amount 5 mm. Wind west 20 km/h becoming light this morning. Wind becoming west 30 gusting to 50 near noon. High 17. UV index 3 or moderate. Tonight Clearing this evening. Wind west 30 km/h gusting to 50 becoming light this evening. Low 7. Normals Max: 24°C Min: 10°C.

5:15 am Morning Musings

We now have a new vehicle. That is one major decision made and (almost) completed. Hopefully we will have it without too much of a delay.

Today we will begin planning the final detail for a reworking of our backyard. The basic idea is in place - we want to build a series of raised garden plots very similar to those of my brother-in-law.

The third task, much smaller, is to decide on a new GPS receiver and then complete my original goal of 1000 finds.

Another challenge is to focus on my health and fitness (again). I need to lose a little weight and tighten up a few muscles.

Here is another attempt to stay organized:

• Birding: most backroads in southern Alberta are muddy and in poor driving condition. The spring migration is over and the birding is not as interesting.
• Cooking: this is better. I will aim for a new dish for dinner tonight (oops - need to do some grocery shopping first)
• Geocaching: I am vascillating between a Montana 600 and a Montana 650. The latter has a built in camera that tags each photo with the coordinates. I think the units are available beginning tomorrow.
• History: I am presently reading a biography of Champlain and enjoying it.
• Literature: Time for a new novel - "Sanctuary Line" by Jane Urquhart is a good choice
• Mathematics: still on hold
• Musings: needs improvement
• Philosophy: on hold
• Photography: needs to be picked up
• Puzzles: on hold
• Science: on hold
• Technology: DW problem still needs to be resolved
• Model Trains: almost ready to begin operations. Top priority today.

5:15 PM Model Trains

Finally, I have movement.

I now have a working version of Ship It! with all of my rolling stock and locomotives in place.

I placed the rolling stock on the layout according to the directions issued by Ship It! I then ran diesel locomotive CN 7985, a SW-4 switcher in the Coaldale Yard to form a consist for Train #601, a Local between Coaldale and Jasper. The train is now ready to leave the yard. Forming the consist of 7 cars took about 90 minutes - the amount of switching required to find the various cars and get them all on one track is impressive. There is also a fair amount of logic involved in trying to reduce the amount of switching. I love it!

I was surprised at how well the locomotive ran, given that it is almost 3 months since I last used the layout. I thought the track would require more cleaning than it seems it will need.