Too Much Wiring

Previously on Web of Evil (& Ennui) we found something of possible railroading use.

Not, however, useful for small structures. Wires too damn long.

And not as bright as I thought when I first removed the Xmas bulbs.

Thinking it will work inside a larger two-story bldg., for example:

Yup. Took it apart, & as I suspected, the other end needn't be connected to the battery, or even to itself, which I s'pose means more LEDs could be added. Powered by two C1220 "3v LITHIUM CELL"s, which allegedly last from 3-10 yrs., 20 for US$7.99 at Mall★Wart. Note black splice: Cut it when removing the base, but was able to put it back together. Sad as it is, I'm quite proud of myself.

Uh oh. Hot spots. Good job w/ the thin plastic, Walthers®. No, the lights aren't bright enough, & should be '50s-style yellow, not fluorescent-appearing.

And of course I'm not the first to have the idea, but Evan Designs didn't show when I made an unspecific search.

Saturday Savings Spectacular!

Going to the corner for milk yesterday I spotted Xmas lights in a cardboard box & decided I could use the wire if nothing else. Well, they work & are battery-powered, so don't waste your money on Woodland Scenics JustPlug® or Dioramo® lighting systems.

My curiosity piqued, I checked battery-powered wired LEDs & found piles, some powered by AAs, some by D cells, & some by hearing aid batts. Turns out the above suckers are made by Greenbrier International, Inc., a subsidiary of Dollar Tree. (Or it's Dollar Tree's parent co. Fucking robots.) All plastic; the only metal is the wiring & whatever's in the battery pack. The biggest deal to me is the self-containment. Everything's in the structure, no connecting to an external power source, so no wall-warts, extension cords or added LED wiring are needed.

This looks as if six bldgs. could be illuminated for $40.00. W/ 30 lights per string, six huge industries could be lit, or a small structure could be overdone until it caught fire.

Hoo boy, now Woodland Scenics is offering this; the video came out two months ago, but the system can't be searched on their crummy site; you have to look in the "Coming Soon" area. No prices yet, but an arm & a leg should cover it fairly easily. Speakers, sound cards & readers &c. will be just a smidge more than a transformer, control box & LEDs. Might not be easily duplicated at a bargain store.P.S.: If you do want the tried & true, I compared the Just Plug® & Dioramo® MSRPs sometime last yr.; Dioramo was a bit less expensive & their system seems more open to using non-Dioramo LEDs & the like. Or, Dwarvin & their fiber-optic "no wires" system. Tain't cheap neither.

Confuzzled

Very Excited

Not sure I can stand it! Assembled something electric that works as intended! Only took about an hr. & a half to make the 10 connections. The switch machine's been sitting around for yrs. because the power pack I had didn't have AC terminals for accessories.

Even better, it works when attached to the switch.

Will it work when it's back in the track? No reason to think it won't, but we'll have to wait until it's painted to be sure.

Holding Pattern

Definitely have to wait for the flex track."Expected Delivery" is Monday, but the pkg. left PHX suburb Avondale at 0822 today, so my optimistic heart hopes it's already in town & will be at the Nat "King" Cole station in time to be delivered tomorrow. If not, an exciting wknd. of replacing plastic wheelsets & couplers w/ metal ones & adjusting coupler heights.

Auto-focus my ass, SONY.

Even the Catalina is in a holding pattern atop the desk.Minutes later: My stuff arrived at the L.A. Reg. Dist. Ctr. at 1916, so my optimism may not be wrong. Sad when all one's optimism is because one's somewhat wiser than a Postal Service robot.

Impasse Hiatus Momentary Pause

Came to the realization that short bits of sectional track are not conducive to electricity or good running,

& I'll have to give flex-track another shot. Might neeed a slighty better voltmeter, too.

Decided to try TrainWorld again, so was awake before 1600ET, when they close, & spoke to a nice enough woman who set up a new acc't. for me & e-mailed the link to their form as we were on the 'phone. But it looks as if the pkg. won't be shipped until Tues., due to the holiday.

In other consumption news, I finally got an undamaged USN boxcar from Yankee Dabbler. Only took a couple of months.

Looks nice & rolls well. Certainly worth the US$34.99. Not worth the aggravation!

And the pirates at DoorStepInk have promised me a refund. Not there yet, & "It may take up to 10 days for this refund to appear in your account." Didn't take any 10 fucking days for the money to be taken from my acc't.! (Forget quite when I started this, but the refund did show on 5 July. Thanks again, clowns!)

I have been making good use of my time by getting the two areas that go nowhere fine-tuned again, & decided that amusing as it was to have the stock pen so close to the Yard Cafe & depot, it could be moved.

And the transload facility works better on the other spur as well. Win-win.

Then I realized that as soon as I have the new track laid everything will need fine-tuning again. And once I've bought turn-outs to replace some I bought when I didn't know what I was doing, or would eventually do, another round (theoretically the last🤞🏻) of alteration & adjustment. Gah!

Not to do anything the upper classes would, like set a goal, but having had this for four months less than seven yrs. now, it would be nice to have fully electrified, runnable track & even have glued a structure or two together & slapped it on the layout before Nov. I've had seven building kits, trees, plants, 'phone poles & other details in layout limbo for yrs. Pprobably beat inflation & Fat Boy's tariffs by buying early. Speaking of, even laying track like a dirty 19th-century Irishman beats the hell out of current events. An hr. passes like nothing.

Knew It

It did arrive a day earlier than estimated, a die-cast PBY5-A Catalina. What a Navy seaplane w/ early WWII insignia is doing over an Army camp close to 150 miles from the Pacific & around 125 miles from the Gulf of California in the mid-'50s is anybody's guess; maybe it's a Twilight Zone episode.

Not bad for US$17.75. (Just saw the same model for $39.99. And I didn't even compare prices. Hah!) I do resent those pirate bastards at FedEx getting $8.99 for shipping. (And Jesus, next time leave it at the door to the bunker, not the mail boxes, & knock before you run away.)

No tax, which I think violates California law. Ah. Only if your operation moves more than $500,000 anually in Calif. I dunno; populous state full of chumps & suckers. Maybe someone should look into it.

There are few HO scale aircraft available; this is 1/144th scale & should look better flying from the convenient hook, used on the prototype to lift it from or lower it to the water.

Does not want to be grounded.

Not balanced for flight either, so my story is it's struggling taking off from a short field, heavily laden w/ poison gas or an H-Bomb, especially as the landing gear is still down. May have mentioned that the Rice area was considered for the Trinity test. Pretty damn sure something nefarious is going on at Camp Patton.

Now I have to figure how to attach it securely to the ceiling.

Provenance:

Does Macau/Bangladesh mean no Trump tariffs, or has this been on a shelf for yrs.?

The actual item.

Tuesday?

When I saw it was in Chino yesterday p.m., I figured it would be here today. But the estimated delivery date hasn't changed. Nonetheless, it's on the FedEx vehicle, so step on it, Jesus. My patience grows thin!

Too Much Baseball?

P.S.: Peacock sucks. Makes me wonder if any Peacock/NBC/Universal executives their watch their own crap, or if they do & are happy w/ it. Can barely sell any ads, either. Only positive in this mess is that I needn't subscribe to Peacock, because I can watch by signing on to my cable system. Which is probably why it's now US$300.00 a fucking month. Death to pirates!

Enough W/ The Outside World; On To Second Childhood

It's ugly & stupid out there, but avoiding it has me working on the you-know-what, where time passes like nothing.If I ever arse myself to do this again, maybe I'll light it.

Music To Lay Track By

J'ai bien deux faces.No idea why I arse myself; find your own entertainment.

More Music, More Often!

Hot Rod Music

Continued from ...

Waiting For Juice

Bonus electric-powered Google robot.

I wish I could juice myself up. I'm about half a level above catatonic, & could barely rouse myself to make it the few blocks to the supermarket & back.

DAMN!

All four got out, I hope relatively unscathed."Gunfighter Skies Air Show" Grow up already!

KTFT:

4 crew members safely ejected following Idaho jet crash, AP reports  —  The Associated Press has reported that all four crew members involved in the jet collision ejected safely.  —  MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho — Four crew members were able to safely eject from their aircraft …
Anthony Blair / New York Post:   Idaho air show horror after 2 jets crash in front of frightened spectators

Carter Schroppe / Washington Examiner:   Two F-18s collide at Idaho air show; all four crewmembers safe after ejecting

New York Times:   Two Military Jets Collide in Midair at Idaho Air Show

Jennifer Van Laar / RedState:   Breaking: Navy Fighter Jets Collide During Air Show at Mountain Home AFB

WWL-TV:   Jets collide during Idaho air show, prompt Air Force base lockdown and investigation

Fox News:   Two Navy jets crash midair as crew successfully ejects during Idaho military base air show

Justmindy / twitchy.com:   Miracle Ejection: Two Navy Fighter Jets Collide and Explode Over Idaho Airshow

Joseph Chalfant / Townhall:   Two Navy Aircraft Suffer Mid-Air Collision at Idaho Air Show

CBS News:   Fighter jets crash in midair during air show at Idaho Air Force base

Cassandra MacDonald / The Gateway Pundit:   SHOCKING VIDEO: Two Navy Jets Crash into Each Other Mid-Air at the Gunfighter Skies Air Show in Idaho, Four Parachutes Seen Floating to the Ground

Nicholas Slayton / Task & Purpose:   Air crews safely eject after two Navy jets collide during air show

Heather Mongilio / USNI News:   Naval Aviators Safe After EA-18G Growlers Crash at Idaho Air Show

Thomas Stevenson / The Post Millennial:   BREAKING: Two US Navy fighter jets collide during air show in Idaho

Addy Bink / KTLA:   Crews eject after ‘midair collision’ at Idaho Air Force base air show

Note how the fake news liars refer to them as "fighter jets", like the metal eight-yr. olds they are. Childish, & redundant (Pretty sure there are no more prop-driven fighter aircraft.) if true, however, "Growlers" aren't actual fighters, but electronic warfare platforms.

Use of the passive voice: "Two Navy Aircraft Suffer Mid-Air Collision at Idaho Air Show". Suffering, it can't be explained. It just happens, man. Wasn't a "miracle" either. It's called applied science. Ninnies.

An Exercise In Boredom

Literally watching paint dry.

Note high-technology spray booth. Safety first!

Wash Day Blues

Pretty pics to distract from my ultimatum/death threat.

Ultimatum For The Slumlord

If the fucking laundry room isn't working by May Day, I will march my ass the two blocks to your offices & suffocate your cheap parasitic ass w/ my dirty laundry, you putrid bastard, as there is no point to living any damn longer if I have to leave the bunker to get my washing done. Six-plus months of going to the laundromat signed your death warrant, you rancid son-of-a-bitch. It's killing time!!

Pretty good sound considering the lack of microphones & amplification.

This Is (Vaguely) Interesting

Note "change":

Couldn't reconcile my credit union account (Yrs. in banking left me a compulsive mess.) by a dime, because I wasn't expecting penny rounding change from a debit card.

Feeling The Pain Yet?

Tax Returns

Tired of suffering? I'm tired of watching y'all sitting there bent over & taking it.

ITEP:

At Least 88 Profitable U.S. Corporations Paid Zero Federal Income Tax in 2025  —  88 Corporations, $105 Billion in Profits, Zero Federal Income Tax  —  At least 88 of the largest corporations in America paid no federal corporate income taxes in their most recent fiscal year despite enjoying …

Mike Soraghan / Politico:   Oil comany founded by energy secretary paid no US taxes last year
Liberty Energy made $193 million last year and received more than $10 million back in tax benefits, according to a nonprofit analysis released on Tax Day.

Tax Foundation:   Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, Tax Year 2023

Judd Legum / Popular Information:   These highly profitable corporations paid zero federal income taxes last year

Talmon Joseph Smith / New York Times:
Amid Iran War, Companies Look to Extend a Record Profit Run by Raising Prices

Damian Carrington / The Guardian:
$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds
Aaron Parnas / The Parnas Perspective:   Renewed Calls for Trump's Removal as He Escalates Attacks on the Pope, Iran Threatens its Own Blockade, Trump Urges China to Not Supply Weapons to Iran

Citizens, your taxes are too high, yet few of your betters pay any taxes. Try to remember that until 3 November.

Tat For Which I've Paid

Came sealed in this hard plastic box, which makes it hard to imagine it could have been damaged in transoceanic shipping. In fact, it was "Manufactured and Assembled Entirely in the U.S.A.", in White City, Oregon, so no one in a factory on the other side of the Pacific can be blamed for dropping it & then slapping it in the box anyway; it was good ol' American ingenuity. Course it was shipped from OR to NJ before returning to the Coast. What a world, where I saved eight dollars by avoiding the manufacturer.

When I took it from the shipping box it rattled, & I thought, "Oooh, detail parts", but the rattle was broken & inadequately or possibly never glued parts. Note also broken piping/hoses on chassis & shell, which weren't locked together, but separated when I took it out to take pix.

Looked like a very rough coupling that partly detached the tackboard & ladder; little too much detail for me.

As is this:

When I called the dealer "Bob" told me they'd been seeing more of this recently. Maybe Kadee can't find good packers or QC people. They certainly can't find anyone to proof there their story.

Anyway, "Bob" advised me all the ones in their warehouse were already promised, so he said he'd call Kadee & see if they had any lying around, & if not I'd get a refund. Have to wait until Tuesday, as "Bob" will be at a train show in Mass. over the wknd. I said I hoped he had a good time & he said, "More work." A man after my own heart.

Nature Knows Something The Breeder Scum Haven't Figured Out Yet

Joseph Choi / The Hill:
Fertility rate drops to new record low: CDC
CNN:   US fertility rate dropped to another record low in 2025

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:   U.S. Fertility Rates Drop to Another Record Low

Gabrielle M. Etzel / Washington Examiner:   US fertility rate hits record low

Brad Matthews / Washington Times:   Births and fertility rate down nationwide in 2025

Theodore Bunker / NewsMax.com:   US Birthrate Slides to Record Low in 2025

Mariam Sunny / The Daily Signal:   US Fertility Rates Drop to Record Low in 2025 as Births Fall

Zach Jewell / The Daily Wire:   America Is On Track To Literally Die Off, New Fertility Data Warns

Selena Simmons-Duffin / NPR:   Teen birth rates hit another historical low in 2025, CDC says

Just put it back in your pants, losers. There are more than enough sub-humans filthying the planet, we certainly don't need any more mindless American sheep.

What's a good post-final solution number? Absolutely no more than a few hundred million maximum for the planet, I'd say.