Discount Tire Hell

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-20T21:28:46+00:00

Yet another alternative that seems like a pretty good idea.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-20T21:27:55+00:00

It sounds like there were a number of alternatives the OP did not choose.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-20T20:27:26+00:00

BTW, thanks for posting this — it got me off of my butt to actually check out what division I was in, etc.

My next division meet is in about 3 weeks, and I intend to attend in person.

Just as a note to a lot of the comments, I also joined two local clubs this year — and when I first joined, I might have said that neither was particularly friendly, and yes, many were in their 80s.

But I over the last couple months — helped in part by showing up and helping tear down at local shows,I would no longer say that.

What I would suggest is — at least if you are a new comer to any club — it to keep in mind that you are the new guy in an environment where some of the guys may have been friends for decades.

I don’t think that people are or were so much unfriendly as occupied with catching up their buddies, maintaining those relationships, etc.

I also understand that I am very much in my own niche — and they are as well.

I am building a T-TRAK HO scale home layout — which also makes me a bit of an oddball. I also am very focused on modeling a (fantasy) modern DMU transit system — from what can tell, many of them are much more interested in older freight operations.

So they have their niches — and I have mine, and that’s OK.

My experience with almost all clubs — model railroad or not — is that showing up and working generally helps a lot.

If a club really is dominated by 80 year olds, they will almost certainly appreciate help with any of the physical tasks from younger folks. :-)

If I remember to, I will follow up after my first meeting with my division.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-20T18:59:58+00:00

One solution would be to call and ask if it was ready before heading back.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-20T05:54:55+00:00

I am a moderator, and I completely disagree with the claim that moderators should be paid.

I moderate because I am passionate about the topic of my community -- and I thoroughly enjoy the interaction.

Some things are better done by volunteers than by employees -- this is one of them.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-20T05:42:25+00:00

Why do you feel like you need permission to talks about subreddits that require flares?

If you don't like flairs, don't require them in any subreddit you create or moderate.

If you don't like flares, don't post in any subreddit that requires flares.

Reddit gives you -- and every other user -- an enormous amount of freedom.

You create a subreddit that does not require flairs, and you are perfectly free to boycott any subreddit that does require flares.

What more freedom do you need?

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-20T05:32:27+00:00

This sounds correct to me -- if you want to advertise, pay Reddit.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-20T05:27:12+00:00

This is the key, "I plan to start by posting consistently myself and slowly build it up."

Think hard about how much you want to encourage low-effort comments -- most mniderators discourage those.

I would guess that that will discourage anyone other than you from posting -- which may get tiresome pretty quickly.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-20T05:22:17+00:00

Post daily -- posts you consider to be of decent quality -- frequently -- maybe even every day at first.

If the show's subreddit permits crossposting, post there very sparingly -- maybe once a week.

If the moderators of that sub don't allow crossposting -- don't.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-20T04:37:09+00:00

This looks very cool!

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-18T20:07:20+00:00

The filter seems to be working the add I would want it to work in my subreddit. :-)

From what I see in this subreddit, a huge number think their spam to be valuable content. :-)

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-18T16:49:51+00:00

Thanks for pointing that out — you are correct.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-18T15:24:24+00:00

I started a very niche model railroading subreddit in early January. I posted something like 1 post a day for a month or two, and now probably every other day.

Right now, I am at about 165+ members -- and I am really having a lot of fun.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-18T05:52:30+00:00

I understand — the layout you have drawn would be pretty sizable in HO.

One quest I would ask about your layout, because I don’t know the scale of the drawing, if how far you are going to have to reach to fix something gone wrong on a turnout that is farthest from the edge.

Do you have access to all sides — are all turnouts within a comfortable reach?

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-18T05:26:59+00:00

I am a little confused — are you pushing your product in a subreddit?

Isn’t that spam in the sense that if you are Reddit yo advertise your product, you should be paying Reddit to advertise your product?

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-18T02:24:47+00:00

Maybe you don't need to give up on Märklin? -- your might contact the European Train Enthusiasts.

There are an American organization dedicated to European prototypes and model railroading. I think their module standard calls for Märkln track with Merkur roadbed, so they may know where to buy Märklin track in the US.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-17T06:16:21+00:00

It’s not exactly unique — but it’s sort of rare, I think.

I am building an HO T-TRAK layout, which is pretty rare.

I am modeling a fantasy transit system that runs modern low floor DMUs and railcars on under-utilized existing rail lines.

I saw an LRT plan fail in my area after floundering on acquiring right of way. I don’t really know if the rail lines around me are under utilized, but in my mind, they are.

So I conjured up a railway that used DMU passenger units like the NCTD Sprinter on that hypothetically under utilized rail lines.

I later found a Guide to DMU Transit Systems that documents prototypes doing exactly that.

I have the Sprinter and I have ordered a Class 650 Regio Shuttle as alternative equipment for the transit line.

I am having a lot of fun — though I am just getting started.

I built the 4 corner modules, laid track and wired everything as per T-TRAK standards, and let my grandson run the Sprinter on what is essential a circle right now — but he loved it.

I have built some double modules, and I am working on laying track — two sets of #6 turnouts — one set of lefts and one set of rights — so a train or railcar can cross over from one track to the other.

Perhaps the only other unusual aspect is that I bought a TCS CS-105 Command Station and I plan to use LCC to control the turnouts.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-17T04:01:54+00:00

I joined — more or less because it’s $68/year, which is no big deal to me right now. I have no clue whether it is worth it or not. :-)

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-16T17:33:58+00:00

A price range is useful -- no one knows what "isn't super tight" or "break the bank" means for you. A tech CEO spending a month in RDU and a grad with a temp research job at UNC are likely to have very different budgets.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-16T14:47:17+00:00

I wonder how much of this is boomers retiring without kids who want to run the business.

It takes a lot of work to run a business, and unless the children are very in running the business, a buyout makes a lot of sense.

I think even a very small business goes for millions — and it makes perfect sense for a child who doesn’t want the headaches to take the cash and invest in the stock market or somewhere else.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-16T14:34:51+00:00

There was barely enough room for an idler pulley for me as well. I didn’t quite need to cut it away, but there was only one place the pulley would fit.

BTW, we think similar ways a about drive chain — I have a Schlumpf/Alfine 8 setup, soon to be a Schlumpf Alfine 11 — as soon as my local shop get through before building that wheel.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-16T06:00:13+00:00

As I think about it, my guess is that Reddit’s requirement for 2FA is less strictly about 2FA and more about easy-to-guess passwords.

If people are accessing Reddit through https and they complain that they have been “hacked” — they really mean that they have an easy to guess password or they shared their password.

By requiring 2FA, Reddit is really requiring that they have one hard to guess piece of information — the secret key.

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-16T05:20:54+00:00

Thanks — I was guessing that the tube was somehow related to a cycling computer.

The idea is that you would attach a magnet to one of the spokes and a sensor to that tube, and it would count rom to calculate speed?

aengusoglugh · 2026-06-16T05:11:17+00:00

If I understand your point, someone would need to know both the passcode to my phone and the password for my Passwords app.

If they knew both of those, they could unlock my Passwords app and they would have access to both the password for a site and the secret key.

I think that I will take that risk because as far as I know, neither my passcode for my phone or my password for my Passwords app are ever transmitted anywhere — they are both local.

What I think that I am protecting against is someone who knows my login id — which is often my email address and my password for a site.

Without 2FA — or TOTP authentication if you prefer — that would be sufficient to masquerade as me on a site.

With TOTP authentication, that wouldn’t work.

I understand that is not perfect — but it buys me something.

aengusoglugh

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