Morning all,
Worked late last night. Working late again tonight. I already made up my mind to move retirement date up by at least 6 months. Maybe more. Two years, eight months sounds better than three years, two months. ;)
Memories from the Altoona EXPO in 2017. John (S&S RR) and I did a little rail fanning while we were in the area. Good times! :)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231117105543-26187209.jpeg)
Have a great one!
Hey Der Folks!
Low 40's and rain, to wash the road salt away. Dinner date with SweetieBear after work.
Have a Great Day All!
-Steven
Morning, all.
Up and getting ready for another work day. Finally broke freezing here yesterday. :)
Jeff
Morning everyone , up early this morning because I had an online product training from Callaway, it's not the same thing as being invited to a great golf course for a day , learning everything about the new equipment and after a nice lunch trying all the new stuff out.
Going to my trainroom now , now that I've done my work for today ;)
Morning all,
Great photo Bob.
Nothing but layout work, er, play today.
Ya'll be safe and stay healthy out there.
Tom ;D
Good morning.
We were blessed with 5-6" of snow yesterday after having a "trace to two inches" forecast. Today's forecast is for "one to four inches". Not sure if I should be concerned...
Outside of the snow plowing, looking forward to a quiet day. Everyone stay safe!
Is anyone else surprised the yesterday's "1" ", turned out to be 6"? I enjoy snow, but ENOUGH all ready! Spread it out between November and March: not over two weeks. Geesh! Rant over.
Morning all.
Got some catching up to do today as I let work slip a little yesterday.
Enjoy the day!
Morning everyone
Weather in South Jersey sunny/33. Later on 48!
Work continues on the Mill. That's after errands are done!
Everyone have a great day!! :)
Jerry
Good morning. Bob I remember that rail fanning trip well, good times and good company. And who can forget the squeal of the trains going around horseshoe curve. Bob my advice on retirement is sharpen that pencil and retire as soon as it's practical. I'm doing a few chores around the house today and then heading into the train room. I hope everyone has a great day.
Present
Morning all, More snow and low 20's today in Lakes region New Hampshire, Be safe.....Dennis
Above freezing 3 days in a row in Cent. Indiana - ahhhhh-. A little off the subject but I need to decide on a Medicare Supplement Plan in the next few months and I respect the opinion of this group more so than a room full of insurance advisors anyone have any suggestion? Good - bad or indifferent.
Thanks hope everyone has a great day...
Doug
Morning all (late morning that is).
Doug: Unfortunately, rates vary by state and provider. Just know that whatever level (by letter) plan you choose, the coverage is the same across the spectrum of providers. So Co. A's offering for plan X will be the same as Co. B's....only the premium will differ.
So, choose the plan that best fits your needs. I have plan G for example. It's more expensive than others, but I have more needs medically.
Consult with a broker/agent, asking if they rep for just one provider or a line of providers. When I selected my first provider, I didn't shop. I listened to the guy who came to see us. A few months in, someone else (who I had dealt with for other services) showed us the same coverage with another provider....at $40 less per month. We immediately cancelled the previous coverage for the new provider.
Good trip yesterday to Phila for the wife's medical situation. Smooth, trouble-free drive down the Sure-Kill X-way. I checked the speedometer once or twice and we were rolling with the traffic....at 80 MPH! Precip held off to after we were inside. Wife got good news (problem can be "fixed"). Precip on the way home, but no problems. Of course, driveway clearing again upon returning to the house.
So a lot of exhaling last night and today. Prayers answered for sure.
I think I'll start drilling holes in the test/switching module for feeders today.
Everyone have a wonderful day. "See" you tonight, Chip.
Morning,
Rumor has it that the CEO of the S&S RR may have stopped over at the Sandwich, Illinois Fairgrounds and painted the structure in his colors...
The Burlington Caboose was added as an office...John was there...
Tommy
Good morning. Bright sunshine in the 50-60's next two days in Central Virginia. Installing turntable and roundhouse addition this week (I hope!). Nothing seems to go exactly as planned.
good afternoon,
the snow continues, but it is melting and turning into slush. A first sign of Spring - SLUSH!
Doug, I just went through the Medicare decision cycle. I'm putting this here since others might be interested in my observations.
1st choice: Medicare supplement vs Medicare advantage. The latter work like HMOs, they can limit your choices, but they often provide additional benefits. The Supplement plans come in several flavors of what they cover. I ended up going with a supplement, and with a relatively comprehensive (and more expensive) supplement plan. One thing my plan includes is some coverage for travel, although I'll probably also get a travel medical policy whenever we go overseas (assuming we get to travel at some point in the future.... >:( ) See https://www.medicare.gov/supplements-other-insurance/how-to-compare-medigap-policies
2nd choice: I worked with an independent insurance broker. We used the Medicare website to compare plans in our state (NH), looking at costs and coverage. I went with the plan she recommended. It wasn't the cheapest, but she said about that cheaper option "Their costs vary over time. Sometimes they want more people to sign up, so they're cheaper. Other years they cost more. With the plan I recommend, the cost has stayed the same over the last several years." An additional advantage (no pun intended) was that plan came from Anthem, who is my current insurance (employee) carrier. The Medicare website provided good cost-benefit summaries for these plans, both supplements and Advantage.
3rd choice: Then I used the Medicare site to pick a prescription drug plan. I entered in all my prescriptions and where we get our prescriptions, and then just picked the cheapest plan. There are variations in what each plan covers for each drug, and in which pharmacies they work with. I looked at total cost (including deductibles, 'donut hole', etc, etc.) There was a fair amount of variation in costs across the dozen or so plans, but the two cheapest plans were pretty close in cost.
Overall, it was worth it for me to work with an insurance broker (she previously helped me get individual insurance after I retired and moved to NH, before I was old enough for Medicare.)
Medicare is awfully complex (I guess not surprising for a government benefit program), working with a broker to understand the decisions is definitely a good idea. Do spend some time on the Medicare.gov website, to get familiarity with terms, etc. Once you get the general gist of what the decisions are, the site provides great tools for comparison shopping on costs.
You really need to make these decisions and apply before the first day of your birth month. There are nasty continuing penalties if you start late. And of course it takes time to do the registrations and get your cards, etc. One thing I learned: Medicare costs is not based on previous year's taxable income, but on lifetime taxable income. (That's why my Medicare costs more than my wife's.) It was about 4 weeks from the time I did all the applications until I got the various membership cards and initial bills. I'm now good-to-go for my first Medicare appointment (which happens to be on March 1, a previously scheduled physical.)
dave
I'm the late check-in today. Under one year to retirement--yippee!. Even a year or two ago I thought I would work full-time well into my 70s, but the past year or so kicked my rear-end, psychologically. I'm out at 65.
On Medicare, I know it's a maze, but I have an ace up my sleeve. My wife does insurance authorizations for a large medical office. She knows plans inside out and upside down. She has stories of how some insurance providers fight payment tooth and nail and require medical offices to jump through multiple hoops before they will authorize procedures and surgery, while others authorize everything with minimal paperwork. She's already told me we'll pick together next year, when I'm ready to choose.
--Opa George