Monthly Archives: October 2020
Drip, Drip, Drip . . .
But At Least The Brake Lights Work.
First up, I put in a call this morning to the Minnehaha County Auditor in Sioux Falls, SD this morning to arrange to have new Absentee Ballots sent out. The lady I talked to on the phone didn’t seem really surprised that we hadn’t yet received ours, and said new ballots would go out today.
So maybe we’re not the only ones that had a problem.
Next I was on the phone to Cummins to double-check the part number of the coolant filter for our rig’s 350 ISC diesel engine.
I guess that means I’m really confident that I’m going to get my oil leak fixed, since my next job will be to drain my old green antifreeze, flush out the system with distilled water, replace the coolant filter, and then refill with the newer red coolant.
And as I figured, the part number of the filter had changed, from WF2123 to WF2074. This also happened with my oil filter which went from LF3000 to LF9009. I guess things change in 21 years.
Going outside about 1pm, I dumped the oil out of the filter into a jug, and when I got under the rig and tried to install it, it went on with no problem in about 30 seconds.
WTH!
So refilling the filter with oil, I tried it again, and once again it went right on with absolutely no problem.
Again, WTH!
Why did I have so much problem yesterday? I didn’t do anything different.
But, not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I hand-tightened the filter and then used my strap wrench to tighten it down another 3/4 turn.
So our high-idle 60 minute test run was next, but since it was about 2pm, I decided that we’d do lunch first, so after I cleaned up, we headed over to Dickinson to once again to eat at Dickinson Seafood.
We each had the Blacken Catfish and Shrimp with Grilled Veggies.
Delicious, and at only $8.59 on the lunch menu, a really great deal.
Back at the rig about 4pm, I was out underneath the rig on the phone with Jan while she cranked up the rig. I was very happy to hear that it only turn over for about a second before it caught and started idling.
I was underneath the rig in case something back went wrong and I could yell at Jan to shut it down. But a few drops of oil came down, it all seemed to be good.
So I then told Jan to hit the brakes to check the rear lights and they work perfectly. So that means that the lights don’t work unless the engine is running.]
Since things were looking good, I told Jan to bump it up to high-idle (about 1050 rpm) by pressing the speed control toggle switch. Then I sat outside to keep an eye on things.
And then checking underneath about 30 minutes later, I found a slow drip of oil, about 1 drop every 5 seconds or so, coming off the filter.
Not a lot, but there should be none.
So Thursday, I’ll pull the filter off and try to figure out what’s leaking and where.
%$^&^%$#!
Thought for the Day:
Government is greedy. Taxpayers who want their own money are not greedy.
October 20, 2010
Landon and the Big Monkey. . .
Brandi sent over some more Landon pics. Here he is trying his new sit-up chair.
And here he is trying out his first Halloween jammies.
Jan went out about 11 this morning to get a pedicure, and then we left the rig about 3:15 to head up to Pasadena to meet a friend at Office Depot. She’s been having trouble with a Toshiba laptop ever since she bought it in July, and she’s trying to get them it either fix it or replace it.
They keep saying it’s a malware problem, but I think it’s a hardware problem. We really didn’t get anything settled this time. We’ll have to check it out further.
Leaving Office Depot we drove back to Barbara’s house, and then she drove us over to Border Grill & Cantina on Spencer in Pasadena. It was our first time there, and it was so good that Jan ask during the meal if we could come back there for her birthday next week. I had the Chicken Tortilla Soup, and again, really good.
After dinner, we went back by Barbara’s to talk for a while. We finally headed home about 8:30 after having a great evening.
Since this is another short post day, I thought you might want to check out our last day visiting New York City last year.
Where’s the Big Monkey?
Originally posted on July 28, 2009
Jan and I spent our last day in New York visiting the Empire State Building, having lunch, cappuccino, and cheesecake at Junior’s in Times Square, and fulfilling a major item on Jan’s bucket list.
We caught the 8:45 am train into the city to Penn Station/Madison Square Garden and then walked the 3 long blocks (New York’s blocks in Manhattan are rectangles, not square. They’re about 1000 ft. x 250 ft.) over to the Empire State Building at 5th Ave. and 33rd St.
We got to the ESB about 10:30 am, hoping we were early enough to avoid the large crowds that can be there. Apparently, it can take as long as 3-4 hours to get in on some days, but we lucked up.
It was easy to see the 1930’s Art Deco influence in everything from the murals to the floor.
It was easy to see that they were set up to handle really large crowds, so I’m glad we got there early.
The view from the 86th floor is amazing. There’s just a wire fence separating you from thin air.
All the New York landmarks were visible, like the Chrysler Building,
the Flatiron Building,
and Central Park.
Looking down, it looks like toy buildings on the model railroad layout.
I then paid extra to take another elevator up to the 102th floor, but it was a disappointment. It was small and completely enclosed. You also had to dodge the large metal beams that support the tower on top of the ESB.
Here’s Jan and I on top.
We were out of the ESB by noon, so we made good time. I tried to take a picture straight up from the street, but this is all you can see, due to the inset of the top floors of the building.
From here we took a cab over to 45th St and Times Square to have lunch at Junior’s , a place famous for their cheesecake in the Theater district since the 1950’s. Their carrot cake cheesecake is probably the best pie or cake of any kind I have ever eaten.
Walking back over to Broadway, Jan got her picture taken with a world-famous New York celebrity, The Naked Cowboy.
I think she was enjoying this entirely too much. And why isn’t there a Naked Cowgirl, anyway?
And the Naked Cowboy is also running for Mayor of New York.
He has a bevy of beautiful blondes running around handing out campaign literature, but could I get my picture taken with them? Nooooo!
A recent article says he makes between 3 and 4 hundred dollars an hour doing this and only works between 11 am and 2 pm each day. There are pictures of him, dressed just like this, standing in 6 inches of snow.
I think I’d worry about frostbite myself.
We then sat on the lawn chairs on Broadway and watch the world go by for a while.
Looking up, we could see the New Year’s Eve ball resting at the bottom of the column for 2009.
It sure seems like the column is taller on TV.
About 3 pm we caught a cab back to Penn Station to start the journey back to Florida, NY where we’re parked.
It’s a two part train ride. First we catch a train from Penn Station to Secaucus Junction, in Secaucus, NJ.
Although not as big as Penn Station, Secaucus Junction is really a very beautiful station.
Then we catch the 4:18 pm Port Jervis train out to Harriman, NY where we left our truck at the Park and Ride, finally getting home about 5:30 pm.
Not bad, but I’d hate to have to do it every day, like many people do.
Thought For The Day:
Liberty is not free. Never has been, never will be.
October 20, 2011
Pizza and Droids . . .
Got up early this morning, a little before 9. Last night we developed a leak in our slide coming out from underneath the sofa. Luckily it’s not hurting the floor since right now it’s still just plywood until I get the new flooring installed. See, sometimes procrastination pays off.
About noon I headed back over to the RV/MH Hall of Fame. I think I might as well put a cot over there and just stay. Every time I think I’m getting close to wrapping things up, they spring something new on me.
I got back to the rig a little after 5, so pretty quickly Jan and I headed over to Mancino’s Pizza for our weekly pizza fix. Love their garlic cheese breadsticks!
Then leaving Mancino’s we drove over to the Verizon Store. Both Jan and I are looking for new phones, so we thought we’d check things out. I really like the new Droid Charge and will probably get one before we leave Elkhart next week.
Then we walked next door to Martin’s to pick up a few things before we headed home.
On the weather front, it’s supposed to rain through tomorrow evening, then go down into the low 30’s tomorrow night before kind of clearing up to cloudy on Saturday. And then of course, more rain on Sunday. Don’t you just love it.
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Thought for the Day:
Never Again! Except for the next time.
October 20, 2013
Nice Days, Cold Nights
or They’re Working On It.
The weather here has been really nice for the last several days, sunny with daytime times in the high 70’s/low 80’s, and nighttime temps in the low 60’s, although last night it got down to a nippy 47 degrees. And weather.com says those ranges should hold for the next week or so. Nice.
As of yesterday (Saturday) we have five weeks left here on the gate, and Jan’s just giddy. But not only because of that, but because this coming Tuesday is our 2nd (and last) day off the gate. Last time it was for our anniversary, but this time it’s a combined birthday celebration. Mine’s on the 5th and hers is the 25th, and right now we’re in that 20 day period when we’re the same age every year.
Last time we had steak at Magic Time Machine, but now we’re jonesin’ for some good Mexican, and our ‘go to’ place here in San Antonio is La Fonda on Main. Opened by two sisters in 1930, it has grown (moved across the street in 1934) to one of the best Mexican restaurants in San Antonio.
Here’s what their website says about their history.
It is fascinating to hear how popular La Fonda has been as a dining spot of history’s most celebrated people. Every famous officer in World War II seems to have eaten here, including Generals Eisenhower, MacArthur and Hill. Even American presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson enjoyed La Fonda’s fare. Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Yul Brenner, Veronica Lake, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, along with many other stars, visited this historic restaurant.
Between the history and the delicious food, it reminds us a lot of La Posta in Las Cruces, NM, and we’re really looking forward to it.
The other thing we’re looking forward to is seeing ‘Gravity’ in IMAX 3D. Like our last day off, we’ll see the movie first in the afternoon, then dinner, and then Wal-Mart, Sam’s, whatever, finishing off with coffee/cappuccino/scones on the way home (at a Pilot/Flying J, of course).
On the Halloween front, Brandi and Landon are in the thick of it. Landon had his Halloween party at his daycare, and this year he’s a Power Ranger.
Look at those muscles. Guess he’s been working out.
In past years he’s been a dragon and a giraffe.
Brandi’s been doing pumpkin carvin’ thing and it came out really good, I think. She said it’s the first time she’s done one like this.
The other day I mentioned a problem solved (using vinegar to get the caliche crust off our glasses) and a problem found. But I forgot to say what the ‘problem found’ was.
Our PowerGear door step has stopped working. Well, it’s kind of working, I can hear the motor running, but the step doesn’t move. In fact you can push the step in and out by hand, so I guess the linkage has come loose. The strange thing is that it did it since we’ve been parked here on the gate. Seems like I remember a cotter pin on the linkage that may have broken off.
I know some people disable their step so it just stays out when they’re parked for a while, and I did this early on. But I found that after not being used for 2 or 3 months it didn’t want to work right anyway. You just can’t win.
I don’t think I’ll be able to look at it until we at least get back to the yard, and maybe not until we’re back in Houston. Because I had to use the levelers to compensate for the uneven ground here, the door side of the coach is really close to ground and there’s not much room to get under it.
Under the heading of “They’re working on it”, that I always say about problems with Verizon’s cell/data service. Because that’s what I’m always told when I complain to them. But this time it’s a good thing.
When we got here at the gate, we had two bars of 3G service, with about 500 Kbps data rate. Not great, but not bad, considering. Then about two weeks ago, the data signal would just be off all night. Nothing, and then it would come back on about 5am.
Made it real hard to get a blog posted. But then last week I noticed on my phone that I was getting a consistent 3 bars of signal and Speedtest.net says I now getting between 1.1 and 1.2 Mbps, more than double. YAY!
This is the same tower I was hitting last year on one our gates using our Wilson Cell Phone booster, from 19 miles away! When I first set it up, I was disappointed to only be getting 1X speed, but figured it was due to the distance. But a few days later I was driving right by the tower on the Interstate and discovered it really was only 1X.
Then about two weeks into our stay at that gate, suddenly it went to 3G. So I guess they really are ‘working on it” sometimes. Come on 4G!
On a final note, we apparently have a new neighbor in the area, a bobcat. One of truck drivers saw it loping along the shoulder of the highway (US281), passing in front of the gate. At first he thought it was a coyote, but with a better look he said it was a small bobcat. By small, he said it was smaller than Mister.
When Mister’s outside with us, he’s on a leash and we never leave him alone, but as the guy said the bobcat kills for a living, so we’ll have to be a little more cautious.
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Thought for the Day:
A fool and his money are … standing in front of the Apple store.
October 20, 2014
The Operation Was a Success,
but the Patient’s Still Dead.
Today’s vehicle count was in the mid-180’s, almost identical to the previous two. But that will probably change in the next couple of days as our last remaining frack job is supposed to finish up.
And we’ve been told that we’ve got another couple of weeks to go with our drill rig here before they started fracking it immediately afterwards. Hopefully it will all work out where we can stay here until we head back to Houston toward the end of November. But you never know.
The operation mentioned above was on Jan’s Kindle Paperwhite. Last night she was starting up a Mahjong game she plays when the screen froze and it locked up. So she put it aside until I could look at it.
Now normally, when the Paperwhite locks up, you hold down the power button for 30 seconds and then it will reboot. But not this time. It stayed stuck on the Mahjong startup screen. A little Googling to me to try holding down the power button for 60 seconds, release it, and then press it again. Well this didn’t work either.
At this point I was supposed to call Amazon Tech Support, and since Jan’s Paperwhite was six weeks out of warranty, they would sell me a refurbished one at a slight ($10) discount off a new one. Bummer!
But another post mentioned taking the Kindle apart and removing the battery for a while, before putting it all back together. Several people said this worked for them. So never able to resist tearing into a piece of hardware, I had at it.
Disassembly instructions are on the Internet and it’s really pretty easy. First you insert a small screwdriver (I used one for eyeglasses) in the corner of the front bezel and carefully pry it up enough to get a spudger inserted. A spudger is a small flat piece of plastic or wood similar to a popsicle stick but thinner.
In this photo, the screwdriver is at the top and the white plastic spudger is at the bottom.
Then you run the spudger around the edge of the bezel, breaking the glue seal that holds it on. This is very similar to how you break the bead between a tire and the wheel when change a car tire. After carefully peeling off the bezel you have this
Next up, you remove the 11 screws holding the mainboard in the case. Again, I used a Phillips eyeglass screwdriver. After gently prying out the board, you are here.
When you turn the board over, you find the big blue battery held in by another 3 screws.
Removing those screws gets you here.
I left the battery out for about 30 minutes, and then put it all back together in the reverse order.
But when I tried the reset procedure again, it was still frozen with the Mahjong startup screen. Bummer again!
Well, I’ve still got several more things to try before I give up. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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Thought for the Day:
From all the news reports it seems like one of the primary symptoms of Ebola is an irresistible urge to travel.
October 20, 2015
Why Did I Put It In There?
They just won’t quit. Over the last three days there have been over 300 attempts to hack into my blog, one every 10 or 15 minutes or so.
Give it up already.
Striking out looking inside for my soldering iron, I finally started going through the bins in the basement outside. And after checking out all the obvious ones, Tools, Electronics, etc., I finally found them, my primary one and my back up one, in the bin labeled Air Tools & Compressor Parts.
Why the hell did I put them in that bin?
This is my main soldering iron.
A Weller Soldering Station with adjustable temperature control, the soldering iron itself can be unplugged from the station and plugged directly into the wall socket.
My back up one is this Radio Shack one that I got for $5 at a Store Closing Sale.
Although it ‘s only dual heat, it’s better than nothing when you need one.
But even more importantly for the upcoming job of replacing the power jack on my laptop, I found my ziplock bag of solder wick.
It’s used to remove the old solder out of the connections so I can get the bad jack out and leave the holes open so I can solder the new jack in.
But by the time I found all this it was too late to start on the laptop today, so that’s on the slate for tomorrow.
Taking advantage of the continuing lull, about 4:45pm we headed out for dinner once again, this time to track down the almost-mythical KJ’s Whistle Stop.
We had tried to find this place once before, back before our frack started, and discovered the restaurant had moved and apparently left no forwarding address. No, really.
Everything on the Internet, both address and phone number, all pointed only to their old address. And when I called 411 for their new number, they didn’t have one.
WTH!
But our landowner here at the frack told us where it was really located, and said it was his favorite local place. But when we finally tried it a few days later, it was a Saturday. And as it turned out, they’re closed on Saturday and Sunday.
WTH!
But tonight we thought we’d try again. And it turned out to be a good choice.
We’d heard about their Friday night Seafood Buffet, and their lunch buffet, but we didn’t know that they had regular dinner buffet. So that’s what we had.
After a nice salad bar, we had Chicken Fried Steak, Chicken Spaghetti, Baked Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Field Peas, Corn, Green Beans, Rolls, and Hotwater Cornbread. All delicious.
Our landowner has good taste.
I had heard of Hotwater Cornbread before, but had never actually had it until the night we stayed in Henderson before we started on the gate the next morning back in August.
We really liked it then, so we were happy to find it here tonight. The texture reminds me of a cornbread stick, with a slightly tough skin, and a moist center. Again, really good.
Coming back, although we’d locked the gate when we left, it was open when we came back. I told Jan I guess the guy who came through had never lived on a farm, because the rule is that if you pass through a closed (or locked) gate, you leave it closed (or locked) behind you, and if it’s open, you leave it open.
Whoever it was, opened the same lock we used, so it was probably one of the frack water guys since they had a key too.
Before we parked, I went down to check out the new Mighty Mule Alarm that I replaced last week. I noticed yesterday that it had stopped working, so I wanted to check it out. What I found was that someone had driven so far off the road that they’d run over the cord that runs from the sensor at the edge of the road over to the transmitter. This was enough to pull the USB connector out of the bottom of the transmitter. So plugging it back in, I reburied the cable and sensor, hoping the trucks would do a better job of staying on the road from now on.
But this is the second time this has happened, so I wouldn’t count on it.
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Thought for the Day:
All will become clear when it is too late to matter.
Down in Kenedy Texas to Gate Guard
October 20, 2016
The Best Burgers . . .
After our coffee this morning, we met Todd, the local Sitewatch rep, at the nearby McDonald’s at 11am to go over the job and the requirements. It was also kind of a ‘get to know each together’ for all of us. After about 90 minutes, we parted ways, taking our employment packets with us.
Our first stop was a nearby carwash to try and get some of the mud off the truck. It was a so-so job and got about 90% of it off, but I’ll probably need to redo it with my pressure washer to finish up.
Todd had recommended RJ’s Burgers in downtown Kenedy. It’s often said that the best burgers are found in dumpy-looking places.
For example, here is Stomp’s down in Kemah, TX, with our favorite burgers in the Clear Lake area.
And then there’s Coyote Bluff in Amarillo, also at the top of our Best Burgers List.
And now there’s a new entry on our list – RJ’s Burgers in Kenedy, TX.
Here’s Jan’s Cheddar Mushroom Burger.
These are large burgers on 5” buns, with hand-formed 8 oz burgers and hand-cut fries. And the scary part is that according to their menu, you can get this as a double, or even a TRIPLE! That’s a pound and a half of burger meat. WOW!
You’re getting into Heart Attack Grill territory with that one.
I got the Grilled Ribeye Sandwich, with an 8 oz Ribeye, charred around the edges and medium-rare inside. And like the fries, their onion rings are hand-sliced and battered.
And for a small place, they’ve got a pretty extensive menu.
If there’s a down side to the place, it’s that they’re only open from 10am to 3pm, Monday through Friday. Bummer!
Finishing up we headed over to the Karnes County Courthouse in Karnes City to get our DBA from the County Clerk’s office. But as it turns out, the courthouse is shut down for a complete rebuilding / remodeling and the courthouse offices are scattered all over town. We had to make 4 stops to complete the paperwork.
Finally finishing up and heading toward home, we took a detour out on FM-2102 to check out the location of the Marathon Oil Company facility in this area.
We have to take their Orientation class tomorrow, or wait until next Friday when it’s given again. Everyone has to take the class now before you can work at a Marathon site, another thing that’s changes since we last worked for them in 2012.
Getting back to the rig, I spent the rest of the evening fighting my way through the online Security Guard license stuff. Looks like we won’t have to redo the fingerprints again, so that’s good. I mean, it’s not liked they’ve changed or anything.
Tomorrow we’ll try to wrap the bank account stuff before we do the Marathon class.
Then it’s just wait and see.
Thought for the Day:
If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have one idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas. – George B. Shaw
October 20, 2017
Moving On Down . . .
I decided not to make the Clear Lake trip this morning for a couple of reasons. One, I just didn’t feel like it. And two, we were going to meet up with some friends at the Fish Pond Restaurant about 4, which would have meant that I would have had head back toward Conroe by 2pm, not leaving me a lot of time down there anyway.
And now it looks like I won’t have to worry about the long trips much longer, since, at the recommendation of some friends, we found an opening at the Petticoat Junction RV Park down in the Santa Fe area, and we’ll be moving down that way this coming Thursday.
This means that I will only have a 15 mile drive to work instead of a 70 mile one. Very Nice!
And a lot less wear and tear on the truck. It already has 266K+ miles on it, and another 83,000 miles being drug around the RV.
By the time 3pm rolled around, Jan decided she just didn’t feel like getting out and about, so I contacted Debi Hurlburt to let her know we weren’t going to make it.
Then about 5pm I drove over to Raising Cane’s in Conroe to pick up some dinner. We each got the 6 piece Caniac Combo, which will give us two meals each. Really good.
A number of you commented that you took advantage of the La Crosse Technology Weather Station sale I mentioned yesterday. Glad it worked out for you.
The Word of the Day is: Perlocutionary
Thought for the Day:
“Individuality is fine as long as we all do it together.” – Frank Burns, Maj., 4077th MASH , aka Ferret Face
October 20, 2018
Hauling Shell . . .
With only 188 miles to go this morning, we pulled out of our site at the crack of 10am, heading for the Riverside RV Park in Robertsdale, AL.
Much better than yesterday’s 7:27am sunrise, let me tell you.
I had planned to get diesel at the park’s Marathon station like I did last time, but the place was a madhouse, with trucks parked every which way. At the pumps, in front of the pumps, on the shoulder, etc. And when I did find a pump that looked like I could get in and out of, it was bagged for diesel. But as it turned out, that saved me over $37.
Driving along, we quickly realized that the downed trees we saw yesterday was just a start. It was obvious that we were coming into the worst-hit areas, with solid lines of trees down along the roadsides for miles.
Then you’d come over a hill and there would be a whole forest of what looked like bare telephone poles. But a closer look showed acres of pine trees with the tops and the limbs just gone.
The first three Rest Areas we passed were closed due to the hurricane, but when we did stop and I did a walk-around, I found this sticking out from the passenger side of our rig.
Don’t know how it got there, and don’t remember hitting or running over anything. It was just kind of wedged in between the bay doors with no damage.
Coming up on the Crestview, FL exit, I saw the sign for a BP station that said it had RV access so we turned off. We got 93 gallons at $3.19 vs. the $3.59 at the Marathon this morning, So a $37 savings.
Our Silverleaf Computer Display said we had 58 gallons left on our 150 gallon tank. So 58 gallons + 93 gallons gives us 151 gallons. A 1 gallon difference, so close enough.
Since this system actually counts the fuel injector pulses, it really is that accurate. Thus our MPG readings are also very accurate.
Since we gained an hour getting back into the Central Time Zone, we pulled into the Riverside RV Park a little before 1pm. Since we were given our site number when I called in yesterday, we went straight to our pull-thru and got set up.
Later in the afternoon, we drove over to Big Daddy’s Grill on the Fish River to have an early dinner.
Not having anything else today except coffee, we were hungry, so we started off with an order of their Fried Okra. Really good and crispy.
I also had a cup of the Seafood Gumbo,
then we both got the Shrimp & Oyster Basket with Sweet Potato Fries, with Jan’s shrimp grilled and mine blackened. The oysters were just huge.
Just as delicious as last time, and well worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Catching up on a few things.
When stopped off at a Shell station to get gas this past Thursday, I saw this Gopher Tortoise hauling shell across the large parking area near the pumps.
Since he had a long way to go and a two lane road to cross in the direction he was heading, I decided to help him out. Though he was moving along at a pretty good clip, he tucked in as soon as I got near and froze.
When I picked him up I was kind of surprised how heavy he was, probably around 15#. I hadn’t walked more than a few steps before his head and feet came out and he started ‘dog-paddling’ in the air, I guess trying to help me out.
I carried him across the parking lot and then across the road, putting him down in the tall grass over there. Without a thank you, or even a look back, he immediately headed out, aiming toward the trees in the background. Hope he stays off the roads now.
While we we passing through Titusville the other day, we turned into the Titusville High School parking lot.
Jan never went here since she had already graduated in Massachusetts before her father retired to Florida, but both of her sisters went here.
Although the place looked really nice, I was wondering if it was still in use, since it was a weekday and the parking lot was mostly empty. But when we ask someone, she said it was an ‘in-service’ day, so just the teachers were there.
Thought for the Day:
The fact that jellyfish have survived for 650 million years without brains should be great news for some people.
October 20, 2019
Sometimes You Just Need To Get A Bigger Hammer . . .
And Hit It Harder!
Last week when we were at WalMart I bought a bigger hammer, at least a bigger, better rubber hammer. I was determined that I was going to get the oil filter adapter off, even if I had to break it off.
This one has a harder black end and slightly softer white side. As heavy as this thing is, I’m pretty sure it has a weighted head inside
Previously when I was beating on it, I was using a lighter, solid plastic one like this,
except mine is white. I think it was originally supposed to be used to hammer tent stakes into the ground. But I’ve always used it to just beat on things.
So I got under the rig about 2pm and whaled away at the bottom of the old filter with the soft side. When, after about a dozen whacks, nothing budged, I switched to the harder side. And after another dozen or so smacks, I heard a pop and the filter base seemed to move a little.
So the next time I really slammed into it. Luckily I had enough foresight to move out from under the filter because with the last hit the filter/adapter combo fell to the ground right next to my head.
But even if it had hit me in the head, I still would have been happy. The damn thing was finally OFF!
And even better, the gasket came off on the adapter piece so it will be easier to clean off the filter base still on the rig. Looks like a good scrubbing with a brass brush should take care of that.
Plus the gasket itself is dry, cooked and flakey, making me more confident that this is what the problem is.
I’m going to call Cummins tomorrow to see if/what they recommend using as a sealer on the gasket.
So now it looks like I know what I’m going to be doing on Thursday.
After cleaning up, Jan and I headed out about 3:30 to have dinner at our local favorite, Los Ramirez Mexican. And as usual, we both got our usuals.
Jan’s was the Pechuga Rellana, with a large Grilled Chicken Breast covered in Cheese, and resting on a bed of Grilled Shrimp and Broccoli along with a side of Avocado.
She also gets the Guacamole that comes with my Beef Fajita Taco Salad.
The prices on all this is really amazing, with Jan’s only $7.99 and mine only $5.59. And it’s just full of Beef. Great!
Then after a stop at HEB and the Post Office we got home about 5:30, with a lot accomplished.
Thought For The Day:
“Absolute power does not corrupt absolutely. Absolute power attracts the corruptible.” — Frank Herbert
At It Again . . .
Since, after my test yesterday afternoon where I screwed my old adapter into the filter with no problem, I’m sure that the filter threads are OK. So tomorrow I’m going to drain the oil from the filter and take it back under the rig to try it again to see if I can figure out what’s wrong.
At least since it will weigh a lot less, I’ll be able to fool with it longer. But we’ll see.
October 19, 2009
A Job Complete…
I wanted to spend the day finally getting the bathroom faucet changed out so we ate a lunch of leftovers.
It took all afternoon and two trips to Lowe’s, but I finally got the old one off.
And, ironically, the Lowe’s trips didn’t help.
It just took a lot of brute force, i.e., a screwdriver and a big, honking hammer.
It turns out all I had to do was just beat the crap out of it.
Finally getting the old one out, I got the new one in and working in only about 10 minutes.
Here’s the result.
The old one was a two handle model that couldn’t be repaired when it started dripping. This one can be fixed.
About 6 pm we headed out for dinner at Ryan’s, dropping off a bag of garbage at the dumpster on the way out of the park.
We got back home a little after 7, ready to enjoy our new faucet.
Thought For The Day:
Apparently, free speech is only allowed until someone else doesn’t like it.
Still In Elkhart
October 19, 2011
Man the Lifeboats . . .
We seem to be on day 3 of the 40 days and 40 nights of rain. I expect Ark building to commence momentarily.
It’s the Lord, Noah!
Right!
For a real laugh, check out Bill Cosby’s take on Noah and the Ark.
After coffee, and later lunch, I headed back over to the RV/MH Hall of Fame. I think I’m finally on the downhill run on this, and hope to finish Friday, or Saturday at the latest, unless I run into something else unexpected.
Getting home about 5pm I found our daughter Brandi had sent us this new Landon picture. Wonder if he’s also wearing the cowboy boots we bought him?
By the time I finished it was almost 8, so we wanted to eat close by. And our choice was King Wha and their great Chinese food. And they were really on their game tonight with a great meal.
Getting back to the rig, the pond surrounding our rig is getting bigger and deeper. If this keeps up we’ll have to break out our waders.
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Thought for the Day:
“Never believe anything until it has been officially denied.” – Otto Von Bismarck
Gate Guarding
October 19, 2014
Good Stuff . . .
Our vehicle count seems to have settled down for now, with today’s count of 181 pretty much the same as yesterdays. We’ve been told that our last remaining frack still has a few more days to go. But we’ll see. Everything always seems to take longer than planned out here in the oil patch.
For the first time since we’ve been at this gate I heard coyotes (the 4 legged furry kind) about 5am this morning. I used to hear them every morning at last year’s gate. They sounded like they were right across the road, and probably were. But I never saw one.
We talked to our son Chris today about his bike trip out west. He and his fireman buddies went all the way out to Monument Valley in Utah. His best description of the trip was “Cold”. Cold on the bike, cold in the tent.
I finally remembered to ask one of the computer support guys for the password to the rig’s Wi-Fi network. My Verizon data signal here is sometimes iffy, so hopefully this will help.
For dinner tonight we had more delicious food from Ama’s catering. Frack Food, as we call it. This time it was really good Beef and Cheese Enchilada’s with Rice and Beans. And one more thing that made it even better.
This past spring when we were orbiting back and forth between the Lake Conroe Thousand Trails and the Colorado River Thousand Trails, we met up with Greg and Lynette McHenry. And somewhere along the line Greg McHenry gave us a jar of his homemade hot sauce. Well, as can happen, the jar was put in the refrigerator and slowly worked its way to the back, while we were dealing with all of Jan’s breast cancer stuff.
But recently Jan was trying to clear room in the frig for all the Ama’s we’re getting and came across the jar of hot sauce. So we’ve been using on all the Mexican dishes we’ve been getting, including tonight’s enchiladas, as well as the fajitas a couple of nights ago.
And this is some Good Stuff. Really good, as in ‘Greg should bottle and sell this stuff’ good. We’re really sorry we didn’t find this earlier. Of course we would have already run out by now.
So, never mind.
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Thought for the Day:
Never underestimate the power of ignorant people in large groups.
Gate Guarding
October 19, 2015
Lights and Sheets . . .
Another quiet day, even apparently for the frack up the road. The water guys weren’t around, the frack pond pumps weren’t running, and the big blue hose was flat.
Since they just started fracking last Monday, I doubt they’re finished up, but probably just switching over to the second hole. Neither of these wells are as deep as any of our three were, so they might possibly be finished up next week.
Other than that, we had some tankers coming in hauling out water, and some other trucks hauling out some other stuff.
Later in the afternoon, I started filling our water tank from the well hose. I tried hooking up the hose directly to the rig, but with only about 20psi, it didn’t work out very well. So every week or so I just fill up our 500 gallon tank. Of course with the low pressure it takes two to three hours to top it off.
I’ve noticed a number of y’all still buying the Striped QUEEN Sateen Sheet Sets we mentioned a while back. We came across these a year or so ago and bought two sets.
They’re still very soft, with no pilling or wearing, and they still look great. They come in 9 different colors, and even better, they’re inexpensive (cheap). Only about $25 per set.
Several readers had asked me about how I liked the new Camco Bright White Light LED Bulb that I got for our shower after the old one burned out and blew a fuse.
After a little over a month it’s still working great. One thing I’ve noticed about this one is that there’s been no fade. Many LED lights, especially cheaper ones, tend to dim noticeably during the first few months. But I measured the output of this one when I first installed it, and then again a couple of days ago, and found no discernable difference. The same goes for the LED Strip Lights that I use as fluorescent bulb replacements.
And speaking of the LED strips, I mentioned a couple of days ago that I was going to use these strips to replace the 4ft fluorescent tubes in our kitchen when they died.
And of course, today they did die. At least one of them did, and they won’t work with just one bulb. So I dug into my storage bin and discovered I only had five strips.
I decided to do just a quick and dirty hookup until I could get some more strips. I had planned to use four on each side, but five would have to do for now.
After cutting the 12v wires going into the ballast, I wired up the strips using wire nuts. Like I said, quick and dirty.
I then used clear packing tape to fasten them to the diffuser panel. And when it was all closed up, it looked like this.
Based on the light output, the five strips shown here are brighter than the tubes they replaced. So I’ll just add one more strip when I get some more in. Although the point source effect of the lights doesn’t bother Jan or I, when I get the new one, I’ll stick them to the top of the fixture using the furnished adhesive tape, which should diffuse the light even more.
I didn’t get to my laptop repair today because I couldn’t find one of my two soldering irons. I did find both of my soldering guns, but they’re too big for this fine work. I guess they must both be out in one of the bays, so that’s where I’ll look tomorrow.
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Thought for the Day:
Dumbest question, “Where did you lose it?”
On Our Way South To Gate Guard
October 19, 2016
Gas Buddy Lies . . .
Today being a travel day, Jan was up about 7:30 while I slept in until 8:30. Since I always get my shower at night, this gives Jan time to get her shower and then get dressed.
While Jan got the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuits ready, I started the coffee and then went outside to stow some more things away.
It had been foggy earlier and the dew was on everything, including this spider web covered in dew drops.
Pretty neat!
We were hooked up and on our way a little after 11. Friend and Park Ranger Barbara Spade even got a picture of us hitching up before we headed out.
Our first stop was at the halfway point, which turned out to the Buc-ee’s near Luling for kolache’s for lunch, and Cranberry Nut Muffins for breakfast tomorrow. Oh, and also a large Coffee / Cinnamon Bus / English Toffee Cappuccino for me and a small Coffee / Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino for Jan.
Then a few miles past Luling, we turned south on SR 80 for the last 60 or so miles. I was actually going a few miles out of the way to make a diesel stop at the Stripes Truck Stop coming into Karnes City, rather than cutting directly over to Kenedy.
The trip down SR 80 was smooth and scenic . . . until we got to the last 20 miles or so. Which consisted of two 10 mile long one lane sections. We had to wait for a pilot truck to lead us through each 10 mile stretch, but that wasn’t the real problem.
That was the fact that that had the pavement completely torn up for repaving, and we were just driving on dirt and gravel. And because they were watering the dirt and gravel to keep the dust down, we arrived at the Lone Star RV Park #2 covered in a hard coating of brown mud.
I wanted to top off our tank before we parked for several months, and Gas Buddy said that Stripes had diesel for $1.96 a gallon, noticeably less than the $2.08 – $2.09 at the nearby stations.
I checked Gas Buddy again this morning and it was still $1.96 this morning as well. But when we got there about 1:30, it was now $2.08, but I was there so I filled up.
But to further rub my nose in it, when we actually got in Kenedy, the HEB had diesel for $1.94, and Gas Buddy didn’t even list it at all.
Some Buddy!
After we got parked, I called Nancy Christian, the park owner, to let her know we were here and what site we were in. Then a couple of hours later she showed up at the rig to ‘officially’ welcome us and give us a folder with all the park info.
She said to see how things are going to work out and then we’ll settle up. According to the info packet, the rate is $500 per month which includes electric, Wi-Fi, DirecTV cable with HBO, and a free laundromat.
Not bad at all.
After supper I emailed Todd to let him know we were here and ready to go. He said we’ll get together tomorrow for an hour or so at the local McDonald’s to go over things.
So hopefully we’ll be up and running soon.
Thought for the Day:
“I apprehend no danger to our country from a foreign foe. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger.
I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing.
Make them intelligent, and they will be vigilant; give them the means of detecting the wrong, and they will apply the remedy.” ― Daniel Webster
At The Lake Conroe Thousand Trails
October 19, 2017
It’s not the cars, it’s the oysters!
A while back, I mentioned UpTimeRobot, a free service that let’s you monitor up to 50 websites, checking every 5 minutes to see if your website or blog is up or down, sending you an email for any change.
If you need to monitor more sites (more than 50?), want UpTimeRobot to check every minute instead of every 5, or want to receive text messages as well as emails, it’s only about $5 a month.
Any way, about 1pm I got two UpTimeRobot alerts saying that both my Clear Lake client’s websites had gone down, so I was immediately on the phone. Turns out that the phone guy was there, and had unplugged the wrong wire, taking the Internet down. And now he was scrambling to get everything back up.
But apparently he did, since while I was on the phone, I got emails telling me everything was now up and running again.
A great service, and it’s free.
While I’m mentioning good deals, I thought I’d pass along this email I received from La Crosse Technology, a well-known maker of weather monitoring and atomic clocks.
They’ve just announced a line of WiFi-enabled weather stations and are introducing them with large discounts.
For example:
A great deal at only $50 and the one I ordered.
And if you don’t want something quite as fancy, check out this one.
Only $25. Both this one and the one above are WiFi-enabled and connect with the National Weather Service to give the latest forecast in your area.
Or for just a plain-jane inside/outside temperature and humidity display, try this one.
At only $19.95, this one doesn’t connect to the Internet, but still show inside/outside temperature and humidity, atomic clock time and date.
Just click on the link(s) and enter the related Promo Code to get your discount.
And just to be clear, I don’t make anything from either UpTimeRobot or La Crosse. Just passing on a good deal.
I mentioned the other day how we were thinking about moving down to the Clear Lake area to cut down on my 450 miles per week drives down there. And as I had thought, it’s going to be hard to get a space. I’ve still got a number of places to check, but so far it’s not looking good. The one place that has responded put me on a list behind 15 other RV’s. But I’ll keep checking.
It’s not the cars, it’s the oysters!
According to a recent article in Scientific Reports, oyster farts are a major cause of global warming, producing “one-tenth of methane and nitrous oxide gases in the Baltic Sea as a result of digestion. Therefore, researchers have warned that shellfish “may play an important but overlooked role in regulating greenhouse gas production”.
“Shellfish flatulence is not the first bodily function to be blamed for having an impact on the climate. EU lawmakers in 2015 decided to exempt enteric methane, mostly found in the burps of ruminant animals like cows, from caps on methane and ammonia.”
It is nice to see someone acknowledge that methane is 20 times more potent and nitrous oxide is 300 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas.
So eat more oysters, and beef too, just to be safe.
The Word of the Day is: Efficacious
Thought for the Day:
“Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi.” – What’s legal for the gods is not legal for mere cattle.
Coming Home From Florida
October 19, 2018
Got The Last One . . .
Wanting to get a really early start, we were up at 6:00 and pulling out of our site at the Seasons In The Sun RV Park in Mims, FL at 7:30am
Sunrise was 7:27am.
We circled through the propane fill-up area to hitch up and were pulling out on the main road a few minutes before 8. We were on our way so early for two reasons.
One, with all the hurricane cleanup workers in the area, it was dicey as to whether or not we would be able to get a site at the Beaver Lake RV Park in Quincy. They don’t do reservations and it was first come, first served.
Two, if we didn’t get a site here, it would be another 130 miles to a park in Holt, FL.
We hit a few rain squalls between Mims and Jacksonville, but nothing for very long. An then it was clear and sunny west from Jax. And with temps in the low 80’s, it was really comfortable, even cool enough to turn off the dash fans for a while.
We were about 40 miles out of west of Jacksonville before we started seeing any hurricane damage, but it was mostly downed trees out at the tree line, none of which looked like they would have ended up on the roadway.
I called the Beaver Lake RV Park (with not a lake nor a beaver to be seen) when we were about 20 miles out and was told that they had one site left, but it was still first come . . . well, you know.
We pulled into the park and I ran into the Marathon station to see if the site was still open. I did notice that there was a work truck parked at the entrance to the RV park area, but didn’t see anyone around it.
When I got inside I got the last site, paid the fee, and also bought Mega-Million tickets for tonight $1 Billion drawing. Coming back out, a 5th wheel pulled past our rig and up behind the work truck.
Turns out that the work truck and the 5th wheel were together and apparently didn’t know that they were supposed to check in at the Marathon station, and instead, were wandering around the RV park beside the station looking to check in.
So we really lucked out.
For dinner tonight we had the Sonny’s BBQ that we picked up yesterday morning just for this meal.
Tomorrow we have a short 188 mile run to Robertsdale, AL. Riverside RV Park is right off I-10 with an easy in-easy out. It really didn’t make sense to make the 40 mile round trip down to the Escapees Park since we’re only staying one night.
I told Jan that there was only one thing that could have made this visit better. She asked, “What?”
I said, “Two more weeks.”
Then she said, “Yeah, but it still wouldn’t have been enough.”
And that’s the truth!
Now for the Recap:
Wednesday,Oct 17
There was a Atlas-Centaur launch from the Cape about 12:15am. So checking I found the launch streaming online, and a soon as I heard ‘Ignition’, I went outside and scanned the trees, not knowing what I would see. But then rising through the tree limbs, I saw this.
It was a couple of minutes before I heard the deep rumble, more like distant thunder echoing on for several minutes.
Nice but not nearly impressive as the Shuttle launch we saw when we were here in 2009.
With that one you actually felt the physical ‘push’ when the sound hit you a few seconds later.
For dinner that night we made a second visit to the SeaShack up in New Smyrna Beach. Just as good as the first time.
Later, coming back to the rig we decided to check out Frisbee’s Ice Cream Stand. In the daytime it looks like this.
But it’s even more impressive at night.
Jan got a delicious Pumpkin Parfait, with Caramel and Pecans,
while I got the Coffee. Both really good.
BTW the name of the place, “Frisbee’s’ is not named for the flying disc, but it’s the name of the family that owns and runs the place.
A neat place.
Thursday, Oct 18
First up this morning we drove into Titusville to pick up a to-go order from Sonny’s BBQ to have Friday night after we’re back on the road.
Later we headed up to the Daytona Beach area. Jan and I were up here several times when we were dating, but except for the Speedway, there was nothing really recognizable to us.
Our first stop was at Hankster’s Hot Rods, a classic hot rod / muscle car showroom / museum.
Now that’s a engine – A 426 cu.in. 425hp Hemi.
Pretty much all the cars here are for sale, with prices ranging up to $70,000. So if you’ve got the bucks, that Hemi ‘Cuda you were drooling over when you were 16, could be yours.
I mean, the Mega-Million’s is up to $1 Billion tonight.
Thought for the Day:
Power is more often surrendered than seized.
Family Time in Houston
October 19, 2019
Up In Katy Landon/Dogsitting Most of the Day
while Brandi, Lowell, and Lowell’s sister and parents all went to a family wedding.
L to R. That’s Lowell’s sister Sherry, Lowell’s father, Lowell’s mother, Brandi, and Lowell.
Later in the afternoon Landon, Jan, and I all headed up Mason Rd for a few things at the HEB and then supper at Chick-fil-A.
Tried to get Jan to stick her head in the scarecrow, but she wasn’t having any part of it.
So since we didn’t get home until almost 10pm, this is all you’re gettng for today.
See you back here tomorrow.
Thought For The Day:
Never laugh at your spouse’s choices. You are one of them.
