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Heavy Lift Vessels . . .
Today was nice and easy. Just lunch at Denny’s and then home.
* * * * * * *
And In Your Daily SpaceX News:
Though they haven’t announced the reason, Starship Flight #14 has been pushed back from next Friday, August 28th, until sometime in September.
In addition, the reason also unannounced, they also don’t plan to try a StarShip catch on this next flight either.
Some people have theorized that a problem with the launch site may be behind both of these delays.
SpaceX is planning to transport a Starship and Superheavy to Florida by barge in the coming weeks. And this device is probably meant to help lay the booster down horizontally for the trip.
They’re building two new launch sites at the Cape for StarShip launches starting sometime next year. These two, plus the one now being used at Starbase here in Texas, and a second one under construction, will give them a total of 4 launch sites to handle the anticipated increase in StarShip launches.
And in Ship 40 news from Christmas Island, the MV Forte Heavy Lift Vessel has just arrived there and will be used to bring Ship 40 home.
And here’s a sister ship, the MV Blue Marlin, carrying the USS Cole back to the States after it was damaged in a terrorist attack in 2000.
To give you some idea of the size, the Cole is 505 feet long, and the hole blown in the side is over 40 feet wide. It’s parked at an angle like that to avoid damaging the underwater sonar dome on the bow.
The ships work by flooding the ballast tanks so that they sink as much as 30 feet underwater. Then the damaged ship is moved so that it is raised as the Heavy Lift ship rises up as the water is pumped out of the ballast tanks.
Then the ship is securely fastened down for the transport, before the Heavy Lift vessel comes completely back to the surface and begins its journey.
* * * * * * *
Next week looks to be haircuts on Tuesday and meeting Debi and Ed Hurlburt at the Mia’s Table up in The Woodlands on Thursday for our monthly get-together.
Can’t wait.
Thought For The Day:
Often, after you fix the problem, you have to fix the solution. Again and again.
And again.
Your Retro-Preview Highlights –
2009 – Bar Harbor and Bubbles
2012 – Eureka!
2013 – Our New Home?
2014 – A Playdate
2015 – Gateward Bound
2016 – Last Date Before The Gate
2019 – Never Give Up. Never Surrender
2022 – It Was A Twofer
And Now On To today’s Retro-Blogs.™
August 24, 2009
Bar Harbor and Bubbles…
Today we made the 50-mile trip down to the Bar Harbor area to see some of Maine’s Atlantic coast. The drive was pretty uneventful, except for a 25-minute wait right outside of Ellsworth for road work. Luckily, by the time we came home, they were finished for the day.
Right after we got into the Bar Harbor area, we stopped for lunch at a small seafood place called Gateway Diner and had lobster rolls and sweet potato fries, and then split a pumpkin crumb pie with ice cream. Great food, but unfortunately for me, the place also had a gift shop with a lot of moose stuff.
Mucho Moose$$$$ later, we stopped at the Bar Harbor Visitor’s Center right down the street to check out a tip that the lady at the diner mentioned about a loop road through Acadia National Park.
Getting directions, we headed out around the loop.
The first place we stopped was a scenic viewpoint overlooking Frenchman Bay, and this was just the start of a lot of beautiful scenery.
The dock area on the right side of the picture is Bar Harbor.
The next stop was Sand Beach.
Although the beach was closed today, apparently people really swim here, even though the water temp usually doesn’t get much above the 50’s.
And some of the other views in the area are amazing.
Leaving the Sand Beach area, we drove down to a spot that unfortunately has been in the news lately.
The area is called Thunder Hole because of the noise of the waves when the right conditions make the sounds reverberate and sound like thunder.
The area is also popular because you can go out on a rock that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean and stand where the waves come in over your feet when the tide is right.
Thunder Hole
This point is where, recently, about 20 people were smashed by a 25-foot wave caused by a combination of high tide and Hurricane Bill. 11 people were hospitalized with broken bones, and 3 people- a 7-year-old girl, her father, and an unrelated 12-year-old girl- were swept out to sea in the 55-degree water.
The 12-year-old girl and the father were pulled from the water by the Coast Guard, but his 7-year-old daughter was later found dead.
When we were there, the area was still closed off, but a ranger said the waves have to get over the top of the handrail before it’s closed off.
Leaving the area, we drove further around the loop to more fantastic scenery.
Toward the end of the 27 miles, we passed the Jordan Pond Inn, a restaurant we had been told about, and thought we would later have dinner there.
Leaving the loop, we headed over to Bar Harbor to look around. The first thing Jan found, wouldn’t you know it, was a couple of moose-stuff gift shops.
She really wanted this one, but we couldn’t figure out how to get it in the rig.
So she settled for trying on the latest in moose wear.
Walking down the hill, we were able to look out over Bar Harbor itself.
And of course, the many flower beds everywhere.
One of the ships I noticed in the harbor was a beautiful 4-masted schooner called the “Margaret Todd”.
And rather than being an old ship, she’s only about 10 years old. She was launched in 1998 and built to give Windjammer cruises to the tourists.
Here’s what she looks like under full sail.
Before heading back over to Jordan Pond Inn for dinner, we drove down to the end of Bridge St. to take a look.
When it’s low tide, a sandbar is revealed that extends over to Bar Island in the distance, allowing people to walk over to the island. Unfortunately, at high tide, it just looks like a boat launch ramp. Timing is everything!
Our dinner at Jordan Pond Inn was fantastic, and we had a great meal. The restaurant was really something,
and the scenery was something else.
The view from the outside dining area is of an island called “The Bubbles.”
Of course, the locals call it by another ‘B’ word, but I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader to figure out what the word is.
After a really great day, we finally headed home about 7 pm. Luckily, the morning’s road work was over, so we were home in about an hour.
Today is our last day here in Bangor. Tomorrow we head about 130 miles northeast to Houlton, ME, which is about 2 miles from the Canadian border.
We’ll stay there for three or four days, cleaning up some loose ends before we head over the border.
August 24, 2010
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to work I go…
First off, here’s the latest photo of Landon in his light vest hanging onto his bottle for dear life. He’s wearing the light vest to correct a high bilirubin count. He’ll probably have to wear it for another couple of days.
I spent the day once again helping a friend troubleshoot a problem with his toad taillights.
I started out working on the taillight system that connects his rig with his van. He’s been having problems with the system blowing fuses and the lights not working correctly.
Like many troubleshooting problems, this one turned out to be a series of things.
The first thing we did was replace a flaky fuse holder in the power line to the taillight converter. Then it was time to try and figure out why the system kept blowing fuses. It originally had a 5-amp fuse, but he had upped it to 15 amps, trying to get it to work.
With a little investigation, I found that 2 of the 4 wires inside the connector that plugs the system into the van had come loose and were shorting out. The plug itself was dirty and corroded inside, so we decided to just replace it with a new connector.
After a trip to the trailer supply store for the new one, I first wanted to check out the lights before I wired it up. And I immediately found that there was no power coming in through the power line that I’d just put the new fuse holder in.
A little checking showed me that there was no power coming into the line at all, and it wasn’t obvious where the wire was coming from. It may have been that another fuse somewhere upstream had blown. We decided it would be quicker to just pull power from another line so that’s what we did.
Now I was finally ready to test the light system. But no, I wasn’t. I had him turn on the tail lights and one turn signal on the rig. Only to find we still had another problem. The taillights worked OK, but the turn signals didn’t. One of them stayed on all the time, and the other didn’t work at all, even though they were working fine on the coach.
This meant the taillight converter had to be bad. A tail light converter is used when you have a coach that has separate brake lights and tail lights, and a toad that has combined brake and tail lights.
So now we needed a new tail light converter. We decided we’d pick one up at Wal-Mart later.
So we moved on to the next job – installing his Winegard Wingman antenna booster on his external TV antenna, as I did on mine a couple of weeks ago. While I was up on the roof of the coach, he supervised me from below. Kind of like Jan does.
Finishing this up a little before 5, Michele Henry of Phoenix Commercial Paint called and wanted to come by and bring one of the repainted doors to see how the colors match. And she did a beautiful job. It looked great.
Now for the other 6 doors.
About 6 pm, we drove over to Culver’s, a restaurant chain found mostly here in the Midwest, that has great burgers, fried chicken, and ice cream too.
On a final note, the weather has been really great the last few days, and tomorrow the high is supposed to be 77, with a low of 54.
Nice !!
August 24, 2011
Bad Weather and Good Cookies . . .
Well, the 95-degree temps showed up today, but not the predicted thunderstorms that might have cooled things off. Apparently, the front that brought the thunderstorms yesterday was a warm (hot) front and jumped the temperature from 83 yesterday to 95 today.
But it looks like there’s a cold front right behind it, since it’s 84 tomorrow and a very nice 51 degrees tomorrow night.
This morning I got back to the computer desk. I finally had to drill some new pilot holes for the 3″ lag bolts that fastened it to the floor. But it’s firmly mounted now.
Now on to more stuff.
For dinner, Jan whipped up a big batch of her fantastic King Ranch Chicken. I was very happy about the ‘big’ part, ’cause I had 3 servings.
And even better, we’ve still got enough for another meal. YUM!
For dessert, Jan had baked up a batch of cherry pecan chocolate chip cookies. HMMM! GOOD!
Well, here it is, 11 pm, and the missing thunderstorms finally showed up. It’s coming down pretty hard, but only glitching the satellite a little bit.
Looking at the radar, the storm may not last too long. It’s gonna be a bumpy night.
August 24, 2012
Eureka!
We pulled out of Tom Sawyer RV Park a little after 9 am this morning for a short 134-mile trip north on I-55 to Sikeston, MO.
And once again, we had a repeat performance of the hard starting and stalling that had occurred the previous two mornings. And once again, when we got moving, we had no more problems.
And after a smooth, uneventful trip, we pulled into the Hinton RV Park in Sikeston, MO, about noon. Normally we would have stayed at the Passport America park up the road, but the reviews in RV Park Reviews said Hinton RV Park was really good, and the Passport America park was really, really bad. So here we are.
One thing I noticed coming into Sikeston was that, being at the conjunction of two Interstates (I-55 and I-57), there were a lot of truck dealerships in town, so once we got parked, I made some phone calls and found there was a local Cummins dealer, and they had a generator fuel filter in stock.
So as soon as we got settled in, I headed down the road to the Cummins dealer to pick up the filter, and while I was there, I also got a new engine fuel filter as well.
Getting back to the rig, we decided to eat before I tackled the generator fuel filter changeout. And of course, where else to eat in Sikeston, MO, but Lambert’s Throwed Rolls.
After having our usual great meal of Fried Chicken, veggies, hot ‘throwed rolls’, and of course, the great ‘pass-arounds’, we came back to the rig. I then decided to take a nap and let the temps cool off before I tackled the generator.
Finally, about 6 pm, I headed outside to crawl under the rig and have at it. And as usual in these things, it took longer to get to the filter than it did to actually change it out. To make matters worse, you can’t get to the filter access door with the generator extended, but when you have the generator retracted, it’s hard to get under the rig to get the filter out.
And to make things worse, the filter is not a standard spin-on type, but a rectangular metal box with flare fittings, making the fuel connections.
And of course, they couldn’t allow enough slack to make it easier to disconnect the lines.
But finally, after about an hour, I had the filter installed, and everything buttoned back up. Now for the ‘smoke test’.
Well, actually, I hope it doesn’t smoke. First, I primed the generator for about a minute, per the manual, and then hit the start button. After cranking it over twice for about 5 seconds, the third time was the charm, and the generator fired up and ran smoothly. I let it run for about 20 minutes and had no problems.
At this point, I shut it down and considered it a job well done. And we’ll have A/C on the road tomorrow. Jan says “YAY!”
I still think this problem, and my engine problem, was caused by the Diesel Kleen cleaning out the build-up in my fuel lines. Although it could have possibly been a tank of bad fuel that we took on in Whitsett when I also added the Diesel Kleen, it seems to me that if it were bad diesel, it would have continued to clog the engine filter until the rig engine no longer ran either.
So now I’ll change out the engine filter while we’re at Celina, and for a while I’ll use less Diesel Kleen when I fill up.
Tomorrow we’ll travel about 185 miles to Vernon, IL, to visit Jan’s sister and her family.
August 24, 2013
We’d hoped they would get better . . .
I spent some time this morning tracking down some more of the items we’ll need for the gate, then about noon, I saw Jamie’s truck over at the garage, so I walked over to see if he had any more info on our gate, and also to tell him what we had seen yesterday.
Turns out there had been a number of changes back and forth. Originally, we were told that two gates would open on Monday, and one gate, probably us, would start up on Tuesday. Then it went to all of us on Tuesday. But now it’s all of us at 2 pm Monday afternoon.
That will probably change again, but we’ll be ready to move Monday afternoon anyway.
About 3:30, Jan and I drove over to Pleasanton for dinner and some last-minute pre-gate shopping. On the way, we checked our 2nd possible gate guard site location and found it more to our liking. At least it looks like our rig would fit along with our canopy. And the shade trees are nice too.
Getting into Pleasanton, our first stop was the local Chili’s. We ate here several times last year and were always amazed at how long it takes to get your food, even when they’re not that busy. We found out later that it’s almost a joke around town, but they’re the only national casual dining place in town, so they stay busy.
We had hoped that they had improved since last year, but it was a forlorn hope. It took us about 30 minutes to get our meal, and they weren’t even half full. Oh well.
After dinner, we stopped off at Wal-Mart to pick up some prescriptions. Then it was on to Tractor Supply Store to get another misting kit.
The one we had last year was kind of worn out and leaking a little, so for $25, I thought I’d just get a new one. It really makes a difference on those 100-degree days on the gate.
Our last stop before heading home was the local HEB, looking for a few things that the local Wal-Mart doesn’t carry.
Who knows what the gate story will be tomorrow?
August 24, 2014
A Playdate . . .
On today’s schedule was a playdate with Lowell’s parents, Sonja and Lendel, and our mutual grandson, Landon.
But before we left for Katy and our get-together, we got a call from our friends, Al and Adrienne. Right now, they’re in Alamogordo, NM, getting a problem with their Allison transmission checked out. Hopefully, it won’t be something serious.
We first met them when we spent 5 months in Fairbanks, AK, during the summer of 2008. We were workkamping at Chena Marina RV Park, and Al and Adrienne were working for Holland America Cruise Line and staying at Chena Marina. We struck up a friendship that’s lasted ever since. When they’re not on the road, they live in Tucson, and we always get together when we’re in the area. We’ve also visited them in Cody, WY, and Westport, WA, both places where they were workkamping at the time.
We told them we plan to be in Tucson next March for the Escapade, so hopefully we’ll be able to meet up then.
We got to Brandi’s about 1:45 and found that Landon had just woken up from his nap. And he wasn’t happy. Brandi and Lowell had gone to Costco, so they weren’t home, and Landon was upset. But he calmed down in a few minutes, and we all headed out to Katy Mills Mall, right down the road.
This mall is huge, and has a little bit of everything, especially play areas for the kids. One of the biggest ones is called TILT.
But Landon’s favorite here is bowling. And he’s pretty good at it.
For dinner, we walked around the mall to the Rainforest Cafe, one of Landon’s favorite places. In fact, Landon was just here with his parents for his birthday dinner this past Wednesday.
We’ve eaten at a Rainforest Cafe several times, but it’s been a good while. The last time was probably 10-15 years ago when we took our granddaughter Piper to the one in Galveston. When she was growing up, it was one of her favorite places too. I guess it runs in the family.
Jan and I decided to just have a couple of appetizers: the Lava Nachos,
and the Chicken Fingers, both very good.
After dinner, Landon had one last ride. These are electric and steer like a motorcycle, and are one of Landon’s favorites.
Getting back to Brandi and Lowell’s, we rested up for a while before heading back to the rig a little after 7.
Tomorrow I’ll get back in touch with Jamie at Gate Guard Services to see about getting a gate with him. Otherwise, we’ll talk to the office down in Whitsett to see what they have.
August 24, 2015
Gateward Bound . . .
We left the Colorado River Thousand Trails about 9:15, heading for Henderson, TX, about 260 miles away. Tomorrow morning we’ll be on our first gate for this year. Of course, it could be our only gate, or just the first of several.
In our first year of gate guarding (2012), we were on four gates in four months. In 2013, we were on one gate for the entire three months, while last year we were on two gates in three months. So we never know how it’s going to turn out.
All we really know at this point is that it’s a frack gate, and it’s about 8 miles west of Carthage, TX. Beyond that, every gate is an adventure.
Our trip was pretty uneventful, except for an extra-long stop at the Pilot in New Caney, TX. I have never seen pumps this slow, especially diesel pumps. Filling up in the RV lanes, I was getting 3 gallons a minute. Which means it took me almost 30 minutes to take on 80 gallons.
When I went inside to get Jan and me a couple of iced coffees, I complained to the cashier, who said they’d had a couple of other complaints, and they’d called someone to look at it.
We got into Henderson about 3 pm and found our way to The RV Park of Henderson, where we got a 50 amp FHU site for $12.50 on Passport America. A great deal for a really nice park.
After we got set up, we checked out places to eat here on Yelp. We were both kind of in a steak mood, but hard to believe that in a Texas town, there’s not a steak place. So we ended up going to the Smokehouse, which turned out to be a really good country cooking place.
Wrapping up, today was Landon’s first day of Kindergarten, and he looks like he’s made himself right at home.
He’s been really excited about starting ‘real school’ as he calls it.
August 24, 2016
Last Date . . .
Looks like that after we get settled in, I’m going to have to set up my Wilson Cell Phone Booster.
When we were parked down on the pad, we had one bar of 4G, that cycled back and forth through 1X and 3G as well. But I was hoping that when we moved up to the top of the hill, things would improve.
And they did. I now have 3 bars of solid 4G. But unfortunately, my internet performance didn’t improve.
I haven’t had to use my booster for several years since we’ve usually been in an area with a good signal. But it looks like it’s time to pull it back out of storage.
Our Hawkwood Company Man came by this morning, a little before I got up, so Jan got to talk to him and got a lot of good information
But first off, he wanted us to move our truck onto the pad. We had parked on the grass right across the road from us, but he said that was really on the landowner’s side, so he made a spot for us at the end of one of the trailers right inside the gate.
He also said they hoped to spud in on Friday, so we’ll start logging then, I guess. And even better, he had no problem with us taking off today to head over to Bryan/College Station this afternoon.
So we headed out about 1 pm, having to thread our way out between the incoming big trucks. Our first stop was about a 1/4 mile down the road at the combination convenience store/Blue Moon BBQ, our gate’s namesake.
We wanted to get gas for the truck and also a menu from Blue Moon. The menu part went fine, but the gas part didn’t. The pumps, such as they were, were the old type with the analog rotating dials. And they obviously didn’t work.
So we headed on toward B/CS, stopping at the Exxon station about 8 miles for our gas and also another menu, this time as a photo.
We’ll probably try them out soon.
Our first stop in B/CS was the Saltgrass Steakhouse for what may be our last meal out for 3 months or so. And it was, as usual, really good.
Jan got their regular salad, while I went with my favorite, their Wedge Salad.
Jan got her favorite Sirloin Strip, while I got my usual Ribeye with Steak Fries.
We had a nice leisurely lunch, really enjoying our temporary freedom.
Our next stop was a car wash to get the dirt and grime off, at least for a while, and then it was on to Wal-Mart to stock up for the week or so, before I had to make the trip back over here.
We got back to the rig about 5:30, and while we were unloading, the landowner, Tony, came by in his ATV. He and his daughter Addison, were going to feed their horses and stopped by to say Hi and introduce themselves. Seems like a really nice guy.
They still haven’t gotten the derrick up yet, but they’re getting close. In fact, they were still working at about 8 pm tonight.
Tomorrow I’m going to try to finish getting our canopy up and get us ready to go on Friday.
August 24, 2017
If It’s Thursday, It Must Be Turkey . . .
And Dressing!
I put in a call to Gary, the service manager at Big Wheel RV a couple of days ago, but I still haven’t heard back from him about our refrigerator problem. I can’t imagine why he doesn’t want to talk to me.
Blog reader Dale Pace and her husband Terry related a very similar encounter at Big Wheel to ours.
Towed into Big Wheel last year, their Tiffin needed a new serpentine belt. First off, Big Wheel told them they also needed a new alternator because of the ‘drag’ when they tried to turn the alternator pulley by hand, and even said it was probably the ‘drag’ that shredded the belt.
When Terry checked with Freightliner, they were told the alternator would not ‘free-wheel’ under any circumstances, so they insisted that Big Wheel just replace the belt. And a year later, it’s still doing fine.
And to make matters worse, Big Wheel couldn’t figure out how to replace the belt the right way, so they had to cut a hole in the bedroom closet floor to get to it. And you don’t need to do this to replace the belt.
By then, the SM (Gary?) told them they had much bigger problems anyway, since the coach had lost ALL power. When Jerry asked them if they had hit the ‘disconnect’ by the door, he was told they would never fool with any ‘unknown’ switch.
Terry then reached into the doorway, pressed the switch, and what do you know, the coach suddenly had power again.
Then later, Big Wheel dropped the jacks, and hearing a loud hiss, said that the coach had a MASSIVE air leak and needed to be repaired.
Of course, every coach I’m aware of dumps the airbags when you drop the jacks, hence the loud hiss of air.
So I guess I should feel better that it wasn’t just me.
About 3 pm, Jan and I headed out for an early dinner, and since it was Thursday, Cracker Barrel’s Turkey and Dressing was on the menu. For Jan, anyway.
I had planned to have the Beef Pot Roast Campfire Meal again,
but it’s come and gone, so I went with the new Fried Chicken Eggs Benedict dinner.
With Fried Chicken pieces, fried eggs, and topped with a Pimento Cheese Hollandaise sauce, along with a side of red skin potatoes and red peppers casserole, it was really good. Of course, we’ve never had anything bad at CB.
Moving on, our next stop was the nearby Sam’s Club for a prescription and a couple of other things. We split our prescriptions between Wal-Mart and Sam’s due to different prices. The prescription we got at Sam’s for $10 with my Business membership card would be $78.42 at the Wal-Mart right next door.
Our next stop was Sam’s gas pumps to fill up our truck. The place was pretty busy, I guess, due to the incoming storm, but we only had to wait for one car to finish up in front of us.
Next up was the next-door Wal-Mart for another prescription and some more stuff. Like the Sam’s, the bottled water shelves were stripped, but at the Wal-Mart they emptied the bread shelves too.
What’s kind of strange is that the booze shelves were still fully stocked.
Where are these people’s priorities?
Don’t they know a storm’s coming?
I want to thank the number of people who have emailed us, concerned that a hurricane is coming our way.
First off, we’re not really worried since we’re 90 miles from the Gulf Coast, and about 250 miles from where Harvey is supposed to come ashore. Now, are we going to get wind and rain? Almost certainly, due to the fact that we will be on the dirty (wet) side of the storm.
But we’re parked in one of the highest points in the park, so I’m not worried about flooding. Although some of the lower areas here may have problems, depending on the amount of rain we actually do get here.
I did, however, change our upcoming travel schedule. Originally, we were supposed to leave here Sunday, in the middle of the high winds and rain, and move over to Colorado River, but I’ve extended our stay here until Wednesday, when things should have quieted down.
August 24, 2018
A Nice Surprise. . .
Today started out on an upnote when Jan was going through some of her old purses and found a nice surprise.
It was a $100 American Express Traveler’s Cheque.
Before we started RV’ing, I bought a couple of thousand in AMEX Traveler’s Cheques to tuck away for emergencies. I thought I had cashed all of them in over the last 11 years, mostly after I discovered that they weren’t all that accepted anymore.
Apparently, there have been so many forgeries and counterfeits that everyone is leery of them, even banks. And even the bank chain (Chase) that issued them to me.
I guess that I gave Jan one to hide away, and it was just forgotten.
Hopefully, Chase will cash this one. We’ll see tomorrow.
August 24, 2019
Never Give Up. Never Surrender . . .
Jan and I spent most of the late morning/early afternoon streaming the last two Season 1 episodes of CBS’ Instinct. Somehow, our DVR did not record those two episodes. That may have happened due to a conflict with other shows higher in the queue.
Later this weekend, we’ll start watching the first episode of Season 2 from our DVR. However, it does seem kind of useless since it’s already been announced that it’s been canceled.
Seems that happens with a lot of shows we like.
One thing that was strange was that Prime was not sending any audio to our soundbar, but when I switched back to the TV speakers, the audio was fine. And the soundbar worked fine on the DVR channels.
Just something else to work on.
I ordered a new battery for our MiFi yesterday that should be here on Monday. The original one has lasted since we got it in April 2017. But recently it’s not holding much of a charge, or really not any, I don’t think. If the power goes off, the MiFi shuts off and won’t reboot when the power comes back on.
Of course, the reason for this is that I leave it plugged in all the time. According to Verizon, you’re supposed to let it charge up and then unplug it. And then try to remember to plug it back in 24 hours later when the battery has run down. Of course, you don’t remember and can’t communicate with any of your other devices at home.
I don’t know why they can’t design these things better so that they cycle the charging on and off. It’s not that hard. But they didn’t ask me.
But since they didn’t ask me about it, I’m going to put the MiFi charger on one of my WiFi Smart Plugs,
which will let an Alexa timer turn it off for about 20 hours a day, and then back on for 4 hours. We’ll see how that works.
Never Give Up, Never Surrender.
Like the crew of the NTE-3120, NSEA-Protector, I take this to heart. Especially in my projects. Like my recent attempt to hook my new Mr. Coffee to the Internet.
Earlier this year, I tried to use a Smart Push Button like this
to control my coffee pot. But I couldn’t make it work, because there was not enough room to mount the switch over the On/Off button. So I put it aside.
But remembering this attempt, I dug it out and gave it a try.
Peeling the cover off the included double-stick tape, I stuck it over the switch and gave it a try.
And it worked.
After all my other tries, this one took me about 30 seconds. Then I set the timer to start it up every Mon, Wed, & Fri at 7:40 am, and I was done.
I’ll again try to do my rear brakes tomorrow if the weather holds. But I’m not holding my breath.
August 24, 2020
Marco . . . Laur . . . eh, Polo
As it stands right now, we probably won’t get much in the way of wind/rain from Marco/Laura. But things can change, of course.
Apparently, there is a petition circulating to rename Tropical Storm Laura to Tropical Storm Polo. Sounds good to me.
August 24, 2021
A Neon Addition . . .
A number of our readers have noticed that they’re not receiving the blog via email. The problem is with the Jetpack WordPress Plug-in. I think I got a bad update download, so I’ve been trying to get a new copy installed and set up. The only problem is that I can’t tell if the email problem is actually fixed until I post a blog. Which is once a day, so it’s kind of hard to test it out. But hopefully it’s working now.
Well, I had hoped I was done with the Post Office until tomorrow, but I got a call from work today with another Post Office crisis. So Jan and I headed into Webster about 12:30 to try and sort things out before we had lunch.
I put in another call to the P.O. Tech Support, but went round and round until I finally asked to be bumped up to the next level of Tech Support, so I was given a Service Request# and told to wait for them to contact me.
I’m still waiting. This is the U.S. Postal Service we’re talking about.
So while we were waiting, we had lunch at Twin Peaks once again. And once again, Jan got her Spicy Chipotle Chicken and a cup of Tomato Basil Soup.
And since they recently discontinued my fav Venison Chili and Half Wedge Salad, I once again got the Soup and Half-Sandwich Lunch Special, with a bowl of the Green Chili Chicken Soup and a half BLT sandwich.
Then it was back over to work to see if the PO had any new ideas, but no luck. So I did try a couple of things myself, also with no luck.
Back at it tomorrow, I guess.
A recent University of Michigan study of over 5800 foods rates them according to how much time they add or subtract from your life expectancy.
For example, the study says that eating 1 hot dog takes 35 minutes off life, but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were associated with an increase of 33 minutes. And a serving of nuts adds about 20 minutes.
So I could have a hot dog and 2 servings of nuts, and come out 5 minutes ahead. Or maybe just two PB&J’s and come out even better.
A new addition to the Flamboyance.
August 24, 2022
It Was A Twofer . . .
As we were coming home yesterday, the Jeep started overheating, just as it did about a week ago.
Back then I noticed it running hot, and when we got home, I let it cool down and checked the antifreeze level. And found the reservoir almost empty. So I looked for the radiator cap, and didn’t find it.
Turns out that our Jeep doesn’t have one. At least on the radiator.
And unlike every other vehicle I’m familiar with, the coolant tank in our Jeep is actually pressurized and part of the cooling system, and not just an overflow tank. In comparison, our 2004 Dodge Dakota, which has the same engine as the 2003 Jeep, but a V-8 instead of the Jeep’s V-6, has a conventional overflow tank.
So I refilled the coolant tank with antifreeze, and then started the engine, adding more coolant as the level dropped in the tank. When the engine was up to standard operating temperature, I put the cap back on and let it idle with the A/C on for about an hour with no problems.
So I figured that the problem was just that the coolant level had gotten too low, since it had been a good while since I had checked it.
Remember the days when you stopped at a filling station, and six guys ran out and filled your tank, checked your tires, cleaned your windshield, and topped off all the fluids under the hood, including coolant?
Me too.
That was last week, and the Jeep ran fine for the next week, including our trip up to Katy and back for Landon’s birthday.
Until yesterday. Then the problem recurred.
So this morning I refilled the coolant tank, and with Jan following me in the Dakota, I took the Jeep down to Joe at Hwy 6 Automotive, my go-to guy for car repairs. Dropping it off a little before 10, I took Jan back to the rig and then headed into work in the Dakota.
It’s always nice to have Ole Faithful to fall back on.
Then at 1:02 pm, Joe called with the news. The aforementioned coolant tank had a crack in it along the bottom, where it couldn’t be easily seen, and would need to be replaced. Plus, he also said that the water pump bearing was weeping around the seal. He said it would probably last another six months or so if I wanted to wait.
Asked how much to do both, and he said $395, so I told him to go for it. He said it would be ready this afternoon.
I thought that was pretty quick, but hey! I just didn’t realize how quick it would be.
Megan, Joe’s receptionist, called me back at 2:07 pm, an hour and 5 minutes later, and said it was ready.
WOW!
I gave her my CC info and told her we’d pick it up later this afternoon, probably after they closed at 4 pm.
Thinking about it, I figured he had the tank out to find the leak, and probably the new one had already been delivered, as well as the water pump.
And the water pump is pretty easy to get out and back in in this model.
So now I have a nice new coolant tank,
Looks like he also replaced the hoses too.
And here’s my shiny new water pump.
A twofer.
Great Job, Joe!
Tomorrow we’re heading up to the Spring area to meet up with Debi and Ed Hurlburt, and maybe Janice and Dave Evans, at the Olive Garden for our monthly get-together. And we get to do it in the Jeep, and not the Dakota.
Yay!
August 24, 2023
Mmmmm! Steak!
After an abortive (They couldn’t figure out who was supposed to pay for it.) visit to a nearby Quest Labs for some routine blood work for Jan, we headed on up to the Webster Saltgrass Steakhouse to meet up with part of our Alvin Opry group for lunch.
We were down a couple of members due to Sadye (and Harry) being out with an ear infection, so we only had five today.
We got there a little early since the Quest visit fell through, and as Jan and I were walking in, I noticed some people trying to get a car door open using a coat hanger and a screwdriver, so I walked back to the Jeep and brought this back to them.
It’s a Big Jim Slim Jim. I got it off Amazon a while back, but checking, I found it’s no longer sold there. But a lot of other car parts places sell it, or something like it.
Told them to put it back in the Jeep when they were done with it, and it was waiting for me when we came out.
Hope it worked for them.
After her salad, Jan got her usual Center Cut Filet with Green Beans.
While I got my usual Wedge Salad,
and the 16 oz. Ribeye.
I always get the big one, so I have half to take home for later.
Delicious!
And also, as usual, we were there for almost two hours just talking.
And next month’s get-together is already scheduled.
I recently came across this Gel Seat Cushion, and I thought I’d give it a try.
And I like it so much, I may get one for my chair at work.
At 1.6″, it’s a lot thicker than some I’ve seen, and it’s really comfortable.
It comes with a black cover with a zipper, but it seems to make the cushion slide around a lot. So a lot of people, including me, just take it off. And it works much better that way.
Though it does tend to leave you with waffle-butt.
August 24, 2024
Eight Days Or Eight Months?
Lunch today was at a local favorite, Gator’s Bar & Grill once again. Besides the delicious food, we got some time to talk with Marjorie Morgan, the owner, whom we’ve known since the 90’s. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, she also recently bought the Monterey’s Little Mexico, just down the road from Gator’s.
She told us about all the improvements she’s planning on, including fresher preparation of the food.
Jan got her usual Strawberry Walnut Salad with Grilled Chicken,
while I circled back to an old favorite, the Blackened Chicken Sandwich with Sweet Potato Waffle Fries and a side of Texas Toothpicks.
* * * * *
It’s like Hotel California in Space.
You can visit, but you can’t leave.
Or
How Did Eight Days become Eight Months?
Looks like NASA has taken the safe path and decided to bring the two stranded astronauts home next February, but on a SpaceX Crew Dragon.
SpaceX will return stranded astronauts next year
Two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in space for over two months will return to Earth in February 2025 with SpaceX.
NASA said the Boeing Starliner spacecraft the astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore had travelled to the International Space Station (ISS) on would return to Earth “un-crewed”.
The pair took off on what was planned to be an eight-day mission on 5 June, but will now spend around eight months in orbit.
The Starliner experienced problems on its way to the ISS, including leaks of helium, which pushes fuel into the propulsion system. Several thrusters also did not work properly.
Instead of the crew of four that was planned for the February flight, the Crew Dragon will dock with the ISS with a crew of two, leaving room for the NASA folks to come home. It’s also quite possible that they’ll bring up a couple of suits for the two, since NASA’s suits won’t connect up with the Crew Dragon systems.
Normally, SpaceX suits are custom-built and fitted for each person, but they think they can get them close enough for short-term use.
But before all this can happen, Boeing has to redo the Starliner’s software. It seems that they ran out of time, so they didn’t load the software that lets the Starliner be operated remotely.
This is important because they need to undock the Starliner from the ISS so they can dock the incoming Crew Dragon. And also so they can try to bring the Starliner home uncrewed.
Hope it all works out.
August 24, 2025
A Puddle of Duck . . .
Lunch today was at Denny’s once again, finishing up with our usual HEB visit.
We’re in our 3rd day of sub-90° temps, so it was really nice.
* * * * * * *
Today’s StarShip Launch was scrubbed this evening due to problems with the launch facilities, not the rockets themselves. They’ve got backup windows tomorrow and Tuesday, but nothing’s been announced yet.
Stay tuned.
* * * * * * *
Back last April, when we did our Fredericksburg/Kingsland Family Get-Together, Jan found this cute little duckie for her collection at a Gift Shop in Fredericksburg.
But after a few months in the Texas sun, he just melted away into a sticky puddle on the dashboard
Poor thing. Just couldn’t take the Texas Heat.
Probably one of those Yankee ducks.
* * * * * * *
We’ve got a couple of things going on next week, starting with Hot Dog Tuesday at Doggone Crazy Food Truck over in Bacliff, before moving on to our Alvin Opry Bunch Get-Together at Saltgrass Steakhouse on Thursday.
Fun!
