WOW!

The mailman brought the two Thin-Light model 652 lights I ordered

and after replacing the stock incandescent lightsin the living room I can say this is one improvement that exceeds my expectations. Incandescent light bulbs start loosing their candlepower from the first time they are used and continue to grow dimmer over time. With three Thin-Lights in the front half of our travel trailer it is now BRIGHT. I differently see we will be adding them to the bathroom (does a woman ever have enough light in a bathroom?) and bedroom.

I found...solardirect.com...has a great price with no sales tax ( I have a little Gordon Kahl in me) and free shipping. They must buy in bulk because the lights did not come individually boxed and therefore didn't include the wire nuts and mounting screws. I just used the mounting screws from the stock units and rounded up some wire nuts.

Lazy ass!

No, not yet. I have been busy this first week of retirement. I finished my battery box and added two heavy coats of primer and two heavy coats of gloss black for weather protection.



Finally got the old motor home running today after three days of working on the fuel system. Thought I was having a switching problem between the main and aux tanks but it turned out to be a cracked rubber fuel line. Replaced the 5ft hose and it is purring like a 454 Chevy with only 32,000 miles should.



Still a little work to do before we put it on the market. Will be strange not to have it in the driveway.



In 2003 I bought a slightly used Giant OCR3 bicycle and rode it 15 to 20 miles three or four days a week for about two years but it has been in the shed most of the time since.








I have another bike, an older Giant that I am taking when we leave but decided to sell my "road bike". I put it on Craigslist yesterday afternoon and sold it about 8:30 this morning. Recouping my investment. Sweet!


We are replacing part of our 12volt incandescent lights with 12volt fluorescents. We decided on Thin-Light Model 652 lights and bought one locally to check it out (a premium of about $25 over ordering online). Installed it in the kitchen and ordered two more for the living room. Maybe not the smartest move buying locally but really wanted to make sure they were the lights we wanted. Will probably add two in the bathroom and one in the bedroom at a later date. They produce more light while using less amps.

Hugs and handshakes

Thursday brought about "hugs and handshakes" and my boss took me for a steak before my last run to Hooks, Texas. I couldn't get away from Hooks without being taken for pie and coffee. Made for a long day but a very gratifying one.

Coleman Dairy has been very good to me and I know without a doubt that without my job with them for the last 15+ years I could have not retired at this time. Words can not express the gratitude I feel for them.

As much as I loved my job, I know it was time to leave! I just need to keep telling myself.

Victory lap

Friday was my last Friday, Saturday was my last Saturday, and only Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday remain. Each day means a trip to Hooks, Texas but each of those days has just a little different responsibility on my part.

About 1200 more miles and you can "stick a fork in me because I am done". Still trying to come to grips with the fact I will be unemployed!

My Battery Pack

When adding more batteries, the first thing needed is a strong battery rack to secure the batteries. Weight and size requirements have to be taken into consideration. I would have liked at least 600 amps but had to settle for less. I built this angle iron rack to hold four Trojan T-105 six volt batteries. They will be wired "in series" and "parallel".

Each battery is 6 volt and 225 amps. Wiring a pair "in series" gives 12 volt and wiring two "in series" pairs "parallel" give 450 amp. Try to keep your cable as short as possible with a little flex and keep them the same length between batteries. Build your own using flexible welding cable if you have the option.

"in series" means wiring positive(+) to negative (-)

"parallel" means wiring positive(+) to positive(+) and negative(-) to negative(-).

or

"in series" red to black

"parallel" red to red and black to black.

Remember............................................

"in series" adds total number of volts.

"parallel" adds total number of amps.

This is the 12 volt battery that came with our travel trailer. Under each of the two removable caps are three cells (each cell is 2 volts) wired in the battery case "in series", pos(+) to neg(-). Each time you wire "in series" you add the volts. Two banks of three 2 volt cells equals 12 volts.

This is a 6 volt battery with the cap removed and you can see the three 2 volt cells.

This shows two 6 volt batteries wired "in series" to form one large 12 volt battery. Now a total of six ( 3 in each battery) 2 volt cells are wired to form 12 volts. If you couldn't see the half red-half black cable in the middle, it would look like a standard 12 volt battery. Positive on the upper left and negative on the lower right.

This photo shows how this setup (now one large 12 volt battery) would be hooked up if this was all you were using. Positive (red) cable on the upper left and negative (black) cable on the lower right side.

I have now doubled the two battery setup and the red cable on the left and the black cable on the right are wired "parallel" (pos to pos and neg to neg). Just like your dad taught you to use "booster cables", red to red and black to black. Now this forms one very large 12 volt battery bank.

To hook up this battery bank you will want to use the positive and negative posts that are the farthest apart, thus drawing current from all over the battery pack, this photos shows the positive (red) cable attached to the upper left and the negative (black) cable attached to the lower right. Please use an appropriate size fuse in the red cable. The fuse size should be about 20% larger than the amps you will be drawing out of the battery bank at any given time.

With a multimeter attached to the red and black cable you can read 12 volts.

This battery bank and rack weighs about 250 pounds. Just remember even if I have 450 amps in the batteries, I can only safely use 225 amps ( only use 50% or less) if I want the batteries to last.

Dang it's HOT!

I have been working six days a week and we are having 100 degree weather. Also putting together four 6 volt batteries to replace the one group 24 battery that came with the travel trailer. It has been so hot that it taking longer than I anticipated. I have the new battery rack built (still need to build the battery box) and have ordered a few items and hope to publish pictures and a report soon. Will demystify the (4x6=12) four 6 volt battery equals 12 volt thing. Very simple but it can be confusing if not explained properly.

On a more personal note, my son Zac is home from his teaching job in France and back at Penn State. Feels so great to have him back in the states.

Anxiety Attack

I started filling out my Social Security application online today knowing I could finish it and put it on "hold" until I decided to "send" or "cancel" and choose another date if I decided not to retire at the end of September.

After I finished I waited a few minutes before putting it on hold and thought why not just hit "send" and be thru with it. Bang just like that and the wheels are now in motion!

It took about five minutes and I starting having a major anxiety attack.

"Damn Sam, what have you gotten yourself into this time!"

I wanted to do it but it just seemed so final once the paperwork was started.

Not an easy task

Pick a date and retire! Easy enough, right. Not so fast. This is really an agonising decision. I have been saying that September 30 will be my last day to work and therefore I need to sign up for Social Security three months ahead of that date, in other words, in July. Next month. That just seems so final and soon!

"Working" defines who I am. Retirement feels more like I am being fired and emotionally it is rather difficult. Doesn't working until the end of the year sound better.

Work past the holidays and start the new year off with a whole new outlook on life. I'm sure the incongruousness would be no different then as now. Damn, why can't life be easy!!!!.

Compact air compressor

Ever wake up to a low tire and have to change it or risk ruining it by driving to have it looked after.



We need a small air compressor for just such events and to keep our tires inflated to the proper psi. Since it was my birthday and I had an excuse to spend money.














I bought this compact air compressor from Sears, Item # 00915309000,
Model # 15309. Small and under 25lbs. Max of 150psi and a cut-in of 120psi. Cut-in pressure means when its 1.5 gallon tank drops below 120psi, the compressor starts building air until it reaches 150psi.

This is not a compressor for using large volumes of air but it will work fine for my needs and small enough to easily store.

Another one down

Well I have lived to see another birthday. How the hell can I be 62 years old. My dad died at 57 and my mom almost made it to 73. My sibling followed at about the same numbers. Half around 60 and half over 70. The averages give me a few more years.

Starting Monday I will be working for 1/2 price! I could be drawing my SS that makes up about half my take home pay. I told the boss I needed a 100% raise and he said he would pay me what I am worth but he knows I can't live on that!

Dang that does not sound possible, "me on SS". I always thought SS was for "old people".

Banking on the Road

Not many people write checks anymore and after we hit the road we will only have our mini-storage that will need a check sent. All reoccurring bills can be paid online.

We will be using two banks and a credit union. Judy has her SS check direct deposited in a local bank and I will have my SS check and any draws from my IRA direct deposited in US Bank that has branches nation wide. My pension check will be deposited in my saving account at my credit union.

Why two banks? Judy will carry only her bank card and one credit card and I will carry my bank card and the other credit card. Should she lose her purse or should I lose my wallet, we can cancel only that bank and credit card and still have the other separate accounts to continue to use until we get things straighten out. Straightening things out while on the road could take awhile.

Our banks card use different ATM networks so there should always be one or the other available to us. We will always have a few "ole blues" ($100 bills)in reserve and will always work with money above those. That way ATM money can be acquired when convenient and we will never be broke. If we pay an occasional $2 ATM fee it will be alright because we will we getting the max the ATM will allow.

I can also use my credit union ATM card, plus they are affiliated with several hundred credit unions across the country that I can walk in, show my card and ID and draw out any amount of my saving that I might need.

Sounds simple enough.

I think I like this stranger

Yesterday I saw a late model Ford pickup stop in the street and turn on the flashers. I didn't see any fluids or steam leaking so it appeared it just quit running. By the time the red light changed and I made it so I could see what was happening, I was pleasantly surprised.

The older gentleman had stopped and was removing a turtle for the street. Little doubt saving its life. A simple gesture that shows there is still hope for this world.

One month until weigh-in

Remember back in January I mentioned our weight loss program at work, well it is only about a month until our weigh-in. In January I weighed 238lbs. and I must say I haven't tried very hard and now weigh 227lbs., but I had a little spell with my blood sugar last week and now am determined to eat better and shed another 27lbs.
I still want to be around 200lbs. before I retire but will not make that goal by our weigh-in. My 10% goal (214) will require another 13 lbs. this month. Not likely, but it is doable. My main goal is to keep my blood sugar in the normal range.

While there has been hundreds of books written about 12 volt dc power and I own a couple of the popular ones used by rvers.

















For a complete overview of this subject it is hard to beat Mark Neweth's two part article. http://bart.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm While equipment and gadgets change, the basic theory will stay the same.



For solar charging theory and what works (I always like to look at real world working applications from people not trying to sell you anything), try reading what Bob has to say on the subject.





http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/solar-power-that-works/

I failed to link to the manuals about my 2025rv meter.
Users manual:
http://www.bogartengineering.com/TM2025%20Users%20Instructions.pdf


Installation manuals:
http://www.bogartengineering.com/TM-2025Install%20Instructions.pdf

Just to confuse you even more try reading all of Phred's Poop Sheets:

http://www.phrannie.org/phredex.html

Tri Metric 2025RV meter

What the heck is a TriMetric 2025rv meter? The simply answer is to call it your fuel gauge for you batteries. The fuel in your batteries is measured in reserve amp hours and the 2025rv meter keeps track of them just like your gas gauge in your car. Use some amps out of your batteries and put some back in by charging them and you will always know to total with this meter.

There are numerous web sights that explain the technicals so I will just do a broad overview.

It is easy to shorten the life of your batteries by using more than 50% of the amps in them. If you have a reserve of 200 amps hours then use less than 100 amps before recharging them, even less is better.

The 2025rv meter by Bogart Engineering is a newer and improved version of their 2020 meter. It has its own housing that will blend right in with my furnace and Fantastic Fan thermostat housings.

It has built in lightning protection and several other features that make it more desirable.

As always, I researched online and found the users manual (had to make sure it would do what I wanted) and installation manual (see if I could install it) before placing my order.

While this meter neither makes or dispenses 12 volt electricity, it is still money well spent (about $200 for meter, shunt, and wiring) if you are planning to camp without hookups and run off your batteries.

Imagine driving a car with no gas gauge and not knowing the last time any was put in the tank.

Pieces of the Puzzle

Living in a RV in a campground with "full hookups (water, sewer,and electricity)" is the same as living in a regular home, albeit smaller.

RVs have the ability to dry camp (parked without any hookups), meaning they have running water, propane for heating, hot water, cooking, and 12 volt lighting. On board water tanks supply water and holding tanks hold the waste water. The frig can also run on propane. Everything you need except for 120 volts. Lots of 12 volts appliances are available so the only thing you really have to have 120 volts for is air conditioning. Your rv can be miles from an electric line and you can live a very normal life.

Our rv holds 40 gallons of fresh water, three 40 gallon holding tanks. One each for shower, kitchen, and toilet. That translates into about a week before our tanks need attention. The 12volt battery will also need charging after about 2 days.

An inverter with take power from your 12 volts and turn it into 120 volts. Still can't run you a/c but you can run things like your tv, microwave, hair dryer, and other small appliances. This is limited by the size (wattage) of your inverter and the size (amp hours) of your batteries.

To further complicate this, there are two types of inverters. Most are modified sine wave (almost like the electricity at home) and will run most things. A pure sine wave (just like your home electricity but more expensive) for your high-end electronics. A simple solution is to buy a larger wattage modified sine wave inverter to run most applications and a smaller pure sine wave inverter to run high-end electronics. Most tv's will run on a modified sine wave inverter but I don't want to risk a $1000 tv on a cheaper inverter.

One other solution is just buy a generator to run everything. A small one will run microwave, tv, and ect. A larger one will also run one a/c and still larger one will run both air conditioners.

The options for dry camping with all the amenities are:

GENERATOR

Pros:

Runs everything

No need to upgrade batteries or buy an inverter

Cons:

Cost

Noisy

Weight

Fuel costs and maintenance

Their use not also permitted (or restricted hours of usage)

UPGRADE BATTERIES

Pros:

Will extend your 12volt usage

Have enough power to add on inverter for limited 120volt usage

Cons:

Cost

Weight (battery weight adds up fast)

Space requirements (may or may not fit you present battery compartment)

Need a way to recharge

INVERTER

Pros:

Quite

Will supply most 120volt needs

Cons:

Cost

Deletes batteries (they have to be recharged)

SOLAR PANELS(solar panels are really just battery chargers that use to sun to obtain their energy)

Pros:

Quite

Recharges batteries to supply battery and inverter needs

Free energy after purchase

Cons:

Cost (isn't that always a con?)

Now I would like "all the above" but for me the generator seems the logical first step as the one purchase will do everything (at the expense of the cons). Also it is the option that will have the best resale value if I choose to sell it.

RE-GENERATOR

I wanted a generator that would run at least one of my air conditioners ( the only real reason for a generator). Something in the 3000watt range would do the job fine. Purchasing used would be a wise choice in case I wanted to resale.

Enter http://littlerock.craigslist.org/ .

I always check Craigslist for my used purchases.

I found a gently used Yamaha 3000iseB generator at an excellent price. It is among the quietest on the market and very fuel efficient and a reasonable power to weight ratio. Weighting in at about 150lbs.

It came with the optional cover and a new battery.

I will place it on the rear bumper of the travel trailer and thus one of the pieces of the puzzle will be in place.

Spring has Sprung

The weather has been beautiful this week and I took this photo today at my usual rest area just south of the Gurdon exit on I-30, on the east bound side. By the time the grass turns green, the blooms will be gone. I just love these trees.

I should have taken this photo yesterday as the sky was a deeper blue and really made the white of the tree and clouds pop. Just a little too bright today and made the whole picture wash-out a little.

Pacific Northwest Van Dweller

I stopped at the rest area just south of Gurdon, Ar. today and noticed a Chevy work van (van with no windows). It had tags from the Pacific Northwest and was easy to recognize as a van dweller vehicle ( living or long term travelling in a van).

The bicycle on top and the curtain blocking off the rear cargo area gave it away. Add the fact that it was parked away from the restrooms and you know I had to check it out.

The driver was reading a paperback western novel and having canned ham and crackers for lunch. We talked for about 15 minutes and I found out that he was indeed a "vandweller". He told a little about his rig and some of the mistakes he had made as he taught himself about living in a van. He has an inverter to power his laptop and was using an "air-card" for internet access.

He powered up the laptop when I told him about the http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/VanDwellers/ and he book marked it. It has over 100,000 messages and will take a long time to find the information.
After I was back on the road, I realized I should have sent him to http://www.cheaprvliving.com/ . As Bob Wells has a great site with several examples of how people fix their vans for vandwelling.

He was soft spoken and a real pleasure to talk to. I hope he enjoyed our time together as much as I enjoyed it. It was soon time for me to hit the road and I wished him well on his travels.

Arkansas Rest Areas allow overnight camping and I am sure you could stretch that if you wanted. Most have designated parking away from Truck Parking.

Maybe he will read this (he book marked my blog) and leave a comment.

Sometimes it is TOO easy

As I walked by the guard shack at work today, the guard came out with a large smile to show off the new used car he had purchased. Now he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer but is a very likable guy.

He is very proud of his low mileage 2005 Chevy Cobalt coupe, and rightly so as it is very nice. We look at the outside and he unlocks and opens the drivers door and I peek in to see a new looking interior. He closes the door and shows the few flaws one would expect on a five year old car but I am still impressed with its condition.

Proudly he asked, "How many miles do you think it has?". I comment that since I can see it still has the original tires that I can tell within 500 miles as to the right answer.

I get the usual, "No way!". So I take out a dime and use it to check the tread depth of one front tire and one back tire, while explaining I used to be in the tire business.

After pausing for a long moment to decyfer the information I was ready to give my answer. Now I could have said 25,000 miles but that would seem like a very random guess.

I said, "25,500 miles" and walked away as his jaw dropped in awe.

Later he MIGHT figure out that when he opened the door the odometer displayed 25,381 for a few seconds before going blank again.

Sometimes it is truly too easy!!

An Exciting Year Ahead

My company is challenging everyone to loose weight and they are putting their money behind the challenge. The contest weight-in was January 4 ( I weighed 238lbs) but you can start anytime of the year you decide to participate. Next weigh-in will be June 1.
10% =$100
15% =$150
20% =$200 and ect.
Final weigh-in will be December 1 and you will receive a like amount from your original weight. An incentive to continue dropping weight and keeping it off.
This came at an opportune time as I had decided to weigh no more than 200lbs before I retire.
YES, I SAID RETIRE. I turn 62 in May and my anniversary date at work is the last of July (no need to forfeit 3 weeks vacation pay for not working the two extra months). My exact retirement date is still debatable as several factors are still in play, but it will be sometime between August 1 and the end of the year.
After retirement we will be hooking to our home (travel trailer) and hitting the road. So much to see and I can't wait to get started.
"Home will be where we park it". No, that does not mean we will travel every day but travel to a new locale and stay until we feel we have seen and done what we want and move again and let the process start over. We might stay a day or two, a week, a month, or for a season.
I might even be in your area and contact you for a little one on one meeting, just a heads-up for my friends both personal and internet types.

Slowly being dragged into the present

I am rather slow to come around to "change", as a matter of fact, I am against most of it. However, SKYPE the free internet based phone and video service is my newest addition into the present world.

Actually seeing Zac when we talk is a great comfort for this old dad. If you do not presently have it, you might want to check it out. I will bet your kids already use it.

Zac and ABD

No my son Zac does not have an awful disease. As long time visitors know, Zac has been at Penn State studying for his PhD in French. Well he is now ABD (All But Dissertation) meaning he is through with all class work and exams. All this is great.......................

But!

He flew out of New York City today heading back to France to teach for a year (again) and do research for his dissertation. When I asked about his dissertation subject, it took two minutes for the explanation. I didn't understand a thing he said. The boy is just to damn smart for his old man. Before he gets the big head he needs to know that I have a ball pien hammer that is also smarter than me but not as hard headed.

A Busy Month

My wife had a "total knee replacement" (her second) four weeks ago today and she is starting to show real improvement in the last two or three days.
When she had her left knee replaced about five years ago, they keep her in the hospital about 4 days and then transferred her to the rehab wing of the hospital for another 10 days. In the rehab wing she was cared for by nurses and physical therapists.
This time the knee was replaced on Wednesday and they sent her home on Saturday. I got to play nurse and a physical therapist came by twice a week. Luckily her daughter came over to stay with her while I was at work but it has been a stressful few weeks with very little sleep.
Guess you could say I received a taste of a working mom's life. Work all day, come home and fix the meals and up every few hours to add ice to her ice pack or help her to the bathroom
(ALWAYS, five minutes after I had gotten the ice pack on her knee and her settled back down).
Thankfully she is starting to move around and do for herself and every day is an improvement. I'm amazed at just how quickly the turn around has been. She went from crying half the night and counting the hours until she could have another pain pill to taking a single pain pill for the night in just a span of 3 or 4 days. After two weeks of misery it was a fast turnaround.
The operation didn't kill her and I resisted the same.

Mother Jones

Mary Harris Jones "Mother Jones" is not a name that many of you have ever heard , but she was one of the most famous women of the first half of 20th century. I originally heard about her when I did a little research on the publication named after her, Mother Jones magazine.











Her burial place and memorial is just off the "mother road" (old route66) in Mt. Olive, Il.

She was called "The most dangerous women in America". Not because she was a gangster mama, but because she was a union organizer.













Every coal miner, union worker, and American owe a great deal to this small (about 5ft.) fireball lady. After losing her hustand and children to Yellow Fever
and then everything she owned in the great Chicago fire, she sent on a crusade to make America a better place for all workers.

Brooks Catsup

We took some time off and did a little roaming around last week and took a picture of the worlds largest catsup bottle. It was built as a water tower for the company that produced Brooks Catsup.

You can check out the official web sight here.
http://www.catsupbottle.com/

We were heading to Litchfield, Illinois for a family visit but took the indirect route there and back. An 800 mile round trip turned into 1500 miles with our sightseeing.

A few more posts about our trip will follow when I have time and energy.

Bail Out

Can I apply for a bailout?

Two years ago, I bought a 2006 Dodge 3/4 ton diesel truck. It is now worth less than I gave for it.

That's life, you say!

Wait a minute, my truck being worth less is dragging down the prices on all the 2006 Dodge trucks.

My truck is not going to be repossessed because I could afford it. Those that could not afford their trucks will have them repossessed. Do I care, NO!

Do I want my tax dollars bailing them out, HELL NO!

About three years ago while on vacation, I wrote about the wind farm we spotted in Iowa.
http://1948model.blogspot.com/2006/06/windmill-farm.html
We have a new plant in Little Rock (a short distance from the dairy) that makes the blades for windmills. How cool is that!















As always, you can click on my pictures to make them larger.

Here's your sign!

Look just below the American flag














and you will see "your sign".

Lucky Me

Some times my good fortune even surprises me.



We still own our motorhome and it is sitting in the driveway until the time I am willing to sell it. The a/c plastic cover has become brittle over the years and is missing chunks that have broken and blown away. Not a very pretty site. A new cover costs about $125. A new cover would only help the a/c and motorhome cosmetically and I have had a hard time justifying purchasing one.

As you can see in the picture, the cover is held on by 4 studs that protrude through the top and 4 cap nuts and washers secure it.



I found a used one in great shape. No, not "I found one" used that I could buy at a reasonable price but "I found one", period!



It was sitting on the concrete retaining wall that separates our frontage road from the interstate. One had lost it.



I can only guess that the rv had been to the rv dealership (about a mile up the frontage road) and after working on the a/c, they failed to replace the retaining nuts. Someone must have found it after it had blown off and placed it on the retaining wall.



A lot of things had to fall into place for this to happen because these covers are very fragile and just falling from the top of the rv (10ft-13ft) should have destroyed it. Not counting another vehicle could have ran over it.

Viewing Another Direction

From my drivers seat I get to look down on some amazing sights, some that are hard to report on a family friendly blog.

Saturday the amazing views came from looking up instead of down. My Saturday run has me circling the Jacksonville Air Force Base and they were having a open house military air base show.

The airbase is the home of the C-130 cargo planes and we see them flying in formation almost every day.








For the "airshow", the Navy Blue Angels were brought in to perform. While I did not go to the show, I had a great seat for the show as they made their turns just over my truck as they made their way back to pass over the crowds at the airbase.














If you have never had a chance to see the Blue Angels, you are missing a show that will make you shutter with patriotism.

A Good View

Women that drive SUV's say they like them because they sit up high and are provided a "good view of everything". I will agree because of what happened today.

A women driving a suv on the interstate today got a "nature call" and she answered the call by pulling on the shoulder and opening both right side doors and "dropping and squatting" between them.. The front and rear doors blocked the views of her torso but guess what was showing below the door, oops!

My Take

If Henry Paulson called and asked my opinion (fat change since I am not a billionaire), I would say,

Hank old boy,
While I am not start enough to figure all of this out, I don't think I want my money in this deal. So if you would kindly just leave my money (and my grandchildren and great grandchildren) out of this "billionaire's bailout" maybe just maybe we can part on friendly terms.
700 billion dollars this week, a few billion in the near future for the auto companies, and lets not forget that wee bit of money spent on the war.
I keep hearing "Too big to let fail", Hank do you think that "America is to big to fail"?

I LIKE IKE

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower. Ike was our last president elected before television played a major role in the election process and therefore in my opinion, the last president elected solely on merit and not personality.


This post is not about politics but about "Hurricane Ike". While it reeked havoc on Texas, it was a none issue at my house. Hurricanes along the Gulf Coast always adds dollars to my pay check because of the added milk needed to serve evacuees .

Hurricane Gustov added dollars but brought with it lots of rain and therefore I had to drive my truck to work and not my gas saving motorcycle.

Hurricane Ike added dollars but I was able to ride my bike because we missed the heavy rain. I am not unsympathetic toward the victims but just realistic about the over all picture. While doing my job, I know I am helping in my own way.

It is HOT!

The temps in central Arkansas are at near record highs. Yesterday it was 105F with a heat index of 116F and with no relief in site for a few more days.

Friday coming back from Texarkana on I-30 I could see the smoke for several miles and had plenty of time to get my camera ready as I knew it had to be a wreck or vehicle fire. The traffic was moving at a nice rate of speed in my lane so I took this picture through my windshield.













It was a 18wheeler burning but it had not been in a wreck. It appeared that the fire started in the front of his trailer. The fire department had their hands full as the fire was in the woods beside the interstate.

Brotherly Love

About four this afternoon I stopped at my usual c-store for a cup of java (hey it was only in the upper 90's). While I fixed my coffee a young boy (about 12 or 13) and younger sister (about 8 or 9) came in , each holding a dollar.

The girl was looking at an orange soda but her brother talked her into a Dr. Pepper as that was what he was buying for himself. The can drinks were priced at 79 cent each and after making her selection, her brother offered to pay for it and took her dollar and the Dr. Pepper to the cashier while the girl waited by the door.

He paid for the two Dr. Peppers and walked over to her and gave her a quarter and her Dr. Pepper. She was surprised at getting a quarter back and he said something to her and patted her on her back and opened the door and they were gone.

She was getting a dose of "brotherly love", what he saw but she did not was the sign,
Dr. Pepper, 2/$1.00.

Taking Action

Trading for a more fuel efficient vehicle may say gas but it probably will not save you any money. If you need to replace your ride then by all means replace it with a smarter choice but if gas savings are needed now, then the best way is "drive slower".












I guess these people got tired of everyone honking their horns because they were not driving like a BOH on the freeway. They were actually driving 55mph in a 60mph zone thru town. They had been in the slow lane and moved over so I could get on the interstate.

I grabbed on camera and took this picture thru my windshield. As I passed I did toot my horn (the electric one, not the loud air-horn) and gave then a "thumbs up".

$4 gas a good thing?

Just a few stations in the pricier part of town has $4 a gallon gas (so far). Gas prices are on every ones mind and that is about all that is being discussed at work.

Everyone is talking about driving less and starting to question ALL of their buying decisions. It is amazing that gas prices have gotten people to do what they should be doing in the first place.

Driving less not only saves gas but saves money that are often not included when we think of the cost of a trip. Maintenance cost, replacement costs, accelerated depreciation and of course the biggie, convenient store snacks.

I have seen several older model high gas mileage cars on the interstate in the past month or so. Two were Ford Fiestas like the one in the picture and one looked like it had been sitting under a tree for years and just put back on the road. New tires, fresh tags, but not even a quick wash job. I'm sure it was pressed into being used as a work car because of the price of gas.

The price of crude oil is down $6 a barrel in the past 2 days but over all I think gas prices will be higher next year and even higher the next. We all need to find ways to save on gas and not give our retirement to the gas companies.

An enjoyable day

I took a little ride last Thursday on my motorcycle to run an errand and stopped by to see my friend Jimmy.

I have written about Jimmy before but I decided that after 30+ years I should have a picture of us.











He is the good looking one on the right. He goes days, weeks and sometimes months without ever leaving his place.

Lonely? Hardly, I cannot ever remember visiting without someone else stopping by to do the same. Six days a week you will always find him out at his garage. On Sunday you can find him on his porch after church.

Besides his garage, his other passion is raising a garden and I was sent home with some ripe "maters".

Sidewalks

Sidewalks being installed seems like an everyday occurrence, but hopefully it shows a shift in governmental policy.

Our town is a "bedroom community" for the Little Rock, Arkansas area. The road you see is Arkansas State Highway 5. As our town developed along this highway there were no sidewalks installed. The town has just started to develop on this side of the interstate in the last few years.













This is the only sidewalk along the highway. There is an elementary school where the sidewalk ends at the top of picture. To the left and also behind where I am standing is all now housing developments with young families.

There is no safe way for children to walk to school and the parents drive them. In the five years I have lived here I can count on one hand the number of children I have seen walking to school.

With gas prices at $4 and only going up in the future, maybe our city government has finally wised up to the fact that some people just can no longer afford to drive their children to school and maybe we can get back to "walking to school".

The sidewalks and cross walks will provide children (and their parents if they so choose) a safe path to school. A city police car is there mornings and afternoons. Hopefully there will be sidewalks added to the other side of the road as that is the side with the most homes.

It will not be a quick and easy transition but all it takes is a few parents and kids using it to start a trend. Our country is facing challenges and we all must step up to the plate.

Sense of Humor

Upon returning to work I found that management has a sense of humor. We have a new "hot-shot truck" and while I was on vacation it had decals installed.

We use this hot-shot truck to deliver up to 100 cases instead of takes a big rig and trailer.























The truck has decals to make it look like an ambulance and enlarge the picture and read what is on the back door. I took this picture thru the windshield of my truck and it makes the decals appear to be added with "photo shop" but it is real.

Training

Thursday afternoon as I was walking around the park I heard a loudspeaker giving orders. As I rounded the corner I spotted two fire department boats. They were there for their monthly training of using the "pumper boats" to load the fire department tanker truck and use the pumper truck to pump the water back in the lake.

The smaller boat (872) has a portable engine and pump sitting on the deck. The larger boat (871) has a built in pump that is below the water line and therefor does not need the hose that 872 has draped over the side.

The pumper boat loaded the pumper truck with water and then they loaded this portable water storage tank. Normally this tank is unloaded at a fire site where there is no hydrant available and the the tanker truck will quickly dump its load into it and leave to pick up another load of water while the pumper truck uses the water it is carrying and then use water out of the tank until the tanker truck can return with another load.

This is the stream of water the pumper boat was delivering with the engine at an idle.

After the tank was filled they pumped the water back into the lake.

Not to be outdone the pumper boat got into the act.

Lost Bridge Park

Lost Bridge Park is the name of the C.O.E. park we are staying at on Beaver Lake. The bridge was built in the 20's and there was no roads leading to it and the photo below appeared in the local paper and the name "lost bridge" was formed. It was five years before the roads were finished to put the bridge in use.

The lake now covers the original site of the bridge and the park is so named.

The "Coffee View" from our picnic table of the lake this morning.

The white triangle in the lower left of this photo is actually the corner of the picnic table as I am taking this from the back bench of the table.

It blows me away that we can be on the lake and have internet via our "air-card".

I am grilling burgers tonight as we bought wheat Kaiser rolls for the buns. Damn, does life get any better? Well is could if I had purchased a little livation to go with them.

At the lake

After a false start, we are finally at the lake. A couple of months ago we went to Camping World to buy a few things we have been needing. Our Dodge diesel did not have towing mirrors even though it had the factory tow package.

The CIPA brand tow mirrors that I wanted only showed the application up to a 2005 Dodge 2500. I felt they would fit my 2006 and while at Camping World, they let me try one and it fit. Fast forward to Sunday afternoon late and I get around to putting the tow mirrors on (I will only have them on when I need them). I grab the passenger side mirror (the one I had already tried) and put it on and when I opened the other box (marked as drivers side), it was also a passenger side mirror that had been boxed wrong. So we were sitting in front of the store when they opened this morning to exchange the mirror.

We still pulled out about 10 am and after stopping for lunch, we arrived at the lake (about 240 miles) a little before 4pm. The Dodge diesel did a great job towing the 14,000lb. trailer.

We are settled in with satellite tv and internet service.

Our spot is not "lakefront" but across the road from the lake. We have a view of the lake from our living room window and the picnic table. The lake is about a hundred feet from our door.

We are backed in a nice tree shaded spot. Although it might look like we are still hooked to the Dodge, we are not. The camper you see over the hood of the truck is on the lake front.

If you enlarge this picture you can you can see the lake between the pickup and camper.

What the old saying, "If the wife ain't happy, ain't no one happy!".

My first time

NO, not that "first time". At my age I am lucky to remember my last time for that.

I am talking about pulling our home (camper) for the first time. We have lived in it for over a year but have not moved it in that time. Next week we are pulling it to the mountains of northern Arkansas for vacation. We will be staying on Beaver Lake, close to Eureka Springs.

We traveled in our motorhome several times but this will be a new experience. In the motorhome you are right with all your stuff and if something is not riding properly you just stop and correct it. With the travel trailer I will not know until after the fact. After the first trip we will have a better idea of how things will "ride".

Cell phone coverage can be spotty in the mountains but hopefully there will be a "signal" for our "air-card" and we will have internet access on the lake.
Of course I will set up our Dish network satellite so we hill have tv at night. Really the only thing that will change is our view out the windows and of course we will not have out "deck". Life is good.