Back home-through the South

20 Feb 2010
Had a good day yesterday. Hit the road by 07:45 which is almost a new record for us. Drove up Highway 19 to I-10 then headed West. Got in to the Escapees park in Sumerdale, Alabama about 14:30 Central time (got an extra hour there). That's almost exactly what the GPS was estimating so we are liking the time estimate feature. Saw a few cops on the Interstate (5 or 6); most of them writing tickets for people. There were a couple Sheriff's deputies on 19 but they were just watching for people.

We talk big about slowing down and smelling the roses but don't usually manage it. We are staying here another day (tonight that is) but that's just to do some shopping and a little deep breathing after too many days with other people. I've always thought about visiting the aircraft museum at Pensacola but we've never done it. Maybe next trip! (Isn't that what I'm supposed to say?)

It's still chilly around here but sunny today and the weatherman seems to think the weekend will be good. Makes me happy anyway, I don't really like setting up and tearing down in the rain. I haven't figured out a rain outfit that I can do what I need to do and not get wet somewhere.

We dumped our tanks when we got here; they don't have a dump station but all the sites are full hookups. Anyway our hose-to-sewer connector leaked; lost maybe a pint or so of effulent - not a lot but kind of distressing. There is a Camping World just down the road so we'll get a new one.



21 Feb 2010
Went to a wonderful lunch at Le Roux in Foley, AL. It was kind of expensive but great! We'll be back again for dinner on our next trip. ALMOST made up for the shit we got at Lambert's! Went on to Walmart - got a new sewer connector so we'll see if that fixes our problem.

Landed at Duston, LA today. Had a good day in spite of the lousy roads in Louisana. Had do drive under 55 for part of the time; if we went faster it just rocked our guts out. Got on the road about 09:30 so it was a six hour day. Drove through a lot of clouds and some light rain but nothing serious.

Bad news is that I lost my cell phone. We think it got lost at a rest area just over the state line in Mississippi but who knows. Called AT&T to shut it off. Guess I'll be geting something new. Oh well, not a big deal I guess but what a pain in the ass.

Raining here now; hail in the area so we hope we don't get any of that. Haven't had to hook up in the rain yet on this trip and I hope the luck holds. It's no one's favorite thing. We chose this park for it's wifi; it's ok but nothing to write home about. Watching the Olympics on tv; tonight is ice dancing. Not my favorite but they are pretty great athletes!

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." - Pierre de Coubertin, The Olympic Creed Inspired by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot, speech, Olympic Games 1908

Trip report continued...

08 Feb 2010

Had a fairly nasty day yesterday but managed it.  The Louisanna roads had some awful stretches; they have blocks of concrete that aren't leveled up to the next block so you hit these joints for miles at a time - bang bang bang.  Then we were out in the middle of nowhere and they closed 2 of the three lanes of I-10 - wasted at least half an hour getting through that; there were people who must have lost over 2 hours but we were lucky.  The bridges were bad too; one was so rough that I slowed to 50 mph and it was still rough.  It was a long day; didn't arrive until almost 17:00.  THEN, we found that the park we hoped to stay at was full.  Boo, hiss!  Started looking at the books and found another park about 15 miles away.  Called them & said we'd be right over.  Found this nice little place; it's on a major road but nothing compared to an Interstate!  LOL  Spent a quiet night watching the Superbowl (American football championship).

I don't think we saw a cop crossing all 900 miles of Texas, saw a bunch in Louisanna.

This a.m. we need to hit the road; it's likely to rain later. 



09 Feb 2010

Drove across Mississippi and into Alabama.  Saw 13 cops in the first 13 miles of Alabama; then another five before we stopped for the night at the Escapees park.  Glad we were just poking along with the trailer.


10 Feb 2010
Spent a quiet day at the Rainbow Plantation (another Escapees park) - I did laundry for the high point.  Rained like the devil last night but there are low drains to carry off the water.  Went into town and had dinner at Lambert's Cafe - the ThrowedRolls place - had chicken & dumplings - little chicken and a kind of home made noodle - no dumpling at all - no vegie in the dish either.  My wife had ham and beans - ok but for $27 plus tip it was crap.  Oh and $2.19 cokes for drinks!

Off tomorrow for Florida.  Plan on staying somewhere up near I-10 so it will be a short day.  I'll dump the tanks and we'll be good to stay with our relatives for a few days.  We will also have a short day to get to their house on Thursday; don't want to arrive and have to back into their space in the dark!


11 Feb 2010
Drove down to the relatives house near Crystal River.  Got in quite early, maybe 14:00, so we could enjoy some time with the family after getting set up.  They had lots of stone crab for everyone else & a very nice t-bone for me(shellfish allergy).  Came back to the rig fairly early and let the wife have some family time.



12 Feb 2010
Spent the day with the family; a couple of friends showed up before noon then a couple more (from South Carolina) just before dinner.  Had KFC and some pulled pork from SC for dinner.  That pulled pork was a nice surprise.  We both came to the rig & let the relatives have the evening with their friends.


13 Feb 2010
This is the day of the party; actual birthday is tomorrow but this is better for people to attend the party.  My wife's uncle must be the most popular guy in town; there were are least twenty people at the party.  Eight had come from out of state!  Lots of food and talk.  It started at 14:00 and we came back to the rig about 18:00; read a bit then early to bed.


14 Feb 2010
Another relative day.  Started with the friends leaving then about 14:00 some more relatives showed up.  My wife hasn't seen her cousin in 30 years; her great-aunt was present when her mom died 4 years ago.  Now they are talking politics at the top of their lungs; I don't get paid enough to stick around.  Heading to Palm Harbor tomorrow to see our ex-neighbors.  Should be fun; also a good place to buy booze!




18 Feb 2010
Back with the relatives.  Had fun seeing our friends.  They seem pretty much the same.  We never spent mornings with them; turns out they are as addicted to "Imus In the Morning" and Fox news as our relatives.  Looking forward to moving on just to avoid that shit!

One of our friends has diabetes and is having trouble with it.  He's lost like 30 lb that he couldn't really afford.  Hope he manages to get it under control.

Went shopping at some of the Florida stores we knew.  Bought new tennis shoes AND crocs at our favorite shoe store.  Don't suppose we'll keep on traveling 2,500 miles to go shopping but it worked for us this trip.  Bought booze for the return trip; it's cheaper in Florida than Nevada by 12-15 percent.

Taking everyone out to dinner tonight at their favorite resturant; we think it's awful but they like it so away we go.  Can't rain on their parade ALL the time.  Tomorrow morning we'll hit the road back to Nevada.  We plan on stopping at a few places along the way.  Hopefully we'll find some wifi so I can update this thing too!

Have a good one.

"Happiness is not a state to arrive at, rather, a manner of traveling." - Samuel Johnson

Finally - we're traveling

Traveling is something both my wife and I love but in the past year all we managed was a trip up to Washington state.  However, that is changing!  Actually, we are a thousand miles and three states away from home right now.  We are headed for a family birthday celebration back in our old home state of Florida.  We also hope to see a few of the sights on the way home.  First we are beating feet for Florida; the trip home should be more relaxing.  We are spending our days in the truck; our nights in our travel trailer.  The dog gets the back seat in the truck and the cat has his catbed in the rear footwell.  Most often I'm driving and my wife is navigating.  She has 2 atlases and two GPS units.  The first day we called ahead to say we were coming and the GPS estimated we'd arrive at 17:08 - the guy had to give me a hard time because we arrived at 17:10.  That's the kind of navigator I married! 

Here's a shot of the trailer in our yard.  Living area is in the back; the bedroom is in the front.  Bath in between.

Here's a shot of the living-dining area in the trailer.

Here's the first installment of our trip log.

03 Feb 2010

Left Pahrump at about 10:30 on Wednesday.  Took longer than anyone would expect to load our food and clothes but we finally got out.  It was a nice day but we had a long trip planned; down highway 95 to Laughlin then East towards Kingman, AZ then South again to Congress, AZ and the Escappees park there.  "The Ranch" was open until 17:30 fortunately because it was after 17:00 when we arrived; thanks partially to Arizona being in the Mountain time zone!  We both had forgotten that again!

There is a forest of Saguaro cactus on the way south.  Very interesting; at one point they were interspersed with Joshua trees.  Quite an interesting drive.

Parked in a nice level spot and hooked things up.  It wasn't fancy but wasn't bad either; there was a nice dog run anyway.  Had some dinner and to bed.  No internet because they have a contract with someone called Tengo - the cost is excessive for us. 



04 Feb 2010
Got out about 09:30; not bad for us.  Had a drive to another Escapees' park:  Dream Catcher in Deming, New Mexico. 

Before leaving Congress we checked the Phoenix traffic; there was a 3 vehicle wreck that almost closed I-10 and I-17 in both directions.   A truck hit a car which hit a Class A motorhome; the motorhome tipped on it's side and that closed 2 lanes about 06:45 - when we went through town at 10:30 it was finally clear but only just!  Fortunately the only injuries were minor; the rv'ers weren't scratched, even their dogs were fine.

Lots of traffic on I-10 especially a lot of trucks.  Amazing that this is in a tough economic time; doesn't look like it from the highway!  Dream Catcher was a disappointment.  Spaces were fairly tight; it had rained and there was standing water everywhere.  It was just off the highway and on the other side was the railway line; trains all night long!  We also had a leak in the water filter that I'd installed just before we left.  It didn't leak at home but tonight I found it by the simple expedient of stepping in water.  Bah humbug!  Worked on it and got it to a very small drip but still a pain.



05 Feb 2010
Hit the road quite early, before 09:00!  We discovered that the water pump in the rig doesn't put out as much
pressure as the park water does and the leak in the water filter is much slighter.  We decided we can just use the rig water pump until we make it to San Antonio or somewhere where we can get parts easier. 

We planned on driving to Ozona, TX today.  Nice weather so headed East on I-10.  Somewhere during the day, my wife came up with the novel thought that we really didn't need to kill ourselves getting to Florida; we have plenty of time.  So our first move was to cut the day's driving by about a hour and a half and stopped at a Passport America park in Fort Stockton, TX.  We'd stayed in the park before some years ago; it is kind of ugly but had drainage so was dry and quiet. 

We had stopped at a rest area during the day and a trucker's refer unit caught on fire!  There was lots of smoke but another trucker noticed what was happening and banged on the guy's door to wake him.  As soon as he shut if off, the smoke stopped.  He had to call for instructions though; that cold cargo couldn't just sit there getting warm.  He was lucky the other trucker noticed the problem before the fire got really out of hand!



06 Feb 2010
My wife woke at 03:30 or something like that; she was showering about 05:30!  Not like her but at least she got her shower.  I was afraid she might run out of water.  By the time she got out of the shower I was ready to go turn on the park water but she had finished.  I was back asleep before she turned on her hair dryer and didn't wake until 08:30.  So it was almost 10:00 before we got on the road.

Last night I tried tightening the clamps on the water filter again.  Must have done something right because it's
almost completely gone.  It's small enough that it doesn't reach the floor before it evaporates.  Cool!   

Rather than go all the way to Houston, which was our original target for today, we stopped outside San Antonio.  Things were quiet until we got on the road that circles around the northern part of town.  Those people were crazy!  Eight or ten cars would merge into traffic without bothering to worry about the people already on the road.  We were following a big truck; how he managed to avoid killing about a dozen people I'll never know.  They certainly made life tough for that driver.

Our park today is Stone Creek RV Park in Schertz, TX.  It's a Passport America park so was only $15.50.  This is another place we've been before; they have nice sized spaces that each has an outside table and a little shade.  Unfortunately, the spaces aren't totally level but every rv'er has to deal with that from time to time.  We carry both 2x8s and 4x4s to prop up the low side of the trailer.  This is a 2x8 place.  We especially like staying here because there is a supermarket here (HUB) that has freshly made tortillas.  Yum!  Those nice warm tortillas filled with spiced hamburger, cheese and salsa - we had a great dinner!  And we have free wifi!!!  First internet time since we left Pahrump.  Doubt if it will be a late night; this traveling is tiring!

Vegas Baby!

Went over the hump to the big city today.  Nothing very important, just getting some supplies for our trip to Florida next month.  We are probably kind of weird travellers; we start late in the day and stop early so don't make a lot of miles per day.  It's 2,500 miles (4000+ km) to our Florida destination and should take us 6 to 8 days.  After we've been traveling for a few days, we need a break so we stay a couple nights.  We are also pretty lazy after being in the truck all day so we like to have something for dinner that's not difficult.  A big tupperware of chili and some salad stuff springs to mind.  We also eat a lot more Pizza Hut when we are on the road!

In actuality, we were making our usual monthly run to Sam's Club - buying kitty litter, dog biscuits & stuff like that.  We also read of an antenna you can make with a wifi adapter that is supposed to improve your reception in rv parks  (Escapee's magazine):  needed a long USB cable and don't have time to get one from the internet.  We can also check out the big city supermarkets where the cheese selection is better; the liquor stores, etc.  I'm hardly surprised about the lack of fine cheeses & meats here; after all, I was born in Iowa where pepper jack cheese is considered kind of out there!  I do find it slightly odd that we don't have a real liquor store here in town; the supermarkets & one of the drug stores sell liquor but it's a sideline.  When the new beaujolais nouveau came out this year we had to go to Vegas to get a couple of bottles.  

The remainder of the week will be more trip prep.  We need to get the trailer out of it's nice new shed and get it cleaned and prepped.  It's too cold to fill the water tank; we'll save that for the last moment but getting a nice coat of Protectall on the poor thing will save us lots of trouble down the road.  So, I'm slated for a bunch of "trailer housework".  It's late and I've gotta go.  I hope you are all having a good 2010; it's almost a twelve'th gone!

"I were it were bed-time, Hal, and all well."  Shakespeare Henry Iv, Part I

Rain???

Yep, it's raining in Pahrump.  We are much too small to get careful attention from the weather officials but in Las Vegas they are saying that parts of the valley will get as much as .25 inches today - what, half a centimeter?  Guess I'm not looking forward to the rest of the week either - more of the same is forecast.  Cloudy days for not much rain.  Here's what The Weather Channel says for my zip code today:

Monday Jan 18
	Rain/Wind, 90% chance of precipitation. Winds 19mph from SE. Humidity 60% Sunrise: 6:53 AM	51 °F
	Rain/Wind, 70% chance of precipitation. Winds 21mph from S. Humidity 80% Sunset: 4:56 PM	35 °F

My wife has become addicted to the Wii.  Have you tried one?  It's an interesting way to get people to exercise.  There are lots of different things you can do on it:  yoga stances; games like bowling and tennis; aerobic and strength training exercises. I've done a little of it but I can't get by the fact that I'm playing with a video game.  Somehow that makes the whole experience less satisfying.  But if it gets her into exercise I'm all for it. 

We bought a surround sound system for the tv as and Xmas present to us both.  We got it installed ok but had to recess the speakers into the ceiling - didn't want them hanging down like I don't know what.  Anyway, my job for this week is to cut the molding to go around the speakers.  Not a big job for someone who knows what he or she is doing but for me...  I've already used 8 feet (2.4m) of molding to go around a rectangular speaker that is just over 3 feet (1m) in diameter.  Do you get the idea there is a little wastage?  Only three more speakers to finish!  But I enjoy doing stuff like this so that's my excuse.  One year I spent all my spare time, when I didn't have very much, rebuilding the fence in our back yard.  My wife was pissed but I was having fun.  She forgave me, finally, because the fence really did look super AND I finally got some time off and we spent three weeks in England. 

Have a good one!


Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage witout ferocity, and all the virtues of Man, without his vices.  This praise, which would be unmeaning flattery if inscribed over human sahes, is but a just tribute to the memory of Boatswain, a dog.  (Inscription on the monument of a Newfoundland dog (1808).)  Lord Byron

Wow, already the 10th!

Here we go on another year; hell, it will be November before we know it!  Anyway, let's enjoy the ride! 

Our daughter gave us a present of "The Lion King" in Vegas for Xmas and yesterday was the day.  It is a GREAT show; excellent presentation of a difficult story.  The people responsible for the presentation deserve all the kudos they've received and the actors were wonderful.  The people watching was certainly up to Vegas Style; very amazing!  Even driving up Las Vegas Boulevard was good; that's where the famous sign is and there were plenty of folks there having their photos taken. 

Otherwise we are quiet in Pahrump.  There is some desire to remove our senator and I'm of two minds.  Having a senator with seniority is good for his state BUT I'm not all that sure what he is doing is the best for the country.  I think term limits sounds good but limiting the benefits of those serving is more important!  Less likely too!  Life in the fast  lane, huh.

The town is more crowded than usual but it's because of all the tourists.  The rv parks associated with the casinos are almost full so the casinos should be happy.  There are often a few folks parked overnight in the Walmart lot; it's ok here especially since it's 2 blocks to the desert where everything is free.  As you know,  the town has quite a few streets platted out that are no more than gravel trails in the desert; people own lots out there and why shouldn't they park their rv there?  It's hard to tell who is on a lot they own and who is just hunkered down and who the hell cares anyway! 

Gotta admit, I gave away our snow shovel when we left Florida.  Hope you don't really need one wherever you are!  Happy days!


There is no more mistaken path to happiness than worldliness, revelry, high life.  Arthur Schopenauer

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone is doing well today; I'm sure some are recovering slowly from last night.  I'm doing ok actually but my wife is a bit under the weather.  We always stay at home and have a slightly luxurious meal and talk.  Making it to midnight isn't high on the hit parade and, sure enough, we didn't make it last night either.  Had a lot of good talk though. 

We are both getting excited about our trip to Florida in February.  We'll get to see family and friends that we haven't seen since we left in 2008.  We'll pretty much drop straight south and pick up I-10 and stay on it for 2,000 miles or so.  Navigation isn't too tough!  The other east-west interstate highways have too great a probability of bad weather to fool with.  Right now we are thinking the trip will be a month long; not a lot when you remember that the trip there will take probably five days & five days back.  We could make it in less time if we were willing to drive farther each day but life's too short for that.  Five or six hour days is our usual plan; gives us time to see a few sights, walk the dog and generally enjoy life a bit.

I did get one surprise last night.  My wife asked me to cook her steak a little more!  Now some people like a well-done steak but my wife has always gone for rare.  On the bbq I do hers 1.5 minutes on a side; now it comes out that they've been coming out a bit too rare.  Hmmm.  Wonder when she was planning on telling me?  Oh well, tastes change.

Speaking of tastes changing, I'm going to attack our portfolio beginning next week.  We've got way too much overlap in various mutual funds.  I'm looking for index funds that we can spread to get even more diversification.  In the last week I've read that the market is oversold and that it is fine; that there is a new housing bubble and housing is slowly recovering.  Who knows, but what are you going to do, you can't stand on the sidelines forever. 

Fear is an acid which is pumped into one's atmosphere.  It causes mental, moral and spiritual asphyxiation, and sometimes death; death to energy and all growth.  - Horace Fletcher

Happy New Year!!!

Being a child of a Christian household, even if I don't believe, I'd like to wish each and every person in the world a Happy New Year.  It's the way we count solar rotations, so get over it!!!!!

Actually, this is my second favorite holiday of the year; Thanksgiving being the favorite.  Thinking about it; they should be co-favorites:  Thanksgiving is just about realizing how lucky we've been and the New Year is a combination of "we made it this year" and "gee, I hope we can make it next year".

Think about what the first people who celebrated Thanksgiving were faced with; and the first persons who celebrated a 'new year'.  Both celebrations are about  a successful result over whatever period.  The New Year is looking forward; new hopes, new dreams, new days.

Happy New Year to you all.  I hope 2010 turns into a wonderful year for the entire world!

Almost the new year...

It's late in the evening of 29 December 2009.  Not the greatest of years but certainly not the worst. 

Thankfully we now have a President who seems to cherish peace above war; now he just needs to figure out how to make that happen.  I'm not very realistic; I'd just tell everyone that we were leaving and about a week later it would be a fact.  Can't do that in the real world, I know, but I'd sure like to try it.  Blow up about $10B worth of shit so it would only be good for scrap metal and "see ya". 

Actually, I think that would be almost the best thing we could do.  Over on Lee's religious blog he talked about why he wasn't surprised about the guy who tried to blow up a plane on Xmas.  It really made sense to me - check it out:  http://theeggbox.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-am-i-not-surprised.html 

We, I mean the U.S., are treating this like a 'police action' but that's not what the Arabs think it is, they think it's a Christian invasion of their lands.  Isn't that obvious to anyone open to a thought?  Jesus A Fucking Christ, that asshole fundamentalist Christian G. W. Bush has gotten us into one war that has, to almost anyone, limited viability; one war that has none at all; and has us on the edge of invading yet another Arab country - this time for no reason whatsover except that they might actually use nuclear energy for... electricity!  When are we going to be rid of the legacy of GWB?  My guess is in about 150 years.  What an asshole.  I only hope that he goes out and digs a big hole in the Texas dirt and holding Dick Chaney in his arms, is struck by lightning and they fall into the hole, dead, becoming part of our nation physically!  After all, isn't "dirt to dirt" part of their belief system?  And if they are right and there is a God, I'm pretty sure they'll both be shoveling coal for a LONG TIME.

Yah, I'm gonna quit this joyous if unlikely line.  Have a wonderful New Year if I don't get back. 

I have seen war.... I hate war.  Sam Rayburn

Merry Christmas and all that jazz.....

Haven't blogged in a while; not because nothing happened but because I was a lazy sod.  Yeah, I know, what's new about that!  We've been having weather in the valley.  It has rained a couple of days; we are probably well on our way to that 4 inches (10 cm) that we are supposed to get.  There were snow flurries one day as well but nothing else that stuck. 

Went to Vegas a couple of times doing the Xmas present thing.  I do like buying things for people; maybe I should just start doing it because I like it.  It would certainly make people wonder what I was up to!  The pass was clear both times but the sanding trucks were out so I need to get the car washed.  Don't you just love a white car?

My wife and I agreed that we've been spending money like drunken sailors so we'd take it easy on Xmas.  We went out together and bought each other a couple of things to put under the tree - useful stuff, like shirts that we actually like.  LOL  It worked pretty well I think so maybe we'll have to try it again next year.  I did sneak in a surprise present for her but that's just for fun. 

Our daughter will be here (from Vegas) but that's the Xmas party.  Son & his lady can't make it; maybe next year but I'm not holding my breath.  They seem to have a good relationship and enjoy being alone.  If that works for them, that's all that is important.  Daughter doesn't have a guy in her life right now so being with us works for her.  Therefore, it works for us all.  She is planning on staying two nights; we'll see if she can stand being with us that long! 

Xmas eve is Mexican night (in honor of my father-in-law) around here.  Enchiladas and margaritas will be the order of the day.  Xmas is ham.  Bought a nice pinot noir to go with it.  We looked around for a prime rib but finding prime is difficult.  The markets have choice grade but not prime so we decided to skip it.  We have a good recipe for the ham, it's easy to find and reliable.  Who needs more stress at this time of year. 

Next week it a time to do some rebalancing in the portfolio.  It's been quite a year for the markets.  I'm thinking of shifting a bit more into bonds if I can find a good fund.  Some of the fund managers seem to be even more inept than I am!  I'm keeping more money in stocks than most advisors would suggest but I think that I'm looking at a 30 year retirement (ok, I'm being optimistic about living that long but why not?) and going into fixed income is just a recipe for being really poor when I'm over 80.  Who wants that?

Gotta go.  Have a Merry Christmas and try to stay out of trouble!

"At Christmas play and make good cheer,
For Christmas comes but once a year."
Thomas Tusser

A picture is worth.....

Hooray for the self-shoveling sidewalk!

Found a list I like!

Seven things that are hard to do:
1)  Not to post really rude comment on the blogs of all these idiots who have an 'imaginary friend' in Jesus - or whoever! 
2) Not to point out that some idiot blogger is being ripped-off/taken-advantage-of/made-a-fool-of.
3) Remember the basic rules of English - it's not easy to write correctly - much less well(!) and I'm sure I make many mistakes.
4) I'm trying hard not to go nutso about all the assholes, media 'artists' and companies who think Spanish is a second language here.  I wish I was multi-lingual, honestly, but it's not about that.
5) The 2nd Amendment is important to me and I support it totally but it really isn't about full-automatic 50 cal. weapons.
6) The people writing the constitution were all mostly Christian but they intended this country to be open to all religions or to people of no religion at all.  So shut the F&*K up about "under God"!
7) The news media is so full of idiots!  I'd love to dump them all in the ocean except that the oceans would probably overflow the land masses to about the 2000 foot level!  Could I at least throw Rupert Murdock in?  Pretty please!

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"  (As recorded by Janis Joplin)
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON & FRED FOSTER

An amazing place

A week ago or so I finished reading Bill Bryson's book 'In a Sunburned Country' about his love for and travels in Australia.  Bill is a cross between a travel writer and a humorist and if you haven't tried his books I can recommend them.   Here's his Random House site.  He spent a lot of time and money visiting down under and seems to have really enjoyed his stay.  Only in one city did he find people he didn't like!  (Refreshing  because the only person I know who's been there thought the people were awful but then again I think the guy who told me that is an idiot.)  Bryson is an interesting guy:  born in the US, spent most of his adult life in England.  I found him originally when he wrote a sort of travel-log of the US from his peculiarly US-English background.  The thing that he keeps repeating about Australia is what I keep noticing about Nevada - there's a lot of not much out here.  Only in Australia, there is more of less - if you know what I mean. 

People are getting ready for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, and probably other holidays all over the world.  Leaves me a bit cold as an atheist but I do like a party.  We send Christmas cards to the older relatives and we have a special dinner and even a tree.  The tree, of course, predates Christianity and we skip all the angels but it certainly does have Christian connotations these days.  We exchange gifts; after one's childhood I expect most of us prefer to give than to receive.  Certainly I do.  Every year I give either money or food to the food bank; this year I think I'll have to find a few toys as well.  There are plenty of poor people in our valley.  So following on the Thanksgiving holiday, let's all be as generous as we can for this special time of year.

Come, yea thankful people, come
Raise the song of Harvest-home;
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin.  

Henry Alford

Help for the confused.

Here's a roadmap just in case you don't know what church you should be attending.

It almost makes me believe.....

It's a glorious morning in the desert!  Woke about 06:30 and took the dog out.  The sun was not yet up; hidden by the mountains to the east.  In the west, above the rocky mountain, there was a layer of deep blue with a layer of pink above it.  Most unusual.  In the eastern sky light, whispy clouds formed a shape kind of like a human hand in an even lighter shade of pink.  Gradually, as the sun rose, the clouds became white.  The very top peaks of the rocky western mountains became pink; then, slowly, the color seeped down their slopes until they were totally pink.  Finally, the sun rose in the eastern sky turning the pink mountains into yellow ones.  In an hour, they will return to their brown, rocky state but in the morning they are magical.

"The sunshine is a glorious birth"  William Wordsworth

My Ignorance

A couple days ago someone sent me a link to some photographs of an amazing place:  the caves of Ajanta in India.    Here is a link.  They aren't really caves as much as buildings carved out of rock.  The amount of work done to create these building and statues is just mind boggling.  Religion has been responsible for much pain and suffering but it has also been the catalyst for some magnificent art.

The whole web site, http://www.shunya.net/ is amazing.  I know so little of this part of the world.  The internet can be instructive as well as magical.  Have a good one!

"Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world."  Arthur Schopenhauer

Thanksgiving

The American holiday of Thanksgiving is Thursday.  It's always been my wife's favorite holiday so we are preparing; perhaps it is my favorite as well.  Agnostics don't really have a lot of holidays!  Religion seems to bring with it excuses for parties, we just don't have that.  I love my country but the 4th of July just brings memories of idiots with fireworks.  The 1st of the year is ok, I like the 'summing up' aspect of that day;  the year is gone, what can we do with the new year. 

Anyway, I'm in the mood for being thankful.  And I have a lot to be thankful about.  What's the old saying about being "healthy, wealthy and wise"?  I'm 61 and need take no medications to keep me going; we have enough money to live comfortably, and, though I babble at times, I can actually carry on a conversation with people.  So I guess I'm making it.  My wife takes a couple of pills a day but not for anything really life threatening.  Our relationship is great; hopefully better than ever.  Our son & daughter are both employed; making their ways in life.  They have trials and tribulations but isn't that what life is about?  So life is not simply good, it's GREAT!

There is a primal part of me that is almost afraid to say how wonderful life is.  I'm simply afraid that it will end if I mention it.  I know it's BS but... it's there.  I think a lot of people feel it but don't want to admit it; certainly I don't like admitting it!  I think about years gone by; when I was laid off from work or one of us was acting badly or we were worried about something one of the kids was doing.  There were still many things to be thankful about; and I knew it.  Actually, getting laid off was one of the best things that ever happened to me; it got me started in a whole new field.  Hell, I might still be working at Sears if things had gone differently.

The photo is of a sunset last May; the wonders of nature never fail to amaze.

So, I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving even if you don't celebrate it.  Take a moment to find a few things to be thankful about and I assure you, your time will be well spent.  Take care!

"Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks"  William Shakespeare

ETFs - maybe

Back to ETFs, that is Exchange-Traded Funds in English.  Yahoo Finance has a nice write up about them here.

I won't repeat the points made in the Yahoo article but I would like to point out that traditional mutual funds and individual stocks also have some advantages.  Good management in either a mutual fund or in a single company can cause their fund or company to do better than an ETF.  I've heard that some ETFs may be coming out that are managed ETFs (rather than the index type that we mostly see now).  Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing must depend on the expertise of the manager. 

One of the things that I personally like about ETFs is that there are many with a very narrow focus.  I don't care for something like Standard & Poor's 500 Index Depository Receipts (SPY:AMEX) which tracks the S&P 500; going along with the crowd just isn't much fun.  I much prefer somthing like SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) which attempts to track the price of gold or iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ) that tracks the MSCI Japan stock market index.  That sort of focus is very difficult to find outside the ETF market.

One type of ETF that especially don't like (for me!) is the type that trys to double or even triple what the market does.  One such ETF is UltraShort S&P500 ProShares (SDS).  "The investment seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, which correspond to twice the inverse of the daily performance of the S&P 500 index." is a quote from the writeup for SDS in Yahoo.  That means that if the market goes down 10%; SDS trys to go up 20%.  Unfortunately it also means that if the market goes up 10%; SDS will try to go down 20%.  This sort of investment may work for investing professionals but for those of us who don't watch the markets minute-by-minute I think it is downright dangerous. 

Do I own ETFs?  Yes.  I've got a couple that focus on certain parts of the market.  Will I ever go 100% ETF; of course not but I may get up to 25%.  I always follow what I wanted to attribute to Ben Franklin but apparently I was wrong.

"Moderation in all things."  Terence c190-159BC in Andria(The Lady of Andros)

ETF madness

We've had money in traditional mutual funds for a long time.  For example, when I started working for a new company in 1988, one of the funds available in their 401k was Fidelity's Contra (FCNTX) and I still own those shares.  It's not like I intentionally invest for the long term but 20 years certainly isn't short term!

My basic philosophy is to save as much as you can then invest in something that you expect to be more valuable in the future.  I figured that whatever I bought at forty would be more valuable when I was sixty.  (Of course I'm not talking about a six-pack of  beer that didn't make it past my fortith birthday!)  It isn't really a difficult thought!  So I bought some stocks and some mutual funds and we did ok.  Let's face it, folks, this isn't rocket science. 

The folk who are objecting at this point are the ones who just started investing about two years ago.  You can hear the howls "I bought XXX  in 07; look how I'm doing!"  Well, I feel for you.  I bought Armstrong Flooring not long before the company went under due to asbestos claims.  I bought Thornburg Mortgage before the mortgage debacle. Back in 1974 I bought IBM just before the market crashed.  Trust me; worse things will happen to you.

Invest in the market; invest broadly; read about the companies; then read the papers & pay attention:  you will be fine.  If I'd read about the asbestos claims; I could have gotten out of Armstrong.  I drank the coolaid about Thornburg being a 'different' company.  More fool me!

So now we have ETF's.  You can buy small sectors of the market or large ones via these products.  Some are managed; some are indexes.  There are a lot of new ways to invest here.  We can talk about them later.

"The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes or fears or wishes rather than with their minds."  - Walter Duranty

Getting chilly in the desert

All of a sudden it seems it's cold - a few degrees of frost every night and we had fairly heavy snow on the mountain a couple days ago.  It's mostly melted by now but it'll be back.

About this time we all start thinking about the holidays.  For us in the U.S. Thanksgiving is coming up.  It's my wife's favorite holiday; nothing religious but simply family and realizing how lucky we have been.  Today was a minor addition to that luck; our daughter had a colonoscopy and was declared ok.  Even a minor test brings some fear of failure.  I have the results from the MRI on my neck; nothing unusual wrong but it's not like I'm twenty-five any more!

From Thanksgiving to Xmas seems like only a moment.  Not true for children, of course, but it sure goes fast for me!  We don't do much to celebrate (being athiests!); I can only imagine all the pressure that is on the truly Christian among us.  We are continuing our support of the local economy by ordering a cover for our rv.  That sun in the summer is just amazing; leaving the rv out just isn't an option.  Next year we may even leave Pahrump for a while during the worst of the summer but this will protect the rv during the other ten or eleven months. 

I've been thinking about changing the tenor of my blog.  What I do every day is think about our investments and how they are working in the current environment.  I'm thinking about talking a lot more about that process.  Anyone have any comments? 

"Money may be the husk of many things, but not the kernel.  It brings you food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not faithfulness; days of joy, but not peace or happiness."  Henrik Ibsen

Not going hungry anyway....

Opened the fridge this a.m. and realized that I've been on a cooking spree.  The oldest thing is the tail end of a charcroute garni - sour kraut with potatoes, pork chops and sausage.  Then there is beef barley soup and finally, yesterday, I did carnitas.  Lots of leftovers!

Don't know how Mexican's do carnitas but mine is from a comment left on Epicurious.  The writer was chastising the writer of a recipe and I liked what he said so tried it.  I take a big piece of pork shoulder, cut it up roughly and brown it a bit.  Then add a can of Rotel, a can of chicken broth, a diced onion, several cloves of garlic and seasonings:  ground cumin, chili powder, oregano and curry powder.  I let it cook for a couple hours then remove the meat and shred it, then put it back in the pot.  About this time I tasted it and added a teaspoon of salt and one of red pepper flakes.  Another 10 minutes or so and we had dinner.  You are supposed to dry it out by frying it then eat it in a tortilla.  We just eat it with spoons from a bowl. 

The beef barley soup came about because the store had a special on a large package of sirloin.  We had steak on the barbie one night then had about a pound that we hadn't cooked.  Hmmmm.   Diced it, browned it and cooked it in some beef broth and red wine.  Added some barley and a big bunch of diced vegies.  Yum! 

Hmmm, think I'll go have some soup for breakfast!  Have a good one.

"Our country is the world - our countrymen are all mankind."  William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879)

Travel!

Finally got to go somewhere - only San Diego, CA but it's not bad.  It was a week long trip and will end tomorrow; tonight I'm writing from an rv resort in 29 Palms, CA.

The first two nights of our trip we spent in the Jojoba Hills SKP park not far outside of San Diego.  We love the organization and thought it would be nice to visit the park.  It was ok; much larger than some of the other parks and more elaborate; for example, they have a woodshop for the residents.  It is also out in the middle of nowhere; at least they have a jojoba bush there!

Went on to San Diego.  Visited our son, his significant other (wife in all but name), and the zoo.  Guess that's what we like about San Diego.  Not really, there is a lot more to see but that's all we saw this trip.  We are just getting used to the fact that we can get there in a day; even towing the trailer.  We did enjoy the zoo.  So much so that we are talking about getting season tickets.  They are $129 for a couple not living in San Diego and a daily ticket is $35 for a single person so, why not.  Two visits a year would pay for it; especially since we'd rather be there for two hours a day two days running than four hours on a single day.  That's what we did this time and it was pretty tiring.

We did a certain amount of driving in the California hills.  It was pretty but not always pleasant.  Saturday there were a lot of motorcycles out.  One heading up a pack of perhaps twenty wasn't completely on his side of the road.  If I can keep my truck in one lane I'd like to think that dipshit could keep his bike in the other!  Today we were towing the trailer on a similar road.  I pulled over six or eight times to let people pass.  There is a law saying you must but it's only common sense to let people go; they just get crazy if you don't and that's when the accidents happen.

Also today we visited the Joshua Tree National Park.  Pretty cool!  There are lots of joshua trees (of course) and larger ones than I have seen elsewhere.  There are also just amazing rock formations.  We are ready to come back some time.  It isn't the easiest place to find but it's certainly worth it for us!

Gotta go.  Tomorrow we should make it home.  It's always good to get home.  Take care, y'all!

CYNIC n. A blackguard whose faulty vision causes him to see things as they are, not as they ought to be.  Ambrose Bierce

Just me....

We are the product of our bodies, our life and our times so must all be unique.  I ran across this slightly self-centered little idea at Be A Survivor and thought it might be fun to copy.

Here is what I can definitively say I AM:

I am a 61 year old married white male.

I am a conservative on some issues; liberal on others; not usually rabid about anything.  I remember thinking Kennedy would destroy our nation; then, later, that Reagan would.  Now I am simply glad that I was wrong both times.

I am more in the Libertarian camp than with major parties on most issues and that simply stems from my belief that the government will screw most things up if given the opportunity and are therefore better to not be involved in the first place.  Here's a favorite political writer, now retired, who at least makes me think!

I vote in EVERY election whether it is Federal, State or Local in nature (religiously).

I do not believe that the U.S. is the only country in the world worth living in however it is where I was born and most likely it is where I will die.  I might move if things get too totally stupid here.

I am an athiest.

I am a retired business person (IT), I worked in the business world for several big corporations, who believe it or not treated me quite well.

I had a 401k and a couple of IRAs, yes and I put as much money in it as I could. There is are two phenomenon called dollar cost averaging and the time value of money.  I believe in them both.  I still have
faith in Capitalism but not the purest variety - see Standard Oil and the Rockefellers.  BTW, I retired at 50.

I would like to be a HAM radio operator. It's one of those 'find the time' things.

I am a card carrying member of the National Rifle Assn.  I would like to spend more time at the range but I'm not a hunter.

I am a college graduate; two degrees in fact.

I can balance my checkbook but still can't juggle worth shit!

I drive a pickup truck but I don't have a rifle rack in the back window. I do have a survival rifle (.22 cal) stowed in the cab.  I have a CB too but have only used it to listen to NOAA weather forecasts.

I have had Concealed Weapons Permits from Florida and Washington; I intend to get one for Nevada but....

I procrastinate!

I drink alcohol daily, probably too much, but it has never been an issue for me. My preferred poison is either red wine or scotch on the rocks.

I have never had a flu shot; don't intend to this year... received ALL of my childhood vaccinations of course. I was also in the Army and they certainly believe in vaccines!

I enjoy long walks on the beach and candle lit dinners; but only with certain people.

I love to read and watch movies (nothing too violent, bloody or just plain stupid).

The only sport I follow is Formula 1 Motor Racing.

I have always been a bit of a loner and I really like it that way. I don't have a "best friend" other than my wife.
To be honest she is the only other person whose company that I TRULY enjoy and even she gets on my nerves sometimes!

So, there I am; at least some of me.

"Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing and exact man."  Sir Francis Bacon

Free plug: I love The Economist

We've been receiving The Economist on and off for a few years.  It describes itself as a newspaper; here in the U.S. it would be called a news magazine because of it's format.  Regardless, I love reading it.  It's only drawback for me is that I have difficulty finding the time to read it all.  Yep, even old retired guys have time constraints. 

Today I discovered a great part of their website:  the style section.  Not only do they do a great job of suggesting ways of improving one's writing, they do it with, ... wait for it..., style.  Sorry, couldn't help myself!  Spicing things up are some of the quotes from great writers:  "In general, be concise. Try to be economical in your account or argument (“The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out”—Voltaire)."  My God, how I wish some people I know would read and take to heart that quote from Voltaire!  The only section that troubles me is the part insisting on British spellings:  labour, etc.  But that is a quibble.  It is, of course, a British publication. 

What I like most about it is that it covers the entire world.  American news magazines are too U.S. centric for my taste.  I like hearing what is happening in Uganda or Ecuador; I like reading about Renault's business even though they don't sell cars in this country.  The world is getting smaller by the minute and I want to know as much about it as my limited intelligence will let me grasp.

One last quote from the style section:  "Keep complicated constructions and gimmicks to a minimum, if necessary by remembering the New Yorker's comment: “Backward ran sentences until reeled the mind.”"

Is it me or you?

I'm back after playing host to visitors since last Wednesday.  My wife's brother & his wife stayed with us for a few days on their way back to the NW.  We had a really good time.  They are different; more widely traveled, more educated than the rest of the family.  He was a career naval officer; she is a published poet.  Nice people.  We didn't do much on Wednesday afternoon; spent most of Thursday visiting Death Valley; and checked out Pahrump on Friday.  Our daughter came over from Vegas Friday to see them and spent the night.

This morning, our daughter left by 06:00; I was just up and she tried to get out without even seeing her mom.  Didn't make it but she was anxious to leave.  The BIL & SIL were up soon after and packed and ran out of here certainly before 07:30.  So, my question is this:  does everyone haul ass out of here because they want to or because they sense we want them gone?   Hmmmm.

This brings up a raft of motivations on both sides; I doubt we'll ever resolve all this and really I doubt if I would have the guts to bring it up.  Some of our feelings are:
- we feel guilt about wanting them gone
- we feel selfish about wanting to be alone.
Their feelings may include:
- they have a long journey and may wish to get started
- they may want to be alone themselves
- they may sense our desire for them to leave.

How do you feel when people leave?  Relieved or sad; or both? 

"It was a delightful visit - perfect, in being much too short."  Jane Austen (in Emma)

The view out my window.....

It's not everyone who has two people walking their burro past their window! Distance maybe 1000 yards; gotta love that Canon S2 IS!

I've been quiet again....

No particular reason but I just haven't been here. I'm reasonably certain that the pinched nerve in my neck has something to do with the amount of time I spend on the computer so I've been trying to cut that down to something 'normal'. Ha! Like I can ever be normal!

The only thing that's got my attention lately is Mr. Obama being given the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm not really against it; certainly he brought a whole new face to the way the U.S. is interacting with the rest of the world, but I'm not certain I like him being recognized at that level for what he has done. As many others have pointed out; it's an award based on his potential. At any rate, here's hoping he can earn the darned thing.

We took the trailer back to the dealer with a couple of warranty problems and I must say it was a great experience. They did the work promptly and without a bit of hassle. Of course, we are using the dealer who sold the unit. If it had been sold by someone in Florida, there might have been some paperwork foolishness. Still, full marks to Johnnie Walker RV in Las Vegas.

One of my favorite bloggers, lawyermom, points out that I might get into trouble for saying something nice about the rv dealer. Well, all I can say is that I didn't get any compensation for that plug. Thanks for the heads-up, lawyermom, if they ever offer me a cup of coffee while I'm waiting I'll know to just say 'no'.

Another favorite blogger, RandomRoger, who is supposed to be a financial guy, came up with a reference to a great article on Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer. We do watch his show all the time and pretty much drink his coolaid in regard to treatment of our dog. We are nowhere near consistent enough but we try. Turns out that Cesar is one of those illegal immigrants that we don't hear a lot about - a successful one! Go Cesar! And don't forget to pay your taxes, buddy!

Take it easy, it's dangerous out there!

Whew, made it!

It's official, today I'm sixty-one years of age. Yeah, I know, ancient. Got a birthday card that pointed out it's kind of weird celebrating being closer to death. Never thought of it that way before but I guess it's true enough. Actually you could celebrate that every day. Maybe I should!

We have a quiet day planned. I'm probably going to burn a steak on the barbie tonight, I must be getting old; I'd rather eat at home than go out. Nothing against the local eateries, I just don't get that much of a thrill out of going out any more. We went into Vegas yesterday to do some shopping and had lunch at the Chipotle Grill. That's about as exciting as we get these days.

I was reading an rv'ers blog and he talked about a couple where the man would really love to rv full time and his wife is adamant that they have a regular house. It made me thankful all over again that I'm not in a relationship like that. Our relationship, like most, is a lot about compromise; also a lot about reality. For example, we'd like to travel more than we do but we also really like being home. Until I figure out how to be in two places at once I'm never going to be happy! Tough life, huh.

Here's hoping you all have such a tough life. Be careful, it's dangerous out there.

The smallest actual good is better than the most magnificent promise of impossibilities. Macaulay

Fall has arrived

If the folks on the tv weather reports know what they are talking about triple digit temperatures (> 37C) are over for this year. We are happy to hear that! Right now it's about 65F (18C); nice for a change. I may even have to wear long pants one of these days.

We were planning on going to the town celebration over the weekend but didn't go in the end; it was just too warm. Instead we went to Home Depot and spent a couple hundred dollars in air conditioned comfort. Mostly it was for a new ceiling fan for the bedroom. Now I have another task; install the thing. It's much larger then the existing fan so we are expecting the air circulation will improve - just in time for the cooler weather.

My pinched nerve is still bothering me even with all the drugs the doc prescribes. I'm looking forward to some physical therapy to try to speed things along. It's got to be better than filling my body with addictive drugs (almost as bad as scotch). Hmmm, if this didn't hurt it could be fun. (Just kidding!)

As you can tell, not much is going on around here. I'm ignoring all the talk about the health plan. The government 'of the people, by the people, for the people' certainly isn't going to listen to anyone who hasn't offered them something in return. Yes, I think the congress is for sale. Is there anyone who thinks differently? Has there ever been a more self-serving organization? Sure, but the days of Kings and Queens and their oligarchy is mostly long gone.

Hopefully I'll be in a better mood next time. Be careful, it's dangerous out there!

CYNIC n. A blackguard whose faulty vision causes him to see things as they are, not as they ought to be. Ambrose Bierce

I've been right here!

Haven't posted, of course, but what else is new. We had friends visiting from last Friday until yesterday. These are really great people and we love them but we are used to being alone; having visitors in your house for five days is disconcerting.

We didn't do much: talking and eating would be the big things. Went into Vegas one day; they did sight-seeing and we visited a doctor that my wife will be seeing for her colonoscopy. Yep, we have to go over the hump for most specialists. But that's ok with us; we like the country ways of our little town.

I went to the doctor myself recently and again today to discuss the results of my tests. Turns out that I am alive; my blood seems to be circulating normally and I should live until I die. Actually, things are pretty good; there isn't anything wrong with me except this pinched nerve in my neck. Drugs will keep me semi-pain free for a while; we are hoping that some physical therapy will complete the trick. Cholesterol is a little high so I'm going to work on that - less red meat, more fiber, all that stuff. The bad news was that I have "extensive" degenerative changes in the bones in my neck apparently caused by osteoarthritis. Nothing life threatening; just something that's tough to repair. Then the doc says "Have you had your prostate exam lately?" - hmmm, next thing I know I'm bent over the table with my pants on the floor. Jeez, I sure wish she hadn't opted for those squared-off fake fingernails! (Actually she was very gentle but, yes, I could feel them!)

In better news: our town is having a big event next weekend. We haven't been here for it before but it sounds like a combination rodeo, county fair and craft show. It should be fun and I hope to have photos. Until then, be careful, it's dangerous out there!

Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others. William Allen White

A Stolen Post! But my rant....

I was over checking out one my favorite Aussies and found his post about Lizzy Miller (http://thecurateafterdark.blogspot.com/2009/09/ba-woman.html). She's a model but not of the stick variety. Glamour apparently ran a small picture of this gal without modifying the photo in any way. This seems to be very unusual for such magazines. It's a shame that our society makes bodily perfection a fetish. Here's another article about her: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1210814/Lizzie-Millers-Glamour-magazine-shoot-How-models-picture-shook-world-flabby-tummy-all.html

I'm sure everyone notices that tv actors are terribly thin. I know the camera is supposed to add 10 pounds; if that is so some of those folks must be afraid of blowing away in the breeze. The magazines show dresses in size zero; what does that mean? That the thing isn't there? And why does every third woman in the western world have to have breast implants? The ones put there by nature are so much nicer. I can see tv stars wanting them and strippers but why does the housewife down the street need them? If it's to make her man happy; I guess he's just a fool and she's a dope for going along with him. There's no way I'm ever going to change this direction the world is taking but it is one of my favorite rants.

I was scheduled to go to the doctor last Friday but the doctor got sick! Going this morning instead. It's just a pinched nerve but I'm using it as an excuse to meet the doctor. I want a preview of the person who might be giving me a physical. When you are over 50 they start looking at more than your heartbeat. LOL

Have a good day but be careful, it's dangerous out there!

I'm an old crock

Just lately I did something, slept wrong or lifted something, I don't know what it was but it has caused me to be in pain most of the time. It feels like a pinched nerve in my neck and causes pain in my right shoulder and arm. This kind of thing happens and usually goes away but this one has been around for a couple of weeks now so I'm off to see the doctor on Friday. I've never seen this doctor before but my wife has been to see her and the report was favorable so I'm her newest patient.

I'm a crappy patient. I don't like visiting the doctor and don't communicate very well with them. I know it's important to talk to them but I'm seldom ill and just haven't learned the technique. Later in life most of us get to spend more time with our doctors; I'm not looking forward to it!

Today being 09/09/09 has gotten a certain about of play. Las Vegas has always been known for people getting married (or divorced) here. Today the tv had a big piece on people getting married on what they consider an especially lucky day. They even had a couple from Sweden who came to town to get married. They were hoping for the nine o'clock time slot as well! Good luck to them! This being married can be tough even though the marriage I'm in now has been pretty great.

Tomorrow WE are going into Las Vegas. It's always fun to drive over the pass; on this side you go up quite steadily over about twenty miles but on the other you go down a 7% grade and then you are there. It's a good road now; some of the folks who have lived here a while remember when it was all two lane road and quite dangerous when some idiot passed you in a bad spot.

This is one of those miscellaneous trips. We'll be going all over looking for various bits and pieces. One thing that has come to the top of the list is a living room lamp. We are using a $14 special from walmart and it's kind of ugly and my wife is very tired of it. We have friends coming to visit in about a week and she wants a new lamp. Hmmm, I wonder if I could just stay in the truck? LOL Not in a hundred years!

So you see, it's quiet here in the desert. (And hot, still over 100F (38C) most days.) Have a good one and be careful, it's dangerous out there.

Gone but not forgotten

Now Ted Kennedy's autobiography is leaking out. He talks about the Chappaquiddick accident. "Ted Kennedy went to his grave a haunted man for the death of Mary Jo Kopechne in the 1969 Chappaquiddick car crash that many believe shattered Kennedy's presidential dreams."

"That night on Chappaquiddick Island ended in a horrible tragedy that haunts me every day of my life," Kennedy wrote in "True Compass," his much anticipated memoir, published by Twelve.

Gee, leaving someone to die may have shattered his dream. Wonder what it did for her dreams?

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/09/02/2009-09-02_sen_ted_kennedy_wrote_chappaquiddick_haunts_me_every_day_of_my_life_in_true_comp.html#ixzz0QAIPh0Kw"

Even G. W. Bush our late Prez and, in his youth, a well know substance abuser didn't even have something like that to remember. And yet the people of Massachusetts kept returning Mr. Kennedy to office. It sure makes one wonder about our method of selecting our representatives. I don't see how there was simply never a better candidate. But having bags of money and heaven know how many people beholden to him (remember that thing about money?) might have had something to do with it. I will say that I find the thought of him being in the Senate much more comforting than him being President!

Oh, and as a good Catholic, one wonders where Mr. Kennedy thinks he is going to end up. It was always my opinion that Our Lord God had particular feeling about killing other people (You shall not murder.) but he didn't really say anything about leaving someone to die in a car under water so maybe Ted's ok. And did I mention that having someone who just walked away from an accident to let someone die bothers me? Hmmm, maybe I forgot that part. I imagine the priests will be praying for his soul as fervently as they would for a poor man. Yeah, right! Here's a much more literate idea about his situation.



In other news, 10 weeks after his death, Michael Jackson is laid to rest. I don't follow these things but I can't help but wonder what took so long. I thought that the autopsy's have been over for time. Was there a disagreement about where to put him? Wouldn't the cemetery accept him? Did they have something against child molesters? Hmmm, curious people don't really give a damn. I'm just glad they are both dead.

Be careful, those two assholes are gone but it's still dangerous out there!

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Ok, I'm addicted to reading blogs. I won't bore you with a list of ALL of them but here are my special ones.

I like this woman even though I don't always agree with her. This entry though is special. She's the Lawyer and a mom.

I love reading about Nick and Miss Terry traveling the US. They write and publish a newsletter that I keep thinking I'll order but... you know me, procrastination personified!

One of the most interesting people I've come across is Lee from Australia. Not only is he a smart guy, he comes across the darnedest oddities to share with us all. He recently started a new job so isn't blogging as much as he used to do but it's still a great read.

A long time blogger named Wombat is also on my must read list. He is another Aussie but lives on Florida's West Coast and drives a limo.

I manage our investment portfolio so look at a few sites for advice. The only blog I read consistently is Random Roger out of Arizona. He seems like a pretty smart guy and I like his approach: it starts with spend less than you make and then invest it prudently. It's defining 'prudently' that's the tough part!

I read Charmaine about Middle Aged Dating; it's kind of like a soap opera. Trashy but I can't stop reading! Sorry Charmaine, it's not YOU that are trashy, it's the guys you date.

Lost and Found in India is different. People seem crazy about this woman; I understand about 10% of what she talks about but you can't say it's boring.

Life at Willow Manor is kind of different. She kind of reminds me of my ex-wife; the better parts of my ex! She would have had tea in a specially made cup.

To move on to RV blogs - I keep track of Ron and Terry at HitchItch. They have a fantastic site listing all sorts of RV blogs and reading about their personal travels is fun.

Then there is my buddy Croft. This poor Canadian seems to wish he was born on the other side of the country, i.e. Mexico. Spends as much time the as he can in his Class C being a part-time Mexican. Whatever works for him!.

Then there is Brian the boondocker. He thought he was taking off to be a full timer- boondocker kind of guy and the whole economy kind of fell down around his ears. He's still struggling with it though and I'm thinking he'll be off with Heidi on the back of his bike one of these days.

Hate to admit it but we are getting near the end. Mac and Chris are a couple of crazy people who enjoy traveling this great country and gambling every inch of the way. What the hell, it works for them. And I love reading about their adventures.

Here's a couple who I found because they were back-packing around Europe. Ok, I did it too when I was twenty but... I want to rv around there now. But these folks seemed to have a great time and, like them, we love the history of an area. They seem to have given up their blog since they returned home; too bad, it was a great read.

I love reading the adventures of this young woman who is adventuring around Canada. Sometimes she work-camps (which is working part of your week in exchange for your camping space) and sometimes she is just wandering. It's interesting either way.

There are many, many other blogs I visit occasionally but I'll end this list with an RV campground owner. Kathy has the most amazing adventures. Sometimes she is funny; sometimes it's scary but it always makes me want to come back and visit her again.

Ok - there's my list. There are lots more blogs that I visit but these are the ones who keep me going. Some I comment on; some I don't. That's reading blogs; sometimes there just isn't anything to add.

Hope you are having fun. But be careful, it's dangerous out there!

RANT Alert! Read at your peril.

I'm a quiet kind of guy. I don't talk a lot; most conversations with me are about 20% me and 80% you. Often I have trouble choosing the exact word I want. I was taught not to interrupt others; not many people were taught that or if they were they don't remember the lesson. They also were not taught how to listen; they are thinking about their next speech instead of listening to whoever is speaking.

I don't really care to speak in public though I can and have. Once of my ex-bosses suggested I should become a member of Toastmaster's and I enjoyed that. It was a great experience; you think out what you are going to say and the audience actually listens. One of the things I like about blogging it that it is written. I have the opportunity to say something, something I've thought out, without the interruptions of others. Of course, not many people READ this blog but that's ok. LOL, I'm an acquired taste!

There are problems in this country that aren't being addressed and I'm getting tired of it. Here, in no particular order are some of the problems I'd like to see addressed. Let me know if I've missed your favorite; maybe I forgot it or maybe I don't care but if you don't yell, we won't know.

1. Institute term limits for members of Congress. Like 2 terms max.
2. Get rid of the special Congressional retirement program.
3. Pay our members of Congress more; nothing over the top but well. They have a hell of a responsibility and deserve compensation; particularly if they are only going to be there for a short time.
4. Overhaul our legal system removing about 90% of the laws. Right now if you kill a cop, it's one law; if you kill a kid, it's a different law; if you kill a pregnant woman, it's another law. This isn't rocket science; kill someone and you get punished. Judges get paid to differentiate between levels of awfulness.
5. Get rid of the civil crime vs criminal crime. I personally think O. J. Simpson had something to do with his wife's death but at the criminal trial he was found innocent. I think it's a travesty that he was then chased through the civil courts and ordered to pay restitution to anyone. (Glad to see that the jerk managed to find his way into jail anyway!)
6. Stop the automatic granting of citizenship to children who are born here of parents who are not from this country. If you want to move here, fine, do so. But if you are going to be here; be here. Become citizens; pay taxes; learn English; become Americans as so many immigrents have done before you. You, too, will make this a better and stronger country. Don't pretend you are still in your home country; you aren't. If you don't like the rules here, leave.
7. The whole issue of health care is fouled up. I expect it to get worse before it gets better. Small businesses cannot afford to insure their workers; large businesses cannot afford to insure their many retirees; states cannot afford to foot the bill; the federal government cannot at this level of taxation. One problem that no one talks about is that none of us gets out of this thing called life alive. We have created an environment where extreme measures are taken to keep someone alive who is going to die anyway. I have personal experience with a woman who was in extreme pain whose doctor wanted to give her iron injections to keep her alive a while longer. Why!
8. Make most drug use legal. If you are high on something that costs $5 at Walmart you probably won't have to become a criminal to support your habit. Not to mention the fact that the country wouldn't have to support the thousands or even millions of people who are living in jail because of this foolishness. And if someone overdoses, let them die.
9. Change the way lawyers are paid. Make it an hourly wage that's reasonable. And make documents shorter; like a will that's over 5 pages is way too detailed. We have a Trust document that is somewhere around 100 pages and it's not like we are the Rockefeller's! This isn't rocket science either; when I die I would like various things to happen. How tough is that?
10. Executive pay in this country is totally stupid. The asshole at the top basically does nothing special so he/she should get maybe 20 times someone working in the factory/office/field. No more. The closed club of "Board Members" is doing nothing for the ordinary stock holder or the company. Nine out of ten companies could dump their CEO and promote someone from about 5 management layers lower and would do better the next year. Oh, and the head of every company doesn't have to be a CEO - our local electric utility just renamed the General Manager to CEO - what a joke! He's the same dumbass managing the same nitwits but NOW he's a CHIEF EXECUTIVE!

Please note that this post is basically a rant. I'm sorry about the rant. I'm not suggesting many fixes for these problems. I'm just tired of all the politically correct crap that we call 'discussing the problems' in this country that actually ignores the problems.

Have a good day and be careful, it is VERY dangerous out there!

Just another day in ......

Pahrump! Got up and walked early before the sun warmed the world. Showered then went to the casino for breakfast. It's as good as anywhere and is cheaper. Then each of us got our $5 and started playing video poker. It took about 10 minutes for my wife to lose her stake; I still had $2.75 but the deal is that we quit when one has lost (or if one gains!).

Got the title for the truck from Ford Credit the other day. We only took out the loan because they gave us an extra $1000 off; paid them three monthly payments and paid it off. Went up the the DMV and got the lien taken off the title so now it's all ours and we have proof. (Or will when the DMV gets around to sending it to us.) It took at least 45 minutes for those lazy clowns to get to us. They have four people working but only two seem to do anything at the same time. Then there are three others who wander around between the offices but don't actually help people. What a cluster f*&k.

We go back and forth between getting smoke from the fires down by Los Angeles and getting clear air. Mornings are clearer; evenings are smoky. The moon last night was an amazing orange even when it was quite high in the sky. Sure hope the fires are brought under control soon; two firefighters have been killed already.

Gotta go bbq a salmon. It's not like up in the NW because this is an Atlantic salmon probably raised in Chile but it's not all that bad!

Take it easy. It's dangerous out there!

Quiet Day

Having a quiet day in the neighborhood today. The air is filled with smoke from the fires burning down by LA. It's 250 miles away (400 km) but we haven't been able to see the mountains most of the day. Now it's breezy, even windy. When you see the bushes rustling here you know something's up!

Had fun watching Kimi Raikkonen win the 2009 F1 race at Spa. We visited Spa when we lived in the Netherlands. It's an interesting corner of the world. What we loved about Kimi's win is that it was unexpected. Ferrari hasn't been doing all that well this year and we like the unpredictability of F1 racing. What was even more amazing was the 2nd place of team Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella. Force India has usually been in last place but today they were hot.

Walked again this a.m. - a couple of miles but as we discovered when we visited Washington, walking here in the desert doesn't prepare you for hills! Found a neat website yesterday; this guy has visited all the Historical Markers in Nevada. It's quite an accomplishment. He is a photographer whose speciality is Nevada and the Great Basin. Go to the bottom of that page and check out the sign. (That's 240km!) His photography is found on his other page. Nice stuff and a bit different. BTW, we live in southern Nye county.

Take care. It's dangerous out there!

Lest we forget...

Ted Kennedy died last night at 77. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom a couple weeks ago by President Obama. We will be hearing what a wonderful man he was; what a leader; a true hero. Lest we forget, he was also the coward responsible for the death of a young woman, Mary Jo Kopechne back in 1969. To me it's a classic story of a rich, no-longer young asshole (he was married with three kids) who just couldn't believe that something this bad could happen to him. And, in fact, it was pretty well covered up. To the point that Mr. Obama disgraced the Medal of Freedom by giving it to him. Anyone else would have been at least arrested and tried for manslaughter; Kennedy lost his driving privileges for a few months. Of course he did have his chauffeur; the same guy who gave him the keys to the car the night Mary Jo died.

The White House blog says "Sen. Edward Kennedy is one of the longest-serving and greatest Senators of all time. He has worked tirelessly for health care reform over the last five decades." Yeah, sure. That's why our health care system is in such wonderful shape now.

I should be thankful; at least he didn't get to be President!

Take care; it's dangerous out there (unless you are very wealthy).

Gotta post, gotta post, gotta post

Unfortunately I've almost nothing to post about! Life, post trip, has been exceedingly dull; which is what we were looking forward to experiencing.

Not a lot changed during our three weeks away. They are starting work on a lot on our main street (Nevada state highway 160). No signs are posted so no one knows what is planned but it isn't all that large a space. My crystal ball is cloudy so I'm just waiting for the surprise.

We got actual RAIN last week. It was a heavy shower by any standard but only lasted ten or fifteen minutes. The rain showers around here are quite small and so since we don't have a rain gauge I've no idea how much rain we received. The paper didn't say anything about it so I'm guessing that officially, we received no rain in Pahrump.

While we were gone something happened that is typical of the town; one of the things that endears it to us. Some guy got stopped for speeding and was ticketed for doing 41 mph in a 35 mph zone(72/56kph). He got pissed off and wrote to the paper talking about how he took his niece out to dinner and getting the ticket really spoiled the evening. The next two issues of the paper had letters, long ones, explaining to this guy how he is really an asshole. One letter was from the sheriff pointing out that the deputy actually clocked him at 51 mph(82kph) but knocked it down to 41 so he wouldn't get in so much trouble with his insurance. The others all pointed out that 1)speeding is against the law, 2)he is teaching his niece it's ok to break the law, 3)exceeding the limit is dangerous and several other points I've forgotten. It was really great to see people pointing out to this guy that he was totally in the wrong and ought to go soak his head somewhere. Cool. It's been a long time since I've seen that kind of response; of course it's been a while since I've heard anyone complain about getting a speeding ticket in public! Too bad the deputy didn't get him for DUI (Driving Under the Influence of drugs or alcohol) while he was at it.

Gotta go make some calls. We need a cover for the new trailer and we aren't going to get it if I just sit here! Be careful, it's dangerous out there!

Home at last

Made it home on Thursday afternoon. Backed the trailer into it's spot and parked the truck in the garage. It's good to be home though we did have a great trip.

I've decided to call the latter portion of this trip the Volcano Tour; we visited Mt. St. Helens; Crater Lake and Lava Beds National Monument. It was not without it's drama.

Mt. St. Helens was clouded over so there wasn't much to see. We had a good time checking out the visitor's center and such. Things have sure grown over in the almost 30 years since the eruption.

We visited Crater Lake coming in from the North; the road was on the side of the mountain and there was no guardrail; NOT a fun trip. I can't imagine how that situation has come to be but it's nasty! The lake itself is amazing but there were tons-o-tourists too. Couldn't find a parking space at the main lodge so went to a place on the edge of the park for lunch - $9 hamburgers and $2.50 cokes. We were hungry enough that it sounded ok to us!



We were parked in the Escapee park in Sumerlin, OR and made Crater Lake a day trip. That worked ok but it was quite a long day. The park was nice but we really didn't meet anyone. There were tons of deer around and I got this photo from out the back window of our rig.



Lava Beds NM was kind of an impulse thing. It is northern CA. The local mountain blew up long ago and left lava deposits that are really quite impressive. I didn't get any photos because it just didn't seem to lend itself to photos. They have some lava tubes that you can explore as you might a natural cave. We checked out the one that is lit and left the other to people who like that kind of thing. Neither of us cares for crawling around in the dark!

We were staying at the fairgrounds in Tulelake, CA. It was kind of a weird place with several sites available but no one around except another group campers (3 guys) who had an rv, tents and several bbq's. Have no idea what they were about! The grounds keepers were watering the grass like crazy; the county fair is in early September and I guess they wanted the green grass award. Seemed like a terrible waste to me; at the fair when I was a kid I remember the grass being worn to nothing in about a day.

From Lava Beds we were only two days from home. So we hit the road. Stopped overnight in Fallon, NV; just outside Reno. Another town that is there because of irrigation; add enough water and the desert will bloom. Aside from having FOUR separate people try to pass us when they didn't have enough room, causing us to have to slow violently, driving home was pretty uneventful.

For me it had all the earmarks of a great trip: I was looking forward to it; I am happy to be home; had fun; nothing awful happened. What more can you ask! Next week we'll be conferring with the dealer about the little things we found in the trailer. That should be illuminating. ;)

Take care; it's still dangerous out there!

Internet Free Zone

We've been in an internet free zone for a few days. First in a state park; later at the last relative's house. Now I'm catching up. No photos right now because I'm trying to do laundry and type at the same time. Our trip started out hot but now we are down to normal temps - 70 for a high, say 20C. It's a nice change from the hot; we'll get plenty of that when we get back to Nevada.

Things have good well. The trailer is ok but I have trouble because the turning radius is different from our old truck-trailer setup. Twice I've had to stop half way around a curve and back up a bit to get a better angle at it. I'm probably just being careless. Scraped something once on a turn that went violently up in the middle of the turn. We shouldn't have been on that road actually!

We are headed up to see Mt. St. Helens tomorrow; haven't been since the 80's. Next year is 30 years since the big blow. We were living in Seattle at the time but it didn't really affect us directly. The wind blew all the ash eastward and Seattle was spared any trouble. After St. Helens we are headed for Oregon and Crater Lake.

Take care, it's dangerous out there!

The Real Washington State

Here it is:



Fog and trees and water - what's not to like? Today it is a relief because it's been unusually warm. When it's been like this for a month, you yearn for the sun! The woman at the camp office is complaining about the 16 hour days 7 days a week but that only lasts for a couple of months; then they are alone for ten months. That seems to be the way of life; way too much then scarcity.

Gonna move on today away from the Elwha river area. Off to the coast where we hope it will be cool. It has been pretty warm in the inland areas. A few days away from family won't hurt either.

Take it easy, it's dangerous out there.