This is one of those rare nights when we have no cable tv internet service, as I had to get out the air card and plug it into the Cradle Point Router over on the counter. But it appears that Verizon is up and running.
We had the hail storm from heck here a few hours ago, and it drenched us with golf ball sized hail. My truck and the Camry are sitting outside, and the motorhome is over in the storage lot about three miles from here. Not to mention the shingles on the roof of this house and all the other houses here in the neighborhood. The ground looked like it had snowed.
The hail was hitting the windows of the house but luckily at a glancing blow, so none are broken to my knowledge. I am certain that the cars will not have faired as well but it is dark outside so impossible to see until morning.
Just have to wait it out to tell how bad we did. And perhaps that might be the reason that we have no internet on the cable as well. We do have cable tv so maybe not.
That's OK because we hung around the house all day and read the internet and a book. It was 87 outside this afternoon, and that was driven by about 30 mph winds, so we have had unsettled weather all day.
Just hope stuff isn't too wrecked!
Retired Rod
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Studying the phone!
I downloaded the 340 page owners manual for the HTC G2 phone from the HTC web site today. I'm certain that if they included that monster with the new phones, most folks would ship the thing back to the phone company.
The smart phone is much like a laptop computer, in that there are many included features and many add on programs that can take each phone in the direction that a user requires. I was looking for some very specific adjustments that might be made to the operation of the phone, and after looking at the manual most of the afternoon, I only succeeded in putting myself to sleep!
Well that nap was a good one, but I never did get the answers I was looking for. Rather than blog about all the phone specific stuff I learned and bore you all to death, since your phone is different, I will end by saying that we got up into the 70s this afternoon, and folks were outside doing all that outside stuff.
It was a gorgeous day!
Retired Rod
The smart phone is much like a laptop computer, in that there are many included features and many add on programs that can take each phone in the direction that a user requires. I was looking for some very specific adjustments that might be made to the operation of the phone, and after looking at the manual most of the afternoon, I only succeeded in putting myself to sleep!
Well that nap was a good one, but I never did get the answers I was looking for. Rather than blog about all the phone specific stuff I learned and bore you all to death, since your phone is different, I will end by saying that we got up into the 70s this afternoon, and folks were outside doing all that outside stuff.
It was a gorgeous day!
Retired Rod
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Rod's Taxi
I shuttled my son Chris out to Lawrence, Kansas to his Toyota dealer, that had his truck held hostage this morning. They didn't have the part, and it had to come from Japan, so it will be a few weeks on that one. I teased him that he would have to de radiate the piece when he got it, but then I thought that was probably in bad taste.
But then I have never been noted for being politically correct and this would again prove that fact.
Back here in KC, I went over to the Honda dealer, and did some investigation on whether a Honda Pilot could be towed with an RV. Not that I was going to buy one, since we had just purchased a CRV, and it is the right size to tow with our front engine diesel rig. But some people do pull a pilot, and the Remco guide says it is ok to do so, but to follow the manufactures emergency towing guide lines in the owners manual.
Well, if you get the new owners manual out and read it, it says to tow the pilot on a flat bed trailer. Period, no questions asked! So I came away with a new understanding of what couldn't be done with a Honda Pilot! Pilot is a mid sized SUV, and I still need to trade off some cars around here, so I am still in the sell trade or negotiate horse trade mode.
But I spent a lot of the day and didn't accomplish much except being the ferry service. Back here at the house, I found that my little keep the battery up trickle charger had failed me while I was gone, and one of the cars that I had stored had a completely flat battery. So I spent the rest of the day charging and starting that car.
Tonight was catching up on the blogs and internet and some more of those darned angry birds. Part of the bonus rounds require that you get a perfect score on all the levels. Not just clear the screens but get all three stars on all the levels. I guess they just want you to spend a lot more time with it. Since it flashes advertisements while your doing it, I would bet it is tracking how much time folks are spending with it . Add revenues I'm sure.
It was much warmer here today, as we were in the mid 60s and the sun was out all day. But it was nothing like the 100 degrees that Phoenix and central Arizona reported this afternoon. Like my friend Rick out in Palm Springs calls it, that's Fryin Pan Hot!!
Retired Rod
But then I have never been noted for being politically correct and this would again prove that fact.
Back here in KC, I went over to the Honda dealer, and did some investigation on whether a Honda Pilot could be towed with an RV. Not that I was going to buy one, since we had just purchased a CRV, and it is the right size to tow with our front engine diesel rig. But some people do pull a pilot, and the Remco guide says it is ok to do so, but to follow the manufactures emergency towing guide lines in the owners manual.
Well, if you get the new owners manual out and read it, it says to tow the pilot on a flat bed trailer. Period, no questions asked! So I came away with a new understanding of what couldn't be done with a Honda Pilot! Pilot is a mid sized SUV, and I still need to trade off some cars around here, so I am still in the sell trade or negotiate horse trade mode.
But I spent a lot of the day and didn't accomplish much except being the ferry service. Back here at the house, I found that my little keep the battery up trickle charger had failed me while I was gone, and one of the cars that I had stored had a completely flat battery. So I spent the rest of the day charging and starting that car.
Tonight was catching up on the blogs and internet and some more of those darned angry birds. Part of the bonus rounds require that you get a perfect score on all the levels. Not just clear the screens but get all three stars on all the levels. I guess they just want you to spend a lot more time with it. Since it flashes advertisements while your doing it, I would bet it is tracking how much time folks are spending with it . Add revenues I'm sure.
It was much warmer here today, as we were in the mid 60s and the sun was out all day. But it was nothing like the 100 degrees that Phoenix and central Arizona reported this afternoon. Like my friend Rick out in Palm Springs calls it, that's Fryin Pan Hot!!
Retired Rod
Friday, April 1, 2011
Analysis Paralysis!
I didn't mean to be way too technical with my post yesterday, but it is the process that I usually go thru when I want to spend money on things. And far too many times I have missed the boat all together by purchasing some big ticket item not realizing how wrong it will become in just a few short months.
In 2007, I bought a new pickup truck, a F150 in February thinking the four year old one had a bunch of miles and needed replacing. I really never gave an RV a thought, when I purchased the truck. But by July, I was actively searching for a camper of some sort, in order to go out with our kids on some of the weekends.
Because I had made the mistake of purchasing the F150 and not the F250, I had to go with an ultra light bumper pull camper. Not enough truck to pull a 5ver, and it was only 5 months old. I still have that truck here now, but it isn't used much any more. Except it pulls the utility trailer when I need to use it.
Then that winter we headed out with the camper to become snow birds, and quickly found out that the 29 foot Jayco wasn't suited to live in full time. Too small and too tight. Mistake number two!
But we have thought through this business of pulling the car for two years now, and we have analysis paralysis. We have studied and studied the alternatives. We have used up the mileage on the older cars so they are ready to trade off, and I think we are not making mistakes. But with my health problems, even the Honda might be a mistake.
But we are forging ahead like we know what we are doing even then. So today when I received the call that the base plate had arrived from Nebraska and to come on over, I wasn't prepared. We made the appointment for next Tuesday!
Today was spent taking the Toyota back to the dealer and having them buff out the scratches from last week when they wound up the magnetic mount antenna in their car wash. We had to follow each other over in the morning, and then come back home and wait. Then in the afternoon we followed each other back home once we got it picked up.
And, since some of the scratches were somewhat deep, they touched them up with touch up paint. Then they buffed the paint smooth. Heck, I could have done that kind of job here at home. Scratch off that dealership as a place to get further repairs completed!! I didn't feel like fighting, so I just sit here tonight all resigned about the whole thing. It looks like poo, but I don't have the fight left in me to raise the devil.
I fell asleep in the chair tonight, anyway, so it must not bother me too much! They said I have a week to decide if it suits me. The alternative is to repaint the entire quarter panel, but then you have non factory paint, that is never as durable as the original. Wouldn't it have been easier if they hadn't torn it up in the first place?
Maybe I should begin shopping for that tow bar to go with the base plate. The guy wants to sell me one over at the trailer place, and I will listen to his sales pitch, but I am sure I can drop ship one to the house here for a much better price. Amazon even sells that sort of stuff!
It is supposed to warm up a bunch this weekend, so that might improve my sullen attitude some, I hope!
Retired Rod
In 2007, I bought a new pickup truck, a F150 in February thinking the four year old one had a bunch of miles and needed replacing. I really never gave an RV a thought, when I purchased the truck. But by July, I was actively searching for a camper of some sort, in order to go out with our kids on some of the weekends.
Because I had made the mistake of purchasing the F150 and not the F250, I had to go with an ultra light bumper pull camper. Not enough truck to pull a 5ver, and it was only 5 months old. I still have that truck here now, but it isn't used much any more. Except it pulls the utility trailer when I need to use it.
Then that winter we headed out with the camper to become snow birds, and quickly found out that the 29 foot Jayco wasn't suited to live in full time. Too small and too tight. Mistake number two!
But we have thought through this business of pulling the car for two years now, and we have analysis paralysis. We have studied and studied the alternatives. We have used up the mileage on the older cars so they are ready to trade off, and I think we are not making mistakes. But with my health problems, even the Honda might be a mistake.
But we are forging ahead like we know what we are doing even then. So today when I received the call that the base plate had arrived from Nebraska and to come on over, I wasn't prepared. We made the appointment for next Tuesday!
Today was spent taking the Toyota back to the dealer and having them buff out the scratches from last week when they wound up the magnetic mount antenna in their car wash. We had to follow each other over in the morning, and then come back home and wait. Then in the afternoon we followed each other back home once we got it picked up.
And, since some of the scratches were somewhat deep, they touched them up with touch up paint. Then they buffed the paint smooth. Heck, I could have done that kind of job here at home. Scratch off that dealership as a place to get further repairs completed!! I didn't feel like fighting, so I just sit here tonight all resigned about the whole thing. It looks like poo, but I don't have the fight left in me to raise the devil.
I fell asleep in the chair tonight, anyway, so it must not bother me too much! They said I have a week to decide if it suits me. The alternative is to repaint the entire quarter panel, but then you have non factory paint, that is never as durable as the original. Wouldn't it have been easier if they hadn't torn it up in the first place?
Maybe I should begin shopping for that tow bar to go with the base plate. The guy wants to sell me one over at the trailer place, and I will listen to his sales pitch, but I am sure I can drop ship one to the house here for a much better price. Amazon even sells that sort of stuff!
It is supposed to warm up a bunch this weekend, so that might improve my sullen attitude some, I hope!
Retired Rod
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