Sunday, April 10, 2011

Justifying wearing a watch, and brakes anyone?

Every time I tell about another watch, all you guys tell me about how awful it is to wear a watch and how the time gods had a hold of you but you broke free, and all that stuff.  But you know, I don't look at it like that at all.

I am a fairly mechanical, and electronical fellow.  If it runs or has artificial intelligence I'm attracted.  Computers, the more complicated, the better!  Engines, the more noise they make and the more torque they generate, the better.

Ham radios, the more dials and colors on their displays with moving needles, and talks on a gazillion bands, the better!!!

Motorscotter with the electronic fairing with digital read outs and temperature and rpms and all that stuff, the better.

So the more complicated the watch face, and feature laden its specs the better!  I didn't buy it to tell time!!  Thats just a side benefit, LOL.

If all I needed to do was tell time, that's displayed on the top line of that new very complicated Android phone that I bought last month.  But it just doesn't have the coooooool factor that a neat watch has for me.  JMHO.

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On the brake issue for the Motorhome and Toad deal, I do not need a brake box here in Kansas unless the trailer is over 10,000 lbs.  It is the same over in Missouri as well.  And down in Texas, it is 4500 lbs.  But I might have to cross Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona before next year is over, and on the way to Red Bay, Al, almost all of the states after Mo are 3000 lb states.  The official weight of the CRV is about 3500, so staying legal is on my mind.

Why he!! yes officer, we got brakes here in the Toad!!  Never mind that they are set on a 3 for sensitivity, the law doesn't tell you how to run them.  It tells you that you have to have them.

What I did learn this afternoon in my internet searches, before it put me to sleep for about an hour, was that Blue Ox is tired of folks selling their products for way too low prices.  And that on May 1, they will begin to fair trade price stuff, or you won't be handling their products.

Patriot brake box from Blue Ox will suddenly become $1,150 or some such amount.  Price today from one of the discounters is $894.  Whoa!!  Thats $256 more bucks.  I'm asleep, but not that asleep!

Perhaps that retailer is just telling us that because he wants record sales in April, but do we want to take that chance?  And most of the sites are now falling in line with the fair trade prices.  Thats why I had to look all over to find the discounter price on the tow bar.

So the patriot brake system is on order!  It is electric and does not use compressed air.  It has an on board battery to run the actuator arm, and is radio controlled from the motor home dash.  And it has good reviews.  If you folks have a dozen reasons why I shouldn't have done that, ooops its too late.

Otherwise I rode the bike over to Wendy's this afternoon, and purchased a new land line phone system from Panasonic at Wally World in the process.  Maybe it was the instruction booklet for that phone that  put me to sleep this afternoon, hummmm..........

Retired Rod

4 comments:

  1. I bought a Slinky once.....and thought that was complicated:((

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  2. Rod, if you meet the requirements by law of the state you live in is that not good enough for all the other states (and provinces in Canada as well)?

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  3. Sandra, I think that is true with your drivers license, but that you must obey the traffic laws in each state as they are written. Equipment requirements would fall under the traffic portions of the law, like not having turning signals and the like. But I am not a lawyer so others may have a different take on this subject.

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  4. I haven't got a clue on the toad brake requirements but I do recall a friend putting brakes on his because of California requirements even though he lives in Canada.

    As for the watches, you can explain all you want - you are obsessed, man!!!

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