Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather

My first thought -- THE most crucial paragraph in the entire article. I have no particular problem with any technology that is developed. EV, Hydrogen, Atomic...I don't care. But it has to make sense for everyone, including people like us who like to pull an extra 2000 pounds behind our vehicles periodically and travel hundreds of miles to sleep under a different tree every now and then....or even often.

"Carmakers should all be free to develop and invest in electric vehicle technology if they so choose. The key word is choose. The government should not be in the business of mandating (directly or indirectly) automotive technology, especially at the expense of the taxpayers’ pocketbooks and preferences, nor product performance."
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Second, I don't understand how I can't buy a mercury switch-operated thermostat because of toxic metal inside. The thermostat I grew up with worked perfectly for 50 years, and still works today. The microprocessor-controlled thermostat I have now is about 8 years old. And its started to flake out. It's not repairable, since I can't buy the screen. I guess Honeywell gets to profit more by selling me another item I don't want to buy, and I get to toss more electronics into the trash bin --- or drive 30 miles to the electronics recycler.

Just like I am being told I have to buy has nearly a half-ton of batteries in it, which is comprised of toxic minerals that require incredible destruction of whole ecologies to produce and then are not recyclable after their useful life is over.

but enough of that....I'm getting grumpier than usual!!!! And its only 7:06 AM!!!!


Thursday! On more obnoxious beep-beep-beep before the weekend! I"m not rushing anything --- time moves too quickly as it is (at least when not at work); the past week has been pretty spectacular. I love waking up in the morning with temperatures in the 50s, daytime highs in the 80s, and no need AC. The only real "problem" is the smoke caused by Canadian wildfires. But, even that seems to be improving.

It looks like a combination weekend. Little work needed, but a little fun too. Sadly, not camping. But that isn't to say we haven't got some fun things we may get to do.

I'm going to have a birthday breakfast with a good friend on Sunday, and I think too we're going to go grocery shopping. What? Excited about that? I don't know if I'd say excited but there's a market outside of cincinatti ohio that is a destination in itself. Seriously! Several YouTubers have documented it, but Junge Jim's is a place not quite like any place I've ever been before. I think I"m saying that I feel the need...the need for cheese.

So here's a possible roadside attraction worth visiting if you're passing near south west ohio, and need to fill the fridge and get off the road for a few minutes...Located just north of the outer loop between Cincinnati and Dayton. Look for the bathrooms Its a hoot.

Jungle Jim's International Market – Discover a World of Food and More!

 

I’m getting 20.2 mpg city/highway driving in a vehicle that should only be getting 16. I’m getting about the same mileage pulling my teardrop on the highway and all highway without the trailer I’m getting 24.

The reason is I’m hypermiling. I drive 60 in a 70 mph zone. The biggest drawback is people give me the one finger salute.

A real solution to limiting emissions is to lower the speed limits from 75 to 55 mph. You get 20% better fuel mileage and if you limit your use of brakes you can save another 5%. Yet few people will do this. Instead of doing the 75 mph speed limit they want to do 85.

Cars don’t need to change, we need to change the way we drive them.

 

I agree with you. I'm reminded of this quote:

“The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.” -Brooks Hatlen​

Sometimes I suffer from "Get-there-itis" - its an easy trap to fall into. My experience is when I get 'frantic' and start pushing myself harder and harder, I enjoy the trip less and less. Especially when towing.

If my math is right, traveling between Orlando to Indianapolis at 55 takes 17 3/4 hours assuming no traffic and no stops whatsoever. The same trip a 75 saves 4 hours. We always break that trip into two halves....roughly Macon as the midpoint. Leave an hour early, get there an hour late...and day #2 is a shorter day anyway, its not that much of a stretch.

 

Speaking of the weather: Ugly!

Smoke from Canadian wildfires leads to record poor air quality in eastern U.S.

 

LGA Airport and several others had ground stops and canceled flights due to smoke in the N.Y.C. area yesterday. A friend sent me a pic of the sun at Binghamton, New York.

 

The speed limit was reduced to 55 during the Carter administration and was not popular at all so you have about 200,000,000 people that would agree with you. I’ve been retired for 20 years so I’m not in a hurry.

Even though I don’t like to drive fast I don’t like to hold traffic up either. If I’m a menace out there I pull over or speed up.

 

2:55 and a thunderstorm has me awake in Upstate SC. The cat will be in the carport under the Camp Inn. I wonder what he uses for a safe space when we are camping & the camper is gone?

 

That might be a cat-astrophe.

 

My cat (AKA Marvin) had an adventure years ago. Marvin is supposed to be an indoor cat --- but he disagrees.
We'd be heartbroken if anything happened to Marvin. Don't take us wrong. But Marvin is a rescue cat who was a 'barn cat' at a equine therapy center before we got him home. We've explained to him the risks of outdoor life...dogs, coyotes, birds of prey, and cars. He's a rebel at heart and doesn't care. I think he might have gotten a Molon Labe tattoo while he was in the cat shelter after being trapped. I'm not entirely sure.

While he has been with us, he has honed with math skills by calculating the velocity of the sliding door opening in relation to the dogs sense of urgency making it impossible to restrain him. All joking aside - the only thing that stops him is when he forgets there is also a screen door. I find that slightly amusing. There's nothing we can do to restrain him. He's truly an indoor/outdoor cat, and we just have to accept it. We also accept that the coyotes and such are real threats that he may have to deal with...and we know sometime he will likely just not come home.

With our Class A, we knew Marvin liked being under it during inclimate weather. This weekend, our trip was planned to go to a state park in Northern Indiana (My usual at the time -- potato creek), but we knew we were racing to beat a frontal passage that promised a lot of rain. The cats were all in the house (so we thought) and we packed watching the western sky get darker and darker. As a last sanity check, I looked under the RV again, ensuring no "flat cat" event. All clear, No one under it...ready to roll. I put in in drive just as the squall hit starting about an hour of wind, rain, lightning, and thunder.

I drove up, stopping for groceries, and made it to my campsite in about 3 hours after leaving. Arriving just in time to set up around dusk when my wife calls saying she can't find Marvin. She would be up the next morning. Both of us figured he was hiding in the house or possibly under a shed.

At about 2AM I hear Marvin "singing the song of his peoples" -- outside. I get out with my flashlight, and sure enough, he's standing in the street but won't come anywhere near me. That little <@#!!#%>head, we found, would get on top of the gas tank, which was surrounded on 3 sides by frame rails where he rode some 130 miles. I'm not sure how many lives shit cat has left, but I think we used 1 that night.

We told the park (by this time, we knew most of the staff, as we were going there every 2 weeks or so) and told our neighbors. When my wife arrived the next day, a dozen kids made it their game to capture him. There were a few sightings reported. At about 3 in the afternoon, another squall moved through. We thought was going to be "rough" but were surprised that despite a black sky, there was just a single clap of thunder and a little wind. That was enough to convince Marvin it was time to return to his fortress of solitude.

We were returning from the camp store (ice cream run!) and were greeted by our neighbor, saying they saw him run from the woods under the camper. My wife was able to coax him out with a can of tuna. She got him out, washed him up, where he stayed in the camper the next 2 days without any fuss...sleeping.

We're more careful when packing now.

 

Its a lovely day at the beach...
I am doing gear testing in advance of a long trip.

First time using the side tent, as I am generally lazy and KISS when I can.
Its very helpful for privacy when jammed in the tin canyons...

Craigs video is very helpful and slightly different than original instructions...cc attached.

Only took me a few minutes to puzzle it out cold first time, and makes total sense once up. See Craigs tips at the end to make it even easier for next time when stowing.

Very nice tailoring on this tent btw, clever design, fits perfect.

 

Marvin --- is a pain in the tukus

Actually he's a great cat, he's friendly and can even be affectionate in his own way. He just isn't a cuddler and doesn't like to stay put very long.

We go thim because my wife used to volunteer at an equine therapy center, and this little black and white, beaten up, underweight kitten showed up. Very small, malnourished -- and wasn't going to make it.

She trapped him, and took him to a no-kill shelter she knew about where he sat. A few months later he was still there, and she decided she wanted to adopt him. Before I knew it, she adopted Marvin, and was the "medical foster" for the rescue. Our house became filled with other sick kittens. Then she left the shelter and started her own. I've lost count of how many cute-pills have gone through our house. Hundreds at last. Some for a few days, others months.

So, little Starvin' Marvin started it all...

EDIT: Sorry, missed an entire paragraph in your response --- We had our house screens rebuilt with a new screen material --- its impervious to cats. I'll see if I can find out where to get it. I had a 8 pound tom climb the screen door...several times. Not a single bit of damage.

 

Its a lovely day...kinda smokey out East though...
A Canadian Firefighter Sheds Light on the Smoke in the East

 

We just got a couple of days of cool/cold and rain -- hopefully, the rain will have helped clear the air, last week it was pretty horrible. We're barely breaking 70 today...yesterday was only in the 60s.

Forrest fires definitely are a good thing sometimes. The ugly truth is that if they are suppressed and the undergrowth gets too heavy...when they happen...they become unstoppable and catastrophically destructive.

Hoping for a decent weekend --- these temperatures would be great --- good excuse for a camp fire!

 

This is a good read about the Yellowstone fire of 88.
Yellowstone fires of 1988 - Wikipedia

 

I remember this! The reporting at the time was frightening...but that's the job of the news, as reported by the philosopher Don Henley...

I'd love to see the parks out west --- but from all I have ever heard they are over-run and not a very enjoyable experience. I"m curious if it is better this year. I was responding to a video on youtube -- but I'm able to find camp sites on shortish notice ---Mid July is still easy picking. Of course, when you get into the big holiday and autumn it tighens back up....but that is kind of expected.

 

That’s why I’m building a campground in my backyard.

 

I know my own private campground is what I want to do too! Your back yard is idyllic for that

The RV bubble is unsustainable. I follow Alan Warren (long time industry expert) and he's been voicing concerns about this for a long time. He has had a particular concern about first-time buyers who are getting taken in by the "$5 a day" promises of certain stores that are all about the world of camping.

These poor souls (I know a couple of them) might have bought their first and last rig already. Thats the sad part...short term high profits over long term repeat customers.

Forgotten is depreciation, $100 gas fillups, $80 reservation, and the ongoing cost of maintenance and repairs --- which I can tell you most new owners know nothing about.

Now that the realities of inflation are becoming known its understandable why people aren't spending $hundreds for a 2 night stay.

Will we have better sight pickin's in the future? I think that's a safe bet.

 

Dont forget the range...