DanZemke

RV, I also use a 'belt and suspenders' approach for important things like passwords. I agree with you (and Roger) that it is wise for almost everyone. My approach is really old school - I've been using it for about 15 years. Here's what I've been using for all of my passwords, verification codes, account numbers etc. It hasn't been updated in many years, but for my use, it doesn't need to be. BTW, it took me years to recognize the meaning of the chosen file name: "fSekrit.exe" = file Secret. I renamed my file with a name like mysecrets.exe. ===================================================================== "fSekrit is a small application for keeping securely encrypted notes. These notes are truly stand-alone; the editor program and your note are merged together into a tiny self-contained program file, bypassing the need to install a special application to view your data. This makes fSekrit ideal for keeping encrypted notes on, for example, USB flash drives. Another advantage of using fSekrit is that your un-encrypted data is never stored on your harddisk. With a traditional encryption utility you would have to decrypt your file to disk, view or edit it, and then re-encrypt it. Unless you use secure file wiping tools, it would be a trivial matter for someone to retrieve your un-encrypted data, even though you deleted the temporary file. This is not a viable attack against fSekrit, though, since it never stores your un-encrypted data on disk. (See security notes about swapping and hibernation, though!) fSekrit uses very strong encryption to ensure that your data is never at risk. Rather than using hocus-pocus home-brewed algorithms, fSekrit uses the standard, military grade, peer-reviewed AES/Rijndael in CBC mode, with a 256-bit keysize. Self contained fSekrit notefiles are tiny! Only around 50k plus the size of your encrypted text. Furthermore, fSekrit runs across the entire windows range: 9x/NT/2K/XP, 32-bit as well as 64-bit x86 editions." ===================================================================== The author made it Open Source 7 years ago: https://github.com/snemarch/fsekrit In can be downloaded from this site (and many others): https://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=784

I enjoyed the video and found it informative - especially the first 8 minutes. Thanks! About your felt: My guess is it is for your roofer's safety. The pitch of left side of your roof looks pretty steep. Thicker felt provides better traction (one of my brothers used to be a roofer). Why two layers of #15 felt instead of one layer of #30? I don't know. Maybe you already had one layer of #15 installed? ===================================== I too have become one with Simpson on a recent project. They seem to dominate the market for construction brackets. And they appear to me to have done it by supplying good quality and a huge range. Good for them!

The standard install process on my new PC forced me to use, or create, a MS account. My recovery key was added to the account as part of the install process. Chalkie's experience seems to have been similar. I was not worried about a lost bitlocker recovery key. And for others using a similar process for a new computer, I don't think recovering a lost recovery key is a significant issue for them either. I agree with you, that my attack surface observation isn't a real concern for most RVers. Suggestion. Let's deescalate and move on.

Yes. My old laptop is 6 years old. I did not know that newer version of Windows ditched the user/admin permission seperation.

Roger, There are pluses and minuses for almost all changes. I don't disagree with any of your assertions. It's not clear to me, who decided, that my new PC would have its contents encrypted. Was it Microsoft, Lenovo or both? It was not me. So why, was this new approach selected? Neither of these companies are IT idiots. There must have been some expected benefit(s) in their minds. Observation: After going thru the standard setup process, I ended up with a single ID. It was an ID with Admin privileges. That surprised me. Assertion: Many Windows Home users are frustrated by the need to have two IDs for their personal PC. They don't need that, for their phones. Encrypting everything presents a dramatically reduced attack surface. My guess is that MS is trying to reduce attack risk and simplify things for most users. If so, I think that is a worthy path to pursue.

RV, Interesting. I didn't know that Windows Home users could turn on bitlocker. This is the first time I've ever had a PC with the Home version of Windows. What may be new, is that bitlocker encryption was the default. Everything I received was encrypted upon my first use. And any thing I added (programs, text ...) was encrypted, without me having to jump through any hoops. IMO, encryption by default , is an important change.

BitLocker hasn't been included with Widows Home in the past. It appears that may be changing. I received my new laptop, directly from Lenovo yesterday. I've verified that the version of Windows shipped is actually Window 11 Home. And that BitLocker is encrypting all of the files on my new laptop (ThinkPad T-14 Gen3 AMD). So it appears that MS is moving towards encrypting all files (system and user) for everybody. It will take some time, but IMO, encryption of all of our data is a good thing. it won't work for most older PCs like my 6 year old laptop. It would become way to sluggish . Hopefully, all Windows users will soon have their files encrypted by default.

Interesting info. But he said he's looking at a specific truck that does not appear to have a tag axle.

Wow - thanks! $70 for the device and $20 a year covering states I actually spend time in. After saying to myself that it seemed like a very convenient solution, I wondered why not Nevada and New Mexico. Then it dawned on me - how many toll roads in New Mexico and Nevada? Duh.

I agree with Glenn - remove the center axle and move the rear forward. Also, tandem axle Class 8's usually have a single ABS controller for both axles. A straight forward solution is to buy a new controller for a single axle. But that can be costly. Another approach is to relocate the sensors that were on the mid axle to to the rear axle. Yes, they will have two sets of sensors when only one is needed. But since the relocated sensors are accurately sense any wheel spinning, they work fine and the controller is happy too, because it thinks it is getting signals from both axles. About Glenn's reference to very early conversions. In at least one case, there was another problem. The ABS warning light was always on. The converter's solution was to use a piece of black tape to hide the ABS light! Still, the guy (I think his name was Larry) almost single handedly, jump-started enabling used HDTs as RV haulers. Thanks Larry.

I'd never visited the site before and it looks like a useful resource. https://adfontesmedia.com/about-ad-fontes-media/ Thank you!

My Volvo 770 is a tandem Class 8 rated for a combined weight of 80K. I intend to remove the mid-axle and have the the rear axle moved forward. My trailer weighs about 25K pounds and I expect my singled Volvo to weight about 15K pounds. It doesn't appear to me that my drive line will be stressed more than a common 80K road tractor and trailer.

Hopefully, this thread is much ado about nothing. I suspect it is.

So do I. But getting around the codes wasn't my intended point. Henry's originating post seemed to be a teaser, about big-city bureaucracy. I was offering sympathy, if he was having to jump through bureaucratic hoops, like I have. My personal short story: I visited my town's building permit office a few years ago seeking a permit to extend my small upstairs bathroom, into my large master bedroom. I visited the building department and was told that I couldn't get a permit until I provided a new land survey map. The map they had was 8.5" x 11", dated 1953. The new map would cost me a bit over $1,000. I was irritated because the new map appeared to benefit my Town. Seems like it should have been a shared expense. A Health department inspector joined the discussion and informed me that a new property map required a new health department inspection. I exploded! The building and health inspectors argued. We were all within 4 feet of each other. The health inspector said to the building inspector "you guys are getting your inspection fees and we need ours too". I grudgingly paid the building permit and moved on with my life.

Thanks for the news. The articles conclusion seems reasonable to me. Hope it turns out that way.

Woe unto those, that try to short-cut, the processes proclaimed by the mighty Building Permit Office! I'm on the edge of my chair, awaiting the juicy details. 😉

Lou and Linda - Thanks for the simple guidelines.

Kirk, Impressive, and very useful, exercise of your moderator privileges to improve communications. Alas, when I tried to thank you privately, I received this: "Kirk W cannot receive messages."

Interestingly, his "Last Visited" day was the day of his post. He was asked for contact information the next day, and didn't publicly respond. I was struck by this phrase: "I want to sell these items I don’t have to sell these items they are lies the difference this is quality stuff folks." IMO, he signaled unrealistic expectations. But I'm glad he was able to sell the old gear.

RV, I usually use Fire Fox, but also have Chrome. Thank you for the preemptive protection. 👍

Bawk, bawk, bawk, bawk. This chicken would pay to have it done.

You're welcome. I have had trouble manually copying a VIN too. Below is a web site that provides a quick and easy to use VIN decoder. I just copy/pasted my VIN into its VIN field along with the year my vehicle was manufactured. It responded with a bunch of information like make, model, fuel type, horse power etc. If the typed in VIN is invalid, it will tell you so. FYI, I keep a short (encrypted) text file with all of the long number/letter strings I occasionally need. Like credit card numbers, bank accounts, VINs, ... That way it's easy to copy and paste them when needed. https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/decoder/

I googled: 1998 Four Winds Five Thousand pdf and received mainly scams. But I did find a pdf of the original brochure which has many specs like weight limits, tank sizes, engine type, wheel base ... https://static.kingscampers.com/pdf/inventory/78542d7b2a9f7f573015493ac5c2c508.pdf The Thor site provides owners manual pdfs for the last few years. It also says to login to the Owners Resource Portal for older model years. To sign up, It wants your name, email address, street address, phone number and VIN number for the vehicle you own. IMO, there's a good chance that Thor has a copy of the manual you're seeking. If I were in your shoes, I'd give it a try. Realizing that I might get a few sales calls and/or mailings 😉 https://www.thormotorcoach.com/owners Good luck!

RV and Kirk, Me too. And I also choose to do it annually. Great minds think alike? 🙂

Linda, No information source is perfect, including Wikipedia. But in general, I haven't found anything better.