Chalkie

17 hours ago, pjstough said:

Central Box Units are becoming more common.  The one thing I didnt like about them was that you had to get out of your vehicle to service them ... I did like the parcel lockers, but a lot of the time there were not enough lockers for the number of parcels you had.

I don't see how getting out of a vehicle to service the boxes is any different than a mail carrier walking a route or having to get out at every mail box because they are set in the yard opposite the street side walk. Our daughter has the central boxes and if there are too many parcels for the boxes the carrier then delivers them to the individual residences. 

2 hours ago, Twotoes said:

 the firing of an Amazon worker in NY who tried to start a previous strike

You mean the gentleman that was sent home, with full pay, as he was showing COVID symptoms and was told to quarantine himself for 14 days? That same one that returned to work the next to try to organize a walkout? 

I'm not too sure that this strike will gather much impetus especially when you consider how many people are looking for work. We shall see.

2 hours ago, dblr said:

We looked at this brand also at the Md rv show, we even know the sales rep that was there from when he was with Dynamax. Yes they are nice for the price point but I still saw things that they need to improve on, they do have some good ideas but this is their first year in production so I am sure things will change, let's just hope all the changes are good.

What in particular did you see that needed improvement? I know we talked to one of the design team about some things we would like to see, for example, venting the range hood to the outside along with some other small things that would not necessarily be deal breakers.

We have our eyes on a new Paradigm by Alliance RV. They are new to the scene but the ones we have seen at RV shows are impressive in the quality of the build and features. They are also designed with most timers or full timers in mind. 

Another way that the USPS could save both time and money (think fuel expenses) would be to require neighborhood group mailboxes everywhere, even in most rural areas, similar to what you see in newer neighborhoods.

On 4/17/2020 at 4:27 PM, Randyretired said:

I received an email today that states Sprint is now part of T Mobile and they have started to combine the services.  They also claim they will deploy 5g service.  Further more they guaranteed the price will not raise for 3 years.  Sounds good but we will see.

This was, as I understand, a large part of why T-Mobile wanted the merger. The combined assets will give T-Mobile a huge chunk of the 5G spectrum.

On 1/16/2020 at 8:56 AM, dennisvr said:

 Don't think I would have it full while 5th wheel is hooked up, but would be get to run town and fill and bring back to the rig.

I agree. Full that would add an extra 525 pounds or so behind the axle. Add that and pin weight and those of us with pickups would run the risk  of overloading the truck.

On 12/23/2019 at 9:27 AM, jamtracy said:

I live in Antioch, CA (Norcal in the Eastbay) We bought a house with a lot size of 13,000 SF 3 years ago. Our 2 neighbors have even bigger lots. But that's it everyone else is 5K-7K SF lots. We have Owls that live in the trees on our lots. It's pretty amazing to see and hear them. We also have Hawks and Coyotes aplenty around us. A beautiful Hawk was perched on our patio roof recently and we had a "Birdseye" view from our bedroom window. As someone said there is so much building now on what used to be acres and acres of open land these critters have no where to go.

We've seen skunks, moles and rabbits as well.

I hope to see more when we hit the road.

We live in Colorado Springs, CO and have had for 30 years now. Our lot is about 7500 SF which is average for the area. When we bought this house which is situated on higher ground we had unobstructed views to the north and east. Now it is all houses and buildings. Proximity to the mountains as always given us a lot of wildlife, and surprising to me, we seem to have more as the city has built outwards. We have some kind of owl hanging out in the blue spruce in front. I have pictures of a Red Tailed hawk enjoying the bird bath in back. We have an epidemic of rabbits and squirrels, which perhaps explains the raptors in the area. We frequently are visited by foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and deer.  A short distance away bears have been sighted. 

In my opinion, and I suppose this should be tempered by terrain, but the animals could move on but don't thanks to humans feeling sorry for them and feeding them. In Colorado that is illegal but it is also very difficult to enforce so the animals are where there are easy pickings.

18 hours ago, jcussen said:

Talked to a 20's something panhandler the other day at a traffic light, his sign said "laid off and I have a wife and kid to feed". Told him I needed some help to clean up the yard around the house. Offered him $15 an hour and would pick him up and drive him home everyday. He said "No Thanks". Thinking he was making more that $15 an hour panhandling.

6 hours ago, NDBirdman said:

A few years back, local new station did an investigation on them, I watched it.  They filmed a homeless couple, one sat in the car in the parking lot while the other stood on the corner with the homeless sign begging.  The car was a new Caddy SVU.  Homeless my arse!  Has a better car than wife and I can afford.  Really pisses me off when I see them with the old sign, jobless/broke/etc standing on a street corner in front of help wanted signs.  Packs of $10 cancer sticks sticking out of pocket, etc.  Even here in the very frigid north, standing on the street corner.  Wife gets mad at me, I say I'm going to go into these stores, pick up employment applications and hand them out to those folks.

While there may be some mental illness and dependency issues with many of the people that are homeless and panhandling, the above experiences have been mine as well. This is a case of a few bad apples spoiling the barrel for those that may genuinely need the help. As a result, I will give nothing to any of them. 

On 8/29/2019 at 1:01 AM, TLRam1 said:

What will this brine do for the meat?

This is way after the fact but it might be informative to some others as well. This is a quote from an article that that is found here.

Quote

Meat absorbs some of the liquid: When a piece of meat is soaked in a brine solution, that solution is slowly drawn into the meat, and even though some of it is inevitably lost during cooking, it still makes a big difference. Since the meat starts out with more liquid within, it ends up juicier and more moist when cooked.

Muscle fibers are dissolved: Highly concentrated salt solutions will cause proteins to precipitate (essentially forcing them to aggregate with each other and clump together). On the other hand, a low-concentration salt solution has the opposite effect and actually can increase protein solubility and allow more proteins to dissolve. So brine actually helps dissolve some of the muscle fibers, which helps to reduce the toughness of meat.

Muscle fibers and meat proteins denature: A salt solution can denature proteins, essentially unfolding and unravelling them. As they unfold, water works its way in between these proteins so there is more water in between the meat proteins as the meat cooks. This results in a more tender cooked meat.

I would also add that I have use brines for chicken, turkey, pork loin, boston butt, pork chops, various steaks over the years. The only thing I have never brined is a brisket, well, because a brisket done right can't get any juicier or more tender. 

On 12/16/2019 at 9:39 PM, RV_ said:

Which base do you use? ..... We'll have to have coffee sometime.

I use the Academy as it is closest to our house. We have had coffee already, courtesy of you (I am the guy that bought that FloJet from you). We are in Texas for the Holidays and will be back after the first of the year. Next time coffee is on me at our house. I will call or text after we get back. 

On 12/23/2019 at 6:35 PM, RV_ said:

I'll be buying the Military Office 365 home military edition on sale for six family or friend's computers for $49.99 on base only.

Wait, what??? Is this available in all BX/PX's? I have to get this!

1 hour ago, remoandiris said:

In my experience, usually not.  And if you make a special trip to the base just for gas/Exchange/commissary, you probably spent more time and money getting there and home than if you would have shopped off base.

I agree! We go on base to see our doctors or pick up prescriptions and then, and only then, will go to the Commissary. About the only thing I can say is definitely cheaper in there is meat. Other than that, by the time you add on the surcharge, all other products are less expensive off base (at least here in Colorado where food items are tax exempt). The Class 6 store (liquor store) has some decent prices but I would rather support my locally owned neighborhood store. And the base, at least ours, does not carry diesel but the posted price of gas is no bargain especially with a loyalty card from the grocery store. 

Fair warning, I had a set of the those poles that I got at the flea market there in the RGV and even with them installed properly a sudden gust of high wind still damaged one of the awning arms. 

The cost of that repair made me realize that the poles simply were not worth it. I have not considered tying down my awning since.

On 12/2/2019 at 9:44 AM, Randyretired said:

All of the different side x side ORV's are interesting and bigger seems to be the norm.  However in Colorado there are literally hundreds of miles of trails limited by width of the ORV.  Many are limited  to 50" or narrower and more trails are built every year.  For those of us that like side x sides that leaves only one for these trails, a small Polaris.

Yup! When we had our Prowler we racked up a lot of miles but they were all in areas that did  not have the dreaded width posts. 

On 11/30/2019 at 9:51 PM, Ray,IN said:

Man have I ever blundered this one_, I thought it was the real deal. Sorry for wasting forum space folks.

 

I don't see that you wasted space, it is after all in the "other" area and it is the real, for now at least. While the Roxor looks like a baby Jeep you can get other off road UTV's with diesel engines by some major companies such as John Deere, Kubota or Cat,

4 hours ago, Darryl&Rita said:

FCA has beat them in court, for looking too much like a Jeep. Expect them to disappear. 

What is your source of the court fight as a settled matter? The article Ray posted has this:

Quote

What makes this so ironic is that Jeep is a fierce protector of their front end design, and while there are Jeep licensees who have been building Jeep-faced vehicles for decades, like the Mahindra Thar, other companies have been prevented from making vehicles that look anything like like the iconic Jeep, which is hardly surprising.

And Mihindra  makes the Roxor, which is actually the Thar but assembled in US. As of yesterday Bloomberg reporting shows that court proceedings are ongoing and FCA only won their case in front of an administrative judge. More at this link.

On 11/29/2019 at 1:19 PM, chiefneon said:

I looked at the Davey Crocket but like the Traeger as it was smaller and easier to store as mentioned.

 

Which model did you get? When I had my Tailgater it was the smallest available. I see they have a couple smaller ones now.

The rules have been finalized. Here is a quote from the email I received from the VA.

Quote

The Defense Department has announced expanded Commissary, Military Service Exchange and MWR access Jan. 1 and established a standard for physical access to military installations.

Veterans and Primary Family Caregivers who are eligible and want to take advantage of in-person benefits must have a Veterans Health Identification Card, or VHIC. Primary Family Caregivers must have an eligibility letter from VA’s Office of Community Care.

Veterans use VHICs for identification and check-in at VA appointments, but will also use them for base access under the new program.

Veterans eligible solely under this act who are eligible to obtain a Veteran Health Identification Card must use this credential for in-person installation and privilege access. The card must display the Veteran’s eligibility status (i.e., PURPLE HEART, FORMER POW or SERVICE CONNECTED).

Veterans eligible solely under this act who are not enrolled in or are not eligible to enroll in VA health care, or who are enrolled in VA health care, but do not possess a Veteran Health Identification Card will not have access to DoD and Coast Guard installations for in-person commissary, exchange, and MWR retail privileges, but will have full access to online exchanges and American Forces Travel.

Medal of Honor recipients and Veterans with 100% service-connected disability ratings are eligible for DoD credentials under DoD policy.

The email continues with directions on how obtain the credentials needed. 

Just now, Twotoes said:

 I like to BBQ a steak and the smoker took too long to slow cook, so I went back to my Weber 2000Q using propane. I am just too impatient to wait for my steak to slow cook. 

You not have to slow cook a steak. I can crank my Davy Crockett up to 550 degrees if I want to straight up BBQ a steak.I like to reverse sear them, i.e., smoke them for a bit, take them off to let the grill to get really hot, then put them back on to sear and finish off.

Back to the thread - I had a Traeger Tailgater but find the Davy Crockett to be easier to handle and run with its 12v/110v options plus I like the wifi so I can control it from inside and with the  probe in see the temp of the meat. 

One note here, the new remotes work with Alexa (Amazon) just fine. However, if you want to use the voice control you MUST have internet.

On 10/17/2019 at 9:28 PM, RV_ said:

He must have been getting kickbacks from the opioid folks as he kept trying to get me to take it.

I seriously think that any doctor that gives you a sample of any drug, opioid or no, is getting a kickback somehow. I have no proof of that at all, just my feeling. 

On 10/18/2019 at 10:32 AM, Carlos said:

If a service costs them money to provide, they should charge for it.  Most people are going away from cash, and shouldn't have to subsidize people who still want to use it.

 

King Soopers, our local Kroger brand is now charging a fee for getting cash back on a debit card purchase. That makes the "bank" of Walmart more appealing but not enough to overcome the lousy produce they carry. So, yes, I am willing to pay the fee.

20 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

Yes, but then they have to realize that there will be a reaction to their decision.   They don't accept smart phone pay apps, so that means that very, very seldom will I shop there.   Now they have another thing they won't accept.  Other stores are doing more things to make it easier for me to shop - they will get my business.

So would you write a check to an RV park for a 50% PPA discount if that is what they required? Or pay straight up cash to a park that will not accept cards as they do not want to pay the processing fees? Personally, I find that being flexible in my payment options is the best way to go. That way I can take advantage of things that save me money. 

1 hour ago, chiefneon said:

My mistake was letting them pay me using PayPal. I never used it before for this type of thing and it ended up costing me money.

 

I think if it had been a business paying me  I would have insisted on a check so I would have a "paper" trail for my records. 

I will use PayPal if I must, but I prefer Zelle. As I had never of the Cash App I did a little research and found this interesting article on money.com.