Tulecreeper

As much as it is appreciated that RV_ posts the updated Military Brief and Breaking News daily - and I know it is probably a tedious job - are there ever any actual discussions between military veterans, retirees, or Active Duty on here? I'm retried from the Navy and I know I would love to have discussions with other military members regarding their travels and RVing experiences. I'm not talking about war stories, we all have those. Thanks...

👌

Does this mean that after that date Imgur will require people to create an account?

That is a ranger that absolutely needs remedial trailing. As retired LE, there was never a time in 30 years when I did not know whether or not my weapon was loaded.

I am a dual American/Canadian citizen by birth. It is not so much that the US and Canada "allow" dual citizenship, it's more that they don't care if you hold citizenship from another country(s).

True...I had one when I retired. Cashed it out when we no longer needed the supplemental income.

This is not an easy question to answer. Buying and insuring will be the easy part, it's registering that might be sticky. In the US, vehicles are registered by state - California, Arkansas, Florida, etc. - and in order to register a vehicle in any state, you must be a resident of that state. This means that you must live in that state for at least part of the year and have a bank account there, or pay bills and/or taxes there, or something to show you have a physical attachment to that state. It can be done, but others will have to chime in here and give you more specifics. Perhaps there are other foreigners on here who have done this and can give you specific advice.

That is for a 401k; a 457 allows withdrawals at anytime after age 55, retired, or not...earlier if you are fully retired. And even a 401k will allow withdrawals prior to 591/2 if you are fully retired.

I've seen this a number of times in and around the Bay Area and San Joaquin Delta for short hauls between dealerships and whatnot. Probably not really any more top heavy that a big slide-in. Here's another one.

The OP didn't say how old they are, or what type of pension(s) are involved. We pulled the plug 10 years ago in our 50's. Both of us worked for the state, so we both have pension income from that. We also had a 457 account that we used for the first 5 years to supplement those pensions. Then, when I turned 60, I started collecting my Navy Reserve pension which replaced the 457 money. So, since we didn't need it anymore we just cashed out the remaining 457 and stuck it in the bank. Then, when we turned 62, we took early social security. So now we have 2 state pensions, a Navy pension, and 2 social security pensions. Our mortgage is $950/mo on a 2000 sq-ft house on 10 wooded acres, and our utilities (elec., phone, internet, etc.) run about $500/mo. Our Medicare Advantage Part C premiums are picked up by the state as part of our pension benefits, and they reimburse us for our Medicare Part B premiums. We have minimal medical issues, but since we are covered by Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Tricare for Life (TFL) we pay pretty close to zero for everything anyway, including prescriptions. It seems as though (to me) the OP is relying mostly on their investment portfolio for income after retirement. That would make me a bit shy as we only used ours as a supplement.

Although it's been a while, I've been to Canada - Saskatchewan and Alberta - a number of times to go hunting for a couple weeks. Always had firearms on us, with whatever amount of ammo was allowed per gun, the legally allowed amount of booze, and papers for the dog. Usually crossed over in some remote station on a back road where the local customs guy was more interested in getting off work to go hunting himself than in checking our stuff. A couple times while standing in the office all he asked was, "You follow all the rules and have a rabies cert for your dog?" "Yes, sir." "Have a good time in Canada, eh...gotta go now."

When most people hear the term "heavy duty tow vehicle", they immediately think of 2500 and 3500 series pickups in the 3/4 to 1-ton range, possibly a dually. I know I would. You have to tell them exactly what you're driving or you're going to run into this issue again.

👍 And check the user name...

For those with a CCW, I would research the state regs regarding taking marijuana - medical or otherwise. There may be a caveat that if you test positive for it you can/will lose your permit. I am retired LE and I have a federal (LEOSA) concealed carry permit allowing me to carry in all 50 states, and US possessions - Guam, Puerto Rico, etc. I also take a Schedule II medication for a spinal injury. Since I have a script for that drug I have no problem if I were to test positive. However, since the federal govt does not recognize MJ as a legal drug in any form, if I were to test positive for it I guarantee I would lose my license to carry.

Not exactly true. I have been taking Norco for 15 years for a cervical spinal injury, and although I can only get a 30-day script at a time I only have to see my doc about every 6 or 8 months. And it is a Schedule II drug.

👍

For sure...a little dielectric grease, wrapped up in electrical tape for future use.

There is a section in the manual that tells me how to unplug it in order to remove the tailgate. I'll go by that this weekend when I unplug it.

Thank you very much. While I appreciate the link to the map, the location of cell towers and/or cell reception doesn't dictate where I fish or hunt. I always file a "flight plan" when I leave to go anywhere - where I'm going, the closet launch ramp, the closest roads, where I'll be hunting or fishing, when I plan on returning, etc. - but there are not infrequent times where if something happened to me the first inkling for anyone would be when I'm several hours late getting home. Three years ago, I returned to the launch ramp after duck hunting to find that one of the heater hose connectors in my truck had busted. I couldn't drive it or all my coolant would have poured out. I was an hour and a half drive from home, I had no cell service, it was a very remote launch ramp, there was no one else there and it was after dark, so I had to walk 2 miles down the road to a farm house to call for a tow truck (I also called my wife). The woman on the phone couldn't find me by GPS location because I had an old flip-phone, and she didn't understand when I tried to explain that I was also at the end of 'County Road XX', which dead-ended at the lake. I ended up having the rancher take me to my truck, where he hooked me up and towed me and my boat back to his place, where I spent the night in his guest room. The next day I got everything straightened out. I love the outdoors and I won't let the lack of technology keep from doing what I enjoy.

I tow a lot, mostly boats, but I feel the same. I tow probably 6000 to 7000 miles per year and I give them a few shots of grease about 3 or 4 times a year, and a couple times a year I jack the wheels up and give them a good tug to check for wobble. I have had 4 boats in my life and I have changed wheel bearings I think twice in 40 years.

A man after my own heart. We don't need no steenking badges!

I don't have Gmail, Chrome, or One UI (don't even know what that is), and I have mine set to turn the screen off after 5 minutes. I disabled AccuWeather and the other couple weather apps and only enable them when I use them maybe once a month. And yes, I was doing fine with a flip phone until 2020 when Verizon said they would no longer support 3G so I figured I may as well upgrade sooner rather than later. In all actuality, I really don't even need a phone. But I fish and hunt A LOT, usually alone, and my wife wants me to be able to call someone if I fall and bust a knee or something. I haven't bothered to mention that half the places I go I don't have cell reception, but ya do what ya gotta.

I have an Android, and I can also see what uses up most of my battery. Location is the big one for me because Google Maps, Compass, and Gas Buddy (among others) are apps that use Location and they are always pinging for updated information. Bluetooth and wi-fi are also always actively searching for a signal. I use my phone for making calls and texting, period, both of which I may have used 5 times total in the past month...mostly texts because I very seldom make or receive calls. When I first got this phone in 2020, I uninstalled or disabled the majority of the apps that came with it, and I have downloaded no others. I think I've used it maybe a dozen times to access the internet, and that was to check the weather. As you said, you're entitled to use whatever apps you need. I need almost none.

Since most everyone I know leaves their Location, Bluetooth, and wi-fi turned off most of the time, this doesn't work. Those three apps use up the majority of your battery life just doing nothing.

😁 If I have to. I'd rather just unplug the thing. I think there is a page in the manual that tells me how to do that.