24/7 Chat About Anything

[tx2sturgis]

Do you have rivers? with actual water in them?

Elon might be reading this....so...uh...I really can't say.

 

[camperdan]

So I'm getting ready to move on (alas, just trading a sticks and adobe for another sticks and something). The volunteer gig I came here for fell apart long ago but I've been stuck here because of some medical/dental stuff that's finally! winding up. Still hoping to /eventually/ go somewhere Spanish-speaking with low cost-of-living to stretch my pension, but need another year here first. Trying to decide between southern Arizona and coastal Mississippi. Mississippi has rivers and beaches and kayaking. Arizona has mountains and that big sky. Per the internet (hahaha) it ought to be possible to find a relatively cheap apartment (hahaha) either place if u look hard enough and don't have too high standards. I'm getting old enough that I'm afraid if I don't get back to kayaking soon I won't be able to. OTOH that big desert sky is really hard to let go. My ankle is better but not good enough for long ambitious hikes yet. Hoping to find a small town, but of course it's harder to find an apartment in a small town.
Those of us who even get to /consider/ choices like this are really lucky.
I hope I pick someplace that Elon Musk never gets interested in as he seems to be the kiss o' death for low cost of living, but good luck psyching him out lol.

Morgana, You have a challege ahead....relocating. From your words I take it you are not a van dweller at the moment
(sticks and bricks). Just in case, I'll say that maki2 is spot on regarding circulating between southern AZ (low elevation)
and northern AZ (very high elevation, great summers). I am still doing this after 2 decades and am still not paying
rent. Summer and fall, the occasional USFS camp fees. But tons of free camping around Flagstaff and all the way
to New Mexico and beyond. Love to hear back from you.

Can someone out there explain what the Reaction Score is all about. Thx

 

[RonDean]

Morgana, You have a challege ahead....relocating. From your words I take it you are not a van dweller at the moment
(sticks and bricks). Just in case, I'll say that maki2 is spot on regarding circulating between southern AZ (low elevation)
and northern AZ (very high elevation, great summers). I am still doing this after 2 decades and am still not paying
rent. Summer and fall, the occasional USFS camp fees. But tons of free camping around Flagstaff and all the way
to New Mexico and beyond. Love to hear back from you.

Can someone out there explain what the Reaction Score is all about. Thx

In the context of forums like this one, it's the total number of positive reactions (posts) minus the negative reactions.

 

[maki2]

reaction scores just seem to be a tradition in social media. It cuts down on people actually having to post thank you, love this, saying they think it is funnyo or they liked or even leaving sad or angry feelings about a subject.That is why emoticons were invented, to rapidly express their own feelings about the content someone wrote instead of using a lot of words. The reaction scores have a limited set of emoticons but they are not just negative and positive like and dislike reactions that can cancel out each other, it is not that type of score keeping. It is simply how many times someone has expressed a feeling about the content a member has written. The more often you post the more likely you are to get someone clicking on a reaction. All those emoticon clicks count as a reaction no matter how you feel about the subject you reacted to.

 

[Frood]

Elon might be reading this....so...uh...I really can't say.

West Texas has A river rather than Rivers I think...
Isn't the Rio Grande comparable to the Ankh from Terry Pratchett's books?

 

[INTJohn]

West Texas has A river rather than Rivers I think...
Isn't the Rio Grande comparable to the Ankh from Terry Pratchett's books?

The Pecos River says Hello………
ain’t sayin jus sayin
intjonny boi

 

[maki2]

Not saying they all have enogh water in them to fill a pot for making cowboy coffee but they are officially rivers in West Texas. Except while one is called a creek it is on the list of rivers. But Texans always were peculiar when it comes to bragging rights calling small stuff big and big stuff small.

 

[Happy Camper]

Why not get kayaking and great views? All while being closer to the group.
https://2traveldads.com/best-places-to-kayak-in-arizona/

 

[Morgana]

I had to slightly alter my walk route yesterday, to avoid the dust blowing out of the (dry) Rio Grande, lol ... and yeah, being near enough to actually meet some of y'all would be a big + in the Arizona column. Tempted to stress about this decision but have to remind myself that I actually like both options. A nice kind of problem to have, in a way

 

[Happy Camper]

Cold snap got here last week. Down to the mid 30s and this week mid 40s.

Watching the Chiefs game when a helmet cracked because it was so cold makes me happy not to live there at this moment in time. I don't ski or engage in winter sports at this point.

 

[user 22017]

I've had my heater on high all day in my trailer and it is 44 inside. Minus 28 wind chill

My forecast:

Hazardous Weather Outlook​

National Weather Service Lincoln IL
301 PM CST Sat Jan 13 2024

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois, east
central Illinois, southeast Illinois and west central Illinois.

.DAY ONE...Tonight.

Dangerously cold wind chill temperatures of 25 to 35 degrees below
zero will develop tonight. Winds gusting 30 to 40 mph will accompany
these dangerously cold conditions, and will produce difficult
driving conditions, especially for high profile vehicles on north-
south roadways.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday.

Bitter cold will continue through the upcoming week. Wind chills are
forecast to fall to 10 to 30 below zero most nights Sunday night
through Tuesday night.

Special Weather Statement​

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
310 PM CST Sat Jan 13 2024

...Hazardous travel conditions due to strong winds, blowing and
drifting snow, and icy road conditions...

Expect hazardous travel conditions this evening and tonight due to
blowing and drifting snow, light falling snow, and ice and snow on
roads. Plan on slippery road conditions. Areas of blowing snow could
reduce visibility to under a mile, especially where a snowpack exists
near and west of the Illinois River. West winds will gust as high as
40 mph causing difficult driving conditions, especially for high
profile vehicles on north-south roadways.

Wind Chill Warning​

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
156 PM CST Sat Jan 13 2024

...WIND CHILL WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO
NOON CST TUESDAY...
...WIND CHILL WATCH IS CANCELLED...

* WHAT...Dangerously cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as
low as 25 to 35 below zero.

* WHERE...Portions of central and west central Illinois.

* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening to noon CST Tuesday.

* IMPACTS...The dangerously cold wind chills could cause
frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 to 15 minutes.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you
wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves.

 

[bullfrog !]

Yep, we have had a few days of cold weather here in Tucson. Actually had some water freeze on top my tote lid last night. I have found getting out later in the day allows me to be comfortable for 4 or 5 hours in sandals and a thick tee shirt. I did go out before sunrise yesterday and wore socks, sweat shirt and a jacket with a sock hat and still got cold. Looks like tonight will be the last night for a while it will get below freezing. Next 10 days will be lows near 40 degrees and highs in or near 70 degrees. Not a bad forecast for this time of year but still too much cold for too much of the day for me! Lol!!!

 

[user 22017]

just noticed ice in the dog's water bowl so i turned on a second space heater. it blew a breaker. darn.

 

[maki2]

^^^sorry you are having to stay there and be in that kind of weather. But it will make you more determined than ever to become a snowbird that heads south for the winter.

 

[Gr8ful]

It's -2 here in SW MI about an inch of snow on the grd but cold thru Tues, 17 Weds & 23 Thurs.

 

[CosmickGold]

At the moment, it's 14 F in Arlington, Texas (near Dallas). I set my thermostat to 38 F to prevent water freezing, and wear a toasty 12v mini-blanket around my chest under my coat. If I set the furnace thermostat warmer, I'd use up my propane because of having to circulate 14 F outside air to keep the flame happy. I hope you all are well insulated. I have Havelock Wool in the walls and ceiling.

 

[user 22017]

At the moment, it's 14 F in Arlington, Texas (near Dallas). I set my thermostat to 38 F to prevent water freezing, and wear a toasty 12v mini-blanket around my chest under my coat. If I set the furnace thermostat warmer, I'd use up my propane because of having to circulate 14 F outside air to keep the flame happy. I hope you all are well insulated. I have Havelock Wool in the walls and ceiling.

my granddaughter is on her way to put Reflectix on the trailer windows. daughter is bringing a buddy heater. wind chill at 7 AM was minus 42. Temp is minus 13.

the temp inside the camper this morning was 33. i lit 12 tea light candles and now it is 41.

i slept inside my daughter's house last night. guess i didn't learn my lesson from the first time I froze in here. still haven't tackled the propane tanks and furnace.

 

[maki2]

Y’all come on down to Quartzsite, the weather is pretty good this week.

But I am glad I tackled the gremlin that was haunting my diesel heater. It sure has been nice to be able to push a button and have heat to offset the nighttime chill.

 

[travelaround]

I was obsessed with the idea of "chasing 70 degrees" in my van... now I just set the thermostat for 70 and it stays that way day or night. I've been in the house almost a month already.

Today I found out about this video re: Happy Camp. The photo of Dennis Day at 2 minutes, 9 seconds into the video is one I took of him. We were sitting in my office which was in a corner of the laundromat back around 2005. I was using the office for web design and writing on a news website. Dennis the dreamcatcher creator was one of my best friends. He unfortunately passed away in 2021 not long after visiting Happy Camp for the last time.

 

[VanFan]

At the moment, it's 14 F in Arlington, Texas (near Dallas).

Thought about you this morning. Snow on the ground and 12F here.