Vandweller Chatroom (Closing)

[RvNaut]

Sorry I missed the chat.. a group of us went out to Karaoke last night...

 

[AmargosaWayne]

Sometimes I talk to myself because sometimes I really need to talk to someone who is intelligent.

And I sound much more so when I use spell check....

Depends, spell check doesn't have a concept of context or grammar, the spelling it decides that is correct might not be the right word.

 

[user 22017]

Thanks, I found a youtube video about it...this is on the far southern border of Texas, just a very short distance from Mexico. This means it will primarily be suitable for cool season (fall/winter) camping. BTW this will be about 130 miles west of SpaceX Boca Chica launch complex...you might even get to see a rocket launch!

Thanks for the link. The guy didn't mention the free firewood and laundry facility. And that it is unlimited stay.

I'm surprised at how many towns in Texas offer free camping. Very cool.

 

[kklowell]

How in the world did I miss another Tuesday night??? I think I need to stick a reminder on the wall or something.

 

[wb8vyn]

How in the world did I miss another Tuesday night??? I think I need to stick a reminder on the wall or something.

I didn't miss the chat room, just didn't have anything to contribute at that time.......But now i do!
Bought a new deep cycle battery. Last one was 6 years old and didn't work well enough so for $68 I bought a new one. (bigger than the last one). Found out that the box it should have fit in was too small. To top that off the new one was heavy.
I carried it a few steps and sat it down several times till I got there. Now have to grind off the mounting screws to remove the old box.
The rails are just wide enough to hold the battery but not wide enough for a wider box so, the new one is going to be open to weather etc. Even at that, this new battery is going to outlive me. I'm going to put a piece of marine plywood down first and then strap the battery in place.
Next is to shop for some solar panels that can be put out when it's not practical to use a generator. (don't want to disturb other campers).
Started my crock pot. while still hooked up to commercial power. Will be ready some time tonight. Tomorrow I'm off again. I can stop at road side rest areas and run a gen to finish off the crock pot if needed during the day.
As I go along day by day, I find that being alone is what others prefer. More and more I find myself ok with that also.
So I stopped at a dollar store and bought myself a 4 cup coffee pot and retired my 12 cupper.
Something I have discovered is that many truck drivers are required to not move for an extended period of time (couple of days). Big fine if they do. So no food or bathroom. No wonder there's a shortage of drivers. I wouldn't want to live like that either. Just think, if you could not go home at the end of your work day or work week.
So, When I find one of those men stranded, I share a meal and my shower and a bull session. Look at the pictures of their kids and wife. Doesn't cost me much and breaks up my day now and then.
With all the "spare" time I have now, and wide spread internet access I can learn a lot about things going on around our country and how evil people can be.
I know, Speak of no evil. Reminds of those monkeys,
I'm not one of those monkeys except here.
Love ya all.

 

[bullfrog]

Pecos Texas in 1970 had a big tree and a picnic table that you could camp under which my new wife and I did in a CJ5 Jeep with everything we owned in a small utility trailer transferring from Tucson to Little Rock Air Force Base. The Mayor seeing us park came over and bought us ice cream from a local stand and showed us around the town asking us to consider moving there when we finished my enlistment. It was truly an amazing experience after being spit on in uniform at the airport in California by some Viet Nam war protesters.

 

[kklowell]

Bullfrog....from a fellow veteran, thanks for your service. Did you serve in Vietnam?

 

[bullfrog]

Nope, I was picking up a friend that made it back that I had trained with. I had several close friends that were older than me that did and were killed by the time I was almost 17 years old. I wanted to immediately enlist as a door gunner but my parents wouldn’t sign for me to enlist early. By the time I was almost 18 I became a little more aware of the politics and being born on September 13 and the winner of the draft lottery (1st date to be drawn that year) my parents allowed me to preenlist in the Air Force. I’ve always tested well and being motivated I aced the testing in all areas and got singled out for embassy work but as you have to volunteer to disappear and I was engaged I didn’t want to disappear. Two weeks after I turned 18 they sent me to train to be a BMAT on a Titan ll combat crew (SAC trained killer) Lol!!! I trained with a flight of K9 base security guards with a life expectancy of 3 weeks once deployed to Viet Nam. The Air Force had determined it would be good motivation for my studies which if I made less than 95% competency in missile training I would immediately join them, little did they know that was exactly what I wanted but turned out missile duty was challenging and I seemed made for it so I stuck with it. Out of the 90 K9 troops I trained with 35 didn’t come home. I still have a hard time when I realize 22 veterans a day that made it back commit suicide. There is a veteran riding a bicycle cross country because he found it helped him and wants others to check on vets and get them involved with bicycles. He is on YouTube “22 states in 22 days” really having something to keep you going helps with the stress of your memories. Sorry for the long post, better go ride the bike some with my buddy. Thank you to all those that serve and those that care about them.

 

[Morgana]

I finally found that campground in Texas where it is unlimited free camping.

(referring to Falcon County Park)

If you go there, take a little side trip (less than half an hour, probably on your route anyway) to Roma, TX, a small town with lots of picturesque old buildings. ("Old" as in "nobody had the money to knock them down," not as in "preserved till they don't look real anymore.") There's some kind of a birding center there too.

When I was there I parked free on the plaza, got a tasty and inexpensive carry-out lunch from the Fiesta restaurant (if you don't speak Spanish, keep your order simple), and ate it on the observation deck on North Water Street (Roma Observation Deck, shows up on Google Maps) -- which I think is primarily for bird-watching but also gives you a great view of the river and of Ciudad Miguel Aleman. It's just a couple of blocks from the international bridge.

And, yeah, probably best in the winter months. It's starting to cook pretty good now.

 

[Quinn]

Pecos Texas in 1970 had a big tree and a picnic table that you could camp under.....

That's quite a story! Thanks for sharing

 

[Morgana]

There is a veteran riding a bicycle cross country because he found it helped him and wants others to check on vets and get them involved with bicycles.

That seems like a very fine cause.
We asked so much of you guys. And it doesn't really end, does it.
Thank you.

 

[kklowell]

Bullfrog, be glad you didn't become a door gunner... their life expectancy in Vietnam was extremely short. It was a position they didn't find many volunteers for. I was there 1969-1970 and during that time the Army was offering a bonus of (If I recall correctly) $20,000 to people who would become door gunners. I doubt they had to pay it out very often.

 

[bullfrog]

My wife fortunately needed someone to “fix”. Lol!!! I didn’t plan on living past 30 years old. Give you an idea of early missile crew life. We looked for cracks in the warhead by feeling with our hands and the oxidizer boiled at 74 degrees and leaked into the silo or vented on site into the desert turned to acid when it contacted moisture so of course they built them in the middle of the desert and one used Mexican power to run the AC. I got a $10,000 reenlistment bonus in 1970. A third of us got prostrate cancer but still hasn’t been recognized as service related. We did launch key turns at least once a month getting a disable code 48 seconds before we ended the world as we know it. I started being treated and learning methods for dealing with stress at 20 years old. Normally you spent a maximum of 2 years on a combat crew, I lasted 4 and was in for 2 more in a command post before I was done. Search YouTube for Titan II explosion, I saw it coming because after Viet Nam funding for training became almost nonexistent and on the job training wasn’t cutting it. I transferred to Little Rock and got out a few years before the explosion that made public the problems. The safety officer was a friend of mine from my home town. His knick name was “Shakey Jake”! Lol!!! Glad to hear you made it back and thank you. When you are raised like I was where I was military service was better than coal mines (I was trapped underground 14 hours when I was 16 years old) or steel mills (tapped a blast furnace at 14 years old).

 

[bebewanna]

Hi... How do you get the password

 

[abnorm]

When the CHAT is Open there is No Password.....that's an Off-Hours kinda thing

You do need to complete the Capcha

 

[tx2sturgis]

Chatroom is open on Tuesday evenings...and you wont need a password when the chatroom is open....so please check in this Tuesday evening!

 

[bebewanna]

OK thank you....

 

[tx2sturgis]

Today IS a Tuesday and lets talk Twitter....Free speech has never been 'free'...and it cost Elon Musk 44 billion!

Come join the conversation in the chatroom tonight, for Twitter Tuesday.

(newsflash: we talk about other stuff too!)

https://minnit.chat/VandwellerChat

 

[maki2]

I will skip that chat for sure!

 

[RvNaut]

I will be at Karaoke ... again... please share this thought..

A couple of billionaires own FOX... If one is to go ballistic over Musk owning Twitter, then this same outrage should be applied in equal measure to a whole **** load of media companies, let alone, power, fossil fuels, food, medicine.

We live in a gigantic Company Store that cares about one thing, using you to create profits for them.

So, I find all this outrage to be hypocritically hilarious... Surrounded by fire, everyone gets all pissed off by the person lighting a match.