Still Tweaking

The bedroom TV has been giving us problems for some time. It requires a very strong signal coming into the RV to get it to work. The park here has cable but it has a very low signal strength from being split so many times. The front TV works quite well although a bit grainy but the rear TV with an extra 60 feet or so of wire is not so good. It will not receive some of the lower end channels. I remember dealing with this problem in Mexico last winter but forgot what I had done.

While downtown yesterday I picked up a 19 dB video amplifier and wired it in this morning. When I opened the wooden cabinet under the TV I discovered that I had already put an amplifier in the circuit that I had bought in Mexico. It was however, only 15 dB so I replaced it with the more powerful amplifier. This did the trick and the rear TV is now the same quality as the front, a little grainy but receiving all the channels.

This indicates to me that something else might be wrong that I have not yet discovered and that I am only treating the symptom. I recently bought a new TV distribution box but have not yet installed it. It is not an easy task as the new box is a little larger than the old one and the cutout in the cabinet will have to be enlarged. I have all the tools to do this so it might be something I will tackle in Mexico. If that does not solve the problem I will have to look at replacing the cable that goes from the distribution box to the rear TV. I bought a tool to put proper ends on co-ax cables today so I will also be able to shorten some of the cables inside the cabinet and reduce the cable length by 15 or 20 feet. This is due to the fact that the shortest pre-made cables I can buy are 6 feet long and I have used several of them to connect various components where shorter cables would have been better.

In the meantime. I will install the surplus 15 dB amp in the outside bin where the cable entrance is located. This will give the incoming signal an additional boost and should get rid of the graininess. It is an ongoing project but everything I do now should make a positive difference. Stay tuned...

Bummed Out

Rant Alert!!!!

I am in a post USA election funk! It is not even my country but I still feel bummed-out over last night. Of particular disappointment to me was the defeat of the same sex marriage bill in the State of Maine. This bill overturned an earlier decision to allow people who love each other to get married in Maine. The reversal of this decision was promoted and openly financed by various Churches and other homophobic right-wing organizations whose goal is to force their own misguided "morals" down everyone else's throat.

I support the comment made by Jesse Ventura on the issue:

"You can't put a civil rights issue on the ballot and let the people decide. You have to have elected officials to who have courage to make the right decision. If you left it up to the people, we'd have slavery, depending on how you worded it."

• Former Minnesota Governor and pro wrestler Jesse Ventura, responding to Maine's vote on CNN last night.

Jesse is right. The USA appears to be only one vote away from from kicking non-white kids out of their schools and sending them and their parents to the back of the bus again. I thought (hoped) that a self-proclaimed civilized society had progressed beyond the dark ages, but I was wrong. You cannot trust people to vote on human rights, period. Someone has to be the grown-up and make the proper decisions.

Washington State voters did pass a watered down version of the Bill but with very wishy washy language. A same sex marriage in that State is now “almost”, just about”, “sort of” equal to an opposite sex marriage but “not quite” and can't actually be called a “marriage”. Hate and Homophobia reign!

BUT

On the bright side, Carrie Prejean, the homophobic former Miss California who claims “God” was whispering in her ear when she gave her ignorant and hateful answer to a same sex marriage question during the Miss California competition has just made new headlines! A video has surfaced of the pure little Ms Prejean starring in her own little “hand-made” porn production. It seems she could not afford to hire a co-star so she went the distance solo, if you get my drift. A few minutes of this little production was shown to the pious little miss goody two shoes while she and her lawyers were in a conference with pageant officials over her lawsuits with the pageant after they blurted out that they had paid for her boob job and they now want their money back. She counter-sued for a million because now everyone knows she had a boob job. This was fun enough by itself and now the video surfaces and everyone can see her “handiwork”! She walked out of the meeting and the lawsuit "empty handed". This almost makes up for the voters of Maine ruining my day! Almost but not quite...

There! I feel better. The soapbox is stashed away again (for now). Back to thinking about Mexico.

EDIT: OK, I lied. Here is one more tidbit from TMZ:

"We have more info on Carrie Prejean's abrupt about-face during the settlement negotiations with Miss California USA lawyers -- when they showed her the X-Rated version of Home Alone ... starring Carrie herself. When the video started playing, Carrie's first reaction was "that's disgusting" ... and Carrie denied it was her. Then, the camera angle changed ... and panned up to her face. She was caught red-handed ... so to speak. Carrie was rendered speechless and immediately began talking with her lawyer. We're told it took about 15 seconds for Carrie to drop her $1 million dollar demand."

And from the Conservative website Idiocratic:

"So – my fellow conservatives – Was defending Carrie Prejean worth it or did we prop her up on a pedestal a little too soon? Was it really a good idea to see her as our poster girl just because we salivated over a few sentences that she uttered at a beauty pageant? We should have known better using a beauty queen to try to get our message across. What were we thinking? And yes, I am sure that we can thank our good friends on the left for digging up these uncomplimentary images and video about Prejean. That’s what they do best. But if the allegations are true, then Prejean is a hypocrite and we all look like idiots. The point is, we can’t just go embracing every Tom, Dick, and Harry out there that says they are opposed to gay marriage. Maybe we should do a little of our own digging next time? "

I'll stop this soon. I promise! The thing is, it is fine for her to have her opinions and indulge in a little self amusement once in a while. No problem! What is not OK is that she is such a biggoted hypocrite and is given full access to the airwaves to spew out her hatred. Why can't we all just get along?

Yuma, AZ

It was a short drive to Yuma where we pulled into the Cocopah RV Park. This is a beautiful park on First Nations land with it's own championship golf course. We booked for a week (at $35 per night!) as we have a few things to do before we go to Mexico.

Today I got a new thermostat installed in the Honda as it boiled over as soon as I started driving it in the eighty degree heat down here. It was doing that in Mexico last year so I got the radiator flushed in the summer but that did not help. The new thermostat should do the trick and I drove it back from Pep Boys with the gauge staying on the cool side even with the A/C turned up.

I also stocked up on books for Mexico. It is almost impossible to find English books down there and when you do, they cost a fortune. Rae got me started on the Stephanie Plumb mystery series so I bought a bunch more of her series. They are easy to read, humorous mysteries much along the line of the Archie McNally series, which I read all of. The friendly lady who owned the used book store recommended a few more titles she thought I might like so I came away with two bags of books and $60 lighter in the wallet.

Our friends Muff and Val from Vernon are not here yet but Dave and Sharon, a couple from Washington State we met here a few years ago are back this year and we joined them and a couple of other neighbours for "Happy Hour" tonight.

The "To Do" list is getting shorter. Life is good!

Lake Havasu, AZ

Today we made it as far a Lake Havasu. We have been here before and do not feel the need to walk across the London Bridge again. We parked at the new WalMart but were informed that the city had passed an ordinance against overnight parking. The WalMart security guy was very nice and told us to drive to the old WalMart where we would not be bothered. We followed his directions and are parked in their vacant lit parking lot next to a grocery store that appears to be open late.

The weather is fantastic. It is well over 70 and is already t-shirt and shorts weather. No quilt again tonight!

Regular Unleaded on the California side of the state line was $3.10 per gallon and on the Arizona side, $2.55. We had to fill up two times in California.

Gas so far: $675, RV parks: $0, zip, nada, Fun: priceless… Life is good.

14 on “66”

Our travels today took us along Interstate 40, the highway built to replace old Route 66. Parts of the Historic highway still survive along with the derelict businesses that used to thrive along this former lifeline. Sometimes the old Route 66 parallels I-40 and it is possible to drive on it for a ways. We took one of those opportunities today and it was a very nostalgic experience driving along the old narrow highway that people come from all over the world to see. The surface was in need of repair and most of the signs have found their way into rec rooms all over the world but there was no mistake that it was Route 66.  We covered 14 miles of Route 66. All I needed was a ‘53 Corvette and I would have gone all the way to Chicago!

Bakersfield, CA

It was another long day of driving today and we pulled into the Bakersfield Walmart just after dark. The store had moved o the parking lot was deserted. It was Halloween night but the rowdies must have been busier somewhere else because except for a couple of fire trucks and police cars racing by in the middle of the night, it was very peaceful. I walked over to a Carl’s Jr. to pick up some food to go and practiced a little of my Spanish on Juan, the clerk. He seemed very surprised that  a white guy was speaking (terrible) Spanish to him but he quickly recovered and was very nice. I was surprised than there was little off air TV in Bakersfield. We searched around but found only three digital signals that faded in and out.

Olive Pit

We are in Corning, CA at the Olive Pit. This place is like a candy store for olive lovers. There are dozens (maybe hundreds) of stuffed olives for sale and all are available for free sampling! This is a regular stop for us and we usually stock up with enough so we have plenty to take back to Canada in the Spring.

I got an oil and lube this morning at WalMart. Lube and oil change with full Castrol Synthetic for under $74. A bargain compared to what I pay ion Canada. The engine seems to like it as well. It has never had synthetic and is purring like a kitten. It is hard to hold it under 65.

The weather is perfect and it is 350 miles to Bakersfield. We shall see how close we get today.

Gas Prices

When we got off the ferry in Port Angeles we were greeted with $2.89 per gallon gas prices. A lot cheaper than Canada but higher than it was in April. Oregon was a little better at $2.69 and they even have real, live gas station attendants there!

We topped the tank off in Oregon before we entered California at a nice little Union 76 station where they have a free sewer dump for their customers. We paid $2.69. Just 33 miles up the road in California the price jumped to $3.56!!! Ninety cents a gallon more! We will try to make it through California on a couple of fill-ups.

Anderson, CA

It was a very long drive today but I wanted to get the Siskiyou Pass behind me and the weather was beautiful as we crossed into California. We stopped at the Agricultural Inspection where they relieved us of three oranges. He was very apologetic, saying he hated to take our fruit but that he had a job to do. No problem, I am sure we can find oranges in California.

We parked for the night in a brand new WalMart in Anderson, CA where they have an RV service bay in their service Center. We will get an oil and lube first thing in the morning and then head to Corning, CA to stock up on olives at the Olive Pit. I can taste those martinis already!

This WalMart, like many in California, has a No Overnight Parking sign posted. I asked at the car center and was told to ignore it. They never bother anyone staying for one night but they have had problems with people using the parking lot for long term camping. These are the ones who ruin it for all of us who just want a safe, level place to park for a few hours sleep.

The really good news here is that when I turned on the laptop in the motorhome, I had WIFI!!!!! I think it is coming from a pizza and pasta place in front of us where we just might go for dinner.

I copied my friend Rae’s idea and bought a Starbucks card in hopes I could get two hours of free WIFI a day from them but when I signed up I was placed in an endless loop of Starbucks home page to the signup page and back to the home page. Nobody in the store knew anything about it so I gave up after an hour of frustration!

Anyway, it is 7:00 PM here in Anderson and it is still 70 degrees outside! We will be sleeping without all our quilts piled on top of us tonight and will be able to have the windows open. Life is good!

Salem, Oregon

We only made it as far as Salem tonight before it started to get close to dark. we asked the Garmin Nuvi to find us a Walmart and it gave us several to choose from so we picked a SuperCenter and it lead us right there. We went in and I picked up a $40 8 gig memory card for my new camera. The files on the new camera are much larger than they were on the D70S necessitating the change.

I love shopping in Oregon! There is no tax so when they tell you the tires cost $1308, that is what the bill is. Not $1308 plus PST, plus GST adding couple of  hundred or so to the bill. The other thing I really like in Oregon is the fact that there are no self-serve gas stations! This is great for employment, especially for young people. Working in a gas station was my first job while I was in school and it was great.

It is raining. It has been raining off and on since Victoria. At least it is getting a little warmer as we travel South.

I “almost” have a WIFI signal here. It shows a weak signal from somewhere but when I click on it, it disappears. I will save this and post it when I can.