A new piece of Windows malware has been in the news. This one is pretty scary.
CryptoLocker arrives as a Trojan Horse--an executable disguised as something else, such as a PDF or picture file--that when opened silently encrypts your files using "military-grade" encryption that has been characterized as "infeasible" to decrypt without the key. Your stuff is still there, but unreadable. Permanently.
On completion of the encryption process, you will be presented with a _demands_ screen: Within some fairly limited amount of time, pay hundreds of dollars using any of several methods, or the key will be "destroyed". (Turns out that this "destruction" may not be without appeal, but the second chance is worth _thousands_ of dollars.) Pay up (an act as galling as it is expensive in a couple of ways), and the key will be returned and files decrypted. (Some report success, others report otherwise, apparently. The perpetrators are criminals, after all.)
For information, Google "cryptolocker", and read the Wikipedia article first.
A Windows user should do (at least these) three things:
1. Set your anti-virus on _kill_. (Make certain that it is engaged and that it is using the latest definitions.)
2. Back up to an external drive. Check the backup to see that its files are readable.
2. Be extremely vigilant about opening files that have been e-mailed to you. Open _nothing_ about which you can have the slightest doubt as to provenance. It is at this point that the infection occurs, and it does so silently. One is aware that one has troubles only when the damage has already been done.
Power users have other tools, but they are arcane and _unlikely_.
Note that this exploit runs on "social engineering"; getting the victim to participate by scamming him. The user is the line of defense; knowing what to expect and how to recognize the threat before it is put into play are key to staying safe.
There is one more way of staying out of harm's way, but I won't mention it because it can make a Macintosh user seem far too pleased with himself--and besides, his own safety may not be permanent.
Mark_
06 November 2013
04 November 2013
Back From Our Trip to Kansas City
We have returned from our 5,500-mile trip. We had a great time, and we're already thinking about the text trip.
We did spend some time inside the grandparents' house, which was both worse and not as bad as I expected. Not as bad, because I had been lead to believe that everything had been stolen. The truth is different--and stranger--than that: There remains virtually nothing of ordinary /collectable/ value, but we did find some things that probably are worth something to the right collector. Example: _Reader's Digest_ from 1942. Wow.
Unexpectedly, pantry shelves still contained foodstuffs in glass jars--including home-canned foods (now altered beyond recognition by 35 years of storage). Clothing and shoes I recall having seen worn were still in the place. Appliances I recognize from childhood were still there.
The _worse_ was in the fact that the house still contained a large amount of ordinary household furnishings--mostly small stuff, but including clothing, small furnishings, and such that I recognized. Some of these materials had apparently not been touched at all (grandmothers dresses still in closets, jacket and gardening had still on the hook in the mud room, for example), but the whole place was strewn with /stuff/ that had been pulled out of its normal locations and dropped on the floors and onto every other horizontal surface. In some places, piles of /things/ made walking uncertain. In other areas, there was less on the floors but it was obvious nevertheless that things had been carried in from other rooms and abandoned there without any kind of intentionality. Not like someone had been interrupted in the process of moving out, but as if children had overrun the place for an extended period.
This place is down a natural-surface road two miles outside a very small town that is 50 miles from Springfield, MO. Even the vandals seem unable to muster the energy for anything serious; there was virtually no intentional damage beyond some wiring ripped out of walls. There were no drifts of beer cans, no indoor campfires, and in fact nobody had even sat upon any of the few chairs that remained; stuff was on every flat surface. The glass faceplate on the gas stove light had been broken, but the fluorescent tube inside was intact. Several mirrors all over the house were undamaged.
There were newspapers & magazines, picture frames, cooking utensils, jars of spices & flavorings, things, objects--all of the little paraphernalia that houses have in them--everywhere: on the floor, on tables and chairs and couch, on kitchen counters--and still on pantry and closet shelves.
Despite a few broken windows, a roof penetration or two, and open doors, the house is in pretty good condition, considering. Some hardwood floors were still actually nice. The house as a whole is probably not actually restorable to the kind of state that most people would want to pay for, but it is not immediately threatened either.
The barn was another matter. It is over a hundred years old, I think, and an important roof support has failed. Even so, the central structure is stacked log, most of which is still in good condition; the bulk of its metal roof is intact, which has surely helped. It seems safe to enter, but normal use is no longer possible; doors mostly don't work, and climbing into the loft would be seriously imprudent.
We could not enter other outbuildings, which had recently been fenced away from the main property, but I imagine that little of interest remains in them and I doubt they were safe to enter, anyway.
After a few hours, we departed with a large number of photographs and the feeling that we had just spent a period of time in strangeness.
Our trip hope was largely uneventful after we had spent a couple of very pleasant days with Cindy's relations in Morse, TX, and Albuquerque, NM. We saw and photographed scenery, vistas, views, novelties, and sun-rises and -sets.
And in the course of several legs outbound and back we consumed roughly equal measures of gasoline and coffee.
Great trip! (Pix @ my Picasa.)
Mark_
Federal Way
We did spend some time inside the grandparents' house, which was both worse and not as bad as I expected. Not as bad, because I had been lead to believe that everything had been stolen. The truth is different--and stranger--than that: There remains virtually nothing of ordinary /collectable/ value, but we did find some things that probably are worth something to the right collector. Example: _Reader's Digest_ from 1942. Wow.
Unexpectedly, pantry shelves still contained foodstuffs in glass jars--including home-canned foods (now altered beyond recognition by 35 years of storage). Clothing and shoes I recall having seen worn were still in the place. Appliances I recognize from childhood were still there.
The _worse_ was in the fact that the house still contained a large amount of ordinary household furnishings--mostly small stuff, but including clothing, small furnishings, and such that I recognized. Some of these materials had apparently not been touched at all (grandmothers dresses still in closets, jacket and gardening had still on the hook in the mud room, for example), but the whole place was strewn with /stuff/ that had been pulled out of its normal locations and dropped on the floors and onto every other horizontal surface. In some places, piles of /things/ made walking uncertain. In other areas, there was less on the floors but it was obvious nevertheless that things had been carried in from other rooms and abandoned there without any kind of intentionality. Not like someone had been interrupted in the process of moving out, but as if children had overrun the place for an extended period.
This place is down a natural-surface road two miles outside a very small town that is 50 miles from Springfield, MO. Even the vandals seem unable to muster the energy for anything serious; there was virtually no intentional damage beyond some wiring ripped out of walls. There were no drifts of beer cans, no indoor campfires, and in fact nobody had even sat upon any of the few chairs that remained; stuff was on every flat surface. The glass faceplate on the gas stove light had been broken, but the fluorescent tube inside was intact. Several mirrors all over the house were undamaged.
There were newspapers & magazines, picture frames, cooking utensils, jars of spices & flavorings, things, objects--all of the little paraphernalia that houses have in them--everywhere: on the floor, on tables and chairs and couch, on kitchen counters--and still on pantry and closet shelves.
Despite a few broken windows, a roof penetration or two, and open doors, the house is in pretty good condition, considering. Some hardwood floors were still actually nice. The house as a whole is probably not actually restorable to the kind of state that most people would want to pay for, but it is not immediately threatened either.
The barn was another matter. It is over a hundred years old, I think, and an important roof support has failed. Even so, the central structure is stacked log, most of which is still in good condition; the bulk of its metal roof is intact, which has surely helped. It seems safe to enter, but normal use is no longer possible; doors mostly don't work, and climbing into the loft would be seriously imprudent.
We could not enter other outbuildings, which had recently been fenced away from the main property, but I imagine that little of interest remains in them and I doubt they were safe to enter, anyway.
After a few hours, we departed with a large number of photographs and the feeling that we had just spent a period of time in strangeness.
Our trip hope was largely uneventful after we had spent a couple of very pleasant days with Cindy's relations in Morse, TX, and Albuquerque, NM. We saw and photographed scenery, vistas, views, novelties, and sun-rises and -sets.
And in the course of several legs outbound and back we consumed roughly equal measures of gasoline and coffee.
Great trip! (Pix @ my Picasa.)
Mark_
Federal Way
28 October 2013
Battery stolen from _Arcadia_.
Cindy found our tongue battery missing this morning. The sheriff has been summoned.
Dammit.
Mark_
Dammit.
Mark_
21 October 2013
Missouri, and beyond.
We have seen old friends, camped in a beautiful state park, eaten catfish, looked around Mark Twain's boyhood home town, and ridden a little train whose cars were like commercial tumble dryers (up a leg of St. Louis's Gateway Arch; pix soon)--and now it's time to visit south Missouri.
I will have a look at the small farm where my maternal grandparents lived, and where I got my taste for the outdoors. My memory of the nighttime insect sounds is vivid and pleasant; we have enjoyed hearing sounds that we have not heard during the 29 years we have been living in the Northwest.
The place will be in serious disrepair, and I have no expectation of entering the house. Apparently all worth having was stolen long ago, anyway.
Even so, I intend to walk around outside.
After that, a natural spring or two in south Missouri, then on to Albuquerque.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Babler SP, St. Louis, MO.
• Pictures: <https://picasaweb.google.com/socrates4718>
13 October 2013
Camping @ Knob Noster SP
The Longs and we have driven our trailers to Knob Noster (Latin: Our Hill[s]) State Park for a couple of nights among the trees. Nice park.
Sunday we took a nice walk through a forest of oak, hickory, and cottonwood. Some of these were pretty large. And the effect overall was quite beautiful. Things are beginning to look as if they might like to turn to fall colors, although not much progress has been made at present.
After our return, and just as our very late lunch (or slightly early dinner) was ready, were visited by old friends who had been our neighbors when we lived in Independence. We had camped together--they had had the first pop-up we had seen--and next weekend we will camp together again, near Hannibal, MO. While there we will look around Mark Twain country, and as we depart at the end of the weekend we may drive through St. Louis (MO Botanical Garden, Climatron, etc.).
We finished the day sitting around a campfire as the evening cooled. The majority of the other campers have departed, so except for the barred owl we hear, the place is pretty quiet.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Knob Noster
SP, MO.
• Pictures: <https://picasaweb.google.com/socrates4718>
Sunday we took a nice walk through a forest of oak, hickory, and cottonwood. Some of these were pretty large. And the effect overall was quite beautiful. Things are beginning to look as if they might like to turn to fall colors, although not much progress has been made at present.
After our return, and just as our very late lunch (or slightly early dinner) was ready, were visited by old friends who had been our neighbors when we lived in Independence. We had camped together--they had had the first pop-up we had seen--and next weekend we will camp together again, near Hannibal, MO. While there we will look around Mark Twain country, and as we depart at the end of the weekend we may drive through St. Louis (MO Botanical Garden, Climatron, etc.).
We finished the day sitting around a campfire as the evening cooled. The majority of the other campers have departed, so except for the barred owl we hear, the place is pretty quiet.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Knob Noster
SP, MO.
• Pictures: <https://picasaweb.google.com/socrates4718>
11 October 2013
Sights and Activities in Kansas City
Today we visited a quaint little retail complex where the foods were arrayed on and beside some interesting antiques, then we drove into Kansas City to walk around one of the U.S.'s first themed shopping districts, the Country Club Plaza. This area is near the biggest of the city's art museums, the University of Missouri, the Union Station, and other cultural features.
It contains a Starbucks, a Sur la Table, and an Eddie Bauer.
After reconnecting with old friends, we drove a couple of miles through town for some authentic barbecue from Arthur Bryant's. After that very late lunch we returned to pick up those friends and attend a Spanish Baroque music concert <http://bachariasoloists.com>. This was delightful.
Just as a major thunderstorm was arriving, we drove back to _Arcadia_ @ the Longs--arriving barely in time to close windows before the rain hit.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, the Longs', Lone Jack, MO.
It contains a Starbucks, a Sur la Table, and an Eddie Bauer.
After reconnecting with old friends, we drove a couple of miles through town for some authentic barbecue from Arthur Bryant's. After that very late lunch we returned to pick up those friends and attend a Spanish Baroque music concert <http://bachariasoloists.com>. This was delightful.
Just as a major thunderstorm was arriving, we drove back to _Arcadia_ @ the Longs--arriving barely in time to close windows before the rain hit.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, the Longs', Lone Jack, MO.
09 October 2013
Camping at Dick and Evalyn's
I had an excellent little shop install my rivets today: Abe Thompson RV of Grain Valley, MO. He knew exactly what was needed (although he was quite skeptical about the use of acorn nuts on the "other" end of pop-rivets). The cost was quite reasonable, he let help, and he was pleasant. One further, excellent, result is that I understand things better.
The trouble with my effort was that holes were not aligned so that I could push rivets into place. Because the coach and its furniture are flexible, when I parked in his lot loading was different, and holes lined up better.
All good now.
That stop along I-70 occurred as we drove to our next overnight stop: in the yard @ Dick & Evalyn's. Tomorrow evening Evalyn will host a party for Cindy and her former colleagues from the Blue Springs, Missouri, school district.
It will be big fun.
Weather has been beautiful: pleasantly warm, brilliantly sunny days; clear, cool nights.
We have been renewing our acquaintance with Midwestern plants, birds, and insects. Pix @ my Picasa. (That is the largest praying mantis I have ever seen. Wow.)
Camping with Dick & Evalyn this weekend.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, @ the Longs', Lone Jack, MO.
• Pictures: <https://picasaweb.google.com/socrates4718>
The trouble with my effort was that holes were not aligned so that I could push rivets into place. Because the coach and its furniture are flexible, when I parked in his lot loading was different, and holes lined up better.
All good now.
That stop along I-70 occurred as we drove to our next overnight stop: in the yard @ Dick & Evalyn's. Tomorrow evening Evalyn will host a party for Cindy and her former colleagues from the Blue Springs, Missouri, school district.
It will be big fun.
Weather has been beautiful: pleasantly warm, brilliantly sunny days; clear, cool nights.
We have been renewing our acquaintance with Midwestern plants, birds, and insects. Pix @ my Picasa. (That is the largest praying mantis I have ever seen. Wow.)
Camping with Dick & Evalyn this weekend.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, @ the Longs', Lone Jack, MO.
• Pictures: <https://picasaweb.google.com/socrates4718>
08 October 2013
Leisurely Day in Camp
This was a leisurely day in camp; we had taken a late-night walk to the marina last night, so we slept in this morning until quote late.
I spent the day working on the issue of some broken rivets @ _Arcadia_'s galley. ("It's not a bug; it's a _feature_!"). In the end, I failed; Casita will pay for a shop to install replacements.
I had not realized it, but one had been out for months--perhaps since our first trip. The other three probably broke because of that one's lack of support at a crucial location--and because we had to drive over the most uneven stretch of interstate highway I believe I have ever encountered.
The rivets are apparently considered sacrificial: They break so that nothing more expensive breaks. This seems to have worked.
During the evening we chatted with the full-timer owners of the Casita in the slip next door. They carry more stuff than we do--an amazing amount.
Tomorrow, to the shop (we hope) and then to Richard & Evalyn's.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Lake Jacomo Campground, Fleming Park, Jackson County, MO.
• Pictures: <https://picasaweb.google.com/socrates4718>
• Web-Log: <http://socrates4718.blogspot.com>
I spent the day working on the issue of some broken rivets @ _Arcadia_'s galley. ("It's not a bug; it's a _feature_!"). In the end, I failed; Casita will pay for a shop to install replacements.
I had not realized it, but one had been out for months--perhaps since our first trip. The other three probably broke because of that one's lack of support at a crucial location--and because we had to drive over the most uneven stretch of interstate highway I believe I have ever encountered.
The rivets are apparently considered sacrificial: They break so that nothing more expensive breaks. This seems to have worked.
During the evening we chatted with the full-timer owners of the Casita in the slip next door. They carry more stuff than we do--an amazing amount.
Tomorrow, to the shop (we hope) and then to Richard & Evalyn's.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Lake Jacomo Campground, Fleming Park, Jackson County, MO.
• Pictures: <https://picasaweb.google.com/socrates4718>
• Web-Log: <http://socrates4718.blogspot.com>
07 October 2013
Visiting with Friends
We visited Dick & Evalyn at their place last evening. It was great seeing them again--and also to have excellent cookies and cake--a triple treat:
Desserts! (We haven't been having desserts much for the previous year or so.)
Dick and Evalyn! (Warm hospitality; excellent slides of their summer travels; laughs; good times.)
_Evalyn's_ desserts! (Any desserts might have been acceptable, but _these_ cookies and _this_ cake were worth a three-day drive!)
Two more nights here @ Lake Jacomo (where, I have fairly recently remembered, I was on a sailboat for the only time during that part of my life), then we will relocate to Dick & Evalyn's for three nights. For the weekend we have arranged to camp with them @ Knob Noster State Park. We are eager!
For the time being, no plans are in place for additional visits with Cindy's father.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Lake Jacomo Campground, Fleming Park, Jackson County, MO.
Desserts! (We haven't been having desserts much for the previous year or so.)
Dick and Evalyn! (Warm hospitality; excellent slides of their summer travels; laughs; good times.)
_Evalyn's_ desserts! (Any desserts might have been acceptable, but _these_ cookies and _this_ cake were worth a three-day drive!)
Two more nights here @ Lake Jacomo (where, I have fairly recently remembered, I was on a sailboat for the only time during that part of my life), then we will relocate to Dick & Evalyn's for three nights. For the weekend we have arranged to camp with them @ Knob Noster State Park. We are eager!
For the time being, no plans are in place for additional visits with Cindy's father.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Lake Jacomo Campground, Fleming Park, Jackson County, MO.
06 October 2013
New mooring
After a trying morning and abrupt departure, _Arcadia_ has taken a new mooring in the campground @ Fleming Park, eastern Jackson County, Missouri.
After making the acquaintance of the Casita owners in the next site (fulltiming for the last 17 months), we accepted an invitation to spend the evening with Dick & Evalyn. While there we accepted an invitation to park there (beginning Wednesday night); Evalyn will host a party for Cindy of her long-ago colleagues from the Blue Springs school district.
Beyond that?
Not certain. I do wish to contact some old friends from music school and later, and we do expect to get around to that. In addition, there are parks and other outdoor attractions to see--earlier than we had expected to get to them. Plan 'B' may not be too bad.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Jacomo Campground, Fleming Park, Jackson County, MO.
After making the acquaintance of the Casita owners in the next site (fulltiming for the last 17 months), we accepted an invitation to spend the evening with Dick & Evalyn. While there we accepted an invitation to park there (beginning Wednesday night); Evalyn will host a party for Cindy of her long-ago colleagues from the Blue Springs school district.
Beyond that?
Not certain. I do wish to contact some old friends from music school and later, and we do expect to get around to that. In addition, there are parks and other outdoor attractions to see--earlier than we had expected to get to them. Plan 'B' may not be too bad.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Jacomo Campground, Fleming Park, Jackson County, MO.
New plan
We have weighed anchor, and will be moored in a park or someplace not-so-nearby.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Independence, MO.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Independence, MO.
05 October 2013
Midwest Trip 131005
Huge thunderstorm last night! Excellent!
We always liked them, and now our fiberglass craft does not have a large metal protrusion above us.
During the evening we used an app to watch the storm's approach, then as dark fell we saw distant lightning in the clouds. As we were retiring for the night, the lightning, thunder, and rain arrived, and I had to furl the awning and close the windows. Pretty entertaining.
As you can see from my pictures (Picasa), we are seeing insects unlike those we have found in the PNW. Of course, some of those are of the "singing" sort--something else that we miss. We both like to go to sleep to the sounds of insects, so much so that we have recordings that we play on occasion.
This is my first visit back here in quite a number of years. We have found that there are lots of new businesses--new business districts, in fact--but although there are cars in their parking lots, it is not clear how those cars got there; traffic is quite light by comparison to virtually anyplace we are accustomed to going in the NW.
This week, Evalyn & Dick L. will host a party of Cindy's former colleagues from her days as music teacher in nearby Blue Springs. We plan to see if they want to go camping somewhere; we have been reminded of a pleasant park not far from here <http://mostateparks.com/park/watkins-mill-state-park>.
Cindy has the unenviable job of considering how to help her parents--who are not yet convinced that any help is needed. It is not likely to be easy.
More later.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_
Independence, MO
03 October 2013
Midwest Trip 131003
Today's big event was a bit of a storm--the real, meteorological kind, not the family kind: dark clouds, wind, torrential rain, lightning, thunder. A year or so ago, I should have added, "the kind that Seattle never has." As of this very season, that might be rather less true.
Even so, this was quite the little event. I was fortunate to be able to watch it approach, arrive, and depart--all by using a weather-radar app on my iDevice. I stayed inside _Arcadia_ (after shutting windows and overhead vent, and unfurling about four feet of awning, with the feet in their fittings on the trailer's side; I wanted to leave the door open--which worked).
A half-hour later, sun and calm had returned, with humidity as companion. Maximum temperature was about 86 degrees F., or so, but the continuing breeze kept the impression from seeming overly warm.
We went driving around town--a place we used to know--to find that much was unfamiliar. (Someone apparently left a gate open somewhere, and a whole lot of people arrived and built stuff.) Of course, the predominant trees are broad-leaf deciduous trees, some of which really are quite large and beautiful. The elms are nearly all gone, but the big oaks and maples and such are lovely. Nothing is as pleasant as the cool shade of a big tree on a hot day.
And we learned why the house was so hot: For [however long; months?] the old hot-water baseboard heating system had been not just _not disabled_, but was actually _on_ and _active_--set to bring the house's temperature up to 80 while the climate-control system (unified heating & air-conditioning) (or the attic fan, later in the day) fought to reduce the temperature to 65 or so. The system that replaced the baseboard system, a heat-pump with gas-fired backup, must have wondered why the task assigned was so difficult. We all did, but once we worked out why the house had begun the day warmer than the outside air, things went better. (Gas to the old system has been shut off now.)
Now, at 22:47 Central time, the outside air is nice and cool, and the insects are singing. Pretty great.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_
Independence, MO
Even so, this was quite the little event. I was fortunate to be able to watch it approach, arrive, and depart--all by using a weather-radar app on my iDevice. I stayed inside _Arcadia_ (after shutting windows and overhead vent, and unfurling about four feet of awning, with the feet in their fittings on the trailer's side; I wanted to leave the door open--which worked).
A half-hour later, sun and calm had returned, with humidity as companion. Maximum temperature was about 86 degrees F., or so, but the continuing breeze kept the impression from seeming overly warm.
We went driving around town--a place we used to know--to find that much was unfamiliar. (Someone apparently left a gate open somewhere, and a whole lot of people arrived and built stuff.) Of course, the predominant trees are broad-leaf deciduous trees, some of which really are quite large and beautiful. The elms are nearly all gone, but the big oaks and maples and such are lovely. Nothing is as pleasant as the cool shade of a big tree on a hot day.
And we learned why the house was so hot: For [however long; months?] the old hot-water baseboard heating system had been not just _not disabled_, but was actually _on_ and _active_--set to bring the house's temperature up to 80 while the climate-control system (unified heating & air-conditioning) (or the attic fan, later in the day) fought to reduce the temperature to 65 or so. The system that replaced the baseboard system, a heat-pump with gas-fired backup, must have wondered why the task assigned was so difficult. We all did, but once we worked out why the house had begun the day warmer than the outside air, things went better. (Gas to the old system has been shut off now.)
Now, at 22:47 Central time, the outside air is nice and cool, and the insects are singing. Pretty great.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_
Independence, MO
02 October 2013
Midwest Trip 131002
We have been here for just 24 hours, and Cindy has accomplished some of the first items on the list: an escorted doctor visit, lists of medications, face-to-face evaluation of the situation.
I have installed Wi-Fi on their iMac (for our own convenience), tightened a dangerously and precariously loose blade on their ceiling fan, and demonstrated to them the joys of the attic fan. (They have stopped running the air conditioner, because keeping the house at 61 degrees when the outside is 99 is so expensive. It is considerably less hot than that now, but the house can be sweltering anyway.)
Alas, however, they don't like the fan because of the dirt and dust that the incoming air introduces into the house and the curtains it blows on its way in. (To clarify: This is in the middle of the suburbs; there is no perceptible incoming contamination.)
The trailer, sitting in the sun but with windows open, is more pleasant inside.
It has been a bit warm; sunny, and obviously humid. However the nights are cool and filled with the sounds of lovelorn insects--something that we both miss. (Last night we had crickets, katydids, cicadas, things I don't know [never did], and a barred owl. Excellent!)
Rush hour through Denver yesterday morning and through Kansas City in the afternoon were nearly nothing. Furthermore, the arterials here in Independence were nearly deserted as we drove between the freeway exit and the destination neighborhood.
Very different.
The trip was tough but not difficult; the challenge was in its length compressed into as few hours as possible. For Cindy, the next weeks (expected to number four) may be far tougher. Her father and his wife are likely to feel similarly.
More later, should anything interesting occur.
Mark_
_Arcadia_
Independence, Missouri
I have installed Wi-Fi on their iMac (for our own convenience), tightened a dangerously and precariously loose blade on their ceiling fan, and demonstrated to them the joys of the attic fan. (They have stopped running the air conditioner, because keeping the house at 61 degrees when the outside is 99 is so expensive. It is considerably less hot than that now, but the house can be sweltering anyway.)
Alas, however, they don't like the fan because of the dirt and dust that the incoming air introduces into the house and the curtains it blows on its way in. (To clarify: This is in the middle of the suburbs; there is no perceptible incoming contamination.)
The trailer, sitting in the sun but with windows open, is more pleasant inside.
It has been a bit warm; sunny, and obviously humid. However the nights are cool and filled with the sounds of lovelorn insects--something that we both miss. (Last night we had crickets, katydids, cicadas, things I don't know [never did], and a barred owl. Excellent!)
Rush hour through Denver yesterday morning and through Kansas City in the afternoon were nearly nothing. Furthermore, the arterials here in Independence were nearly deserted as we drove between the freeway exit and the destination neighborhood.
Very different.
The trip was tough but not difficult; the challenge was in its length compressed into as few hours as possible. For Cindy, the next weeks (expected to number four) may be far tougher. Her father and his wife are likely to feel similarly.
More later, should anything interesting occur.
Mark_
_Arcadia_
Independence, Missouri
23 September 2013
RVing Links
RVing Information-
130923
Containing links to information about plastic travel trailers, boondocking, fulltiming, RVing cheaply, and other topics.
I have not vetted these.
Forums
......
• An online index ("guide"): <http://www.doityourselfrv.com/guide-rv-forums-message-boards/>
• Camping in Oregon @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/campinginoregon/info>
• Camping RoadTrip: <http://www.campingroadtrip.com/camping-and-rv-forums>
• Cheap and Free RV Travel @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/cheapandfreervtravel/info>
• Cheap RV Living: <http://www.cheaprvlivingforum.com>
• East Coast RVing & Travel @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/EastCoast_RV_Traveling/info>
• Escapees: <http://www.rvnetwork.com>
• Fulltime RVing: <http://www.fulltime-rving.com>
• Full-time RVing Seniors.... @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FulltimeRVingSeniors/info>
• Gizmo @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/gizmo/info> (Wintering inexpensively)
• Gypsy Journal: <http://gypsyjournalrv.com>
• iRV2: <http://www.irv2.com/forums/>
• Open Roads @ Good Sam: <http://forums.goodsamclub.com>
• RV Camping @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/camping_rv_style/info>
• RV Fulltime WannaBes: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/rvfulltimewannabes/info>
• RV Travel...Shoestring @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/rvtravelonashoestring/info>
• RVForum: <http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?board=10.0>
• RVNet: <http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/21.cfm> (Good Sam?)
• RVUSA: <http://www.rvusa.com/forum/vbulletin/forum.php>
• Trailerlife @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Trailerlife/info>
• Travel...Shoestring @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/travelonashoestring/info>
• Wal-Mart RVing: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/walmartrving/info>
• Weapons @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RV_SAG/info>
• Woodall's: <http://forums.woodalls.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/21.cfm>
Casita, etc.
............
• Casita Club: <http://www.casitaclub.com/forums/>
• CasitaForum: <http://www.casitaforum.com/invboard/> (Membership required.)
• Fiberglass RV: <http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/>
• Tiny Travel Trailers @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/TinyTravelTrailers/info>
• UHaulCamper: <http://www.uhaulcamper.com> (Several GRP trailers are covered.)
Boondocking
...........
• USFS <http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/map/finder.shtml>
• <http://www.forestcamping.com/dow/list/nflist.htm>
• <http://cheaprvliving.com/Boondocking.html>
• <http://www.loveyourrv.com/love-your-rv-boondocking-basics/>
• <http://www.thegoodluckduck.com/p/boondocking-resources.html>
• <http://www.uscampgrounds.info> Mobile: <http://www.campfone.info>
• Boondocking RV Camping @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/boondockingrvcamping/info>
• HOW TO LOCATE BOONDOCKING SITES <http://roadslesstraveled.us/boondocking/>-
<<The US National Forest Service <http://www.fs.fed.us>, Bureau of Land Management <http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en.html>, and National Park Service <http://www.nps.gov/index.htm> all manage vast tracts of land. Each agency oversees its land with a different mission and reports to different government branches. Maps are available from each agency, but we've found that the Delorme state map books <http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10042&minisite=10020> are excellent and they are our primary mapping resource (Amazon does not seem to carry the most recent editions). The map books clearly show where the public lands are, and although it is sometimes hard to see the detail of the forest roads in these books, once you are on them with your bike or truck it's easy to decide what is passable with an RV and what isn't. Benchmark <http://www.benchmarkmaps.com> also sells an excellent series of topographical atlases.
<<It is relatively easy to locate beautiful places to camp. It just takes a little time. If we don't have information on boondocking sites in an area, we sometimes stop at the ranger's office for the agency that manages the land. They often have maps and suggestions of places to go. If we can't find the ranger's office (sometimes they are in a distant town), we will set up camp for a quickie overnight somewhere nearby and then explore the area on our bikes or with the truck. It's a lot easier to decide whether the rig will fit into a particular site when we don't have it with us. And there's nothing worse than going down a narrow dirt road with the rig -- only to find there is nowhere to turn around.
<<Day's End Directory-
<<A lot of times we will hear about places by talking to other travelers. But the best source of information we've found for boondocking sites is the Day's End Directory <http://daysenddirectory.com>, available [only] to members of the Escapees RV Club <http://www.escapees.com>. This is, without doubt, the most comprehensive list of boondocking sites available, and is an incredible value for the money. In 2009 it filled two one-inch 3-ring binders and has expanded dramatically since then. We use the Day's End Directory as our only travel guide, rather than relying on any campground books, Lonely Planet guidebooks or anything else. Annual membership in Escapees is about $70, and an annual subscription to the Day's End Directory is about $10.>>
Other
.....
• Many topics of interest: <http://www.rvlifestyleexperts.com/index.php>
• Mountain road grades: <http://www.mountaindirectory.com>
• Pleasure-Way @ Yahoo: <http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Pleasurewayownersgroup/info>
• Class B: <http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=35&sid=35fe0826be2c49f87ca50af2089e1434>
• Woman RVers: <http://www.womenrv.com/forum/index.php?sid=6236264f2bb4965fd9f775b4ec49d51a>
Mark_
22 September 2013
04 September 2013
Cindy's First Day of School
Cindy is, as she had desired, out on a beach on what would have been her first day of school 2013-14. (Pic @ my Picasa.)
We spent three nights in Iron Creek campground, an extremely beautiful place full of big trees (not all of which are standing). P. & I. Far. slept in a tent on our campsite, and P. & A. Rou. were just feet away in _Andy_. Quite a few feet, actually. Despite their being in the next "slip", we could barely see them. The sites were well separated, and were secluded by considerable vegetation.
This is a great park; we will return.
This trip will take us into the Bend area where we hope to rendezvous with H. & M. Sch., who insist that there are many things of interest and beauty nearby. We already have a list, and (once again, after last summer's big "Ranger cruise" to Yellowstone) vulcanism will be a major theme.
Alas (or not) these volcanoes seem to be largely defunct.
All good!
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_
Fort Stevens S.P., OR
We spent three nights in Iron Creek campground, an extremely beautiful place full of big trees (not all of which are standing). P. & I. Far. slept in a tent on our campsite, and P. & A. Rou. were just feet away in _Andy_. Quite a few feet, actually. Despite their being in the next "slip", we could barely see them. The sites were well separated, and were secluded by considerable vegetation.
This is a great park; we will return.
This trip will take us into the Bend area where we hope to rendezvous with H. & M. Sch., who insist that there are many things of interest and beauty nearby. We already have a list, and (once again, after last summer's big "Ranger cruise" to Yellowstone) vulcanism will be a major theme.
Alas (or not) these volcanoes seem to be largely defunct.
All good!
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_
Fort Stevens S.P., OR
06 July 2013
Making telephone calls without a telephone
I have just had an experiment with telephoning from Apple's iPad; any microphone-equipped iOS device can do it (even if by use of a headset such as Apple's earbuds with in-line mic). (Actually, the oldest of the iPod touches may not run a sufficiently recent OS for the required software.) Instead of using the cellular voice network, it uses wi-fi or 3G to connect to the world; therefore it does not "use minutes".
For quite some time, Apple banned software that could imitate or replicate iPhone functions, but through whatever change or policy alteration there is now a way of making non-phones seem very much like telephones.
Required:
• iOS device, microphone equipped: The first iteration of iPod touch lacked a real speaker, and the first two generations lacked microphones. I am not certain offhand about the original, but in the second generation both deficiencies can be made up by use of a set of earbuds with in-line microphone.
• Wi-Fi: Network access to the outside world.
• Google Voice telephone number: A popular and free-of-charge way of connecting with real telephones <http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html>. Originally, a way to use a computer as a telephone and to add "features" to one's existing telephone service(s). Will take voice-mail and notify you of a missed call. (With a transcript--although those can frequently seem /odd/.)
• Talkatone: iOS software "telephone" <http://www.talkatone.com>. (UPDATE: there may be other apps that can serve here. MagicJack <http://www.magicjack.com> and Skype <http://www.skype.com/en/offers/skype-number/> can also imitate telephones. There may be others.)
After installation and configuration, the combination of hardware, network access, account, and software permits the iPod touch and iPad to work as telephones, both originating and receiving calls from real telephones out in the world. Not a bad thing to have on a real iPhone, too; permits having free calls via wi-fi with telephones that don't have your cellular provider's _no-minutes_ privileges. (In which case--at home--don't have it receive calls over wi-fi; the interface gets confused when both the iPhone and Talkatone receive the same call simultaneously; yes, this can happen. When you explore Google Voice features, this will make sense.)
So: When a household has only one celephone, the _other_ spouse can still have a telephone number with access to the device's iOS addressbook--which is much superior to what most cordless (or other?) household telephones have. That "virtual telephone" would work while it had access to wi-fi at home, at a friend's, at the library, or at a coffee shop. Hardly as ubiquitous as real cellular, but perhaps good enough to seem attractive to people who already have iPods touch or iPads, and who would be interested in extending their functionality in that way--with no charge whatever.
If that sounds intriguing--and if I have explained it badly here--get in touch. It does seem to work pretty well (so long as nobody is running the microwave, of course).
Mark_
06 July 2013
For quite some time, Apple banned software that could imitate or replicate iPhone functions, but through whatever change or policy alteration there is now a way of making non-phones seem very much like telephones.
Required:
• iOS device, microphone equipped: The first iteration of iPod touch lacked a real speaker, and the first two generations lacked microphones. I am not certain offhand about the original, but in the second generation both deficiencies can be made up by use of a set of earbuds with in-line microphone.
• Wi-Fi: Network access to the outside world.
• Google Voice telephone number: A popular and free-of-charge way of connecting with real telephones <http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html>. Originally, a way to use a computer as a telephone and to add "features" to one's existing telephone service(s). Will take voice-mail and notify you of a missed call. (With a transcript--although those can frequently seem /odd/.)
• Talkatone: iOS software "telephone" <http://www.talkatone.com>. (UPDATE: there may be other apps that can serve here. MagicJack <http://www.magicjack.com> and Skype <http://www.skype.com/en/offers/skype-number/> can also imitate telephones. There may be others.)
After installation and configuration, the combination of hardware, network access, account, and software permits the iPod touch and iPad to work as telephones, both originating and receiving calls from real telephones out in the world. Not a bad thing to have on a real iPhone, too; permits having free calls via wi-fi with telephones that don't have your cellular provider's _no-minutes_ privileges. (In which case--at home--don't have it receive calls over wi-fi; the interface gets confused when both the iPhone and Talkatone receive the same call simultaneously; yes, this can happen. When you explore Google Voice features, this will make sense.)
So: When a household has only one celephone, the _other_ spouse can still have a telephone number with access to the device's iOS addressbook--which is much superior to what most cordless (or other?) household telephones have. That "virtual telephone" would work while it had access to wi-fi at home, at a friend's, at the library, or at a coffee shop. Hardly as ubiquitous as real cellular, but perhaps good enough to seem attractive to people who already have iPods touch or iPads, and who would be interested in extending their functionality in that way--with no charge whatever.
If that sounds intriguing--and if I have explained it badly here--get in touch. It does seem to work pretty well (so long as nobody is running the microwave, of course).
Mark_
06 July 2013
Cindy has left her job.
Briefly, Cindy has retired a year earlier than she had anticipated being able to. It was pretty sudden, and we are still processing it, but it is an accomplished fact.
Also, we are headed for Yellowstone in caravan with Phil & Ann R. (_Andy_), Dick & Dorothy S. (Bigfoot), Dick & Evalyn L. (Forest River), and Henry & Miriam S. (rented 27' something MH). We hope to see Charless & Marjorie F., who live near part of our itinerary, and Larry & Cheri C. (Lance), who will be passing by on their way home from the Canadian Maritimes. We will be in our very new-ish hard-side travel trailer, the Casita Liberty _Arcadia_, for our second big trip since acquiring it only seven months ago.
Our original plan was to do the trip (roughly three weeks), then head home so she could resume her duties as principal. Now she doesn't have to consider that when considering when to end the trip.
We expect to post pictures to our two Picasa albums.
In other news, reliable cellular coverage has finally filled in at our house; we have abandoned our household LL telephone in favor of our two cellphones. Those and our four wi-fi-based comms systems should permit us to remain in contact with the outside world during Retirement.
All excellent!
Mark_
06 July 2013
Also, we are headed for Yellowstone in caravan with Phil & Ann R. (_Andy_), Dick & Dorothy S. (Bigfoot), Dick & Evalyn L. (Forest River), and Henry & Miriam S. (rented 27' something MH). We hope to see Charless & Marjorie F., who live near part of our itinerary, and Larry & Cheri C. (Lance), who will be passing by on their way home from the Canadian Maritimes. We will be in our very new-ish hard-side travel trailer, the Casita Liberty _Arcadia_, for our second big trip since acquiring it only seven months ago.
Our original plan was to do the trip (roughly three weeks), then head home so she could resume her duties as principal. Now she doesn't have to consider that when considering when to end the trip.
We expect to post pictures to our two Picasa albums.
In other news, reliable cellular coverage has finally filled in at our house; we have abandoned our household LL telephone in favor of our two cellphones. Those and our four wi-fi-based comms systems should permit us to remain in contact with the outside world during Retirement.
All excellent!
Mark_
06 July 2013
29 April 2013
AMBER Alerts on iPhones
Several of us were awakened in the middle of the night recently by AMBER Alert notifications to our iPhones (and to other "modern" smart-phones, apparently). It made a very loud Emergency! sound different from anything else I had heard the phone do; I was very, very, annoyed.
I looked online, and found what we need to turn off AMBER Alerts on our iPhones. One thing said "opt in", but it is obviously _on_ by default, requiring _opt out_. Not polite.
Settings > Notifications > [scroll down] > Government Alerts ...
I disabled AMBER; I'll leave Emergency Alerts enabled, just to see what happens. (I don't yet know what's covered by that feature. Weather? Nuclear attack? Car alarm?)
I have been through the list of Notifications many times, and this feature was never there before. I don't know if it arrived with the most recent update (weeks ago), and I just had not happened to need to see the bottom of the Notifications list since then, or if they pushed a mini-update while we were not looking. At any rate, that's how to avoid having that particular feature awaken us in the middle of the night in future.(Stupid, intrusive "feature".)
Oh--I guess it isn't actually Verizon's fault, as I had assumed at first. It is, as they say, BIGGER THAN WE THOUGHT!
I hope this is helpful.
Mark_
I looked online, and found what we need to turn off AMBER Alerts on our iPhones. One thing said "opt in", but it is obviously _on_ by default, requiring _opt out_. Not polite.
Settings > Notifications > [scroll down] > Government Alerts ...
I disabled AMBER; I'll leave Emergency Alerts enabled, just to see what happens. (I don't yet know what's covered by that feature. Weather? Nuclear attack? Car alarm?)
I have been through the list of Notifications many times, and this feature was never there before. I don't know if it arrived with the most recent update (weeks ago), and I just had not happened to need to see the bottom of the Notifications list since then, or if they pushed a mini-update while we were not looking. At any rate, that's how to avoid having that particular feature awaken us in the middle of the night in future.(Stupid, intrusive "feature".)
Oh--I guess it isn't actually Verizon's fault, as I had assumed at first. It is, as they say, BIGGER THAN WE THOUGHT!
I hope this is helpful.
Mark_
13 April 2013
Down the Coast with _Arcadia_
We spent Cindy's spring break driving down US-101 toward Jedediah Smith State Park in northern California, "camping" along the way in the new Casita travel trailer.
It was Big Fun among Big Trees, and served as another illustration of our belief that, for some kinds of things, the impulse to do them may not be satisfied by actually doing them. We hope to return along that route, to that destination, soon.
Along the way, we visited trees, beaches, hiking trails, some of Cindy's relatives, and a king ("Lear", in Ashland, OR). We increased our acquaintance with our new trailer, and were pleased to find that a week in it was not too much.
Our itinerary:
Down US-101 to Jedediah Smith in northern California, and back up I-5 from Ashland, OR. We were out for eight days.
• Cannon Beach RV Park, Cannon Beach, OR
• Honeyman State Park, Florence, OR
• Humbug Mtn. S.P., Port Orford, OR
• Harris Beach S.P., Brookings, OR
• Day-trips into the woods; one day to Jedediah Smith.
• Glenyan RV Park & Campground, Ashland, OR. (a little commercial place; we saw a play ["King Lear"], and enjoyed a very nice visit with Cindy's relatives)
The southern half of the drive north on I-5 from Ashland is very beautiful as it winds along valleys and over passes; it was most enjoyable.
It was a great trip.
Pictures are in place on my Picasa collection.
Mark_
Seattle
03 January 2013
Our Casita Trailer, Christened
We had very much liked the name of our previous R/V, the Coleman Santa Fe pop-up _Walden_, for its literary and historical associations: connotations of simplicity, Nature, and contemplation. I had a bit of difficulty coming up with anything like it for the new trailer. Despite our fondness for that name I did not want to break my own rule about recycling the names of vessels, RVs, and vehicles, so our shakedown outing occurred before christening. (Perhaps this isn't uncommon; I don't know.)
However, a week or so ago I arrived at a name that I believe will do--a name that has historical, literary and artistic, social, aspirational, and to some extent mythological associations.
Phil & Ann R. (R/V _Andy_) helped us christen the trailer by dining with us during our Point Hudson, Port Townsend, "camp"ing outing over the 2012-2103 New Year's holiday.
<https://picasaweb.google.com/socrates4718>
In addition to dinner, Champagne has been consumed in celebration of the advent of our new "camping" thing, the R/V _Arcadia_.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcadia_(utopia)>
Mark_
03 January 2013
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