The Sandcastle

Many years ago I took a course in logic where they taught us a bunch of fallacies. Things like “poisoning the well” and “circular logic”.

This post has nothing to do with that but it does have to do with circular thinking and circular activity.

Background: I have an iPhone with a Verizon voice and data package. I have an iPad with Verizon 3G which magically lets me do internet stuff. I have a MacBook Air with no internet package. To get internet on my Mac I turn on the hot spot on my phone. Then I have wifi on the Mac and/or the iPad. Most of the time.

It seems there is a “known” problem between the phone and the Mac. The Mac, every now and then, decides it doesn’t want to be connected to the phone so it disconnects itself. Then it doesn’t like to reconnect. It always makes me jump through at least two hoops and sometimes several more before it will reconnect to my hot spot.

For some time now, my Mac has been nagging me to do updates. But, I have mostly not been in places with fast connections so I have been reluctant to do them. But, then I got a notice that there is a new OS for the phone. Maybe they fixed the disconnecting problem?

So I drove from north of Lake Havasu City down to the Plamosa Road BLM just north of Quartzsite where I had a fast connection for the short time I was there. But, the connection is not fast near Arizona Highway 95 and I didn’t feel like driving the, I think, eleven miles in that we were before to see if it was better there. So I drove on south to get closer to I-10 to see if it was better there.

It was just OK. But, I decided it was likely as good as I was going to get.

So I turned on my phone and asked it about the update. It said it needed a wifi connection. No problem. I turned on my hot spot, turned on my Mac, plugged the phone into the Mac, and said there you go. Anyone see a potential problem here?

It simply did not occur to me that using my phone for a connection while updating my phone might not work. I’ll never know for sure whether my Mac just decided it didn’t want to be connected any longer or if the phone tried to reboot while acting as its own hot spot. All I know is that more than a half hour into the update it crashed.

Which broke my phone.

Now the Mac said the phone needed to be restored. Which requires a wifi connection. Which it can’t get from the phone because the phone is broken.

So, I drive north again. To the McDonald’s in Parker. And use their wifi to restore my phone. Mostly.

It did all the restore then said it had a just a few more questions. Starting with what did I want to use for a network?

Ummm. The phone is my network. And McDonalds won’t connect to my phone as an alternate.

So I drove back to Quartzsite and spent the night.

The next morning, I drove to Phoenix. To an Apple Store.

They wanted to know what my problem was. I said, “Your system update broke my phone.”

They wanted to know if I called to make an appointment. I looked at they guy in disbelief and said, “Your system update broke my phone. My phone is my wifi connection. So your system update also broke my internet.”

“OK.” he replied. “I just wanted you to know you are supposed to make an appointment for next time.” Aargh!

Fortunately,  they were well staffed today so I only had to wait about fifteen minutes to get a tech to help me. He had me connect to the store’s wifi and cleaned up the mess. We did have my usual problem with the Apple Store saying my password is wrong a few times before it said, “Oh, OK. I guess I’ll take it this time.”

Then I stayed and did all my other updates using their wifi just in case anything else broke in the process.

The I drove back to Quartzsite. 315 miles round trip to fix my “new, improved” software.

And I still don’t know if the “known” problem was part of the fix.

TTYL,

Linda

Most RVs come with window coverings know as day/night shades. They do a fairly good job of doing what they are supposed to do.

When they are fully opened they look like this:

When the day part of the shade is down it allows you to look out while making it harder for casual passersby to look in.

And when the night shade is down it is supposed to provide full privacy.

But they cannot be just thrown in the laundry when they get dirty. And they have a tendency to break their strings so they can no longer be adjusted up or down.

So, as those of you who have been following my blog a long time know, I prefer curtains.

Thus, when I bought this new rig I brought with me sheers I really like from the house we sold back in 2008. I am now in the process of cutting them into pieces to make curtains for my much shorter windows. I no longer own a sewing machine so the process is not going quickly. But, here’s what the partially made curtains look like in the daytime in that same window.

And here’s a closeup showing the color and pattern in the window over my desk. That bit in the sun along the left side is the color–light tan; not blue.

And here’s what the first window looks like with the night shades in that Sportsmobile made for me.

Yes, that picture was taken at the same time of day from the same location. Really does block the exterior light, doesn’t it?

The wrinkles at the bottom of it are cause by trying to force it into that space with the day/night shade still installed.  When that curtain is ready to hang, I will remove the day/night shade and the new night shade will fit much better.

I do lose the self-storing capability of the day night shades by making this transition. But the curtains will stay in place all the time and the new night shades have their own storage compartment above my vehicle’s cab area. And I like them a whole lot more. Including the ability to throw them in the laundry when they get dirty.

TTYL,

Linda

The desert around Quartzsite, Arizona, is big. There is lots of room for lots of RVs to park there. And there are lots of groups that meet there. Some are big groups and some are small groups. And each group has its own way of parking.

I showed you pictures of the Escapee Class gathering where we parked every which way  in a general vicinity. And I showed you pictures of the View/Navion group pretty much lined up in two rows.

But some groups like to circle the wagons.

If you are a small group you can do it this way:

 

Parking nose to tail lets everyone have their door facing the center gathering spot.

But if you have a lot of rigs that makes your circle too big. So some groups park this way:

 

Side by side with everyone’s nose facing the center.

But for some of us that makes our side windows much too close to our neighbor’s side windows. It can be hard not to look inside and see what your neighbor is doing.

So our class group just parks any which way as long as we are not too close to one another. Which has the side advantage of letting each of us aim our solar panels or TV receiver the best direction for us.

Isn’t it great that there are so many right ways to camp?

TTYL,

Linda

I don’t steal from other people’s blogs. (Well, an occasional photo from RVers I know won’t mind.) But I do occasionally post a link to one I enjoyed so much I felt an overwhelming need to pass it on. This is one:

http://manateefritters.com/2013/02/07/keys-weather-alert/

Go read it. It’s short. You won’t be sorry.

TTYL,

Linda

Several of you have asked for information about this, my home park. I hope this is what you are looking for.

The park is right on the Colorado River and this is the view of it through my windshield in my current parking spot. Yes, those are puddles in the road; we’ve had rain this year. But that spot across the road is not a campsite so my view is never blocked by someone’s RV.

 

I got that view by agreeing that I would move after two weeks even if I only moved within the park and by asking to be parked close to a bathroom this time. Here’s the bathroom from my slider door.

 

Of course, that turned out to be the men’s side. On the way to the women’s side I pass this outdoor laundry area.

Looking back from the bathroom toward my rig we see my site.

 

I have roads on three sides of me so my only close neighbors are on the driver’s side of the rig. Which is, of course, where my desk faces. 🙂

Looking down the road between the bathroom and  me you can almost see the wall at the far end of this road.

 

Behind that wall is one of three hot tubs, one of two pools, and the bar where I go to eat when I don’t feel like cooking.

  

That thing that looks like a big torch is a space heater bar staff lights when customers come and it’s too cold to sit outside otherwise. They also have side curtains to block winds. And ceiling fans and huge portable fans I guess are for summer.

Yes, I ride my Scoot down there and back.

Next to all that is the store. One side is souvenirs and the other side is groceries with one corner full of hardware and fishing gear.

 

I actually bought washers there for installing my license plate when my screws heads weren’t big enough to hold the front plate on.

This park also has a clubhouse with activities plus a kid’s club, a playground, ping pong tables, pickle ball courts, mini golf, and a par 3 course so it has pretty much anything you might want for a good home away from home. And it’s less than seven miles to Parker, Arizona, which has everything else you might need including a Walmart Supercenter.

 

If you have other questions, perhaps their website can answer them for you. http://www.coloradoriveradventures.com/emerald-cove-rv-resort.php

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this view through my passenger window. It is a washed out photo; it was actually much more colorful than that.

TTYL,

Linda