I recently acquired a laptop (thanks M!) so that I could rid myself of my tower system. It was giant, and the cords and crap was driving me nuts. It was spoiling my office Chi.

I decided to give the tower (and its mess) to my son Ian. I figured I should give him a monitor, so I skipped all the way to Best Buy and found the monitor of my dreams - 24" wide HD LCD. Zoinks. It has more inputs than a... It has a lot of inputs. It also has Picture in Picture, so I can watch other systems in a little window. The menu uses touch controls on the side of the monitor for all monitor adjustments. I like it :)

With the new hardware, I was forced into an Extreme Makeover, RV Office Edition. While I didn't fashion a desk out of a Nascar hood, I did get rid of the junk. It was great. I have a new workspace.

I cleared off the existing mess. Drilled a 2" hole in the corner and used a plastic cord insert. I got a monitor stand to put my new laptop underneath, and my Cisco laptop on the top deck.Since the new monitor was so manly, I removed the side valences on the window. That gave me a few more inches of space for the Monster. My other LCD monitor remained on the pivoting arm on the right.

The rear window shelf got cleared off and cleaned and reorganized. It was a real mess too. I get lazy. I'm using a new Cradlepoint MBR1000 EVDO router, so was able to get rid of the KR-1 and the Linksys router. I even hung  a picture!

Pretty pleased with the outcome. I can put my legs under my desk, I don't have the spider web if cords all over the place, and I have a killer new desk layout. Makes the workday a bit more enjoyable for a while...

Before - with the new monitor but old mess:

New laptop and monitor in place. Note the lack of cords :) 

...now, back to work!!

--kev 

Tags: Office

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My oldest son, Dustin, is a sort of "Drain Proctologist". He works for a company that sends cameras down drain pipes (and sewer mains) to look for cracks, tree roots, etc. I always thought it would be cool to see inside my black tank. He stoppped by for a visit this morning, and said "Wanna see your tank?".

I drained the tank, then ran the flushers for about 5 minutes. I did not backwash with grey, as that was empty. After draining completely, we shoved the camera down the toilet. It looked a little weird, but pretty clean. It was real obvious how the buildup on the sensors could be a problem. Seemed that the walls were only mucked up around the sensors. Kind of like they attracted it.

There were some globs of paper, but I figured as much since I quickly emptied it and didn't back rinse it. We then turned on the tank flusher. One the monitor, it just looked like rain - I was surprised to not see it spraying more. However, with the lighting and the darkness of the tank, it could have been an illusion.

We did see the water fill up pretty quickly. It didn't really wash any of the paper from their spots. We then turned on the SaniCon and watched the water drain. Most surprising thing was the good whirlpool that is created while it is draining. Seemed to sweep in quite a bit of particulates.

No real data to be collected here, but just some observations. Appears that tank sensor lugs attract the goop, the tank sprayers seem to do a good job at putting water into the tank (but not necessarily rinsing the walls), and the SaniCon pulls a nice swirly when draining.

Here is a picture of my son, the Doctor -

--kev

Tags: Colorado Kids Black Tank

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Wow - May is becoming quite the concert month. My brother Dave sent an email the other day and taunted me with a concert on May 28th at the Concord Pavillion. He had me at "Iron Maiden"

I am glad that The Maiden has figured out what us old people want when we go to concerts. We don't go to hear their new stuff. That is what the radio is for. We want to hear the 20 year old standards. I think they are ready to show us that. From the Iron Maiden website:

This tour revisits the band's history by focusing almost entirely on their classic 80's period in both choice of songs played and the stage set, which is based around the legendary Egyptian Production of that 'Powerslave Tour' as portrayed on the Live After Death DVD. This will arguably be the most elaborate and spectacular show the band have ever presented. Furthermore the band intends to bring along for this summer leg of the tour the colossal mummy of Eddie, as featured on the Live After Death DVD, along with various other elements of the show that would not fit on their 757 on the first leg of this tour, which included the shows at the Forum and Izod Centre. Sadly no jumbo has a door big enough to fit in such a massive and imposing monster!!!

If that wasn't enough, my friend Tom hits me with an email tonight: May 31st - Bimbo's, San Francisco - Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine!! Check out YouTube if you have been living in a cave and are not aware of The Cheese.

Yes, I know. I live a blessed life.

--kev 

Tags: Music

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What does it mean to be a NuRVer? It means that you can hang out with friends on a Thursday afternoon, overlooking a beautiful river, in a town you would have NEVER visited if you lived in a stick house. That is Nu

I thought of this yesterday while the four of us - Damien and Michelle, Ang and myself - played hookie from our normal responsibilities and spent the day not worrying about stuff. First we drove down to San Antonio to pick up a part for D&M's motorhome, then off to a couple of skateboard shops, in search of a longboard for me. While unsuccessful at the second item, we found much love with the first.

By 2:00, we were back home, working on a buzz, and sitting on the banks of the beautiful river. I was the only one brave enough to go for a swim, as the wind was blowing a bit, and the exit was a bit chilly. I had a great time, however, jumping in at the rapids and floating down to our campsite.

After the dip, I walked in and grabbed my camera, because the line up of chairs and non-working people looking out at the river made me think "this is why we do this".

Thanks for the great day you guys. Now, BACK TO WORK!!!

--kev

Tags: Adventures Texas Comal Friends Goodtimes

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I can hear it, feel it, and see it, because it is really damn close! But, for $200 a month, I suppose there has to be something wrong with an RV park.

We landed in New Braunfels, TX, yesterday, at Landa RV and Campground. There were two main draws in coming here - Damien and Michelle are here, and it is $200 for a whole month. Surprisingly, the park is not so bad. It is kind of dry and barren, but so is this part of Texas right now. It is in the middle of a cool little town, which makes it nice for getting around.

The local inhabitants of the park seem to be mostly local workers. There are a couple of RVs that look like they move periodically, but most seem comfortable where they are, and will likely not move for a long time. The highlight of the park is that there is an incredibly beautiful spring-fed river that runs along one of the borders. The water is so incredibly clear, and a year-round 72 degrees. Very inviting.

But then there is the train. It is odd that most of the permanants are along the RR tracks. That has got to be a drag when trying to sleep. We have no problem where we are. It is mostly a nuisance when we are outside having a conversation.

My big adventure of the day: D&M took me out longboarding. Yea, me on a big ole skateboard. It was so much fun. There are some large parks around here and we buzzed around. Had a great time.

I will try to snap some pics tomorrow. I am sure everyone is curious as to what exactly a $200 a month RV park looks like

kev

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...We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it.

I love that line from the Blues Brothers. It always comes to mind when a big road trip begins. However, my line would have been more like "It's 881 miles to Columbus, TX. We've got a 120 gallons of diesel, a case of Rock Stars, a prescription to pick up in Tallahassee, and a dog that needs to poop. Hit it."

We left Steinhatchee yesterday at 4pm, after a full day of work, and hit the road. Nighttime driving is my friend. I drove until about 9:30, napped till 11. Then it was drive-on!

Made it to the rest area half way down "the big bridge" in Lousiana. Anyone that has driven I-10 probably remembers that rest area. The bridge runs half the distance of the state (it seems), and the swamp land looks like there are things in there that would scare me to even think about. We stopped about 5:30am EST.

After a wonderful nap until 8:30, I was downing coffee and hitting the road once again. We had a real nice drive, but I was reminded why I like night driving. So many cars, trucks, and mahem. So it goes.

Question: What is the deal with the roadside porn shops? I don't think I ever saw them until traveling the south. Usually in the middle of nowhere, brightly colored signs, with names like "MEGA-AWESOME ADULT BONANZA". There are always cars in the parking lot.

Is it that difficult to travel from point A to point B without having the need to check out some porn? I just drove from Florida to Texas and never had the feeling that I just couldn't make it to the next stop without pulling into a skeezy building with a bunch of other travel-soaked guys to look at the latest issue of Super Juggs Magazine

But, I digress.

Road construction, rugged roads, fast food. It makes a guy want to stop and rest for a bit (do not read the above two paragraphs into this). We stopped in Columbus, TX, for a nod at the Columbus RV Park. Simple, cheap, and a decent restaurant down the street. Home for the evening.

With only a hundred or so miles to go to New B, we should be able to make it during daylight hours. But, with these rediculously early checkout times (11am), we will be forced to be early risers to get on the road. That's OK - looking forward to seeing Damien and Michelle in New B. Worth having to set the alarm for 10

Didn't take many pictures from the road. Those are usually my favorite. Missed the perfect opportunity at one of the above mentioned skeeze-shops. There was a big sign in the parking lot of one of those stores mentioned above that said "NO SEMI'S". Made me wonder - brilliant marketing slogan, or just simple instructions...

A killer Airstream Motorhome, and the chickens greeting me while I was setting up.

kev

Tags: Roadtrip Driving Adventures

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