kipa
Senior Member
Today? Not a darn thing. This weekend? Camped in the utility trailer with a Conestoga tent because the foamie aint done!
What did you do today
- Thread starter bigdave_185
- Start date
Tom&Shelly
Senior Citizen Member
Oh! That's me. The dog's the one on the right.Reckon it will. Dog looks far too pleased with himself.
Tom
Tony Latham
Senior Member
Yousers. It takes fingerprints, a passport photo, and a background check here.
All for my ears.
Tony
Yeah, we got some funny rules. Just have to learn 'em and live with 'em. They say it's all about balancing public safety with fair access to guns. Most of us reckon it's really about making the process onerous enough that people give up. We refuse to give up.
These last few days we spent in the Northern Flinders Ranges. We call some of those hills "mountains", which I suspect would have Northern Hemisphere folks ROFL.
(The highest peak is 3840 feet).
It's lovely country, usually regarded as low rainfall.
But this year it's had lots of rain and the land is transformed. The greenest I've ever seen it.
On the way home, we took the road less travelled.
Came across a stunning creek. Normally rocks in creeks are warn smooth by centuries of water flow. Not this one. I wish I'd had something recognisable for scale in the picture, but still it's easy to see these rocks look like they've been exposed to weathering for about 20 minutes.
(The highest peak is 3840 feet).
It's lovely country, usually regarded as low rainfall.
But this year it's had lots of rain and the land is transformed. The greenest I've ever seen it.
On the way home, we took the road less travelled.
Came across a stunning creek. Normally rocks in creeks are warn smooth by centuries of water flow. Not this one. I wish I'd had something recognisable for scale in the picture, but still it's easy to see these rocks look like they've been exposed to weathering for about 20 minutes.
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I had a great weekend running a woodfired pizza oven for my mate's daughter's birthday. We made entree pizzas, main course pizzas, dessert pizzas, and breakfast pizzas.
One of the mandatory attendees is an animal lover who cannot go past road injured animal.
A couple week ago, it was a wombat that had been injured by a car. It is recovering well at a wildlife rescue sanctuary.
This weekend she was making her way to the party when she found a juvenile boobook owl on the highway.
The owl ended up in a sanctuary too, but only after a weekend of pampering from the girls.
I didn't know this, but the sanctuaries require you to note where the injured animal came from so it can be released in the same place once it is healed.
One of the mandatory attendees is an animal lover who cannot go past road injured animal.
A couple week ago, it was a wombat that had been injured by a car. It is recovering well at a wildlife rescue sanctuary.
This weekend she was making her way to the party when she found a juvenile boobook owl on the highway.
The owl ended up in a sanctuary too, but only after a weekend of pampering from the girls.
I didn't know this, but the sanctuaries require you to note where the injured animal came from so it can be released in the same place once it is healed.
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Tom&Shelly
Senior Citizen Member
Found this in a thrift store for $14
Regular coffee makers usually use a percolator pump based on steam to force water up and over the grounds. That means you either have to plug them in and use a lot of electricity to make them work, or (if you happen to be at a campsite without shore power) heat water on a stove or fire, and pour it over the grounds manually. Shelly is okay with the second method, but only if I get up first and do it.
Moving the water around doesn't take too much energy and can be done with a battery. Heating the water is what takes energy and would run down a battery fairly quickly.
I was watching a YouTube video from Mr Carlson, a guy who normally fixes tube radios, and he fixed one of these Keurigs, and I discovered they actually use a 12 volt pump motor (or several) to move the water around. I decided to buy this to experiment with. (This Winter, when hopefully I'll have more time in the workshop.)
I'd like to maintain its functionality at 120 volts, but I would like to have the option of pouring hot water in and having the pump work off of our 12 volt cigarette lighter outlet in the galley to move the water through the pod. I think I can do that with a switch, to change the 12 volt source inside the machine from the internal power supply to the 12 volt cord.
I understand (from Google AI) that the machine has a resistive sensor that detects when the water is at 170-190 degrees F. For 12 volt operation I could switch that out with a resistor of the right value, and then accept the coffee at whatever temperature it is after heating and pouring through the device. I have to be careful not to put in too low of a resistor though, since a second feature of the thermistor is to detect rapid heating if the machine was turned on without water, in which case an internal circuit breaker pops, requiring people to either return the Keurig to the factory for resetting, throwing the bleeping thing away, or opening it up and pressing the reset button (which is what Paul Carlson did in the video).
Be nice if I could make this relatively idiot proof since there is at least one more of those around our campsite when I first wake up in the morning. I should probably also add a flashing light because simply making the thing bright red might not be good enough to locate the coffee maker that early.
Anyway, if and when I get to this, I'll probably start a thread somewhere on here.
Tom
Regular coffee makers usually use a percolator pump based on steam to force water up and over the grounds. That means you either have to plug them in and use a lot of electricity to make them work, or (if you happen to be at a campsite without shore power) heat water on a stove or fire, and pour it over the grounds manually. Shelly is okay with the second method, but only if I get up first and do it.
Moving the water around doesn't take too much energy and can be done with a battery. Heating the water is what takes energy and would run down a battery fairly quickly.
I was watching a YouTube video from Mr Carlson, a guy who normally fixes tube radios, and he fixed one of these Keurigs, and I discovered they actually use a 12 volt pump motor (or several) to move the water around. I decided to buy this to experiment with. (This Winter, when hopefully I'll have more time in the workshop.)
I'd like to maintain its functionality at 120 volts, but I would like to have the option of pouring hot water in and having the pump work off of our 12 volt cigarette lighter outlet in the galley to move the water through the pod. I think I can do that with a switch, to change the 12 volt source inside the machine from the internal power supply to the 12 volt cord.
I understand (from Google AI) that the machine has a resistive sensor that detects when the water is at 170-190 degrees F. For 12 volt operation I could switch that out with a resistor of the right value, and then accept the coffee at whatever temperature it is after heating and pouring through the device. I have to be careful not to put in too low of a resistor though, since a second feature of the thermistor is to detect rapid heating if the machine was turned on without water, in which case an internal circuit breaker pops, requiring people to either return the Keurig to the factory for resetting, throwing the bleeping thing away, or opening it up and pressing the reset button (which is what Paul Carlson did in the video).
Be nice if I could make this relatively idiot proof since there is at least one more of those around our campsite when I first wake up in the morning. I should probably also add a flashing light because simply making the thing bright red might not be good enough to locate the coffee maker that early.
Anyway, if and when I get to this, I'll probably start a thread somewhere on here.
Tom
A very worthwhile experiment Tom. Remember, he who dies with the most camp cooking gadgets wins.
Today, I made the 65 miles each way trip to take our dog Thumper to the vet. There is a local guy, but to say his bedside manner is a bit lacking would be an understatement.
Friends of mine are registered breeders, so I went to the vet they recommend.
Thumper has a habit we cannot cancel. He believes every other living being on the planet, except the neighbour's cat, is his new best friend he just hasn't met yet.
Yesterday's new besties were a couple of pit bulls who weren't in the mood to meet new people. He rushed up to say g'day, and one of the startled bullies latched on to the left side of his face, and the claret flowed freely.
All good now, he's got a couple of courses of antibiotics, and I have instructions to bring him back if the swelling doesn't reduce soon.
My technique for getting the massive tablets down his throat is to wrap them in cooked bacon or sausage. I've never before been pleased about the way he gulps his tucker without chewing.
Friends of mine are registered breeders, so I went to the vet they recommend.
Thumper has a habit we cannot cancel. He believes every other living being on the planet, except the neighbour's cat, is his new best friend he just hasn't met yet.
Yesterday's new besties were a couple of pit bulls who weren't in the mood to meet new people. He rushed up to say g'day, and one of the startled bullies latched on to the left side of his face, and the claret flowed freely.
All good now, he's got a couple of courses of antibiotics, and I have instructions to bring him back if the swelling doesn't reduce soon.
My technique for getting the massive tablets down his throat is to wrap them in cooked bacon or sausage. I've never before been pleased about the way he gulps his tucker without chewing.
Wandering Sagebrush
Free Range Human
RV LIFE Pro
I gleefully removed the worthless running boards that arrived with my 4Runner TRD OR.
I’m sure their prime purpose was to make it difficult to enter and exit the vehicle, followed by ensuring that my pants matched what ever mud I’ve driven through. Luckily, I hadn't driven through any of the local cattle drives that frequent my region.
I’m sure their prime purpose was to make it difficult to enter and exit the vehicle, followed by ensuring that my pants matched what ever mud I’ve driven through. Luckily, I hadn't driven through any of the local cattle drives that frequent my region.
Tom&Shelly
Senior Citizen Member
Yikes! That's our fear with our corgi. Luckily, he loves all people but maintains skepticism regarding other dogs. He doesn't have a tail, and seems not to have the instinct for reading other's tails.
He's going on his first camping trip with us today. (He had been tent camping with his original family.) This trip is two nights specifically to see how he does in the back seat of the truck over-night. I may be up alot tonight!
Tom
Today, I had my first experiment cooking a pizza in my new 12V oven.
The other day I made some dough balls, stretched them onto my enamel camp plates, topped them and froze them.
Today, I put a frozen pizza on the plate into the cold oven and turned it on. Took a while, but the missus pronounced the result highly acceptable.
probably a wort case scenario - overcast day, tree blocking what little un there was, so the battery voltage pulled waaaay down.
Next test will be with a pre-heated oven and a thawed pizza, and hopefully full sun.
The other day I made some dough balls, stretched them onto my enamel camp plates, topped them and froze them.
Today, I put a frozen pizza on the plate into the cold oven and turned it on. Took a while, but the missus pronounced the result highly acceptable.
probably a wort case scenario - overcast day, tree blocking what little un there was, so the battery voltage pulled waaaay down.
Next test will be with a pre-heated oven and a thawed pizza, and hopefully full sun.
Attachments
Tom&Shelly
Senior Citizen Member
Today we came back from a two-night trip to Navajo Lake State Park NM. First trip of the year so the objectives were to shake down the teardrop for the season, and see how our corgi does camping.
Charlie (the corgi) did fine. He slept in the backseat of the truck in a crate. A little whimper each night, but Shelly reassured him we were right next door and he quieted down. (Yes, he's supposed to be on a leash/chain and clearly isn't in the picture, but he stays at our campsite as long as we do, so we didn't enforce that rule.)
The newly acquired arthritis in my lower back makes sleeping in the tear a little painful, but I'll have to live with it this Summer. As it happens, the physical therapist told me right before we left that PT didn't seem to be working and I need to see an orthopedist. Great, but we're leaving on an eight week + trip in three weeks, so it'll just have to wait. What a pain in the... Well now, that's just too spot-on.
Navajo Lake is nice, but it turns out the campsites are all a hundred feet or so above the lake, and there is no easy hike down. Nor are there hiking trails along the lake; just along the San Juan River, which is a drive from the campground. Was hoping to walk Charlie along the lake shore on our morning walk, but it wasn't set up that way. Charlie did like perusing the marina gift shop, but we had to drive to get to it. (A little worried about that guy. He seems to like shopping more than he likes hiking.)
We chose a site with no electricity and outhouses on a weekday specifically because we don't like neighbors, and we weren't sure how quiet Charlie would be at night. OK, mostly we just don't like neighbors. I should put in a shoutout to the New Mexico legislature for passing a law that veterans (including me, who only moved to the state years after leaving the military) can camp free, except for a filing fee. So the site hardly cost anything. And electric sites and sites near plumbing are the same.
Usual issues with the first trip of the season. We forgot to bring potholders, but gloves worked fine. Shelly pre-made a tuna salad, which we decided to have both nights because there was a thunderstorm the first night and it was too hot to cook the second.
Oh yea, and, somewhere between our last bearing check in Rio Rancho and three hours later at the campsite, the right bearing grease cap fell off. Just a few weeks ago, we had our mechanic regrease the bearings and do a safety check. We called the mechanic next morning and the shop said it would be okay for the short trip back, but if we'd like we could put a rubber glove over the bearing. So we did: a black glove from the first aid kit held on with a rubber band that originally came with a tee-shirt and hat combo.
Well, we didn't die, the glove stayed on, and we made it home. Plan is to take it in Monday.
Tom
Charlie (the corgi) did fine. He slept in the backseat of the truck in a crate. A little whimper each night, but Shelly reassured him we were right next door and he quieted down. (Yes, he's supposed to be on a leash/chain and clearly isn't in the picture, but he stays at our campsite as long as we do, so we didn't enforce that rule.)
The newly acquired arthritis in my lower back makes sleeping in the tear a little painful, but I'll have to live with it this Summer. As it happens, the physical therapist told me right before we left that PT didn't seem to be working and I need to see an orthopedist. Great, but we're leaving on an eight week + trip in three weeks, so it'll just have to wait. What a pain in the... Well now, that's just too spot-on.
Navajo Lake is nice, but it turns out the campsites are all a hundred feet or so above the lake, and there is no easy hike down. Nor are there hiking trails along the lake; just along the San Juan River, which is a drive from the campground. Was hoping to walk Charlie along the lake shore on our morning walk, but it wasn't set up that way. Charlie did like perusing the marina gift shop, but we had to drive to get to it. (A little worried about that guy. He seems to like shopping more than he likes hiking.)
We chose a site with no electricity and outhouses on a weekday specifically because we don't like neighbors, and we weren't sure how quiet Charlie would be at night. OK, mostly we just don't like neighbors. I should put in a shoutout to the New Mexico legislature for passing a law that veterans (including me, who only moved to the state years after leaving the military) can camp free, except for a filing fee. So the site hardly cost anything. And electric sites and sites near plumbing are the same.
Usual issues with the first trip of the season. We forgot to bring potholders, but gloves worked fine. Shelly pre-made a tuna salad, which we decided to have both nights because there was a thunderstorm the first night and it was too hot to cook the second.
Oh yea, and, somewhere between our last bearing check in Rio Rancho and three hours later at the campsite, the right bearing grease cap fell off. Just a few weeks ago, we had our mechanic regrease the bearings and do a safety check. We called the mechanic next morning and the shop said it would be okay for the short trip back, but if we'd like we could put a rubber glove over the bearing. So we did: a black glove from the first aid kit held on with a rubber band that originally came with a tee-shirt and hat combo.
Well, we didn't die, the glove stayed on, and we made it home. Plan is to take it in Monday.
Tom
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Wandering Sagebrush
Free Range Human
RV LIFE Pro
Tom, nice TR! Congrats and a thank you to NM for recognizing veterans and gifting them free camping. Oregon has a program that gives vets with a service connected disability, a similar perquisite.
Great job with the bearing cap.
Great job with the bearing cap.
Tom&Shelly
Senior Citizen Member
Think I've mentioned that I have a thrift store problem. Found this in our local one yesterday, for $15, which sounds great, except I don't really need it, and in fact have one from my father-in-law almost just like it
Guess I could clean it up, maybe paint it, and sell it for more than I paid.
I've also been watching YouTube videos of vacuum tube radio restorations lately, which is something I did (with my dad) when I was a teenager. I'm thinking about getting back into it, but told myself not to buy any radios until I was sure. Sure!
Monkey Ward Airline from the early 1950's. Looks great inside and has all the tubes, some of which I could use in a Zenith Trans-Oceanic shortwave radio that I really want to restore. This one is a cheap AM radio, and will only receive stations from today, not the 1950's, so who cares?
Paid $15 for this too, and Google AI tells me it's worth $5-10. On the other hand, the battery was still in there
and Google AI says they go for $20-40 on Fleabook and Ebay to folks who want to display a museum piece, and those who put new cells inside to run their restored radios. So maybe this wasn't a dumb buy after all.
Shelly thinks the case on the radio is in pretty nice condition, and suggested she make a doll-house diorama of a radio shop inside.
Think that's probably the best idea. We could take out the guts for use elsewhere, and put in a small MP3 player with period music playing. Until my dad went to college on the GI Bill, he wanted to open a radio repair shop so this could be "Hank's Radio Repair".
I used to destroy antique radios like this all the time to get the parts, so this doesn't bother me at all. Shelly can certainly sell it for more than I paid, so maybe it was a profitable day after all.
Tom
Guess I could clean it up, maybe paint it, and sell it for more than I paid.
I've also been watching YouTube videos of vacuum tube radio restorations lately, which is something I did (with my dad) when I was a teenager. I'm thinking about getting back into it, but told myself not to buy any radios until I was sure. Sure!
Monkey Ward Airline from the early 1950's. Looks great inside and has all the tubes, some of which I could use in a Zenith Trans-Oceanic shortwave radio that I really want to restore. This one is a cheap AM radio, and will only receive stations from today, not the 1950's, so who cares?
Paid $15 for this too, and Google AI tells me it's worth $5-10. On the other hand, the battery was still in there
and Google AI says they go for $20-40 on Fleabook and Ebay to folks who want to display a museum piece, and those who put new cells inside to run their restored radios. So maybe this wasn't a dumb buy after all.
Shelly thinks the case on the radio is in pretty nice condition, and suggested she make a doll-house diorama of a radio shop inside.
Think that's probably the best idea. We could take out the guts for use elsewhere, and put in a small MP3 player with period music playing. Until my dad went to college on the GI Bill, he wanted to open a radio repair shop so this could be "Hank's Radio Repair".
I used to destroy antique radios like this all the time to get the parts, so this doesn't bother me at all. Shelly can certainly sell it for more than I paid, so maybe it was a profitable day after all.
Tom
Wandering Sagebrush
Free Range Human
RV LIFE Pro
Tom, I have the same toolbox (plus my father’s) that I bought in 1970 after my return from Vietnam. Most of the tools are still with me, and are used frequently.
Tony Latham
Senior Member
Sure is. The wind came up on the second day. At one point in the 900 metre round I had 8 moa of wind correction on. That's aiming 2.1 metres/7 feet to the left. Suffice to say, I'm not very good at it. 7th place in the B grade F-class. Funnily enough, I'd have been in the about the same position if I had been shooting in the A-grade.That's a fur distance. Fur sure.
Tony
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