Courage in the Time of Coronavirus

What's Up With That?
Triumph of Achilles, by Franz Matsch

What’s Up With That?

About a week ago I went with Joyce to the grocery market, which I rarely do. I hate going to the market because it is so cold inside, plus I go bonkers when people are in the express lane with twice as many items as are supposedly allowed. We have plenty of food and staples at home. Since we both have been through a couple devastating earthquakes, we keep enough stuff at home to get us through at least a couple of weeks of isolation.

Joyce likes to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

I had read about the panic buying, but was surprised how bare the shelves were after a couple of weeks of public shaming of the panic stricken people who swarm the stores. There was no bread, no canned goods, no cereal, no rice or beans. Not a problem for us. However a big problem for those who need these necessities.

Reflecting on this and the coronavirus, it should be obvious that larges segments of the population lack courage. I want to discuss courage in this post – what it is – and more importantly how we should think and act in this difficult time. If you are expecting I will tell you what to do, this isn’t a post for you. If you want to reflect on how you should live your life, you might find this of interest, or even valuable. Continue reading Courage in the Time of Coronavirus →

Online Tools for Buying Automotive Parts & Accessories

Ford F-250 Super Duty,

Regular readers of this blog know I hate to go to a brick and mortar store to buy anything, preferring to do all my shopping online. Online purchases can save a lot of time, money, and gasoline. My first choice for online shopping is Amazon. Amazon is quick, easy, and almost always accurate. But Amazon isn’t always the best. What follows are a three sites I use and how I use them. Continue reading Online Tools for Buying Automotive Parts & Accessories →

New Tow Vehicle: 2020 Ford F-250 XL “Godzilla”

Ford F-250 Super Duty, , , ,
Our F-250 in the middle of the desert

This is not a review

A few days ago I wrote about the new Ford F-250 truck we were considering purchasing this summer. Right about this time, Ford, GM, and Chrysler shut down all their U.S. manufacturing plants.

Joyce decided we should go ahead and get a truck now because she felt California would soon issue a “stay-in-place” order. With all these uncertainties, especially a stay-in-place order would probably stop all the sales of new cars and trucks, there is a good chance prices would go up once things settled down – definitely prices are not going to go down in the near future. So we went ahead and bought one last Wednesday, a few hours before the governor announced California would implement a stay-in-place order the following day for at least a month.

Today you cannot buy a new vehicle in the state of California.

During my research there wasn’t any good information on the new Super Duty 7.3L gas engine, especially the miles per gallon when towing a trailer. My plan is to start providing feedback on this metric. But first, we need to accumulate 1,000 miles to break in the engine, before we can tow anything. In this post I’ll share some my first impressions of the truck.

I’ll cut to the chase if you just want to know non-towing mpg so far. At the 386 mile mark on the odometer, with combined city and freeway driving (mostly freeway and remote two lane highways) we averaged 14.9 mpg, verified with the actual number of gallons we used (not the fuel average calculator on the dash). I was hoping for 14-15 mpg. During this driving we kept the truck at the legal speed limit. 65 or 70 mph on freeways, 55 or 65 mph on two lane highways.

This post will not be a review, but some first thoughts.

Continue reading New Tow Vehicle: 2020 Ford F-250 XL “Godzilla” →

How to Choose a New Tow Vehicle

Ford F-250 Super Duty, ,
Ford F-250 XL 4X4 is under consideration

We’re thinking about getting a new tow vehicle. There are so many choices and options!!

First is what brand? My last four tow vehicles (1998 Ford Ranger, 2000 Ford Explorer, 2003 Ford Expedition, 2012 Ford Expedition) have obviously all been Ford vehicles. Over the years I have owned many brands of vehicles, so I’m necessarily not a “Ford” guy. I’m a “best value” type of person. But these last four have been incredibly reliable with almost no repairs at all. So, I’ll stick with Ford. But where does one start in the elimination and shopping process. In this post I’ll walk through all the considerations I have explored.

Continue reading How to Choose a New Tow Vehicle →

Home Power Tools

House Remodel, , , ,

Every homeowner, and really just about everyone, should have a few power tools. Tools are required to build and repair things, and knowing how to do use them can save huge amounts of money. Heck even a backpacker or camper/RV owner can benefit from owning and using power tools. Perhaps the backpacker needs to build storage for equipment. If you have a camper/RV, a few tools will enable you to make some practical modifications to your rig. In this post I will cover some of the basic power tools that are most useful.

Continue reading Home Power Tools →

Senior Moments – Declining Eyesight (or how I returned my vision to normal)

Backpacking Gear, Senior Moments, , ,

A question that gets asked often in backpacking circles is, “How do I deal with my glasses/contacts on backpacking trips?” It’s a great question, especially for those who are new to backpacking or those who just got their first pair of glasses or contact lenses. 

The bad news is there isn’t a good answer. This is one of those things you just have to figure out for yourself. 

In this post, I’ll share my personal experiences. Probably best if you don’t expect an “ah ha” moment. On the other hand, I might share something you haven’t thought about or tried. For those who don’t need vision correction, you might want to read this anyway because the odds are you will need vision correction in the future.

Continue reading Senior Moments – Declining Eyesight (or how I returned my vision to normal) →

The Daylight Savings Time Conundrum

What's Up With That?

What’s Up With That?

A few days ago I had to drive to the hardware store. On the way, my phone rang. When I am driving I ignore the phone. IF the call is important, I can deal with it later. If it isn’t important, then I didn’t waste my time.

I went into the store, pick up the item I needed, and then walked around looking at a couple of things which might work for my next project. When I got back to my car, seeing my phone laying on the console, I remembered someone had called. Looking at the “Recents” list, I noticed the time on my phone was exactly one hour ahead of the car’s clock. Aha, we must have recently sprung forward; that is, we must have switched to Daylight Savings Time. What a pain… as I racked my brain trying to figure out how to change the vehicle’s clock. Ah, hell, just leave it. I don’t need to know what time it is anyway; a benefit of being retired.

It then occurred to me that almost everyone I know prefers to stay on Daylight Savings Time all year, and I bet most people in the US concur. So why don’t we?

Continue reading The Daylight Savings Time Conundrum →