Found a couple good educational vids about the physics behind electricity. (ac and dc)
You’re welcome, and I’m sorry..   lol

Part 1


Part 2

As I type, my best ever friend and kindest sweetest soul I have ever known is at the Vet. 

 Late last may I was rubbing her belly and felt a lump and some wetness by one of her nipples, and the Vet prescribed antibiotics, which did nothing, and I figured the worst and decided to just make every day with her count, and make sure she did not suffer,

Part of making every day count was riding to the watering hole Via Chariot and electric skateboard, and  going swimming.  It was a daily ritual.

Hurricane Debby then flooded inland areas, and the nearby creek mouth was where it all flowed.  The water quality became super nasty looking especially on an out going tide.

One day on an incoming tide it didn't look too bad and I allowed Fiona to go swimming.

5 Oclock that night her mammary had blown up to the size of my fist.

The emergency hospital came back a week later saying the results  of the culture came back and the bacteria was Vibrio Vilnificus, and they had never heard of it infecting a Dog before

.  It is the same bacteria which kills people who eat contaminated oysters, and is related to cholera and flesh eating bacteria.  They said she needed to be on different Antibiotics immeditely,

The mammary had already shrunk down to before the swimming, and continued to shrink.

The emergency Vet recommended a all her mammaries and her uturus be removed.

Her regular Vet said her quality of life was so high, that she could not recommend subjecting Fiona to this major surgery, likely just telling me what I wanted to hear.

So a month ago I Noticed Fiona licking it.

Today, She is having that mammary and the one next to it removed.

So Woulda coulda shoulda have had it removed earlier.  The statistics say it is far more likely to be malignant than not, and even after removal it is likely to return in another mammary.

She has been so spunky, and not acting her 11.5 years of age that all we can do is hope she beats the odds, recovers quickly, and has a few more good years left in her.


After The first mammary gland blow up, she was no longer allowed to swim, and the water quality just looked horrible for months.  We would still go to the Watering hole, but not swim.

Hurricane Milton had damaged it, and after it was repaired, they paid some moron to re oil it.  
When oiling wood one is supposed to apply it, let it drink what it wants, and remove the excess.  If the excess is not removed within a few hours, or less, depending pon heat and humidity, it stinks to high heaven and stays sticky.

I found the smell so offensive that unless it was super windy, I could not handle it.

So We would skate to the parks nearby instead.

I noticed a trail from one park into a different neighbor hood with smooth roads and little traffic, and we started cruising this hood regularly.
roll close to the water's edge.

The day before we were here, and Fiona saw a bird and decided to go into the 'private property', along the seawall, So I decided to put her on the leash this time.

I stopped with chariot and Esk8 parallel to the sea wall, pressed the button on my remote to turn it off, and went to lean down and attach leash to Fiona's collar before she jumped out of her Chariot.

But I had not pressed the power button on the remote long enough to turn it off.  Fiona was eager to jump out of the chariot, and somehow I managed to hit the throttle.  The esk8 launched forward, and one wheel caught an edge, and the board shot off towards the edge of the seawall.

I yelled Noooo!, and dove after it.  I got my left hand on it, barely, and it dragged me forward, my body awkwardly rotating.   When my right hand hit the ground, my shoulder popped out of its socket.  The board splashed anyway,

I couldn't believe what was happening, and then noticed something was wrong with my shoulder.

I didnt know if I broke the Humerus or it was just dislocated, or both.  I took some bungees from Fionas charuiot and made a sling.

The Big pneumatic wheels on front trunk kept skateboard from sinking, and smoky bubbles were emanating from the enclosure.

I rigged up a lasso to hook a tire and fished the board out one handed, after the smoky bubbles stopped.

The board was Hissing still, and I pulled the loopkey, opening the circuit between battery and speed controller, and the hissing stopped.

I'd called my dad who had major issues finding me, and No way was i abandoning chariot or water damaged skate, but no way was I bringing the battery into the vehicle.

I undid the velcro sinch straps holding the enclosure to board, and the battery to the enclosure, and left the battery there.

The emergency room was a nightmare.
I had never been in such Pain in my life, as the muscles spasmed and were grinding the humeral head into the screwed glenoid capsule.

Of course i have no Insurance, because insurance companies suck donkey balls and would deny all claims anyway.  The Bill came out to close to 9k dollars.

I was able to get it down to a little less than half of that.

If anybody thinks reducing a  dislocating a shoulder is a simple thing to reset by slamming into a wall, mel gibson/ lethal weapon style. They are badly misinformed.

3.5 months later I am mostly pain free, but Have next to no strength in some movements.

I did see an orthopedic surgeon, who was like why are you on self pay, is it because you are rich, or poor?

He basically rushed out of the room to snort another line of cocaine when I indicated the latter.

the 200$ visit< i walksed out of there with a generic shoulder evercise pamphet I could have downloaded off the internet.

Many of those exercises were totally incorrect for my injury. 
 I basically had to research and figure out which of the rotator cuff muscles were damaged and come up with my own rehab regimen.

I still have no Idea if I will ever be able to paddle a surfboard again.  It is that interior rotation, where I am the weakest still, and I suspect a Full thickness full width tear of the subscalpularis and a partial tear of supraspinatus muscles.

Since surgery Ain't happening, all I can do is teach the larger muscles to keep the humeral head centrated in the socket, since the rotator cuff muscles can no longer perform that task.

About a month ago I felt like I might be able to tow Fiona's chariot again, and had enough parts left over to rebuild another skateboard, So we have been able to ride again, usually about 10 miles a day.  She loves it as much as I do.  Not only the journey, but the destinations.  We were driving to these spots in my dads car, but its not the same.  Walking her from the front door, and we'd get a few houses away, and she was like,' this sucks, lets go home'. and would pull me back and look depressed.

When I had pulled out her chariot and the Eskateboard again, she went absolutely bonkers with delight.

People with whom I have never spoken, Know Fiona's name and say how glad they are to see us riding again, as we cruise past, barking.

My mom's Alzheimers is progressing.  Less rational and less cognitive ability every day.  It' a fucking cruel disease.

4 days a week, six hours a day,  we take her to a senior Freindship center, so she gets to babble with others with similar conditions, which helps all of us greatly.

My Van rarely moves, and when it does it mostly gets loaded with mulch soil and plants, then parked again. 
 It needs a bunch of rust treated and another layer of yacht enamel rolled on, but that seems unlikely to occur,  I have to park it elsewhere and working on it is not high on my to do list.

Well….after a few years in one place…the RV park has been sold.   The new owners stated that they will plan to raise the monthly cost by about $90.   Plus add a premium charge for wider sites…probably about $45-65.      All that makes this place unaffordable without spending from savings.

After checking around … it is apparent to me that investors are buying RV parks as the next thing.   First people were priced out of housing.  Many moved to Trailer Parks.   Then investor bought those up and jacked up the price.   I have been reading that many people are up getting into cheap used RVs to live….so the next step……..

So, if I go back to a nomad lifestyle I will have to basically give up on my current doctors.   That is the toughest part of leaving.   Checking around the area…I find that there aren’t any places that are cheap enough any more.

So…tell me everyone.   Are you still moving constantly?  Where do you go to escape the summer?  Are places you boondock still easy access in the high country?    When I left Ehrenberg the places to get water and dump trash has just closed up.    The places in Colorado I used to go had become too expensive even 5 years ago.  

What are people doing?    Have you mostly gone back to sticks and bricks somehow?    What is your usual yearly cycle these days?

I have been “chatting” with this AI for the last several months.  Anyone else?

ChatGPT has a massive database.   But, it is not adding new data or databases.  It doesn’t learn.   It doesn’t have access to the newest studies or data.  It doesn’t retain your conversations…so it isn’t building its own database.

So with that limitation in mind…..

I have learned the biggest issue is knowing how to phase your questions….and to even know the way to enter into the “chat” with the outcome in mind.     It will generate for you the result.   So, you can get it to write a computer program in the language of your choice…but, you need to understand what you really want because it cannot second guess you.

I am mostly using it to solve technical questions, and get diagrams drawn for me.    I asked it to drawn a diagram for connecting to usb-c and explain to me each connector for data transfer. It was able to draw for me the wiring harness for my old 1989 Ford E350. Helped me run down an issue that the local mechanics just don’t know.
Early on I asked it to present to me “flash card”  in Latin.   It was just like having a real person helping me to memorize nouns and verbs.    I do not know the limits of what it can help me do…or do for me.

I encourage every kid I know to get into this.   This is the way of the future.
Back in the mid 1960s I was fortunate enough to enter the computer field at its infancy.   There was no computer degree at any college.  The corporations at the time were taking math majors and sending to IBM, Control Data, etc to learn.     Corporations are now realizing the huge potential of AI.

Well…this is the infancy of AI.   This is an opportunity to be in at the start.   Learn to use this tool, learn how to get from it what you really want.   Just like the early computers…..I had to learn how to make it do what I (my company) wanted.    This will be the most in demand field in the coming years.

I have heard all about how AI is the end of civilization…just like the claims back in the 70s…computers will destroy the world.    It is just a tool, just one that can extrapolate freely.    I can hardly wait for a true generative AI to be commonly available.

So what do you do with the old rig when you get a replacement ? 
Or Maybe it's just time to hang up the keys ?

Use it for a shed ?
Maybe fix it up and sell it ?

This might be the Easy Button.
These people use them to house first responders and those displaced in natural disasters.
https://www.emergencyrv.org/

With a storm surge Forecast to be 10-15 feet in my area, I was a bit freaked out.

Our house is at 13.66 feet if the USGS chart is to be believed
Siesta Key is to our west

With the Category 5 storm headed right at us, riding right atop the swell was sending this way, I thought that 15' of surge was perhaps too conservative.

if the storm slowed and went through a tide cycle, i thought it could easily flood over Siesta key and make it another half mile and start flooding the neighborhood.

We are in a mandatory evacuation zone at that level of surge, and My Dad said he was taking my Mom 5 miles inland to his recently passed brother's house.

I was gonna stay put.  I figured no roof and thigh deep water is not going to kill me, but I wanted to be able to split, and get the Van and select possessions to safety .

I stayed up all night, running saws and other powertools to make a brace for the South facing garage doors, and got everything off the floor, and buttoned everything up as much as possible, thinking If we lose the roof, an it floods, where in the house might still be standing and intact, and I placed the valueable stuff up above waist high in a tight closet, covered in in tarps.

First light and we were already seeing heavy rain, and strong gusts.

Demento mom was all freaked out and shaking, and dad took her inland.

I kept prepping, but started getting delirious with fatigue.

My cousin called me and said my mom was freaking out, being ultra annoying, asking for Me and Fiona, and they would really like it if I were there with them.

I wheeled the Honda 3000 watt inverter  generator to my Van, and lifted it into my cargo carrier, rachet strapped it secure, Said f goodbye to the house and drove out of the Floodzone, and 45 to 60mph gusts were really pushing me all over the road.

I got there and tried to calm mom down to no avail, and then went back in the Van to try and catch some sleep, but it was pretty damn loud with heavy rain and huge gusts shaking it, and being way over caffeinated, I couldn't sleep  I did have 40 tv stations to watch the live updates.

The rain kept getting harder and the wind and wind gusts stronger till about 8:30 at night.  My younger cousins and I were venturing outside during the gusts.

They were saying it was definitely stronger than Hurricane Ian from 2 years earlier, but overall It was not nearly as severe as I expected.

Even when the easterly Eyewall was atop us, it was really not all that intense.  Not all that much rain as the High end Cat3  storm had been ingesting dry air from the cold front to its north.

I'd been venturing outside regularly, checking on the van and getting more beer from within it, and was surprised how cold it was, and then it got calm, and super Hot and steamy humid.

Saw the neighbors has lost a tree and their pool cage had partially collapsed, but not much other local tree damage.

Went inside to check the  radar and make some last minute preparations as that strong East wind was gonna turn west.

Went back outside and that hot humid air was still there, but there was a rumbling to the west.

Almost like someone lowered a Giant vaccuum cleaner, that hot air was evacuated, and a 45mph  cold gust out of the WSW hit us, but then faded, but there was the sound of a freight train coming at us from the west.
Boom! Felt like 60 degrees, and 100+ mph winds slammed us, the wind whistling and screaming  through the pool cage screens, and I shown my 3600 lumen headlamp at neighbor's partially collapsed  pool cage as it lifted off the patio and started slamming the roof and shredding itself.

Then the gusts got even stronger and I was turning sideways to lessen the resistance and could barely stand up, and would nearly fall over when they'd abruptly let off, ,then nearly get blown backwards off my feet when theyd instantly return..  There was a small pond to our west, and some leaves. palm fronds  and random debris started surrounding us and we scurried back inside.

The big sliding glass doors started flexing inwards and whistling, and  we closed the heavy curtains.  So much air was getting past the door seals, the curtains were acting like the doors were open and there was a 20 mph wind blowing them inwards.

The wind  gusts kept getting stronger, for easily 2 hours.

No power but we still had mobile data and started getting reports of the surge flooding downtown to the second level of garage parking lots, and supposed collapsed bridges and all sorts of Misinformation was lighting up their social media accounts.  But the wind was so freaking strong out of the west, i assumed that 15 foot of surge was going to be realized, and my House was gonna be flooded 2 feet deep, and likely tons of wind damage.

The eyewall passed us the second time about 10Pm or so and the wind did not even begin to ease until about 2:30.

It was nerve racking after a while, even inside a solid structure, and as someone who loves to experience nature's Fury, I was like Milton Fuck off already you son of a bitch.

Come daybreak the winds had lowered to steady 25, a few bigger gusts, but no rain.

No power of course, but text messages were not going through and no or very little mobile data.

We couldnt figure out how bad it was.

I set up generator and we made coffee and breakfast.  My cousins drove to check on their other grandparents and said the raods were mostly passable.

I took the generator, and drove home.  My dad had arrived before me and declared the home free of any major damage. 
No flooding.  Just lots of clean up required as there was tree branches everywhere.

I set up the generator and put a window shaker AC in parents bedroom and was relieved.

Not having grid power is of no concern short term, and we can power the router, but there was no connection to the internet, so No TV, and that is the only way to placate dememto mom, so she proceeded to try to drive My dad, Fiona and I absolutely nuts for the next two days.

Fiona and I were sleeping in the Van as it was relatively cool, and I had 40 TV stations, and would pretend I didnt hear the knocks every 5 minutes at the door, and Fiona is 95% deaf and cant hear it anyway.

Overall we were very fortunate.  Those with property on the barrier Islands, not so much.

Even with all the time I had top prepare, it was not enough time, and If the roof lifted off and the house flooded with 2 feet of water, I doubt my efforts would have been very effective at mitigation.

There's another month and a half of Hurricane season, and some energy brewing out there.  Could be something threatening the east coast in 8 to 10 days.
  Here's hoping None consolidate and  decide to put another bulls eye on us.

I have a degree in this stuff (a few decades ago), and I've been reading and interested in the electronics side of things for several years now.  I know how things work.  However, I'm finding that things that I know what they do now go by different names.  I have come to the (possibly incorrect) conclusion that a dc to dc 'charger' is what I know as a battery isolator that is put between two batteries to keep either one from drawing the other down past a set voltage, but sharing voltage above that point.  Am I right or wrong?  This term seemed to take over discussions a couple of years ago, and I never hear the term isolator now.

Hi there, just a quick question on how your RV solar panels are holding up during the winter.  I've been reading online how they continue to work during the winter months.  Albeit at a reduced capacity.  Is it true the continue to generate power if the daylight is permanently overcast?  And how has your electrical performance been affected?  Do you have to cut back on an appliance or two during winter months??

FB

How often do you guys get your van routine serviced.  I have been dropping mine into a local mechanic every 12 months more or less.  But he syas it should be dropped in twice a year, depending on the mileage being put onto it.  Is this true, or is he just looking for some extra business??

Thanks

Very interesting development....Invitations sent to current users for invite only add on for $599 and $30/month for 50GB mobile data.(in addition to the residential base service plan coverage in USA only.   12volts

Anybody get the invite and popping for one ?

Video w/ more info.