Thursday, December 5, 2013

Propane Retaining Bar! Steam Power. RV Refrigerator Troubleshooting. Fitted Sheets. Prohibition Ends. Bermuda Triangle.

 

For "tRaVersing Thursday", or RV Day:

Stop fiddling with that *$#&! propane retaining bar!

"If you are like me, you fuss with that pesky propane retaining bar, squirreling it around until you can get at your tanks. When you come back with the bottle refilled, it's just another hassle trying to hold onto the bottle and rack up the retaining bar to get the cylinder back in place. Enter Frank Bailey.

Frank has been a full-time RVer for over six years. He retired from Case Tractors, where he worked in the engineering lab, so you won’t be surprised that he has developed some innovations to make his RV lifestyle a bit easier.

Frank, like most of us, was frustrated with the propane tank retaining bar assembly because it is awkward to handle. He decided to make life easier by placing a tension spring under the retaining bar. He used about a 1½- to 2-inch spring (not so stiff as to make the wing nut hard to twist) and mounted it on top of a large washer held in place with the locking nuts. This holds the retention bar up against the wing nut while you easily remove the tank for service. On the return trip, you'll find it a breeze to get things back in place.

Thanks to Frank for his great idea!" by Jim Twamley

_______

Steam Generator

How would you like to have this bad boy powering your RV?

From: http://www.otherpower.com/steamengine.shtml

_______

How Absorption Refrigeration Works

"Learn how your RV refrigerator works so you know what to do if your unit ever experiences problems."

----------

RV refrigerator running too cold? Tips for adjusting the temperature

"Over-cooling in RV refrigerators (temperature gets too cold) is a common problem. Learn how to resolve the issue by testing the circuit board."

---------

Insufficient RV Refrigerator Cooling Troubleshooting

"Learn how to fix any cooling problems that your RV's refrigerator may experience."

_______

RV Tips:

How to handle speed bumps
"If you take your RV across a speed bump, you may find it pops open cabinet doors. Alleviate this issue by taking on the speed bumps "dead-on" and slow, rather than hitting them at an angle — an angle approach causes more coach rocking."

-------

Folding Fitted Sheets

"Most of us have, at one time or another, given up frustrated after the terrible ordeal of trying to fold a fitted sheet!"

From me:  Remember to always put the fitted sheet firmly on BOTH of the top ends of the bed first.  Then pull it down to go over the bottom ends.  This will keep it anchored better.

_______

On This Day:

Prohibition ends, Dec 5, 1933:

"The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and bringing an end to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America. At 5:32 p.m. EST, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, achieving the requisite three-fourths majority of states' approval. Pennsylvania and Ohio had ratified it earlier in the day.

The movement for the prohibition of alcohol began in the early 19th century, when Americans concerned about the adverse effects of drinking began forming temperance societies. By the late 19th century, these groups had become a powerful political force, campaigning on the state level and calling for national liquor abstinence. Several states outlawed the manufacture or sale of alcohol within their own borders. In December 1917, the 18th Amendment, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. On January 29, 1919, the 18th Amendment achieved the necessary three-fourths majority of state ratification. Prohibition essentially began in June of that year, but the amendment did not officially take effect until January 29, 1920.

In the meantime, Congress passed the Volstead Act on October 28, 1919, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of Prohibition, including the creation of a special Prohibition unit of the Treasury Department. In its first six months, the unit destroyed thousands of illicit stills run by bootleggers. However, federal agents and police did little more than slow the flow of booze, and organized crime flourished in America. Large-scale bootleggers like Al Capone of Chicago built criminal empires out of illegal distribution efforts, and federal and state governments lost billions in tax revenue. In most urban areas, the individual consumption of alcohol was largely tolerated and drinkers gathered at "speakeasies," the Prohibition-era term for saloons.

Prohibition, failing fully to enforce sobriety and costing billions, rapidly lost popular support in the early 1930s. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified, ending national Prohibition. After the repeal of the 18th Amendment, some states continued Prohibition by maintaining statewide temperance laws.  Mississippi, the last dry state in the Union, ended Prohibition in 1966."

_______

Aircraft squadron lost in the Bermuda Triangle, Dec 5, 1945:

"At 2:10 p.m., five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base. They never returned.

Two hours after the flight began, the leader of the squadron, who had been flying in the area for more than six months, reported that his compass and back-up compass had failed and that his position was unknown. The other planes experienced similar instrument malfunctions. Radio facilities on land were contacted to find the location of the lost squadron, but none were successful. After two more hours of confused messages from the fliers, a distorted radio transmission from the squadron leader was heard at 6:20 p.m., apparently calling for his men to prepare to ditch their aircraft simultaneously because of lack of fuel.

By this time, several land radar stations finally determined that Flight 19 was somewhere north of the Bahamas and east of the Florida coast, and at 7:27 p.m. a search and rescue Mariner aircraft took off with a 13-man crew. Three minutes later, the Mariner aircraft radioed to its home base that its mission was underway. The Mariner was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion seen at 7:50 p.m.

The disappearance of the 14 men of Flight 19 and the 13 men of the Mariner led to one of the largest air and seas searches to that date, and hundreds of ships and aircraft combed thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and remote locations within the interior of Florida. No trace of the bodies or aircraft was ever found.

Although naval officials maintained that the remains of the six aircraft and 27 men were not found because stormy weather destroyed the evidence, the story of the "Lost Squadron" helped cement the legend of the Bermuda Triangle, an area of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and aircraft are said to disappear without a trace. The Bermuda Triangle is said to stretch from the southern U.S. coast across to Bermuda and down to the Atlantic coast of Cuba and Santo Domingo."

_______

Yesterday:

Ray and I readied the place for Mindi's dogs to be boarded here for a few days, while she and her husband go on vacation.  The dogs stay in my Grooming Room, except when I take them outside to the back yard, to do their thing.

Jay never came to replace the back gate with my metal framed chain link one, so we had to do, what we had to do to, the wooden framed one. It wouldn't close properly, and was hitting the post.   Jay likes doing stuff like that, but there was no way that Ray or I were in the mood to get out the post hole diggers to put in a new post for the metal gate.  We took the wooden gate off at it's hinges, and sawed about 1/2" off the side, and screwed some reinforcing boards on each corner.  But when we reinstalled it, it was still bowed at the bottom.  If those dogs saw that gap, they would investigate, whereas Misty wouldn't.  We cut a 4x4 to lay across the ground so the dogs couldn't push on the gate, and put a door bolt near the bottom of the gate. That kept the bottom shut tight.  I have to keep her dogs safe, just like I have for the last 15 years that I have boarded them.

Then we moved a cage into my house, for the few times that Peekers and Nala will have to be locked up.  I didn't want to keep them caged all the time for the few days that the dogs will be here.  The foster cats usually have the run of the house.  They wouldn't want to be in the Grooming Room with Mindi's Caesar, who is constantly barking, "Me!  Me!  Look at Me!  I want some attention!"  He drives me nuts, so I don't know what that would do to sweet Peekers or shy, worried Nala. 

The two cats don't have to be locked up very often, but when we are running in and out of the house, the cats like to try to get in the attached garage-workshop.  That would be a disaster if the doors were open, which they are, when we are working in the mornings.  I can't even put the foster cats in my bathroom, as Ava is in there. 

Speaking of Ava, my 'new', old, longhaired, black cat.  I find that every time that I go into my bathroom that I get short of breath. This happened to me once before when I was taking care of a long haired cat who had to be brushed all the time, too. As it was at the same time that they were burning that stuff in Mexico, we thought that was the cause.

So now, the doctor's are thinking that I had allergy-induced asthma, as it wasn't a heart attack, and that I am allergic to her. She is a sweet little old lady-cat, and I hate to give her up, but I can't live like this.   I won't know for sure until I go to the doctor on the 19th, but her previous foster mom is supposed to pick her up on Saturday.

No comments: