Things I Think Of

An email to k,

Been reading a number of things on the Internet… You know everything on the Internet is true, don’t you?

I am writing this as more of a way to pull things together and give me a document to refer to later.

Very cool stuff… I have come to a number of conclusions based on what I have read so far. Many I could explain, if I had the time and if you were really interested, but not needed at this point.

In my current (Roadtrek) situation… I can expect that the batteries in the Roadtrek are bad. I promise you, they are. With that said, and in a proper “timely” manner, I need to look at the best solution to acquire new batteries. This opens the gambit for a number of different battery ideas. But cost / benefit ratio of each needs to be considered. That is still an unknown.

But before spending all those high dollars on the best batteries I need to learn how “NOT” to destroy them. What I have learned so far, but still need additional information on is the proper process of restoring power back to the battery. Please see

http://www.mrsharkey.com/busbarn/electrics/chapt3.htm

The chapter talks about the three preferred stages of restoring power to a battery: bulk, absorption, and float.

I believe these different stages are very important (as proven) to the longevity of the battery. My thought is that the battery has the proper way it needs to be managed, regardless of “how” it is replenished. A separate piece of the puzzle. Getting a device (which I expect is out there but I have not yet searched for it) that would monitor the “needs” of the battery at any given time and in turn “replenish” the “need” appropriately is what I plan to search for next.

Another point that was brought up was that the batteries work well when they are quickly recharged after use.

Another point was that all batteries in a system be of a similar type and age.

There is also a number of “manual maintenance” things that need to be done on a regular basis to the batteries. I probably need an iPhone app to remind me of all the things that need to be done and when. lol.

Secondly. where is the power going to come from?

For that, each of us would need to look at how “we” would be “living the RV life”? Where will we most likely get our “Power fix”.

On a side note, I thought why can’t I add a small wind turbine to the side / top of the van (not a big one. Maybe multiples) and generate power (to send to the battery when needed) from that. Would the drag on the van, lowering gas mileage, be greater than the benefit received from the additional storage gained? Rhetorical question.

Solar, Wind, Shore power, Engine alternator, and Generator are most of the common sources I can think of. Solar and Wind are inconsistent and not reliable forms of energy. However, they fit the “batteries” (absorption, and float) needs very well. A generator is far to in-efficient to be run to simply recharge batteries. The van’s alternator are not designed to charge House (deep cycle) batteries correctly, but I believe the alternator current could be “channeled” appropriately. The same with shore power (when available) could be “managed” to best fit the batteries needs.

So I have learned more… but still have a number of questions.

Remember to visit MadeInAmericaStuff.com to add the water tower images you mentioned. Thanks!

I use to think that bankers were smart and shrewd business people.  But over the past 10 years I have begun to question their competence.

A couple of scenarios…

About eight year ago a golf course lot and house was sold for, let’s say a bit over market value.  But hey, we are in a boom and the market or real estate will never go down right?  This house and lot has a beautiful view of the golf course and a swimming pool with an expensive flagstone deck.  Beautifully landscaping and a place most would be proud to own.  Less than one year later the house was abandoned and eventually foreclosed on.   Just over six years ago an investment group inquired about the property and the bank refused to budge off the inflated value they had loaned on the property. 

Seven years have past… You see, we live in the South where there is mold, snakes, and “exotic” animals.  Within two years the homeowner’s association had to pay to fill in the pool with dirt, because the poisonous snakes were invading the neighbor’s yard.  I recently viewed the interior of the home to find a significant amount of black mold growing on the drywall.  To the extent that this property is a total gut or re-build. 

Now we all know that hindsight is 20/20, but the fact of the matter is that the bank could have taken a 20% loss when this whole thing started and instead they are looking at a 60% to 80% loss now.  I knew it then, I know it now.  But hey, for whatever reason (possible bailouts) the bankers were stupid enough to ignore the writing on the wall and instead chose to put their heads in the sand and expect things to get better.  Bankers are stupid!

I recently had a close friend apply for a business credit card.  This middle aged women has a credit score of 824, a masters degree, and over a million dollars in net assets.  She has been will Wells Fargo for over 20 years and just started an internet company.  She needed a credit card and was told that this was no problem as long as she “secured it” with her personal assets.  Thinking she had more too loose than a possible $10,000 max credit limit, she was quite upset with Wells Fargo and asked that they reconsider their position.  Over the next 15 months Wells Fargo basically ignored this young lady to the point where she finally took action. 

Over the past few months she has taken the time to move her accounts to a smaller, more customer friendly bank.   It is sad, because it has probably cost her over ten hours of time and effort.  And we all know, when you are in business for yourself, the ten hours were lost revenue.   But she did what she felt she needed to do.  If Wells Fargo is stupid enough to make this kind of mistake, how many other stupid things are they doing?  .  Bankers are stupid!

I just thought these were funny…

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I’m beginning to believe it ~Clarence Darrow

In my search across the Internet I have found a very unique link called Water Towers across America.  It is part of a site called MadeInAmericaStuff.com where they offer a place for towns across America to add their images, history, links, events, and places to see.  It is a free service that has been offered to promote America, as they put it, “One Water Tower at a time”.

This free service would be beneficial to any town that is interested in promoting themselves to the Internet community.  People that are searching the internet may happen upon this site and find information about a town they are about to visit.  If the town and its merchants have taken the time to promote their area, others will be able to read about it and possibly make a better decision on what can be done in the region 

We see it as a win-win for everyone.  If you get a chance, take a look and see if your town is participating. If not, then drop an email to your Chamber of Commerce site with a link telling them about the service and explaining how this will help the commerce in the area.

The title of this post is probably the most over used title that will be viewed over the next few days.  It’s full of spirit and optimism.  And rightfully so… If we have our health and are not living on the streets we should be happy. 

We at Things I Think Of have something else to celebrate.  Our new blog… Over the years we have struggled with other management content systems, from home grown to shareware and have had varied success.  Our current direction is to use a solution provided by WordPress. 

WordPress is a PHP based content (blog) system that has been around for many years.  From what we can tell it is a very stable platform with many options and features.  Best of all it is FREE!!! The installation was so simple that I cannot believe I didn’t have problems.  I created a MySQL database on my hosting companies server, updated the config file,  FTPed the files to the server, and ran the 10 second installation.  And it worked, with no errors or problems.

Once loaded I poked around some and was able to figure out about 70% of things without looking them up.  I have read a number of the help pages / articles which have proven to be very well written and informative.  The other 30% will need time and will be completed in the near future. 

In conclusion I simply wanted to wish all a happy and prosperous 2011. And to announce to all… We are Blogging once again!