As of yesterday afternoon, the FMCA website is down, the victim of a virus attack that hit sometime Monday. The computer savvy folks I know recommend that if you visited the FMCA website in the last few days, you should run a complete system scan to ensure your computer is not infected.  Roger Marble also suggested that, in addition to whatever antivirus software you have, you also download and run the free MalwareBytes program, to increase the chance of finding any problems.

Speaking of computers, I wrote in yesterday’s blog that my monitor was acting up, and I thought it was getting ready to die. Several of you wrote, suggesting that I check the connections between the computer and monitor. I did and didn’t see anything wrong, but then Greg White started fooling around with things, tightened this and tweaked that, and voila, the monitor is working perfectly again!

That darned Greg is just full of surprises! Besides being a computer geek, a Mr. Fix-It for whatever I break, a great RV rally parking helper, and (when teamed up with his pretty wife, Jan) an excellent RV rally door prize solicitor, Greg is also always coming up with something I never knew existed, such as RunPee What is RunPee, you ask? I’m not going to tell you, but if you read Greg’s blog post titled Sex And RunPee from yesterday, you’ll learn all about it.

I’m afraid that some readers misunderstood what I was trying to say in yesterday’s blog entry, Plugging Away. I got e-mails from people who thought that I was leading up to announcing that we were no longer going to publish the paper, or at least not the printed edition.

Not at all. I love our job, and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Terry and I have often said that even if we were to win a multi-million dollar lottery (which is pretty hard to do when you don’t buy lottery tickets), we’d still keep right on doing what we’re doing, because we enjoy it so much. I was just saying that the actual work of formatting and putting together the printed issue of the Gypsy Journal is not as much fun as the traveling and actually gathering the stories for each issue.  That doesn’t mean I hate or resent our work in any way.

I spent most of yesterday plugging away, just like I’ll be doing today, except for a coupe of brief breaks when people stopped in to visit. During the afternoon, we checked out the new main rally room here at the campground, and were really impressed with it. It’s going to be great for RV rallies and special events, and I predict that Ellkhart Campground is going to start seeing a lot more rally business with all of the improvements they have made.

As of right now, we have about 40 indoor vendor booths reserved, as well as two outside vendors for our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally, and we may pick up a few more between now and the start of the rally. I think it’s going to be a fun event!

Sometime during the evening, Bad Nick pushed me away from the desk long enough to post a new Bad Nick Blog titled It’s Not Rape, It’s Religion. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – If you’re talking behind my back, you’re in a good position to kiss my butt!

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!

I wish I had something new and exciting to write about in today’s blog, but right now I’m in my plow horse mode, just plugging away to get the new issue of the Gypsy Journal ready to go to the printer early next week.

This is the mundane part of our job, and while we enjoy the traveling, sightseeing, and adventures we have along the way, none of it matters if we don’t sit down and put it all together for the next issue. Our lives are pretty cool overall, especially compared to the rest of the working world, but into every working RVer’s world, a little rain must fall. Six times a year, this is our rain.

My plan for this week was to chain myself to my desk and get the job done. Of course, nothing ever goes exactly according to plan. When I fired up my computer yesterday morning, the display on my LCD monitor was an ugly shade of deep rose or pink. I spent an hour or so trying to adjust the color balance, and got it somewhat back to normal, but all day long it would suddenly switch from green to blue to red tints, and no matter how much I fiddled with the color balance, it would not stay at any one setting. I suspect the monitor is on its last legs.

I really can’t complain. I’ve had this Envision monitor for at least five years, maybe six, and it has been bounced along over many thousands of miles of highways and back roads, which it was never designed to do. I just hope it holds out long enough for me to get the new issue finished.

Several people have asked me why I don’t use a laptop computer, like most RVers do. While I have a very nice Dell laptop, I spend hours a day at my desk, and I just prefer the larger size keyboard and monitor of a desktop unit. And yes, I could plug an external keyboard and monitor into a laptop, but this is what works best for me.

I did take a break about midday, when Al Hesselbart from the RV Hall of Fame Museum stopped in to say hello, and asked  if I could give him a ride to a repair shop a few blocks away, where his car was waiting. It’s always good to see Al, and we look forward to spending  more time with him while we’re here.

Back at Elkhart Campground, I kept pounding away at the keyboard, with occasional breaks to readjust the display on my monitor, while Miss Terry made a WalMart run to stock up on things we needed. I hate shopping, so it’s always best if she goes by herself, and doesn’t have to deal with me breathing down the back of her neck while she shops.

A couple of times, folks who are here waiting for our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally to start came by, but I was just too busy to visit, and asked them if we could get together after the paper was finished.

About 5:30 we got together with Greg and Jan White  and Al Hesselbart at a nearby Chinese buffet for dinner, and Al told us about his trip to China last winter to be the featured speaker at an RVing conference. The Chinese are just discovering the RV lifestyle, and Al said there are only about 30 campgrounds with RV hookups in the entire country! It was interesting hearing about his trip, which was a once in a lifetime experience.

Back at the campground, I went for a short walk, then came back and worked for a couple more hours, until it was time to stop and get the blog ready to post.

Like I said, just plugging away, and tomorrow will be more of the same.

Thought For The Day -The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!

I spent most of yesterday busily doing nothing, and managed to get most of it done.

Don Bingham, a faithful blog reader and newly retired Apple employee, contacted me to congratulate me on my new iPad and to tell me that he wanted to present me with three great apps; Apple Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, which are word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation programs, respectively. These will really help me get the most out of my new iPad, and I appreciate your generosity, Don.

The only problem was, for some reason, when I tried to download the programs directly to my iPad from the online Apple Store, I kept getting an error message. Eventually I downloaded them to my desktop computer, and then transferred them to the iPad, along with Scrabble, the iPad version of the popular board game. I also downloaded my iPod music library to the iPad.

Well, why have a new game if you don’t play it, right? So there went most of the afternoon. As it turns out, for a wordsmith, I really suck at Scrabble. The computer knows words I never heard of. I managed to beat the game a few times, but it pretty much cleaned my clock every time.

I did tear myself away from my new toy long enough to go up to the office to pay for two more days to extend our stay here at Happy Days. Or at least I tried to. As it turns out, the office is closed on the weekends, so I left them a message that we will be leaving Monday, and will catch them before we take off.

I also called Camping World in Mesa to complain that ever since we got our new tires installed, the end of February, I have been having problems with both inside duals. They are losing air, and giving false readings on my PressurePro tire monitor. The consensus of Mike McFall from PressurePro, and other experienced tire people, is that when they installed the valve stems, they either screwed the extenders down too tight and collapsed the small washers inside of them, or that the valve extenders themselves are bad. After some discussion with the service manager at Camping World, he acknowledged that they have had problems with their valve extenders in the last few weeks. So we have an appointment with them first thing Monday morning to hopefully remedy the problem.

I may have been a couch potato most of the day, but not Miss Terry. That lady is always busy doing something. Her sister Lisa had invited us to dinner, so Terry made up a big batch of refried beans to go with the tacos Lisa was preparing, and while they were cooking, she installed the new Levolor wooden blinds in the bathroom, in place of the original metal mini blinds. We are replacing all of our window coverings with the Levolors, and this was the first one so far. I think they look very nice, don’t you?

We went to Lisa’s at 4 p.m., and she and husband Jim made us feel welcome, then stuffed us with delicious food as we had a fun evening together. We don’t get to see enough of Jim and Lisa, because they have very busy schedules, so it is always a treat to get together with them when we are in town.

Back at the motorhome, I parked myself back on the couch and attacked the Scrabble game again, because I’m nothing if not persistent, and lazy. The game beat me three rounds out of four, so I finally gave up and did something productive instead, moving to the far end of the couch and giving Miss Terry her nightly foot rub. I have to do something around here to earn my keep!

Thought For The Day -A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!

When I first heard about Apple’s new tablet computer, I have to admit that my first reaction was “So what? I already have a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and a netbook computer. What can the iPad do that they can’t?” Then I saw my first iPad, and my immediate reaction was “I want one!” 

As it turns out, there is not much you can do on an iPad that you can’t do with another type of computer, but there is a lot that I can do with an iPad that I don’t do on my other computers. Things like relaxing on the couch and surfing the web at the same time, or checking my e-mail while visiting the in-laws, or reading USA Today for free while waiting in the van while my wife is in the bank or grocery store.

The iPad comes in two versions, either a WiFi only version, or a 3G model (capable of accessing the internet via AT&T) which also is WiFi capable if you are near a WiFi hotspot. Both versions come with either 16, 32 or 64 gig of storage. I wanted the 64 gig 3G model, because one of my big reasons for wanting an iPad was for internet access away from our motorhome. Getting one proved to be a challenge, because every store I contacted was sold out. I finally put my name on the list to reserve one at the Apple Store in Tucson, and less than a week later it arrived.

I am no fan of AT&T, and I really wish the iPad was available on the Verizon network, but so far there is no verifiable indication that will happen anytime soon. So it is what it is. AT&T offers two different monthly pricing plans for the iPad, either 250 MB for $14.99 or $29.99 for unlimited data. You can change your plan at any time, but forget the cheaper plan. It’s a joke. I signed up for it, and in less than 24 hours I was at my limit, with no movies or music downloaded, just web surfing and checking e-mail. 

I was disappointed to discover that my iPad would not work with our Cradlepoint MBR1000 router right out of the box. So much for Apple’s “just turn it on and it works, first time, every time” reputation. I called the Apple Store, and they asked me to bring it in to see if they could figure it out. As it turns out, there is a setting on the Cradlepoint that I need to change, which the Apple tech assures me will remedy the problem. Since I switched to the unlimited plan, the conflict with my router is no big hassle, so I’ll wait and have one of my tech buddies talk me through changing the router’s settings, so I don’t mess up and lose Miss Terry’s WiFi access in the process. On AT&T, here in Apache Junction, the iPad works quickly, and I have no complaints.

UPDATE: After I originally posted this blog, my friend Greg White talked me through resetting the router, and now the iPad works fine on WiFi.

The first thing one has to understand about the iPad is that it is not a replacement to a computer, if you need all of the things a computer can do. I see it as a supplement. If I am at my desk, I may pop onto Facebook to see what’s happening, or answer an e-mail, or look around the internet, but to me, my desk is where I work, so I find myself feeling guilty if I goof off too much, and before long I’m writing a blog or a story for the next issue of the Gypsy Journal. With the iPad, I can park myself on the couch and play.

So if an iPad isn’t a computer, what is it? Well, it’s a great e-book reader, for one thing. I had an Amazon Kindle, and though I loved the concept, most of what I wanted it for were reference books. I discovered that photographs and charts look terrible, and are hard to see on a Kindle. On the iPad, they look great. I was also thrilled to learn that, besides Apple’s online book store, there is a free Kindle app, and once I downloaded it, all of the books I had purchased for my Kindle were still in my Amazon library, and I downloaded them to the iPad. Cool!

Being a career newspaper man, I am a news junkie. So I love the free USA Today app, which allows me to read my newspaper on the iPad. I can also read the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and a ton of magazines on it.

The iPad comes with a great street map, and the 3G model has a GPS chip built in. I can view maps in traditional street view, or Google satellite view, and the GPS feature allows me to find local businesses wherever I am. When I click on a business, I get the address, phone number, and other info, along with turn by turn directions.

We love music, and our iPod has thousands of songs on it. I can download those same songs to my iPad, and buy more from the iTunes Store.

For gaming, the graphics are fantastic, but I doubt that I’ll be playing games in the iPad. I have also seen movies on iPads on display at stores, and the picture is great. There is a Netflix app that allows you to download all the movies you could ever want to watch.

I could go on and on about all you can do with an iPad, but you can get most of that info online with a quick Goggle search. So instead, I’ll tell you a little about the features I like and don’t like, from a user standpoint.

First, the iPad is heavier than a Kindle, and your hands get tired pretty quickly if you are holding it like a paperback book. But if I prop it up on my chest while laying down, or on my stomach while sitting in a chair, it’s fine. (I knew I grew that stomach for something!) In the van, I prop it on the steering wheel and again, no problems.

I have heard that because the iPad doesn’t support Flash, some websites will not load right, or won’t come up at all. So far that has not been a problem, and I have been able to access and view every website I wanted to, including my own websites, the Escapees forum, Ancestry.com and many others. I can also follow links in websites with no problem

The glossy screen is also a fingerprint magnet, and in direct sunlight, the screen will give a lot of glare. There are screen protectors one can buy to remedy those problems.

I like the touch screen, and being able to make type and photos larger whenever I need to. For these old eyes, that’s a real plus. I am also very impressed with the iPad’s battery life. Apple claims 9+ hours of constant use on the 3G models, and 10 hours on the WiFi only models. I have found that to be true so far. I charged the unit up when I brought it home, and have about 40% of battery power left 36 hours later.

The speaker is so so at best, and while there is a jack for earphones, I don’t know how much I’ll use the music feature, since I can just slip my much smaller, lighter iPod into my shirt when I go for a walk.

I downloaded the free Weather Bug app, and I am very impressed with it. The graphics are excellent, and the GPS tells Weather Bug my location for up to the minute local weather info. One reader e-mailed me that they found its live weather radar very handy a few days ago when they were on the road and dodging thunderstorms and tornados in Oklahoma.

Other standard iPad features I really like are the notepad and calendar. Yes, I have both on my Blackberry, but my eyes older really need a bigger screen.  I also appreciate the fact that, unlike a laptop computer, the iPad does not get hot, no matter how long you use it.

There are other features, and thousands of apps that I am looking forward to exploring further, but based on what I have seen so far, I am even more impressed with the iPad than I was at first glance. I see it becoming my primary tool for media consumption, information access, and  web surfing. Like an American Express card, I won’t leave home without it.

So, is the iPad the newest must have gadget for every RVer? I don’t know, but it sure meets the needs of this RVer, and I’m glad I have it!

Thought For The Day – Suburbia: Where they cut down all the trees, and then name streets after them.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally! 

We had snow here in Show Low, Arizona on several days last week, and on Sunday we got two inches of the nasty stuff. I wrote in yesterday’s blog that we plan to go down to Tucson for a week or so, and it immediately warmed up to about 70 degrees yesterday! The weather is supposed to be in the mid-70s here for the next ten days. Go figure.

Yesterday I got a lot of work done on the computer, while Miss Terry hemmed up several new pairs of jeans we both bought a few days ago. I got Terry a new Bernia Bernette sewing machine back in January, and this is the first opportunity she’s had to use it. She is very pleased with its performance, and said the new machine does everything her much heavier ancient Pfaff would do, which gave up the ghost last year.

We also took some time to run into town to see daughter Tiffany and her little ones before we leave town. Terry helped seven year old Hailey with her homework while three year old Destiny spent the time doing whatever it is that three year olds do. I have to tell you, as much as I love my grandkids, there is nothing in the world that would make me want to be a parent of little ones again. I really like this stage of my life. I can go see the girls, spoil them rotten, and then retreat to the the peace and quiet of our motorhome!

As most of you who have been reading my blog and the Gypsy Journal know, I am a strong proponent of both parties in an RV knowing how to drive it. In our case, I do most of the driving, but Miss Terry is fully capable, and comfortable in taking the wheel of our Winnebago if I get tired or just need a break.

Learning to drive a big rig is intimidating to a lot of people, but with skilled instruction, anybody can do it. If you are planning to attend our upcoming Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally in Elkhart, Indiana, I have good news. Dennis Hill from the RV Driving School will be there, offering lessons behind the wheel in your own RV. Here is your opportunity to learn to maneuver that big rig like a pro.

Another great learning opportunity is just a month away. The RVSEF RV Lifestyle, Education and Safety Conference is being held in Bowling Green, Kentucky June 3-6. We won’t be able to make it this year, but Walter Cannon has put together an excellent educational venue for both new and experienced RVers. Many of the folks I taught with at Life on Wheels will be there as instructors, including Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor), Mac McCoy (Fire and Life Safety), Jim and Chris Guld (Geeks on Tour),  Al Hesselbart (RV Hall of Fame), Dennis Hill (RV Driving School), Rick and Joyce Lang (RVSEF), Howard Payne (RV-Dreams.com), to name just a few. Log onto the RVSEF website, or call 321-453-7673 for more information about the conference.

As I said, we’re leaving Juniper Ridge RV Resort today and going to Tucson. We need to spend some time with my cousin Beverly and I have some other family members there I need to touch base with, plus we are looking forward to visiting a couple of our favorite restaurants down there, and if I can find one, I may break down and buy one of the new Apple 3G iPads.

Bad Nick is looking forward to a change of scenery too, but he took time to post a new Bad Nick Blog titled Another Dumb A$$ Report. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – Heck is for people that don’t believe in Gosh.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!