When I checked my e-mail yesterday morning, I had a message from Verizon Wireless that an update for my Blackberry Storm was available, which was supposed to be the latest and greatest thing since sliced bread.

So, being the trusting soul I am, I plugged my phone into my computer, logged onto the Verizon website, and clicked the update button. The process took a few minutes, and then I got a message telling me the download was complete. Quick and easy, right?

Well, yes, except for the fact that the upload wiped out my entire contacts list. The photos I had stored on the phone are still there, even a couple of songs I transferred over from my computer a while back. But every telephone number I had is gone.

Yeah, I know, I could have backed up my information to my computer, but I never thought of it. So I’ll be spending some time digging out business cards and entering all of those numbers all over again. What fun.

There are many features I like about the Blackberry, but after using it for the last few months I have come to realize that my smart phone is smarter than I am by a long shot! I’m sure my seven year old granddaughter Hailey could probably make it do wonderful things, but I get a headache trying to figure what all the buttons are for.

It has been interesting to read all of the e-mails and comments from readers of yesterday’s blog Considering Our Options, about RV extended warranties. Some people feel that an extended warranty is a good investment, and just as many, if not more, seem to think they are not worth the money. I also heard from some folks who did buy extended warranties on their RVs, only to find that the companies issuing the warranties either did not honor needed repairs, or were very slow in paying. Like so much in the RV industry, there seem to be so many snakes selling extended warranties that you have to be very, very careful who you do business with.

I have had some comments from longtime readers who took me to task for buying a factory built motorhome because I have always said that “all RVs are junk and I’d never own anything but a bus conversion.” I don’t know when I supposedly said that, and in looking back over several years of past blogs and issues of the Gypsy Journal, I don’t find any such comment.

Yes, I have said many times that the quality of most factory built RVs is pretty sad, and I have said that a lot of junk has been foisted off on RV buyers by a lot of companies. However I have also said many times, in print and in the seminars I present at RV rallies, that there were four companies whose rigs I would be comfortable owning. Those companies are Heartland, Tiffin, Newmar, and Winnebago. When we started looking for a rig to replace our MCI bus conversion, they were on our very short list.

I love our old bus, and I will always be a fan of bus conversions. For cargo carrying capacity, safety in the event of a crash, longevity, and overall ruggedness, there has never been a stick and staple motorhome built that can compare. When we moved from the bus to our Winnebago, we traded down in those respects. No question about it.

However, our needs have changed. As our granddaughters have gotten older, the bus has become very crowded when they came to visit. We really wanted a coach with a slide. We also do not see ourselves doing nearly as much dry camping as we have in the past, so the huge holding tanks, battery bank, and solar panels on the bus are no longer a necessity.   

Yes, we had many wonderful years in our bus, and it carried us many miles in comfort and safety. Just as it will whomever owns it next. And though we have moved on, we’ll always look when we hear an old Detroit diesel roar to life. Once a bus nut, always a bus nut.

Thought For The Day – It’s frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.

Register Now For Our Arizona Gypsy Gathering Rally

Our Second Annual Eastern Gypsy Gathering is getting closer every day. As of now we have over 100 RVs registered, and every day more registrations are coming in. Things are happening fast, and I have lots of rally news to share with you.

At last year’s rally, husband and wife team Melissa and Larry Beahm of One More Time delighted the crowd with their concert, and a while back they wrote to ask if we’d like to have them back this year. Their concert is set for Wednesday evening, and I know you’re all going to love them.

However, as they say in those television infomercials, but wait, there’s more! Yesterday Melissa e-mailed to offer to do a second concert on Thursday evening, this one a combination of soft rock, jazz, blues, and a couple of original songs they’d like to showcase. The performance will include some Carole King, Frank Sinatra, James Taylor, Johnny Nash, and The Beatles. Sounds great, doesn’t it? I told Melissa we’d love to have them give us two performances.

These two are very talented, and a lot of fun, and all they ask for their great contribution to the rally is that we pass the hat for donations. Last year the crowd was very appreciative of their efforts, and very generous in showing them so, and I know this year will be more of the same.

We know how dangerous an overloaded RV can be, and how carrying too much weight can cause all sorts of mechanical problems, from early tire failure to broken shock absorbers and even axles. So one of the first things we plan to do at the rally is have the folks from the Recreational Vehicle Safety Education Foundation (RVSEF) weigh our new to us Winnebago motorhome. The new rig has a pretty healthy cargo carrying capacity, but you can never be too safe, and it is an investment in our safety.

The RVSEF representatives will be doing two seminars at the rally on RV Weight Safety and RV Tire Safety, both on Tuesday morning, because they have other commitments and will have to leave the rally early to get to another event back here in Indiana. Usually they schedule RV weighing for after a rally, but this time around they will be weighing rigs as they arrive.

If you plan to have your RV weighed, please click the appropriate link and print out and complete the Motorhome Work Sheet or the Trailer Work Sheet. Then when you arrive, you can just hand it to the weighing crew and save everybody a lot of time. For weighing fees and information, or any questions, call Rick Lang at (207) 522-3336, or e-mail him at ricklang46@hotmail.com.   

If you have not signed up yet for the Geeks on Tour pre-rally Computer Boot Camp Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27, click this registration link and get that taken care of now. Everyone I know who has attended one of the Geeks’ Boot Camps has had nothing but praise for it, including Miss Terry.

The material in the Boot Camp is more advanced than most people expect.  The program is designed to fill in the holes in your computer knowledge, and I promise you that you will come away a much more informed computer user. I’ve always been the one who knew his way around a computer in our home on wheels, but after taking the Boot Camp last year, Miss Terry has found herself answering questions for me many times.

The cost of the Boot Camp is $99 per computer for one person or a couple. This does not include your camping fee, which will be paid directly to the Mercer County Fairgrounds. For more information on the Boot Camp, go to http://www.geeksontour.com/bootcamp/.

The two new seminars the Geeks on Tour will be presenting, Blogger: Beyond the Basics, and Picasa: Beyond the Basics are a Gypsy Gathering exclusive that you won’t find anywhere else. They will be primarily a question and answer format, and if you will send your questions to Chris Guld in advance, she says it will help her insure they get covered.

As you can see, there is a lot going on, and if you click the Rally Registration Page and scroll to the bottom to see the schedule, I think you’ll be impressed. We think it’s going to be a great rally, and I hope we see you there! 

Thought For The Day – We teach others how to treat us by how we treat ourselves.

Register Now For Our Ohio Gypsy Gathering Rally