Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Xan » Sat Apr 10, 2021 2:39 pm

Desert wrote:
Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:50 am
dualstow wrote:
Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:52 pm
Tortoise wrote:
Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:21 pm
Huh. I thought Bostonians just don’t pronounce Rs. “Bah” instead of “bar”, “cah” instead of “car”, etc. Wouldn’t have guessed “torlet”.
Maybe it's like the British where they put them in when unneeded. 😂 I sawr a film today. No offense to our British pp'ers.
Right!

I like to think of it as "conservation of R's." In other words, R's cannot be created or destroyed, so when they're eliminated in one word, they must be added to another word where they clearly do not belong.

So when a Bostonian talks about their "cah," they must then also have some good "idears" to conserve the total number of R's in the universe.
The perfect example of this is "career" vs "Korea". Normal people pronounce them as written, while Bostonians do it backwards. As you say, the Rs are conserved.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Tortoise » Fri Apr 16, 2021 2:26 pm

dualstow wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:59 pm
I probably won't have internet for a few days.
...or a few weeks, apparently. ;D
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by vnatale » Fri Apr 16, 2021 2:57 pm

Tortoise wrote:
Fri Apr 16, 2021 2:26 pm

dualstow wrote:
Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:59 pm

I probably won't have internet for a few days.


...or a few weeks, apparently. ;D


Yes. Dualstow's absence has been well noticed by me!
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Mark Leavy » Fri Apr 16, 2021 9:04 pm

The elevator in my hotel speaks Southern. Complete with extra syllables.

Flo-or sy ix.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Mark Leavy » Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:47 pm

I'm hugging the Southern Texas Border, heading West. Rio Bravo.

It is like time travel. It feels like the Northern Mexico of my 20's. Ranchos, llanterias, pollo asado.

I flew this whole region doing surveillance in a previous life, but I've never been on the ground, south of I10 through this part of Texas before.

Anyone who thinks this is America is seriously deluded. It is delightful country, but it is Mexico through and through. Except that there are Sheriffs, Troopers and Border Patrol every time you blink. Well, maybe that isn’t so different from Mexico.

I threw a gallon of water in the back seat this afternoon. The road ahead doesn't seem like anything I should be careless with.

In preparation for spending the rest of my life with a no nonsense gal, I’ve been navigating sans GPS. I’m using the map that I grabbed at the visitor's station upon entering Texas. My phone is still in it’s regular place but now only shows a compass. It’s crazy fun. It blends very well with the old Mexico of my 20’s.

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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by boglerdude » Tue Apr 27, 2021 11:15 pm

What year is your mini. Any problems? Just bought a '15
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Mark Leavy » Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:08 am

boglerdude wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 11:15 pm
What year is your mini. Any problems? Just bought a '15
'05. Standard shift. I bought it used last May from the gal who bought it new. $5K. It was in great shape and then I put another $5K into it. I get it completely checked out every 5,000 miles and I do whatever the dealer suggests. I think it is about $1,000 every time they lift the bonnet.

But it runs like a dream and is absolutely the most fun driving car I've ever had.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by I Shrugged » Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:36 pm

Mark Leavy wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:47 pm
I'm hugging the Southern Texas Border, heading West. Rio Bravo.

It is like time travel. It feels like the Northern Mexico of my 20's. Ranchos, llanterias, pollo asado.

I flew this whole region doing surveillance in a previous life, but I've never been on the ground, south of I10 through this part of Texas before.

Anyone who thinks this is America is seriously deluded. It is delightful country, but it is Mexico through and through. Except that there are Sheriffs, Troopers and Border Patrol every time you blink. Well, maybe that isn’t so different from Mexico.

I threw a gallon of water in the back seat this afternoon. The road ahead doesn't seem like anything I should be careless with.

In preparation for spending the rest of my life with a no nonsense gal, I’ve been navigating sans GPS. I’m using the map that I grabbed at the visitor's station upon entering Texas. My phone is still in it’s regular place but now only shows a compass. It’s crazy fun. It blends very well with the old Mexico of my 20’s.

But all the Sheriffs, Troopers and Border Patrol are of Mexican descent.

If you get to Terlingua, tell us if you find it worth the stop. When we were there, we had to inquire to find out which places were open which nights. And which had music which nights. Personally I thought it was the closest thing to a free state I've seen in the USA. But you definitely have to put up with a lot of inconvenience to live there.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by vnatale » Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:00 pm

Mark Leavy wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:08 am

boglerdude wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 11:15 pm

What year is your mini. Any problems? Just bought a '15


'05. Standard shift. I bought it used last May from the gal who bought it new. $5K. It was in great shape and then I put another $5K into it. I get it completely checked out every 5,000 miles and I do whatever the dealer suggests. I think it is about $1,000 every time they lift the bonnet.

But it runs like a dream and is absolutely the most fun driving car I've ever had.


Am I correct in surmising that those "every 5,000 miles" come up many times a year with you being a "permanent traveler"?
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Mark Leavy » Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:04 pm

I Shrugged wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:36 pm
If you get to Terlingua, tell us if you find it worth the stop. When we were there, we had to inquire to find out which places were open which nights. And which had music which nights. Personally I thought it was the closest thing to a free state I've seen in the USA. But you definitely have to put up with a lot of inconvenience to live there.
I am absolutely going to stop in Terlingua. I was in slab city in 2013. Also, there is a region in Appalachia that appears to be self governed, but I haven't been there yet.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Mark Leavy » Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:05 pm

vnatale wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:00 pm
Am I correct in surmising that those "every 5,000 miles" come up many times a year with you being a "permanent traveler"?
About once a month. Until I can start flying internationally again. I'm off to Hawaii in four weeks with no return ticket. So who knows?
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by vnatale » Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:38 pm

Mark Leavy wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:05 pm

vnatale wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:00 pm

Am I correct in surmising that those "every 5,000 miles" come up many times a year with you being a "permanent traveler"?


About once a month. Until I can start flying internationally again. I'm off to Hawaii in four weeks with no return ticket. So who knows?


I assume, though, that you don't have $1,000 in maintenance and repairs at every 5,000 mile interval?

And, you are going to different dealers all over the country?

I've always tended to avoid the dealers except as a last resort, favoring the independently owned repair places.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Mark Leavy » Wed Apr 28, 2021 7:08 pm

vnatale wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:38 pm
Mark Leavy wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:05 pm
vnatale wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:00 pm
Am I correct in surmising that those "every 5,000 miles" come up many times a year with you being a "permanent traveler"?
About once a month. Until I can start flying internationally again. I'm off to Hawaii in four weeks with no return ticket. So who knows?
I assume, though, that you don't have $1,000 in maintenance and repairs at every 5,000 mile interval?

And, you are going to different dealers all over the country?

I've always tended to avoid the dealers except as a last resort, favoring the independently owned repair places.
I am going to different dealers all over the country. Because of the 'rona a lot of the MINI dealers have merged their service stations with BMW. I"m always the ugly kid on the block.

My bill last week was $7K, a month before $1K, the month before that $3K ....

But it is only because I go hard on everything. A worn boot? Change it out. A bit of seepage from a gasket? Tear the engine apart and rebuild it. A tie rod that won't align to spec? Change it out. Some stiffness in the suspension? Change out all of the dampers.

This car is a serious driving machine and I abuse the hell out of it. I have no desire to be left stranded waiting for a donkey to pull me out of Terlingua because a tie rod failed on me.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by vnatale » Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:21 pm

Mark Leavy wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 7:08 pm

vnatale wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:38 pm

Mark Leavy wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 6:05 pm

vnatale wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 4:00 pm

Am I correct in surmising that those "every 5,000 miles" come up many times a year with you being a "permanent traveler"?


About once a month. Until I can start flying internationally again. I'm off to Hawaii in four weeks with no return ticket. So who knows?


I assume, though, that you don't have $1,000 in maintenance and repairs at every 5,000 mile interval?

And, you are going to different dealers all over the country?

I've always tended to avoid the dealers except as a last resort, favoring the independently owned repair places.


I am going to different dealers all over the country. Because of the 'rona a lot of the MINI dealers have merged their service stations with BMW. I"m always the ugly kid on the block.

My bill last week was $7K, a month before $1K, the month before that $3K ....

But it is only because I go hard on everything. A worn boot? Change it out. A bit of seepage from a gasket? Tear the engine apart and rebuild it. A tie rod that won't align to spec? Change it out. Some stiffness in the suspension? Change out all of the dampers.

This car is a serious driving machine and I abuse the hell out of it. I have no desire to be left stranded waiting for a donkey to pull me out of Terlingua because a tie rod failed on me.


Believe it or not, the total of those amounts are only a few thousand $$$$ less than the total I've spent in my entire life acquiring cars. Of course, I've spent a lot more that that amount in repairs for all the cars I've owned.
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Mark Leavy » Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:15 pm

I Shrugged wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:36 pm
If you get to Terlingua, tell us if you find it worth the stop. When we were there, we had to inquire to find out which places were open which nights. And which had music which nights. Personally I thought it was the closest thing to a free state I've seen in the USA. But you definitely have to put up with a lot of inconvenience to live there.
I stopped in Terlingua (ghost town) this evening. I'm pretty sure that's what you were referring to.

My gal used to be a lead driver for Green Tortoise, back in the day when it was everything you could imagine and more. She filled my head with stories of the area and has given me a list of places to check out.

Sadly, I think those days are gone, I Shrugged.

I passed through Big Bend National Park on the way in and bought a pass good for a week, but I didn't really have time to check out much as I still hadn't secured lodging. The one lodge inside the park was full up, so I headed to Terlingua. I had done some scouting around the evening before and there was virtually nothing available. Except one place that did luxury rentals and they only had one unit open for one night. Well... that's me.

There was one place in town doing dinner "The Starlight" (With live music). That seems to be the only regular joint and it was backed up for an hour, but I managed to slip into a spot at the bar after about 15 minutes. Fantastic rib eye, by the way. The guy I sat next to was a local that moved over from Kansas. He used to raise Black Angus (and recommended the rib eye) but now he has a few dozen airBnB rentals in Terlingua. Some rock casitas, some teepees, some air streams and some tiny houses. He is booked solid year round. No unit does less than 300 days of rent per year. And his rents are all in the $100 to $300 / day range. It has been none stop growth for at least 4 years straight.

So... while still a pretty cool town, it is not the place you remember, or the place my gal remembers. And it is a far sight different than slab city. Or at least slab city of 2013. Who knows, now.

But on the plus side, my casita for the evening has a huge indoor waterfall shower and a great outdoor shower. Nirvana. I may be taking showers non-stop until they kick me out in the morning.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by I Shrugged » Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:20 pm

So they have gone commercial. Thanks for the update. It seems like every place worth discovering has been discovered.
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Benito Juárez

Post by Mark Leavy » Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:40 pm

I hiked out to a remote section of Big Bend National Park this morning.

There's a section of the Rio Grande near Santa Elena that has reasonably approachable banks on either side. It was an easy walk across the river to say to 'hi' to the horses of Benito Juárez.

It feels good to be international again.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by vnatale » Wed May 05, 2021 8:52 pm

Smith1776 wrote:
Fri Apr 09, 2021 12:40 pm

I hope dualstow is staying safe and is having fun on his travels.


How about you??!!!

I just realized we'd not heard from you for quite a while!

It will be four weeks this Friday.

First Dualstow and now you! Two of the forum's stalwarts...
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by dualstow » Sat Jun 12, 2021 5:36 pm

vnatale wrote:
Wed May 05, 2021 8:52 pm
Smith1776 wrote:
Fri Apr 09, 2021 12:40 pm
I hope dualstow is staying safe and is having fun on his travels.
How about you??!!!

I just realized we'd not heard from you for quite a while!

It will be four weeks this Friday.

First Dualstow and now you! Two of the forum's stalwarts...
hey guys

What began as a real but brief trip has turned into an extended break from the forum.
Just checking in to say that I’m still lurking, and often. Granted, it’s mostly to see what town Mark Leavy’s in. O0
Not all exits are dramatic. Nobody pissed me off. On the contrary, I’ve learned so much from so many people here.
Sometimes it just feels good to hang back and see how the forum progresses from a distance.
Might start posting again sometime, might not.
Hope you’re all doing well.
-D
RIP Marcello Gandini
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by vnatale » Sat Jun 12, 2021 7:43 pm

dualstow wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 5:36 pm

vnatale wrote:
Wed May 05, 2021 8:52 pm

Smith1776 wrote:
Fri Apr 09, 2021 12:40 pm

I hope dualstow is staying safe and is having fun on his travels.


How about you??!!!

I just realized we'd not heard from you for quite a while!

It will be four weeks this Friday.

First Dualstow and now you! Two of the forum's stalwarts...


hey guys

What began as a real but brief trip has turned into an extended break from the forum.
Just checking in to say that I’m still lurking, and often. Granted, it’s mostly to see what town Mark Leavy’s in. O0
Not all exits are dramatic. Nobody pissed me off. On the contrary, I’ve learned so much from so many people here.
Sometimes it just feels good to hang back and see how the forum progresses from a distance.
Might start posting again sometime, might not.
Hope you’re all doing well.
-D


Glad to see any appearance at all from you! You HAVE been missed!
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Mark Leavy » Sun Jun 13, 2021 3:47 pm

dualstow wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 5:36 pm
hey guys

What began as a real but brief trip has turned into an extended break from the forum.
Just checking in to say that I’m still lurking, and often. Granted, it’s mostly to see what town Mark Leavy’s in. O0
Not all exits are dramatic. Nobody pissed me off. On the contrary, I’ve learned so much from so many people here.
Sometimes it just feels good to hang back and see how the forum progresses from a distance.
Might start posting again sometime, might not.
Hope you’re all doing well.
-D
Good to hear from you dualstow. I just assumed that once you started traveling, you never stopped.

I'm stuck on Hawai'i with my gal for a few more weeks. She's still plotting where to try and kill me next month, so I'm just as curious as you are as to the future.

Cheers,
Mark

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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Kriegsspiel » Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:49 pm

Image
You there, Ephialtes. May you live forever.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by I Shrugged » Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:15 pm

Kriegsspiel wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:49 pm
Image
Nice.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Kriegsspiel » Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:24 pm

The 21st day of the 21st week doesn't make sense, but still pretty cool.
You there, Ephialtes. May you live forever.
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Re: Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

Post by Kriegsspiel » Wed Jun 23, 2021 7:03 am

Yes. Plus, the cooler date time groupings were 12:12, 12 December 1212, 11:11, 11 November 1111, etc.
You there, Ephialtes. May you live forever.
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