Wednesday, April 21, 2010

3D PIPES:))

DSC_00153D Pipes have always been one of my favorite Microsoft screen savers.  It is a mesmerizing display of movement & color that can have one sitting in front of the monitor for long lengths of time staring in wonderment at how quickly the pipes are constructed.  We have the pipes on both computers running XP.  But, do we have the pipes on our new laptop running Windows 7?  No we do not!!  Along with some other neat-o things I like about XP, Microsoft has seen fit to eliminate most of their screen saver programs & that included 3D Pipes:((  I am a firm believer that newer is not always better!!

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DSC_0008Aside from a short mobility van run this afternoon it has been a quiet day.  Dropped off yesterday's load of trash in a nearby dumpster & have another load in the works to take to the local 'Good Will' drop off tomorrow.  I will keep plugging away at the big clean up until we are finally clear of all the debris!!

DSC_0030 DSC_0023 DSC_0025 DSC_0028Finally had a look at the gas log from our last trip to the southwest & see that we travelled for a total of 6,925 miles for $2,209.  I have no idea about how many miles to the gallon we got because I don't bother myself with that kind of stress.  Once a decision is made to go from point A to point B then whatever it costs to do that is what it costs & there's no point in stewing about it at each gas stop.  Our computerized speedometer can be set to tell us how many miles we are getting to the gallon but after watching those numbers while going down the road a couple years ago I decided that was information that was depressing & I had no control over anyway.  So that was that.  I now have the speedo set to show how many miles are left before our next fill up.

DSC_0025 DSC_0021 DSC_0022 DSC_0023And gas fill ups for me are always a royal pain in the asparagus.  Gas pumps are all computerized now & with their faded displays & 243 different ways to enter your info I generally lose patience & end up trying to physically strangle the gas pump.  I hate gas pumps!!!!  Some places take a credit card OK while others demand zip codes, rip codes, or the second to last letter in Abraham Lincoln's most favorite nickname of his wife's sister's brother-in-law.  A lot of pumps only give you $75 worth of gas & then you have to start the madness all over again.  Some places you have to go inside & pay first.  Works fine if your a Swami with a Crystal Ball in your pocket & know how much gas your rig is going to take.  Surly pumps with attitude really fry me.  As a rule it generally takes two of us to fill up the rig's gas tank.  Kelly has to come out & act as referee & generally ends up doing the paperwork at the pump while I stand at the rig waiting for a, 'lift the nozzle' sign to show up.  If I can see it.  More than once we have stormed out of a gas station without gas only to do battle down the street with another miserable pump with attitude!!  At least with the motorhome our gas stops have been cut in half or more because of the larger tank.  I'm thinking maybe we should replace the gray, black, & fresh water tanks in the coach with gas tanks to further cut down our time doing battle with the #^*)!!%+/** gas pumps!!!!

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And one more little statistic I've noticed here on the computer.  We have a program called Feedjit which shows us in real time the number of people visiting our site & where they are from.  About 70% of the hits come from the United States while maybe 28% are from Canada with maybe 2% or so from other countries.  America's population is much bigger than Canadas so that makes sense but I think it has more to do with the fact that probably 99% of our travels are done in the States.  Of those 6,925 miles traveled this past winter, only 134 miles were traveled in Canada.

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GROANER'S CORNER:((  And did you know that those of you who think you know it all are damn annoying to those of us who do know it all!!

DSC_0031 LOOK CLOSELY, I TOO AM IN THE MONITOR

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

7 comments:

  1. Every single updated, new and better item that comes on the market, adds more crap and takes out the easy stuff. Cell phones, computers, printers, cameras, electric appliances, you name it.

    I agree about fueling up on the road. They put concrete islands all over the place so that one of your tires invariably has to roll over it to enter or leave the place. I can deal with the credit card thing as long as I'm not in a Flying J.

    I kept pages of neatly written records of expenses when I started RVing - took me a few months to figure it was a waste of time.

    I loved your blog today, but I think those pipes would drive me crazy after a week or so.

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  2. We feel the same way about the whole miles per gallon thing. Sometimes when we meet someone around an RV park and begin a conversation the first they the guy asks is "what kind of mileage do you get?" Let's face it....we are driving a house down the highway and we aren't going to be getting 15 mpg with that. If we were so worried about this issue we probably wouldn't have purchased an RV of any kind. That's my 2 cents worth anyway.

    Have a good day, Al.

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  3. Al, after seeing all those 3D pipes in your post, I think you need to get this screensaver for Windows 7. Here's how to do it:

    1. On a computer with XP installed, go to the:

    C:\windows\system32 and look for this file:


    "3d pipes.scr"

    2. Copy the file off of the XP computer onto some type of external media - i.e. a small thumb drive or you can simply email the file to yourself as an attachment.

    3. Copy the file to your Windows 7 computer in the same folder:

    C:\windows\system32

    That's it - you should have your 3D pipes back and you wont' need to blind us again with that dazzling display on your blog!!!!!

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  4. You are right on about the gas pumps, we HATE filling up especially with the $75 limit on some pumps, I have just started taking my credit card inside so Michael doesn't drive over the pump in anger when it cuts him off at $75!

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  5. Maybe I should take your advice and do as you do, I watch my mileage like a hawk... It is depressing, especially with fuel so expensive..... The pipes look like the plumbing under the hood of my Volvo truck, or my Colonoscopy video....
    GOOD BLOG!!

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  6. yup.. agreed on the fueling problems.

    What we HATE is when places like Flying J make you leave your credit card INSIDE with them while you fuel up! We refuse. I bring the card in and show them I have it in my hand (means waiting in line at the counter) and then when they OK it, Steve fills and I stand there.

    There were instances of clerks at the Flying J (and many other places of course) who took camera photos of the front and back of your card and sell the numbers on the black market---- and one dumb Flying J clerk used the numbers himself and bought new stereos, video games, XXX websites etc. Well, he got caught toot sweet. But others are smarter and that is how credit card theft happens. Even places at restaurants where your card disappears with a waiter or waitress etc. Many times we fuel up with cash just to avoid the hassle, but our newest card gives us cash back for fuel, so I guess we will just be careful and watch the bill closely.

    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  7. We remember those pipes! Yeah! Loved to watch them, but better be careful if you're still a worker bee. Bosses don't like inactivity.

    Never had that credit card problem at Flying J, but yes, the $75 limit (for MY protection?) has been a frustration now and again.

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