Sharing photos, videos, vintage images I've discovered, and -- occasionally -- commentary and thoughts from retired life and travels.

retirement

Nature is so amazing!

September 18, 2011

2011 09 17 b 254

Yesterday we had a bit of wind and rain.  After the rain had passed, Karen spotted a rainbow through the skylight of the camper and I walked out to the highway to get to an open area where I could see it without trees, structures, or vehicles in the way.  I ended up on the edge of the median of the southbound lane of US 50.  The image is a composite of three photographs.

Nature is so amazing!

We’re traveling again.  My contact job ended about 2 1/2 weeks ago and we left home 2 weeks ago.  This time, I decided I was not going to try to keep up with the trip on a day to day basis.  Each time I’ve done that, I got behind and ended up skipping some days.

I’ve taken a lot of pictures and video, including several fairly decent time-lapse sequences.  Post processing is complete for about the first day and a half of our trip.  I’ll be posting about the trip in more detail when we get back home and I’ll be doing it day-by-day to get the whole trip published in sequence.

We planned to be away from the internet quite a bit this trip.  I pre-scheduled the videos that have been posted every three days or so through to the end of the trip.  Karen is posting pretty much as we go on her blog, but she is also pre-posting for some of the times that we will be away from the internet.

Most of the time when we have internet access, we are camped in an RV park that has wireless and is near or in a town, like Grand Junction, Colorado, where we are now.

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Post image for Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it’s….

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it’s….

November 17, 2010

a bit of a surprise.

While I wasn’t expecting it when I got up this morning, I’m going back to work tomorrow morning — another contract job back at the place I retired from, working in training, as usual.  They need help and found some money to pay for it.

So it’s back to setting an alarm clock, figuring out when to get to the gym, commuting — all of 20 minutes, with light traffic — and all the sundry things that go with work.

But, it’s only for a few weeks.

Except for that six month contract that looks like it’ll start January 3rd.

The retired part of “semi-retired” lasted 6 months this time.

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Blogs and Diaries

November 14, 2010

I’ve been spend a bit of time working on the civil war blog, Daily Observations from The Civil War, and, as a result, have been missing from here for a bit.  However, since much of what will be posted in that blog is going to be time relevant, I want to get a good handle on it before things really start happening.

It’s highly likely that I will be going back to work for another 6 month stint beginning in January which means that I’ll be working during the 150th anniversary of the run-up to and beginning of the civil war.  The amount of time that I’ll have for working on the blog will, thus, be limited – which is the reason for the effort now.

imageI’m currently working with  “Village Life in America, 1852 – 1872,” by Caroline Cowles Richards.  I went ahead and back posted entries from the early days of her diary and am pre-posting entries after November 14, 1860 so each will be published on the applicable day.

Things were going fine until I discovered the e-text I was using didn’t match the text in the pdf copy I was using to check spelling and wording against.  I had already run into missing text earlier, but had just assumed that an error had been made in electronic transcription.

richards_catherine_cowlesBut, then, I ran into an instance where the entry in the pdf version for a particular date had a lot more information and detail.

It turns out that the pdf version is a “new and enlarged” edition.

In looking into it a little further, it turns out that it is at least the third published edition of Miss Richard’s diary and, probably, has entries included that were left out of the previous editions.

So now I am going back and comparing editions and adding new posts where they were omitted.

Of course, if I used the e-text and pdf for the same edition, there wouldn’t have been any discrepency to be found.

I’ll be incorporating more diaries into the blog, but I’ll make sure that the text and pdf versions are from the same source document.

2500I mentioned in an earlier post that I had joined with two others on The American Civil War page on facebook. That was 3 weeks ago and the “friend” count for the page was 1,385.  Today, it went over 2,500.

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Unemployed again!

March 13, 2010

OK. I guess that’s a little overstating it.  I’m not really unemployed. The job is over and the contract is up; I can’t sign up for unemployment because I’m making too much money – from my pension.

students at a nuclear power plant simulator - photo rendered as a painting.

Students at a nuclear power plant simulator – photo rendered as a painting. 

This was my second contract since I retired a little over three years ago.  Both have been for about 6 months and both have been doing part of the job that I used to do before I retired – teaching license operator candidates in the classroom and in the simulator.

The class did well in the simulator operational exams administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week.  The last day of the operational exams was Thursday, which was also my last day on the job.  I had my box packed and was out the door by a little after 6 PM.

I suppose it will take a little time to get back into the swing of not working. 

I think I’ll be up to speed by sometime Monday morning. ;)

I’ve got quite a lot of work to do around our place this spring, summer, and fall.  Of course, we’ll get a little bit of traveling in, too.

Then, sometime in January, it looks like I’ll probably be back at work.  That’s about the time the next class should be at the point where I’ll be needed – if they allocate the funds, which I think is quite likely.

I’ve worked a total of about 13 1/2 months out of the last 36 – and when I do work, it’s doing something I know well and get satisfaction from.

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Cold weather and book burning

January 5, 2010

image 

In the UK, elderly customers at charity shops are buying up hardback books – as cheap fuel.

Cheaper than coal?

One assistant said: ‘Book burning seems terribly wrong but we have to get rid of unsold stock for pennies and some of the pensioners say the books make ideal slow-burning fuel for fires and stoves.

A lot of them buy up large hardback volumes so they can stick them in the fire to last all night.’

read the full article in metro.co.uk, Pensioners burn books for warmth.

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Moving on

December 14, 2009

While I’m moving on – or back – to other things, climate issues will continue to be an interest. With 5 of my last 6 posts being on the subject, it’s time to look at other things.  I’ll try to figure out a way to continue to share some of what I learn, though, without this becoming a climate change blog.

image

I’m still happy with Windows 7.  My computer at work uses XP, though, and moving back and forth between Windows 7 and XP makes getting used to Windows 7 a little harder, I think.

Yes, I am still working.  A contract extension has been approved and, assuming the VP signs the funding paperwork, I will be there until about the middle of March.  After that, I plan not to work for at least the rest of 2010.

Regular visitors to Exit 78 may recognize that my theme has changed once again.  I have moved to the Thesis theme, which allows a lot more control over the appearance.  I’ve got the basic structure down pretty good now, but I’ll be tweaking on it, so there may be subtle changes day to day.

I still have a little bit of material to post from our September trip, photo galleries to develop and publish and images from the great depression to share.

Moving on.

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Old Habits

July 30, 2009

IMGP0993Yesterday, I was going down the hall heading back to my office, preoccupied with what I was doing.

Sure enough, I walked in the wrong office.

I knew it almost as soon as I opened the door.  I went ahead and walked on in and chatted with Dave for a few minutes before he headed to the class he was slated to teach.

Without thinking, I had gone in the office I had been in before I retired.

Other than personal items and the chair, it looks just the same as it did when I left.

day 57

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Dad, I need you to….

July 10, 2009

control_room

On Wednesday, another retiree — who I’ve known for over 25 years — went back to work on contract, the same day that I did. He’s working in another part of the training organization from the one I’m working in.

It just so happens, though, that his son is an “in-house” employee in that same organization.

Since he has been contracted to work primarily in a support role, there may be times that he’ll be providing support for his son.

He told me today that he didn’t have problem with doing whatever they needed for him to do, but that his son might have a little bit of a problem telling his dad what he wanted done.

day 37

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Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho …, again …, maybe …, probably

May 19, 2009

It’s back to work I go — I think.

We should know something soon as the proposed date to start is June 1st.

The contract schedule will be a little different from last time.  I’ll be working about 6 weeks and will then have about 6 to 8 weeks off while the class is involved in activities that do not require my “expertise.” The entire contract for me will be 6 months of actual work.

During the 6 to 8 weeks that I am off — assuming the funding for the contract is actually approved — we’ll be traveling out in the western mountain states.  We had originally planned that trip for July and August, so it’ll be a little delayed, unless the funding  is not approved.

I really do enjoy the work that I’ll be doing under the contract.  It’s the best part of the job that I had before I retired.

The job will help us keep from dipping into our savings for the duration of the contract and we’ll try to pay down a debt or two so that the pension and other income will stretch further when I’m not working.

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it’s off to work I go…, probably…, maybe.

We’re leaving Harper’s Ferry this morning, heading for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

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REO Speed Wagon

April 12, 2009

REO SPEED WAGON, Fitted complete for camping; mileage less than 3,000. Write for description. C. N. Wheeler, 127 S. Jefferson av., Peoria, Ill
The Chicago Tribune, July 19, 1920

REO Speedwagon logo

So what was a REO Speed wagon and what did it look like?  See answer.

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