Please Keep In Touch

Last summer, I tried to post information on this blog which I thought might interest you. Plus, we had the continuing saga of Lucille and her recover from the dreadful fall. (This year, her goal is to stay out of the news!)

After you leave Rockport 35 RV Park, please remember your friends from the park. They'd be interested in updates on your activities from time-to-time, so just jot them down and send me an email. You could even send along a picture or two!

I'll publish them here on the blog for all to enjoy.

Just email me at: kaw@syntheticsaves.com

I and your Rockport friends will apprectiate it.

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How Big is King Ranch?

King Ranch consists of about 825,000 acres. These acres are in four major parcels of land, only two of which touch each other. The others are several miles distant.

If the ranch were in a single square-shaped parcel, the ranch would be about 35.9 miles on each edge.

That's about the distance from Rockport 35 RV Park to Corpus Christi!

Or, as we'd say in Iowa, that's one big field! (As a means of comparison, 50 years ago the typical Iowa farm was 1/4 mile wide and 1 mile long, or 1/2 mile square, and contained 160 acres.)

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King Ranch Tour v1.1

Here's a revised version of the slide show of our tour to King Ranch on February 19.

The audio is much better (louder!) and the length has been shortened by nearly two minutes. A few slides have been left out, but you'll never miss 'em.



As usual, your comments on this second version would be appreciated.

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Can You Imagine - - -

- - - how thrilled the inventor was the first time he heard his teakettle whistle actually whistle?

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Today's Birthday Girl

Katy shows a gentle smile as all the ladies in the craft class sang Happy Birthday to her today!

She left her spinning wheel home and was joining in all the fun of making bracelets using little bitty beads.

Like really little!

So today's Katy's day! Enjoy it, Katy—this one and many more.

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Computer Class This Week

Thursday, February 26, we'll have another computer class from 9:00:00 to 11:45. Bring your computer and a power strip, if you can do so conveniently.

Be sure to bring your wi-fi adapter.
(Some are included with the computer.)
We'll need to be connected to the Internet
for a good part of this class.

This year, we've had two sessions of both Beginning Beginners Computing I and Beginning Beginners Computing II. Then we had a class on using Picasa to edit and handle photos.

This week, David will guide us as we explore the use of search engines and what they can do for us.

If you don't know what a search engine is or how to use it, this is the class for you!

To some, search engines cause confusion and frustration. Come to the class and get a better understanding of the search process, then put it to work for you instead of the other way around!

This will probably be the last Thursday computer class of the season.

The Tuesday at Two Computer Help Sessions will continue through March 19.

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Thirteen Players, One Winner

Four weeks ago, we started a friendly little game of Texas Hold 'Em at the park. And we've had four different winners!

Sonja persevered and finally beat the guys out. Once Jim was dispatched by Sonja, it was a heated battle to the end. The ladies were cheering Sonja on and the guys yelling for Keith to win.

But as the end neared, sexism disappeared and everyone tended to quietly go with the apparent winner.

And win she did!

Congratulations, Sonja!

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The Rest of the Week

Here's what's going on the rest of this week.

Friday:

• 1:00 Party Bridge
  
  
• 7:00 Bingo

Saturday:

• 7:00 to 9:00 Pancake breakfast ($3)
  Great food and a great social time!
  
  
• 1:00 Card Making
  
  
• 1:00 Texas Hold 'Em
  No buy-in, no prizes, just a lot of fun!

Sunday:

• 8:30 Hymn sing preceding worship service
  Want to sing those good old hymns you heard and sang years ago? Come on in and call out your favorite. It'll be sung, whether we know it or not!
  
  
• 9:00 Worship service
  
  
• 6:00 Ice Cream! ($1/two scoops)
  Another great fellowship time!

This is also the weekend of the Lamar Mardi Gras.

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Bev Report

Bev's back surgery went well Tuesday. In fact, it went so well that they did a bit more than was planned.

While the surgery itself went well, I've not heard how successful it was in relieving the pain. It might take a while before the full benefits are noticed.

The earliest she could possibly be home is Saturday.

We all look forward to seeing you back and involved, Bev!

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King Ranch Tour

Yesterday (February 19) nine from Rockport 35 RV Park took a tour of King Ranch with Rockport Tours.

Here's a narrated slide show which you might find interesting.



This is my first attempt at using this technology, and this is the first cut at making the recording. I'd really appreciate your comments on this. Email me or stop me on the street or come by; any will work for me.

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The End Of Our Nation????

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom.

What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

- John Galt/Ayn Rand

Anniversaries Today!

President's Day almost takes a back seat to the anniversaries being celebrated right here at Rockport 35 RV Park today.

Marv is celebrating his 80-something birthday.

Jake and Shari are celebrating their wedding anniversary.

And Tony and Allison are celebrating the anniversary of their wedding. And, since it is a holiday, they don't have to work on this anniversary! (Ya, right.)

Learning these facts so they can be forwarded to you is one of the benefits of joining the crowd at the clubhouse for ice cream on Sunday evening! (But who did I miss??)

No ice cream, no news.

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Computers This Week (and Last Week)

We'll have the usual Tuesday at Two Computer Help Session. We'll try to answer your questions. We'll also probably answer some which you didn't even know you had!

There will be no Computer Class on Thursday this week, for two reasons:

1. Pat and I will be on the bus trip to King Ranch.
   
   
2. I'm out of subjects! If you propose one or more subjects, I'll consider them for a possible class on Feb 26.

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Since we're on the subject, I'll report on last weeks class, which was totally on the image-editing program Picasa.

Thirteen computers and their handlers participated. Unlike previous classes, each computer was loaded with Picasa 3 and a folder of hand-picked photos on which to practice. This "having everyone on the same page" was a lifesaver. It permitted us to easily cover most, but certainly not all, of the capabilities of Picasa.

As usual, David was a great help in presenting the information and in helping participants "get where they're supposed to be." Thank You, David!


And thanks to Ted for taking pictures during the class. You can see that everyone was really concentrating; no goof-offs in this class!



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RV 35 Buzzard---

---that's the caption given this picture by Ted, the photographer.


This is a T-34c Turbomentor, manufacuted by Beech Aircraft (now Raytheon) headquartered in Wichita. It is a derivative of the Beechcraft Bonanza, older versions of which are readily recognizable by their familiar V tail.

Power is provided by a turbo-prop engine manufactured by Pratt & Whitney of Canada.

This version of the trainer has been in service 32 years and costs about a million bucks each.

It carries a student and an instructor pilot, both can be seen in Ted's great picture. The instructor is in the rear.

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Making Valentine's Day Special

Her Valentine's Day breakfast was extra special today for Mary. At the end of the serving line, Richard presented her with a beautiful bouquet of roses!

Today was also the anniversary of their wedding, so indeed it is a special day for them.

All we "young guys" can learn a thing or two from Richard, the most senior senior citizen at Rockport 35 RV Park.

Mary and Richard, we, your neighbors, all wish you many more happy Valentine Days!

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Poker: Three Weeks, Three Winners

Walt earned bragging rights for the coming week at Saturday's poker session.

This is the third week we've played at the park, resulting in three different winners. David was the first winner, Bob the winner the second week. And now Walt!


"What do I do now?" Cheryl moans. This was her first Texas Hold 'Em game ever, or so she says.


She did spectacularly well, making the final table as you see here, then fighting it out with Walt for the championship of the day.

There were 12 players this week, 14 last week, and about the same number the first week. There are two more Saturdays of Poker in the Park; come join the fun at 1:00! And just a reminder: this is for fun, not money.

Help is always available for those who wish a refresher course or who claim to be newcomers.

Gene graciously provides the equipment, which includes two very nice tables, and general supervision.

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A Recommendation: Mechanic

The Big White Horse (my white F-350 dually pickup) was in need of more TLC than I could provide. I asked Allison for a recommendation. She suggested David Love.

Then to cross-check her thoughts, she called Tony, explained my need, and asked what he would recommend. Tony's answer: David Love!

David is the proprietor of Love's Automotive, the business just a bit south of the Mexican restaurant just down the street from the park—the place which isn't especially attractive and which usually has several cars around it.
I met with David and he gave me a quote which I considered reasonable. And he could do the work the same afternoon!

With my one exposure to Love's Automotive, I consider that they are technically competent. More importantly, I consider them to be honest. We who travel always are concerned about getting ripped off by service folks who are eager to fleece captive travelers. I don't believe you have to worry about that at Love's Automotive!

David said that he appreciated my business and would welcome that of my friends and neighbors.

Based on my experience, I think it's a good place to go. And it's close!

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Bailout Math

Allison & Tony were discussing the bailout congress is considering. They weren't sure what the population of the US of A was.

Right now, it is estimated to be a bit under 306 million.

Congress is considering a program expected to cost about 812 billion. Divide that by the population and it comes out to $2,654 for each one of the 306 million people in our country.

That includes the new octuplets in California. For that family of 15 (14 kids and one mother, no loving or providing father) the amount is $39,804.

As for me, I'd be glad to rush right out and spend my $2,554 to stimulate the economy if they would send it to me. Having each of us do it directly would cut out tons of middlemen (read bureaucrats) and do more good.

This might be a good time to let your Congressman and Senators know what you think.

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Super Sunday at Come-As-You-Are Worship Center

"Step of Faith," in the form of Wayne and Dee Dyer, made Super Sunday just that at our on-park Come-As-You-Are Worship Center.

Wayne and Dee, with Allison joining in, brought a great message through word and song. Their gospel music with a bluegrass spin entertained us and their testimony made us think about that which is most important.

Note:
There are a few problems with the video. It doesn't operate on this page as it should. If you click on it, it will play but will take you to a Google/Picasa site of my albums.

From Come-As-You-Are Worship Center With "Step of Faith"

Last year, the duo spent the winter right here with us. It was during that period that Wayne suffered a stroke which could have left him greatly handicapped. We are pleased that he has recovered almost completely. They are able to continue their ministry, primarily aimed at those in care centers.

A Really Neat Song

YouTube has a bunch of junk on it.

It also has some great videos for our education or enjoyment, so don't totally dismiss YouTube.

Remember the one I posted here about dancing around Iowa? Jeff, the dancer (?), sent me a link to a video which Pat and I really enjoyed. You might enjoy it also!

Remember the old songs we used to sing as "rounds?" "Row, Row Your Boat" and "Are You Sleeping" come to mind. This song reminds me of that style, but with a new modern twist. (That's the reason for the wires, amplifiers, and headphones.)

The song starts with a single performer. Then a second joins in, in unison, followed by more and more artists. Titles provide the name of the performer and the location.

Not only do we get an interesting song, but a world tour at the same time.



Here's the link, if you want to explore other music like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM.

What did you think of this? Click "Comments" below and let me know. Your comments can be another article or published as comments.

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Tuesday at Two: Computer Help Session

The other day, John said, "What's the difference between a web site, a browser, and a search engine?"

"Great question!" I said, "We'll talk about it on Tuesday."

And so we will. We'll also cover other subjects—maybe even solve a problem you have.

Come to the Computer Help Session Tuesday at Two!

Reminder:

Thursday (12th) we'll have a class from 9:00:00 to 11:45 on photographs and the computer. Basically, we'll try to answer this question:

"I've got all these great pictures.
Now what do I do with them?"

Please have Picasa 3 loaded on your computer before class. You can download it from http://picasa.com.

It's probably easier to borrow my "thumb drive" and just load it from that. It only takes a few minutes (5?).

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Gordon Is Back

Gordon returned from the hospital this morning. He's ready for a good nights sleep!

The infection is under control.

Now his heart needs to adjust to the changes made to it during surgery and he'll be as good as new!

Welcome home, Gordon!!!!


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Pickle Factory Pictures

Here are 15 pictures of your friends and neighbors as they toured the Pickle Factory in Taft.

This slide show is made possible by Picasa. That means that you, too, could make a slide show after you attend the class on February 12!

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Ideas and Training for OpenOffice.org

If you use OpenOffice.org, you can find a lot of tips and instructions for doing various things at this site: http://openoffice.blogs.com/. Once there, go to the menu list in the lower right and pick a subject in which you're interested.

The author of this blog is a passionate promoter of OpenOffice.org and is the author of an excellent book on using the program.

You can get a copy at http://www.openoffice.org/. Or borrow my jump drive and save the downloading process.

It's free and it's good!

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Computer Class Schedule

First, there is an on-going Tuesday at Two Computer Help Session. This isn't a structured class but just a time when we can get together and help each other with problems, explore programs you are wondering about, or learn about something that you've been curious about.

I try to share what I can to help. Recently, David has been there to help also.

Second, there were the true classes, which we've called Beginning Beginner's Computing Class. We had two sessions each on two subjects: becoming familiar with your computer and becoming familiar with word processing. These were the Thursday morning sessions.

Third, Thursdays going forward:

• There will be no class Thursday, February 5.
  

• February 12, 9:00:00 to 11:45, there will be a session on dealing with photographs in your computer. This will not cover how to actually take them, it will deal with what to do with them after you have them.

Possible subjects:

• Storage: where, and how to arrange
• Cropping: cutting away what you don't want
• Improving: getting rid of red eyes, making brighter or darker, retouching, etc.
• Reducing: changing size, changing file size
• Sharing: emailing, on-line albums, etc.

Everyone's photo system is different, making it nearly impossible to teach everyone how to use their photo editing program. Therefore, the class will be based on Picasa.

Before class, please have Picasa 3 installed on your computer. You can get it here: http://picasa.google.com/. If you prefer, you can get it off my "jump drive." Just stop by and I'll loan it to you.

Picasa is a fairly capable program. Compared to other photo editing programs, it has been simplified so most will find it easy to use. And it is FREE!

Even if you chose not to use Picasa as your long-term photo editing program, the subjects covered will be useful and the principles may be applied to your program after the class.

If you use your computer and want to learn how to use Picasa to edit photos, you're eligible to attend the class!

Gordon Update

Monday afternoon, Pat and I visited Gordon at Doctor's Hospital in CC.

He was looking and acting very chipper—like he would like to be home, in fact.

Hopefully, he'll return to the park Tuesday, but that is not guaranteed.

Wednesday, daughter Robin is planning to return to the frozen north.

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I'm Behind; Sorry

I'm approaching being a week behind in intended posting. Or is my head simply working faster than my fingers?

Anyway (not anyways, as they seem to say these days) I'll spend a little time this morning trying to get caught up.

Here are some of the things I plan to post:

• Update on Gordon
• Computer class plans
• Pictures of pickle factory tour
• Super Sunday pictures

So I guess I better get at it.

Some have told me they read this and like it. Of course, that makes me feel good.

But your ideas, writings, events can be in here too. Just tell me or send an email.

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