How come –

– So many folks just can’t seem to get it through their heads that it’s the courteous thing to pull your rig ahead and out from in front of the fuel pumps when you’ve finished fueling? Instead of leaving the car, truck, or (perish the thought) RV blocking the rest of the waiting traffic, if they’d simply pull it ahead, we’d all get there a little more smoothly.

– We like the bathroom in our own RV better than those provided in the rest area we’ve stopped at? It doesn’t take much of a brain to figure that one out! Because California is so close to bankruptcy, that they can’t afford to keep soap in the dispensers! Or because the fool who stepped out of the stall in front of you doesn’t know what a flush handle is for.

–The center lane is the slow lane, the right lane is the passing lane, and the left lane is a fast and slow lane?

–Fuel prices are going up, while oil prices are continuing to implode?

–Conversations with your grown up children are so short, but when they were two, you couldn’t get them to shut up?

Perhaps as the new year rolls along, new vistas are seen, and quiet refuges of nature are visited, we’ll have time to ponder these, and more such cosmic questions.

photo: Quole Perjorian on flickr.com

By now, all of us have heard the jokes about how ‘Madoff “made off” with billions.’ Ronnie Sue Ambrosino was one of those whose life has now become proverbial. In a story published on examiner.com, Ambrosino relates, “‘It feels like I’m drowning, and someone is saying “we’re going to save you, but we have to build the boat first,”‘ said Ambrosino, 55, who had $1.6 million invested with Madoff. ‘We can’t wait for SIPC to go through all the papers.’”

To add insult to injury, as the Madoff story appeared in the media. plenty of opinionated folks have taken potshots at–not Madoff–but those who entrusted their money to him. Ambrosino says she’s not at fault here. Writing in response to barbed comments on the Internet, Ronnie Sue says, “I AM THE VICTIM of the story. I am not a fool, either financially or otherwise. I trusted the SEC that investigated and condoned the Madoff investment company. Twenty-eight years ago, I researched the organization. I never made outrageous returns. When the country’s economics went crazy, I continued to see my income grow. My return rate was in line with the rest of the society who invested with ‘good’ companies.”

Despite her careful checking, as the news continues to reveal, Madoff was operating a bogus, Ponzi scheme, bigger than anything that had come before. Says Ambrosino, “Please don’t blame me and don’t lump me in with the super wealthy who had their charitable funds in with Madoff. I was a working woman who saved for her future and trusted a man who, among other credentials, was a former Chairman of the NASDAQ.”

Now Ronnie Sue and her husband wait to see what the next chapter of a crazy economic world, one based greed and corruption will steer their way. For our part, on a modest living we can only breath a sigh of relief and echo the wise king’s thoughts, “Give me neither poverty nor riches.”

photo: examiner.com

According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, the low price of oil is creating more than just the usual “hot case indigestion” for the outfit. Reports the big financial paper, “In court papers, Flying J. Chief Executive J. Phillip Adams blamed the company’s financial troubles on ‘the recent precipitous drop’ in oil and gas prices.

“‘The numbers best tell the story: as of December 19, 2008, oil prices have fallen by almost 60% against the precious [sic] year and over 75% from record level of $147 per barrel reached in July 2008,’ Mr. Adams said.

“The collapse in oil prices caused the company’s refining arm on Friday to default on a $200 million loan provided by a group of lenders led by Bank of America Corp., according to Mr. Adams. A day later, the company’s distribution arm defaulted on a $120 million loan provided by a group of lenders led by Merrill Lynch Capital Corp.”

Will this mean the end of free dump stations, discounted fuel and propane, and racks of sandwiches? Not at this point. Flying J says it will keep the doors open, the pumps pumping, and the “Shower Number 301 Now Ready,” while it works to dig its way out of the current mess.

photo: dwstucke on flicker.com

Point-to-point equals lost in the big city.

It started out easily enough, but pretty soon we were in the midst of looking for “turn left on local road.” What’s a “local road”? Apparently to the Tell Me system, a local road may just be the road you’re presently on, after it makes a slight curve and continues. Or maybe not. In any event, within minutes we were thoroughly lost. Happily the wife’s inate sense of direction and sensibility eventually got us to where we were headed, although the “directions” we got from Tell Me took us way out of the way.

We’ve had similar incidents–but not near so dramatic–using computer software mapping. Had we made a left turn where indicated, we would’ve wound up in the woods in the Puget Sound back country, rather than on the road that was supposedly there.

All in all, we’ve found it’s best to take computer aided directions with a large dose of sodium chloride. Trouble is, where do you turn? Used to be you could ask for directions at the corner gas station. Nowadays the counter person there “ain’t from around here,” and of course, there aren’t always corner gas stations out in the boondocks. We have had success getting directions by dropping into a fire department and asking–when we can find one.

Our experiences lead us to believe that when you’re going someplace you ain’t been to before, be sure to add plenty of extra time to turn into your own “lost and found” section.

photo: psd on flickr.com

The RV lifestyle, particularly the fulltime lifestyle, has its own blessings–and curses.

Imagine sinking a huge amount of money into that perfect fulltiming rig, liquidating the “stix and brix” house, heading out on the road, and within a few weeks find you drive each other to distraction. Some have done so. So before you set off on a fulltime adventure, it’s best to sit down and take stock on a personal level.

Why do you want to fulltime–both of you? Is one really interested in the fulltime lifestyle, and the other just humoring the partner? You may want to see the country, but howdo you want to see it? In a relaxed, “If we like it here we’ll stay for a few weeks,” or does one want to do a “If this is Tuesday, this must be Cheboygan” method? Does he like snow country travel, while she would rather bask on a Florida beach?

Frank, open discussions are something every couple needs to undertake, before undertaking the fulltime lifestyle–else you may wish you’d seen the undertaker. You may well have different interests, but do you have enough common interests to make it work.

Another point to give real thought to is the matter of personal space. There isn’t much room in an RV, even a BIG one. When you fulltime, you’re underfoot of one another a great deal of the time. If you have problems getting along now, when you can walk out and go someplace, or retire to the den at the other end of the house, the fulltime lifestyle may not be your best choice. Remember the old maxim: A good marriage is made up of two good forgivers. If you have problems getting along now, you can be assured the potential pressure cooker environment may really cause you to blow your safety valve.

We aren’t trying to scare you away from what can be a wonderfully fullfilling time together. But close, mutual evaluation may show that compromises will be needed to make fulltiming your tryly happy lifestyle together.

photo: focal intent on flickr.com

Other tours offered in 2008 included the Great Lakes area, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska (including the Alaska Highway), the Gaspe Peninsula in eastern Canada, Branson, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. In nearly all cases, RVers travel in their own coaches while Tracks handles the details like RV parks and planned activities.

Other tour destinations include the Rose Parade, the Old South, the Calgary Stampede and New Orlean’s Mardi Gras parade.

The company’s full color magazine of tours is available upon request by calling 1-800-351-6053 or visiting the Tracks website.

But laptops, and other computes, are certainly an attraction to thieves. Here are some tips to help keep your computing experience happy and safe:

Keep Your Data Safe: If you keep sensitive information on your laptop, make sure if your computer falls into the wrong hands, at least the information is secure. If you have Windows XP Professional, you already have a way of encrypting your data to make it impossible to read without the encryption code. Or get data encryption software and use it–you can “Google” for more information on this kind of software. When using public WIFI networks, many experts recommend you don’t transmit any sensitive data (including credit numbers or bank account information) but if you must, BE SURE the little “lock” symbol shows on your web browser, and that the URL (address) of the web site begins with https (for “secured”).

Put a Strong Password on Your Laptop: Don’t use your name, your kid’s name, dog’s name, etc., as a password. Repeated numbers or letters are a sure-enough “breakable” password. Some folks use a phrase they can remember, like “My dog has fleas,” and string it together without spaces: Mydoghasfleas is the resulting password. Using symbols (%@&!) in your password makes it much tougher to break. And of course, the longer the better. Afraid you’ll forget it? Then write it down on paper–just keep the paper safe.

Backup Your System: Lost or stolen, your data’s no good if you don’t have it. Use a data backup system–the Windows XP operating system has one. Back up frequently, and back up to something OTHER than your computer. Data files might be backed up to a small “thumb drive,” or the whole hard drive to a back up system–find them at Costco or Sam’s Club inexpensively. And keep that backup drive safe too. A lost thumb drive with unencrypted information could be an identity thief’s dream.

Guard Your Laptop: Don’t leave your laptop in the toad car or the RV in plain sight. Hide it in the trunk, stick it in a closet. If you travel on a plane with your laptop, don’t put it in the overhead storage compartment, keep it with you at your seat–right in front of you.

photo: declanTM on flickr.com

But hold on. All this convenience can come with its own set of danger–if you don’t stay on top of the details.

This all came to our attention when we sat down to pay the cell phone bill the other day. Just before clicking the button to send of payment approval–and to have money taken out of the checking account, the family bill payer noticed a slight discrepancy: The bill was about $20 higher than normal. Had there been a flury of “out of country” long distance calls made during the month? After opening the “bill detail” pages, the plot thickened like tapioca on a hot stove.

There were no “long distance” charges. Nobody had exceeded the “allowed airtime” limits for the month. There weren’t excessive “text” messaging charges. Whoa! That was funny: In fact, there were no charges for text messages at all–and yet, there were a few text messages detailed out in the bill. That was a flag: We don’t send a lot of text messages, so we’d never signed up for a flat rate text messaging service, and yet, somehow, the company wasn’t billing us for those few messages we had sent.

A closer look at the bill revealed that somehow, somewhere, we were now paying $20 for flat rate text messaging. A quick call to the cell company customer service folks revealed that, according to their records, we had signed up for a text messaging plan. That’s when the bells rang. A month or so ago, someone who said they represented our cell phone service had called to try and talk us into signing up for such a plan. We declined, flatly and firmly. Yet, here it was.

The customer service folks were apologetic, said they’d take us off that plan right away, and credit our account for the charges. “But how is it,” we asked, “that we were signed up in the first place?” Customer service suggested perhaps we’d visited a company store recently and somehow signed up. “No, we haven’t been in one of your stores in over two years.” The “official line” was it must have been an accident. Our view? We were “slammed,” and had extra services added without our permission.

No matter how it happened, if we hadn’t spent an extra few minutes looking the bill over, who knows how long we would have gone down the road, paying for something we never requested. The moral of the story is clear: When you pay your bills–or even more so if you have “auto pay” services in place–check your bills closely. Mistakes happen. “Slamming” happens. Don’t let it dig into your bank account.

photo: *_Abhi_*on flickr.com

A story appearing in Florida’s Saint Petersburg Times says that many employers are on the lookout for fulltime RVers.

The “Bible” of fulltime RVers looking for employment is probably Workamper News. The Times quotes Workamper’s Steve Anderson on the subject of the good reputation that older workers have developed. “A lot of it has to do with the maturity of the individual,” Anderson said. “They’ve worked in positions where they have longevity. They understand what it means to say, ‘If I tell you I’m going to be here for six months, I’ll stay for six months.’”

There’s a staple market for such a reputation brings. Vendors for the National Parks often look for fulltime RVers to take over duties from working concession stores to serving or cooking in restaurants in the park system–and that’s been going on for years. Now many commercial RV park and campground owners are jumping on the bandwagon. The Times quoted a spokesman for the campground franchise, KOA. “You’ve got a lot of Type A personalities, a lot of folks who have had successful careers, whose dream was to call it quits in their 50s,” said Mike Gast.

But as this blog has pointed out in the not-so-distant past, jobs for fulltimers aren’t limited to “non-professional” positions. Jobs in the medical field are pretty much recession-proof. If you’ve got a background in nursing or health-care technology, jobs are crying to be filled.

Taking advantage of your lifestyle and experiences as a full-time RVer also lends itself to other seasonal position. Down in the Southwest snowbird Mecca of Quartzsite, every year RVers are finding jobs with RV dealers. Some walk folks through the lot, helping them pick out their “dream rig,” while others may specialize, explaining the ins-and-outs of solar technology. And while the pay isn’t “super,” the local Bureau of Land Management folks fill plenty of slots with volunteers who receive a great place to stay, access to fresh water and RV dump privileges, all for free.

photo courtesy ewen and donabel on flickr.com

According to a story released in the trade journal, RV Business, NuWa still holds out hope for the future. Rather than closing down all operations, the big outfit says they’ll stop producing new RVs near the end of December. And after that, “We want to take a look to see what kind of sales are going to come in 2009,” NuWa President Neil Ford told RVBusiness. “We will never close our parts, warranty and service departments. Those will remain open.”

NuWa’s Hitchhiker and Snowbird fifth wheels will no doubt continue to be popular, albeit “older” rigs as time passes.

The company says the economy has caused no shortage of problems; particularly since NuWa units are at the higher end of the price scale. With a shortage of loan money, the company figures turning new units into sales is a tough job. “We are not slamming the doors shut and saying ‘We’re, through,’ ” Ford said. “We’re definitely coming back if there’s business there.”