Recent content by JakeBrake

Take US 287 to Amarillo. I40 is a the shortest way to Albuquerque from Amarillo. Lots of things to see on that route. Most of the main streets in the towns are on Historic US 66. We like to sight-see in the small towns on the route. Most are historically and architecturally interesting. Be...

My A/C compressors work year 'round, So, covering the compressors is not an option. The thermostats switch from heat to cool automatically and may switch from heat to cool and back within a within a few hours. I am surrounded by large oak trees. The leaves are not a problem around the...

We changed out a drop-in stove for a black free-standing Maytag electric range a couple of years ago. We bought the stove from a large independent dealer that is very competitive with Lowe's, Sears, and Home Depot. A handyman charged $100 for the carpentry. He did a very neat job. DW retired...

I've been on 20 mg pravastatin for probably 20 years. No side effects that I know of. Recently I had a stress test which revealed that I had one artery 40% blocked. The other arteries are clear. My heart clinic tells me that my results are good for a 69 year old man. My heart clinic will not...

I've been reading "Theodore Roosevelt; an Autobiography" This is a free Kindle book on Amazon. The sections on his life as a cowboy in North Dakota, African safaris, The Spanish War, the national parks and forests, conservation, Panama Canal, equal rights, and the history of the administration...

As a last resort, I followed the instructions:). Initially, I did not notice that they had changed from zzz-vanguard to Vanguard. This appears to me to be the only change.

I'm fortunate in that I sleep very well. My problem is that I wake up at first light. This was not a problem when I was working because I had to get up way before first light. I've tried keeping the room dark. That doesn't help. For a while I blamed the Canadian geese that can make quite a...

My MegaCorp (a Fortune 50 company) is getting out of retiree health insurance for Medicare eligible retirees as of 2015. We do get a MegaCorp furnished HSA account. The retiree gets a set $ amount and the non-working spouse gets about half the $. We now have the opportunity to find and pay for...

I live in an unincorporated area, so I don't pay city property tax. I do pay county property tax and a state forest fire protection tax ($.09 per acre classified as forest).

I've had two mini-strokes. In both cases the symptoms were rather atypical. The first occurred a year ago. I ignored that one and pretty much forgot about it. The second stroke was about a month ago. The symptoms were that my left arm went numb suddenly. It's like my arm belonged to someone...

You could use some surplus AN/TRC-75 radios. The AN/TRC-75 was the work horse for heavy ground communications for the Army and Marines during the Vietnam era. The military may have some stashed away. Under proper conditions the AN/TRC-75 could easily transmit/receive from West Coast to East...

It's 150 miles to the nearest Costco from my house. So far, I've been able to survive without Costco. We have two Sam's Clubs within 10 miles.

$4.39 for 93 octane no-ethanol gas. $3.29 for 87 octane 10% ethanol gas.

DW does not have pierced ears. Our DD, who is over 30, does not have pierced ears. DW does wear clip-on ear rings. DD does not wear ear rings. Period.

Who pays for checks? I have Old Timers accounts at two different regional banks. Both banks offer free checks. DW writes a check for cash every week and takes it to the drive-through. My job is to be sure the money is in the account(s).