JdFinley.com

Fulltime RV Living Adventures

Velocity Cruz Tablet

I really wanted to get some experience with tablet pc computing. Actually, there was some “need” for this based on my profession and the desire of some of “my” customers to work with tablets.  I have been using my Samsung Galaxy S 4G phone for about six months now and love it.  I could easily… [Read More]

Sickening

This story has me absolutely furious!!! http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/08/remains-274-troops-reportedly-dumped-in-virginia-landfill/ This story makes me sick when I consider the number of our soldiers that have lost their lives or have been seriously injured recovering a fallen soldier.  They are willing to sacrifice it all for a fallen hero so someone back in the States can toss the him… [Read More]

Laptop Power

I have been attempting to determine the power requirements of living on my boat.  Most of it is fairly easy. The difficulty comes from my need to earn a living which I do using a laptop computer (software developer). I have been unable to determine exactly how much power is required for a laptop over… [Read More]

Engine or No

There seem to be certain topics within every subject that are impossible for people to discuss rationally. Engines and sailboats is a perfect example. Auto engines and airplanes… Wavy potato chips or smooth… Country music or rock and roll… I don’t enjoy confrontation or debate so I’ve learned to avoid these topics altogether. Too bad,… [Read More]

Thanksgiving Proclamation

The following is the original Thanksgiving Proclamation signed by President George Washington in 1789.  I LOVE the writings of our founding fathers.  It is very, very clear to me that they were God fearing men and knew exactly where our many blessings came from.  All of this nonsense about ‘separation of church and state’ is… [Read More]

Swing Bridge

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Yes, I admit it – I could not stop once I started researching the Bascule type of bridge.  So, this is somewhat of a continuation of that post.  Bridges are amazing – maybe this is a little boy thing. They are big, heavy, mechanical structures most often (these days) made out of steel.  The engineering… [Read More]

Bascule Bridge

I was perusing a nautical chart the other day and noticed a bridge that did not have a raised vertical clearance listed. It was marked as a “Bascule Bridge.”  The following chart snippet is what I was looking at – specifically the center bridge. For some reason, I had it in my head that a… [Read More]

APRS

I was doing some thinking about the benefits of having a Ham Radio license after writing my previous post.  One of the things that came to mind was APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System). I had not thought of this since I was thinking of adding to my airplane so others could see my position/movement.  In… [Read More]

I am HAM!

Yay Me!! I took the FCC Amateur Radio Operator – Technican test today and passed it with 97%! I spent quite a lot of time studying for my Ham license over the last few months and I guess it paid off.  I used mostly online resources rather than books so I can attest to the fact… [Read More]

Driving Home

My return drive to New Mexico from Phoenix was on the same route as I took going over (photos here) but the weather was very different – clear skies and sunshine!  Of course, my camera battery died half way home but it was getting dark anyway so you are probably only missing “night landscape” photos!… [Read More]