Magnolia Beach

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The Importance of Backups

My Macbook Pro has been a little flaky lately, so I ran disk utility on it early this afternoon. Surprise: the hard drive was in bad shape and needed to be wiped and restored from a backup.

Backup…

On shore power, I don’t think about such things. My UPS is always on and therefore so is my external backup drive. Time Machine backs up my system once per hour. When boondocking, I tend to be laxer about such matters, only backing up when I absolutely need to run the inverter for something else….

I froze when I saw that message. I know better than to run systems maintenance before not only a Time Machine backup but also a bootable SuperDuper! backup. When was the last time I backed up? Yesterday morning. What had I worked on in that time? Nothing I needed to recover. My email was still on the server and the only picture I’d uploaded to iPhoto had been shared on Facebook. A day old backup wasn’t going to be a huge loss. Phew!

I don’t know what’s involved in wiping a drive and then restoring it on a PC to bring a user back to the exact same stage there were at when the backup was done. On a Mac, you just select the Time Machine backup you want to use for the backup and then go do something else for a few hours. I’ve complained a lot about Apple lately, but after a frustrating afternoon on the PC, I can only say that it’s good to be home.

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Best Comment Ever About Class Cs with Overcab Bunks

Talking with my Franco-Ontarian neighbours yesterday, we somehow got on the subject of the layout of our rigs.

I told them that I could not live in a class A like theirs because they are too open for me and therefore feel very small. Some class Cs, like mine, are much more like an apartment with several rooms, so I can have an office and then use the overcab bunk to sleep.

The gal replied, “Oh, you sleep up there!”

And her husband wistfully replied, without a hint of sarcasm, “Man, I wish my RV had two stories.”

 

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Non-Functioning AC On My 2000 Ford Ranger

Don’t ask me how I prioritize projects. It beats me. Something told me that today was the day to troubleshoot the non-functioning AC on my 2000 Ford Ranger. It worked when I bought the truck but quit sometime in the late summer.

I thought that I might just need to add freon, so I watched a video about how to do that, and I learned that the first thing I needed to check was if the compressor is coming on.

So I went out in late afternoon and my French-Canadian neighbours from Ontario (first time I mention them) were out. We talked and I mentioned that I was about to pop the hood on my truck to check the AC compressor. The husband sprang into action to help me! OMG, I love RVers!

He knew exactly where the compressor was and how to test it. Bad news: the compressor clutch wasn’t engaging. He had me pull the fuse and test it to make sure that wasn’t the problem. Nope. So I know I need to take it to a shop. But I now have enough knowledge not to get taken.

Unfortunately, I have to get the brakes done first, so no AC for a while. At least, I know I’ve gone as far as I can with that repair.

No AC wouldn’t be so bad if I had automatic windows, but I have the arm exercise model. L has a newer Ranger with power doors and windows! He said he’d trade me those for my rear doors!

With help like that and my repair manual, I’m getting well acquainted with Moya’s engine compartment and am rather enjoying getting my hands dirty tweaking this and that and just exploring everything.

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A Crazy Change of Forecast!

I wish I had thought to screen cap the forecast for the week ahead that we were given yesterday and this morning  because it has done a 180 degree about face:

forecast

We were supposed to have partly cloudy for the next few days.

Well, I have a full battery now. I am going to use the truck battery to do one charging cycle a day on the laptop to conserve some house power, then I’ll use the alternator to make sure I get a full charge every two days at least.

This forecast doesn’t scare me the way it would have a few days ago, not when everything is working great, the battery monitor is properly calibrated, and I know I can charge the laptop in the truck without the truck running. Having the alternator for additional charging power is icing on the cake.

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A Treat For Lunch

I was just about to head into the kitchen to make a peanut butter sandwich for lunch when L came by and invited me to lunch. He tried to get me to vote on where we would go, but I could tell he had his mind set on something and I made him decide. He brought me to Bayside Seafood because he had a hankering for their stuffed crab.

We both ordered the seafood platter, which came with catfish, ginormous shrimp, scallops, oysters, crawfish (my second time having these delicious beauties), and the stuffed crab. Everything was delish, with the crab being particularly worthy of an O-M-G. It was stuffed with sweet peppers and I don’t know what else. If I ever go back to that restaurant, I just want crab!

L and I are happy to have found each other this winter, two single travelers with a lot in common who became fast friends almost immediately. One can never have too many friends.