Usual New Year's Snow Coming

Above, today through Thursday's weather according to the National Weather Service.

Good thing I got home when I did from Lake Havasu, tonight we'll be getting some scattered showers, then rain/snow.

It appears (as of now) we'll be getting our usual New Year's snow. It has been the case since I moved to Jamestown, New Mexico.

We'll have to bundle up and stay indoors. 

According to the National Weather Service:

Saturday Night

A chance of rain showers before 11pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

New Year's Day

Rain and snow showers. High near 40. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Sunday Night

Rain and snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. Chance of precipitation is 70%. 

Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.  

Since yesterday was Christmas Day, the classic artist will be John Lennon. The choice for this week is "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)". It was released on September 9, 1971. I especially remember it being played during the 1971 Christmas season as it was the last Christmas while I was still in high school. It never fails to remind me of that holiday season.

Home Again

Above, the GOCO Beast Barn on December 31, 2019. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After a (rare) eight-hour night of sleep, I headed back home from Mitch & Holly Geriminsky's in Lake Havasu. I left around 6:40 this morning.

I stopped in Kingman for gasoline which cost $3.49/gallon. I only got 29 gallons. I knew that gasoline would be much cheaper in Winslow from my drive to Lake Havasu on Friday. Sure enough, it was still $3.08/gallon in Winslow. So I got 21 gallons there. I have plenty of gasoline left over so I can run the generator monthly. I got home around 1:30.

I had a great time in Lake Havasu. I wish I could have stayed longer but we're expecting a winter storm this week in New Mexico starting tomorrow night. I had to get home with plenty of daytime left so I could put The Beast into the GOCO Beast Barn. This got accomplished after unpacking.

Here's what the week looks like according to the National Weather Service:

Tonight

Cloudy, with a low around 25. West wind around 5 mph becoming south in the evening.

Tuesday

Cloudy through mid morning, then becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 54. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

A chance of rain and snow showers after 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 33. Southwest wind 15 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Wednesday

Rain and snow showers likely, becoming all rain after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 41. Breezy, with a southwest wind 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Wednesday Night

Rain and snow showers likely before 11pm, then a chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 23. Southwest wind 15 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Thursday

A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 35.

Thursday Night

A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.

Friday

A chance of snow showers before 11am, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday Night

A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28.

Saturday

A slight chance of snow showers before 11am, then a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Christmas Day

Above, during the drive in Lake Havasu Golf Club.

Christmas Day turned out to be a relaxing and pleasant day in Lake Havasu.

We began it by going over to Holly's parents's home for breakfast. Then, following that, we headed back to Mitch's and kicked back for a while. I made some egg nog and brandys for us.

Above, Lake Havasu Golf Club. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

We then took a drive in Lake Havasu Golf Club in Mitch's golf cart which is inside the community/tract where Mitch's home is located. There were few golfers out and the clubhouse was closed for the holiday.

Above, Mitch opening presents. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It seemed cooler, but that was only due to the wind.

Tonight I'll be preparing The Beast for the return trip home to New Mexico tomorrow. 

Above, Mitch & Holly's home. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

On tonight's menu: ham.

Above, the Beast at Mitch & Holly's. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Best Places To Visit In Colorado

Above, Mesa Verde National Park is one of the best places to visit. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Living within a "stone's throw" of the Four Corners in the Southwest U.S. provides plenty of places to see and things to do.  

One of them is the state of Colorado, which is about three hours (or less) away.  If one enjoys camping, Colorado has plenty of places to camp at.

I have been to Colorado several times during the past four years, most recently in September to see the John Wayne Cancer Foundation's half marathon runs near Ridgway (where scenes in True Grit (1969) were filmed. 

The Planet D has an article on 29 best places to visit in Colorado.

They start it with:

It is no exaggeration to say that there are hundreds of amazing places to visit in Colorado. Colorado is an incredible US destination, with some of the best outdoor activities. You could head to a mountain town and enjoy activities like hiking, horseback riding, fly fishing, rock climbing, and mountain biking. Or, head to one of Colorado’s amazing cities. Colorado has plenty of cultural activities as well.

So, where are the best places to visit in Colorado? Sure, visit famous destinations like Rocky Mountain National Park, but this guide includes a mix of the popular and lesser-known. We’ll introduce you to the top 29 places to visit in Colorado – let’s dive straight in.

To read more, go here. 

Merry Christmas!

Above, one of the more elaborate Christmas resident displays. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Merry Christmas from Lake Havasu, Arizona!

Last night, we had a Christmas Eve party at Mitch and Holly Geriminsky's with three different stews/soups instead of the usual (and boring) turkey dinner. Each were quite good and everyone was filled up.

Above, another resident's yard display. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

We also had a Christmas gift exchange game which was fun. I received a set of jumper cables that will go into the Jeep when I get home.

As Christmas Eve was also Egg Nog Day, Mitch and I celebrated with egg nogs and brandy.

Above, celebrating Egg Nog Day with Daisy and Mandy. Photo by Holly Geriminsky.

After dinner, to took a ride in Mitch's golf cart around the neighborhood near the Lake Havasu Golf Club. 

Below is my Christmas gift to Mitch and Holly, a yard gnome with a LED lantern:

One resident has a nice T-rex metal sculpture in their yard. I'm guessing it is about 10' tall:

Above, yesterday started with breakfast at Sam's Place.

Dire Warning On Pension Crisis

Above, 2022 silver Canadian Maple Leaf coins. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

My decision to buy silver was based on the high inflation rate (Bidenflation, if you will) that's eating away the dollar's purchasing power.

Precious metals (such as gold and silver) have been stable and even risen in value. The current silver spot price (according to SD Bullion) is $23.93/ounce.

One investing expert has issued a dire warning about the "current pension crisis".

From Yahoo Finance:

Between the plunging markets and soaring inflation, 2022 wasn’t an easy year for retirees — or those nearing retirement. But according to Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki, this demographic could be facing another crisis.

Kiyosaki compared U.S. pensions to a bubble waiting to burst, calling them the “next global Lehman,” referring to the downfall of investment bank Lehman Brothers.

Lehman Brothers had assets of $691 billion when it filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, marking the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history. And currently, U.S. state and local pension plans face an estimated $1.4 trillion shortfall.

So what should investors do in the face of an upcoming retirement crisis?

“People who own gold, silver, Bitcoin will get richer when Fed, Treasury, Wall Street pivot [and] print trillions of fake dollars,” Kiyosaki says.

“Fake money savers will be biggest losers. Don’t be a loser.”

Let’s take a closer look at these suggestions — and why you might want to take them seriously. 

Gold and silver

Precious metals — particularly gold and silver — have been a popular hedge against inflation and uncertainty. They can’t be printed out of thin air like fiat money and their value is largely unaffected by economic events around the world.

Kiyosaki has long been a fan of gold — he first purchased the yellow metal in 1972.

“I’m not buying gold because I like gold, I’m buying gold because I don’t trust the Fed,” he said in an interview last year.

Kiyosaki likes silver, too. In fact, he recently tweeted “Silver best investment in Oct 2022” and “Everyone can afford $20 silver.”

To be sure, precious metals aren’t shooting through the roof. But they’ve demonstrated their resilience in this broad market selloff: the price of gold is down about 2% in 2022, while silver is up 1.2%.

While there are many ways to gain exposure to gold and silver, Kiyosaki prefers to just buy the metal directly. Earlier this year, he tweeted that he only wants “real gold or silver coins” and not ETFs.

The author also called silver “a bargain” recently. So it might be time to visit your local bullion shop.

To read more, go here.

70° Today

Since today is Caturday, here's a photo of Sierra in the RV this morning.

Today in Lake Havasu City was be a pleasant one, temperature-wise. It'll sure beat the cold back home in Jamestown, New Mexico.

From the National Weather Service:

Today

Sunny, with a high near 70. North northwest wind 7 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 51. North wind 8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Christmas Day

Sunny, with a high near 71. North wind 7 to 9 mph.

Made It To Lake Havasu City

Above, a view of Lake Havasu from a previous trip. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday, Sierra and I made it to Lake Havasu, Arizona to spend Christmas weekend with friends.

The drive through Arizona went, thankfully, without incident. There were no traffic problems along the way.

Unlike the rest of the country, the weather was good. I did pass through a little rain squall about ten miles east of Winslow, Arizona. But that lasted only about fifteen minutes. There was snow on the ground in Flagstaff. It was the remnants of a storm from last week.

It is about 30° warmer in Lake Havasu than back home. I was nice to be able to sit outside in total comfort. I am staying in my friends' driveway.

It'll rain or snow in Flagstaff this coming Tuesday, but I will be home long before then. 

Today, Christmas Eve, will be more of a relaxed day.

Merry Christmas, everyone! 

"Elvis" (2022) Blu-ray

My Christmas present from my ex-roommate Jessica arrived today and I just finished watching it.

It was a Blu-ray of Elvis (2022), a biographical movie on Elvis Presley, but it mainly focused on Col. Tom Parker.

From Wikipedia:

Elvis is a 2022 biographical film directed by Baz Luhrmann, written by Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner. It follows the life of the rock and roll singer and actor Elvis Presley, told from the perspective of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, whose financial abuse of him is a major focus. It stars Austin Butler as Elvis with Tom Hanks as Parker, while Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, and Kodi Smit-McPhee co-star.

I wasn't going to buy this movie as I generally dislike docudramas. Invariably, they get things wrong or just make stuff up. Such is the case with this film. But since it was a gift, I watched it during dinner.

As a movie, it was too disjointed for me to enjoy. It mixed up time periods and events. Songs that didn't come along until later in Elvis's career were used in earlier time periods. The acting was good, I have to admit. Tom Hanks's make-up as Tom Parker was great and the set designs were superb. Hanks, though did not capture Parker's actual accent. 

Sorry, this movie did not do it for me.

My grade: C.

9 National Parks To Require Reservations In 2023

Above, Bridalveil Fall in Yosemite National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Our national parks are more popular than ever. 

Over the past several years, people have been visiting them in higher numbers. The pandemic made attendance even higher.

This exposed them to overcrowding. This is a problem as it is the National Park Service's duty to protect them and having more people to contend with makes that duty more difficult.

Nine of our national parks are instituting a permanent reservation system to manage the influx of visitors.

From Fox 11 Los Angeles:

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns resulted in millions of stir-crazy Americans getting out of their houses the first chance they got and actually spending quality time outdoors, including at national parks. 

But the sudden influx of visitors at the nation's most historic natural sites caused a huge strain on the entire National Park infrastructure. The requirement of reservations soon became the new norm in order to handle the record-breaking traffic. 

Some parks have decided to drop their reservation requirements, but some have decided to the new system maybe should have been in place a long time ago. 

Of the 63 major National Parks in the U.S., nine are requiring some type of reservation on top of entrance fees in 2023. 

1. Acadia National Park, Maine

2. Arches National Park, Utah

3. Glacier National Park, Montana

4. Haleakala National Park, Hawaii

5. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

6. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

7. Yosemite National Park, California 

8. Zion National Park, Utah

9. Muir Woods National Monument, California 

To read more, go here. 

Staying Warm In An RV Without Electricity

Above, at Red Rock Park Campground near Gallup, New Mexico. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Only one time I had a problem in keeping warm in my motorhome. That was during an overnight stay at Joshua Tree National Park. I was dry camping with no hookups.

The night got frigid cold and I ran my motorhome's propane heater. That was actually the first time I used it. 

I had plenty of propane, but little did I know, it drew a lot of electricity from the battery and ran it completely down by morning. 

RV Life has an article on how to stay warm in case the RV park's electrical system should suffer a power outage. 

They begin it with:

Spending the winter in your camper can be fun, but you should always be prepared to endure cold weather.

Sure, RV walls offer protection from wind and snow. But drafts and poor insulation can make your vehicle quite chilly. You can run the heater, but unexpected power outages can force you to shut it down. Winter can be dangerous if you’re not properly prepared.

Don’t be a victim of a winter campground power outage. This article explains:

To read more, go here. 

Christmas Weather

From the looks of the above weather map from the National Weather Service, it appears that everywhere in the U.S. will be having severe winter storms with the exception of California and the Southwestern states (except for the eastern halfs of Colorado and New Mexico).

My trip to Lake Havasu for Christmas depended upon how good or bad the weather would be along Interstate 40 in Flagstaff, Arizona. If there would be a snowstorm there, I would skip going as I do not relish fighting snow and idiotic truckers who don't know how to slow down in snowstorms.

But it looks like weather will be good in the area. Their next chance for snow will come Tuesday. I will be home before then.

Foreign Visitors To Japan Double In November

Above, a night view of the Tokyo Skytree from Asakusa. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan's tourist numbers are climbing during the past two months since restrictions on foreign visitors have been lifted. 

The numbers for November almost doubled over the October numbers.

According to the Asahi Shimbun:

With the scrapping of most COVID-19 entry restrictions in October, the number of foreign visitors to Japan jumped to nearly 1 million in November, according to government data.

The number was about 1.9 times more than the previous month. 

Around 730,000 of the 934,500 people who arrived from overseas in November were tourists.

The figure was about 2.5 times higher than October, according to preliminary figures released by
the Japan National Tourism Organization on Dec. 21.

Visitors from South Korea were the largest at 315,400, accounting for one-third of all foreign arrivals. The number is about 1.5 times the figure in November 2019 before the pandemic.

That was followed by Taiwan at 99,500, the United States at 84,300 and Hong Kong at 83,000, according to the tourism organization.

The overall number of foreign visitors in November, however, represents only a little less than 40 percent of the 2,441,274 arrivals in Japan in the same month in 2019.

To read more, go here. 

Day In Gallup

Above, the main lobby of the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup last evening. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday was spent in Gallup taking Larry Lucier to a doctor's appointment and to his physical therapy.

Fortunately, the temperature was reasonably comfortable after a while (in the mid-40s). There was still some snow on the ground from the storm of a few days ago. 

After his doctor appointment, we headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. It was almost full, but we got a table with no problem.

Above, at Cracker Barrel with a triangle golf tee game. Photo by Larry Lucier.

Following that, we headed off to do some errands around town. In no time, it was time for his physical therapy. While he was doing that, I headed off to Walmart and then to Safeway to pick up a few things. When I was done with that, I went to Gallup Coffee downtown and had a mocha latte. 

We got word that eastbound Interstate 40 was to be shut down for two to four hours at Continental Divide due to roadwork. Hopefully, that would be over by the time we headed back to Jamestown.

I was there for a while and soon it was time to pick up Larry. After that, we headed to the El Rancho Hotel for dinner. 

Following dinner, we headed back home and found some traffic backed up near the Iyanbito exit. It wasn't too bad. We stopped at the Flying J to check the mail before heading home. 

The Struggles At The U.S. Mint

Above, the American Silver Eagle is one of the U.S.
 Mint's profitable products. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For those who collect or invest in gold or silver, the U.S. Mint is a source people should look into.

Strange as it may seem, the U.S. Mint is one government department that actually is turning a profit for the government. That wasn't always the case.

Yahoo! Finance has posted an article on the trials and tribulations the Mint went through in the 1990s to get to where it is today.

They begin with:

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Currently, the U.S. Mint strikes around 10 billion circulating coins each year, making it a profitable operation for the government. However, that wasn't always the case. This week on U.S. Money Reserve's "In Conversation," 35th Director of the U.S Mint (1994–2000) and U.S. Money Reserve President Philip N. Diehl and 38th Director of the U.S. Mint (2006–2011) and U.S. Money Reserve Senior IRA Strategist Edmund C. Moy discuss the challenges at the U.S Mint in the 1990s.

To read more, go here. 

Universal Coin & Bullion Named "Best of the Best"

One of the coin dealers I patronize is Universal Coin & Bullion. They are a regular advertiser in the National Rifle Association magazine, American Rifleman.

Greystreet News has reported that Universal Coin & Bullion was named the "Best of the Best" in Texas for "Best Gold Buyer/Seller".

They reported:

(Beaumont, Texas) December 20, 2022 – Readers of the Beaumont Enterprise, an award-winning Hearst Communications newspaper in Texas, have again voted Universal Coin & Bullion ( www.UniversalCoin.com) of Beaumont as “Best Gold Buyer/Seller” in Southeast Texas in the paper’s annual “Best of the Best” survey.

“My team and I are grateful to again receive this distinguished honor and be recognized for our dedication to providing clients with outstanding collecting and investment strategies in the rare coin and precious metals bullion coin markets,” said Michael Fuljenz, president of Universal Coin & Bullion (UCB).

The dealership specializes in rare United States coins, gold and silver bullion coins, IRA diversification strategies and is Better Business Bureau accredited. Since 1994, UCB has transacted over $1.1 billion in business with more than 250,000 satisfied customers.

 To read more, go here.

Extinction Advocates Call For No Children To Save The Planet

The Looney Left Report

The Left is calling on people to not have children in order to save the planet from climate change. These "extinction activists" are essentially calling for extinction of the human race. "To breed or not to breed."

Well, as far as I am concerned, these wackos should lead by example and not breed. The world would be a better place with no more leftist radicals.

From Fox News:

Several media outlets and talking heads have encouraged parents to rethink having children because human beings — even small ones like kids — risk polluting the world and causing global climate destruction.

News and op-ed headlines have come out in unabashed support of having few or even zero children over the years. One example is from NBC News Think in 2017: "Science proves kids are bad for the earth. Morality suggests we stop having them." Another headline from the Guardian that year declared that the answer to saving the planet was simple: "Want to save the planet? Have fewer children." Or as one New York Times writer asked in 2021: "To Breed or Not to Breed?" 

A climate reporter posed a similar question to parents and parents-in-waiting in a Washington Post analysis piece this month: "Should you not have kids because of climate change? It’s complicated." 

To read more, go here. 

What's New and What's Changed In Japan

Above, the Sumida River from Asakusa in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer

Before the pandemic hit nearly three years ago, I was considering a vacation trip to Japan. I was last there in October 2015. 

But the pandemic changed all that and Japan shut its doors to foreign visitors.

Finally, Japan has reopened to foreign visitors. Apparently, much has changed over the past two years and Travel + Leisure has posted an article by Brandon Presser on what changes he saw there.

The article begins with:

After living in Tokyo as a student and young professional, I’ve made visiting Japan a priority at least once a year since, deep-diving new and interesting themes and destinations as the country continues to evolve both with and against the rising tide of globalization. I’ve written about everything from the secret world of “rotten girl” fan fiction manga to the far-flung village in Shikoku that’s become a cult attraction among Kengo Kuma architecture devotees; I’ve also authored three travel books about the country. This time, I’ve been on a quest to discover everything that’s new and different now that Japan’s officially open for tourism once more. Here’s what I’ve found after a month of on-the-ground research: 

To read more, go here. 

Gasoline Below $3.00 in New Mexico

It is indeed nice to see gasoline prices below $3.00/gallon again after months of high prices.

The local Flying J prices:

Contrast that with California's average price for unleaded regular: $4.360. I think I made the right decision in moving out of California.

Kitten Pix

If there's any of you regular readers of this blog who wonder how well D.K.'s latest batch of kittens are doing, here's a couple of photos of the family having lunch today.

 

Silver Spot Price Over $24

 Silver has made a big rebound so far today.

According to JM Bullion, it is currently at $24.29/troy ounce. 

It'll likely fluctuate during the day. As of now, though, this makes my recent purchases of an American Silver Eagle and Morgan silver dollar at $24.99 each an even better deal. 

FBI Counter Intelligence, Seth Rich and Twitter Files

It will be interesting when the House GOP begins their investigation on the involvement of the FBI and CIA in the 2020 elections. In the meantime, Twitter Files are shedding some light on DNC, FBI and CIA collusion during the election campaign.

Hopefully, there will be people jailed for this.

Before proceeding further, here's little refresher on the late Seth Rich.

From Wikipedia:

The murder of Seth Rich occurred on July 10, 2016, at 4:20 a.m. in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Rich died about an hour and a half after being shot twice in the back. The perpetrators were never apprehended; police suspected he had been the victim of an attempted robbery.

The 27-year-old Rich was an employee of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and his murder spawned several right-wing conspiracy theories,

Maybe those "right wing" conspiracy folks weren't too off the mark.

From the Gateway Pundit:

The stunning revelations from the Twitter files thanks to the work of Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger and Bari Weiss is providing irrefutable proof that the FBI was working to prevent the election of Donald Trump. When it comes to “Election Interference,” it was the FBI, not Russia.

The results released so far detail FBI giving direction to Twitter regarding the 2020 Presidential Campaign. I believe future releases will provide evidence that the FBI, along with the CIA, was working to destroy Donald Trump and prevent him from being elected.

One thing we know with certainty is that the FBI’s Washington Field Office was communicating via email and phone with the FBI Counter Intelligence division at FBI Headquarters about Seth Rich. The only reason the FBI Counter Intelligence division would be involved in any way with an alleged case of a routine murder following an attempted robbery of Seth Rich is because there was foreign involvement. The FBI is trying to bury that fact.

Why is the FBI stonewalling so furiously to keep its communications about Seth Rich and the alleged hack of the DNC by Russia secret? Because Russia did not hack the DNC. This is not my opinion. It is a conclusion of several cyber security professionals that flows from one very specific, easily tested claim made by the discredited Special Counsel, Robert Mueller –- i.e., that Guccifer 2.0 was a fictional identity created by Russian Military Intelligence, aka the GRU. If the GRU had concocted Guccifer 2.0, then the forensic evidence should show that this entity was operating from Russia or under the direct control of entities linked to the GRU.

One type of forensic evidence is meta data. What is meta data? This is geek shorthand to describe physical information or code that is written into a document created by a word processor software when a document is created. This data includes a variety of things, such as the date and time the document was created or modified. It tells you who created the document.

An examination of the Guccifer 2.0 documents  shows that the meta data in the Guccifer 2.0 documents were manipulated deliberately to plant Russian fignerprints. This was not an accident nor an oversight due to carelessness by some computer operator.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is correct in stating that Guccifer 2.0 was a “fictious online persona. ” But he is wrong to claim that Guccifer 2.0 was a creation of the  Russian Military Intelligence. Guccifer 2.0 appears to be a creation of the CIA and was one character in a broader scheme assembled to paint Donald Trump as a lackey of Vladimir Putin.

In view of the aforementioned, it is interesting that Mark Zuckerberg named his company Meta.

Meta Platforms, Inc., doing business as Meta and formerly named Facebook, Inc., and TheFacebook, Inc., is an American multinational technology conglomerate based in Menlo Park, California. The company owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, among other products and services.

It will be interesting to see if all this leads right to Zuckerberg's doorstep.

To read more, go here. 

Hawaii Flight Turbulence Injures 20

Air turbulence is the the only thing about flying that I don't like. I've experienced some over the years, the worst being in April 1976 while flying from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It was so bad that passengers across the aisle from me got their rosary beads out.

That pales to comparison to what passengers on a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu experienced Sunday.

TravelPulse reported:

A Hawaiian Airlines flight experienced severe turbulence on Sunday, leaving at least 20 people injured, including three crew members.

According to Reuters.com, Hawaiian Airlines Flight 35 was en route from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu with 278 passengers and 10 crew members on board when the pilots reported experiencing severe turbulence.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 was around 30 minutes away from landing in Honolulu when the incident occurred. The flight crew declared an emergency and the plane was able to land safely at about 10:50 a.m. local time.

To read more, go here. 

Temperatures Are Creeping Up

Above, Lake Havasu during Thanksgiving last year. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The temperature in Jamestown, New Mexico is slowly creeping up this week. By this coming weekend, it will be in the upper 40s. 

Most everyone is already tired of the cold weather. Some of my friends here have been fiddling with their pellet and wood stoves in trying to stay warm. 

I will be in Lake Havasu for Christmas where the daytime temperatures will be in the 60s and the nighttime temperatures will be in the 40s. 

According to the National Weather Service, the Jamestown forecast will be:

Today

Partly sunny, with a high near 44. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 16. South wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 43. Light southwest wind becoming west 10 to 15 mph in the morning.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 22. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 44. West wind 10 to 15 mph.

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 20.

Friday

Partly sunny, with a high near 42.

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 45.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 21.

Christmas Day

Sunny, with a high near 48.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 21.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 48.

 

RV Leveling Tips

Above, The Beast needed a little help to level it at Yosemite National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer. 

After several years of RVing, I've gotten pretty good at eyeballing level sites to set up camp. Most often, if the spot isn't exactly level, it only takes a few minutes to level the RV.

For those who need to find an easier way to level their RV, Do It Yourself RV has posted some tips on RV leveling.

They begin with:

Whether you just pulled into a spot at an RV park or you’ve found the perfect spot to boondock, leveling your RV is one of the first things you’ll do.

RV leveling is important for two reasons. For one thing, your RV will be way more comfortable when it’s level. Perhaps a more important reason to level your RV is because of your absorption refrigerator. Absorption refrigerators are designed to function best when they are level. If your RV isn’t level, your refrigerator has to work extra hard to make your fridge cold. It relies on chemical reactions and needs gravity to make them work efficiently. Even occassionally being unlevel will shorten its life.

Maybe more importantly, being unlevel can also lead to your refrigerator overheating and catching fire when you are out camping, and nobody wants that. Here are some great RV leveling tips that will help speed up the process so you can get to doing what you love.

To read more, go here. 

Mustang Fixed

Above, some long icicles hanging from the garage. Photo by Armand Vaquer

This morning, I picked up the Mustang from the mechanic's in Gallup. All fixed and running great.

The main culprit with the starting issue turned out to be the wire from the coil to the center plug-in on the distributor. It was badly corroded. The mechanic showed me the wire and it was practically nothing but white powder. It was a wonder the car started at all. The rest of the distributor wires were fine.

Along with getting that fixed, he did a full tune-up. It hadn't been tuned since before I moved to New Mexico, nearly five years ago.

Above, the Mustang after getting it back home. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

On the drive home from Gallup, the Mustang took to Interstate 40 like a champ. It reached 75 mph with no effort. It always did love the open highway even when my dad had it.

After getting home, I had to move the Jeep from the Mustang's space in the garage. I had to reconnect the air filter (which may have been a source of its problems) and add some anti-freeze to the Jeep. The level in the radiator was way down. I'll take it out for a test drive when it gets warmer out.

Although it is about 43° outside, it is still a bit cold and some icicles were hanging from the garage eaves.

Coins: What Will 2023 Bring?

As we are closing in on 2023, people may be wondering what the new year will bring in the coin investing community. I don't see any signs that Bidenflation will taper off. Hopefully, I'm wrong. So I am still investing in silver coins.

At Coin World, their editorial staff took a peek at their crystal ball(s) to see what 2023 will bring.

They start it with:

As we prepare to enter the new year, let us look into our mythical crystal ball and attempt to predict what the numismatic community will witness in 2023. To do that, I solicited thoughts from our editorial staff.

Here's one prediction:

From Jeff Starck, senior editor for world coins:

“More coins, more themes, lower mintages.

“World mints and issuers will continue to work to offer something ‘unique’ to a broader audience, while paring down mintages, for new issues.

“Cash is not dead … but it may be on life support. The increasing use of technology in commerce (and the shift to online purchases) continues to threaten the need for real money in circulation, but enough systems and constituencies benefit from having coins and paper money to ensure that they are safe.

“What goes up, must go down. … Right? After raging demand for Morgan dollars, silver and gold American Eagles (among other segments), those markets (and maybe more) seem to understandably be ripe for a correction. Unless they aren’t. Nothing has made sense for some time.”

To read more, go here.