After neglecting the blog through most of 2007, for which I have apologized sincerely, I am now endeavoring to devote more time and attention to same.  Toward this end, I have added some new photo’s to the Gallery and will continue to update both the posts and Gallery areas much more frequently (until the next time I don’t. Ha!).

 Most of January has been consumed with the follow on from a bad experience with my old web host, which necessitated a move to my new web host, Bluehost.  When the old web host broke the site (probably could have been fixed with time and money, but life is too short to have to fool with problems created by a web host who ports to a new platform) I decided to move to a new host rather than reward a company who is demonstrating a lack of concern for their customer base through exceedingly poor customer service and an increasing cost structure while at the same time removing functionality (How ’bout that for a mouthful?).  Not that this blog generates a big revenue stream for a web hosting company (it doesn’t); However, neither does it require any attention from the web host (unless the web host breaks it).

It appears I have found a much more solid web hosting partner in Bluehost, and the move went smoothly.  I had a bit of a hiccup trying to restore an sql database carried over from the old hosting platform.  However, Bluehost technical support personnel took care of it while I was on the phone with them and all is well.  I decided, while moving the blog, to go ahead and complete some much needed upgrading of the site apps and this has resulted in a few minor appearance changes, but allows much easier admin interface with the blog and an improved performance for visitors to the site.

I am still trying to close my old web hosting agreement (the web host is purposefully difficult to find, with absolutely no address for correspondence anywhere on the site or in the knowledgebase.  They provide a phone number, which typically hangs up on you, with a short notice that “everyone is busy, call back later”, and this appears to be the only way to cancel the agreement.  I hope I can get someone to answer the phone before they automatically renew my agreement, scheduled for June, 2009!  I probably should not mention this elusive web host is Startlogic, so I won’t (grin).

So much for business, on to pleasure…

Wow!!

Just before the new year, we visited a nice little beach in Tarpon Springs’ Howard Park, appropriately named Howard Park Beach.  Howard Park is part of the Pinellas County Parks system, and more information can be obtained from this link – Pinellas County Parks & Recreation.  The beach is actually a small island just offshore, and connected to the park via a short causeway.  It has some beautiful panorama’s and is a favorite of wind and kite surfers in the area.  Photo’s of our trip have been posted in the gallery.

A couple of my dear friends, one human and, one, decidely dog like, celebrated Birthday’s this month…

The accident prone Birthday Boy!!!

Cathy and I celebrated with our good friend Gary, and his wife Bernice, Gary’s ?? birthday!  Gary had an accident shortly before his birthday, and celebrated with his “first ever, fat lip” (I told him I only wished I was that fortunate)!  We all enjoyed coffee, conversation and that wonderful ice cream cake in the photo.  Happy Birthday, Gary!

Boomer at Five Years… What a Pal!

Another birthday, of particular importance to Cathy and I, was that of our beloved Boomer!  It is hard to believe he turned five years old this year.  We love him dearly and wish him many more “Happy Birthdays!”.

Categories: Well, Here We Are...!
No Comments »

The four of us at Java Cafe

Cathy and I accompanied our good friends Bernice and Gary on a delightful afternoon trip into Tampa last week.  We had lunch at a small Middle Eastern diner called the Java Cafe.  The Java Cafe is located on Busch Boulevard, not far from Busch Gardens.  It is in a very small strip center whose only other occupant is a grocer specializing in middle eastern foods and necessities.  The restaurant is small and sparse, with only a few tables.  However, what it lacks in decor, it more than makes up for in cuisine.  All the offered dishes are authentic middle eastern faire, prepared fresh when ordered and very reasonably priced.  We ordered several servings of Hummus, Foul,Taboleh, Falafel and a variety of meats.  For dessert, we had Baklava and another pastry made with ground almond (name escapes me), with Arabic coffee.  The meal was outstanding (although we ate too much) and the company was grand.

If you are in the neighborhood of 4812 E. Busch Boulevard, give the Java Cafe a try.  Don’t expect much of the decor, but do expect some great middle eastern cuisine prepared to your order and gracious hosts anxious to please your palette.

After our extended lunch, we visited Tampa International and Bay Street, a large mall near the Tampa airport.  While the mall itself offers much the same variety and storefronts as many malls across America, what sets this mall apart is the unique variety and design of the restaurants which line the curving entry to the mall itself.  These trendy shops offer everything from a first class meal to a lazy outdoor afternoon happy hour watching the going’s on from streetside tables.  We spent the balance of the afternoon wandering through the shops and made some small purchases before heading back to the resort.

What a delightful day trip.

Categories: Bill's Blog...
No Comments »

Some of you may have noticed the blog has been down for a few days.  Unfortunately, after a period of two years, my old web host, Startlogic, notified me that they were upgrading to a new platform and would be pointing my website to the new platform.  However, I would be thrilled with the multitude of new and improved performance and tools on the new platform.

Well…, they were wrong!  I was not thrilled.  There were very few new “tools” (and none which would be useful to me, over and above those which were available under the old platform).  In addition, Startlogic had removed a tool which made backups of the website very easy.  The tool was still available; they simply had implemented a $12.95 annual charge for what had been free access for the past two years.  In addition to that, they have imposed a $12.95 annual fee for the use of Gallery2 (a free and widely used open source photo management tool) which had become an important part of my website!

Worst of all, about 5 minutes after pointing my website to the new platform, my installation of Gallery2 ceased to work!  The website was broken, and no amount of intervention on my part could restore Gallery2 to proper operation!  I tried to upgrade to the latest version of Gallery2; I tried to remove and restore a backup copy; I tried to install Gallery2 which was hosted on the new platform (this is where I learned of Startlogic’s “new” strategy of charging $12.95 annually for Gallery2), but I will not pay for a free, open source program (or for it’s use).  Nothing I did could revive Gallery2 on my Startlogic host.  In addition, Startlogic customer support was impossible to find!  I filed an open ticket, which went unanswered for three days!  I phoned, and the call was dropped twice, after holding for more than a half hour!  On the third phone call, I was connected to customer support after a hold of more than an hour!  The website was repaired, only to fail again in a few minutes!  I again tried to post an open ticket to support, only to find it was closed, with no response, two days later…

So… for the past few days I have been porting the website to a new (and much improved!) web host; Bluehost.  I have completed the process, and the website has been repointed to the new name servers.  All appears to be working well (if not, please let me know).

It is unfortunate this move was necessary; I had been very satisfied with Startlogic as my web host for two years.  However, my recent experience indicates, to me, Startlogic has suffered a devastating decline in customer service and the implementation of “annual charges” for tools which had been provided under the basic hosting agreement previously reeks of a scheme to increase revenue…

Choose your Web Host Carefully!

Categories: Well, Here We Are...!
No Comments »

it has been nine months since we have posted to the blog!  How time flies!  However, time movement is no excuse.  I have been guilty of neglect and have discovered I placed far too many irons in the fire over these past months.

The spring and summer months have been relatively quiet for Cathy and I.  After spending most all of our winter making improvements to our Florida winter destination, we returned to our home in Missouri mid-April to find we had some damage to our property from winter storms.  Our area was really buffeted with severe winter snow and ice storms, followed by early spring hail storms, the net of which required that we re-roof our home.  This turned out to be a project which stretched over a few months as demand for roofers far exceeded supply.  However, we are now ready for the next rounds of winter here in Missouri.

Our usual summer visits by family and friends were much reduced from previous years, so we have occupied our summer months with the completion of several projects we had been planning (landscaping changes and repair to the drainage systems which carry runoff to the lake.).  We have also been plagued this summer with a never ending stream of small breakdowns (necessary repairs to hearth and home, auto’s, motorcycle, trailers, etc…).  Fortunately, I am capable of making the necessary repairs, and actually enjoy doing so.  However, I do wish, from a financial bent, these breakdowns would better align themselves with my financial plans (which include preserving some measure of wealth for my really old age; when, I anticipate, we will be under constant siege from doctors, hospitals and assisted living and retirement or nursing homes!).

In spite of the myriad of projects which reared their heads this summer, it was an enjoyable summer, and we are ready to move into fall and winter confident the homestead will be waiting for us when we return to it in the late spring.� We are also looking forward to our annual migration south, and the cooling days and, especially, nights the past few weeks are beginning to tug at us.  We are starting to gather and plan for our migration, which looks as if it will begin in early November this year (last year, our departure in October was simply too early.  The trees had yet to shed their leaves and it was still quite warm in Florida).

Stay tuned…

Categories: Bill's Blog...
Comments Off

Tonight Cathy and I were fortunate to see a rare night launch of the space shuttle Discovery.  It has been four years since the last night launch and we feel very fortunate to have been witness to this one.

We are on the Gulf side of Florida in the Tampa bay area, approximately 130 miles from Cape Canaveral.  Even from here, the launch was breathtaking.  As the solid rocket boosters were ignited, the sky to the east of us began to glow a soft orange, like a focused sunrise.  As the shuttle gained altitude, the orange glow intensified and became much brighter and then the shuttle and booster rockets appeared over the landscape to our east, rising rapidly in the night sky.  It appeared as a lengthy orange streak gaining altitude rapidly.  After several minutes, the orange streak died in the night sky and what remained appeared as a low star on the horizon.  However, this star was moving across the sky much more rapidly than the others.  As the shuttle moved away from us and Mother Earth continued her rotation it appeared to lose altitude until it disappeared below the horizon.

It seemed odd to see the shuttle climb so rapidly away from the earth, and then after separation of the solid rocket system, continue to climb but appear to fall as we here in Florida rotated slowly away from the shuttle and astronauts.  What a remarkable and beautiful experience!

Categories: Well, Here We Are...!
No Comments »

We have now officially begun our exploration of the Florida Gulf Coast with our first event in Hudson, Florida – the 22nd Annual Hudson Seafest.It began with three couples who wanted to have a seafood festival and has grown to the event it is today.  It was not really what I expected.  My dream was of strolling along the beach, enjoying a variety of seafood from vendors.  There actually was not much seafood at the “seafest” and though we had sand under our feet, was not on the beach!  It was more of a carnival, including craft vendors.  With that said, it was still a good time – good food, good company and good entertainment, gorgeous weather.  We went with our new neighbors here at the park and met a few of their friends there.  After taking a walk through the festival, we ate a meal of grouper (that’s fish for those of you who don’t know), hushpuppies, slaw and baked beans.  All quite good.  As we ate we listened to a local trio called “Absolutely Fabulous!”.  They sang tunes from El Divo to Englebert Humperdinck.  We really enjoyed them and I must say I was a little surprised with the quality of the entertainment – which is more than likely what helps to support the success of the festival.  I will try to find out if they perform regularly in the area as I would love to see them again.

After enjoying our meal and the entertainment, we moved on to walk through a very large flea market adjacent to where the festival was held.  We got some nice produce – unbelievable avocados!  Lots of “junk” from China and/or Taiwan, as do most of the flea markets in the area.  We definitely will go back to this market to see all we missed.  We will save that for another beautiful Florida day.

�

Categories: Well, Here We Are...!
No Comments »

Cathy and I are very disappointed we have been slowed to almost a standstill by bureaucracy here in Pasco County, Florida.

A few days after our arrival here in Florida, we decided to buy a shed to place on our lot and store items normally kept in the fifth wheel storage.  We also intend to leave a lot of this stuff on the premises when we are not here and needed a somewhat secure area.

Well, after purchasing the shed, we learned that Pasco County requires a permit to place the shed on our lot.  So, being nice, law abiding citizens we set off to Pasco County Central Permitting to permit the shed.  Little did we know that this simple task, which should consume only a few days in a busy office, would turn out to take (so far four weeks) what seems a lifetime.  The shed in question is a very well constructed product, which is pre-approved by the State of Florida for it’s intended purpose (there is no requirement for the county to approve the construction, the state of Florida has already done so).  Submitted with the permit were the necessary engineering drawings to show the proper anchoring for hurricane winds.  Also submitted was a site plan showing how the shed would be positioned on the property.  It should take no more than an hour or so for even a new employee to review the paperwork and issue a permit for installation…. it should!

However, even though Pasco County is dangerously close to layoffs because of the serious slowdown (40% less than earlier in the year) in new construction, shed permits (can you believe a permit for an 8×8 storage shed, anyway?) are taking as long or longer than normal, and that appears to be more than 4 weeks (been that long) and hopefully, less than six weeks for something that should take one week.

We have just been sitting around waiting on the County to finish whatever it is they do for 4 to 6 weeks, so that we can complete this installation and get on with our exploration of the Florida Gulf Coast area.  This has turned out to be a lot more trouble, work and expense than we had imagined…

Categories: Well, Here We Are...!
No Comments »

We are now at our new Winter Home in Florida.  The trip was, for the most part, uneventful.  We mapped a great route this year and our roads were better than the interstate routes, with a few short exceptions.  The drive down was lovely.  However, when we arrived last week, Florida was setting record highs for this time of year and the humidity was miserable as we toiled to set up our winter site.

We departed our summer home on Lake of the Ozarks a few days earlier than planned in order to sandwich the trip to Florida between weather fronts.  If we had left on the day we planned (Sunday, October 15), we would have had rain most of the way to Florida.  By moving the trip forward to Friday, October 13 (we’re not superstitious) we had clear weather for the trip.

Since we left the Lake area Friday afternoon, and because we were traveling for a number of miles on highway 5 South, a narrow, no shoulder, two lane state highway, we spent our first night at a brand new RV Park in West Plains, Missouri.  The park name is Road Runner RV Park and it is located right on Hwy 63 as you enter West Plains.  All sites are full hookup and 30/50 amp service.  The entry is paved and the interior roads and sites are gravel.  The Park has a nice office/clubhouse area and also has a cappucino machine which is available 24 hours a day.  If you are in the area, give them a try.

On Saturday we traveled from West Plains to Natchez Trace RV Park, which is located on the Natchez Trace, just south of Tupelo, Mississippi.  this leg of our trip also featured a few miles of winding two lane road between West Plains and Hardy, Arkansas, and several miles of really bad interstate around Memphis, Tennessee.  This leg of our route traveled Highway 63 to Interstate 55, Interstate 55/240 around the west and south side of Memphis to Highway 78 south into Mississippi.  Highway 78 is nice four lane divided road to Tupelo.  On this leg of the trip, we lost the exterior lower hatch cover for refrigerator access.  On our arrival at Natchez Trace RV Park, a small, beautiful, family owned RV Park right on the Natchez Trace, we noticed the missing access panel.  Quick trips to a couple of RV supply houses failed to locate a replacement, so I rigged a cover from a cardboard box from a nearby restaurant, a white plastic trash bag and good old duct tape.  After a very pleasant evening (and visiting with other travelers around a large camp fire), we departed Natchez Trace for our next stop.

Sunday had us traveling Highway 45 to Columbus, Mississippi and Highways 82 and 231 to Ozark Travel Park just outside Ozark, Alabama.  The roads were a pleasure to drive and Ozark RV Park was yet another really nice, family owned RV Park in a small quiet setting just off Highway 231.  The park features free cable service and available wi-fi service.

Monday, October 16 represented our last travel day and we had a bit of rain early in the day which dissipated by the time we left Ozark Travel Park.  There was a large Camping World in Ozark so we stopped to see if we could replace the missing refrigerator access, with no luck!  By now, we are becoming somewhat irritated we are not able to find a replacement for this pretty common part.  In fact, about half the new RV’s in the lot of this sales outlet had the same hatch cover we were seeking, and Cathy and I were beginning to discuss Midnight RV Salvage as a possible strategy… just kidding!).  Later in the day, we tried one other location to find this part (again, no success) and decided to abandon the effort until we reached our Tampa Bay area destination.  This leg of our trip had us traveling Highway 231 to Interstate 10 east.  Just east of Tallahassee we dropped down on Highway 59 to Highway 19 for the rest of our trip to our winter home Three Lakes RV Resort in Hudson, Florida.

Three Lakes RV Resort is a beautiful, security gated RV community in the greater Tampa Bay metropolitan area. Hudson itself is an older developed area which, typical of Florida development, features a mix of old homesteads (many very unpleasing to the eye) which are rapidly being replaced by new home development to satisfy the needs of a rapidly expanding Tampa Bay community.  Three Lakes has been developed as a Park Home and RV community. with half the resort offering Park Model space and the other half offering space for a bit over 300 RV sites.  The Park is an adult park, with no one under 33 years of age permitted for more than a few days.  It offers daily, monthly, seasonal and annual rates, with advantages for seasonal and annual leases.  All sites are sized for big rigs, and the smallest sites are 40′ X 65′, with 20′ X 50′ concrete pads.  All sites are full hookup and feature both 30/50 amp wiring.  There is a very nice 7,000 square foot clubhouse and a pool.  There are a couple of laundry facilities and a separate lounge and firepit area for social gatherings.

Cathy and I have been very busy since our arrival with daily trips to Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart and several RV outlets (still in pursuit of the !@#$% refrigerator access door).  We did, finally, locate the needed door yesterday, and it should arrive via UPS sometime today.  I will update the blog in a few days to cover this activity, and also post pics of our trip down and our new site in a few days.

Categories: Well, Here We Are...!
No Comments »

Cathy and I have decided we will close up the lake house and head for Florida on October 16.  While we are excited to return to our winter home, there is so much to do to shut this place down October 16 is the earliest we can get away.

We are going to try a new route this year, traveling the entire route with only about 60 miles of Interstate highway.  We plan to take National roads and State Highways in the most direct route possible, and will pass through Jonesboro, AR, Memphis, TN, Tupelo, MS, Ozark, AL, skirt Tallahassee, FL and take 19 down the coast to Hudson.  This route is about 300 miles shorter than our normal Interstate route, and should be a lot more scenic.

I love this time of year!

Categories: Well, Here We Are...!
No Comments »