Let's visit on the Porch II (Billings, Missoula: steak house, scenic, paperwork)

[jasper12]

gotta love seasonal rates at hotels in Montana, the hotel I stay at in Kalispell, normally $85 a night, now, $259!

[ElkHunter]

What's the old saying, "It's hard to soar like an Eagle when you roost with turkeys?" or something like that.

I have a neighbor that wants to put in 4 RV spaces. He wants each space to have 25 ft of room. He wants to slant each space so they are at a 20 deg angle. That's easy enough......... until you realize he doesn't know anything about computers, and he don't trust them.

He put stakes 25 ft apart along the front line. The back line, he did the same thing, only over farther. I explained to him that it wasn't right because when you slant them over, actual distance along the font line will be closer to 26ft apart. That will make the slanted space exactly 25 ft wide. He didn't believe me.

I came in the cabin and booted up AutoCAD and laid it all out. Actually came out to 25' 10 1/2". I printed it out and gave it to him. He didn't trust the computer to know where the lines go and insisted that I could put the lines anywhere I wanted, and then just label the length. I told him that I snapped the lines, so the computer figured distance. He still insisted it wasn't right.

So, I went out and staked out the first lot, run string lines, along with lines running at a 90 deg angle to the slanted lot. Then handed him a tape measure and said, "You measure it." He did. He was happy.

I went to the park because it was hot. The local swimming hole is at the park. About 10pm, I came home and looked over there, the stakes had all been moved.

Next morning I walked out there and asked him about it. He said, "I know what I am doing and how I'm figuring it is right. Your computer doesn't know what I have in mind, so I had to put the stakes back where they belonged in order to make the lot right and give each person a 25 ft wide space."

He votes too. He has kids, so I know he breeds too.

He has drove truck or worked construction, all of his life. I, on the other hand, have worked in advanced math related jobs, my whole life and was a cad engineer for 10 years.

Here is where the real problem comes in. He wants me to jump on the backhoe and dig all the ditches so he can run water, sewer and electricity. I'll do it. He'll put it all together. I'll cover it all up and level it. The very first person that rents a space will point it out to him and he'll blame the back hoe operator.

It's hell being retired.

[jasper12]

Planning flying anywhere from Montana, takes an incredible logistics.

Which airport has the best deal? Billings? Great Falls? Bozeman? Forget Helena. Drive to Spokane?

I am planning a trip to Australia, and so far, found I need to spend a night in Salt Lake, in order to connect to LAX, to go to Austrailia.

Will be contacting a travel agent soon...

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

So, I went out and staked out the first lot, run string lines, along with lines running at a 90 deg angle to the slanted lot.

Need more sleep. Misread that as "So I went out naked to the first lot..."

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by jasper12

Planning flying anywhere from Montana, takes an incredible logistics.

Which airport has the best deal? Billings? Great Falls? Bozeman? Forget Helena. Drive to Spokane?

I am planning a trip to Australia, and so far, found I need to spend a night in Salt Lake, in order to connect to LAX, to go to Austrailia.

Will be contacting a travel agent soon...

Don't discount the idea of flying out of a town in Canada.

Australia, been there. If you haven't been there, you are going to love it. How long are you going to be there and where are you going?

Originally Posted by Reziac

Need more sleep. Misread that as "So I went out naked to the first lot..."

As many hours as I have been putting in, I might have.
Thursday, I was out working on it until after 10, so I got to bed after midnight. Was back out there calling measurements to him at 5:30 am. I didn't get to bed until 12:30 this morning and was up before 4, working on drawings. I am about done in.

[jasper12]

I thought about driving to Calagary...good idea, I will check into that.

Thinking about going to Melbourne, next March. Austrailia is so BIG! I have never been there, but if the price is right, the timing is good, we will probably go down for two weeks. Not so sure about the length of the flight though...that is an awfully long time to be on a plane for me. I went to Europe, and could barely stand the time on the plane then...and I was a lot younger.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

Don't discount the idea of flying out of a town in Canada.

Might even be worth the drive to Edmonton.

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

Australia, been there. If you haven't been there, you are going to love it.

One of those places I'll never get to, but sure would like to!

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

Thursday, I was out working on it until after 10, so I got to bed after midnight. Was back out there calling measurements to him at 5:30 am. I didn't get to bed until 12:30 this morning and was up before 4, working on drawings. I am about done in.

You gotta charge him more, he'd respect your math more.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Reziac

- snip -

You gotta charge him more, he'd respect your math more.

Charge him? I've never charged a neighbor anything in my life.

But he's such an idiot, even if I did charge him, he couldn't do the math.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by jasper12

I thought about driving to Calagary...good idea, I will check into that.

Thinking about going to Melbourne, next March. Austrailia is so BIG! I have never been there, but if the price is right, the timing is good, we will probably go down for two weeks. Not so sure about the length of the flight though...that is an awfully long time to be on a plane for me. I went to Europe, and could barely stand the time on the plane then...and I was a lot younger.

Depends what you fly in. I've made extremely long flights (24+ hours in the air) and you are correct, a person wears pretty thin. Get up, walk around. I was on a L1011 one time and about mid plane, next to an exit door, there were no seats. They wheeled a portable bar down and set it up with 2 seats. Took me about 3, maybe 4 nano seconds to occupy one of those seats for a bit. Then, they set up a New York Deli spread across the back, where you could go down one isle and start through and build yourself a big hoggie with anything and everything, from bologna, ham, turkey, chicken, lettuce, olives, better than Subway. Grab chips, jello and return to your seat. They kept that food line going almost the whole flight. Watched a few movies and finally landed in Diego Garcia. Transfered to an Air Force transport headed North and the next landing was on a tarmac completely surrounded by sand and snipers. From plane to buildings was another 3 or 4 nano second sprint, bent over and dragging my pack. Kind of made me appreciate the movies and the New York Deli. That vacation took me several months to get home.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

That vacation took me several months to get home.

Sounds exciting.