How fitting it is that I’ve put this post off long enough to coincide with Earth Hour – when everyone is supposed to turn off their lights for one hour at 8:30 tonight in a showing of global showing of solidarity for energy conservation. But let me tell you, Earth Hour happens every night around the LiveWorkDream rig!

Shortly after we returned to Slab City, we got fed up with killing our batteries every evening. And coincidentally, I had just completed a design project that enabled us to afford an upgrade to our RV solar power system. But what to upgrade with the budget we had? That was the big question, so we went and saw Solar Mike.

Our original system included one Evergreen 120w solar panel rated up to 7.6 amps. Considering we draw about 10 amps when using our satellite internet connection and charging our laptops, it’s really no wonder our batteries would often be drained at the end of the day – even if the sun was shining bright. Simply put, we were just using more juice than we were making even on the best of days.

So back to the question at hand … what to upgrade? We had the opportunity to rebuild an Outback MX60 MPPT charge controller – and still do – which would give us the boost available from Maximum Power Point Tracking for about half the price of a new controller. But that would still only buy us another amp or so.

So, we took Mike’s advice and added another panel. While we were at it, we modified our existing mounting hardware to let us tilt both panels for maximum solar exposure, all day long. And now we’re making too much power!

Our new Kyocera 135w panel is rated up to 8.3 amps. During our entire stay over at Anza Borrego, I don’t recall running the generator once. But that changed yesterday. It was a beautiful day for making power. The sun was shining bright, a steady breeze kept our panels cool, and we drained our batteries by the afternoon. Huh? That’s what I said!

Upon investigation, I discovered the batteries were not only dead, but there was no status LED blinking on our C40 charge controller. Great, I thought, now we’d have to stay until next week and take the rig over to the Sun Works to find out what was happening. Then I discovered we had just blown a fuse!

The 15 amp Buss fuses we had protecting the controller were more than sufficient for the single Evergreen panel we originally installed. But with the recent upgrade, we had apparently peaked at more than 15 amps of power being generated at some point! Not bad, not bad at all. Now if only we had the battery bank capacity to hold the extra power allowing us to work a few more hours into the night. That upgrade will just have to wait until we return to the Slabs and go see Solar Mike again next year.

My only regret was not asking Mike about a trade-in of our first panel before we started remounting it. But with the price of panels coming down, he assured me we wouldn’t have gotten much for it.

Yes, solar panel mismatch is something to consider – it’s not just aesthetic – but in an RV system like ours, where squeezing out every bit of possible power in a limited space on a limited budget, it is as they say … what it is.

Besides, the two tilted panels still look pretty cool! And yes, we did consider the swing of the arm on our F2 Dish when re-installing the panel. To my surprise and delight, it clears the elevated panel with room to spare. Now whether or not it does so next time we are way up north is another story. Let’s hope by the time we get back to Maine, we remember to check the panel before stowing the dish.

Remember that freaky cherimoya fruit I told you about? We finally got the courage to try this local delicacy.

The cherimoya is as mean and nasty looking as a gila monster, but slice it open and it’s soft flesh tastes somewhere between a pear and a papaya.

The sweetness of this fruit would probably go good with a gewurztraminer wine, but don’t get liquored up or you could break a tooth on the rock hard seeds.

With all of the crazy imported fruit from overseas, it amazes me that something this good that’s grown in our own backyard isn’t made more available.

Why would anyone want mediocre kiwi from New Zealand when we could have a cherimoya, or a fuerte avocado grown right here in the states?

Before we left Borrego Springs we played tourist and checked out these amazing roadside sculptures by artist Ricardo Breceda.

The pics don’t do them justice, and it’s hard to get an idea of the scale of these enormous creatures. They’re set up along the outskirts of Anza Borrego State Park, and you can just meander your way down the roads to check them out.

The detail of the scrap metal creatures is amazing. How does this guy find the time?

If you look way in the background of one of these pics, you can see how small our big truck looks next to them.

Huh? Bear with me.

We feel right at home back in our same spot here on the Slabs after our windy Borrego holiday. The sun… the Range… the bombs.

Bright blasts on the horizon were big last night, and close enough to thump the ground. But the blast took about nine and a half seconds to be heard. Quick, do the math.

Sound travels at the approximate speed of 1,100 feet per second. With blasts seen about 9.5 seconds before being heard that puts bombs just 10,450 feet away. Divide that by by 5,280 feet in a mile and you have very big bombs exploding 1.9791667 miles away. And what on earth does this have to do with Google, you ask?

In doing a simple search for the speed of sound and how many feet in a mile, I discovered that Google is indeed going to take over the world!

Before long, every web page visited will be tracked, logged, analyzed, stored, and marketed to accordingly in Googledom. With the search engine’s recent makeover, users have new powerful search and sorting options. They also have a responsibility to their own users for not passing encoded googlinks capable of tracking who knows what viewer history information. Which is exactly what you will do when simply right-clicking to copy an URL now from Google search result links. Check it out for yourself.

What do you think all this means?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&oi=sw_smartlist_search_result_link&ct=result&cd=1&ved=0CBoQswYwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftripawds.com%2F&ei=M26dS7T8FMH98Aa_842UDg&usg=AFQjCNHgne-o4U_dm4KmN-ADLp7kIoPMuA

So, that big bomb Google has dropped? No more absolute url copying for direct links to search results. Right click to copy a link and you now get a Googlurl encoded with plenty of tracking voodoo. What’s more disturbing yet? It was dropped by a stealth bomber…

It means this:

http://www.tripawds.com

Roll over any Google search result link and the browser status bar shows the actual url. At least Firefox does, on my Mac. And that’s pretty sneaky if you ask me. Not until a link is copied will the truth be told.

If you prefer to defy assimilation, here’s what to do: beneath Google search links a partial URL for the result is included in small green type, with no hyper link. Select that and copy if you don’t care to be part of the machine.

Apparently this has something to do with outbound SERPs. More like outright usurpers if you ask me. Check this Razzed blog for further Google outbound link tracking analysis. And try to pay attention where you’re sending people with your copied links. I sure will now.

It’s time for the annual NuRVers Gathering of Friends!

NuRVers is a group of young, non-retired RVers living the dream life now, instead of waiting for a someday that may never happen. We come from a variety of backgrounds but all share one thing in common; the desire to live an adventurous life on the open road.

Come join us in Gonzales, Texas in April for good times and great people! Last year’s inaugural  gathering was a blast, we know this year’s will be even better.

Space is limited. Sign up today!

The cold desert winds here at Anza Borrego Park in Southern California are making us stir crazy and insane, but we’re sticking around until our mail arrives by general delivery at the post office.

We also want to visit the Borrego Springs Friday Farmer’s Market one more time.

The local farmers have the most luscious selection of produce, including this weird, local Cherimoya fruit that I’ve never seen before (which is odd because I’m a SoCal native!). I think I’ll crack open my wallet and try it. It must be good if it’s that spendy, right? 

I also want to stock up on the local Fuerte avocados. They only appear in wintertime, and you can’t get them anywhere else because they don’t ship well. You’ve never had a great avocado until you’ve had a Fuerte.

If there’s one thing I miss about SoCal besides my family, it’s the buttery, yummy flavor of the Fuerte. My parents have a tree in their L.A. yard that blossoms during wintertime. Growing up, I had enough guacamole to bathe in.

Jim, meanwhile, is having fantasies about the locally grown tri-tip he saw last week. Maybe he can share it with Wyatt. Anyone else care to indulge in carnivore ecstasy, feel free to stop by.

We’ve been in Southern California longer than we anticipated, but even I, a recovering Angeleno, will admit that the  south end of the state has great winter weather and the best produce in America.

Borrego Springs is a funky, neat little town. I told Jim that maybe we should consider buying a cheap piece of land here to winter in. But then he reminded me; this is California. Nothing’s cheap. And with Moonbeam running for governor, the State’s really in trouble now! We’d better get out soon before we get taxed for breathing.

Whenever I go MIA around here, it usually means I’ve been wrapped up is some major project – one that probably has something to do with three legged dogs. This time is no different.

I haven’t written since that silly Valentine’s Day post because I have been busy launching the all new and much improved Tripawds Gift Shop. This required dusting off the old right brain bits and lubricating my creative gears to come up with loads of new graphic designs for inspawrational three legged dog t-shirts, cards, stickers, mugs and other gift items.

It was fun designing all these new graphics, and it felt good doing it for something I am passionate about, without some client breathing down my neck telling me to make the text bold and red.

Oh, wait … the type on our new Tripawd Power design is bold and red! Well, not really… it’s Cooper Black actually, and more of a crimson. But there I go digressing, here’s the link if you want to talk about typefaces.

I would like to think this represents some of my best work. But that’s not saying much considering I haven’t done any real graphic design work since we sold our business nearly three years ago. But it is a nice feeling knowing that I still got it – if I ever really had it, that is. And it goes to prove that graphic design is like riding a bike, in more ways than one.

If you think you may have lost the touch, just jump back into your favorite Adobe product and start pedaling. And if your chain falls off and you just can’t get it to work right, call a professional. Anyone need a logo?

Wanted: Chief librarian for Slab City Lizard Tree Library. Must be literate, love books, the desert climate, live in own RV and enjoy colorful characters of all types. Pay is non-existent but the fulfillment of running this institution is something money can’t buy. Job starts today.

What began as a final trip to the Slab City Library yesterday has turned into a devastating discovery. This one-of-a-kind institution is on the verge of collapse.

Sunday afternoon I arrived with some DVDs to donate, only to find piles of books thrown around, and an angry look on the face of Ron, the chief librarian. All of the doors to the place had also been removed, the sign had disappeared from the parking lot, and the book donation shelves were gone. He even took our Internut access away.

I was stunned, and asked Ron, “Uh, what happened to the shelves?”

His eyes were filled with rage as he said “I’m sick of picking up after people and their dog shit! I’ve had it! If they want to trash this place they can have it!”

I asked “But….what’s going to happen here?”

Ron said, “It’s a self-serve library from now on. People can take care of it themselves. I’m done!” and he stormed out.

Three years ago, Ron arrived just after the founder of the library died. He was enthusiastic about keeping it going, and moved in next door. He took the wheels off his motorhome, set up an encampment, and went about the business of becoming chief librarian. He’s done an incredible job. Every time I went there, new books had been shelved, more fun knicknacks appeared and the floor was always clean.

But apparently the slobs around here made him snap. Or maybe it the 120 degree summertime temperatures. But last week he threw up his hands and surrendered. Now, this treasure is at risk of becoming just another trash heap in the last free place in America.

I’m so devastated, it kept me awake last night. I love libraries, and this is a rare find in America. It’s killing me that we’re supposed to leave for Anza Borrego tomorrow.

Today I made the “Save the Libaray!” sign and posted it inside, hoping that more people might care enough to stop taking the library for granted. Maybe we can change Ron’s mind about quitting.

I guess I’ll have to wait until next year to find out what happens next.

And if nobody wants the job, I just might apply when we return.