Monday, August 22, 2011

Jury Duty, Generator(?) Skirting(?)

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That’s really all that I did today.  I reported for Jury Duty.  I left early just so that I wouldn’t have to worry about parking.  The last time that I was called, it took forever to find somewhere to park.  Of course, I was one of the first and had to wait only a short time before they opened the door to the court house.  And I forgot that I had some nail scissors in purse, so they got surrendered. (no real loss) 

I don’t know if any of you have served recently, but in Sacramento you call in or go to the internet to check if you have to report and check each day for a week until you are called in.  Lucky me, I had to report today, 1st day.  If you do report and are not chosen, you are done for 18 months.  (It’s one day or one trial.)  They did call me for one one trial that would have lasted for three weeks.  Out of the pool of jurors, they select the jury + alternatives.  Of those chosen there were at least a half dozen or more that couldn’t serve because of  the length of the trial.  I was released along with the rest that weren’t chosen and sent back to the juror’s room to wait to be called for another trial.  There were ten trials that needed jurors. I was not selected for any others and was released by 4:00 pm. 

They have some process, it works, but you kind of feel like it’s a cattle call.  Mostly it’s just move to one place then  wait and see and move back and wait and see. 

While in the jury room, we watched RV the movie with Robin Williams. :)   Not too boring, I also brought a book to read and my I pad.

While there I did a little research on  generators.  I’m trying to decide on whether to get one or two portable or bite the bullet and get an Onan installed.  So many decisions, sometimes it makes my head swim.  Any input from any of you that have permanently installed or portables?  (portable, a possible target for theft?  I know some of them can be heavy, that’s why two smaller ones.)

I was also thinking about skirting around the bottom to block the wind and sand at the beach and later for the winter.   pros/cons/cost ???????

ENOUGH !!!!!     I think it is time to go to bed and probably dream about it all.

Thanks for visiting

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Susan and Angel

3 comments:

  1. Rats, I want to see the comments about generators! I'll have to come back.

    I'd love to serve on a jury, but haven't yet. I wonder what happens if I'm called now?

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  2. We have a Champion 3500 "portable" generator which we leave in the back of the pickup and run it from there. That way when we pull the tunneau cover over it and lock the tailgate, the probability of it being stolen is reduced to almost zilch. The Champion is not quite as quiet but it's a whole lot cheaper - around $300. And it works great for us.

    We have a skirt for the front of the fiver but if you move very often it is a pain to put up and take down. We use ours if we're parked for at least a month and use it for storage for the bikes and grill and chairs.

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  3. I have had a built in Onan in my 5th wheel, and a portable I bought for the truck camper. The Onan was much easier to use, and I had a switch inside the rig that would start it (or I could do it from outside when I wanted to. The small Honda portable was not difficult to start, but requires pulling a starter cord, and I was warned to be sure to pull it a certain way so it wouldn't come unwound from whatever it is wound on inside the unit. The portable weighed 26# - not bad, except when you have to heft it up into a storage bay or up steps into the rig. Theft doesn't have to be a problem as you can get a strong bicycle cord and a lock, and secure it to the frame. A determined thief can steal anything they set their minds to, but a good lock will deter most would-be thieves. Just put it away if you are in a dicey area or park - I wouldn't park overnight at a Walmart and leave it outside, in other words. But to save yourself a lot of time and trouble I would recommend built-in, and that is from my own experience. Others will see it differently, no doubt.

    I nearly forgot - my Onan ran on propane. The portable ran on gasoline, I had to buy a gas can and fill it with gasoline for the generator. You already have propane tanks that will run the Onan, and you don't have to worry about a separate fuel source.

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