Monday, May 24, 2010
Cell Phone / Cricket
Does anyone know if Cricket (www.mycricket.com) cell phones work in Montello? They definitely run on the CDMA technology and have excellent pricing for unlimited calling ($30) and web access via laptop ($35). Any feedback is appreciated!
Friday, May 7, 2010
A few more pics....of heaven!
Still loving Montello. Great to see you again Bill. Let me know when you're heading that way again and thanks again for the Cinnamon roll. The Cowboy, on occasion, makes the largest cinnamon rolls I have ever eaten....and, they're damn good!
I met a guy out there this time with my name. There aren't too many Preston's around so I take special notice when one comes along. Hell of a guy that I look forward to getting to know better. And, his girlfriend Joan makes the best goolosh (sp?) I have ever tasted. Thanks guys for the good food and the great conversation, it was a pleasure!
Ah, Montello...where it's easy to be yourself!!!
some pics...
Above is the view looking south from the State line on 233. You can see the snow topped Pilot peak far off in the background....what a beautiful day!
You gotta love the redneck gas tank tethered to the grill guard. I grew up in a one stop light town in central Florida that may as well have been called Redneck'ville, so I don't worry about being stereotypical when I'm talking about my own!
I forgot to take pics of the shower pan and toilet exhaust fan that are new additions. I ran short on couplings so the shower will be functional after a trip to home depot and the exhaust fan will be operational in the next few trips after the electrical infrastructure is setup! Did I mention I'm still loving Montello?
Cell Tower Info Confirmed
Thanks Zach for the heads up! Cell towers run on one of two technologies....CDMA or GSM. The tower in Montello operates on CDMA. This is a hardware issue, so make sure you purchase a phone that operates on CDMA. Both Tracfone and Net10 offer phones that run on this technology. I spoke with someone earlier this week who mentioned he bought a $10 NET10 from from the dollar store in Wells. Again, make sure it's CDMA and you'll be good to go.
I'd love feedback from anyone who has used the Verizon internet service from the tower on their laptop or home computer!!!
I'd love feedback from anyone who has used the Verizon internet service from the tower on their laptop or home computer!!!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Another Container Landing!
A few weeks ago my father finally caved and decided to put a roof over his head while in Montello. So, we rounded up another container and headed West! Once again, Paul did an excellent job with the container delivery from SLC and as always set my heart (OCD) at ease in making the deal happen. Curt proved yet again to be invaluable with his mad excavation skills. The hole was excavated and prepped for the container in record time. Paul placed the container in the hole within one inch of the desired location and Curt chained it up to the backhoe for final tweaking. One more retaining wall for me to build and I think the shell of this project will be in coast mode for a good long while.
This trip was a three day / two night excursion and we had a great time. Mid-way through the second day a hellacious storm front came through and brought with it extreme winds. On the bright side, we had completed all of our mission critical work, which made pulling up a chair in the container and watching the storm all the more enjoyable. The other bright note is that I am now convinced a wind generator will be a wise investment for power production.
As always, we enjoyed ourselves at the Cowboy and met a couple new people in the process. Here's a few pics of the project, myself, Curt, and my father Win. Thanks for the good times dad. There's nothing like three dust filled days to make you appreciate a long hot shower!!! Curt and Paul, your efforts are very much appreciated....THANK YOU!!!
This trip was a three day / two night excursion and we had a great time. Mid-way through the second day a hellacious storm front came through and brought with it extreme winds. On the bright side, we had completed all of our mission critical work, which made pulling up a chair in the container and watching the storm all the more enjoyable. The other bright note is that I am now convinced a wind generator will be a wise investment for power production.
As always, we enjoyed ourselves at the Cowboy and met a couple new people in the process. Here's a few pics of the project, myself, Curt, and my father Win. Thanks for the good times dad. There's nothing like three dust filled days to make you appreciate a long hot shower!!! Curt and Paul, your efforts are very much appreciated....THANK YOU!!!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Cell Phone Tower?
I just returned from Montello and the locals I spoke with confirm Geoff's post about the cell phone tower being turned on. However, it appears to only work for Verizon and Alltel customers. I use a Tracfone and my father uses AT&T, as does another friend. None of us were able to receive a signal. We didn't even have the ability to roam. If anybody has different info or preferably a different experience, I'd love to hear about it.
Hopefully I won't have to saddle myself with another monthly bill, but I suppose having a cell phone will be worth it. Then again, one of the reasons I thoroughly enjoy my time in Montello is the lack of connectivity to the outside world!!!
Hopefully I won't have to saddle myself with another monthly bill, but I suppose having a cell phone will be worth it. Then again, one of the reasons I thoroughly enjoy my time in Montello is the lack of connectivity to the outside world!!!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Junk Email - Guns - Montello
I received this forwarded email today and it gave me pause. I've enjoyed thinking about it. Let me know what you think. If you disagree with the arguments, I'd especially like to hear your thoughts. Not just that you are against guns, rather, how this argument is flawed. I appreciate seeing things from all sides, but I'm having trouble finding issue with this Marine's thoughts...especially when I read them through the lens of a physically weak individual, which we will all become soon enough.
The Gun is Civilization
by Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)
Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either
convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories,
without exception. Reason or force, that's it.
In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social
interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.
When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat
or employment of force.
The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing
with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in
physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.
There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if
all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's
potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat -- it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.
People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a
civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.
Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in
several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.
People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of
it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger
attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.
The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn't
work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.
When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I
cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those
who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force.
=======================================
I'll tie all this into Montello by asking the following question: does being in the wild west of Montello necessitate owning and/or carrying a gun for civilization?
The Gun is Civilization
by Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)
Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either
convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories,
without exception. Reason or force, that's it.
In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social
interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.
When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat
or employment of force.
The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing
with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in
physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.
There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if
all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's
potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat -- it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.
People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a
civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.
Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in
several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.
People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of
it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger
attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.
The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply wouldn't
work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.
When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I
cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those
who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force.
=======================================
I'll tie all this into Montello by asking the following question: does being in the wild west of Montello necessitate owning and/or carrying a gun for civilization?
Saturday, April 17, 2010
"The Magic Bus" - Off Topic...but on point
In the middle of a massage a few weeks ago this song played randomly on my therapists ipod.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy6iwP9Ux3A&feature=related
I jokingly called it my new theme song, but I'm not laughing anymore!
Here's a couple more, if you think you can take it.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWgxntibBtE&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXVpjjpwNss&feature=related
All songs by Eddie Vedder from the "into the wild" soundtrack. Excellent movie. Inspiring and consoling soundtrack. As a friend suggested, watch the movie and you'll love the entire soundtrack. True.
Thank you Sheri for the burst of joy that I gift myself many times a day. Thank you.
Thanks Chris.
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