Good Bye Sunday, Hello Monday

[Birdie]

Still hot as a piece of charcoal cooking a steak. Next week we should drop to the lower 90’s in the day and mid 70’s at night. That is livable. Camping in this heat is hard...no I haven’t been out camping. I am house sitting at the Alpaca Ranch and the heat gets mixed with the humidity and just pulls you under like in a swimming pool. I am headed for OK on Tuesday and then back to FL next Sunday...of course that will take me a while to drive. Looks like a bunch of you are having fun moving around. Beth know this has been a weird summer for you guys in SD. I am praying for a quick closing of the books and get out dodge for you and your worker bees. Someday you will have to mosey over to the right coast.

From East Texas all have a good day, keep cool, dry and safe.

[Acadianmom]

I can tell you that camping this past weekend in the heat was not a lot of fun. It was good to see my friends and our activities were fun but the heat was terrible. It wasn't all that hot today but it was because it rained off and on. The temperatures aren't suppose to be too bad this week but it's suppose to rain every day. There was a big rain yesterday so everything is wet again. Don't know when I'll be able to mow again.

I wish there was something on TV worth watching. I don't like the goofy game shows they have come up with.

Have a good trip Birdie. It's probably not any cooler in OK.

Martha

[BarbaraRose]

Quiet on here today!

Birdie, my new neighbor is from Texas. They must be tough out there because she is sitting on her deck, in the sun and it is about 110 degrees right now. I can barely run from my car to the house without dying. Maybe it feels OK to her because there is no humidity here.

Fairly quiet at work today. I guess it was quiet all weekend. So much for a busy haircut sale! It is supposed to be a "back to school" sale but most of the schools out here already started a week or two ago and the kids have already gotten haircuts. Poor planning on someone's part.

[snowball]

I had a really lazy day today... I told self that if I wasn't going to do anything at least pull over the afghan and crochet...
made supper that was my day...
and banana bread brownies to take to a pot luck tomorrow
a group of women in Jackson get together every couple of months and have lunch usually several someones hosts it and provides the meal they have a summer picnic that is a pot luck and that is what tomorrow is... always look forward to going when I can
so yes did water plants...
oh well some days are like that
sheila

[Cudedog]

I wish there was something on TV worth watching. I don't like the goofy game shows they have come up with. Martha

Martha, ditch cable and get a Roku, either a Roku box to plug into your tv, or a "Roku TV" that has the Roku software already installed (I don't have a Roku TV, but I was able to set up my Roku box and have it working in about five minutes - EASY!). I haven't paid for cable for about nine years, watch all of my tv via Roku streaming.

There are, literally, hundreds of channels available for streaming via Roku. The ones I watch are all free, and have no commercials.

You can sign up for pay channels (if you want) - the only "pay" channel I have is PBS (Public Broadcasting System) for a fast $5.00 per month.

I LOVE YouTube. Anything and everything (every subject imaginable) is on YouTube, for free, with only one short commercial at the start of the video.

Like RVing? Try the RVerTV channel on YouTube. Beekeeping? Try the Jeff Horchoff channel. Rock hounding? Try the Michigan Rocks channel. Exploring old gold mines? Exploring old ghost towns of the west? Volcanoes? Adventure travel? Ballet? News? Cooking? Construction methods? How to fix your car? How to fix your plumbing? How to mow your grass ? Campground reviews? How to hook up your trailer to your tow vehicle?

It's all there on YouTube. Whatever you can think of, you can find it.

As I said, I ditched cable about 9 years ago. Never regretted it, never looked back.

In the nine years I HAVEN'T been paying a monthly fee for cable, I guesstimate that I have saved $8,640.00 - and I had "low-end" cable, paying about $80.00/month.

I like doing math, so here is another way to look at it: $120/mo for 9 years = a savings of $12,960 (LOL! This is more than I paid for my brand-new Jayco travel trailer!!).

A "basic" Roku box will set you back $29.99. A basic Roku TV will set you back $139.99. That's all you pay, no "subscription fees" required to start streaming, unless you want them. I don't, except for the $5.00/mo PBS subscription I pay for.

https://www.roku.com/products/finder

Roku is generally available in places like Walmart, Target, Amazon and your local department store that carries tv sets.

LOL. No, I don't sell Roku, and I don't get paid if someone buys a Roku. I just like the product, and like the service.

If anyone has any questions, please ask.

Anne

[Acadianmom]

I have satellite internet and it says I have 480p video streaming. I have no idea how much that would be. I seldom ever watch a movie or some of the series that are on. I get 3 PBS channels over the air and probably watch them more than anything except the weather channel.

Martha

[Cudedog]

I have satellite internet and it says I have 480p video streaming. I have no idea how much that would be. I seldom ever watch a movie or some of the series that are on. I get 3 PBS channels over the air and probably watch them more than anything except the weather channel.

Martha

Hi Martha!

480p refers to the resolution of the video that you can stream - this is not HD (High Definition) quality, so your picture might not be as clear as it could be.

What you need to find out is your band width allowance - how much download, in gigabytes, you are allowed, daily, monthly - whatever it is.

Years ago (it likely has changed since then) I had satellite internet capped at 200 megabytes per month. In other words, not much. LOL. Practically nothing, video-streaming wise. Definitely not enough to think about streaming.

Unfortunately, Roku is probably not suitable for satellite internet video streaming due to these band width issues.

Sorry!

Anne

[Redetotry]

Interesting about the Roku we have been wanting to get a TV that has this. But there are 2 PBS stations that we get, if we get Roku can you get PBS stations other than your local one? I don't know it all sound so confusing and I really don't like setting up new technology. Need to hire the Geek Squad or a kid!

[Acadianmom]

BJ, I know what you mean about setting up new technology. I know more about programing a TV than I ever wanted to know and it's still not enough. I put off setting up my new computer for a week but it wasn't that bad. My new monitor doesn't work like the old one but I can get it going.

Martha

[cnq50b]

Speaking of Rokus... I just cut the cable TV 2 weeks ago. My promotional rate was going up so it was time. I bought a rokus & a flat antenna (for local news) & am trying that out for a while. My biggest challenge is remembering what Roku channel I found something on & getting back to it. There is a lot of free stuff available - its just a matter of finding it. A real bonus was discovering the NewsOn channel that lets me watch my favorite local Kansas City new channel!

I'll be weighing using these against Spectrum's streaming 'deal' which has local, PBS & a some other popular entertainment channels for $25/month. The catch is you have to subscribe to their internet (which I do) & it's not cheap.

Doing this for even just a couple of months pays for my investment in the Roku & antenna - and lets me know my options for retirement someday.

And Anne is right, the Roku really is plug & play. Nothing to it. Plug it in to the back of your TV, put batteries in the remote & it does the rest. You do have to set up a roku account but that's painless too.