Due to the recurring financial issues with the house and car as of
late, and with not yet getting the COVID-19 stimulus check to help
things, I have decided that it is time to cut back; and this means
the discontinuance of several items, to save money.

Basically, if the COVID-19 stimulus doesn't come in by April 1, these
will be done in the following days, with completion by May 1, if not
before:

1) As you may know, I was involved in a vehicle wreck in early January,
2021, which wasn't my fault. They paid the huge chiropractor bill
($9100), but I only got $750 for pain and suffering and $67 for Uber.
I had paid $9950 for a pre-owned vehicle from a local dealership, then
had to get a trade due to a parts issue on the first vehicle. I also
had to pay over $4200 for repairs and vehicle tags, which brought that
up to over $14,000. So, once the title for the first car arrives, I am
going to take it, as well as the current vehicle with its title and registration, and sell it back to the dealership (likely at a loss).
That'll mean no transportation (I'll have to take Uber to appointments),
no more social life (square dancing, ham radio, etc.), but no more car
related costs (gas, insurance, or repairs). The drivers license may be exchanged for a State ID. That will save approximately $1000 a year in insurance, and $1200 a year in fuel costs...not to mention no more
property taxes or repair costs on that. Uber will be done extremely
sparingly. Groceries and medications will be delivered. I will be eating
very sparingly...and may go several days at a time without eating.

2) I had thought the BBS would be shut down, but a Sysop has offered to
have it put up on his cloud server at no cost to me. I likely will take
him up on the offer, as doing such would save me at least $100 a month.

3) I will likely kill the T-Mobile line, and downgrade the Verizon to talk
and text only. That may save $1200 a year.

4) I will keep the Verizon Mi-Fi for email checks, and website updates. However, while I have unlimited usage, I will only use it sparingly. So,
I likely will be delayed in answering mail, and being on Facebook. This
also means that my ham radio D-Rats station, and my HamShack Hotline
stations will likely go QRT as well; plus, I'm debating whether to continue doing the ham radio traffic nets. I really don't want to have to go find
a public Wi-Fi to do my email and website work...and if I don't have a
car, I won't be able to do so, anyway.

5) I likely will kill the Post Office Box, since I won't be able to go out anyway, without transportation. That was to expire in August, which will
save at least $150 a year.

6) I will no longer be able to do any "social life"...for ham radio, square dancing, or otherwise. I was ostracized by churches years ago, and I have
too many medical issues to worry about getting back into one...as I don't
rest well at night anyway. Most women at my age are looking for a man to
take care of them. When I got married, I "brought stuff to the table". Now,
it has to be the other way around.

A final decision won't be made until April 1, and I hope the shutdown is
"an April Fool". Tragically, it's looking more and more like that's going
to be "it was fun while it lasted, but the bottom line is that I need to
take care of things at the house, to avoid becoming homeless. And, so all
the other stuff must go by the boards. Never mind that medical stuff right
now has to wait".

Besides, folks are tired of hearing me complain, and want to see me gone, anyway. They'll now get what they want...I hope they'll be happy.

Daryl Stout, WX4QZ, Sysop (for now), The Thunderbolt BBS, Little Rock, AR

... Have you thanked your Sysop or Echo Moderator today??
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Barry,

Daryl might be off-line for another week or so: he dumped one access in favour of T-Mobile but was barely getting two bars. He is in progress
of returning that equipment and making arrangements to go with
EarthLink (fiber optic).

Earthlink couldn't find a place for the fiber optic connection. T-Mobile
and AT&T had only 1 bar of signal strength. I went back to Xfinity, but I
am locked out of the router to set it to "bridge mode".

So, I'm in progress putting the BBS in the cloud on a Windows 10 32-bit setup. But, with 3 days of severe weather coming up, it'll be mid to late
next week before I'm able to finish that.

Daryl

... As a computer, I find your faith in technology amusing.
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Mike,

I hope things improve for you and you do better soon. That chiropractor seems to be ripping you off though. Anyways, I hope you'll be able to continue to do the things you love and god speed to you

With the chiropractor, I didn't have to pay a penny of the $9100 bill...
that lien went to the insurance company of the guy who was at fault in the wreck.

What I likely got taken on was a device in the tank of a toilet that malfunctioned, causing it to overflow, and flood both bathrooms. Apparently, the device is under $50, but I was charged over $200 in labor. Both of the bathrooms are torn up, with:

1) No floor (except a wood board base).
2) Only 1 working toilet (the one that caused the trouble was shut down).
3) No sinks or cabinets in the bathrooms.
4) The walls torn up to get to the pipes.
5) The doors removed from the frames.

All my medicine is on the kitchen table, and I have to go out to the
sink in the kitchen to wash my hands. Now, it appears that the insurance company and the contractor are far apart in repair costs...so both of
the bathrooms are torn up, and basically the house is unsellable...but,
still livable. I may have to sell my car to help pay the cost.

I'm trying to get the BBS into the cloud, due to internet issues...
but 3 days of severe weather will delay finishing that until late next
week.

Daryl

... I'm Victor of Borg(e)... Prepare to hear funny music.
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Hi Daryl!

Daryl might be off-line for another week or so: he dumped one access in favour of T-Mobile but was barely getting two bars. He is in progress
of returning that equipment and making arrangements to go with
EarthLink (fiber optic).

Earthlink couldn't find a place for the fiber optic connection.

No room to mount their equipment along the ceiling?? <gg>

T-Mobile and AT&T had only 1 bar of signal strength. I went back
to Xfinity, but I am locked out of the router to set it to
"bridge mode".

Any hints on that I'll leave to others. ...OK, except for one thought:
here I have a WRT1900ACS, mainly for my WiFi network, and when it is in
Bridge Mode it is no longer accessible via it's non-bridge mode dotted
quad address (they even say that in the manual).

So, I'm in progress putting the BBS in the cloud on a Windows
10 32-bit setup. But, with 3 days of severe weather coming up,
it'll be mid to late next week before I'm able to finish that.

That laptop consideration is starting to sound better and better! ...If
only you were able to get fiber optic working: battery-powered laptop

wireless signal to the fiber optic equipment (run off a 12v golf

cart battery ==> their glass cable (which does not conduct
electricity).

Hmm: charge the batteries with a solar charger and you'd almost be
off-grid!




¯ BarryMartin3@ ®
¯ @MyMetronet.NET ®

... English - how can one drink a drink but not food a food?
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