The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[300winmag]

Get a couple of CBs and yell "BREAKER BREAKER 1-9!!" at each other occassionally.

Get bunches of cheap FRS radios, and pass them out to everybody. With a max 2-mile range, you should be able to talk car-to-car in a convoy, or when roaming around the tourist traps.

[2Jedismom]

Get bunches of cheap FRS radios, and pass them out to everybody.

I'm not sure what that is, but it sounds intriguing!

My mom and I drove while my dad delivered his truck to my brother in Midland (about 11 hours away). We communicated with him using my jedis play walkie talkies!

I want something that will plug into a lighter, so I don't have to depend on some little battery.

[2Jedismom]

I think I want mine on my ankle...

This says "Hobbit Hole Dweller"

Just a suggestion...

[300winmag]

I'm not sure what that is, but it sounds intriguing!

FRS is "family radio system", and is a low-powered UHF system that can be used without a license. The Family Radio Service (FRS) is one of the Citizens Band Radio Services. This frequency was set up for you to communicate with your family and friends while on group outings. FRS operates at a 1/2 watt with 14 channels of unlicensed communication. You are able to communicate up to 2 unobstructed miles.

There are also "sub-codes" for each channel for greater privacy, and more users on the same 14 channels. The radios have gotten better and cheaper in the last few years, and places like Sam's, Wallyworld, and Costco often have special package deals on 2 or 4.

These radios usually use AA or AAA batteries, or rechargeable battery packs that fit the same battery box. Disposable batteries are the easiest way to go, and one set will last over a day with heavy use.

We use about eight FRS radios at dressage shows, a mix of Motorola and Cobra. They work fine with each other on the 14 "main" frequencies, but we haven't tried using subcodes between two different brands. Some models implement subcodes differently, and may not talk to a model other than their own. If you are at a place with lots of other FRS users, you may want to establish a common subcode so you don't step on other people's conversations. This is what a typical FRS radio looks like:

[SuziQ]

Oh, I know those! The Girl Scout Leader had some and we had them with us when we went camping in NJ with the girls. I don't remember ever having to use them, but the idea is a good one.

[SuziQ]

This says "Hobbit Hole Dweller"

Is that Elvish? It doesn't look 'flowery' enough, if you know what I mean. But it is cool nonetheless. I could practice up on that one!

[HairOfTheDog]

HI ALL! - I am home from day at the beach house, and I am goin' straight to bed, cuz I am beat! - Too much sun, too much talking! Hope nothing happened today that I will miss something if I catch up on the thread tomorrow!

I thought y'all might enjoy seeing some pics of our beach house.... it is a great place we are pretty proud of. Ramius and my Dad live here every day. Ramius is upstairs, Dad's place is downstairs.

Took these pics today before all the people arrived.

From my dad's porch looking down....

From boathouse roof looking back at the house.

Dock and beach....

Dad oiling the squeeky whirlygig

[2Jedismom]

Oh my...I bet I could fish there!

[HairOfTheDog]

There are some fish there, yes!

[SuziQ]

Have you guys seen the movie Equilibrium? Our #1 son told us about it. The fight scenes are reminiscient of The Matrix, but the story is quite different. It takes place after World War III, and society has decided that the only way to prevent WW IV is to keep everyone from feeling anything. Everyone is supposed to take their medication that makes them unemotional, and all art, music and books are banned because they are the things that elicit emotion. Christian Bale and Taye Diggs are the stars, and Sean Bean is in the movie as well. It is one of those very violent, lots of gunplay and even swordplay type of movies, but a very interesting story as well.

I got it from Netflix, but you may be able to find it at a rental place.

[2Jedismom]

It's a font called "Tengwar Quenya" in my Notepad fonts.

I downloaded it somewhere...

[HairOfTheDog]

I am so tired.... can't even read the screen! see ya in the morning!

[SuziQ]

Oh man!! The green-eyed monster is fixing to take me over!! What a GREAT place!! I SO want to have a house on the water someday. It is so peaceful just to sit and watch the water. One of my favorite things to do at our family's fish camp is take my coffee and go sit under the big trees at the top of the hill and just watch boats going down the river. I don't get down there much anymore, though. Someday I'd like to have a place of our own like that.

[2Jedismom]

Oh yeah! I've seen those before, like in Sams.

[2Jedismom]

Good night then!

[SuziQ]

Hey 2J, I checked the schedule for the train and it looks like you'd have two full days of travel. I guess you'd have that in the car as well, though. The train leaves from Tulsa, goes up through Chicago, down to DC, then to Orlando. You'd have to leave on the 7th to get to FL by the 9th. But the site said that the dates I requested are not travel dates from those locations. Don't know. I guess you could call Amtrak to see what the deal is, but Tulsa IS a station on their schedule.

I bet the Jedis would love riding the train!! Oh, and kids ride for 1/2 price if their tickets are bought with the adult tickets. That's why it is only $254 for both Clare and me.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

I have two of those very radios...I use them when skiing, they work great when two people are skiing different parts of a mountain.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

What a great beach for running dogs!

Until the shoreline nazis get you, that is...

[SuziQ]

I have a prayer request for all of you, please. A friend called today and asked for a healing miracle for a young mother in our Parish. She is 32, has two little girls, and she and her husband are expecting a 3rd; she's 5 months along. She started coughing up blood last week and when they did an x-ray, they found she had Stage 3 Lung Cancer which is one step away from terminal. They can't operate because she has a tumor wrapped around her pulmonary artery. They were going to take her in today, open her up and do some concentrated radiation on spots in her lungs. Neither she, nor any of her family members has ever smoked!

It looks like a miracle is what is needed here, and we want to storm the gates of heaven asking for it, just as Jesus taught us to do. We're going to be like the persistent widow, asking in Faith for God's healing for her.

I have known this woman's sister for several years. They are a big, close family; 5 girls and 2 boys. Their dad is a retired Pediatrician. My friend quit her job last week so she could take on the care of her sister's little girls while she's undergoing treatment. At the least we're praying that she can be maintained for a couple of more months, then they could take the baby and it would have a good chance, then they could start her on aggressive chemo, etc. We don't care how the miracle manifests itself; we're just praying for one!

[SuziQ]

Oh sorry, guys, I forgot to say THANKS for the prayers. She'll need all she can get!