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[MacInWin]

The other four died long before I think they should have

Yeah, I've had cars like that, too. Or were you talking about the computers? Those run forever, compared to my cars. I've got a 10 year old iMac managing my home automation and an 8 year old Mini as my home theater server. And a 7 year old MBP as a backup to those two. Never had a car last that long.

 

[pm-r]

And a 7 year old MBP as a backup to those two. Never had a car last that long.

WOW!!! Then I guess I shouldn't mention that we had our 1986 Nissan Multi, (called the Nissan Prairie in other world parts and the Stanza Wagon in the United States) for 21 years (purchased early 1985), and still have our 2006 Nissan X-Trail Bonavista (Canada Only) and 2006 Suzuki Aerio SX Premium 4x4 5 dr wagons.



- Patrick
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[MacInWin]

Patrick, I used to have a long commute, so I put plenty of miles on cars in rush hour traffic. I had one Datsun pickup truck that lasted a long time, until the floor boards rusted through (you could see the road go by), the carburetor gave out and the paint all peeled off. I gave it away to a guy who completely rebuilt it, repaired it and then sold it to raise money to support his family. The pictures of it when he got done almost got me to buy it back! And yes, a well-maintained car will run a long time these days, and the three you mentioned (two Nissans and a Suzuki) are all three made by the Japanese, who do make vehicles to last, unlike Detroit. I now drive mostly Toyotas, and have had some of them go a long time (up to 6 years before I gave them to my children). They then drove them longer, in some cases up to a total of about 15 years. But they always need "upgrading" of brakes, shocks, drive train, etc, etc, to keep going.

My computers I mentioned just have the operating system updated as far as it will go. One had an HD fail, so I replaced it with a SSD, but other than that, they do what they were designed to do with no other intervention from me. Both run 24/7/365, rarely get rebooted (usually just for some software update). The backup laptop had the mobo replaced by Apple under the GPU program a while ago, and they put a new battery in at the same time, but it just sits there, waiting in the bullpen to be called into service when one of the others quits. But they keep saying, "not yet, rookie!"

 

[pm-r]

I had one Datsun pickup truck that lasted a long time, until the floor boards rusted through (you could see the road go by), the carburetor gave out and the paint all peeled off.

LOL!!! This had me imagining a cowboy singing his lonely car troubles out on the road with his g'tar and Winchester Virginia area drawl… and of course a BIG cowboy hat,

Gee, now do they actually have genuine cowboys and ranches and open ranges down in that area???

Both run 24/7/365, rarely get rebooted

I usually shutdown mine once a week and boot up, as they seem to run better after that little refresh.




- Patrick
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[MacInWin]

I usually shutdown mine once a week and boot up, as they seem to run better after that little refresh.

Yeah, I ought to do that, but it's just too much hassle to remember it. I have only a few brain cells still working, I can't waste one on that!

No drawl in Winchester. Maybe a bit of country around (we are only 6 miles from West Virginia), but not much Southern drawl. The town changed hands between Union and Confederate armies 72 times during the Civil War, so both sides got some time to influence things...

 

[pm-r]

The town changed hands between Union and Confederate armies 72 times during the Civil War, so both sides got some time to influence things...

Yikes!! That sounds like quite a tipsy-turvey war but it looks like they finally got things right as it looks like a nice area now when doing a google maps flyover and "tour" and the associated photos.




- Patrick
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[MacInWin]

Patrick, Winchester is a the north end of the Shenandoah Valley. The Valley was one of two "breadbaskets" of the Confederacy, with fertile farmland, a river for water, good climate and good transportation (multiple railroads met in Winchester). So, it was important to the South AND to the North. The Union Army invaded the valley early on, got stopped just south of Winchester, pushed back into West Virginia and then it yo-yo'd the rest of the war with the city the edge of the conflict. The town avoided major destruction because the battles took place all around it, not actually in it. Stonewall Jackson built his reputation in the Valley campaign because his tactics convinced the Federal Army that there must be more than one army in the Valley. Eventually Philip Sheridan took Winchester and would not be pushed out. He then proceeded to do to the Valley what Sherman did to Georgia, marching through, burning farms and towns up the valley, killing livestock, raping women, hanging or shooting the men (and some older boys) they found and generally being what you would call a terrorist. (The winners get to write the history, so it wasn't called "terrorism," but "scorched earth." You won't find a Philip Sheridan High School in the Valley, just like there are no Sherman High schools in Georgia. ) There are multiple battlefields all around and in the town. The local newspaper runs specials every Friday of what the paper printed that day during the war years. It's interesting reading. Depending on who controlled the town, the newspaper stories shifted perspective. I guess "fake news" goes back pretty far.

Now Winchester is a pleasant town, the scenery is spectacular. Our main industry is apple growing. We are surrounded by orchards for apples and there are also a few peach orchards as well. We have in town the largest refrigerator in the country (it's for apples, and consumes an entire square block, four stories tall). We have a major festival for the Apple Blossom time each spring. Parades, lots of visitors, all kinds of events all across town. Then, during harvest season the town is humming with migrant workers, large trucks moving large containers of apples and again a hubbub of activity. Then we go back to being quiet. It's a nice rhythm.

 

[Slydude]

What a story. I bet those Friday issues make for interesting reading. I wonder if they are required reading in the local high school.

 

[pm-r]

Our main industry is apple growing. We are surrounded by orchards for apples and there are also a few peach orchards as well.

I guess that accounts for some of the names like: Apple Blossom Corners, and Apple Blossom Mall that shows up on Google Maps.

And that's some interesting history.



- Patrick
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[MacInWin]

And Apple Pie Ridge!

Our high school is an endowed public school, which is pretty rare. Judge John Handley endowed the high school in the early 20th century. Construction began on it in 1922 and is still going on. In 2017, Architectural Digest named it the most beautiful school in Virginia. The teams, not surprisingly, are the Judges. As I understand it the endowment pays for the building and upkeep, the state/city only has to pay salaries for the staff and programs. That give a lot of flexibility, so the school has a lot of opportunities for students that other schools do not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Handley_High_School#/media/File:Handley01.JPG

I can keep bragging on Winchester all night!

 

[IWT]

HI Jake

Went on to Google Maps for Winchester. Thing that struck me over and above all the other facilities & attractions, is that you seem to have seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn - over here in the UK, we have weather. It could be any month you like and we can get all 4 seasons in a day, or week. That's what I miss from my younger days - seasons.

Anyway, it looks good. Enjoy.

Ian

 

[MacInWin]

Oh, Ian, I remember seasons in England when we lived there in the '70's. Not great variations, but there was Winter, Spring, Summer (however short) and Autumn. Here in Winchester the weather is more varied. We usually get a good snowfall every year (a couple of years ago we got 42" in less than 24 hours), Spring is rainy, Summers are hot (35c to 40c), Fall is glorious because we have mountains on either side of the Valley with forests that turn beautiful colors.

Of course, we do have days that seem to have all four seasons in one, usually in early Spring, but I think that happens anywhere there are seasonal changes at all.

 

[pm-r]

Patrick, Winchester is a the north end of the Shenandoah Valley. The Valley was one of two "breadbaskets" of the Confederacy, with fertile farmland, a river for water, good climate and good transportation (multiple railroads met in Winchester).

Holly smokes Jake,

I just did some googling on 'Apple Pie Ridge' and came across some reality ads for some houses for sale, and most are lovely large homes sitting on acres of beautiful land and selling for just a small fraction of what an equivalent place would sell for in this area. Just amazing.

I'd say you're quit justified to do some bragging!!




- Patrick
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[MacInWin]

One last brag. A couple of years ago Winchester was named by Forbes magazine as one of the top ten places to retire in the US. But don't let that get out, or too many people will move here!

 

[pm-r]

One last brag. A couple of years ago Winchester was named by Forbes magazine as one of the top ten places to retire in the US. But don't let that get out, or too many people will move here!

Nice. Just as Victoria BC area has been a favorite retirement place for Canadians (and lots of Americans) for years, it had a nickname of 'the place of just about deads' but that has caused the real estate and general living prices sky high. At least in the major centers.

A lot of retired central Canada (Ottawa/Toronto) and prairie folks seem to like moving out here.
We also have actual seasons but usually quite mild in our Western "Wet Coast", one of the main drawing points.




- Patrick
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[MacInWin]

We were in Victoria last August for one overnight stay at the Empress. It was on her "bucket list" and we were going to be in Vancouver, so we took the ferry over, toured Buchart Gardens, proceeded to the Empress, had tea there in lieu of dinner, walked around the town until it was dark, the next day took a ferry to Anacortes to go visit some friends on Whidbey Island (used to live there). It was during the heavy forest fires, so the first night was glorious, but the skies after that were very smoky and strange. The entire area was marvelous and the gardens were well worth the visit. We would love to go back.

 

[pm-r]

toured Buchart Gardens

And I hoped you enjoyed them as I worked there for forty years (maintenance and equipment manager) and actually lived in their "Waterfront Cottage" at the head of Butchart Cove for almost thirty.
It's just north of the Japanese Gardens but hidden in among the trees.

We're now living not far away (one mile maybe) in our home up on the hill and all retired. Darn trees have all grown up and are spoiling our view up Saanich Inlet.

Yes, our wild fires throughout the province were one of the worst in recorded history.




- Patrick
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[MacInWin]

The gardens were amazing! I could have wandered around there much longer than we had time to do so. I'd like to come back each season to see the changes. Well-planned gardens like that have color all year long. I also appreciated that they used multiple shades of green so that even when the flowers were gone, there were color variations in the garden. The English are brilliant gardeners in that respect as well. Americans? Meh. Most of us are just happy to have grass.

 

[pm-r]

Well-planned gardens like that have color all year long.

Well, as much as the owners would like to have lot's of colors all year 'round, it's just not possible with the climate here. At least outdoors, but a fair bit inside plants and color during the winter months are maintained.




- Patrick
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[MacInWin]

Well, the color can be shades of green in the winter. My wife swaps out things in our front garden during the year, even late in the Fall to have some color variations through the winter (Under the snow, sometimes, but it's there!).