Tileable Escher Images

I recently started looking around for some new background images for my desktop. I found some Escher images which are really intriguing but were created mostly by hand, and so are not very symmetrical and so do not tile well. To be tileable and look really nice on a background, without noticeable defects, they have to be exactly the same at the edges.

So I started putting them into an image editor and tweaking them until they were tileable. Then I could use them. This got a bit obsessive as I had more and more success and then found more Escher images I liked.

So here are the ones I have converted.

A Toad/Dinghy for the Road

In our quest for an RV, we have also been considering a tow vehicle. We had thought the best thing would be to get something smaller and lighter than the cars we have now (Accord and CR-V). Also, we are going to sell the Accord before we sell our house so we thought we would pay off and then sell the CR-V as well and then get a smaller car for towing. We had seen the Honda Fit and thought that might work out. After talking to our financial expert, I thought that we might not want the extra expense of purchasing a new car, and I thought about just keeping the CR-V.

After telling Ellyn about this idea and finding the weight of the CR-V to be about 4,000 lbs., Ellyn was searching the forums online to see what people thought was the best car for towing behind a motorhome. Guess what? The CR-V came up most often. Not only that, it looks like it does not even need to be modified, except to put on the towing hardware.

The owners manual has a couple of pages describing the exact procedure for towing a CR-V. (Click the picture to the left to read) Notably, it says to shift through all gears, then to drive, then to neutral and let the engine run for 3 minutes before shutting off and towing. DO NOT shift from reverse to neutral before towing. Odd. You have to repeat every 8 hours if continually towing and it can only be towed on "all fours" or you can damage the AWD system. Perfect!

BTW, "toad" and "dinghy" are both names for the vehicle towed behind a motorhome. I haven't decided which I like yet.

Jumping The Gun

Well, I hope we didn't mess up big time here but we found the RV we wanted to get and so...we got it. Had to jump into financing and put the down payment on our credit card but it is ours. It is staying at the dealer for a while though, for one because we have nowhere to put it and they will keep it indoors for us, and two so they can continue to show it. Ok that last one is no advantage to us but we will allow it anyway.

We were at a show in Foxboro on Saturday and we were unhappy that we did not see very many Class "C" RVs, which was what we thought we wanted. We talked to a factory rep. for Jayco and he gave us the info on some of their Class "C"s. We looked in a couple of Winnebago Class "C"s but they seemed too small. When we walked by a Bay Star Class "A" that looked smaller than many of the others there, we decided to take a look. Turned out it was about the same length as the Class "C" we were thinking about, but had noticeably more room, mainly because the cab seats were at the same level as the rest of the living space, and was more a part of it. Also the windshield is the front of the vehicle instead of having a long hood out in front. The driver and passenger seats in the cab also swivel to become part of the living area seating.

We left the show thinking that the 29' long Class "A" might be the way to go. It is really the smallest of the Class "A" motor homes available. That night, Ellyn found a used 2007 Bay Star on line at a dealership here in Danbury. We stopped there on the way home on Sunday and thought it really looked good.

On Monday, we called the dealer to see if it was still available and he said he could put us in a new 2008  for about  the same amount the seller of the 2007 wanted. We went and talked with him and looked at the 2008, and decided we wanted it. If we waited, we would probably have had to get a 2009 and pay more or place a special order and pay more. He was selling this one off the lot. We had seen the list prices at about $15,000 more than his price and he was sell this for about $4000 less than the show price on the one we saw in Foxboro. It also was a color we liked better.

So we applied for the loan and got accepted (suckers!) and, when the house sells, we can pay the loan off right away without a penalty. We took it for a short test drive. It handled like a bus, I guess, but I have never driven anything this big and did not know what to expect. Plus, it was a bit windy today so probably not ideal conditions. They suggested we do some local camping with it before going on a big trip. Sounds like a plan. Now we just have to figure out how to travel with the kayaks if we are not towing a car (yet).

 

"We're On Our Way"

This has been running through my head for a few days now and I just had to put it on paper.

(Sung To Billy Joel's "You May Be Right")

We'll sell our home of 20 years
And hit the road for who-know-where
A year of wanderin' 'round the USA
We'll go looking for some fun
Living life upon the run
And we'll see all of the sights there are to see


We raised our kids and watched them bloom
We worked so hard in corporate gloom
And now we want to reap what we have sown
But when we say we'll make the best
Out of a home with GPS
People look at us like fuses might have blown

They may be right, we may be crazy
But it just may be the lunacy we're lookin' for
We're on our way, don't call in Oprah
They may be right for all we know, but we're on our way


Well, remember how we landed here
In '86, with sobs and tears
Who knew we'd live so long at this address
You said "Now we need a change"
I said "RV life's quite strange"
But it could be fun to be livin' with less stress

Now think of all those years we tried to
See the country from our Volvo
We might have been as crazy way back then
But, if we're crazy now we're owed
A leisure life upon the road
And we might not get this kind of chance again

They may be right, we may be crazy
Oh, but it just may be the lunacy we're lookin' for
We're on our way, like the "Who" we're mobile
They may be right for all we know, but we're on our way

{Instrumental}

They may be right, we may be crazy
Hey, but it just may be the lunacy we're lookin' for
We're on our way, who needs a landline?
They may be right for all we know, but we're on our way

They may be right but we're on our way! (6x)