As of today, Taylor officially starts work in North Dakota

| September 30, 2013

Once upon a time, a “little” boy named Taylor lived with us … but that was a long time ago. That little boy has grown into a young man and as of Monday is working for Williams County in Williston, ND. Before heading out the door for work, he sent me a “selfie” as he […]

Rare automotive finds at the Lambrecht Chevrolet auction

| September 30, 2013

Bummer … I missed bidding on this old truck [kidding] … and it sold for ONLY a paltry $142,000. Collectors came from all over the WORLD to bid on several of the vehicles at the VanDerBrink auction of the closed Lambrecht Chevrolet dealership inventory (they closed in 1996). According to the owner Ray Lambrecht, it […]

Test driving the PixelPumper Mac app for blogging

| September 29, 2013

Untitled Blog Post Name I’m taking a look at the Apple Macintosh blogging app called PixelPumper after using the Windows-only  Live Writer for years. I know the day is coming when either I’ll upgrade my old clunky PC notebook computer for a lightweight Macbook Air or see Microsoft eliminate LiveWriter entirely (rumors). I’m still a […]

Taylor moved to Williston North Dakota this past week

| September 28, 2013

This past week I flew up to Williston, North Dakota to help my son Taylor move into his new apartment. My expectation were low and so the brand new apartment with easy access to everything made for a very positive first impression. Taylor drove his late grandfather’s “loaner vehicle,” a Chevy Trailblazer, from Cincinnati to […]

Tech Friday: Contemplating a move to SSD cloud servers

| September 27, 2013

If there was more time in the day I would have updated a bit more about my trip to North Dakota and moving Taylor into his new apartment … but that will have to be for another day. Currently I’m contemplating a move to Digital Ocean for at least one of the websites I manage […]

America’s Cup remains in the U.S. after an impressive comeback

| September 25, 2013

A shocker to be sure — I had given up on America’s Cup Team Oracle and declare New Zealand the sure winner a week ago. I was convince that after the first few races that the U.S. team was over matched and in an inferior boat; they just couldn’t keep up tack for tack. Oracle’s […]

Surprise Sprint LTE in Dayton Ohio

| September 24, 2013

While dropping voice calls on Sprint heading thru Dayton, I was surprised by the 4G LTE indication. It looks like we are one step closer to switching on Sprint LTE service in Ohio.

Traveling to exotic places — Williston, ND via Minneapolis

| September 23, 2013

Killing a few minutes at the Minneapolis St. Paul (MSP) airport checking email with a large cup of “bold” Caribou Coffee (free wifi). I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed the brew as it has been a while. The beautiful weather is perfect for flying, but the sardine cans my $1000 RT trip requires […]

Obamacare will impact NE Ohio and the Cleveland Clinic

| September 22, 2013

The Cleveland Clinic is a bright spot in medical care for those of us living in Ohio and for people from around the country (and world) who need some of the best medical care available. The Clinic was even touted as a role model of health care by President Obama when pushing for his Affordable […]

A baby sleeping porch: What were they thinking?

| September 21, 2013

Sleeping Porch: May 1916: A baby porch suspended a hundred feet above ground? What could possibly go wrong? As city populations grew, people grew concerned about raising young children in tight spaces. Inventors suggested the miniature sleeping porch, which could be installed outside any window. The device seemed sturdy enough — an iron brace enabled […]

Sending Taylor off to North Dakota to start his first real job

| September 20, 2013

Taylor left at about 6AM this Friday morning with a U-haul trailer full of belonging to start his new job and make his mark on the world. The drive to Williston, North Dakota will take him to his halfway point in Minneapolis tonight where he will meet-up and stay with his long time friend Alicia […]

The new Apple iOS7: My impression after a couple hours

| September 19, 2013

Evening: After struggling to download the over-the-air install of Apple’s new iOS on both iPhone and iPad (should have installed iOS7 with iTunes), the new mobile operating system is finally up and running. My first impression was my usual “oh I miss my old familiar look and feel … and I want it back.”  Now […]

Walgreens shifting employees to Obamacare exchanges

| September 18, 2013

Walgreens WSJ article … but actually playing with the postie plug-in for WordPress early this morning. EDIT: Failed to get a video posted directly by email from my iPhone to the blog.

Enjoyed Monday Night Football on Slingplayer for iPad

| September 17, 2013

A little geeky for Monday Night Football, but I watched some of the Bengals vs Steelers game on my iPad2 while streaming from the Slingbox. Obviously a bigger high definition television, like the 51″ Plasma that Taylor and I looked at today, would be a better way to watch. (he is planning to buy a […]

Closing up life on two fronts and Grandpa’s workshop

| September 16, 2013

We are in countdown mode on a couple of fronts: 1) Taylor is wrapping things up for his move to North Dakota in a few days and 2) our family is working to close out Brenda’s mom’s “life in Jamestown, New York.” I am sad on both counts, but know that both changes are for […]

In support of the American Heart Association

| September 14, 2013

Brenda and her mom are participating in a “sponsored walk” this Saturday morning to benefit the American Heart Association with a few of Brenda’s co-workers. It is a beautiful morning for it and from the temperatures the  first day of fall … brr! I’m still refusing the thought of cooler weather and challenging the temps […]

Tech Friday: Reluctantly added the Curiyo browser add-on

| September 13, 2013

After hearing about the Curiyo browser add-on from Walt Mossberg on AllThingsD, I figured I would give the “pop-up window” lookup app a try. My first concern was bloat. In years past, adding plug-in and add-ons has been nothing but problems for those of us wanting to try the latest and greatest widgets, for lack […]

Twitter announces planned IPO (on Twitter)

| September 13, 2013

Short and sweet. As one would expect from the 140 character social networking company. — MT @Twitter We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO. But here are a few more tweets collected by the Associated Press. — #FunFact: In the first hour of @Twitter sending that IPO announcement tweet, 7,872 […]

Facing challenges? Do you need encouragement?

| September 12, 2013

Abby and Brittany live a life that is worth admiring. Kudos to their parents, friends, etc!

TDIClub.com: What a great group of guys

| September 12, 2013

For my small part in handling the finances for the TDIClub.com, Fred sent me a carry-on bag in appreciating for a very successful TDIFest 2013 in Maine (photos & great TDI history breakfast presentation-PDF). Also below the break is a video uploaded by TooRoundTDI of a roof cam look at climbing Mt. Washington in VW […]

Remembering 9/11 from the Sandy Hook surf

| September 11, 2013

Besides flying our flag at half staff for Patriot Day, I’ve been looking for something besides posting a photo as way to remember the attack on our country 12 years ago. Here is a story written by Chris Moody about Ed Hewitt who was surfing in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. “He sat by himself, straddling […]

Are you excited about the new iPhone 5s and 5c?

| September 11, 2013

With all the pre-event leaks and lackluster comments from technology journalists, it is difficult for even Apple fans to get wound up about the new “same sized” iPhones. The non-surprise by Apple was reflected in a 2% decline in $AAPL shares on Wall Street and many wonder if the magic is gone? On the plus […]

Chewing string cheese to reduce tooth decay

| September 10, 2013

Saw this in the Wall Street Journal personal section today and although I knew about the gum, I did not know about the string cheese (for the fun of it, I’m trying the iPhone’s Mobile OCR app to capture text). Studies show two things people can chew to help ward off tooth decay. One, Dr. […]

Good news comes with apprehension for my son Taylor

| September 10, 2013

Taylor took a bold step toward his future by accepting a planning position in North Dakota. Since graduating from Miami University in May, the resumes and cover letters have been many, but openings in his field few. With the feedback always highlighting a desire for more experience, Taylor decided that starting his planning career in […]

Do you know what is lurking in the Mississippi River?

| September 9, 2013

Think twice before dangling your feet in the “mighty Mississippi!” LINK

How to tell if you are mechanically inclined (semi-edited)

| September 9, 2013

I chuckled when I saw this top ten list appear in a hands-on automotive forum (there were more than 10, but I shortened it). It is pretty accurate.   Wherever you go, you hear your wife say "let my husband help you fix that." You have many tools (and multiple toolboxes), including special service tools […]

A day with my dad in Sidney Ohio at the Applefest and Carshow

| September 8, 2013

My dad and I enjoyed the day together doing something we both enjoy – looking at cars and being together. As usual, he took his 1958 Packard Hawk to the Shelby County Applefest in downtown Sidney Ohio on Saturday and wondered if I was going to enter my Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel this year. I […]

Video: Creating flying dead cats is wrong in so many ways

| September 7, 2013

I’m at a loss for words … and might even have a nightmare about this! (video below)

One hot diesel SUV: The 2014 BMW X5 M50d

| September 6, 2013

The newest BMW X5 diesel will be making its debut at the 2014 Frankfurt Motor Show in a few weeks and will turn a few heads; it is the most powerful X5 diesel BMW has ever built. The M50d is not planned for the U.S. but will make its 546 lb-ft of torque and 381 […]

A brilliant way to use a rake! #genius

| September 6, 2013

Obit: Earl Gerber (1921-2013) — part of my extended family

| September 6, 2013

When I first started my company, I had the privilege of learning about “taking care of customers” from Earl Gerber who was a long time business and sales professional in northeastern Ohio. Earl passed away at 92 in Cleveland this past week, and even through all his age related ailments, I never heard him complain. […]

My adult children are busy traveling all over the place

| September 5, 2013

Zip, zip, zip … thank goodness we have airports and jet aircraft, even if air travel isn’t as comfortable as it once was. Taylor is off to North Dakota interviewing for a city planning position in the rapidly growing city of Williston ND … where his education would be seriously tested, as well as his […]

Is it duct or duck and was it called duck tape first?

| September 4, 2013

Who likes to admit that they may have been wrong, or at least partially wrong? Not me that is for sure, but in the case of duct tape, I always thought “Duct Tape” the correct name and that it was around before Duck tape (branded). Unfortunately it looks like I might have to re-think this in […]

It was nice to have Monday off, but now its back to work

| September 3, 2013

Labor Day was great! I was home alone and able to work around the house, although accomplished very little. Most of my time was spent in the garage sanding and adding body filter to the Mercedes Benz 300D. Since the temps were warm, I regularly cooled off in the pool and pretended to be cleaning […]

Diana Nyad completes her record swim

| September 2, 2013

It is not like my long distance swimming wife needs an additional incentive to keep swimming further and further, but hearing this is sure to keep Brenda‘s motivation alive. Congratulations to long distance swimmer Diana Nyad in succeeding in her open water swim “without a shark cage” from Havana to Key West this Labor Day […]

A dozen pool crashers after the heavy rain

| September 2, 2013

Rain and storms made for challenging airshow

| September 1, 2013

It was a great “most of the day” on Saturday to be at Red Stewart Airport in Waynesville Ohio getting our EAA284 hanger ready for the pancake breakfast on Sunday. Yes it was hot, but it is still August. The Stewarts were gracious hosts as always and we enjoyed their pulled pork and corn on […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog