Thinking about the world tread of Nationalism

| May 31, 2014

WSJRadio had a short segment with their Washington Bureau Chief Gerald Seibtalking about Nationalismand how it seems to be growing around the world. Usually Americans take pride in our national identity and “American Exceptionalism” … but taken too far history shows that this sentiment can be dangerous – think about the events which lead to […]

Added 1100+ miles to the 32 year old Mercedes Benz 300D

| May 30, 2014

The weather was nice for driving this past week for a Memorial Day trip to Atlanta, so instead of taking the Honda Pilot, we opted to take the 1982 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel. I’ve been driving it regularly on trips to and from NE Ohio (500 miles rt) and to visit my daughter and her […]

AAA’s Top 10 Green Cars

| May 30, 2014

Q: What’s interesting about this list? A: Half are clean diesels! 1) 2013 Tesla S P85 (Electric) 2) 2012 Toyota RAV4 EV (Electric) 3) 2014 Audi A7 TDI Quattro (Clean Diesel) 4) 2013 Lexus GS 450h (Hybrid) 5) 2013 Nissan Leaf (Electric) 6) 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid (Hybrid) 7) 2014 Audi Q5 TDI Quattro Tiptronic […]

Global obesity rates for children are up 47% since 1980

| May 29, 2014

I notice short bit in the WSJ about He Liang and his “homemade suitcase vehicle in the streets of Changsha, China,” and about the only difference I can see is that the Chinese “scooter” is a little narrower when compared to our American-sized versions? (I would include a smiley below, but it is more shameful […]

Congratulations to Jessica on her high school graduation

| May 27, 2014

Brenda and I spent a few days with our niece (Brenda’s younger sister) and family in Atlanta, Georgia. What a great time to be with our family and celebrate Jessica’s high school graduation and time checking out the Georgia Tech and ducking cover from the heavy rains. What a great time with a great niece. […]

Reflecting on those we remember on Memorial Day

| May 26, 2014

A few years ago I was a volunteer taking a group of “surviving” veterans on an Honor trip to Washington DC. It was indeed a privilege to be in their company. One thing that was noticed by those of us who were there to serve as volunteers for these WWII and Korean War veterans was […]

Books: Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson (2004)

| May 24, 2014

After seeing some book advice from a friend, I checked with Nooeo.com and downloaded a $5.00 ebook to my Kindle app on my iPad for an upcoming trip. Since Elizabeth Bernstein is also an avid reader, sailor and Scuba diver, her recommendations are usually spot on for me.  After reading the forward to Robert Kurson’s […]

Gas prices rise as Memorial Day kicks off summer driving season

| May 23, 2014

I’m probably not the only one noticing the annual Memorial Day jump in retail gasoline prices kicking off the summer driving season. Yesterday most of the  stations locally (north of Cincinnati) bumped prices up to $3.85–plus per gallon for regular grade fuel. Thankfully on the drive home, I fueled up the old Mercedes 300D for […]

It is time to test a homemade concoction for killing weeds

| May 22, 2014

Mixing up a batch to test on some fresh new growth and will report back. Have you tried this or any combination of homemade weed or vegetation killers similar to Round-Up or Weed-Be-Gone?

Ten aeronautical advancements thanks to NASA

| May 21, 2014

The Dryden Flight Research Center posted ten technology examples on their site that made a big impact on aviation. Most assume NASA has contributed to our science and engineering advancements, but the debate continues over the the high cost of the taxpayers through government funding the NASA research centers or if the private sector can […]

Kudos for Home Depot and their customer service

| May 20, 2014

While working on the boat this weekend, I also headed down to finally finish up the repairs on the cabinets after replacing a refrigerator last year. It wasn’t an expensive project, but did require a little wood putty, sanding and matching of paint. By the way, Home Depot deserves a plug for how they handled […]

Hauled Encore to do a little more work on her bottom

| May 19, 2014

  The title of this post sounds a little risqué when I say it that way, but since a boat is a “she” I’m not sure how else to word it (I’m sure I could find a way.) Anyway, I burned a cheap ticket before it expired in order to finally pull Encore and replace […]

Rented a Hyundai Sonata Hybrid for a trip this weekend

| May 18, 2014

The last year or so I’ve been renting Ford Focuses (or Foci?) when I’m traveling out of town or trying to keep the miles off my Honda Pilot which is nearing 200,000 miles. Often the fuel economy (high 35+ vs 20mpg) offsets the rental cost, but this time for the fun of it I wanted […]

I missed this sneaky resized-same-price packaging

| May 17, 2014

I’m usually pretty good at noticing price verse packaging size when it comes to items we regularly purchase … but I missed this one until opening the package at home. My Old Spice Deodorant that once was in a standard package size of 3.25 oz is priced the same but now packaged with 8% less […]

Odds and Ends: Animated GIF of a decapitated Copperhead snake

| May 17, 2014

An odd and ends Gifycat.com filler post: A decapitated Copperhead snake still has the reflex action to bite its own wiggling tail … a reminder to keep your distance from dead or perhaps “dying” poisonous snakes.

Finding some new music – both streaming and recorded

| May 16, 2014

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When you need nautical charts, where to you get them printed?

| May 14, 2014

With government printed NOAA paper nautical charts going by the wayside, there are still a few options if you want paper. I’m partial to small publisher Paradise Cay Publications who has been serving the nautical minded for years out of Arcata, California. They’ll print  small format, traditional paper and waterproof material (video below) and have […]

Video: Australian crocodiles in slow motion

| May 13, 2014

These crocs are not the kind a creatures you want to be “playing” with when visiting the Northern Territory of Australia’s Outback by canoe or johnboat. Wow, can they clear the water or what?

Katharine is an immature Great White Shark, but she is still big

| May 13, 2014

The team at Ocearch tagged a Great White Shark they named Katharine off the Cape Cod coast of Massachusetts in August of 2013, but this 14+ foot 2,300 pound “immature” female has been checking out the Florida coastline and yesterday a beach near Sebastian. A few more miles south and we might see her poke […]

Replacing the 2 batteries in my APC unit with 1 car battery

| May 12, 2014

I’ve about had it with replacing the TWO small and expensive 6 volt batteries that are packed into my APS uninterruptable power supply (UPS). Seems like I’ve purchase these same batteries too many times before for a couple of different devices and just like toner for inkjet printers, I wonder if it wouldn’t just be […]

Archive: Finished up the rocker panels on the Mercedes 300D

| May 11, 2014

It has been slow progress, but since my wife “sort of” gave me Mother’s Day off (Happy Mother’s Day to moms, BTW), I took advantage of some time to finally finish up and put the trim back on the repaired body rust and the newly Miracle painted rocker panels (yes, that is Miracle Paint I […]

Over-regulation deters small business entrepreneurship

| May 11, 2014

Fox Business anchor Stuart Varney comment, in between his entertaining persiflage with Don Imus, struck a chord with me as he highlighted the failures of the Obama administration’s big  government policies — regulations that are killing small business entrepreneurs. Stuart Varney with Don Imus (MP3) – May 2014 As someone who started a someone “traditional” […]

You may be saving money if you own a car – says AAA

| May 10, 2014

According to AAA, the cost to own a car has actually gone down … although with gas prices up, it may not feel like it. The average cost per mile is now 59.2 cents a mile, down 1.64 cents or down 4.7%. That puts the yearly cost at $8,876 a year in the annual Your […]

TechFriday: Dashlane gets high marks as a password manager

| May 9, 2014

I’ve mentioned LastPass a few times in the past as a way to manage the many passwords that our online presence requires and it still looks like a good option. Over the years things change, so I was interested to read “The Best Way To Manage All Your Passwords” article in the WSJ by Geoffrey […]

Duke Engines holds promise for low vibration and light weight

| May 8, 2014

While sorting and tossing some old “paper” magazines last weekend, I stumbled across an article about New Zealand’s Duke Engines in a September 2011 issue of Sport Aviation (PDF of article) that peaked my interest. I’ve posted on engine design ideas before as they relate to aviation and automotive, but thought this design has some […]

Freedompop Voice and Text app for the iPhone – not bad!

| May 7, 2014

Posted this to Freedompop’s forum and thought I would archive it. If you are confused about Freedompop getting into the voice and text business, check out this clear as mud article in the Motley Fool. I’ve been running the Freedompop Voice and Text app for a few days before going "full in" with the Freedompop […]

Lower U.S. corporate tax rates will grow jobs and the economy

| May 6, 2014

Outspoken President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Richard Fisher, talked with Maria Bartiromo on her new Sunday Morning Futures program this weekend and laid out a good case lower tax rates. His point is that money and investment flows to where it is treated the best and in turn jobs and […]

Are you addicted to social networks and technology?

| May 6, 2014

Food for thought … A poem posted to YouTube by Gary Turk. “Look Up” pertaining to a “Generation of idiots, smartphones and dumb people.”

Paint the old Mercedes Benz with base and clear coat paints

| May 5, 2014

Sunday afternoon was a perfect time to take a couple of the Mercedes Benz repairs to the next step with AutomotiveTouchup.com paints. Although I’ve painted several cars back in the day we used enamel and lacquer single stage automotive paints, I’ve never used a base coat and clear coat. This was the perfect test. Rework […]

Opened the pool just in time for the ducks to enjoy

| May 4, 2014

There was a day when Tootsie (now 15 years old) would not have approved of ducks in the swimming pool … but nowadays she doesn’t even put in the effort to bark, let alone give chase. How times have changed.

Monkeying with animated GIFs … pun intended

| May 4, 2014

Playing around with a couple video clips where a monkey and a kangaroo punch. I turned them into animated GIFs and then HTML5 using GFYCAT.com — just techie fun.

We are the one-percenters when it comes to history

| May 3, 2014

The LearnLiberty.org YouTube channel is one of the better online timewasters learning tools when it comes to educational web surfing. I particularly enjoy the variety of subject matters and guests who contribute to making the short and concise content. In the video below, Professor Deirdre McCluskey points out the radical change innovation made in our […]

Michael Bloomberg on the Feds actions and wealth inequality

| May 2, 2014

Love him or hate him, billionaire “business magnate, politician and philanthropist” Michael Bloomberg clearly understands the effect the Federal Reserve has when it comes to pumping money into the economy. So simple and so true when it comes to who benefits the most from government trying to solve business and wealth inequity problems. He is […]

TechFriday: A better way to handle animated gifs – GFYCAT.com

| May 2, 2014

I’m not a big fan of animated GIFs primarily due to the hosting and viewing overhead (large file size), not to mention their usually annoying content. But GFYCAT.com resizing web site which  significantly reduces the size and associated overhead with such large files can make sharing them a tad bit easier. The simple web app […]

Mourning Doves today – baby robins tomorrow

| May 1, 2014

It’s that time of year … time for eggs to hatch and baby Mourning Doves to start growing their feathers. Our pair does a fine job of leaving their “pigeon-like” mess everywhere too. Each year I wonder where their chicks go? Short MP3 audio clip — Mourning Dove calls

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