Stock trades and boat woes – some plans work out, others do not

| August 31, 2017

As the title and Robert Burns suggest, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." Here are a couple Thursday lunchtime updates. On the upside, the Ford ($F) trades from a week ago continue to pan out and I exited half of my position on Thursday morning to book profits (for those […]

Remembering Summer and my childhood on Lake Erie #TBT

| August 31, 2017

As I reflect on this past weekend with family and as summer comes to a close, a Throwback Thursday #TBT mental image and old photo reminds me of just how idyllic my own childhood was. Brenda and I hope we replicated that for our own children and are now doing our best to be the […]

Seattle-based Amazon creating 1000 new jobs with a fulfillment center in Monroe, Ohio (between Dayton and Cincinnati)

| August 30, 2017

Good news for our neck of the woods … Amazon will open a new fulfillment center in a Monroe industrial park near Interstate 75, bringing 1,000 new jobs to the region, the state announced Wednesday. The specific location of Amazon’s latest investment in Ohio was not disclosed, but it will be the closest location for […]

Book: Secrets of Sand Mountain by Philip C Elrod

| August 30, 2017

Every once in a while I strike up a conversation with a lessor known author about their writing and want to read their work. Philip C. Elrod is one such author and after exchanging a few messages, I decided I should at least give the first book of his series about events atop Sand Mountain […]

Family weekend, a new Volkswagen and the prodigal son returns

| August 29, 2017

This content is restricted.

Hurricane Harvey continues to dump on Texas and Louisiana

| August 28, 2017

Having been away from my computer this past weekend has left me way delayed on posting the landfall of Hurricane Harvey as it piled into southeastern Texas with enough category 4 wind to pummel the coastline and an unprecedented amount of rain causing catastrophic flooding. The residents of the fourth largest populated city of Houston […]

How to tie a cleat hitch video by APS Advisor #sailing

| August 28, 2017

Good visual video advice on How to tie a cleat hitch from APS – three different options and reasons for each. Half Wrap Cleat Hitch Full Wrap Cleat Hitch Multi Wrap Cleat Hitch

An excellent Civil War history lesson #video

| August 27, 2017

Those cute chameleons are not as cute when they are lizards!

| August 26, 2017

A month or so ago I blogged that the small little chameleons that ran around the condo in Delray Beach, Florida have grown up and "moved next door" … BUT thankfully they are not the ones this homeowner in Australia deals with! Yikes! Photo (above) from July 2017 at the Delray Beach, Florida condo — new […]

TechFriday: Testing the portrait-mode on the iPhone 7 Plus

| August 25, 2017

While listening to the early comments from the technology pages and news programs regarding Samsung (Galaxy Note 8) and Apple (iPhone 8 – ???)releasing their new smartphone models, I realized there are features I haven’t used much. One of the camera upgrades coming to the new Samsung Note 8 phone is a portrait mode like […]

Making a Maple High Chair to match our New Maple Kitchen

| August 24, 2017

This content is restricted.

Can Sharks Read? #surfing

| August 23, 2017

Quick time-lapse attempt to photograph Solar Eclipse 2017

| August 22, 2017

For the good photos check in with NASA (above) or a professional photographer who travels to the optimal locations and spends more than 5 minutes taping a welding filter to his camera … for a less than perfect “time-lapse” solar eclipse attempt, check my photos below. It was at least fun to mark the occasion; […]

Ready to check out the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse?

| August 21, 2017

The last time our continent had a total solar eclipse was 1991 and so getting a chance to view 2017’s is a rare opportunity. Not everybody will be traveling to the “belted area” across the country, but most will have a chance to see a partial eclipse. According to NASA, “an estimated 500 million people […]

Chastised for not updating on grandparenthood

| August 20, 2017

This content is restricted.

Archive – How Much Do You Need to Retire?

| August 20, 2017

Snipped parts and archived a TDAmeritrade educational article … Americans used to count on a pension plus Social Security to get them through those “golden years.” These days, people change jobs more often, rely on dual incomes, and manage their own retirement funds through defined contribution plans. By most estimates, you’ll need between 60% and […]

The Ford $F stock trade is working again

| August 19, 2017

Although the news of late on the political front has been challenging (Trump Admin, Barcelona, Charlottesville, North Korea) the savvy investor/trader can use these moments to put the "risk capital" part of their portfolio to good use. Most who trade have plenty of horror stories where their trades have gone terribly wrong, but usually the […]

Archive: How 11 million VW TDI diesels cheated emission tests

| August 18, 2017

Archiving the New York Times article that offers an explanation for those who are still wondering what Volkswagen DieselGate was all about. The software sensed when the car was being tested and then activated equipment that reduced emissions, United States officials said. But the software turned the equipment down during regular driving, increasing emissions far […]

Remembering one of my early jobs after seeing a Tweet #TBT

| August 17, 2017

Earlier this week, I had a Throwback Thursday moment when reading my Twitter feed. A reporter commented on @PortageNotebook and the logo/icon was a dead giveaway for the spin-off company where I once worked. The Akron, Ohio based Portage Newspaper Supply was the purchasing arm for Knight Ridder Newspapers and I was part of the […]

Racing in Daytona Beach – my dad’s photo from 1950

| August 16, 2017

Another photo (above) from my an envelope containing a few of my dad’s trips before meeting my mom … interesting to think about the history of stock car racing in Daytona Beach Florida. Back in the early 1950s the beach and A-1-A were used at the straightaways and a grandstand at the corner. What I […]

Found a Camp Breckinridge boot camp poem – Korean War 1950s

| August 15, 2017

A couple of days ago I mentioned the passing of my father two short years ago. A day later my brother reminded me that it had been two years and sense it surprised him too. The thought of my dad had me move a pile of papers I’ve had in my office; we cleared them […]

Music Monday: The Way It Is – Bruce Hornsby and The Range

| August 14, 2017

This content is restricted.

A little more endless summer please

| August 13, 2017

What a beautiful weekend in Cincinnati “for August.” Warm days, reasonable humidity and cool evenings. What’s not to like?

After all these years – a 50 piece set of 1/2″ carbide router bits

| August 13, 2017

The older I get the more often I stumble on items to include in my book, "Things To Buy When You Are Young" … or at least one that I’m slowly putting together and working on. I’ve fumbled with woodworking most of my life and to be fair, have purchased or been giving my share […]

Happy Birthday to my wife Brenda (hard to resist this cute turtle)

| August 12, 2017

This content is restricted.

Thinking about my dad. Has it been two years?

| August 11, 2017

Tomorrow will be two years since my dad passed away, where does the time go?  His interest in cars was handed down to me and although we both approached it from different angles, we BOTH held a respect for how each enjoyed automobiles. I did not have had the same "spit and polish" love for […]

Investors are getting nervous over face-off with North Korea

| August 10, 2017

With the tension rising between the U.S. and North Korea over nuclear weapons, the broad financial markets headed lower today for the first time in a while (or so it seemed). The often cited DJIA closed down 204.69 or about 1% while the Nasdaq doubled that move at 2% down. Even though the tone was […]

The DVD movie Gifted was excellent, plus a Redbox tip

| August 10, 2017

We are not big movie watchers and rarely go to the movie theater, but we did rent a very enjoyable movie on Sunday night … Redbox coupon triggered "movie night."  Anyway the child acting was excellent and story line enticing enough to spur debate. Brenda, the competition type, would have preferred to maximize education over […]

Family Fun Weekend with Annalyn in Cincinnati – part 2

| August 9, 2017

This content is restricted.

Obit: Glen Travis Campbell 1936-2017

| August 8, 2017

Glen Campbell, one of my all time favorite musicians from my earliest memories has passed away. So thankful we still have his mountains of music. It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and legendary singer and guitarist, Glen Travis Campbell, at the age of […]

Family Fun Weekend with Annalyn in Cincinnati – part 1

| August 8, 2017

This content is restricted.

Music Monday: Want-to-be politician Kid Rock – Born Free

| August 7, 2017

This content is restricted.

Start one project and sidetracked to another

| August 6, 2017

While drilling a couple of precision holes, I notice the relatively new larger drill press table extension wiggled out of position if it was bumped. The problem was that it was designed to clamp to the small steel table that comes with most tabletop and floor stand drill presses. To correct I added a scrap […]

Pre-posted before our family weekend in Cincinnati

| August 5, 2017

This content is restricted.

Key Lime Pie is a summer favorite

| August 5, 2017

Ok, so the limes I’m squeezing are not truly “Key Limes,” but the the finished product is just as good. One of the “get ready” items before having the kids home for the weekend was to squeeze the limes so Brenda could make 3 Key Lime pies. It is a big favorite in our family […]

The Kitchen Corner Cabinet is finally finished

| August 4, 2017

It has been a slow process and a while in coming, but the beveled glass and shelves finally came in last week in order to finish the kitchen cabinets. These items are part of the "improved" corner cabinet for Brenda. She wanted a more attractive beveled glass door (larger window) and glass shelves so that […]

Is the government sector overpaid or private sector underpaid?

| August 3, 2017

Just one more irritation as to how politicians spend tax dollars … and line their own pockets. For the past couple of decades, the private sector has been struggling … particularly the blue collar worker and mid to lower management employees. Pensions are non-existent, benefits eliminated and health care for the private sector a nightmare!  […]

Big day for Apple shareholders and the DJIA

| August 2, 2017

The Dow broke above the 22,000 threshold for the first time on Wednesday rising for the seventh straight day.  The boost over the "nice round number" happened after Apple posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and iPhone sales met expectations. $AAPL stock rose 5.5% and made its largest single day percentage rise since February. (Story WSJ.com)

The BlueMax blue poly pipe continues to haunt #home #repairs

| August 2, 2017

  Once again we’re dealing with BlueMax pipe (polybutylene plumbing), this time thankfully it is not on our nickel or is due to a flooded basement. I notice water bubbling from the water meter pit in our yard yesterday and after Butler County came out to look at the meter, he knew right away it […]

Beautiful Cincinnati skyline photo by my son Taylor

| August 1, 2017

Although "I" am suppose to be the photographer of the family, I think it might be time to hand over the duties to my son Taylor. He enjoys capturing beautiful photos and definitely has the eye for natural beauty – some impressive ones in Hawaii last year too! While on the subject of appreciating photos […]

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