A great World Series game 6 – BIG game 7 tomorrow

| October 31, 2017

Another great World Series game that tied things up 3 games to 3 games. The Dodgers won tonight’s game at home in LA by out hitting the Astros  with the final score 3 – 1. It has been excellent Fall Classic baseball. Can’t wait for tomorrow night!

Finally repaired my out of production Marlin lever action rifle

| October 31, 2017

Although I don’t think the Marlin company makes my .357 magnum Model 1894 lever action rifle anymore, I was finally able to scrounge the parts to repair it. I’ve had this beautiful short barreled saddle rifle since high school as it matched the caliber of my short barreled revolver. I have enjoyed it through most […]

It has been a great year for Honeysuckles and their berries

| October 30, 2017

One plant I can cultivate well is the Lonicera maackii … the invasive honeysuckle. They take no care and can withstand heavy pruning and replants themselves EVERYWHERE. This year they are even more heavily berried than usual. Unfortunately they are both messy (very soft) and mildly poisonous! Still, they provide a decent hedgerow along our property […]

Picking a cold, damp and breezy day to clean the gutters

| October 29, 2017

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Tech, tech, tech – Nasdaq stocks rocked on Friday

| October 28, 2017

A rocking bunch of positive earning from tech companies push companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Netflix, Microsoft, Intel and even Twitter higher. Although some financial analysts are recycling the “irrational exuberance” term, the excellent quarterly financial numbers are actually a reason for a positive attitude. I’m still nervous as to all the unknown surprises […]

World Series baseball and reading a good book go together

| October 27, 2017

The great thing about watching baseball is that it moves at a pace that makes reading a new book do-able while watching the game. Currently MLB World Series game 3 in Houston has the Astros leading the Dodgers 4 -1 in the 4th after they splitting the game 1 and 2 in LA. It has […]

Might take a tour of the Elio Motors facility, someday … maybe?

| October 27, 2017

Received an email from Elio Motors (yes they are still alive) with an opportunity that I’m hoping to take advantage of when (IF) I ever get to pick up my "all in" order. I do enjoy reading the updates and hope production begins next year as planned. The big concern for most of us is that […]

Tech Friday: Be sure old CCleaner versions are removed

| October 27, 2017

Just seeing Windows Defender "alerting" me to a backdoor threat on my Lenovo Yoga notebook computer is enough to make me move to a more expensive Apple MacBook Pro the next upgrade cycle. I knew about the Crap Cleaner (aka: CCleaner) vulnerability but had hoped a removal and upgrade by the software maker/distributor would have […]

My slang name for a dirty drainage ditch – CRICK plus #video

| October 26, 2017

Yesterday I shared a "map" diagram with my daughter Katelyn and labeled a small drainage ditch we called the "crick" … also shared a disease story with her that she decided not to share with her friend. The name for that bit of water got me thinking about all the names we use for bodies […]

The legendary Fats Domino dies at age 89

| October 25, 2017

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Racking my brain to remember names from elementary school

| October 25, 2017

My daughter Katelyn and I exchanged a few messages over the past couple of days that had me reminiscing and trying to remember names of a few kids when I was in grade school. It started visiting in Perrysburg last week watching Annalyn when Katelyn mentioned that a co-worker of hers and father went to […]

Weekend fence repair, wood splitting and chores update

| October 24, 2017

A couple days late in posting, but the weather was ideal for jumping on a few chores before the weather turns sour. Since the lawn was still in pretty good shape, I was able to use those weekend hours to repair some of the nearly 2000 feet of 4-board fence that borders our backyard — […]

Music Monday: Hard not to like Goodbye Girl by David Gates

| October 23, 2017

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Love seeing my son enjoying photography

| October 22, 2017

Taylor went camping and hiking down at Red River Gorge this weekend and continues to impress me with enjoying photography, which was a hobby of mine since 7th grade. So much has changed since “souping” film and spending hours in the darkroom fretting over exhausted chemicals and  expired paper … but the capturing of something […]

Nautical paintings from the 1940s and 1950s – Dawson & Bluhm

| October 22, 2017

Our family has a couple of artists (previous generations) and so we’ve inherited a few painting. I doubt any are valued anywhere close to the Montague Dawson (artist father Henry) "nautical" series of painting from the 1940s, but do remember how much I enjoyed one of the first paintings (same time frame) that my grandmother painted. […]

Driving the shoreline of Lake Erie on my way to see Annalyn

| October 21, 2017

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Tech Friday: Making power adapters last longer

| October 20, 2017

Here’s a short tip for making power adapter wires last longer when traveling or packing them in a computer bag: When winding the cord, don’t wrap the first loop too tight. The usual fail points when cords are coiled over and over are where the wires enter the power block or the plug, so allow […]

Hidden photos of my kids in a frame that sits on my desk #TBT

| October 19, 2017

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A new OLD Jimmy Buffett album to be out next month

| October 18, 2017

It looks like “old” Jimmy Buffett fans will be treated to some new OLD music on November 17th? A few years ago, when legendary Nashville producer Buzz Cason sold his recording studio, there was some cleaning up to do. That is when Jimmy learned that they had found a sizeable collection of 1⁄4-inch tapes that […]

The DJIA cracks 23,000 for the first time on 10/17/2017

| October 17, 2017

It’s just a number, but one that is reminiscent of the Greenspan “irrational exuberance” days back in the late 1990s during the dot-com bubble … but the business news media types cheered the mid-day number (yet to see where the market will close). One has to chuckle at as to just how wrong a Nobel […]

As my weekly travel decreases, data connectivity is finally good

| October 17, 2017

My mobile life is FINALLY working the way it should, just as my road life is slowing down. I’ve been monkeying around with the "mobile office" for A LOT of years starting with a 1999 AWD Chrysler Town & Country back in the late 1990s before mounting my Palm Treo in my great little Volkswagen […]

Music Monday: Have I been following and listening this long?

| October 16, 2017

This past week the "Years Ago on this Day" center column of My Desultory Blog I noticed a Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers post from October 2014. The post was their first video after they moved from a "van" (aka: Van Sessions) to a larger bus. It was a fun "from the road" Brewer and […]

The NFL off and NASCAR on as another week goes by

| October 15, 2017

Disappointed to be still NOT watching NFL football on Sunday afternoon (week 6), but for the most part there are plenty of autumn chores to keep me busy. Unfortunately the rain came this afternoon and while grabbing a snack at the new kitchen counter, flipped to NASCAR just as I did last weekend. It is […]

Submarine Warfare and the 1984 Soviet Akula #history

| October 14, 2017

Having a couple of connections to U.S. submariners, I found this bit of Akula-class Soviet Navy submarine history interesting and a great read. How The Soviet Akula Changed Submarine Warfare In late 1984, when the first Akula submarine of the Soviet Navy put to sea, it immediately changed the way anti-submarine warfare would be conducted. […]

Why be cautious with such hot financial markets, corporate tax cuts around the corner and the promise of tax reform?

| October 13, 2017

The early 1980s were challenging as manufacturing headed overseas, inflation ate up the buying power of every dollar and the cost to borrow was at an all time high. In fact, Brenda and I were giddy to have acquired a 12% mortgage on our first house in 1982 because our friends were applying for new […]

A photo and another video snippet after my time with Annalyn

| October 12, 2017

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Personal week: Enjoyed another day babysitting Annalyn

| October 11, 2017

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Thoughts on Rolling Coal

| October 10, 2017

Although I’m the last person to criticize folks for tweaking their diesel engines for performance and efficiency, I cringe when I see modifications that purposely over fuel and pump a bunch of black smoke when it is unnecessary (not under load). There has to be a commonsense balance between neutering diesel engines with excessively costly […]

Music Monday: Back to the pre-Parrothead Jimmy Buffett days

| October 9, 2017

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How many different kinds of critters?

| October 8, 2017

While trying to keep the raccoons from “moving in” as the weather cools, I’ve been a little too successful recently. The past weeks score has been 2 raccoons, 2 opossums and a cat (second time for feral cat). This guy sure can jump! I was going to comment that we’ve seen an increase in number […]

So what is your plan for social security and retirement?

| October 7, 2017

A friend of mine is receiving his first social security check this month and so I’ve been doing some reading on the subject (it is a long way off yet for me … just in case readers had me already over-the-hill!) One of the biggest concerns for those nearing retirement and doing calculations is that […]

Tech Friday: Another security breach along with a price increase triggered my reevaluation of Lastpass, SmallPDF and Evernote

| October 6, 2017

As a free user and then paying Premium LastPass customer for years, the 2017 price increase inched out of my comfort zone this week. It is not that the password managing product with added features is bad, it is just that the significant price bump ($12 to $24/yr) leaves a sour taste in my mouth. […]

Nothing like disasters and tragedy to test a new president

| October 5, 2017

One may have thought that the divided nation after the election and political chaos in putting together an administration that worked well together would have been the biggest challenge for the unconventional President Donald Trump when it comes to being POTUS, but after the last 30 days you would be wrong. The president has faced […]

Which corporations stand to benefit the most with a 20% tax rate?

| October 4, 2017

A little bit of research highlights which of the Dow 30 companies benefit from corporate tax reform and which one are currently better at working the existing complex tax code. Company Ticker Median effective income-tax rate – past five reported quarters UnitedHealth Group Inc. US:UNH 40% Home Depot Inc. US:HD 36% Verizon Communications Inc. US:VZ […]

Poor Sense of Smell May Signal Impending Dementia

| October 3, 2017

A poor sense of smell may indicate an increased risk for dementia, a new study has found. Researchers recruited 2,906 men and women ages 57 to 85, testing their ability to identify five odors — orange, leather, peppermint, rose and fish. Five years later, 4.1 percent of them had dementia. Of all the factors the […]

Looking forward to MLB Playoffs 2017 beginning this week

| October 3, 2017

President Trump addresses the nation after Las Vegas shooting

| October 2, 2017

What we know so far – 1PM on Monday 10/2/2017  At least 58 people were killed and more than 515 were injured at an country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip, in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. The gunman fired for several minutes into a 22,000-person crowd from the windows of […]

Semi Music Monday trying iOS11 iPhone screen capture

| October 2, 2017

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Am I just a cheapskate or secretly a doomsday prepper?

| October 1, 2017

Who doesn’t have favorite pairs of shorts … or think about the potential for hard times or a doomsday? I have a few shorts, jeans, jackets, etc and can’t bear to part with them when they get a tear or a hole and are worn bare … so end up looking for ways to stretch […]

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