The rise of Bitcoin – Just call it Tulip Mania or Speculative Fever

| November 30, 2017

As someone who had an early interest in cryptocurrency as a replacement for product and services exchange, the recent rise of Bitcoin is nothing more than frightening. Supply and demand obviously has traders of this public ledger block chain protected transaction “currency” excited and like all manias, is concerning since eventually trading profits will be […]

Another great Jay Leno’s Garage video – a 1974 Porsche 914-6 GT

| November 29, 2017

One of the best YouTube channels for car lovers is Jay Leno’s Garage. He always has something interesting and the older I get the more I appreciate his highlighting cars I remembered and envied. The 1974 Porsche 914 (or previous up to 1972 version 914-6 GT) was my ideal teenage car as it was still […]

WikiBuy and a frustrating Cyber Monday of shopping

| November 28, 2017

As someone who is relatively comfortable with ecommerce and shopping for the best deals online, I don’t think I’ve ever been as frustrated as I was on Monday. Brenda and I had semi-planned to do a little more shopping "online" this year and since Cyber Monday is generally a "good deal" day to shop for […]

Music Monday: Sister Golden Hair by the band America

| November 27, 2017

This content is restricted.

Archive: Thanksgiving 2017 with the Corbett Family

| November 26, 2017

Better late than never in posting a few photos from our Thanksgiving day dinner and family time over this extended weekend. My brother Ron and his family were all able to get together at our house this year with our two new additions: Annalyn (Katelyn and Drew) and Teagan (Keira and Ben). Thankfully all of […]

Answering an email from a reader on chainsaw sharpening

| November 25, 2017

A reader wrote me a long email last week after noticing my chainsaw post and had a couple questions regarding how I sharpen the chain/blade on my chainsaws. I really had not giving it that much though since my sharpening technique is probably not expert or appropriate advice. So reader be warned. Over the years […]

Tech Friday: Twitter shortcuts when using a computer

| November 24, 2017

Although most of use probably use Twitter on our phones or tablets, there are times users check out the latest Tweets on "the bigger screen." If you use Twitter as your news (or "fakenews" feed), try a few of these power-user shortcuts.

Happy Thanksgiving. It is a tough day for Turkeys!

| November 23, 2017

If God created turkeys this ugly as protection from predators … it didn’t work … because 46 MILLION TURKEYS still ended up on some “thankful” American’s plate. Happy Thanksgiving. With all the “food fixing” going on, how about a little humor

Sheering a router bit has me wondering about the quality?

| November 22, 2017

Last summer I bought a 50-piece set of router bits to use in my woodshop and so far they have been great … that was up until I may have push the limits on a 3/16" straight cut bit a little too hard (possibly???).  I only say "may" because the bit was mounted in my […]

After repairing my old Marlin 1894, it is time for upgrades

| November 21, 2017

One of my first rifles is still one of my favorites, so after repairing my Marlin 1894 last month I thought it might be time to upgrade a couple small parts. This .357 chambered lever action rifle is now 40 or so years old and after a fair number of rounds, suffered the bent extractor […]

Music Monday: An old favorite from Gordon Lightfoot

| November 20, 2017

This content is restricted.

Might need to rethink our Zodiac or inflatable RIB?

| November 19, 2017

It looks like at least some sharks enjoy the taste of  rubberized, synthetic fabrics like Hypalon, PVC or Polyurethane used in inflatable tenders and RIBs! (8 second video snippet below)

Granddaughter Annalyn and I enjoyed another day together

| November 18, 2017

This content is restricted.

Tech Friday: Am I out of my mind upgrading to High Sierra?

| November 17, 2017

I have a perfectly functioning iMac and against my better judgement spent this morning upgrading the OS to macOS High Sierra (release about 1-1/2 months ago). Hopefully that was enough time for quick fixes because I’ve upgraded Macs too many times over the years and have often regretted the decision. Usually software and hardware requires upgrading […]

Painting and sharpening and changing chainsaw chains

| November 16, 2017

A few of the late fall repairs to go along with splitting wood for winter is to keep my “collection” of old chainsaws running. Although I gave away my small old tiny McCulloch trimming saw from the 1980s, I still reluctantly use my bigger (translate = heavier) 20″ McCulloch Pro Mac 610 (PDF manual) with […]

Upside vs downside in owning GE stock after a steep decline

| November 15, 2017

I occasionally receive emails or comments from friends and acquaintances who know I watch financial markets asking me to share my thoughts on investing. They really want stock "recommendations," but almost always refuse to give advice when it comes to picking and choosing individual companies. For the record, there is always financial risk and the […]

A restaurant stock with OUR figure skating twist $BWLD

| November 14, 2017

Always interesting when personal stories intersect with financial stories. Roark Capital has made an offer to buy Buffalo Wild Wing Roark Capital has made an offer to buy Buffalo Wild Wings, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC. Roark made an offer of more than $150 per share, the person told CNBC. Shares surged […]

Music Monday: A Jackson Browne leftover from last week

| November 13, 2017

This content is restricted.

A new spreadsheet for dividend investment tracking

| November 12, 2017

It has been a challenging year to get my old spreadsheets to update property after changes in sources for the dividend tracking financial data. Since the 1990s I’ve used Yahoo as a data source to use with Excel or Google Sheets and for the most part they have been satisfactory. After changes at Yahoo in […]

Interesting: How much would you spend on an engagement ring?

| November 11, 2017

In a financial discussion regarding saving money and cost of living for millennials, someone mentioned that in today’s world of equality, men are still expected to give an engagement ring. We’ve come a long way from the cigar band ring or spending the cliché "three months of salary." In 2016, the average being spent for […]

Be Yourself … a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson

| November 11, 2017

Enjoyable Cruising World article by influential sailor Lin Pardey

| November 10, 2017

There is not a single "cruising" sailor my age who hasn’t been influenced one way or another by Lin and Larry Pardey. Their "go small, go simple, go now" sailing books, videos and decades of article contributions to the sailing community have been huge for generations of dreamers and sailors. I really enjoyed a recent […]

Remembering and archiving an old photo of Gaskill Hall

| November 9, 2017

So this looks like a nondescript photo of an older brick building (click for larger photo)… which it WAS, before being turned into Armstrong Student Center. Back in 1981-82, I was a replacement instructor at Miami University in the college town of Oxford, Ohio for a professor on sabbatical. I moved into his office in […]

A welcomed update from Twitter to 280 characters for tweets

| November 8, 2017

It might not seem like a monumental decision, but Twitter upped their 140 character limit to 280 yesterday … so it was kind of a big deal. One of the core attributes for those of us using the popular social networking tool is the brevity and discipline required to communicate with a limited number of […]

Using journalistic integrity when reporting on President Trump

| November 7, 2017

Ethics in journalism, particularly political content, continues to disappear as the line between editorializing and reporting is blurred. Most who consume "their" brand of NEWS recognize there is truth to the sarcastic #FakeNews hashtag on social networks and President Trump’s regular "tweets" complaining about how his administration is treated by the #MSM (Main Stream Media). […]

Music Monday: Jackson Browne and title song from I’m Alive

| November 6, 2017

This content is restricted.

A smart aleck Apple Siri and a break for a fungus photo

| November 5, 2017

Like others, I’ve used my iPhone as a kitchen timer for a while now and noticed Siri has recently adopted a little more attitude. After my simple 11 minute request, her "I see you shiver with anticipation" wise crack surprised me! Also, after last weeks iOS 11.1 update, battery life has returned to both my […]

iPhoneX sales are strong as Apple’s market cap nears $900Billion

| November 4, 2017

It was a big Friday for Apple iPhone lovers as those who pre-ordered were able to pick up their brand new iPhoneX smartphones … for the insanely high $999 or $1150. Wow, have prices risen for cellphones in recent years (of course so has their function) … and they are back to the price of […]

Financial Friday: Income tax simplification #taxcuts #taxreform

| November 3, 2017

On Thursday, the long awaited Republican tax reform plan finally saw the light of day after most political and financial watchers haggled over the unknown details most of this year. President Trump has made tax reform and cuts as his centerpiece agenda as essential to growing the economy and stimulating job and wage growth for […]

Together with family – Time flies when you are having fun #TBT

| November 2, 2017

This content is restricted.

Congrats Houston Astros. It was a great #WorldSeries2017

| November 1, 2017

I sure have enjoyed watching the entire Major League Baseball playoffs in October and World Series ending on November 1st this year,  particularly since I’ve turn off the NFL  Game 7 on Wednesday night in LA started poorly for the Dodgers as they were quickly down by 5 runs and faced some of the strongest […]

Lighten up the morning with a little asparagus #humor

| November 1, 2017

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