Besides costly higher education and health care … buying and owning a home is now unaffordable for many in America

| March 17, 2024

Going to college after high school has always seemed expensive, but by working, borrowing and getting help from parents … it was do-able, and by today’s standards, seemed affordable. I can’t help but smile noticing that when I finally paid off my student loan that I could start saving to put my kids through college. […]

Food for thought: “Marxism isn’t an ideology at all – it’s a tactic”

| March 12, 2024

Political ideology has always interesting me. I was aware of different philosophies early on since an intellectual best friend from high school was way to the left  and interested in Socialism and Marxism.   Charlie Matthews (Kamikaze) seemed like a leftover from the 1960s and even back in the 1970s and 80s supported the Marxist […]

We have an extra day this Leap Year … Let’s not waste it!

| February 29, 2024

If you are a regular reader, then the answer is “yes” … I’ve been a bit distracted from posting regularly on MDB for the past couple of weeks. I promise to get better in March.  Part of my distraction has been enjoying down time with Brenda in Florida and with my daughter and her family […]

A blog filler, but humanitarian innovation worth mentioning

| February 23, 2024

Love to read a positive story or tidbit on social media … and this one about Kenton Lee and “The Shoe That Grows” caught my eye. In 2007, our founder Kenton Lee traveled to Nairobi, Kenya after graduating college. He lived and worked at a small orphanage with some incredible kids. One day, he was […]

Advice: An embarrassingly honest deodorant assessment #PSA

| November 5, 2023

So here’s a piece of advice that I really should have clearly known before my age. Old Spice High Endurance deodorant is significantly better than Classic deodorant (said to be discontinued … and now I know why). Don’t ever think you are going to save a buck buying the steeply-discounted 3-pack of Classic deodorant when […]

A “feel good” story from Clint Edwards’ book “Fatherish”

| October 1, 2023

Make America Great Again, one parent at a time (not political). Here’s slightly different take on MAGA with an uplifting lesson and message for fathers; pay attention to your role in your family.  When I asked my 11-year-old son to help me unload dirt from our small pickup into his mother’s new garden boxes, his reaction […]

The ablity to memorize passes to the next generation #TBT

| September 28, 2023

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Who else has tried to “pinch-to-zoom” a paper map? #humor

| September 23, 2023

I had to laugh at myself the while reading one of the World War II Pacific Island campaign history books then looking up at my cork wall and trying to “pinch-to-zoom” the paper map for more details. Oh, the tech habits we adopt! And since this is a random kind of filler humor post, below […]

Blog stats and a humorous Iceland tourist article

| September 16, 2023

It’s interesting to see the changes in how people access Internet content over the years … or at least access information on MyDesultoryBlog.com. Microsoft Windows was once dominate, but Mac, Linux and Chrome OS computers are gaining ground. Perhaps the biggest change since starting the blog in 2005 is just how dominate iOS and Android […]

About the book “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and Gregory Boyington

| September 3, 2023

In August I finished up an excellent 1958 autobiography by Gregory “Pappy” Boyington titled “Baa Baa Black Sheep” … mentioned previously. He was a United States Marine Corps fighter pilot who commanded the VMF-214 Black Sheep Squadron during World War II. The book tells the story of Boyington’s early life, his training as a pilot, […]

A shared “feel good about the next generation” story

| July 16, 2023

Perhaps I’m just being sensitive in having a couple granddaughters I want to protect, but started to read a human interest story last week that started me off irritated. Thankfully by the end, it gave a ray of hope for the next generation. Dear teenage boy at the skate park… You’re probably about 15 years-old, […]

Books: Listening to “Of Boys and Men” by Richard V. Reeves

| July 14, 2023

While waiting on a copy of the 2022 “Of Boys and Men” ebook to become available at my local library (have it on hold), I ended up downloading the audio version read by the “British” author Richard V. Reeves (like many Americans, I enjoy the sophisticated accent). A plus for the audio version that even […]

Generation “DOOMED.” #humor

| June 28, 2023

Saw this image on Twitter with the tagline “Humanity is Doomed” the other day … and although I smiled … it is unfortunately the appropriate comment.

Contemplating the phrase: “Have a good ONE!”

| June 22, 2023

Using the pronoun “one” seems out of place and too casual when using the common phrase … “Have a good one.” It is heard all the time in day to day conversation (even on television business news shows — you know who you are Lauren Simonetti — HA!) and at least for me, the phrase […]

Food For Thought: A Life Expectancy in America Map

| April 8, 2023

I’m not really sure where the data for this map came from or if it is accurate (??) … but it is something to think about. 

Unhealthy Aging graphic and my granddaughters in church

| March 15, 2023

While reading a health related social media post this past week, a graphic struck me as interesting since it highlights many of the ailments that most doctors and aging humans eventually face. Just to keep it personal, I’m noticing the hair thinning, vision and hearing loss as well as my high cholesterol needing some work […]

A young chef fixes his own lunch #video

| February 8, 2023

From experience, I do know that younggist children in the U.S. (often farm kids — or commercial fisherman kids) were responsible for home chores, pitched in with caring for their siblings … and over a century ago (thankfully) would be sent to work outside the home. But in many parts of the world, children learn […]

The 3 monkeys have added a 4th. A sign of our times #filler

| January 12, 2023

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Proposing our family listen to a podcast on Christmas Eve

| December 24, 2022

Jane Wells has been a reporter for CNBC (“Janie” as the late Mark Haines called her)  that I’ve followed for years while watching business news channels (or should I have said, “is a ‘has-been’ reporter?” – hopefully a little humor that she would appreciate!). Anyway, I always smiled when watching her “quirky” stories and reporting […]

The grandson of John Tyler, the 10th POTUS, is still alive

| December 18, 2022

It took a little research, but the thought of the 10th President of the United States still having a living grandson alive today seemed … well, unbelievable. Mentally, I worked the numbers … and then had to do a little Internet sleuthing … but low and behold it was true. President John Tyler was born […]

Native American tribes in America before the Europeans #maps

| November 20, 2022

Maps and history have always held my interest (as they do for my son Taylor too). Having grown up when schools glossed over most of American the history prior to Columbus in 1492 (or perhaps the Vikings) … it is interesting to learn a little bit more about the “approximately 20 million” Native Americans that […]

Our Chick-fil-A order was securely delivered with a smile

| November 19, 2022

Our Chick-fil-A order last week was “securely” delivered to our car by a law enforcement officer … and with a smile (wish I could have tipped him)! My kind of city and state. Community outreach does not get much better than this! #lawenforcement & @ChickfilA working together to keep the line moving. 😉 pic.twitter.com/oisMROLqLz — […]

Magic tricks: How did they do that? #video

| August 9, 2022

Who doesn’t like knowing how a magician deceives an audience, especially when the magic trick is performed flawlessly. Here a behind the trick look at some deception.

Kiribati: Located in 4 hemispheres and unique GMT+14 timezone

| August 2, 2022

Learned a few interesting geographic facts about the nation of Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean from Brilliantmaps, Reddit and of course Wikipedia the other day and found the timezone oddity particularly interesting. The country is “the furthest ahead of Greenwich meantime at GMT +14, making it the first country in the world to ring-in the […]

Moving back into the home office and pondering family artists

| July 30, 2022

This past weekend I started what is going to be a slow, but deliberative process of moving out of the basement and back into the upstairs home office. No window blinds yet, but we did move the oriental rug from our first floor to the upstairs (Brenda would like to get something new for the […]

Art: “There is a different Winslow Homer for every age”

| July 6, 2022

Winslow Homer’s 1899 painting “The Gulf Stream” (“reworked in 1906’) is a much-celebrated work of art for a variety of reasons, but appeals to me due to the ocean scene and dismasted sailboat, as do his other Atlantic scene paintings. This one has seen renewed interest likely because of our current “turbulent times” … politically. […]

Books: “The Dying Citizen” by Victor Davis Hanson

| July 3, 2022

With a little travel and vacation time coming up, I went into my “want to read” list and downloaded “The Dying Citizen” from the local library to my Kindle. The 2021 book is a longer read (433 pages) from Victor Davis Hanson, a professor and military historian seen regularly on Fox News and Fox Business. […]

Audiobook: “Land Of Big Numbers” by WSJ’s Te-Ping Chen

| June 8, 2022

In keeping with a previous book, I downloaded another book: “Land Of Big Numbers” by Te-Ping Chen. It is a collection of stories … on the “diverse and legion Chinese people” and according to a review, this book offers an “acute social insight” on Chinese history, their government, “and how all of that tumbled—messy, violently, […]

A riddle by Dennis Prager got me thinking …

| June 4, 2022

Q: What do you call a religious person who claims that the end is near? Answer: A fanatic. Q: What do you call a secular person who claims that the end is near? Answer: An environmentalist. When my podcasts on my weekend playlist are finished and I’m still in the mood for some audio content, […]

Are you a Coffee or a Tea drinker? Coffee for me, please!

| June 1, 2022

Who doesn’t enjoy of teasing friends back and forth over foodie items? Here’s one that I’m going to debate with my friend Jeff … as he has always been a “Tea drinker” and I’ve been a “Coffee guy.” I’ll start with my pro-military, flag-waving “patriotic Americans drink coffee” position, and I’m sure he’ll lay out […]

Katya Nikiforova: Juggling skills extraordinaire #video

| May 31, 2022

Russian Katya Nikiforova has amazing juggling skills. Wow! Katya Nikiforova Born into a family of non-circus artists in a small town in Ukraine, as a child Katya performed gymnastics and dancing. At the age of 10, she studied at her first circus studio. She instantly fell in love with the art and by the age […]

Birthday Book: “The Old Man and The Boy” by Robert Ruark

| May 24, 2022

My buddy Jeff Pitts is my go-to source for interesting books to read. For my birthday this year (we had lunch last Friday … a Mexican restaurant, of course), he gave me an older 1950’s era book by Robert Ruark called “The Old Man and The Boy.” I passed on reading my other books and […]

Archive: SpaceX rocket launches and successes continue #video

| May 22, 2022

It is difficult to ignore the success of the private space industry and admire companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX as it launches and re-launches rocket after rocket. From satellite launching to shuttling astronauts to and from the International Space Station, SpaceX definitely has the potential to land astronauts back on the moon and to be […]

James Garner’s TAG Heuer Carrera watch up for auction

| May 1, 2022

As a James Garner fan and follower of his daughter Gigi on Twitter, I enjoyed a recent article highlighting raising money for animal welfare with his famous TAG Heuer Carrera watch (below). Earlier this year I was impressed with his daily driver, a 2009 Cadillac CTS 4-door sedan up for auction on Barrett-Jackson, raising $100,000 with […]

Temporarily working from my basement home office #TBT

| April 21, 2022

As the slow progress on finishing my home office continues, I’ve set up a temporary office in the basement (below). It is surprisingly comfortable, but I do miss the daylight and looking out the windows. I can’t help but reminisce to make this a Throwback Thursday #TBT post after finally removing the painters tape from […]

Books: The Coddling of the American Mind and Roland Fryer

| April 2, 2022

The longer I live, the more I ask the question: “What is wrong with people?” While reading “The Coddling of the American Mind” last week, just before chatting with my son Taylor, the synopsis of the book came to mind. We were discussing a variety of current issues and ties to history (behavior, greed, crime, […]

Friday Filler: An interesting eye-brain negative afterimage

| April 1, 2022

These illustrations make the rounds by email and social networking every so often and do so because they are interesting to naturally inquisitive humans … and in my case make for a blogworthy Friday Filler and “fool your mind” on April Fools’ Day post. This is one that cognitive psychology refers to as the Negative […]

NASA’s new mega moon rocket crawls to the launch pad

| March 24, 2022

It was exciting to see the new Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion capsule move toward Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B this month as space-nerds anticipate NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission. The sight of such a large rocket “crawling” toward the launch pad brings back the Apollo program of my youth and the Space […]

How many places do you call home … how about 11 in a lifetime?

| February 23, 2022

Interesting tidbit: According to a post on social media (take that for what it is worth), “the average person lives in 11 homes in there lifetime.” It doesn’t detail if a college dorm is considering a “home,”  but if I eliminate them … I’m up to EIGHT that I call “a residence.” In pondering my […]

Does she smile or not smile … that is the question?

| February 20, 2022

The photo to the left is one of those photos taking up bandwidth and being passed around the Internet in emails and on social networks. The assumption is that most people see a photo of a girl who is NOT smiling. The suggestion is that if you “squint” a bit, you can see a photo […]

A new-to-me Arabica Bean Coffee and a family photo to save to the 2022 Valentine’s Day blog archive

| February 16, 2022

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How long can the U.S. keep bailing before the ship sinks?

| January 25, 2022

So … how’s the economy doing in 2022? Well, if you measure it based on the stock market or maybe finding a job (if you want to work) … then the façade looks ok. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find out that your paycheck doesn’t go that far … IF you can find what […]

Tech Friday: Keen 1963 portable phone insight Mansfield, OH

| January 7, 2022

Here’s a look back to a Mansfield News Journal article and something a little different for a New Year’s Nostradamus-y Tech Friday post … also in using the word “keen” it reflects the Christmas present/hiking shoes I bought (well Katelyn actually ordered) for Brenda … along with a bed-desk for her “preferred” office. 😉

Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2021 – Elon Musk

| December 26, 2021

Before the year 2021 disappears, it is worth highlighting Time magazine’s pick for Person of the Year  – although I generally just roll my eyes. This time in picking Elon Musk, it is hard to disagree. The pick of Musk, the richest man on Earth, is a good one as he is not only an […]

Even at my age, curiosity makes me do unusual things

| December 18, 2021

Our Omaha Steak special New Year’s spiral cut ham arrived this week and after finding room in our freezer for 10 pounds of ham, I moved the foam cooler out to the garage. After giving some thought to how nice and cold the contents were, I decided to see if the dry ice was keeping […]

We are thinking about retirement … in a few years!

| December 15, 2021

As Christmas cards arrive and the 15th of December hits, it is time to start winding down my business year and thinking about 2022 (BTW, we mailed our cards this week). One thing I have noticed this year is that more cards are from people who are now retired or are retiring. Hm … does […]

A practical lesson for students who insist that socialism works

| November 27, 2021

For many people, working 40 hours a week would be a dream

| November 3, 2021

There was a Q & A “workfriend” letter in the New York Times a couple months ago suggesting that a “40 hours a week is not sustainable.”  A 27 year old made the comment and it triggered my GOM (Grumpy Old Man) response … especially after reading: I have hobbies. I have creative pursuits and therapy […]

The many political ‘ISMs’ discussed in our culture today #TBT

| October 21, 2021

Every time I use political term with an “ism” these days, I sense I need to clarify the meaning as much as for myself as to the person I’m talking too. Often I’ll refer to an online resource in order to be sure that I’m not misspeaking … but usually its because the terms have […]

Pyramids: Amazing human-powered ancient engineering

| October 17, 2021

Saw this last week posted on the @ArchaeoHistories Twitter feed. This is how the pyramids looked when they were built four thousand five hundred years ago. Where it was covered with white limestone and its top was made of gold to reflect the sun’s rays.

From not being diversified to owning too many tickers?

| October 12, 2021

For most investors, the normal criticism is that they are not diversified enough … or at least they often own too much of one sector or one stock (happened in the old days when companies often matched or did a partial match in company stock). I’ve tried to keep “diversity” in mind over my lifetime […]

Patriotism and respect for our American Flag #audio

| October 3, 2021

While slowly getting going on Saturday, the Fox and Friends Weekend broadcast was on in the background. A frustrating … and depressing story … from an  older veteran, retired Col Leonard B Scott III, the “Old Ranger,”  from Edmond, Oklahoma (who had his flags stolen), caught my ear and irritated me a how some people […]

A colorized photo triggering interest in Ernest Shacklton

| September 30, 2021

"Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success." –Ernest Shackleton  Seeing a colorized version of a photo on Twitter the other day from the British National Antarctic Expedition at the turn of the century triggered memories of […]

Tech Friday filler: Mobile Internet traffic worldwide

| September 24, 2021

Saved an interesting graphic posted on social media this past week. It is interesting to look at and contemplate how we use our smartphones and tablets … it also works as a Tech Friday filler.

A map of showing the 4037 cities with populations over 100K

| September 23, 2021

This map was posted on Brilliant Maps back in 2015, but graphically seeing the 4037 cities around the world with over 100,000 people in them was interesting for those of us who enjoy studying maps. LINK to larger black and white and LINK to color overlay map It may not be the most up-to-date map, […]

Some thoughts on investing as technology races forward

| August 20, 2021

Most aging entrepreneurs and investors can “in hindsight” spot their mistakes and missed opportunities, but with age and experience, also comes wisdom. The pace of change is rapidly accelerating and decisions seem to be made much faster and happen quicker nowadays’; I suspect even millennials are learning this faster? As a more cautious trader and […]

Will this pair of Sperry boat shoes last for the rest of my life?

| August 7, 2021

Besides making one of those “senior moment” gaffes by switching my mini split HVAC unit accidentally from AC to “HEAT” (I was roasting in my office), I bought a new pair of shoes after being disappointed in the cheaply made pair that I bought last year. Those that read this blog know that I’ve been […]

What’s new these days: Renting outdoor gear from Eddie Bauer?

| August 1, 2021

Perhaps I’ve been asleep at the wheel, but when looking to buy another pair of Eddie Bauer shorts (liked the lightweight ones I ordered last month – below), I noticed that they are promoting a “Rent Your Adventure” outdoor camping gear program. It caught me off-guard  to see them renting outdoor gear as well as […]

New Shepard Blue Origin launched with Jeff Bezos this morning

| July 20, 2021

Most news outlets are covering the Jeff Bezos and crew launching the few minutes delayed Blue Origin first crewed 11-minute space flight on the anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing in 1969. The New Shepard spacecraft launched flawlessly and was a beautiful site … although, shockingly short, for $28 million dollars per passenger.   Interestingly, […]

Lots of tools, more tools and an old Boy’s Life booksafe #TBT

| July 15, 2021

After seeing this photo of someone workbench screwdriver holder, I don’t feel quite as bad about my multiple tool boxes and workbench racks. Without a doubt, I do have my share of tools and gadgets, but I’m not sure how many screwdrivers it is necessary to have in one holder? The Facebook photo above aside, […]

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.
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