Posted By RichC on April 6, 2024

The subject line is my questionable twist on the Francis Church response to Virginia O’Hanlon in 1897, Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (see below).

All of us “seeing” inflation month after month really don’t question its existence, but we do wonder how long inflation will continue a higher than the desired two percent each year; some fear that the solution will be to suffer a recession (I’m still hoping for the Fed’s magical soft landing).   

So, how has inflation impacted us and those necessities of daily life … such as what we put in our grocery shopping carts. The WSJ took a look last week. 

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Category: Financial, News, Politics, Quotes | No Comments »
Tags: anigif, economy, graphic, inflation, santa claus, wikipedia, wsj

Posted By RichC on April 5, 2024

After posting the “Bald Eagle and 100K post,” I was feeling guilty in not including Taylor on the “goings-on” archive of my blog. So … to keep up, here’s photo from a bachelor trip to Las Vegas with his Miami University fraternity brothers last weekend. It sure looked and sounds as if they had a great time together (video below) … as they always do.

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Category: Archive, Friends, Travel, Video | No Comments »
Tags: brothers, fraternity, friends, las vegas, miami university, nevada, taylor

Posted By RichC on April 4, 2024

Katelyn’s 100K text message (above left) from her 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan reminded me of the one she sent 17 years ago (above right) … back when she was driving her 2001 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Where have all the years and miles gone (hence #TBT)?

I’m so glad we have the technology to sporadically send messages and stay in touch at the click of a smartphone … or as we called them “Cellphones” back when I added it to the “Categories” column in 2005!

On a totally different, but archiving kind of comment, they spotted a Bald Eagle near their new house high up in a tree. Very cool to have them nearby in Whitehouse, Ohio. 

Category: Archive, Automotive, Cellphone, Memories, Nature, Photos, TBT, Technology, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Tags: bald eagle, birds, daughter, family, jetta, katelyn, messaging, ohio, tdi, tiguan, vw, whitehouse

Posted By RichC on April 3, 2024

Last week I downloaded a book from the library by Jonathan DT Ward after hearing him mention it on a Fox Business program. He is a regular contributor and expert on China; I’ve always thought of him as knowledgeable and a younger version of Micheal Pillsbury (prevous book).

The book is titled, “The Decisive Decade: American Grand Strategy for Triumph Over China,” and it highlights what America must do to succeed against an increasingly adversarial China. As the Amazon summary details, “now is the time for the US to take action. China’s global power and influence grows every day. Working from a deep sense of national identity, the Chinese Communist Party is leading its country toward what it deems “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation,” and executing a long-term Grand Strategy to topple over its chief adversary, the US. As China becomes increasingly repressive domestically and aggressive overseas, it threatens to upend America’s global dominance at every turn.”

Category: Books, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: china, jonathan ward, michael pillsbury, Politics, reading, strategy

Posted By RichC on April 2, 2024

The humor may be dark, but each time I think the Republican controlled Congress (although barely the majority) might be trying to curtail the excessive spending or the heavy-handed policies enacted by President Biden or progressive Democrats, they fail due to infighting amongst themselves. It is ridiculous just how dysfunctional these “roaring” Republicans are as they let each opportunity to accomplish something that resembles comment sense slip away. 

Category: Humor, Nature, Politics, Video | No Comments »
Tags: analogy, commonsense, congress, democrats, dysfunctional, lions, mp4, Republicans

Posted By RichC on April 1, 2024

It seems shocking, or at least it surprised me, that Louis Charles B.W. (BuckWheat) Stevenson’s popular hit “My Maria” had not been mention as a Music Monday song?  

I happened to hear it last month on SiriusXM’s 70’s on 7 and jotted it down to check the blog. I did find the Three Dog Night version of “Shambala” (Stevenson recorded it too) and then realized that the same songwriter, Daniel Moore, also co-wrote “My Maria” with Stevenson in that same year.
 

Lindy Blaskey, Moore’s music publisher at ABC/Dunhill Records heard Daniel’s one verse and chorus of “My Maria” but Moore thought it was too bubble-gum sounding. Lindy Blaskey gave the verse and chorus to B.W. Stevenson and asked him to write an additional verse. When finished, David Kershenbaum, Stevenson’s producer at RCA Records, agreed with Lindy Blaskey that the song sounded like a hit. 

LINK

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Category: Music | No Comments »
Tags: buckwheat, bw stevenson, daniel moore, music monday, musicmonday, my maria, three dog night, wikipedia

Posted By RichC on March 31, 2024

I tried to come up with an April Fool’s Day joke … but failed … so I’m posting this “Over-The-Speed-Limit” meme a day early.  😊 

Category: Humor | No Comments »
Tags: funny, joke, meme, speed limit

Posted By RichC on March 31, 2024

Spring weather (video below the break out our back window below) and the celebration of Easter seemed to have appeared out of nowhere just as March 2024 ends.
Thought: Today will likely be the last time many of us see Easter appear on March 31st (the next time Easter will be on March 31, it will be 2086). Yikes!

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” —Job 19:25

While doing some Old Testament sleuthing regarding verses that reference the Messiah, our Jesus, I read a couple verses this week that I’ll share for contemplation. The prophesy and recorded history preceding the birth of Christ, reminded me that the concept of “time” is very human. It has little meaning when it comes to God’s Omnipotence (God is in total control of himself and his creation), Omniscience (God is the ultimate criterion of truth and falsity, so that his ideas are always true) and Omnipresence (God’s power and knowledge extend to all parts of his creation, he himself is present everywhere). Just like thinking about “infinity” …  it is not easy for humans to grasp. 

“He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” —Isaiah 25:8

  Happy Easter!  

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Category: Faith, Video, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: christianity, easter, forgiveness, jesus, old testament, resurrection, verses

Posted By RichC on March 30, 2024

Seeing Mallard Ducks show up in the spring “like clockwork” had me wondering just how long this particular pair has been showing up at our pool (still covered) and landscape pond … and how long they live (see below)? 

For years ducks show up in the spring, have been chased by our dog Tootsie (for the 17 years of her life), and usually find a place to nest — it is sometimes odd where eggs show up? 

Photo from March 2020

What’s the Average Lifespan of a Mallard Duck?

There are a lot of factors that determine how long a mallard will live. Young ducklings have a high mortality rate because of factors like adverse weather, predation, and human-influenced factors. In the wild, mallards that live beyond their first year will typically live between 5–10 years. Because of the high mortality rate of ducklings, the average lifespan of all ducklings is just 2 years old.

When well cared for, mallards kept in captivity can live as long as 20 years.

LINK

Also this was an excuse to pull out my Lumix GX-8 camera and long-focus lens, so click photos above for larger higher-resolution versions. BTW, I’m semi thinking ahead for the April 8th Solar Eclipse. 😉 

Category: Nature, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: duck, ducks, mallard, pond, pool, tootsie, yard

Posted By RichC on March 29, 2024

Computer backups and synchronized cloud data storage are topics I’ve addressed previously too many times. Last year I was pushed into tightening my subscription-belt after losing my free 1TB Miami University Google Workspace account and opted to give the economical iDrive a try. 

So after using it for a while now, I’ve concluded what I suspected, it is not perfect. It doesn’t synchronize like Microsoft’s OneDrive and is not as robust when it comes to backups as Google Drive. Still, once it is set up and running a few weeks, it does seem to regularly handle backing up both my MacBook Air and older iMac every night. Thankfully I’ve not needed to “restore” a back up yet and am hoping that my attached HDs and Apple’s Time Machine will suffice? 

As for synchronized cloud storage, I’m sticking with my paid subscription to Microsoft’s OneDrive for daily use as it has been nearly flawless … as have my free versions of Dropbox, Box.net, AWS, Apple iCloud and Google Drive accounts … all running through oDrive (another post someday). 

Category: Computer, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, aws, box.net, cloud storage, google drive, icloud, idrive, microsoft, odrive, onedrive, tech friday, techfriday