My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on December 19, 2025

Here’s a Tech Friday item: The lidar maker Luminar for self-driving cars has filed for bankruptcy according to The Verge. Unfortunately for them, technology changes fast even when you have a great product and are innovative; in the real world, companies are still required to have a profitable business plan that keeps the lights on. ☹️ 

While on the “self-driving” and tech in cars train of thought, Drew had his Tesla serviced this past week and ended up with a “sweet” loaner vehicle: A Cybertruck. I suspect they recognize a possible future customer of one when they see one! 

On a bit less technology note, my granddaughters (and Katelyn) sent me a podcast and asked if I knew about “moon trees.” I did not! Now after listening to it with Brenda, we both were intrigued with Apollo NASA astronaut Stu ‘Smokey’ Roosa and the Moon Tree Foundation, overseen by his daughter. If you have kids … and a few minutes for a podcast … check out “The Travelers: How Moon Tree hide Among Us.”

I’m now trying to figure out how to get a moon tree “sibling” and have even reached out to Clayton Anderson to see if he can help locate a seed or seedling. It would been fun see if we could plant an offspring in our backyard or maybe with an appearance at the Montessori school where the girls go — what a great class/school project that would be!

On one final semi-personal Wyze Cam (a tech item) 😉 … my son Taylor picked up Brenda to do their annual Christmas shopping time together. It is a nice tradition than includes eating out that they have one a year together BUT what really made me smile was how much of a gentleman he is — a wonderful son.

Category: Archive, Automotive, Blogs, Personal, Photos, Podcast, Space, Technology, Tesla, Video | No Comments »
Tags: astronaut, astro_clay, drew, lidar, luminar, moon trees, podcast, space, stu roosa, tech friday, techfriday, terrestrials

Posted By RichC on December 18, 2025

It is interesting how when you are older, and as years pass, that items we have don’t age the same as they did when we were younger? Take for example clothes, I can put on a 10+ year old piece of clothing nowadays and still think that it is relatively new.

Kitchen appliances are that same way to me. I somehow thought  our 15 year old Bosch dishwasher is too new to need maintenance or a repair?

Obviously kitchen appliances don’t last forever (hm,  a #TBT post)?) and do occasionally need attention. I’m hoping in the case of our Bosch dishwasher leaking that it is something simple like a stuck piece of plastic in the drain or the disposal backing up? Still, I’m unsure and will have to watch it closely before assuming the fill switch or something has failed??? In the case of the dishwasher, the overflow onto the kitchen floor has dripped through and into my workshop ceiling (photo right) … and so it goes: Just another repair for now.

Category: Archive, Human Interest, Repairs, TBT | No Comments »
Tags: age, bosch, ceiling, dishwasher, kichen, leak, repair, TBT

Posted By RichC on December 17, 2025

Do you have some spare change? How about a couple of 2025 pennies? You might want to hang on to them. 😉 

The auction house sold 232 sets of three coins each featuring a 2025 penny from the Philadelphia Mint, a 24-karat gold penny from the Philadelphia Mint and a 2025-D penny from the Denver Mint, according to a press release.

Each of the coins was embossed with the omega symbol “Ω” marking the final run of the coin first minted in 1793, ostensibly why 232 lots were sold, per Stack’s Bowers Galleries.

Each trio of coins sold for an average lot value of over $72,000, and the final set, No. 232, sold for $800,000, as it included the very last circulating pennies from Philadelphia and Denver and the final gold omega penny.

ABCNews Story

Category: Financial, Misc | No Comments »
Tags: abcnews, coin collecting, coins, collecting, currency, us penny

Posted By RichC on December 17, 2025

Brilliantmaps is a social media account on X.com that I follow for year … and have posted from before. This past week, one of the posts on their website was on a set of retired NationalAtlas.gov maps of Ohio. Since I’ve been a life long “Ohioian,” it seems fitting to include a link to their post and a Satellite Map of Ohio.

General Ohio State Facts

Demonym: Ohioan
State Abbreviation: OH
Year Admitted To US: 1803
State Number (Out of 50): 17th
State Capital: Columbus
Total Area: 44,826 sq mi (116,098 km2)
State Area Ranking (Out of 50): 34th
Highest Point: Campbell Hill – 1,548 ft (472 m)
Lowest Point: 455 ft (139 m)
State Website: https://www.ohio.gov/

Category: Archive, Misc, Social Media, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: brilliantmaps.com, geography, maps, ohio, social media, x.com

Posted By RichC on December 16, 2025

It is the time of year that I do my best to reach out to my existing Consolidated Printing and Publishing Co. customers that I’m still serving. The gradual slowing down of my nearly 40 year old business continues and I’m still doing my best to keep loyal and long time customers satisfied. Is maintaining a handful of printing orders, domain services and web servers worthwhile? Probably not … but I’m not ready to stop just yet. 

That said, keeping things going isn’t really all that taxing as usually I spend most of the day with a phone at ready and am usually in my home office (focused on trading and investments). The old days of sales calls and travel are nearly non-existent these days and are a far cry from weekly trips to NE Ohio … or long nights in the building finishing up printing jobs to hit a deadline.

I’d like to believe that the daily 8:30 to 4:30 schedule keeps me mental stimulated which will hopefully keep my mind sharp. This past year hasn’t been great for my physical health though and perhaps I can make exercise the highlight in my New Year’s resolution once my foot returns to normal? For now, and as long as Brenda is happy with my schedule, I’ll continue this semi-retirement lifestyle for another year (or at least until I can hire a Tilly Norwood to take over for me). 😉 

Who is Tilly Norwood?
Norwood is a fully digital, AI-generated character designed to appear as a realistic human actress. Her creator, Eline Van der Velden, developed her as part of a creative experiment to explore new storytelling possibilities using artificial intelligence. The team behind her produced approximately 2,000 variations to achieve a “girl next door” aesthetic, prioritizing authenticity over idealized beauty to foster emotional connection. She has appeared in a short comedy sketch titled “AI Commissioner” and maintains an active social media presence, showcasing her “reel” and promotional content.

(more…)

Category: AI, Personal, Retirement | No Comments »
Tags: artificial intelligence, cpp, semi-retirement, tilly norwood

Posted By RichC on December 15, 2025

The 34th Annual Reindog Parade was held in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Mt.Adams (Cincinnati) and guess who was there? Gigi, Taylor and Megan (well done)!

Canines and fellow owners participated in a unique procession that puts spectators of all ages in the holiday spirit. They walked through the historical streets of Mt. Adams with this year’s Grand Marshall, television sportscaster Thom Brennaman. There were festive costumes and prizes in the following categories:

 • Small Dogs (under 25 lbs)
 • Large Dogs (26 lbs and over)
 • Dog/Owner Look-A-Like
 • Group (Three or more dogs)

(more…)

Category: AI, Archive, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: cincinnati, dogs, gigi, megan, mt adams, parade, reindog, taylor

Posted By RichC on December 15, 2025

Every once in a while I come across some music that catches my ear (and eyes). It is not necessarily that it is my taste in music, but a recognition that talented musicians come from unlikely places. I haven’t done any research on the Finnish country rock band Steve’n’Seagulls, but thought I’d include their version of “Thunderstruck” (by AC/DC) for this Music Monday. 

Category: Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: ac/dc, mp4, music monday, musicmonday, steve'n'seagulls, thunderstruck