My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on August 14, 2018

It is so frustrating to see a handful of NFL players once again willing to offend A WHOLE BUNCH of patriotic fans —  including me — for another season with their kneeing or holding a fist during the playing of our National Anthem. I blame a handful of players, their union, the NFL commissioner and owners … the same ones who had little problem setting and enforcing  "rules of conduct" over the years (see newspaper clipping from a friend of mine on Facebook);  for some reason they can’t seem to grow a spine when it comes to showing respect our flag, our country and those who defend and sacrifice for it. A pitiful display by the players and leadership of the NFL.

Once again I’ll be flipping the channel to enjoy late season Major League Baseball and perhaps more college football than usual. It is a small price to pay in order to make my tiny voice heard — although I suspect I’m not alone in being offended enough to tune out. Good luck to the those working in NFL related jobs who will be suffering revenue loss … I’m sure they are even more frustrated then me?

Category: Business, Financial, Millitary, Sports | No Comments »
Tags: boycott, code of conduct, flag, free speech, kneeing, mismanagement, nfl, patriotism, protest, season

Posted By RichC on August 13, 2018

We had a great family time this weekend that start when "just the two of us" decided to have lunch at an area hibachi restaurant … when "surprise" … Katelyn, Drew, Annalyn, Taylor and Megan surprised Brenda for her 60th birthday. We had a great time together.

The four original Corbetts (plus Annalyn) and Annalyn helped Rich figure out the tip … after helping grandma eat her cheesecake (video below)!

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Category: Archive, Personal, Photos, Video | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, birthday, brenda, celebrate, drew, family, hibachi, japanese, john deere, katelyn, megan, Restaurant, rich, surprise, taylor

Posted By RichC on August 11, 2018

Likely I’m not the best driver when it comes to not glancing at my phone in the car, but I am improving and in recent years am trying not to "read" or "text anything." Unfortunately we still have drivers who are "comfortable" (leg up???) with multi-tasking while driving. Ugh.

I spent a few more days in Florida this past week to put the finishing touches on the kitchen update started back in the spring. The kitchen is finished, except for some caulking, cleaning and putting pots, pans, dishes, etc back in the cabinets. Speaking of cleaning, the new Deebot robot tile floor vacuum is pretty impressive. Besides getting tangled up in a cord, it sweeps the floors impressively well for a rechargeable battery powered device. It even sucked up a screw it found on the floor. Wow!

Repairing old blinds until we replace windows & the impressive Palm tree "root ball"

Project two … is the bathroom … and it is coming along slowly. I finished the baseboard tile, grouted the shower and the floor tiles, sealed all of the tiles and sanded/painted the shower floor with a better matching color. Only time will tell how well the polyurethane "topside" boat paint holds up for a shower basin?

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Category: Archive, Misc, Personal, Photos, Video | No Comments »
Tags: bathroom, condo, condo1718, delray beach, distracted, driving, florida, kitchen, lizards, projects, remodel

Posted By RichC on August 10, 2018

It doesn’t matter if driving or flying (CVG), it is great to see the the Cincinnati city view when driving north on I-75/71 down the "cut-in-the-hill" and know that I’m almost home. What a great welcome … it almost has me singing this song – LINK.

Category: Misc, Personal, Photos, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: cincinnati, cut in the hill, driving, skyline, Travel, wkrp

Posted By RichC on August 9, 2018

Unions have slowly been losing their grip on "laws" in each state over the years as workers want to be able to choose whether or not they want to belong to a union (and pay the dues). Several states have passed "right-to-work" laws giving those workers that freedom … but others have not adopted "independent choice."

In elections on Tuesday, voters in Missouri push back against "right-to-work" in their state.

Unions notch win in deep-red Missouri with rejection of right-to-work law

Tuesday’s referendum in the state gave voters the chance to strike down a law the state Legislature passed last year that would prohibit employees from being forced to join a union or to otherwise pay "fair share" fees to a given workplace’s union. Rules like this are commonly referred to as "right-to-work" laws, and by prohibiting requirements for employees to join a union or pay fees to a union negotiating on their behalf, they are generally understood to weaken labor organizations in places where they are enacted.

READ

Personally I understand the value unions once played in our country and establishing them gave some power to workers who were often taken advantage of when it came to abusive management. Most of the old is in the past and companies nowadays wanting to retain good workers must offer competitive compensation and benefits that align with their peers.

I’d prefer individuals have the option to be part of a union or not. If employers get too haughty, unions will grow again and workers will want to join. Unfortunately now unions have become just a political arm and lobbyist (and waste dues) … we should not be forcing individuals to participate and pay dues.

Category: Business, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: labor, law, missouri, Politics, right to work, states, unions, voting, workers

Posted By RichC on August 8, 2018

With a niece a new dentist and both a late father-in-law and brother-in-law who were dentists, the #70 Mike Rowe "The Way I Heard It Podcast" was interesting – You Might Feel A Little Pinch.

I’m thankful for modern dentistry … although may look at my dentist with a little more scrutiny.

Check out mikeroweWorks or his SKILLSUSA Foundation while you are listening.
 

Category: Audio, Health, History | No Comments »
Tags: dadh, dentist, History, keira, mark howard, medicine, mike rowe, mp3, podcast

Posted By RichC on August 7, 2018

I just love good ideas. Here is one that I grabbed off of an ad on my iPhone that uses the car door pillar “loop” to hold a machined aluminum hook attached to a step. The simple step is used to reach items strapped to a roof rack or car top carrier. It would be really handy for taller SUVs or CUVs.

Brilliant … now to figure out how to make it or better yet, where to buy it.

Category: Archive, Automotive, Ideas, Misc | No Comments »
Tags: aluminum, innovation, step