Disney to buy a nearly one-third stake in Hulu

| April 30, 2009

Since I’ve posted a couple times about the online “web-video aggregator” Hulu.com, the latest news that Disney has reached a deal to buy a significant share of the company and put full episodes of its ABC TV shows on the site is pretty big news. The advantage for Hulu is that Disney will invest capital […]

Tweetmeme and Nielsen looking at social networking sites

| April 30, 2009

While adding a new Twitter feature call Tweetmeme (see retweet button at bottom of post), I stumbled across an interesting statistic compiled by Nielsen which concludes that 60% of Twitter Users Quit within the First Month, at least that is how Mashable writer Pete Cashmore sees it. I’m not sure how that stacks up to […]

When is Good and a call to test a D-Link DPH-50U

| April 29, 2009

Have you ever need to get a group together and try to schedule the best time for a meeting or conference call? If so, you know what a pain this can be sending emails or making phone calls to everyone. Try this simple, innovated and FREE website service next time you’re faced with finding “When […]

Golden Lamb in Lebanon Ohio celebrates 75,000 days in business

| April 28, 2009

An article in our local paper highlighted the Golden Lamb restaurant and hotel in historic Lebanon, Ohio this week. It has been in business for75,000 consecutive days. That’s long enough to have seen a civil war, two world wars and 40 presidents. The celebration on April 27th marked the 206 years of business for this […]

Google Maps used in tracking Swine Flu

| April 27, 2009

View H1N1 Swine Flu in a larger map H1N1 Swine flu in 2009 Pink markers are suspect Purple markers are confirmed Deaths lack a dot in marker Yellow markers are negative The Swine Flu pandemic, believed to have started in Mexico, is showing up around the world as the WHO and U.S. CDC is doing […]

The neighborhood gazebo has a roof

| April 26, 2009

The weather being as nice as it has been this weekend had me toting around my camera. One of the items showing change as been the gazebo which is now sporting a new roof. The progress has been slow (in my opinion), but I’m glad to see it coming along. Strong 70+ mph winds do […]

The anniversary of My Desultory Blog with a garden idea

| April 25, 2009

Occasionally I enjoy looking at archived posts from the previous year, or even several years ago by clicking on links in the right hand side bar’s “Years ago on this day“ list. It is surprising how fast 4 years have gone by? It was in April 2005 that I moved my paper journal to a […]

Hybrid at Sun ‘n Fun: It’s a plane, it’s a car, it’s a Transition

| April 25, 2009

I’ve posted a couple times (1 & 2) before on Terrafugia’s Transition experimental airplane/car and wanted to include a little video from the Tampa Fox affiliate taken at the Sun ‘n Fun airshow in Landland Florida. A group of students from  M.I.T. developed a two-seat aircraft that can take off and land at small airports […]

Pilot Kyle Davis had a close call heading to Sun ‘n Fun

| April 24, 2009

A couple guys on their way to the popular spring aviation event called Sun ‘n Fun in Lakeland Florida had a interesting landing after an engine failure. Pilot, and flight instructor Kyle Davis along with  his friend and passenger, a professional videographer, left Winter Haven on there way to Lakeland Florida. It was just a […]

One year in 40 seconds video by Eirik Solheim

| April 24, 2009

While checking on our neighborhood gazebo project live webcam, I ran across a neat time lapse video by by Eirik Solheim — One year in 40 seconds. He has another one that covers a year in 2 minutes in his backyard in Norway, which I enjoyed as well. His 2009 should be of even higher […]

The Apple iPhone/Touch App Store nears 1 Billion downloads

| April 23, 2009

While I’m not a fan of the iPhone or the iPod  Touch, I am impressed with the shear number of devices and software “app” downloads in less than 2 years. Apple has a counter running on their site as the Online App Store nears 1 Billion downloads. Very impressive. Although as readers may have surmised […]

How far is too far when going ‘Green’

| April 22, 2009

I’m all for lightening my environmental footprint on our planet, but the mission statement for PlantAmnesty.org is a bit over the top. I enjoyed the chuckle — thanks for the forward Jeff; I hope you enjoy “eating a pinecone” for Earth Day. 😆 –

Nickelodeon and Ed Begley Jr. on Earth Day 2009

| April 22, 2009

I don’t normally think about Earth Day in advance, but since Ed Begley Jr. sent me an email mentioning he and his daughter were going to be on Nickelodeon, I set my Tivo. Since I’ve ‘archived’ Season 1 and Season 2 of Living with Ed I figured this would be a good post to mention […]

Towelette canister presents a safety issue for dummies

| April 21, 2009

Some days I can’t help but question my intelligence or lapse of judgment. I’m about to embarrass myself, for at minimum, lack of forethought — if not just being a dummy. There was a container of antibacterial wipes sitting in the washroom and I noticed that the dispensing cap wasn’t “loaded” correctly. I opened the […]

Willie Nelson talks biodiesel on Huckabee

| April 20, 2009

[flv:FN_WillieNelsonHuckabee090419.flv 480 325] Willie Nelson talks a bit about his advocacy for biodiesel on the FoxNews program Huckabee this past weekend. (Huckabee airs at 8PM on Saturday evenings and is rebroadcast at 11PM and Sunday evening)

Follow up from FCC on my Junk Fax post

| April 19, 2009

I posted a follow up letter from the FCC on my junk fax post and below. Also pointing out that so far this month I haven’t received any additional faxes from the two companies that have been sending marketing by fax. (click image above for full letter view) The FCC also states how marketing faxes […]

Type-A personality, EcoDriving and Road Rage

| April 18, 2009

I’m not a Type-A personality, nor do I frustrate easily, but that said, I do spend a significant amount of time on the road and appreciate being able to liberally use the throttle to get where I need to go … which in a diesel vehicle can still be pretty efficient. Thankfully, I haven’t noticed […]

CNBC rings closing bell on Wall Street celebrating 20 years

| April 17, 2009

Although I’m not a big fan of the “pinheaded”politically oriented peacocks managing and broadcasting at NBC news or MSNBC, I have watched the Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) since the early 1990s. In fact, their broadcast was the primary reason I switched from rabbit ears to satellite television.They are the 4 to 6 billion […]

Beautiful Ohio sunrise on Thursday morning

| April 16, 2009

Quick post while stopping to check my email and drink a cup of coffee. While spending the day on the road and traveling today, I thought I would post a couple photos from the beautiful sunrise while driving east in rural Ohio this Thursday morning.

Airventure2009: Get up close and personal with the Airbus 380

| April 15, 2009

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. – (April 15, 2009) – With the announcement today that the Airbus A380 is coming to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009, EAA reinforced the reputation of its annual fly-in as a one-of-a-kind showcase of aviation’s innovations, unique accomplishments, and wide-ranging interests. For the first time in North America, AirVenture will provide […]

Ken Langone and Bernie Marcus of Home Depot on CNBC

| April 15, 2009

Interesting conversation this morning on CNBC‘s Squawkbox as Home Depot‘s co-founders Ken Langone and Bernie Marcus offered up their views on politics and business. They both are concerned that wrong moves are being made due to the recession and that government is getting too involved in the running of business.  I’m also concerned that politicians […]

At 89, John Demjanjuk, alleged Nazi guard deportation halted

| April 15, 2009

Having lived in the Cleveland area in the 1980s and 1990s and remembering this event, it is puzzling why it has taking so long to deport John Demjanjuk a resident in Seven Hills, Ohio. It is good that we continue to track down war criminals, particularly those taking part in running Nazi death camps, but […]

Gazebo project slow due to rain

| April 14, 2009

EFE Gazebo Project on Monday April 13, 2009 We had a cold front roll through on Monday so there hasn’t been any progress on our neighborhood Gazebo. Of course the only reason I’m mentioning it is because I’ve set up my video camera and am running a ustream.tv streaming feed of the construction. Rainy and […]

Skype used by FoxNews to report on pirate hostage crisis

| April 13, 2009

I wanted to archive the success and impressive work of the U.S. Navy and bravery of the captain of the Maersk Alabama, east of Somalia this weekend and have been debating how to include the event. After listing to a podcast about the new Skype app for the iPhone, decided that a major networks use […]

A Northern Cardinal: My new morning alarm clock

| April 13, 2009

I’d like to think “oh, such a beautiful bird” … but that has not be my morning attitude since he has been rapping on the window for about a week now. I could probably handle the ‘pesky tapping’ of this northern cardinal if it were not for the early morning annoyance.

He has Risen – Resurrection Sunday

| April 12, 2009

I’ve been looking for a few new ways to focus on Easter, so thought I’d take advantage of the Internet to gain new perspective. I started with listening to a bit of Glenn Beck audio with Pink Floyd as the music (seemed a strange choice) and finished up by reading a few newspaper articles. It […]

Sprint anticipating the Palm Pre release

| April 11, 2009

With the release of the Sprint only Palm Pre “in the first half of 2009,” Sprint and Palm marketing dollars are starting to show up in a hefty advertising campaign. Besides the television commercial mentioned the other day, I noticed a full page ad prominently displaying the Palm Pre in Friday’s Wall Street Journal. Treo […]

Live ustream.tv gazebo project and streaming video

| April 10, 2009

The good news that yesterday the gazebo project moved ahead  as the pilings were sunk and cemented before the rain came. The bad news is that it is a damp day today, but ‘lo and behold‘  the construction crew is working this morning … according to the ustream.tv channel I’m broadcasting. Setting up a webcam […]

Our Ike damaged gazebo project is finally underway

| April 9, 2009

Finally … we are moving ahead with the repairs/replacement of our homeowner association’s damaged gazebo. The lake was pumped down yesterday and the contractor is hoping for a few rain-less days in order to get the piling in place so construction can start. The original gazebo stood for 15 years and was blown over by […]

VW Golf shows up at the New York Auto Show

| April 9, 2009

The new VW Golf shows off its lines at the New York Auto show on April 8, 2009. The new looks is a tad bit more chiseled than the previous model, but retains all the functionality and sporty European handling known to Rabbit and Golf owners. All in all, its a good look. Volkswagen also […]

Volkswagen Group of America Stefan Jacoby’s comments

| April 8, 2009

According to an “Wheels” article today in the New York Times, Stefan Jacoby, president and chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America talked and promoted clean diesel over electric and hybrid vehicles a the New York auto show. He was the keynote speaker at the annual breakfast for the press and took the opportunity to […]

The Palm Pre is showing up in Sprint advertising

| April 8, 2009

Perhaps I’m offering up some free advertising to Sprint and their soon to be release Palm Pre smartphone, but I am pretty ‘geeky’ excited about getting my hands on this new gadget and don’t mind being used. Some expect it to show up this month (I doubt it), while others believe its release will be […]

Nissan announces new 370Z additions

| April 7, 2009

Nissan announced a couple new 370Z models today in New York including the 2010 370Z Roadster.  This impressive and affordable performance car is winning over enthusiasts and will by the end of summer have a top down sibbling. The 2010 Nizzan 370Z Roadster sports a no-touch convertible top will make for a very easy to […]

The FCC and the handling of Junk Fax complaints

| April 7, 2009

Although my confidence is low that I’ll be able to reduce the number of “junk faxes” being sent to me, I’m going through the procedure put in place by the FCC anyway. The steps are fairly straight forward in entering a complaint online, but I suspect results may not be all that forthcoming? An online […]

Chrome tailpipe trend is getting ugly

| April 6, 2009

(click for larger image) I’ve never been all that attracted to the ‘add-on’ chrome tailpipe trend which has become the norm in recent years, but now that many of these cars have a few years of age they are becoming downright ugly. While spending a few days driving this past week I notice a relatively […]

Conservatives are seeing some young leadership emerge

| April 4, 2009

Who knows who will begin to bring the conservative movement and the Republican party back to life and attract new American voters? If  big government and the  spending of the current Democrats joining the honeymooning President Obama isn’t enough to help unite conservatives, then perhaps it is time for some new blood. Take a look […]

2009 Hennessey ZR1 Corvette standing mile video clip

| April 3, 2009

Even a frugal diesel guy like me can’t resist enjoying watching 705 HP of American steel (and fiberglass) do 185mph in standing mile “warm up run.”  That’s  flying.

NetFlix: The $2 a month debate

| April 2, 2009

I’ve been satisfied with Netflix since switching from Blockbuster Online for ‘mail delivered’ DVD and BluRay DVD movies. My wife and I generally watch one movie each week and have been comfortable with the service and choices available with the ‘one at a time’ subscription. Since we have a BluRay player, I opted for the […]

New vehicle purchase sales tax deduction for 2009 taxes

| April 1, 2009

If you are in the market for a new car or truck this year, the IRS will assist by at least making the “sales tax” deductible.  There are a few caveats, which includes a short window since the car, truck, motorhome or motorcycle needs to be purchase between February 16, 2009 and January 1, 2010 […]

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