RichC | May 30, 2009
Although I don’t watch the “idol” shows, I would be remiss in not archiving something on my blog about the Scottish singer and Internet sensation Susan Boyle on the British program “Got Talent 2009.” (and although she scored a 2nd place overall, she is tremendously talented and captured the world’s attention)
RichC | May 29, 2009
According to VW of America spokesman Steve Keyes, the 2010 North American version of the European Golf wagon, the VW Jetta Sportwagen, will see a facelift this fall. Keyes told Autoblog: “In order to simplify production, we’ll make the change to our Jetta and as an added benefit, we believe the customers will appreciate the […]
RichC | May 29, 2009
Here a great way to try, or to just use without paying for more storage, my favorite backup and multiple computer file sharing service from Sugarsync. I’ve commented positively before and have no problem paying a monthly for the service, but here’s a way for students, skeptics and light users to give Sugarsync a ‘long […]
RichC | May 28, 2009
How many hours does it take to record a 3 minute and 42 second YouTube video of college guys shooting ping pong balls into cups? Probably hours that could have been better used focused on higher education … but they now have a popular YouTube video to put on their resume … and who knows […]
RichC | May 28, 2009
A rainbow was a welcome sight on the way to the hotel Wednesday night as the T-storms rubbled through northeast Ohio. The rain was heavy and traffic slow as I inched my way through Akron on I-76.
RichC | May 27, 2009
Day two of the All Things D D7 conference had Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher interviewing Evan Williams and Biz Stone of Twitter. The short on stage sit down offered one of the better reviews both the history and future thinking behind this fast growing social networking company (watch your audio volume in embedded video […]
RichC | May 26, 2009
Being on the Ohio roads regularly for business and pleasure had me pondering my home state’s ranking in the National Motorists Association‘s Memorial Day review of the least friendly states for drivers. The survey used 17 criteria that unfortunately placed Ohio just behind New Jersey as the most unfriendly state for drivers. The state rankings […]
RichC | May 25, 2009
Memorial Day weekend was the first chance I had to get a close up view of the ‘new to North America’ V-6 TDI 3.0L version of the diesel Volkswagen Touareg 2. Most TDI advocates have been wondering just when the ‘realistic’ version of a VW SUV was going to arrive in the states … seeing […]
RichC | May 25, 2009
While listening to my wife reminisce about Memorial Day days traditions when she was a child, I found myself looking down with a little embarrassment since I didn’t establish the same thoughtful traditions for our family. Disclosure: her father, WWII vet, was the only one in the family who actually prioritized the day. Nevertheless, the […]
RichC | May 24, 2009
It has been an emotionally tangled weekend as one of those parenting situations beyond my ability to intercede and fix has come up. Searching for good advice has been challenging and I’m thankful to have a caring God to turn to, knowing that He is big enough to handle even my smallish issue. — “I […]
RichC | May 23, 2009
The long running automotive magazine program Motorweek praised the 2009 Volkwagen Jetta TDI as their 2009 Driver’s Choice pick for car of the year, while not mentioning the sister “Sportwagen” TDI … until today. _
RichC | May 22, 2009
I was able to get some of the vegetable garden planted this past week and fenced in order to protect the tender plants from the ravenous bunnies we have around our house. One would think that Tootsie, our Australian Blue Heeler could defend the property, but the rabbits seem to populate despite her efforts to […]
RichC | May 21, 2009
Next best thing to waking up next to my beautiful wife … 
… is waking up to a beautiful sunrise. Today’s sunrise over Akron, Ohio was no exception and I did my best to capture it out my hotel room window on my ‘long in the tooth’ Palm Treo 700p smartphone (the Palm Pre […]
RichC | May 21, 2009
I’m taking advantage of the ‘hopefully’ short window between my son’s return from college and summer employment. I’ve put him to work edging a few landscape mounds and spreading our mulch. Hmm … what else needs to be done? 
Oh … and although he doesn’t read this … Happy Birthday to my brother Ron.
RichC | May 20, 2009
Now that we all know that the Palm Pre will be available for consumers on June 6th, where is the best place to buy it? One would think that heading to the Pre’s exclusive carrier Sprint, but you might be wrong. According to an Engadget post, Best Buy intends to sell the long awaited smartphone […]
RichC | May 20, 2009
It is long past due that I mention that a friend’s second coffee shop location for Coffee Beans & Brew in Monroe, Ohio location is open for business. Steve’s first CBB is on Yankee Road near the Cincinnati-Dayton Road intersection in Liberty Township has been one of my favorite coffee houses and I’ve been anxious […]
RichC | May 19, 2009
I don’t want to sound like an advertisement for Capital One, but from my minimal research, there is a clear difference in plastic for those traveling overseas — or more appropriately, those needing to make purchases while traveling overseas. Since I’ll be in Europe this summer and noticed a recent article in the Wall Street […]
RichC | May 18, 2009
I’ve been lax in posting a follow up to my new to me tech gadget since I really haven’t had the chance to use it much until last week, nevertheless, here is my take on the D-Link DPU-50U. I’ve been using the Skype to phones USB device lightly for a few weeks now and will […]
RichC | May 17, 2009
My Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter (EAA284) met at a new shop of one of our members today for our May meeting. We had a chance to both work on projects for our chapters ‘rentable kitchen’ and to learn a bit about welding. We enjoyed a beautiful day in Waynesville, Ohio while discussing the summer flying […]
RichC | May 17, 2009
Interestingly those people who knew and were aware of the conditions that lead to the economic meltdown still fell prey to being swallowed by wanting more than they could afford. In a brutally honest New York Times article, Edmund Andrews shares his story. If there was anybody who should have avoided the mortgage catastrophe, it […]
RichC | May 17, 2009
So you want to understand Twitter? Here’s an excellent interview. VIDEO REMOVED An Internet friend of mine was on a panel of new media experts earlier this month with The Agenda with Steve Paiken. Mathew Ingram from The Globe & Mail, Jay Rosen from NYU journalism professor, David Cohn Spot.us founder, and The Twitter Book […]
RichC | May 16, 2009
Enter now for your chance to win a Palm Pre from Sprint. The newest Palm smartphone could change the iPhone dominated playing field if the product operates as expected … but the hurdle is set pretty high. Nevertheless, by entering your email address (stick with your junk mail address) and phone number before May 18th […]
RichC | May 15, 2009
Note to self — don’t get excited just yet as the Palm Pre is NOT in the Sprint inventory. But seeing it being unboxed doesn’t help the anticipation factor.
RichC | May 14, 2009
After billions of American taxpayer dollars, concessions from labor and retirees, thousands of job losses, threats of bankruptcy and government nationalization of the company … management has the audacity to plan on importing Chinese-built vehicles in 2011 order “to save on manufacturing costs.” How can Americans who through all this considered supporting GM swallow this? […]
RichC | May 14, 2009
I was disappointed last week to have missed seeing Rhett and Link in Fairfield Ohio while out of town on Thursday, but since then I’ve noticed them on several network news shows talking about a controversial Red House Furniture video (my previous post). I didn’t find the video all that offensive or really all that […]
RichC | May 13, 2009
I’ve been happily running the Windows 7 Beta (post 1 & post 2) and see it as Microsoft’s best OS release since XP. Although the Release Candidate is now available for all to install, I’ve been slow to update my 7000 Beta build because I’d like a clean install requiring solid backups, my install CDs, […]
RichC | May 12, 2009
Although some in the Obama administration have proposed that raising taxes on fuel is one way to encourage driving less and buying smaller more fuel efficient vehicles, Americans surveyed by Rasmussen don’t like it. A short FoxNews interview with Scott Rasmussen highlights that 81% oppose additional fuel taxes, although they seem to be a bit […]
RichC | May 11, 2009
The shuttle Shuttle Atlantis sits on launch pad 39A (photo right) as the crew of STS-125 rests for an ambitious mission to service NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope this week. The launch is scheduled for 2:00PM EST Monday afternoon and will be manned by retired Navy Capt. Gregory C. Johnson, pilot, mission specialists and veteran spacewalkers […]
RichC | May 10, 2009
Short ‘text to blog’ post to wish all the mothers in my life a Happy Mother’s Day.
RichC | May 8, 2009
The MyPre website posted comments about a possible June 7th release of the Palm Pre. They pointed to an alleged leaked internal meeting agenda that will be taking place from June 3rd through June 5th. Historically June 7th has been a Sprint launch day for new products. Also, according to the buzz in Palm Pre […]
RichC | May 8, 2009
In my second sailing entry for the day, the razor sharp photo to the left is of Thomas Johanson (click photo for larger) the helmsman for Team Ericsson 3 in the Volvo Ocean Race. This Oskar Kihlborg was one of the featured photos in an excellent Boston.com The Big Picture page. The Volvo Ocean Race […]
RichC | May 8, 2009
I regularly read the updates from Reid Stowe and his 1000 Days at Sea Mars Ocean Odyssey and wanted to archive an AP story from earlier in the week. The AP article written by Verena Dobnik was published a couple days ago and portrayed Soanya and Reid’s story as “quirky” — at least the beginning. […]
RichC | May 7, 2009
While out of town this week at one of my regular hotels, I noticed a speedy brown spider about the size of a nickel in my room at night, perhaps the Brown Recluse –Loxosceles reclusa (photo right). I tried to catch him, but he was evasive and when behind one of the screwed down pictures […]
RichC | May 7, 2009
The Microsoft Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) came out on Tuesday this week and although I’m in no hurry to switch from the Beta (see my original install post), I did find some of the information disconcerting. First, the August 1st expiration date on my current beta build has been confirmed. You can also check […]
RichC | May 7, 2009
According to computer security expert Steve Gibson, there is a javascript flaw in the widely used Adobe product Acrobat 7, 8 and 9 includiing their Reader software. There is an easy fix that can be taken by users before Adobe come out with the ‘fix’ — it as simple as unchecking the ‘Enable JavaScript’ box. […]
RichC | May 6, 2009
I know that I’ve posted one too many photos of the gazebo progress, but one more picture taken while the sun sets won’t hurt. This one was taken on Tuesday night just after the construction workers installed the railings and before the rain came today, Wednesday 5/6/2009. I’ll also use this to mention that I’ve […]
RichC | May 6, 2009
Let me know if you would like a one month NetFlix Trial … a couple weeks longer than the normal promo. Who wouldn’t like a free month of movies? Forward this email to your friends and family, and they’ll get a FREE month of Netflix. That’s twice as long as our regular free trial! This […]
RichC | May 6, 2009
Short on time tonight, so here a YouTube comedy video from Rhett & Link that promotes an iPhone app called Leaf Trombone World Stage. They are best known for their internet videos and are self-proclaimed “Internetainers”. In addition to their web presence, Rhett & Link are also musicians and filmmakers, and have worked in network […]
RichC | May 5, 2009
There’s an excellent new Volkswagen TDI Truth & Dare consumer blog and video marketing campaign attempting to educate American’s about ‘clean diesel‘ cars. Volkswagen seeks to build on diesels reputation for economy, longevity and resale value by putting to rest the connotation that they are also slow, loud and dirty. The great videos associated with […]
RichC | May 4, 2009
I’ve noticed increased number of programs proposing to consolidate social networking sites with software or websites. This weekend I thought I would give a couple of them a try, even though I don’t really use too many different social networking platforms. First, I installed Skimmer by Fallon, and then Seesmic Desktop, both which are Adobe […]
RichC | May 4, 2009
I’ve noticed that the neighborhood gazebo project is coming along nicely while checking in with the live ustream.tv feed over lunch. We now have the cupola and the railings are starting to appear. (and the water level in the lake is rising too!)
RichC | May 3, 2009
My wife has dubbed the morning gathering of male only Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), “the men’s club,” as at least six males gather in front of our house. They don’t seem to be doing anything more than “hanging out” on the lawn only a few feet from the front door — I suspect the females […]
RichC | May 2, 2009
Biodiesel advocates are smiling in and for Minnesota as the state has increase it mandated 2 percent biodiesel blend (B2) to a 5 percent (B5) blend as of May 1, 2009. This make Minnesota the first state to require all diesel fuel being sold in their state to contain 5% biodiesel — fuel made from […]
RichC | May 1, 2009
Watching and archiving the hot topic and some better information as it relates to H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu is a misleading “pork” hindering name). Hopefully this pandemic will only lightly impact our population due to good planning and early information (see Google map in previous post) I do see over the top hype coming from […]
RichC | May 1, 2009
If you pay attention to technology news at all you’re probably getting fed up with Twitter — even if you find yourself tweeting, blogging and talking about it. At least once a week I hear someone say, “I don’t care what someone had for lunch.” I use to try and explain that Twitter is not […]