RichC | March 31, 2010
Gizmodo posts a few first look iPad review snippets from the “pro” technology gadget reviewers. Do you want an iPad? http://gizmodo.com/5506824/first-ipad-reviews-are-in The first iPad reviews are in and so far they’re sounding pretty great with very few reservations. Here are the highlights of what the early reviewers are saying: The WSJ’s Walt Mossberg is in […]
RichC | March 31, 2010
The federal government after the Civil War expanded in both its size and influence over states and individuals. The United States did this to regulate industry as businesses grew to encompass several states. The concern over securing civil rights for all citizens as well as providing some social services continued by Washington D.C. as the […]
RichC | March 31, 2010
I hope high school and college age generations realize how just stupid and unpatriotic it is to wear images of Che Guevara. If you care about your freedom and liberty … and democracy in the world, think twice about the message you are sending prior to buying or wearing his image. Che Guevara is not […]
RichC | March 30, 2010
My sister-in-law Lynda sent a photo and announcement from Minneapolis … a beautiful girl. Congratulations Justin and Keity on the birth of their first child: Madelyn Joy Howard born at 6:14 CST on March 30, 2010, 6 lbs 12 oz. 19.5 inches. Now the real work begins … marriage was the easy part!
RichC | March 30, 2010
Following their 2005 DARPA research, Stanford University has continued to work with Volkswagen in pushing the envelope wish computer controlled automobiles (previous post). In a FoxNews story on computer controlled racing cars and Pike’s Peak, I recalled the success VWs have had on this mountain climb in the past (Touareg TDIs and RallyTDI).
RichC | March 29, 2010
I had trouble finding the little half-notch with the adjusting crown on my son’s new watch (the one that forwards just the date), so I improvised and used a soft rubber barrel of an old pen on my cordless drill to speed up the hands of time. Surprisingly it worked great. So for the fun […]
RichC | March 28, 2010
I’ve been tinkering in the workshop this afternoon and hopefully my wife will be pleased that I finally finished recovering a couple chairs. They’re not antiques or anything special, but the 1952 classic petite dinning room outfit will look a bit nicer when and if my daughter or son need them for their first home. […]
RichC | March 28, 2010
We’ve been thinking about replacing our humble (less than functional) dishwasher for a couple years now and the latest government giveaway stimulus program is just the push we needed. There is a small window of opportunity and a limited number of dollars available for each state to stimulate consumers to upgrade their existing appliances with […]
RichC | March 27, 2010
I’ve been pondering how we will eventually sell my wife’s 1998 Toyota RAV4 with a quarter million miles? I think this might work! 😀
RichC | March 26, 2010
After heated debate over the cost of a trillion dollar health care bill, the numbers for President Obama’s budget and deficit spending projection just got worse. It looks as if the deficit and debt is 1.2 trillion worse than a few months ago … that’s 1.2 TRILLION with a “T.” According to WSJ economist Steve […]
RichC | March 26, 2010
I’ve waited a few weeks in order to fairly judge the NetTalk phone service and it’s associated smallish hardware device which promises “Unlimited Local and Long Distance Calling in the US and Canada.” The VOIP service is similar to other marketed services and devices that transform broadband Internet connections into something that resembles traditional landline […]
RichC | March 25, 2010
I’ve been spending a bit of time on the road this week (who parks like this? – image right) which finds me listening to the non-stop news and talk radio programs discussing health care reform; the Senate bill was passed by the House and signed by President Obama earlier this week. Even after a year […]
RichC | March 24, 2010
The topics posted here are far from the recommended ‘single subject focused’ blogs written to purposely attract readers, yet despite this lack of professional focus, the site still gets read. My Desultory Blog manages to generate close to 10,000 unique IP accesses each month and 10 GB of data transferred. One of the most surprising […]
RichC | March 23, 2010
Captured a snippet of video (no audio) of the television with my Palm Pre’s camcorder app on a FoxNews broadcast tonight; one has to wonder just what producers are thinking when they use the live “animated” newsroom as the background. 🙂
RichC | March 23, 2010
Interesting … Narcissism Epidemic Spreads Among College Students A generation of Americans could enter the workforce with an unfounded sense of entitlement. Are you spending too much time in front of the mirror? According to a new study, American students are growing more narcissistic (link to video). THE GIST: Data shows a significant increase in […]
RichC | March 23, 2010
Sprint announced the additional markets it has planned for it’s 4G WiMAX expansion. They include the Ohio cities of Cincinnati and Cleveland along with Pittsburgh PA. (Press release below) Sprint 4G Expansion Plans to Stretch Coast-to-Coast from Los Angeles to Miami Sprint extends its lead in making 4G technology a reality for millions of customers […]
RichC | March 23, 2010
As Palm Inc continues to suffer on Wall Street, some technology experts are wondering if this company is nearing the end? TWIT guru Leo Laporte commented a few minutes before his call in program this past weekend and pondered if there was any chance of an acquisition — perhaps a company needing Palm’s webOS. […]
RichC | March 22, 2010
Might just have to run over to Indiana and see what they are like — no, I’m not planning a personal “high speed” test! 🙂 BMW to provide engines for police-vehicle startup in Indiana David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau Washington — BMW AG will provide diesel engines and powertrain systems to Carbon Motors […]
RichC | March 22, 2010
Great to know there is hope for me in getting up on the board yet! Thanks for the inspiration John Zapotocky (at 91, he’s probably the oldest SUP surfer in the world) Personal note: Due to my dealing with Menieres disease in the late 1990s necessitating endolympatic sac decompression surgery, my stability and balance has […]
RichC | March 22, 2010
As the the Democrat’s health care bill passes under less than optimum circumstances, tempers and emotions flare in both congress and between citizens of our nation. My representative, the Honorable John Boehner, lead the Republican minority in a valiant fight, in this case speaking for the majority of people across our nation (video below). Unfortunately […]
RichC | March 21, 2010
As I check on the partisan vote to pass a bill that will bureaucratic Health Care in America this Sunday evening, the Democrats have both passed the rules (at 2PM) and recently the “resolution.” Every Republican voted against and 224 Democrats were for the “resolution.” Personally I believe that the 224 number is the 216 […]
RichC | March 21, 2010
While watching news from Washington DC this Sunday afternoon over the unpopular heath care legislation being voted on by congress, my wife has found a good way –“her way” — to reduce stress: she burns things (Palm Pre video snippet below). This genetic activity will only mean something to those who know her and her […]
RichC | March 20, 2010
Waiting for details on this … (article below) EDIT 3/21/2010: The plane was built by Kevin Kinney. It was a Zenith 601XL with a Jabiru 3300 engine. It received it Airworthiness certificate August 28, 2009. Kevin is a member of EAA Chapter 174 in Cincinnati. Pilot uninjured in Warren County plane crash No one was […]
RichC | March 19, 2010
Palm, Inc.(NasdaqGS: PALM) After Hours: 3.97 -0.03 (-0.81%) 7:59pm ET Last Trade: 4.0025 Trade Time: 4:00pm ET Change: 1.6475 (29.16%) Prev Close: 5.65 Open: 4.64 Bid: 3.95 x 1500 Ask: 4.00 x 10000 1y Target Est: 7.33 Day’s Range: 3.9575 – 4.77 52wk Range: 3.9575 – 18.09 Volume: 125,559,529 Avg Vol (3m): 19,159,100 Market Cap: […]
RichC | March 19, 2010
Personal Opinion post: I’m attempting to be understanding of those with different political philosophies than myself as they relate to reforming health care. That said, I can’t imagine those who support progressive social and economic re-engineering of our nation even stomaching the shenanigans currently going on in Washington DC? At times like these, it may […]
RichC | March 18, 2010
Check out the great photo of a Russian space craft returning to earth this morning (click for larger). The two returning, one American and one Russian, have spent 5 months at the International space station and used the Soyuz TMA-16 capsule for their return ride; they landed in Kazakhstan as planned and coordinated by Russian […]
RichC | March 18, 2010
A few long time blog readers remember my blogging and supporting Earthrace her captain publicizing renewable fuels in a record breaking trip(s) around the world a couple years ago. More recently Captain Pete Bethune and his renamed vessel, Ady Gil, became part of an anti-poaching marine wildlife conservation organization called Sea Shepherd – see previous […]
RichC | March 17, 2010
Enjoyed a TWiT broadcast by streaming Security Now over a late lunch while catching up on my email today. The weather is starting to feel like we are turning the corner and closing in on spring; sunny and near 60 degrees today. The news of the day seems to be focused on the house Democratic […]
RichC | March 16, 2010
I don’t want to be too critical about the ‘difficult for me to understand’ banking reform legislation, but after hearing comments on a WSJ podcast (below), the politically one-sided rush to reform does leave me concerned; it sure would be nice to have bi-partisan support for a banking oversight bill. My concern: If the Fed […]
RichC | March 13, 2010
Since we’ve had rain for a couple of days while on vacation, I picked up a book off the coffee table and started reading it here at the condo … before finishing the other ones I brought along I might as well add. It’s a book I’ve been curious about, but not willing to buy […]
RichC | March 12, 2010
Since the weather has been wet and windy here in Florida, we decided to take a road trip north from Delray Beach towards Fort Pierce. Our plan was to putter along and check on a couple sailboats. We opted to drive the A-1-A route along the shore and stopped at several of the pull-offs along […]
RichC | March 12, 2010
It’s hard to do much better than grab 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place at what many consider to be the toughest race on the planet: The Dakar Rally. This impressive and resounding victory marks another important step on the road to dispelling the myths that still linger around what TDI clean diesel technology can do. […]
RichC | March 11, 2010
One of the noticeable economic signs for average Americans that our economy might be in recovery is the rise of fuel prices. An article in this mornings Wall Street Journal stated that “Gasoline prices are throttling toward $3 a gallon” and that “gasoline futures have rallied 21% since hitting a low in February to close […]
RichC | March 10, 2010
Murphy’s Law enacted itself today while I was enjoying continued R & R; a work related issue came up requiring me to access information with my computer. Unfortunately this was information that I didn’t properly back up during my recently Windows 7 reformat and updated notebook computer. I of course have a backup, but it […]
RichC | March 9, 2010
While I do enjoy a routine that includes focusing what’s going on in the world, it’s nice to escape and check out for a few days. After a perfect ‘beach Monday,’ our day Tuesday was cloudy and smattered with sprinkles, although temps were in the 70’s. We spent the morning hiding from the rain, but […]
RichC | March 8, 2010
We’re enjoying a relaxing spring day listening to the wind and waves in the Florida sunshine. It is a welcome change from the 2009 – 2010 winter that seemed to have lasted long enough, at least in our corner of Ohio. Hopefully we will return in a couple days feeling regenerated … I’m sensing my batteries […]
RichC | March 7, 2010
We had a slow start to the day after a frustrating delayed flight out of Cincinnati — we were switched to a smaller plane. I was sardined into the just in front of the lavatory seat behind two babies (with full diapers) and a 3-4 year old (really a very good kid). Thankfully things got […]
RichC | March 6, 2010
I’m a couple days late in commenting on the newly released Facebook application for the Palm webOS smartphones, but wanted to mention that it has been significantly improved. If you are a Facebook user, or even a newbie, the enhancements available for the Pre and Pixi make the popular social networking site almost worth using. […]
RichC | March 5, 2010
The current Obama philosophy of social and economic justice continues with an attempt to move forward with expanding government, even as polls show Americans objecting to the existing health care bills. The concern for many of us is that we are becoming a nation of ‘takers.’ Current progressive Democrats are moving in a direction that […]
RichC | March 4, 2010
March 4 is the anniversary of the first flight of the airship Hindenburg, which is better know for the 1937 German Zeppelin disaster at Lakehurst Naval Air Station New Jersey. Aviation contact Dan from airships.net (Twitter: @airships) emailed some information about the website which includes sections of special interest for pilots, such as flight procedures, flight instruments […]
RichC | March 3, 2010
A large rogue wave, actually three “abnormal” waves, hit a Greek cruise ship with 1350 passengers and 580 crew in the Mediterranean north of Barcelona, Spain killing two passengers and injuring fourteen. The Louis Cruise Line ship, Louis Majesty, has 14 decks and is over two football fields long. It hit the three 26 foot […]
RichC | March 3, 2010
As a ‘three’ Tivo box family (two at the house and my daughter has one), I was anxious to hear that there will soon be a new ‘must have’ gadget to use with our Tivo DVRs. The company announced, along with their new Series 4 devices, a new optional remote which comes with a QWERTY […]
RichC | March 2, 2010
Curiosity had me pondering just how well the Palm Pre could capture video directly off of an HD Plasma television broadcast? Not too bad it turns out, considering up until webOS 1.4 update was implemented this past weekend that the diminutive smartphone couldn’t even shoot video. When the update was first installed on my phone, […]
RichC | March 1, 2010
After a brief lost of tethering my notebook computer with my Sprint Palm Pre after the webOS 1.4 update this past weekend, all is good again … although speed seems to be slower than last year? I uninstalled MyTether 2.1 as instructed on the MyTether.net donor forum and after a reboot, put the phone in […]
RichC | March 1, 2010
While watching an aviation video online highlighting the P51 Mustang (30 min video below) and thinking about the ever dwindling number of WW II heroes from the greatest generation, I gave a bit more thought about an upcoming trip with my son. We’ll be spending a week with a World War II aviator from that […]