Sully Sullenberger: A man who has a passion and love of aviation

| July 31, 2010

Young Eagles co-chair and retired Capt Sully Sullenberger was forced to select his all time favorite aircraft when interviewed at Airventure 2010 this year and it wasn’t the fully restored Douglas DC-7B that he few to Oshkosh Wisconsin in. Here’s a choice of four aircraft that this heroic pilot has developed proficiency in flying; check […]

“Dumbed down” changes to 2011 VW Jetta might offend some?

| July 30, 2010

Hmm … I’m not sure all Volkswagen Jetta TDI advocates are going to like some of these ‘cost cutting’ changes? See James Healy’s comments in his USA Today article. Among changes to keep costs down, items likely to be vilified as evidence Jetta has been “dumbed down” to get more mainstream buyers: •Rear suspension is […]

Police chase: Will the judge go easy on this driver?

| July 30, 2010

There is a part of me feeling sorry for this driver and for her regard for safety in stopping at lights, but since we once had our car hit by an uninsured driver with a suspended license and had to pay 100% of the repairs, I don’t want them getting off easy either; the judge […]

Politically liberal Dan Baum and “Happiness is a worn gun”

| July 29, 2010

While traveling this week, I enjoy a point of view and odd story for NPR which had self-proclaimed “liberal Democrat” Dan Baum about his Happiness is a worn gun article in Harper’s Magazine on the radio. (currently a PDF version of the article here) He addresses the subject of the love of guns from the […]

Pilot and passenger of ‘crash’ at Airventure are ‘okay’

| July 28, 2010

Safety is always of concern for organizers of airshows, especially ones that attract 1000s of pilots, aviation enthusiasts and airplanes. The week long EAA airshow and fly-in at Oshkosh Wisconsin called Airventure is no exception — accidents can and do sometimes (rarely) happen. The routine at Airventure is for Wittman Regional Airport to open runways […]

Airventure 2010 in Oshkosh is well underway

| July 28, 2010

In chatting with an EAA buddy camping for the week up at Airventure 2010 I had the chance to talk to him about a few ideas for our local EAA Chapter 284, and he has some excellent ones. I’ve also been paying attention to the “goings-on” this week online through the variety of feeds, links […]

Italian completes non-stop solo circumnavigation

| July 27, 2010

A 39 year old Italian solo circumnavigator finished his non-stop sail around the world voyage in the smallest sailboat to do it on July 22. Alessandro Di Benedetto and Mini, his 21 foot boat, set sail on October 26, 2009 from Les Sables d’Olonne France on the Bay of Biscay and finished the voyage with […]

Interesting. Tootsie’s breed is on the top 12 Mens’ dogs list

| July 27, 2010

Although the article is from last year, my son noticed that our Australian Cattle Dog / Blue Heeler made the top 12 mens’ dogs list in Men’s Journal magazine (Below – Sept 4, 2009 p.56). There is certainly some accuracy to the characteristics, although I’m not sure how well our dog would do on a […]

Algae for biodiesel research continues

| July 26, 2010

For alternatives to petroleum, the hype has recently been about EVs and almost all auto makers are rolling out their electric vehicles, yet for most American automotive owners they are far from practical considering the miles of highway and distances we travel. For that, efficient clean diesels running biodiesel makes a lot of sense … […]

It’s been hot and humid, but beautiful summer so far

| July 26, 2010

Clouds building in Butler County Ohio as the summer heat persists (photo with Palm Pre)  In the 35 days of summer 2010 this season, 27 days have seen temperature 85 degrees or hotter … with 10 of those days in the 90s. Of course that doesn’t tell the entire story, as 26 of those sweltering […]

A semi-pet peeve: Restaurant cleanliness

| July 25, 2010

Although I’m not a germ-a-phobe or a neat-nik by any stretch of the imagination, I’m often repulsed by the cleanliness of some local area restaurants. Being the one who is responsible for the health certificate for my EAA chapters annual Fly-in and Pancake Breakfast, I know how challenging it is to pass health inspections (Warren […]

The followupthen.com webbased email reminder service

| July 24, 2010

I regularly email customers and friends with something that needs a follow-up from them, but I often forget to check back IF I don’t hear from them. Simple things like setting up a meeting or gettin gan ok on a proof often go unanswered … easy to do. I’ve tried adding it to my calendar […]

Humor: Glenn Beck’s ‘Whitehouse Only’ Red Phone rings

| July 23, 2010

For those who watch the Fox News Glenn Beck television program, you’ll recall one of Glenn’s props is a “Red Phone” which supposedly has a private number that has been given to the Whitehouse — so that they can correct any misinformation. In the year or so it has been installed it never been used […]

West Chester Ohio recognized Money Magazine as #32

| July 23, 2010

Nice to know the area we live in is recognized nationally in the “Best Places to Live” section of Money Magazine. Top 100 rank: 32 Population: 60,000 Compare West Chester to Top 10 Best Places What do dogs, kites, and beer have in common? West Chester holds festivals celebrating all three. It has an active […]

Ecologically damaged Ohio’s Grand Lake St Marys

| July 22, 2010

This should be a bigger story (editting with Poster for WordPress on the Palm Pre) … “The Ohio EPA said Thursday, July 22, that the latest lab tests for toxins produced by the cyanobacteria at Grand Lake St. Marys show readings still too high to recommend resuming contact with the water.” “The latest microcycstin levels are […]

Thought provoking words

| July 22, 2010

  I liked this blackboard image from Glenn Beck, a controversial radio and television host who has spent the last year right-teaching American history to the millions that tune in or DVR his 5PM FoxNews program. Although I don’t watch all that many of his broadcasts, I have enjoyed his Founders Fridays broadcasts which focuses […]

Whale watching too up close and personal

| July 22, 2010

Who doesn’t appreciated the magnificent and mostly gentle giants of the oceans we think of as whales. The appreciation has created an entire industry around whale watching and has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands around the world. One such “watcher” relayed their story from South Africa after a close call capture in photos … […]

Rethinking eReaders after hauling around fat books

| July 21, 2010

I met my daughter at the Barnes and Noble bookstore tonight and had a chance to play with her electronic Nook reader again, but this time in the store. I have to admit for reading, the screen is excellent and reading text easy even for my presbyopia. Reading from the eReader has me re-thinking that […]

Playing politics with the unemployed

| July 20, 2010

Politicians in Washington DC seem to spend more time looking to gain political points on the back of those who are jobless than fixing the problem … part of which they, big government, creates. The Republicans in attempting to turn the focus on fiscal responsibility want to see and extension of unemployment benefits ‘paid for’ […]

Replaced Goodyear Integrity with Michelin LTX MX2 tires

| July 20, 2010

The stock OEM Goodyear Integrity tires on my Honda Pilot have giving me a good 109,000 miles of wear and I replaced them today since an ugly split started to show up. They have always driven well on everything but wet roads, especially heavy rain. Their flaw is that they seem to be unable to […]

John Kasich: To win in November, focus on smaller and local

| July 19, 2010

Candidate for governor John Kasich would be smart to focus his campaign on what is impacting Ohio residents — focus on “smaller and local” needs: Jobs, Economy & Taxes. As the Tip O’Neill saying goes, “all politics is local.” There isn’t anything quite as local as a paycheck and a job … whether one is […]

Enjoyed the Reds/Rockies game with two great guys

| July 18, 2010

Although the Cincinnati Reds came up short in Sunday’s Ohio Northern University alumni baseball outing against the Colorado Rockies (final 0-1), I enjoyed spending the day at the Great American Ballpark with my my son and my close friend Jeff from ONU dorm days. Jeff Pitts is someone who has been there through thick and […]

Hot weather and baseball: summer in Cincinnati

| July 18, 2010

It is another hot summer weekend here in Cincinnati as my son and I tackled a few minor automotive maintenance chores on our cars before a planned Sunday baseball game (we are enjoying them this year). Oil and filter changes and basic inspections were the Saturday duties, as was cleaning out the garage. Of course […]

New Tires for my daughter‘s VW Jetta TDI

| July 17, 2010

My daughter was home with her little diesel from NEOUCOM for a few days and I took the opportunity to replace her Dunlop Sport A2 tires with a set of Goodyear’s (Eagle LS-2 – $408.00) hoping to get a little more even wear as she’ll be spending more time on the road interviewing for her […]

Updated computer-less VOIP NetTalk Duo device announced

| July 16, 2010

The NetTalk VOIP device and service that I use at the house has been far from perfect (initial post), but then again the cost is peanuts compared to landline or many other VOIP services – our device is grandfathered with lifetime service. Usually I’d be smiling to have something like this, but the recent have […]

Chat: How I ended a long term technology relationship

| July 15, 2010

Unfortunately I’ve been forced to end my fax to email service after well over a decade. At one time I had several EFAX or JFax (J2/JConnect) phone numbers, but as business changed so did justifying ‘paying’ for service. I did appreciate receiving faxes to my email box and have used several other freebie sending options, […]

From left to right – the swapsy bridge. – The Carchat

| July 14, 2010

Have you ever thought about how countries who drive on different sides of the road deal with the “switch” when cars and trucks cross the border? Interesting “swapsy” bridges are a solution. An elegant solution to a problem I’ve often wondered about – what if two countries are next to each other and they drive […]

Razors, hoarding and money spent of shaving

| July 12, 2010

The waste of money buying disposable razors moved me to an electric razor about a decade or so ago, and although the shave isn’t has close, the frustration of being down to my last razor has been worth the switch. Still, I enjoy the occasional freebee razor that shows up in my mailbox as a […]

PRA Chapter 34 rotorcraft fly to EAA Chapter 284 for a visit

| July 11, 2010

EAA Chapter 284 hosted Popular Rotorcraft Association Chapter 34 at Red Stewart Airfield (40I) in Waynesville Ohio on Sunday. I was a beautiful and warm day for grilling burgers and hotdogs at our EAA chapter hanger. The turnout was excellent and everyone enjoyed the comradely focused on promoting and enjoying recreational aviation. Besides a close […]

Homegrown LeBron James leaves the Cleveland Cavs for Miami

| July 10, 2010

I’m merely archiving another disappointment for Cleveland, Akron and northeast Ohio when it comes to sports … although basketball this time. The roundball super-star Cleveland Cavalier forward LeBron James announced his free agency move to the  Miami Heat NBA franchise on Thursday night. Clevelanders were hoping against hope that James would stay with the Cavs […]

If you are wealthy, hurry up and die

| July 9, 2010

Not that it impacts the majority  in America, but if you unhealthy and wealthy and having given all that much though to tax planning, perhap you should start contemplating a swifter exit? The math is ugly: On a $5 million estate, the tax consequence of dying a minute after midnight on Jan. 1, 2011 rather […]

Follow up ‘teaser’ for Volkswagen’s bigger 2011 Jetta

| July 9, 2010

It is interesting to watch small cars marketed to North America grow a little in size with each generational change. Just as small cars from Japan grew from the late 1970’s to today (Camry, Accord, Civic, Corolla, etc), so did the small German Volkswagen Jetta Sedan. From the 1980’s it has grown into a very […]

Server woes & Dems floating more taxes – the ‘transaction tax’

| July 8, 2010

I’m struggling once again to keep my blog’s shared database running — hassling with tech support on and off today. Hopefully my low cost host will sorting things out. Yes I’ve threatened to leave once before and magically I was moved to a more efficiently running server. We’ll see how long my patience holds out […]

It’s HOT! Where’s the Summer Breeze?

| July 8, 2010

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Is the economy turning or are investors just optimistic today?

| July 7, 2010

Up a week, down the next week. The markets closed with a strong surge of buying today as the approaching corporate earning season is expected to be optimistic . An analyst that I talked with today sees continued volatility for the balance of summer, but he hinted that projections are for a 17% increase by […]

Hot Weather to continue Wednesday and Thursday

| July 7, 2010

While stopping for lunch to check my emails this afternoon, I opened my Slingbox and noticed that triple digits will be hit up and down the east coast.  For once I’m thankful to only be in the 90’s while driving in Ohio. The heatwave has been cooking has been cooking us for the past couple […]

Chris Henry and CTE : Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

| July 7, 2010

July 7, 2010 An autopsy has shown that Chris Henry, the young Cincinnati Bengal who died a few months ago, suffered what is called CTE –– chronic traumatic encephalopathy –– which means, more simply, that his brain had been traumatized. CTE can be diagnosed only in the brain tissue of cadavers, and 22 deceased former […]

Super slow-motion: What is this object?

| July 7, 2010

Ended up doing a little recreational surfing last night … web-surfing that is … and I ended up watching “super slow motion” video clips. I found that a golf ball really deforms when blasted into a steel wall at 150 mph — I wonder how far it bounced?

Jury rigged trunk mechanism for 2001 VW Jetta TDI

| July 6, 2010

The electrical and mechanical release locking mechanism on my daughter’s 2001 Volkswagen Jetta TDI’s trunk malfunctioned last week and after further digging I noticed a broken plastic part. The complex linkage has both an electrical plunger and key lock that controls the latch. Unfortunately the poorly engineered (IMHO) plastic part broke off (click image below […]

July 4th marks our annual flag retiring ritual

| July 5, 2010

America’s Independence Day marks the day our family (well … me really) puts up a new flag. Usually the old flag makes it about a year, although a few of the cheaper ones have deteriorated much quicker.  I’ve pretty much decided that the stitched and embroidered nylon flags hold up the best. The pile of […]

Enjoyed Fireworks without leaving the porch

| July 5, 2010

Palm Pre to YouTube  Posted via email from richc’s posterous

Can we feel good about America again?

| July 4, 2010

I’m a bit frustrated with myself for acting like a “doom and gloomer” lately. I think I’ve been spending too much time filling my head with the partisan personalities on the radio and TV who are focused on everything that is wrong in America. I didn’t like it for 8 years when it came from […]

Hare raising day just doing backyard chores

| July 3, 2010

I’m finish up a few backyard chores and am thinking about my daughter coming home for the weekend; she reminded my that her pet “rabbit” would be in tow. In thinking about this, I realized just how many rodents we have breeding in our yard this year. I don’t think we’ve ever had so many […]

Coalition troops continue their mission in Afghanistan

| July 2, 2010

Let’s not forget those who continue to serve in Afghanistan … be they our troops or those from coalition countries. As I watched this video posted in , it is a reminder just how dangerous a job they do for us. Thank you. A BRITISH soldier sprawls in the dust with his face bloodied after […]

Video: If air travel worked like health care

| July 2, 2010

My daughter occasionally shares a bit of medical humor with me – this week’s visit was no exception. I found it funny …but my wife was less receptive believing the spoof promotes government universal healthcare.

Book: The Overton Window by Glenn Beck

| July 1, 2010

I ordered the Glenn Beck audiobook “The Overton Window” a week or so ago, and it finally came in earlier this week. Since I had a few hours of driving on Wednesday, it was a good day to start it. As expected, it is both thought provoking and a bit disturbing. Let’s hope I don’t […]

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