Politicians, the Fed, the economy and John Malone

| April 30, 2011

I get so frustrated when I hear smart and successful men like John Malone speak and yet very few seem to be listening, particularly those who are in positions to implement change. His comments the other day during a business interview makes complete sense to me; he even offers up a few practical ideas. If […]

If only to be able to do this in 50 years …

| April 29, 2011

NASCAR fan, Rachel Gilbert, drove around the New Hampshire Motor Speedway at age 100! If all senior citizens could only have her spirit and health. (also I’m posting to test a different webm HTML5 plugin after my first attempt failed — video below)

Wedding bells ring for the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

| April 29, 2011

The most anticipated wedding of the year took place this morning between Prince William and ‘now’ Catherine (Kate Middleton) in London. The royal event started for me, when my wife’s alarm went off at 4 AM EST, which is when she turned on the television to watch the ceremony. I suspect I was not the […]

If the dollar is worth less, is the economy really improving?

| April 29, 2011

Call me a negative Nellie, but one has to wonder if we are really seeing much of an economic recovery? With prices rising, inflation looming (if not already here) and the buying power of the dollar severely weakened over the past year, how will Americans perceive those elected and appointed to guide the United States […]

Guns, gold, silver coins and pickup trucks – survivalist mentality?

| April 28, 2011

I heard something similar to my posted title the other day on CNBC, and after hearing that the Federal Reserve will continue to keep interest rates low a bit longer, I’m seeing those concerned about inflation moving even further toward taking off-the-grid survivalist measures. Gold “up” – Silver “up” – Food Commodities “up” – Gun […]

Smartphones and mobile apps are all sharing your personal info

| April 27, 2011

Most of us understand computer tracking cookies and many users (and web browsers) to make easier for users to keep some of their information private. Obviously advertisers and content providers see your online information valuable (just as do physical store offering credit and ID cards for discounts, etc). The latest stories in the news have […]

Sprint cell number to Google Voice seems to works well

| April 26, 2011

Now that my Sprint Palm Pre phone number is my Google Voice number, GV is handling both the audio and text transcription of my voicemail messages. After recording and transcription, an email is sent to my phone as well as picked up by my email client (or on gmail) – also there’s a copy archived […]

BMW 335d would be a great car to own (and drive)

| April 25, 2011

The 2011 BMW 335d was voted the “Diesel Car of the Year” at the New York International Auto Show by readers of “The Diesel Driver” … following up the positive comment from others in prior years … like MotorTrend saying that the “BMW 335d is the best car I’ve driven in a very long time.” […]

The world’s most fuel-efficient armored sedan …

| April 25, 2011

They could have improved the efficiency (and performance) with a “chipped” TDI diesel no doubt! Still not such a bad idea in parts of central Ameican and the Middle East. The Volkswagen Bora Protect could possibly be the world’s most fuel-efficient, factory-built armored sedan. Powered by the automaker’s turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine and paired […]

Happy Easter. Rise Up! Celebrate the King of Glory

| April 24, 2011

Although I’m not a dancer and lack a voice worthy of praising God (but still believing my mouthing of words is appreciated Above), I do enjoy listening and watching those who do have rhythm and voices. I do love the video going viral which was posted a few days ago from thousands of participates of […]

Archive: Corbett history — Ynysymaengwyn in Wales

| April 23, 2011

With the upcoming royal wedding in England, I began thinking a little more about our genealogy again. A couple years ago, I used the limited free access to Ancestry.com to do a little history on my family tree. While doing it, I had a chance to connect with a few other distant family members by […]

The Process – poetic thoughts penned by a new doctor

| April 22, 2011

Not wanting to let this little bit of poetry disappear, I’m archiving it to my blog for both for posterity and pride (I made my daughter Katelyn record her poem – below). Although I’m not sure who the ultimate reader or listener will be, I’ve got a feeling that those attending medical school or young […]

Eye-Fi SD X2 cards play nicely with the Apple iPad

| April 21, 2011

I’ve enjoyed my older Anniversary Edition Eye-Fi SD card for a couple of years now and have appreciated the way it uploads photos to my waiting computer via my home wi-fi access point. I’ve been watching Eye-Fi innovations and have often thought how much much more convenient it would be to have photos uploaded directly […]

One month Netflix trial is on again — until 6/15/2011

| April 20, 2011

Let me know if you are interested in movies, documentaries and TV programs from Netflix and I’ll forward the first ten names for ONE month of FREE … so as long as you are not currently a Netflix member. Netflix’s offers a decent mail delivery program and very good streaming over the Internet service (in […]

B99 biodiesel from Jatrodiesel in Miamisburg OH | CinciTDI.com

| April 18, 2011

If you live between Dayton and Cincinnati and drive a B99 biodiesel capable car (word of caution for some of the latest models), you can now fill up for substantially less than the current $4-plus/gallon price of petroleum diesel … and do your part to help the environment. Biodiesel is now available on a regular […]

One bright spot in a struggling economy facing high oil prices

| April 17, 2011

While reading doom and gloom articles for the past several months, it’s good to see at least one article looking at things a least a little more positive. Although commonsense and the overwhelming amount of negative news points to more bad news when it comes to our wallets, an article in this weekend’s WSJ pointed […]

Cars for teens, VW TDI diesels, biodiesel and medical school

| April 17, 2011

… and Google Video! With Google shutting down ‘cloud’ storage of videos users may have archived for years on their service, I decided it might be best to save a few important ones to my computer and personal webserver – a lesson for those putting to much trust in ‘cloud’ only storage. Later this month, […]

Procrastination when it comes to filing taxes. Will I ever change?

| April 16, 2011

Tax time is looming and per-usual I’m overly optimistic in thinking the longer I wait, the less I’ll have to pay. As the founder of The Navigators in 1933 wrote: "The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started." Today, and for the last month, I have epitomized the point of Dawson […]

Who surfs on Lake Superior – let alone when it’s cold

| April 16, 2011

Someone who is either paid to do it … or truly a surfing NUT. (I’d rather be in Hawaii)

Archiving: “Friday”

| April 15, 2011

For archiving purposes … IT’S FRIDAY!!! (thanks to Rebecca Black’s  100 million views YouTube video)

CNBC improves video transcript search and timeline linking

| April 14, 2011

CNBC displays impressive transcript and search features in its new video.cnbc.com archive. A few of the cool features are that the transcript can be searched. When highlighted the video jumps to the correct spot on the video … same for emailing or sending it to a social network. Technology at it best … except for […]

Testing the WebM video embed

| April 14, 2011

Testing an embed after encoding a HTML5 WebM video of the JFK Airport Airbus A380 spinning a CRJ700 commuter jet. EDIT 4/16/2011: Uninstalled the WordPress plug in as it messed up all my previous audio and video embeds. Waiting for more universal acceptance and less intrusive plug in. EDIT AGAIN 4/29/2011: After the uninstall I’m […]

Giving financial advice to family if you cannot keep quiet

| April 14, 2011

For those of us who can relate to being asked for investment advice by family … I’m sharing letter I received today that might help. For some delusional reason, a few in my family feed my ego by asking for investment advice, even though my competence is questionable. I usually keep quiet on the subject […]

President Obama delivers another Budget, while VP Biden sleeps

| April 13, 2011

Since the President delivered his budget in a speech during mid-day, I didn’t get the chance to listen to President Obama unveil his ‘updated’ budget … after the one he submitted two months ago. I had thought he might get serious about taking a bipartisan leadership position in deficit reduction and realized that most Americans […]

Good deal? T-Mobile’s Even More and Even More Plus

| April 13, 2011

T-Mobile is offering one of the better deals for smartphone users on a budget today. Users choosing the Even More™ and Even More Plus™ plans will save considerable over the previous unlimited talk plans. The Plus plan at $59.99/mo with a 2 year contract or$79.99/mo without a contract and both offer unlimited nationwide calling, texting […]

NASA chooses museums for their retired Space Shuttles

| April 12, 2011

NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr.’s announced the locations for the three operating shuttles and one gliding prototype on Tuesday afternoon: Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex in Florida – Atlantis California Science Center in Los Angeles – Endeavour Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., — Discovery Intrepid Sea, Air and Space […]

Mobee Magic Charger for Apple Wireless Keyboard

| April 12, 2011

After a couple years of using two of the Palm Pre Touchstone induction chargers, they are great. Although I complain regularly that the battery in the Pre will not make it an entire day, it generally isn’t a big deal since I keep one Touchstone on my desk and the other on my nightstand. About […]

Algae to biodiesel: Look at Solazyme

| April 11, 2011

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about biodiesel … perhaps because I’m not driving a diesel vehicle at the moment. Nevertheless, the promise of “growing fuel” is better then ever considering the panic we find ourselves in over the high price of fuel. Currently I’m seeing regular unleaded gasoline at $3.80/gallon and a […]

A confession from a toolaholic – recommending a cordless drill

| April 10, 2011

IMPORTANT UPDATE: This post has received higher than normal traffic years after the original post. My longterm experience with this and product is now negative (see comments below) and I’m no longer satisfied with the quality of this small drill — so buyer beware. For those that know me, I have an addiction to tools, or at least […]

Medicare, Social Security and the government shutdown

| April 9, 2011

The financial markets continue to hold their own, which considering the continued of negative news we’ve hearing is amazing. Gold and especially silver (at a 31 year high) have become safe haven investments for some investors concerned that the economy will stumble and inflation (or likely ‘stagflation’) will be what we’ll see in the second […]

Green grass and Magnolia flowers proclaim Spring is here

| April 8, 2011

After arriving home late last night Brenda wanted me to see the flowering White Star Magnolia flowers … so I indulged her and walked out to look at them with her … and snapped a weak LED flash photo with my Palm Pre smartphone. Little did she know, I had already been looking at them […]

The THUNDERBOLT and Droid Bionic

| April 7, 2011

Check out the ‘real’ 4G smartphones … so far only on Verizon. —Conclusion The HTC Thunderbolt is Verizon’s fastest and most powerful smartphone yet. The 4G speeds do not disappoint, blowing right past the competition and taking the browsing and streaming experience on a smartphone to the next level. It also serves as a fine […]

Are we prepared for a government shut down?

| April 6, 2011

The fiasco in Washington DC over the 2011 budget, legislation that should have been passed last year by the previous congress is coming to a head once again. Some think we’ll see another extension delay tactic, but entrenched politicians are getting louder and seem to be unwilling to compromise. There are those wanting to cut […]

WordPress 3.1.1 – MyDesultoryBlog has been updated

| April 5, 2011

  As of April 5, 2011 … My Desultory Blog and its associated databases have been updated to the latest release of Word Press, version 3.1.1. WordPress 3.1.1 WordPress 3.1.1 is now available. This maintenance and security release fixes almost thirty issues in 3.1, including: Some security hardening to media uploads Performance improvements Fixes for […]

The nations’ unfunded promises are the primary budget busters

| April 5, 2011

It looks to me as if grappling with how to pay for health care is going to be the biggest hurdle when dealing with our deficit spending in the future (as if it isn’t bad enough now). It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about current private insurance plans, Obama’s national health care law, Medicaid for […]

What’s SUP? Surfing 5.7 miles on a tanker’s wake.

| April 5, 2011

Epsilon

| April 4, 2011

Having one company divulge my personal information is bad … but having three (to date) divulging my name and email information is ridiculous. One would thing that that companies like Chase, Walgreens and Tivo would fear a class action suit enough to be a bit more protective with their clients privacy? In other words, don’t […]

More on cellphones, text messaging and driving distracted

| April 4, 2011

When I posted the current “Cell Phone Laws by State” map the other day, it was in part due to a project my niece was working on at Ohio Northern University. My brother mentioned she was asked to present their finding to Ohio lawmakers on House Bill 99 (summary) in Columbus last month – kudos to […]

Fatigue cracking on Southwest planes is a problem

| April 3, 2011

Citizen journalism was alive and well (‘alive’ being the appropriate word) this weekend as an emergency landing was made by a Southwest jet in Yuma Arizona. Shawna MalviniRedden, a blogger at The Bluest Muse, ‘tweeted’ comments and photos. Shortly after take off the Boeing 737 had a hole 5 foot long and 1 foot wide […]

Deja vu – Pain at the Pump II. When will we learn?

| April 3, 2011

My son borrowed my Honda Pilot this weekend (just after I filled up – but I received a “Thanks Dad” text message from him), so I’ve  been driving his Volkswagen GTI … fun. Of course the fuel tank is exactly where most college students keep their cars – empty – so I ended up filling […]

Ordered Rawhide Down and watched 127 Hours

| April 2, 2011

  I’m looking forward to reading a new book, Rawhide Down, the near assassination of Ronald Reagan, by Del Quentin Wilber, after listening to a couple of interviews while driving this week. The history and medical component to the story really sounded compelling, particularly since it was a piece of history that I remember – […]

Taylor, a couple of his Miami friends and pondering Facebook

| April 1, 2011

I thought I had posted a photo of Taylor and his friends heading to their college fraternity formal last year (2010), but I must have sent it only to Facebook … I was probably thinking it was a better way to maintain privacy between just “friends and family?” I’m changing my mind this year, unless […]

More snow, you must be kidding?

| April 1, 2011

Woke up this morning to protesting snow-people … we’ve had far too much winter weather this year here in Ohio (and I suspect many other areas feel the same way). It started at the beginning of December and didn’t give us much of a reprieve … unfortunately the forecast isn’t for spring quite yet either. […]

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