RichC | January 31, 2012
Intrade.com is probably one of the more interesting ways to track/trade the election. The ups and downs of a campaign are pretty clear to see … from the Gingrich surge after South Carolina to the precipitous drop we’re watching in Florida. If I had to vote today, I’m not sure I would even go to […]
RichC | January 31, 2012
After hearing an employee at Sprint talking about the iPhones substantial impact on activations last week, I pondered the value of the carrier to Apple. With Sprint buying 30.5 million iPhones worth $20B to the cash rich Apple (AAPL) and the Sprint (S) trading at uncomfortable lows, there are rumors that Sprint needs to return […]
RichC | January 30, 2012
YouTube live at 5:30PM EST on January 30, 2012 Great use of technology, although it certainly does require respectful users … unfortunately a little too much “respect” ends up with friendly to President Obama questioners. The hangout is interesting as I’m only 15 minutes in, but its beginning to sound a little like a campaign […]
RichC | January 30, 2012
For those of you who remember, or just enjoyed (my old link), the classic Matthew Broderick movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, prepare yourself for a new Superbowl 46 ad by Honda. Hmm, Brenda just might be interested in a CR-V as a replacement for her Rav4 … on second thought, she might really rather have […]
RichC | January 29, 2012
Mom and Diane on Saturday afternoon January 28, 2012 It was great to see my mom happy to have visitors and feeling pretty good after getting a better combination of pain medication. Although her vertebrae is deteriorating and their has been little hope for a surgical repair, she has been in much better spirits now […]
RichC | January 29, 2012
RichC | January 28, 2012
Perhaps my favorite site for comparing cameras and reading reviews is dpreview.com, but it is not the same as trying or spending a few hours with different models in person. Most of us amateurs don’t really have that luxury or even the time. DSLR users rarely switch systems and may not have a full appreciation […]
RichC | January 27, 2012
It is that time of year when many of us grow tired of the lingering winter and gloomy days. If you’re in that boat, here are a few photos to daydream about. Rock Islands in Palau The Rock Islands of Palau, also called Chelbacheb, are a small collection of limestone or coral uprises, ancient relics […]
RichC | January 27, 2012
While playing with an image on the text-image.com text to image site, I thought about using an avatar or personal photo … but instead figured I’d use some “descriptive text” and marry it to a rather frightening photo. After clicking on the photo to enlarge it full size does the somewhat hidden suggestive photo help […]
RichC | January 26, 2012
Hey BMW … how about bringing those all-wheel drive tri-turbo M diesels over to the U.S. BMW’s M Division may have started out with a raspy, fighty little petrol 3 Series, but today it stands for something more. Much more. Say hello to the birth of the 3.0-litre triple-turbo straight six diesel M car. BMW […]
RichC | January 26, 2012
I just remembered that I took a Palm Pre photo of the oranges (and Marmalade) my in-laws sent earlier in the week. I put a couple in my center console for my drive and now every time I jump back in the car … Mmm … I get a whiff of this very nice fragrance […]
RichC | January 26, 2012
boston: Ghost boat found after three-year, 3,500-mile journey – After wandering the sea for more than three years, the Queen Bee out of Nantucket was found 20 miles off the northern coast of Spain. (US Coast Guard photo) via npr.tumblr.com Posted via email from RichC’s posterous
RichC | January 25, 2012
I was going to comment on the “more of the same” State of the Union address from President Obama last night and Gov. Mitch Daniels response, but the reality is that I’m getting tired of hearing the same thing again and again. More divisive rhetoric that splits the country and very little hope that we’ll […]
RichC | January 24, 2012
…all new inventions in the U.S. are assigned a political party. In the transportation and energy sectors, anything to do with petroleum, natural gas, biofuels, clean diesel, hydrogen and any means of producing electricity other than wind turbines or solar panels is Republican. Hybrids, plug-ins and battery-electric vehicles are Democrat technologies, in addition to anything […]
RichC | January 23, 2012
David Walker is an idea man that speaks as clearly as any in stating our country’s issues and would be a great advisor to any administration lucky enough to add him. His ideas, that “I believe” the majority will agree on, could be a reasonable approach for most of America who elect moderate Democrats or […]
RichC | January 23, 2012
After watching the TIVO-ed Journal Editorial Report this weekend, I pointed to a couple of photos I snapped with my Palm Pre and asked Brenda who they were. She commented that they were both of the WSJ’s Dan Henninger, just one when he was younger. I chuckled thinking something similar, but in actuality the younger […]
RichC | January 22, 2012
A year and a day after she set out to sail single-handed around the globe, Dutch teenager Laura Dekker finished her 27,000 mile voyage on Saturday night. Miss Dekker has had to cope with weeks of solitude, ocean storms and a fear of pirates while navigating and sailing a 38-foot yacht called Guppy, all the […]
RichC | January 22, 2012
It’s disappointing to be commenting on the demise of a free standing Picnik.com, but the premium features will now be available for free until April 19th when the tools will become part of Google’s empire as a complement to Google+. While traveling and away from my computer, or even as an alternative to Photoshop, I’ve […]
RichC | January 22, 2012
Our first boat “Brenich” in Huron Ohio back around 1984??? I’ve been hankering to find a reason to include another old photo from the 1980s after sifting through the pile in my desk for the archive post the other day – there isn’t a good reason so this will be a “desultory” post. About the […]
RichC | January 21, 2012
I’m archiving the comments of guest Doug Dechille (First Principles Capital Management LLC) on CNBC’s Squawkbox this week. It gave me pause as our politicians and media debate the capital system which helped grow our country. Dechille brought light to the problems financial institutions have with government involvement and the heavy hand of the Federal […]
RichC | January 20, 2012
I saw the Shapecatcher link highlighted on one of the technology media sites and thought it might make for a good a Tech Friday post. Yes, it has been a while since Friday has seen a technology related idea … so here’s any easy way to find the correct Unicode hexidecimal equivalent for a particular […]
RichC | January 20, 2012
Could help but sharing this pretty interesting (long) video illustrating traditional Birch bark canoe building … who knew so much went into building these boats.
RichC | January 19, 2012
I came across the video below where a father explains LP records to his daugher and thought the old photos and shared memoies that I posted earlier … ugh, are my 78’s that old? (that would be 78rpm records, not the year 1978!) For the record (pun intended), the 78 records mention above were my […]
RichC | January 19, 2012
My college friend Dallas on Marco Island BEFORE it was developed – 12/1978 Who doesn’t enjoy reminiscing a little bit about “the good ol’ days” after looking through a couple of old photos? Here are a few from a trip to Florida over Christmas break back in 1978 … whoa, we were young. This […]
RichC | January 18, 2012
Against my inner voice telling me not to bother, I wrote to my congressmen yesterday regarding the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). There are areas that I agree with and understand, but also way too many areas that will impact what most of us appreciate about the Internet. As written, […]
RichC | January 17, 2012
I saw the key photo above as a tease in a recent article highlighting the 10 cheapest new cars you can buy and was disappointed as other VW owners/shoppers might be – yes the key is a VW key and fob, but the list (below) doesn’t contain a Volkswagen. The 10 cheapest new cars […]
RichC | January 16, 2012
There are only a handful of leaders that come along in one’s lifetime and for my generation, one of them is Martin Luther King, Jr (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968). Most know the history of Mr. King and the civil rights movement around challenging the laws particularly in the south, but I enjoyed a […]
RichC | January 15, 2012
As a family who enjoys traveling by cruise ship, the reports from Italy and the Costa Concordia are shocking after the ship ran aground on Friday. It is difficult for me in the day of GPS, sonar, autopilots, etc to understand how a ship of this size (4200 people) with an experienced captain and crew […]
RichC | January 15, 2012
Although I love our house and like living in Ohio, winter is the time I envy those who have sailed south and are spending their days exploring the islands of the Caribbean. Jen and Maxwell sailing in the Bahamas on sv Anastasia January 2012 A sailing couple spending the winter in the Bahamas aboard their […]
RichC | January 14, 2012
With the NFL playoffs in full swing, I can’t imagine that there will be a more watched game this season than Saturday evening’s New England Patriots and Denver Broncos game … unless perhaps Tim Tebow takes the Broncos to the Superbowl? Even the President has been known to slip into Tebow mode before starting his […]
RichC | January 14, 2012
I’m thankful for the mild weather so far this year and it’s not realistic to think we’ll make it through winter without snow or cold weather. Still, waking up on Friday to 35 mph gusts and temps in the teens was a shock to the body as I haven’t adapted to winter yet, have you? […]
RichC | January 13, 2012
Although I know the employment and housing market has been bad in Ohio, I didn’t realize it was as bad as it was in our county until noticing the foreclosure numbers for 2011. Butler County had 3,330 foreclosure filings in 2011, which was about the same as 2010. Only 2009 saw higher filings with 4,000, […]
RichC | January 12, 2012
Genius … why didn’t I think of this? If you’ve ever tried using a straw with a can of soda, you now what happens: the straw comes flying out and falls onto your desk. Reddit user triggerhoppe solves this annoyance by threading the straw through the tab on the top of the can. It’s as […]
RichC | January 12, 2012
There’s must be an easy way for social media users to capitalize on advertising products or companies using social media …hmm? For example, yesterday morning I passively plugged a product by recommending the Volkswagen Passat TDI to Andrew Ross Sorkin, one of the CNBC Squawkbox anchors and NYTimes columnist. He is looking for a safe […]
RichC | January 11, 2012
We’ve all probably watched the Mousetrap-like YouTube videos over the past few years and admired the producers ingenuity (not this kind of mousetrap video though); well here’s one that I could actually use to help turn my paper the morning … until I switch to a tablet! I wonder if I could train my daughter’s […]
RichC | January 11, 2012
Governor Mitt Romney soundly defeated Republican challengers in New Hampshire last night and most talking heads have noted desperation from a couple GOP candidates. Both Gingrich and Perry have taken what I would call “cheap shots” at Romney’s “real world” business experience at Bain Capital as well as U.S. based capitalism — a core Republican […]
RichC | January 11, 2012
Without getting too political, I question whether Mercedes-Benz Chairman of the Board of Management Dieter Zetsche was thinking clearly as he gave his presentation at CES in front of an enlarged photo of Che Guevara? “Some colleagues still think that car-sharing borders on communism," Dieter Zetsche said "but if that’s the case, viva la revolucion!" […]
RichC | January 10, 2012
A WSJ article illustrated what economists monitoring the U.S. employment market have known, but have failed to communicate successfully; we as a nation are on a long-term trend of fewer decent paying middle class career jobs with dim prospects unless things change. (we deny it, make excuses and kick the can down the road just […]
RichC | January 9, 2012
A couple of“rat” stories (and a photo above) caught my attention today — and I thought all the “rats” in Washington DC were on vacation? City: Rat population has ‘exploded’ around Occupy D.C. camps By Annie Gowen The rat population around the two Occupy D.C. camps at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza has “exploded”since protesters […]
RichC | January 9, 2012
Before you “leap” … how do you know the bungee is going to hold? I enjoy an adrenaline rush as much as the next guy, but the older I get the more control in the outcome I want to have; I’m not sure I like the idea of trusting a bungee cord. One lucky bungee […]
RichC | January 9, 2012
Although I’m not at all disappointed with my current single 135W Kyocera solar panel, I don’t want to be wasting amps and not returning them to my battery bank. I was reading an article debating the different controllers regulating charging and began doing some of my own research since I’m thinking about adding an additional […]
RichC | January 8, 2012
In Autoblog’s 2011 VW Jetta TDI longterm update there were a couple less than flattering comments about the VW’s comfort and the manual gearbox. Besides disliking the firm Volkswagen seats, the follow up was that the 2011 TDI had a "much-disliked" and "tricky" gearbox. Having driven a variety of manual transmission cars and owning two […]
RichC | January 7, 2012
I’ll be joining the “cut the cord” crowd when fiber makes it to my house and an Internet only package is fairly priced. For many would be “cable cutters,” cable is their only access to high speed Internet and the marketing of package prices make it questionable for customers to decouple. For me, I’m still […]
RichC | January 6, 2012
Audi Vail expect to be similar to the Q3 (above) What are the chances that Audi’s new “Vail” CUV concept expected at the Detroit Auto Show this year will sport a TDI diesel engine like their A3 does here in the U.S. – I’m guessing slim? Audi will use the Detroit motor show next week […]
RichC | January 5, 2012
The Kickstarter company Lubricheck, mentioned in May of 2011, has improved their oil analyzer device to include diesel engines. Outstanding … although they aren’t shipping just yet – order link. We are pleased to report that our software development and testing has been successfully completed! During this process, we found several changes that were required […]
RichC | January 4, 2012
Not that it matters much, but Gov Mitt Romney and Rep Rick Santorum were the two top vote getters in Iowa on Tuesday night as it took until the wee hours of the morning before a winner could be declared – Romney by 8 votes. The 24.55% vs 24.54% split barely made up the majority […]
RichC | January 3, 2012
The ultralight-led migration of endangered whooping cranes from Wisconsin to Florida has been halted in Alabama over the failure of a group to comply with federal regulations involving their use of the small aircraft.More
RichC | January 2, 2012
It looks like we’ll be getting the first real snow of the season today … and definitely the first for 2012, Happy New Year by the way. I’m spending today at home tackling a few chores like helping my son put his snow tires on the VW GTI; it is not the most behaved vehicle […]
RichC | January 1, 2012
Hmm … not that I have any of these, but it was interesting to know just what the largest currency denomination was … $100,000, but it was retired as well as other bills over $100. Seeing that our nation’s debt limit will soon rise yet again, maybe we need to bring back bigger currency denominations? […]