RichC | April 30, 2012
Interesting article with perhaps a slightly bias option … but in an article today Bosch projects that by 2015 one in ten new cars sold in the U.S. will be powered by a diesel engine. … data from CNW Research says that with greater awareness of new clean diesels, and a lower cost premium for […]
RichC | April 29, 2012
Since my daughter is home this weekend, I did a few items of maintenance on her 2001 Volkswagen Jetta TDI. After replacing a headlight I thought I’d using a little plastic scratch remover on the yellow and hazy lenses. For $5.99 and a little elbow grease they polished up nicely — so much for the […]
RichC | April 28, 2012
Airlines say they are warehousing hundreds of iPads and other tablet computers and e-readers left behind by travelers. Carriers try to reunite the devices with their owners but are often thwarted by the lack of ID tags, password protection and Apple Inc.’s reluctance to track down owners based on serial numbers. — WSJ Scott […]
RichC | April 27, 2012
Against my TOS reservations, I installed the PC version of Google Drive on my notebook computer. So far from what I can see – for storage — it’s not all that different from Sugarsync that I used for a couple years and my regularly used Dropbox installation (still preferred at this time). I had thought […]
RichC | April 26, 2012
Why it is dangerous to sail close to land, inlets and reefs in areas of strong currents, high winds and heavy swells. See article from a survivor of April 14th’s Full Crew Farallones Race. http://tinyurl.com/Lat38-120424
RichC | April 25, 2012
Before jumping ship from Dropbox, Skydrive or Sugarsync for Google Drive, the new lower price cloud storage solution, be sure to read the TOS agreement. A quick analysis of Google’s terms of service shows how the search company owns the files you upload the minute they are submitted, and can in effect do anything it […]
RichC | April 24, 2012
I finished wire brushing, sanding and painting the black iron railing last night and greeted the masons over lunch to see how the progress of the thin pavers is coming along. Sort of glad I hired them and am not tackling this project myself. (I was actually was up on the roof yesterday – birds […]
RichC | April 24, 2012
Google’s latest doodle is a zipper down the center of the search engine’s homepage marking the birthday of Gideon Sundback, the Swedish-American electrical engineer creating the “zipper” which revolutionized the clothing industry. How many times have you “zipped” without thinking that some inventor created this. Before Sundback’s intervention, the idea for a fastener based on […]
RichC | April 24, 2012
Well it looked like a horse to me … but since my wife is the one with the chemistry background I don’t feel so bad. This structure is for CH3CH2SH or the organic compound Ethanethiol (EtSH), commonly known as ethyl mercaptan. It is most notably added to liquified petroleum gas (LPG) to help warn of gas leaks. According to […]
RichC | April 23, 2012
Here’s what works and what doesn’t work when using the Hana Flv Player plug in with my WordPress install in an attempt to figure out the best way to post video that will play in all browser/hardware combinations. Embedding test video with the Kodak Playsport Zx5 1. Safari on the iPad 2 only post description […]
RichC | April 23, 2012
The U.S. and its allies finalized operations in Iraq last year, but continue to struggle with what victory looks like in another theatre of operation (Afghanistan). The sabers also rattle a bit louder this weekend regarding another possible middle-east war. This weekend Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Benny Gantz was interviewed by the […]
RichC | April 22, 2012
Testing the Hana plug-in with H.264 mp4 files. This first is with the Kodak Zx5 at the lowest setting. (iPad compatible) HANA PLAYER REPLACED in 2019 ADD — Test 2: Palm Pre raw video upload test
RichC | April 22, 2012
I’ve been using embedded flash video for everything up to this point on my blog and unless the services like YouTube offer Apple H.264 mp4 versions, viewers have been out of luck with my posted video. I spent a few hours looking at different option and will give Hana FLV Player a try. Hopefully it […]
RichC | April 22, 2012
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RichC | April 22, 2012
I’ve been following Ben Erikson’s sailing, great photos and videos since he was sailing his NorSea … a boat like we once owned. Over the years he has used his talents to share information on a couple blogs while he reconditioned his sailboats (plural) – the most recent his BCC Elizabeth. Eventually he met up […]
RichC | April 21, 2012
Solar3D, Inc. (solar3d.com) is developing a breakthrough 3-dimensional solar cell technology to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Up to 30% of incident sunlight is currently reflected off the surface of conventional solar cells, and more is lost inside the solar cell materials. Inspired by light management techniques used in fiber optic devices, our […]
RichC | April 21, 2012
I was planning to tackle our decaying concrete front porch myself, but after purchasing the thin pavers and contemplating the preparation masonry work, I opted instead to hire a skilled mason to at least repair the brick trim. Of course after getting into it I’m finding badly rusting iron railings and more than just weakened […]
RichC | April 20, 2012
RichC | April 20, 2012
http://www.getpocket.com ReadItLater.com is/was one of the better services for saving web pages for later reading or archive research. I’ve used a couple different services over the year on the computer, but have found the new ReadItLater better than most — and the free services is excellent. It is now called Pocket (getpocket.com) and has an […]
RichC | April 19, 2012
RichC | April 19, 2012
TDI diesels from Volkswagen are the only mid priced diesels available, so it is no wonder VW has 58% of all diesel sales in the U.S. As the new Passat TDIs become more available, expect their sales to nip away at the Jetta TDI dominance. Allen Schaeffer, DTF’s executive director, said in a statement that, […]
RichC | April 19, 2012
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RichC | April 18, 2012
In the late 60s and 70s, polyester clothing was popular (think leisure suits) and plastics were making their way in to products that were traditionally made of natural materials. Back then, we would joke about ranchers herding up the wild “Naugas” to fill the demand for naugahyde (the pleather of the day). But the fake […]
RichC | April 17, 2012
Warren Buffett: “I have been diagnosed with Stage 1 Prostate Cancer. My condition is not remotely life-threatening. I feel great — as if I were in my normal excellent health — and my energy level is 100 percent. I discovered the cancer because my PSA level (an indicator my doctors had regularly checked for many […]
RichC | April 17, 2012
It is still quite remarkable to see NASA haul around a giant space shuttle piggybacked on a modified Boeing747, this time it is Discovery heading to its final Washington DC Smithsonian home. For those of us who grew up with the entire space program it is indeed a sad end to an adventurous and exciting […]
RichC | April 14, 2012
I noticed a spike in my normal web traffic the other day as a weekend post was mentioned on a high traffic website. As someone who posts to a tiny personal blog, it still amazes me how many clicks and visitors My Desultory Blog generates. Over the years I have also noticed that viewers are […]
RichC | April 13, 2012
There are a number of news reading and article assembling type apps available for computer, phone and tablet platforms. I’ve looked at a few, but tend to shy away since they collect too many articles. Zite is a free one for the iPad (and iPhone) that I’m starting to like … probably because I’m only […]
RichC | April 12, 2012
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to rent a diesel car at car rental companies … never have been successful. Occasionally I’ll rent a hybrid (Prius) or a Volkswagen Jetta (gasser), but haven’t been able to find a TDI. Hopefully we’ll see a few more airport locations offer the TDI at a […]
RichC | April 11, 2012
A: I’d say bring it to the U.S. please … it would definitely attract my attention. According to a post over at Autoblog, Mazda expected to sell just 1,000 CX-5s a month in Japan, but it instead sold 8 times that number – 8,000 in February – and over 70% of them were diesel (and […]
RichC | April 10, 2012
It looks like the contest is about over for the GOP candidates … although the smart money has been on Governor Romney for a few months now … but it has been difficult for Mitt Romney to land a knockout blow, as challengers seemed to tag-team against him for the last year. Yet in the […]
RichC | April 9, 2012
We spent Easter Sunday with Mom and Dad this year. Brenda packed up a nice and simple dinner along with a table cloth and candles (a nice touch) to lighten the chores for dad. We still unfortunately spent too much time discussing health issues, but it is what it is this year. Mom’s week was […]
RichC | April 7, 2012
Here are a few more first impressions … well I suppose second impressions … as I start to incorporated the “new to me” Apple iPad 2 in my daily use. One of the additions wanted was a bluetooth keyboard and some kind of case, so added the Kensington KeyFolio Pro2 bluetooth keyboard and folio/case. The small […]
RichC | April 6, 2012
I spent the week traveling “primarily” using the new to me Apple iPad 2 as my personal computer and am working on a longer version of “my impressions” that I’ll either post tonight or Saturday. I CAN say that I now understand why the tablet niche is dominated by the iPad and have to admit […]
RichC | April 5, 2012
Perhaps I’m not around musicians enough to appreciate their unique creativity when it comes to great ways to promote themselves … but Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers caught my attention with their recording sessions as they travel between gigs. A couple of my son’s talented friends might want to give the “Van Sessions” idea a […]
RichC | April 4, 2012
The tornados in Texas this past week were about as frightening as I’ve ever seen, but thankfully warning in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area were enough to keep losses primarily to property, although reports indicated that 10 people were injured. (WSJ: http://is.gd/fyqlNu )
RichC | April 3, 2012
Perhaps a lesson from Mator is in order?
RichC | April 3, 2012
As expected after Southwest Airlines acquired Air Tran, they have announced a few more details. DAYTON — Southwest Airlines will begin service from Dayton International Airport on Aug. 12 with a daily round-trip flight to Denver, the airline announced Monday. The flight to Denver International Airport will open connections to other Southwest destinations in the […]
RichC | April 2, 2012
Although this has probably been around a few years, the NASA‘s Perpetual Ocean is as artistic as it is informative. Those who transit the oceans of the world know the power of currents … this video illustrates how prevalent ocean currents are.
RichC | April 1, 2012
My wife’s aging Toyota Rav4 has been a totally reliable car since 1998 and it is hard to complain when a part or two needs to be replaced after quarter million miles. Thankfully the little SUV was designed in a way that accessing the fan motor was pretty easy, so a few screws to remove […]
RichC | April 1, 2012
Minutes after OSU’s lost to Kansas 64-62, the Ohio State coaching staff contested the game believing they discovered a payola scheme which could impact the Jayhawks advancing to the National Championship game Monday. According to late reports swirling within the NCAA, officials are considering pulling Kansas from the tournament after discovering illegal corporate involvement in […]