Recycling a better way to wack the weeds

| June 30, 2012

I’ve decided I must be old since I can remember the days before the gas powered weedwacker and using a scythe to keep the weeds at bay … although I think my dad was the only one permitted to wield the scythe. Who Needs a WeedWacker When You Can Use a Scythe?

How about meeting at the beach under the umbrella?

| June 30, 2012

  Don’t you love going to the beach in the summer … watch out for floaters! Hmm, maybe I’ll just stay home. (Do you think they all use the restroom before arriving?)

Solid day of market gains to closes the quarter

| June 29, 2012

Markets were up strong today inching closer to Dow 13,000 on news from Europe … and after sleeping on the Supreme Court Obamacare decision yesterday; I do think that Chief Justice Robert’s position left many on Wall Street stymied (my opinion). For most part, traders and investor were back buying today which help closed the […]

Looks like a nice tablet: Nexus 7 review | The Verge

| June 29, 2012

Read this review and thought: “I sometimes pay this much for a software update?” Hmm … now give me a phone this nice without a contract and I’m interested. Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is not exactly a surprise. Nor is the fact that I’m able to work on a review of the product just hours […]

Congress has the power to tax, be it for revenue or behavior

| June 28, 2012

It was a big news day on Thursday and by now all who were interested in hearing the Supreme Court’s conclusion are no doubt tuning-out the overwhelming amount of news and opinion … that is unless you are celebrating this as a victory. I personally was surprised by the court’s ruling and am now wondering where […]

Talking and looking at Volkswagens

| June 28, 2012

It was great to see a couple Volkswagen friends last night for a couple hours, even if we didn’t actually solve any of their problems. We used the computer and Vagcom software to pull codes on a Passat 2.0 turbo and Passat TDI to hopefully diagnose the reason for the check engine light, but both […]

Kudos to a well run Cincinnati area airport taxi service

| June 27, 2012

A change in schedules had me flying into CVG (Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport) on Tuesday and stuck without a way home. I didn’t park my car this trip and expected that “someone” would be available to pick me up and drive me home – NOPE! Anyway this gave me an excuse to look for another way […]

Encore out of the water and in need of some TLC

| June 26, 2012

Let’s start with the good news … Encore is safely out of the water, block and safely in the boatyard. Her bottom ablative bottom paint sort of did its job, but was completely used up. A strong power washing took care of the slime and some of the growth and left a few barnacles glued […]

Dealing with the fringes of tropical storm Debby

| June 25, 2012

Encore is out of the water, but not necessarily dry at the moment. No doubt I picked a lousy weekend and Monday morning to schedule for our haul-out. It has been a planned move since my failed attempt in May for coming out of the water for the 2012 hurricane season and much needed bottom […]

Archiving thinkering and items for insurance purposes

| June 25, 2012

Archiving a few Encore “thinkering” photos so as to begin searching for upgrades. The four smaller reading lights are currently halogen and draw too many amps and create too much heat for the boat. I’m hoping to be able to replace them with warm-white LED bulbs as they improve and come down in price. ( […]

One boat project done and a couple more show up

| June 24, 2012

The list of boat related projects continues to grow. Just as I knock a couple off the list, a few more pop up. First the “stop engine” cut-off cable broke  and although I can climb to the bilge and manually move the lever to choke of air, it is much more convenient to do it […]

The tropical disturbance is messing with my plans

| June 23, 2012

Since I’m hanging out at the boat this weekend getting Encore prepped for tropical weather/hurricane season, it is rather fitting that the chatter at the marina is about what is brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. A couple neighboring boat have added a couple extra dock lines and removed some canvas. I’ve taken down the […]

Ugly numbers when looking at unemployment

| June 23, 2012

WSJ graph showing how unemployment has impacted the nation’s mature workforce. This can’t be good since many are only a few short years away from not even being able to work. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303506404577448751320412974.html

Are we closer to electric current inducing solar windows?

| June 23, 2012

Yes, according to a news release from Colombia, Maryland’s New Energy Technologies, Inc. Unfortunately I still think we are faced with the “it is a drop in the bucket” producer of electricity in comparison to what we Americans use … not to mention the cost of windows. Still, it is interesting to explore the advancements […]

Noticing gas prices easing in Ohio, even lower in Florida _

| June 22, 2012

I filled my tank on Tuesday in southwest Ohio for $3.59 which I thought was 10 cents cheaper than other stations, but noticed pricing dropping rapidly this week and even lower while fueling a rental car in Florida (which is usually higher than Ohio). In fact, I just noticed stations at $3.09 and had to […]

Tech Friday: Cleaned up my tweetstream this week

| June 22, 2012

I’m probably not the only one who has “excessively” followed people on Twitter over the past few years … so I am trying to clean up my tweetstream with TwitCleaner. So far so good. Twit Cleaner [web] (free) If you follow a large number of people and are looking to clean up your timeline, Twit […]

UFC’s Dana White opens up about his Meniere’s Disease

| June 21, 2012

I appreciate high profile Meniere’s Disease sufferers commenting on how debilitating it is to deal with abrupt attacks and ongoing balance/sickness issues, especially when they are as tough as UFC’s Dana White. He commented that he is “not a normal patient” while in an interview about his struggle – although I don’t think he exhibits […]

More “Operation Twist” from the Fed

| June 20, 2012

Of course … it is also an election year. Hmm? How much will the market move when Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke speaks this afternoon? Operation Twist, in which the central bank sells short-term securities and buys the same amount of longer-term debt to lengthen the average maturity of its holdings and keep borrowing costs low, […]

More little fishies from the sea

| June 20, 2012

I may have started a trend the last couple days in posting the shark and ocean photos … so here are a couple more from a link forwarded by a friend. Hmm, how fast can you swim … or below a meeting between a not so friendly Bull Shark and a diver doing her best […]

U.S. markets up again, but likely on Fed stimulus speculation

| June 19, 2012

There's way too much speculation in the thought the Federal Reserve will again "try" to prime the economy when serious regulation and tax changes are what we need from Washington DC. If Bernanke and crew sit quietly on their hands or even suggest the economy doesn't need additional stimulus, we'll most likely see another stock […]

New car prices seem high, but then so do used car prices

| June 19, 2012

After conversing back and forth with a VW TDI friend of mine in a Google+ thread about the 30-40% increase in new car prices, we sort of concluded in a “maybe we’ll buy a used car?”  Of course with the higher priced used cars recently (particularly diesels), I’m not so sure that is a good […]

A couple oceans of the world photos – sharks, fish and rays

| June 18, 2012

  I’m either too busy or too lazy to add a post for Monday … as both Sunday night and Monday morning have disappeared. Instead, I’ll reshare  a couple interesting oceans of the world photos. (Sharks with schools of fish and a large “Batoidea” migration.)

Happy Father’s Day to my two dads

| June 17, 2012

I was glad be able to stop in to visit with both “dads” in my life this week — took a couple of detours in my weekly travel schedule. The stops doubled as a way to hand deliver Father’s Day cards and a couple printed photos which are becoming rare around our house. Brenda and […]

The Shark exhibit at the Scientific Center in Kuwait

| June 16, 2012

A friend posted this on his Facebook page after the tank collapsed and since today is a busy chore day followed by a graduation party I’ll still to just a photo.

Places I would like to visit: Aogashima

| June 15, 2012

Japan’s hidden tropical island: Aogashimahttp://boingboing.net/2012/05/29/japans-hidden-tropical.html

Observing June 14th as Flag Day and Flag Week

| June 14, 2012

As a casual flag flier, I often wonder if I’m respectful enough of our stars and stripes? Disclosure: I’ve always had a flag, portable staff or flag pole and initially decided to raise our flag and illuminated it 24/7 after 9/11 out of respect for those serving our country. I committed to keep it flying until […]

Meniere’s Warrior blog and van Gogh’s Starry Night

| June 13, 2012

Although I’ve been pretty successful in dealing with Meniere’s since my surgery in 2001 (same surgery as Astronaut Alan Shepard), I regularly check back in with a few forum, blogs and websites where sufferers post their thoughts, concerns and suggestions. Last year I had to deal with the symptoms once again, hopefully just due to […]

Picking Up Hitchhikers Takes Toll

| June 13, 2012

No wonder the NYC George Washington Bridge toll is so expensive. “With extensive overtime, some toll collectors make more than $100,000, while salaries for several officers to $200,000.” Kudret Topyan saw something out of his 14th floor window last year that so excited him he set up a video camera to capture the action while […]

Verizon’s New Sharing Plans Signal A Shift To Data

| June 12, 2012

As our five phone Sprint plan nears the anniversary date, I’m continuing to look around at what others have to offer. I’m not anxious to re-up for 2 more years with any particular company, but not sure I’m ready to purchase five new phones just to be free of Sprint either. After a little reading, […]

Family Net Worth Fell Almost 40% Between 2007-2010

| June 11, 2012

How challenging has it really been for families these past few years? Well if you’re in college or just starting out and able to pay the bills, finding work or able to keep borrowing for school … then you might not notice much (can you tell I’m talking with my college age son while he […]

Happy Birthday Taylor

| June 10, 2012

Celebrating Taylor‘s Birthday down in Newport KY on the Ohio River- Happy 23rd Birthday.

Tom and Ray Magliozzi from NPR ‘Car Talk’ are retiring

| June 10, 2012

Although I’m not an “every week” listener, I’ve heard enough shows and shared several “puzzlers” to become a fan. I’m going to miss their sensible nonsense regarding life and sometimes helpful car advice. I’ve often thought these two guys were able to attract a steady audience of both liberals and conservatives in a way that […]

So you have successfully graduated from high school …

| June 9, 2012

With the inflated sense of self showered on many American kids throughout their schooling, with the intent of building up their self-esteem, it is interesting to read a bit from Wellesley High School’s commencement address offering a more realistic message. It might bring a few graduates, and parents, back to the reality that exists in […]

Tech Friday: Free online email services compared

| June 8, 2012

Like many long time Internet users, I have signed up and used my share of free client based and online email services over the years. One from back in the 90s that American Express offered was free to small business customers, but ended up spun off and turned fee based a decade ago. Since I’m […]

How can business survive in France?

| June 7, 2012

One wonders if the new French socialist President Francois Hollande knows what he is doing? Besides lowing the retirement age to 60, taxes will be increase on the rich. I does make the U.S. look like a far better place to do business . PARIS: France’s new Socialist government moved to lower the retirement age […]

Ohio’s new law regarding text messaging and driving

| June 7, 2012

I’m sure I’m not the only one noticing the growing number of drivers texting and driving distracted (and ‘yes’ I have unfortunately done my share). Of course it is not just messaging, but also looking at dashboard information displays and GPS devices … and even watching movies on video screens … but soon doing it […]

Can students and parents still afford college?

| June 7, 2012

Who can plan for these kinds of increases? “Between 1999 and 2009, tuition at public four-year colleges rose 73 percent on average, and tuition at private nonprofit colleges jumped 34 percent. In the same period, median family income fell by about 7 percent.” Link

Possible Linkedin security issue

| June 6, 2012

Don’t know how serious … but changing your password might not be a bad idea. Nearly 6.5 million passwords belonging to users of the professional social networking site LinkedIn have been leaked online, according to reports. Users are being urged to change their login details over fears that, if confirmed, the leak would compromise vast […]

Enjoyed this WSJ article … and yes downloaded Jotly

| June 6, 2012

No longer available WSJ article

Thinking about my mom’s declining health

| June 6, 2012

Many families face the inevitable fact that our parents will not be around forever. Unfortunately knowing the end is closer doesn’t make managing a parent’s declining health any easier. I now understand why my daughter’s medical training and rotations in “end of life care” were not attractive to her – pediatrics does sound as if […]

President Clinton had an interesting interview on CNBC

| June 5, 2012

Although I’m not a big advocate for President Clinton, I do respect his intellect and ability to navigate the politics and the economy more than the current POTUS. Maria Bartiromo on CNBC had an interview which was both political (stumping for the Dems) and reasonably accurate when it comes to the dealing with the stalled […]

Happy 30th Anniversary Brenda – Great Memories

| June 5, 2012

I’m “archiving” a few old photos and want to thank my wife Brenda for 30 wonderful years (our 30th anniversary is today June 5); I’m looking forward to another 30 years with her and watching our children build their lives and memories. As many family and friends will agree, 30 years goes by pretty fast […]

The Transit of Venus on the evening of June 5th 2012

| June 4, 2012

A rare astronomical event takes place tomorrow and should be viewable (weather permitting) for those with the correct “sun gazing” equipment or reflective techniques. (I recall the old pinhole in foil and shoebox as a kid) This will be the last time our generation will see Venus pass between the earth and the sun — […]

A rock: Lazy weekend cross-post

| June 3, 2012

Shared as a “keep alive” social networking accounts post this weekend and figured that I would add my “tombstone” photo (joke) … well at least the hunk of granite was priced like a gravestone. > Really, how many dollars did I just spend on this rock in order to cover a stump?

Midwest cattle farmers complain of government ‘spying’

| June 2, 2012

Have we really expanded government to the size that the EPA is flying airplane (and probably drones) to monitor farms? If they have that many resources how about using them on our southern border rather than looking at “manure.” KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – Cattle farmers complained on Wednesday that a federal agency is “spying” […]

Investors sour on downbeat of negative economic news

| June 1, 2012

The Dow’s gains for the year have been officially wiped away. After thinking 2012 might be the year we work our way out of the long recession, the job numbers tell otherwise. After all the debt-financed stimulus, continued wasteful spending and inefficient use of tax receipts coming from Washington DC … confidence is slipping and […]

Disappointing job numbers send stock market futures south

| June 1, 2012

Numbers being release this Friday morning are making an already bad month of May an even more frightening June beginning. Jobs creation, payroll and now even the unemployment rate has risen. The yield on the 10-yr Treasuries hits an unbelievable low of 1.5% yield. Weak throughout.  WASHINGTON—U.S. job growth slowed sharply in May, the latest […]

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