Comedian/Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and helicopters

| August 31, 2012

Do you ever say to yourself, “why didn’t I know this before now?” Well that what I though when a friend of mine ask if I’ve seen Jeff Dunham videos about him building and flying helicopters. “Helicopters?“(old posts 1 & 2) Come to find out, he has built four of them and has been flying […]

Added the Shareaholic “Sexy Bookmarks” social button bar

| August 30, 2012

I’m finally getting around to adding a social media plugin for WordPress after I received a comment from a friend who said his Internet reading now comes from links being shared on Twitter and Facebook. I had to admit that I no longer use my long list of RSS feeds as often as I once […]

Hurricane Isaac comes ashore with plenty of rain

| August 29, 2012

Hurricane Isaac s-l-o-w-l-y made its way ashore in Louisiana last night bringing 80mph winds and torrential rains. The category 1 storm may not have packed the punch associated with tight eye-walled hurricanes, but because it is moving at only 8mph, it dumps rain for a much longer period of time. Early reports are that a […]

Hurricane Katrina and Isaac are eerily similar

| August 28, 2012

Click for larger image In checking on TS Hurricane Isaac’s progress over lunch it was clear to see that those living in low lying areas on either side of the Mississippi River better be prepared for some nasty weather — currently the biggest threat appears to be rain. It is kind of eerie to see […]

Why doesn’t this vinyl music thingy fit into my CD player?

| August 28, 2012

Facebook comes through again and offered a connection to the past (1, 2, 3). Recently I received an invite indicating my “XX” year Sidney High School reunion was being planned (35th if you must know). A Facebook URL was given so I dutifully plugged in my lightly used FB account and ended up adding a […]

Feeling nostalgic for the second time in a day

| August 27, 2012

I felt a bit behind the times today searching for some old files in OS9 … then realized just how far ahead of the times the Apple Macintosh computers were as I edited an image on Photoshop 5.5; it still ran flawlessly and with surprising speed. The first nostalgic moment mentioned above had to do with reconnecting […]

Sailing and watching tropical storm/hurricane Isaac

| August 27, 2012

  I spent part of Sunday afternoon checking on tropical storm Isaac and watching some sailing (America’s Cup Preliminary races in San Francisco Bay). The sailing racing associated with America’s Cup has certainly changed in recent years and I’m not sure I’m happy with giving up the 12-meter monohulls this past decade? As for Isaac, […]

Obituary: We lost one of our best in Neil Armstrong

| August 26, 2012

Neil Armstrong  was not only the first astronaut to walk on the moon, but a brilliant science minded and steely-nerved pilot who’s skills were the envy of his peers … as well as this small town Ohio boy. He grew up in Wapakoneta, Ohio, went to Purdue University in Indiana, flew 78 combat missions in the […]

Jury says Samsung infringed on six patents held by Apple

| August 25, 2012

It’s no secret that I’m a long time Apple user and have done my part in supporting the company as computer and gadget buyer and as an $AAPL shareholder, but I’m also rebellious when their eco-system boxes out competitors. I dislike Apple telling me what software I can and can’t install on my computer devices […]

An Honor Flight for my father-in-law

| August 24, 2012

Brenda‘s sister, Chris Skinner, escorted her father, Fred Howard, on an Honor Flight this week and visited “his” WWII memorial in Washington DC. Having had a chance to take my dad with a group of veterans in 2010 gives me insight as to what a special trip this was for them. We are getting together […]

Smartphones are making me rethink taking pictures

| August 23, 2012

I’m still amazed at the notable improvements in cellphone cameras since my Palm Pre was release a few years ago. Here’s an attempt (after a slight crop) to see how images look when a close up was taken with my wife’s new Samsung Galaxy S II Epic. I can see Brenda and I are not […]

Converting to natural gas – what’s taking so long?

| August 22, 2012

Since our nation’s oil and gas industry has expanded its capacity to produce natural gas in recent years, it only makes sense that we take advantage of this plentiful, clean, and low cost energy resource. It sure sounds like a sensible way to keep the United States an economically competitive place to build and expand […]

Isaac could reach hurricane strength by Thursday

| August 22, 2012

As expected, tropical storm Isaac has formed in the tropical Atlantic, about 500 miles east of Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles. The storm is expected to intensify into a hurricane Thursday or Friday in the Caribbean.

Boat shoe inserts/insoles-something doesn’t smell right

| August 21, 2012

Lame subject line … I know, but one of the issues for those of us who regularly wear boat shoes is that the insides wear out (or just smell bad) before the leather shoe gives out. Thankfully the older I get, the longer my shoes last … probably because my pedes don’t sweat as they […]

Great comment from WSJ’s Kim Strassel this weekend

| August 20, 2012

Our Tivo records the 30 minute weekend broadcast of the Journal Editorial Report (JER) and I enjoyed hearing from the team that manages the Wall Street Journal’s editorial content. Generally the week’s review is a rehash, but the conservative oriented look at what was in the news is something I look forward to each weekend […]

Checking out my wife’s new Samsung Galaxy S II Epic

| August 19, 2012

Ah yes … Brenda is working night shift hours this weekend so it gave me a chance to monkey around with her new Samsung Galaxy S II Epic … purloined it while she was sleeping today. One of her ploys to keep me from playing with her new smartphone was to add the new protective […]

Finding yourself distracted while driving?

| August 18, 2012

It seems like I’m driving a bit more than usual this summer and am working to pay more attention to the road than to my gadgets inside a the car. This is not to say I’ve been a terrible driver, but I certainly have been prone to using technology way more than is safe. Driving […]

Nice day to drive home

| August 17, 2012

Paul Ryan is crisscrossing Ohio this week

| August 16, 2012

Although I’ve been focused on my mom’s care and hospital stay (again at OSU Medical Center last night), I am still paying attention to the political campaigning going on in Ohio as well. Some may be getting tired of the nastiness, particularly coming from the Obama campaign, but am glad to hear Romney and Ryan […]

My mom is not recovering from back surgery as we had hoped

| August 15, 2012

It has been a tough week so far running back and forth to Columbus and OSU Medical Center to check on my mom and doesn’t look as if the next week will be much better. She is back in the hospital after never really recovering from her back surgery in May. Rehab in a nursing […]

Looking forward to reading Motorola Photon Q reviews

| August 14, 2012

Still pondering the new Motorola Android phone for Sprint’s LTE 4G … obviously no rush since this phone is not available yet, nor has the LTE service been rolled out. http://www.sprint.com/landings/motorola_photonq/index.html Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

In Apple iPhone 5 anticipation, iPhone 4 and 4s prices drop

| August 13, 2012

If you really want an iPhone, this could be the time to buy … although prices could go even lower towards the end of the year? It seems the older iPhone 4 and 4s are selling slower than most retailers (and by assumption, Apple) would like and so retailers are doing what they can to […]

Happy 25th anniversary to Discovery Channel’s Shark Week

| August 12, 2012

After posting the gentile dolphin video clip for today’s blog post, I remembered that Sunday is actually the beginning of Shark Week 2012 on the Discovery channel … and it’s not just any week, but the 25th anniversary. The attraction is most likely programming such as “Air Jaws” highlighting video of the Great White Sharks […]

Using the GoPro to film dolphins underwater

| August 12, 2012

Beautiful! Thanks for the link Steve.

Romney’s great choice, his small gaffe and quick recovery

| August 11, 2012

An interesting morning watching Mitt Romney announce his Republican running mate Paul Ryan … hopefully some video that can be recycled in the 2020 campaign.

Mitt Romney’s VP choice of Paul Ryan expected today

| August 11, 2012

So much for the “Mitt’s VP app” introduced by the Romney campaign last month. While paying attention to Twitter last night (and sharing a few tweets – right), the app on my iPad sat quiet. Each cable news channel was speculating who would be announce as Gov. Romney’s running mate and Foxnews campaign follower, Carl […]

Trying to reduce the number of snapping turtles

| August 10, 2012

I’m not sure every enviro-type defines having large snapping turtles as problem, but we’ve lost more ducklings to turtles than I can count. In fact, of the 10+ years of ducklings that have hatched and were spotted swimming around their mother, I don’t think one has made it into the air? Each day the ducks […]

We will stay married to Sprint for a couple more years

| August 9, 2012

We were (well “I” was) planning to let our Sprint wireless contract expire without signing up for another 2 year contract, but my son’s dead Blackberry encouraged a quick look around. While contemplating   what was available, we decided to stick it out and decided on the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic. We were not satisfied […]

What would you drive if your yearly income neared 1 million?

| August 8, 2012

Let’s say you are a 1%er … and live in a swanky downtown Chicago abode … what would you be driving? A VW Jetta perhaps??? Unlike other wealthy areas in the U.S., these mid-west dwellers seem to drive modest cars … on the other hand, the Toyota Prius does ok with the California rich and […]

Curiosity begins a high tech survey of Mars

| August 7, 2012

A great touch active graphic was in the online Wall Street Journal today and opened my eyes to the size of the robotic explorer. Thinking about radio controlled “buggies” of the past, I was thinking that Curiosity wasn’t all that much bigger … until I saw the comparison to the Mini Cooper – wow. Flying […]

Investors are expecting strong sales and profits from Apple

| August 6, 2012

At this point I’m still happy to be an Apple shareholder, although worry the current two week 10% stock price rise could be a little much for $AAPL. That said, the demand for their superior technology products coupled with their above industry profit margins … and devoted buyers … should keep the company flush with […]

Curiosity landed on Mars “beaming” back its first photo

| August 6, 2012

Although not the most interesting of photographs this morning, it definitely excited those who are interested in space exploration and the study of Mars. Early this morning, NASA’s billion dollar rover plunged at 13,000 mph through the thin Mars atmosphere and landed inside a giant crater. It “beamed” back this black and white photo confirming […]

How secure are your online accounts … really?

| August 5, 2012

Internet security was again in the news last week with Gizmodo’s Twitter account getting hacked and although we are all vulnerable, many of us figure it will happen to someone else. I use to be concerned that “one” of my accounts or logins would be hacked, but after realizing just how interconnected things have become, […]

The heat of summer continues to make the pool attractive

| August 5, 2012

With all of the hot summer days this year, the pool is getting plenty of use. I sort of thought that older “kids” wouldn’t really want to be caught dead at mom and dad’s anymore, but Taylor and his friends seem to be just fine swimming, playing basketball and baseball in the backyard; maybe they […]

GNK and the stock market ended the week on a positive note

| August 4, 2012

Some of us try to maintain a positive mindset in this questionable economy and are hoping for a turn in the second half of 2012. Perhaps there are a few others besides me hunting for any good news since the Dow fought off several down days to end the week back up over 13,000. With […]

Biggest One-Day Drop in Nat Gas Since 2009 – CNBC Blog

| August 3, 2012

After a relatively positive summer for natural gas bulls, the sudden move down in the last couple days has been painful for those being long. Most still see the switch to NG from coal to be positive in the long run and still a place to make money. I would expecting more pressure in the […]

The “firebugs” were active at our house last night!

| August 2, 2012

With low wind and all the debris building up on our bonfire pile, it was time to add to our carbon footprint. (ADDED: video below)

It is wonderful to be married, but there are small irritations

| August 2, 2012

Before I get any hate email, yes I know “we men” have our quirks too. I’ve been known to leave the seat up on the toilet on occasion, I’ve missed the laundry with dirty socks or sweaty shirts and know I’ve run through the house with my shoes on, but only when I’m in a […]

It’s amazing what can be manufactured with 3D printers

| August 1, 2012

If this guy can copy an AR-15 we may not be that far from “print on demand” manufacturing companies producing a variety of hard to get products? Could a gun be made at home? An engineer claims to have taken the first steps toward doing so using a 3D printer. Michael Guslick said last week […]

Music and trivia — Baba O’Riley and The Who

| August 1, 2012

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Sprint and the Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE

| August 1, 2012

I’m keeping my eyes on replacements for my Palm Pre and it is interesting to see what is being offered by Sprint. I’m also contemplating what the new iPhone will be like and if it will be worth the money. That said, I do like what I’m seeing from Motorola, as the physical keyboard does […]

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