Tech Friday: A New iMac has replaced an old G4 and PC

| March 29, 2013

I’m still adapting to a new computer and trying not to burn out my eyes on this bright and large 27” monitor, but after the adjustment I think I’m going to enjoy using the new iMac for both OSX and Windows 7 chores (via Parallels Desktop 8). The new four cored 3.4 GHz Intel i7 […]

A country founded by geniuses, but run by idiots

| March 28, 2013

A filler blog post … just heavily forwarded “Food For Thought” email. If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for being in the country illegally …you might live in a country founded by geniuses but run by idiots. If you have to get your parents’ permission to go […]

SlingPlayer updates coming to iPhone and iPad

| March 27, 2013

Glad to see updates for SlingPlayer, but considering I have the “350” and my biggest complaint has yet to be addressed — no “audio-only” — I’m still disappointed. Not everyone lives in 4G or LTE land! Even the original Slingbox had support for audio on all devices including my Palm Treo!

Layman advice: Contemplating the options for knee pain

| March 26, 2013

Far be it from me to offer up medical advice … as I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on the Internet, but I have found a few solutions that seem to help Osteoarthritis (OA) and the associated stiffness and pain coming from my knee. A little bit of history: Ten years ago, […]

The 1994 tablet sure resembled today’s iPad and clones

| March 25, 2013

In the 1980s I worked for a division of Knight Ridder Newspapers in Akron, Ohio call Portage Newspaper Supply Co. (now McClatchy Company). Portage handled central purchasing for the chain’s 58+ newspapers with nearly everything that was needed to produce the printed paper, as well as a few independent products (I believe all that is […]

Rain or Snow, what will it be?

| March 24, 2013

Opened the pool this weekend … before the snow started

| March 24, 2013

I took advantage of a nice Saturday afternoon to open the pool before the snow started on Sunday. I’m adding water at the moment and am watching the snow at the moment … maybe I should take a swim? I’ve finally got the hang of closing with the right chemistry which makes turning things on […]

A new iMac, but losing a display shelf by retiring my CRTs

| March 23, 2013

Taylor’s ceramic artwork “given to me” from 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade One would think that I would look forward to replacing a couple old computers, the pile of wires and CRT monitors with a new 27” iMac 3.4ghz i7  computer … well yes and no. It certainly is well past time to retire […]

Testing Postie plugin with video from email to blog

| March 22, 2013

Posting a video test of Glympse tracking Katelyn and Drew heading home from Columbus in real time. Impressive detail as to where they are and the speed they are traveling.

A taste of Ben and Teresa’s movie project: One Simple Question

| March 22, 2013

Sailing friends Ben Eriksen and Teresa Carey, a couple I’ve posted on previously (1, 2) continue to edit and upload video tidbits that I assume will eventually be used in their upcoming sailing movie One Simple Question. The segment below highlights what life is like on a small sailboat on bluewater passages … particularly “watch […]

The Volvo V60 plug-in diesel hybrid in the US?

| March 21, 2013

The Swedish automaker Volvo will be showing their new plug-in V60 diesel hybrid at the New York auto show later this month according to reports in the automotive press. This new information may hint that Volvo is considering bringing their pricey new hybrid to the U.S. after all; initially reports suggested it would only be […]

The Jawbone Jambox and testing the WordPress Postie plugin

| March 20, 2013

The addition of a new bluetooth Jambox speaker has certainly improved the audio quality of my iPad … AND the new Postie plug-in for WordPress looks to be a great replacement for Posterous (shutting down next month). Here’s a 2 minute snippet from the iPhone of a post to our EAA284 site. Let’s see if […]

Time to go back to Shcool? Here’s your sign.

| March 19, 2013

A little humor for the day, although I’ve just updated the Postie plug-in and wanted to test a new feature.

Impressed with the new half-priced Jambox bluetooth speakers

| March 19, 2013

Occasionally I make one of those spur-of-the-moment impulse purchases that doesn’t give me buyer’s remorse. I have been wanting a bluetooth speaker to improve the sound coming from my iPhone or iPad without resorting to plugging in the 3.5mm cable or using earbuds. I thought, “hmm, this will work great on the desk and even […]

No offense intended – I skipped posting on Katelyn’s shower

| March 18, 2013

  Cupcakes | Madison and Katelyn with game board Well just because I didn’t include commentary or photos from Katelyn’s wedding shower this past Saturday, doesn’t mean it wasn’t important; I can take a hint and will include a few of Brenda’s snapshots over lunch today (sorry if I missed someone). As the subject line […]

A very fun bachelor party for Drew and Tyler

| March 17, 2013

Katelyn’s fiancé Drew invited both his dad and me to join his groomsmen to a full day of fun in Columbus for his bachelor party (it was also his brother Tyler’s bachelor party – almost the same guys. Left to right below: Colin, Tyler, Rich, Taylor, Drew, Randy and Carson). We started by meeting for […]

A teaching moment: Saving money by replacing your own brakes

| March 15, 2013

While Brenda spends the week getting the house ready for an in town bridal shower for Katelyn, Taylor and I did our best to stay out of her way. We decided to replaced the rear brakes on his Volkswagen GTI earlier this week while he was home on spring break … although am sure he […]

Rob Portman commentary: Columbus Dispatch

| March 15, 2013

Thoughts: Will the GOP take the position of Senator Rob Portman? Should they? I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married. That isn’t how […]

Surprise! Medical residency programs need more money

| March 14, 2013

Shocking! [sarcasm] Hospitals need more taxpayer dollars to add residency spots in order to train the additional number of doctors the U.S. needs for Obamacare. So … more taxes or more borrowing? Socialized medicine *(lite -current plan – or full bore – where we are headed)* is not going to be cheap or offer a […]

Automatic now available for Pre-Order – no subscription fee

| March 14, 2013

Automatic’s online video and marketing phrase, “save hundreds on gas every year,” seems a little bit hokey, but the idea of a device which connects your smartphone to your vehicle’s OBD port by bluetooth is pretty smart. For a pre-order price of $69.95, the tech gadget should be able to give you plenty of diagnostic […]

Roman Catholics have a new pope today – Pope Francis

| March 13, 2013

I happened to have the iPad streaming the Slingbox signal from home while sitting in the car (not driving) and noticed that FoxNews just announced that there was white smoke coming out of the chimney at the Vatican. I snipped a screen grab and tweeted the photo. Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina the […]

Filler up! The Super efficient Volkswagen diesel hybrid XL1

| March 13, 2013

The Volkswagen XL1 sure would be a different kind of car to own and would make stopping for fuel every 700 miles almost a pleasurable even. You could even spurge for “full service” and walk away with change from your ten dollar bill! (click for Autoblog “First Drive story) “The liquid fuel tank of the […]

ExxonMobil see growth, but big changes the energy picture

| March 12, 2013

Seven years ago, it was challenging to find automotive diesel at a car friendly "gas" station here in the U.S., but according to ExxonMobil research, in the next seven years we’ll see diesel use surpass gasoline as the petroleum fuel of choice. (The Outlook For Energy: A View To 2040 – PDF) The efficiency of […]

It’s Time For A National Conversation – Forbes

| March 12, 2013

As a strong defense conservative, I do have a difficult time finding fault when our leaders when it comes to keeping our country safe, but does the Department of Homeland Security really need 1.6 Billion rounds of ammunition? As a taxpayer the overkill and waste is very frustrating. 1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland […]

JB and JB performing together in 2013 on May 2nd & 4th

| March 11, 2013

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Repaired a long overdue dripping faucet this past weekend

| March 11, 2013

After 30 years of replacing seats, springs and stems in Delta style faucets, I had my first Moen cartridge repair this weekend. Ours has been dripping for about a year now (hot side only) and after the basement flooding I’ve decided it was time to finally fix this kitchen faucet too. The all in one […]

Made a few tweaks to Postie and the Twitter feed plug-in

| March 10, 2013

After noticing that Twitterfeed has been stalling regularly, I’ve added a new WordPress plug-in to avoid using a third party site in order to feed updates to MyDesultoryBlog to Twitter. I’m purposely adding a few links and a photo (Katelyn and Drew‘s wedding invitation stamps) in an email in order to test a couple Postie […]

Be honest, you want to take an i-Road for a spin, don’t you?

| March 10, 2013

The all-electric TOYOTA i-ROAD makes its first global appearance at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. With a width of only 850 mm, the i-ROAD can manoeuvre easily in urban areas. Turn corners smoothly with the i-ROAD’s Active Lean technology.

Forwarding email – as Bill Envall would say “Here’s your sign”

| March 10, 2013

When older friends start to included your name on forwarded emails, they might be thinking that you are “older than dirt” too! Hmm, maybe I need younger friends! (Tip: Edit your forwards or use something like Papercut Software’s “email stripper” if you enjoy forwarding emails.) OLDER THAN DIRT Q: A kid asked the other day, ‘What […]

Can you tell which image was computer generated?

| March 9, 2013

    Do we need “real” models nowadays? All of these images were computer generated. Computer artists have the ability to generate realistic looking images that look as good as most retouched professional photos. (click for larger) LINK

One reason the financial market averages keep rising

| March 8, 2013

In talking with a long suffering customer the other day he asked me, “why are the stock market averages rising to all time highs, but business seems slower than ever?” I thought about that a bit since business wise I’ve felt pretty much the same way … as do most Americans with depleted savings, depressed […]

Archive: Whipping a line from Mike and Yachtpals

| March 7, 2013

Archiving content (link below). Whipping is the traditional method for seizing the end of ropes against fray, and it has become a rather generic term in that respect.  It looks salty, permanent, and difficult, but it’s actually only the first two.  Proper whipping isn’t much more difficult than lacing a shoe, and if done right […]

Contemplating real Social Security and Medicare fixes

| March 6, 2013

As the self-appoint nation’s problem solver [that’s worth a chuckle], I’ve been thinking about our underfunded Medicare and soon to be underfunded Social Security programs. For those needing a little primer, I will start by regurgitating some background information on these two taxpayer supported entitlements. Both Social Security and Medicare are supported by working citizens […]

Overnight snow is slowing down the morning

| March 6, 2013

We received a good 6 inches of wet snow last night proving it is still winter in March. I was able to beat the street snow plow and finish the driveway before the street was cleared making for a slow start to the day.

Dow Industrials Close at Record High of 14253.77

| March 5, 2013

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged Tuesday to its highest closing level ever jumping 125.95 points to finish above the previous record of 14164.53 set on Oct. 9, 2007. The low was a year and a half later bottoming out at 6547.05 on March 9, 2009. For those holding or buying “long” and in the […]

Thinking spring and about the good times hiking with the kids

| March 5, 2013

The weekend visit with my daughter Katelyn and her fiancé Drew left me scanning in a few more photos that they want to use in the wedding – yikes, a little more than a month away! The photo above, although not one that they are using, reminded me of the good times we had hiking […]

A weather mix is heading toward Ohio (Postie test)

| March 4, 2013

Does the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel make $ and cents?

| March 4, 2013

The 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel has a hill to climb if you are looking to save money on fuel, but with more torque than a hemi, “climbing the hill” is easy! The new Jeep CRD diesel is receiving mostly positive reviews (The Fast Lane Car video above) from car journalists, but at $50,000, a […]

The Volkswagen TDIClub and the generosity of people

| March 3, 2013

It is during the challenging times when people know they are associated with the right groups and organizations. A couple groups I belong to demonstrated their true colors over the past few weeks. The TDIClub, a Volkswagen diesel car club of which our local CinciTDI is part, rallied around a long standing and giving member. […]

Word for today: chimera – a fanciful mental illusion

| March 2, 2013

Although one would think that after my years of reading, editing, writing, printing and publishing words on paper, I would know the appropriate usage of the word chimera. Embarrassingly I did not. I came across it today and questioned the author of an article while reading copy. A little digging had me realize that the […]

Comparing three efficient hybrid cars from Toyota and Ford

| March 1, 2013

An automotive enthusiast friend of mine, Wayne Gerdes, is a noted “hypermiler” and posted a well documented write-up comparing three of the top selling hybrid cars for a CleanMPG report. His efficiently conclusion is about what my gut would have told me when looking at the car profiles in his photo above … Toyota Prius […]

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