RichC | April 30, 2014
Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs often offers some pretty solid commonsense advice that should be like the infamous NCIS Leroy Jethro Gibbs smack in the back of the head. I wonder how many asking Mike for advice ever bother to correct their mindset or change their actions when it comes to looking for work (or […]
RichC | April 29, 2014
Rarely do we talk about near monopolies, government agencies or utility companies in a positive way when it comes to servicing their captive market or hostage customer … where else can we go? We shouldn’t be surprised since where there is little competition, there isn’t the same motivation to excel with customer service as when […]
RichC | April 28, 2014
I’ve always been intrigued with ways to improve on knots and look for faster ways to tie them. For example, I’ve used the “Flying Bowline” (not mastered it), as well as the one-handed and around the waist versions before – I might try to demonstrate them in a future post. The Flying or Tugboat Bowline […]
RichC | April 27, 2014
Here’s an odd ATV motorbike video from Russia, but there is something about it that appeals to both the adventurer in me, as well as the Doomsday Prepper mindset I occasionally slip into. Check out the two-wheel motorbike YouTube video below … hmm, with portability like this, I might be able to even take this […]
RichC | April 26, 2014
In keeping with my springtime mood and a slight (ok, big) twist on some oldies music with a “December 1963” Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons music video below… “oh what a night” we had at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati last night. It was a good time being entertained by a couple “oldies” themselves […]
RichC | April 25, 2014
You’d be hard pressed to find those looking into investment ideas not mentioning companies developing or researching drones, quadrotors and UAVs. Over the next decade I confident that we will see advancements and debate on how and where they should be used. The technology patents will be fought over and money will be made and […]
RichC | April 24, 2014
As usual the guys from the Lexington Lab Band (including a talented high school friend Rob Pottorf) have produced another outstanding music video highlighting a band which started during the 1970s, Steely Dan. Their efforts might not be the creative talent some are looking for, but these guys really do know how to expertly perform […]
RichC | April 23, 2014
$AAPL Resumed trading at 4:45PM Looks like investors approved of the 7 for 1 stock split and the idea that Apple is willing to tap the debt market in 2014 for the future. It would be nice to know what products are actually in the works, but so far the 8% afterhours move is a […]
RichC | April 23, 2014
Saved a semi-educational filler post about a better way to peel a banana for a day when I didn’t feel up to posting anything else (video below). Pinch the butt end of the banana to split, then pull apart the peel. So easy.
RichC | April 22, 2014
A post on the FiveThirtyEight.com blog by Kaiser Fung this past weekend analyzed the prediction of airfares on Kayak (after the removal of Microsoft’s Bing Travel’s Farecast in January 2014), left me wondering if the days of successful Big Data’s Predictive Analysis are disappearing? According to my read on Fung’s selective airfare routes research, you […]
RichC | April 21, 2014
Hundreds of people paid tribute to sailing and surfing icon Hobie Alter to fulfill a request of a traditional Hawaiian paddle-out ceremony this past week. Surfers paddled out to a spot off Doheny State Beach in California to celebrate the life of surf and sailing pioneer (photo below). Hobie Alter was a 1950’s California surfer […]
RichC | April 21, 2014
While sorting through a few iPhone photos from the past couple of weeks, I realized that I didn’t update my “Air Conditioning on the cheap” post for Encore. The installation went as planned with both the new 4 inch deck plate mounted in the cabin side and adding the new higher shelf and strap setup […]
RichC | April 20, 2014
It is Easter and no matter what else is happening in the world, it is a “Happy” Easter knowing He Lives. I was reminded the other day just how casual those of us living in a democracy take our freedom to worship … or at least some of need a reminder. My reminder came when […]
RichC | April 18, 2014
No doubt you’ve heard about the latest vulnerability on the Internet known as the Heartbleed bug, but like most web users are pretty much helpless to do anything about it. You can change your passwords, run protection and antivirus software, but until the HTTPS sites correct their SSL sites … you’re spinning your wheels. For […]
RichC | April 18, 2014
Let’s call this a follow up post on tracking fuel economy (or “non-economy”) as I took the opportunity to fill the 1982 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel with B-20. My station of choice between Mansfield and Columbus Ohio is a Sunoco at the I-71 exit 151 and has carried a variety of domestic renewable fuels including […]
RichC | April 17, 2014
I’ve been plagued off and on over the past few years with a check engine light that the computers say indicates cylinder misfiring. It seems to come and go, to the point I begin to ignore it until someone points it out again. A few years ago, I suspected that I might have had a […]
RichC | April 16, 2014
It is official … my daughter Katelyn is no longer driving a Volkswagen, let alone a TDI. She made the decision to go with a Nissan Juke which has her really excited. So far she loves this little cute CUV, although definitely will miss her little diesel. The new Juke has all the features she […]
RichC | April 15, 2014
Heritage.org
RichC | April 15, 2014
From weekend spring brush clearing to snow. It doesn’t look as if the 2013-1024 winter wants to leave? I was out feeding Tootsie this Tuesday morning in just a sweatshirt, and although it wasn’t necessarily springtime warm, it wasn’t really “wintery cold” either. The fresh overnight snow was wet enough for packing so it gave […]
RichC | April 14, 2014
I found some dinosaur bones while clearing brush on Saturday … as I joked on Facebook (photo above left). Actually it is probably a raccoon or possum and it is much better finding the fully decayed bones rather than gagging while having to bury the dead carcass! It is amazing at just how invasive […]
RichC | April 13, 2014
According to the folks at Autoguide, Volkswagen will be following the VW Jetta Sportwagen with Golf SportWagen in 2015 and is teasing us with a diesel variant. The new TDI concept proposes an all-wheel drive 2.0-liter powerplant called the EA288 diesel. This new diesel would offer 10 more horsepower over the current diesel and could […]
RichC | April 13, 2014
Congratulations to Katelyn and Drew on the first anniversary of their wedding day. It is hard to believe a full year has passed since their wedding. The two of them are celebrating by looking for a place to live in Minneapolis and enjoying time together. Besides normal hotel accommodations (and an inside father-daughter chuckle about […]
RichC | April 12, 2014
It’s about time to include a “just for fun” video from the female perspective, rather than YouTube clips from guys (1, 2, 3). Might be worth trying at a teen sleepover or birthday party?
RichC | April 11, 2014
Those who spend any time watching financial markets and attempt to analyze a mix of investments the future, understand that there are mix signals coming from economist, financial analysts and those hired to manage investments (or pick for TV). I follow both the bullish and the bearish thinkers, yet end up being more conflicted about […]
RichC | April 10, 2014
The 2014-2015 Ohio hunting season calendar and new straight-walled cartridge rifles option for deer gun season were announced on Thursday 4/10/2014. Ohio Wildlife Council Approves 2014-2015 Hunting Regulations COLUMBUS, OH – The Ohio Wildlife Council approved new white-tailed deer hunting regulations at its meeting on Wednesday, April 9, according to the Ohio Department of Natural […]
RichC | April 10, 2014
AN HOUR! Who likes sitting 60 minutes at the DMV just to renew a driver’s license … there must be a better way? Waiting aside, I must be recognizing I’m no longer young, because when the clerk asked me, “how many years have you lived in Ohio?” … I decided to answer with “my whole […]
RichC | April 9, 2014
I’ve hit a milestone on My Desultory Blog – 4000 posts since I started in April 2005. Amazing to have been blogging daily for that many posts; it doesn’t seem possible? Obviously those who regularly check in know there is very little of earthshattering significance (ok, nothing of significance), but since it is purely a […]
RichC | April 8, 2014
I’m not a fan of snakes, but if I was, sleeping with a LARGE python doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to do … even if “the snake’s cold body is a natural air conditioner on a hot summer night.” Thirteen-year-old Bingzhe from Dongguan, Guangdong Province, has been living and sleeping together with a gigantic […]
RichC | April 8, 2014
Is a helium filled floating wind turbine practical? Alaeros has already tested theirs tethered at 500 feet and is attempting a world record 1000 foot where the winds are stronger and steadier. Hmm, perhaps instead of mounting a wind turbine atop a stainless steel pole on our sailboat I should rig a floating turbine in […]
RichC | April 7, 2014
I don’t necessarily call Sidney, Ohio “home” since I only spent the last couple years of high school there and then was off to college, but I do returned regularly to visit my dad who has been there over 30-some years. I’m not really sure exactly what I should call a “hometown” … something my […]
RichC | April 6, 2014
Chris Mooney in an Inquiring Minds podcast interviewed John Hibbing, a political scientist (University of Nebraska) and co-author of Predisposed: Liberal, Conservatives, and the Biology of Political Differences. They conversed at length about the research in measuring sympathetic symptoms of differing political ideologies. Mooney’s follow-up article also appeared in Mother Jones. According to John Hibbing, […]
RichC | April 5, 2014
Although only one of my ears is truly working as it is suppose to due to Ménière’s disease back in the late 1990s, I still enjoy “an” earbud in order to listen to music, news or the occasional phone call on my iPhone. Unfortunately the newer Apple earbuds do not fit my ears as well […]
RichC | April 4, 2014
Posting a couple reminder photos so that I remember to research replacing “at least” the rubber parts and belt for the wheel steering motor. Hopefully there is a rebuild kit available for the ST4000 that I upgraded the electronics to the Raymarine SPX-5 Wheel Drive or a way to find some salvage parts as Encore’s […]
RichC | April 3, 2014
As the U.S. continues to delay and “study” the Keystone pipeline as a way to efficiently move North American crude oil from east of the Rocky Mountains in both Canada and the Dakota Bakkans to Texas refineries, other options and pathways are moving forward. Energy pipeline company Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. ($KMP) held a […]
RichC | April 2, 2014
Both my son and I love old paper maps, nautical charts and aeronautical sectionals so the online release of 20,000 high resolution downloads may be worth checking out. The Lionel Pincus & Princess Firyal Map Division is very proud to announce the release of more than 20,000 cartographic works as high resolution downloads. We believe […]
RichC | April 1, 2014
We had almost perfect weather to enjoy a mini-vacation on Encore these past few days, unfortunately all good things come to an end. Beside doing to much needed cleaning (Brenda does a better job than me), we took our niece Sarah and her friends out for a day of sailing. Our goal was to head […]