May 17, 2015 | My Desultory Blog

Building a Carpenter Bee Trap — Thanks Tim!

RichC | May 17, 2015

Here are instructions for a simple, but effective carpenter bee trapLINK

Category: Advice, Archive, Misc, Nature, Tidbits | 1 Comment »
Tags: bees, carpenter, home, house, insects, yard

Contemplating sailboat anchors and anchor chain options

RichC | May 17, 2015

I’m looking for some anchor chain advice and before posting to a sailing/cruising forum and figured posting the links to my blog might be a good first start. In April I cut off a rusted link from Encore’s anchor chain and brought home a 4 foot length to measure, inspect and contemplate re-galvanizing (also […]

Category: Photos, Sailing, Video | No Comments »
Tags: anchor, chain, encore, galvinize, mantus, rocna, sailboat

Most Recent Posts

05/31/20: Payment processing: Testing Square’s link tool with a Monocle
Having used Paypal‘s simple sales link solution to sell a product or raise money for an organization in the past (EAA284 and CinciTDI) .. I’m always looking for a better way (cheaper way) to handle… »
05/30/20: Face masks, eating out again and PPE in the age of COVID19
It has been a couple weeks of more states and localities re-opening. Brenda and I stopped at Fazoli’s to pick up something last weekend, but instead decided to try something new .. at least since restaurants shut… »
05/29/20: Tech Friday: i-Device Wallpapers .. the Bompa edition
Although my computer monitor(s) still have relatively generic “paper airplane” wallpapers, I regularly update both my iPhone and iPad. Long gone are the days of sailboat pictures and Palm Pre wallpapers … and here… »
05/28/20: If the end of bread is not called the heel, then what do you call it?
What do you call the two pieces of bread that bookend all of the slices? Every once in a while, a quirky story gets me thinking and talking to those around me. I once though everyone called the ends of a loaf of bread… »
05/27/20: Do not fall for text messaging scams targeting senior citizens
Acknowledge scammers and you become a “live mark.” There’s no way around it, living with smarphones and computers makes life easier and more difficult at the same time. Scammers are busy targeting all of us and… »
05/26/20: Later and more work than usual in opening the pool this year
It is never as easy as expected? I’m accustom to opening the pool each season now that I’ve been doing it for 20+ years in Cincinnati and another 5 or so in Hudson before that. Each season it should get… »
05/25/20: Thinking about the ultimate sacrifice on Memorial Day
We should probably come up with a better way to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country than a day off work, grilling out and giving momentary lip service? As I sat on the front porch on Sunday… »
05/24/20: Out and about, yardwork, flowers and more rain
It has been a slow start to getting our yard in shape. By now we usually have the pool open and flowers planned, but for some reason (probably rain) we are not ready for summer. Thankfully though, Saturday was nice most… »
05/23/20: Woodworking: Table Saw Clutter – a place for push sticks
The workshop runs smother when there is “a place for everything and everything is in its place” … to quote the printer and publisher Benjamin Franklin. On the other hand, perhaps the British are not fond… »
05/22/20: Where’s the strangest place to find wild mallard duck eggs?
I know it seems like a strange question, but our annual pair of ducks spend a lot of time in and around our pool. It doesn’t matter if it is covered or not, these mallard ducks do enjoy the relative safety of… »
05/21/20: Happy Birthday Ron! Did you know you had a doppelgänger?
Happy Birthday to my brother today. Although it is not every year I mentioned birthdays, particularly for those of us who prefer the year count be ignored, but this year with social distancing and lack of a physically… »
05/20/20: Woodworking: Finished my Scrapwood Challenge project
Several posts ago I mentioned that I was participating in the Makers Mob woodworking 6-week Scrapwood Challenge as part of the stay-at-home COVID19 orders. I can’t say that this project is anything great, but it did… »
05/19/20: Amazon delivery woes puts me in a Grumpy Old Man mood
Sometimes ordering repair “parts” from Amazon is more critical than than others, like last week. On May 14th I ordered a electric fuel pump for our Kubota ZD326s zero-turn mower thinking it would arrive “as… »
05/19/20: Nothing like a heavy and steady rain to add to our water woes
The heavy rain overnight continued to add to our COVID19 spring misery, as SW Ohio is under flood warning. The warning started last night and after double checking our Zoeller pumps (shouldn’t really expecting them to… »
05/19/20: John Deere 330 maintenance and a few photos from a friend
As mentioned on Sunday, the delayed Amazon shipment of the Kubota fuel pump set my maintenance and repair plans back a bit, but I did get around to replacing the previously substituted fuel filter in the John Deere 330.… »
05/18/20: Music Monday: Yet another great Jackson Browne song
If you’ve followed MyDesultoryBlog for any time now, you’ve noticed Music Monday often includes songs from Jackson Browne. If there is one “go-to” Pandora channel I call-up and listen to, it is Jackson Browne… »
05/17/20: Archive: The birth announcement for Ellerie Frances Oostra
As a Sunday filler post, I decided to archive a scan/photo version of Ellerie’s birth announcement. It arrived last week from Katelyn and Drew and so will keep it on the blog as a saved family items. I’m sure Brenda… »
05/17/20: Ordering from Amazon is getting most frustrating
The Kubota ZD326s zero-turn mower has had stalling and starting problems this spring. I’ve finally diagnosed the problem as the electric fuel pump. This small pump is used to deliver fuel from the twin tanks to 26HP… »
05/16/20: Book: “Fortitude” by Dan Crenshaw (thanks, Taylor)
I commented to Brenda, “We must have done something right?” It was both a statement .. and a half question .. when reflecting on the book our son Taylor read, liked and then bought to give me for my birthday. It was… »
05/15/20: Replacing the blower motor and fan in the 2010 BMW X5 35d
If all goes well, my weekend project on the 2010 BMW X5 35d will be a new blower motor, just as with the old Toyota RAV 4. This past winter has been irritatingly challenging since the squeaky motor bearings have acting… »
05/15/20: Where COVID19 cases are on the rise and a Center for Disease Control and Prevention PSA on the Symptoms of Coronavirus
We are all likely on information overload when it comes to the Coronavirus and how it has impacted our country and the world. Still, it seemed appropriated to include a reminder as we start to re-open the country that… »
05/14/20: Happy Birthday to a great mom and best daughter in the world
Happy Birthday to my daughter Katelyn … and greatest mom to our granddaughters Annalyn and Ellerie. Have a special day my #1 daughter … you’ve most surely earned it this year! The “I’m 12 Weeks Old” photo we… »
05/13/20: Diesel fuel fill-up and another Scrap Wood Challenge idea
After shipping back the defective mini amplifier that I purchase a few weeks ago (grr!), I decided it was a nice evening for a drive in the old Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel. Since I was out and needed a few gallons… »
05/12/20: A new webserver is up and running, but still needs tweaking
After mentioning problems last week, the new webserver is up and running with a fresh install of Linux Ubuntu 18.04 “Bionic Beaver,” MySQL database and PHP 7.2 … well I actually decided to upgrade that to PHP 7.4… »
05/11/20: Music Monday: Demonstrating your talent at a public piano
One of posts that once received a lot of traffic on my blog was Jacob Tolliver playing a piano in an Ohio hardware store several years ago. The Facebook embed was taken down, but I reposted the video from YouTube last… »
05/10/20: Happy Mother’s Day to my wife … and as mom to our kids
It is an unusual Mother’s Day this year with the COVID19 "distancing" being practiced. While wishing my wife, and daughter of TWO, a Happy Mother’s Day, we guys are still remembering them with a… »
05/09/20: Nature is brutal! A Praying Mantis vs a Murder Hornet
Nothing like a little nature video with your breakfast cereal to start your day .. YIKES! I’ll never be able to look at my “Little Praying Friend” the same again. The latest news is that the giant 2 inch… »
05/08/20: A second post today to say Thank You
My personal rule is usually only one blog post per day, but with so many wishing me a Happy Birthday yesterday it seems appropriate to say “thank you” over lunch today. The “like” button or… »
05/08/20: Tech Friday: A webserver update and a budget retirement RV
Actually this is just a filler post while working on server upgrades. Hopefully when finished, the new server will be fully up-to-date with Linux (Ubuntu Bionic Beaver 18.04), PHP 7.2 and a current LAMP stack set-up.… »
05/07/20: FedEx shines when delivering packages in the rain #sarcasm
Nine years ago, it would have been polite for our FedEx driver to have at LEAST left a note or to have mentioned he ran off the driveway … although it was understandable with the snow cover (see link). On the other… »
05/06/20: Experiencing website issues – an update is planned
Today’s post serves as a test … since I’m having a few webserver and database problems. If you are a regular reader, this will also be a notice that this blog will likely be sporadic until it is fixed.… »
05/05/20: Ordered a new wire cored flag halyard this week
After our flag halyard failed again this year, I did a little more digging as to why the “cheap” rope deteriorated so fast. My first assumption was that the sun damaged the fibers since it has a worn, powder feel to… »
05/03/20: Who wants ice cream? The inside scoop on the Zeroll scooper.
Who doesn’t like getting the scoop on an interesting story about an ice cream scooper … or Ice Cream Dipper as designer Sherman Kelly called it. My son-in-law Drew sent me an email the other day: “We have reached… »
05/02/20: Do you really want the media, big tech and government elites controlling free speech, thought and societal norms?
Once in a while, the talking heads and opinion writers who editorialize present enough information in a single article or few minutes of television that hits home and makes one take notice. That definitely happened for… »
05/01/20: Is Ohio open for business today? #humor
I can see it now, after being under the Coronavirus stay-at-home orders for the past 6 weeks or so, people are going to be excited to exit the safety of their cocoons … finally a taste of freedom again. Let’s just… »
04/30/20: The Library, Music Room, Bookshelves project in nearly finished
Rather than close out the month of April 2020 with some depressing topic related to COVID19, I’ll post a photo for book lovers (right) and collectors along with a saved newspaper article clipped with a photo to… »
04/29/20: Come on people, we are better than this! #COVID19
As one commenter on the Bluewater Sailing and Cruising FB social group stated, “People are disgusting.” Its also what we are all seeing in the parking lots of our communities during the coronavirus pandemic.… »
04/28/20: New smaller and lighter SubCompact Ridgid 18V cordless tools
My wife and kids think I should be working for Ridgid Tools as I have been extremely happy with their cordless tools of late. I have updated my old NiCad driver and drills with newer Lithium based brushless tools and… »
04/27/20: Music Monday: Back to the 1970s with Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”
After hearing Tiny Dancer by Elton John a couple weeks ago and thinking about my granddaughter Annalyn “prancing and dancing” for us on a recent FaceTime video chat, I noted it as an appropriate Music Monday post. I… »
04/26/20: Obituary: Doris Eggleston. An educator than made a difference.
Some of us are fortunate in life to have had a few teachers take enough interest to make a difference. I suspect they inherently knew the positive influence a good teacher can make long after a student leaves their… »
04/25/20: Getting close to nature … this might be too close!
Once upon a time, I worked at Sea World in Aurora, Ohio. I did not work with the Killer Whales (Orcas), but was fortunate enough to have been able to “hang out” with them when the park was closed. I would often… »
04/25/20: A little Coronavirus video PSA to keep you safe … and smiling
If you’ve watched, read or remembered any of the Public Service Announcements (PSA) since the Coronavirus pandemic started, you will probably smile when watching this.… »
04/24/20: The Canary cam, another cardinal and a painted pry bar
A couple weeks ago I mentioned that our brightly color cardinal enjoyed “looking at himself” in our window’s Canary cam – he was probably looking for a mate. Now that he’s found one … he seems to be avoid… »
04/23/20: A new lightweight MicroJig better crosscut miter sled idea
After cutting a few miter joints earlier this month with a 45 degree jig on my table saw crosscut sled, I started to contemplate the best way to cut clean tendons and dadoes. In the past I’ve used an added fence… »
04/22/20: The COVID19 worldwide slowdown is devastating oil companies
The Coronavirus is doing what environmentalists and anti-fossil fuel advocates have only dreamed of doing … killing the petroleum industry. There is so little demand for crude oil that “Producers must pay buyers… »
04/21/20: How do we safely open up America again? #COVID19
As the United States and the world prepare to open society in phases after well over a month of stay-at-home orders due to the Coronavirus, the debate between those who see the health risk as too high and those who fear… »
04/20/20: Music Monday inspiration: Zachary Alexander Brown – “Free”
Zac Brown Band – “Free” | 2008 It is hard not to eventually include the 2008 song “Free” by the American country music group Zac Brown Band on Music Monday (previous post). I love the bit on… »
04/19/20: Photos to keep us up-to-date with our growing granddaughters
Although it has only been a couple months since Ellerie was born (8 weeks now), the Coronavirus stay-at-home orders has definitely made it challenging for grandparents … especially when they would really like to… »
04/18/20: What is so appealing about the P-51 Mustang? #aviation
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is one of the most celebrated Allied fighter planes of WW II. It continues to have wide-spread aviation enthusiasm to this day … and one look (and listen – volume… »
04/18/20: Plugging yet another tire and “smelling the roses” #video
Another nail or something in the tire, this time in Brenda’s Acura RDX. Thankfully it was in the tread and small, so an easy plug … but plugging two tires within 30 days? (the animated gif above is just a little… »

May 2015
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

May 2015

Most Recent Posts

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

Search

Year(s) ago on this day

Archives

Categories

Most Used Tags

Contact

Meta