What are the odds of my boat getting hit by lightning?

| August 31, 2015

Archiving an educational post on lightning and boating. Although there may not be one perfect way to protect yourself or your boat when thunderstorms appear, putting the odds in your favor does make sense. According to Boat U.S. “The feature reports that in any one year the odds of your boat being struck by lightning […]

Fifty years ago radio personally Paul Harvey saw the future

| August 29, 2015

Maybe it didn’t take much imagination to see where society and our country was heading … but it does give me the chills to listen to radio personality Paul Harvey’s broadcast from 1965 when Democrats embraced their big government solutions and promoted President Johnson’s Great Society program. (and the answer from today’s Liberal Progressives is […]

Cautious mariners use the Danger Rule when watching Erika

| August 28, 2015

Most people watching tropical weather are focused on the eye of the storm … for good reason, but as a sail enthusiast, I tend to refer to the Mariner 1-2-3 rule when watching storm. This Danger Rule or Area applies the 34-knots of wind criteria as a way to keep boaters out of the worst […]

TechFriday: What does it take to steal credit and debit cards?

| August 28, 2015

Most technology followers know the theory behind copying the swipe code from traditional magnetic credit cards, but few people swiping their cards at the gas pump realize that the “skimming device” is installed by criminals is installed out of site “inside” the gas pump. Q: If you can’t see it, how do you know your […]

What’s the probability of a little wind in Florida from Erika?

| August 27, 2015

Looks probable. Should have removed the Bimini on Encore this summer … thankfully the sails are down and stowed safely away. Lines are doubled, but no longer as new and stretchy as they once were. Hm … as my buddy Mark would say, “that why we pay for insurance.”

My favorite VW travel thermos needs to be replaced

| August 27, 2015

In 2008 the TDIClub gifted me a VW travel thermos and I’ve used it everyday since then. I use it primarily an insulated  water bottle, but it does did a great job with coffee too. It doesn’t sweat when things are cold and with just 2 ice cubes this little stainless steel Alfi Vacuum Bottle […]

This Delta plane gets struck by lightning

| August 26, 2015

A passenger who was waiting for a storm to pass to board his flight caught the exact moment when a lightning bolt struck a Delta airliner. Source: Watch this Delta airliner get struck by a lightning bolt!

Tropical Storm Erika is poised to grow by this weekend

| August 26, 2015

It is the time of year when the tropical weather in the Atlantic tracks across the Caribbean Sea and Leeward Islands. These tropical storms can grow into hurricanes and blast the US east coast or continue on into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The previous tropical storm turn hurricane for a very […]

The Sony Mobile and ZMP Inc tests their new UAV

| August 25, 2015

After getting a chance to play with a quad copter last week, I’ve been a little more intrigued with the advancements in “drones.” Who knows, this innovation may find its way into the first realistic personal transportation device someday? Sony’s Aerosense drone that takes off and lands vertically but during flight gets most of its […]

Update: Rehab for Brenda is slow, painful but steady

| August 25, 2015

It has been 25 days since surgery and about a month since my wife’s fall off a ladder. The rehabilitation is actually going well when observing the healing from the outside — the incision is relatively clean. Brenda isn’t ready for photos … so I’ll just include the last photo (right) of her are pre-injury […]

A terrifying day for those invested in the financial markets

| August 24, 2015

The trading day is not over yet, but the moves on Wall Street and with individual stocks or indices have been unprecedented today. We are currently down 600 points on the Dow Jones Industrial average with an hour left in the day, but that almost seems mild compared to the onslaught of sell ordering in […]

Thanks for the memories: Jim Raab

| August 24, 2015

It is not one of the better quality photos, but my brother Ron (right) sent me a “guess who this is” photo from a trip he took this past weekend. At first I didn’t know who was in the photo with him, but after a close look at the background I deduced that it was […]

The Late Great Iconic American Station Wagon

| August 23, 2015

Chuckled at the CNBC post on “Iconic Cars that are no longer around” and remembering our couple of our very functional “woodie-look” wagons of old as well as my father-in-laws’ wagons. Neither of us had the extinct Buick Roadmaster (above), but he had several Chevrolet station wagons … the last being the “White Whale” up […]

Archive: Reefing sails by Quantum and Cruising World

| August 22, 2015

Wanted to archive this short article from Quantum Sails on the Cruising World website … good info Taking your friends and family out for a day cruise is just about the best way we can think of to enjoy the fall colors that are about to start painting the northern parts of the U.S. But […]

DJI oil, tech, retail, industry stocks officially in bear territory

| August 21, 2015

Even though I’ve already posted on the recent plummet in the financial markets , the heavy volume and substantial daily moves like we’ve seen the past couple of days deserves a second post. Dow Jones Industrials on Friday afternoon August 21, 2015 Friday (August 21, 2015) was another sour day for investors who are holding […]

How low can we go — stocks, commodities, oil, economy, etc?

| August 21, 2015

We often hear the “firing on all cylinders” comment when talking about fiscal execution in managing companies … well the U.S. and World economy is not currently firing on many cylinders. Countries in Asia have been taking their lead from the 2008 model enacted by the US Fed which devalues currency in relation to other […]

Tropical Storm Danny is in no hurry to head west

| August 20, 2015

Those watching the Atlantic and Caribbean this time of year are keeping their eye on Tropical Storm Danny as it slowly spins towards the Leeward Islands. So far the hurricane season in the Atlantic has been gentle … but that’s not necessarily true for those in the Pacific. I’ll be keeping my eye on tropical […]

Remembering Dad with a few photos and things he treasured

| August 20, 2015

It has been a long week already and my brother and I are already having conversations about dad’s house and contents. I know it is something we need to do, but it seems so final … and I guess it is? We did talk about this a little bit with dad, but it wasn’t the […]

What a fun time flying a quad copter or #drone

| August 19, 2015

Well … one of the positive things that happen at funerals (and weddings) is that families get together. Taylor took a funeral day (plus weekend) from his job and Katelyn and Drew drove home from Wayzata (Minneapolis, MN) and brought along his “new toy” … quadcopter with a camera – what a great distraction. We […]

Honor and respect: A memorial service for my father

| August 18, 2015

On Monday (August 17, 2015), we held the memorial service for my dad at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Sidney, Ohio. Dad died on August 12th after his “thankfully” short hospice care after suffering a stroke and brain bleed. The burial urn (above) was surrounded by flowers and a lifetime of memory photos (our families […]

Obituary for my Dad — When it rains, it pours

| August 14, 2015

As if the past couple of weeks were not challenging enough, my dad’s body finally had enough. He didn’t want any further medical miracles … or poking and tweaking to keep systems going AND had previously put in place a detailed “Living Will” in regards to what measured he did not want. After last weeks […]

Preparations for the EAA Chapter 284 TailDragger FlyIn

| August 13, 2015

This year’s September 5th and 6th Red Stewart Airshow and our  EAA284 TalilDragger FlyIn not until Labor Day weekend in September, but with my full plate I want to get my part done early. I’ve been up most every morning this week with Brenda (pain issues), and so while the PT/OT persona was at the […]

Rehabilitation Birthday wishes to my wife Brenda

| August 12, 2015

Those having endured recovering and rehab know the challenges ahead for Brenda and those following my limited blog posts probably know what I’ve been pre-occupied with after my wife’s fall and my dad’s stroke … but we’re moving forward. Today (August 12th) is my wife’s birthday … hardly a “yippee” event this year … but […]

My Dad … a new beginning is near

| August 9, 2015

Even for life-long Christians it is challenging facing the reality of our earthly life ending and accepting “by faith” the promise of eternal life. Part could be facing the pain of death or leaving those we love behind … but we humans also question. This weekend my dad experience a major stroke, although we knew […]

TechFriday: If you use the Firefox browser, be sure to update

| August 7, 2015

If you are a Firefox browser user, be sure to select the “About” menu and apply the latest update. Yesterday morning, August 5, a Firefox user informed us that an advertisement on a news site in Russia was serving a Firefox exploit that searched for sensitive files and uploaded them to a server that appears […]

GOP Debates – will they unite or divide Republicans?

| August 7, 2015

We may not make it through the debate on Thursday night or if I do, may not feel like posting anything tomorrow. We still have “over a year” to think about politics for 2016 … so no sense getting too focused on which candidate the GOP will run just yet. Good to have a talented […]

Tech stock rise and text stocks fall – difficult evaluation

| August 6, 2015

I’ve been watching some tech stocks climb as their valuations seem exorbitant while others languish; it makes little sense to me. Stocks like Apple ($AAPL) look oversold considering their  while IPOs in other startups continue to attract money. Then there is the companies heavily used and relied on by media and celebrities alight, Twitter ($TWTR) […]

Athens Ohio bakery continues effort to move off-the-grid

| August 5, 2015

If you are in Ohio and are looking for an interesting weekend drive now that gasoline prices are down (diesel too), take a drive to the Village Bakery and Café in Athens, Ohio. (of course that seems as counterproductive as Al Gore flying in a private plane if you are really thinking “green”?) They are […]

Temporary ramp is ready for the return of the Bionic woman

| August 4, 2015

It has been a whirlwind week as we hope all medical checks on Tuesday morning are a “go” for returning home. Brenda and I weighed the options and since she can’t do any weight bearing physical therapy on her left leg or left arm, there isn’t much sense to going to an in-patient rehab facility. […]

Dad back from 3 days in the hospital and THE INCISION

| August 3, 2015

It was the weekend for visiting … both my dad who returned to Lane Park Assisted Living in Sidney, Ohio and my wife Brenda who is recovering from her fall from a ladder (previous posts: One, Two and Three with more below). Thanks to my brother Ron, decisions for my dad was something I didn’t […]

Surgery update on Brenda and my friend Keith is also ailing

| August 1, 2015

As my daughter Katelyn told me prior to Brenda’s surgery to reconstruct her damaged shoulder and upper arm … "take a deep breath." I did, but didn’t know I would be holding it for 4 hours (a few details below – also previous posts 1 and 2).   When the surgery was over, Dr. Wyrick […]

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