Donna Lange Makes Landfall

| March 31, 2016

Solo ’round-the-world sailor Donna Lange is safely at anchor west of the Panama Canal after lousy weather stymied her non-stop circumnavigation via the Cape Horn. She detoured after suffering damage and lose of her electronics and will head for a Rhode Island completion after passing through the canal. Her initial plan was to be the […]

March 30th is #ManateeAppreciationDay

| March 30, 2016

According to posts on Twitter and tweets and shares among friends … today is #ManateeAppreciationDay. My interest in learning about Manatees goes back to the the late 1970s when a small group of us college guys in Ohio  decided to join the "Save the Manatee" campaign. We selfishly used it as a rally to travel […]

Amazon recipe for a low-cost Alexa for the Raspberry Pi

| March 30, 2016

Amazon has released a step-by-step guide on how to turn the $35 Raspberry Pi into a voice-controlled assistant. The instructions demonstrate how to set up the single board computer to use Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service to create a low-cost alternative to the Echo, Amazon’s $180 smart speaker. Like other online assistants, Amazon’s Alexa responds to […]

8 Ways to Maintain a Clean, Lean Ubuntu Machine

| March 29, 2016

Once in a while, you may want to do some maintenance on your Ubuntu machine and clean up unnecessary files that are chunking up large storage space in your hard disk. Here are 8 ways that you can use to clean up your Ubuntu[…] Source: 8 Ways to Maintain a Clean, Lean Ubuntu Machine – […]

Enjoying time aboard Encore with Katelyn and Drew

| March 28, 2016

A bit delayed in posting to the blog, but we’ve been a bit distracted. Brenda and I met my daughter Katelyn and her husband Drew for a few days on the boat to enjoy some time together. Way too much time goes by between visits for my taste. The weather was nice with a few […]

He has risen … He is risen .. He is risen indeed.

| March 27, 2016

   Happy Easter to all believers and those yet to acknowledge God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Today is the day we recognize the fulfillment of the earthly life of Jesus. Without the risen Lord and Savior … we sinners are not capable of existing side by side with God. I am so thankful […]

Pianobar — a favorite Raspberry Pi Linux app

| March 24, 2016

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Crude Oil paralleling the stock market and world economies

| March 23, 2016

Looking at the Finviz chart of the wild second half of 2015 slide for crude oil, one would think we Americans would be cheering since we love driving big cars. Unfortunately lower crude prices (and prices at the pump) are also indicators of a struggling domestic and world economy. U.S. companies need strong international economies […]

Babies … my nephew and his wife had a handsome baby boy

| March 22, 2016

I’ll keep baby Bruno Ray’s announcement short and sweet since I didn’t check with mm and dad first before posting on my blog. But my nephew David’s wife Rachel gave birth to a handsome little boy with a full head of dark hair. Rachel’s dad delivered her little bundle of love via c-section as planned […]

Twitter marks 10 years of 140 characters

| March 22, 2016

Twitter marked TEN years of micro social networking this week … or perhaps more appropriately stated as a real time newsfeed and feedback mechanism? At least that is how I have used the service for over 9 of those 10 years. Most journalists, politicians, corporate heads and notable celebrities use Twitter (and other social networks) […]

The sweet sound of the American V-8

| March 21, 2016

Will the next generation of car enthusiasts continue to appreciate the sound of the American V-8?

Downloading torrents and updating BMW Navigation maps

| March 20, 2016

  One cumbersome downside of driving older premium vehicles like our 2010 BMW X5 35D is that 6 year old technology might as well be 20 years old. The navigation software and maps leave a lot to be desired in today’s Internet connected mapping world. The current 2009 maps (above) have never been updated and […]

Hosanna! Celebrating Palm Sunday

| March 20, 2016

On a spring Sunday in 30 A.D. (est), the city of Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims who had come for the annual Passover celebration. Jesus, who had been traveling through the towns and villages of Palestine was also heading to Jerusalem. He preached about the kingdom of God and healed the sick wherever He went, […]

Reefing tips from SailingTotem blog

| March 19, 2016

When do you reef? How should you reef? What are some excellent ways to screw it up? A few thoughts from Jamie (filtered through fun with salty sayings and his fondness for puns). Many witty phrases… Source: Reefing, by and large

Turning a Volkswagen Jetta into the perfect VW pickup truck

| March 19, 2016

For my Volkswagen TDI guys who have always wanted a modern small VW diesel pickup … here’s the ticket!

Winning the GOP or DEM nomination is uglier than you thought

| March 18, 2016

On Friday morning, Doug Wead a presidential historian, talked with Maria Bartiromo on Mornings with Maria about the confusion most of us have regarding contested, brokered or open political convention. Personally, I only semi-understood the "courting of delegates" process that goes on behind the scenes in party politics. The "sausage making" and cronyism that goes […]

New downpipe and exhaust pieces arrived for the BMW X5 35D

| March 18, 2016

A few modified exhaust pieces needed to work on the BMW X5 35d arrived today from Canada. The welds look good, fitting for sensor "seem" to be in the right place and I’m hoping this expensive stainless steel will  last a long time. I’m opted for the version with the small catalytic converter to keep […]

Side by side — My unscientific Lyft vs UBER comparison

| March 17, 2016

After using both Lyft and UBER quite a few times over the past year, it has been difficult to say one is much better than the other … they are pretty similar. From the consumers perspective, it is far better to have the competition as it spurs innovation, competitive pricing and better service. We riders […]

Tweaking Apache2 on the Raspberry Pi 2 

| March 16, 2016

Updated a bunch of plugins and WordPress themes on a couple of my personal servers … prior to making any mods to my clients sites. I’m pleased with the efficiency improvements after Apache2 configuration changes last week keeping it from hogging to much memory (no restarts since!) In this same trend continued to tweak things in order […]

Kee Bird B-29 Superfortress story

| March 16, 2016

Watched an older aviation documentary this past weekend on YouTube (remembered reading about it years ago). The attempted rescue of the Kee Bird was a 1996 video story and heroic attempt ending in disaster — NOVA: B-20 Frozen in Time.

Wrapped up the Encore weekend with a little brightwork

| March 15, 2016

It was a pleasant weekend to keep Encore company and do a few nautical chores. High priority was getting the sails back on and the new hatches in place. It also felt good sand and add a couple coats of Cetol to the teak handrails. I let it go too long to bring it back […]

Voting on Tuesday in a few states is critical for Republicans

| March 14, 2016

If you are voting for another Repubican candidate … I get it … but if you are voting in Ohio, be sure you weigh your selection carefully. A wrong vote for the right reason could very well mean Obama’s policies, SOTUS picks and a weak economy for another 4 years.   I have #NoRegrets casting […]

Should a firearm be disguised as a smartphone?

| March 13, 2016

First off, I'm “pro” 2nd Amendment and am concealed carry licensed in a couple states … but seeing this new Ideal Conceal handgun “disguised like a smartphone” just after watching the violent protests happening at campaign rallies has me nervous. Almost every rally attender holds up a cellphones to take video or phones. How much […]

Two hatches repaired and reinstalled on Encore

| March 12, 2016

In January a couple hatches were removed from Encore, our older Westerly Corsair II sailboat, in order to be sent to Select Plastics for repair. The project wasn't painless as both the time it took and cost (shipping too) were pretty expensive. Unfortunately, repairing them on my own was not successful and noting the number […]

Mounting a backup anchor on the stern rail

| March 11, 2016

If we upgrade our current Bruce anchor, this Mantus bracket would be ideal to keep the spare ready to deploy on the stern rail. Archiving this “currently $120” bracket for that purpose. I wonder how well it would hold a Bruce?

World-famous Gipsy Moth IV yacht headed to Jersey Boat Show

| March 10, 2016

The restored Gipsy Moth IV will be in attendance at next month’s Jersey Boat Show to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its historic round-the-world sail. Source: World-famous Gipsy Moth IV yacht headed to Jersey Boat Show – YBW

As former speaker Tip O’Neill once said, All politics is local

| March 9, 2016

As we continue to drill down to select the best candidates to represent both the Republicans and Democrats in November’s presidential election, the process has been pretty disgusting … perhaps not the process, but the candidates ugliness. Here’s how I am coming to a conclusion before voting next Tuesday. As a long time Republican, I […]

Hemmings Classic Car highlighted the 1958 Packard Hawk

| March 8, 2016

Previously I’ve posted before about my Dad’s 1958 Packard Hawk, but now that it has been passed down to me, there is more of an incentive to pay attention to articles, stories, car shows, etc. Thanks to my high school friend, Greg Fogelsong (a automotive guru), he noticed a photo similar to my dad’s Packard […]

The Great Peyton Manning announces his retirement

| March 7, 2016

Watched a grateful Peyton Manning emotionally announce his retirement today after 18 remarkable years in the NFL. He is a great quarterback (perhaps the greatest), terrific team leader and classy man. Fans of football, no matter which team they favor, will miss his play on the field. Peyton Manning has been considered an elite quarterback […]

Those Values.com TV commercials strike a chord

| March 7, 2016

Who doesn’t enjoy the short breaks between the hour upon hour of negative news on TV? The Values.com and RandomActsofKindness.org organizations are a worthy humanitarian outreach.

Saturday GOP voting and Cincinnati ties for Trump

| March 6, 2016

The Republican party continues to narrow after a Donald Trump and Ted Cruz split the four states and their deligates up for grab on Saturday. Cruz won in Kansas and Maine, while Trump picked up wins in Louisiana and Kentucky. The big “winner take all” states are yet to come. Interestingly during the Donald Trump […]

Replaced a Keurig One-Cup coffeemaker with a Hamilton Beach

| March 5, 2016

I replaced my one-cup Keurig coffee maker last weekend after attempting to take it apart to find a leak. Unfortunately these plastic parts are made in such a way that getting to the internal tubing are impossible. Last year I considered a Hamilton Beach Flexbrew machine for the boat (never did buy one) and decided […]

Denatured alcohol rather than oil for sharpening stones

| March 4, 2016

One of my favorite YouTube channels is the Tips from a Shipwright with Louis Sauzedde. His helpful tool tips and how-to techniques are always worth listening to … even if I’m no where near the level of woodworker as are most wood boatbuilding advocates. If you sharpen any tool, the advice from Louis in how […]

Can running for political office get much uglier?

| March 3, 2016

Yes … it probably can and will IF “friends” like  Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton go at it. On the otherhand, they still have some mud to sling to reach the level of the John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson campaign as highlighted in the WSJ. Political Mudslinging, 1828 If you think this presidential campaign […]

Best interview to date on the #FBIvsApple encryption case

| March 2, 2016

Heard this interview this morning on SirusXM and glad Maria Bartiromo included it in one of her morning tweets.

Trying out a new cheap sun or reader glasses strap

| March 2, 2016

Another long awaited Chinese reading or sunglasses strap arrived the other day … ordered a month or so ago. It was just a $2.00 buy with free shipping so instead of funky chains or a leather strap, I decided to give this a try. So far so good … as the rubber ends hold the […]

Raspberry Pi 3 launches with faster 64-bit and WiFi

| March 1, 2016

The Raspberry Pi is arguably the world’s most successful and accessible computer platform that anyone can program. Today, the Raspberry Pi foundation has launched the Raspberry Pi 3, an upgraded model that is on sale now for the same $35 price. Source: Raspberry Pi 3 launches with faster 64-bit processor and Wi-Fi for the same […]

A table for my portable bandsaw

| March 1, 2016

I tinkered with my portable bandsaw this past weekend by adding a small table in order to make a couple delicate and more accurate cuts. I was planning to add a hinging mechanism  (still might) to use as a cut-off bandsaw for metal bar and tube stock. For now, the bandsaw and small wooden table sets up […]

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