Eating Fruit While Pregnant May Boost A Baby’s Intelligence

| August 31, 2016

Now that I’m going to be a grandfather, it is time to start reading (or re-reading) all those important articles about babies again.   Eating Fruit While Pregnant May Boost A Baby’s Intelligence By DANA WECHSLER LINDEN Aug. 29, 2016 9:00 a.m. ET New research raises the intriguing possibility that eating more fruit during pregnancy […]

What will another 51 years do for society?

| August 30, 2016

I mentioned Paul Harvey’s broadcast on the 50th anniversary last year, but his 1965 thoughts are worth hearing again in this election year … not that we’re even talking about social issues. I didn’t post it as an audio MP3 format file — so here it is.     Paul Harvey | If I were the devil … – […]

Ominous skies as storm roll through

| August 29, 2016

It is not all that unusual to have storms roll though on hot summer afternoon/evenings, but the dark skies with wind and lightning keeps me attentive to the weather after recent damage in Indiana as well as Ohio (or a Lightening Bolt Killing 323 Reindeer in Norway!) We had a hot weekend with temperatures in the […]

Nineteenth Annual Labor Day Red Stewart Airshow

| August 28, 2016

Our 2010 BMW X5 35d clicked odometer to 150,000 miles

| August 27, 2016

On my drive home this week, our 2010 BMW X5 35d modified diesel rolled the odometer passed 150K (I know, they don’t roll like my old Mercedes anymore). Economy is not quite up to the 30 mpg highway that I have been hoping for, but I’m not complaining about 28 mpg "with an impressive power" […]

Using Home Equity as a bank or as a credit card?

| August 26, 2016

Using the equity in a home isn’t anything new, but I’m old enough to remember when "we" first started to tap into home equity with Home Improvement Loans. "Back in the day" IRS deductions for interest on consumer credit (car loans, revolving credit, signature loans) were being phased out for all but home mortgages. Creative […]

Intel is banking on fast storage for growth

| August 25, 2016

The latest Intel Optane data storage may be the next big advance for servers and PCs if this is the next chip technology. I’m not sure about power requirements, but perhaps it will make its way in to mobile devices?

Planning for a grilling/greenhouse/generator/rain porch space

| August 25, 2016

After we “cooked” our generator (my fault for not telling Brenda to prop open the enclosure door), I’ve been tinkering to get parts in order to fix it as mentioned before … but my best attempt as scrounging parts has failed. I could only come up with a possible match for the windings and the […]

WSJ highlights a 1956 Packard Executive fit for a wedding

| August 24, 2016

The weekly "My Ride" article by A. J. Baime in the Wall Street Journal has become a sentimental favorite column as besides highlighting a Mercedes a couple weeks ago, did the same for a Packard this week. The story plots are almost always as unique as the  cars themselves … although this one touches a […]

It may not be a Volvo, but the PodRide is pretty cool

| August 24, 2016

Just another ingenious Indiegogo project attempting to raise capital through crowdfunding. We probably don’t need them in the states, but it would be a great option for Minneapolis bike riding … just thinking about my daughter and son-in-law! 

Appreciating the Summer of 2016 before it is gone

| August 23, 2016

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Keeping an eye on tropical disturbances

| August 22, 2016

How much more government can small business take?

| August 22, 2016

I wish politicians would listen to managers and owners of small businesses. In a Maria Bartiromo interview with  Metro Applebee’s CEO Zane Tankel, his frustration at the challenges being force down the throats of business in the U.S. is apparent (about 2 min into the interview). It is understandable why starting a business and hiring […]

Generator woes, beating the rain and EAA Chapter 284’s TDFI

| August 21, 2016

As John “Hannibal” Smith (the late George Peppard) from the A-Team would say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” As was the case when I had acres of grass to to mow into a rain filled weekend schedule — it is great when “plans come together.” I was able to squeak in and […]

Digital photography: Shooting in RAW, TIFF or JPG?

| August 20, 2016

An aside … I spent my formative years engrossed in photography, back before it was digital and when "souping" film in a darkroom. Nowadays 90% of what I take is on a smartphone due to the simplicity and recent improvements in quality. Still, the best photographic images come from a quality lens and large sensor […]

Who are these Minion characters?

| August 19, 2016

I really don’t know who these Minion characters are, but admire the phenomenon and their “cuteness.” Frankly I’ve haven’t actually seen the movie … or is it movies plural by now? Anyway, seeing them creatively showing up on a corner at our local Delhi Garden Center puts me in a good mood — and that […]

Again, $TWTR is great for traders, not so much for investors

| August 18, 2016

If I were a bit more savvy and listened to my own advice, I would have traded Twitter ($TWTR) for a few dollars this week. On a downgrade to a SELL by Evercore ISI analyst Ken Sena, shareholders listened and poured their sell orders onto the exchanges after seeing shares climb the last few days […]

Floating cities could be a reality by 2020

| August 18, 2016

Interesting concept — “Each floating city would be made up of 10 to 15 platforms that can house 20 people each, allowing for a total of 200 to 300 people.” Goodbye land, hello sea! Source: Floating cities could be a reality by 2020

My eyes are open for an Approved Packard Service sign

| August 17, 2016

A friend of mine, an automotive journalist, snapped this photo on his way across the country on Route 66 last week and I couldn’t help but crop and copy it for my blog – (above – thanks Wayne, not that you know I’m using your photo).  Although my garage shop is not quite ready for […]

The complex but impressive 3 compressor Audi TDI diesel

| August 16, 2016

Audi’s 2017 SQ7 diesel TDI takes a new spin on hybrid vehicles by incorporating an electric compressor in addition to the already impressive 2 compressors (turbochargers). I’m not sure at what point technology goes too far in adding complexity but improving performance, but this is one impressive TDI! (link and video illustration below) https://youtu.be/ALOV0Tcl-4k

Relaxing weekend with Mom Howard and music reminiscing

| August 15, 2016

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Our BMW X5 35d loves cheap diesel fuel ;-)

| August 14, 2016

First let me qualify, this is the discounted United Dairy Farmers (UDF – Mobil) price for diesel … but I’m not complaining about $2.14 either (current Aug 2016 price). It isn’t like we need an excuse to buy milkshakes, but their summer promotion in discounts fuel is the little push I need to bring home […]

Archive: Birthday wishes to my wife Brenda – a day late!

| August 13, 2016

No I didn’t forget my wife’s birthday … I just didn’t post anything on the blog until my son Taylor requested a photo of “both of us when we were his age.” After sending him this one for his Facebook page, I figured that I might as well archive it here. We regularly sailed and […]

One of my long time customers is making a change

| August 12, 2016

Change can be depressing, especially when it comes to losing a longtime client that I now think of as friends like the folks at SummitSWCD in Akron. In this case there isn’t anything I can do since as voters in Summit County approved expanding the county’s data center and information technology department. They will now […]

Twitter investors and stock traders see different things $TWTR

| August 11, 2016

Get hammered, bounce back. After promising news of more live event streaming, and peppering in a few buyout rumors, $TWTR could really be off to the races (again). It’s a chart only a "trader" can love … since investors question Twitter‘s business model and management. A chart for the summer of 2016 tells the tale. […]

Sensible economic thinking from business CEO Andy Puzder

| August 11, 2016

There are people who have the ability to communicate and can make "simple-sense" of the usually complicated economic issues facing our country. I’d like to believe that IF enough voters are willing to digest the three minutes of conversation below, that they would be less inclined to "dis" a business oriented pro-growth policy that is […]

Quickly spun up a new server and volume with Digital Ocean

| August 10, 2016

One of the great things about working with Digital Ocean is the ability to spin up a new droplet server based on a previously saved image/backups within a few minutes. Due to recent improvement of adding volumes in order to expand storage, currently only a couple of their data centers, I opted to image an […]

Flip-flops are becoming my preferred summertime footwear

| August 9, 2016

There was a day, when all I wore for casual footwear were boat shoes … but Sperry Topsiders in particular (also athletic shoes of course ). In recent years I’ve opted for simple slip on sandals around house, pool and at the dock or if you preferred flip-flops … or if you go WAY back – […]

The Pretender from 1976 by Jackson Browne never gets old

| August 8, 2016

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The Raspberry Pi 3 is running a little hot again

| August 7, 2016

Once again, the little Raspberry Pi 3 is running hotter than optimal for long life and performance. I’m adding the small heatsinks as with the first Pi3 which eventually failed to boot — exchanged under warranty BUT it was running consistently hot. I have purposely monitored and kept the case open (saves a few degrees) […]

How does your monthly smartphone bill compare to Ting?

| August 6, 2016

After years (30 years to be closer to the truth!!!) of comparing the best cellphones and carriers when it comes to device and service, I can finally say that I’m satisfied. Back in 2014, as our kids (and parents) moved on to their own plans, I switched our two iPhone5s to Ting. From day one […]

What was the best present you ever received as a child?

| August 5, 2016

Sometimes there are things that seemed to be written just for me … like the response to a serious of questions posed to Mike Rowe. I can relate 100% to the want of a Crosman BB gun at the 9 year old mark (and dad was understanding, but mom was worried — a "worrywart" was […]

Archive: Katelyn and Drew are having a baby

| August 4, 2016

Brenda and I are SO excited for our daughter Katelyn and her husband Drew — they are having a baby (photo above “just a couple years ago”). They called us with the good news last week that they are expecting (considering both are doctors, I assume they are pretty sure). Katelyn has not been to see […]

GroupBibleStudy.com website traffic is exploding in India

| August 3, 2016

An online website project that I have the privilege to be involved with is GroupBibleStudy.com. My good friend Pastor Keith Thomas, a super nice guy and one of the more scholarly writers and teachers that I know, writes and teaches small group Bible studies from his home base in Cincinnati, Ohio. His online reach is […]

In the planning stages for a kitchen update – August 2016

| August 2, 2016

Now that we’ve been in our house for over 20 years and haven’t really done much to update our kitchen and the builder grade cabinets and appliances. It is time to start the ball rolling and at least get a few ideas. Brenda thinks our kitchen is too small by today’s "big house" standards so […]

How To: Cleaning silicone sealant from a car window

| August 1, 2016

What a pain! Silicone all over the side of my Honda Odyssey. Have you have ever had to remove silicone sealant from a surface? It is not fun. Thankfully the majority of what was purposely or accidentally (hmm?) drizzled or wiped all over my minivan this past year in Florida was on the side windows. […]

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