A project idea (below) and wasting time salvaging junk

| July 31, 2021

To salvage or toss: It is a quandary those of us who try to fix, salvage and repair things. My theory is that those of us who take thing apart as kids to see how they work, tend to be the ones doing it when they are older and collecting boxes of junk? I often […]

Friday Filler Video: This dad make surfing with kids look easy

| July 30, 2021

Professional surfer Billy Kemper — and his son Lion — surfing together. Surfer Billy Kemper says he glimpsed at death after a wave broke his pelvis in half (CNN) – It was a tiny error in judgement, but within seconds he realized that the consequences could be potentially life threatening. “That wave sucked me up […]

A favorite photo of Drew flying his Quadrotor 5 years ago #TBT

| July 29, 2021

While reviewing and purging a few backups to stay under one of my cloud storage service’s data caps, a favorite photo popped up that was backed up on OneDrive. It was a pre-children time for Drew and Katelyn visiting his parent’s place on Lake Michigan when there was free-time for self, hobbies, tech gadgets and […]

Books (audio): In “Search of a Kingdom” by Laurance Bergreen

| July 28, 2021

Perhaps it is my aging eyes, just worn out in the evening … or just too many distractions when the TV is on … but my book reading has slowed a bit. Of the several books sitting next to my chair, on my Kindle or iPad, most have been started, but sit unfinished.  So this […]

The legendary Thomas Sowell and his economics, politics and social theory highlighted by Jason Riley for PragerU

| July 27, 2021

As a longtime subscriber to the Wall Street Journal (and for the last decade or so Barron’s), I’ve learned to appreciate certain journalists, economists and opinion piece writers like Jason Riley at the Manhattan Institute. When he told the inspiring story of Thomas Sowell for PragerU, I quickly viewed the video and applauded – well […]

Music Monday: “Then Came You” recorded by Dionne Warwick and The Spinners in 1974

| July 26, 2021

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Regularly see bats in the evening, but first time in the pool

| July 25, 2021

So what do you know about bats? Personally, I didn’t know very much at all. I see them regularly in the evening sky darting around and have always repeated the mantra that they are good for the environment because they eat mosquitos and pesky insects (article). Beyond that … and the vampire stories … I […]

Are we looking at facemasks and shutdowns again? #COVID19

| July 24, 2021

If it were not for the questionable messaging being pushed by every politician, biased partisan media personality (both left and right), so called medical experts and even our own wishy-washy Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it would be easier to decipher if this Delta Covid-19 variant is something to worry about or just […]

Tech Friday: Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know (WIRED)

| July 23, 2021

Occasionally I still get calls from people asking me about shortcut key combinations. Most of the shortcuts are second nature to people who grew up using computers, but then again … what you don’t use, you forget. How about a refresher from Wired? Tip: Learn as many keyboard shortcuts as your brain can store. You […]

Interesting to see old Palm Treo phones in articles #TBT

| July 22, 2021

Although the “installing engineered hardwood flooring” comment caught my eye in this @Forbes retweet from @ForbesAdvisor … I couldn’t help but noticed the “likely” canned image with an old Palm Treo hanging on the installers belt. Fun to remember those old days! It does bring back memories …  

The F-16 Agile Falcon variant precursor to the Mitsubishi F-2

| July 21, 2021

My brother Ron spent his career as a civilian with the USAF and much of it was spent year working with F-16 modifications. He was a cog in the bureaucratic gears dealing with the many upgrades and decade long modification cycles. I saw this 60/40 international joint partnership model in a photo discussed by my […]

New Shepard Blue Origin launched with Jeff Bezos this morning

| July 20, 2021

Most news outlets are covering the Jeff Bezos and crew launching the few minutes delayed Blue Origin first crewed 11-minute space flight on the anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing in 1969. The New Shepard spacecraft launched flawlessly and was a beautiful site … although, shockingly short, for $28 million dollars per passenger.   Interestingly, […]

A couple weekend family photos – spiders, movies and art

| July 20, 2021

Figured I would archive a couple leftover photos and an animated gif from a nice weekend working out in the yard. Since the concrete crew has not started the driveway project yet, I am continuing to clear brush and cut low branches (contemplating large concrete mixing trucks). Once again, the bonfire brush pile is starting […]

Investors are taking it on the chin today as COVID19 Delta variant may impact the US and global recovery

| July 19, 2021

If you are an investor or long term education and retirement saver, you’re feeling the pain today as the coronavirus Delta variant spread could impact the economic recovery. U.S. stocks, oil prices and government bond yields slid Monday as anxiety mounted over the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant and its potential impact on the […]

Music Monday: Neil Diamond and “Crackin’ Rosie” from 1970

| July 19, 2021

It has hard for me to imagine that there is anyone who doesn’t appreciate the music of Neil Diamond? He may not have been at the top of my 1970s music listening list, but when it comes to soft rock, there are few men who can match his vocal talent. A Twitter snippet of a […]

Lithium Ion battery replaced under Ridgid LSA warranty

| July 18, 2021

Good news and bad news. First, my relatively new (2018) smaller Ridgid tool battery will not hold a charge for very long … which has been my gripe with all previous battery powered “cordless” tools, especially those prior to Lithium Ion. Actually my complaint was not with the batteries, but the pricing of replacement batteries. […]

Slow, but not necessarily steady, progress on my home office

| July 17, 2021

Slow progress on my home office as I continue to work in disarray; I am missing my accessory junk … including a small hanging TV. I don’t necessarily “watch” business television, instead listen to the stream via SiriusXM to my Aftershokz Aeropex headset. Occasionally though, do still find it helpful to have a video image […]

Tech Friday: Replaced the lithium battery in my Kindle Voyage

| July 16, 2021

My Amazon Kindle Voyage is not used much for reading anymore as I have gravitated to using my iPad, but every time I’ve picked it up lately the battery has been dead. So after ordering an inexpensive replacement lithium battery – it is surprisingly small – I popped the back off with the help of […]

Grainy summer evening panorama photo (pre-driveway project)

| July 16, 2021

Just a pleasant, but warm evening photo as a Friday filler, after mowing the front lawn on Thursday night …  and before the crews come to bust up the driveway and prepare to pour concrete (I hope!)

Lots of tools, more tools and an old Boy’s Life booksafe #TBT

| July 15, 2021

After seeing this photo of someone workbench screwdriver holder, I don’t feel quite as bad about my multiple tool boxes and workbench racks. Without a doubt, I do have my share of tools and gadgets, but I’m not sure how many screwdrivers it is necessary to have in one holder? The Facebook photo above aside, […]

Book: Operation Pedestal – The Fleet That Battled to Malta, 1942

| July 14, 2021

Progress has been slow in my latest nightly book reading, in part due to being wiped-out by full days with our granddaughters last week and more recently watching a few episodes each night of an old 1965-1971 sitcom called Hogan’s Heroes (mention once before). So for a update on reading Operation Pedestal by Max Hastings, “I […]

The Wyze cam sound detector picked up a strong thunderstorm

| July 13, 2021

The downside of having self-monitored smarthome security cams, sound sensors, door triggers and motion detection at the Florida condo in Delray Beach is that one never knows what will set it off. Usually it has been a flash of light or in a couple cases a slightly weakened battery on a sensor. Yesterday though, even […]

Music Monday: Summer music listening with Yacht Rock Radio

| July 12, 2021

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A week of summer with Annalyn and Ellerie at our house

| July 11, 2021

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Archive: Leftover personal family 4th of July weekend photos

| July 10, 2021

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Tech Friday: Switched to "Google Drive for Desktop" on my iMac

| July 9, 2021

For the last few years, I’ve been using Google’s Backup and Sync software on my iMac to back up mostly archival data to my free Google Drive space that was part of my legacy Miami University EDU teaching account. I haven’t taught in Oxford, Ohio for decades, but did spend a few dollars for Taylor’s […]

Still glad we bought a Bosch Dishwasher 11 years ago #TBT

| July 8, 2021

After seeing the latest Wirecutter recommendation the other day, I was glad to know we were ahead of the curve back when we replaced our old dishwasher with a Bosch model in 2010.

Books: “Beyond”by Stephen Walker about Yuri Gagarin

| July 7, 2021

One of the segments from the Wall Street Journal that I especially enjoy are the book reviews … or the “bookshelf.” I’m always intrigued by the history selections and the review on Stephen Walker’s book “Beyond” was no exception. It so happened that it is also a WSJ+ “free book club read” for the month […]

Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest Chess grandmaster in history

| July 6, 2021

It was probably the intimidating photo of 9 year old Abhimanyu Mishra that caught my attention, but as someone who once enjoyed the “recreational game” of Chess as a boy, it is also impressive to see what this young New Jersey boy has accomplished. At the GM Mix in Hungary last week, a 12-year old […]

Music Monday: Don McLean performing “Crossroads” live

| July 5, 2021

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Independence Day 2021: Stand for the “Red, White and Blue”

| July 4, 2021

Well … no surprise, but divisiveness (or just a “put the spotlight on me”) continues in our free-to-protest country. At one time, standing for our flag, appreciating living free from government oppression in America and singing … or at least respecting … our National Anthem was nearly universal, but in the past decade, not so […]

Renewables and EV charging at home vs charging station issue

| July 3, 2021

As we transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles, the discussion I had with a German tourist on our cruise to Alaska continues to replay in my head. I am an advocate of free-market capitalism and smaller, less intrusive government … but have been known to stumble a bit and have supported government using incentives […]

Tech Friday: Apple to launch an OLED iPad in 2022 (likely ‘Air’)

| July 2, 2021

According to TheElec.net (and previously rumored on 9to5mac.com), Apple will be launching a 10.86-inch OLED iPad … likely to be branded the iPadAir in 2022. The panel will be a Samsung display and likely be followed by the larger 11-inch and 12.9-inch OLED iPad Pro models the following year (2023). Since I’m committed to the […]

What are we looking for from retirement investments?

| July 1, 2021

While reading one of my favorite investment strategist, Brett Owens wrote a REIT and CEF-focused Contrarian Outlook newsletter and occasional webinars that I enjoy. He commented tongue-in-cheek … that “we dividend investors really only need three things:” Hm, how hard can that be?   Brett partnered with Tom Jacobs a few years ago to write […]

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