New Electric Edger and Ember Mug coaster warranty

| May 31, 2023

One would think after twenty some years of pool ownership, I would have invested in a cement sidewalk (pool decking) edger. Nope … it was not something familiar to me since we have never lived on a city lot or had sidewalks. Now after 40 years of homeownership, I’ve finally broken down and spent $79.20 […]

How to: An interesting LED lightbulb hack #video

| May 30, 2023

The next time the LED chip malfunctions or “burns out,” I may try this hack … although instead of taping on a piece of foil … I think I’ll use solder. 

Music Monday: The band America and the song “Here”

| May 29, 2023

For Music Monday and for Memorial Day this week I’m letting ChatGPT write the post for the 1971 song “Here” by the British–American (cough, cough) rock band America (formed in London in 1970 by Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley [wrote this song] — at least they are all Americans). 🙃     America […]

Books: Reading Yeonmi Park’s “While Time Remains”

| May 28, 2023

The “hold” for the ebook by Yeonmi Park titled “While Time Remains” became available this past weekend and even though I haven’t finished the last book I started; I guess I’m going to “start” another anyway (it is a “forever problem” — start a book, but never finish it).  From all the interviews of her […]

Is the Debt Ceiling debate really our biggest problem?

| May 27, 2023

Once again, politicians are taking our US SPENDING and BORROWING problem right to the wire. Everyone knows that eventually politicians will just raise the debt ceiling and borrow more. The Republicans want spending cuts and the Democrats want a “clean increase” so as to be able to pay promised liabilities (previous spending) and we all […]

Tech Friday: Testing Magfast Extreme charging an Apple iPad

| May 26, 2023

This test is more for my own curiosity than any kind of controlled tech test, but since I’m often away from convenient 110VAC charging plugs, I would like to be able to recharge iPads and iPhones on the go. A few years back, I preordered a package of products from a startup company called Magfast […]

Megan, Taylor and Gigi … and Tootsie to make it #TBT

| May 25, 2023

It looks as if the dog Megan found a month or so ago … and tried to find its owner (it was probably abandoned) … has now found a new home with Taylor and Megan. They have named her Gigi. Since both Megan and Taylor have grown up with dogs, perhaps it is no surprise […]

Our six-year old granddaughter’s dance recital weekend

| May 24, 2023

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A ‘distance planning’ tip for hiking or backpacking to pass along

| May 23, 2023

My son Taylor has another semi-repeat backpacking trip planned with a friend from North Dakota (he is now in Montana) for the end of the summer in Glacier National Park (different area). The permits were obtained for the “loop” that they wanted … so now the packing and getting in shape begins (it was fun […]

Music Monday: “So Many Paths” by the Little River Band

| May 22, 2023

Another Music Monday and another 1970s hit. This week it is the Little River Band’s “So Many Paths” hit from their Sleeper Catcher album in 1978. I can still recall putting the album on the turntable in our ONU dorm room as we all tried to study. Good memories and a great time to be in […]

What vehicle interests you: The rotary engine Mazda MX-30 R-EV

| May 21, 2023

In all likelihood, one of the next vehicles in our garage will have some kind of electric motor and rechargeable battery pack (or maybe a traditional non-plugin hybrid?) I’m not convinced yet that we are ready for a full EV … at least for our primary car … but admire what Tesla is doing and […]

An ebook is great … but it is not the same thing as reading an ink on paper book shelved at home in ones personal library

| May 20, 2023

An opinion article by Faith Bottum in the Wall Street Journal about ink on paper books, ebook readers and bookshelves spoke to me last week … so I tweeted about it in agreement; I love having books in the home. Perhaps being in printing and publishing established my love for ink on paper, but for […]

A Friday Filler photo emulating TV’s “M*A*S*H” characters

| May 19, 2023

As a long time fan of the long running television series “M*A*S*H,” I could help but be impressed by a photo making its way around social media (probably something to do with my age). This is an impressive group of young look-alikes posing for an eerily similar photo (I’m keeping my eyes open for the […]

Blog update and testing after Linux and WordPress update

| May 19, 2023

The Linux server and WordPress version was updated this afternoon; Comet cache cleared and backups done. Hopefully all is as it should be on MyDesultoryBlog.com.  Since I’ve been sitting on this interesting outdoor stove project video for a while, I’ll include it below the break as a test both of the update and autoplay. 

What’s next and where do you want to retire? #TBT

| May 18, 2023

Most people spend their lives going to school, focused on work and career, raising their family and after 6 decades or so can plan for the day they shift gears and retire. The question arises, what do you want to do and where do you want to live when you aren’t restricted by school and […]

Poor business decisions and billing screw-ups at Mint Mobile

| May 17, 2023

We have been happy with Mint Mobile for a couple of years as our MVNO wireless carrier. The service has been good service … prices fair … and it has been perfect for our needs.  In April though, I switched my iPhone7-plus to US Mobile for a trial due to less than optimum coverage at […]

Minor issues upgrading Brenda’s iPhone7 to an iPhone14

| May 16, 2023

Something unanticipated happened last weekend when secretly trying to prepare a new iPhone14 to give to Brenda for Mother’s Day … it was likely the busiest time for wireless cellphone towers … especially if on Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO).  In other words, the day I gave Brenda the new phone to play with was […]

Music Monday: Pushing a Jimmy Buffett memory forward

| May 15, 2023

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Wishing a Happy Mother’s Day to Brenda and Katelyn … and Happy Birthday to my daughter too

| May 14, 2023

Blooming love’s embrace,Mother’s heart, radiant grace,Forever cherished. While listening to a news program a couple of weeks ago, the morning hosts talked about receiving too many long, overly wordy interoffice emails and notes; I assume journalists can be longwinded? A Haiku challenge ensued.  Haiku (俳句) is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. […]

Airtravel in the US: The skies aren’t getting much friendlier

| May 13, 2023

Which airline do you fly most often? We had a bad experience last summer on AirCanada and probably won’t ever flight with them again … on the other hand, we fly Southwest all the time and thankfully didn’t fly during their “meltdown (click charts for larger).” Even after the December 2022 flightmare by Southwest Airlines, […]

Tech Friday: A new female CEO is coming to Twitter

| May 12, 2023

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has announced that he will be handing over the reins of Twitter to a new female CEO. The move comes after Musk acquired the social media platform for $44 billion in April 2022. In a tweet on Thursday, Musk said:  Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO […]

An impressive grilled Mexican sandwich

| May 11, 2023

Saw this double-tortilla inspired grilled Mexican sandwich on Twitter the other day and wanted to save to my food and recipe categories with the thought … I might try this!

Books: “The Courage to Be Free” (2023) – Ron DeSantis

| May 10, 2023

My library borrowing and Kindle game caught up with me this week as the book I borrowed, “Metathreats,”  (and was in the middle of reading) expired … but because I have been keeping my Kindle in “Airplane Mode,” I continued reading. Generally I can’t finish a book without renewing so will often put my Kindle […]

Angel Food Cake, Strawberries and Whipped Cream Leftovers

| May 9, 2023

Although few of us getting older really want to spend too much time highlighting “yet another” birthday, last weekend was mine … so I celebrated by hauling 68 pounds of aluminum cans to the recycler (above). Since we were with KDAE the previous weekend … and Taylor stops in regularly (twice this past week) and […]

Music Monday: RIP Gordon Lightfoot, a folk singing legend

| May 8, 2023

Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot passed away last week; he was 84. The respected entertainer has been a favorite of mine since high school and I enjoyed his music throughout the years … and still do. Music Monday has highlighted a few of his many songs and I felt obligated to reflect on his music this […]

How Steve Jobs saved Apple with the iMac 25 years ago

| May 7, 2023

Memories: We had two of them — The original iMac in 1998 On May 6, 1998, Steve Jobs announced the iMac, and we wouldn’t now have the iPhone, the Apple Store, or even Apple itself, if it hadn’t been such a success. If there’s ever any doubt that the iMac is a phenomenal success, just try to […]

Lecture: “Woke is Maoism with American characteristics”

| May 6, 2023

When it comes to sharing political and socioeconomic philosophy, it is like tiptoeing through a minefield. No matter what books, lectures, video or definitions one uses when discussing political ideologies, almost all sources will come under suspicion of bias … or in this case … Cultural Marxist Conspiracy Theory. I do read a bit on […]

Tech Friday: How about a new iPhone14 for Mother’s Day?

| May 5, 2023

Last month I switched my LTE iPhone 7-plus to USMobile, a budget-friendly wireless carrier, and have been satisfied with the trial. Since I will likely stay with the service after making the cumbersome switch from Mint Mobile, I started to think about switching Brenda’s iPhone7 — ugh! So after a little discussion with her about […]

Contemplating the history Fed hikes and recessions

| May 4, 2023

While waiting for the big TWO TRILLION dollar company that is Apple ($AAPL) to report earning after hours on Thursday (story), I’m contemplating the likely outcome of accelerated interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Obviously concluding that “inflation in transitory,” as the Fed Chair commented after the pandemic, was the incorrect assumption … and […]

Hopefully Peak Design will still repair my aging messenger bag?

| May 4, 2023

Several years ago Drew and Katelyn gave me a premium everyday carry messenger bag for Christmas (2016). It has been a fantastic bag  or briefcase like bag for my notebook computer, iPad, books, etc and a lot of tech gear (originally used for my Lumix camera). Unfortunately after years of travel and admitted overloading, it […]

How Does Your State Rank on Individual Income Taxes?

| May 3, 2023

Taxes are often on my mind … especially when reminded by an email update from the Tax Foundation. This week was both a depressing one (Ohio #41) and an interesting one due to the number of states and cities trying hard to reduce the burden of bloated government on their residents. I would nice if […]

After 8 years as a Clermont County Planner, Taylor has accepted a new position in Batavia Township, Ohio

| May 2, 2023

It is a bitter sweet departure from Clermont County for my son Taylor. He has grown professionally and enjoyed his job as Planner for the last 8 years after moving back to Ohio from Williston, ND (being a Planner for Williams County was his first job out of college). He has been patient and taken on […]

Archive: A brief overnight stay from KDAE as they head home

| May 1, 2023

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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.
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