My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on July 8, 2026

While EV sales have cooled considerably, hybrid powertrains are seeing strong growth and are projected to capture a significantly larger share of the market in the coming years.

“Hybrids are the breakout star of the U.S. car market as EV demand fades”
Marketwatch – July 2, 2026

A chart from Murphy Automotive Partners (shared via WSJ/MarketWatch reporting) illustrates the decisive shift: Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles continue to decline in share, hybrids are rising steadily, and pure EVs remain a relatively small slice even by 2031e.

• • 2025: ICE ~78%, Hybrid ~14%, EV ~8%
  • 2027e: ICE ~74%, Hybrid ~21%, EV ~5%
  • 2031e: ICE ~66%, Hybrid ~27%, EV ~7%

Hybrids offer the best of both worlds for many drivers — better fuel efficiency and lower operating costs without the range anxiety, higher upfront costs, or charging infrastructure challenges of full EVs.

The article notes that hybrid volume is up 82% over the past three years (per Cox Automotive), making it the fastest-growing powertrain option. Many consumers are prioritizing practical fuel savings amid elevated gas prices rather than jumping fully into EVs. Toyota’s shift to hybrid-only models like the Camry is a strong market signal.

Owning a 2019 Tesla Model 3 SR+ (now with CCS retrofit and ~83k miles), I appreciate the efficiency and performance of electrification. However, the data reinforces what many practical buyers are realizing: hybrids provide meaningful real-world benefits today without some of the trade-offs of battery-only vehicles — especially for longer trips, cold weather, or areas with limited charging access.

This trend aligns with broader consumer preferences for reliability and total cost of ownership over mandates or hype. It will be interesting to watch how automakers respond — ramping up hybrid offerings while EV infrastructure and battery tech continue to mature.

Are you considering a hybrid for your next vehicle, sticking with traditional ICE … or going full EV?

Category: Automotive, Financial, Hybrid, Tesla | No Comments »
Tags: cars, ev, graph, hybrid, ice, marketwatch, projections, story, tesla, trends

Posted By RichC on July 7, 2026

I wish I could say that Brenda and I did more than hang out around home and watch fireworks for the 4th of July (the lawn is cut), but at least our family was doing the right thing in marking memories for our nation’s Semiquincentenial. 

Besides the Oostra family checking out the fireworks and in-town celebration, the checked out a fantastic barn painted up with the US Flag and Mt Rushmore portraits. Very patriotic.

They also enjoy some time at the Cedar Point Water Park and made a quick stop to check out my brother Ron and his wife Claire’s new Lake Erie house — the one on the property we grew up on as kids (my parents would be so pleased). Fantastic memories as I’ve mentioned before. 

Not to be outdone, Taylor and Megan took in a tribute band concert and enjoyed the VERY hot Cincinnati evening. They had a really good time, at least that is my read from Megan’s text messages!

Category: Archive, Art, Holiday, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: 4th of july, archive, artwork, barn, family, mural, NW Ohio, oostras, painted, Semiquincentennial

Posted By RichC on July 6, 2026

Besides being a Music Monday (Pink Floyd and “Obscured by Clouds” from 1972 below), it was time to get an early handle on my cloud storage and backup accounts. I was planning on holding off in making the “cloud storage” switch until my Microsoft OneDrive was up for a yearly renewal in August, but the constant deletion and shuffling of stored files with our shared iCloud account with Apple in order to preserve space became too much. Video, photos and iPhone backups storage alone these days eats up the majority of our shared $2.99/mo 200GB of space, leaving little left for iCloud files, etc. 

So … opted to start the conversion from OneDrive (and eventually will eliminate iDrive for automated backups) early and will opt to pay the current $9.99/mo for the 2TB iCloud plan.

The standard U.S. pricing structure is as follows:

• 50GB: $0.99 per month (ideal for single users with light storage needs).
• 200GB: $2.99 per month (best for small families or multi-device households; supports up to 5 HomeKit cameras).
• 2TB: $9.99 per month (for power users, photo enthusiasts, or large families; includes unlimited HomeKit camera support).
• 6TB: $29.99 per month (for professionals with large media libraries).
• 12TB: $59.99 per month (for high-volume professional workflows).

Category: Cloud, Computer, Music, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: icloud, idrive, music monday, musicmonday, obscured by clouds, onecloud, pink floyd

Posted By RichC on July 5, 2026

With our nation’s 250th birthday plus one, here’s an Ohio oriented aviation story that was pretty cool. I’m not sure what kind of planning it took for the pilot to take his Cessna Skyline 182 RG to fly this kind of six hour “map drawing flight,” but it did take a few gallons of fuel (likely 70-80?) and a lot of precision flying.

The Cessna celebrated America’s upcoming semiquincentennial with a six-hour journey from Norwalk, where the Cessna 182 etched its own unique flight map in the skies between Toledo in the west and Cleveland in the east. For the pilot, the flight preparation must have taken some time to ensure the flight path followed would exactly outline the map of the contiguous United States, including all its bordering lakes and peninsulas, and panhandles, while including the words ‘USA 250th’ in its interior.

LINK

Thanks for forwarding the story, Drew … and yes Katelyn, it is “bloggable.” 😉  

Category: Aviation, Human Interest | No Comments »
Tags: bloggable, cessna, flying, map, ohio, simpleflying.com, usa 250th

Posted By RichC on July 4, 2026

As we celebrate another Independence Day, America stands at a pivotal moment. Our nation, forged by the courage and sacrifice of patriots who risked everything for liberty, continues to shine as a beacon of freedom and opportunity. As a conservative who deeply loves this country, I remain profoundly optimistic about our future. Recent polls underscore this divide in national sentiment: a NBC News survey found that 90% of Republicans express pride in being American, compared to just 29% of Democrats. This gap highlights a resilient conservative commitment to our founding principles amid challenges. With strong leadership and a renewed focus on individual liberty, limited government, and American exceptionalism, our best days are still ahead.

Yet we must confront the real pressures threatening that promise. Elements on the far left of the Democratic Party push socialist and communist-inspired policies – centralized control, wealth redistribution, and identity-driven division – that erode the self-reliance and free enterprise which built our prosperity. These ideologies clash with the American spirit, fostering dependency rather than empowerment and weakening the exceptional nation that has inspired the world.

President Trump captured the American Spirit powerfully in his June 25 speech: “We owe everything to the patriots who risked all to create the greatest and most exceptional nation the world has ever known.” As conservatives, we honor that legacy by rejecting radical experiments and recommitting to the timeless values of our Founders. This July 4th, let us celebrate our nation’s Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) with renewed confidence: America’s future is bright because patriots will always defend her greatness. Happy Independence Day – may God bless the United States of America.

* POSTED on TheHustings, a 3-column website for Civil Discourse of News & Politics

Category: Holiday, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: 4th of july, independence day, patriotism, Semiquincentennial, thehustings, wikipedia

Posted By RichC on July 3, 2026

How many years have I been using a Mac and saving Shift-Cmd+4 screenshots to the desktop (although MacOS has changed over the years)? That said, there’a simple solution for those running newer Apple Macintosh operating systems. Personally I’ve never really given it much thought until consolidating my cloud storage this summer … although more on that later. 

Really I just wanted a better way to take a quick screen shot on one computer and have it available on another without actually moving the file from the desktop. Here’s what MacWorld advises as the best way to change the saved screenshots location: 

Category: Advice, Productivity, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: cloud storage, full, icloud, macos, macworld, Productivity, screenshots, tips

Posted By RichC on July 2, 2026

Since I follow our local Cincinnati WKRC-TV weather guru John Gumm on X.com, I’ll share his post on what to expect this July in Cincinnati based on our weather history:

Welcome to July in #Cincinnati! Our average high is 86 and stays there all month long. We average just under 4 inches of rain and lose about 40 minutes of daylight. Our warmest July was in 1901 🥵 and our coolest was in 2009 🥶 with our wettest ⛈️ coming in 1926. @Local12

— John Gumm (@JohnGumm) July 1, 2026

Category: Social Media, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: john gumm, july weather, wkrc, x.com