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!)

Looking at New York City from the Empire State Building #pano


May 4, 2021

How many building top water tanks can you count? (you could spend hours zoomed in on this photo … and if that is not enough, there is a naked man somewhere in this “Where is Wally or Waldo-like” photo).  LINK: “World’s Largest Photo of New York City“

Panorama while taking a break from yardwork #MemorialDay17


May 31, 2017

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Panos, fender cleaning and that new rental car smell


March 17, 2014

Above is an iPhone panorama photo of the aft of Encore but it was so distorted that I had to try and tweak it in Photoshop. Better than it was, but still a quirky perspective. The fenders used to keep boats from bumping together or into docks and pilings take abuse and get pretty weathered. […]

This jaw-dropping Milky Way galaxy pano is now on my iMac


October 9, 2013

The U.K.’s Royal Observatory Greenwich and National Maritime Museum awarded Mark Gee’s photos showing the Milky Way galaxy as it lights the sky at Cape Palliser, New Zealand lighthouse this year. The photo (click for VERY large) was made by stitching together 20 individual images to create this panoramic photo which as the Space.com article […]

Panorama of Miami Graduation (iPhone 5 attempt)


May 11, 2013

EDIT: Attempted an iPhone5 panorama photo on Saturday and assume the photo size was too larger for the limited Sprint 3G service?)

Killing time and testing an iPhone5 close-up panorama


October 27, 2012

It was a cool and rainy morning as I waited to meet with a businessman from China interested in talking with me about homebuilt airplanes, and so I experimented with the new iPhone5’s panorama feature to kill some time … this time trying a close up panorama. I was more curious to see how it […]

Google gobbling Panoramio


June 1, 2007

In Google’s continuing growth, they are acquiring the photo sharing company call Panoramio. The acquisition makes perfect sense as it is a content rich way to enhance Google Earth and Google Maps. Panoramio members contribute photos which help highlight locations while using maps or the virtual globe and is an impressive way for Google to […]

Semi-depressingly reminiscing about my childhood home #TBT


December 21, 2023

My childhood home on Lake Erie in 1967 It is the time of year when we reflect on the past year … or in my case … the WAY past years. Last month, my brother Ron mentioned that the property (just the land) that our childhood home was being listed for sale. We were both […]

A day for Gratitude: A Journey Through History


November 23, 2023

Thanksgiving traces its origins to the 1621 harvest celebration held by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people in Plymouth, Massachusetts. This historic gathering marked a season of abundance and marked the beginning of a tradition that would become a cornerstone of American culture. Thanksgiving serves as a universal reminder to thank our Creator for our […]

The Israel-Hamas war has intrigued Bibical map reading


November 19, 2023

Panoramic view of the Sea of Galilee in 2006 (click for larger) After a brief discussion and look at current and previous maps of Israel and the area Christians study (the Holy Land)  … prior to … and during the life of Jesus, I noticed that the Sea of Galilee as well as most landmarks […]

Beach vacations are restful and a necessary recharge for me


October 18, 2023

Although a new iPhone14 or 15 would make the quality of photos a little better, my old iPhone7plus is still chugging along. I haven’t taken a panoramic for a while, so rather than go the selfie route (Brenda veto-ed the photo we took) for today’s vacation blog post. So I’ll post a Delray Beach pano […]

Archive: Summer vacation and hiking in Zion National Park


August 8, 2023

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Archiving: A trip to NW Ohio to see our granddaughters


October 22, 2022

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Treating Sod Webworms is delayed by a Sprayer repair


August 30, 2022

Having recently ordered some Permethrin SFR 36.8% from DoMyOwn.com in order to hopefully prevent the sod webworm invasion that happened last year, I started a late August spraying this past weekend. Little did I know that the bearings in my aging 25 gallon sprayer were almost all failing (except for one – photo below). I […]

A quick babysitting trip to Perrysburg and a check on Katelyn and Drew’s property and house building progress


August 27, 2022

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A birthday weekend in Georgia with the Gerbers


August 23, 2022

It was a nice weekend to drive to Atlanta, even though it was only for a short birthday visit for Brenda’s sister Ann. As always, we had a very nice time together, had a great day hiking up to Indian Seats (panorama above) and our favorite part, catching up on the life of their girls. […]

Summer storms continue, more COVID and Gilligan’s Island


August 6, 2022

Well if one has to stay at home … looking at our backyard “storm is coming” pool photo … and we aren’t to be out and about, there could be worse places to be isolating? The summer storms continued rolling thru this past week and and after testing positive the previous week, I thought a […]

A last minute trip to Perrysburg babysitting our granddaughters and to check on new home planning and lot clearing progress


July 27, 2022

Eventually I’ll get to part 3 of our family Canadian Rockies 40th Anniversary trip (post-trip nightmare, part 1 and part 2), but for now I’ll archive a few photos from this past week’s babysitting trip to Perrysburg. COVID has made its way through the Oostra family after their trip … likely the herding through the […]

Weekend yard chores, painting and corner desk update photos


June 7, 2022

Brenda and I enjoyed our anniversary weekend staying around home, working in both the yard and for me painting on Sunday afternoon (Brenda helped out at a store short a pharmacist in Dayton). Slowly I’m making progress in painting the guest bedroom (pano photo below). Ceiling are done, walls have their first and second coat […]

Archive: Guest bedroom and home office floors are finished


May 4, 2022

Just archiving progress on the hardwood floors project before moving any furniture back in the guest bedroom (above left) and my home office (panorama photo below). I also wanted to save a photo of the can of Minwax branded wood finish, used and mixed to match our existing floor stain (great job by Schindler Hardwood […]

Logging in and adjusting to new My Desultory Blog security


October 5, 2021

I received an email from a regular blog reader questioning the new Sign-In feature that I implemented last month; it hinders anonymous viewing on My Desultory Blog for some posts. Yes it is a restrictive change, but it is not all that cumbersome once you are “Sign-In.” The WordPress security is minimal and the only […]

As cracks appear we are prepared to dispute the concrete driveway


September 14, 2021

Our end of summer driveway project has left us irritated and a bit depressed. This isn’t our first concrete project, so we do know what to expect and what is possible. Our builder supervised our first driveway at this house (the finish looked good and there were no initial cracks, but after a decade it […]

Archive: More Sod Webworm damage and a few family photos


September 4, 2021

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Driveway project: Day 1 of the planned 2 day concrete pour


August 28, 2021

Friday was Day One, of what is the longest day of the planned two day driveway pour (Day 2 on Monday). The crew was at the house before 5:30AM with spot lights, last minute prep and ready for the first truck of concrete which was scheduled to arrive at 6AM – was here at 6:15. […]

Music Monday: Replacing our Driveway Blues, or close to it


August 23, 2021

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A Toledo Mud Hens game and Katelyn’s surprise birthday party


May 26, 2021

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Archive: A few saved family photos from the week that was …


May 5, 2021

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Music Monday: The Beach Boys, “Fun, Fun, Fun” and some R & R


May 3, 2021

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Canary cam selfies, Taylor and his fraternity friends in the Bahamas and the passing of the UK’s Prince Phillip


April 10, 2021

It is that time of year again … spring, when the camera loving birds (1, 2, 3) sit and look at the Pool Garage camera. The downside is that every time they sit and look at the Canary cam, it triggers a motion alert to my phone. Taylor and Megan are on their way back […]

Sent the Packardbaker out for some transmission work


August 21, 2020

My dad’s 1958 Packard Hawk, mine for the last 5 years, has hardly been touched since it was flatbed delivered from Sidney, Ohio. I moved it once … and then covered it up with a battery tender after I noticed a pool of transmission fluid all over the floor. So on the 5th anniversary of […]

Someone’s Tesla is plugged into my 220VAC welding circuit?


August 9, 2020

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A happy Taylor after updating his apartment’s kitchen #TBT


July 9, 2020

While smiling and thinking about my “now domesticated son ” (HA!) after seeing a couple photos Taylor proudly sent me after updated his kitchen apartment, I realized he is now closer to middle age than living in “just out of college” bachelor pad. The pre-COVID19 days of “always going out” have adjusted to “being comfortable […]

Nothing like a heavy and steady rain to add to our water woes


May 19, 2020

The heavy rain overnight continued to add to our COVID19 spring misery, as SW Ohio is under flood warning. The warning started last night and after double checking our Zoeller pumps (shouldn’t really expecting them to do much considering just how much rain comes down). Two of the pumps keep our basement from flooding and […]

Why Delray Beach? – “Doors open, doors close” opportunities


November 9, 2019

When chatting about our recent vacation to Florida with a long time customer (friend) in Akron, Ohio, he asked why we picked Delray Beach, Florida as an area to buy a condo (I detected he is beginning to think about retiring). Although I realized that I really haven’t given much thought to how we ended […]

Notes on a few more master bathroom and upholstery updates


September 25, 2019

Following up on my weekend post and a few of the projects that I’m trying to complete (or get started) during my few days in Florida is the “somewhat new to me” upholstery project. It has bogged down my to-do list schedule, but I was able to get the master bathroom corner mirrors and glass […]

A big thanks to Taylor for planning a Reds-Indians family day


July 6, 2019

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Bonfire leftovers and starting a new pile for another fire


June 14, 2019

After the weekend bonfire for Taylor’s birthday party … without burning down the woods or catching any trees on fire … I told myself, “I’m never going to let the pile get that big again.”  From now on the fires need to be of a “reasonably” safe size. Now, what that size is … I’m […]

Archiving Taylor’s 30th birthday party with photos and video


June 11, 2019

We had a great 30th birthday party for Taylor and his friends on Saturday in the backyard … just as we have many times before. As a parent it is nice to know he has always enjoyed bringing friends to our house rather than going someplace else … and seemingly his friends are okay with […]

Belated spring yard chores, pool opening and patio cleaning


May 25, 2019

It feels a late start to opening the “mudhole” … I mean “muddy” pool … this year as our trips to Florida have set me back on the usual spring chores. I think the earliest we have opened the pool as been March, but this year is about the latest that I can recall, although […]

The weather is not to my liking, but it is a “Good Friday”


April 19, 2019

After a first cutting of the backyard, the flowering phlox and Redbud trees make even a cold and gloomy “Good Friday” worth taking a panorama photo. But let’s keep our focus on what Jesus did for us and the reason we refer today as “GOOD Friday” – I like what Rev Franklin Graham shared on […]

A rainy March day in Florida beats a rainy March day in Ohio


April 2, 2019

After a weekend trip to Encore in Florida, one would think that I would be totally rejuvenated? Unfortunately I’m feel further behind and less rested than when I left? Perhaps it is age or maybe just the long drive, but I’m tired and worn out. On the bright side, it was at least good to […]

Medscape article on the treatment of Meniere disease #archive


March 27, 2019

A couple of decades ago I suffered from Ménière disease (Ménière’s disease) and struggled to find treatment and relief from the miserably vertigo episodes. One does not understand how debilitating and miserable that this be, so much so that any potential treatment, regardless of the risk, seemed worth it at the time. In my case, […]

Volkswagen will be keeping one customer and making new ones


September 23, 2018

According to my very pleased Volkswagen driving daughter, she’ll likely stay committed to the VW brand IF they continue to appreciate her as a customer. She was one of the first owners of the new 2018 Tiguan last year and has been very pleased with the first year vehicle. The performance, including regular 30+ mpg […]

Weekend chores rewarded with granddaughter fun at the zoo


June 11, 2018

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Archive: A couple new updated condo kitchen photos


May 2, 2018

The new Hitachi miter saw put to use on the condo kitchen crown molding … and a little paint finally being applied by Brenda. Wanted to get these couple new Ikea kitchen photos archived before they are lost.

New 12-inch Hitachi miter saw. An early birthday present to me.


May 1, 2018

New tools are my jewelry when it comes to presents … and Brenda agreed to buy me a new 12" Hitachi sliding compound miter saw so I could more easily work on a couple of projects (after promising to do them this year). Hm, what have I gotten myself into??? The first project is to […]

Remotes, remodeling and a day leftover for Encore


April 14, 2018

This past week has been a busy one for me. I was off to Florida for a few days to check on the condo in Delray Beach after our winter renter and to start the demolition of the kitchen. It is a project that is way past due and I’m not sure I know exactly […]

Finished assembling seating for our home theater – almost done


February 11, 2018

iPhone panoramic of home theater from the rear Finally the correct seat came in and I was able to assemble the last of our eight home theater seats for the home archive. The sizing and spacing is near perfect and even without the riser that I am planning to add to the rear row, the […]

Driving the shoreline of Lake Erie on my way to see Annalyn


October 21, 2017

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A quick visit to Perrysburg Ohio to see Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn


July 6, 2017

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TechFriday: Apple iPhone8 and iOS11 as WWDC 2017 nears


June 2, 2017

Who doesn’t love anticipating "the next big thing" when it comes to tech, especially the mobile tech we used everyday? I for one am ready to replace my iPhone5s with some new hardware — if for nothing else, a snappier interface (it just feels slow). The plan for about a year has been to wait […]

A final update: Our kitchen project is nearly finished


May 11, 2017

The previous later evening blog update when the contractor left was a bit of a blurry photo, so I wanted to include a better photo and opted to give the Lumix GX8 pano-mode a try (above). Since I was not sure exactly how it would turn out, opted for a normal wide angle image as […]

Babysitting duty and exploring where I grew up


May 2, 2017

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Archive: Photos after kitchen project week ONE


March 25, 2017

Just a few photos from Thursday and Friday after the first week of kitchen demolition and construction. A few more prior to the cabinets below to archive the project.   Dent in our new refrigerator    

A beautiful sunrise, then storms – and retweeted tweets


March 20, 2017

It was dark for a panoramic iPhone5 photo, but while doing my "last bag" garbage run this morning, I couldn’t resist a photo of the sunrise while the lightning was cracking to the west. Within an hour it was pouring rain and became a dreary, damp day. On a social networking technology note, it is […]

Weather wise, October weekends do not get much better


October 30, 2016

What a great autumn weekend in Cincinnati. We had a gorgeous sky last night although the panorama photo mode on my "aging" iPhone 5s doesn’t do it justice.   Saturday was spend enjoying the outdoors as besides mowing the backyard, I "chipped away" at my wood pile by splitting and ended up cutting a few […]

Appreciating the Summer of 2016 before it is gone


August 23, 2016

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Hot enough to put up the ShadeTree awning


July 17, 2016

After buzzing down to Florida last week to show the condo in Delray Beach, I spent a couple days “hurricane prepping” Encore for the tropical weather likely to show up in a month or so (could happen any day now). My good friend Mark gave me a “sweaty” hand in getting the sails stowed away […]

Never too old for a Birthday Bash


June 12, 2016

Taylor‘s Birthday party this weekend brought back memories of past pool parties when our kids were younger. Kids no more … these were all late 20s adults … but had fun acting like kids again for a day. The above photo include most from their group … click for full size! The birthday was really […]

Finally finished spring 2016 patio/pool deck cleaning


May 29, 2016

The spring cleaning chore in getting the pool desking and patio furniture cleaned after a winter and heavy pine pollen season never gets any easier. I’ve almost got it down to a full, long day and I’m convinced the heavy teak adirondack chairs are getting heavier? The weather was for the most part perfect for […]

More work than expected on the BMW X5 35d diesel


October 26, 2015

I picked up Brenda's 2010 BMW X5 35d on Friday night and started tinkering with it this weekend (yes, my wife's — bummer! — but her 1998 Rav4 needed to be replaced). She absolutely fell in love with the panoramic sunroof (see below) and didn't seem to mind the “many” creature comforts either. There were […]

Surgery — Waiting, waiting, waiting…


July 31, 2015

While waiting outside on a beautiful afternoon for Brenda‘s surgery to be finished, I will try a blog post from my phone. The reconstruction of her shoulder/arm was scheduled for 11am, but she was not wheeled away until 12:45pm. Hopefully all will go as planned in the scheduled 3 hours? Last night I took a […]

The Cincinnati renaissance is impressive


April 20, 2015

I spent Sunday afternoon with my son Taylor while he was back home visiting from North Dakota on a cloudy and rainy afternoon. He was my tour guide and gave me the updates on the projects and investment that is helping to revitalize Cincinnati. As a suburban guy, I was impressed to see “our home […]

Clearing snow again and again this February weekend


February 22, 2015

  As predicted, we pick up our share of snow in the Cincinnati area on Saturday. I was hoping to make it through the winter without having to put the chains and snowblower on the old John Deere, but realized Friday night that it was not to be. Thankfully all operated as it was suppose […]

A Volkswagen TDI concept based on the 2015 Golf Sportwagen


April 13, 2014

According to the folks at Autoguide, Volkswagen will be following the  VW Jetta Sportwagen with Golf SportWagen in 2015 and is teasing us with a diesel variant. The new TDI concept proposes an all-wheel drive 2.0-liter powerplant called the EA288 diesel. This new diesel would offer 10 more horsepower over the current diesel and could […]

Wrapping up the long weekend in Florida


March 18, 2014

In wrapping up the “work trip” (cough, cough) down to Florida … I figured the trip would not be complete without at least a walk on the beach. Sunday afternoon sunshine made a good excuse to see how the sand felt on my feet – nice (panorama with the iPhone 5 above – click for […]

Taylor moved to Williston North Dakota this past week


September 28, 2013

This past week I flew up to Williston, North Dakota to help my son Taylor move into his new apartment. My expectation were low and so the brand new apartment with easy access to everything made for a very positive first impression. Taylor drove his late grandfather’s “loaner vehicle,” a Chevy Trailblazer, from Cincinnati to […]

A day with my dad in Sidney Ohio at the Applefest and Carshow


September 8, 2013

My dad and I enjoyed the day together doing something we both enjoy – looking at cars and being together. As usual, he took his 1958 Packard Hawk to the Shelby County Applefest in downtown Sidney Ohio on Saturday and wondered if I was going to enter my Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel this year. I […]

Cleaned my gutters this morning


July 6, 2013

Whoa! Lots of summer rain this morning and used the excuse to try a couple more panorama photos with the iPhone 5. I’m not sure how much came down or how fast, but from the water shedding off our back acreage (and neighbors) was significant, at least in Liberty Twp. Ohio. The morning was spend […]

Opened the pool this weekend … before the snow started


March 24, 2013

I took advantage of a nice Saturday afternoon to open the pool before the snow started on Sunday. I’m adding water at the moment and am watching the snow at the moment … maybe I should take a swim? I’ve finally got the hang of closing with the right chemistry which makes turning things on […]

A large blue mystery eye found on a south Florida beach


October 12, 2012

  You know those scary campfire stories that we’ve all told or heard while growing up? Well here’s one that could be adapted for beachgoers along the Atlantic coast of Florida – Jaws was getting old anyway. I’m going to ask a good friend who’s daughter is a marine biologist … but until then, the […]

It is septic tank pumping day at our house


October 2, 2012

Maybe I’m just looking for an excuse to play with the panorama feature on my new iPhone 5, but decided to take a photo before digging to find the lid of the septic tank. The photo above is current October 2012 and the photo below was as we built the house in 1995 and put […]

Smartphone photography with the new Apple iPhone 5


September 22, 2012

The Apple iPhone 5 camera makes for a substantial improvement over my previous smartphone’s camera and so I was anxious to experiment with image quality and play with a few of the hyped features. Since I’m upgrading from the nearly “extinct” Palm Pre, running a rooted webOS install, any modern smartphone camera would have been an […]

Curiosity begins a high tech survey of Mars


August 7, 2012

A great touch active graphic was in the online Wall Street Journal today and opened my eyes to the size of the robotic explorer. Thinking about radio controlled “buggies” of the past, I was thinking that Curiosity wasn’t all that much bigger … until I saw the comparison to the Mini Cooper – wow. Flying […]

Happy Turkey Day or perhaps Fowl and Deer Day


November 24, 2011

Who would have thought that we would adopt the folksy term Turkey Day for Thanksgiving considering the first pilgrims and Wampanoaq Indians most likely didn’t serve turkey. I figured there might have been Wild Turkey? Perhaps not according to most historians. The account we have of the feast — Mourt’s Relation by Edward Winslow and […]

New Mercedes SLK250 CDI roadster is frugal on fuel


November 21, 2011

Small Volkswagen and Audi TDIs in North America could always use a little more competition … how about an attractive diesel roadster with both performance and fuel efficiency from Mercedes? The 47mpg SLK250 CDI.   Mercedes’ newest SLK roadster combines thrilling performance, classic sportscar proportions, and (most relevant from our purposes) incredible fuel economy figures:  […]

Picked up the 2012 Passat TDI for the TDIFest


September 2, 2011

For those interested in all things TDI (that’s Volkswagen TDI diesel automobiles), the TDIFest is this weekend in the host city of Lexington KY. Our local CinciTDI club is hosting the TDIClub “fest” and it looks to be a good one. Hopefully the weather and activities will be enjoyable … I know that I’m looking […]

Mercedes puts a diesel in their roadster: the SLK250 CDI


August 25, 2011

My kind of diesel … well except for the 47,000 EUROs and “no word on U.S. availability or pricing” part. Mercedes’ newest SLK roadster combines thrilling performance, classic sportscar proportions, and (most relevant from our purposes) incredible fuel economy figures:  try 47 miles for each gallon of diesel! The SLK250 CDI is powered by Mercedes’ […]

Fender bender: All is fine but the Rav4 took a whack


July 7, 2011

EDIT: Adding insurance photos over the weekend. All is well with Brenda after she was rearended tonight, but unfortunately her much loved Rav4 didn’t fare as well. As if the damage wasn’t enough, the age and 240,000 miles has me wondering how the repair will be handled. Besides the rear window, the rear door, spare […]

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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