RichC | November 29, 2025
In the grand theater of economics, supply and demand are often cast as the star performers—shortages driving up prices, gluts pulling them down. But peel back the curtain, and you’ll find a quieter, more insidious culprit: the weakening U.S. dollar. As the world’s reserve currency, the dollar’s value doesn’t just influence trade; it permeates every […]
RichC | November 9, 2025
Why do public schools, a college education, the social safety net and health care continue to need more money? Because government is inefficient and too heavily involved … especially at the Federal level. Late last week I sent my right-leaning column commentary to TheHusting.news — we’ll see how it is received. No doubt those on […]
RichC | November 6, 2025
The subject line reference “To Blog On” isn’t really correct … but the sentiment is the same. The referenced folder is really labeled MyCubbyC_xxxx (the year) and goes back to when I was using the LogMeIn service in 2013. I used their early beta cloud storage service called MyCubby at the time. It continues to […]
RichC | October 31, 2025
This content is restricted.
RichC | October 18, 2025
Brenda and I are beach walkers and when in Delray Beach … or any beach for that matter … we walk in all kinds of weather. A week or so ago we were surprised at the heavy erosion along Florida’s Atlantic beaches, which can be somewhat normal with storm surf, higher winds and tides. This […]
RichC | October 17, 2025
Not that this Tech Friday update is at all important … because it is not … but I’m thinking about changing the encoding of clunky video on MyDesultoryBlog.com … and perhaps elsewhere? The time it takes to re-encode, upload and save video to archive has improved as computers and internet connections are now faster, but […]
RichC | September 20, 2025
I saw a story being passed around on social media and because I enjoy Mike Rowe’s story telling AND tear drop campers short post made me smile (I could build one on my trailer someday?). Besides, it is a way to add some Markdown text to my hugo.brenich.com practice website and a link Mike’s Pretty Good […]
RichC | September 18, 2025
Since TheHustings editor often asks me to weigh in on current topics of the political nature, it seemed appropriate to submit a few words on my political thoughts after the September 10th assassination of Charlie Kirk. = = = I am Charlie Kirk: A Call for Responsible Political Discourse The tragic death of Charlie Kirk […]
RichC | September 11, 2025
Each September 11th, we pause to remember. We remember the lives lost, the families changed forever, and a nation that was shaken to its core. For me, the memories are still vivid. That morning I was glued to CNBC while getting my son ready for the bus and off to Independence Elementary School. We both […]
RichC | September 9, 2025
Read an article on the NPR blog about “Dark Tourism.” Dark Tourism has been defined as tourism involving travel to places historically associated with death and tragedy. (link) It was a new term to me (but shouldn’t be) … and as someone who reads a significant number of books on World War II, should […]
RichC | September 5, 2025
This is not really new, but my ongoing battle with bots and blog bloat … especially the logs. Some of it is due to my aging WordPress theme … but most of it is due to the constant hammering of the server by bots from around the world. One option that I’ve been experimenting with […]
RichC | September 2, 2025
Last month the artistic skills of ChatGPT’s “Sora” artificial intelligence was experimented with in an attempt to emulate a favorite oil painting by my grandmother, Ruth Bluhm. It was “ok” but nothing to really get too excited about … after all, I have the original. 😉 But … after looking at the 2024 post “May […]
RichC | August 29, 2025
Finally with a little help from Grok one of my Raspberry Pi computers I use as servers, is up and running again. In 2024 after upgrading our home Internet to fiber and a new router, I realized all ports were blocked that I once used for three Raspberry Pi servers: Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. Charlie […]
RichC | August 26, 2025
As a TheHustings regular contributor, I sometimes find myself being a little more provocative that I really am — likely because there is a lack of pro-MAGA content in the right-hand column. Part of this particular submission (posted below) is for the “shock value” … but Jerry Lanson’s left-hand column, Keep Your Eye On What […]
RichC | August 21, 2025
Flaw in AI assisted research (404 links). Artificial Intelligence generated segment below for a recent blog post — and all are broken/non-existent links: Record-low unemployment rates for most demographics, including native-born workers Historic median household income growth, reaching an all-time high of $68,703 in 2019 4.9 million Americans lifted out of poverty in a single year […]
RichC | August 8, 2025
For years, Google-served ads have appeared in the headers and footers of My Desultory Blog. Each time removing them seems appealing, the realization hits that they generate enough income – though far less than in the early days — to cover server costs, so they remained. Early this summer, tweaks were made to lessen their intrusiveness, […]
RichC | July 25, 2025
Since today’s post was a little weak for Tech Friday, I’ve decided to add a second post updating my battle against DOS attacks on my server. Half the battle is fending off BOTs that originate overseas and I’ll give you one guess as to the country hammering my server the most? Since the WordPress plugin […]
RichC | July 19, 2025
The Ohio automotive registration was delayed as long as I dared this month just in case I could convince Brenda this might be a good year to sell her 2010 Acura RDX. Unfortunately she was not convinced before the license plate renewal date inched closer. So another $56.59 has been spent and we’ll go another […]
RichC | July 18, 2025
Really this is a “to be ignored” post that is to test MarsEdit after a big update and Linux server issues. I’ve cleared out a bunch of bulk, cleaned up and hopefully secured a few more things and am trying (without all that much success) into combatting the Chinese BOT that hammer the site everyday. […]
RichC | July 18, 2025
The rise of AI in search and browsing is a double-edged sword. On one hand, AI-powered tools offer efficiency, delivering quick, synthesized answers without the need to navigate multiple websites. For users, this can feel like a leap forward—why sift through links when a chatbot can summarize the best information? However, this convenience comes at […]
RichC | July 6, 2025
If you want to know what Brenda and I did to celebrate the 249th birthday of our country, my answer would be … not all that much. I ended up spraying our lawn for those sod webworms that has become a recent problem (the last 5 years) and then relaxed in the pool with my […]
RichC | July 5, 2025
Testing an Apple Shortcut script that pulls formatted text from the Apple Notes app that I often type something in. I’m starting to use Notes more and more since it is simple, synchronizes between all Apple devices and works pretty well on Apple’s iCloud, the iPhone, iPad, my iMac or MacBook Air M2. The Hustings.news […]
RichC | July 4, 2025
One of the problems with monitoring user signups for a small WordPress blog is determining who should be granted access to ALL content or just public content. In the old days, I allowed whoever wanted to sign up to sign up and clean up the list later. But as time progressed, most were spammers or […]
RichC | July 3, 2025
As we head into another Independence Day tomorrow, I find myself pausing on this Throwback Thursday #TBT to reflect not just on America’s history, but also on the digital trail now spanning 20 years that I’ve been leaving here at MyDesultoryBlog. The Fourth of July has always been more than fireworks and barbecues for our […]
RichC | June 25, 2025
While updating a few more Linux server items elsewhere today, I learned a little bit more that might help out my older “droplet” that refuses to function the way I want due to so much old software. Yes … overdue for an overhaul, but the older I get, the more comfortable and set in my […]
RichC | June 25, 2025
This is a test of the XPoster plugin debug mode and updating again.
RichC | June 24, 2025
Ignore this late lunchtime update. The feed from WordPress to X.com has been failing to authenticate and update properly after the ups and downs on this server. Below is a 14 day look before finally clearing the MySQL problem. Hopefully the bloat has been fixed?
RichC | June 20, 2025
Grok AI and I have become good friends over the past few weeks. I’ve been using artificial intelligence — with some success — in order to fix a few ongoing issues with MDB and the Linux server that has served me well for the past decade or so. No … I’m not updating or doing […]
RichC | June 12, 2025
This past week, MDB and server uptime as a been a issue. Likely all stemmed from an attempt to keeps things upgraded … then having problems with a old modified theme and plugins in WordPress that were not compatible … and finding myself backpedaling only to reinstall the version that “was” working. Sadly … there […]
RichC | June 11, 2025
Testing MarsEdit software: So far it sort of looks like it is supposed to look. 😉 Dawki suspension bridge over the Umngot River
RichC | June 9, 2025
A server test over the lunch hour to see if the Linux server is a bit more stable? Yes … it may have been mentioned for Music Monday in the Luke Combs song … “When It Rains, It Pours.” 😉
RichC | June 6, 2025
Testing a few Tech Friday blog updates that have scrambled the MDB server. For the “media” inclusion, here is a graph of 10-year Treasury yield this morning when the better than expected job numbers were released.
RichC | June 1, 2025
While Katelyn was home with her family over the Memorial Day weekend, she made a comment about Drew’s hairline while he was swimming in the pool; she used the term “Widow’s Peak“ and it stuck with me as something “desultory” enough for MDB. According to GrokAI (sketched an illustration too): A widow’s peak is a […]
RichC | May 30, 2025
This past week, regular readers may have noticed MDB going down. I battled with it instead fo relaxing on Wednesday night — wasting time building an entire new Digital Ocean Droplet/Server with an overnight (automated while sleeping) older “snapshot” set to
RichC | May 29, 2025
This is a blogging test of a MarsEdit feature to include content that is on a different server — a Memorial Day 8-plane backyard formation flyover (it didn’t work). ☹️ Also, an interesting bit of Area-51 “Skunk Works” Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk development trivia: The stealth bomber prototype secretly developed at Area 51 in the […]
RichC | April 26, 2025
While Internet searching some World War II aviation history earlier this week, I stumbled across an interesting aviation website from the UK. The blog AviationTrails caught me off guard, but after reading post after post, I realized just how much military history was archive on this blog. It is worthwhile bookmarking and I might find […]
RichC | April 13, 2025
I’ve been known to grumble and complain about big government and taxes most of my life, but I’m not alone. In fact, before I was even born there were versions of this poem being published in newspapers. So as April 15th nears (tax day in the U.S.), it seems like it should be added to […]
RichC | April 9, 2025
Tariffs have long been a divisive topic in economics. For decades, mainstream economists have championed free trade, arguing that tariffs—essentially a tax on imports ultimately paid by consumers—hinder economic growth by disrupting the free flow of goods across borders. For most of my life, I’ve been a proponent of free—but fair—trade. I believed in the […]
RichC | April 6, 2025
Once again the request was out from TheHustings.news for a bit of a pro-tariffs and pro-Trump right-column commentary than others could muster (text below before the editor puts his pen to it). Truth be told, I struggled after the hammering investors took last week (including me). I had to work a little harder to stay […]
RichC | March 29, 2025
The talk from most in the media this past week as been about several in the Trump administration’s team discussing plans to strike Houthi targets in Yemen … and that they used the encrypted app Signal to communicate with each other on a group chat titled “Houthi PC small group.” The Atlantic published a story […]
RichC | March 28, 2025
An interesting map on BrilliantMaps.com (from a Reddit post), highlights Canada’s January temperature patterns, showing where average highs and lows rise above freezing. The West Coast, particularly around Vancouver and Victoria, and parts of Nova Scotia, like Halifax, are marked in purple, indicating January average highs above 0°C (32°F). These areas, influenced by the Pacific […]
RichC | March 27, 2025
It is not hard to suck me in to having an opinion … and politics is one of those topics that I fortunately or unfortunately have formed semi-strong politically opinions over the years. I probably share/debate/argue them too often with my son Taylor (and he usually counters them) or in the past couple of years, […]
RichC | March 15, 2025
Some might say that I’m spending too much time focused on the political news coming from Washington DC these days … but so much is happening — and at a rapid pace. I’ve enjoyed spinning commentary a little more than usual this past year … and am a bit more Trumpish when posting on X.com […]
RichC | February 7, 2025
MarsEdit has been my WordPress blogging software of choice for 2 years now and although there have been a few disappointments since moving from the non-supported Windows Live Writer or Open Live Writer software (both PC only), it has been great to be able to work from my MacBook Air M2 … but more importantly, […]
RichC | January 7, 2025
My favorite January post each year has been the Lake Superior State University list of banished words, acronyms and phrases. Most of the words I know and have heard used … and definitely agree with … but admittedly I did not recognize Skibidi (see after the break). Here are the 2025 words and phrases selected […]
RichC | December 22, 2024
Part of me wonders why I continue to post “something” … “anything” … on the MDB pages everyday? Perhaps it is habit or an addictive obsession, but then again I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used it as a way to track my family life as a timeline. As the years roll by […]
RichC | October 27, 2024
One of the X.com feeds and blogs that I enjoy following is BrilliantMaps. They are based out of the UK and are always post interesting maps. Last week, this one caught my eye likely because I flew small planes before Menieres … and still enjoy aviation as a hobby. What Are Air Traffic Control Zones? […]
RichC | October 12, 2024
Snipping from my digital woodworking magazines definitely become a habit, although I’m not sure I’ll remember how to find them, even though they are archived on the blog (or keep myself from marking up the image with digital red marks)! 😊 Nevertheless, the one above might be useful IF I make the edge guide a […]
RichC | October 2, 2024
The government under Biden/Harris has been totally irresponsible when it comes to spending. They’ve shown zero interest in working towards a balanced budget and have put us another $2.3 TRILLION dollars further in debt (they are spending way more than they collect in taxes). Of course there’s nothing new to this fiscal malfeasance … it […]
RichC | September 26, 2024
Hurricane Helene (2024) looks to be big enough to pack a massive punch. Hopefully all in the low-lying area of Florida’s big bend and gulf coast area are evacuating. From my perspective, my daughter and her family are on a Disney Cruise and will stay at sea at least 12 hours longer as they wait […]
RichC | July 20, 2024
Every once in a while when reading a favorite 3-column news website for “political animals,” TheHustings.News, I will reply with a comment — especially when I receive an email from the editor who ask me to add a “right column” post or comment. 😉 So this week as a non-writer, I responded while watching the […]
RichC | July 12, 2024
Although the Late 2012 Intel-based iMac is “aging better than President Biden,” my desktop iMac is struggling and is no longer being used as my primary computer. Still … it does work as a larger twin 27” screens desktop computer along side my MacBook Air M2 these days. Recently I cross my fingers when updating […]
RichC | June 25, 2024
Nothing like holding your breath while updating overdue Linux versions and WordPress to start the day. Whew … all is still well with a couple servers and WordPress installs. Good to feel like things are up-to-date.
RichC | May 19, 2024
It is time to face the inevitable that working later in life is not a reality for most people. As I commented on a Barron’s article last week, you “better have a Plan B or even a Plan C” in case there is a health concern that prevent working later in life. From personal experience, […]
RichC | May 3, 2024
A bigger than usual update this month for my Linux based servers and as it the norm, I spent a few minutes cleaning up storage and deleting unwanted bulked up logs (usual for me). Hopefully all will continue to run normally and that security will be improved. Personally I’ve notice a speed improvement (???), but […]
RichC | May 1, 2024
Both my wife and I drink too many carbonated beverages. For me it is usually Diet Mountain Dew and for Brenda it has always been Diet Pepsi. I scaled bad several times in my life, but ended up right back in the habit of 3+ cans everyday. Brenda seems to be able to turn it […]
RichC | April 21, 2024
The social group that I waste too much time in reading and replying to each week on X.com (a bunch of car enthusiasts and a few automotive journalists) posted a photo of a 1984 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport last week. It was exactly like the second company car I had when working for Portage Newspaper Supply Company […]
RichC | March 23, 2024
This should probably should have been a Tech Friday blog update post (or not at all?), but was something I noticed after cleaning up about 13 older posts with “issues.” Also I am hoping to test a “featured image” add-on to see if it work with social media alerts. Since 2005, I’ve been posting daily and […]
Admin | March 13, 2024
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
RichC | March 9, 2024
Language usage is not one of my particular strengths … therefore I’m with the thought that “when in doubt reach for whom over who, just to be safe. Then get the ‘overcorrected’ mistakes …” — LINK A trick to figure it out, which we’ve mentioned before, is to substitute he or she in your sentence—and […]