RichC | October 25, 2016
The weather this time of year can be very pleasant for chores outside, but morning and evening chill is definitely hinting that cold weather is around the corner. So it is time to start closing up the pool and prepping the outdoor living furniture for the nastiness of winter. I enjoyed the warmer afternoon in […]
RichC | October 20, 2016
How about hanging chairs on the walk (not so you can sweep the floors), but for added storage and clothes hanging space? You’ll probably not see me doing that, but you might catch me working on this kind of project … at least for my workshop or garage! (See newspip)
RichC | October 17, 2016
Actually this repair is long, LONG overdue. A decade or so ago when I was heavy into running biodiesel, a sticky batch of fuel ended up in our John Deere. I really never hesitated to run about anything in this little Yanmar diesel engine, but the biodiesel was a mistake. The solvent nature of the […]
RichC | October 14, 2016
Click image for the original
RichC | October 13, 2016
After doing a little maintenance and replacing the front tires on the John Deere 330 last month, I finally finished the simple 10K generator setup and wired up a new longer power-to-house cable. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to come up with a mount that makes it easy enough from my wife to connect the generator […]
RichC | October 12, 2016
Pick your poison … a very scary Hillary Witch or a very angry orange TrumKin.
RichC | October 10, 2016
The Giffords are part of a growing, but little-known community of people called cruisers. (A 2011 survey placed the global total number of cruising boats at 10,000.) “Cruising requires that you learn to live without structure. And some people are really afraid of that.” While many cruisers are couples or individuals who have given up […]
RichC | October 8, 2016
RichC | October 7, 2016
Hurricane Matthew is blasting up Florida’s Atlantic coast at this early morning moment. I’ve been back and forth between baseball and the Weather Channel which spent much of the night broadcasting from all places, Fort Pierce, FL. I exchanged text messages at midnight with our friends riding out the storm there and will stay up […]
RichC | October 5, 2016
Google calendar has automatically added a few important annual events to my calendar (my settings), but unfortunately it is not artificially intelligent enough to remove or delete. Today I was sent a reminder that we normally celebrate our late dog Tootie’s birthday on October 5th. She is missed and I often catch what I thought […]
RichC | October 2, 2016
This past week I’ve made a few frustrating online transactions and purchases. First, in dealing with NewEgg, I attempted to use a credit on my business account and decided to handled it on the phone with customer service rather than risk it online. I explained that I was using a "store credit" and wanted to […]
RichC | September 30, 2016
The Raspberry Pi’s main operating system, Raspbian, just got a brand new look from the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Dubbed PIXEL, it’s a skin for Raspbian that modernises the interface, adds some new programs and makes it much more pleasant to use. Click for a full review from Lifehacker Australia: The New Raspberry Pi OS Is […]
RichC | September 26, 2016
Really just an excuse to post a beginning of autumn photo of roses from the flower beds … but for semi-straggly looking Knockout Roses, they add a bit of color to the greenery around our house. Actually I was painting the natural gas pipes on both the house and poolhouse as they were starting to […]
RichC | September 25, 2016
A photo is worth a 1000 words — and this photo is a chilling reminder for those of us who travel regularly on the interstates. I purposely allow for more buffer than many when following a line of traffic (a car length for every 10 mph) AND in particular give semi-trucks even more breathing room. […]
RichC | September 22, 2016
First off, I am not a snob when it comes to coffee. I have my likes (and quirks) when it comes to coffee, but drink all coffees … even the cheapest boiled campfire coffee will do. That noted … I do enjoy a few of the specialty roasts like the Jamaica Blue Mountain and Kona […]
RichC | September 21, 2016
In a previous post, I sketched out a "Generator Cage," for the lack of a better term, for our sailboat Encore. The idea is to slip off a Sunbrella cover so we can use the Honda EU2000i Inverter Generator mentioned here on the aft deck when needing power at anchor to charge the batteries and […]
RichC | September 19, 2016
Good question: By ear, the slightly smaller and far lighter Honda EU2000i inverter based generator is definitely quieter than the less expensive, but larger in dimension, weight and power Predator 2200. Read on for a few more points. I like both of inverter generators and each will serve a slightly different purpose. The Honda is […]
RichC | September 10, 2016
Sometimes American ingenuity and out-of-the-box MacGyver thinking comes together in the craziest ways. My dad gave me an incredibly useful 10 gallon Portable Air Tank that is easier to use than a slow poke portable air compressor. I use to use it extensively when having to fill the leaking tires on the John Deere prior […]
RichC | September 7, 2016
Instead of spending a lot more dollars on an expensive monitor (like the LINK 2000-R and Xantrex Inverter that we have on Encore) for a battery bank powering a back up inverter when I add our new grilling, greenhouse, generator and porch space, I’ve added a cheap $18.75 shunt and meter from Amazon. I’ve used […]
RichC | September 5, 2016
One of the home/yard updates last week were new tires on our 30 year old John Deere 330 diesel lawn tractor. It has been a great small tractor and the 16 HP Yanmar diesel has performed flawlessly year after year. I’ve rewired and “plumbed” (rubber hoses with Viton) the fuel system do to an electrical fire a […]
RichC | September 4, 2016
Bears aren’t the only ones interested in the pricey Yeti coolers … so think twice before buying one and a third time before leaving it unattended while boating this Labor Day weekend … or on your camping outing, picninc or trip to the beach. Yeti Coolers Are Hot! No Really, People Are Stealing Them … […]
RichC | September 2, 2016
Drywall is relatively simple to install and easy to repair. It’s also easy to repair badly, which can leave a lumpy mess that declares “shoddy” to anyone who enters the room. Full List: 31 Drywall Repair Tips & How To’s
RichC | August 29, 2016
It is not all that unusual to have storms roll though on hot summer afternoon/evenings, but the dark skies with wind and lightning keeps me attentive to the weather after recent damage in Indiana as well as Ohio (or a Lightening Bolt Killing 323 Reindeer in Norway!) We had a hot weekend with temperatures in the […]
RichC | August 25, 2016
After we “cooked” our generator (my fault for not telling Brenda to prop open the enclosure door), I’ve been tinkering to get parts in order to fix it as mentioned before … but my best attempt as scrounging parts has failed. I could only come up with a possible match for the windings and the […]
RichC | August 21, 2016
As John “Hannibal” Smith (the late George Peppard) from the A-Team would say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” As was the case when I had acres of grass to to mow into a rain filled weekend schedule — it is great when “plans come together.” I was able to squeak in and […]
RichC | August 18, 2016
Interesting concept — “Each floating city would be made up of 10 to 15 platforms that can house 20 people each, allowing for a total of 200 to 300 people.” Goodbye land, hello sea! Source: Floating cities could be a reality by 2020
RichC | August 12, 2016
Change can be depressing, especially when it comes to losing a longtime client that I now think of as friends like the folks at SummitSWCD in Akron. In this case there isn’t anything I can do since as voters in Summit County approved expanding the county’s data center and information technology department. They will now […]
RichC | August 9, 2016
There was a day, when all I wore for casual footwear were boat shoes … but Sperry Topsiders in particular (also athletic shoes of course ). In recent years I’ve opted for simple slip on sandals around house, pool and at the dock or if you preferred flip-flops … or if you go WAY back – […]
RichC | August 5, 2016
Sometimes there are things that seemed to be written just for me … like the response to a serious of questions posed to Mike Rowe. I can relate 100% to the want of a Crosman BB gun at the 9 year old mark (and dad was understanding, but mom was worried — a "worrywart" was […]
RichC | July 21, 2016
Mike Rowe brings a bit of commonsense to the nutty “mostly” media outrage about Melania Trump‘s plagiarism considering almost every politician reads someone elses’ words off a teleprompter in practically every important speech. Are we fooled they aren’t reading a speech someone else wrote anyway? Should we be outraged at every speech a politician give […]
RichC | July 1, 2016
This is a quick test for a new computer running Open Live Writer. I’m retiring my 9 year old Gateway notebook computer and forging ahead with a low powered and low cost Microsoft Window 10 notebook. More to come on my recent addition in a future post, but after the Gateway overheated and cooked itself […]
RichC | June 30, 2016
Tinkering with a new notebook computer (tomorrow’s post) and a few Open Live Writer issues. This is at test image with the scaling set to 100% — makes no difference. Next step is to look at the WordPress style.css to see if there is anything that might be causing display issues.
RichC | June 27, 2016
Here are a few phrases that you may not have realized were born in the days of sailing ships posted on the American Sailing Association site. “A clean bill of health” According to dictionary.com this phrase derives from the days when the crew of ocean going ships might be a little less than hygienic, so […]
RichC | June 23, 2016
Follow up to previous post: Here’s the beef (long-ish winded) — I have a bunch of Craftsman tools and have always appreciated their "fair" quality and knowing that Sears stood behind them (and "use to be" in every town). As times change, Sears is no longer what it once was and the convenience factor as […]
RichC | June 4, 2016
Talk about “desultory” … who else blogs on Milwaukee Dill pickle “jars???” Like George Berdes (link), I love Milwaukee Midget Dill Pickles … although I’m not so sure about the corporate conglomerate brand Pinnacle Foods? I add “5” midget dills to my plate at every home lunch and have done this for years with […]
RichC | May 31, 2016
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | May 18, 2016
Posting this for my good friend Mark who checks my blog once in a while and enjoys working with gunpowder (reloading) … but he also is a creative woodworker. He may not give this a try, but I’m sure he’ll like it … or at least I do. (LINK)
RichC | May 15, 2016
After having success in replacing a couple less expensive warm white 2 foot florescent light tubes with LED tubes the other day, I opted to order a couple 4 foot LED tubes to replace my failing "cheap" shoplights over my garage workbench (eBay $22 w/shipping). I often leave this light on 24 hours a […]
RichC | April 30, 2016
You would think an over 17 million viewed video on YouTube with a Pumpy Umpy reference would be something I would have watched before … nope … but now I have. So much for knowing about Amy Castle or the Cuppycake song.
RichC | April 27, 2016
A leftover weekend project was to see if I could get my dad’s old Triplett 630PL meter back to working shape. As a boy, I remember "carefully" using "his" meter when I was in junior high school and attempting to build Heathkit projects … like my shortwave radio. Thankfully I never has to depend o […]
RichC | April 25, 2016
Since I have a bunch of florescent lights in my shops (most are 8 footers) it is getting to be a challenge to keep up with replacing both tubes and ballasts, I’ve decided it was time to experiment a small 2 foot 2 bulb fixture and replace with a couple cheapy “warm white” (2700 degree) LEDs […]
RichC | April 18, 2016
While cleaning out my mom and dad’s house in preparation to sell it, my brother and I are getting bogged down looking through items my parents kept. Sunday’s "finds" were sentimental treasures that my mom kept tucked away in her memory box. There were items like my first pair of glasses, the leg tag for […]
RichC | April 12, 2016
Ever notice that the emoji you send from one device to another isn’t always translated the same? Well that because each platform has their own unique way of translating that "grinning or grimacing face" that we once-upon-a-time type as punctuation marks and called emoticons. A study by the GroupLens Research team at the University of […]
RichC | March 13, 2016
First off, I'm “pro” 2nd Amendment and am concealed carry licensed in a couple states … but seeing this new Ideal Conceal handgun “disguised like a smartphone” just after watching the violent protests happening at campaign rallies has me nervous. Almost every rally attender holds up a cellphones to take video or phones. How much […]
RichC | March 2, 2016
Another long awaited Chinese reading or sunglasses strap arrived the other day … ordered a month or so ago. It was just a $2.00 buy with free shipping so instead of funky chains or a leather strap, I decided to give this a try. So far so good … as the rubber ends hold the […]
RichC | February 29, 2016
February 29 crops up every four years, but what is a leap year and why do we have leap years? A leap year, where an extra day is added to the end of February every four years, is down to the solar system’s disparity with the Gregorian calendar. A complete orbit of the earth around […]
RichC | February 27, 2016
Read an independent review about this IXCC 4-port IXCC USB charger with what it claims as “plenty of power” … although one descriptions says 48W and the other 36W (both claim 9.6 amp) … we’ll see. The Amazon reviews were a very high 4-1/2 stars and since our new “older” car doesn’t have an abundance […]
RichC | February 23, 2016
Winter weekends (even warm ones) present an opportunity to catch up on a pile of articles collected during the week. These are one that aren’t necessarily timely or are “required” reading based on the news of the day. Those who know me, know that I’ve enjoyed a few minutes each morning leafing though the Wall […]
RichC | February 8, 2016
It is well past time that we elect representatives with a little more commonsense than the ones who churned out “feel good” public assistance help from Washington DC and many state houses. They love handing out “other people’s money.” Perhaps they think of themselves as do-gooders and either, don’t see or don’t care, that the […]
RichC | January 26, 2016
RichC | January 24, 2016
Really, I did plan for a full Sunday afternoon and evening of football watching with my friends Mark and Dar, but couldn't resist the warm sunshine to add a little Cetol (marine varnish product) to the shaded trim around the companionway. Hopefully I won't be too late to miss anything worthwhile in the NFL playoff […]
RichC | January 24, 2016
Not much can top the great hospitality, enjoyable conversation (TV trivia talk) and great breakfast fixed by my friends Mark and Dar — or just having lunch at our favorite sandwich shop. As Gomer, Mark’s fellow Marine would say, “thank you … thank you … thank you.” BTW, the Jones really should open a “Bed and Breakfast” someday, it would […]
RichC | January 5, 2016
It has been an annual tradition to look at the overused terms, words and slang at the end of a year … this years Lake Superior State University’s list wasn’t that impressive in my opinion, but tradition continues: BAE One of the top nominees. “Meaning ‘before anyone else.’ How stupid! Stop calling your boyfriend ‘bae’.” […]
RichC | January 3, 2016
The long holiday weekend with decent weather gave me a chance to knock out a few chores. One was to clean and close up Tootsie‘s dog door. I realized that over her 17 year life that she was in and out of this Plexidor opening a couple dozen times a day … at least! It’s […]
RichC | December 29, 2015
Posting a few photos after completing the woodstove project that I’ve been working on this past month or so. It is working great as we used it to dry a bit after the rainy and wet Knockerball fun when the kids were home for Christmas. After spending a few hours cleaning the old stove and […]
RichC | December 19, 2015
It’s wasn’t as painless as envisioned during the planning stage, but the dry-stack brick heat-shield for my garage shop is ready for the old woodstove. After spending a few evenings this week fitting, bending and riveting the 6061 aluminum, I think it is ready for the catalytic woodstove to be connected to the new chimney […]
RichC | December 16, 2015
When you begin to depend on prompt order fulfillment and reasonable delivery times from online retail stores, it feels like we’ve gone back a decade or two? On Cyber Monday, November 30th, I placed an order with Target thinking there was plenty of time before last minute Christmas ordering. I entered both my email address […]
RichC | December 15, 2015
One of the issues we found when replacing our roof last month was a wobbly chimney chase for the fireplace in the house. The original fireplace has a stainless steel chimney that extends from the first floor through the second floor, the trusses and then the “chimney chase” on the roof. The builder must not […]
RichC | December 12, 2015
Well I really am working on getting ready for Christmas this weekend, but wanted to post an updated photo as the dry-stack brick project in the poolhouse/ garage. As mentioned previously, the floor leveling was the biggest pain in order to level the top of the “walls.” I used an aluminum angle to hold a […]