Xtreme Shooter Patrick Flannigan still impresses me

| November 2, 2011

Five year ago I did a video post about Xtreme Shooter Patrick Flannigan (wow, has it been that long?)… and today he still impresses me and about everyone I know who has ever handled a shotgun just as much. Check out the old 2006 link (and a follow up posts) as well as a new […]

Cardinals Win World Series

| October 29, 2011

Getty Images The Cardinals celebrated after defeating the Texas Rangers. In a game that felt more like a coronation than a competition, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers 6-2 to win the World Series four games to three. It was the 11th championship for the Cardinals. For the Rangers, who have never won […]

HP Will Keep Its PC Division

| October 27, 2011

It looks as if HP’s new CEO Meg Whitman has decided the PC business was too much to lose even if margins aren’t what their other business division deliver. Perhaps in a slow growth period where interest rates remain low a 6% margin is better than sitting on 1-2% cash or shrinking the company? HP […]

Watching football, rugby, baseball and a less than simple assembly

| October 24, 2011

This past weekend felt like I was spinning my wheels and wasting time. A little cleaning around the house, watching some football and rugby (below), some brief tinkering with the carburetor on the MGB (which is still not right) and finally assembled Brenda’s “inversion machine” – don’t ask.  The latter took most of Sunday afternoon […]

The Super Cache plugin, a WordPress tweak and a shirt

| October 8, 2011

This is a miscellaneous post to test the WordPress Super Cache plugin on the new server install. I’ve been having a few update problems with posts and am tweaking the advance setting that will rebuild the cache after each post. Hopefully all domains DNS records will now update with the current post, rather than just […]

Like most empty nesters, the house dilemma eventually comes up

| October 8, 2011

My wife and I have been discussing our house. As the kids move out and frequent gathering of friends coming over dissipates… or will hopefully be in the next couple years … we wonder just how necessary it is to stay in our bigger house. We both have things we appreciate about the home we […]

Statement by Apple’s Board of Directors

| October 5, 2011

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct 05, 2011 We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today. Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts […]

Rowing & small boat survivalist nears finish line

| October 4, 2011

Roz Savage is 1 mile from qualifying as crossing the Indian Ocean. Impressive feat considering this makes the Atlantic, the Pacific and now Indian Oceans. (more in the mornings news I’m sure) Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

iPhone 5 Specs from Sprint News – Sprint Users

| September 22, 2011

Here are a few “probable specs” from SprintUsers regarding the assumed mid-October iPhone 5 release on Sprint: World Phone with a SIM-less Design Curved Glass Display A5 Chip with a clocking speed in the range of 1.2 or 1.5 GHz with 1GB RAM Wireless Charging as well as Sync & Back Up of data 4G […]

Number of uninsured motorists one more sign of economic downturn

| September 18, 2011

Just a quick post to check the richc.posterous.com to MyDesultoryBlog.com … all should be well after the update. The article below hit home since we once had to deal with an accident from an unissured and “unlicensed” driver. Not good … and the economy is not helping. Sixteen percent of Ohio drivers don’t have insurance, […]

Sprint to double Upgrade Fee to $36 starting September 9th

| September 1, 2011

Good grief … when will the Sprint “nickel and diming” end? Yet another subtle increase coming to Sprint customers thinking about upgrading their phones. SprintFeed is reporting that we should brace ourselves for yet another hike in one-time charges on September 9th. This time, it’s the oh-so-beloved Upgrade Fee that’s the victim of inflation, getting […]

Sprint ups the Early Termination Fee from $200 to $350

| August 31, 2011

Just as we thought consumers were getting a break with the U.S. DOJ blocking the AT&T and T-Mobile deal, Sprint looked to be increasing their ETF by a pretty healthy percentage. Ouch, if you’re thinking about switching carriers before your contract is over. Sprint today confirmed to Phone Scoop via email that the company plans […]

Is Gov Perry correct about Social Security?

| August 31, 2011

Probably more than most of us want to admit: Yes, It Is a Ponzi Scheme – Michael Tanner – National Review OnlinePosted via email from RichC’s posterous

HP says more touchpads on the way

| August 30, 2011

If I can pick up a Touchpad for $99 … I think I will. If any readers find out when and where, tweet me! (@richc) I finally have some solid news to share about TouchPad availability. Before I share, let me first say thank you for enthusiasm for this product. Since we announced the price […]

Hurricane warnings up the east coast as Irene churns north

| August 25, 2011

Intense Hurricane IRENE (AL09) is forecast to strike land to the following likelihood(s) at the given lead time(s): Red Alert Country(s) or Province(s)     the Bahamas         probability for CAT 1 or above is 100% currently         probability for TS is 100% currently     the United States         probability for CAT 1 or above is 50% in about 45 hours […]

Sprint to Get Apple iPhone 5 – WSJ.com

| August 24, 2011

Married to Sprint but envious of the iPhone? Hold on … looks like it might finally be available. Sprint Nextel Corp. will begin selling the new version of the Apple iPhone in mid-October, people familiar with the matter said, filling a huge hole in the No. 3 U.S. carrier’s lineup and giving Apple Inc. another […]

Drinking and driving (driving an actual beer case or cooler)

| August 18, 2011

After hearing and seeing reports of an Australian man arrested for driving his beer cooler scooter, I wondered just how popular motorized coolers or cases of beer might be – they’re not as rare as you might think. A few years ago in Germany this cellphone video of this shirtless guy was uploaded to YouTube… […]

U.S. Stocks Gyrate in Post-Fed Chaos – WSJ.com

| August 9, 2011

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently rose 4 points, or 0.04%, to 10813 points. The index, which gained as much as 243 points at its morning high, saw its rally fade ahead of the Fed decision and then turned negative after the statement was released. It briefly recaptured some of the gains before falling sharply […]

Investors and traders were sweating; It wasn’t the heat.

| August 3, 2011

Close call. Blue-chip stocks reversed a steep morning drop to snap an eight-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 29.82 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 11896.44. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index gained 6.29 points, or 0.5%, to 1260.34, while the Nasdaq Composite added 23.83 points, or 0.9%, to 2693.07, after falling […]

Home chores and a swim on a quite evening

| July 27, 2011

After an evening mowing the backyard grass on Tuesday night, a cooling dip in the pool was in order. The 90 degree water was a bit warm, but still felt refreshing. Besides cooling off, I “launched” (chuckle, chuckle) our hard dinghy we call Trinka and “moored” it in the pool. It is out of place, […]

The Elektra One Solar Powered Plane

| July 25, 2011

One of the more interesting EV airplanes at Airventure 2011 this year. SolarWorld, a large U.S. manufacturer of solar panels, will showcase the maiden U.S. appearance of a zero-emissions electric aircraft at EAA AirVentureOshkosh 2011 in Oshkosh, Wis., starting Monday. The single-seat Elektra One is designed for more than three hours of flight, a range […]

The Solar Portable Toilet

| July 21, 2011

I’m not sure it will be a money maker, but the sanitation aspect for third world locations would be promising IF such a product is both serviceable and durable. A scientist from California Institute of Technology developed solar-powered portable toilets for a self-power wastewater treatment solution to some of the sanitation issues of some developing […]

AMR announces huge new plane order from Boeing and Airbus

| July 20, 2011

For those looking for a bright spot on the horizon for the economy, American Airlines must be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel if they are placing the largest airplane order in history. American Airlines parent AMR Corp. said Wednesday it reached agreements with Boeing Co. and Airbus to buy 460 single-aisle […]

Stocks Slump on Debt Fears

| July 18, 2011

Don’t look at your IRAs or 401K plans today — actually don’t look at them until the powers that be in Washington DC can figure out how to rein in our “Governement Gone Wild.” (I’ve already given up on Europe) Stocks fell as the combination of anxieties about debt in the bloc of euro-using nations […]

Chemically storing solar energy

| July 15, 2011

While we continue to see slow but steady improvements in solar panels and batteries, most of us know that it is going to take a real break through to fill the appetite for longer term storage of electricity. Progress in being made through thermo-chemical storage and recent MIT research indicates that it is possible to […]

If this arrives in my email box, NetFlix will lose my business

| July 12, 2011

A friend of mine just forwarded an email noting an automatic change to his Netflix subscription. Not that long ago when we switched from our local Blockbuster store to NetFlix our subscription was $7.99/mo. When they changed it to adding a couple more for BluRay I decided to stick with DVDs. Now the change looks […]

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 […]

Google to rebrand Picasa and Blogger

| July 6, 2011

Looks like the Picasa and Blogger names are being retired by Google in the next “six weeks” according to Mashable.  “The move is part of a larger effort to unify its brand for the public launch of Google+, the search giant’s social initiative.” Blogger and Picasa aren’t going away, of course — they’re two of […]

What College Graduates shold know about finances and careers

| July 5, 2011

I saw some good advice from TheSimpleDollar.com blog that is worth reading. If you are advising someone who will soon be moving on as a college graduate, some of these points may be worth passing along. On Facebook, Brittaney asked “what should every soon to be college graduate know about finances before entering the real […]

NYTimes: The Lawyer Surplus, State by State

| June 27, 2011

Probably don’t want to be mounting up too much law school debt?===The Lawyer Surplus, State by State Researchers seek to quantify how many lawyers are being produced in each state, and how that compares with how many jobs for lawyers are being created. New York has the biggest legal oversupply. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/the-lawyer-surplus-state-by-state/ Posted via email from […]

Catch a wave you’ll be sitting on top of the world

| June 18, 2011

  Body and board surfing … who really does it better? (click on images for larger photos)   Catch a Wave (mp3) — The Beach Boys Summer of 1963

VW CEO says plug-in hybrids are the future

| June 17, 2011

Volkswagen’s CEO Martin Winterkorn (Germany) is committed to plug in hybrids according to a translation posted: I am firmly convinced that plug-in hybrids are the right solution for the next ten years. You can drive 50 to 60 kilometers all-electric and have the full flexibility of an internal combustion engine. The plug-in hybrid will be […]

Here’s a real estate deal … if you like living with snakes!

| June 17, 2011

An interesting human/reptile interest story from Rexberg Idaho … not too far from Targhee National Forest, Grand Teton National park and Yellowstone National Park. Some houses turn into moneys pits, but for one Idaho couple their dream home was a real s-s-s-snake pit. Ben and Amber Sessions bought the sprawling house for a song in […]

Someone I know will enjoy this stream of photos

| June 8, 2011

Friends of mine (EAA) have a couple of bunnies. Here are a few photos in a video stream for a Pumpy Umpy lover to watch. https://myarchive.us/av/steve_gina_bunnies.mp4

HP Palm Touchpad at Cannes 2011

| June 6, 2011

Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

Greenberg vs. Cramer: Sodastream challenge on CNBC

| May 25, 2011

Herb Greenberg and Jim Cramer took the Sodastream challenge on CNBC Tuesday … I’m not so sure it’s the best option for those who enjoy Coke or Pepsi … or other brand named soft drinks? The beef for me is still the relatively high cost, limited availability and smallish CO2 canisters. Give me a small […]

Paul Newman owned 1963 300HP V8 Volkswagen Beetle

| May 20, 2011

If you a a Volkswagen Beetle lover, this bug’s for you … for a mere $250,000 from what I hear. As the legend is told… back in 1963 Paul Newman bought a VW…the little red Convertible seen in this late 60’s VW ad. Not so long after this advertisement came out…the car was taken to […]

Buggin’ me …

| May 16, 2011

  In keeping with short blog posts, I’m picking up a few bugs over the miles and know I’m going to be griping when it’s time to get the WD-40 out and start my cleaning. The windshield isn’t much better! EDIT: On my return trip I added bugs to bugs!

Pre 3 autofocus camera supports up-close macro shots

| May 15, 2011

Although my next smartphone may be an Android, I still like what I’m seeing from the slow to market HP Palm 3 … the camera improvement and speedy processor are just too of the great features for a “pockatable” cloud-synced smartphone. Apart from the bigger screen and wicked fast processor, one of the things we’re […]

Cooler air and rain under the awning

| May 14, 2011

Thankfully I’m feeling much better and was able to spend the day working on the boat. The sun has been hot so attempted to set up a Shadetree branded awning with many broken parts. I was at least successful enough to have weathered the first wave of wind and rain squalls Saturday night. Besides taking […]

Hanging on with too many irons in the fire

| May 14, 2011

As with everybody I know, there are times we all put a little to much on our plates and have too little time in order to get everything done. I believe … no, I know … that I’ve been pinching my schedule a little too tight and didn’t allow for any disruptions in schedule. Of […]

Sorry for not posting

| May 12, 2011

Been sick the last couple of days. (old TootsieTootsie photo) Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

Having another birthday is better than NOT having one

| May 8, 2011

It was nice to have my son home and finished with finals … and to have him think about me on my birthday. Thanks for the Miami Alum license plate surround, Taylor. My aging first generation Palm Pre is still taking some pretty decent photos (above) Of course he wasn’t the only one to wish […]

If only to be able to do this in 50 years …

| April 29, 2011

NASCAR fan, Rachel Gilbert, drove around the New Hampshire Motor Speedway at age 100! If all senior citizens could only have her spirit and health. (also I’m posting to test a different webm HTML5 plugin after my first attempt failed — video below)

One bright spot in a struggling economy facing high oil prices

| April 17, 2011

While reading doom and gloom articles for the past several months, it’s good to see at least one article looking at things a least a little more positive. Although commonsense and the overwhelming amount of negative news points to more bad news when it comes to our wallets, an article in this weekend’s WSJ pointed […]

Epsilon

| April 4, 2011

Having one company divulge my personal information is bad … but having three (to date) divulging my name and email information is ridiculous. One would thing that that companies like Chase, Walgreens and Tivo would fear a class action suit enough to be a bit more protective with their clients privacy? In other words, don’t […]

Proof that spring has sprung: Flowers on the Star Magnolia

| March 27, 2011

Although I’d be hard pressed to convince anyone that spring is here based on the long winter and the cold temperatures we have been having, our Star Magnolia is telling us that winter is over and that spring weather is here or suppose to be here. Let’s hope the latest cold weather will be our […]

A roof over your head … and one over your boat(s)

| March 23, 2011

The Winns’ residence in Charlevoix, Michigan has a “modest” boathouse and in viewing the video, they have a couple nice boats to put in it too (HGTV video below). The 10,437 square-foot Round Lake home and 8,537 square-foot boathouse of long-time Charlevoix residents John and Zita Winn is an architecturally stunning masterpiece. One of the […]

Vacuum cleaner blues …

| March 21, 2011

One would think that since the invention of the carpet sweeper in 1860 that companies would have improved the vacuum cleaner enough in 150 years to figure out how NOT to have the beater brush get bound up with hair. Obviously not, since over the past few decades I have still ended up cleaning and […]

Continued growth in Liberty Township this past decade

| March 14, 2011

The recent census numbers indicate the continuing population growth in the community where we live. Liberty Twp. had a population of 22,819 in 2000, which increased by 63.3 percent to 37,259 in 2010, according to recently released U.S. Census Bureau figures. The decade before, Liberty Twp. grew by 145 percent, according to Census data from […]

Surfing the big waves …

| March 12, 2011

Not for the novice surfer … Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

Selling a few fantastic LED mini hat/cap lights

| February 19, 2011

I’m going to try something new if it isn’t too offensive by listing an item for sale in my sidebar.  After ordering a few LED hat lights for a customers’ embroidered caps as promotional items, I found that everyone like them as much as I did — previous post — so … I might as […]

Giraffes taking a little cruise

| February 11, 2011

When you’re out on the water you don’t see this everyday … Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

Oriental, NC dock with a little snow

| January 15, 2011

Just a photo from towndock.net/ … Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

Whoops … FedEx missed the driveway. Now what?

| January 12, 2011

It will be interesting to see if the FedEx driver delivering to our home on Tuesday will voluntarily make note of this “error in judgment” … or if the little off-roading incident will go unmentioned? I’ll need to check on things when the snow melts, but perhaps someone reading this knows how it is best […]

Diagnosing Nav station electronics

| January 7, 2011

I can sense it … the aging electronics and even older wiring is going to be an issue in getting things working 'dependably' on our new 'old' sailboat Encore. I'm sure it is not a surprise to those familiar with electronics on boats, especially ones that have already sail from England to New Zealand and […]

Biodiesel industry primed to flourish

| January 1, 2011

With an expected economic recovery underway and oil prices rising, the biodiesel industry is looking to produce “as much as a billion gallons” and be profitable in 2011. Washington, D.C. — Boom times are ahead for a biodiesel industry that struggled just to stay alive in 2010. The industry could produce as much as a […]

The Wall Street Journal highlights words of 2010

| December 29, 2010

Words of the Year (video below) … wsj.com “A data analysis of words printed in The Wall Street Journal reveals a trove of intriguing terms that starred in 2010 but could barely wriggle their way into 2009 coverage. Luge, robo-signer, Tamaulipas and jeggings registered spikes in usage.”

Upgrading WordPress again … this time to 3.0.3

| December 8, 2010

Here’s crossing my fingers that WordPress 3.0.3 will be as solid as previous upgrades.

Enjoying Free Google offered AirTran WiFi

| December 6, 2010

While my Palm Pre’s battery holds out I’m appreciating playing with the free ‘Google’ offered wifi on AirTran flights until the end of the year. So far all the Internet apps on the Pre are working well including audio streaming, web browsing, app catalog downloads and email. Twitter client Tweed is working well too, although […]

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.
My Desultory Blog