Do yourself a favor, save up and buy a Bosch dishwasher

| November 23, 2010

I fell for the “cash for appliances” boondoggle last spring when replacing our dishwasher, but now after the fact I couldn’t be happier with how much easier dishwashing has become. It’s hard to believe that in my lifetime Brenda and I have never had a dishwasher that cleans … or scrubs dishes. We’ve owned three […]

Gold sets record price at over $1,400 an ounce

| November 8, 2010

For many trying to recover from a difficult and seemingly never ending recession, the thought of their dollars getting weaker and weaker is demonstrated most clearly by the price of gold continuing to rise. For people living on a fixed income, the fear of their purchasing power falling is unsettling. Not only has gold continued […]

Test encode 2 – Canon 5d mark II

| October 23, 2010

My friend Jeff and I use a shared folder on Dropbox to send files to each other and this morning he send me a short ‘portrait’ oriented video clip while on his trip to North Carolina. I chuckled when opening the file because by default it is in a “landscape” format (sideways), then wondered how […]

Taylor sort of has lunch with the Dalai Lama

| October 19, 2010

While eating lunch at Miami University’s student union, my son sent me a fuzzy cellphone photo without any text. I sent back a “huh” comment and wondered why he sent me the photo of a bald guys head … suspecting he jokingly thought the lack of hair reminded him of his father? He then mention […]

Sales of clean diesel models skyrocket in September; hybrids dip

| October 9, 2010

Even with stable gasoline prices and minimal incentives, the sluggish new car buying public are still buying new diesel cars. Sales continue to increase in North America amongst the handful of European brands. Could it be that those who test drive this new breed of ‘clean diesel’ are surprised with how quiet and clean diesel […]

Blog issue: Hosting improvements delaying posts

| September 7, 2010

I’m noticing a few glitches from the weekend’s updates to the servers … posts and delayed posts. Hopefully this ‘test post’ will appear at noon on Tuesday and that I’ll get a few photos from my EAA chapters Taildragger Fly-in and Pancake breakfast posted this evening too. Adding an old 1977 Jackson Browne song just […]

Police camera captures crash on I-675 near Dayton

| August 25, 2010

Drugs, teens, alcohol and driving … not good combinations. Eden arrested and released before crash BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (WDTN) – Brennan Eden, the driver of the car that went airborne and crashed on I-675 in Beavercreek, Ohio Aug. 23 had been arrested and released by Beavercreek Police approximately an hour before the crash occurred. According to […]

Old but good “one-liner” on criticism

| August 9, 2010

“Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way you are a mile away, and you have their shoes.” Posted via email from richc’s posterous

Bermuda gets wind & surf from Colin, now a tropical depression

| August 8, 2010

As a follow up to a post mentioning tropical storm Colin as it passed just off to the the west but close to Bermuda. Colin  was downloaded to a tropical depression and has dumped rain, strong wind and large waves onto the south shore reefs and beaches of the island. According to meteorologists pinpointing Colin’s […]

Stewart’s airshow & our Chapter’s Taildragger Fly-In

| August 7, 2010

With Airventure in Oshkosh Wisconsin recently ending and preparations for our EAA chapter’s Labor Day weekend Taildragger Fly-In/Pancake breakfast underway, this might be a good time to mention that Saturday, September 4th is also the Stewart’s annual airshow at 40I. If camping under the wing of your plane and pancakes on Sunday morning aren’t enough […]

Police chase: Will the judge go easy on this driver?

| July 30, 2010

There is a part of me feeling sorry for this driver and for her regard for safety in stopping at lights, but since we once had our car hit by an uninsured driver with a suspended license and had to pay 100% of the repairs, I don’t want them getting off easy either; the judge […]

Super slow-motion: What is this object?

| July 7, 2010

Ended up doing a little recreational surfing last night … web-surfing that is … and I ended up watching “super slow motion” video clips. I found that a golf ball really deforms when blasted into a steel wall at 150 mph — I wonder how far it bounced?

Fresh-Water Wind Farm on Lake Erie

| June 25, 2010

Cleveland Ohio is undergoing a skyline change … A fresh-water wind farm is taking shape at Lake Erie and when completed will provide 20 megawatts and get on to about one gigawatt power by 2020. Huge individual turbines 300 feet tall, to be built by GE will be erected off Ohio, Cleveland. Better designs: These […]

Sunday afternoon is absolutely gorgeous here in Cincinnati

| June 6, 2010

I’ll call this a lazy but productive weekend since I spent most of Saturday working in the yard … or more appropriately on the pool and patio. Most of the  heavy pollen from the pine trees seems to have left it mark and looks to be finally finished coating everything for the season, it was […]

Roz Savage, Ocean Rower, complete crossing of the Pacific Ocean

| June 4, 2010

Roz Savage finished her row across the Pacific Ocean and is welcomed into Madang, Papua New Guinea by a crowd of 5000 welcomers. Her rowing, endurance and spirit is amazing. Here’s a snippet from her blog, rozsavage.com. The first local people to congratulate me were a few fishermen, out early in their outrigger canoes, who […]

Radium License contest at Mac.AppStorm

| June 4, 2010

An easy way to listen to web-based radio is using Radium on the Mac. By entering a contest at mac.apstorm.net you might even get a license free. (Thanks Scott) 9 Radium Licenses Up For Grabs Today we’re kicking off a new competition to win a copy of Radium. We recently reviewed Radium, and were really […]

Small towns have eyes and spies everywhere

| May 26, 2010

Where visiting my parents, my mother always has a pile of newspaper and magazine clipping for both my brother and me to go through. One of them (below) this past weekend happened to include a Cincinnati area friend and regular blog reader … so I figured it might be appropriate to warn him that when […]

Sailor Jessica Watson’s around the world Australian return

| May 22, 2010

Posting a ‘catch up’ post after taking the weekend off. Here’s a youtube video Australian’s welcoming the youngster circumnavigator home a week or so ago.

A newborn’s conversation with God

| May 9, 2010

A friend put this on his Facebook wall; I liked it and am reposting to my blog for Mother’s Day. (the mom’s in my life are angelic) A baby asked God, “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?” God […]

Flanigan’s newest clay pigeon world record

| May 7, 2010

I can’t forget Patrick Flanigan’s 11 clay targets posted a couple years ago, but how about with one hand?(video below)

Veggie Van smashes Guinness record for longest journey on alternative fuels

| April 30, 2010

via green.autoblog.com Posted via web from richc’s posterous

Good news, bad news …

| April 30, 2010

With a new El Rancho Grande Mexican restaurant opening close to home, I won’t have to drive as far to get my chips and salsa ‘fix.’ Unfortunately being so close is going to be a real temptation.

Times have changed – what happened?

| April 30, 2010

It is interesting how different generations respond to this 1950s advertising photo from the Bradley Corporation. A pre-boomer, not as tuned into today’s political climate and mindset, commented “what’s wrong with the ad — it doesn’t show any nudity?” A boomer, a bit older than me, responded with a raised eyebrow and a  comment … […]

Four foot-three inches is one big bunny

| April 24, 2010

If I saw this rodent hopping in our backyard, I’m sure I would smack myself to be sure I wasn’t dreaming. Since my daughter has a pet rabbit, Pumpy Umpy, a friend of my wife shared a photo of a giant rabbit called Darius … he’s one big bunny!

Spoof: ‘Mission Accomplished’ Reporter Mike Tobin returns to US

| April 19, 2010

Letter from Mike Tobin: “… this trip is the one that ends more than half a decade of living in Jerusalem and moves me back to the US. It is with no small amount of doubt that I packed my bags and left the Middle East. The threat of a conflict with Iran is still out […]

Testing: Posting a PDF via Posterous – a Pirate story

| April 15, 2010

I’ve been using Posterous to post to my blog from an email for a few months and found that the blogging platform handles video, audio and photos quite well, but wondered how it would post a PDF? I saved an online sailing story about Somalia pirates by author Fatty Goodlander for travel reading — “A […]

Speeding up the hands of time with the barrel of a pen

| March 29, 2010

I had trouble finding the little half-notch with the adjusting crown on my son’s new watch (the one that forwards just the date), so I improvised and used a soft rubber barrel of an old pen on my cordless drill to speed up the hands of time. Surprisingly it worked great. So  for the fun […]

Enjoying a home project on Palm Sunday afternoon

| March 28, 2010

I’ve been tinkering in the workshop this  afternoon and hopefully my wife will be pleased that I finally finished recovering a couple chairs. They’re not antiques or anything special, but the 1952 classic petite dinning room outfit will look a bit nicer when and if my daughter or son need them for their first home. […]

My Desultory Blog Statistics: What gets read most?

| March 24, 2010

The topics posted here are far from the recommended ‘single subject focused’ blogs written to purposely attract readers, yet despite this lack of professional focus, the site still gets read. My Desultory Blog manages to generate close to 10,000 unique IP accesses each month and 10 GB of data transferred. One of the most surprising […]

Will new legislation really improve our nation’s banks?

| March 16, 2010

I don’t want to be too critical about the ‘difficult for me to understand’ banking reform legislation, but after hearing comments on a WSJ podcast (below), the politically one-sided rush to reform does leave me concerned; it sure would be nice to have bi-partisan support for a banking oversight bill. My concern: If the Fed […]

Great day to be at the beach

| March 8, 2010

We’re enjoying a relaxing spring day listening to the wind and waves in the Florida sunshine. It is a welcome change from the 2009 – 2010 winter that seemed to have lasted long enough, at least in our corner of Ohio. Hopefully we will return in a couple days feeling regenerated … I’m sensing my batteries […]

Test 1 min video from Palm Pre

| February 27, 2010

Download now or watch on posterous CIMG0362.mp4 (7005 KB) Posting to Posterous from Palm Pre by email updated to webOS 1.4. (raw clip) Posted via email from richc’s posterous

DOT changes may reduce pilot training cost

| February 2, 2010

According to an Experimental Aviation Association bulletin, the long awaited revisions on the docket in the Federal Register support the 22 FAA proposed changes affecting sport pilots. Changes include allowing Sport Pilots to fly higher and safer in mountainous regions and permit weight-shift control aircraft and powered parachute to gain experience in towered airport airspace. […]

Punxsutawney Phil forecasts 6 more weeks of winter

| February 2, 2010

After hearing that the meteorological groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil woke to see his shadow for Groundhog Day and predicted 6 more weeks of winter, I decided to check with our visiting rodent “Pumpy Umpy.” Although he’s a rabbit and not a groundhog, and just visiting from NE Ohio while my daughter spends a couple […]

Advertising that catches fresh attention

| January 31, 2010

Joe Guerrera in the Bronx NY has some great truck advertising to promote his fish wholesale business … Meat Without Feet. His business is based out of the New Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point (800 Food Center Drive, Unit #99, Bronx, NY 10474). I enjoyed his truck ads so much that I don’t mind […]

Record Ohio whitetail buck to be officially measured on Saturday

| January 30, 2010

On Saturday, Clayton, Ohio hunter Brian Stephens will know “officially” if the buck he shot with a muzzleloader on November 30th 2009 is one for the record books. (photo above is Brian, the buck and a coyote) Without question the “green” scored 232 5/8 non-typical whitetail deer taken in Highland County Ohio is one big […]

The winds of change for Democrats

| January 19, 2010

Republican Scott Brown wins Massachusetts Senate seat previously held by Kennedy.http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/tag/massachusetts-vote/ Posted via email from richc’s posterous

Continued Liberty Twp Ohio Coyote problems

| January 16, 2010

I received a phone call from my neighbor a few minutes ago concerning a wounded and limping coyote on her back porch (previous post). By the time I retrieved my voicemail it was too late to do anything as the county sheriff arrived and the critter headed off into the ravine. A brief search with […]

Fog continues to hang around

| January 16, 2010

I would have thought that the unusual mid-winter fog would have disappeared by 10:30 in the morning … I guess not? (test post ‘again’ using Palm Pre to richc.myarchive.us)

Porcupine vs. Pit bull … the photos tell it all

| January 15, 2010

A friend sent me this knowing how our dog reacts to ‘critters’ in the yard. A pit bull was in his backyard in southern California, minding his own business, when a porcupine invades his territory. The brave, but stupid pit bull immediately challenges the porcupine! Bad decision…the porcupine won this short contest. Follow up: A […]

A full day of college football bowl games today

| January 2, 2010

Like many men (and women) in America, I spent New Year’s day 2010 watching way too much college football. It was really the first test of our updated HDTV home theater – totally pleased (photo).For the most part we enjoyed the games, particularly the Ohio State Buckeyes Rose Bowl victory. That said, we’re finishing the […]

Reusing the Keurig one cup K cups for making coffee

| December 28, 2009

Thanks to my wife Brenda, who gave me a Keurig one-cup coffee maker for Christmas, I’ve been enjoying fresh coffee every day since Friday. In my opinion, the new Keurig brews coffee as good or better than most coffee shops. The engineering beauty of these design is that the hot water and steam stays in […]

Palm webOS 1.3.5 due today: Speed, Battery, App Limit all to be improved

| December 28, 2009

Today should be the rollout of the newest Palm webOS, version 1.3.5. Check your updates later in the day. CEO Jon Rubinstein just confirmed that webOS 1.3.5 is coming soon and will have a bevy of improvements, including: Allowing for installation of more apps Enhances WiFi and app performance Improved battery life Increased speed and […]

An image galley test using email with Posterous.com

| December 18, 2009

Responding to a question from a blog reader about using Posterous.com and photos, he asked how multiple photos were handled? Honestly I didn’t know but recall reading that they were embedded in an image galley … so I’ll give it a try. EDIT: Image gallery didn’t repost correctly, but test photos are below.

Testing Posterous.com

| December 15, 2009

Image no longer available This is an email post from Posterous.com. It will include a test photo as well as a bit of customized, italic, bold and red text. Posted via email from richc’s posterous

Exciting Bearcat win over Pitt after Christmas tree shopping

| December 5, 2009

It was the first day of ice for our small lake and time to take my annual trip to pick out a large-ish Christmas tree. Usually this is done with my son who argues that the tree isn’t big enough, but this year the ‘duty’ fell on to my shoulders alone. Pressure … already knowing […]

Escaping the Black Friday hoards

| November 27, 2009

My buddy and I have plotted our lunch driving today, and hopefully have MapQuest our route avoiding the day after Thanksgiving hoards … Black Friday. I think we’ve found a lunch spot and route free from retail stores … 🙂 Why is it called “Black Friday?” It is the day retailers hope that they will […]

My Twitter Account was hijacked

| November 14, 2009

Rather frustrating, but it happens – my @RichC Twitter account was hijacked and direct message bombarded with a bogus link to those who are following. After logging in and changing my password and eliminating the three connections that I had registered with, I’m hoping things will return to normal? We’ll see, but for now it […]

American Civil War era copies of the Philadelphia Inquirer

| November 13, 2009

I enjoyed lunch with a good friend of mine that just returned from the laborious task of going through his mother’s estate. He kept a few antique furniture items and uncomfortably stuffed them in his apartment while trying to figure out just what to do with the balance.  While we were standing by our cars, […]

Setting up Windows Live Writer and Buckrub photo

| November 7, 2009

Although I’ve tried a a couple other blog editing and posting tools, I usually go back to web based WordPress posting. This is a test of the Windows Live Writer free software, a test I did once before with a different theme. I’m also adding a photo from deer “buckrub” damage to be sure all […]

Model making – a Pan Am World Airways 747 cabin

| October 27, 2009

Some of us  have built some interesting things in our garages … but Anthony Toth in Redondo Beach California tops most of us — he’s built a vintage Pan Am World Airways 747 cabin from the 1970s and 80s. His cabin replica comes complete with Pan Am logo swizzle sticks, napkins and salted almonds sealed […]

The old luggage tag hint applies to GPS units too

| September 29, 2009

Here’s a safety tip that came from a “Dear Heloise” clipping set to me by none other than my mom;  no matter how old I am she never stops being a mom.  Actually I don’t think she was really thinking about me, but most likely my son and daughter …  so I’ll forward them the […]

Cruising World magazine celebrates 35th anniversary issue

| September 17, 2009

Since my mind in on planning our trip to Annapolis and sailing, it seem fitting to tie today’s post to Tuesday’s when I mentioned my favorite periodical Cruising World. My collection of that magazine is similar to may who have a collection of back issues of National Geographic magazine. Anyway, it’s a good time to […]

Balloon photo shoot above my house

| September 5, 2009

An interesting balloon photo shoot was happening for about 30 minutes above my house as the still air of the evening settled in. I spent a few hours in the yard into the evening and watched the full moon rising in the woods. The weather and evenings have been nice.

Are these bite marks from a snapping turtle?

| August 30, 2009

Some kind of  hungry varmint has been biting through an aerator cable in the lake in front of my house. We dredged it up today and replace it with a new cable, but a second thought has me thinking we need to invest in about 200 feet of conduit? The electrician believes the damage is […]

Enjoying a hot summer weekend at the pool

| August 15, 2009

Just in case you’re enjoying a weekend at the pool, here’s something to think about … video removed

Dictionary.com’s word of the day: desultory

| August 3, 2009

A friend … and regular reader of my blog … sent me a message mentioning that the  “Word of the Day” over at Dictionary.com was none other than desultory. Thanks Scott.

Delray Beach biofuels company expanding biodiesel production

| July 1, 2009

According to Palm Beach Post reporter Susan Salisbury, the biofuel company Ag-Oil is planning to build a biodiesel production facility in the Agricultrual Reserve west of Delray Beach Florida. (MP3 Audio — really just testing for my Palm Pre) The facility has the potential to produce 15 million gallons of biodiesel each year from jatropha, […]

Don’t have enough outlets, try an entire wall of outlets

| June 30, 2009

Ever need another outlet even when you have a couple surge strips and wall outlets are full? Perhaps you need an entire wall wired and ready for the latest and greatest electrical gadget. (See Make Online – Thanks Scott)

One better than last year: How do birds do this?

| June 29, 2009

Calling any ornithologists … or ethologists … that might have insight as to how (or why) birds fly under our covered porch, make a tight banking turn and deliver a “load” against the upper panes of our window. Mind you … our porch is relatively low ceilinged and of substantial size. (perhaps they just have […]

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