RichC | June 26, 2009
It has been a week of celebrity deaths. I probably wouldn’t have mention them if it were only one or an expected passing — Ed McMahon or Farrah Fawcett … but with yesterday afternoon’s surprising cardiac arrest of Michael Jackson it is on my mind (and the TV cable news). What is really sad is […]
RichC | June 25, 2009
If you don’t mind wasting a few minutes, here’s a new search tool site called Spezify which finds bits of random information from different websites and posts them in a unique and visual way. Spezify.com was started a few months ago in April, but went live on June 15, 2009 (follow on Twitter: @spezify). Try […]
RichC | June 21, 2009
Today being Father’s Day has me reflecting on the two fathers in my life. They are both terrific dads and are great examples for me, as well as their grandsons. Shamefully for me, we didn’t prioritized getting together with them this year as we have in the past. Normally we are together for an annual […]
RichC | June 19, 2009
Great tip from Paul Thurrott of winsupersite.com about shopping with Microsoft’s new bing.com websearch tool. Besides being a Google challenging search tool, it can also save/make you some money. You’ll need to sign up for ‘cashback’ using a Windows ID email (ie. live.com), but by using the impressive search website and associated vendors (huge list), […]
RichC | June 12, 2009
The automatic upgrade feature in newer versions of WordPress software makes upgrading far easier than just a few version ago. I remember putting off the chore for months not wanted to hassle with backups and FTP uploads. Currently the step by step ‘semi-wizard’ approach works well and the switch to WordPress 2.8 last evening the same. […]
RichC | June 7, 2009
Enjoying a fire on the back porch and a some relaxation in the hot tub after a couple of graduation parties. Of course the highlight of my day was picking up the highly anticipated Palm Pre smartphone as a replacement to my Treo 700p. My first impression is WOW! … followed by a less enthusiastic […]
RichC | May 30, 2009
Although I don’t watch the “idol” shows, I would be remiss in not archiving something on my blog about the Scottish singer and Internet sensation Susan Boyle on the British program “Got Talent 2009.” (and although she scored a 2nd place overall, she is tremendously talented and captured the world’s attention)
RichC | May 28, 2009
How many hours does it take to record a 3 minute and 42 second YouTube video of college guys shooting ping pong balls into cups? Probably hours that could have been better used focused on higher education … but they now have a popular YouTube video to put on their resume … and who knows […]
RichC | May 25, 2009
While listening to my wife reminisce about Memorial Day days traditions when she was a child, I found myself looking down with a little embarrassment since I didn’t establish the same thoughtful traditions for our family. Disclosure: her father, WWII vet, was the only one in the family who actually prioritized the day. Nevertheless, the […]
RichC | May 7, 2009
According to computer security expert Steve Gibson, there is a javascript flaw in the widely used Adobe product Acrobat 7, 8 and 9 includiing their Reader software. There is an easy fix that can be taken by users before Adobe come out with the ‘fix’ — it as simple as unchecking the ‘Enable JavaScript’ box. […]
RichC | May 3, 2009
My wife has dubbed the morning gathering of male only Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), “the men’s club,” as at least six males gather in front of our house. They don’t seem to be doing anything more than “hanging out” on the lawn only a few feet from the front door — I suspect the females […]
RichC | April 26, 2009
The weather being as nice as it has been this weekend had me toting around my camera. One of the items showing change as been the gazebo which is now sporting a new roof. The progress has been slow (in my opinion), but I’m glad to see it coming along. Strong 70+ mph winds do […]
RichC | April 21, 2009
Some days I can’t help but question my intelligence or lapse of judgment. I’m about to embarrass myself, for at minimum, lack of forethought — if not just being a dummy. There was a container of antibacterial wipes sitting in the washroom and I noticed that the dispensing cap wasn’t “loaded” correctly. I opened the […]
RichC | April 19, 2009
I posted a follow up letter from the FCC on my junk fax post and below. Also pointing out that so far this month I haven’t received any additional faxes from the two companies that have been sending marketing by fax. (click image above for full letter view) The FCC also states how marketing faxes […]
RichC | April 14, 2009
EFE Gazebo Project on Monday April 13, 2009 We had a cold front roll through on Monday so there hasn’t been any progress on our neighborhood Gazebo. Of course the only reason I’m mentioning it is because I’ve set up my video camera and am running a ustream.tv streaming feed of the construction. Rainy and […]
RichC | April 13, 2009
I wanted to archive the success and impressive work of the U.S. Navy and bravery of the captain of the Maersk Alabama, east of Somalia this weekend and have been debating how to include the event. After listing to a podcast about the new Skype app for the iPhone, decided that a major networks use […]
RichC | April 13, 2009
I’d like to think “oh, such a beautiful bird” … but that has not be my morning attitude since he has been rapping on the window for about a week now. I could probably handle the ‘pesky tapping’ of this northern cardinal if it were not for the early morning annoyance.
RichC | April 10, 2009
The good news that yesterday the gazebo project moved ahead as the pilings were sunk and cemented before the rain came. The bad news is that it is a damp day today, but ‘lo and behold‘ the construction crew is working this morning … according to the ustream.tv channel I’m broadcasting. Setting up a webcam […]
RichC | April 7, 2009
Although my confidence is low that I’ll be able to reduce the number of “junk faxes” being sent to me, I’m going through the procedure put in place by the FCC anyway. The steps are fairly straight forward in entering a complaint online, but I suspect results may not be all that forthcoming? An online […]
RichC | March 11, 2009
Twitter comment at twtpoll: http://twtpoll.com/95t1wv
RichC | March 6, 2009
Since I haven’t been traveling this week, I’ve had a few minutes to do a full database backup and reinstall on a new server. One of the primary reason I’ve been anxious to do was because of some significant slowing in access. Thankfully the upgrade was painless and looks to have corrected my primary speed […]
RichC | February 13, 2009
I’ve been using Fuelly.com to track the fills and gas mileage on my less than economical Honda Pilot. The web interface is a super easy way to track and add information each fill up or the even more convenient mobile interface can make adding the odometer reading (or number of miles), gallons and price a […]
RichC | February 1, 2009
I enjoyed another ‘babyboomer worthy’ Superbowl halftime show with Bruce Springteen. He entertained the crowd with “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Born to Run” and “Glory Days” and although The Boss did a great job, I missed “Born in the U.S.A.” Halftime entertainment aside, Superbowl XLIII has given us an exciting first half as the score is […]
RichC | January 31, 2009
There was nicely formatted datasheet (below) on the new Palm Pre published at PDADB.net and it was interested to see the April 2009 release date, even though it is stated as “expected.” From what I have read, neither Palm or Sprint have said very much about what date the new smartphone will be available. Some […]
RichC | January 25, 2009
I’m starting to think about taking my son back to college late this afternoon/evening and figured I might be a good idea to check the Ohio weather (1 PM image out the front window above). Thoughts like this rarely occurred to me in years past, but the older I get the more attention I pay […]
RichC | January 1, 2009
As we approach midnight on December 31st and my family watches the party in New York City’s Time Square, I want to wish a Happy New Year to all. For some, January 1, 2009 is no more than a change of a calendar… for others, the New Year symbolizes the beginning of a better tomorrow. […]
RichC | December 29, 2008
I should probably wait until I get a chance to read Daniel Tammet‘s new book “Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind,” but since I commented and enjoy his previous book, “Born on a Blue Day,” will make a comment. Tammet, one of the more notable high-functioning autistic savants,and has […]
RichC | December 27, 2008
Although I really haven’t watched much television (besides some news and sports) for years, I’m now hooked on a couple DVD television series sets. A couple of months ago, instead of watching a movie on a Friday or Saturday night, my wife and I started the series 24. We were quickly hooked by Jack Bauer […]
RichC | December 21, 2008
I was updating a small video project this weekend and have been struggling with a way to boost the gain on a USB Snowball microphone used for voice overs. Thankfully there are a couple links for the updates that at least give it boost on the Mac and Windows computers — unfortunately I wasn’t able […]
RichC | December 18, 2008
Using Treo to “Press It” post a cellphone photo that only has a little personal meaning to a few of us … and my friend who sent us the cotton for our Christmas tree many years ago. EDIT: Hmm, PressIt didn’t work and will have to edit to post?
RichC | December 13, 2008
A friend from Twitter (@cojonesx ) posted an answer by link to my question and photo TwitPic “tweet” yesterday pertaining to an all-electric utility vehicle being used at the University of Akron. Thanks for the answer and information Tim. By the way, you can follow me (@RichC) or just receive @MyDesultoryBlog updates on Twitter too.
RichC | December 12, 2008
I really enjoy Microsoft’s fine Vista OS, and I don’t even need the new SP2 Beta — written with a *hint* of sarcasm. Need I say more about how my morning was going? 👿
RichC | December 11, 2008
Lost an entire post last night and figured I had better look at the new “dashboard” for WordPress a little bit more carefully. I’ll include a photo from my Treo on this test post using TwitPic (FYI — they just started a blog today) as I headed into Red Lobster to have dinner with my […]
RichC | December 11, 2008
Cedarville University announced Wednesday that they will begin enrolling students in the fall of 2009 for the Dayton Ohio area’s first school of pharmacy. Fall freshmen will enter the pre-pharmacy program and enter the pharmacy graduate program which is scheduled to open its doors in 2012. The university plans to spend $20 million to build […]
RichC | December 11, 2008
After the upgrade the new admin “Dashboard” has a new look, and a “QuickPress” feature to which this is a first test. EDIT: I’m very impressed with the new UI … nice. Here’s a video explaining some of the new management features of “Coltrane.”
RichC | December 5, 2008
While traveling yesterday, I darted across the state of Ohio on Route 30 knowing that occasionally the gasoline prices are less expensive at a truck stop in Beaverdam, Ohio (Route 30 and Interstate 75), but before jumping onto the rural highway and leaving “known” stations, I pulled up GasBuddy‘s GasBuddyToGo on my Palm Treo. A […]
RichC | December 4, 2008
I’ve posted a few times on the social networking/micro-blogging tool called Twitter. This inspired a reader to send me his favorite Firefox add-on and an excellent Twitter related website that is worth sharing. First is the Pingfire (Ping.fm) Firefox add-on which isn’t working on my VistaOS notebook (surprise, surprise) and the other, a search tool […]
RichC | December 3, 2008
While traveling through Akron, Ohio today, I sat for a few minutes at a newly remodeled McDonald’s — actually I just stopped to use the restroom. It was my second look at the McCafé which debuted back in 2001 outside Chicago. It was also a chance to upload a Palm Treo photo directly to Ping.fm […]
RichC | December 2, 2008
A couple days ago I posted on a Twitter related site called Twitter.Grader. They have a quick ‘bookmark’ feature for sending ‘tweets’ and including links or text. Add it to your browser if you are a Twitter user … I’m betting you’ll find it useful? On a related topic, here’s a great Christmas gift for […]
RichC | December 1, 2008
Testing 16:9 YouTube embed with Neil Cavuto announcing Monday’s stock market close … down the entire gain from last week on Monday. DJIA closes down 680 points. (BTW … we are officially in a recession, shocking huh?) Now that we are officially in a recession, how long will we suffer? Will we be out by […]
RichC | December 1, 2008
Since we had family traveling the Ohio highways this past weekend, it was good to hear they all made it to and from their destinations safely. It is probably the “dad” coming out, but receiving the update Sunday night that both my kids were back at school after their evening drive … I think its […]
RichC | November 30, 2008
Considering the economy is weak, Americans when on a shopping spree the day after Thanksgiving this year, in fact retail sales were up about 7.2% over last year, according to the National Retail Federation. They also reported that 172.9 million made purchases from Friday and on through the following Saturday and Sunday. This “first holiday […]
RichC | November 29, 2008
While spending the day around home, I walked around the neighborhood and noticed one of the grass carp (white amur) was belly up around our lake. I headed back to pick up the shovel and rack … and realized I would probably need a wheel barrow to haul this 20 plus pound fish home. It […]
RichC | November 27, 2008
We’ve had pretty busy day and have enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner with our family (my side). We all ate plenty of food and enjoyed an excellent dinner at our house. The turkey was excellent (thanks Bren) and the pie’s excellent (thanks Claire).
RichC | November 24, 2008
One of the current replacement needs in our house is the dishwasher. It still works, but is far from efficient or effective. Like many people I’ve talked too, we spend more time washing the dishes before stacking them in the dishwasher then running the crazy thing with relatively clean dishes in it? (and we’ve done […]
RichC | November 21, 2008
So what’s next for the big three domestic automakers? Their sales pitch to congress seems to have failed to convince lawmakers that the answer to Detroits’ woes is a $25 billion dollar loan; a loan in which was requested to bridge them “due to the current financial crisis which was no fault of theirs” (so […]
RichC | November 20, 2008
Although this may not have been the “first snow” of the year in Ohio (see October post), it was the “first snow” that required some shoveling and has coated my car with salt. The photo above is at the University of Akron while the one below is traveling on I-76 not too far away. (click […]
RichC | November 19, 2008
Brrr … it was cold Wednesday morning as I headed out of town. I even noticed a thin layer of ice had already formed on the pond/lake in front of our house. I don’t recall having ice this early in November?
RichC | November 17, 2008
A little public announcement if you enjoy a nice evening, a little dinner, some local talent in the form of Holiday Music and “perhaps” a little local shopping. Be sure to plan to visit the Streets of West Chester 6 pm to 8 pm in December as the Lakota West High School Band will be […]
RichC | November 15, 2008
I was tinkering with my aging Palm Treo 700p smartphone and the cellphone quality camera lens and sensor (1.2meg) while killing time trying to directly post a message to my blog. (the steaks and asparagus were great, but the phone-to-blog post didn’t work correctly)
RichC | November 14, 2008
The space shuttle Endeavor is schedule for an evening liftoff at 7:55 PM on Friday night if all goes on schedule. The STS-126 mission is to do some “Extreme Home Improvements” to the International Space Station. The seven member crew of commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Eric Boe, Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Steve Bowen, […]
RichC | November 12, 2008
Ok, so this post is sort of a tease to North American Volkswagen enthusiasts, but it is still interesting to see what “might” eventually make its way to our shores. In the following short video clip, the “self-park” or “park-assist” feature which was only available in the Lexis is also available in the VW Tiguan […]
RichC | November 11, 2008
RichC | November 7, 2008
While driving home on Friday night its hard not to notice that gasoline prices continue to inch lower, but being a diesel advocate (biodiesel), its hard not to grimmice when noticing the $1.42 spread. Ouch.
RichC | November 7, 2008
The Auto Channel posted one of their video road trips with Norbert Krause the Director of Volkswagen’s Engineering and Environmental Office in California while taking a drive the 2009 VW Jetta TDI. Although the video has some pretty annoying music in the background, some of the information being shared will be of interest to those […]
RichC | November 7, 2008
The engineers at Volkswagen are working on a smaller version of their “UP!” which intends to be marketed against the Smart ForTwo mentioned in yesterday’s post — the single gas entry for 2009’s Greeen Car of the Year at the LA Auto Show. The new up will be the smallest VW model and will seat […]
RichC | November 6, 2008
With two of the five cars competing for the “2009 Green Car of the Year” award at this years Los Angeles Auto Show, things are getting pretty interesting. The three competing technologies nominated include two gasoline hybrid vehicles — the Saturn Vue two-mode hybrid and the Ford Fusion hybrid, two clean diesel models — the […]
RichC | November 5, 2008
I’m glad the election is over and in the routine of living life rather than worrying about something that I have very little control over — my vote is pretty small in relation to let’s say someone living in Wyoming (see “How Much Is Your Vote Worth“). Anyway, in traveling today I notice gas prices […]
RichC | November 4, 2008
According to FoxNews at 9:15 PM, they have announced that Ohio has gone to Obama with 9% of the vote counted. The projection is early, but after watching a significant number of other states fall, the election looks to be over. Unless something freaky happens, the next President of the United States is Barack Obama. […]
RichC | November 2, 2008
While working in my garage this weekend, I foolishly let a metal rod swing down and hit me in my arm. Thankfully no bone was broken (from what I can tell), but the bruising did initially make me wonder. Ouch.