Archive: Getting hit in the face is a good day to forget

| March 17, 2012

Friday was one of those days I would rather forget … and I know Taylor would say the same. For me, it was a day of running around to hospitals, dentists and doctors with my son … for Taylor it was a obviously more painful. He was Uptown in Oxford (Miami University-Ohio) on a Thursday […]

The sad state of liberty: handcuffs, fingerprinting and mug shots

| March 12, 2012

Ever since I can remember I’ve carried a pocket knife … in part because the first one was given to me by my grandfather when I was 5 years old. Yes … FIVE … and I can vividly remember cutting ants in a sandbox (where was Peta?). Although it was a small single blade tourist […]

Boat projects and exploring with the Zodiac inflatable

| March 7, 2012

      We been experiencing some strong wind and ocean waves that are too large for comfortable sailing, so Taylor and I have been working on boat projects. Both the solar vents have been installed and are working; the leaking port has been “sort of” fixed as there wasn’t an easy solution (the aluminum port was […]

Heading south for a couple days of warm weather and sun

| March 5, 2012

… and hopefully sailing. Since Taylor is on spring break and isn’t heading with is Fraternity buddies to a drinking location with half of Miami University (and that half may be an under-statement), I suggested he and I drive down to Encore and spend a few days on the boat. Cheap trip for him, worthwhile […]

Gas prices, car rentals and the economy of traveling by car

| February 26, 2012

Katelyn and Taylor back in 1991 preparing for a road trip While planning a couple upcoming trips after the recent jump in gasoline prices (over $3.50 and rising), I reflected on the “good ol’ days” when we would hop in the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon and take off on long trips at what seemed […]

Archiving sailboat bottom paint information for Encore

| February 25, 2012

Ahh …  love that full flavored and steaming cup of coffee on a Saturday morning. While sifting through my pile of magazines and deciding what to toss and what to keep, I’ve clipped a few items I want to keep … but am just not sure how to archive them? Sometimes I still toss stuff […]

When college age kids socially get the approval of parents

| February 20, 2012

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the primary reasons I don’t post or visit my Facebook account very often is because it is the domain of my kids and their friends. I’m sure I would not have wanted a nosy parent watching everything I said and did … so I didn’t focus on it as […]

Having a last minute Magical moment before heading home

| February 12, 2012

Although we had a relaxing week “on the boat” … we opted to spend our last day in Orlando and visiting the Epcot center and dinner at the California Grill atop Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Hotel (thanks Gary!)      

Enjoying the day sailing and looking for sun on the beach

| February 9, 2012

Just archiving a few photos from our wind blown day on the beach Wednesday and rough day sailing on Thursday – winds were a bit strong from the NE and 4-6 foot waves not all that much fun. Cloudy mornings – sunny early afternoon turning back into overcast and clouds later. We had a good […]

Another day with Encore and unfortunately more rain

| February 8, 2012

As for sun and sailing, we did head out in the morning … but between the rain and the associated wind gusts with every batch of wet weather we gave up “the fun” and headed back to our home port. We did visit the fuel dock to both pump out and top of our fuel […]

Another rainy day in paradise on Encore

| February 7, 2012

All is good so far as some R & R goes, but the drizzle and rain has been with us for the past 48 hours. I’m looking at the forecast and current radar (Encore’s radar photo on the right) and it looks like less rain with isolated thunderstorms tomorrow. We’ll see. While the girls watched […]

A few days aboard Encore with my wife and daughter

| February 6, 2012

It is great to be vacationing with Brenda and my daughter on Encore over Superbowl weekend. We’re having a good time despite a few rain showers, but we used the drizzle as an excuse to help with the deck washing. One of the highlights was a visit from “Mr. Manatee” who enjoyed the fresh water […]

Visiting Mom and Dad with family again

| January 29, 2012

Mom and Diane on Saturday afternoon January 28, 2012 It was great to see my mom happy to have visitors and feeling pretty good after getting a better combination of pain medication. Although her vertebrae is deteriorating and their has been little hope for a surgical repair, she has been in much better spirits now […]

Thinking about my mom and her better days

| January 22, 2012

Our first boat “Brenich” in Huron Ohio back around 1984??? I’ve been hankering to find a reason to include another old photo from the 1980s after sifting through the pile in my desk for the archive post the other day – there isn’t a good reason so this will be a “desultory” post. About the […]

Archive: Vintage 1978 memories from “the good ol’ days”

| January 19, 2012

My college friend Dallas on Marco Island BEFORE it was developed – 12/1978  Who doesn’t enjoy reminiscing a little bit about “the good ol’ days” after looking through a couple of old photos? Here are a few from a trip to Florida over Christmas break back in 1978 … whoa, we were young.   This […]

The post Christmas blues after a great family time

| December 26, 2011

I’m really NOT depressed that Christmas is over … actually quite relieved … but the time with family did go fast, way too fast. We were fortunate that the Corbett side of the family was able to be together at our house on Christmas day. The weather held and gave all who drove excellent roads […]

Reflecting on our changing lives this Christmas 2011

| December 23, 2011

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides Can I handle the seasons of my life?  Landslide – Stevie Nicks in 2007 (originally 1975) We didn’t put that much time or effort into including a thoughtful letter with our Christmas cards this year, instead we merely included a collage of photos (below). That said we […]

Home for Christmas and making his parent dinner

| December 18, 2011

It doesn’t get much better than this … our son Taylor is home from college for Christmas break and after living off campus decided to make dinner for his parents. What a treat to know that he can cook well enough to take care of himself and enjoys making dinner for us. In appreciation I […]

Video: Australian Cattle Dogs

| December 12, 2011

During a little channel surfing this weekend spotted an interesting and educational segment on Australian Cattle Dogs. It interested me because our 14 year old Tootsie is Blue Heeler and the comments were very characteristic of her breed. She is a good pet, but I can attest to the warning regarding “need for exercise” and […]

Cold weather, time to get a Christmas tree and the 2012 Election

| December 10, 2011

After a few flurries and cold temperatures last night, we woke to the first ice on the small lake in front of our house this morning. Brrr … I’m not ready for winter yet.   Preparing for Christmas on the other hand, is in full swing as I hauled home a tree last night finishing […]

Leaking port and delayed back surgery for my mom

| December 5, 2011

After weathering the hot summer and safely making it through hurricane season, our sailboat Encore demonstrated that wind and rain from “unnamed storms” can still find its way into a closed boat. One of the port above the book rack dripped some water onto a few books … a couple of them headed straight to […]

Archive: A few family photos from Thanksgiving 2011

| November 30, 2011

  Its good to archive a few photos from a family gathering … in this case Thanksgiving at my brother’s house last week. Besides enjoying the time with family, we checked out the new man-toy in Ron’s barn – a new John Deere mower. A few new markers for the 2011 Thanksgiving holiday: the “no […]

Archive: Reminiscing continued

| November 19, 2011

As mentioned before, I’m not an active Facebook user but I do check in on my account whenever I receive the cursory email (too many from FB BTW). After noticing an incorrectly tagged photo …twice ….yesterday I made a couple wisecracks to my nephews about it. At about the same time I was sorting through […]

A visit with a friend had me reminiscing about other friends

| November 18, 2011

Our old house and 5 acres of property on Stow Road in Hudson Ohio On my trip to NE Ohio this week I had both the chance to enjoy dinner with my daughter in Columbus (always a pleasure) and meeting with Mark Goloback, an old friend from when we lived in Hudson, Ohio. I recently […]

Good memories but perhaps bad parenting?

| November 14, 2011

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The absent minded professor has very little on me …

| November 11, 2011

After a couple of busy days traveling, last night found me swapping cars and scrabbling to get back to Cincinnati. Unfortunately in the confusion, I left behind my computer bag … it goes something like this: 8AM – text my daughter that we need to return the rental car by 5:17PM and head to Marysville […]

Trying to understand the Occupy Wall Street message

| October 17, 2011

By now most in America have at least acknowledged that there are legitimate protests movements in several cities including NYC; some protesting are anarchists and anti-American types looking to hijack any radical movement, but many are legitimately angry with the state of our nation, the partisanship that favors and bails out the Wall Street banks […]

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 […]

Wedding congratulations to Emily and Benjamin Skinner

| October 3, 2011

Ben, Emily, Chris and Jerry Skinner – October 2, 2011 (click for larger) We enjoyed my nephew Ben and Emily’s cool (45 degrees) but sunny Sunday morning wedding at the Darby House near Columbus, Ohio this past weekend. They were the "picture-perfect” couple and exchanged personal vows on the terrace overlooking the beautiful setting. My brother-in-law […]

Continuing to enjoy the slow rebuilt of the MBG

| October 2, 2011

Friday night and Saturday morning gave me a few more hours to disassemble the MBG engine once again, although this time I also removed the head. As noted previously, the #2 intake valve was sticking in an open position taking compression to zero. Under further inspection, I can see that it doesn’t seat correctly … […]

Looks like my daughter will continue to get paid. Whew!

| September 27, 2011

Nationwide Children’s Hospital applauds the House of Representatives for voting in favor of H.R. 1852 which reauthorizes the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program. The bill, which was introduced in May of this year by Representatives Joe Pitts (R-PA), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), ranking […]

MGB idling problems – posting to a British car forum

| September 27, 2011

I’m posting my MGB idling problem to the MG Experience forums in hopes to gain a little help … if you’re “just a car guru” and have some advice I don’t mind the extra thinking – either leave me an email or Disqus comment below. Thanks and additional details below. From forum: First, a year […]

MRI day at the Cleveland Clinic and TWO doctor visits

| September 21, 2011

I’m traveling in Ohio this week with a “pleasure stop” for pictures  at the Cleveland Clinic [sarcasm] —  MRI of my malfunctioning shunt (btw, all was normal in my noggin’). The imaging was precautionary after my July tympanic steroid injection – all was a follow up due to my decade old Endolymphatic decompression and shunt […]

Changed our NetFlix plan

| August 13, 2011

After noting the increase from Netflix back in June and being pretty frustrated at the “percentage” increase in price, we’ve still opted to stick with Netflix as a streaming only service. If the need arrives to see a new release, we’ll pick it up a Redbox or a local video store … perhaps encourage some […]

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, […]

Our aging Toyota Rav4 is almost back to acceptable

| July 26, 2011

After spending the weekend cleaning and “rebending” our Brenda’s bumped and bruised Toyota Rav4 into to some semblance of its former self … it now has a new piece of glass (opted for the $191.25 “real thing” rather than tacky Plexiglas). I can highly recommend Rich at Kiss Auto Glass for his quick service and […]

Doing a little re-bending on the Toyota Rav4

| July 24, 2011

It was a hot Saturday to be working on the Toyota Rav4, but I figured it was best to use the extra day just in case there was a complication. Instead of having the insurance company fix our car, we have opted to go the salvage title route and accepted the insurance company’s check after […]

Looking at the Kodak Playsport Zx5 before ‘gifting’ it

| July 11, 2011

Since my wife Brenda rarely reads my blog, I think I’m safe talking about her birthday and gifts that are gadgets. I will probably get chastised by both men and women alike in repeating the similar mistake year after year by giving her something technology oriented for her birthday, I’m doing it one more time. […]

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 […]

The first day of the rest of your life …

| June 27, 2011

Stressful but exciting is what I remember upon leaving college and beginning to make my way in the world. I’m not sure that I would want to do it again, but it was great to believe that opportunities were there for those who worked hard for them. Now … I’m not as sure about the […]

Helloooooooo … and a little pulled-pork

| June 23, 2011

Subject line stated in a  Jerry Seinfeld voice …   Helloooo | Seinfeld Yes … I stopped in on my daughter this week while traveling and enjoyed seeing her new apartment a bit more organized that when she moved in. The new “orange” wall was bold for my taste but brightened her living room and […]

Music Monday: Escapism – I think we all need it some days

| June 4, 2011

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Speaking of apartments (yesterday’s post), my son has one too

| June 2, 2011

I felt a little guilty talking about my daughter’s new ‘digs’ yesterday since my son has settled into his new shared house (3 guys) while taking summer classes Miami University in Oxford Ohio as well. In fact, he had us over and grilled brats, dogs and burgers – quite the host! Thanks, Taylor! We had […]

Moved my daughter into her small but brand new apartment

| June 1, 2011

It was a hot day to move, but a fun father/daughter time as Katelyn moved from her old ‘digs’ in Kent, Ohio to her new Columbus area apartment. It was in part sad (leaving friends and the comfort of known surroundings) after spending 7 years of college and medical school in NE Ohio, but exciting […]

Finally registered the domain name: mydesultoryblog.com

| May 25, 2011

After 6 years and over 2600 posts to My Desultory Blog, I’ve finally decided to use a few dollars from my Google’s Adsense earnings (small as it is) to register the domain name mydesultoryblog.com. For the time being I’ll still post under my originally richc.myarchive.us (and probably will continue); this myarchive.us site was intended to […]

Congratulations Dr. Katelyn Corbett, MD – You are a physician!

| May 22, 2011

The day arrived and disappeared in an instant … with a wonderful ceremony, I might add! On Saturday, May 21st my daughter Katelyn officially became Dr. Katelyn Corbett, M.D. She was presented the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the commencement ceremony from NEOUCOM (now NEOMED – Northeast Ohio Medical University). We had a perfect […]

Catch up post – Enjoying Encore, but the Love Bugs not so much

| May 18, 2011

  Brenda and I made a multipurpose trip to Florida to enjoy a little sailing with our soon graduate from medical school daughter Katelyn and two of her graduating friends Laura and Ashley; we also planned to do a little work on our boat Encore (projects and maintenance will never end). Besides the personal recreation, we […]

I am not complaining, but it is kind of toasty today

| May 17, 2011

I’m trying to work through my checklist this afternoon on the boat since Brenda is off on her way driving her parent north for the summer. They will soon find out how well my son has been managing the house, feeding pets and knocking off the short chores list we have given him after his […]

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 […]

The Process – poetic thoughts penned by a new doctor

| April 22, 2011

Not wanting to let this little bit of poetry disappear, I’m archiving it to my blog for both for posterity and pride (I made my daughter Katelyn record her poem – below). Although I’m not sure who the ultimate reader or listener will be, I’ve got a feeling that those attending medical school or young […]

Green grass and Magnolia flowers proclaim Spring is here

| April 8, 2011

After arriving home late last night Brenda wanted me to see the flowering White Star Magnolia flowers … so I indulged her and walked out to look at them with her … and snapped a weak LED flash photo with my Palm Pre smartphone. Little did she know, I had already been looking at them […]

Taylor, a couple of his Miami friends and pondering Facebook

| April 1, 2011

I thought I had posted a photo of Taylor and his friends heading to their college fraternity formal last year (2010), but I must have sent it only to Facebook … I was probably thinking it was a better way to maintain privacy between just “friends and family?” I’m changing my mind this year, unless […]

Snow, Snow, go away and a nice dinner out

| March 31, 2011

Isn’t it about time for this long winter to end? It was a slippery day of driving and another couple of inches of snow while making my way around northeastern Ohio on Wednesday. About the only positive was an enjoyable “Two for $20” dinner with my daughter at Applebee’s. A couple of spring 2011 snow […]

Nationwide Children’s Hospital/OSU Pediatric residency

| March 18, 2011

  This past Thursday, March 17th, was an exciting day at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) as most in the graduating class of 2011 received their “match” for residency. Each medical school across the nation has a slightly different ceremony, but each graduating M4 senior finds out which hospital they “match” with on […]

The all important Residency “Match Day” is this week

| March 15, 2011

This week is an important one for my daughter as she anxiously awaits her residency match for next year. For those unfamiliar with a medical student’s M4 (4th year), one of the big events prior to graduation is “Match Day.” This is the day when those graduating with an MD degree find out where they […]

Home at last – back to school and work

| March 13, 2011

It was a slow trip driving back from Florida this past weekend especially through Atlanta; it took an hour just to inch the miles it took to get through downtown (photo left). With the unrest in the middle east and recent revolt in Libya, the prices at the pump were up significantly. Besides seeing $5.29 […]

My son’s final day of spring break – mine too!

| March 12, 2011

Although the weather in Florida this week has been a bit temperamental, we’ve enjoyed our father/son week together. From strong winds and cold fronts to a full day of torrential rain … and yes some sunshine. We never knew what the next day was going to offer us. As for temperatures, they were mostly mild, […]

A rainy day is a good time to work on “inside” boat projects

| March 10, 2011

With a front moving through bringing rain all day on Thursday, it was a good day to tackle some non-essential ‘interior’ boat projects. After replacing the autopilot a month ago and waiting to see if all was good, I finally replaced the ceiling access panels — not as easy of a task as it sounds. […]

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