RichC | July 20, 2010
The stock OEM Goodyear Integrity tires on my Honda Pilot have giving me a good 109,000 miles of wear and I replaced them today since an ugly split started to show up. They have always driven well on everything but wet roads, especially heavy rain. Their flaw is that they seem to be unable to […]
RichC | July 18, 2010
Although the Cincinnati Reds came up short in Sunday’s Ohio Northern University alumni baseball outing against the Colorado Rockies (final 0-1), I enjoyed spending the day at the Great American Ballpark with my my son and my close friend Jeff from ONU dorm days. Jeff Pitts is someone who has been there through thick and […]
RichC | July 18, 2010
It is another hot summer weekend here in Cincinnati as my son and I tackled a few minor automotive maintenance chores on our cars before a planned Sunday baseball game (we are enjoying them this year). Oil and filter changes and basic inspections were the Saturday duties, as was cleaning out the garage. Of course […]
RichC | July 17, 2010
My daughter was home with her little diesel from NEOUCOM for a few days and I took the opportunity to replace her Dunlop Sport A2 tires with a set of Goodyear’s (Eagle LS-2 – $408.00) hoping to get a little more even wear as she’ll be spending more time on the road interviewing for her […]
RichC | July 12, 2010
The waste of money buying disposable razors moved me to an electric razor about a decade or so ago, and although the shave isn’t has close, the frustration of being down to my last razor has been worth the switch. Still, I enjoy the occasional freebee razor that shows up in my mailbox as a […]
RichC | July 5, 2010
America’s Independence Day marks the day our family (well … me really) puts up a new flag. Usually the old flag makes it about a year, although a few of the cheaper ones have deteriorated much quicker. I’ve pretty much decided that the stitched and embroidered nylon flags hold up the best. The pile of […]
RichC | July 5, 2010
Palm Pre to YouTube Posted via email from richc’s posterous
RichC | July 3, 2010
I’m finish up a few backyard chores and am thinking about my daughter coming home for the weekend; she reminded my that her pet “rabbit” would be in tow. In thinking about this, I realized just how many rodents we have breeding in our yard this year. I don’t think we’ve ever had so many […]
RichC | June 27, 2010
Thank you Taylor for taking me to the Great American Ball Park where we baked on a hot summer Sunday afternoon with excellent right field seats. The Ohio Cup is a favorite game of mine, pitting my old American League Cleveland Indians (lived there 13 years) against my hometown team the Cincinnati Reds. It really […]
RichC | June 21, 2010
We are enjoying the changing weather as a thunderstorm rolls through over my lunchtime break here in Cincinnati. Since I’m at the house today, I had a chance to snap a few “first day of summer” photos. It is awe inspiring to see and hear storms arrive from the west and feel the cooling rain […]
RichC | June 20, 2010
We had my dad over to our house this past week and enjoyed celebrating Father’s Day a bit early on Thursday evening. The conversation was great while reviewing photos from our trip to Washington DC and reflecting on what a great example my dad has been for me. He did a great job in a […]
RichC | June 13, 2010
We took my son Taylor out to celebrated his 21st birthday at Joe’s Crab Shack on the river in Cincinnati on Saturday, a couple days after his actual birthday (June 10th) – remembering my daughter’s with her friends 3 years ago. 🙂 His friends celebrated with him on “the day” going to Oxford Ohio (Miami […]
RichC | June 12, 2010
I’ve been putting a few more miles on the Honda Pilot than usual, for both work and personal travel, which has me thinking about diesel cars and the soon to expire tax incentives on a few models. It would be nice to have a new Volkswagen Jetta TDI or Sportwagen TDI, but with the slowdown […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | June 1, 2010
Two of my nephews celebrated milestones in their lives this past weekend … and of course the special events happened 7 hours apart, one in Ohio and the other in New York. My brother’s son graduated from high school and although we missed the Saturday event at Bethel High School, we timed the Sunday afternoon […]
RichC | May 30, 2010
I “tried”’ to take advantage of the $100 Cash for Appliances rebate program back in March/April by reserving a reservation, purchasing a new dishwasher, recycling the old dishwasher and filling out the rebate paperwork, but I have been thwarted by the system. Once again our bureaucracy is too much for me to figure out. This […]
RichC | May 28, 2010
When I posted the photos and comments about the trip to Washington DC with the Shelby County Ohio veterans on Monday, I didn’t include the short video segment from my Palm Pre. I’ve encoded and merged the short clips from our visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday May 22, 2010.
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | May 24, 2010
Veterans from Shelby County Ohio at the World War II Memorial Saturday, May 22, 2010 I intended to blog this past weekend (May 21-23) while volunteering with the WWII and Korea veterans honor trip to Washington DC … but my hands were full from dawn until dusk … and then some! That’s not to say […]
RichC | May 21, 2010
By the time this posts to the blog, I should be heading to Washington DC assisting about 50 World War II and Korea veterans on a trip to visit to memorials built in their honor. The three day weekend will be a chance for me to listen to them share their thoughts on serving our […]
RichC | May 16, 2010
I enjoyed the day working in the yard and found myself appreciating Brenda’s gardening talents. As the landscaping around our yard continues to mature and the varieties of different flowers bloom one after another all spring, all the hard work to plan, plant and tend is beginning to pay off. Today’s overweight Peony blooms were […]
RichC | May 9, 2010
My wife’s aging 1998 Toyota Rav4 has been a great car for 215,000 miles. We’ve had minimal maintenance over the years and although it is showing signs (and has been) of heavy use, it’s still running strong. The Rav4 has offered both my kids a good platform to “learn to drive” and has seen its […]
RichC | May 8, 2010
I’ve enjoyed lunch with my friend Jeff nearly every week for many years and one of his quirks is to collapse his taco salad shell after finishing his meal — yes “mom” … he plays with his food. I told him that someday I would post a video of “his talents” for posterity. So today […]
RichC | April 28, 2010
Since I spend part of my day on the road, my mind wanders from the tiring chatter of political radio talk that never ends (and focusing on driving) to daydreaming about sailing and escapism. I suspect most everyone has dreams or plans for retirement, but some are probably a bit more realistic than mine? I’ve […]
RichC | April 20, 2010
It was a pleasant spring evening on the back porch after opening the pool on Monday. We are a bit late this year in getting the cover off and I expected to see some pretty grungy water … but was pleasantly surprised; I think it’s the best it has ever looked after pulling the cover […]
RichC | April 16, 2010
Checking my list for the weekend and it looks as if there is a bit of work in the yard … yes the grass is growing, as are the weeds. But higher on the priority list is installing our new “cash for appliances” energy efficient dishwasher. Unfortunately the delivery was not without an issue … […]
RichC | April 14, 2010
It was a melancholy day in that a friend who has been a loyal customer for over 20 years announced his retirement. Of course I’m happy for him in that he’s leaving work with his sanity and will have more time to enjoy life at his own pace. I asked him what his intentions were: […]
RichC | April 12, 2010
As a morning routine, I’m a coffee and anti-oxidant grape juice drinking kind of guy, but since we had a few extra oranges left over I’ve been fresh squeezing them for a morning citrus treat. Mmm … sunshine and fresh squeezed OJ … breakfast doesn’t get much better than this! Speaking of ‘the day’ – […]
RichC | April 5, 2010
We had a nice gathering and Easter Dinner at our house with my side of the family on Sunday. A good time of animated talk was enjoyed by all. My dad brought along an album never seen by most of us from his time in Korea during the war — interesting commentary by him from […]
RichC | April 2, 2010
When a small school like Ohio Northern University, located in an even smaller town of Ada, Ohio, has one of its colleges profiled on the Discovery Channel, it seemed worthwhile to archive the video. Although I wasn’t part of the profiled program, the Raabe College of Pharmacy was where my wife received her degree. The […]
RichC | April 1, 2010
Time Warner notified me that they needed to upgrade the existing cable cards in my Series 3 Tivo box with a multi-stream card AND install another piece of hardware in order to continue receiving their content (some sort of 2-way frequency sharing box or something). After they added some new wires and stacked the odd […]
RichC | March 30, 2010
My sister-in-law Lynda sent a photo and announcement from Minneapolis … a beautiful girl. Congratulations Justin and Keity on the birth of their first child: Madelyn Joy Howard born at 6:14 CST on March 30, 2010, 6 lbs 12 oz. 19.5 inches. Now the real work begins … marriage was the easy part!
RichC | 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. […]
RichC | March 28, 2010
We’ve been thinking about replacing our humble (less than functional) dishwasher for a couple years now and the latest government giveaway stimulus program is just the push we needed. There is a small window of opportunity and a limited number of dollars available for each state to stimulate consumers to upgrade their existing appliances with […]
RichC | March 22, 2010
Great to know there is hope for me in getting up on the board yet! Thanks for the inspiration John Zapotocky (at 91, he’s probably the oldest SUP surfer in the world) Personal note: Due to my dealing with Menieres disease in the late 1990s necessitating endolympatic sac decompression surgery, my stability and balance has […]
RichC | March 21, 2010
While watching news from Washington DC this Sunday afternoon over the unpopular heath care legislation being voted on by congress, my wife has found a good way –“her way” — to reduce stress: she burns things (Palm Pre video snippet below). This genetic activity will only mean something to those who know her and her […]
RichC | March 19, 2010
Personal Opinion post: I’m attempting to be understanding of those with different political philosophies than myself as they relate to reforming health care. That said, I can’t imagine those who support progressive social and economic re-engineering of our nation even stomaching the shenanigans currently going on in Washington DC? At times like these, it may […]
RichC | March 12, 2010
Since the weather has been wet and windy here in Florida, we decided to take a road trip north from Delray Beach towards Fort Pierce. Our plan was to putter along and check on a couple sailboats. We opted to drive the A-1-A route along the shore and stopped at several of the pull-offs along […]
RichC | March 10, 2010
Murphy’s Law enacted itself today while I was enjoying continued R & R; a work related issue came up requiring me to access information with my computer. Unfortunately this was information that I didn’t properly back up during my recently Windows 7 reformat and updated notebook computer. I of course have a backup, but it […]
RichC | March 9, 2010
While I do enjoy a routine that includes focusing what’s going on in the world, it’s nice to escape and check out for a few days. After a perfect ‘beach Monday,’ our day Tuesday was cloudy and smattered with sprinkles, although temps were in the 70’s. We spent the morning hiding from the rain, but […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | March 7, 2010
We had a slow start to the day after a frustrating delayed flight out of Cincinnati — we were switched to a smaller plane. I was sardined into the just in front of the lavatory seat behind two babies (with full diapers) and a 3-4 year old (really a very good kid). Thankfully things got […]
RichC | March 1, 2010
While watching an aviation video online highlighting the P51 Mustang (30 min video below) and thinking about the ever dwindling number of WW II heroes from the greatest generation, I gave a bit more thought about an upcoming trip with my son. We’ll be spending a week with a World War II aviator from that […]
RichC | February 27, 2010
The older I get, the less embarrassed I seem to be about publicly posting an old photo or two … or even sharing juvenile nicknames. So for posterity, figured I would archive a couple items … and leave the door open to teasing from my kids. Moi, Charlie (Kamakaze), Rob (Oxford) and Greg (Wheels) in […]
RichC | February 22, 2010
If you are like me, you like having a regular routine to start the day; for me it’s the newspaper, the Gordon Deal podcast, a large cup of coffee and review of my email inbox, although I won’t encourage the large cup of coffee. Today, one of the lead stories in the news pertains to […]
RichC | February 21, 2010
After reading an article by Kathleen Hughes in this weekend’s WSJ, I just couldn’t help myself in reminiscing about where I grew up … they were wonderful memories for me – I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood. Nevertheless, noting the comment about digitally visiting home, I “re-experienced” memories from my childhood taking the […]
RichC | February 19, 2010
In a belated personal post, after reviewing a few photos from earlier in the week on my Palm Pre, I’m archiving a post of what was part of my Valentine’s Day gift to my wife. She has been threatening reminding me for the better part of a year to clean out my half of the […]
RichC | February 12, 2010
Gadgets, particularly those with microchips are getting more and more ‘micro’ all the time. For the most part, this leads to improvements in electronic gizmos that serve us daily for convenience and even health. I read an article in TechNewsDaily about a solar-powered sensor that is small enough to supply endless power, yet powerful enough […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | January 20, 2010
After years of resisting the thought of using ‘my kids’ preferred social networking site Facebook, I’m starting get the urge to check my “wall” (or “walls” plural – explained below) once in a while. Usually this occurs after being send a link, or receiving an email invite from someone I might, or might not, know. […]
RichC | January 10, 2010
No comment is necessary after watching the Cincinnati Bengals once again disappoint their fans in a tough post season loss to the New York Jets. About the only thing to say is that the better team won … at least on this particular Saturday evening. As for more positive thoughts, Brenda and I enjoyed moving […]
RichC | January 9, 2010
It is good to be in a warm home after a challenging week. The weather has been less than perfect for driving and most of Ohio has received a little snow. Click image for larger In our house, the family Christmas cheer has given way to winter doldrums; one of my two children is back […]
RichC | January 3, 2010
Mom and Dad 01/02/10 — Palm Pre We’ve had a couple of nice family gatherings over Christmas and New Years this holiday season, so why not include two of the most important people in my life … Mom and Dad. It was a great to be together with them and enjoying time reminiscing — I […]
RichC | December 31, 2009
I’ve mentioned my favorite sailing magazine (Cruising World) before on my blog, but a fraction of a second appearance of a December 2003 issue in one of my favorite CBS television programs, NCIS, made my night. We’ve been working our way through the television series when during the ‘Untouchable’ episode in Season 3 of […]
RichC | 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 […]
RichC | December 23, 2009
It was great to have an annual Christmas exchange lunch yesterday in this ‘slower than usual’ week before Christmas. Thanks to my friend Jeff, who knows me well, I now have a new book — Pirate Latitudes — a perfect gift selection for me. Pirate Latitudes was written by best selling author, and one of […]
RichC | December 21, 2009
One would think that I would have learned my lesson with Gateway notebook computers a few years ago when I replaced my well traveled lightweight computer after first power plug, then keyboard and finally USB port issues … unfortunately I didn’t. I reluctantly replace it with a higher performance model which started off irritating me […]
RichC | December 18, 2009
The house is now decorated, the kids home (or almost home) from college, snow is in the forecast and Christmas is a mere week away. As we reflect on the scrabble to get everything right for the celebration this season, let’s not get so overly wrapped up in the preparation that we lose sight of […]
RichC | December 9, 2009
My goal is to have the home theater upgraded by the time my kids are home from college for their Christmas break. The new Optoma HD20 arrived and I anxiously replaced my older Sony 900U ceiling concealed projector. Besides ‘still’ having a ridiculous combination of remotes, the HD picture enhanced from a standard DVD from […]
RichC | 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 […]