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 […]
RichC | November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving and safe travel to my friends and family on the road. We are enjoying a day of turkey and tasty food at my brother and sister-in-law’s house today, which is becoming a tradition. Although I don’t say it often, I couldn’t ask for a better brother and if ask what I’m thankful for […]
RichC | November 15, 2009
No I’m not talking about the Ohio State Buckeyes win over the Iowa Hawkeyes this weekend OR the “whodey” Bengals defensive triumph over their rival the Pittsburgh Steelers (for a 5-0 record in their division and 7-2 overall – but who am I to boast) … although both were local football wins and worthly bloggable […]
RichC | 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, […]
RichC | October 31, 2009
In my opinion, the American Community Survey — aka: 2010 Census — is a waste of time and money. For one, it is an oversized packet of paperwork being sent to 3 million Americans and is costly to print, mail and tabulate; wouldn’t it have been far more efficient to produce as a Scantron card. […]
RichC | October 26, 2009
Color has indeed made it to the trees and leaves here in southwestern Ohio. The autumn sunshine and second Indian Summer has really brought out some spectacular color. I should be clicking away with my Canon Digital SLR, but a Palm Pre photo of the burning bush will have to suffice. Did you know: The […]
RichC | October 25, 2009
I’ve been happy with the overall cost of ownership of my 2006 Honda Pilot SUV … including the fuel efficiency. Besides oil and fluid changes, the only other expense of ownership over the past 87,000 miles to date has been a battery and of course gasoline. Click for larger image After posting my latest fill-up […]
RichC | October 19, 2009
Of all the boats we looked at … this was the only one in my price range! I don’t have an excuse for not posting to my blog last week except for being on vacation. I had the best of intentions to post a few times while I was dreaming of new sailboats in Annapolis […]
RichC | October 4, 2009
We are continuing to plant trees of variety in hopes one day a mature woods will be part of our way-backyard. Thankfully I have a brother who is particularly astute as to varieties that grow in our area and enjoys a hobby business of growing trees from seedling — his current catalog. His love of […]
RichC | September 27, 2009
The second part of the this post’s subject line makes very little sense unless you’ve been paying attention to the weather in much of Ohio in recent days. We’ve had so much dampness and rain that we might as well be living in Seattle … evidence by my daughter’s cellphone at the OSU/Illinois game on […]
RichC | September 26, 2009
After a few days of autumn rain, the yard was heavy with moisture and air was think with a hazy fog this Saturday morning. I headed out to pick up the paper and decided to take the camera along. Fifteen minutes later I had a few photos (click any photo for larger images). Since we […]
RichC | September 7, 2009
The weekend was busy as usual with the annual Red Stewart Airshow and my Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter’s (EAA284) Tail Dragger Fly In and Pancake breakfast. Set up was smooth on Saturday afternoon and most of us enjoy relaxing for the evening on the field as the temperature cooled and the airshow started. I can […]
RichC | August 17, 2009
While visiting Spain last month I was surprised that even in the 21th century that there were towns along the Mediterranean coast (tourist area) who still enjoy a mid-day ‘siesta’ and have little problem with the loss of business For American who have grown accustomed to workplace praise for productivity or have been cultured in […]
RichC | August 1, 2009
While updating my blog for yet another day from our recent vacation, I noticed that backdating vacation posts was more the norm than an exception. I glanced at the “Years ago on this date” right sidebar and re-enjoyed my blog archive about summer of 2005 trip to Calgary, Alberta, which was posted in August after […]
RichC | July 31, 2009
Whew! I’m finally up to date with our European vacation archive … and a bunch of photos didn’t make it into my14 days of blog posts. Oh well, there are plenty to enjoy … except just this one loner photo and it will get its own post. It’s my daughter’s 23 year old “Big Bear” […]
RichC | July 26, 2009
The final flight crosses the Ohio River and lands at CVG We arrived home safely after a long day of traveling. Up at 4:45 AM in Southampton UK (5 hrs ahead of home EST) and grabbed a quick breakfast on the NCL Jade before ‘debarking’ and recovering our luggage. The trip to London Heathrow was […]
RichC | July 25, 2009
Passing close enough to a container ship in the Atlantic to read containers The blog is missing a few days in posting due to a shortage of Internet minutes while on the cruise ship ($$$) and although there have been a few connections (very few public ‘free’) along the voyage, I’ve spent more time enjoying […]
RichC | July 24, 2009
It seems like a long time ago, but as I write this post it has only been about a week since we were in Spain. Our last port of call was the city of Vigo, Spain. The west coast city and metro area is home to a half a million people with historic Kingdom of […]
RichC | July 23, 2009
Lisboa or Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and the wealthiest of the country. It has remained the capital city since its conquest from the Moors in 1147. The architectural style is a combination of old and new, European and Middle Eastern … especially in historic areas and in the Sintra region – both a […]
RichC | July 22, 2009
We spent day eleven visiting the Rock of Gibraltar and I particularly liked learning about the history of this fortress. The huge fortified hunk of rock guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean has seen it share of conquest and struggle. Over the years, a series of 32 kilometers of tunnels […]
RichC | July 21, 2009
Today, we mark our return sail back toward the west steaming east in the Mediterranean on this near perfect day. The sky is blue, the water bluer and there is just enough breeze for a lone sailboat to make way well out in the clear horizon (digitally enlarged 300mm telephoto above). It’s now day 10 […]
RichC | July 20, 2009
We debarked in Chivitavecchia, Italy on Monday and headed by bus to the ancient city of Rome (Roma) and a visit to the Vatican. The thoughts that I had prior to visiting Rome were of just another old and somewhat dirty city, but the impression I left with was one of awe … and a […]
RichC | July 19, 2009
What a wonderful day in Italy! We enjoyed a near perfect day in the Tuscany region of Italy heading from the port city of Livorno to Pisa in order to visit the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa, cathedral and baptistery. The crowds were relatively heavy, but flowed easily in and out of the key stops […]
RichC | July 18, 2009
It is hard to believe that I can actually lose track of time while less than a week into a vacation, but knowing I’m posting a day or two behind has me looking at the calendar for perspective. We are having a great time and enjoying our vacation … both the rest and relaxation of […]
RichC | July 18, 2009
After our day in Barcelona, we sailed for Cannes in France. The evening started to get interesting when deck chairs began flying off the deck and doors were quickly battened down. Most passengers realized that we were rolling a bit more than usual, but the seas were not all that much larger than we have […]
RichC | July 17, 2009
As usual, I’m behind in jotting down a few notes in which to archive our trip and thoughts after a couple of days in Spain. We toured the old part of the city of Barcelona (only wide enough streets to walk) and thankfully had our English speaking guide in which to mention several relevant spots […]
RichC | July 16, 2009
After a long day in Malaga, Spain we set sail at 6PM on Wednesday evening. We were all tired out from our day and turned in with a movie on our cabin (Benjamin Button) after a celebration Japanese dinner. Celebration since the scores for my daughter’s Step One medical boards were passing (taken after year […]
RichC | July 14, 2009
We spent day two and now three of our vacation at sea and are enjoying the day’s relaxing … as well as eating (too much food). The weather was cooler on Monday, but much warmer today. The winds the first day out were near gale force as we traveled south from the English Channel through […]
RichC | July 12, 2009
View of the Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 in the berth once home to the Titanic The first day of vacation proved to be an excellent 8 hour through the night flight direct from CVG (Cincinnati) to London. Thankfully we processed through customs relatively painlessly after gathering our luggage and taking a motor coach (bus) to […]
RichC | June 28, 2009
Spent the weekend outside and probably got too much sun, but it was a beautiful weekend here in Cincinnati and didn’t want to be inside. I continued the reforestation project (just kidding) and added another row of Colorado Blue Spruce trees to our backyard (Palm Pre photo above – click photo for larger). Spending time […]
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 15, 2009
While I’m in the “picture taking” mode, here are a couple spider webs taken while leaving the house this morning. The fog was heavy through the night after the thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon. Click photos for larger versions or here for largerst. Photo with Canon XTi & Tamron AF17-50mm.
RichC | June 11, 2009
Yesterday was a busy day of business calls and traveling so I missed the chance to blog about my son’s birthday. Nevertheless, I’ll include a Palm Pre photo from my son’s birthday dinner — Happy Birthday Taylor. The evening was nice as we enjoyed watching the Benihana chef cook the food in front of us […]
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 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 24, 2009
It has been an emotionally tangled weekend as one of those parenting situations beyond my ability to intercede and fix has come up. Searching for good advice has been challenging and I’m thankful to have a caring God to turn to, knowing that He is big enough to handle even my smallish issue. — “I […]
RichC | May 22, 2009
I was able to get some of the vegetable garden planted this past week and fenced in order to protect the tender plants from the ravenous bunnies we have around our house. One would think that Tootsie, our Australian Blue Heeler could defend the property, but the rabbits seem to populate despite her efforts to […]
RichC | May 21, 2009
I’m taking advantage of the ‘hopefully’ short window between my son’s return from college and summer employment. I’ve put him to work edging a few landscape mounds and spreading our mulch. Hmm … what else needs to be done? 😀 Oh … and although he doesn’t read this … Happy Birthday to my brother Ron.
RichC | May 19, 2009
I don’t want to sound like an advertisement for Capital One, but from my minimal research, there is a clear difference in plastic for those traveling overseas — or more appropriately, those needing to make purchases while traveling overseas. Since I’ll be in Europe this summer and noticed a recent article in the Wall Street […]
RichC | May 10, 2009
Short ‘text to blog’ post to wish all the mothers in my life a Happy Mother’s Day.
RichC | May 7, 2009
While out of town this week at one of my regular hotels, I noticed a speedy brown spider about the size of a nickel in my room at night, perhaps the Brown Recluse –Loxosceles reclusa (photo right). I tried to catch him, but he was evasive and when behind one of the screwed down pictures […]
RichC | May 4, 2009
I’ve noticed that the neighborhood gazebo project is coming along nicely while checking in with the live ustream.tv feed over lunch. We now have the cupola and the railings are starting to appear. (and the water level in the lake is rising too!)
RichC | April 25, 2009
Occasionally I enjoy looking at archived posts from the previous year, or even several years ago by clicking on links in the right hand side bar’s “Years ago on this day“ list. It is surprising how fast 4 years have gone by? It was in April 2005 that I moved my paper journal to a […]