RichC | March 29, 2014
Good news … but sad news today. My daughter sold her 2001 Volkswagen Jetta TDI and it left with the new owner in Columbus today; hopefully it will mean as much to him as it did to her. The little diesel TDI is the only car Katelyn has ever known and it took her from […]
RichC | March 26, 2014
Ok … so I have the holidays confused, but then so does Mother Nature. While driving around on Tuesday afternoon the squalls started and figured it was a perfect opportunity for an animated GIF. We can’t seem to shake off winter. I expect to see a few flurries when I’m in northeast Ohio (had […]
RichC | March 24, 2014
It was a whirlwind week ending visit for Taylor as he was home from North Dakota for a visit with his friends in Cincinnati, Oxford (Miami University) and Cleveland. He also found time for family and picked up sister Katelyn in Columbus on his return from Cleveland. He drove her home for the weekend as […]
RichC | March 20, 2014
My son Taylor is back for a few days from North Dakota to visit friends (and mom and dad) and do a little shopping. That last part about shopping is my theory since I don’t think they have many JCrew stores or the like in Williston, although I could be wrong? Anyway it is nice […]
RichC | March 18, 2014
In wrapping up the “work trip” (cough, cough) down to Florida … I figured the trip would not be complete without at least a walk on the beach. Sunday afternoon sunshine made a good excuse to see how the sand felt on my feet – nice (panorama with the iPhone 5 above – click for […]
RichC | March 14, 2014
Although I know spring is around the corner, the Florida sunshine is nice, although I can’t say I felt much of it today as the temps were mid-60s and I spend the afternoon with my head buried below decks working on electrical gremlins – with some success I might add. Tomorrow the plan is to […]
RichC | March 3, 2014
The snow has returned again to stretch out this already long and cold winter. March has always been one of those questionable months, but one I generally associate with “spring” … so far not this year. Katelyn and Drew were home for the weekend and we had a great time together as usual. Besides talking […]
RichC | February 20, 2014
Those who are regular readers of My Desultory Blog realize that besides posting commentary on newsy items, be it tech, cars, aviation, politics or whatever, that I also include personal entries and photos relating to my family. This blog, now 4000 posts, is a continuation of a journal that I started in 1977 as a […]
RichC | February 15, 2014
OK … enough already! Winter continues to blast most of us in the east and has been particularly brutal for those in the SE generally immune to heavyt ice and snow. Here in Cincinnati we’ve had our share of cold weather and a lot more snow than usual … and it has even been […]
RichC | February 13, 2014
Winter seems to be dragging on this year perhaps because it started earlier and has not let up. The “daze” have been colder and snowier than usual without the usual intermission of warmth and melt. It is notable that even in Cincinnati snow plow companies have adopted the practice of piling the snow in parking […]
RichC | February 5, 2014
The winter of 2014 has been one of the colder and snowier in southwestern Ohio that I can remember (although we had some snow in 2010). In previous years, putting the snow blower on the old John Deere 330 was almost optional, but this year it has been used and abused more that any since […]
RichC | February 3, 2014
My apologies to Peyton Manning … probably the most complete football quarterback to ever play in the NFL … but you and your team stunk. The fine performance by the Seattle Seahawks aside, Super Bowl XLVIII was a dud of a game to watch. The festivities that now are part of the entire Super Bowl […]
RichC | January 30, 2014
So much for my Postie WordPress plugin … “no postie” would be more appropriate. Anyway just wanted to include a photo of my liveaboard boating friends Mark and Dar in front of their sailboat Zola. The news is that after Dar’s surgery and stroke that left her vision impaired, they will have to put their […]
RichC | January 5, 2014
Amazingly 28 in our family were able to make it back to Western NY for a late holiday family get together at the Howard farmhouse and dinner at Peak n Peek. Some stayed at the house and some of us in the resort or hotels and all of us realized that this could be the […]
RichC | December 31, 2013
Just a filler post to keep the Postie WordPress plugin alive. Happy New Year!
RichC | December 29, 2013
My cousin Diane and I exchanged Christmas greetings and updated each other with the goings-on of our families on Friday night. While talking about gifts, I realized that I didn’t have a photo of the “Tool Stools” that I made for Taylor and Drew. Since one of them was still at home, I took a […]
RichC | December 25, 2013
What a wonderful time we had over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year. We were happy to have Taylor, Katelyn and Drew home together with us for a couple days holidays (photo above) … and thankful some in the Corbett side of our family with us for dinner. It was a great to be […]
RichC | December 16, 2013
Merry Christmas to those who regularly read my “desultory” daily posts or may have just stumbled onto my blog. It has been a busy year and although my Google Analytics stats are no longer growing (they are actually down), the AdSense revenue is up? That aside, I am including more archival information “for me” than […]
RichC | December 15, 2013
We’re closing in on Christmas and it is beginning to look a little more festive around our house. I still have a few things to do, but at least the tree is up and decorated. It is a bit smaller this year but I didn’t have someone twisting my arm! This is the first year […]
RichC | December 6, 2013
Thought this photo would make an interesting animated GIF, so I tweaked it as a filler for today’s blog post. And in order to make this a “Tech Friday” post I’ll share a tweet that I haven’t confirmed works just yet: @LifeProAdvices: When you’re at an airport simply add ‘?.jpg’ at the end of any […]
RichC | November 27, 2013
It’s almost time to call it a day and begin the long Thanksgiving weekend … well at least for some of us. I’m taking both Thursday and Friday off in order to stretch out the weekend even though Brenda will be working (such is life in medical and retail). We will both be enjoying time […]
RichC | November 24, 2013
It has been a semi-busy and semi-cold weekend for yard chores, but I’m tackling them just the same since waiting for a dry “warm” Saturday and Sunday doesn’t look promising. I started Saturday early and started to tick off the simple indoor items on my chores list thinking that it might warm up, but I […]
RichC | November 3, 2013
RichC | November 2, 2013
RichC | October 27, 2013
After teasing my sister-in-law about her wanting “just one” of the clamps her dad willed to me so she could hang it on her wall … I ended up hanging the rest on the wall too (although in my workshop).😉
RichC | October 16, 2013
EDIT: I’ve added a small recording “app” to the iMac called eXtra Voice Recorder. In the old Mac days we would call these small apps “DAs”(Desk Accessories). If you’re a pre-X Mac user, do you remember them? Below is the audio test. Reading Cleaning out the family farmhouse and barn in New York […]
RichC | October 9, 2013
The U.K.’s Royal Observatory Greenwich and National Maritime Museum awarded Mark Gee’s photos showing the Milky Way galaxy as it lights the sky at Cape Palliser, New Zealand lighthouse this year. The photo (click for VERY large) was made by stitching together 20 individual images to create this panoramic photo which as the Space.com article […]
RichC | September 30, 2013
Once upon a time, a “little” boy named Taylor lived with us … but that was a long time ago. That little boy has grown into a young man and as of Monday is working for Williams County in Williston, ND. Before heading out the door for work, he sent me a “selfie” as he […]
RichC | September 28, 2013
This past week I flew up to Williston, North Dakota to help my son Taylor move into his new apartment. My expectation were low and so the brand new apartment with easy access to everything made for a very positive first impression. Taylor drove his late grandfather’s “loaner vehicle,” a Chevy Trailblazer, from Cincinnati to […]
RichC | September 20, 2013
Taylor left at about 6AM this Friday morning with a U-haul trailer full of belonging to start his new job and make his mark on the world. The drive to Williston, North Dakota will take him to his halfway point in Minneapolis tonight where he will meet-up and stay with his long time friend Alicia […]
RichC | September 16, 2013
We are in countdown mode on a couple of fronts: 1) Taylor is wrapping things up for his move to North Dakota in a few days and 2) our family is working to close out Brenda’s mom’s “life in Jamestown, New York.” I am sad on both counts, but know that both changes are for […]
RichC | September 14, 2013
Brenda and her mom are participating in a “sponsored walk” this Saturday morning to benefit the American Heart Association with a few of Brenda’s co-workers. It is a beautiful morning for it and from the temperatures the first day of fall … brr! I’m still refusing the thought of cooler weather and challenging the temps […]
RichC | September 10, 2013
Taylor took a bold step toward his future by accepting a planning position in North Dakota. Since graduating from Miami University in May, the resumes and cover letters have been many, but openings in his field few. With the feedback always highlighting a desire for more experience, Taylor decided that starting his planning career in […]
RichC | September 8, 2013
My dad and I enjoyed the day together doing something we both enjoy – looking at cars and being together. As usual, he took his 1958 Packard Hawk to the Shelby County Applefest in downtown Sidney Ohio on Saturday and wondered if I was going to enter my Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel this year. I […]
RichC | September 6, 2013
RichC | September 3, 2013
Labor Day was great! I was home alone and able to work around the house, although accomplished very little. Most of my time was spent in the garage sanding and adding body filter to the Mercedes Benz 300D. Since the temps were warm, I regularly cooled off in the pool and pretended to be cleaning […]
RichC | September 2, 2013
RichC | August 14, 2013
Before I’m accused of forgetting my wife’s birthday, I didn’t (Whew) … but am posting here a couple days late. I think this is the first time we used a video call instead of a phone call as a way to connect with someone for a birthday, at least with a photo (we used FaceTime […]
RichC | August 11, 2013
Thanks to Facebook, I had a chance to meet up with a friend from high school (and grad school) that I haven’t seen in 30+ years. We had a mutual love for photography and both headed in different directions after school. She married and moved to Cincinnati and I married and started life in Cleveland. […]
RichC | August 6, 2013
It has been absolutely beautiful weather with cooler than normal temperatures and sunny days. I’m shocked to be cutting grass that is still green and impressed how nice it looks for August. By this time of year the front lawn is usually a yellow brown and the stripes of our leech bed pretty obvious … […]
RichC | August 4, 2013
Brenda and her mom enjoying a near perfect day in Cincinnati (West Chester) having a Nathan’s hotdog. EDIT: The original image was tinted so red from under the umbrella that I opted to go black and white for a change.
RichC | August 1, 2013
Last year I animadverted about the inserts in my boat shoes and recently noticed that my August 2012 post was a recent MyDesultoryBlog’s top five … according to Google Analytics. Considering it is a top 5, it might be time for a boat shoe update? Boat shoes are a go to shoe in our house […]
RichC | July 30, 2013
I watched Taylor climbing pine trees in order to cut of a few dead branches and started to wonder if he was going to cut the ones below him … the ones he needed to climb back down. Besides the odds and end chores around the house and yard, we bought new tires for Brenda’s […]
RichC | July 29, 2013
My brother’s daughter Keira was married this weekend to her “ONU Sweetheart” Ben Ankrom at a nice ceremony and reception in Dayton Ohio – Engagement Announcement (FYI: Sweethearts = Ohio Northern University’s name for alumni couples who marry – which includes Brenda and me). We enjoyed the entire day on Saturday and the friends and […]
RichC | July 26, 2013
It is difficult not to be in awe by the photos our space probe Cassini has sent back from near our solar systems second largest planet. The first photo shows the distinctive rings of Saturn and the tiny blip that is our planet Earth. The second is enlarged and shows our blue marble being orbited […]
RichC | July 19, 2013
Over the many years Katelyn has had her rabbit, we (well “I”) have been both the temporary and semi-permanent pet-sitter. The little fellow has spent time in our basement (fortunately not when it flooded) and more recently in the poolhouse. I refer Pumpy Umpy affectionately as “The Rodent” and have actually grown somewhat attached to […]
RichC | July 17, 2013
With the heat in the 90s and humidity high this week I noticed the driver side and rear passenger floor in the Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel soaking wet again. A few weeks ago I thought that it might be due to a leak in the windshield gasket or possibly the drain in front as mentioned […]
RichC | July 6, 2013
Whoa! Lots of summer rain this morning and used the excuse to try a couple more panorama photos with the iPhone 5. I’m not sure how much came down or how fast, but from the water shedding off our back acreage (and neighbors) was significant, at least in Liberty Twp. Ohio. The morning was spend […]
RichC | July 3, 2013
Having July 4th fall on a Thursday this week is creating chaos with my travel schedule. Each appointment scheduling call I’ve made is finding everyone taking a few days off … I should have done the same? Anyway, spending time in town gave me a chance to dust off my TIG welding skills or lack […]
RichC | June 27, 2013
Impressive super cell photo from Nebraska (www.tonightssky.com) about a week ago. The photo is a sandwich of 2 shots about 9 seconds apart at f/22, 2.5 sec and ISO 100 according to the tech info shared on G+.
RichC | June 20, 2013
Karen Hutton of KarenHuttonPhotography posted a gorgeous photo from Makapu’u Lookout in Oahu, Hawaii yesterday that makes me want to return to Hawaii. (our 2006 trip) Her description was nice too: I could almost see the curvature of the earth on the horizon… it was dizzying! And wonderful, and blue, green, gorgeous and stunning. I […]
RichC | June 14, 2013
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RichC | June 10, 2013
My son Taylor and I celebrated his 24th birthday today since we were both at home. We went to Chili’s, a favorite spot of his (well mine too) and they treated him to a birthday desert … on top of ribs and of course chips and salsa. Mail call was also interesting today as my […]
RichC | June 7, 2013
Life returning to “normal” doesn’t feel right after being with family and friends for the funeral and burial of Dr. Frederick Howard, Brenda’s father – I’m not sure when I will realize that he is gone. We remembered dad’s life through stories and humor this past week and as Christians, knowing he is now truly […]
RichC | May 28, 2013
I still don’t have my Postie WordPress plug-in working from my iPhone, hmm? So I’ll re-post the photo of the delicious Memorial Day pie that my wife made, since we still have one pie left for tonight. Mmm, it is THAT good … and a long with the corn on the cob signifies that summer […]
RichC | May 27, 2013
Although Memorial Day is one where we remember and honor those who have sacrificed their lives for our country and our freedom, this year I’m remembering my mom who died 5 months ago since her grave marker was set in time for Memorial Day. I think spending a little time there with my dad helped […]
RichC | May 19, 2013
Great series of 13 photos from St. Maartin’s Princess Juliana International Airport on Weather.com this month where Maho Beach-goers get up close and personal with landing aircraft (one of many posted short videos below).
RichC | May 18, 2013
I’ve been taking too many things apart and not putting them back together fast enough, so before I go any further, I think I’ll put some new parts back on? (forgetting where all my parts are from and where they go) I’m okay with working on brakes, rotors and wheel bearing, although I’m having […]
RichC | May 17, 2013
RichC | May 14, 2013
Just saying “married” and seeing these photos is making me feel old! I’m posting a couple brother-sister photos from our family trip to Montana back in 1999 and this past weekend. That day was about Taylor so we purposely didn’t mention Katelyn’s upcoming birthday. This year, I won’t be seeing Katelyn for her birthday, but […]