Can we feel good about America again?

| July 4, 2010

I’m a bit frustrated with myself for acting like a “doom and gloomer” lately. I think I’ve been spending too much time filling my head with the partisan personalities on the radio and TV who are focused on everything that is wrong in America. I didn’t like it for 8 years when it came from […]

Ordered a couple books for summer reading

| June 16, 2010

I ordered a couple books for summer reading on Tuesday, although I might hold one back for vacation. First, the new “thriller” called The Overton Window by Glenn Beck was just released and it is sure to be a best seller. Thankfully this mass marketed hardcover is priced right at several online booksellers … which […]

Do we really need a more sophisticated black box for our cars?

| June 2, 2010

Speaking of “more government,” how about adding a few more thousand dollars to the price of a car? Do we really need another electronic gadget … a black box … for our cars? (Neil Cavuto video clip below) [flv:FN_Cavuto100601.flv 480 255]

Illegals: Continued lax response by government has me frustrated

| May 29, 2010

For those at a distance discussing and “playing politics” with securing our borders and dealing with illegals crossing from Mexico, it might be a good idea to visit and talk with those “legally” living, paying taxes and owning property in Arizona. There was a short interview (below) with a rancher who talks about the situation; […]

Taxpayer funded government granted “rights”

| April 21, 2010

From the “you must be kidding” files: There are time when we think we’ve heard it all when it comes to how big the ‘nanny state’ can grow and oversee our lives. Take Europe for example, Americans have a love-hate relationship with our cousins across the pond. Thankfully most of us still prefer the politics […]

Live Eagle Cam on uStream.tv

| April 13, 2010

Pretty cool uStream.tv video that gives a live look into a bald eagles nest … REMOVED

Busy Easter Sunday with family

| 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 […]

Ohio Northern University’s Pharmacy program profiled

| 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 […]

Stanford and Volkswagen continue to develop smarter cars

| March 30, 2010

Following their 2005 DARPA research, Stanford University has continued to work with Volkswagen in pushing the envelope wish computer controlled automobiles (previous post). In a FoxNews story on computer controlled racing cars and Pike’s Peak,  I recalled the success VWs have had on this mountain climb in the past (Touareg TDIs and RallyTDI).

Live newsroom background headshake made me chuckle

| March 23, 2010

Captured a snippet of video (no audio) of the television with my Palm Pre’s camcorder app on a FoxNews broadcast tonight; one has to wonder just what producers are thinking when they use the live “animated” newsroom as the background. 🙂  

You can only ignore the will of the people for so long …

| March 22, 2010

As the the Democrat’s health care bill passes under less than optimum circumstances, tempers and emotions flare in both congress and between citizens of our nation. My representative, the Honorable John Boehner, lead the Republican minority in a valiant fight, in this case speaking for the majority of people across our nation (video below).  Unfortunately […]

Takers vs. Makers: Are we on the Road to Serfdom?

| March 5, 2010

The current Obama philosophy of social and economic justice continues with an attempt to move forward with expanding government, even as polls show Americans objecting to the existing health care bills. The concern for many of us is that we are becoming a nation of ‘takers.’ Current progressive Democrats are moving in a direction that […]

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile and tsunami warning

| February 27, 2010

After tuning into the news early on Saturday following the massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake which struck the coast of Chile, I checked back in this afternoon after 4PM as Hawaii waited to feel the effects from the earthquake after a tsunami warning. The large earthquake has taken the lives of over 800 people (edit: 3/4) and […]

Letterman-Oprah-Leno and the Super Bowl Ad

| February 10, 2010

The Media Decoder article in the NYTimes was eye opening with all the challenges and complexity to overcome in order to produce the Letterman-Oprah-Leno commercial. Most of us when seeing the ad chuckled, but probably didn’t give much thought to the difficulty in getting three notable entertainers together — not only to agree, but in […]

Audi A3 TDI clean diesel “green” ad has lovers and haters

| February 9, 2010

I had to chuckle this morning when registering my vote on the Wall Street Journal poll for best and worst commercial during the Super Bowl – Audi was first in both (click for graphic of poll). See ad video below It’s "Green Police" ad was the sixth most popular in USA TODAY’S Ad Meter, in […]

Who Dat? Dey be Super Bowl 44 champions

| February 8, 2010

The days of the “paper bags over the head” have given way to “destiny” and a dream come true for the 2010 Super Bowl winning New Orleans Saints and their many fans on Sunday. I thought the cool headed Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts would end up on top when pitting arm against arm,  […]

For those that don’t remember great late night TV

| February 6, 2010

Since I missed posting to the blog on Saturday, I decide to back date a post that I found enjoyable.  Obviously I’m getting older since I can remember Johnny Carson hosting the Tonight Show, but I thought I’d share a clip portraying better late night television comedy that I’m seeing nowadays … in my opinion. […]

Conan O’Brien spending NBC dollars on his way out

| January 21, 2010

The irritated O’Brien continued his feud with NBC and Jay Leno as he finishes his short career hosting The Tonight Show (article). For those not familiar with late night TV talk shows, Jay Leno left The Tonight Show for his own show at 10PM on NBC seven months ago. Conan O’Brien was given The Tonight […]

The earthquake in Port au Prince Haiti

| January 16, 2010

I’ve been debating on how to archive the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti since there isn’t one article or report that has summarized the disaster appropriately. After 96 hours, one thing that is significantly clear is that the loss of life in this poor country is tremendous — estimates of the number of dead range from […]

Flight 1549 Documentary Airs on TLC Sunday Night

| January 8, 2010

Added to Tivo recording schedule. January 7, 2010 — Former EAA Young Eagles Chairman, actor Harrison Ford, provides the narration for a new documentary that features one of the new co-chairmen who succeeded him. Brace for Impact, scheduled to premiere January 10 at 9 p.m. EDT (8 p.m. Central) on The Learning Channel (TLC), examines […]

Spotted a Cruising World issue on season 3 NCIS episode

| 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 […]

How far are our politicians willing to mortgage the USA

| December 8, 2009

As the politicians in Washington continue their borrowing and spending, President Obama pitches using $200B from borrowed TARP funds for yet another stimulus … money that wouldn’t even be asked to be paid back. At the same time, the Moody credit worthiness rating company warns of potential downgrades for U.S (and other nations) if fiscal […]

Trapping coyotes in Butler County Ohio

| December 8, 2009

The Ohio News Channel produced a short news story on trapping coyotes in the suburban areas of  West Chester in Butler County, Ohio (see previous post).  Neighbor in the area have grown concerned enough as to hire a professional trapper (video below). Perhaps they’ll at least remove the boldest coyotes … although I wonder  just […]

Video embed test and Shuttle Atlantis lift off

| November 16, 2009

As the number of NASA Shuttle lift offs wind down, I find myself appreciating the space program more and more. I don’t want to miss the final scheduled six launches which should complete the life of the Space Shuttle program and end of an era … a successful one I might add. Today was a […]

Let’s lighten the mood

| November 6, 2009

With the tragic news coming from Fort Hood (yesterday) and Orlando (today), and the unemployment numbers shocking economist nationally — now at 10.2% — I was in the mood for a bit of comedy. Jon Stewart to the rescue with a parody on the popular FoxNews celebrity Glenn Beck who is recovering from appendicitis. Enjoy! […]

Building a TDI diesel engine

| October 24, 2009

Although the Science Channel program “How It’s Made” isn’t one of the most exciting television programs, it does offer a glimpse as to what it takes to manufacture complex items. I happened to watch an episode on how Audi builds its 6-cylinder TDI diesel engine the other day and found it interesting (video clip below). […]

Is Glenn Beck the modern face of a founding father?

| September 22, 2009

No offense Glenn, but I’m more comfortable remembering our nations’ wigged fathers! (see Time magazine cover photo & articles) Americans with moderate to conservative political views have flocked to right leaning talk radio and FoxNews television this past year (cable news ratings), as the United States congress and President Obama seek to follow through on […]

Woodstock – trying to remember 40 years ago

| August 14, 2009

The word — the place — the music — the festival called Woodstock still evokes passion either ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ and the music, politics and lifestyle branded the generation who came of age in the 1960s.  The 40th anniversary of the three day concert in Bethel, New York takes place this weekend marking the event […]

Michelle Malkin promoting her new book on “The View”

| August 3, 2009

I have a new found respect for Michelle Malkin as I watched her handle “The View” ladies and audience; she was better than most while promoting her book, in my opinion. (EDIT: thanks Scott) For those into heavy political reading (right wing oriented), Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and […]

Volkswagen Jetta TDI meets the Toyota Prius ad

| May 27, 2009

I’ve been wanting to include this Volkswagen Jetta TDI ‘clean diesel‘  television commercial for a few weeks now —  the “What’s your hybrid sound like?” answer makes me smile every time.

Taxpayers don’t want to pay more taxes at the pump

| May 12, 2009

Although some in the Obama administration have proposed that raising taxes on fuel is one way to encourage driving less and buying smaller more fuel efficient vehicles, Americans surveyed by Rasmussen don’t like it. A short FoxNews interview with Scott Rasmussen highlights that 81% oppose additional fuel taxes, although they seem to be a bit […]

Gazebo project gains cupola and railings

| 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!)

Disney to buy a nearly one-third stake in Hulu

| April 30, 2009

Since I’ve posted a couple times about the online “web-video aggregator” Hulu.com, the latest news that Disney has reached a deal to buy a significant share of the company and put full episodes of its ABC TV shows on the site is pretty big news. The advantage for Hulu is that Disney will invest capital […]

Nickelodeon and Ed Begley Jr. on Earth Day 2009

| April 22, 2009

I don’t normally think about Earth Day in advance, but since Ed Begley Jr. sent me an email mentioning he and his daughter were going to be on Nickelodeon, I set my Tivo. Since I’ve ‘archived’ Season 1 and Season 2 of Living with Ed I figured this would be a good post to mention […]

Willie Nelson talks biodiesel on Huckabee

| April 20, 2009

[flv:FN_WillieNelsonHuckabee090419.flv 480 325] Willie Nelson talks a bit about his advocacy for biodiesel on the FoxNews program Huckabee this past weekend. (Huckabee airs at 8PM on Saturday evenings and is rebroadcast at 11PM and Sunday evening)

CNBC rings closing bell on Wall Street celebrating 20 years

| April 17, 2009

Although I’m not a big fan of the “pinheaded”politically oriented peacocks managing and broadcasting at NBC news or MSNBC, I have watched the Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) since the early 1990s. In fact, their broadcast was the primary reason I switched from rabbit ears to satellite television.They are the 4 to 6 billion […]

Ken Langone and Bernie Marcus of Home Depot on CNBC

| April 15, 2009

Interesting conversation this morning on CNBC‘s Squawkbox as Home Depot‘s co-founders Ken Langone and Bernie Marcus offered up their views on politics and business. They both are concerned that wrong moves are being made due to the recession and that government is getting too involved in the running of business.  I’m also concerned that politicians […]

Conservatives are seeing some young leadership emerge

| April 4, 2009

Who knows who will begin to bring the conservative movement and the Republican party back to life and attract new American voters? If  big government and the  spending of the current Democrats joining the honeymooning President Obama isn’t enough to help unite conservatives, then perhaps it is time for some new blood. Take a look […]

Commentary on Twitter from Nancy Giles on CBS Sunday Morning

| March 29, 2009

Congratulations Lee and Sachi LeFever. I saw your Common Craft video being used on the CBS Sunday Morning program during the commentary segment with Nancy Giles; CBS did used the ‘paid’ version I hope? I’m not sure I the innuendo that a Twitter user  might be a”Twit” is correct (“Tweep” might be correct though),  but […]

Motorweek.org talks biodiesel in recent PBS episode

| March 14, 2009

Although there were a few things missing in this episode of the PBS Motorweek, I did enjoy seeing and hearing biodiesel still being promoted. I particularly enjoy their highlighting the ‘Appleseed’ processor! (how do you like that @girlmark)

Late Nite with Jimmy Fallon features the Palm Pre

| March 10, 2009

Palm Pre gets a unique appearance on NBC’s  Late Nite with Jimmy Fallon as Joshua Topolsky from Engadget brought one along in his pocket — he must rate pretty high in the tech world to have had that priveledge! The Pre has made only a handful of appearances since the introduction, so is sort of […]

Winter 08/09 surfing: Volcum House – north shore Oahu

| February 28, 2009

For those who enjoy surfing I’m embedding a couple enjoyable clips from the Volcum House Show on O’ahu, Hawaii. The first clip has some great surfing footage and tour of a three story home overlooking the big winter waves to the west of Hale’iwa (Sunset Beach & Waimia Bay) and to the east of Kaena […]

Superbowl XLIII commercials & the Audi Transporter ad

| February 3, 2009

Although all the Superbowl 43 ads are here, I’m only going to embed one … not because it is a favorite, but because I know my Audi-loving son will enjoy it (besides we both enjoyed the Tranporter movies with Jason Statham). Check out the making of the Audi Superbowl ad below …

The inauguration of President Barack Obama

| January 20, 2009

On January 20, 2009,  Americans saw the power of peaceful change as President George Walker Bush stepped aside and heard the crowds cheered as President Barack Hussein Obama took office. Throngs of well-wishers filled Washington DC preceding today’s inauguration and many others gathered around televisions to watch this historic moment. It is a great testament […]

Hello my name is Rich, I’m a 24-a-holic

| January 18, 2009

“Hello my name is Rich, I’m a 24-a-holic” and I am addicted to the Fox Television Series 24, yet I haven’t watch the current season yet.  The intense neverending show has kept both my wife and I at the edge of our seats … or bed … depending where we watched it from. Blockbuster much […]

And the Natalie Holloway saga continues …

| November 25, 2008

While I haven’t been paying attention to the Natalee Holloway story, the FoxNews “On The Record” program with Greta Van Susteren aired an hour long segment Monday night which I told a friend without cable that I would encode. Greta interviewed the twice arrested Joran van der Sloot and I found it hard to believe […]

Dishwashing and Dishwashers

| 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 […]

Kay Jeweler commercial feature ASL

| November 16, 2008

I’ve noticed the Christmas ads are starting to make their way into the Sunday afternoon football games, and one of them by Kay Jewelers caught my attention. The ad features a deaf girl (or actress playing a deaf girl) and her boyfriend using American Sign Language while sitting under the Christmas tree. It caught my […]

Just a little “blue screen of death” Halloween humor

| October 31, 2008

Yes … I run Vista on my notebook, and after a couple years I still think I should have opted to stay with XP or to have switched a Macbook Pro. Those in the same boat have probably recognized the above “blue screen of death” — although to be fair, its pretty much a thing […]

Gov. Sarah Palin in West Chester Ohio

| October 17, 2008

Although the polls and news are not positive for McCain/Palin in many parts of the country, in the area north of Cincinnati Ohio, they are a very popular pair. So when Gov. Sarah Palin stopped in West Chester Ohio across from the local Lakota West High School, she had a great crowd — about 15,000. […]

Presidential Debate changes few minds

| September 27, 2008

No real winner, no real loser … that’s the conclusion in my unscientific reading of the newspapers and websites garnered this morning. I thought both candidates handled themselves well considering the heavy focus on Capital Hill over the economic crisis. Both candidate are in support of government coming to the aid of our nations’ banks. […]

Obama and O’Reilly finally sit down and talk

| September 5, 2008

Senator Barack Obama and Bill O’Reilly (Fox News – O’Reilly Factor) sat down and had a 2 hour talk on Thursday in Pennsylvania before the RNC speeches; part one of the interview ran at 8PM EST Thursday night and the balance will follow next week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I though both did a […]

Ishmael Beah’s book now in paperback

| August 5, 2008

Just a quick mention that a book I recently finished reading and have highlighted in the sidebar, “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solder,” goes on sale in paperback today. Along with this release, the 26 year old Ishmael Beah has made a couple of appearances on ABC television. (ABC’s Good Morning America […]

Memorial Day – Arlington Memorial Cemetery

| May 26, 2008

Although I’m not rewriting my Memorial Day post (frustrated that it has been lost after I posted Sunday night — grrr), I will include the 11 minute clip from CBS telling the history of Arlington Memorial Cemetery. On Monday, President Bush paid tribute to America’s service personnel who died in service to their country at […]

Obama, his Rev. Wright and fed fund rate cut

| March 19, 2008

Newsy couple of items from the last feel days — from politics to the economy. Here’s are the two biggies for March 2008. First, the big news has been the offensive remarks associated with Democratic candidate for President, Barack Obama. The anti-American and racial messages from his long time pastor and friend, Rev. Jeremiah Wright […]

Living with Ed (Begley) – HGTV season two

| September 17, 2007

I enjoyed the entertaining look at living ‘green’ last year when the HGTV program “Living with Ed” premiered. (last year’s post) The program was filled with light husband/wife humor and yet offered educational content aimed at getting each of us thinking about our energy use. Personally speaking, its nice to be informed about how we […]

Fred Thompson announces intent with Jay Leno

| September 6, 2007

It is probably not a surprise to anyone, but Fred Thompson has finally announced that he intends to enter as a Republican candidate for President of the United States in 2008. He has had a bit of time to develop an excellent website (Friends of Fred Thompson) and has included his thoughts in a long-ish […]

Job frustrations? Maybe a career change?

| July 16, 2007

A friend of mine sent me this video clip … I can’t imagine doing this for a living? Power Line worker

VIDEO: “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell

| July 13, 2007

I’ve written previously about a book I’ve just finished reading and wanted to include a more recent interview available on the Internet. His thoughts on the fatal decision that cost the lives of his SEAL team are shared as well as a few of his personal ‘opinions’ regarding the War on Terror. The book Lone […]

Book: Lone Survivor – by Marcus Luttrell

| June 27, 2007

I’m getting ahead of myself by mentioning a book that I haven’t finished reading yet, but “Lone Survivor” is perhaps the best read of the year. The incredible true account of the author Marcus Luttrell helps one appreciate what incredible men serve in the United States special forces — particularly those included in Operation Redwing. […]

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