Server updates, out-of-date WordPress plug-ins and a test video

| May 23, 2019

It is time to work on a few long in the tooth server updates and one of them isn’t compatible with my “old” WordPress video plug-in – it is no longer supported. There are several options that I’m testing both for my site as well as customer installs so am testing one of them with […]

Music Monday: Doobie Brothers – China Grove

| May 20, 2019

Whenever I hear the Doobie Brothers, I can’t help but think about being back in high school and listening to my high school pep band at basketball games (while I was behind the basket shooting photos for the paper). Several songs were regularly played as I recall … China Grove, Listen to the Music and […]

Music Monday: Ramblin’ Man by Allman Brothers live in 1972

| May 13, 2019

Having posted songs from the Allman Brothers Band and Gregg Allman a few times before, it was surprising not to have included a Music Monday “Ramblin’ Man” post? So instead of a vinyl single to mp3 (recorded 1972 – release 1973), how about a live YouTube live video from November of 1972 at Hofstra University […]

Archiving a YouTube grilling recipe for summer

| April 29, 2019

EVs are making inroads – Drew is now a Tesla Model 3 owner

| April 28, 2019

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How should we light our next bonfire? #TBT

| April 25, 2019

We’ve had many bonfires and parties in our backyard over the years and once again the spring clean-up is building up another pretty good sized pile. An interesting “how to light it” video gave me a ThrowBack Thursday #TBT post idea (photo from a YoungLife party in 2007). Hm … not sure this looks like […]

Music Monday: This Van Morrison song for surgeons, says BBC

| April 22, 2019

The subject line of this post is definitely one of the quirkier tidbits for a Music Monday song, but I thought it was a somewhat unique way to mention Into The Mystic and post a couple different YouTube videos – here’s the LP version (pretty cool) and a live version embedded below. According to a BBC […]

Tech Friday: VirginMobile and iPhone 7-plus microphone issues

| April 19, 2019

All who have been through computer and cellphone issues know what a headache little glitches can become. For me, ever since having my battery replaced on my iPhone 7-plus back in January, the front facing microphone has not worked. After a couple back and forth evening phone calls with Apple Support, we set up an […]

How far left will Democrats go as they campaign for president?

| April 17, 2019

It was a struggle to contain my frustration as I watched Senator Bernie Sanders pitch his version of Democratic Socialism to a “townhall” Q & A hosted by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum of Fox News on Monday night. I “SO” hope that the American people have far more commonsense than to head further down […]

Replaced the rear shocks the Honda Odyssey this past weekend

| April 16, 2019

Besides finishing the painful tax filing this weekend, I replaced the rear shocks in my 2002 Honda Odyssey  “work-wagon” and Florida vehicle. It is still the lowest mile vehicle we have, but unfortunately, it is showing its age … especially the rusting undercarriage. Still, it runs well and is reliable … knock on wood. I’ve […]

The Notre Dame de Paris burned – April 15, 2019

| April 15, 2019

One of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in Paris, France was gutted as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris France burned. The entire roof and main spire collapsed (below) along with what looks like significant damage to the rose windows. The heart wrenching images and video flooded social media streams and newsfeeds at […]

Archive: Taylor Corbett – Meeting Clermont County’s Planner

| April 9, 2019

There aren’t many things that makes a mom and dad prouder than realizing their parenting efforts have paid off. We are now regularly seeing our children as productive professional adults and realizing that our being positive examples, and prioritizing school and providing a college education, has paid off. Besides Katelyn and husband Drew being accomplished […]

Music Monday: Once upon a time, I saw the 1967 musical Hair

| April 8, 2019

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Food for thought with all the political labeling nowadays

| April 6, 2019

Obviously labeling someone as a “fascist, socialist or an authoritarian dictator” is not new in politics, but the bigger government grows, the more we U.S. voters need to defend America’s founding principles such as individual liberty and personal freedom. During the 2016 campaign and election of President Donald Trump, those on the political left were […]

Music Monday: Just a guy playing the piano in a hardware store

| April 1, 2019

This is a repost from Facebook and a blog post from 5 years ago … but after someone sent me a message last week about not being able to view the embedded FB video, I decided to repost and archive the impressive piano playing of Jacob Tolliver on an “unfinished piano in a Portsmouth Ohio […]

The new 2019 iPad Air or the 11 inch iPad Pro?

| March 22, 2019

This is project for work as I wanted to demonstrate to a customer what I was referring to when I encouraged them to add a simple “read a script” podcast channel or simple YouTube video component to their marketing. It is a way to capture audiences who have moved away from reading articles and blogs […]

Official MLB Opening Day this year is March 28, 2019

| March 20, 2019

Are you looking forward to Major League Baseball for 2019? At this point, even the Cincinnati Reds look like they have a shot … although first pitch for opening day is scheduled for 4:10PM against the Pittsburgh Pirates and who knows where we’ll go from here? Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to the season and hope […]

A little leftover Annalyn “dance party” video to archive

| March 13, 2019

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Archive: A family birthday party for Annalyn. She is 2 years old.

| March 12, 2019

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Music Monday: John Mellencamp songs and my parents

| March 11, 2019

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A dab of epoxy and a neodymium magnet can be like magic

| March 6, 2019

Back on what would have been my dad’s birthday, I posted a photo of my new Ridgid work light hanging on his old toolbox. The toolbox was one of those items of my dad’s that both my brother and I wanted when we were going through our parents belongings – I ended up with it. […]

We had a great time babysitting Annalyn on Valentine’s Day

| February 16, 2019

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What will higher diesel fuel cost mean for the economy? #inflation

| February 5, 2019

The prediction that diesel fuels will rise (“double in price” – note the last minute of the interview) is bound to impact the price of goods. Everything is shipped using diesel fuel, be it on ships, trains or trucks, and with those prices rising significantly, consumers will be paying. On the personal side, those of […]

The colorful Coquina Clams emerging from a sandy beach

| February 3, 2019

After watching a short YouTube video of the Coquina Clam emerging from the “swash zone” on a beach after a wave retreated, I thought a short animated gif would make a great winter filler post for the blog. The coquina clam (Donax variabilis) is a common inhabitant of Florida’s sandy beaches. Known for their highly variable […]

“Poor Packard” – the old Detroit plant continues to degrade

| January 28, 2019

It seems there is no end to suffering in the rustbelt when it comes to legacy automotive companies like Packard. The deteriorating Detroit plant which has seen years of neglect saw one more nail pounded into its coffin … the crosswalk collapsed and was cleaned up in January 2019 (photos above). The iconic name and […]

Irresistible! “Hi Bompa … I see you” from my granddaughter

| January 19, 2019

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BMW water injection and how it works to make +50 hp

| January 17, 2019

One of my favorite YouTube channels is Engineering Explained and in this video car guru and mechanical engineer Jason Fenske explains just how BMW used water injection to increase power at full throttle and high manifold pressures. Great stuff. And if this kind of "automotive engineering stuff" interests you and you like aviation like me, […]

Music Monday: And for something totally different from Annalyn

| January 14, 2019

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Learning about the Packard Twelve leaves me curious #TBT

| January 10, 2019

While reading a few interesting older blog posts at Consumer Guide, my Twitter friend Tom Appel (@Car_Guy_Tom) post got me thinking about the strange company that seemed to be trying to revitalize the Packard car brand. The company built a prototype some years ago and by attending a few shows, generated some attention with the […]

Our Annalyn is amazing, altho I’m not surprised #video

| January 3, 2019

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You too can restore a cast iron skillet like Jon Peters

| December 27, 2018

When Brenda and I were first married, we started off cooking with a cast iron skillet. It was “old school” even 36 years ago to be using our old Wagner cast iron (were made in Sidney, Ohio), but there was something great about using those big heavy “somewhat” greasy skillets in our little two bedroom […]

Christmas Morning 2018 Time-lapse

| December 25, 2018

Every tech-loving guy needs a subject for a new gizmo … my son-in-law Drew is no exception. He set up his new GoPro-like camera (gift from Katelyn) to time-lapse our Christmas morning. His effort was a little bit too fast for me to watch … so I stretched out the MP4 clip to last almost […]

Music Monday: Merry Christmas from the Family

| December 17, 2018

How about a classic … Merry Christmas from the Family … first recorded by the “alternative country music” artist Robert Earl Keene in 1994 (below is a live version from 2006 still on YouTube). It still makes me smile even if in today’s world it is probably not PC … nor was it appropriate to […]

Music Monday: Jam In The Van a few years ago with Nicki Bluhm

| November 19, 2018

Music Monday posts are usually a reflection of what I’m listening to at the moment; this week it is not. The older music video below was trigger after seeing Nicki Bluhm‘s name on a concert listing when Brenda and I were at the Taft Theater in Cincinnati. I’ve mention Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers several […]

Sidetracked into playing with my Stirling Engine model

| November 17, 2018

Last week while clearing off our bookshelves I came across a ticket to The Music Man from 18 years ago when my nephew Ben played the lead in his high school musical. It occurred to me that his birthday was this month and that I should post it to his Facebook page while sending him […]

Heavy ice in the morning and snow tonight …

| November 15, 2018

Winter is here as the ice came in the morning bringing down branches and knocking out power all around Cincinnati … and just when I thought it was over, the Dark Sky app indicates the heavy snow is beginning in Liberty Township. Ugh! (I’m also playing a little bit with the slow-motion settings on the […]

Music Monday: A Rumours of Fleetwood Mac recap

| November 12, 2018

After posting on last weekend Rumours of Fleetwood Mac concert on Friday night for Saturday’s post, I realized the music related post would have made a great Music Monday post. Since part of being a VIP attendee was a bunch of swag including a promo video, so below a little bit of what the concert […]

If you enjoy music, Rumours of Fleetwood Mac is a great concert

| November 10, 2018

It has been 41 years since Fleetwood Mac released their ginormous selling album called Rumours which was a must have by college students like me in the late 1970s (45 million copies of Rumours has been sold). Brenda and I attended a Rumours of Fleetwood Mac concert marking the 40 years milestone this past week […]

A lesson in effort, persistence and perseverance #video

| November 6, 2018

“IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN” Don’t give up too easily; persistence pays off in the end. The proverb has been traced back to ‘Teacher’s Manual’ by American educator Thomas H. Palmer and ‘The Children of the New Forest’ by English novelist Frederick Maryat (1792-1848). Originally a maxim used to encourage American […]

Autumn chores and dinner for our Red Tailed Hawk

| November 5, 2018

It seems later in the season that usual to be just starting to rake leaves and get in a final mow before winter, but the weather was dry after a long stretch of rain, so chores for me it was. My back is now sore and contemplating taking an Advil as the muscle tighten. There […]

Music Monday: Getting in the mood for a Fleetwood Mac concert

| October 29, 2018

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Enjoyed a great week in Florida with Katelyn, Drew and Annalyn

| October 27, 2018

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Fuel prices higher this year and Hurricane Michael nears

| October 10, 2018

EDIT: Updated 14:00-14:30 ET – Landfall Mexico Beach, FL with maximum sustained winds clocked at 145 mph Previous 11:28 a.m. ET update Hurricane Michael has been upgraded to a “potentially catastrophic” Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, the National Hurricane Center says. Data collected by NOAA and U.S. Air Force Hurricane […]

What kind of rodent and varmint traps do you prefer?

| October 7, 2018

Each year about this time, rodents and varmints are looking at our garage and house as a place to call home when the weather cools. So I’m usually trying to stay ahead of them by sealing up and keeping the garage doors closed more often (challenging when the weather is so nice). The bigger varmints […]

Annalyn visiting with her Oma and Bompa – part two

| September 30, 2018

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Happily busy with our granddaughter Annalyn these past few days

| September 29, 2018

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The Perfect Wave to make a mental escape

| September 19, 2018

Just escaping for a moment in my mind and eyes … Beautiful Ocean The Perfect Wave #Surfing #Surf #Travel #TuesdayThoughts #Australia pic.twitter.com/W0mhqB44p6 — Tom Hall ☘ (@TomHall) September 18, 2018

Occasionally an exchange on Twitter can surprise people

| September 9, 2018

Social networks like Twitter"can" be interesting places for people who have opposing views to debate and exchange views … or they can be just a bunch of haters. BUT … because I participate in the former, I do enjoy the back and forth with people who have good or better thoughts than me … or […]

Obit: Actor, director and “Bandit” Burt Reynolds dead at 82

| September 7, 2018

Of course my reference by including "The Bandit" in a tribute post to the passing of Burt Reynolds has a lot to do with how I remember him; he died after a heart attack on Thursday 9/6/2018 at age 82. The highpoint for me in remembering him was the making of the Smokey and the […]

Music Monday with The Band from 1969 – Happy Labor Day!

| September 3, 2018

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Do you understand what PBM’s in health care are?

| August 25, 2018

Here’s a great explanation of the history and current role of Pharmacy Benefit, Managers (PBMs) as it relates to health care, drug cost and insurance plans. LINK to Marketplace story

Music Monday Obit: Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul

| August 20, 2018

Last week we lost the singer and pianist Aretha Franklin at age 76 who’s trailblazing career began in the turbulent 1960s when America was being torn apart (sounds eerily familiar). I was in grade school when her R and B records were popping on the charts and being played on AM radio; I didn’t really […]

Any recommendations for video interviewing?

| August 19, 2018

In preparation for an upcoming work related project, I need to record a video for a client’s website and include both their voice and that of someone asking questions. I was hoping to keep it as professional as possible and will be using my Lumix GX8 DSLR.f I am using my external Rode shotgun microphone […]

We all surprised Brenda to celebrate her 60th birthday

| August 13, 2018

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Distracted driving and a step closer to finishing the condo update

| August 11, 2018

Likely I’m not the best driver when it comes to not glancing at my phone in the car, but I am improving and in recent years am trying not to "read" or "text anything." Unfortunately we still have drivers who are "comfortable" (leg up???) with multi-tasking while driving. Ugh. I spent a few more days […]

It would be nice if ElioMotors communicated like Magfast

| August 2, 2018

I have, and do, support a few crowd funded projects — I’ve placied preorders taking on risk and see it as taking a small scale venture capital risk (without much reward). A couple bigger investments have been Elio and MagFast. The latter posts weekly, and relatively personal updates via YouTube video, on how the process […]

Music Monday: “Angel Of The Morning” – Interesting Tidbits

| July 30, 2018

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Music Monday: Sunshine (go away today) by Jonathan Edwards

| July 23, 2018

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Music Monday: Dancing Queen by ABBA from 1976

| July 16, 2018

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Stretched out another weekend to work on the condo kitchen

| July 5, 2018

Well finishing the kitchen upgrade at the condo was my goal, but since Brenda was with me, more than the condo kitchen was worked on! The guest bathroom’s minor vanity update grew into a MUCH larger project. One thing lead to another and before I knew it, my wife had me doing more tile than […]

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