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 […]

Music Monday: The song “I Can Only Imagine” and recent movie

| July 2, 2018

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Tech Friday: What is going to be new in Apple iOS12

| June 22, 2018

It has been a while since posting on “what’s new” with Apple. As we approach the convergence of mobile operation systems and desktop, the maturing lightweight phone OS on all platforms is growing in power, size and use. The writing is on the wall. Microsoft has announced Windows 10 will be the last Windows operating […]

A great Father’s Day weekend at our house

| June 17, 2018

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Treaty makes prosecution possible for the downing of #MH17

| June 12, 2018

Archiving a video segment (Dutch but Jerry’s comments are in English) from my brother-in-law Jerry Skinner talking about Malaysia Airlines MH17 and Russia (previous posts). The case is still moving forward and Tuesday the Dutch MPs approve Ukraine treaty on MH17 trial. The “treaty sets in stone that the prosecution of suspects will take place […]

Weekend chores rewarded with granddaughter fun at the zoo

| June 11, 2018

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Happy Birthday Taylor – What a difference 4 years can make

| June 10, 2018

It is hard to believe that my son Taylor is 29 years old today!?!?!? It doesn’t seem possible that he has been pretty much living on his own now for third of his life? He has certainly made us proud at the way he has grown up and handled a difficult decade that faced him […]

Music Monday: David Lee Murphy and Kenny Chesney

| May 14, 2018

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Spoiling our granddaughter by taking her to The Cone!

| May 12, 2018

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Law, court and a little bit about the role of the Grand Jury

| May 10, 2018

Brenda was subpoenaed to be a witness in a "drug diversion" case and appeared before a Grand Jury in our today. For someone not all that familiar with law and legal proceeding this just sounded ominous. Since I’ve been summoned to jury duty this summer, I figured it was a good time to tag along […]

Weekend project: A few more staircase safety items for Annalyn

| May 7, 2018

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Tech Friday: Chrome desktop browser welcomed change

| April 20, 2018

Google today launched Chrome 66 for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. The desktop release includes autoplaying content muted by default, security improvements, and new developer features. You can update to the latest version now using the browser’s built-in updater or download it directly from google.com/chrome.With over 1 billion users, Chrome is both a browser […]

Dreams are possible when you devote your life to them

| April 19, 2018

Throwback Thursday #TBT: A lot of my free time in high school and college was spent dreaming about sailing living on a sailboat.  I read and reread stories, the monthly magazines and bookshelves of accumulated nautical books about cruising, seamanship and maintaining a sailboat — I was focused on “would be possible for me to […]

Wishing Katelyn and Drew a very Happy 5th Anniversary

| April 13, 2018

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Why are so many millennials anti-capitalists?

| April 11, 2018

With freedom desired by nearly everyone on earth and history clear as to choice and “the market” lifting our standard of living, why do so many young people embrace socialism and big government?

Music Monday: Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair

| April 9, 2018

(click for larger) I read an interesting article about music in Wired this past weekend and in particular a World Song Map image that instead of a "place name" there is a "song name." It may not be the best song selection for the place, but it did trigger an old song from 1967 by […]

Two things to look for when buying an old Mercedes Benz diesel

| April 4, 2018

Having owned Mercedes Benzes for years now (first was our 87 MB 560 SEL –  reminder that I need a photo) and using several resources for buying and maintaining, some of the best advice for for the, W123 which I’m particularly fond of, (my current 1982 Mercedes Benz 300D Turbodiesel) comes from Kent Bergsma, of […]

Avoid fly by night services, plugins and linking when blogging

| March 23, 2018

Here’s some advice from someone who as blogged daily since 2005 — AVOID using data, photos, video, etc archived on other services. Over the years, I have been frustrated by “what seemed great at the time” using services offered by companies who specialize in hosting data for users. A little history: It started for me […]

Some have skill and talent, others the fortitude to try #humor

| March 20, 2018

Although the .mp4 video clip does remind me of some good times down at Delray Beach Florida with our family!

Impressive Crescent Moon so toyed with the Lumix GX8 #video

| March 12, 2018

It was a crisp and cold night for March in Cincinnati and with a pitch black sky at 6 AM (after the Daylight Savings time change), the Waning Crescent Moon (see Lunar Phase) gave me a chance to see if my Lumix GX8 and 100-300mm lens was up to the task. I’ve tried still photos […]

What is Crony Capitalism?

| March 10, 2018

A simple explanation of crony capitalism in this Prageru video, but a challenging to stop corruption that exists with politicians running governments.

A tribute to Billy Graham – “I can only imagine”

| March 5, 2018

https://youtu.be/Rlu-a1lgeTo William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) Adding a story that is fitting after reflecting on Billy Graham. I read it during my brief morning (usually evening) devotional and had me smiling as I remembered pre-NIV King James Bible reading as a teenager. This morning, I want to tell you a […]

Happy Birthday Annalyn – my granddaughter is ONE already!

| March 4, 2018

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Finished covering the risers while watching the Daytona 500

| February 18, 2018

Sunday was the perfect day to finish up “covering” the lifts for the rear row of our new home theater seats. Now all 8 seats have a great view … even in recline mode. After building the “boxes” a week or so ago, I picked up some closeout brown polyester outdoor furniture upholstery material at […]

Music Monday: Wagon Wheel – I enjoy that country music sound

| February 12, 2018

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What is this GOP Memo thing all about in 4 minutes

| February 10, 2018

Here is the short take from the guys who wrote #thememo. No matter which political party is using the FBI, Department of Justice … or for that matter IRS or other agency … in order to stack the deck to achieve their favored political outcome, it has to stop. Those abusing power need to be […]

Explaining How Tax Cuts Will Affect You by Dave Ramsey

| January 28, 2018

Delivering commonsense “tough love” clarifications and explanations of financial issues has always been a Dave Ramsey strength. After the Trump administration finally moved their tax plan through congress, Dave offered a 10 minute explanation as to whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. If you are steeped in years of seeing things […]

If laughter is good medicine, we are pretty drugged up :-)

| January 27, 2018

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Do something for someone this Martin Luther King Jr holiday

| January 15, 2018

Today, January 15, 2018, our nation celebrates the life and accomplishments of one of our greatest Americans on his national holiday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This past Friday, President Trump signed a proclamation that honors Dr. King by designating his birthplace, church and tomb as a National Historic Park. Along with the president’s respectful […]

Tech Friday: Handbrake video compression testing

| January 12, 2018

Testing and tweaking the Handbrake software I use for video encoding and am hoping to improve the .MP4 compression settings for MyDesultoryBlog and others. The test video is an 18 sec knife sharpening iPhone clip and the new setting should average about 25-30 MB per minute at full 30 frame/sec at a reasonable 1280 x720 […]

Show your appreciation for law enforcement #BlueLivesMatter

| January 11, 2018

While eating out on January 9th, I stealthfully pick up the check for a local police officer just as I’ve seen others do in the past. I find a gesture like this is a polite way to let street officers know we have their backs and appreciate them for the tough and often thankless job […]

Backpacking filtration hack for emergency water too

| January 10, 2018

Bits and pieces are still arriving from my Christmas shopping. Sometimes I forget that not every company/individual doing business online is shipping with the efficiency we become accustom to with Amazon and other big online retail sites. In any case, one of the gifts I assembled was an emergency kit that included survival items we […]

Would you tow an 18-wheeler with a Tesla?

| January 9, 2018

Our granddaughter Annalyn is now 10 months old!

| January 7, 2018

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Windsurfers and Waves … and getting some air! #video

| January 6, 2018

Filling space with a 22 second video clip and testing “autoplay” and “loop.” https://myarchive.us/av/windsurferbigwaves.mp4

The Howards and more playtime for Gma/Gpa with Annalyn

| December 30, 2017

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Archive: Corbetts and Oostras had a wonderful family Christmas

| December 27, 2017

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Food for thought from a pediatrician on gender identity

| December 19, 2017

Although I have the traditional conservative view that one’s gender is in our DNA and one that we are born with, I understand there are those who differ. Let’s at least try to agree as a nation that we should at least protect young kids and early teens from the irreparable damage parents and doctor […]

Another great Jay Leno’s Garage video – a 1974 Porsche 914-6 GT

| November 29, 2017

One of the best YouTube channels for car lovers is Jay Leno’s Garage. He always has something interesting and the older I get the more I appreciate his highlighting cars I remembered and envied. The 1974 Porsche 914 (or previous up to 1972 version 914-6 GT) was my ideal teenage car as it was still […]

Archive: Thanksgiving 2017 with the Corbett Family

| November 26, 2017

Better late than never in posting a few photos from our Thanksgiving day dinner and family time over this extended weekend. My brother Ron and his family were all able to get together at our house this year with our two new additions: Annalyn (Katelyn and Drew) and Teagan (Keira and Ben). Thankfully all of […]

Might need to rethink our Zodiac or inflatable RIB?

| November 19, 2017

It looks like at least some sharks enjoy the taste of  rubberized, synthetic fabrics like Hypalon, PVC or Polyurethane used in inflatable tenders and RIBs! (8 second video snippet below)

Granddaughter Annalyn and I enjoyed another day together

| November 18, 2017

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Painting and sharpening and changing chainsaw chains

| November 16, 2017

A few of the late fall repairs to go along with splitting wood for winter is to keep my “collection” of old chainsaws running. Although I gave away my small old tiny McCulloch trimming saw from the 1980s, I still reluctantly use my bigger (translate = heavier) 20″ McCulloch Pro Mac 610 (PDF manual) with […]

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.
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