RichC | September 1, 2008
I’m back dating a couple of blog entries so I can include a few photos and video from this past weekend — TDIFest OH8. Here’s a great video by TDIClub member “TeDeEye1” of the “timed drive” Road Rally: TDIFest OH8 Road Rally from Fred on Vimeo.
RichC | July 26, 2008
After 23 years of mowing with our sturdy John Deere diesel tractor mower, we have finally succumb to the “keep up with the Jones” pressure of a new zero-turn style mower. The neighbor ladies referred to my wife as “the turtle” while mowing with the old slowpoke John Deere, even though it has continued to […]
RichC | July 25, 2008
Just when I thought I might not have time to post something on Friday, in comes an email from a friend with a video link too interesting to pass on (embedded below). The timely video clip ties to a new concern in the news this week over the dangers of cellphones. One such article was […]
RichC | April 27, 2008
I’ve been focused on multiple home repair and improvement projects this spring and am always looking for a quick way to make a repair and keep the mess to a minimum. I generally use the “empty box” under the repair technique when cutting or drilling drywall, but Dean Johnson from PBS’s Hometime suggested a sheet […]
RichC | March 20, 2008
I was chastised by one of my friends who supports Senator Barack Obama who suggested that I relied only on news sound bites. He asked if I would “archive” the entire 37 minute speech delivered in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008? He forwarded to me so I’ll include it even though I suspect it is […]
RichC | March 16, 2008
Having lived in the Cleveland Ohio area for 13 years, and about 5 or so miles from Hinckley Ohio, I know what the “Turkey Vulture” means to this area … especially on March 15th. Each year the annual return of the buzzards to Buzzard Roost (State Rd. & West Drive – see map) in the […]
RichC | July 2, 2007
A bit of immaturity to start off the month of July and the lazy couple of days preceding the 4th of July Wednesday holiday. (Its really a week I should have scheduled a vacation, but then again about half of America will probably be doing that?) Remember the television series the A-Team? Here’s a little […]
RichC | May 27, 2007
In remembrance of those who gave their lives for our country, I paused for a moment to retire our tattered flag and hoisted a new one. As a nation and a people we have so much … I thank God for our nation and for those who gave their lives to found, secure and protect […]
RichC | April 22, 2007
Happy Earth Day … I guess that’s what you’re suppose to say? (click for larger macro photo of Tullip) It has been a beautiful couple of days in Cincinnati and I’ve been lax in posting and instead I’m getting the swimming pool opened, tuning up lawn equipment (fixing actually) and finishing a first compete grass […]
RichC | April 15, 2007
Closing out the week with a family photo and post after a safe flight home; it was a great week of ‘just’ family. I’ve been heavy on the personal memories this week, but I did want to archive a family photo the good time we had. For three us it was just the sunshine, relaxation, […]
RichC | April 4, 2007
A segment on the FoxNews program The O’Reilly Factor caught my eye last night in discussing American automobiles. Mark Laneve, Vice President of Sales for General Motors, was interviewed and promoted the fuel efficiency of GM’s vehicles. He presented the case that GM has been gaining ground and has passed their rivals in building cars […]
RichC | March 10, 2007
Donna Lange, circumnavigating solo sailor, has hit two milestones this week. First she crossed her outbound track, which legitimately means she has rounded the world in her 28 foot sailboat, and second, in today’s news … she crossed the equator again … going north this time. She posts to her log daily and the updates […]
RichC | March 4, 2007
Haven’t posted a video clip for a few days and thought I would post this one for Taylor — he would rather be one of these rats. (Does PETA regulate rats?)
RichC | February 28, 2007
I’ve been signed up, but not been offered a beta of the Slingplayer Palm OS software to install on my Palm Treo 700p … would like to give it a try though. For those of you unfamiliar with the Slingbox/SlingPlayer, its a hardware device that plugs into your computer network and broadcast your television signal […]
RichC | February 27, 2007
According to the Treehugger website, the Discovery Channel will air a FutureCar episode on Wednesday, February 28th … it might be worth recording. One of the cars worth considering is the Opel Eco Speedster. Its a concept car, but shows just was a sleek high performance diesel is capable of doing. The powerplant is a […]
RichC | February 12, 2007
Discovery Channel will be rebroadcasting the Bio-diesel Man episode on the program “Dirty Jobs” with Mike Rowe. Tune in on either February 13th at 9PM, February 14th at 1AM or February 17 at 1PM. Part One and Two: Removed from YouTube 🙁
RichC | January 14, 2007
As an original “before the salt” Jimmy Buffett fan, I’m embarrassed to have missed his 60th birthday — I was there in the 1970s and have the original vinyl albums to prove it … along with books and concert memories — right Jeff? (am I getting that old?). Anyway, happy belated birthday Bubba. 😀 Time […]
RichC | December 27, 2006
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
RichC | December 21, 2006
Is Yves Rolly a modern day Icarus or perhaps Batman? Maybe not, but when I heard about this “winged man” and his jet powered strap-on wing, all I could think about were the dreams of man flying like birds. Yves Rolly has figured it out and built a set of powered folding wings to strap […]
RichC | December 20, 2006
I finally pulled some 3 month old VW TDI “How-To” footage off the camera and encoded it last night before going to bed. I haven’t had a chance to put fresh eyes on it or even watch it through, so before I post it to the CinciTDI video section, perhaps a couple Volkswagen TDI oriented […]
RichC | December 18, 2006
As another day passes and a new day of searching begins, the nation waits for news from rescue efforts on Mt. Hood. Yesterday (Sunday), was the first clear day of searching since the wicked storms battered the Pacific Northwest, and one of the 3 missing climbers was found, unfortunately not alive, in a snow cave. […]
RichC | December 16, 2006
In our local CinciTDI Volkswagen car club, this past week we had a discussion on ‘tire pressure monitoring.’ I’m not sure all of the answers were correct, but found it interesting that Pat Goss of Motorweek had a segment about it in this weeks program. Although I didn’t find the comments as complete as the […]
RichC | December 14, 2006
I was asked if there was a way that someone could save videos from the popular video serving site YouTube and the answer is yes. About 6 months ago as I used a screen capture utilities like TechSmith’s Camtasia Studio (version 4 is the current release), but … recently I found that there are much […]
RichC | November 29, 2006
My son came home and demonstrated the “scared pepper” — surface tension of water experiment today. I’m not sure I fully understand the ‘science’ behind the dish washing soap and water, but from an offset printing background we depend on surface tension and even enhance it with isopropyl alcohol or a substitute to dampen aluminum […]
RichC | November 28, 2006
One advantage of a “desultory” blog is that there are very few topics too far out to blog on. Last night I caught a ‘news teaser’ from local Cincinnati television station WXIX talking about “Lock Bumping” and have included the short segment at the bottom of this post. (or check it out on YouTube) Hmm, […]
RichC | November 1, 2006
Oh … its getting hot in the political kitchen as John Kerry fires up the Republicans with comments made on October 30th as we near the November elections. Senator Kerry used a few words yesterday that either were not carefully selected, or he just poorly communicated his point — strike one. Nevertheless, his damage control […]
RichC | September 18, 2006
Considering I’m behind in getting up today’s post and haven’t posted a video clip recently … today’s post will be a clip served up over at Google Videos (at bottom). Besides including of one of my favorite sea mammals, the Orca or Killer Whale (I worked with Shamu at Sea World many years ago), the […]
RichC | September 3, 2006
If you’ve ever been around Cincinnati, Ohio on Labor Day weekend you most likely have seen (or at least heard of) the annual fireworks display. This year was the 30th year and the display was better than ever. It was 45 minutes of mind-boggling color, smoke and noise. In Cincinnati, you know what fireworks are […]
RichC | August 27, 2006
Every once in a while I enjoy posting something that tickles my funny bone. The Crab vs. Element clip is definitely a cute 30 second commercial. Honda would be smart to bring the creative Element and Friends TV “Crab” TV commercial to a few select markets … if not nationwide. I think it would be […]
RichC | July 31, 2006
I’m looking for a light reading book for my upcoming vacation. Geoffrey Nunberg’s book, Talking Right, might just be the ticket. It looks humorous enough to keep the reading light, but topical enough to hold my interest. I’m open for opinions and will offer a few tidbits if they are worthy after our family vacation. […]
RichC | July 22, 2006
Dylan Ratigan of CNBC hosted a special last week that I recorded
RichC | June 23, 2006
In May I posted a story on “Water Power for you car” and received a few comments and couple of emails wanting more information. I attempted to dig for a bit more and sent an email to the developer. I was sent a promotional video clip that is included below. Basically the equipment was designed […]
RichC | June 14, 2006
I know several readers of this blog are also Volkswagen TDI owners that come from a variety of diesel and biodiesel groups. The local club, CinciTDI, that I participate continues to create “How To” video clips that help with TDI related maintenance and modifications. I’m sitting on couple new “how to’s” and need to get […]
RichC | June 7, 2006
I just drove the Jeep Liberty diesel (again) last week and was planning to make some comments on the vehicle … unfortunately a blog post in AutoBlogGreen mentioned that the Detroit News indicated Daimler Chrysler would be killing the CRD. According to the articles, the new tougher federal emissions standards coming next year make it […]
RichC | June 4, 2006
Terry Hessler of Hessler Machine Tool gave an interesting lecture and then demonstrated his detail study and reproduction of an early Wright Brothers aircraft engine. His endeavor was covered on a History Channel TV special and DVD detailing the Wright Brother’s technology and first flight. We learned not only that Charles Taylor, the builder of […]
RichC | May 20, 2006
I don’t own a DirecTV system, nor am I a shareholder … but I do appreciate their new advertising campaign. I posted a comment about a DirecTV commericial (Ferris Bueller) a couple of days ago, but just spotted another pretty funny one tonight while watching a news program. Maybe its not quite as good as […]
RichC | May 18, 2006
Mobility Today video taped a first look at the Treo 700p as they somehow got there hands on a new PDA smartphone. If you are at all interesting in a Treo device and what it can do, check out the the video clip that David Ciccone put together. It is mirrored at several locations so […]
RichC | May 16, 2006
Under the Freedom of Information Act, the complete video taken by two video security cameras was release on May 16. The images show a hijacked airliner slamming into the Pentagon that were used in an ongoing investigation involving Zacarias Moussaoui. The government refused to release the video until after the trial. The still images from […]
RichC | May 12, 2006
It’s amazing to me that with all the recent news coverage that any teacher thinking about having relationships or inproperly interacting with students could still allow it to happen, let alone encourage it. Teachers certainly know better and shockingly are not showing judgement worthy of their position of trust. It hit pretty close to home […]
RichC | April 25, 2006
Two totally different topics … “Brain Port” as described at MSNBC and a personal video. (humor me) First, a concept and device that was introduced 30 years ago by Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita at the University of Wisconsin; it is know as “Brain Port.” Originally it was a video camera that routed images through electrodes to […]
RichC | April 24, 2006
I spotted a Volkswagen Jetta advertisement that reminds me of the Volvo ads … stressing safety.An accident can happen at anytime and that selecting a car that is light and fuel efficient might not always be the wisest choice. Realizing just how much I spend on insurance “just in case” … perhaps a few dollars […]
RichC | April 19, 2006
Someone asked me a bunch of questions about running Windows XP Pro on a Intel based Mac, so instead of just answering them, I’ll include a video clip. Several of the questions were about boot speed and comparisons, while others were general install comments. The video clip should cover the speed issue and differences in […]
RichC | April 5, 2006
Oh Boy … I wish I was home today to download the brand new “Boot Camp” patch for my Apple duo-core Intel-Based Macintosh computer. This patch is offered by Apple and will allow their new Macs to run the Windows XP operating system as well as most Windows software. This has been something that many […]
RichC | April 1, 2006
It’s been a long week and before I run out of steam I wanted to get this clip posted for April 1. Its ‘no joke’ and amazing these guys walked away uninjured. Click the Quicktime clip to watch the ‘rollover’ from three different angles: driver-cam, spectator video and the car mounted camera. It does makes […]
RichC | March 31, 2006
In a bipartisan vote, Ohio Senate Republicans and Democrats passed a version of “Jessica’s Law,” which mandates prison terms of 25 years to life for the rape of a child under 13. The bill which heads to the house also includes 15 years to life for the attempted rape of a minor and mandatory prison […]
RichC | March 29, 2006
The President has his work cut out for him in gaining national acceptance for a new US energy plan. Almost everyone is talking about energy these days, particularly oil since the barrel price has steadied in the mid- $60 per barrel range and gasoline at the pump is about $2.50/gallon nationally. (Wednesday, March 29, 2006, […]
RichC | March 29, 2006
There was an excellent program on public television’s NOVA Tuesday night detailing the DARPA Challenge that I mentioned back in October of 2005. I’ve included the intro video clip below, but the program is well worth watching as it introduces the different teams, individuals and strategies. Considering none of the ‘driverless’ vehicles went farther than […]
RichC | March 21, 2006
Volkswagen is one of those companies that seems to get a tad ‘edgy’ in it advertising campaigns. From the “Vee-Dub” and “German Engineering, ya-man” ads mentioned a couple weeks ago, to the latest Hispanic targeting ads featuring the cartoon mouse ‘Speedy Gonzalez.’ I posted a comment a week or so ago on the CinciTDI group […]
RichC | March 18, 2006
I’m an Engadget fan and a Treo cell phone admirer, but when Kirk Sutherland submitted his entry for his working Birthday Cake Treo 650 there was little competition. Nice job Kirk! This past month the ‘gadget’ reporting website Engadget decided to give away presents for their 2nd birthday. Toward the end of the daily giveaways, […]
RichC | March 9, 2006
The 2006 TDIClub and CinciTDI DVD is nearly ready to ship. The ‘teaser’ video clip is being posted here before being sent to the groups video pages. This is primarily to test the H.264 recorded ‘teaser’ clip in hopes to get a little feedback. Most Quicktime 7.0 users with relatively fast computers shouldn’t have problems […]
RichC | March 4, 2006
I received an email from a regular reader suggesting that my last couple of posts were “too serious” and left him a little “glum.” He mentioned that he liked the funny video clips (they can be found elsewhere on the web, btw) and that I should sporadically add a few more. “Glum?” Hmm … maybe??? […]
RichC | March 2, 2006
Its all about marketing and timing. General Motors is off and running after gaining support for its “Live Green, Go Yellow” marketing blitz when President Bush used the bully pulpit to promote alternative fuels like ethanol. If this solution sounds too good to be true … it is because at this moment it is. Let’s […]
RichC | February 28, 2006
Since our nation has started talking about alternatives, I’ve been reading a little bit about the different alternative fuels and vehicles. One company taking a different tack is BMW, sort of re-inventing the steamer. Using an innovative concept, their engineers have successfully been harnessing the heat energy in a car. They are combining an innovative […]
RichC | February 20, 2006
George Washington was actually born on February 11, but a bill drafted in 1968 becoming law in 1971 has created a day that celebrated two US Presidents: Washington and Lincoln. The final day picked to celebrate these men ended up being the 3rd Monday in February, but the name was never officially changed from “Washington’s […]
RichC | February 19, 2006
The Daytona 500 ran today, as it does every year at this time to kick off the NASCAR season. Jimmy Johnson won in his Lowes sponsored #48 Chevrolet ten days after his crew chief was kicked out for illegally altering his car. Besides the ‘taint’ on the victory, Johnson drove a competitive race as did […]
RichC | February 16, 2006
Thanks to EAA friend Mark Keener and his scrutiny of all things aviation, a video clip of Larry Neal flying his Super Sky Cycle was brought to my attention – its an interesting flying motorcycle prototype nearing kit production. I know what you’re thinking, “But Rich, the media has been telling us about these kinds […]
RichC | February 9, 2006
A couple days ago I posted a commercial (Video Clip for Bird Lovers) and figure it only fair to return the politically incorrect post. This one is for cat lovers. 😉
RichC | February 5, 2006
I’m guessing that across the pond there don’t worry about political correctness in their advertising? This Ford Sportka ad is rather disturbing. “Here kitty – kitty – kitty.” 😉
RichC | February 4, 2006
I’ve been wanting to be able to incorporate a series of short video clips in my blog. Some clips have most likely been spotted on the internet before, others might be new and a few I’ve recently encoded. Instead of ‘forwarding’ to friends I thought I would share them here. Without further ado I’ll put […]
RichC | January 16, 2006
By accident, I picked up a great videocast link from a visitor to NAIAS. The Climb Dance WMV clip (right click/save as) is short at only 3 minutes 45 seconds and 11 megs. I thought it was worth sharing with the automotive types that might occasionally read my blog. The audio is nearly as good […]