My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on August 29, 2024

Last year about this time, I posted about making or buying a Rockler Box Joint Jig for my router table. Eventually I did buy it on sale a few months ago but with summer arriving, I didn’t find the time to work in the basement workshop. 

While catching up on some woodworking magazine reading last week, I was triggered to tinker with it and get it set up just to see how it worked. I cut a few short pieces of 1/2” oak (from Katelyn and Drew’s property) to set it up with and decided to make a square box (think of it as a same drawer). After a couple mistakes in setting up the finger joint jig (see AI description at bottom of this post), I shortened one of the sides and decided it would be a rectangular sample box. HA!

I few “finger cuts” with a 1/2” spiral router bit, the setting seemed correct and I proceeded to complete a small box and rabbeted the underside to fit in the bottom. Brenda liked it and decided instead of it sitting on the shelf in the workshop that she would see if it fit in on the new laundry room shelves. I suspect she now wants a few more to match? 😊

(more…)

Category: Hobby, Ideas, Tidbits, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: box, jig, lumber, magazine, project, rockler, router, router table, woodworking

Posted By RichC on August 28, 2024

Normally this is the time of the year to watch the tropical weather in the Atlantic Ocean “because” in impacts the Caribbean islands and most of the eastern seaboard and Gulf of Mexico states. BUT … this year so far the storms impacting Hawaii are in the news.

Category 1 Hurricane Hone passed mostly south of the Big Island known as Hawaii and roughed up seas and spun wind and rain over the island. It is being followed by Gilma and Hector … so tropical storm watchers are paying attention. Here’s a video highlighting their spinning as of August 27, 2024. 

(more…)

Category: Social Media, Video, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: big island, gilma, hawaii, hector, hone, hurricance, pacific ocean, tropical

Posted By RichC on August 27, 2024

The “flowers photo” was not the purpose of this post, but because the tiny purple flowers looked so nice this past weekend, I took a photo (I should know the name or at least take the time to look it up … but I’m not). 

BUT the real reason was to archive the very messy wire-brushing and de-rusting of my old rusty orange Bame Utility Trailer that doubles as both as a large yard trailer and small “behind the car” utility trailer. It has been excellent over the years, but has seen better days. 

It needed a complete overhaul so first was to remove as much rust as possible … then repack the bearings, order new rubber tires and finally repair the damage wiring and plug from long ago. For good measure i’ll be adding new wooden sides someday so that I can continue to haul logs, leaves and hopefully some more lumber back from Katelyn and Drew’s garage. 

Does the color look familiar? I had some leftover John Deere GREEN paint from when I inherited and repair Dad Howard’s lawn tractor trailer. 😊 

(more…)

Category: Archive, Misc, Photos, Repairs | No Comments »
Tags: bame, de-rusting, painting, trailer, utility, wirebrushing

Posted By RichC on August 26, 2024

Bob Marley and The Wailers performing at the Crystal Palace Concert Bowl
on The Summer of ’80 Garden Party on June 7, 1980

Here’s some music from my era, but because it is reggae, it is not typical for me or for  Music Monday.
  

“Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and the Wailers was released on the album Exodus from 1977, on side two — the fourth song. So with the popularity, it was again released as a single in 1980.

Something different to be sure, but it does make one smile. 

Category: Music | No Comments »
Tags: bob marley, jamaica, music monday, musicmonday, reggae, three little birds

Posted By RichC on August 25, 2024

May the peace and tranquility one derives from imagining escaping to a cabin of solitude overlooking a mountain lake, be the same as when reading Proverbs.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

— Proverbs 3:5-6   NKJV 

Category: Advice, Faith, Nature | No Comments »
Tags: bible, cabin, christianity, lake, mountain, proverbs, tranquility

Posted By RichC on August 24, 2024

So much for for trying to treat our tail and hairless Red Fox for mange with a feral cat in the area. Each morning or evening this black cat thinks I’m putting food out for her … or him?

So much for attempting to get the Ivermectin injected meatball to the right animal … although this feline will be cured whether it is mange or Covid19. 

Category: Nature | No Comments »
Tags: cat, feral, ivermectin, mange, red fox

Posted By RichC on August 23, 2024

Well it has been a good run, that of my Fitbit smartwatch. According to long running rumors and a recent flurry of technology articles, these very long lasting Fitbit smartwatches (four days between charging) have finally officially met their end.

The Fitbit Versa 2 has been one of the best tech gadgets that I’ve ever had and I’d probably be lined up to buy another IF Google (who bought Fitbit) would continue to make and support them. BUT no, like HP did to my beloved Palm Pre and webOS … took the tech and patents that they wanted and flushed the brand down the toilet.Very sad. 

This week, Google unveiled its new Google Pixel Watch 3 at the Made by Google 2024 event, which showcased Google’s latest and greatest hardware. The Google Pixel Watch 3 is a true smartwatch, stuffed with features and boasting many of Fitbit’s best features, including its Daily Readiness Score. Usually available only for Fitbit Premium subscribers, Pixel Watch 3 owners get it absolutely free. 

Unfortunately, we also saw some sad news for Fitbit fans: the Pixel Watch 3’s announcement spelled the end for other Fitbit smartwatches. Google quietly confirmed that there would never be another Fitbit Sense or Versa model produced. From now on, Fitbit-branded devices will be relegated to Google’s best fitness trackers: the Fitbit Inspire, Luxe, and Charge ranges. The smartwatch form factor would be exclusively reserved for the Pixel Watch line. 

This is sad news. Fitbits were among the best cheap smartwatches you could buy: they lasted longer than most traditional smartwatches do today, and people loved the form factor. I know of at least three people in my everyday life who aren’t techie at all, who wear Fitbit Versa models they’ve had for years, and they love them. The Fitbit Versa 2 and 3, in particular, were very well received, and the Versa 3 hung onto the top spot of our best Fitbit guide for years after its introduction. 

LINK

Category: Gadget, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: fitbit, smartwatch, tech friday, techfriday, techradar, versa2, watch

Posted By RichC on August 22, 2024

This past week the weather was cooler and clear … just right for evening and early morning skywatching. I didn’t bother to set up the Lumix GX8 camera on a tripod or use a different lens, but I did have the lightweight 14-140mm lens mounted and took a couple morning photos (above) and a photo at night (below). 

For those who don’t pay attention to the supermoons, planets or constellations … the full moon in August is called the Sturgeon Moon.  

The Full Moon in August is called Sturgeon Moon because of the large number of sturgeon fish that were found in the Great Lakes in North America this time of year.

The most common sturgeon in the Great Lakes is the lake sturgeon—males have a life span of 55 years, while females can live up to 150 years! It is also the American continent’s largest freshwater fish and can grow to over two meters long (6 feet) and weigh around 90 kilos (200 pounds).

Lake sturgeon was essential for Native American tribes living in the area and is the oldest and largest native species in the Great Lakes—the largest surface freshwater system in the world.

Category: Photography, Photos, Space, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: gx8, lens, lumix, moon, skywatching, sturgeon moon, supermoon

Posted By RichC on August 22, 2024

This content is restricted.

Category: Archive, Memories, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, bompa, drew, ellerie, family, granddaughters, katelyn, oma, pool

Posted By RichC on August 21, 2024

After spring gave way to summer, I put down a hardback book I started called “Red Nile — A Biography of the World’s Greatest River” by Robert Twigger, but after seeing this photo of a 22 feet, 2500 pound Crocodile in Niger, Africa, decided I wanted to pick it up again (it sits next to my reading chair in my home office).

The book is interesting in that those of us who see sizes through the eyes of our home countries (Europeans even more that Americans), have to rethink just how large the Nile River is (and Nile crocs too!) … or for that matter the immensity of Africa. 

Category: Books, Nature | No Comments »
Tags: africa, book, crocodile, niger, reading, red nile