Posted By RichC on June 21, 2023
Who doesn’t enjoy mind benders … especially when it comes to well know art such as Vincent Gogh‘s “Starry Night“ … mentioned in a previous Meniere’s post.
Look at the center dot in the top image and press play until the short video ends. Then look at the Vincent van Gogh artwork below it. Mind bent. 😜
Posted By RichC on June 20, 2023
Around the year Brenda and I were married (1982), we bought a couple of bicycles to ride around Aurora, Ohio where we bought our first house. Her 10-speed has long since disappeared (perhaps garage sale) but we kept mine through the years. It is a bit on the heavy side, 
but my Jamis bike was well built and sturdy … and still rides well even with the additional 20+ pounds I’ve added over the last 40 years!
As mentioned over the weekend, the original tires were cracked and would no long hold air (although I have replaced the tubes a couple of times in the past). Recently I’m hoping a little TLC will help me fulfill a promise I made to my granddaughter: “I’ll fix my bike so we can ride around the lake together.”
It was difficult to find the narrower gum-sidewall original 1.5” tires, but after measuring, it looked as if I could install a 26” x 1.95 tire on the rims that were much more reasonably priced. So with a little fender adjustment, some cleaning and repacking the crank with new grease, the old bike rides well … and doesn’t look bad either (except for sore legs) … that was until Brenda commented, “it looks like an old man’s bike.”
Posted By RichC on June 19, 2023
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Posted By RichC on June 18, 2023
It was an end of the week “Safety Town graduation” and garage sale for Katelyn, Brenda and the girls (and Saturday sale for Drew) as they “unloaded” some stuff before having to move it. They did well and on top of it was a great time to be together (from what I’ve heard).
All in all financially, it is challenging to weigh the time/effort vs money aspect of doing it, but from the numbers still worked out in their favor. Great job … especially instilling the time honored “Lemonade Stand” entrepreneurship lesson by my granddaughters. Love it!
I’m spending Father’s Day getting a few old toys from our kids ready for my granddaughters this summer. Cleaning, repairing and hoping they might be enjoyed by the next generation (probably should have just sold them in a garage sale!)
Posted By RichC on June 17, 2023
Since the Cornhole game project for Taylor’s birthday is finished … and because we had a little bit of rain … I decided to restart work on the Octagon side table. The challenging eight-sided top was finished a couple months ago, but not the legs.
The legs need to be sturdy enough to hold the sand dollars, shells or whatever is in the display area under the round beveled glass … but not be so bulky to look like it was built by a general carpenter rather than furniture maker (this is a building trade joke usually comparing rough carpentry to finished carpentry … but it applies to design too).
The new part for me are a couple of crossing fitted lap joints to keep the legs in position with tenons on the ends that fit into mortises — keeping with my mortise and tenon practicing (previous project). The top will be held on by fairly large notches and dowel pins rather than screws. The entire table will be fitted joinery without any metal fasteners … just tenons and dowels. So far so good.
Adding a photo from Father’s Day gluing up and adding dowels.
Posted By RichC on June 16, 2023
Technology advancements and AI photo and video editing has been around a few years (FaceApp photos) … but some of the newer fakes or clones are 
a bit “too” convincing (link to a “human generated” one, but not necessarily convincing). 😉
As a society, there’s no turning back once artificial intelligence abilities are here, but the fear, or concern, is that AI decides no human requests or input are needed to begin creating content. A Congressional hearing this past week highlight just how those with evil intent are using it — threats and blackmailing for money.
As for the “All In The Family” photo (left) or “world leaders as children” (video below) … it can also be entertaining just as is TikTok … all the while collecting data for the Chinese Communist Party. Who knows what it will be used for?
Posted By RichC on June 15, 2023
Back in 2009, after years of using Palm OS products like the Palm Pilot, the Handspring Visor, Palm 
Treo, Palm Centro and my favorite Samsung SPH i500, I eventually ended up with a small pocketable, full-featured smartphone — the Palm Pre. Who knew that only a year later that I would be forced to give it up?
Why? Because Hewlett Packard bought the Palm, did “something” (who knows) with the their operating system known as webOS … and then deep-sixed the hardware just as they did with Compaq when that bought them (I still own a Compaq portable). Never really have been a fan of HP.
But anyway for ThrowBack Thursday #TBT, here’s a photo of both the sliding physical keyboard and me using the GPS and brand new Google Maps for driving … for posterity.
Posted By RichC on June 14, 2023
I needed another book to read like a hole in my head as the idiom goes, but since the newly released book by Marco Rubio called “Decades of Decadence” hit the bookstore today, I figured that I would “get on the list” at my local library. Lo and behold it was available on Hoopla as an eBook. Now to find the time to read it?
Thirty years of telling Americans they don’t need families, communities, or a shared history is destroying what made our country the envy of the world.
While many Americans have worried about China, open borders, opioids, failing communities, and families in crisis, our elites have told us that’s all fine because it’s not only inevitable; it’s for the best.
Every part of our nation is now in decline, and it’s all connected.
In Decades of Decadence, Marco Rubio exposes the elites’ attacks on the four key elements of American strength: good local jobs, stable families, geographical communities, and a sovereign nation that serves as a beacon of freedom and prosperity. These have been eroded not only by globalization, but by the lies we tell ourselves, including, “Anyone who loves each other is a family,” “Real community can be found on the internet,” and “We’re all citizens of the world.”
It’s not too late to reject these errors. America remains a powerful and wealthy nation, built on timeless truths ingrained in the very creation of mankind. But we cannot afford another misguided and decadent decade. In this book, Rubio shows how we can avoid another dark age and restore America’s place as the global ideal of harmony, opportunity, and democracy.
EDIT Add on 6/15/2023: After listening to a Ben Domenech podcast interviewing Senator Marco Rubio on what is titled “America’s Crossroads Moment,” I found it too interesting and informative NOT to share. Listen or download wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple Podcasts for me) … or listen or fast-forward through it below if you are pinched for time.
Posted By RichC on June 13, 2023
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Posted By RichC on June 12, 2023
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