My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on June 11, 2023

We are with family and friends for Taylor’s Birthday this weekend and suspect I won’t have time to post on Saturday … so I’m clearing out and archiving a few photos in my “possible blog archive folder” that have collected from the week. 

First was a photo from western New York where my nephews Justin and Aaron (sister Jackie just had a baby) were home to make the annual Mark A. Howard scholarship award to a deserving Maple Grove Jr/Sr High School graduate (their alma mater and where their mom taught). What a great way to remember their dad.

Second was a strange photo of and airline seat concept that looks to squeeze more passengers into a plane … rather that to keep them more comfortable. So much for the middle seat being undesirable! 

Finally … Katelyn sent me a couple “starting to move stuff” photos as they prepare to get their old house ready to sell and rented a U-Haul trailer to start the process. Ugh, moving is not really fun. 

Category: Archive, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: air travel, bemus point, concept, homebuilding, howard, maple grove, mark howard, moving, new york, oostra, scholarship, uhaul

Posted By RichC on June 10, 2023

It is hard to believe Taylor, our youngest, is celebrating another birthday (although better than not having them) and that he was born AFTER the long running television show (1952-1989) American Bandstand ended. It just so happens that Taylor was born a month after Dick Clark finished the final episode … it does not seem possible? 

That bit of trivia aside, I want to wish Taylor a very Happy 34th Birthday today … and I look forward to celebrating with him with family and a few friends in the backyard. Let’s fire up the grill! 

An update this week: Taylor mentioned his profile was updated on the Batavia Township webpage (his new job) and I finished putting the finally coats of lacquer on the Cornhole boards (a woodworking project birthday present). 
 

EDIT add – 6/11/2023: Adding a video with Taylor and Drew playing a game of Cornhole this weekend. They worked great.

Category: Archive, Entertainment, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: 1989, american bandstand, batavia township, birthday, cornhole, dick clark, family, present, project, taylor, television

Posted By RichC on June 9, 2023

How long must I wait and watch in irritation as other manufacturers beside Apple or iOS “cloners” roll out “flip phone” (or even a slider) that at least from a first glance look like exactly what I personally am looking for in a future iPhone? 

The form and function are exactly what at least some of us who wear pants with pockets really would like to see. I remember back to what was my favorite cellphone (perhaps before they were called “smartphones”), the Samsung SPH-i500. 

Earlier this month, PCMag posted an article on the Motorola Razr which demonstrated not only the full size phone display when opened, but a very impressive closed screen for all the “glance” information a user might want (and other models for those who prefer saving a few dollars). Others are moving ahead … Apple innovation seems  at least to me to be in there rearview mirror. 

Flipping Out for Motorola’s Latest: Hands-On
With the Motorola Razr+ and Razr

Motorola today introduced new versions of its iconic folding Razr phone. This time around, there are two models. There’s the simpler and more affordable Razr, which will be out later in the year, as well as the premium Razr+, which features a spacious 3.6-inch external display and near-flagship specs. Motorola is betting on the big outer screen and fashion-focused details to capture the eye of the style-conscious buyer. The Razr+ is very much a Galaxy Z Flip 4 competitor, which Samsung is poised to update later this year. Will Motorola’s fresh design appeal to folding phone enthusiasts? Here is our first look.

MORE

Category: Apple, Cellphone, Gadget, Productivity, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: apple, Cellphone, flipphone, iphone, motorola, pcmag, samsung, smartphone, sph-i500, tech friday, techfriday

Posted By RichC on June 8, 2023

If the answer is “not enough” … check out this short YouTube video explainer.

Category: Business, Education, Financial, Politics, Video | No Comments »
Tags: banking, federal reserve, government, youtube

Posted By RichC on June 7, 2023

Who doesn’t smile when waking up to a cup of coffee in the morning — oh, I can smell it now. I know I do … and would be shocked if it actually smiled back!

Really this is just adding to the archive in getting the yard ready for summer and the family this weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing them again and celebrating Taylor’s birthday. 

Brenda picked up flowers for me to plant, so I mixed up some compost, old potting mix and soil that I’ve been saving for planters. If we remember to regularly water, the planters should do fine … but all too often the flowers in the “half-moon” (as we call it) get drown out by too much rain … or maybe just baked by too much hot sun? In any case, they are planted.

And to make this post truly “desultory” … I usually wear my Toledo Mudhens cap while working in the yard and it just so happened that a baseball loving friend tweeted a similar “traditionally colored” ball cap from a sports memorabilia auction. So I sent him mine to see if he knew which minor league team this cap represented — he did not. ☹️ 

Category: Archive, Humor, Misc, Personal, Photos, Sports | No Comments »
Tags: baseball, cap, coffee, flowers, half-moon, Humor, landscaping, mud hens, mudhens, planters

Posted By RichC on June 6, 2023

The above subject line of this post needs to be clarified a bit as I “only started” to read my birthday present book on Sunday … but it will be excellent. The new birthday gift book, “God’s Bible Timeline: The Big Book of Biblical History” from Katelyn, Drew and family should be an enjoyable one to read. The format of a “timeline” fits with how I “like” to think and will better put Bible history in a context that relates to the way my brain thinks (assume I’m not alone)? Thank you guys!

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Category: Archive, Books, Faith, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: book, christianity, Faith, family, gift, reading, timeline

Posted By RichC on June 5, 2023

Once upon a time, I would have defaulted to “Happy Anniversary Baby” by The Little River Band … but as the idiom goes, “been there, done that“ in a 2014 post.

So to wish Brenda a Happy Anniversary, this Music Monday I’ll zero in on the year we were married and opt for “Open Arms” by the band Journey in 1982. Here’s a live version from their account on YouTube:

Category: Archive, Memories, Music, Personal, Photos, Video | No Comments »
Tags: anniversary, brenda, idiom, music monday, musicmonday

Posted By RichC on June 4, 2023

You would have to know my penny-pinching personality to truly understand my frustration over gasoline prices, but these receipts had me pulling out my hair.

A little pretext: My wife has ALWAYS only purchased Shell gasoline for her cars. No matter the price, she always goes to Shell and has been loyal for decades. Over the years, I’ve suggested that she might want to occasionally fill up where the price is a little lower, but even as the price differential started to be noticeable in the final tally, she stayed loyal. 

In November, we joined Costco and both of us have enjoyed shopping there. When I’m driving a “gas” car (ie. Florida), I’ll fill up at Costco in Delray Beach and she noticed that there was a significant difference in price between Costco (plus percentage for Costco branded Citibank credit card) and the local stations. So she decided to give it a shot this week for her Acura RDX (premium or occasionally mid-range). As someone who is always. on GasBuddy checking prices (see 2008 post for a smile), I was pretty happy about this … BUT I did not realize Costco prices there Regular gasoline MUCH lower than their PREMIUM gasoline (they don’t sell diesel so can’t fill my BMW X5 35d).

This only came to light because she needed to get to an appointment when her tank was empty and so decided to add $10 at the local Shell station before she would be near the new Costco in West Chester, Ohio. Since it was only going to be a couple gallons, she selected mid-grade and paid $3.919. The next day she stopped as planned at the Costco where the REGULAR was priced $3.159 and proceeded to fill up with PREMIUM .. where it was priced $4.149 (nearly $1 more than Regular). So much for any savings or convincing her to fill up at a station other than Shell … pretty depressing for a penny-pincher. 

Category: Acura, Automotive, Financial, Misc, Shopping | No Comments »
Tags: acura, costco, gasoline, mid-grade, premium, rant, receipts, shell

Posted By RichC on June 3, 2023

What a super nice office and comfortable place for Taylor to work. I find myself envious of his new position as “Director of Planning and Zoning” in Batavia Township, Ohio.

As a parent, it is rewarding to see your children excelling in their careers and appreciated by those they work for and with. I’m confident that Taylor is a perfect fit for his new position and that his skills (and personality) are an exact fit for the residents of Bataivia Township. I’m sure that I will continue to remind him that he is service them … spoken like a small government conservative.  😉  

Category: Archive, Misc, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: batavia township, career, director, family, goverment, office, planning, taylor, zoning

Posted By RichC on June 2, 2023

It seems like a shorter than usual week (it was with Memorial Day), so I’m tossing in a Friday Filler video and a #DDJ below the break that is sure to make most of us smile.
 

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Category: Entertainment, Humor, Social Media, Video | No Comments »
Tags: animation, cute, ddj, father-son, filler friday, friday filler, mp4, social media