My Desultory Blog

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

Posted By RichC on June 1, 2023

This is a lunchtime test post after the WP to Twitter API broken in mid-May 2023 (last @mydesultoryblog to Twitter was on May 19th). If all goes well, this will automate a tweet when a new post is generated as before. 

For the fun of it, here is the latest trending video on the news and social media. 
 

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Category: Blogs, Misc, Video | No Comments »
Tags: maintenance, mydesultoryblog, twitter

Posted By RichC on June 1, 2023

The previous “refined” Cornhole game project for my granddaughters worked out so well that I decided to make a modified set for Taylor’s birthday in June this year. Thankfully I started it early since I’m modifying the project just a little bit to work on mortise and tenon jointery … and have been busy outside (now I’m under time constraints).

A couple of years ago on different woodworking project, the handcut mortise tenon joints for an oak Bitty Baby doll crib project were impressively strong, but I really haven’t mastered them using a square-chisel mortiser and router table with a coping sled (was going to make one) for the tenons. After getting the hang of it on a few practice pieces (photo right), the repetitive process was much quicker and accurate; I can see why they are preferred in furniture construction. So far, so good as the lightweight folding leg glue-up is curing overnight.

The mortising part is relatively straightforward as once the depth stop is set, the center drill is lined up in the center punch location and each “square hole” is relatively easy to repeat. There is some bottom cleanup for each mortise with a 1/4” chisel, but the clear pine was easy to cut. Same for the router table cut tenons … a little clean up using a utility knife made quick work of them (photo). I am wondering if the clean up would have been less with a spiral router bit rather than straight?

Category: Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: cornhole, game, granddaughters, jointery, mortiser, project, taylor, tenon, woodworking, workshop

Posted By RichC on May 31, 2023

One would think after twenty some years of pool ownership, I would have invested in a cement sidewalk (pool decking) edger. Nope … it was not something familiar to me since we have never lived on a city lot or had sidewalks. Now after 40 years of homeownership, I’ve finally broken down and spent $79.20 at Amazon for a Worx 12AMP electric edger (now priced $123.53) … for the sole purpose of cleaning up the overgrown edge of our pool decking. So far, it is a great product. 

A “most used” gadget for me is the Ember Coffee Mug that was a gift last year for Father’s Day. I use it twice each day … morning and evening … and it has been one of those premium gifts that is worth its expensive price. Thanks family! 

But, last month the “coaster” malfunctioned and I tried to fix it (the little spring contacts no longer “springs”). Eventually I contacted the company and they promised to replace the coaster. A few weeks went by and so I followed up with an email and received an apology back. Good company!

Thanks for checking in! It looks like there was a processing error which has since been corrected. Your order will be on its way shortly. My sincere apologies for the delay. Thanks again for your patience and have a great one!

Stay Warm,

Ember

Category: Advice, Gadget, Photos, Shopping, Tools | No Comments »
Tags: coffee, ember, gadget, lawn, ledger, mug, pool, replacement, warranty, worx, yard

Posted By RichC on May 30, 2023

The next time the LED chip malfunctions or “burns out,” I may try this hack … although instead of taping on a piece of foil … I think I’ll use solder. 

Category: How-To, Repairs, Tidbits, Video | No Comments »
Tags: dremel, fix, hack, led, lightbulb, mp4, repair

Posted By RichC on May 29, 2023

This content is restricted.

Category: AI, Holiday, Music, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: america, band, chatgpt, here, Memorial Day, mp3, music monday, musicmonday