Saving family photos from our Corbett-Oostra Christmas 2022
Posted By RichC on December 29, 2022
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Tool tidbit: Additional leverage when turning a screwdriver
Posted By RichC on December 28, 2022
Here’s a tool tip that isn’t widely known:
If you need a little more screwdriver leverage … or your hands are slippery … check to see if a hex socket or wrench will fit on the handle of your screwdriver to give you a little additional torque (a 1” socket works for my standard Craftsman screwdriver). Just be sure you have enough down-pressure on the screwdrivers as with all the addition torque it is 
easy to strip out the fastener heads … be they straight blade or Philips heads.
In the past, I often would use an adjustable wrench to hold the straight blade (photo left) in order to bust loose a stubborn fastener, but I have also bent the tip of a screwdriver with all the additional torque. Also, in a pinch, you can use a set of channel lock pliers on the shaft or handles (use care) … but they can easily damage the plastic of your better tools … so beware when using any kind of plyers.
A Tesla $TSLA mistake: “Don’t try to catch a falling knife”
Posted By RichC on December 27, 2022
How many of us who have been trading stocks and investing for decades have ignored the wise advice about buying a stock as it drops? Chart watchers, and maybe investors who have favorite companies, often listen to the conflicting thought from brokers, financial advisors and TV talking heads. We ignore the lessons from our past and choose instead to follow favored corporate management or entrepreneurs and make the mistake of “trying to catch a falling knife” … or buying a stock as it drops.
Unfortunately I did the same last week, even knowing that year end tax loss selling was probably going to make things worse and ignoring the sage. I instead opted to use my Twitter $TWTR profit from Elon Musk’s crazy social media company buy and reinvested it in another Elon Musk company: Tesla $TSLA. Ugh, now I’m paying for not heeding the “falling knife” advice.
Will I now have to wait for Apple or Google to want a “real” car company?
Music Monday: Henry Gross singing Shannon in 1976
Posted By RichC on December 26, 2022
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Proposing our family listen to a podcast on Christmas Eve
Posted By RichC on December 24, 2022
Jane Wells has been a reporter for CNBC (“Janie” as the late Mark Haines called her) that I’ve followed for years while watching business news channels (or should I have said, “is a ‘has-been’ reporter?” – hopefully a little humor that she would appreciate!). Anyway, I always smiled when watching her “quirky” stories 
and reporting … and even her brief Seinfeld TV sitcom appearance (Jane still mentions residual checks!)
This past year I’ve exchanged with her a bit more on Twitter (profile photo to right – do see what I mean, “quirky”), read her personal blog and now substack blog … and enjoyed some of her family life stories (hubinator, grandson, etc) … as well as her “Camino de Santiago” trek.
In 2020, during the COVID19 lockdown, she decided to work on another project that ended up … well, “quirky” …
I’ll insert below to define what I mean by the term since I’ve mentioned it three times above and don’t want the description to be taken derogatorily:
QUIRKY: “unusual in an attractive and interesting way.”
Back to the 2020 project …
Jane Wells decided that it would be fun to “retell the greatest story ever told” … The Christmas Story … “as if modern media and social media existed 2,000 years ago” (see “If Twitter Existed in 6AD"). So in 2020 with her kids 
encouragement, she started a Kickstarter campaign to hire actors and produced Top Story Tonight Podcasts to tell the story and since this is a Christmas Eve post, the two-part podcast will share them”
- Christmas! Part 1
“The Road to Bethlehem” - Christmas! Part 2
“A star is born, and a king doesn’t like it.“
Be sure to check out the extras as worth listening to as well. Personally I’m planning to listen to the Easter series (trailer) next year as we celebrate our risen Lord – yes, I’m late to the game for these enjoyable podcasts.
Merry Christmas to all who are reading MyDesultoryBlog on Christmas Eve.
Archiving our early 2022 Christmas present: A New Rug
Posted By RichC on December 23, 2022
Brenda has struggled most of the year to find a replacement Oriental or Persian Rug for our Great Room after retiring our original rug to my office. 
In November, Katelyn connected her with “Donald,” the decorator she is using to help with their homebuilding, and after several Facetime calls finally decided on a VERY large and relatively muted rug. After a long drive down from Toledo in order to be here for our family Christmas, Donald and “his muscle” (as he called him) rolled out the new smelly pad (fresh rubber material?) and new rug. After some furniture tweaking and pondering, the result made Brenda very happy.
As the old adage goes, “Happy Wife, Happy Life” or if that is somewhat chauvinistic (?), how about the more contemporary, “Happy Spouse, Happy House?”
Boring shoe waxing and updated family homebuilding photos
Posted By RichC on December 23, 2022
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My brother emailed a photo of our grandfather from 1966 #TBT
Posted By RichC on December 22, 2022
Tis the season, to reflect a bit … at least for me. I posted a few old photos last week, so when my brother sent me one of Earl Daniel Corbett, our grandfather, it seemed appropriate for Throwback Thursday #TBT. 
He mentioned that he came across it at a Corbett family reunion and said it was from 1966 when he retired from Haughton Elevator (pdf); he was an “inspector.” Ron wondered about the toolbox in the photo, but DadC’s (now mine) was slightly different.
We chatted that neither of us remembered him “younger” or seemingly acting younger … or with a smile like the one in the photo. Earl Corbett worked at Haughton for 24 years, that surprised me.
I did know that before working for the company across the street from their house, that he owned a service station (gas) at a the corner of Spencer and Prouty Streets in South Toledo (Google Streetview photo from 2018). It was next to their house (photo above) and that to support a family during the later years of the depression and World War 2, that working at Haughton Elevator provided a more secure income? Another interested tidbit from his obituary that I did not know is that he also operated a previous service station – although that makes sense too.
Ron’s text message:
In his obituary it said he worked Haughton 24 years and retired in 66, and it said he operated the service stations at two location prior to that. So, dad wud have been about 13 when grampa started at Haughton, but he must have jointly run the service station for a while…probably had to lean on dad to help!
For the blog archive … the Ottawa Hills Memorial Park grave marker.
A long lapse in posting on the Mercedes-Benz W123 #diesel
Posted By RichC on December 21, 2022
I enjoyed reading Topspeed.com from October on the “Ultimate Budget Classic Car.” Of course it was the Mercedes-Benz W123 diesel … “one of the most well-engineered cars of all times.” If you like solid older diesel cars, you’ll enjoy this article.
The Mercedes W123 300D is the Ultimate Budget Classic Car
The Mercedes W123 is one of the most well-engineered cars of all time. They are widely known for lasting for decades and thousands or even millions of miles without many issues. This means that they work great as an affordable classic. They are not old to the point where they cannot be driven comfortably, but are old enough to feel special. Also, they are cheap to buy and because of the great build quality, they are cheap to keep on the road. The turbo diesel 300D is the model to have, and here, we will be going over everything that makes these cars so special.
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.