My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on October 26, 2022

Last Saturday’s project was some overdue maintenance on what was a very nice day her in SW Ohio. The temps were warm at 77 degrees and the sky clear. I took the opportunity to start draining the oil in the BMW X5 35d with 195K miles in the morning, then drove the Mercedes 300d Turbodiesel to meet my buddy Jeff for brunch … which turned into lunch instead (the wait was 45 minutes at Bob Evans) and even check on the new Costco going in just off Liberty Way here in Liberty Township. Who knows … Brenda and I may even eventually get a membership?

As mentioned earlier, the Ravenol oil that I’ve used previously was getting way too expensive … just as is was the previous change. In 2020, I switched to Rowe brand 5W-30 full synthetic. This go around I opted for a Eurol 5W-30 full synthetic kit (actually 2 of them) from Blauparts and don’t expect to notice anything difference; it is still a premium European spec oil designed for the BMW diesels.

I’m sticking with the Mann Filters for both oil and air, although gave thought to just cleaning the air filter out with the vacuum cleaner since it still looked pretty good (probably not a good idea … so I put the new air filter in too). The X5 should be good until 210,000 miles as besides noticing cosmetic wear, mechanically it is sound.

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Category: Automotive, BMW, Diesel, Personal, Photos, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: 300d, Blauparts, BMW, costco, diesel, eurol, maintenance, mann filter, mercedes, oil change, ravenol, rowe, x5 35d

Posted By RichC on October 25, 2022

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Category: Archive, Personal, Photos, Sports, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, archive, college, drew, ellerie, family, football, jodyo, katelyn, megan, ohio state, osu, taylor, tylero

Posted By RichC on October 24, 2022

Music Monday triggers can come from anywhere. Today’s was from segment music on a morning Fox Business program and triggered a“disco” flavored song from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in 1977.

  “More Than a Woman” was a Bee Gees song and was paired with a serene Minnesota early morning lake photo (new TV on office wall).  This late 1970s music memory were enough to capture my attention … even if I wasn’t a disco music listener … although I did own a m”odest” leisure suit in high school.

Since including this song from YouTube (concert in 1997), I’ll also attach this “The Very, Very Beginning of the Bee Gees” article by Juliet Bennett Rylah (and outdated post, but still an interesting read).

Category: Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: bee gees, disco, fox business, more than a woman, music monday, musicmonday, saturday night fever, youtube

Posted By RichC on October 23, 2022

The Federal tax brackets are adjusted each year by the IRS based on inflation numbers in an attempt to stop “bracket creep.” This prices have soared as in September 2022 consumer prices were up 8.2% compared to 2021. It is likely most Americans have not seen that kind of wage increase which means their buying power is reduced and quality of life diminished. An interview with a politician commented that “if you’re living on the same income as last year, with inflation running at 8+%, it is as if you are working one month for free.”

According to an Axios article, the good news (cough, cough) is that …

Worth noting: The jump could have been higher if not for a tax overhaul signed by former President Trump in 2017, the New York Times reports.

• Republicans at the time tied the adjustments to the chained Consumer Price Index, which tends to rise at a slower pace than the standard CPI.
• In September, chained CPI grew 0.2 percentage points slower than the standard CPI compared to 2021.

LINK

  Hm, I don’t hearing many taxpayers cheering with excitement?  #sarcasm

Category: Financial, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: axios.com, bracket creep, economy, inflation, tax brackets, tax foundation, taxes

Posted By RichC on October 22, 2022

The answer from NOAA is that it depends on where you live.

The general prediction is for a bit dryer in the south and a bit wetter in the northwestern US and Great Lakes .. but perhaps we should check with the authority? 🙂

Category: Weather | No Comments »
Tags: almanac, dry, noaa, rain, snow, weather, winter

Posted By RichC on October 22, 2022

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Category: Archive, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, babysitting, construction, ellerie, family, halloween, homebuilding, house, lumber, oostra, perrysburg, whitehouse

Posted By RichC on October 21, 2022

With inflation raging and oil prices sky high, opting for the most premium synthetic oil is no longer and option for my aging 2010 BMW X5 35d diesel. I’ve been using Ravenol and usually do my own oil and filter changes and although self-changing the oil on a premium diesel model is still better done at home, but adding 7 or 8 quarts and a filter still costs me $100 for even another European full-synthetic brand – Eurol. Previously, the Ravenol and filter was $86.38, but that same order is now $171.95 (Oct 2022 price bottom right) plus shipping.

After a frustrating few minutes of Internet shopping, diesel focused site, Blauparts, offered a recommended oil for a bit less … plus if I double ordered, it was  another 10% off … plus free shipping. Still $15 more per self-change, but better than $90 more (w/ shipping).

Category: Automotive, BMW, Diesel, Financial | No Comments »
Tags: Blauparts, BMW, change, eurol, inflation, maintenance, oil, oil prices, ravenol, x5 35d

Posted By RichC on October 20, 2022

Now, I’m not quite old enough to have regularly used this kind of service garage air station to fill car tires for FREE, but I have used them AND it still triggers memories: Do you remember the “bump, bump, bump” surging as air  filled the tires?

As I’ve mentioned twice before, one of my first real jobs was as a pump jockey at a Shell Oil service station. I wore the full uniform, did windows and received a 25 cent commission for every quart of oil I sold. At 16 years old I was shock at how many packs of cigarette we had to stock in the overhead bins and then sell to motorists … I want to say it was 50-cent a pack, but can’t be certain as inflation was raging in the 1970s just as it is today. I do know that $2.35 was my hourly wage and that I felt very fortunate to have the after school and weekend job while still in high school. Since I was also a stringer photographer for the local newspaper (usually sporting events), the manager would schedule me around the the high school games.

Looking back, it was a pretty nice job and offered those who preferred “service and a smile” a nice place to fill up and top off.

Category: Memories, Personal, Photography, Photos, TBT | No Comments »
Tags: free air, good old days, memories, old photo, photographer, pump jockey, service station, shell oil, sidney ohio, trigger

Posted By RichC on October 19, 2022

There was a leftover beach flyover video on my phone from our late September – early October Florida vacation so with a private family post creating registered only viewing and the first real cold weather of the season, this makes for an envious filler. I’m looking forward to warm weather and the beach again. Why again aren’t we moving south or going cruising???

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Category: Aviation, Personal, Photos, Travel, Video, Weather, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: beach, cold weather, delray beach, filler, florida, flyover, project, vacation

Posted By RichC on October 19, 2022

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Category: Misc, Personal, Photos, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, cart, drew, drying, ellerie, family, granddaughters, grocery, homebuilding, katelyn, king lumber, lumber, property, tarp