My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on July 14, 2022

It is probably good to have waited another day before posting in frustration over how our return flight was handled by Air Canada since we were not happy being stuck in Toronto after our final leg was canceled. To add insult to injury we already had a delayed flight on Sunday, then boarded and deplaned after 45 minutes when they canceled the flight. No reschedule or instructions … just that the flight was canceled. By the time we ALL made it to the 3 agent Toronto Air Canada customer service desk for rebooking and rescheduling, the line was very long. There were families, lost older people and non-English or French Canadian speakers in the line; we felt so sorry for them. FOUR hours later we made it to the front only to find that there were no flights available on any airline to our destination on Monday … so they said. Tuesday was the earliest they could get us on a flight so we took it. They made no accommodation plans and only gave out a couple $10 Canadian dollar vouchers for airport food (our meal was way more than $20CAD).

Thankfully Toronto has decent mass transit and we “herded” our way onto the train in the direction of hotels. By this time we had buddied up with others stuck in similar boats and got on and off the train and back in a hotel line again together. I was fearful we might not find a room since it was late and so we took the first room available hoping for some reimbursement from the airline. Our Sheraton Conference Hotel room was $419.32 CAD. Ugh! One of the the younger travelers didn’t even have a credit card so I’m unsure what he did?

Thankfully it was a very comfortable room and since we had been up since 2:45AM mountain time in Calgary, Alberta, Brenda fell fast asleep. Oh … and of course we didn’t have luggage! Since I had already had an Air Canada trip canceled and rebooked prior to our departure day going out to the Canadian Rockies, I sort of knew the long wait time drill when trying to talk with reservations on the phone. After 3 hours+ on hold, an agent took the call, but wasn’t able to book us on a Monday flight. BUT she WAS able to put another flight “on a courtesy hold” in our name so as long as I could be at the Toronto airport Air Canada customer service desk by 9AM. After sleeping THREE GLORIOUS hours, we checkout and headed to the airport. After some arm-twisting, the ticketing agent booked us on the Monday afternoon flight and didn’t cancel our Tuesday flight … just in case (flight after flight on the electronic board was being delayed or canceled on Monday too).

Next was the L-O-N-G security lines and then pre-US customs lines until we were finally into the terminal and could sit and wait at our gate. Lunch was good. As suspected, our flight was delayed 45 minutes, but it finally took off … although without our luggage I was sure … which was no doubt hopelessly lost.

On arrival back in the USA (we could finally take our masks off – Canada is still masking) we headed with crossed fingers to the luggage turnstiles hoping that our luggage would be there – it was not. Up to the Air Canada ticket/luggage desk, but since they didn’t have any more flights out on Monday, there was nobody to fill out the required claims forms and issue an all important “Incident Report Number.” I left a note for the morning agent at that desk to call us (they never did) and we pick up our car (parking for another day) and headed home.

On Tuesday I started the calling process again and thankfully was able to leave my number for a call back: “You will not lose your place in line, etc” … but when the call came back, it was a reservation specialist who couldn’t (I suspect wouldn’t) transfer me to the baggage/incident department. Of course that number only had a message indicating that “you must have your airport issued “Incident Report Number” and then could used the online form. Attempts to file without that number were rejected (par for the course, to use another idiom).

Back on the phone again requesting another call back and by evening on Tuesday night I had an “Incident Report Number” and filed my lost luggage claim (not an easy online form either). Shockingly our luggage showed up at 4:30AM by courier in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday (video below).

Next step … file for a baggage refund … and see if we can recover the dollars on our credit card for the hotel and addition to the $20 vouchers for our meals? In reading the online PDF, they do have a “trip interruption policy,” but suspect because our flight was canceled due to a mechanical issue on the plane, Air Canada might try to weasel their way out???

I’m promising more BEAUTIFUL photos in another post later this week and likely a follow up someday on recovering our expenses and “trip interruption” headaches.

Category: Idioms, Personal, Photos, Travel, Video | No Comments »
Tags: 40th anniversary, aircanada, canadian rockies, family, idiom, idioms, mp4, nightmare, trip

Posted By RichC on July 13, 2022

Instead of starting a rant on our nightmare return trip from the Canadian Rockies flying Air Canada … I’m going to let the stress dissipate for a while. It was painful travel.

So instead I’ll archive a couple exciting photos from Katelyn and Drew as their builder has started clearing the trees from their lot in NW Ohio after their thankfully uneventful returned flight (I’m glad we had the flight problems and not them).

Not to be left out, Megan and Taylor sent a message on their safe return that they are starting the KETO diet … yes, we all ate well on vacation.

Since I’ll probably forget to share the hiking/walking progress from last week’s trip, here’s the Fitbit summary! It was a week of hiking if I must say so myself (and it shows on the scale too as I’m finally under 190 lbs again!)

Category: Archive, Food, Personal, Photos, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: aircanada, brenda, building, canada, construction, diet, drew, exercise, family, fitbit, hiking, katelyn, keto, lots, megan, rant, richc, taylor, vacation

Posted By RichC on July 12, 2022

For the good and the bad, Twitter’s AI algorithms do feed my astrophotography and amateur astronomy interests. Here’s a space photo of galaxy Messier 104 or better known as The Sombrero Galaxy.

For a max sized download from NASA.gov of the Sombrero Galaxy, click this LINK

(more…)

Category: Misc, Photography, Social Media, Space | No Comments »
Tags: algorithms, astronomy, galaxy, m104, nasa, sombrero, space, twitter

Posted By RichC on July 10, 2022

While I personally have not worked the numbers, a May 2022 Barron’s Advisor column on retirement offered an enlightening look on “where” to live; it can be eye-opening!

Low income taxes aren’t everything. Many retirees who live in states with high taxes are eager to move to states with no income taxes, says Rhian Horgan, chief executive of Silvur, an app that helps baby boomers navigate retirement. But she says they need to look at their total costs including property taxes, sales taxes, and healthcare costs.

Florida has no income tax, for instance, but has high healthcare costs. A person on Medicare with supplemental medical and drug insurance will face average total medical costs of $8,352 a year in Florida, Horgan says. That’s compared with $6,208 a year in Tennessee, another state with no income tax.

Indeed, Silvur calculates that couple retiring with $1.1 million in total assets will run out of money at age 88 in Florida but age 104 in Tennessee.

That couple’s money would run out at age 77 in Hawaii, even though each spouse there would pay just $5,408 in total medical costs on Medicare, the lowest in the country, according to Silvur. Hawaii has high real estate costs and income taxes.

Category: Advice, Financial, Retirement | No Comments »
Tags: advisor, barrons, healthcare, investing, retirement, taxes

Posted By RichC on July 8, 2022

If you are on social media, you likely have already watched this shared video of a couple of ambitious and obviously hardworking guys using their skills to build a below ground level sanctuary.

Category: Tidbits, Video | No Comments »
Tags: ambition, friday filler, mp4, no limits, talent, work

Posted By RichC on July 6, 2022

Winslow Homer’s 1899 painting “The Gulf Stream” (“reworked in 1906’) is a much-celebrated work of art for a variety of reasons, but appeals to me due to the ocean scene and dismasted sailboat, as do his other Atlantic scene paintings. This one has seen renewed interest likely because of our current “turbulent times” … politically. Although to me, violently protesting over oppression today, compared to our American ancestors living pre-Civil War (some in slavery) or after the war during Reconstruction, seems petty. The late 1800s were the times in which the artist lived and likely formed his views as he painted his scenes. Those times of oppression were strikingly different than the mostly self-imposed woes of those who destroy property and riot today in the name of inequality … or the less quantitative term, inequity (see Grammarist).

According to CSMonitor, the painting is currently on display in a larger exhibition titled “Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

American painter Winslow Homer lived through turbulent times. He began his career in the 1860s as an illustrator and correspondent for Harper’s Weekly, as the United States was descending into the Civil War. During Reconstruction, when the nation tried (and in many ways failed) to find a path forward, he traveled through the South witnessing the aftermath of slavery.

Although Homer left scant record of his convictions about race, his paintings of Black people show his insistence on investing those images with the same realism that he displayed in capturing white subjects. For him, it was a matter of truth-telling.

Link: CSMonitor

Category: Art, Human Interest, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: Art, commentary, crosscurrents, csmonitor, metropolitan, new york, painting, the gulf stream, winslow homer

Posted By RichC on July 5, 2022

While shoveling some additional soil fill next to the edge of our driveway, I noticed a dead “oily” looking patch on the relatively new grass seed?

It seemed odd but figured perhaps an animal died there and that I just didn’t notice? Eventually I looked up and realized the cut limbs on the Mulberry tree were dripping from the heavy pruning prior to pouring the new concrete. Hm, who knew it would be so damaging to the lawn?

Category: Nature, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: crabapple, driveway, grass seed, lawn, sap, tree

Posted By RichC on July 4, 2022

According to a little American Revolutionary War reading this past year, our Declaration of Independence was celebrated on July 4, 1777 with a 13-gun salute in the morning and 13-gun salute in the evening (13 for the 13 colonies).

Interestingly, many historians suggest that the Declaration of Independence was actually signed on July 2, 1776 and not on July 4th.

John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

A Wikipedia posting suggested that John Adam’s prediction was off by two days as from the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2. In either case, have a great July 4th and be sure to honor those who fought for our independence and those for the last 246 years who have preserved it.

Category: History, Holiday | No Comments »
Tags: 13-gun salute, 4th of july, america, History, independence, united states, wikipedia

Posted By RichC on July 3, 2022

With a little travel and vacation time coming up, I went into my “want to read” list and downloaded “The Dying Citizen” from the local library to my Kindle. The 2021 book is a longer read (433 pages) from Victor Davis Hanson, a professor and military historian seen regularly on Fox News and Fox Business.

If you are not tuned in to conservative news, or follow classical historians and prolific academic writers, you may recognize the Hanson from his 2019 book, “The Case for Trump.”

The president of Hillsdale College, Larry P. Arnn, sums up Hanson’s latest: “This is a book about an ongoing and threatening change of ‘regime,’ which means a change not only in how we are governed but also in how we live. To understand such a thing requires perspective: Victor Hanson is deeply educated in the classics, where knowledge of regimes was first developed. It also requires a close observation of what is happening today, about which he writes insightfully and in profusion. In this book, Hanson demonstrates yet again his command across time and for our time. This book and he are a treasure.”

Category: Books, History, Human Interest, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: book, Books, citizenship, Politics, reading, the dying citizen, vacation, victor davis hanson

Posted By RichC on July 2, 2022

In one of my social media automotive threads, I saw this comparison graphic and it triggered my thinking … both from a “freedom to choose” and “work need” perspective vs a “forced to comply” based on ever-changing environmental concerns or fiscal reasons … usually by politicians (regulation, taxes, dis-incentives or incentives).

People are likely to view this graphic in different ways. Some see driving a full-size American pick-up truck as environmentally wasteful or harmful to the climate and the planet (and something to be discouraged or even punitively regulated), particularly when it is an urban/suburban commuting vehicle of choice. Others see this as American automotive freedom and as desirable as owning a larger than average home, buying the latest tech gadgets, taking time off work to travel or splurging on fine food, wine and entertainment. The beauty is that when politics aren’t the focus, having freedom to choose to buy a truck or small car is still the privilege of being a free-to-live your own life as an American. All to often though, those will different views butt heads, lobby and elect politicians who regulate, tax and manipulate free markets in very authoritarian ways to achieve a desired outcome. Is it even possible to maintain liberty if government keeps growing?

Category: Automotive, Energy, Environment, Politics, Social Media | No Comments »
Tags: america, choice, energy, environmental, europe, fossil fuel, freedom, libery, pick up, Politics, trucks