My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on April 12, 2022

While ordering Titebond III glue in the 16 oz size (best choice for wood glue) from Walmart.com ($7.98) instead of Amazon, who happened to only have other sizes and bulk packaging (although gone is $67 Prime shipping), I needed to add another item to my order to avoid the shipping charges. The Kubota ZD326 zero-turn mower is in need of an oil change and couple of filters, so I added them to the order for free shipping … only to find out that I had to go pick up the diesel oil at the store. This nearly defeated my whole purpose and left me in frustration over the waste of time in doing the mental calculations, etc.

Online ordering headaches aside (a definite “First World Problem” considering the ongoing war and atrocities in Ukraine), I’ll mention a new-to-me glue bottle to go along with my favorite silicone brush for woodworking. It is yet to be determined if putting wood glue in this smaller duel chamber dispenser is going to be worth it … but it was relatively inexpensive at $4.99 (photo right). Since I’m on the workshop items subject, direct your attention to the packaging of sanding drums for my spindle sander … very mesmerizing.

And finally … a trip to Lowes to pick up some “reseeding bare spots” with grass seed that was more than a struggle than it should have been. I’ve never known what grass seed to buy.

Category: Archive, Hobby, Shopping, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, fwp, grass seed, kubota, maintenance, mower, prime, sanding, service, spindle, titebond3, walmart, wood glue, workshop, zd326, zero-turn

Posted By RichC on April 11, 2022

This week almost didn’t have a Music Monday song, but after hearing “Afternoon Delight” over the weekend, I thought that since this was the only song I could remember from the group called Starland Vocal Band, that it would be worth adding?

“Lo and behold,” I’m not alone in remembering it, as my wife started singing the lyrics from memory. HA! Odd though, this is the singular hit from the band founded by the couple Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert. Both of them were songwriters and wrote music recorded by John Denver … such as “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The band members also included Jon Carroll and Margot Chapman who continued to perform together until the band broke up in 1981. I was surprised to read that they also had a six-week CBS television variety show in the summer of 1977 after their #1 hit … and that they then all had solo careers; they even had a 1998 reunion where they all sang with their children. It was interesting to watch their recording session on YouTube (below).
 

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Category: Idioms, Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: afternoon delight, danoff, idiom, idioms, john denver, mp4, music monday, musicmonday, Nivert, starland, youtube

Posted By RichC on April 10, 2022

We have put off replacing the pool tiles long enough as I’ve long ago burned through the spare tiles and have made repairs and replaced the damaged tiles so far myself, but there is only so much that can be done to salvage what still exists. It is time … or as most rational people like my wife would say, “way past time.”

This week the repair crew was out to pull back the cover and assess the job. They put in the sump pump and have started the draining process with the goal to have the demolition, prep work done for new tiles when the weather finally turns warm (snow tonight?)

Category: Misc, Photos, To-Do, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: maintenance, pool, repairs, replacing, spring, tile

Posted By RichC on April 9, 2022

Saw this “trash” can on social media the other day and don’t know if there was an R2-D2 Star Wars intent or not, but it did make me smile … ALMOST as much as receiving a photo from Katelyn and Drew while on spring break vacation with Drew’s family in South Carolina. It sure looked as if they had a great time.

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Category: Archive, Entertainment, Humor, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: audio, drew, family, katelyn, r2d2, Star Wars, starwars, taylor, trash, trashcan

Posted By RichC on April 8, 2022

After updating my iOS devices to 15.4 last week, I noticed a few annoying changes (normal when an operating system changes), and a few improvements. I suspected that older devices such as my iPhone 7 and older iPad would start to show signs of reduced battery life and sluggishness, yet how long nowadays do we really want to put off updating (security concerns, etc). One of the pluses after the iOS and Twitter app update, was the more attractive tweet notification view (image right). The quick glance without opening the phone or app for those people followed with notifications on is nice. The only thing missing is a date and time stamp … but then again, it is a notification. 

Last year about this time – LINK

As for the real topic of this Tech Friday post … home cable, internet and hardware … it is never fun. It seems my yearly cable contract and promos are up for renewal and unless I shop around again, my monthly bill will double … even though the same aging hardware I pay for each month (cable boxes, etc) remain the same. One would think companies like Cincinnati Bell would “bend over backwards” to keep existing customers who pay their bills and haven’t had any issues. Nope .. like always, the old price disappears and unless I agree to a new “always higher” rate for the same very similar service, my current promos will expire and monthly bill will double. If there was ever an incentive to cut the cord, this is it.

But for those of us who don’t really like to change once things are working and we are comfortable with our set-up … we agree to the increase and just complain.

I’ll likely agree to another year and just pay more … but am going to prepare to make the switch, cut the cord, or do something different. Streaming services with most of the same content aren’t inexpensive either, so I doubt subscribing to each one separately will solve my issue … yet I’m getting close to picking one or two and just giving up on having a fiber-connected DVR to record programs. Oh for the days of my own TIVO with lifetime service and the handful of broadcast, cable news and sports channels that we habitually watch (therein lies the real problem!)

Category: Business, Computer, Entertainment, Financial, Software, Technology, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: cable, cincinnatibell, fioptics, idiom, idioms, ios, ios15.4, tech friday, techfriday, update

Posted By RichC on April 7, 2022

While clearing out a few more old boxes and tossing junk in preparation for new floors in my office (and guest bedroom) last weekend, I just couldn’t throw this 1963 “fine artwork” colored by yours truly without taking a photo and archiving on my blog. A digital image take up far less space then paper in a box.

My mom didn’t save everything, but she saved a lot. Of course I’m not much better considering I’ve had this in a box since she passed away. Saving it any longer just doesn’t make that much sense … but I couldn’t throw it away before taking a photo and thinking: “Hm, I could post this to my blog for Throwback Thursday #TBT … if that is still a thing anymore?”

Category: Archive, Art, Blogs, Faith, Personal, TBT | No Comments »
Tags: 1963, artwork, childhood, coloring, momc, richc, sunday school

Posted By RichC on April 6, 2022

Our concrete driveway is not small … and if you add to our front drive to the rear paved driveway, it is fair to say that we have a lot of money invested in concrete and asphalt.

So … when last year’s front driveway replacement didn’t go well, we ended up in a dispute (friendly) with the company when it came to paying the bill. Winter put a damper on all but a legal remedy and both parties preferred finding a solution besides going to court or property liens.

“Long story short,” we agreed on repaving our 15 year old asphalt driveway in the rear and a “spillway cut-thru” to resolve our occasional backyard water retention problem. The rear drive was in need of crack-filling and sealing anyway and had quite a few alligatored areas so it was time to do something. It is early in the season and we both wanted to resolve our differences … so instead of replacing concrete and messing up things again after landscaping or a monetary discount, we opted for a rear re-pave.

So far, so good as their asphalt crew is very professional and thankfully does excellent work … now let’s hope the final piece of the puzzle comes together.

Category: Archive, Financial, Idioms, Misc, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: asphalt, driveway, idiom, idioms, long story short, resolution, settlement

Posted By RichC on April 5, 2022

When it comes to FRESH meals in a box, we’re relative newcomers to any of the meal plans … including the one we’re trying from HelloFresh. We have been pretty happy with ordering from Omaha Steaks over the years, but that’s not a “fresh” meal … just thaw and toss on the grill (my wheelhouse). So a couple month ago we ordered a trial on a whim and  figured since it is just the two of us nowadays, we would  try and then cancel if we didn’t like it. We haven’t been disappointed so far.

Our  first two meals were great (the early ones are discounted) and both of us realized just how much of our meal prep and cooking was in a rut.  We “know what we know” (a butchered Confucius saying) and “it’s hard to teach an old dog a new trick” (idiom). But surprise, the recipes and excellent instruction were easy to follow and it also “forced” us to try something new. After a couple of weeks, Brenda commented … “why don’t we continue the subscription?”

Our meals don’t look quite as fancy as the photos in cookbooks, magazines or even the recipe cards, but the taste has been excellent. I don’t think we’ve wasted one bite. The  prices with shipping after the discounted period is a bit more than I would normally want to pay, but we don’t eat out much anymore, so fixing a new tasty meal has become a weekend “dinner and a movie” date!

Category: Advice, Food, Idioms, Personal, Photos, Shopping | No Comments »
Tags: cooking, dinner, hellofresh.com, idiom, idioms, meal plan, meals, subscription

Posted By RichC on April 4, 2022

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Category: Misc, Music, Social Media, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: early morning rain, gordon lightfoot, illusion, image, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, optical, twitter, unsee

Posted By RichC on April 3, 2022

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Category: Archive, Humor, Memories, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, archive, drew, ellerie, family, katelyn, laughing, laughter, passport, phone call, puzzle, smiling