My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on March 5, 2022

What parent doesn’t enjoy seeing their adult children respected enough in their profession to be asked to comment?

Since I’m one that does keep an online scrapbook of sorts (this blog) … I’m archiving a recent article with Katelyn in Toledo Area Parent titled “Less Mealtime Stress with Responsive Feeding.”

Seems like a week to highlight kids, as I mentioned Taylor a couple days ago … but also noticed he’ll soon be able to get his Kane’s chicken “fix” when visiting his nieces up north! 😊  (spotted in the magazine)

Less Mealtime Stress with Responsive Feeding

In a world of instant access to information and parenting trends showcased on social media, award-winning author and international speaker, Melanie Potock, CCC-SLP, has released a research-backed book on a proven way to establish healthy eating habits and relationships with food and our children, Responsive Feeding: The Baby-First Guide to Stress-Free Weaning, Healthy Eating, and Mealtime Bonding. Melanie shares wisdom gained from over 20 years in speech language pathology and feeding therapy. Responsive feeding is a technique that took root in the 1990s and is recommended by organizations such as the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) and the U.S. Department of Health.

Responsive feeding is baby-led and establishes a “dance,” as Melanie calls it, between listening to your baby communicating and meeting those needs in a loving way. This requires parents to be in tune with their baby’s hunger cues as well as identifying baby’s signals of satiety.

“Feeding trends come and go, but babies don’t change the way they communicate,” Potock writes. Reading these cues and responding to your child’s hunger in a timely manner allows them to send hunger signals without interruption and in their natural form. Responding to these signals helps to determine and nurture ways to help establish baby’s confidence that their basic needs will be met.

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Category: Archive, Blogs, Health, Misc, Personal, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: archive, article, dr katelyn oostra, feeding, katelyn, magazine, melanie potock, parenting, pediatrician, promedica, toledo

Posted By RichC on March 4, 2022

On Tuesday, I received my Apple Event invitation for March 8, 2022 where tech watchers expect to hear Apple announce a new low-cost 5G iPhone SE. The current SE is $399 and retains the Touch ID which as me wondering if the new iPhone SE will remain similar?

They are also expected to announce a updated iPad Air which could be a option for me someday … I use my iPad every day (but probably need to update my iPhone 7 plus before the iPad). Needless to say, I’ll be paying attention.

Apple announces March 8 event; low-cost 5G iPhone and new iPad expected

Apple on Tuesday sent out invitations to the media for an event on March 8, where it’s expected to announce a new low-cost iPhone model.

(more…)

Category: Apple, Cellphone, News, Tablet, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: announcement, apple, cnbc, event, ipad, iphone se, tech friday, techfriday

Posted By RichC on March 3, 2022

Admit it, you’re a bit envious of those who get to fly drones as a part of their job?

Taking Taylor out for his birthday in 2021

As someone who has enjoy everything aviation their entire life, I’m a bit jealous my son is now a licensed commercial drone pilot … just a I am watching those who get paid to play sports, make movies, race cars or to fish professionally. Of course they all usually have talents or have work hard towards the goal … and I did not. Anyway it was fun to congratulate Taylor and hear him share the update of his progress. As a dad, it is rewarding to know he has found a career path and job that rewarding, even in small ways.

Thinking back on starting a business, I “wish” I would have been a little bit more satisfied and looked at the positives of running my own company, rather than focused and stressing over employees, maintaining customers and on paying bills. I spent way to much time trying to grow the company and grumbling about all the roadblock out bureaucracy, than taking pride and being satisfied with what had already been achieved.

Again, congratulations Taylor … Brenda and I are so thankful you have a great job and share the positives with us.

Category: Aviation, Business, Education, Misc, Personal | No Comments »
Tags: achivement, aviation, career, drone, job, pilot, taylor

Posted By RichC on March 2, 2022

I’m not an expert on how the events in Ukraine will impact the world, but I do pay close attention to geopolitical events, the financial markets and the economy … and can’t help but wonder how this will reshape our future.

For the past year or so I’ve been grumbling about how the Biden administration’s “war on energy” is an inflation trigger. Partisans on the left will point to all the other factors contributing (pandemic ending, lack of workers, shipping bottlenecks, etc), but besides the excessive Federal Reserve money-printing and Congress throwing money around so freely,  the inflation trigger in my mind was the political left making a target of US oil companies, restricting exploration, new oil leases, fracking and stopping pipeline projects. After the November 2020 election, we went from energy independent and exporter to begging OPEC and Russia for oil under President Biden. The price predictably went up 40% causing everything shipped or dependent on energy to rise. The price – wage spiral begins just as the world attempts to reopen as the pandemic winds down (shocking to read “Low inflation. Will it continue?” from January 5, 2020 <= the answer is obviously no).

Now enter war. More uncertainty, debt funding to help Ukraine fight Russia, build up NATO and provide relief for potentially millions of refugees. This is certain to stymie growth worldwide and likely in the U.S. too. Still prices and wages are rising … even as growth slows. We now have almost all the ingredients for stagflation.  Inflation is one thing but we do have answers and ways to deal with it, stagflation is another … think of it as inflation’s evil twin.

I ran out of time on this post to go into my boring memories of 1970s inflation and stagflation (my original plan), but I did want to include a link to Megan Greene (Harvard Kennedy School) talking a little bit on a segment of Marketplace last week (left leaning for those thinking all my brainwashing is from right leaning news organizations). Listen to her if you have a few minutes.

Category: Energy, Financial | No Comments »
Tags: biden, economy, energy, europe, federal reserve, geopolitics, inflation, nato, oil, opec, russia, stagflation, ukraine, war

Posted By RichC on March 1, 2022

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Category: Archive, Misc, Personal, Photos, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, drew, ellerie, family, granddaughter, granddaughters, katelyn, painting, Photos, priming, rocking chair, sanding, workshop

Posted By RichC on February 28, 2022

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Category: Music | No Comments »
Tags: christopher cross, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, yachtrock

Posted By RichC on February 27, 2022

My son Taylor is a history buff and turned me on to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcasts. I particularly enjoyed Carlin’s long running Supernova in the East series and commented a couple times previously as it corresponded with quite a few books that I’ve read (and am still reading) detailing World War II and the build-up and war with Japan in the Pacific.

Last week I picked up Dan Carlin’s 2020 book, “The End Is Always Near: Humanity vs the Apocalypse, From the Bronze Age to Today” and immediately started reading. Because I’m in the middle of a couple other books, I’m not sure when I’ll get to it, but I might look for the audio version since I do enjoy listening to the author’s delivery (he reads it). After enjoying the foreword and moving on to the first chapter though, I’m pretty much hooked, so may keep going?

If you enjoyed Dan Carlin and “his” take on history, you should check it out.

Category: Books, History | No Comments »
Tags: audio, Books, dan carlin, History, podcast, reading, supernova, the end is always near, war

Posted By RichC on February 26, 2022

(click photo for actual Flag of Ukraine)

Zelensky refuses US offer to evacuate, saying ‘I need ammunition, not a ride’

(CNN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has turned down an offer from the United States of evacuation from the capital city Kyiv, the Ukraine embassy in Britain said Saturday on Twitter.

"The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride," Zelensky told the US, according to the embassy.

"Ukrainians are proud of their President," the tweet adds.

 MORE or previous post

Category: News, Photos, Social Media | No Comments »
Tags: cnn, flag, freedom, twitter, ukraine, volodymyr zelenshyy, war

Posted By RichC on February 26, 2022

Well according to the calculations by automotive journalist Lauren Fix, if it is the financial calculation that triggers your decision, you might want to hold off a little on buying that new EV … even with tax incentives.

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Category: Automotive, Financial, Video | No Comments »
Tags: cars, electric vehicles, ev, journalist, lauren fix, youtube

Posted By RichC on February 25, 2022

A few years back while learning a little more about iPhone photography, I downloaded and tinkered with the Focos app. At the time, I liked it,but for some reason forgot about using it or that I even had it on my phone. In updating to Apple’s iOS 15.3.1 (security issues I assume), I figured it was time to free up some space and remove unwanted apps.

When Focos appeared, I looked at it again and remembered that it was an excellent app for the bokeh effect or what we would call “selective focus” back in my photography days. Apple calls this Depth Control but it is really improved by using Focos … so I think I’ll keep the app for now.

Category: Apple, Cellphone, Photography, Software, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: app, apple, bokeh, effect, focos, ios, iphone, photography, tech friday, techfriday