My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on September 18, 2021

A lot of people, including me, stumble repeatedly on seemingly the simplest things. Often this comes when trying to remember something or with the spelling of words we write and read all the time … yet we still seem to forget them again and again.

I’m not sure if “Lightening, Lightning and Lighting” are issues for me (as others are — or “laziness” when it comes to proofreading blog posts), but these words for others?  Visuals Imagery like the one below can often help, as do Mnemonic aids.

Imagery

Visual imagery is a great way to help memorize items for some people. For instance, it’s often used to memorize pairs of words (green grass, yellow sun, blue water, etc.). The Method of Loci, mentioned above, is a form of using imagery for memorization. By recalling specific imagery, it can help us recall information we associated with that imagery.

Imagery usually works best with smaller pieces of information. For instance, when trying to remember someone’s name you’ve just been introduced to. You can imagine a pirate with a wooden leg for “Peggy,” or a big grizzly bear for “Harry.”

LINK

Category: Education, How-To, Misc, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: grammar, imagery, lightening, lighting, lightning, mnemonic, psychology, visual, words

Posted By RichC on September 17, 2021

Saw a bit of impressive wind sculpture art; it makes for an excellent Friday Filler post.

Category: Art | No Comments »
Tags: ani gif, Art, friday filler, kinetic, sculpture

Posted By RichC on September 16, 2021

Here are a few leftover project photos from the weekend for Throwback Thursday #TBT to add to the personal archive. Normally we make banana bread in the full-size Bosch oven when our bananas go soft and brown, but  I keep trying to get the convection baking setting correct on our toaster oven – not bad this time!

The slow home office update project is inching along now that summer is winding down. The closet was finally cleared and crack patching started as I used a two part method to repair stress cracks. First chip out the cracked drywall in a “V” shape then fill with either automotive body filler (Bondo) or Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty that I’ve used for decades – one can of powder lasts a lifetime. Then use a normal drywall compound and sand as usual. I also painted the ceiling, but after trying to stretch a gallon of paint, realized it will need a second coat.

For those who have used the Internet and connected online in a variety of ways over the years, here are a few from my office and why there were so many boxes (oh, and check out this snarled rate’s nest from the cable days). The patching of the wall behind my corner desk pretty much tells the story (photo above).

Here’s a list of difference wired connections:

1. Standard phone line and dial up modem (the only connection available)
2. Twin phone company wired 128Kb ISDN lines giving us 256Kb up and down with Cat5 cabling throughout the house when we built it in 1995
3. StarBand Satellite 2-way broadband Internet
4. Adelphia, then TimeWarner and Spectrum cable TV and Internet
5. Cincinnati Bell Fioptics fiber optics broadband to the house 

Category: Archive, Computer, Memories, Misc, Personal, Photos, TBT, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: boxes, cable, ceiling, cracks, drywall, fiber, fioptics, home, house, internet, isdn, office, oven, paint, painting, patching, project, repair, satellite, starband, TBT, toaster, water putty, wiring

Posted By RichC on September 15, 2021

As our current Apple iPhone smartphones age (currently Brenda and I have iPhone7 and 7 plus), there is an interest in upgrading to the 5G capable Apple A15 chipped iPhone13 or 13Pro. The Apple Event on Tuesday afternoon highlighted the new smartphones and focused on their photo and video capability.

As a photographer and Apple guy from way back and having spent much of my life from junior high, high school, college plus grad school, and career years connected to both film and digital work, I’m hungry to get my hands on … or at least see the new Apple iPhone.

A few points beside the impressive 12MP camera and video capabilities (jaw dropping what can be done with smartphone cameras these days), are the advantages in the Super Retina XDR displays with ProMotion. The “pro” versions are either 6.1-inch or 6.7-inch and capable of displaying 2532‑by‑1170-pixel resolution or 2778‑by‑1284-pixel resolution. To improve battery life, the A15 Bionic chip with a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine can switch between 10 to 120Hz depending on purpose (ProMotion Technology).

A few more highlights had to do with the durability, improved night mode for photos using LiDAR, the macro ability and better optical zoom ranges for the different lenses.

Much of the event was spent demonstrating the video produced on the iPhone13s … which is so impressive that one wonders if there is even a need to have DSLR cameras anymore? 

The new iPhone 13 series pricing starts with the 5.4-inch iPhone 13 mini at $699, the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 at $799, the iPhone 13 Pro at $999 and the 6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max at $1099. They are all interesting.

Category: Apple, Cellphone, Gadget, Marketing, News, Photography, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: a15, apple, appleevent, bionic, digital, iphone13, iphone13pro, photography, promotion, smartphone

Posted By RichC on September 14, 2021

Our end of summer driveway project has left us irritated and a bit depressed. This isn’t our first concrete project, so we do know what to expect and what is possible. Our builder supervised our first driveway at this house (the finish looked good and there were no initial cracks, but after a decade it flaked off in spots). We poured additional concrete for the detached poolhouse garage (very well done), did decking around the pool with a “cool deck” finish, added the basketball turn around area and a section behind the poolhouse later, but before the asphalt (it is all fine). We had a premium stamped concrete poured for the backporch and it looks great and is holding up well. In a previous century we also did a driveway, back porch and pool with decking in Hudson, Ohio and were completely satisfied. So, we know what concrete crews are capable of and how it should look.

That said, the new concrete driveway is a disappointment and is already cracking in several spots. It has a lousy brushed finish and several rain damaged spots due to pouring on a rain forecasted day. It is not going to be a pleasant meeting when they ask for my final payment (The crew still hasn’t been back to fix the pitch or add a drain we previously discussed).

More driveway photos from September 2021 below:

(more…)

Category: Archive, Misc, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: archive, concrete, cracks, dispute, driveway, project, september 2021, workmanship

Posted By RichC on September 13, 2021

Who wants to even look at their home or boat shelf of solvents. I’ve bought different ones for different tasks and the cans just sit there since I never know which ones to use for which purpose. Is it possible to just stick with four?

The Foundational Four

Mineral Spirits. Good for thinning varnish and enamels, cleaning brushes, wiping up stray polyurethane sealants, and general cleanup.

Xylene. Reduces most topside paints, bottom paint, removes smudges, and is just the thing for removing fender and black heel marks from the topsides and deck.

Acetone. Nothing dries faster, works well with polyester resins.

Vinegar. Don’t use epoxy without it. This is very effective at cleaning up tools and skin. It may take few minutes of soaking to soften the epoxy so it can be cleaned away with scrubbing.

From a Practical Sailor 2021 update

Category: Advice, Archive, Sailing, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: acetone, mineral spirits, practical sailor, solvents, tips, vinegar, xylene

Posted By RichC on September 13, 2021

This content is restricted.

Category: Millitary, Music, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: 9/11, aaron tippin, afghanistan, biden, botched, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, patriotism, repost

Posted By RichC on September 12, 2021

Older photo of my 2010 BMW X5 35d from “fuel economy post” in 2016 after modifications

Catalytic converters have precious metals that can be recycled, so I’ve been saving back a couple of the parts from the BMW X5 35d thinking that I might get a chance to see just what they might be worth. Supposedly there is are a few apps that will track going prices … one called Eco Cat but it requires numbers off the parts.

So this is a quick save so I can eventually look them up and maybe take them to the same company that I’m taking the old AC unit and dehumidifier to?

Category: Automotive, BMW, Diesel, Environment, Financial | No Comments »
Tags: apps, BMW, catalytic, converter, eco cat, exhaust, precious metal, recycle, x5 35d

Posted By RichC on September 11, 2021

The news media has been doing their part this week to remember the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and memorializing the 2977 people killed by 19 radical Islamist terrorists. Twenty years ago, four commercial airliners loaded with unsuspecting passengers were hijacked and the fuel-ladened planes were used as suicide weapons. To the world’s horror, they took down both World Trade Center buildings in NYC, slammed into the Pentagon in Washington DC and thankfully due to the heroics of passengers who charged the cockpit, crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was a day that in hindsight should have never happened … considering what we knew about previous terror attacks and radical groups like Al-Qaeda lead by Osama bin Laden.

America united after 9/11 and went to war with those who planned and assisted those who attacked us. The brazen attack against America pulled America and western allies together, but into a costly 20 year campaign to eliminate those who use terrorism in the Middle East and “the land of endless war,” Afghanistan. Some objectives were met such as capturing the principal architect in 2003, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and killing Osama bin Laden in 2011. Our military, homeland security teams and intelligence agencies also kept Americans safe from any major terrorist attack … but the winds have changed in recent years. America has grown tired of war in Afghanistan and our botched departure has given rapid rise to a Taliban controlled (and now US equipped) militant tribal dictatorship who’s leaders have been emboldened by their victory over the weak Afghan government and U.S. forces scrambling to leave the country. Once again, conditions are ripe for radical Islamists who will likely train and equip terror cells plotting to kill Americans and all who oppose their radical ideology.

Photo: Petr Kratochvil

Some politicians will try to manipulate this 20th anniversary of 9/11 and pat themselves on the back for ending America’s war in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, it is hard to reflect on the 9//11 attack in the way the “greatest generation” did on Pearl Harbor and our victory over Japan in World War 2 … those rose-colored glasses don’t exist. Would it have been so inappropriate to have a presence (Bagram) to squelch build-ups, training camps or refuges for terrorists set on attacking us again? We left bases in Germany, Japan, South Korea, etc? 

Perhaps today we are more alert and better equipped to defend our homeland, but who can be sure while watching streams of people (and drugs) flood across our southern border, seeing the infighting between citizens and politicians concerned more concerned about renaming schools, teaching CRT, using gender correct pronouns or who is or isn’t wearing a face mask. For me, it is hard to really feel secure or optimistic that we’ll be able to defend against the next sophisticated or creative terror attack … or to believe we are safer at home after leaving Afghanistan the way we did?

Category: History, Idioms, Millitary, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: 9/11, afghanistan, anniversary, idioms, opinion, Politics, reflection, safety, terror, terrorism, war

Posted By RichC on September 10, 2021

In the never ending battle to thwart spam and fill WordPress and server vulnerabilities, a few new tools were added this week to MyDesultoryBlog.com.

This security and maintenance release features 60 bug fixes in addition to 3 security fixes. Because this is a security release, it is recommended that you update your sites immediately. All versions since WordPress 5.4 have also been updated.

WordPress 5.8.1 is a short-cycle security and maintenance release. The next major release will be version 5.9.

First the newest 5.8.1 update from WordPress.org was installed and then a big change to what is viewable by the public/casual viewer and what is available to “subscribed” readers who don’t mind personal archived items (most often friends and family).

The change (content restriction) will come slowly and will hopefully encourage regular readers to make the effort to register and sign-in (there isn’t a nefarious ulterior motive besides reducing bots, spam and protecting content).

Category: Blogs, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: content, login, maintenance, mydesultoryblog, restriction, security, sign-in, spam, subscribe, tech friday, techfriday, update, wordpress