My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on June 29, 2021

Beautiful Panarama iPhone7 Evening Sky photo – 6/28/2021

In preparation for the driveway demolition crew to arrive (neighborhood driveway work needs to be done before road repaving), I spent the weekend working to get access around the garage ready for the workers. I’m not exactly sure where our driveway fits into the schedule, since several neighbors are doing the same thing … our driveways are all 25+ years old now. I’m also planning to add a concrete drive around the detached garage (poolhouse/shop garage) so removing trees, limbs and landscaping brush is essential.

The bigger project for me was in moving the firewood pile … most which is getting old and rotting so the majority was heaped on bonfire pile. Once again, it is growing a little too large for my firebug comfort.

As a “can’t throw anything away” type person, I did end up welding leftover pipes from the kids old trampoline into firewood racks (below … and enjoyed looking at this old 2007 “Birthday Bash” video!). I wish I would have painted the galvanized pipes before stacking wood, but time got away from me this weekend. (alos, for the record, I’m starting to notice “age” as it relates to physical work, sweating and tiring out … and probably have for a while now).

Category: Archive, Memories, Misc, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: concrete, driveway, firewood, panorama, project, trampoline, video, woodpile, yardwork

Posted By RichC on June 28, 2021

Last week a friend of mine include an album cover photo and said “strike this pose.” I laughed to myself wondering just how many people seeing it would know and remember “Breakfast in America“ and the Engilsh rock band Supertramp?

Interestingly, even though I clearly remembered the band and the album, I did not realized just how popular they were in 1979 … then thought to myself … this will make a great Music Monday post!

Supertramp’s “Breakfast In America” was the biggest selling album in the world in 1979. It spawned several hit singles and went on to win two Grammy Awards and sell in excess of 20 million copies. On the album’s release Supertramp embarked on a 10 month world tour which arrived in Paris at the end of November 1970.  LINK

Category: Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: 1979, album, america, breakfast, live, music monday, musicmonday, paris, supertramp, youtube

Posted By RichC on June 27, 2021

Who doesn’t occasionally need a little advice from the helpful tips, tricks and tidbits floating around the Internet?

Here’s one that should be familiar to most of us, but surprisingly catches us off guard once in a while when a roll of aluminum foil pops out of the box and ends up unrolled and dinged up on the floor.

There are little tabs on each end of the box that should be popped in, snapped free or cut and pushed into the cardboard tube in the box. Once in place, it is easier to unroll the foil and tear without it flopping out.

Category: Advice, Blogs, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: aluminum, foil, hack, internet, reynolds wrap, tip

Posted By RichC on June 26, 2021

Last weekend we had thunderstorms and tornado warning that dumped buckets of rain in our area. Thankfully no damage or serious flooding, but I did check on the sump and backyard pumps … I even added my spare pump to the pit in order to keep the water that builds up in the retention area of our backyard from reaching the pool (which it has before).

I also notice one of the two Zoeller sump pumps (my preferred brand) in the basement was running constantly … there was that much water. Thankfully the second one in a separate slightly higher pit was cycling at a more appropriate rate.

After the water levels dropped I noticed that the pump was not working the way it should. So after contemplating which valve to buy, opted for the “reduced noise” valve at Lowe’s more for the length of the install than the “silent” feature (already had pipes cut for this length with the old valve). The replacement went well and decided to look inside the old valve … yuck, no wonder it failed (anigif to the right … really just an excuse to use my new alligator forceps). 😉

Personal advice: Replace the valve with a new one when you replace the sump pump. Pump warranties, depending on brand/model is 2-5 years, so you should  think about replacing them not too long after that … I my case, somewhere around 7 years, but definitely no longer than 10 after previous experiences.

Category: Advice, Misc, Photos, Tidbits, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: ani gif, check valve, flooding, gif, home, house, maintenance, rain, repair, sump pump, zoeller

Posted By RichC on June 25, 2021

Currently, we attempt to pay for infrastructure by taxing drivers at the pump when they fill their cars and trucks with gasoline and diesel fuel … but vehicles are becoming more efficient while the cost of infrastructure and maintenance continues to goes up. In other words, there isn’t enough money being collected. The politicians answer in the past has been to tax more, yet it is never a popular solution. It also puts the burden on the owners of older vehicles since they are the least efficient (also a regressive tax) while newer battery-laden electrically charged vehicles skate by without paying road taxes on when their charge. So raising the gas/diesel tax is a short term solution that doesn’t solve the problem, especially as we transition to EVs.

For a little more thought on this subject,  Eric Cunningham’s article from Ordinary Times was helpful. He broaches the subject and addresses the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) tax being bantered about and the many challenges … from the costly administration problem, to how to track, privacy concerns and the enforcement bureaucracy.

How does a VMT work?

In theory, the VMT would be fairly simple. Advocates are often careful to refer to the VMT as a “fee”, not a tax, but in reality it’s a tax like any other. The miles you drive would be tracked, and you would pay a (somewhat) flat tax per mile depending on the type of vehicle you own; I say “somewhat” flat here there are already plans to implement “congestion charging” fees for the crime of driving at the same time as other people, or of driving somewhere where a lot of people live. How these miles are tracked seems to vary. Some have suggested odometer reporting, although at the state level this would tax people for miles driven in other states, robbing those states of tax revenue. Others have suggested requiring a transponder in your vehicle which will continually track every mile you drive; the latter proposal is where the problems arise. Washington state has also experimented with pre-paying for the expected number of miles driven, which seems to be an even less ideal solution. In return for this new tax, a total repeal of the gas tax is often — but not always — suggested. However, the government’s history on actually replacing taxes rather than adding them tends to be fairly poor.

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Category: Automotive, Diesel, Financial, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: administration, bridges, cost, diesel, driving, eric cunningham, gasoline, infrastructure, ordinary times, regressive, roads, tax, taxes, vehicle miles traveled, vmt

Posted By RichC on June 24, 2021

Brenda and I have always admired art and after 39 years of marriage have collected quite a bit of it. From antiques, carvings and sculptures to paintings that likely have only meaning to us. When I saw the self-portrait above, I was immediately drawn to it. Hm, an artist painting himself, painting himself? I like it.

Also, this being a Throwback Thursday #TBT (yes, that trend is showing it blogging age) … I stumbled on a couple photos of the Myers Motors EV that I test drove back in 2006. We’ve come a long way with battery technology and electric cars in 15 years … but at the same time, some entrepreneurs seem to be still are taking reservations and saying “next year” we should be in production. MyersEV.com – Reserve your Point5 or Duo

Category: Art, Automotive, Energy, Photos, TBT | No Comments »
Tags: ani gif, Art, artist, electric, ev, myers, myersev, richc, self-portrait, TBT, test drive, throwback, thursday, vehicle

Posted By RichC on June 23, 2021

Although I’m likely tainted in having lived through a period where inflation was real and uncontrolled, I do worry that people living today either ignore or downplay the negative impact inflation, stagflation or worse … hyperinflation … can make on our country.

For those who know me, I’ve likely been the “boy who calls wolf” at every sign of excessive money printing, bailouts, giveaways and unfunded government program. I’ve worried about debts and deficits … and feared that every time a hot trend triggered the FOMO buying and owning (housing, dotcom stocks, no-money down borrowing, health care costs, education costs, IPOs, NFTs, SPACs and cryptocurrencies of every flavor). Thankfully so far, we have survived each boom and bust cycle … and I’ve participated but remained responsibly balanced through many of them.

Now, for the first time in long time, investors, the market and even financial experts have developed an inflation fixation. Stocks have risen from their pandemic lows and have quickly reached valuations that has started the worrying process again. Each expert or business analyst will talk about inflation and any news that suggests prices are rising too fast even has the subject come up at the kitchen table.

This time I do think the immediate surge is “transitory” as the Federal Reserve chairman mentioned due to the slumped economy reopening, but I do tend to look at a few factors which pose problems down the road … and again, it looks concerning again.

1. The easy-money Fed policies and government stimulus dollars may be continuing too long
2. Sending unemployment to people to stay home when there are jobs to fill is  forcing employers to pay workers more, their costs to go up and prices rise
3. The Biden administration is heavy handed which regulations and taxes
4. Shortages and importing issues force prices higher
5. Commodity costs are up … whether it is lumber for homes or energy
6. Speaking of energy, no pipelines, no new oil exploration and punitive government policies against fossil fuel causes energy prices to rise

At this point I’m back to my normal cautious … but also am not fully in panic mode after last week’s selloff and think Phil Flynn and Jonathan Hoenig had it right on Fox Business this week: “The inflation risk is not why the stock market reacted, it was the fact the Federal Reserve seemed so surprised.”  (paraphrased).

Here’s what Clough Capital Partners posted on their blog. It seems to the consensus if there is one.

Our base case is that inflation is still tame

Today the consensus anticipates an economic boom with the return of inflation being the possibly inevitable consequence. We have no doubt the employment recovery will be fast and with the checks from the second federal stimulus program in the bank and a new $2.3 trillion infrastructure investment program on the shelf, the economic boom scenario only looks more likely.

The base effect caused by falling prices during the pandemic will make year-to-year inflation numbers this spring look like we are going back to the 1970s. But we believe that is likely to evaporate in the second half of the year.

Commodity prices have indeed risen in recent months, but these prices rise because a demand surge happens before supplies can be brought on. Shortages of industrial and agricultural commodities are widespread today but eventually supply and logistical bottlenecks will be resolved and price pressures relieved.

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Category: Blogs, Financial, History, News, Politics, Social Media | No Comments »
Tags: clough, federal reserve, fomo, fox business, hyperinflation, idioms, inflation, investing, jonathan hoening, phil flynn, twitter

Posted By RichC on June 22, 2021

Spent a lot more time this past weekend picking up branches, pumping out the pool and even set up a pump in the backyard to prevent flooding the pool. Thankfully no tornadoes on the ground, but the lightning, wind and rain was wild. Below is a video snippet … turned animated gif out the back window on Friday night.

On Sunday, the day was a bit more relaxing as Taylor came over to wish me a Happy Father’s Day. We enjoyed ribs with angel food cake, strawberries and whipped creme (our mutual favorite). The conversation turned to movies, investing and a cryptocurrency discussion, as well as FOMO. He has a couple roller coaster-riding friends “investing/gambling” in their favorite crypto coin. I gave my “normal” dad lecture regarding investing vs gambling … and even thought to myself, “the lecture is getting old Rich, just keep your mouth shut and let people call putting money these different crypto upstart digital assets and NFTs what they want.” 

Category: Financial, Personal, Photos, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: ani, filler, gif, storms

Posted By RichC on June 21, 2021

This content is restricted.

Category: Entertainment, Human Interest, Marketing, Music | No Comments »
Tags: advertising, applebees, cheers, commercial, gary portnoy, judy hart angelo, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, television

Posted By RichC on June 20, 2021

Received nice photo from Katelyn and Drew last week and since I included one of Taylor and Megan last week, this is one that needed to be archived on my blog. Most most personal photos nowadays are of our granddaughters as Brenda and I have long ago moved past the stage of photos our ourselves … and even our kids? By the way Drew … Happy Father’s Day and thanks for the photos.

To add a little humor to the week, Drew also updated us on the bluebird house that Annalyn and I made last year. As I mentioned to him, the bird that moved in obviously takes after the birdhouse builder when it comes to collecting and keeping stuff. I’m not sure there is even room for a bird in this house?

The raccoon trapping and relocating continues (mp4 video below break) in an attempt to keep them off our roof. Hopefully the raccoons that are left will take the hint that they are not wanted. With all the rabbits and critters, its no wonder we have such a healthy coyote population!

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Category: Archive, Environment, Humor, Nature, Personal, Photos, Video | No Comments »
Tags: birdhouse, coyote, drew, family, katelyn, megan, mp4, raccoon, sunset, taylor, trapping