The litigious society we live in gets plenty of criticism, most of it deservingly, but all to often the benefits are overlooked. Air travel for example is safer than it has ever been thanks to innovation and attention to design, maintenance, technology and training … and the improvements due to the costs forced on manufacturers […]
I picked up a book, The Rape Of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust Of World War II, published in 1997 and written by the late Iris Chang. I decided to read it after a bit of Twitter sparring with CBJapan1 and his/her “allegation of lying” about the book and movie Unbroken, as well as how America […]
Unbelievable rainfall causing flooding this morning in Long Island NY (photo above – Southern State Parkway near Exit 37 – Belmont Ave) this morning a day after watching the same thing happen in southeastern Michigan yesterday (photos below). It is shocking to see these kinds of “highway” photos, but one can only imagine how […]
Although I have a libertarian slant to my political philosophy, the wars and struggles in the Middle East demonstrate why our country need to maintain the appropriate balance between freedom and over reaching government. An article in the WSJ on Friday is a reminder that the threat from terrorists, cartels, gangs and other countries is […]
The winter of 2014 has been one of the colder and snowier in southwestern Ohio that I can remember (although we had some snow in 2010). In previous years, putting the snow blower on the old John Deere 330 was almost optional, but this year it has been used and abused more that any since […]
Tried posting a photo to the blog on my way home from Cleveland on Thursday night, but the WordPress Postie plug-in failed to cooperate. The thursday night rain (left) gave way to ice and now snow (below the break). Forecast: A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 1 am EST Saturday for SW Ohio. […]
When I first started my company, I had the privilege of learning about “taking care of customers” from Earl Gerber who was a long time business and sales professional in northeastern Ohio. Earl passed away at 92 in Cleveland this past week, and even through all his age related ailments, I never heard him complain. […]
Some of us are fortunate to have wise men in our lives … someone that mentors and shapes us … someone who is an example for patterning our day to day lives. I was fortunate to have one of these wise men, that being my wife’s father, Dr. Frederick A. Howard – August 24, 1925 […]
I’ve been sort of monitoring the sharks along the Florida coast for a couple years and with the advanced GPS locators tagging a few Great Whites, the migrations are amazing. A story from the Key West Keynoter newspaper seems to have one even farther south than Mary Lee. A Massachusetts man diving with his father […]
With the weather improving and Katelyn and Drew’s wedding only two weeks away, expect fewer blog posts. Katelyn was home again for Easter weekend and we enjoyed our time together working on programs, etc. I’ve continued to plug away at my wagon project and am beginning to wonder what I was thinking waiting until the […]
Apple Inc. (AAPL) will report results for its first fiscal quarter this afternoon. Investors are on pins and needles wondering just how business has been going with slowing computer sales and increased pressure from Android devices on iPhone and iPad sales. Apple stock has already been beaten down and if the numbers are lackluster could […]
Hurricane Sandy is still hours away from coming ashore in the northeastern U.S. but the winds, waves, rains and surge are already making an impact. Officials and residents are taking no chances and predictions are triggering evacuation orders for hundreds of thousands of residents, the cancellation of more than 7,700 airline flights. Schools and mast […]
It looks as if we at least have one more hurricane for the 2012 season. Sandy has reached the hurricane wind threshold and is moving north. The projected path has the weak side of the storm passing east of Florida but over Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas. The beach erosion churn and rough weather will […]
Today is Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance; it is a day to remember the 2,977 killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. After congress unanimously passed Joint Resolution 71 on October 25, 2001 and President George W. Bush signed it into law on December 18, 2001, we now remember and […]
A great touch active graphic was in the online Wall Street Journal today and opened my eyes to the size of the robotic explorer. Thinking about radio controlled “buggies” of the past, I was thinking that Curiosity wasn’t all that much bigger … until I saw the comparison to the Mini Cooper – wow. Flying […]
Said tongue in cheek, just to be clear … Without big government, individuals and their businesses couldn’t build anything, according to President Obama. I suspect if he had his way we’d even have more government funded federal programs and bureaucratic agencies to oversee innovative and productivity. (Wake up America … take a look at how […]
As a casual flag flier, I often wonder if I’m respectful enough of our stars and stripes? Disclosure: I’ve always had a flag, portable staff or flag pole and initially decided to raise our flag and illuminated it 24/7 after 9/11 out of respect for those serving our country. I committed to keep it flying until […]
I’m not sure how the NOAA models forecast the hurricane season but Adminstrator Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D. predicts a “less active season compared to recent years. I was assuming that will the warmer spring and mild winter that thre U.S. would be seeing more named storms? Go figure? For the entire six-month season, which begins […]
We have a few homemade cleaners around our house, but are too quick to buy others at the store without thinking about them. Here are a few greener options that Elizabeth Kwak-Hefferan of Grist that she put to the test. Of course these are organic and earthy for those leaning “hippy,” but nothing wrong with […]
Following up on yesterday’s Tech Friday weather watching post, I had no idea that we were in store for this much destruction; the front spawned over 80 tornadoes and impacted ten midwestern states. I’m sure the death toll by these strong storms without the advancements and communications available to those monitoring severe weather. It is […]
My college friend Dallas on Marco Island BEFORE it was developed – 12/1978 Who doesn’t enjoy reminiscing a little bit about “the good ol’ days” after looking through a couple of old photos? Here are a few from a trip to Florida over Christmas break back in 1978 … whoa, we were young. This […]
I’ve lost my share of days by spinning my wheels or tucked under the covers while sick in bed, but I’ve never heard of literally losing an entire day; that’s what is going to happen this week in Samoa. Samoa is at the tail end of the International Date Line and they have found it […]
Fun new winter Google Easter Egg similar to the partial archived list from an earlier post … “Let it snow.” Also thought I’d include the tasty looking Christmas cookies my daughter made … unfortunately she is taking them to work and not bring them too me!
After reading a recent article in the WSJ discussing the tens of thousands of high paying energy sector and supporting jobs that would be immediately available if the Keystone XL pipeline project would be approved, its clear that politics are more important to President Obama that U.S. jobs. He must have decided that the votes […]
While traveling this week, (and watching out for wild, exotic animals) … I stopped to visit with a car friend I met online and to see his 1966 MGB. He has been sitting on his little British car since the 1980s and wondered what I thought it would take to get it back on […]
It was a rough night for passengers on a big ship. The Norweign Cruise Line’s Freedom of the Seas was never in danger according to the company, but a passenger aboard Freedom told Cruiseradio.net a different side of the story: “It was crazy. The ship was on it’s side, everything broke all over ship, medical […]
The U.S east coast and Bahamas look to be in the crosshairs of a strengthening hurricane Irene. The storm finished with Puerto Rico leaving more than half the island without electricity and a quarter of the population without running water. No deaths or injuries have been reported at this time. Hurricane Irene’s winds remained at […]
Double dip or not? That is the question investors are facing, especially if they are holding stocks and bonds. After lunch today the markets are still seeing heavy selling … panic selling perhaps … after the S&P downgrade this weekend. Realistically though, companies and even banks are much stronger than they were back in 2008 […]
Subject line stated in a Jerry Seinfeld voice … Helloooo | Seinfeld Yes … I stopped in on my daughter this week while traveling and enjoyed seeing her new apartment a bit more organized that when she moved in. The new “orange” wall was bold for my taste but brightened her living room and […]
Planned on making this a Tech Friday post, but Saturday will have to do. I’ve been talking with a few people who have adopted Gmail as their primary email and semi-forget about security issues. It is increasingly a problem as evident by the concern over government officials email accounts possibly being accessed. Although most of […]
It was a hot day to move, but a fun father/daughter time as Katelyn moved from her old ‘digs’ in Kent, Ohio to her new Columbus area apartment. It was in part sad (leaving friends and the comfort of known surroundings) after spending 7 years of college and medical school in NE Ohio, but exciting […]
Isn’t it about time for this long winter to end? It was a slippery day of driving and another couple of inches of snow while making my way around northeastern Ohio on Wednesday. About the only positive was an enjoyable “Two for $20” dinner with my daughter at Applebee’s. A couple of spring 2011 snow […]
Although I’m not a big Don Imus fan, KT McFarland discussed the point that has been bothering me seeing the many uprisings in the middle east. At what point do we restrict our military involvement around the world to our security and national interest … and at what point do we commit our blood and […]
This past Thursday, March 17th, was an exciting day at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) as most in the graduating class of 2011 received their “match” for residency. Each medical school across the nation has a slightly different ceremony, but each graduating M4 senior finds out which hospital they “match” with on […]
The pain at the pump over high fuel prices will most likely slow the pace of our tepid economic recovery. For Americans fortunate enough to be fully employed, that means spending more dollars on fuel and less in other areas that might have hired a new workers. For businesses that mean a higher cost of […]
A good friend, Clyde Witt (My Witt’s End), teased me with a few interesting and historical photos from the east coast over the holidays. His friend has a home on the shore which ‘had’ an old wooden mast used now to hoist a flag. It was ‘stepped’ securely in the rocky shoreline and has mark […]
Encore – and UK built 1986 well equipped 36’ Westerly Corsair CC I’ve been offline and a bit out of kilter the last couple of days … I could say I was busy Christmas shopping, but then what I’m doing sort of stretches any Christmas present budget that I’m aware of? I headed to sunny […]
Hurricanes Karl, Igor and Julia (from left to right on Sept. 16) were part of the onslaught of Atlantic storms this season. Download here (Credit: NOAA) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) closes the book on one of the was busiest hurricane seasons on record which is in contrast to the eastern North Pacific […]
Maybe I’m still in shock and still need to slap myself in order to believe the Cleveland Browns gave the New England Patriots a “shellacking” on Sunday afternoon – CLE 34, NE 14. It was a great game to have enjoyed watching with my daughter, a Browns fan now that she has spent 17 of […]
Being an atoll, Bermuda is surrounded and protected by an outer barrier reef system which would be more appropriately named a “great barrier reef” since it rings the entire chain of islands. The distance to the outer reef varieties from 1 to 9 miles offshore. Today we “sailed” (powered due to light wind) several miles […]
Young Eagles co-chair and retired Capt Sully Sullenberger was forced to select his all time favorite aircraft when interviewed at Airventure 2010 this year and it wasn’t the fully restored Douglas DC-7B that he few to Oshkosh Wisconsin in. Here’s a choice of four aircraft that this heroic pilot has developed proficiency in flying; check […]
My daughter was home with her little diesel from NEOUCOM for a few days and I took the opportunity to replace her Dunlop Sport A2 tires with a set of Goodyear’s (Eagle LS-2 – $408.00) hoping to get a little more even wear as she’ll be spending more time on the road interviewing for her […]
Anne Marguerite Holmstrom passed away on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 after 80 years of joyful, exuberant living. Her keen wit, artistic talent, strong principles, love of family, friends and country, appreciation of music, funny stories and the well-turned phrase, left a powerful and lasting impression on all who knew her. Anne started her life on […]
Wayne Meretsky shares the “Loss of Moonduster“ We arrived in Savusavu, Fiji, on Monday, November 23, after a fairly uneventful 3-day passage from Tonga. Our goal was to spend a month cruising the western Yasawa Islands before leaving from Lautoka around Christmas to arrive in New Zealand early in the New Year. After a week […]
Playing the green energy tax credit game — the pitfalls of big government, powerful lobbyist and wealthy shrewd companies. Walmart, others make money on Oregon’s energy tax credits By Harry Esteve, The Oregonian December 29, 2009, 7:00PM When Oregon started handing out jumbo tax subsidies for renewable energy projects two years ago, one of the […]
A strange GPS story and follow-up courteous of the Air Forces Space Command Twitter account to usher out 2009 and welcome 2010 … Happy New Year, by the way. GPS strands couple in snow for 3 days GRANTS PASS, Ore. – A Nevada couple letting their SUV’s navigation system guide them through the high desert […]
While traveling to northeastern Ohio this week I had a bit more fun playing with Photosynth (see previous post). This time I used my daughter’s apartment as a subject before taking her out for our father-daughter dinner — the highlight of my week. Unfortunately lighting and not spending too much time to take the series […]
Reposting — Bob Luken (EAA284 President): On October 1, 2009 Mark Dusenberry was engaging in practice flights in preparation for the 104th commemorative celebration of the Wright Brothers demonstration of the first practical aircraft, their 1095 Model III Flyer. Mark completed one successful flight in the morning. During his second flight of the day the […]
My apology for the lousy Palm Pre ‘enlarged’ photo of a large coyote who has been roaming our Liberty Township Ohio neighborhood. It has been a source of concern for neighbors and pet owners that we’ve had a few more coyotes than normal … and that this particular large male has decided to make his […]
Color has indeed made it to the trees and leaves here in southwestern Ohio. The autumn sunshine and second Indian Summer has really brought out some spectacular color. I should be clicking away with my Canon Digital SLR, but a Palm Pre photo of the burning bush will have to suffice. Did you know: The […]
This update slipped through the cracks this busy weekend, but Roz Savage made landfall in Tarawa an island in the Pacific Ocean completing her second leg of rowing from California to Australia. The arrival at this tiny island marked 104 at sea since leaving Hawaii (see previous post). From Roz Savage’s blog: I stepped ashore, […]
It seems like a long time ago, but as I write this post it has only been about a week since we were in Spain. Our last port of call was the city of Vigo, Spain. The west coast city and metro area is home to a half a million people with historic Kingdom of […]
Lisboa or Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and the wealthiest of the country. It has remained the capital city since its conquest from the Moors in 1147. The architectural style is a combination of old and new, European and Middle Eastern … especially in historic areas and in the Sintra region – both a […]
I’ve been looking for a few new ways to focus on Easter, so thought I’d take advantage of the Internet to gain new perspective. I started with listening to a bit of Glenn Beck audio with Pink Floyd as the music (seemed a strange choice) and finished up by reading a few newspaper articles. It […]
If you are near West Chester, Ohio in eastern Butler county Tuesday night, consider filling up your car while saying hello to volunteers from a church called Journey. (they meet at the Lakota East High School in Liberty Township on Sundays) According to Youth Minister, Luke Dooley (@yeloodekul), members will be staffing a couple pumps […]
If you enjoy ‘grass roots’ aviation, you’ll enjoy the StoriesThatFly site based in the Northeastern part Ohio … or read a little bit about it here.
My daughter emailed me an article (also below) in the February 6th issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education which debates accelerated medical school programs. It caught her attention because one of the medical schools mention is Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine — NEOUCOM, her school. For the most part, the article does a […]
Last year, General Motors announced that it would build a $370 million engine plant in Flint Michigan to supply the 1.4L engines for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and Cruze; autoworkers in the depressed southeastern part of Michigan thought this was good news with so many jobs were leaving the area. In October, GM started the […]
Although my wallet has appreciated the significantly lower gasoline prices, the price difference between diesel and gas is being noticed. After my last few fill-ups of my “gasoline” Honda Pilot, I have been breathing a sigh of relieve since they have been $2.35, $2.37 and $2.39, at least in the Cincinnati Ohio area. (although I […]
The comments and opinions posted on My Desultory Blog belong to Rich Corbett and are to be taken subjectively. I have spent most of my career working in the printing and publishing industry, both in the traditional “ink on paper” world and electronic Internet based environment — Linkedin profile. After college (Undergrad: Ohio Northern University, […]
There is a lot of discussion on TV about the possibility of a significant rise in fuel prices in the wake of Hurricane Ike hammering Texas and Louisiana. As I post this message on Saturday morning just a few hours after Ike came ashore, the conclusion is that the shipping channel in Houston is ok, […]
Of the two television programs I watch, one will end tonight: Jericho. The final episode will conclude at 10PM eastern time to a outraged fan base. Last year the show was cancelled, but when fans united to petition CBS for its return, executive gave it a second breath. (link) Unfortunately, the number of viewers were […]
I’m posting from my cellphone since I rarely see a Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI diesel. This one was spotted in Cuyahoga Falls in northeastern Ohio. (just north of Akron) There aren’t many of these around and those that are do tend to blend into their surroundings.
“The Mug” — EBay find of the day! (consider bidding for charity) Since only a couple of my family members regularly make it to my blog, I’ll clue the rest of you in on a ‘feud’ that has been going on for long enough. My ‘dear’ sister-in-law (let’s call her “Chris”), left her favorite United […]
While driving through Columbus Ohio I often tune into check the traffic on AM radio 610 WTVN. The talk station does a pretty good job updating accidents and slowdowns as I transit through on my way to and from Northeastern Ohio. This week the Joel Riley mentioned an interesting blog post where blogger Johnny Virgil […]
I took a quick photo out my sunroof as I followed the blimp “Spirit of Goodyear” and its support bus and semi on my drive up to northeastern Ohio this week. We paralleled each other heading north on I-71 and I eventually passed the icon airship on I-76 heading into Akron Ohio. The current Ohio […]
Perhaps it is because I’m in northeastern Ohio this week … but one can’t avoid hearing and talking about missing pregnant mother Jessie Davis. As the news about this missing person has spread nationally (USAToday), the search locally continues with thousands of volunteers another day in the Stark County area. From electronic billboards along the […]
As Terry Pluto for the Akron Beacon puts it, “The NBA has a new king!” LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the new face of the NBA, according to Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers. The Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons in game six on Saturday night to head into the NBA Finals to […]
Those occasionally reading my blog have no doubt seen a post or two on solo circumnavigating sailor Donna Lange, well today is no exception as she is only a few days from Bristol, Rhode Island. After facing a nasty blow in April [1] [2][3], Donna was forced to hole up and make repairs in Bermuda. […]
Happy Easter to those checking in. We are enjoying the weekend at the beach. (post from phone)
Thinking winter was nearly over, I topped off my VW Jetta TDI with B99 (100% biodiesel / 1% petroleum diesel) this past week prior to leaving on a regular drive to northeastern Ohio. Unfortunately I didn’t realized that snow was in the forecast or that low temperatures were in the offing. In fact, the low […]
Here’s a little more on fuel, particularly biodiesel being pumped in colder weather. On my way home from Northeastern Ohio I stopped to fill my VW Jetta TDI at my normal stop, the I-71 Sunoco renewable fuels biodiesel pump. (see previous posts) It wasn’t all that cold (40 degrees Fahrenheit) but the B20 ran very […]
Not that I’m filling up my fuel sipping Volkswagen Jetta TDI all that much, since 600 to 700 miles per tank are average distances between fills, but finding a diesel pump without the new warning label is becoming a thing of the past. It seems only a few months ago (link) we were starting to […]
Late Friday update with a ‘lowest price seen’ photo for gasoline prices around Ohio: The photo above is a Murphy’s Oil in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and was selling gasoline for $1.92 or perhaps $1.89 if you play the Walmart 3 cents off game. I was driving the VW TDI (diesel) this week so didn’t save […]
BIRDING NEWS — Ramana Athreya, member of India’s Mumbai’s Natural History Society, has detailed a new bird species he calls the Bugun Liocichla. It is a multicolored bird and is located in the remote Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. The bird has been named Bugun Liocichla after the Bugun tride […]
Labor Day also marks another annual event — TDIFest. Most likely if you know what a TDIFest is this post will not be worth reading … you were either their or have been following the 2006 event online. For those of you still following, the TDIFest is the annual gathering of Volkswagen Turbo Direct Injected […]
On August 30, 2006 the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) held it annual White Coat Ceremony where several awards to teaching professionals and the induction of the 2010 graduating class was acknowledged. Margaret Nora, M.D., J.D., president and dean of NEOUCOM offered words of advice and congratulations to the 123 inductees to a […]
Ernesto made landfall last night at 11:30pm with a bit stronger winds than Florida. (see previous post) Wind gusts of 55 to 65 mph were common and the landfall pont was Long Beach North Carolina. According to reports, winds over 70 mph were recorded in some areas but for hurricane trackers, Ernesto came ashore as […]
Traveling through Columbus, Ohio yesterday I missed the hubbub on Interstate I-70, but even caught up in it would have been as clueless as the police. On after a chase, resisting arrest and physical cuffing did police realize they had the former star Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett in their custody. As an article in […]