My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on January 20, 2021

It is common when woodworking on a bench to use some kind of vise or clamp to hold down a work piece. For longer boards I’ve always used either a couple of clamps on each end or my home-built vise and square hardwood bench dogs. (below)

BUT … I’ve envied woodworkers who have 3/4” holes in their workbenches for hold down clamps that work with a tap of a mallet and spring of the steel hold-down clamp.

Since I’m not working on projects everyday, I’m currently only collecting ideas and looking at something that will work in the future. Last year I picked up a couple toggled lever holddown clamps to use on jigs and the miter saw (below), but doubt they would work well on a benchtop, so for now I’ll keep collecting ideas and thinking about it.

Category: Archive, Ideas, Tools, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: bench dogs, clamps, hold down, tools, vise, woodworking, workbench, workshop

Posted By RichC on January 19, 2021

It’s not “breaking news” that we live in a changing United States of America or that propaganda and control over speech is being used to steer large swaths of the population towards leftist ideology … but what is eye-opening is just how coordinated the powers that be are in opposing the “rights” protected by our Constitution … and at the same time systematically claiming several non-constitutional “leftist-wants” are now protected “rights.”

The political left since the 1960s has methodically plotted to make inroads in our free and open democracy. They have smartly used the schools and education system as a way to fill minds with leftist ideology and anti-capitalist opinion … and now seemingly back in power with nearly half the country supporting them. For many, this gives them the power to force the rest of the country under their vision and heavier bureaucratic centralized control and you’ve be naïve to not see how they are already preventing any opposing point of view to challenge their complete control (if you are a history buff, does this sound familiar?).

The progressive left is fully utilizing the compliant and agreeable mainstream media … and has the support of behemoth companies who are in full control over our computers, smartphones, search, web servers, social media and those who rely on technology (everybody) –  who doesn’t use something associated with California’s Silicon Valley’s BigTech? From unprecedented spending in support of leftwing candidates and the change in “how we voted” for in 2020 (Covid-19 =  “Never let a crisis go to waste”), Democrats gain nearly full control of our Federal government. It is apparent that  they are now taking their power and control to the next level by actively censoring speech, banning news articles and opinions they(the left) decide is dangerous or isn’t factually correct, apps that “in their opinion” lack enough moderation, hiring or “deployment for duty” (National Guard)  or perceived support of an opposing political ideology, etc. (Silence them all)

It has become increasingly clear (at least to me), the progressive left has a goal to fully neutered opposition voices without yet directly dictating it from the US government (instead they’re using their political allies and propaganda shaming, the mainstream media control, Silicon Valley oligarchs and compliant corporations). Just as all oppressive countries have in the past, controlling speech and communications is a primary step in controlling people (note recently China over Hong Kong). If the First Amendment is dedicated to just “one political ideology” … are we really free to believe and say what we want? If the 1st Amendment is no longer supported by the left in our government, you can be sure the Second Amendment won’t stand for long. 

Adding to this post:
I listened to episode 52 of “This Moment in America” podcast by Megyn Kelly last night with Rep. Steve Scalise and Dennis Prager. It was one of the better interviews and I remembered why I enjoyed her show on Fox News. Dennis Prager gave me something to chew on and closed with a provocative statement that I initially dismissed, but am giving it a second thought: “The battle to maintain America and Liberty today is as big as WW2 and WW1.” (the full Spotify version of the podcast is embedded below … or just a download of the MP3 with Dennis Prager at this link).

Category: Audio, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: 1st amendment, 2nd amendment, big tech, censored, constitution, dennis prager, election2020, federal, government, left, media, megyn kelly, mp3, msm, podcast, silencing, speech, steve scalise

Posted By RichC on January 18, 2021

This content is restricted.

Category: Entertainment, Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: country, mp3, mp4, Music, music monday, musicmonday, ngdd, nitty gritty dirt band, ppl, pure prairie league, vince gill, youtube

Posted By RichC on January 17, 2021

In keeping up with lithium battery powered tools, those of us who have married into a brand have our reasons (battery warranty in my case).In reading most of the comparison literature and write-up websites, Price and warranty aside, I would probably choose Milwaukee (and have for a couple 110 volt wired tools) as a rechargeable battery tool brand for my workshop today, especially if I were an everyday tradesman.

BUT … because I’ve already picked the Ridgid system which is readily available at the Home Depot with a “LSA – Lifetime Service Agreement” after registration (and 18 volt batteries purchased in a kit), I’m now busy making the best of it. My tool bags, drawers and walls (collage above) over the last few years are starting to bulge … and so I’m always looking for innovative ways to stay organized (see below) … as well as the next new tool!

(more…)

Category: Ideas, Innovation, Personal, Photos, Tools, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: 18v, 48tools, battery, charging, home depot, innovation, led, lithium, lsa, milwaukee, rechargable, ridgid, snakelight, storage, tools, warranty, workshop

Posted By RichC on January 16, 2021

My wife is great … and her decorating and building taste as to what “looks” nice grows on a person after nearly 40 years of marriage … but I still grumble about some of the decision she makes. One of them was wanting a drywall ceiling rather than something removable when we finished the basement. No matter how much I argued for the “Form Follows Function” architectural principle, she vetoed all my attempts to have better access to wires, ductwork and pipes. So … each time I need to wire or fix something, I have to cut yet another hole for my hands and tools in order to make the repair … then have to patch and paint. This January I had a “twofer” as a dripping drain pipe moistened a spot between the home theater and game room …… AND I put the CAT 5 cable into the ceiling for the TV extender box that feeds the new (cough, cough) kitchen TV. It wasn’t easy, but I found my grandfather Bluhm’s homemade, bamboo-like 1960’s cane fishing pole made from nesting fiberglass tubes. It worked great to “fish” a pull wire through the sound-deadening insulation to my 4” hand holes (the first hole was a mistake – it figures).

Anyway, I was able to get the TV signal box mounted out of the way and under the basement staircase in the furnace room and it works great — Brenda’s observation, “what took you so long.” UGH!

EDIT Jan 16, 2021 – Since I finished the drywall mud work during the evening this past week, Saturday was spent painting. Obviously, I’m not doing enough of it since my arms (and body) are sore. 😊

Category: Archive, Gadget, Innovation, Memories, Personal, Photos, To-Do | No Comments »
Tags: basement, bluhm, brenda, ceiling, drywall, fiberglass, fishing, form, function, home, house, kitchen, patching, pole, project, rod, twofer, wiring

Posted By RichC on January 15, 2021

Years ago when RAM was expensive, it was common to set up a SWAP space file for additional memory on computers and servers with plenty of fast hard drive space … especially when speed was not as important as preventing crashes. As applications get a little more demanding and server traffic increases, memory use steadily rises .. and in my case is now often over 80% on this server. From past experiences I know it is only a matter of time again.

Since I’ve recently upgraded this server (should have added more memory), I’ve instead opted to use SWAP as I did years ago. So far so good. Here’s a comparison of two terminal screenshots of small servers running Linux 20.10 … the top running SWAP and the bottom (less used) without.

If you are struggling with memory issues and have optimized everything that needs to run on your server or computer, give SWAP a try.

Simply put, virtual memory is a combination of RAM and disk space that running processes can use. Swap space is the portion of virtual memory that is on the hard disk, used when RAM is full.

LINK

Category: Blogs, Computer, Raspberry Pi, Software, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: Computer, linux, ram, server, swap, tech friday, techfriday, terminal, virtual memory

Posted By RichC on January 14, 2021

One of my favorite January traditions is looking at the Lake Superior State University’s Banished Words listing that get posted on December 31. I can’t believe LSSU has been doing it since 1976 and it is fun to look at their archives! For the year ending 2020 (or 2021’s list), LSSU selected COVID-19 as the #1 word … and for good reason. Even I unfortunately included it on this blog over 60 times in 2020 … and who knows how many more in 2021… UGH! Let’s just hope it will be forgotten by 2022 (somehow I doubt it).

A post today from a Fox Business news guy had me using #CancelCulture (below), and it reminded me that I forgot to post on “banished words” this year. I quickly checked the list to see if it was included (it was not) … but since I’ve posted on this topic in many Januarys past, I will continue this week.

So, as for the rest of the words, check the LSSU website and be disappointed with #9 and #10 (unless #10 was “I know I’m right”). 😊

1. COVID-19 (COVID, coronavirus, Rona)

A large number of nominators are clearly resentful of the virus and how it has overtaken our vocabulary. No matter how necessary or socially and medically useful these words are, the committee cannot help but wish we could banish them along with the virus itself. Coincidentally, this list arrives as does a vaccine—the committee hopes this proves a type of double whammy.

2. Social distancing

This phrase is useful, as wearing a mask and keeping your distance have a massive effect on preventing the spread of infection. But we’d be lying if we said we weren’t ready for this phrase to become “useless.” With north of 50 nominations, many others clearly feel the same, and the tone of their reasoning ranged from impatient to heartfelt.

3. We’re all in this together

This phrase was likely intended as a way to keep everyone feeling safe and calm at the start of the pandemic. However, as the virus made its way across the globe and nation, it became clear that we are all dealing with COVID-19 in different ways and that we confront some vastly different challenges in coping with it. As with many words that show up on the list, its usefulness has faded.

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Category: Blogs, Misc, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: annual, banished, cancel culture, covid19, list, lssu, tweet, twitter, words

Posted By RichC on January 14, 2021

While shuffling through a bunch of old scans and photos and uploading stuff to my Miami University .EDU Google Drive account for free cloud storage after downgrading my subscription to OneDrive (they refused to renew the 1TB of space at my previous 4-years of discounted service), I ran across the window sticker from my black 1996 Toyota 4Runner (didn’t pay that price — it was a business lease) after the 1994 Toyota 4Runner (below). Both were fantastic vehicles and even better lease vehicles … because they held their residual value so well. In fact, when I turned in the ‘94 with higher than allotted miles, there wasn’t a penalty so as long as I leased the ‘96 (haven’t found a photo just yet??)

The same thing happened after I turned in the ‘96 4Runner since I then purchased Brenda’s 1998 Rav4 (another outstanding Toyota … as were the two late 80’s “sewing machine smooth” Camries … perhaps a future TBT post)?

Anyway, the window sticker and ‘94 4Runner, DadH’s “Great White Whale” Chevrolet Caprice wagon from in front of the Delray Beach Condo in 1995. Great memories for Throwback Thursday #TBT.

Category: Archive, Automotive, Memories, Misc, Personal, Photos, TBT | No Comments »
Tags: 4runner, cars, condo1718, dadh, family, great white whale, TBT, throwback, toyota

Posted By RichC on January 13, 2021

We don’t see my nephew and his family nearly enough, but a week ago, my nephew Ben, his wife Emily, and their two boys, Liev and Ellis welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world.

The boys baby sister, and Ben and Emily’s first daughter, Lyra Eileen Skinner was born in the morning, weighing a perfect 7 lbs 7 ozs. All are doing well … along with my ecstatic sister-in-law Chris (her first granddaughter after 4 grandsons). As the Howard family goes, the trend is in keeping,  since boys dominated Mom & Dad Howard’s first wave of grandchildren – 4 boys until the granddaughters made their sweep (well nearly). HA! Katelyn, Madison, Jackie, Jessica and Sarah … with Taylor in the middle.

Brenda and I wish the Skinner family well and give thanks for the birth of a beautiful and healthy Lyra.

Category: Archive, Misc, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: baby, ben skinner, birth, children, emily skinner, family, grandchildren, lyra eileen, skinner

Posted By RichC on January 12, 2021

The Storming United States Capitol 1/6/2021 and White House plus multiple cities protests 2020

In recent years, NPR has not been my source for balanced reporting and commentary, but I still occasionally pick up a morsel or two that resonates. This time it was shared by a politically liberal/progressive friend on her daily Life Logs – once The Voyage of Windbird (although suspect her focus is on the most recent events in Washington DC?)

“I loved an analogy that I heard on NPR today. It was basically that if you have a kid that sticks his hand in the cookie jar and steals a cookie, and is not immediately punished for that, the next thing you know his sister and his brother will be doing the same thing.”

— Judy Handley, 2021 Life Logs, Day 10 

As events around “peaceful protests” devolved into riots and violence this past year, there was often praise and support for the raucous behavior, or at minimum suggesting that it was understandable. From the tearing down of statues that particular mobs decided they didn’t like, to attacking Federal buildings, or even in-your-face personal attacks of people eating out or just walking on the streets. Looting and the burning store and private businesses was declared  “mostly peaceful protests,” even when they took over cities … declaring them “autonomous zones” … Democratic politicians did little to stop them.  The put you out of business threats for people who held conservative political views or shaming certain businesses in order to coheres them into siding with their cause was the theme for 2020. Celebrities and some political leaders even set up bail funds for those arrested during protesting that devolved into rioting that involved burning, looting and attacks on police … yet few in the mainstream media were overly critical of the incitement that turned to violence.

As for “incitement” … something we hear often when the left talks about President Trump … remember, everyone “must” support BLM and their Marxist ideology, even as their most vocal march and chant “pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon” or “What do we want? Dead Cops!” According to these kinds of protesters, that included groups like Antifa who advocate violence in city after city, we need to dismantled and defunded or “re-imagine” law enforcement. 

So I agree (and always have) with the commonsense approach of swift “cookie jar” punishment as a deterrent and as a way to prevent a “sister and brother” from doing the same thing. When civility, respect for others and societal laws are not followed, expect others to duplicate unacceptable behavior … and “in my world,” this applies to the ignoring of election laws put into place by state legislatures as defined in the US Constitution, but that’s for another post. 

Category: Blogs, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: antifa, blm, capitol, cookie jar, election, free speech, handley, incitement, looting, npr, opinion, president trump, protest, riot, violence