Santa Mouse slippers, Christmas stories and Echo messages
Posted By RichC on December 12, 2020
This content is restricted.
Tech Friday: Using Grammarly for Chrome (Brave in my case)
Posted By RichC on December 11, 2020
Not that it would ever be noticed in my “rarely proofread” blog, but for the past year I’ve been using a plugin app called Grammarly (it unfortunately doesn’t work with Open Live Writer, the aging software I use for blogging ever since Microsoft abandoned LiveWriter). So far it has been helpful in checking my emails and replies … AND may make me a bit more conscientious when typing or writing. 
As for a recommendation, I’ll withhold it at this time and stick to using the free version a bit longer.
One of the more interesting reports is that of “grading” or “rating” users while comparing them to others. Thankfully in all areas I’ve at least scored in the top half of users, but I appreciated it noticing that I work on expanding my writing vocabulary. I can’t say that Grammarly has helped with it or improved my writing, but may install the add-in for Microsoft Word so a bit more of my writing is looked at (not that I write in Word very much either).
While contemplating computer “browsers,” I’ve been using Brave (Chromium based) for about a year now and although it has worked well for the most part and continues to block and privatized web-surfing … it is proving to be a bit more clunky. Lately I’ve found myself switching back to Firefox and always have thought it was the better browser on the Windows 10 (Parallels) and Lenovo laptop.
Repairing the aging Caldera Hot Tub … AGAIN #TBT
Posted By RichC on December 10, 2020
Well, it happened again. The stainless steel heater element pipe in our Caldera Hot Tub has failed again (last time was 2013). There must be some electrolysis accelerating the corrosion unless the stainless steel 
tubing is just that poor of quality? On the other hand, like the repair guy commented, your hot tub is far older that most. It was “listed as a 2002” according to Watson’s … so I’m calling this a Throwback Thursday #TBT post and thankful there are still parts.
This is our second hot tub, after the first one only lasting 7 years … but the original “cheaper one” was exposed to the elements, whereas this one was a better quality and has been sheltered a bit since 2008 (photo right- when we added the backporch in the fall of 2007). The Caldera spa sits under a roof and has some redwood surround protecting it a little bit (photos from summer 2020 below).
What’s “The greatest threat to life on Earth” – according to theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking #video
Posted By RichC on December 9, 2020
No … not a pandemic (like Covid19) … or 45 years of Global Warming … or the current adopted term – Climate Change – 
according to Green New Deal Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or environmental activist Greta Thunberg … but an asteroid concluded the late Stephen Hawking. Also, there’s some real history, not a political ideology, behind the “asteroid” threat.
BTW … here’s an interesting YouTube video.
It feels like winter, but those pesky Stink Bugs are still here?
Posted By RichC on December 8, 2020
One of the irritations in using motion sensing security cameras (ani gif from previous post) at our house is that no matter how much I tweak the settings, they still detect motion and even declare “person detected” when it comes to movement. The biggest offender is slightly older Canary cam 
that I have set up inside a window. It is often visited by birds and bugs which triggers an alert … along with the blowing tree branches and occasionally bright sun interspersed by heavy clouds.
This time of year with temperatures near and below freezing, one would think insects would all be dormmate … you would be wrong. Most of the domestic bugs and spiders seem to know it is winter, but the invasive Asian Stink Bug is still showing up … although slower to move. I cleaned up most of the dead bugs when putting up our wreath, but low and behold a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug was still slowly crawling around. Hm, I don’t recall them even being around when I was a kid … now they are everywhere and all the time!
EDIT 12/9/2020: And with a warmer afternoon today .. even more bugs!
Brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSBs) are an invasive species from Asia that first arrived in Pennsylvania in 1996 and can now be found in much of the continental United States. Stink bugs earned their name from the defensive odor they release when disturbed or crushed. People most commonly encounter stink bugs in their homes during late summer and autumn as the temperatures outside begin to fall.
What do stink bugs look like?
Adult BMSBs are mottled greyish-brown in color and have six legs. Their body shape is a triangular shield and they are about ¾ of an inch long.
Where do stink bugs come from?
Stink bugs are a native of Asia and were accidentally introduced to the United States sometime in the late 1990s. Because there are no natural predators for stink bugs in the U.S., they have been able to spread rapidly to become a significant agricultural pest.
Remembering Pearl Harbor and a few personal family thoughts
Posted By RichC on December 7, 2020
Recognition and remembrance for those of the Greatest Generation who were killed on December 7, 1941 are compelling reasons why Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day rings loud with me … but my remembering is also partially due out of respect for my parents. For them (and my late mother and father-in-law), the attack by 
Japan and changed their life trajectory. In the case of Dad Howard (the right age), he enlisted and did his part in WWII as a B-26 navigator. He flew over 50 bombing missions in the European theatre. Throughout his life, his priority was to remember ALL days set aside to honor all who served in the military … even going to events alone when others didn’t have the same desire.
My parents both were old enough to remember the significance the attack on Pearl Harbor was for our country, but not quite old enough to serve (DadC was 12, MomC was 7). DadC then served in Korea in the 1950s and continued to be involved with fellow veterans his entire life. I can remember my dad driving older veterans from Sidney to the VA in Dayton, his involvement with the local VFW or the many activities with the American Legion. Probably most memorable for me was the Honor Trip to Washington DC as well as the monthly card games with the guys that he hosted. It brought a lot of aging veterans together who shared the common bond of serving their country … and teasing each other over nickels.
Missing sailing but appreciating a Cape Horn installation video
Posted By RichC on December 6, 2020
Sometime the best part of keeping a daily blog is that provides a place to archive tidbits for future reference. The Sailing Uma “gear review” tagged YouTube clip on their channel has a fantastic installation video for the Cape Horn Wind Vane self-steering gear that I might need when taking apart ours for repair. Currently ours needs a new internal bushing and likely other parts.
Woodworking: The 100% Silicone Wood Glue Spreader Tool
Posted By RichC on December 5, 2020
About a year ago I ordered two more bottles of Titebond III wood glue online (had great success using it for a fence repair), and on a 
whim I added a goofy looking Titebrush glue brush.
I honestly expected it to get boogered up with dried glue and that I would soon be back to using disposable popsicle sticks to push the glue around. That couldn’t be farther from the truth … as this silly little silicone tipped glue brush has been fantastic. It semi-paints whatever wood glue I use evenly across the surfaces and has a simple wedge end that can be used to “butter” smaller areas, etc. Best of all, it is easy to wash out while still half-wet … or even cleans better if allowed to dry (the dried glue just peels off in one clump).
This is one of those woodworking tools that I’ve waited too long to purchase and can comfortably recommend to others (no I’m not a paid endorser .. but open to trying new products to review – hint, hint). You should add this Titebrush or a similar one (or perhaps Rockler Micro glue brush set) to your “want” list. I can’t think of a better Christmas stocking stuffer for a woodworker this year.
Tech Friday: Raspberry Pi 3 webservers and a USB Power Brick
Posted By RichC on December 4, 2020
Although I only have one address accessible IP at the house, I can split it up via “Port Forwarding” on the cheap Cincinnati Bell router, rather than the home “mesh” network. After a little tweaking (ok, A LOT), I do have a work-around solution using a variety of ports to access different devices. For the most part, I really don’t use these small one-board Raspberry Pi computers for anything more than tinkering, but for me its the continuing education that come from tinkering around.
In the past, I used Python for a few small relay switching projects, 
but with the advent 
of the Amazon Echo gadgets (and price drops), it really doesn’t make much sense to program my own “Smart Home.” Same for running Pianobar for Pandora (since 2006) as a way to get commercial free without a subscription and pump the music through my home stereo … but again, small Bluetooth connected amps and an Echo (and my SiriusXM subscription)… music to my taste is now covered.
As for webservers, I manage several for my business so really I have access to plenty of connected hardware so self-serving content on a Raspberry Pi is really just fun-and-games. I keep thinking 
eventually I’ll find a real purpose? But for now, I’ve temporarily stacked three of them in the basement near the Cincinnati Bell router and use one as the primary webserver running Apache (port 80) and as a network monitor (tweets me updates), the other as a static “image server” and the third for some experimenting … currently playing with Hugo the Static Site Generator SSG.
So far, the cheap 4-port USB plug sized power brick is running all three. I still have a Raspberry Pi Zero and old Raspberry Pi 2 (which I might have over-clocked and cooked?) If I’m going to do much more with these little single board computers, it will be time to build a little rack fort them.
Archiving pre-sale Zillow photos of Mom and DadC’s house #TBT
Posted By RichC on December 3, 2020
As a ‘still listed’ page owner according to my Zillow update emails of my parents house listing in Sidney, Ohio, I realized that it will not be long before those pages and photos disappear. I likely still have the original photos on a compact flash drive card (who can still read those), but probably won’t be going back to them ever again. So I’ll do the next best thing and turn the slide show into a video .mp4 file from the listing page.
Besides archive it here on My Desultory Blog … it will make for a good “5 years later” Throwback Thursday #TBT post. Unfortunately seeing the “empty house” photos leaves me a little melancholy … when my mom died, it was really never a “home” again.
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.