Archive: A couple family photos from this past week

Posted By on October 17, 2020

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Friday Filler: Probably the cutest thing you will see this week

Posted By on October 16, 2020

Watch what happens when this “magic hat” is put on a baby duckling …

Books: Finished Operation Vengeance, starting Pacific Crucible

Posted By on October 14, 2020

OperationVengeanceBook_DanHamptonThis past week I finally finished Dan Hampton’s excellent historical World War II book titled “Operation VengeancePacificCrucibleBook_IanWTollabout the operation to kill Isoroku Yamamoto and can finally move on to the book I mentioned in September after reading a WSJ review. Since the “reviewed” book was the third and finally Ian W. Toll’s book in the Pacific Trilogy series, I figured I would start with “Pacific Crucible.”

So far I like the author’s writing style and quickly looked up a few photos, names (Admiral Harold Rainsford “Betty” Stark) and maps for visual purposes … and even reflected and referred to my blog photos from our time at Pearl Harbor. The account of Japanese Zeros so low as to see the uncanopied pilot’s cats-eye goggles brings the 1941 attack at Pearl Harbor a bit more intimate.

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Pearl Harbor Anniversary

Workshop dust control for a basement woodworking shop

Posted By on October 13, 2020

Thrifty or maybe frugal is the word choice that I use, but occasionally “cheapskate” might be a better fit? FilterForJetDustControl201002

I’ve used a 3-speed Jet Tools Air Filtration System to clean the air in my basement woodworking workshop  to reduce the amount of dust. It works reasonable well but suspect a lot of dust still makes it way upstairs.

Two of the maintenance items required for optimum efficiency are the filters. First is the electrostatic disposable particle filter which collects most of the dust followed by the Inner Pocket Filter (not seen in photo) that can be taken out and cleaned. The company also sells a “washable” electrostatic outer filter but at over twice the price is hard to swallow.

For me, it is costly enough to replace the filters in our 3 furnaces, but I do it more often at the request of my wife. She asks me to replace them ever 3 months rather than my 6 month interval … although I’m pretty laxed about it. Lately I’ve noticed that the better grade of hypoallergenic filters I been buying aren’t as dirty, at least to my naked eye, so I’ve repurposed by cutting them down to fit in the Jet AFS-1000B. I’m sure the experts would say that JetElecrostaticFilterthe “reused”  furnace filter is not the same as a $20 stock “electrostatic” filter, but for me they are always plenty caked with dust when I replace them. Eventually I’ll buy a new “proper” filter, but for now, this is an inexpensive way to get double duty out of filters AND encourage me to change the whole house furnace filters sooner. (also in a user’s online test, filter or no filter, shops are still dusty)

Music Monday: Are you ‘feeling groovy’ this morning?

Posted By on October 12, 2020

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Most parents and grandparents have room for improvement

Posted By on October 11, 2020

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My son Taylor has been busy professionally and personally

Posted By on October 10, 2020

As a dad who has always kept up and archived the “goings-on” with Taylor and Katelyn on MyDesultoryBlog, I realized that grandchildren steal the limelight most of the time … that is just the way it is. But … that doesn’t mean life doesn’t keep moving along for adult children in the work-a-day world either.

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This past week, Taylor updated me on “creating his first subdivision” as a planner. To be sure, he has worked on several in both North Dakota and here in Ohio, but this will be the first for him from the start professionally. What dad isn’t happy to see their grown CamsBachelorPartyGuyschildren wanting to share these kinds of accomplishments? I am very proud and impressed.

He is also in that phase of life where big life changes happen. Good friends take jobs in different states (his closest friend Mike will soon be moving to Maine), a few who are married are having children … and good buddies like Cam Harter are getting married. Besides the guys of the wedding party having a great bachelor party at Lake Tahoe amidst COVID19 situation (photos above), they had a great wedding in Cincinnati this past month.  Congratulations Margaret and Cameron.

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Nothing to see here, it’s just politics as usual for the political left

Posted By on October 9, 2020

A Hollywood style TRUMP sign goes up in California “on private property” … then it is promptly taken down by California Department of Transportation citing “a life and safety issue.” Hm … I’m sure that’s what it was … and that it has nothing to do with the aggressive, anti-Trump, left-leaning politics of politicians in California. #sarcasm 

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It is hard to believe that “speech, debate, expression, etc” that was once the hallmark of liberal academia and of those who lean politically left are AmyConeyBarettwalkingnow being openly squelched and censored if they don’t conform to their ideology. An individuals freedom and liberty is openly under attack and yet many Americans seem willing to let it happen, so as long is it fits their political view.

Sadly it is happening when it comes to the Supreme Court as well .. no longer do Democrats seek justices who interpret cases based on the Constitution, but desire ones who actively write and rule to advance their desired outcome.

The Old Wooden Ladder: Shag carpet and “The Pig” #TBT

Posted By on October 8, 2020

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While doing some the pool house garage cleaning and reorganizing over the past couple of weeks, a piece of the old shag carpeting I duct taped ontoWoodenLadderCarpet_TBT the old wooden ladder I acquired in the 1980s fell off. As usual, it triggered memories.

First, the good times Brenda and I had with our sailboat Brenich, pre-kids, then Tulla with kids and finally many years of using this same old wooden ladder to climb into the loft of the barn both in Hudson, Ohio and then for the last 20 years to the loft in the pool house garage. I’ve probably been up and down the ladder thousands of times and I still regularly put up Christmas lights and wreaths and it is the “ladder of choice” to get onto the lower roofs, even though I have an aluminum one. In all that time the scraps of carpet I taped to the ladder, to prevent scratching the the boat, stayed in place … until last week when a piece fell off. It was only then that I noticed the real carpet color and remembered it from my families house on Lake Erie. It was once wrapped the round footstool we fondly referred to as “the pig.” Great memories.

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An inexpensive Sailrite LSZ-1 sewing machine cart is finished

Posted By on October 7, 2020

SewingCartSailriteLSZ1_200927The Sailrite LSZ-1 sewing machine cart is complete and turned out great. Everything worked as planned (a rarity for me) and didn’t have to purchase anything new.

SewingCartSailriteCase200927The wider oak material was sitting in my stock shelf, the edge banding for the fold out table stripped from the glass top of my recently disassembled printing flats storage (type galley trays case) and the 1/2” plywood leftover from my crosscut sled. As for hardware, the brackets from the laundry room upgrade (didn’t use), the brass screws from Katelyn and Drew’s cherry “wedding wagon” project and durable white floor/shelf paint from the steps and mudroom update.

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Although I had been planning to turn the red workshop cart from my dad into a sewing workstation for a while now, the inspiration to get it done came from the Mythbusters special effects expert, Adam Savage (his YouTube channel is addictive). Thanks!

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog