Archive: Some books to bookshelves and granddaughter photos
Posted By RichC on October 6, 2020
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Music Monday: Stories We Could Tell sung by Jimmy Buffett
Posted By RichC on October 5, 2020
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Cleaning, reorganizing, some sanding and new ZipGuard finsih
Posted By RichC on October 4, 2020
In my goal to gain space in the poolhouse garage (a failure) and clearing out and cleaning the east-side wall, I shifted my attention to the beat-up bench top. Part of this was just clearing the workbench of junk, then reorganizing and cleaning each shelf. The boxes have been sort-of shuffled (drawers ignored), but I lost momentum in throwing “good” junk and clutter away (although last weeks garbage haul was good).
Wednesday night, I took down the shade sails, ran a few boards through my new DeWalt planer and decided to sand workbench top to get it smooth and prepped rather than interrupt Brenda’s streaming marathon of Grimm. She claims it is a good series but frankly I can’t take watching any more TV … Tuesdays’ nasty presidential debate burned me out.
Finally though, after the clearing and sanding, I added some Zip-Guard protection from my leftover jar … so the bench should be good for a few more years.
And since this is a semi-wrenching post, I’ll slip in this “Why math is important” image below the break.
After cleaning, tossing junk and the re-organizing a couple walls, the pool house garage is still way too cluttered
Posted By RichC on October 3, 2020
As much as I love working in an organized space, for the life of me I have trouble keeping it that way. Also, I can’t get rid of things I use, might 
use or that are too good to sell or toss. The truth is that I have the packrat gene. My parents were not quick to let go of something they bought or might need either. Come to think about it, neither was Brenda’s dad when it came to his barn.
Still, I’m glad to have whittled away at some of the junk piling up in the pool house garage. Since I cleared the wall (not shown), it exposed the old office supplemental heater that I used in my office in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for those late nights when I didn’t want to heat the entire building. I installed it in the pool house garage thinking it would take the chill off of working in the garage (still works great – ani gif), but it was way too small. Instead, I installed a Mr. Heater hanging heater above the workspace AND woodstove in the corner – both work great.
Sold my Twitter $TWTR stock as the election nears
Posted By RichC on October 2, 2020
With Twitter $TWTR stock rising this week and the election around the corner, I debated buying a PUT option, but instead decided I would feel more comfortable in a cash position than wondering what direction the stock will move next time.
Years ago I unfortunately picked Twitter as my social network investment and for the most part would have been better just “trading” in and out of the stock. After years of ups and downs, rumors of selling the company and Congress reclassifying social networking platforms as “news” organizations … it basically the stock (or company) hasn’t turned out as planned. I’m sure now that I’m out, something will happen (isn’t that the way it always seems to be?)
So for now, I can relax in that I’m out of a speculative investment and rethink where I want to be as the next big change for Brenda and I will be retirement (5 or 6 short years away). 
What to do with my antique letterpress type galley trays #TBT
Posted By RichC on October 1, 2020
While clearing out a little more garage clutter this past weekend in order to gain some space as the weather changes (things are getting too crowded), I finally ripped apart an old type galley cabinets that I hauled from my building in Cuyahoga Falls years ago.
Consolidated Printing and Publishing Co. wasn’t really an old enough company to work with lead type used in letterpress printing (started CPP in 1987) and all the peripheral equipment such as type cases, galley trays and cabinets. There were a few things that I ended up with … somehow …and they were too useful to not keep and use of other things. Our cabinet and trays and drawers became a place to store customer negatives, stripped flats and offset printing plates.
Biden and Trump debate as the 2020 Presidential Election nears
Posted By RichC on September 30, 2020
“INCOMING!” (reference to the diving falcon photo)
With best intentions, I had hoped to post on Tuesday night’s first of 3 presidential debates for Wednesday morning – nope … maybe over lunch?
I am with those who are embarrassed at what we now see and hear from our political leaders. To be honest, the “offensive to me” juvenile name-calling sideshow, that rallied Candidate Trump to victory in 2016, seems mild compared to last night. The debate … or debacle … was what one might expect in a union hall or testosterone heavy military bar. I’m sure there are some of us who still prefer civility and respectful exchanges in debates covering political ideology, platforms and leadership accomplishments/failures verses hyperbolic claims and personal attacks?
If anything came from this for Joe Biden, it was that the VP looked more capable and less senile than expected. On the other hand, his exaggeration, presidential disrespect and disregard in choice of words (stupid, liar, shut-up man, etc) make President Trump’s juvenile nicknames for candidates seem mild. I couldn’t help but think about those moms, dads and teachers who try everyday to instill manors, 
appropriate behavior and respectful word choices in their children or students … this can’t possibly help them support either candidate?
About the only thing positive and helpful that I could come away with was to look at the “groups” lined up to defend and support each candidate. These groups are at least clear in their objective for the country and some are truthful in their political ideology. On the left there are the in-you-face groups … from BLM = Marxist, Bernie Sanders = socialism … and the “idea” group called ANTIFA (reference to Biden only recognizing them as an idea). Equally vocal, but usually less violent are the Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood big money elites, along with career government bureaucrats, leftist educators, environmentalists and globalists. There is overlap, but if you align best with these groups, you’ll probably support the Democrat’s platform that sees America as unfair, racist and significantly flawed.
To correct this injustice, the left needs political power to make constitutional and policy changes. Only then can they restrain citizens from making their own decisions aligned with their beliefs or advantageous to their careers or businesses. Only a bigger and a more dictatorial central government can do this, so more control is what they need. Instead of the Power to the People slogan from the 1960s … the left wants more power in the Federal government so they can control people.
Personal liberty and freedom are casualties in bigger and centralized government. The “groups” of people on the right opposed to a larger central government tend to support President Trump (he does A LOT with the the power he already is granted as President). For the most part, his supporters, and those likely pinching their nose to vote for him, do not want to see American’s individual rights siphoned away. They prefer free enterprise capitalism … operating fairly within our anti-monopoly laws …as opposed to socialism (government owned) or just more government regulated business (traditional liberal left). Those on the right believe lower taxes restricts government growth and in turn keeps them less intrusive in our everyday lives. If you want more services from government, vote for them locally. Conservatives on the right believe keeping taxes low also stimulates our economy by letting people chose where to spend their money rather then Washington DC bureaucrats spending it.
Remembering my mom’s birthday with an Oldsmobile photo
Posted By RichC on September 29, 2020
My mother’s birthday isn’t one that I mark with a blog post every year, but since I ran across this old photo of my mom in East Tawas Michigan, I set it aside (along with one from me in my new suede coat back in high school). I spotted the Kodachrome slide of Mom next to our 1958 Oldsmobile 98 two-door hardtop when searching for our old camping and family travel photos this past summer. I set it aside thinking that I might just include it someday … even though the photo was before my time and my memories.
I wish my mom and dad still around to celebrate special occasions like birthdays … she would have been 86 this year. Hm, who knew, my mom was this young once upon a time …and yikes … according to the other photo so was I!
Great night sky viewing of the moon, Saturn and Jupiter
Posted By RichC on September 28, 2020
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Music Monday: Social unrest and the 1970s song Chevy Van
Posted By RichC on September 28, 2020
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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.