Granddaughter Annalyn celebrated birthday number 3 yesterday
Posted By RichC on March 5, 2020
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Showing an old Mercedes Benz W123 conversion a little love
Posted By RichC on March 4, 2020
One has to admire the ingenuity some go through in taking their love of the classic W123 Mercedes Benz diesel with a love of cheap travel or as the RV and Van camper crowd call it: boondocking. I’ve had daydreams of converting my small utility trailer to a self-contained privative camping trailer, but find it hard to convince my wife to live for 3-months or so in such a way (depressingly, we can’t even figure out how to cruise away from home on a sailboat, although I haven’t given up the dream just yet).
Anyway, I do enjoy seeing a vintage W123 million miler put to good use … although personally would have opted for a 300D Turbodiesel (listen)!
Give me a lever and I shall move the world … or a mailbox cap
Posted By RichC on March 3, 2020
Let’s hope that accidents do not happen in threes? After just getting my quote in order to submit to the insurance company in order to repair our rear fence, our neighbor called to let me know that a generic white-box deliver truck (no license plate) hit our mailbox. Thankfully after looking at the damage, it looks as if I could just move it back into position? Nope … I could barely lift the corner and have no idea just how heavy this cap is?
No biggie … a little science and tool know-how and it is fixed. Armed with my crowbar, a wooden wedge, a section of 1/2” pipe and time tested Archimedes of Syracuse advice .. the concrete mailbox cap is back in place. Thanks Archie!
“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”
“The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.”
Music Monday: A song for a political divisive government/society. Get Together – The Youngbloods
Posted By RichC on March 2, 2020
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A great time visiting our NEW and almost 3-year old granddaughter
Posted By RichC on March 1, 2020
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The flag halyard fails again and Old Glory comes flopping down
Posted By RichC on February 29, 2020
We have had a problem with our Amazon purchased halyard on our flag pole instead of the rapid flag degrading as usual – as can be seen on our WyzeCam security mp4 video (below). This is the second flag halyard we have had fail in the last couple of years; next time I’m going to have to purchase something from a high-quality, perhaps a halyard from a sailing chandlery?
Tech Friday, sort of: If you like geography, world history and maps – you will like this
Posted By RichC on February 28, 2020
Right-click and Save-as for a very interesting larger download version of this map
A new Brilliant Maps twitter feed is constantly sharing some very interesting mapping projects and this one was particularly intriguing. As a commenter posted, “obviously a map like this is going to disputed, but PisseGuri82 has gone to great lengths to explain his methodology.
The map above is a stunning piece of work that shows the when each of the world’s international borders were first defined.
The world’s oldest border is Andorra’s 120km border with France and Spain which was fixed in a feudal charter signed on 8 September 1278.
The world’s youngest border segment is between South Sudan and Sudan, which was only decided in 2009, although it remains disputed.
But when were most of the world’s borders formed? By time period they are:
- 1200-1499: 2,405km (0.9%)
- 1500-1699: 5,463km (2.1%)
- 1700-1724: 4,264km (1.6%)
- 1725-1749: 0km (0%)
- 1750-1774: 8,491km (3.3%)
- 1775-1799: 4,350km (1.7%)
- 1800-1824: 9,025km (3.5%)
- 1825-1849: 9,309km (3.6%)
- 1850-1874: 16,416km (6.4%)
- 1875-1899: 60,046km (23.6%)
- 1900-1924: 83,897km (32.9%)
- 1925-1949: 34,752km (13.6%)
- 1950-1974: 13,130km (5.1%)
- 1975-1999: 1,674km (0.6%)
- 2000-today: 1,189km (0.4%)
- Undefined: 2,202km (0.8%)
Therefore, 52.2% of the world’s borders were set during the 20th century and a further 37.1% were set during the 19th century.
As My Desultory Blog grows, it is becoming increasingly difficult to search and find archived information #TBT
Posted By RichC on February 27, 2020
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Not much snow in Cincinnati for 2019-2020, but it is pretty
Posted By RichC on February 26, 2020
We haven’t had much snow in SW Ohio this year .. so before it is totally gone for 2019-2020, I’ll share a few flakes above … after the “BIG FLAKES” bickered last night in South Carolina (a list of Democratic Presidential Candidates debating in 2020).
Democrats jockey for support ahead of S.C. primary
The Democratic presidential candidates jockeyed for position in South Carolina on Wednesday after a contentious debate the night before in Charleston in which they sparred over key policy areas including health-care costs, gun control and foreign affairs in a testy debate — and talked over one another a lot.
A little disappointed in my new New Sperry Topsiders
Posted By RichC on February 26, 2020
Old verse New Sperry Topsiders for 2020
Although I’ve needed a new pair of Sperry Topsiders for quite some time now, I was disappointed in that the shoe was not made the same as a previous version. I’ve had over a dozen boat shoes in my lifetime, but only the Sperry brand in recent years. 
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still happy with the new boat shoes, and great Valentine’s Day gift from Brenda earlier this month, but sense Sperry is cheapening their product and banking on their good name? Perhaps it is just a less expensive version that markets the sole and look of their previous well constructed shoes, but “I thought” I was getting the same shoe as before (could be my mistake)?
At any rate, the new shoe has more in common with my 1970s and 80s boat shoes in that there isn’t the same stitching and reinforced lined areas that my prior/recent shoes have had. No doubt the leather will wear equally well … but suspect the bare foot on raw leather will be even more difficult to keep from taking on odor.
Only time will tell … for now, time to break them in!
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.