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!
Are US presidents “rock-stars” based on political ideology?
Posted By RichC on February 25, 2020
It is shocking to see the “rock-star welcome” (or thumbs down reception in socialist leaning countries) that “recent” American presidents get when they are overseas. I said “recent American presidents” in respect for the popularity President Obama had when traveling in the leaning countries of Europe; he was seen as tilting the U.S. to the left and more like them … but have to admit, President Trump is received well by people who still embrace independence from government, individual freedom and fair market-based capitalism as a preferred way of life and improving overall quality of life.
Trump just filled the world’s largest cricket stadium with over 100,000 people in India.
AHMEDABAD, India—President Trump kicked off two days in India with a huge campaign-style rally in the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a reprise of a raucous event the pair staged in the U.S. last year, and a visit to the Taj Mahal with the first lady.
Mr. Trump and his wife, Melania, were greeted at the airport by women in traditional attire dancing with water pots on their heads and men playing the trumpet and drums, along with other artists from every corner of India. They drove past giant cutout images of the two leaders. People carried balloons and wore T-shirts emblazoned with the names of the two leaders and masks of their likenesses.
On the way, the pair stopped at the spiritual center where Mohandas K. Gandhi, better known by the honorific title Mahatma, lived. It is now a museum and national monument dedicated to the person that many Indians revere as the “father of the nation” for his role in leading India to independence from British rule through the use of nonviolence.
Mr. Trump signed the guest book with an upbeat message to “my great friend Prime Minister Modi, Thank you for this wonderful visit!”
Music Monday: The Daytona 500 from 2006 and Bonjovi
Posted By RichC on February 24, 2020
After last week’s outstanding Daytona500 pre-race festivities and the fitting musical performance by Darius Rucker, the “Years Ago On This Day” post from “The Greatest Auto Race – NOT the Daytona 500” from 2006’s appeared.
Attached to it was one of my earlier video streaming attempts of the Bonjovi pre-race performance. What a great Music Monday post after an exciting Monday night 2020 NASCAR race due to Sunday’s rain delay. Anyway, here’s the low quality 2006 mp4 video.
Accidents, newly stained fence damage and insurance pains
Posted By RichC on February 23, 2020
Everything seems to happen when we (or I) am out of town. From the power out and a flooded basement to accidents in our backyard (well for a couple I’ve been home). The latest happened when I was in Florida working on the boat and a sheriff deputy came knocking on the door at 5:30AM frightening Brenda. Obviously he was just doing his job, but knocks on the door during the night or early in the morning aren’t the best way to wake up.
He drove her to our rear fence (see quadrotor video) and gave her his card and incident report number which I’m finally getting submitted to the Columbus Ohio driver’s insurance company (driver was ok) – for what it is worth, his insurance company, The General, has not been easy to deal with so far.
I’m still in the process of gathering quote for a relatively minor repair, which means the hassle is likely more the problem than the dollar amount of damages. I wish they would just cut a check and let me handle the repairs, but they want quotes not just photos. Oh well.
The bummer is that I just cleared the fence line, painted the fence and gate (below) last summer.
Our second granddaughter was born on February 20 2020
Posted By RichC on February 22, 2020
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TechFriday: VPN yay or VPN nay? Free or paid? Which service?
Posted By RichC on February 21, 2020
If you’ve been on the Internet for any length of time (post from 2007), 
you have likely used, or been marketed VPN services, as a way to secure your Wi-Fi connection (especially public hotspots) away from the office or home network. I’ve pitched them as a security precaution to my customers and use them when traveling, especially when using unknown public and private networks.
The recent trend in trying to secure your browsing data from companies who market your personal information (Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc) using a variety of collection means, have more and more people turning to more secure web browsers, cookie-cutting add-ons and VPN connections even when on home/office networks.
The downside when attempting to do it “on the cheap” is a loss of speed (see speed tests posted above on my home network using ProtonVPN’s free service), bandwidth, traffic and limited data per month. Over the past few years, I’ve used a few and settled on ProtonVPN due to getting solid connections, positive reviews and no limit to monthly data … unlike my previous favorite TunnelBear.
At some point, it is likely we’ll all need to use a VPN with random connect points and IP addresses for privacy and online security when away from home. I’m just wondering at what point it will be packaged with my current ISP as a perk (or requirement) … or when I should PAY for a service in order to reduce marketing from VPN services and gain access to more locations and higher speeds?
Proton “pros and cons” as well as current pricing below:
While waiting for our 2nd granddaughter, here’s #1 for #TBT
Posted By RichC on February 20, 2020
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Trading and Investing in Energy has not been the wise move
Posted By RichC on February 19, 2020
Those of us who spend any amount of time investing or trading stocks enjoy the good feeling when we’ve studied and made positive investing moves … but we also tend to ignore the stupid trades. Looking at today’s chart of Exxon $XOM (5.80% annual dividend), there is no way I can positively spin one of my lousy investment decisions. Here’s hoping that admitting my mistake will help prevent “my” tendency to “dollar cost average … causing me to have an unbalanced or poorly diversified portfolio.
I’ve slowly been moving from a portfolio of growth stocks to income stocks … even before reading “The Little Book of Value Investing.” I suspect most people who are nearing retirement age like the idea of building of 
a dividend portfolio and hope for more portfolio stability. Tradition wisdom is that companies who’s profits comes from steady production and consistent sales are ideal. Unfortunately finding well managed companies with “free cash flow” and with a history of raising their dividends is getting more and more challenging.
Traditionally, energy related conglomerates have been the go-to candidates since the world depends on a steady flow of oil and natural gas. Unfortunately, the last 12-months or so of oversupply and depressed economies outside the U.S. have not been good times to hold or buy energy stocks.
Personally I would have been better sticking to a broad based ETF, well managed mutual fund … or in hindsight, holding a few more of the high flying tech stocks (admittedly, I sold $AAPL and most of my $TWTR to buy a basket of individual stocks like $XOM, $CVX, $RDS.B and $BP).
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.