My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on February 6, 2020

It has been a shockingly mild winter, at least in Cincinnati this year. Generally I don’t put the snow blower on the John Deere 330 tractor until it is needed, yet this year I prepared early … and may have frightened the snow away? Having a winter without much snow is not totally unheard of, but it did have me contemplating climate change and remembering taking a trip with our family, all hunkered down under a glacier in Canada (1989). I’m so glad we had this time together, especially since my brother-in-law Mark passed away at age 40 only a few short years after this trip.

Brenda, Ann, Gary, Mark and Rich in the Canadian Rockies – Jasper, Alberta (1989) 

Now, not to be overly political, but I find the debate between those who hyperventilate about “global warming” or the current politically correct term, “climate change” … and those who totally deny there is any change … to be very frustrating. Some of us prefer to be a bit more realistic in regard to what scientists are seeing as a relatively short term trend (in earth age) towards our climate and exactly what we can or should do about it.

First, I’m realistic, as I’ve been hearing “the sky is falling” way too many times only to watch humans adapt and innovate. Growing up I worried about nuclear annihilation and was the concerned over how much we polluted our environment, yet within 20 years, we made reasonable and modest changes … that didn’t negatively impact our economy or way of life – in fact, for most people worldwide, living conditions and lifespan was far better than in previous generations.

We protected our waterways, birds and animals, acid soils and the air quality steadily improved. People forget just how much littering and polluting of our lands and waters was happening (photo of the Cuyahoga River on fire in Cleveland Ohio 1969). In the late 1970s the panic was ozone depletion and then we worried about a second ice age and global cooling.  In the 1980 and 90s it was “peak oil” and turning to renewables; now there is a glut of oil and so much clean natural gas that coal is too expensive to mine. In fact I was (and still am) and advocate for biofuels like biodiesel – believing algae farming in deserts would be a great industry. Hm? 

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Category: Advice, Energy, Environment, Personal, Photos, Science, Technology, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: alberta, aoc, biodiesel, biofuel, climate change, cuyahoga river, Environment, family, fire, glaciers, global warming, jasper, mark howard, panic, politic, pollution, Travel

Posted By RichC on February 5, 2020

Without going into the 90-minute State of the Union speech detail, the economic and overall strength of the United States is incredible compared to history or any other country in the world. The numbers and confidence sure look good for President Trump’s reelection campaign. Add to that the overall disfunction of Democrats (Iowa Caucus) with a segment of their party influenced by socialists or at minimum extreme leftists pushing for massive changes to our democratic republic. The challenges, especially for the moderate DEMs who still favor American entrepreneurs and private enterprise, will be how to beat President Trump when the U.S. is firing on all cylinders and placate the loud voices on the far left who favor more government control of industry – aka: socialism.

The DEM’s problems aside, President Trump still struggles when it comes to winning over those who still can’t handle his personality quirks. Trump is also just recovering from the impeachment hearings and thankfully ignored the subject. He stayed focus on how his policies have helped reboot American pride at home, and respect around the world. From defeating ISIS, killing terrorists and working to wind down America’s longest war in Afghanistan. POTUS declared, “In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny,” Trump said. “We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back.”

When President Trump mentioned that 7 million Americans were no longer on “food stamps” while 10 million had joined the food stamp rolls under the previous administration, Republicans jumped to applaud … yet Democrats let out audible groans. It is hard to believe they actually want our citizens to be dependent … although it is increasingly noticeably that they maintain their office when their constituents are dependent on them. Very sad.

The disdain was obvious when it came to the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Seeing her tear up the State’s State of the Union speech on camera was embarrassing for her … and disrespectful to the office of the President.

Category: News, Photos, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: address, donald trump, nation, pelosi, president, sotu, SOTU2020, speech, united states

Posted By RichC on February 4, 2020

This content is restricted.

Category: Personal, Photos, Tools, Video, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, bench dogs, bike, clamps, machinists, mp4, present, square, tools, try square, video, woodworking, workbench, workshop

Posted By RichC on February 4, 2020

If you have a hole in your jeans, instead of a patch, how about “darning” it with a star?

Category: Misc, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: ani gif, anigif, patch, sewing, star

Posted By RichC on February 3, 2020

The Super Bowl was played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Florida this year and saw two great 2019 teams square off. Both the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers had every right to represent their leagues as both teams had superb seasons and playoff victories. Unfortunately, neither team in my opinion played their best football. From coaching blunders to unusually weak passing performances by a couple of the NFL’s top quarterback in  Patrick Mahomes and Jimmy Garoppolo. About the only thing that stood out to me was an explosive finish by the Chiefs to come from behind and win the game.

The highlight for me was to see Chief’s coach Andy Reid finally win a Super Bowl (I also was cheering for a team from America’s heartland). In 21 seasons in Philadelphia and Kansas City, he had made the playoffs 15 times and is considered one of the best offensive minds in football. No doubt he is in the waning years of coaching, so it was great to see his team finally take the top prize.

The Chiefs came back from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 and win Super Bowl LIV in the most pressure-packed display of Mahomes’s transcendence yet. He had already led Kansas City back from double-digit deficits in back-to-back playoff games to reach this Super Bowl. What was one more?

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Category: News, Sports | No Comments »
Tags: andy reid, football, garoppolo, kansas city chiefs, mahomes, nfl, san francisco 49ers, super bowl, superbowl

Posted By RichC on February 2, 2020

I cannot imagine the anguish a parent faces when losing a child. ☹️

Our family has known the Estes as neighbors since we moved to Cincinnati. Our kids grew up with their kids. From playing in the neighborhood, to 12+ years of school together.  As my son Taylor said to me when remembering Cody, “he was like an older brother and looked out me in school. It didn’t matter the reason, Cody would stick up for me if kids would pick on me.” My thought, “likely even when Taylor was the instigator.”

I’m not sure of the circumstances behind Cody’s death, but I do know he struggle more in life than his brothers and sister. School was more challenging, his social circle less uplifting and his decisions were questionable by parental standards. They weren’t always the best and “trouble” occasionally followed him around. BUT … even knowing that, I’m hard pressed to come up with someone more respectful and outwardly polite and well-mannered as Cody Estes.

Father, please comfort his family and bring them peace as they face the days ahead. In Jesus name, Amen.

Category: Archive, Friends, Obituary | No Comments »
Tags: cody, dakota, estes, friend, neighbor, neighborhood, obit, Obituary

Posted By RichC on February 1, 2020

I’ve used tape measures for decades both when working in construction (summer job) and for hundreds of home improvement projects .. YET never really knew why the 19.2" on center diamond mark was on tapes.

Most building codes mandate that studs be spaced 16 inches apart, so the tape will help you stay on the right side of the law as you construct (as well as making sure your wall can safely bear the load it needs to).

Joists on the other hand should be 19.2 inches apart. Since plywood often comes in 8-feet sections, you’re in luck. Divide 8 feet (or 96 inches) by 19.2 and you get 5.

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Category: Tools, Video, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: building, construction, diamond, marks, on center, studs, tape measure, tools, trades, video

Posted By RichC on January 31, 2020

A wide-angle view of the solar surface from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope is the
highest-resolution image of the Sun ever taken, showing details as small as 30 km wide.
Seen here are granules, the tops of giant convection cells. Credit: NSO/NSF/AURA

Whether it is gazing at the millions of stars night sky (the suns of other solar systems) or our own sun (don’t look at it!), the size and grandeur amazes even the less curious among us. The above image is the “deep red light” (a wavelength of 0.789 microns) that details the surface and structures 30 kilometers across. Considering the sun’s size and energy, it certainly seems possible that even capturing just a small amount of the energy being hurdled at earth that there should be enough to easily supply human’s minuscule (by comparison) energy needs. Tinkering with Encore’s solar panels, batteries and charging systems last week had me rethinking what the future holds as alternatives to fossil fuels continue to advance. 

What you’re seeing are the tops of huge towers of convection inside the Sun (called granules). The Sun generates heat deep in its core, and that heat works its way out to the surface.

READ more

Category: Energy, Science, Space | No Comments »
Tags: astronomy, images, power, science, solar, space, sun, tech friday, techfriday, telescope

Posted By RichC on January 30, 2020

Encore has battery power again, Alleluia! After fiddling around with dying and dead batteries on the boat for the past year, I finally broke down and yanked out the 3 deep cycle AGM 105 Amp Hour batteries. I did a little rewiring and strapped down 2 new DEKA-made batteries this past weekend ($253 ea).

The weather upon arrival was not helpful though, as a cold front from the north pushed into Florida and brought rain, damp weather and uncomfortably cold winds. Thankfully it warmed back to 70 degrees and sun by the weekend — of course, it was then time to head home.

Besides attending to the battery, I worked on the alternator and solar panel which are burning fuses? I’m hoping this was all part of the dead and dying battery issue, but we’ll have to see if something else is shorting out? For the time I was on the boat, I unplugged the shore power, let the solar panel do the battery charging and pretended I was Jimmy Buffett’s “Twelve Volt Man.”

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Category: Energy, Music, Personal, Photos, Sailing, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: 12 volts, batteries, encore, florida, jimmy buffett, maintenance, marina, Music, sailboat, weather

Posted By RichC on January 29, 2020

Read an outstanding article in the WSJ this past week as the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) continues to spread and take lives. It is currently a China-based virus that likely stems from bats that mutate and spread through other mammals. Efforts are being made in China to prevent spreading within their country, but with travel and aviation, every country is at risk. A chart as of January 27, 2020 highlight the number of cases and deaths.

Since Katelyn worked on SARS detection research when she was pre-Med with NASA Sharp as an intern in New Mexico, the quick detection and hopefully eventual vaccine are at the top of my mind.

Before we panic, let’s put this in perspective with the contagious influenza virus. The vaccine is offered every year yet people are pretty casual about getting it … EVEN though thousands in this country die every year (2017 – 2018 deaths were estimated at 61,000 according to the CDC), so let’s keep this current scary contagion in perspective.

Here are a few points:

How dangerous is the new coronavirus?

It appears to be less deadly than a related pathogen — severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which erupted in China in 2002 and spread globally in 2003. SARS killed about 10% of the people it infected, while about 3% of the people confirmed to be infected with this new coronavirus have died. Many of those who have died are elderly or have other illnesses such as diabetes. But the new virus may spread from one person to another more easily than SARS, some early disease modeling suggests.

What is a coronavirus?

This new virus belongs to a family of viruses known as coronaviruses. Named for the crown-like spikes on their surfaces, they infect mostly bats, pigs and small mammals. But they mutate easily and can jump from animals to humans, and from one human to another. In recent years, they have become a growing player in infectious-disease outbreaks world-wide. (more…)

Category: Health, News, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: 2019-nCoV, china, coronavirus, disease, katelyn, medical, nasa sharp, virus, wsj, wuhan