My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on January 15, 2020

A year or so ago, I “was” planning to give the Amazon Key service a try by having shipments delivered to the condo in Florida when we are not there. So I purchase a smart lock and then realized that Amazon didn’t offer Key delivery services in Delray Beach. I sent it back as I really wasn’t that comfortable with the idea anyway.

For Christmas this year, Katelyn and Drew gave me the hardware so I could connect our overhead garage door to a cellphone app (and eventually to our smarthome devices with a little IFTTT tweaking). I was skeptical that it would work on our pool house detached garage since it is a commercial unit and does not work with built-in car remotes etc (saved this for the Honda but never could get the commercial version of “rolling codes” to work – nor would the BMW X5 35d).

Now that the garage door is working, how about setting up Amazon Key for the garage door (here’s a recent Verge update on using garage door openers with Amazon Key).  A few click later KEY was set up … but untested … until this week when I ordered a new Zoeller sump pump and switch to rebuild the old corroded pump so I have a backup (My Jerry-Rigged sump pump is temporarily doing the job).

Hey look (my WyzeCam Pan video below) … lo and behold, Amazon Key for Garage worked.
 

What is Key by Amazon In-Garage Delivery?
Protect your packages by getting them delivered into the safety of your garage — perfect for when you’re at work, away or even on vacation. Get started with the Key by Amazon App and a Key by Amazon Smart Garage Kit.

How does it work?

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Category: Business, Personal, Photos, Shopping, Technology, Video | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, Cam, delivery, door, garage, idiom, idioms, key, mp4, myq, overhead, phrases, sump pump, video, wyze, zoeller

Posted By RichC on January 14, 2020

The stock market continues to rally on positive news: low inflation, cheap money, increasing wages, low unemployment and even good news on trade with China. If there was ever a time to use the “hitting on all cylinders” idiom, this would be it … but when things are looking this good … everybody gets a little nervous.

I’ve been wondering if and when the bottom will fall out (a socialist like Bernie Sanders or anti-free market advocate like Elizabeth Warren rising in the polls as we near the election might do it?) As for what to do, that’s the dilemma for investors since there aren’t any returns from the traditional safe, conservative, low-risk investments people move to when they seek safety or to when things get a little too “frothy.”

There was some good news on my “Waiting for Godot” turn-around investment, General Electric (GE), on Monday. I’m still waiting for the corner to be turned … but have been regularly seeing analysts turning positive, even if only a little bit. Perhaps this will be the year GE gets a foothold and can start to make their shareholders money again?

As for positives from analysts Deusche Bank’s Nicole DeBlase commented that even though $GE was still in turn around mode under CEO Larry Cup, the firm told clients to buy the stock and to bank on near-term gains. They believe GE has the potential to beat in the 4th quarter and give positive 2020 guidance. I’m crossing my fingers.

Category: Financial, Idioms, News | No Comments »
Tags: djia, finances, ge, idiom, idioms, index, investing, nasdaq, s&p500, saving, stock market, trading

Posted By RichC on January 13, 2020

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Category: Apple, Computer, Music, Software, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: apple, catalina, Computer, freddy fender, imac, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, operating system, updated, wasted days, wasted nights

Posted By RichC on January 12, 2020

Being young, and someone who looked to be vying to be listed in this year’s Darwin Award, had me telling this worker, on a questionable set ladder, that he may not be as invincible to injury as he thinks? (he said to me, “oh, I’ve done this before”) 

We noticed a bit of water seeping between the new gutters on our house and the aluminum facia trim, so I called Gutter Shutter who has been excellent in responding to me when it came to servicing the minor repair we needed on our new gutters (for the cost, they should). Their service guy stopped out this week to add a strip of additional drip edge … but set up his ladder a bit precariously. Having had a few “ladder accidents” in our family (father-in-law, brother-in-law  and my wife, but thankfully not Taylor), I’m a bit more sensitive to ladder accidents that look like they are waiting to happen.

Thankfully all was well, but still think there was a better way to stabilize this than a couple rocks under two for the legs? Safety First, please.

Category: Health, Misc, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: accident, brenda, dadh, darwin award, falling, falls, gutter shutter, jerry, ladder, repair, safety, service, taylor

Posted By RichC on January 11, 2020

Forgive me for being a bit redundant in worrying (again) about the hot tech stocks like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Tesla (TSLA) and Netflix (NFLX) among others as the Dow Jones Industrial Average flirts with 29,000 in mid-January 2020 (even a broken clock is right twice a day! ― Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach). I’ve been wondering just how long these must have stocks can continue to rise faster than their earning?

Apple in particular has changed in recent years – from a somewhat reasonably priced money making machine, to what some consider a bit overpriced. Time to diversify? Of course, I worried when it was half the price it is today … then AAPL went on to rise another 86% in one year (2019).

If I still held the individual AAPL stock, I don’t think I could ride it much longer … in fact, I’m concerned that if investors decide it is time to cash in a bit as the $1.4 Trillion dollar company is being held in thousands of ETFs and Mutual Funds. A little selling to lead to more and even drag the market itself down. It could be the next melt down trigger, even if the underlying economy and stock market is sound. There might not be any fundamental reason, just a “run for the exits” where investors want to hold onto the 2019 gains in tech before the next guy sells his shares?

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Category: Financial, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: aapl, apple, barrons, djia, election, etf, finance, investing, mutual fund, retirement, savings, stocks, trade, wall street

Posted By RichC on January 10, 2020

This pet video of a dog in Turkey getting his back rubbed by a car wash is pretty impressive. I guess the human touch isn’t all that important to him?

Category: Humor, Video | No Comments »
Tags: car wash, carwash, dog, dogs, Humor, mp4, pets, turkey, video

Posted By RichC on January 9, 2020

It’s fun to remember all the cool looking Volkswagen conversion back in my youth. I loved the dune buggies and sports car models (that looked fast, but were VW Bug slow). Here’s one that I never saw in person, but back in the 1970s … when “vans were cool” … this would have been great. I still like it today!

Back in the 1970s, converting Volkswagen bugs into other things was a pretty popular pastime. I suppose it was the relative simplicity of their chassis design, and easily removable bodies that made them easy targets. One of the most amazing VW bug conversions I’ve ever seen has got to be the Brubaker Box.

Curtis Brubaker would convert VW Beetles into a sort of a low minivan. Like a Bug, it’s still got a rear-mounted engine, and all of the mechanicals are basically the same, though they raised the pedals, and moved the dash controls and radio over to left side of the driver. Of course, that was only feasible because the only way in or out of the Brubaker Box was the sliding door on the passenger side. In addition to the two seats up front, the Brubaker Box featured a sort of section lounge area in the back, much like larger vans of the era.

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Category: Automotive, TBT, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Tags: 95octaine.com, beetle, brubaker box, conversion, volkswagen, volkswagen bug, vw, youtube

Posted By RichC on January 8, 2020

Just when you have the perfect wireless plan (and pricing structure) figured out … someone throws a wrench (spanner) in the works. Thanks Richard Branson. #sarcasm

Our Virgin Mobile iPhones (we have iPhone7s and iPhone7plus) … are being transferred to Boost Mobile. Ugh, that doesn’t sound promising?

Category: Business, Cellphone, Idioms, Productivity, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: boost, boostmobile, Cellphone, idiom, idioms, sarcasm, virgin, virginmobile, wireless, wrench

Posted By RichC on January 7, 2020

Category: Automotive, Humor, Video | No Comments »
Tags: accident, crash, Humor, jumping, kia, mp4, run away, SUV

Posted By RichC on January 6, 2020

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Category: Human Interest, Music | No Comments »
Tags: excitable boy, mp3, Music, music monday, musicmonday, opinion, optimism, peggy noonan, song, warren zevon, werewolves, wsj