My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on December 27, 2019

Since I’m often asked what kind of fuel economy I’m getting on my slightly “tweaked” 2010 BMW X5 35d diesel SUV, here’s the yearly update from my log on Fuelly.com.

Nothing to write home about, but then there have been far more local trips than the interstate driving a few years ago … besides, my driving has become a bit more aggressive (heavier foot). Years ago when I was  focused on biodiesel and working a bit harder to keep my overall fuel economy up, I might have been able to move closer to 24 mpg … but still, a 23.6 overall average is pretty good for a 2-1/2 ton SUV … and not all that much different than 2018.

Category: Archive, Biodiesel, BMW, Diesel | No Comments »
Tags: BMW, diesel, driving, economy, fuel efficiency, fuelly, log, tracking, x5 35d

Posted By RichC on December 26, 2019

While sifting through a few old .MP4 files, I found one of my first iPhone 5 test video clips from 2012 and it had a bit of footage of my Sonex airplane project (posted a few photos back then) that I was working on a year before selling it. It was shortly before I sold it. Anyway it was interesting for me to see and archive on the blog for posterity and Throwback Thursday #TBT. (hard to believe the iPhone 5 only cost me $212.49!)

Category: Archive, Aviation, Cellphone, Memories, TBT, Video | No Comments »
Tags: airplane, aviation, eaa, homebuilt, memories, mp4, project, sonex, TBT, video

Posted By RichC on December 25, 2019

UPS for the win! (wait for it)  Fedex and USPS better step up their game!

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

Category: Business, Holiday, Humor, Video | No Comments »
Tags: ani gif, christmas, delivery, fedex, gif, Humor, package, ups, usps

Posted By RichC on December 24, 2019

For some reason, the full text of this post and photo of our 2019 family Christmas tree went missing … or maybe it didn’t post to the blog? Oh well, at least here’s the archived photo of our tree:

(more…)

Category: Archive, Holiday, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: christmas, christmas tree, decorate, decoration, eve, Holiday, lights, merry christmas, ornaments, poem, twas the night before

Posted By RichC on December 24, 2019

While putting the snowblower on the John Deere this past weekend, I notice the instruction/warranty booklet for our garage door opener hanging on the unlatch rope. I’ve unlatch dozens of times, repaired the door, the opener and sensors more times that I can count … yet have never removed the booklet. It just hangs and swings back and forth with each cycle.

Wouldn’t you think after 24 years of dangling that either Brenda or I would have said, “ENOUGH!”

But no … it hangs and is still hanging there. Hm, if I had a shrink, I think it would be worth talking about. 🙃

Category: Archive, Diesel, Human Interest, Humor, Misc, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: booklet, diesel, door, garage, homeowner, house, Humor, john deere, manual, opener, quirky, snowblower, tractor

Posted By RichC on December 23, 2019

This content is restricted.

Category: Memories, Music, Personal | No Comments »
Tags: 1970s, anng, family, garyg, gerber, jackson browne, jessicag, mp3, Music, music monday, musicmonday, sarahg, the pretender

Posted By RichC on December 22, 2019

If you’ve been investing for a few years now, you know mergers and acquisitions in the banking and financial services business is nothing new. We’ve personally experienced a few brokerage firms in our day and still remorse losing the early trading platform of  Datek, and to a lessor amount Waterhouse, to TDAmeritrade. Now that Schwab is the acquiring company … one wonders just what technology will be disappearing?

Charles Schwab to Buy TD Ameritrade for $26 Billion
Toronto-Dominion Bank will hold a roughly 13% stake in Schwab after stock-swap deal, and TD Ameritrade’s other shareholders about 18% – November 25, 2019

WSJ link

Barron’s noted that individuals investors and the employees for each of the brokerage firms aren’t the only ones sitting on pins and needles as to what might happen. There are “150 fintech firm through API integrations” (compared to the 80 with Schwab) that are wondering what will happen to the TD Ameritrade Veo Open Access platform?

While there’s no guarantee, it’s logical that the combined company could eventually select one platform over the other, and there’s speculation that, if this happens, Veo would be the one to go, prompting FOMO among a number of tech firms.

“It will be tough for fintech firms, absolutely,” Scott Huff, an advisor and founder of Yourefolio, an estate planning tool, tells the publication.

Schwab declined to respond to speculation, according to Financial Planning. A Schwab spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a Barron’s request for comment.

LINK

Category: Business, Financial, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: brokerage, brokers, discount, finance, schwab, tdameritrade

Posted By RichC on December 21, 2019

I love these motion-sensing Wyze Cams …
 

Now what if someone happened to be coming to the front door? Yikes … although more than likely it would just be funny.

Category: Humor, Technology, Video, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: Cam, door, front, Humor, mp4, security, snow, video, winter, wyze

Posted By RichC on December 20, 2019

As the year and decade wind down, it is the time of year investors and financially prudent planners take note of their savings and retirement portfolios. Barron’s surveyed strategists who continue to expect “more gains ahead for U.S. stocks” with the caveat, “barring a jarring election or a derailment in U.S. – China trade.”

So far this year, the S&P 500 has climbed 26.4%, to 3168.57 at Thursday’s close. Bond yields have slumped, as prices have surged: The 10-year Treasury’s yield dropped to 1.90% from 2.68% at the start of 2019. U.S. assets have generally outperformed their overseas counterparts, thanks to a relatively stronger economy and bond yields that may be slim, but that are at least positive.

The Economy: Slowing but Growing

Our panel sees real U.S. gross domestic product growth slowing to an average of 1.9% in 2020, from its current estimate of 2.3% for this year. That compares with growth rates of 2.9% in 2018 and 2.4% in 2017, and it’s still far from the recession that has been loudly and often predicted to have arrived by now.

LINK

Category: Financial | No Comments »
Tags: barrons, future, investing, investor, money, outlook, planning, retirement, saving, stock market

Posted By RichC on December 19, 2019

How does a “relatively open minded” politically moderate to conservative American see the impeachment of President Trump?

I pay relatively close attention to the news … and politics since it is a big part of our news nowadays … AND with three years of quarrelling and intense dislike for President Donald Trump by his political adversaries behind us, it is no surprise that we would end up with charges “only the Democrats in Congress” believe rises to the “high crimes and misdemeanors” bar required to impeachment a sitting president.  So this is how I see it … and likely the way most Republicans and likely how most open-minded Americans see it.

For many of us who questioned the use of FISA wiretap warrants (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978) being abused by politically connected people in our intelligence departments, something was afoul. This was started from nearly day one of the 2016 election campaign by those connected to the Clinton campaign through the use of a paid for and phony Steele dossier in an attempt to win and then discredit an election. Democrats reason, “collusion with Russia,” yet after years and millions of dollars spent on a Special Counsel investigation, the charges proved to be false.  So it was no surprise to see the Democrats reload and search for something else.

Unrelenting, fed by an open hatred for President Trump … especially by vocal progressives in front of cameras or in “their” publications … continued to scour the comments President Trump (likely against advice) openly tweets and makes in interviews, phone calls, letters and tweets, for something that rises to the level of impeachable.  Eventually … Democrats hung their hat on a congratulatory phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a segment of the call between the two presidents discussing corruption, particularly the part that included American politicians (something most Americans are disgusted with as well). It included a desire by our President Trump asking for a “favor” in hopes to look into a connection between those who opposed Trump in 2016, including the son, and the previous Vice-President of the United States, Joe Biden (running for president in 2020).  So the stage is set … after the previous attacks failed to result in bring down President Trump … let’s impeach him for “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress.” 

I can’t help but seeing the whole thing as disgusting and even filthier than what I already knew politics to be. At this point, I’m in the “Congress, stop wasting time” camp and would prefer the Washington DC crowd would let the American people decide if they want to re-elect President Trump in 2020.

Category: Blogs, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: abuse, biden, campaign, clinton, congress, democrats, donald trump, dossier, election, fisa, hatred, impeach, impeachment, motive, opinion, politcs, Politics, potus, president, Republicans, ukraine