My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on June 1, 2019

For Christians, who pray for wisdom, for the health and safety of our families and the stressful issues we face daily, prayer is something most of us have been taught to do from an early age. I’d like to think that this daily “practice” of prayer prepares us to be great “prayer warriors” for others when requested.

So … I’m passing along my brother and sister-in-law’s prayer request (below) to those who frequent My Desultory Blog and will be willing to pray for their daughter Sarah. She is my youngest niece and has lived with and treated an inoperative tumor since she was four years old (my graduation blog  link 1 and link 2). Over the years, there have been ups and downs for her and her family, but amazingly … through constant prayer, the grace of God and excellent medical care … Sarah has summitted every mountain she has had to face.

Will you add Sarah to your prayers and beseech God to miraculously eliminate this tumor and restore Sarah’s eyesight – “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. – Luke 18:27 

Please pray for Sarah Gerber. She was diagnosed at age four with a chiasmal optic glioma and has undergone numerous surgeries and chemotherapy protocols.  By Gods grace she is now a junior at the University of Georgia. Unfortunately, the tumor has continued to grow and hemorrhaged last November.

We have been told by our oncologist that this hemorrhage could mean tumor death or growth. Would you please join us in prayer for the death of this tumor and the restoration of Sarah’s vision in Jesus Almighty Name!

As we walk down this path we have learned that the Lord God simply wants us to focus on Him.  HE is the author of life, the provider of our salvation.  HE is in absolute control and makes no mistakes. 

We so appreciate your prayers

"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"
Jeremiah 32:27

Category: Faith, Health, Human Interest, Personal | No Comments »
Tags: anng, cancer, chemotherapy, family, garyg, gerber, healing, pray, prayer, request, sarah, sarahg, tumor, warrior

Posted By RichC on May 31, 2019

If you are using Apple’s Photos app, you’ve probably noticed the software attempts to identify faces of people (not just Apple either). This can be helpful for “you” to sift through photos, but also seems a bit nosy when the app also builds a pile of “facetile” photos on its own. Most people likely will not see these photos since they are buried in an obscure resource face folder, but there are megabytes of them there and generally will not show up in a Spotlight search (default settings). Surprisingly in my case, they did show up in my cloud backup … so be aware if that is something you use.

Now,  I’ve used TimeMachine with local harddrives for my backups primarily (not trusting “free”  but with strings cloud storage), but after an iMac issue this past year, also started to use my .edu Google Drive with a Terrabyte of no cost storage to automatically backup some of my iMac data to the cloud. Only then did I notice and start to wonder about all the automatically created “facetile” images (7853 of them in my case) being sent to a BigData company. Hm, now what is Google doing with it?

Likely almost all images taken by smartphones are already analyzed for facial recognition anyway, but seeing “facetile” images automatically being plucked out of the hidden resource folder on my iMac, and then only by chance noticing these archived “facetile photos” were being backed up to Google Drive, and likely scanned for their facial recognition database, was a bit unsettling. It has me wonder how many others are completely oblivious to this process automatically happening?

Category: Cellphone, Cloud, Computer, Photos, Software, Tablet, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: app, apple, backup, bigdata, cloud, Computer, drive, facial, google, imac, ios, phone, Photos, privacy, recognition, tablet, tech friday, techfriday

Posted By RichC on May 30, 2019

I’m not sure Hollywood can match this on a sitcom! You are invited to throw out the first pitch at an MLB game … and then you do this! – another LINK
 

Category: Humor, Sports, Video | No Comments »
Tags: baseball, first pitch, Humor, mlb, video

Posted By RichC on May 29, 2019

It is summer and what is more “summery” than being out in the sun and going to the beach … and thinking about “JAWS.” Yikes!

Ever since the iconic “we’re going to need a bigger boat” Jaws movie came out in 1975, most people have been both fascinated and fearful of the Great White Shark. Although being attacked by a shark at most beaches in the U.S. is highly unlikely, tracking apps and devices from organization like Ocearch do show just how often these creatures get to our beaches. Personally speaking, if you really need to fear being attacked by a shark (and you really don’t), learn about the aggressive Bull Shark.

Likely the movie solidified our already innate fear, but the continued release of beachgoer stories and photos like the one captured last year by photographer Euan Rannachan keeps the movie and thoughts alive. Here’s a FeatureShoot.com story about how he capture the “Jaws” movie poster photo (below) –  it is an interesting read … with some great photos. 

Category: Movies, Photography, Photos, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: beach, bull, Euan Rannachan, great white, jaws, movie, ocean, ocearch, photography, sharks, summer

Posted By RichC on May 28, 2019

Thankfully the tornado(es) and severe storms that blasted through Indiana and Ohio last night were all to our north. I checked in with my brother Ron in Tipp City and he was fine, although his home and my nephew Jaben’s (Huber Heights) were in the path of this nighttime storm.

The photo of a massive tornado (photo left) near Dayton was illuminated by lightning and did significant damage to homes and buildings. Further north not too far from Sidney, the town of Celina was hit and so many trees and debris were scatter on Interstate 75 that snowplows were used to reopen the highway. At least one person was killed with others injured as first responders check in on the damaged homes and sift through damage. Power restoration for the 500,000 people impacted in the Dayton area is said to take days as resources are overwhelmed by the widespread destruction. From the sounds of things, we could see more storms today. (CBSNews YouTube video below)

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Category: Local, News, Video-TV, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: cbs, celina, claire, dayton, family, jaben, News, ohio, ron, tornado, weather, youtube

Posted By RichC on May 28, 2019

Just a little bit of wasted time this weekend after realizing I need a better way to hold my iPhone when using it for video conferencing and FaceTime calls. In the past I’ve used a little rubberized tape on the edge of ceramic plate that sits under my iMac …

… but it was never in the right place or at the right height so added a wood tilt shelf to an extra external microphone tripod seems to work. Since I use these little neodymium magnets on other workbench tools, I thought they would work well for the iPhone too (use magnetic phone holder in the car).  So far so good, perhaps I’ll paint it black?

Category: Cellphone, Misc, Technology, Tidbits, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: calls, conference, facetime, holder, iphone, magnet, neodymium, project, video, workbench

Posted By RichC on May 27, 2019

This content is restricted.

Category: Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: 1972, america, mellow, mp3, Music, music monday, musicmonday, soft rock, ventura highway, youtube

Posted By RichC on May 26, 2019

Earlier this week I posted something frivolous for a Music Monday, which happens to be Memorial Day, so I’m going to include is post a day early on Sunday thinking others might read it as a way to learn a little more about those who make the ultimate sacrifice in service of our country. If you have never given much thought or just need a reminder as to why we remember and honor those who died, reading the book Sacred Duty: A Soldier’s Tour at Arlington National Cemetery by U.S. Senator Tom Cotton is worthwhile.

If you hesitant to purchase the book, take a look a the article adapted from a speech delivered on April 9, 2019 at Hillsdale College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington D.C.

Every headstone at Arlington tells a story. These are tales of heroes, I thought, as I placed the toe of my combat boot against the white marble. I pulled a miniature American flag out of my assault pack and pushed it three inches into the ground at my heel. I stepped aside to inspect it, making sure it met the standard that we had briefed to our troops: “vertical and perpendicular to the headstone.” Satisfied, I moved to the next headstone to keep up with my soldiers. Having started this row, I had to complete it. One soldier per row was the rule; otherwise, different boot sizes might disrupt the perfect symmetry of the headstones and flags. I planted flag after flag, as did the soldiers on the rows around me.

Bending over to plant the flags brought me eye-level with the lettering on those marble stones. The stories continued with each one. Distinguished Service Cross. Silver Star. Bronze Star. Purple Heart. America’s wars marched by. Iraq. Afghanistan. Vietnam. Korea. World War II. World War I. Some soldiers died in very old age; others were teenagers. Crosses, Stars of David, Crescents and Stars. Every religion, every race, every age, every region of America is represented in these fields of stone.

I came upon the gravesite of a Medal of Honor recipient. I paused, came to attention, and saluted. The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest decoration for battlefield valor. By military custom, all soldiers salute Medal of Honor recipients irrespective of their rank, in life and in death. We had reminded our soldiers of this courtesy; hundreds of grave sites would receive salutes that afternoon. I planted this hero’s flag and kept moving.

MORE

The full Imprimis article can be found on Hillsdale College’s website and I encourage you to read it as a way to reflect on Memorial Day.

For me, having visited Arlington National Cemetery a couple times (once on an honor trip with my dad), reading this article and learning about just how seriously the Old Guard (the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment) takes their duty was humbling. As Sen Cotton’s final paragraph reflects …

No one summed up better what The Old Guard of Arlington means for our nation than Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey. He shared a story with me about taking a foreign military leader through Arlington to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Sergeant Major Dailey said, “I was explaining what The Old Guard does and he was looking out the window at all those headstones. After a long pause, still looking at the headstones, he said, ‘Now I know why your soldiers fight so hard. You take better care of your dead than we do our living.’”

Category: Books, History, Holiday, Millitary | No Comments »
Tags: Arlington, cemetery, college, hillsdale, Memorial Day, national, sen tom cotton, Washington DC

Posted By RichC on May 25, 2019

It feels a late start to opening the “mudhole” … I mean “muddy” pool … this year as our trips to Florida have set me back on the usual spring chores. I think the earliest we have opened the pool as been March, but this year is about the latest that I can recall, although I’ve been working on the yard and Brenda on her mounds and plants.

We are also unfortunately closing in on having to drain and fully refinish the pool since replacing tiles (lost a few more this year) and patching can only happen so many times. I no longer have any additional tiles to replace those that have broken and Gunite is flaking pretty bad in several location. The refinishing $$$ number is not one that is appealing … let alone the summer downtime after draining in order to begin the work.

For now, the pump is running and cover put away (thanks for the hand Taylor). Patio and furniture cleaning this Memorial Day weekend and hopefully I can start the mulch next week?

EDIT 5/26/2019 – Pool is improving (at least cleaner), patios, teak and outdoor furniture is clean and ready for summer.

Question … (more…)

Category: Misc, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: chores, cleaning, home, house, Memorial Day, mounds, mud, opening, pool, yardwork

Posted By RichC on May 24, 2019

The political tension around the globe, along with the trade battle between the United States and China, have put a damper on what was a relatively good economy here in the U.S.  Add to those challenging international negotiations, the deepening divide between many Democrats still seeking to impeach President Trump in control of Congress are furthering their investigation into Trump’s finances, has added to investor’s concern.

On Thursday, the stock market took a big hit as money shifted from equities to fixed income and U.S. Treasuries. The oil market also took note as the sentiment shifted from a continued stronger world demand for oil to the possibility of a slowdown. The price of crude moved lower than the recent $60+/barrel number to $57+ as inventories build and oil traders question the recent economically positive news that pushed oil higher.

For traders … perhaps the volatility offers a chance to make money by trading… but for long term investors, the heavy selling on Thursday based on political wrangling and public animus is painful to watch.

My advice, if you are saving for retirement and have a longer time horizon, just don’t open your account statement this month.

Category: Energy, Financial, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: crude, economy, Financial, investing, oil, Politics, retirement, savings, stock market, trump, wti