My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on November 11, 2018

The "Bells of Peace" will ring out nationwide from smartphones on
the "11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" to mark the centennial
of the end of World War I in November 1918 – click for app

On the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month … one hundred years ago … in 1918, the guns of World War I fell silent as the Armistice ending WWI was signed … it unfortunately was not to be the war to end all wars.

Today, Veterans Day, the citizens of our nation honors ALL of our veterans … and we thank them for their service. Although the last living veteran who fought in World War I died in 2012, we appreciate those veterans who followed in their footsteps serving in the military and protecting us from the tyrannical evil in the World War to follow, as well as when our nation called and calls them, again and again. Thank you veterans for answering that call and for your service to our country.

Veteran’s Day (formerly Armistice Day) is celebrated on November 11th each year. This is a day for us to honor our nation’s veterans, and in particular on this centennial year, remember those who served in the First World War.

Origin

During August 1914, immediately after the outbreak of the war, British author and social commentator H. G. Wells published a number of articles in London newspapers that subsequently appeared as a book entitled The War That Will End War. Wells blamed the Central Powers for the coming of the war and argued that only the defeat of German militarism could bring about an end to war. Wells used the shorter form of the phrase, "the war to end war", in In the Fourth Year (1918), in which he noted that the phrase had "got into circulation" in the second half of 1914.  In fact, it had become one of the most common catchphrases of the First World War.

In later years, the term became associated with Woodrow Wilson, despite the fact that Wilson used the phrase only once. Along with the phrase "make the world safe for democracy", it embodied Wilson’s conviction that U.S. entry into the war was necessary to preserve human freedom.

(more…)

Category: Cellphone, History, Holiday, Millitary, Software | No Comments »
Tags: app, armistice, bells of peace, centennial, honor, military, service, smartphone, veterans day, war, ww I

Posted By RichC on November 10, 2018

It has been 41 years since Fleetwood Mac released their ginormous selling album called Rumours which was a must have by college students like me in the late 1970s (45 million copies of Rumours has been sold). Brenda and I attended a Rumours of Fleetwood Mac concert marking the 40 years milestone this past week with a couple VIP passes to meet the band members … and listen to (and record) a few songs LIVE (below) during their pre-concert "sound check." We made the most of our 6 hour date night with dinner and thoroughly enjoyed the 2-1/2 hour concert that started at 7:30.  The walk down memory lane included original pre-1970s Fleetwood Mac "blues," every Rumours song (including Silver Springs excluded from original release due to space), ending with a raucous version of Tusk that was enjoyed by all attending in downtown Cincinnati’s Taft Theatre. Smaller venues are really nice … especially with a pre-concert warm-up along and chance to talk with the band.
 

We both enjoyed the entire evening and can recommend it if you enjoy 1970s and 80s music. A video introduction by Mick Fleetwood started the evening which is all that much more interesting since he and several member of the 70s and 80s Fleetwood Mac group are performing in North America this year too. They are not getting any younger! The younger English band members who were very talented were all very personable and seemed to enjoy performing. The concert included a bunch of early Fleetwood Mac photos and videos which displayed on screen as the music was performed. All in attendance were on their feet by the end of the concert. When the band came out for their final bow, their genuine smiles looked as if they appreciated the cheers and applause. Below is some iPhone "pre-concert sound check" footage with a couple photos from our evening slipped in.
 

Category: Archive, Music, Personal, Video | No Comments »
Tags: album, band, cincinnati, concert, datenight, fleetwood mac, Music, rumours, taft, theater

Posted By RichC on November 9, 2018

Having used a Brydge keyboard with an iPad from their first introduction, I can say that IF I were to update my current iPad Air2 to the 2018 just introduced iPad Pro that I would seriously consider waiting for the 2019 Brydge keyboard … they are that good.

But with all current Apple updates to products, there come higher and higher prices – and it has been significant in the last couple product cycles. The once inexpensive accessory, the cellphone, is no longer on a normal person’s  2 year upgrade cycle now that smartphones are becoming our computers. Speaking of computers, this decades models are so capable that the average user can keep them for years without feeling they are antiquated. Speed, size, battery life and storage are no longer major issues for 5 year old computers. 

Same for my first iPad2 and iPad Air2 … it still does most everything I ask of it: 1) lasts all day, 2) run relatively fast, 3) updates the current apps & iOS, 4) is small enough to carry most anywhere, and 5) has a display of an appropriate size and resolution. Do I "want" better … yes. Do I "need" better … not really. Is it worth paying twice as much for the new one than the previous model? It is hard to justify for a penny pincher like me.

Tech companies developing phones, tablets, notebook or desktop computers, their accessories and software … or even televisions … are going to step up their game by either giving me a reason to upgrade or at least entice me with a better price point and NOT double the price of the "still functioning previous model.

Category: Apple, Cellphone, Computer, Tablet, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: air2, apple, brydge, ipad, ipad air, ipadpro, keyboard, review, tech friday, techfriday, update, upgrade

Posted By RichC on November 8, 2018

This content is restricted.

Category: Archive, Education, Personal, Photos, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, claire, family, hawaii, montessori, retirement, ronc, school

Posted By RichC on November 7, 2018

The midterm election is finally over and those who are tired of pile of flyers in their mail, phone calls, email spam and still watching cable TV network stations are no doubt thankful that is the case.

As for the results, each political party can claim some degree of victory. The Democrats definitely gained ground from a deep hole by winning the majority of governorships and the majority in the House. Republicans can claim it wasn’t the "blue wave" many pollsters had predicted and in fact gained larger majority in the Senate. All in all, both sides can pat themselves on the back … but the work now begins.

The DEMs can no longer obstruct and resist IF they want to keep their new majority in the House, as they now have to "stand for something." If they are going to prove themselves productive, they will have to work with President Trump on something (unless they take the low road and attempt to impeach him). The bickering Republican senators might still disagree with each other, but better get unified if they want to keep their seats. President Trump’s job either just got harder or perhaps easier since he might just make deals with congress in order to keep the country functioning. Let’s hope for the later.

One of the biggest changes in the last 14 years has been that both Democrats and Republicans have become more entrenched. The extremes of both parties is noticeably stronger and the moderates from each party are disappearing. If you pay attention to any news, get togethers or water cooler talk, you can feel the tension among co-workers, friends and family.

Category: News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: 2018, democrats, election, graph, midterm, moderates, november, Politics, Republicans

Posted By RichC on November 6, 2018

This year Brenda and I voted absentee …  or by mail. I knew it was an important mid-term and wanted to be sure our votes counted, but do miss the feeling of standing in line with others and waiting my turn at the polls. That said, minus the hiccup with our verification system (missing digits for driver’s license number), sitting down and carefully reading about each candidate and our only issue gave me a chance to research a little bit. Thankfully I knew the details since my son wanted to review them with me last night — good job being an informed voter Taylor.

And as if my prepared video post for today didn’t lift my spirits, the predicted rain  was sunshine … and the Orca log-in screen greeting me on my Windows Lenovo notebook computer rewarding.

Category: Computer, Politics, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: informed, lenovo, orca, taylor, vote, voting, weather

Posted By RichC on November 6, 2018

“IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN”

Don’t give up too easily; persistence pays off in the end. The proverb has been traced back to ‘Teacher’s Manual’ by American educator Thomas H. Palmer and ‘The Children of the New Forest’ by English novelist Frederick Maryat (1792-1848). Originally a maxim used to encourage American schoolchildren to do their homework. Palmer (1782-1861) wrote in his ‘Teacher’s Manual’: ‘Tis a lesson you should heed, try, try again. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.’ The saying was popularized by Edward Hickson (1803-70) in his ‘Moral Song’ and is now applicable to any kind of activity.”

LINK

Category: Misc, Nature, Tidbits, Video | No Comments »
Tags: bear, climbing, effort, motivation, mountain, perseverance, persistence, snow, video

Posted By RichC on November 5, 2018

It seems later in the season that usual to be just starting to rake leaves and get in a final mow before winter, but the weather was dry after a long stretch of rain, so chores for me it was. My back is now sore and contemplating taking an Advil as the muscle tighten. There will be more leaves to do since half are still hanging in the trees.

While cutting the backyard on Sunday afternoon, our usually shy Red Tailed Hawk trapped mouse for his dinner but was bold enough to let me take a few photos and video; I sensed he did not want to give up his prize? (here is a different banded hawk from a few years ago)

Once again, I’m amazed at just how far our smartphones have advanced in the past decade with video stabilization and nearly HD quality sensors. The above was captured with my iPhone 7 plus (not even the current generation from Apple) and unedited besides the fade in and out transitions while compressing with Handbrake in order to compress and stream from the web. 

Category: Archive, Cellphone, Nature, Photography, Photos, Video | No Comments »
Tags: apple, autumn, chores, hawk, home, iphone7plus, red tailed, yard, yardwork

Posted By RichC on November 4, 2018

Americans are finally working again and the U.S. is once again the place for businesses to expand, hire, give raises and grow. For all the questionable rhetoric from the far right and left extremes … and yes, from President Trumps’ "tweets" and biased media reporting … the actual governing under his administration and a GOP House and Senate majority has been good for America … and all Americans. Sure, we all have our personal peeves with particular issues. The president’s personality and his flaming the fires by highlighting divisive issues may not be attractive to those preferring politically correct normal politicians … the the all to familiar,  say one thing and do another … but there is no denying President Trump’s results in "promises made, promises kept."

To be fair, a recovery, be it slow, began in the last couple Obama years, particularly after his administrations’ progressive policies were curtailed by a GOP controlled congress. The recovery has accelerated under GOP leadership and has acted as if the economy was on steroids. The leading forward looking indicator, the stock market, screamed ahead after Trump’s election win in 2016. The economy is so improved that the Federal Reserve has moved from years of easy monetary policies to raising rates and unwinding their balance sheet. Hopefully an "independent Fed" remains wiser than the rest of us and sticks to their purpose to moderate our economy and preventing the next cycle of extremes.

Now for something to worry about. Current polls and our nation’s history of mid-term elections tells us the opposition party (Democrat Party in 2018) is favored to gain seats in congress. That along with our country’s demographics separating political philosophies by population concentrations (city, suburban, rural), age, gender, race and faith has the House race 6 in 7 that Democrats gain leadership control. Since congress controls the purse, and often politically motivated investigations of their opponents, the likelihood is that we will face a gridlock. The result is that very little will get done on the pressing issues such as addressing immigration and border control, lower taxes, spending control, Medicare and Social Security shortfalls and health care … all that have been pushed off again and again.

My prediction if this comes true, is that President Trump like previous presidents facing a congress unwilling to proceed with his current policies, will shift his focus to where he can still be effective — foreign policy.

Category: News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: congress, economy, election, mid-term, polics, polls, promises, trump

Posted By RichC on November 3, 2018

This content is restricted.

Category: Holiday, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, candy, costume, drew, family, halloween