My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on September 7, 2024

As the US Presidential Election looms, we still really don’t know how Kamala Harris intends to govern — it’s been 1-1/2 months since President Biden stepped down. And many of us have questions:

What are her policies?

From a few appearances … by that I mean ONE interview …  are we expected to believe the her views have changed, but her “values have not.” What we do know is that her positions for the entire previous decade in political office are not her positions today (so she says).

When she was the San Francisco DA and the California’s Attorney General she was a liberal California Democrat. When she was a US Senator from California, she was known as the “most progressively radical in the Senate.” When she ran for president in 2020, her views were way too left of where the national Democratic Party was (at the time) and she received no electoral votes and dropped out.  Instead Democrats nominated a perceived moderate, President Biden. Once partnered as VP with Joe Biden, the administration veered hard left — so much for bringing the country together as so many American voters expected. 

Now we’re left wondering about the trial balloons being floated by the Democratic nominee. Again she received “zero” votes in the primary and has been flip-flopping a few new ideas that were quickly modified.

What are her real positions? Does she still believe illegally crossing the US border is not a crime, taxing unrealized capital gains is good for the economy and that more police on the street doesn’t make us safer?  Should we judge her by her past … or believe what she says now … or wait to see IF she puts anything to paper or on the Harris/Walz campaign website? 

Harris website still lacks policy despite Walz saying Americans
deserve to know ‘exactly what she’d do’ — Fox News

Category: News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: abraham lincoln, democrat, election, kamala harris, Politics, presidential, wikipedia

Posted By RichC on September 6, 2024

Europe and their big government overreaches in restricting personal liberty by American standards, but that same heavy handedness often does more that the U.S. to protect an individual’s privacy from Big Tech and their sweeping data collection machines. 

Ever since social media and cloud-oriented companies desired to take ownership of their users data, it has been a constant struggle for people and their elected representatives, or self-appointed power-hungry dictators, to 

thread the needle as to what data is private and what data can be collected and used by Big Tech companies. In the US, business titans work to get their puppets elected, whereas in Russia/China, companies share the data under twisted arm.

From the “liberated people’s” perspective, we all know that receiving tech services isn’t really free … and we likely have all found ourselves pressured into agreeing to give something to tech companies — usually our data. Some accept a degree of “spying on our emails and web habits,” knowing we’ll likely receive selected advertising and marketing. We use free email and search engines such as Google and accept their terms … but some of us also “try” to be smart about just what we are sharing with them and giving up. We all have different limits … unlike the limits dictated by European bureaucrats who think they know best. 

I personally have tried to distance myself from blatant data collectors, but still find myself using Gmail, several Google apps, some cloud storage, occasionally their maps and limited photo services. They just work well and often have better services … so I still them. Still, I’ll purposely switch to search engines that I “think” aren’t collecting and using my data. I have private email for work and use paid for apps that aren’t as obvious about making money from my data. 

This brings me to the lack of trust when it comes to our own American citizen elected representatives who are suppose to be overseeing the hired career bureacrats running things in Washington DC. It has probably always been true; first, they are their to protect their jobs, second to increase the power and centrally control government and third, go after those who they perceive as a threat to their power. I likely first noticed the weaponization back when Lois Lerner use the power of the IRS to go after people associated with the Tea Party, but have seen it come out into the open over the past decade. No more doing it in the shadows.

Take a moment to listen to Tulsi Gabbard on X.com below. She was once a Democrat senator from Hawaii, but now has little in common with the progressive movement that has overtaken and in my opinion corrupted that party. The phrase “power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely” fits today’s Democratic Party perfectly (attributed to Lord Action in 1887). 

Kamala says she believes in freedom, but I was put on a secret terror watch list after I publicly criticized her. No one will be safe from political retaliation under a Harris administration. I put my life on the line for this country. Now the government calls me a terror threat. pic.twitter.com/3xjgjmrLhD

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard)

September 4, 2024

Category: Business, Idioms, Politics, Social Media, Video | No Comments »
Tags: big govt, bigtech, cloud, collection, data, google, government, idiom, idioms, irs, lois lerner, phrase, power, tea party, tech friday, techfriday, tulsi gabbard, Washington DC, x.com

Posted By RichC on September 5, 2024

Katelyn, my now 38 year old adult daughter, read yesterday’s wedding ring and capsized Trinka dinghy sailing memory and mentioned that I should have included her 7th grade “Time In A Bottle” artwork. She reminded me that it was a “traumatic” incident in her young life (although personally, I did feel that I had everything under control … but the water was cold). 😉

While I could have included a photo of her art for the archive using my normal “Edit Add” … it seemed to make a little more sense to include it as a Throwback Thursday #TBT post. 

Category: Archive, Art, Memories, Personal, Photos, Sailing, TBT, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: artwork, capsize, katelyn, sailing, TBT, time in a bottle, traumatic, trinka, wedding band

Posted By RichC on September 4, 2024

While at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo over the weekend with KDAE, I took a photo of a surprisingly comfortable leather chair that was on the SS Col. James M. Schoonmaker. The chair was “I think” original to the ship in 1911 and looked interesting enough to dig a little deeper for a woodworking idea. 

Also, I had some poison ivy on my ring finger and forgot that I took off my wedding band (I’ve rarely had it off) and couldn’t remember if I left it at home on the nightstand or lost it (it was home). In any case, it gave me an excuse to tell the story of losing my first wedding band that Brenda’s late brother Mark made when he was in dental school. 

In the mid-1990s, we were visiting my mom and dad either in the fall or spring near Panama City Beach in Florida as we did several times. I had cartopped our Trinka sailing dingy and we decided to drive down to the long stretch of beach property part of Tyndall Air Force Base to beachcomb and try sailing in the Gulf of Mexico. It was colder, windy and too rough for the little 8 foot boat and I ended up capsizing with a very young Taylor. Thankfully we were not that far offshore and I was able to right the boat put Taylor in it but the waves kept swamping the boat as I struggled to keep it right side up. Taylor hung onto the mast as I kicked and used the sail to work our way in. Brenda swam out as my mom, dad and “frightened” Katelyn watched from shore. 

Thankfully everything was fine in the end (health wise) but I ended up losing the wedding band that Brenda’s brother made from dental gold. The cold water must have shrunk and numbed my hands and I semi-recall catching it on the stainless steel transom while I was pushing the boat to shore and keeping it upright. It was loss but I was thankful to still have my life and a son! 

Family Hawk Migration Trip to St. Joseph Peninsula

A couple of years later, the kids and Brenda bought me a new replacement gold band for Christmas in 1998 — the photo above.

Category: Archive, Misc, Personal, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: chair, gold, leather, ring, wedding band

Posted By RichC on September 4, 2024

This content is restricted.

Category: Archive, Personal, Photos, Travel, Video | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, brenda, drew, ellerie, family, great lakes, katelyn, labor day, museum, ohio, richc, Schoonmaker, toledo

Posted By RichC on September 3, 2024

Operation Crossroads Baker in 1946

Besides mowing the front lawn last Friday night (practically in the dark) and much of Saturday in the backyard, I did find time to replace the old cracked tires and rewire the “old” long ago broken lights on the Bame Utility trailer. 

On a book reading side note, I’m on a multi-year (decade) trend of studying WW2 military history. As the war in the Pacific Ocean inched casualty upon casualty in the U.S. island hopping campaign towards Japan, I’m entering the atomic era which eventually ended the war by using “the A-Bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” resulting in Japan’s surrender.

In the more current read of “Nuclear War: A Scenario” by Annie Jacobsen, the reading had me sidestepping to look up satellite visuals of what we can see is left from Pacific test sites … images from Enewetak Atoll and the clean-up dome on Runit Island. It is amazing that after 80 years of being in the atomic age that man has not wiped out the entire world.

It is also interesting that “a report by the US Congressional Research Service projects that the majority of the atoll will be fit for human habitation by 2026–2027, after nuclear decay, de-contamination and environmental remediation efforts create sufficient dose reductions.” (Wikipedia link/quote … if you trust it?) 

Category: Books, History, Millitary, Misc, Photos, Repairs | No Comments »
Tags: annie jacobsen, atoll, bame, bomb, dome, enewetak, fat man, little boy, nuclear, painting, runit, trailer, utility, wiring

Posted By RichC on September 2, 2024

Happy Labor Day 2024!

It’s a great day (weekend) to listen to No Shoes Radio on my AfterShokz Aeropex bone conduction headset. For those unfamiliar with them, I’ve been a fan of the “open ear” headset concept since 2017 as they’ve been super helpful in returning “some” vibration hearing back to my deaf right ear and are affordable. Also they are comfortable and helpful in keeping my “good” left ear open to noise and voices … besides it doubles as a phone headset because it has a microphone!
  

Back to Kenny Chesney‘s No Shoes Radio and his 2004 version of country music’s superstar George Strait’s 1982 hit “Marina Del Rey.”
   

“Marina del Rey” is a song recorded by American country music artist George Strait. It was released in September 1982 as the second single from his album Strait from the Heart, which went on to be certified platinum by the RIAA. It peaked at number 6 in the United States, and number 2 in Canada. The song is set in Marina del Rey, California, and it is structured as a slow romantic ballad. Longtime country songwriters Frank Dycus and Dean Dillon composed the tune.

The song is about a love affair on the beach. A man and a woman get together and have a good time during a vacation. They create many memories and then go their separate ways – back to their normal lives.

LINK

Category: Gadget, Holiday, Music, Streaming, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: aeropex, aftershokz, george strait, kenny chesney, labor day, marina del rey, music monday, musicmonday, noshoes, radio, siriiusxm

Posted By RichC on September 1, 2024

As a weekend mechanic (or far less to be truthful), I’ve used air powered impact tools and a couple different cheaper branded impact wrenches for years. The Chicago Tool impact wrench from decades ago never had the power to make it even worth pulling out and so it was replaced with a Harbor Freight more-torque “Earthquake” model before there were decent battery versions. I use that in the garage to this day as it still impresses me (one of the better tool buys). 

About a decade ago when trying to replace a broken Craftsman tool, I bought a clearance price Craftsman 1/2” Impact driver at the Sears store while I was waiting (when they still existed).  It came with a Lithium Ion battery and would work with my 2-19.2 Volt Drills with dying NiCad battery packs (before my Ridgid conversion).  

Fast forward to adding additional Ridgid branded cordless tools to my shop. I’ve been adding new tools here or there and have found them excellent for the home-tool-owner … and perhaps “light-duty” technician. The Limited Lifetime Agreement (LSA) has been “good”  as they replace a couple failing batteries (I’ve only had one slow-drain tool problem that they will not fix or replace). The fact that they are conveniently sold at Home Depot and their online store with free delivery make them too tempting. So … I ended up adding a new 1/2” Ridgid Mid-Torque Impact Wrench to my  tool cabinet since the smaller 1/4” and 3/8” drivers have been fantastic. 

The results haven’t been as disappointing … even with the 5-star rating from users online. The fact is, the Craftsman 1/2” Impact Wrench works better and the HF Earthquake pneumatic impact wrench is better than both. Oh, they work, just not the way I would like them too. Buyer beware.  

Category: Advice, Tools | No Comments »
Tags: airtool, battery, cordless, craftsman, garage, pneumatic, ridgid

Posted By RichC on August 31, 2024

The folder labelled “MyCubby” on my Microsoft OneDrive is a place I collect images, links, photos, etc that might be worth looking at again … or perhaps used on the blog.

Each month I try to start fresh with a relatively empty space … so to prepare for September 2024, I’ll archive a couple items on MyDesultoryBlog for posterity. 

First for a little American political humor with a couple of baseball players — Burr and Hamilton. Let’s hope they don’t end up like Aaron and Alexander did in 1804? 😊 

Below is a photo with an illustration pertaining to a nagging injury to my left foot or big toe. It has bothered me on and off for over a year and flares up when I put weight on my left toe or wear certain shoes.

And then there is a “climate change” chart that I included in a post on X.com which sort of illustrates to me that perhaps we don’t observe change with a wide enough lens … a better perspective of “time” might be something worth considering???

(more…)

Category: Archive, Automotive, History, Humor, Medical, Misc, Photos, Science, Social Media, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: big toe, climate change, ice age, leftovers, mycubby

Posted By RichC on August 30, 2024

What’s wrong with this Ohio vs Florida summer temperature comparison???

Category: Weather | No Comments »
Tags: cincinnati, florida, hot, ohio, temperatures, weather