Weekend fence repair, wood splitting and chores update

Posted By on October 24, 2017

PaslodeImpulseNailer1781021A couple days late in posting, but the weather was ideal for jumping on a few chores before the weather turns sour. Since the lawn was still in pretty good shape, I was able to use those weekend hours to repair some of the nearly 2000 feet of 4-board fence that borders our backyard — it would likely never get approve again as an appropriate pool fence? Anyway the boards are showing their age, yet still will hold nails or in my case the ringed nails set with my Paslode Impulse gas/battery ignited nailer. It’s was one of those must have tools years ago that rarely gets used … but is the perfect tool for SplittingWood171021repairing rough sawn wood fences.

I also worked on splitting and stacking some firewood for winter … mostly for the woodstove in my workshop, but I’ve also been burning plenty in the outdoor fireplace. The old John Deere 330 diesel still comes in handy … it was one of the best purchases I ever made back in the mid-1980s when we were in Hudson. Although grass mowing is now done with the zero turn Kubota diesel … the hauling, pulling, snowblowing and 10KW power generation is all done with this little 16 HP Yanmar powered John Deere.
Love this old "turtle" of a lawn tractor!  Smile

JohnDeere330DieselWood17102

Music Monday: Hard not to like Goodbye Girl by David Gates

Posted By on October 23, 2017

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Love seeing my son enjoying photography

Posted By on October 22, 2017

Taylor went camping and hiking down at Red River Gorge this weekend and continues to impress me with enjoying photography, which was a hobby of mine since 7th grade. So much has changed since “souping” film and spending hours in the darkroom fretting over exhausted chemicals and  expired paper … but the capturing of something beautiful with light and lens hasn’t changed.

Nautical paintings from the 1940s and 1950s – Dawson & Bluhm

Posted By on October 22, 2017

DMcPkyRWAAAxMveOur family has a couple of artists (previous generations) and so we’ve inherited a few painting. I doubt any are valued anywhere close to the Montague Dawson (artist father Henry) "nautical" series of painting from the 1940s, but do remember how much I enjoyed one of the first paintings (same time frame) that my grandmother painted.

DeepPacific

Obviously my interest in sailing has a lot to do with me liking the Cutty Sark painting that hang on our wall, but wouldn’t mind having the original painting either.

The two thumbnails on the left below are Montague DeepPacific_RuthBluhm_paintingDawson, where the one on the right hangs in our house and is my grandmother’s.


MongtagueDawson_CuttySarkdfc3ce10bce8c9fa480326d0b55db22b--charles-napier-sea-captain

Driving the shoreline of Lake Erie on my way to see Annalyn

Posted By on October 21, 2017

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Tech Friday: Making power adapters last longer

Posted By on October 20, 2017

bendingthewireHere’s a short tip for making power adapter wires last longer when traveling or packing them in a computer bag: When winding the cord, don’t wrap the first loop too tight.

The usual fail points when cords are coiled over and over are where the wires enter the power block or the plug, so allow for a long "lazy" loop when starting the wrapping … and end the wrap keeping the plug in end flat against the power block when possible. By doing this, the AC power cord will last for your devices life.

Hidden photos of my kids in a frame that sits on my desk #TBT

Posted By on October 19, 2017

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A new OLD Jimmy Buffett album to be out next month

Posted By on October 18, 2017

It looks like “old” Jimmy Buffett fans will be treated to some new OLD music on November 17th?

A few years ago, when legendary Nashville producer Buzz Cason sold his recording studio, there was some cleaning up to do. That is when Jimmy learned that they had found a sizeable collection of 1⁄4-inch tapes that were the original demos of songs Jimmy had written and recorded for Buzz when he was writing for his publishing company in the late 60’s. It turned out that there were over 125 songs in that pile of tape boxes. In addition to the song demos were also the first recordings Travis Turk had engineered in Mobile, and that is where the whole story of Buried Treasure begins.

Read Margaritaville post: JIMMY BUFFETT SET TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM, BURIED TREASURE, VOLUME ONE IT’S A PIRATE’S BOUNTY! – Margaritaville Blog

The DJIA cracks 23,000 for the first time on 10/17/2017

Posted By on October 17, 2017

DowBreaks23000_171017

It’s just a number, but one that is reminiscent of the Greenspan “irrational exuberance” days back in the late 1990s during the dot-com bubble … but the business news media types cheered the mid-day number (yet to see where the market will close).

One has to chuckle at as to just how wrong a Nobel Prize “expert” economist Paul Krugman (New York Times Columnist) after the election of Donald Trump can be:

So we are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight.”

— Paul Krugman, November 9, 2016

As my weekly travel decreases, data connectivity is finally good

Posted By on October 17, 2017

2003VWJettTDIsetup070828My mobile life is FINALLY working the way it should, just as my road life is slowing down. I’ve been monkeying around with the "mobile office" for A LOT of years starting with a 1999 AWD Chrysler Town & Country back in the late 1990s before mounting my Palm Treo in my great little Volkswagen Jetta TDI with a mounted Gateway laptop in the 2000s (photo right).

 The iPhone7plus paired with my iPad Air2/Brydge Keyboard and VirginMobile connection makes it easy and offers almost everything I need to stay connected while on the road at a currently affordable monthly fee – $10.08/mo after my June 2017 iPhone purchase.

POTUS_171016The new setup is running well at the moment and with LTE Internet streaming I’m considering giving up my SiriusXM set-up in my BMW X5 35d (or Honda Pilot)now that audio (and video if needed). The iPhone interfaces well with the new AVIN navigation setup and information display and can send video to the screen or audio (my preference) to the car speakers.  With the screen quality of the iPhone7 Plus, the video on the phone isn’t a bad way to tune into a press conference (above yesterday) or Fox Business news update. The decision now is whether to use SiriusXM, a browser based streaming feed or the Slingplayer app accessing the Slingbox 350 at the house?

BMWX5_Waze

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog