My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on June 28, 2017

Did you ever find yourself spending way too much time on something where it makes no logical sense? Well this is the case for a set of my wife Brenda’s salt and pepper shakers … of which she has many.

Her grandmother had a collection that was split between her grandchildren and daughter-in-law (Brenda’s mom), which eventually were handed down to daughters and grandchildren. The salt and pepper shakers have little monetary value, but sentimentally they are priceless.

Such is the case for two of the larger shakers that Brenda’s dad used until his death … so when we were replacing things in the new kitchen certain items had more value than others. The Harvest Time "tiny mug" shakers have screw on caps that were rusty and so trying to figure out what to do with them fell to me. Initially (photo) I wire brushed and chemically de-rusted them and then checked with Brenda. She now wants them repainted and sealed so now they will go back to the shop and roughed up for some leftover John Deere "green" paint and maybe a shot of clear lacquer, enamel or polyurethane to keep them from rusting again. As I mentioned in the subject line … "extra work that makes little sense."

Category: Archive, Memories, Misc | 1 Comment »
Tags: dadh, family, green, heirloom, john deere, paint, pepper, rust, salt, shaker

Posted By RichC on June 27, 2017

Well so much for waiting for the new iPhone8 to arrive in the fall … as was the plan. On the other hand, the $1000 “rumored” price was frightening me anyway.

Last week for a Tech Friday post I blogged on the VirginMobileUSA “Inner Circle” promo that offered unlimited talk, text and “almost” unlimited data for $1 (for 12 months) if you purchase a new iPhone. So after doing the calculations decided that buying a new iPhone now, and paying an 8 cents per month Virgin Mobile bill for a year … and selling my iPhone5s on eBay might work out in my favor. We shall see.

Instead of waiting for Virgin to ship an iPhone, I opted to go down to the Apple Store in Cincinnati to see if they could offer the deal and handle the switch as the Virgin Customer Service rep suggested. On Friday their order taking service went down or was just buggy so I was unable place an order. Unfortunately the usually super sharp Apple Store employees could not figure out the promo (it was new to them) and after spending over an hour with a half dozen working on getting me signed up and switch over from Ting, they gave up. I still came home with the new iPhone 7 plus and SIM card, but decided to wait until Monday to talk with Virgin’s (actually Sprint’s) tier level 3 tech support. By noon all was operational and my number was successfully ported — which was the glitch (something in the Sprint network … the actual towers and hardware Virgin Mobile USA is on).

I also purchase a highly rated but lower priced (cheaper than Otterbox) Supcase Unicorn Beetle PRO Series Full-body Rugged Holster Case with Built-in Screen Protector for $17.69 on Amazon with free 2-day Prime shipping so it does add a bit of bulk to the already large App[le iPhone 7 Plus phone, BUT there is a lot more phone to protect. Cellphones are no longer inexpensive and I’ve seen one too many cracked screens to be dealing with that on this new gadget (even though I did opt for 2-years of Applecare – have never done that before).

New Unicorn Beetle case for the iPhone7Plus vs the old Otterbox Commuter for the 5s

After an afternoon of using the new phone and carrier, I’m pretty happy with the service and speeds. The minor disappointment was in giving up my Ting  “included” Personal Hotspot as a way to tether my notebook computer and iPad when on the road (or on the boat).  It is something I can add on, but for $10/month for 2 GB of data, I’ll pass for now since I do have my Freedom Pop 4G puck and free but very limited T-Mobile wireless connection on my iPad (I’ve successfully added 5GB for 5 months to it twice now, but think it is only for new purchases — ie. one time???).

Screen display size comparison between my old iPhone 5s and the new 7 Plus.

For now I’ll keep Ting running a few more days and then see if there is any way to finagle getting Brenda’s iPhone7 ported over to Virgin’s “InnerCircle” promo … that would really be great!

Ran a couple speed tests on the new iPhone 7 Plus … one on my home Cincinnati Bell Fioptics and the other on Virgin’s Sprint connection from the house. It was better than with my iPhone5s.

Category: Advice, Apple, Cellphone, Financial, Technology | 3 Comments »
Tags: apple, freedompop, innercircle, iphone5s, iphone7plus, speedtest, sprint, ting, virgin mobile

Posted By RichC on June 26, 2017

This content is restricted.

Category: Audio, Music | No Comments »
Tags: jackson browne, mp3, musicmonday, sky blue and black, these days, twofer

Posted By RichC on June 25, 2017

Well done … don’t forget to use your “brother’s sock.” 🙂

Category: Automotive, How-To, Video | No Comments »
Tags: cars, fuel pump, speedcar99, tank, youtube

Posted By RichC on June 24, 2017

After pelting my eyes with metal chips while grinding as a teenager, I’m overly careful when using tools nowadays. The nighttime of agony and picking out metal chips from my eyes was enough to teach me a lesson … and I’m so thankful to still have my eyesight. Be warned if you are reading this — wear the appropriate eye protection!

That warning out of the way, I saw a very creative Dremel Rotary Tool attachment made from a plastic soda-pop bottle. The screw on top was enlarged to fit the base of the Dremel tool, and the clear plastic was snipped to create a see-thru shield. After the correct grinding or cutting wheel is installed, then screw the bottle portion onto the cap. Voilà!

Category: Archive, How-To, Innovation, Tidbits, Tools, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: dremel, eyes, eyesight, hack, safety, shield, tool

Posted By RichC on June 23, 2017

In the battle of carrier wars, Virgin Mobile USA is stepping in with an attractive "first year" deal for buyers of a new or refurbished iPhone either through the Apple Store or their own site. Under the deal, customers will get up to one year of service for $1. Virgin piggybacks service on the Sprint network, so you’ll want to make sure the coverage footprint is solid since the $1 unlimited deal applies when you are not roaming ("unlimited" within reason – U.S. calling/texting and using over 23GB/mo could get throttled).

Once the year is up, users will have service will be $50/mo, so  if you do the math, the nearly $600 saved in a year comes close to paying for a new iPhone6 or 7; it might be worth playing the game if you’re looking to upgrade soon (cough, cough … I have an iPhone5s) … but if you do wan this deal, the offer expires on July 31, 2017.

As part of Virgin Mobile’s deal with Apple, they are ditching Android phones in the coming years and will become the first iPhone-only network — LINK.

Unlimited voice and data services are while on-network only.

12 mos. for $1 unlimited service offer: Limited-time offer. Expires 7/31/17. Available only to customers who purchase an iPhone and transfer their phone number to the Inner Circle plan. Excludes taxes.

Virgin Mobile has no annual service contracts; service subject to certain terms. Plans are domestic only and include unlimited data, talk, text, 800 domestic voice roaming minutes and 100MB domestic data roaming. Int’l services extra and subject to applicable rates. AutoPay: Inner Circle members must remain enrolled in AutoPay with a valid payment vehicle on file. Service plan payment due on monthly payment date or account will be suspended. Unless monthly service plan payment made within 120 days after last monthly payment date, account will expire and any account balance will be forfeited. State and local taxes apply. Quality of Svc. (QoS): Customers who use more than 23GB of data during billing cycle will be deprioritized during times and places where the network is constrained. See Virgin Mobile Inner Circle Important Service/Product Specific Terms for details. Usage Limitations: To improve data experience for the majority of users, throughput may be limited, varied or reduced on the network. Virgin Mobile may terminate service if off-network roaming use in a month exceeds: (1) 800 mins or a majority of mins.; or (2) 100MB or a majority of KB. Other Terms: Offers and coverage not available everywhere or for all phones/networks and subject to change without notice. Additional terms, prohibited network use rules and other restrictions apply. Visit virginmobileusa.com for full details and latest pricing. Sprint 4G LTE network reaches over 290 million people. ©2017 Virgin Mobile USA, L.P. All rights reserved. VIRGIN and the Virgin signature logo are registered trademarks of Virgin Enterprises Limited and are used under license. Sprint and the logo are trademarks of Sprint. LTE is a trademark of ETSI.

Category: Apple, Cellphone, Financial, Shopping, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: apple, carriers, deals, iphone, sprint, tech friday, techfriday, virgin mobile

Posted By RichC on June 22, 2017

It is too easy to stumble across great memories and think, "that would make for a great Throw Back Thursday #TBT post!" If I were to do that, there would be no end to "blog fillers" on Thursdays (or really on Wednesday evenings).

Here’s a favorite photo of Katelyn and Taylor on a trip to the condo in Delray Beach back in June of 2008. We really did have great times playing board games and being on vacation together. As folks my age are prone to saying … "time flies."

While on this trip I also now remember to keep my eyes on grass next to the walking path (especially at night) as one never knows what might be slithering up from the canal.

LINK & click image for larger

Category: Archive, Memories, Personal, Photos, TBT | No Comments »
Tags: delray beach, family, florida, katelyn, memories, taylor, TBT

Posted By RichC on June 21, 2017

While the economy slowly improves and Wall Street waits with anticipation for congress to act on tax reform and in particular tax cuts that will bring the corporate tax in the U.S. in line with the rest of the world, oil companies continue to struggle. Obviously we’re still using oil … but the "glut" is just too big for companies to reward shareholders with steady enough profits. Those holding "big oil" like Exxon, Chevron, BP and Marathon are getting crushed. At what point does demand and supply get balanced … and at what point do oil companies slow down production in order to keep oil prices from falling further?

Category: Energy, Financial | No Comments »
Tags: $CVX, $MRO, $XOM, bp, energy, investing, oil, stocks

Posted By RichC on June 21, 2017

With financial concerns looming for Elio Motors, they continue to put out positive PR remarks to their "All In" reservation holders, prospective buyers and investors. Everything from their perspective is positive is a series of questions/answers  posted on their website.

One Q & A indicates that Elio Motors is "targeting 2018" to be the year they start production with all current reservation holders receiving their Elios "within their first year of production." Obviously those of us who were early "All In" reservation holders have been anxious for a long time … personally I’m just hoping they will begin production.

The current glut of oil and over supply of fuel for cars has kept car buyers from economy cars, hybrids and lower-end EVs, but we’ve seen this story before. Hopefully Elio Motors can squeak by until the larger car/SUV/pickup truck trend shifts back to fuel sipping commuter cars so families aren’t going "over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house" like this family of six, plus dog and luggage!

Category: Automotive, Financial, Humor, Video | No Comments »
Tags: answers, elio, motorcycle, oil, publications, questions, youtube

Posted By RichC on June 20, 2017

Traders of oil are bearish as the previous climb above $50/barrel could not hold under the pressure of global oversupply. For those of us who remember the doom and gloom of “peak oil,” paying $4+ per gallon at the pump and jumping on the alternative fuel bandwagon … it is hard to fathom that we’re now “swimming in oil.” Obviously new drilling techniques, fracking and oil field finds have put to rest the immediate concern over “running out of oil,” but at some point if the per barrel price keeps falling, we’ll soon be at a price where the slim margins start shutting down oil operation. A lot of companies will find it more and more difficult to cover expenses and payroll if prices stay in the low $40/barrel range much longer (see WSJ 6/20/2017).

It may be time for companies to start their “shutting down for maintenance” excuses.

Category: Energy, Financial | No Comments »
Tags: chevron, crude, exxon, marathon, oil