One of the more hilarious BBC interview interuptions
Posted By RichC on March 10, 2017
Pondering the last few items we still need for the kitchen project
Posted By RichC on March 8, 2017
While waiting for the new kitchen cabinets to be built and delivered, the final decisions need to be made on the under counter lighting, 
faucets and backsplash tiles. The latter has become quite the struggle.
The kitchen designer who is helping has picked a glass tile with a tint of green, but the opinions from family have all concluded that we should stick with a while subway tile. In either case we’ll probably go with a gray grout that matches the new stainless steel appliances.
How many germs are passed around on airplanes?
Posted By RichC on March 7, 2017
Interesting tidbits posted to Marketwatch … I’m thinking a "bottle of water" might be my request the next time I travel?
Don’t get ice in your drink on an airplane
From a flight attendant here: “Don’t get ice in your drink, don’t drink coffee, tea, or hot water on the plane and don’t touch anything in the lavatory with your bare skin. The ice is put in a tray with a scoop and the trays don’t get cleaned very often. Every surface on the plane is touched by hundreds of people daily and not often disinfected. We don’t have the opportunity to wash our hands at all during the beverage service.” Standards for disinfecting planes vary according to time and class.
“Between ice scoops, I’ll probably touch a seat, a Coke can, my tablet to charge someone for a drink, their credit card, a tray table and the car,” the flight attendant writes. “So basically my hand snatches up all those lovely germs and then goes back into the ice drawer to pick the scoop back up and do it all again.” Several studies have confirmed bacteria in water served on airplanes. (Airlines For America, an industry trade group, was not immediately available for comment.)
More from Marketwatch
Music Monday: Escaping from my 1970s rut with Yo La Tengo
Posted By RichC on March 6, 2017
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Our first granddaughter was born on March 4 2017
Posted By RichC on March 5, 2017
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Cut the cord — and then added a few channels back
Posted By RichC on March 4, 2017
Well … so much for cutting the cord as I mentioned in February and contemplating using the Sony Playstation Vue streaming service for the few channels ($30/mo) we wanted to receive that are unavailable over-the-air. We never really got to that point since the local 
antenna channels seemed way too slow in changing and somewhat finicky while using the inexpensive flat antenna. The final straw was the Cincinnati Bell Fioptics offer to waive fees and speed up the installation of fiber to the house if I opted for whole house DVR and a TV package. They offered most of the channels we watch in a lower tier package (missing CNBC … but do include FoxNews and FoxBusiness – go figure?). The deal closer was to include our three TV boxes as no additional fee and be sure they were all working together on the main DVR … all for a significantly lower monthly rate than Time Warner or their acquirer Spectrum. To make the decision even easier than the cost savings was the fact that our internet speed is now 3 times faster.
B-E-A-U– tiful boat!
Posted By RichC on March 3, 2017
Just a filler post from a photo from Spirit Yachts Ltd., Ipswich 50 “Roving Spirit”
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FoxBusiness is growing because of talent like Maria Bartiromo
Posted By RichC on March 2, 2017
This kind of interview and polite exchange with Jason Furman is what make Maria Bartiromo one of the best in the business … and why FoxBusiness is beating CNBC. They are now the business news powerhouse … not to mention their sister channel FoxNews had more viewers than any other network during President Trump’s speech to the joint session of congress this past Tuesday — 10.8 million viewers.
Update on BMW X5 35d problems: Battery and tires
Posted By RichC on March 1, 2017
Neither of the problems I’m having has anything to do with BMW X5 35d diesel brand since the battery and run-flat tires are both aftermarket items. The AGM replacement battery I installed last year is still hanging in there so long as the weather remains warm (cold cranking amps are sufficient), but it will not hold a full 850 CCA (some battery info). I’m waiting for a new Exide Edge Flat-Plate AGM battery to come off the production line as CARiD asked me to wait … we’ll see if it arrive mid-March as promised?
I’ve mentioned checking it out before, but now regularly charge and check it in the garage since I have a new Solar BA-9 tester. It consistently will read “Bad” if I don’t keep it on the charger … but still usually records a strong alternator charge and voltage of 12.50-ish VDC at rest and about 10 VDC under load — see how to do this with a basic multi-meter. After learning to use both, I’m not sure I would recommend spending anything on a battery tester (although wouldn’t mind a true load tester … the kind that heat up).
As for tires, after installing a old “less sticky” plug and still seeing a little air bubbling my “dish soap check,” I picked up some fresh ones at Walmart and added a little “goop” to help it seal. I’ll know more tomorrow if it holds air. Ha!
Photography: Close-up, low light depth of field conundrum
Posted By RichC on February 28, 2017
While eating lunch today I was tinkering with my Lumix GX8 camera to play with depth-of-field and sandwiching images (see Photoshop technique in old post). In a low light macro situation there isn’t a way to keep items in front and back sharp enough to read … so in some cases, sandwiching two images is the only option. Take a look a test 15" away in the back and the Activia text in the fore-ground … about 6" away – both are legible due to sandwiching two images … now to learn to do this all inside the camera! .
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.