My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on January 20, 2026

Am I the only one who jumps from one book to the other without finishing the one I previously started? I doubt it — it’s probably a common problem.

Anyway, I recently finished the “DisUnited Nations” by Peter Zeihan which was excellent … mostly because I enjoy geography and history. But also offers insight as to why the United States had so much promise and have more opportunity than most other countries. The future in unknown of course, but we still have A LOT going for us. Zeihan also had a couple of other books that I’ve posted on previously and enjoyed: “The Accidental Superpower: 10 years on” and “The End of the World is just the Beginning.”

I’ve been reading “After the Reich” for a while now as it is borrowed from library and needs be renewed (again and again) — my curse of having too many reading distractions. “Taking Midway” by Martin Dugard is another take on the war in the Pacific Ocean and a battle that “turned the tide” in favor of the Americans during WW2.

The actual reason for today’s post was to find an older book titled “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal” with an essay title “The Roots of War” written by Ayn Rand. It likely appeals to me after seeing socialism rising once again even in America. After seeing “all shades” of Marxist ideology fail over the past century, it is hard to believe some of our own citizens want to try it again? 

Category: Books, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: after the reich, ayn rand, Books, peter zeihan, reading, taking midway, wikipedia, ww2

Posted By RichC on January 19, 2026

Likely due to my “Happy Place” post last week … and listening to a little music while on the beach … I picked Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” song that was a hit in 2008 for this week’s Music Monday. I’ll admit, I’m not really a big Kid Rock fan (previous post 2017), but I do like most of the crossover country-rock music.

The lyrics reminisce about a carefree summer romance in 1989 in Northern Michigan, capturing the essence of youth, freedom, and simple pleasures like drinking whiskey, making love by the lake, and singing “Sweet Home Alabama” at full volume—symbolizing timeless summer joy. Despite initial skepticism from Kid Rock, the track became a global hit, topping charts in multiple countries and earning a People’s Choice Award for Best Rock Song in 2009.

Category: Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: all summer long, kid rock, music monday, musicmonday, wikipedia, youtube

Posted By RichC on January 18, 2026

After gifting Brenda AirPods a year or so ago and seeing her enjoy them so much … buying a new pair was a no-brainer after she forgot to bring the old ones along on a trip. Since the newer ones were on sale at Costco for $148 (and elsewhere) after the holidays, we pick up a set of the AirPod 4 with Active Noise Cancellation (supposedly helpful on an airplane).

Unfortunately she is not happy with them as the fit is different. They are smaller and have a different shape than the other ones. Maybe in time she’ll find them “ok” … but even I didn’t like the fit compare to her previous AirPods either. 

Also another disappointment was the ANC — very poor sound when it is on. I’m starting to wonder if this is a common complaint or if there might be a setting that can be adjusted? 

Yes — many other users have voiced complaints or mixed impressions about the fit and the active noise cancellation (ANC) performance on the Apple AirPods 4 ANC and the standard AirPods 4 ANC model.

Here’s a balanced summary of what people are saying:

Fit Issues – Common complaints:

Some users find the open-fit design less secure than in-ear buds, especially during movement — they feel like they might slip out or require frequent small adjustments.

A number of owners report they don’t stay put well and end up returning them because they feel like they’re falling out.

The smooth plastic finish and lack of ear tips make them easier to slide out compared with silicone-tipped models.

(more…)

Category: Advice, AI, Apple, Shopping, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: airpods, anc, apple, chatgpt, noise cancellation, opinion

Posted By RichC on January 17, 2026

The NFL season is close to ending and we’ll soon know who will be playing in Super Bowl LIX in San Francisco. The final 8 teams meet this weekend .. but if you click on the grid, you’ll also see last weekend’s wildcard playoff teams. 

Category: Sports | No Comments »
Tags: 2025-2026, bracket, football, grid, nfl, playoffs

Posted By RichC on January 16, 2026

Can you tell if this “Cow Jumped Over the Moon” image has been manipulated (Photoshopped), AI generated or is a real photo?

You are exactly right. From the human eye alone, it is now often impossible to be certain, especially with images like this that sit right at the boundary between coincidence, editing, and AI generation.

A few grounded observations may help frame the issue.

Why the human eye struggles now

For most of photography’s history, obvious tells existed: mismatched shadows, crude cut-and-paste edges, or impossible lighting. Modern tools have erased many of those tells.
• AI generators are very good at clouds, sky gradients, and glowing light sources like the moon.
• Traditional photo editing (Photoshop, phone apps) can now produce results that look just as “too perfect” as AI.
• Night photography naturally produces artifacts—haloing, blown highlights, noise reduction smearing—that mimic manipulation.

So the old instinct of “I can spot a fake” is no longer reliable. (more…)

Category: AI, Human Interest, Photography, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: artificial intelligence, cow, fake, hey diddle diddle, manipulation, moon, photoshopped, tech friday, techfriday, wikipedia

Posted By RichC on January 15, 2026

It is impossible to not smile when the sun is shining and the beach is calling me. Brenda and I are so thankful to have this time together and feeling free doing something we both love — walk the beach.  Yes, I wish my foot was back to normal, but surprisingly walking on the beach with the ocean washing over my feet is still far better than wearing a pair of shoes or walking on hardwood floors or tile. I anxious to see how it goes, but “so far so good” (idiom from 1721, who knew)!  

I’ve mentioned our beach umbrella before as being an improvement in our beach life. When it is hot and the sun is out, it is great … But … it is January and the sun is not only in the southern sky, but drifts quickly from an overhead shade to a sliver of shade (photo). We both laughed after realizing it was nearly useless in the afternoon in the winter.

That said, we are glad to have it even if it is probably not necessary in the winter with plenty of clouds and a little  rain and wind. The sun feels pretty good when temps are in the 70s and the wind is from the north.
That said, we wouldn’t want to be any place else — Life is good. 😉 

Category: Archive, Health, Idioms, Personal, Photos, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: beach, delray beach, endorphins, florida, happy place, idiom, idioms, so far so good, vacation

Posted By RichC on January 14, 2026

Likely Brenda and I did not properly thank our kids for the over-the-top Christmas gift this year. They all have the robot vacuums in their homes and regularly rave and show us just what they are able to do these days. I think both of us thought we might eventually buy one since our first foray into a 2018 Deebot for the Florida condo. We knew from that early experience that it wasn’t really reading to tackle our home … but wow have they advanced.

This past Christmas, Taylor (Megan) and Katelyn (Drew) gave us  an impressive Roborock and I’ve been mapping our floors (basement map) and testing out the vacuuming at first. We’ll hold off on the mopping until getting things a little be more in order. So far, our Robbie has been been fantastic (yes, we named him after Robby the Robot — likely you’d need to be of a certain age to remember that). Anyway, I want to post our thanks for such a wonderful gift.

Also … a leftover photo below as it seemed to be a appropriate “save” this less than perfect fix of Katelyn’s VW Tiguan’s antenna; we tackled it during our time together and saved her $2000! 

Category: Archive, Automotive, Holiday, Personal, Photos, Repairs, Shopping, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Tags: antenna, christmas, gift, repair, roborock, tiguan, volkswagen

Posted By RichC on January 13, 2026

The WyzeCam came through in trying to figure out where a letter disappeared to. After tracking her steps, Brenda could not find a letter and check that needed to be delivered. She knew that she had taken it with her, but couldn’t find it (it happens to all of us).

So after checking multiple times in her purse, bags and between the seats of her car … it still didn’t show up. Then it occurred to me … check the security cams. Sure enough, she put in on the roof of the car (a “no-no” in my book) and after backing out of the garage, it blew off in the turn around area of our driveway. Whew, crisis averted. 😊 

Category: Gadget, Human Interest, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: car roof, letter, security, wyze, wyzecam3

Posted By RichC on January 12, 2026

For Music Monday this week, here’s a snippet floating around social media (likely for a while) that I attempted to use Perplexity AI to decipher. It failed, but could only venture a guess that it was a clip from “a television talent show” — my guess is “The Voice” but not sure since I don’t watch it?  The video clip features a snippet from Andrea Bocelli‘s famous song “Con te partirò” (known in English as “Time to Say Goodbye”) and who knows if it has been circulating for far longer than this year (my weak assumption was between its release in 1995 and 2025). 

Category: AI, Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: andrea bocelli, music monday, musicmonday, talent, thevoice, tiktok, x.com

Posted By RichC on January 11, 2026

The advantage of having a social media presence is that I’m never at a loss for posting something on MyDesultoryBlog! 😊 

Category: Advice, Blogs, Human Interest, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: camera, food for thought, important, life, positivity