My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on March 9, 2016

As we continue to drill down to select the best candidates to represent both the Republicans and Democrats in November’s presidential election, the process has been pretty disgusting … perhaps not the process, but the candidates ugliness. Here’s how I am coming to a conclusion before voting next Tuesday.

As a long time Republican, I favor a limited small government, reduced taxes and strong defense. I though I was going to cast my Ohio primary vote for Marco Rubio, but his choice to become "Trump-like" has me rethinking my vote. I don’t think I’m alone? At this point the GOP has a cast of "characters" who look to be "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" this year. I hope not, but we almost seem suicidal. New non-traditional Republican voters have entered the process this go-around due to the leading candidate Donald Trump … but he is so squishy on issues and without much substance that it is difficult know where he stands … or more importantly "trust" where he stands. He insults and bullies everyone in the field (or not), uses language that insults decent people and displays character that is polar opposite to my own. Trump is not what I expect from a candidate I support. His swipes at previous leaders, be they John McCain, Mitt Romney or President Bush are repulsive to me. I want more from our president and as an example of what America stand for in the world … but don’t even get me started on Hillary Clinton when talking "trust or character."

I also have a personal track record with Trump and his business ethics. He has treated employees, investors and those who have extended credit to him in his business dealing like a shyster. When he bankrupted $DJT (also had 3 other bankruptcies), he stiffed his creditors and investors (I was one) while continuing to pay himself millions in salary (see below). He loaded up the company with debt and took advantage of U.S. bankruptcy protection. As he would say, "it was all legal" … but definitely not ethical in my book … and he’s done it multiple times.  I suspect his tax returns are not much different … legal but more reflective of personal gains and greed. Winning, eh? For me, experiencing this personally, has me disliking and questioning his character to lead and care for ALL the citizens of our country.

Ok you say … then who else can win … and more importantly beat Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders? I’m have my doubts about the most conservative candidate, Ted Cruz. He has been a hard sell to those in his own party since for good and bad, he doesn’t negotiate (or play well) with others in the Senate. Although his values and positions are very close to my own, I also want a president who will govern the entire country — maybe even be a uniter — unlike what we have in President Obama. I also wonder if he can win the nomination if Rubio and Kasich drop out … without an open convention? (the path to someone other than Trump may only come from a convention fight)

There there is my own governor who I’ve happily voted for before.  John Kasich, is without a doubt the most qualified of the GOP bunch. His experience as a fiscally conservative congressman is well regarded and over the past several recession years, he also has a proven record of legislative accomplishment. It is precisely what we need in this country. But again … there currently isn’t a path forward to win the nomination (although he has the best chance to beat Clinton as I believe disgruntled moderate Democrats see Kasich as better than current Dems).  Hm?

At this point I can’t vote Trump, am disappointed with Rubio (and looks to be slipping) and don’t think Cruz can win in the general. So, I’ll be voting "local" and for someone I know can do a good job for our country. I’m voting, in the Ohio primary, for John Kasich next Tuesday. Who knows where it will take us. If the Trump train can’t be stopped, then I’ll hold my nose in November and pray he has been just playing a game to get elected.

Category: Business, Personal, Politics | 1 Comment »
Tags: cruz, gop, kasich, local, Politics, rubio, trump

Posted By RichC on March 8, 2016

Previously I’ve posted before about my Dad’s 1958 Packard Hawk, but now that it has been passed down to me, there is more of an incentive to pay attention to articles, stories, car shows, etc. Thanks to my high school friend, Greg Fogelsong (a automotive guru), he noticed a photo similar to my dad’s Packard Hawk was on the March cover of Hemmings Classic Car. Dad would have enjoyed seeing the article and photo of his car (well not "his" but it looks a lot like it). Unfortunately my friend Greg didn’t know dad passed away in August … but at least communicating with him gave me an opportunity to let him know. Thanks Greg! 

I still have a little bit of work to do on the car (master cylinder is leaking at minimum) as it has been sitting a couple years. Our last car show together was the Applefest in downtown Sidney Ohio in September of 2013 … I’m so glad I had that time (and many others) together with my dad. 

Quick photos of the magazine spread … (I’m not folding it back to scan it)

Category: Automotive, Memories, Packard, Personal, Shopping | No Comments »
Tags: 1958, dadc, ebay, family, hawk, hemmings, packard, studebaker

Posted By RichC on March 7, 2016

Watched a grateful Peyton Manning emotionally announce his retirement today after 18 remarkable years in the NFL. He is a great quarterback (perhaps the greatest), terrific team leader and classy man. Fans of football, no matter which team they favor, will miss his play on the field.

Peyton Manning has been considered an elite quarterback for much of his football-playing life. (Getty Images)

Category: News, Sports | No Comments »
Tags: football, nfl, peyton manning, retirement

Posted By RichC on March 7, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blHmrqPhvBM

Who doesn’t enjoy the short breaks between the hour upon hour of negative news on TV? The Values.com and RandomActsofKindness.org organizations are a worthy humanitarian outreach.

Category: Marketing, Video-TV | No Comments »
Tags: advertising, maketing, television

Posted By RichC on March 6, 2016

The Republican party continues to narrow after a Donald Trump and Ted Cruz split the four states and their deligates up for grab on Saturday. Cruz won in Kansas and Maine, while Trump picked up wins in Louisiana and Kentucky. The big “winner take all” states are yet to come.

Interestingly during the Donald Trump press conference after his wins, he mentioned campaigning in Florida (his second home) and in Ohio … a place he work when a young man (he mentioned Cincinnati). Hm … thought I would check that out, see a 2002 Cincinnati Enquirer article below:

Sunday, September 01, 2002

Complex was troubled from beginning
         – By Gregory Korte, The Cincinnati Enquirer

        Almost from the beginning, the Bond Hill apartment complex now known as Huntington Meadows was unmanageable – at least to the out-of-town owners who have held the complex for half a century.
        Completed in 1953 by New York developer Jonathan Woodner, the $10 million Swifton Village was immediately plagued by high vacancy rates, with about half of its 1,154 units occupied.
        By 1962, the owners were unable to make mortgage payments, and the New York State Employees Retirement System, which had invested a one-fifth share of the property, foreclosed. The Federal Housing Administration took over control.
        That’s when New York developer Fred Trump flew into town, plunked down $5.7 million at a sheriff’s sale and bought the property. He sent his son, 25-year-old business school whiz Donald Trump, to Cincinnati to manage the property.
        The elder Mr. Trump was the only bidder on the property, and that made his bankers nervous.
        He told the Cincinnati Post Times-Star in 1964 that when he told his mother of the purchase, she replied, “That’s the worst news I’ve heard all day.”
        But the Trump family propped up the struggling complex.
        “When they bought this place from the government, there were 400 units rented and 800 vacant. In less than two years, there wasn’t a vacancy,” longtime maintenance man Roy Knight recalled in 1990.
        He said Donald Trump “wasn’t skilled,” but often flew in for a few days at a time to help with landscaping and other menial duties around the complex.
        Bond Hill was a predominantly white neighborhood as late as 1970, and so was Huntington Meadows.
        In 1969, a black stock clerk at General Electric Aircraft Engines applied for an apartment and was told there were no vacancies. A white couple sent in by Housing Opportunities Made Equal did find a vacancy, and the stock clerk sued and won.
        The Trumps put $500,000 into the property and sold it for $6.75 million in 1972. Donald Trump boasted in his 1987 memoir, The Art of the Deal, that Swifton Village was his first multimillion-dollar deal. But Gwenda Blair, author of The Trumps: Three Generations That Built an Empire, wrote that Mr. Trump’s account was loaded with “energetic exaggerations” – it was his father, and not Donald, who was the force behind the Swifton Village deal.
        In 1982, the complex was sold for $11.3 million to Hastings Bankshares of Indianapolis and was renamed Hillcrest Gardens. And though it was appraised in 1990 for more than $23 million, it never reached that potential value.
        With the complex clearly struggling in 1996, a Chicago developer approached the city with a plan to convert the complex into a housing cooperative. That plan was called off when Hastings, eager to unload the property, turned to the P.M. Group of Michigan instead.

Category: Politics | No Comments »
Tags: cruz, election, gop, primary, trump

Posted By RichC on March 5, 2016

I replaced my one-cup Keurig coffee maker last weekend after attempting to take it apart to find a leak. Unfortunately these plastic parts are made in such a way that getting to the internal tubing are impossible.

Last year I considered a Hamilton Beach Flexbrew machine for the boat (never did buy one) and decided the higher end version of that machine fit my coffee making style. I never use the K-cups and instead use Chock Full o’ Nuts coffee in a reusable basket anyway.

So far so good … it makes a quick cup of coffee, is easy to clean the 3-piece basket components and has a 2-level system (“tall” travel mug and coffee cup).

(Amazon — was $39.88 on 2/25/2016)

Category: Audio, Music, Personal, Shopping | 2 Comments »
Tags: brazil, brew, coffee, hamilton beach, keurig, sinatra

Posted By RichC on March 4, 2016

One of my favorite YouTube channels is the Tips from a Shipwright with Louis Sauzedde. His helpful tool tips and how-to techniques are always worth listening to … even if I’m no where near the level of woodworker as are most wood boatbuilding advocates.

If you sharpen any tool, the advice from Louis in how he uses the grinding wheel to keeping sharpening stones cool with denatured alcohol are worthy of watching.

Category: Sailing, Tools, Video, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: chisel, sharpening, shipwright, stone, wood, woodworking, youtube

Posted By RichC on March 3, 2016

Yes … it probably can and will IF “friends” like  Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton go at it. On the otherhand, they still have some mud to sling to reach the level of the John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson campaign as highlighted in the WSJ.

Political Mudslinging, 1828

If you think this presidential campaign season is notable for its mudslinging, it’s a good thing you weren’t around in 1828. That’s when American electioneering became modern in the race between incumbent President John Quincy Adams and challenger Andrew Jackson. Earlier campaigns had seen some rough stuff, but the electorate was small and communication poor.Freewheeling newspapers, advanced printing techniques for circulars and posters and better transportation methods coincided with the rise of universal manhood suffrage. And the bad blood between Adams and Jackson went back to the election of 1824, when Adams whipped Jackson, who had the most popular votes, in a decision rendered by the House of Representatives.

The campaign between the two men started more than 14 months before the 1828 election; it was an era when candidates were selected by state conventions, not at national nominating conventions. And these two couldn’t have been more unalike—Adams, the Harvard-educated son of a president, and Jackson, the rugged son of the frontier who made his name in the military.

The attacks poured out from the candidates’ followers, surrogates and partisan newspapers. Jackson supporters accused Adams of having premarital relations with his wife and Jacksonian newspapers called him “The Pimp,” procuring young girls for Czar Alexander I when he was minister to Russia. Adams’s stewards contended that Jackson’s mother was “a common prostitute, brought to this country by the British soldiers.”

Adams, according to the Jacksonians, was a “lordly, purse-proud” aristocrat “feeding at the public trough.” He decorated the White House with fancy furniture, including a billiard table described as a front for a “gambling den.” The biggest critique was that the president had made a “corrupt bargain” with House Speaker Henry Clay to garner the necessary votes to become president in 1824, given that Clay was later appointed by Adams to be secretary of state.Adams’s supporters lashed out at Jackson as a drunkard, duelist and cockfighter—and a man who couldn’t even spell “Europe” (he spelled it “Urope”). Jackson’s wife, Rachel, was called variously a “whore” and an “adulteress,” because she married Jackson before her divorce was final. This was an unspeakable offense, according to the Cincinnati Gazette, for “the highest office of this free and Christian land.” Another unkind cut: Rachel was fat.

Jackson won the election, but Rachel died of a heart attack in December 1828, before he took office. At her funeral, the campaign was clearly still fresh in Jackson’s mind. “In the presence of this dear saint,” he said, “I can and do forgive all my enemies. But those vile wretches who have slandered her must look to God for mercy.”

Mr. DiBacco is professor emeritus at American University in Washington, D.C.

Category: History, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: adams, campaign, elections, jackson, wsj

Posted By RichC on March 2, 2016

Heard this interview this morning on SirusXM and glad Maria Bartiromo included it in one of her morning tweets.

Category: Apple, Business, News, Technology, Video-TV | No Comments »
Tags: foxbusiness, issa, maria bartiromo

Posted By RichC on March 2, 2016

Another long awaited Chinese reading or sunglasses strap arrived the other day … ordered a month or so ago. It was just a $2.00 buy with free shipping so instead of funky chains or a leather strap, I decided to give this a try. So far so good … as the rubber ends hold the temple earpieces easily and firmly and the sliders that pull apart on the coated wire straps seem to function just fine … as least while new. I’m use to sticking the lightweight reader glasses on top of my head at the moment, so it will take a little getting use to having them around my head. So far, I like it. 

Category: Misc | No Comments »
Tags: gadget, glasses, readers, strap, sunglasses