My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on July 23, 2015

Wow … 10 years ago I bought my first “original” Slingbox. I thought this gadget was the coolest thing and even upgraded it in 2012 (has it been that long?) I used it regularly on the road with the laptop or Palm Treo (photo below) and “sling-ed” our home TV video (or just audio) signal over the Internet and “new” fast 3G network.

Times have changed and now I see a lot of millennials “cutting cable” entirely; my son is one of them and streams all his content to his TV with Sling TV. I’m starting to see the merit in his decision after a long 45 minute phone call hassling with Time Warner Cable …  I’m ready to join him.

If it were not for Brenda being hooked on certain programs or me addicted to the cable news channels (CNBC, FoxBusiness and FoxNews), I think we could manage with an over-the-air-antenna and a NetFlix subscription like we had in 2009. Unless I get some resolution regarding being billed for components we do not have AND a more reasonable “package deal,” I’m tempted to cut the service for at least 6 months! (FYI … then and only then are we eligible for new customer packages. It is so nice they appreciate their long time customers by tagging another $40-$50 on the monthly bill – #sarcasm).

Category: Entertainment, TBT, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: sling, slingbox, slingplayer, streaming, television

Posted By RichC on July 22, 2015

Chuckling at the “miss” from Applefalling short of their guidance, but they continue to build their bankroll of cash … now above $200 Billion! Profit margins are so far above most tech equipment makers and they are still cranking out the iPhones (47.5 Million in the 3rd quarter).

Unfortunately for shareholders use to $AAPL blowing away the numbers, afterhours traders sold shares after the disappointment. I watched the chart take a nose dive and drop 10% to $120 … but also suspect buyers will soon be back purchasing Apple shares. Frankly, even at $120-130/share they are probably one of the better medium to long term investments.

Apple sold 47.5 million iPhones, a 35 percent gain, in the period that ended in June, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Analysts had anticipated 48.8 million shipments. The company forecast revenue of $49 billion to $51 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in September, short of the average estimate for $51.1 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Any indication of slowing demand for iPhones could spark concern that Apple is going to have a hard time selling more smartphones in the final months of the year, after the September debut of the latest version fueled record profits. A new model is expected to be released later this year.

“It’s going to be running up against really hard comparisons,” said Abhey Lamba, an analyst at Mizuho Securities USA Inc. “A lot of people jumped to the larger-screened iPhones, now that we’ve gotten to the point where the innovation in the next release is not going to be as massive as we had last year.”

…

Net income in the fiscal third quarter, which ended in June, was $10.7 billion, or $1.85 a share, while revenue rose 33 percent to $49.6 billion, the Cupertino, California-based company said. Analysts on average had forecast third-quarter profit of $1.81 a share on sales of $49.4 billion. The gross margin was 39.7 percent, topping the company’s outlook for 38.5 percent to 39.5 percent.

Total revenue from greater China more than doubled to $13.2 billion, even as the Chinese economy weakened.

Apple didn’t release unit sales of the Apple Watch, which was introduced in April. It included the results for the smartwatch in a broad category called “Other,” along with items such as Beats headphones and iPod sales. Revenue in the category rose 49 percent to $2.64 billion, the company said. Analysts predicted on average 3.4 million sales of the Watch with an average selling price of $499, according to the Bloomberg survey.

More at Bloomberg Business

Category: Apple, Audio, Business | No Comments »
Tags: aapl, apple, earnings, investing, iphone, mp3

Posted By RichC on July 21, 2015

The weekend project is coming together in the back of the “new to me” low-mile 2002 Honda Odyssey minivan I bought for $3700 from my dad. I wanted a shelf/workbench that can serve a couple of purposes. It doubles the storage use of the area behind the rear seat and enables me to fold all the rear seats down and still haul 4 x 8 foot sheets without removing the seats.

The initial excuse was that I wanted to practice my TIG welding, but the project grew and became a little more creative (still thinking about adding a couple drawers). The width of the bench top is 49-1/2″ with a little edge lip in the banding to protect the sides of the 1/2″ plywood shelf. It disassembles by sliding the shelf/bench top out and lifting the lightweight aluminum self supporting square tubed frame … and doubles as a workbench outside the vehicle. It is my “handyman” vehicle where I can keep tools in the rear well under the shelf and use the top as a workbench under the rear hatch … staying dry and shaded when away from home. I’m sort of thinkig about the occasional projects … maybe when visiting family or perhaps just keep the vehicle in Florida as a work on the boat or condo vehicle?

EDIT – 7/22/2015: Added the non-skid mat from my Honda Pilot … cut to size.

Category: Automotive, Misc, Personal, Tools, Woodworking | 2 Comments »
Tags: aluminum, honda, odyssey, project, tig, welding, workbench

Posted By RichC on July 20, 2015

Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers – Mr. Saturday Night – Loved Wild Lost – Van Session 29

Category: Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: gramblers, Music, nicki bluhm, van session, youtube

Posted By RichC on July 19, 2015

I “know better” than to wear shorts and non-leather shoes when welding … but with the shop temperatures in the 90’s I ignored the safety rules and ruined my pair of good Keen shoes.

Thankfully, after burning through my sock (don’t normally even wear them) the hot slag didn’t seriously burn my toe, but did have me kicking off my shoe pretty fast!

It has been a while since I had my TIG welder out for any repairs and with Brenda out of town having a garage/estate sale with her mom and sister up at the Farmhouse, I opted to work on a couple “me” projects this weekend. Saturday’s welding was half practicing on aluminum with TIG and half a bench/ storage unit for the low-mile 2002 Honda Odyssey that I purchased from my dad back in May. The older Odyssey was mechanically a little too good to sell at book price so even though we already have too many cars, I decided it was an excellent “work” car for hauling and my trips. Who knows, I might even decide to keep it in Florida?

Category: Automotive, Misc, Tools | No Comments »
Tags: aluminum, burns, honda, keen, odyssey, shoes, tig, toes, welding

Posted By RichC on July 18, 2015

By far, my favorite woodworking and sailing YouTube channel is Tips from a Shipwright. It is sponsored by Jamestown Distributors in Rhode Island a great source for boat paints, finishes and epoxy materials. I will go there before looking elsewhere because of their sponsorship.

The filmmaker Halsey Fulton of Fish Hawk Films brings the impressive knowledge of Master Shipwright Louis Sauzedde to video and is chock-full of information challenging to get anywhere else. The quality of the video production and “educational lecturing” is well beyond what most people are use to seeing with online video. Checkout Tips from a Shipwright YouTube Channel videos if you love wooden boat and woodworking.

How to prep and apply varnish on wooden boats:

How to properly clean varnish brushes:

Category: How-To, Sailing, Video, Woodworking | 1 Comment »
Tags: encore, jamestown distributor, sailboat, shipwright, varnish, youtube

Posted By RichC on July 17, 2015

As much as I want to dislike shopping at Amazon rather than supporting a local business, their Prime Shipping option makes getting a part too easy (thanks to Katelyn and Drew). They are becoming the go-to choice for parts nowadays. I needed a new O-Ring for our pools chlorinator and ordered it within a few minutes … with free shipping!

Happy “belated” 20th anniversary Amazon.com.

Amazon.com launches and officially goes live as an Online Bookstore in 1995.

July- Amazon.com sells first book- Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought, by Douglas Hofstadter

Category: Shopping, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, chlorinator, oring, parts, pool, tech friday, techfriday

Posted By RichC on July 17, 2015

The Apple iOS 9 pre-release has been dangled in front of me for a little while now, but since I’ve been traveling the last couple weeks, the temptation to install while away was not all that powerful, so I decided not tempt fate. That probably a good thing since a few tech people I follow, and respect, have not had such a positive experience (Apple did warn). Again, this is pre-release stuff and not for the faint of heart.

Advice: Don’t’ install iOS 9 on your primary device.

Lauren Goode’s article on Recode.net gave me pause as I started thinking about giving it a try this weekend. Maybe I’ll wait?

… iPhone users have had previous complaints about losing cell service after iOS updates.

To be clear, I never got to the point where I was running iOS 9 on the phone. After waiting from around noon until 1:30 pm for the software to download, I received an error message: Unable to Install Update. I took a phone call shortly after that, and then tried, again, to install the update.

Suddenly, I had no network connection. I tried a hard reset of the phone. Where Verizon Wireless would normally show me a few dots and maybe an LTE signal, it said “Searching….” For hours.

(I took a train home. I had no cell service. No Wi-Fi, no personal hotspot, nothing for more than an hour. No text messages, email or streaming music. I looked out the window. I took a short nap. I wondered what news I was missing. It was life before the smartphone!)

Once home, I tried resetting the phone’s network settings. I popped out the tiny SIM, then loaded it back in again. Still no service.

For more, read the rest at recode.net: Learned the Hard Way: Don’t install iOS9 Beta on Your Primary iPhone

Category: Apple, Cellphone, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: apple, ios9, iphone

Posted By RichC on July 16, 2015

IF … a big IF … I learn a little more about sail repair and “sewing,” I would like to have a few projects to practice on before wasting too much material (or time and money!) We still don’t have the proper sewing machine (perhaps a Sailrite?) BUT KNOW will not try using Brenda’s old Singer machine on more than 1 or 2 layers of Sunbrella material again. So I’m archiving a small project idea in order to learn a few skills …. a ditty bag that was spotted on s/v Tiger Lilly’s blog.

To be fair, I have helped my wife Brenda on a couple projects including repairing Encore’s Bimini, but she is not the best of teachers (no offense) and I have a few projects of my own that should be do-able. My screens are sitting unfinished in the basement, the hatches aren’t covered and all my brightwork handholds and rails are once again showing sun damage.

I might even be able to convince Brenda that “we really need a heavy duty sewing machine” with the idea that I can repair her favorite leather travel bag!

William Shakespere’s Hamlet: First Folio:

To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to? ‘Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; aye, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There’s the respect
That makes Calamity of so long life:
For who would bear the Whips and Scorns of time,
The Oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s Contumely, [F: poor]
The pangs of despised Love, the Law’s delay, [F: disprized]
The insolence of Office, and the Spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his Quietus make
With a bare Bodkin? Who would Fardels bear, [F: these Fardels]
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered Country, from whose bourn
No Traveller returns, Puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of.
Thus Conscience does make Cowards of us all,
And thus the Native hue of Resolution
Is sicklied o’er, with the pale cast of Thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment, [F: pith]
With this regard their Currents turn awry, [F: away]
And lose the name of Action. Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia? Nymph, in thy Orisons
Be all my sins remembered.

Category: Misc, Sailing | No Comments »
Tags: ditty, encore, projects, sailboat, sailrite, sewing, singer

Posted By RichC on July 15, 2015

At least it is a “small” field of GOP candidates running for President of the United States in 2016 (sarcasm); who will be invited to the first debate?

There are a couple candidates in the race that I can’t get too excited about, but I am trying to remain open minded and definitely could support someone like the Ohio governor, the moderate-conservative John Kasich. I figure he must have something going for him since he is currently the only Republican candidate attracting both my 20-something son and his 50-something dad. The GOP might be on to something here?

I still find it hard to believe voters re-elected Barack Obama over Mitt Romney in 2012 ?? I feel “out of sync” with the path our nation is on, and know I’m not alone.

The list of completive candidates for 2016 is growing, at least on the Republican side, but the only candidate with a deep-pocketed war chest for the Democrats is Hillary Clinton. She is capable of running the kind of ruthless social media and costly ground campaign that few others can compete with. That said, she comes with plenty of baggage even for loyal Democrats … who in the end will probably plug their nose and vote party line.

EDIT: Realized I posted this the day after my “Rat Zapper” post – hm, dark humor?

Category: Politics | No Comments »
Tags: 2016, campaign, candidates, election, john kasich, potus