My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on July 14, 2015

It really works! The “new to me” Rat Zapper Classic RZC001 mousetrap did its job in our poolhouse/workshop last night. After baiting the little “garage gizmo” with a few nuggets of Tootsie’s dog food, it “caught” a first mouse in what I hope will be many.

It’s an interesting gizmo in that converts 4-AA batteries into a “lethal for mice” place to eat. Stick in some bait, switch it on (the light blink on then off), place it in an area visited by mice (note droppings) then check the red light the next day. If the light is blinking … that means a rodent is inside and ready to be disposed of. Tip the little garage to dump (in my case into the compost pile) and add a couple more dogfood nuggets for another try. No more bloody traps to reset. So far so good.

Category: Innovation, Photos, Technology, Tools | 1 Comment »
Tags: electronic, gadgets, mousetrap, trap

Posted By RichC on July 13, 2015

Back in mid-2011, Netflix  management frustrated their users by splitting their DVD and streaming services. They upped subscriber subscriptions by 60% in some cases and created a flurry of cancelations. The CEO, Reed Hastings, came out publically and admitted he “messed up.” He was of course responding to both angry users and the shareholder who were feeling the pain from the plummeting stock price that followed.

I took the opportunity to buy some NFLX stock when it was below $100 but unfortunately sold it as soon as it inched back up 10%. Boy did I miss this run …

Netflix (NFLX) stock in up 5% today rocketing past the $700/share mark and rewarding shareholders with incredible returns not only for 2015 so far, but since a below $100 low in 2012.

Category: Financial | No Comments »
Tags: investing, netflix, nflx, stock

Posted By RichC on July 12, 2015

After a week or so away, it was time for a weekend of long overdue household chores. The grass was long (and a bit wet), the pool a bit green and the kitchen sink continued to drip … despite my ignoring it for weeks. The last one should have been relatively easy except I initially bought the wrong Moen cartridge. Nothing like spinning your wheels.

At first I though I might be able to rebuild the old, but no, they are not designed to remove and clean up with new o-rings. So finally picked up the Danco brand 8843E replacement cartridge for the Moen 1225. Of course figuring since I replace it “just 2 years ago” that I would remember the steps. Well I sort of did, except that I reversed the hot and cold water by putting the cartridge in 180 degree. Back apart again and eventually back together — water is flowing once again … but not dripping. Next time I might try to buy the brass Moen part and see if it can be cleaned and rebuilt with o-rings … if that part even fits the current kitchen faucet.

Speaking of our kitchen faucet, after cleaning the base parts when it was apart this time, I noticed the paint was coming loose and peeling off (chrome underneath — see photo). Maybe this can be touched up … but I was a little disappointed as I've always thought Moen a premium product and am questioning their quality.

Category: Misc, Personal | No Comments »
Tags: cartridge, faucet, kitchen, moen, plumbing, repair

Posted By RichC on July 11, 2015

For those aviation “nuts” who flock to Oshkosh each July for Airventure, EAA has a couple smartphone apps for you. I am told (thanks Bob) that version are in both iOS and Android so both major mobile operating systems are supported. I've just download myself so am not sure how helpful it will be, although having listened to EAA Radio in the past, I can vouch for it being well done.

Are you going to be camping at Airventure 2015?

Category: Aviation, Cellphone, Software | No Comments »
Tags: airplanes, airventure, android, app, apple, eaa, iphone, smartphone

Posted By RichC on July 11, 2015

It was a quick and inexpensive flight to Florida this past week to do a little tropical weather prep aboard Encore. Summer is the time of year that “commuter cruisers” double their line, remove sails and store an extra windage in case hurricane winds target the area … besides I really was looking forward to seeing a couple friends.

Speaking of inexpensive, I opted to fly on Frontier Airlines for the first time, against my son’s warning ($109 RT from CVG to FLL – cheap than I could drive it). I figured it was just me and how bad could it be? Well, in hindsight, probably tolerable … but cheap airfares do come at a cost. Thankfully it’s not “cattle class” (previous post) or a new “face to face” seat design as an article in CNBC illustrated in a recent article. Stlll, the nickel and diming and noticable “no frills” was noticable. For the most part I’m an advocate for paying for just was you want … but you really need to be aware that you are playing the game.

First, buying the ticket in advance and having some flexiblity in days of travel and airport choices are the key. Second, attention to what you need to take with you and how to pre-purchase your carry-on or checked bag. I decided to “trust” that my check bag would arrive and packed everything except a “free small personal item” in my 50lb (maxed out) roller duffle. I decided I could forgo selecting my own seat AND the “package of peanut” and soft drink and could sit quietly for 2-1/2 hours even if I had the rear center seat (I was assigned a rear window seat). All the extras come with a price … and pre-purchasing with your ticket “would” be the cheapest way to add them.

I was still surprised when I did find my seat … it wasn’t much more than a plastic “fixed” (no recline) amusement ride seat with a little foam wrapped in faux-leather – pretty firm and noticably austere … although now that it is behind me, maybe the savings was worth it?

Category: Advice, Aviation, Sailing, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: airlines, cheap, cnbc, encore, flying, frontier, hurricane

Posted By RichC on July 10, 2015

For the past few weeks I’ve been enjoying a quick read each morning summarizing the previous day’s news from theSkimm.com. Currently it is a free subscription and is delivered to your email box and worded in a light and easy to comprehend way.

For those interested in more of a business news update, check out Gerald Baker’s “The 10Point” from The Wall Street Journal.

Also, I’ve mentioned it before, but the Freedompop hotspot can be the Internet lifeline for those who travel … or just need to keep a backup connection handy. Inexpensive for the occasional “secure” Internet connection too.

Sample of theSkimm from July 9th:

Skimm’d after trying a kickboxing class.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I am EXTREMELY proud to be an American” – Ariana Grande defending herself after she was caught on tape saying “I hate America.” After she apparently licked a donut. That she apparently didn’t buy. #USAUSAUSA

SKIMM THIS

THINGS MAKING SURE YOU’RE AWAKE

OUTAGES

THE STORY

Yesterday, tech issues caused three major outages across the US.

SAY WHAT?

One: trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange was suspended for almost four hours. Two: United Airlines grounded all US flights for more than an hour. Three: the Wall Street Journal’s  website briefly shut down. Ctrl+Alt+Del didn’t work. The glitches appear to be unrelated, and caused by technical problems – NOT cyberattacks. You can tell your anxious neighbor to exhale and to stop buying batteries.

theSKIMM

The outages came in the middle of panic from the financial disasters happening in China and Greece. Bad timing. And in a world where digital is king, yesterday’s glitches reminded people that computers have bad days too.

SKIMM THIS

CHINA

THE STORY

Yesterday, the Chinese stock market made Greece look like a model of financial stability.

SAY WHAT?

China’s market was red hot for a while. But recently, it’s been cooling down in a big way. Falling stock prices have caused investors to panic and try to selloff their stocks. The government’s been having brokerage firms pump money into the market, hoping that it’ll boost prices and fix the problem. Today, China’s stocks are up a bit. TBD on if it’ll stay that way.

theSKIMM

The majority of stockholders in China are everyday citizens, and now the government is worried those citizens will start protesting as they watch their savings go down the drain. And China does not like protests.

SKIMM THIS

GREECE

THE STORY

Greece is billions of dollars in debt. And last week, it missed a major payment deadline. It took that as an invitation to say, ‘please sir, can I have some more’ to its international creditors.

SAY WHAT?

Yesterday, Greece asked the eurozone for a three-year loan. It’s gotten multiple loans before, in exchange for austerity measures (think: pension cuts, tax hikes). Greece didn’t have fun with those, and would like to leave them behind in this new bailout deal. Its lenders don’t feel the same. Hence, the impasse. But yesterday, Greece hinted that it would give in to some of the measures its lenders want. But the country didn’t talk specifics…which always inspires confidence.

theSKIMM

Greece’s problems are coming at a rough time for international markets (see above). Further shaking things up is the possibility that Greece could exit the eurozone. That may be decided at a meeting with European leaders on Sunday. To be continued…

THE *: Want more tzatziki? We Skimm’d the Greek crisis for you.

SKIMM THIS

REPEAT AFTER ME…

WHAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING…

South Carolina. Early this morning, the state’s lawmakers voted to take the Confederate flag down from the capitol grounds. It’s been there since SC put it up to protest the civil rights movement more than 50 years ago. The push to take it down for good started last month, when nine black people were shot and killed in a historic black church in Charleston, SC. Photos later surfaced of the alleged white gunman posing with the Confederate flag. Now, SC’s gov. just has to sign the bill to make it official, and the flag will come down within 24 hours.

SKIMM THIS

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR DAD FINALLY UPGRADES TO A SMARTPHONE…

Welcome to the 21st century, Mr. Baaaanks. Yesterday, a federal judge checked the calendar, noted that it’s 2015, and that “Washington Redskins” is still the name of an NFL team. So the judge ordered the cancelation of the team’s federal trademark registration, since for some small  reason Native Americans, and a lot of other people, are offended by the name. This is the decades-long legal battle that never ends. Top Redskins officials insist the name honors Native Americans. Native Americans and pretty much everyone else insist the name is racist and has to go. The Redskins say they plan on appealing the ruling. Again. But this might finally be the end of the legal road – a recent Supreme Court decision backs up the judge on this one, so an appeal may not hold up in court.

SKIMM THIS

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR WORK WIFE SAYS SHE MIGHT BE LEAVING…

I will Emoji battle this til the end. At 12:01 this morning, free-agent basketball players became eligible to sign contracts with new teams. The Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan was all set to join the Mavericks in Dallas. But his current teammates and coach decided they just couldn’t live without the 7-foot dunking machine in their lives. So, like any professional would do, they drove to his home, barricaded the door, and Emoji’d hard to make sure Jordan signed with LA. He did.

SKIMM THIS

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR BOSS ATTENDING THE ALLEN & CO. SUMMIT…

Ask Tim Cook what he thinks about encryption. Yesterday, top FBI and Justice Department officials were on Capitol Hill, talking encryption. Good news: they say that security features that are supposed to keep your data private are working. Bad news: they’re working so well that it’s keeping the feds from monitoring suspected terrorists and pedophiles. US officials say they want tech companies to create “keys” for law enforcement to access this encrypted data.  Silicon Valley is NOT into the idea, and has been pushing back on the government on this for a while. Yesterday, tech companies said #@$% you, and that their customers have a right to keep their communications private.

SKIMM THIS

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR CO-WORKER WHO ALWAYS GETS EXTRA AVOCADO ON HER SALAD…

Tom Selleck and his mustache salute you.

SKIMM THIS

THING TO KNOW

HENRYs: Stands for High-Earners, Not Rich Yet. Cue the violins.

SKIMM GIFT

Everyone wants to go to Austin. But we can’t, so we’re sending you. And 3 friends. $1,000 gift card and bike trip included. Keep Austin weird.

SKIMM SHARE

Pssst…if you share theSkimm today you may win a chance to get some fancy Skimm HQ swag.Summer swag. Winners announced tomorrow on social. Here’s how to share.

SKIMM BIRTHDAYS

*indicates Skimm’bassador. Jump around.

*Mandy Thompson (Washington, DC); *Amanda Salloum (Pinehurst, NC); *Jordan Weinsoff (Parkland, FL); *Kari Hulse (San Antonio, TX); *Quinn Porter (Chicago, IL); *Jennifer Skaggs (Lucasville, OH); *Laurey Williamson (Brooklyn, NY); Douglas MacCallum (Wyckoff, NJ); Sam Favis (New York, NY); Alex Oztemel (San Francisco, CA); Darci Cohen (Miami, FL); Jared Kasner (New York, NY); Emily Grabowski (England); Gillian Leigh (Los Angeles, CA); Alexandra Largess (New York, NY); Jennifer Skaggs (Lucasville, OH); Kari Hulse (San Antonio, TX); Kathryn Lacey (Charleston, SC); Lisa Aiello (Philadelphia, PA); Maggie Schmitt (Newington, CT); Molly Castellaw (Gallatin, TN); Spenser Sussan (New York, NY); Steve Clancy (West Hartford, CT); Jackson Hart (Downingtown, PA); Katie Tarpy (Greenville, SC); Julia Rosenfeld (New York, NY); Pam Maxon (Portland, OR);  Martha Kiley (East Hampton, NY); Maura Ciccarelli; Raj Patel (New York, NY)

Category: Business, News, Productivity, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: email, freedompop, gerald baker, newsletter, tech friday, techfriday, theskimm, wsj

Posted By RichC on July 9, 2015

So much for checking the old IYE traveller carefully on Encore before ordering $81 worth of the wrong bearings. It’s not all bad, since the previously purchased Delrin bearings will be needed eventually as they will either wear out or fail before long.

Unfortunately the broken pieces in the top photos during a recent sail were from the two Delrin ball bearing sheaves … and they look equally if not more expensive. So it goes when maintaining an old boat.

Control Sheave Ass’y for Traveller Car: IYE 32C-36:
Control Sheave Assembly for IYE 1 1/4" Traveller Cars, fits all 4-wheel, and New-style (4 3/8" long) 6-wheel Traveller Cars that have tapped axles. Assembly consists of (2) 1 1/8" OD Delrin Ball-Bearing Sheave Assemblies and a Cover Plate with (2) mounting screws. Fasteners are on 2 5/8" Centers. Cover Plate is 3 3/4" long x 1 1/16" wide.

Rig-Rite

Category: Sailing | 1 Comment »
Tags: bearing, delrin, encore, rig-rite, sailboat, traveller

Posted By RichC on July 8, 2015

Elio Motors issued a press release today on the crowd funding “non-binding” interest for equity in their new American start-up car company.

Troy, Mich., July 8, 2015 – Elio Motors today announced it is off to a record-setting pace for its disclosed equity crowdfunding campaign, with more than $16 million in expressed non-binding interest from nearly 5,000 potential investors in just 19 days. Elio Motors’ goal is to raise $25 million through the campaign.

Elio Motors launched the crowdfunding initiative on June 19 and has averaged nearly $1 million in expressed non-binding interest each day. Capital raised will help fund the 2016 launch of its three-wheel, enclosed vehicle that is expected to sell for $6,800 and get up to 84 MPG. The innovative funding strategy, made possible by recent changes to the 2012 JumpStart Our Business Start-up (JOBS) Act, was the perfect fit for a company that looks to innovate in every aspect of its operations.

“We’re always looking for new ways to do things and crowdfunding is certainly the wave of the future for entrepreneurs, start-up organizations and investors,” said Paul Elio, founder and CEO of Elio Motors. “With so many people expressing interest in our vehicle and our company, it shows we are on the right track – both in how we have developed and marketed this vehicle and also in how we are raising the capital needed to continue our march toward production.”

Elio sees crowdfunding to raise capital for the company as a natural evolution of its grass-roots based strategy. The company has already taken nearly 45,000 reservations for a spot in line to purchase a vehicle and routinely has people lined up around the block to see the vehicle at its tour stops across the country.

The crowdfunding opportunity was made possible in March of 2015, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enacted rules to implement Title IV of the JOBS Act, paving the way for private companies to raise up to $50 million from both accredited and non-accredited investors. This new set of rules is known as “Regulation A+.”

Elio Motors will use funds from this initiative to build an additional 25 prototypes for testing and validation. In March, the company launched an investment opportunity based on Rule 506(c) of Regulation D, which allows companies to offer shares to accredited investors. Funds from that initiative allowed Elio Motors to begin building its fifth generation prototype, the P5. The P5 will feature an engine developed by IAV specifically for the Elio and also will feature a production level transmission from Aisin.

Individuals interested in learning more about the Elio Motors investment opportunity can go to StartEngine.com – https://www.startengine.com/startup/elio-motors -, the crowdfunding website launched in June by business incubator Start Engine.

“We launched the StartEngine.com platform with companies like Elio Motors in mind,” said Ron Miller, Start Engine partner. “The quick and deep interest in Elio Motors tells us two things. One, crowdfunding is poised to become an important tool for entrepreneurs and investors alike. Two, investors are looking for ways to find companies with visionary businesses such as Elio Motors. StartEngine.com is a great way to bring them together.”

Not only have investors expressed interest in Elio Motors, potential customers have as well. Nearly 45,000 people have made reservations for spot in line to purchase a vehicle. When the Elio goes to market, it will create 1,500 jobs at its Shreveport, Louisiana facility. In addition, the Elio will use 90 percent North American content, creating another 1,500 jobs at its supplier partner companies. These manufacturing jobs will in turn create approximately 18,000 indirect jobs across the country.

Category: Automotive, Business, Financial | No Comments »
Tags: elio

Posted By RichC on July 7, 2015

It doesn’t get more #random than this as mentioned in my tweet today.

In a Wall Street Journal video interview with a Columbus Zoo “zookeeper,” one of the comments made about the the Bearcat (or Binturong) is that they have a peculiar smell – that of Doritos!

Category: Nature, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: bearcat, columbus zoo, doritos, wsj

Posted By RichC on July 6, 2015

I’m archiving a couple final (or nearly final) photos from my mother and father-in-law’s Farmhouse in Western New York. I spent the last few days as “busy as a beaver” finalizing a few things so that a home inspection would be as painless as possible … that is for a home built in the 1800s! Thankfully the inspector was overly impressed with the quality of restoration and the buyer understanding that they were buying an older home. We have only a few relatively minor items to take care of — well done Dad Howard.

Actually the biggest concern that I had was for the stone foundation as the area had some torrential rains in the past couple of weeks. So much that mud ran into the barn/garage … I power washed on Sunday. Thankfully the basement was a dry as ever. Whew.

A few more hurdles and the paperwork will be ready to sign. Closing date is near … and my regular trips to Jamestown should be coming to an end (although there are still 17 acres with harvestable timber available – any interest?)

Category: Archive, For Sale, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: dadh, farmhouse, jamestown, momh, new york