My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on June 9, 2015

After my son returned from living in “dusty” Williston, North Dakota for a couple of years, the Chevy Trailblazer he was using came back a bit dusty. We noticed after visiting him last year that one of the big differences from Ohio were the lack of paved roads. Thankfully, we did give some thought to the harsh winters and he didn’t take his VW GTI (it wouldn’t have made it).

Besides the dirt and dust, the 4×4 Trailblazer isn’t all that bad. I expected a few more stone chips (gravel roads) or a bit more noticeable wear and tear. Nothing out of the ordinary, although he did most of his back roads driving with the county vehicles. Since Taylor is now back driving his GTI, I’ve been cleaning up the Trailblazer for the relatively “lightweight” Ohio driving.

In order to replace the rear hatch strut mounts I needed to tighten the ball fittings which meant removing some of the plastic parts; wow … the dust made it behind them too (photo above). Once tightened snapping the small spring clip loose with a screwdriver is relatively easy. When putting the new ones back on, I added a dab of grease to the ball to reduce wear and assure smooth pivots. Another important tip is to be sure to prop up the hatch securely – below – or have someone hold it.

While fixing things, I ordered a new taillight assembly to replace a cracked one (piece of cake) and put in new headlight bulbs (replace as a pair as it is shockingly not as simple.) Also while I was under the hood with the grill off, I took care of the filthy air filter and did a “de-bug” soak … they were plastered on. Having driven mostly German and Japanese engineered cars since my 1999 Chrysler Town and Country minivan, I was surprised at how difficult Chevy made replacing headlight bulbs and air filters – poorly engineered? It reminded me why I dislike American automobiles.

BTW, after my derailing Chevrolet’s engineering, the 2008 Chevy Trailblazer 4×4 LT (63,000 miles, white, sunroof, leather, V-6, Tow package) will soon be for sale if you are interested. Send me an email.

Category: Automotive, For Sale, How-To | 3 Comments »
Tags: Chevrolet, engineering, repair, service, struts, trailblazer

Posted By RichC on June 8, 2015

Just because it can be fixed (Jury/ Jerry Rigged) doesn’t mean it should be repaired?

The “old-ish” paper shredder in my home office is often over-fed with too many sheets of paper or plastic credit cards. It usually keeps right on chugging until it overheats, but last week it sputtered, ground the gears and stopped.

I almost decided to toss it and buy a new one thinking that 20 years of service was pretty good for a shredder, but instead put it on the workbench. While monkeying around on a few other projects this past weekend, curiosity got the best of me and after taking it apart, found the broken part. The pressure fit pin holding the gears in place had sheared and the gears jumped out of position. A little bending and it is spinning BUT the parts needs to be held in place. Weld, bracket, machine a new pin?

EDIT: Failed rather quickly … replaced.

Category: Misc, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: office, paper, repair, shredder

Posted By RichC on June 7, 2015

We're continuing to learn about the movement of Great White Sharks near the eastern U.S. and coasts since Ocerea has been tagging a few. It has been shocking to see the number of miles they travel and just how near these large sharks occasionall get to beaches and shallow waters.

John Dickinson and his wife were spear-fishing for cobia in about 130 feet of water near Jupiter, Fla., when a 16-foot great white caught his attention, WPTV reported. He wasted no time in capturing the sight on video, which he later posted to YouTube.

Category: Nature, Video | No Comments »
Tags: diving, florida, great, scuba, shark, sharkshares, video, white, youtube

Posted By RichC on June 6, 2015

In a 2015 look at cable companies, very few customers are happy with their providers, in fact the report indicates a couple of the biggest have lost ground (chart below). Barely half of Mediacom Communications, Time Warner Cable and Comcast customers indicate that they are satisfied with service … and the latter two above have seen their survey ratings drop 10% in the past year. Only Charter Communications and Verizon FiOS have gained ground, although won’t be bragging about their satisfaction scores. All have plenty of room for improvement … but with little competition, where’s the incentive?

 CNBC Telecom Survey article: And the most hated cable company is …

Category: Business, Entertainment, Financial | No Comments »
Tags: cable, cnbc, internet, isp, media, survey, television

Posted By RichC on June 5, 2015

The jobs numbers were relatively positive considering the weak growth earlier this year, but still concerning in that the post-recession job growth is not was is normally expected after a recession. Still, one positive is that we are not facing inflation or seeing numbers that would indicate the U.S. is slipping back into a recession. Job grow was “good” not “great” and a 0.3% rise in hourly wage growth for private sector workers is promising.

“It’s a tale of two economies, the economy of the unskilled, and the economy of the semiskilled and the skilled.” 
–  Robert A. Funk, Express Employment Professionals

Wall Street had a muted reaction when the numbers were released at 8:30AM after broad based weakness in stocks yesterday. Many wisely see the somewhat positive economic indicators a sign that the Federal Reserve may start tightening; most expect an autumn rate hike and almost all see U.S. interest rates rising in 2016.

Category: Financial, News | No Comments »
Tags: economy, federal reserve, Financial, investing, jobs, wall street

Posted By RichC on June 5, 2015

Really tempted to pre-order a Lily “non-drone” (company doesn’t like the “drone” term) according to a CNBC article (below).

Lily: the world’s first throw-and-shoot camera

Deborah Findling | @dfindles

For those times when the selfie stick just isn’t good enough, there is now a flying camera. Really.

Called the world’s first throw-and-shoot camera, the Lily Camera was born in University of California, Berkeley’s robotics lab. Toss the device into the air, and its four propellers send it flying up to speeds of 25 miles per hour as it takes high-quality photos and videos.

Unlike other drones, the Lily Camera requires no controller as it follows the wearer’s bracelet. The camera follows the user via GPS tied to a bracelet, which communicates distance, position and speed back to the camera.

The company doesn’t like the word "drone," however.

Read Full CNBC article

Category: Technology, Video | No Comments »
Tags: camera, cnbc, drone, lily, pre-order, tech friday, techfriday

Posted By RichC on June 4, 2015

A flatter is a tool used to make other tools. Make your own flatter and never buy a tool again!

Source: Blacksmithing Basics: Forge Your Own Flatter | Make:

Category: Misc, Tools, Video | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By RichC on June 3, 2015

We have a few of these crawdad fellows in our yard and small lake, but this guy was closer to lobster size (well not quite) and found his way into the swimming pool. As the 2006 Honda Element ad goes … “I pinch.”

Category: Nature, Photos, Video | 1 Comment »
Tags: crawdad, pool

Posted By RichC on June 2, 2015

It was a busy weekend as our family was in town to celebrate my nephew David and Rachel’s wedding just south of Cincinnati in Lakeside Park, Kentucky. The beautiful ceremony was held under a tent in the backyard of their home with close friends and family. Everything was artistic and couldn’t have been nicer.

One of the pluses to the happy times like weddings, is that we’re able to see most of our busy family. Katelyn and Taylor were with us (unfortunately Drew was on call and working in Minneapolis) and most of the cousins on Brenda’s side were able to be there as well. They all really enjoy being together and remember fondly the many times together growing up in a close family. What a great weekend.

Rich, Brenda, Katelyn and Taylor (May 31, 2015)

Category: Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: brenda, family, katelyn, richc, skinner, taylor, wedding

Posted By RichC on June 1, 2015

With summertime around the corner, it is time to update on what has almost become an annual boat shoe post (Post 1, 2, 3).  Seasons aside, there really isn’t a time that isn’t right for Sperry Topsiders … in my opinion … but wearing a T-shirt, a pair of shorts and having warm weather makes wearing them an easy choice. They slip on fast, cover the toes, keep your heels in place and even keep your feet dry when walking in the morning dew … especially when they are waxed. Since most leather boat shoe wearers go sockless, a little attention to drying shoes, sweat and foot odor, insoles and leather care can help your shoe last longer and go the distance.

Five tips for your leather boat shoes

1. Clean your shoes with a soft brush to remove dirty and dust and keep them dry
2. Rub the leather with some “light” shoe polish or beeswax waterproofing
3. Consider resoling if the uppers are still in good shape … few shoes are as comfortable as the ones you’ve already broken in with your own foot.
4. Re-lace with new leather… easy to do. (I even wax or add a little polish before installing them –  polished the white ones above when they were dirty)
5. The best for last: Add new/better insoles – my preferred brand is Sof Sole 

Category: Advice, Photos, Sailing, Shopping | No Comments »
Tags: boat, boatshoe, boatshoes, insert, shoes, sofsole, sperry, topsider, topsiders