My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on January 13, 2015

The first ever College Football Playoff Championship game will determine this season’s best college team as the National Championship game starts in about and hour. The game with see the Pac-12 champion Oregon Ducks against “our” Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes. Odds makers favor the Ducks by 7.

Both teams have have had an outstanding year, although few expected Ohio State to even make it to the big game (seeded again #1 rated Alabama in the ), particularly since they are down to their 3rd string quarterback. BUT … football being a team sport saw the Buckeyes come together and rally behind their talented running back Ezekiel Elliot and quarterback Cardale Jones. The question is, can they even compete against Oregon who crushed the Florida Gators 59-20.

The Ducks have Marcus Mariota, an extremely talented Heisman Trophy winner leading their team and if he plays even half as well as he did in the Rose Bowl, Oregen will be a challenge for the battered Buckeyes. For now … it is nearing the pre-game and I still have supper dishes to clean up! (Written Pre-game)

Tune in … ESPN.

Postgame: 12:30AM

The Ohio State faithful couldn’t have been happier as the high speed Oregon offense was matched and beaten by a strong showing by every member of the Buckeye defense who kept the Ducks to 20 points. The Buckeye’s young offense did their part … and more … by dominating the clock and controlling the ball on the ground. Ezekiel Elliot and the OSU offensive line tired the Ducks defense and even with 4 giveaway turnovers were able to score 42 points. The most amazing player had to be the young 3rd string Buckeye quarterback Cardale Jones won made his 3 career start in this National Championship game. He was the picture of calm control and used his strong downfield arm and 6′-5″ 250 lbs size to keep a series alive. I’m not sure Urban Meyers would have wanted a different leader. Congratulations to all those who made us proud to be from Ohio.

Ohio State 42 – Oregon 20

Category: Sports | No Comments »
Tags: bucks, championship, college, ducks, espn, football, national

Posted By RichC on January 12, 2015

As a conservative … politically, I probably don’t give enough credit to the Old Gray Lady for their often excellent articles covering content outside of politics. This weekend was no exception and I wanted to archive an article which has personal interest … and is something I’d like to look in to as an investor too. I’ve dealt with Ménière’s disease and its long term impact on my day to day life since the late 1990s. Thankfully, having just hearing loss and tinnitus is tolerable nowadays, but the vertigo in those early years was intolerable. Ugh, bad memories.

Auris Medical Hldng – EARS $3.61 1/9/2015 close
Otonony, Inc – OTIC   $33.25 – 1/9/2015 close

Companies are also working on drugs for tinnitus, in which sound is perceived without a source of the sound being present. Roughly 10 percent of American adults, or 25 million people, have experienced at least one episode lasting five minutes or more in the last year, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Tinnitus can be caused by many things, including hearing loss. Treatments include behavioral therapy and devices that can mask the sound. But many of those just help people tolerate the condition, not get rid of it. Some drugs like steroids and lidocaine are used off label.

Auris is in late-stage trials of AM-101, a derivative of the anesthetic ketamine, which it hopes will dampen the aberrant signaling in the auditory nerve that is perceived as tinnitus. In a midstage trial, the drug, injected into the middle ear, was not more effective overall than a placebo. But a subset of patients whose tinnitus was caused by trauma or infection said the drug made the sound in their ears softer, less annoying and less disruptive of sleep.

Investors appear to be cautious given the challenges. Auris went public on Nasdaq in August at $6 a share, using the trading symbol EARS. The stock is now trading at about $4.

Otonomy’s stock, by contrast, has roughly doubled since its August initial public offering. That is perhaps because for now it is pursuing what might be more tractable problems.

When Mr. Lichter suffered his first attack of Ménière’s, he received steroids, a commonly used off-label treatment. But when the drug is injected into the middle ear, patients have to lie on their sides for 30 minutes and not swallow to try to keep the drug from draining into the throat through the Eustachian tube.

Otonomy, based in San Diego, developed a way to deliver the steroids as a gel that does not readily drain away after injection. The company has started the final stage of trials for the Ménière’s product. It hopes its first product — it will apply for regulatory approval in the first half of this year — could be a gel form of an antibiotic to be injected to treat middle ear infections, an alternative to ear drops.

Mr. Lichter said the intense bouts of vertigo, which left him bedridden two or three times a week, have not returned in four years. But he has constant ringing in his left ear and can barely hear through it.

Mr. Lichter, a managing director at Avalon Ventures in San Diego, said that although he had helped start 15 or 20 companies, “This is the one that is special to me.”

Full New York Times article

Category: Archive, Financial, Health, Innovation, Personal | 1 Comment »
Tags: $EARS, $OTIC, hearing, investing, medical, menieres, nytimes, tinnitus

Posted By RichC on January 11, 2015

This past week’s killings at the Charlie Hebdo offices needs to be a real eye-opener for those we elect to protect our citizens and nation. What many fear most is that this “radical Islamic terror attack” will be lost into the same hole as many of the previous terror attacks (or “workplace violence” if you are of the Obama mindset).

What was different in the recent attack in Paris, is that the three four terrorists involved were radicalized and trained to efficiently target and kill. Previous “gun oriented” attacks in the U.S. seemed to be less organized and more of the lone wolf style. The concern is that Al Qaeda and similar groups will build on this pattern as President Obama scales back the offensive War on Terror, closes Gitmo and reduces our intelligence gathering ability. We unfortunately sometimes need strong visuals in order to understand the enemy we face … and if beheadings do not do it for you, seeing cold blooded nature of their killings might – graphic video. 

Columnist and commentator Charles Krauthammer laid out the 2015 landscape frighteningly clear when he referenced this as the “third stage of the jihadist war against us.”  We know what we face, but do we have the resolve to fight?

Category: Audio, News, Social Media | No Comments »
Tags: charlie hebdo, france, krauthammer, paris, radical islam, terrorism, war

Posted By RichC on January 10, 2015

One would think that a “rising tide lifts all boats” when it comes to gains for financial markets, but that is not the case for conservatively managed U.S. pension funds. The strong stock market returns during 2013 and 2014 have helped most individual investors recover from the 2008 financial collapse, so as long as they remained invested, but private pension funds actually lost ground. The trend is not pretty when looking at this last slow recovery from the Great Recession (Towers Watson graph below).

According to a CNBC article citing Towers Watson, the “average private pension fund held about 80 percent of what it needs to cover payments. That’s down from 89 percent at the end of 2013 and represents an overall deficit among large corporate plans of about $343 billion, nearly double the shortfall a year earlier.”

In a previous interview with Dave Suchsland, a senior retirement consultant at Towers Watson, he stated, “We experienced another big year of pension de-risking in 2014, with significant lump sum buyout and annuity purchase activity. Given the change in funded status, we expect many plan sponsors will need to reevaluate their retirement plan strategies in 2015. Last year’s results surrendered most of the funded status gains earned in 2013. This year will most likely bring higher expense charges and unless there is an uptick in interest rates or equity market performance, eventually additional contribution requirements.”

So … should the Federal government (taxpayers) back pension funds?
I wonder where Rick Santelli comes in on this idea (video)?

Category: Financial, Politics | 1 Comment »
Tags: cnbc, government, investing, pensions, recession, retirement, towers watson

Posted By RichC on January 9, 2015

After tinkering a little bit with my “climbing board” idea mentioned last month, I decided to spend a few more dollars and rig a Mast Mate climbing ladder with sail slugs to fit Encore’s mast. My liveaboard buddy Mark measured my Selden slugs and sent me a drawing so I ordered enough slugs to fit a web ladder.

Along with the 42’  Mast Mate web ladder liosted on eBay, the deal included a toolbag and strap system called the Workbelt.

I’m anxious to get the new slugs installed and hoist the ladder up the mast, but thinking it might be a good idea to lose a few pounds before climbing the mast?

Category: Sailing, Tools | 1 Comment »
Tags: bosun's chair, climbing, encore, mast, saiboat, tools

Posted By RichC on January 8, 2015

The answer is YES if ProMedica’s President and CEO Randy Oostra has anything to say about it (video below). The company plans to move their corporate headquarters to the abandoned historic Toledo Edison Steam Plant property on the Maumee riverfront in a bold move which will play a significant role in boosting the local Toledo economy as well as attract businesses and more people to Promenade Park, but parking vs. green space is still being debated. For the health of the city, let’s hope both sides can come together and find an amiable solution.

Ohio cities, especially economically hard hit Toledo, need more local companies willing to partner with the community in order to bring back their cities and create an environment that attracts business to the community. Kudos to ProMedica and city leaders who are stepping forward and working to revitalize what once was a thriving city … and my family’s hometown.

Category: Business, Misc, News, Video | No Comments »
Tags: ohio, oostra, promedica, toledo

Posted By RichC on January 7, 2015

My daughter Katelyn and her husband Drew were in town to visit this week and we pretended it was still the week of Christmas and exchanged a couple gifts. Brenda had already shipped a box of presents to them, but saved back a frame and print for them. It was an artistic photo taken down at Cincinnati’s Fountain Square from their wedding photos and put in an antique frame Brenda found at an estate sale. The framed canvas photo is beautiful.

We also received a couple gifts from them … and one that they brought home with them from our son Taylor.

One of the concerns was whether or not the larger frame was going to fit in Katelyn’s Nissan Juke. Drew and I had previously exchanged emails and measurements before they left Minnesota … and on paper it looked like it would fit. Still by the time we looked at the car and frame … I was not sure. Thankfully it “just” fit behind the seats and left them room for all the other stuff they were hauling. What a great visit!

Category: Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: brenda, drew, family, frame, katelyn, oostra, wedding

Posted By RichC on January 6, 2015

Back in November I mentioned that I was “backpedaling” before buying a new refrigerator for our kitchen. We decided not to do anything before the holidays and so I figured rather than live with our ugly looking broken refrigerator that I could at least touch up the paint and put in a new light bulb. It looks a little better and might extend its life a little longer before forking over $1500 or so for a new one. I used on my my cheap Chinese eBay bulbs and a can of white appliance paint – big improvement except for the yellowed plastic and broken shelves.

Category: Misc | No Comments »
Tags: appliance, home, kichenaid, kitchen, paint, refrigerator, repair

Posted By RichC on January 5, 2015

Posting both a test post to update MyDesultoryBlog in order to set up the 2015 photo directories and because this is a cute yoga “bunny” photo for my daughter (and because of her rabbit Pumpy Umpy).

Katelyn enjoys Yoga and during our Christmas exchange and visit with them we talked about her new “hot Yoga” class which is a trend. From the sounds of it, it is physically challenging and something she enjoys. Really though, this is just a missed date filler post.

Category: Misc, Personal, Photos | 1 Comment »
Tags: bunny, family, Rabbit, yoga

Posted By RichC on January 4, 2015

This story hits home on two accounts …

1) Oregon, Ohio is a suburb of Toledo, Ohio where I went to school until moving to Sidney, Ohio in high school.

2) As an Ohio State fan and resident of Ohio my entire life, I’m excited to see my Buckeyes play the College Football National Championship game against  the Oregon Ducks. Both teams dominated in the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl games last week and should give all college football fans a great game. Go Bucks!

Oregon, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo, will temporarily change its name Jan. 12, the day of the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship Game, according to the Toledo Free Press.

No. 4 Ohio State, of course, plays No. 2 Oregon in the national title game in Arlington, Texas.

“We’ve heard about [the petition]. We’ve gotten calls. We’re going to do something with it,” Oregon City Administrator Michael Beazley told the paper.

Click here to view or sign the petition to change the city’s name. Interestingly, the petition also calls for Oregon’s Clay High School, which shares school colors (green and gold) with Oregon, to change its colors for the day.

The Toledo Free Press reports that the city will announce what the new name will be on Monday, Jan. 5.

Any recommendations, Ohio State fans?

LINK

Category: Sports | 1 Comment »
Tags: buckeyes, college, football, ohio state, oregon