Posted By RichC on December 25, 2024
Wishing all who stumble on these pages (or choose to click on MyDesultoryBlog) a Very Merry Christmas, safe travels and a warm and wonderful celebration of Christ’s birth. May you and yours enjoy time together with family and friends.
Weather? Check to see if the Old Farmer’s Almanac is correct this year (below).
Posted By RichC on December 24, 2024
As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season reaches its crescendo, it is all too easy to become engulfed in the whirlwind of commercialism and festive preparations.
However, Christmas Eve offers us a moment to pause and reflect on the true essence of Christmas – the birth of Jesus Christ. This pivotal event in human history, celebrated for over two millennia, is not just a story of a miraculous birth but a message of hope, love, and redemption.
The Journey to Bethlehem
The story begins in Nazareth, a small town in Galilee, where a young woman named Mary lived. Mary was betrothed to a carpenter named Joseph. One day, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, announcing that she had been chosen to bear the Son of God. Although initially troubled, Mary accepted this divine mission with faith and humility.
Meanwhile, a decree from Caesar Augustus required everyone to return to their ancestral towns for a census. For Joseph, this meant traveling to Bethlehem, the City of David, as he was of the house and lineage of David. Despite Mary’s advanced pregnancy, the couple embarked on this arduous journey.
Posted By RichC on December 23, 2024
It may not be the “best” … or even a “favorite” Christmas song … or even a thoughtful Music Monday song that puts us in the snowy, wintery, Christmas spirit. 
Still, Jimmy Buffett’s “Christmas Island” from 1996 seems about right this year since the decorations are minimal and I’m already thinking about warmer weather. It sounds nice 
to “hang a stocking under a great big coconut tree.”
BUT … I’m not complaining AT ALL … since we’ll be spending Christmas time with our family … and enjoying each other company. I can’t help but reflect on how blessed we are to have successful kids, two beautiful granddaughters, good health, financial peace and knowing we live in a country where we can put our head on our pillow at night and not worry about the next day.
| Jimmy Buffett – “Christmas Island” | 1996 |
Posted By RichC on December 22, 2024
Part of me wonders why I continue to post “something” … “anything” … on the MDB pages everyday? Perhaps it is habit or an addictive obsession, but then again I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used it as a way to track my family life as a timeline.
As the years roll by (I started blogging in 2005), the posts have become more personal and reflect and record moments and events. Still, I tend to fill space and empty days with odds and ends fillers … and with whatever “desultory” thoughts that are on my mind.
Hopefully those who regularly check in are not deterred from visiting again and have learned to put up with the odds things that have filled up my life for almost 20 years of blogging.
The phases over time are somewhat sentimental to me … but here’s the short list of what topics have interested me:
Posted By RichC on December 21, 2024
Where should you work — for the government or their private counterpart?
From economist Stephen Moore:
According to @RealEJAntoni‘s recent analysis, the cost of state and local government employees is a staggering 41.7% higher than their private sector counterparts.
While wages are 24.4% higher, the real kicker is benefits—an astonishing 83.0% more!
Posted By RichC on December 20, 2024
As a “Stone Age” user of the Apple Macintosh computer, it is always surprising to stumble upon a feature or shortcut that I didn’t know about.
Command-click the files to Quick Look
I often use the Quick Look spacebar shortcut (2007) to preview a file in a folder, but until reading an iBoysoft article this month, did not know about the Command-Y shortcut for previewing multiple files at a time.
Wow! So for today’s Tech Friday I’m passing along my learning something new after all these years. 😉
Posted By RichC on December 19, 2024
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is infiltrating almost everything we do on a smartphone, tablet or computer these days. Last week, my X.com feed sent a message that “you should try generating an image of yourself” based on whatever data it collects. I suspect it relies on my profile information, but am not sure what else it “thinks about.” Obviously Grok AI does not dig too deep into my birth date or age (AI generated image below)?
The “very young” image at least didn’t offend me, but had me contemplating if I should include this in a ThrowBack Thursday #TBT or Tech Friday post? 😊
EDIT Add: And while I’m tinkering with AI, Apple Intelligence just updated their much ballyhooed AI feature including a Genmoji AI feature. For the fun of it, I used our family as test subjects. Gulp! (below)
Posted By RichC on December 18, 2024
The Federal Reserve is less sure about how much it’ll keep cutting rates after agreeing to a reduction this Wednesday afternoon. Chair Jerome Powell admitted that the decision was a close call (see WSJ and rate chart from 2000-2024 below).
The latest cut, approved by 11 out of 12 Fed voters, will lower the Fed’s benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 4.25% and 4.5%, which is a two-year low.
Investors, traders and the stock market responded with disappointment as they love cheaper money and keeping businesses growing and consumers spending. A lower cost of borrowing sounds great until inflation reappears and debt levels rise (and don’t even get me start on our Federal government’s spending level — insane!)
Posted By RichC on December 18, 2024
I do enjoy checking the Farmer’s Almanac (above) and the Old Farmer’s Almanac for seasonal forecasts (below), but rarely go back to see how accurate they are (although have shared here before). That’s probably their assumption, although they 
claim to be 80% accurate?
As has been true in every year since 1792, the newest edition features a healthy dose of wit and wisdom, as well as the Almanac’s much-anticipated, traditionally 80 percent–accurate weather forecasts.
“This winter, temperatures will be up and snowfall down throughout most of the United States,” reports Carol Connare, the Almanac’s editor-in-chief. “While there will still be plenty of chilly temperatures and snow for most slopes, the high heating costs associated with the season shouldn’t hit so hard. We’re predicting a temperate, uneventful winter—potentially a welcome reprieve from the extremes of recent years.”
There will be exceptions, of course. Winter rainstorms will leave Florida, the Deep South, and southern California soaked. Meanwhile, heavy snowfall is expected in central and southern Appalachia, the western Ohio Valley, and the Rockies—calling all skiers and sledders!
See the General Weather Report in The 2025 Old Farmer’s Almanac for more details on predicted atmospheric, solar, and climatic patterns.
Posted By RichC on December 17, 2024
It is that time of year … time for Christmas photos … 
with children and pets?
Well a “dog” in the case of Megan and Taylor, but our granddaughters in the case of Katelyn and Drew. In both cases these 2024 photos belong on in the My Desultory Blog archive.
Here’s one of Gigi with Santa and the Oostra family with the “96 year old mouse” from the unfortunately politically woke Disney corporation ☹️ — Mickey Mouse from Disney on Ice “Find Your Hero” show.
