Posted By RichC on August 13, 2014
As both an automotive enthusiast and budget minded “frugalist,” I regularly grumble and complain about the cost of owning a car cars. From insurance and registration each year to the ever rising price of a new car and the fuel pumped into it, there seems to be no end to forking over dollars. Recently both my wife and I renewed our Ohio driver’s licenses and shook our heads at the longish DMV waits, only 4 year issues between renewals (some states are 10 years) and bureaucracy that we are willing put up with year after year. On the plus side, we now have efficient online auto registration and plate renewals and don’t stand in line for registration ever year.
Well I “was” complaining until I heard from my out of state grown children talk about their new states bureaucracy and fees. Hmm, as Ohioans we probably shouldn’t complain as corroborated by CNBC. They posted a 5 cheapest states to own a car list … and Ohio was #2 right behind the least expensive, Iowa.
Category: Automotive, Financial |
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Tags: bureaucracy, cnbc, frugalist, iowa, ohio, registration
Posted By RichC on August 12, 2014
A long time client and now retired friend, Clyde Witt, is publishing his first novel. He has always written stories in a style appeals to me … although his politics still needs some work (a personal joke). I’m anxious to pre-ordered a copy of his book to read and review. One of the advantages of working in the printing and publishing business for 30 years is running into great writers who are often go unnoticed.
Lost in the Tallgrass, published by The Write Place
The 2014 Write Place Book Contest winner
by Clyde Witt
"Rusty decided to leave after supper, under the cover of darkness when cool evening air would make travel less of a hardship and more of an adventure …"
So begins fourteen-year-old Russell Starke’s tale of leaving home to fulfill his dream to become a cowboy-and to find his runaway brother. The year is 1916, the dawn of a new age of transportation in a country on the brink of war, and Rusty’s odyssey takes him from the motorcar-clogged streets of his Indiana home to the endless prairies of Kansas. He finds himself in a world where people who have forgotten how to dream are quick to tell him how to run his life. He must learn fast that seduction is not love, a romantic notion of the past is not a promise for the future, the kindness of strangers is not always to be feared, and love is something shown, not words spoken. Rusty discovers that the Wild West is more wonderful-and more dangerous-than he ever could have imagined.
Author Clyde Witt spent 25 years with Penton Media in Cleveland, Ohio, and retired as editor-in-chief in 2008. A graduate of Kent State University, he is married to Susan Jones and has had his work published in numerous magazines and newspapers since 1968. View more information about Clyde at his website, www.clydewitt.com, or email him at cewitt790@gmail.com.
Download an excerpt from the novel here.
Category: Blogs, Books |
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Tags: blog, Books, friends, novel, reading
Posted By RichC on August 12, 2014
For those of you wondering, I AM talking about my wife Brenda. Happy Birthday.
We don’t generally make a fuss over birthdays like some couples, but we do try to do something thoughtful or go out to a nice restaurant. 
Don’t tell her, but this year I found the first three seasons of one of her favorite TV shows on Ebay: Blue Bloods DVD set. I know she’ll enjoy it.
Category: Entertainment, Personal |
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Tags: birthday, blue bloods, brenda, dvd, family, television
Posted By RichC on August 11, 2014
A plane flies in front of a supermoon above Westminster in central London en route to Heathrow airport on August 10, 2014. The full moon is positioned closest to the earth on its orbit in over 20 years. It is 50,000 kilometers closer than normal and 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual. The scientific name for a ‘supermoon’ is a perigee moon, meaning “closest point to the earth.” Credit: AP Image/Gill Allen
Category: Environment, Photos, Space |
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Tags: astronomy, photography, supermoon
Posted By RichC on August 11, 2014
One of the small projects this past weekend was to replace the plastic disposable fuel filter on my John Deere 330 a new inexpensive diesel fuel filter (less than $10). The new filter has a glass site tube and fits my modified fuel lines. The element inside this small filter is replaceable (3 for less than $5) compared to the pricey John Deere filters. This “yard tool” is primarily our trailer pulling and snow blowing tractor, but it continues to run great. The small and expensive diesel 300 series John Deere was probably one of the smartest purchases we ever made for the house and yard … back when “all” John Deere lawn equipment was of higher quality (nowadays you have to know what you are buying). One caveat about this new filter is that it does not look as if it has the smaller micron filtration element that I would have preferred … but then the 30 year old engine isn’t brand new either.
Category: Diesel, Misc, Photos |
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Tags: diesel, home, john deere, mower, snowblower, tractor, yard
Posted By RichC on August 10, 2014
A well done short video in The Atlantic about David Welsford living the vagabond lifestyle (“dirtbag” – his comment) on a 50 year old wooden sailboat in the Caribbean. A dream for many … a nightmare thought for others.
Category: Sailing, Video |
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Tags: atlantic, documentary, film, lifestyle, living, sailboat
Posted By RichC on August 9, 2014
Ok … scratch this week’s Tech Friday post on setting up the iPhone to receive Gmail as if it were “push” rather than “fetch” (the only way Apple’s email client can receive free Gmail nowadays). Unfortunately my iCloud workaround was a convoluted experiment that wasn’t elegant or simple.
I’ve toyed with the idea of switching to a 3rd party app like Seed Mail or the like. They have great potential but one wonders if will they be around to support the app once a user is committed to the software?
Instead, I’ve decided to go back to “fetch” and just use the Gmail app as a “notifier.” In other words, go to Settings > Notification Center > Gmail and set the toggles (image right) to sound a “bing” and display the “banner” notification on the iPhone screen – but not swipe the message or go directly to the Gmail app. 
New email arrives immediately which signifies me that a newly arrive message is ready to be retrieved with Apple’s built-in Mail app. Since I also aggregate email from other accounts together, everything arrives in a single “All Inboxes” list (or individual boxes), this make quick work out of monitoring both my business and personal email (junk mail, sign up address and forums mail is kept off my cellphone and is only check when I’m at a computer).
So far so good using this method, although I wish the powers that be at Apple and Google could go back to the way it was because it is so difficult dealing with this “First World Problem™” (the symbol is for my friend Scott Bilik, but his post came up #7 on a Google search so perhaps he has the trademark?).
Category: Apple, Cellphone, Computer, How-To, Technology, Video |
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Tags: email, exchange, gmail, iphone, problems, Productivity, techfriday
Posted By RichC on August 8, 2014
Even after the Sandra Fluke plea to congress over free birth control, is hard to believe the 2700 pages of Obamacare overlooked including feminine sanitary products? [/sarcasm]
Tweet from noted feminist Jessica Valenti:
Category: Politics, Social Media |
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Tags: congress, feminism, obamacare, twitter
Posted By RichC on August 8, 2014
I am late to the game in addressing a workaround for a newer Apple iOS devices (recently updated my iPhone 5 to a “secondhand” 5s) and the changed Google Sync services. The changes happened in 2013, but since my old devices were still working it wasn’t a big deal … now it is!
Initially, iOS devices like iPads and iPhones could use the Microsoft Exchange method when setting up their Gmail, Contacts and Calendars 
for instant synchronization. Unfortunately changes were made than affected new iOS devices or ones added after the end of the year. Solutions were thin besides the obvious: 1) use the Gmail app (not the built-in iOS mail app), 2) live with “Fetch” which checked for updates every 15, 30 or 60 minutes, or 3) configure a workaround.
Here is what I did in 5 steps:
- Set up the Google account in Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar as a “Fetch” account while turning off the “Mail” setting.
- Make adjustments to the iCloud Account as long as you don’t used that email address. Go to the Settings >Mail, Contacts, Calendar > iCloud > Account (select it). The screen below-left will be displayed and select Advanced.
- The Mail screen (center-below) needs to “allow sending from” icloud.com switched “on” and then select the SMTP smtp.gmail.com Outgoing Mail Server to go to the next screen.
- On the SMTP screen, turn off the iCloud SMTP Server and turn on the smtp.gmail.com SMTP server.
The final step is to log onto Gmail and in the “Setting” area (click the gear) and select the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” link to set up forwarding (you can also set up filters instead of forwarding “all” mail). Add your iCloud email address and your Gmail will appear in your iCloud email AND all replies will look to the receiver as if they are from your Gmail account even when the compose screen indicates xxx@icloud.com or xxx@me.com.
Click the images for larger screen shots.
Category: Apple, Cellphone, Computer, How-To, Tablet |
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Tags: apple, email, exchange, google, ipad, iphone, sync, techfriday
Posted By RichC on August 7, 2014
Another year with the Sof Sole inserts in a couple pairs of my well worn Sperry Top-siders. Too bad I’m not making a commission on either the insoles or the shoes, but that doesn’t prevent me from recommending them. If you’ve “smelled up” your original Sperry insoles, or just need a little more cushion, consider ordering a pair of Sof Sole inserts. I’ve been completely satisfied … except maybe a scrunchy-squeak where the rubber instep meets the leather in on pair of my shoes (note: added tape to stop the squeak).
A few things you can do to keep your shoes from offending 
“even the dog” is to keep shoes dry, or at least dry them before using them again. Consider a second pair and rotate wearing them. Keep your feet clean and do the unmanly thing and wear a pair of socks or footies that can be washed. I’m not a fan of sprays or powders, but for those with really sweaty feet, Gold Bond or Dr. Scholls might be a good habit. I’ve tried the Febreze and drier sheet in our shoe cubby, but that has its own “stink.” Finally if you get really desperate to save your smelly shoes, try washing them with laundry detergent and drying in the sun … or maybe even put them in the freezer for a few weeks (the cold is suppose to kill the bacteria … although I’m convinced it just goes dormant).
Category: Advice, Misc, Sailing |
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Tags: boat, boatshoe, boatshoes, insole, sailing, shoes, sofsole, sperry, topsider, topsiders
As both an automotive enthusiast and budget minded “frugalist,” I regularly grumble and complain about the cost of owning 
