My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on August 6, 2014

I recently chimed on a forum question regarding dogs for sailboats and a member wanting input on an Australian Cattle Dog. Since we’ve had Tootsie for 16 years now (below), I felt qualified to offer an opinion … besides I wanted an excuse to archive her recent photo.

Our “beast” has been a wonderful addition to our household, although she is far more at home running on acres of space “outside” than cooped up or cuddled in someone’s lap; do not expected them to sit quietly in a house (that’s a non-starter for our dog and this breed). My advice is that cattle dogs need plenty of space and need an exercise routine beyond what can be offered by liveaboard sailors.

In Tootsies’ early years she love playing with the kids … although she would be far too rough for children under 5 or 6. The instinct is to “herd” and unfortunately nip at the heels of children … aka: Red and Blue Heeler. 

…the Australian Cattle Dog has a high level of energy, a quick intelligence, and an independent streak. It responds well to structured training, particularly if it is interesting and challenging. It was originally bred to herd by biting, and is known to nip running children. –  LINK

She has been high energy until recently and extraordinarily healthy compared to other dogs that I’ve had or have been familiar with. She “was” a proficient hunter and protective of her territory bringing a variety of critters back to the doorstep including mink and even an old gray coyote (I’m thankful it was old and weak … or already dead)! Her thick coat is a nightmare to brush out and she sheds more than most for at least half a year. She’s extremely tough and durable for her size (45 lbs) and loves wrestling around and playing hard, but now at 16 she is suffering from stiff joints and a weak hips (hip displasia). Another hereditary issue for heelers is deafness which Tootsie has now  been for a few years, although its not readily noticeable. We’re also aware that her eyesight has declined;  initially I thought it was cataracts. Unfortunately not (could have been corrected with surgery) and  instead is Progressive Rod/Cone Degeneration (PRCD). Hopeful she’ll maintain “ok” eyesight the rest of her life.

One of the pluses (or minuses) is that she has “calmed down” in her later years. She enjoys just sitting at my feet and being close … the slow down was timed well now that Taylor and Katelyn have moved away. All in all, she is a great family pet. Loving and loyal, healthy and independent, energetic and fun … and she’s a good looking dog too!

Category: Advice, Archive, Misc, Personal, Photos, Sailing | No Comments »
Tags: cruising, dogs, liveaboard, pets, sailing, tootsie

Posted By RichC on August 5, 2014

Learning from wise parents and grandparents is a generational gift that isn’t given enough credit, especially since we ask: “What’s happening to America?”  A: Families are changing.

I grew up watching teenagers a decade (or less) older than me heading to Vietnam or getting lost in angry 60’s. They (we) followed those dark years of the cold war, race riots and many protests, by the disillusionment of the 1970’s. It is a wonder we ever made it to adulthood? Thankfully we did, but it was in part due to having rock solid parents and grandparents.

The current generation  probably has similar concerns wondering if the years of higher education, followed by years of un- or underemployment, will harm their adult children and grandchildren … those who will be in charge of America someday.

I’ll remain positive, in part due to the questionable history of my generation mentioned above and that most still have caring parents and/or grandparents. Those I know are still willing (and able) to sacrifice for their kids. Unfortunately this trend seems to be ending in part due to financial pressures, but also because more kids are growing up in single parent environments and often have dysfunctional families. Are they get the same boost as those with supportive extended families?

It’s now time for some praise for what I see in our life and the lives of our kids … particularly what I’ve observed from my wife’s mom’s side of the family. Brenda’s grandparents (Hilder and Fritz Holmstrom) emigrated from Sweden near the beginning of the 20th century. Both were uneducated, but vocationally skilled, and excited to begin a new life in a country where so much opportunity was available. They struggled to make ends meet, but found enough money extra in order to save for a top priority – putting their children through college Even though college costs were lower, it was still a substantial sacrifice on their part. Their children (including Brenda’s mom – a teacher) all took advantage of this “leg up” on their peers becoming a doctor, nurse and teacher. Quite the American immigrant story for one generation.

This “importance” in our family has been the legacy for the next generation and each has used their “leg-up” to earn extra dollars so their children have the opportunity for higher education. As college costs go up, it needs to be a parent’s priority to save early in order to afford this opportunity. It is to important to wait and far to expensive to pay out of pocket so “save early.” Thankfully we did this.

Another lesson we learned from Brenda’s parents is that instead of lavishing gifts of toys on the children and grandchildren, they ceremonially placed $100 each year in a fund ($GASFX)and placed importance on reading off the balances each year. The money was to be set aside in these accounts until the grandchildren were older and the funds were unofficially slated for college or if not needed, perhaps a down payment on a first house. Through the years the fund grew and became a wonderful legacy.

What will the next generation do? Are families still together enough to even make this work?

Category: Education, Financial, Personal | No Comments »
Tags: brenda, family, grandparents, legacy, momh, parents

Posted By RichC on August 4, 2014

Net fishing can indiscriminately harvest the wrong kind of fish as 48 year old Cai Chengzhu found out in Xianghzhi, China. Although whale sharks are a protected species, the fisherman says it accidently got caught in his fishing net. He then loaded it up on his truck and drove 10 miles to Shishi to the market where he planned to sell it. He says he didn’t know it was a whale shark and that it died on the way to the market (click photos for larger).

Category: Environment, Misc, Nature, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: china, fisherman, shark, sharkshares, truck, whale

Posted By RichC on August 4, 2014

While reading President Obama’s comments in The Economist, the same class-warfare ire continues to be flamed for those who believe those living in the United States are against each other: Poor vs. wealthy, CEO vs. employee, ambitious vs. entitled, black vs. white, Democrat vs. Republican, etc. Isn’t it possible that those CEOs and corporations being derided are just as patriotic as President Obama and want to see the U.S. adopt policies that grow the entire country, not just their own wealth? After all, we universally accept that our democracy see capitalism as the engine which powered our nation to superpower status and a model for democracies everywhere. It enabled every citizen to have a quality of life far better that generations before them and arguably better than any nation in the world. It is more likely that President Obama recognizes that for Democrats to maintain power, they must split the country. They are rely on the “piece of the pie” analogy and attempt to convince the nation that there is only ONE pie and everyone deserve their “fair share” (and see it as their job to decide what is fair).

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
~ Winston Churchill 

If you are of that mindset … then for a moment, consider the possibility that Americans can make more pies rather than splitting up a single pie with more and more people.

Entrepreneurs given the proper incentives (or just removing the disincentives!) are capable of creating an infinite number of pies. Why not endorse policies which encourage innovation and business growth (more jobs) which would competitively increase wages especially for the innovative, brightest and hardest working – something to be encouraged not discouraged. Americans for the most part are ambitious and don’t want to be dependent on charity or government entitlements … they want a decent wage, a good job and an optimistic future.

The New York Times also recently published datapoints post focused on wealth disparity (surprise, surprise). While their focus was on the growing gap between the “haves and the have nots,” they don’t address the unintended consequences to the Federal Reserve’s easy money policy that floods banks with cheap capital. Obviously the Fed’s intent is stimulate business investment and hiring in order to rejuvenate our economy … BUT their policy can’t address the onerous regulations, taxes and deterrents U.S. companies face under the Obama administration. One would think the administration, congress and the Fed could get on the same page when it comes to “growing” our economy and benefiting all Americans?

As author of the Aftershock Investor, Robert Wiedermer, comments when looking at what the Federal Reserve policies do:

Think about it: Who owns most of their wealth in their personal home and who owns most of it in common stocks? For the median-income earner who has a modest home and few, if any, stock investments, the Fed’s wide-open money printing policy has been meaningless
…

That median household is the heart of our economy. The richest 5 percent or 1 percent or what-have-you simply cannot drive the whole U.S. economy forward. They can only buy so many houses, take so many vacations, purchase so many cars.

Long-term unemployment, meanwhile, is still a huge problem in this country, and that shows up in this study. Out of all the unemployed, those out of a job for more than 27 weeks are still about one-in-three. That’s twice as bad as the last huge, long recession in this country, back in the early to mid-1980s.
…

The result has been steadily inflating asset values and a lulled sense of complacency about our economic future, even though the underlying fact of the matter is that the average American is in far, far worse shape — and facing a 36 percent decline in net worth!

While the media would love for you to think of this as a matter of richer people stealing wealth from poorer, the fact is that even the rich are living on borrowed money. The Fed will keep right on printing, however, and print much, much more, until things ultimately blow up.

Meanwhile, our economy is still quite sick. It’s very likely that the growth we’ve seen recently will slow as more Americans begin to face up to the reality of a permanently lower net worth and permanently reduced incomes.

Category: Financial, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: class-warfare, congress, economy, investing, media, obama, wiedermer

Posted By RichC on August 3, 2014

What a beautiful weekend to work out in the garage and yard. There are plenty of chores that “should” be done and a few that I “want” to do … so Saturday I focused on the “want.” Before mowing, I pulled the blades off the Kubota and put an edge back on them (try to do this at the half summer mark). Then spent most of the day cutting grass and hauling branches.

Brenda and her mom spent the day together and as you can see we enjoy ribs for dinner. Mm … that’s one summer meal we have figured out!

Category: Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: brenda, grill, kubota, momh, ribs, yard

Posted By RichC on August 2, 2014

There aren’t many things that makes parents happier than to “see” their children with big smiles enjoying life (thanks for the photos). Katelyn and Drew sent me this summer photo from Lake Minnetonka this past week and the two of them look pretty relaxed in their new surroundings. They found an ice cream shop in Wayzata, Minnesota just a short bike ride from their house and knowing my daughter this is going to make this an even a better place to spend “at least” the next 3 years. It is a good feeling knowing they are happy.

This might also be a good time to “archive” Dr.Katelyn Oostra’s new web profile photo for Wayzata Children’s Clinic … although I still can’t help but chuckle at the “along with taking care of her pet bunny, Pumpy Umpy” closing profile line.

Screenshot below highlighting Katelyn as a new Wayzata Children’s Clinic pediatrician.

Category: Archive, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: drew, katelyn, minneapolis, minnisota, wayzata

Posted By RichC on August 1, 2014

Ever since I picked up a secondhand iPad2 a couple years ago, it has been my go-to device for traveling, reading and quick notes. I do miss the full computer experience, but it is hard to beat for day to day mobile computing. Truth be told though, I’m starting to have speed envy and wondering if it might be time to upgrade?

A quick check with MacRumors to see when it might be time to start shopping tells me that this fall could be a good time … and if rumors be true, maybe a little multitasking is coming.

With iOS 8, the existing iPad Air and future versions may gain support for split-screen multitasking, allowing the device to display two apps at once for the first time.

Category: Apple, Tablet, Technology | 1 Comment »
Tags: apple, ipad, tablet, upgrade

Posted By RichC on July 31, 2014

A couple of days ago I whined about my failed or failing charging/sync cables used  on phones, tablets and electronic devices. I then started searching for the replacements but was discouraged with the delayed shipping for non-branded cables from China. Then after reading about the cheap quality, I revisited Amazon decide to find out if there were better cables. Usually I ignore the “words” used in marketing … like “gold plated” and “premium” … but perhaps some “premium” cables are better? Check out the post earlier this year in Lifehacker.

Cables Can Significantly Impact the Charging
Speed of Your USB Device … by Adam Dachis

USB chargers can impact how fast your device’s battery gets back to 100%, but they’re not the only determining factor. The wrong cable can slow down charging speeds as well. Redditor Esteef explains.

USB cables have a data wire and a charging wire within the cable itself. Most USB cables, probably over 99+% are 28/28. Buying after market micro USB cables will pretty much always result in getting cheap quality 28/28 cables and your device will barely break 500mah when it charges, maybe even less. This isn’t the only issue though. After you use a cable for a while it pushes slight stresses on the micro USB connector itself and compresses it. This causes poor connectivity between your device and the wire. This is why it seems like your device port feels like it’s getting loose and you think something is wrong. It’s most likely the cable being slowly damaged over time. Solution? Get a 28/24 gauge cable. 24 gauge is ~ 60% larger and can handle 2amps. This is what is usually sent when you buy a tablet or large phone device. Your wire slowly gets damaged over time or may even stop working entirely. You order a cheap cable off Amazon or eBay and it never appears to charge at the correct speed anymore.

I previously noticed this problem awhile back when I bought a bunch of cheap USB cables on Amazon. I got 12 for $5, and the reviews noted that charging speeds were very slow. I figured it was worth the risk for $5, so I went with it. It turned out they were right. Now I only use these cables in my overnight charging drawer where the speed is irrelevant. So, if you need a cable that charges at an adequate speed, heed the advice of Esteef and go with 28/24 gauge USB cables.

Monoprice is known to make quality cables … check their USB cables out.

Category: Advice, Cellphone, Computer, Tablet, Technology | 1 Comment »
Tags: cable, charging, electronics, gadget, micro, usb

Posted By RichC on July 29, 2014

My morning routine includes turning on CNBC for my business news, trading and investing “fix” and the segment on the Facebook vs. Twitter social networking challenge peaked my interest. As expected, the focus was primarily which stock would make an investor the most money. Obviously Facebook has a significant lead both in platform maturity and revenues … and looks to have the business model figured out. So from the perspective of a company that is “working,” $FB would make the most sense as an “investor.” From the “trader” perspective, $TWTR has a better chance to make a high percentage move on any news … partnership, earnings, etc. So Twitter in the short run and Facebook for a company running on all cylinders.

EDIT 4:30PM: The afterhours buzz is “all a Twitter” after some positive news … $TWTR stock is up over 30% in afterhours trading.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – Twitter Inc.TWTR +29.65% on Tuesday reported a second-quarter loss of $144.6 million, or 24 cents a share, compared with a loss of $42.2 million, or 32 cents a share for the year-earlier period. Revenue soared to $312.2 million from $139.3 million. On an adjusted basis, the San Francisco-based social network reported a profit of 2 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet on average were expecting the San Francisco-based social network to post a loss of a penny a share, on revenue of $283.3 million. Twitter also reported 271 monthly active users in the second quarter. Analysts were expecting 267 million monthly users. Twitter shares rallied more than 24% after hours

LINK

Category: Financial, Social Media | 1 Comment »
Tags: facebook, finance, investing, Social Networking, trading, twitter

Posted By RichC on July 29, 2014

FAILED … is a common complaint with the charging and synchronization cables used on portable electronics. First (above), my premium Griffin branded power blocks cord that I use at my desk (not rolled and unrolled) for charging my iPad failed. I suspect it is the connector, but maybe the cable?

The second is only a near failure. My micro USB Jawbone or possible Jambox cable at the right. I use it regularly since the cable is flexible and the USB plug has a nice flat side making it easier to plug it into my multiple devices needing a charge. My issue is that these “premium cables” should be reinforced a little better since these wires/cables are packaged with premium priced devices.

So I’m going to try a customer service test (will post follow up below). I have sent a politely worded letters to both companies praising their products, but questioning the cheapness of the cables (and in Griffin’s case ask if it may have been a knockoff package in an Ebay purchase?) At any rate, it will be interesting to see if my petty complaint is answered or how each company deals with their customers. Stay tuned.

Category: Shopping, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: cable, charger, griffin, ipad, jambox, jawbone, wire