Video: Slo-Mo shooting clays with a silenced shotgun
Posted By RichC on July 24, 2014
A miscellaneous filler video that I found interesting both for the silencer on a shotgun (haven’t seen that before) and the slow motion.
Fires in Canada spread smoke south of the border
Posted By RichC on July 23, 2014
Last weekend while traveling in North Dakota, we ran into the smoke from the many boreal forest fires burning in the Northwest Territories in Canada on Sunday. At first I wasn’t sure why the normally crisp clear skies were so hazy, but then Taylor told us about the smoke blowing south from the 156 currently burning forest fires in Canada. According to the ClimateCentral blog, one of the fires stretch over 250,000 acres (see photo from that Birch Creek Fire below and smoke over Alberta, Canada at the left). Boreal forest (or Taiga – new word for me) burning is common each year, but this year the number of fires is “six times greater than the 25-year average to date” according to Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center.
An aerial view of the Birch Creek Fire complex, which seared 250,000 acres as of Wednesday. Credit: NWTFire/Facebook
Fires in NW Territories in Line with ‘Unprecedented’ Burn
For the past few weeks, dry and warm weather have fueled large forest fires across Canada’s remote Northwest Territories. The extent of those fires is well above average for the year to-date, and is in line with climate trends of more fires burning in the northern reaches of the globe.
… See more from this post by Brian Kahn
Reducing the IRS corporate tax bite with oil industry MLPs
Posted By RichC on July 22, 2014
After my recent visit to North Dakota and the oil fields … AND seeing what has happened in one short year, I talked with my son ways of trying to invest in this oil boom (the “invest in what you know” philosophy). Of course I tried to look at what he sees from a “planners” perspective, but the more I looked for ideas, it sort of felt like I was late to the game. The Bakken boom is far from over when it comes to oil, but it is more challenging to find right way to invest in this American boom. Currently the players are companies like Continental Resources ($CLR), Kodiak Oil and Gas ($KOG) or Whiting Petroleum ($WLL) — the last two will become one. I also discussed the safer (?) Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway play ($BRK.B) since so much of the 1 million barrels of oil per day (new record for North Dakota) are moved on the expanding Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railways.
Then there’s the real estate angle where single bedroom apartments rent for over $2000 per month and even modular homes sell for $250,000. You’d be hard pressed to find a nice “small” city lot home for $300,000 in Williston. I even saw in-town older homes on a postage stamp listed for nearly a half million dollars! Maybe real estate?
On the other hand, a hands-off North Dakota Master Limited Partnership with “decent” management might be the way to invest … although I suspect in this “wild west” big money boom one could get bitten?
As an investor, I’ve owned a few shares of $KMP for a couple years (one of the largest pipeline MLPs), but for the most part this is more of an income stream than a speculative high growth company. Still, with one of the few favorable tax treatment investments available to the ordinary investor and there aren’t many other industries able save on corporate taxes low and pass the income to shareholders (except Inversions). From my reading, this special MLP structure came from the 1986 tax code which was purposed to explore, develop, mine, produce, process, refine, transport and market minerals and resources here in the U.S. Not many industries receive this generous tax structure … which offers the ability for the organization to send more of its profit to shareholders rather than the IRS. Over the years, this so-called “loophole” has enable the Master Limited Partnership to pass revenue through to investors of American energy who receive dividend checks somewhat larger than companies who pay high U.S. corporate taxes. This might be particularly helpful for those saving outside a tax sheltered IRAs and 401Ks or attempting to supplement income with a quarterly check. It’s obviously attractive in today’s low 
interest environment where neither bonds or cd can meet investment targets. If oil remain “in demand” and trades consistently around $100/barrel, a well managed MLP should be able to return a conservative 7% for years to come.
We saw several names up in Williams County … so I’m researching a few of them including Enbridge Energy Partners $EEP and their North Dakota connections.
Obit: James Garner was one of my all time favorite actors
Posted By RichC on July 21, 2014
Time moves forward and it is always noticeable when the steady stream of celebrities and notable figures retire from public life or succumb to illness or age. One such favorite of mine was James Garner, an actor I enjoyed while growing up, died in his home at age 86 this past weekend. His role as Jim Rockford was a favorite … as mentioned before.
| Mike Post and Pete Carpenter Rockford Files theme song (mp3) |
Actor James Garner, whose wise-cracking but affable character made hits out of the TV shows Maverick and The Rockford Files, has died. He was 86.
Los Angeles Police confirm that Garner was found dead of natural causes at his home in Brentwood on Saturday.
Garner had a long career and remained active as a TV and film actor well into his 70s. His style as a leading man who was quicker with his tongue than his fist was established early as gambler Bret Maverick in the 1950s TV Western Maverick, as The Associated Press notes:
"His quick-witted avoidance of conflict provided a refreshingly new take on the American hero, contrasting with the steely heroics of John Wayne and the fast trigger of Clint Eastwood.
"At a time when the networks were crowded with hard-eyed, traditional Western heroes, Bret Maverick provided a fresh breath of air. With his sardonic tone and his eagerness to talk his way out of a squabble rather than pull out his six-shooter, the con-artist Westerner seemed to scoff at the genre’s values."
Garner carried that smooth-talking charisma into the private eye business in the ’70s TV show The Rockford Files, for which he won an Emmy. Among his work on the big screen are roles in The Great Escape, Victor Victoria, Space Cowboys and The Notebook. He was nominated for an Oscar for the 1985 film Murphy’s Romance, which co-starred Sally Field.
Garner’s childhood in Oklahoma was marked by the early death of his mother and the scattering of his brothers. His father reunited the family, People reports, bringing an abusive stepmother into an already dysfunctional relationship:
" ‘My dad worked hard as an upholsterer and carpet layer,’ said Garner, ‘but he was a rake and he drank a lot. He’d come home bombed and make us sing to him or get a whipping.’
"From that experience, Garner developed a lifelong sympathy for the underdog. ‘I cannot stand to see little people picked on by big people,’ he said. ‘If a director starts abusing people, I’ll just jump in.’ "
Garner received a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2005. Back in his hometown of Norman, Okla., stands a 10-foot bronze statue of Garner as Bret Maverick.
Busy, busy, busy … with Taylor up in Williston, ND
Posted By RichC on July 20, 2014
After our visit with Katelyn and Drew in Minneapolis ( 7/18 & 7/19), we flew up to Williston, North Dakota to see Taylor. Flight and weather were great and after dinner our first night we stopped at Taylor’s Williams County Zoning and Planning office (below) and took an evening hike along the levy east of town (above). Great view and enjoyable conversation. We do miss being closer.
On Saturday we roamed a bit further and he gave us a taste of what his “site visits” are like in a few areas being developed in the county. Beautiful area … even with the many, many oil rigs and wells peppering the prairies and farm fields.
For Saturday dinner we took Taylor and one of his friends (also “Taylor”) out to a nice local steakhouse called the Williston Brewing Co. Great food and taxidermy.
On Sunday we headed to the next town with “shopping” options, Minot, ND, and picked up a few items for Taylor (called it an early Christmas) and enjoyed a lunch at Olive Garden (chains restaurants are somewhat a luxury for those living a distance from a larger city).
For those of you connected with me by Facebook, I’ve added a few more personal family photos and video.
Archive: More photos from our July 2014 visit to Minneapolis
Posted By RichC on July 19, 2014
Katelyn forwarded a few of her photos from our visit to Minneapolis. We really did have a great time visiting and KNOW that they will “enjoy” at least the next three years while in Minnesota for Drew’s hematology fellowship; at this point I can see them staying far longer … but then again, it’s not winter! 
Ice cream with Justin, Maddy and Evan at Lake Harriet near their house.
Having a great time with Katelyn and Drew in Wayzata, MN
Posted By RichC on July 18, 2014
We’ve been having a wonderful time enjoying what Minneapolis, Minnesota has to offer “in the summertime” with Katelyn and Drew. Our couple of days has been filled with activities from picture hanging and yardwork to bike riding and fine dining (photos above from 6Smith in Wayzata).
Another evening we we were off to visit my nephew Justin Howard and his two adorable kids … what a great time enjoying a local modern Spanish restaurant family style (Rincón 38) and then a long evening walk for ice cream at Lake Harriet. It sure was great to see them.
Katelyn driving in her new 2014 Nissan Juke … yes, banished to the back seat. 
Using roller casters to increase the height of and old table
Posted By RichC on July 17, 2014
When the rain came this past week, I turned to an indoor project that we’ve been tossing around: “How to aesthetically increase the height of an antique table?”
After toying with a couple ideas for increasing the height of my mother-in-laws old table that we now have in our kitchen, I opted for adding ball casters to the six legs. They were a little more attractive that the standard caster wheels found on a couple other items (chest of draws, parlor chairs) and lifted the table height about 1-3/4 inches. That was just enough to fit one’s legs more comfortably under the end of the table. The current cherry dining room chairs (high quality chairs) are not really appropriate for this table, but until Brenda finds something else, these will have to do. BTW, she loved the casters.
Archive: European hatch screens idea for Encore
Posted By RichC on July 16, 2014
Our sailboat Encore is in need of a better hatch screen system, so in my search for roll-able, but sloppy looking velcro stick-up screens to replace our ill-fitting fix framed screens, I came across this simple European idea.
The stiff wire frame (stainless steel?) is covered by a stitched on polyester “no-see-um” type mesh screen with a grommet in the center. A short length of lightweight shock cord with a stopper hangs with a small loop and keeper knot on the inside end (or double up smaller line as in top right illustration). A suction cup with a hook (keep spares) is stuck to the underside of the hatch and the screen is cinched up to to cover the hatch opening. Very clever and should work great.
Choking up the Internet and wireless highway with Tweets
Posted By RichC on July 15, 2014
I didn’t think I spent all that much time posting comments to Twitter, but over the years it does add up. I noticed that my Volkswagen Crossblue post Monday hit the 9000 mark (below). But then it occurred to me that those tweets don’t include the automatic notifications sent out by WordPress MyDesultoryBlog.com … add a few more (right). I guess I do my share of choking the Internet?
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.