My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on June 23, 2014

Chris (my “hard working” sister-in-law) and I spent a few more days in Jamestown, New York and stretched out a weekend to work on my in-law’s beloved “Farmhouse.” It looks like we are finally making headway in getting it ready to show … ready or not it will be on the market. I hope whoever is the new owner loves it as much as Mom and Dad Howard.

Besides the ongoing clearing out process, we worked on general cleanup inside and out. Another priority though was to meet and sign the contract with a realtor “if we felt comfortable” … we did … so it is for sale (contact us first if you are interested).

Click map for proposed 5-acre lot (red) – dozer house is nearly centered

One of the items on the  agenda was to walk a bit of the property line in order to section off a 5-acres parcel to sell with the farmhouse. The goal was to subdivide a parcel that would not negatively impact the Farmhouse or the rear acreage and gas well right-of-way. It looks like we have a plan.

  
Wellcap reminder-to-self and inside the barn/garage – upstairs is heated workshop and storage

The weather was great and Chris and I had a good time working to get things ready to go. I spent most of my time in the barn clearing out all the equipment and tools so I could powerwash years of dirt on both the floors, block walls and equipment. We took a load to the dump burned an EPA-friendly bonfire in memory of DadH (he loved to burn … as do his daughters!)

  
The two photos – above right – are of the “shed” called the “Dozer-house” (note map)

Click any photo for larger view versions.

A couple of older “archived” aerial photos of the Horton Road Hill properties:

1. Map from 1994
2. Map from 2004 – image=>
3. Map from 2011
4. Map from 2013

Category: Archive, For Sale, Personal, Photos | 2 Comments »
Tags: dadh, family, farmhouse, jamestown, maps, momh, ny, real estate

Posted By RichC on June 20, 2014

Tinkering with GIF Grabber and gfycat.com in posting a TechFriday filler post since I’m busy today. Record ride in Portugal riding a 78 foot record wave … that’s big!

Category: Misc | No Comments »
Tags: billabong xxl, gif, surfing

Posted By RichC on June 19, 2014

My old Mercedes Benz will never be a show car, but it never fails to attract looks or comments whether I’m traveling the interstates, filling up at the diesel pump or just running errands around town. It still has a couple scratches, a few bubbling rust spots and several minor leftover hail dimples on the hood … but today a noticeable door ding is no-more.

Click for a larger view

The repaire was my first experience in using a “dent repair guy” on a vehicle … and I must say Ryan did a pretty nice job ($125 “friend of a friend” discount). He mentioned that he was not entirely satisfied with the horizontal crease removal and that working the heavier Mercedes steel a bit more difficult, but to me the repair makes a world of a difference; I doubt it will be noticed by the casual observer. I would promote his mobile dent repair service, but I’m not sure he would want me to give out his phone number since he works primarily for car dealers. If you are considering a “dent-repair, beware because it sounds as if there are plenty of “hacks” in his trade.

Category: Automotive, Biodiesel, Diesel, Mercedes | No Comments »
Tags: 300d, dent, mercedes, repair, turbodiesel

Posted By RichC on June 18, 2014

Lots of odds and ends in the news this Wednesday afternoon.

First the Fed is not talking inflation and will be continuing with the expected $10 billion taper. Second, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezo introduced Amazon’s newest device called the Fire Phone … looks nice, but time will tell. It’s a 4.7” screen device with a rubberized case protecting the bezel and a 5-element 13-megapixel camera. Third, the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office has gone politically active in “canceling the Washington Redskins” trademark registration. The argument is not whether or not the name is “disparaging,” but if the federal agency should have changed their mind after a private organization received protection and invested heavily in building their “name based” franchise.

But what brought a bigger smile today was a filler post from 6 years ago while vacationing in Florida with the family. Those taking a family vacation this summer, be sure to appreciate the “family time” kids grow up fast.

Taylor and Katelyn in Delray Beach, Florida, June 18, 2008

Category: Cellphone, Financial, Personal, Photos, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, Cellphone, federal reserve, fire, katelyn, redskins, taylor

Posted By RichC on June 18, 2014

Ukraine continues to be under siege, SE Asia and Africa have unstable countries, Afghanistan will most likely go back to Taliban control, Iraq is imploding … but European markets are said to be in “recovery” and U.S. stock indices continue setting new highs and generating overly inflated annual returns for those “fully” invested (since when do these returns continue indefinitely?) Perhaps I’m just a “worry wart,” as my mom would have said, but then again yesterday I noticed consumer prices increased in May by the largest amount in more than a year. This can’t be good for middle and working class Americans already stretched to make ends meet. The cost of food and gasoline increased the most and airline fares jumped by the largest amount in 15 years. Maybe nobody told me that we have full employment and the numbers are reflecting that (sarcasm), or every average household has seen their annual take-home pay increase $4000 in the past few years (half-joking)? No … actually the cost of living is rising … but the incomes for middle and working class families is not.

The Bureau of labor Statistics reported that the CPI (Consumer Price Index) rose 0.4 percent in May this week which makes it the biggest one-month jump since February 2013. That means that over the past 12 months, consumer prices are now up 2.1 percent which is the biggest 12-month price change since October 2012. Not in itself a worry since this is in-line with the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent yearly target, but the Fed will need to at least acknowledge “that price pressures are growing." 

A change coming and according to Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, and the Labor report increases "the chances that it [the Fed] will raise interest rates before the middle of next year." “The days of low inflation and lower interest rates are now behind us” said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets,  and this is not helpful to Americans already feeling pinched … they will have to find new ways to either work more or stretch their dollars, or both.

Category: Financial, News | 1 Comment »
Tags: cpi, economy, federal reserve, inflation

Posted By RichC on June 17, 2014

While listening to CNBC’s Squawkbox yesterday morning, Southern Company’s CEO Thomas Fanning sees exporting U.S. energy as economically a best path forward. The strategy is not without debate and hits opposition from both sides – the anti-fossil fuel greens and conservatives wanting to preserve our nation’s natural resources for America’s future. That argument aside, one of the more controversial statements Mr. Fanning made was that “we can combust coal with a carbon footprint less than natural gas.”

CNBC Squawkbox – Thomas Fanning (mp3)

I’ve heard the argument that when factoring in the extraction process that we are currently using that natural gas isn’t as environmentally clean as we think (debatable science), but do find it difficult to believe that factoring in the full lifecycle of coal (scrubbers, chemical treatments, disposal and overall cost) that one can conclude that coal is a better choice than natural gas? That said, I’m not against using coal in the cleanest way possible … or encouraging those countries who only have coal as an energy choice – eg. China.

While combustion of natural gas does produce carbon dioxide, it produces about 30 percent less than oil and 45 percent less than coal, and natural gas doesn’t produce ash particles like coal and oil do, which adds to air pollution. Though it doesn’t have as much of an effect on global warming per unit compared to other greenhouse gases, it is by far the most abundant greenhouse gas in our atmosphere — and reducing carbon dioxide emissions has been the focus of curbing the greenhouse effect.

Fracking and Methane

So if natural gas is less harmful to the ozone than other fossil fuels, why are recent studies saying otherwise? The destructive side effects of natural gas occur before it even makes it to the pipes that carry it to users; it’s in the most commonly used and economical method of extracting natural gas, known as “fracking.” Hydraulic fracturing uses high-pressured water to “fracture” the shale rocks where natural gas is trapped.

During the fracking process, small amounts of methane are released directly into the atmosphere. And methane is considered more dangerous to the environment than carbon dioxide because it heats the Earth. Despite the fact that the methane breaks down relatively quickly so it doesn’t remain a heat source for long — unlike carbon dioxide, which can stay in the atmosphere for hundreds of thousands of years — it’s still thought of the more harmful of the two.

LINK

Category: Audio, Energy, Environment, Science | No Comments »
Tags: cnbc, coal, energy, mp3, natural gas, thomas fanning

Posted By RichC on June 16, 2014

While keeping tabs on a hedge fund analyst and his comments over at Seeking Alpha, I read a little bit on $WPRT and the recent management change and where they still in relation to their “natural gas vehicle/truck conversion” peers. Having watched my shares lose value this past year, I’ve been wondering why Westport hasn’t been able to capitalize on higher oil and the natural gas boom?

Hopefully there is a momentum shift and the battered Westport Innovations stock has found its low.  I still like what I read … and am encourage to see some buying and convinced that as fleets upgrade that they will look at what Westport has to offer in their HPDI 2.0 technology.

Category: Energy, Financial | 1 Comment »
Tags: conversion, investing, natural gas, stock, trucking, wprt

Posted By RichC on June 16, 2014

Some time ago I purchase a couple Command Brand Bundlers with the idea that I could use them for cords and coils and then a few months ago I saw a fellow sailor using them on a boat to organize lines. I’m not sure how well they will stand up to the sun and elements, but I might give them a try on the mast. The idea that the strap can be latched makes for a better way to keep a small coil out of the way and off the deck.

I’d like to use them for the reefing lines as well since the three color coded lines are currently tossed under the spray hood and dodger … not as organized as I would like (above).

A WordPress blogging update (reminder to self):
Trying a new line of code a try when updating older posts on this site that have images sized too small for the wider current theme. Hopefully once updated, the full width images will format and size appropriately no matter the eventual column width.

style="border: 1px solid black; width:99%"

Category: Archive, Blogs, Sailing | No Comments »
Tags: encore, hook, sailing, strap, wordpress

Posted By RichC on June 15, 2014

This first year and a half after my mom’s death has been a new chapter for my father and our family, but thankfully dad has been quick to adapt and has adjusted to living alone. Just saying “alone” is depressing, but his positive attitude makes it just a little bit easy on his kids (note to self: “be more of an optimist”).

I appreciated the photo my brother sent me a few months ago from his daughter’s wedding last year. We enjoyed the time with our kids and “our dad.”

Wishing a Happy Father’s Day to my dad (and Ron).

Category: Holiday, Personal, Photos | 1 Comment »
Tags: dadc, fathers day, ronc

Posted By RichC on June 15, 2014

As civil society’s long drawn out war on terror or GWOT continues dealing with Islamic terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda, the U.S. struggles in an effort to wind down military involvement and to leave political stability in Iraq and Afghanistan. After reading many of the biographies, political and history oriented books being published, I’ve gained better insight on the challenges all of our appointed and elected leaders faced.

I started reading about our involvement years ago with a preface to the war by in reading The Looming Tower and Ghost Wars which enlightened me on the long history preceding 9/11. The 2007 movie Charlie Wilson’s War and a hodgepodge of other books by solders and analysts returning from Iraq and Afghanistan added to the picture of what we were facing. The pieces became a bit clearer after reading President George W Bush’s book Decision Points and a more recently from an autobiography by General Stanley McChrystal titled My Share of the Task, but now already in reading the first few chapter in Robert M. Gate’s book Duty am I see the difficulty in finding an acceptable end. Partly because Gates served as Secretary of Defense after Donald Rumsfeld in 2006 and served under both GWB and President Obama, the insight gives him a unique role in both studying his predecessor (Rumsfeld) and dealing with policies of two presidents which view “winning the war” in a much differently. I appreciate how Gates weaves his joy of his personal career outside of politics (President of Texas A&M) and yet carried the weight of serving the country and decisions which impact the lives of our so many of our troops. I only hope that I can have the same respect for our current Secretary of Defense Chunk Hagel.

In the introduction Gate’s writes:

“It is, of course, principally about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where initial victories in both countries were squandered by mistakes, shortsightedness, and conflict in the field as well as in Washington, leading to long, brutal campaigns to avert strategic defeat.”

“But this book is also about my political war with Congress each day I was in office,” Gates continues, “and the dramatic contrast between my public respect, bipartisanship, and calm, and my private frustration, disgust, and anger.”

And then there is his reflection on the troops … the “heroes:”

“As I look back, there is a parallel theme to my years at war: love. By that I mean the love — there is no other word for it — I came to feel for the troops, and the overwhelming sense of personal responsibility I developed for them. So much so, that it would shape some of my most significant decisions and positions.”

Category: Books, History, Millitary, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: autobiography, book, congress, duty, History, reading, robert gates