Posted By RichC on May 17, 2014
An odd and ends Gifycat.com filler post: A decapitated Copperhead snake still has the reflex action to bite its own wiggling tail … a reminder to keep your distance from dead or perhaps “dying” poisonous snakes.
Posted By RichC on May 16, 2014
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Posted By RichC on May 14, 2014
With government printed NOAA paper nautical charts going by the wayside, there are still a few options if you want paper. I’m partial to small publisher Paradise Cay Publications who has been serving the nautical minded for years out of Arcata, California. They’ll print small format, traditional paper and waterproof material (video below) and have a great selection of books and publications as well.
Posted By RichC on May 13, 2014
These crocs are not the kind a creatures you want to be “playing” with when visiting the Northern Territory of Australia’s Outback by canoe or johnboat. Wow, can they clear the water or what?
Posted By RichC on May 13, 2014
The team at Ocearch tagged a Great White Shark they named Katharine off the Cape Cod coast of Massachusetts in August of 2013, but this 14+ foot 2,300 pound “immature” female has been checking out the Florida coastline and yesterday a beach near Sebastian. A few more miles south and we might see her poke her snout (?) into the Fort Pierce inlet to say hello. (see Florida Today)
Posted By RichC on May 12, 2014
I’ve about had it with replacing the TWO small and expensive 6 volt batteries that are packed into my APS uninterruptable power supply (UPS). Seems like I’ve purchase these same batteries too many times before for a couple of different devices and just like toner for inkjet printers, I wonder if it wouldn’t just be cheaper to buy a new unit?
This time I’m going to solder a couple extension and clamps on this 650 watt unit and use a good but older car battery. It will both give the old device new life and also be a lot cheaper AND last longer when the power goes out!
We’ll see how it goes.
Posted By RichC on May 11, 2014
It has been slow progress, but since my wife “sort of” gave me Mother’s Day off (Happy Mother’s Day to moms, BTW), I took advantage of some time to finally finish up and put the trim back on the repaired body rust and the newly Miracle painted rocker panels (yes, that is Miracle Paint I mentioned). Here’s a before post.
Posted By RichC on May 11, 2014
Fox Business anchor Stuart Varney comment, in between his entertaining persiflage with Don Imus, struck a chord with me as he highlighted the failures of the 
Obama administration’s big government policies — regulations that are killing small business entrepreneurs.
Stuart Varney with Don Imus (MP3) – May 2014
As someone who started a someone “traditional” business in the 1980s (in contrast to something innovative or high tech), I now recognize how challenging it is to succeed after making family sacrifices and working 24/7 just to pay expenses and meet payroll for years. I’ve often said that if I knew the full extent of the challenge, I may not have fearlessly taken that risk (thanks for ignorance and ambition) … and that was before facing the adversary of a heavy handed bureaucracy of today. Even with the wisdom I have gained, I would probably fail if faced with the additional hurdles of entrepreneurs starting businesses today. It is painfully obvious, from those who have gone through this from the ground up, why small businesses are closing. Once upon a time, it use to be that the biggest obstacle for small businesses were their competitors, but now the biggest impediment to success (or survival) is their own government.
It’s the rare business opportunity nowadays that has enough upside potential to overcome the red tape and pitfalls put in place by our growing bureaucracy, not to mention the administrative tax burden. Gone are the days where an ordinary American who is ambitious and hardworking had the chance of achieving the American dream by starting his or her own business. It is still do-able, but not in the traditional and less-innovative small businesses that were the foundation of our country … they either succeeded or failed based on serving customers better than their competitors and willingness to work hard. Today, regulations, taxes, legal liability and excessive penalties for common "learning-curve mistakes" have stymied small business and deter many from believing it is even possible anymore. Americans should be encouraged to start businesses because that is what we need in order to create jobs and grow our economy … not bigger government and more dependency.
Posted By RichC on May 10, 2014
According to AAA, the cost to own a car has actually gone down … although with gas prices up, it may not feel like it.
The average cost per mile is now 59.2 cents a mile, down 1.64 cents or down 4.7%. That puts the yearly cost at $8,876 a year in the annual Your Driving Costs study. (The study assumes 15,000 miles of annual driving including costs of fuel, maintenance and repairs, tires, insurance, license and registration fees, taxes, depreciation and finance charges. Costs broken down based on vehicle for the 2014 study are:
Posted By RichC on May 9, 2014
I’ve mentioned LastPass a few times in the past as a way to manage the many passwords that our online presence requires and it still looks like a good option. Over the years things change, so I was interested to read “The Best Way To Manage All Your Passwords” article in the WSJ by Geoffrey Fowler.
His recommendation was to definitely use something other than a piece of paper or the same password for everything, but his advice was to check out Dashline. His reasoning was that it offered top notch security, was simple to install and would be something everyone could use. One caveat was that it was a bit more expensive in the long run.
| Geoffrey Fowler of the WSJ talks Password Managers – May 2014 |
Listen to Geoffrey Fowler explain his reasoning in the short 4+ minute podcast above or check out the article in the Wall Street Journal.