My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on March 30, 2014

Mom would approve of the “handsome” (cough, cough) photo of “her three boys” as she called us. Ron (left) gave this photo to me last weekend when we were at dad’s house for dinner. It’s old school film to paper and from his daughter’s wedding last summer, but still worth scanning and archiving; I don’t think I have many/any photos of just the three of us? Thanks again Ron … although I doubt he’ll see it posted (like my wife Brenda, he’s not a social networker or  blog reader).

Category: Archive, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: archive, bud, corbett, dad, family, photographs, richc, ron

Posted By RichC on March 29, 2014

Good news … but sad news today. My daughter sold her 2001 Volkswagen Jetta TDI and it left with the new owner in Columbus today; hopefully it will mean as much to him as it did to her. The little diesel TDI is the only car Katelyn has ever known and it took her from learning to drive in high school, through college and medical school and nearly through her residency (she finishing in June). Besides the “no-no” of putting her tools on the truck lid (photo above … hmm!), she has taken good care of her car and it has definitely taken good care of her and provided her with $4000 after all the years and miles … not to mention her excellent lifetime fuel efficiency of 45.6 mpg.

I know both mother and daughter had tears when looking at the picture of it being driven away — it reminded me of selling mine back in 2007. Enjoy the little diesel TDI Steve!

Category: Automotive, Diesel, Personal, Photos, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Tags: 2001, diesel, jetta, katelyn, sold, tdi, volkswagen

Posted By RichC on March 28, 2014

Will Burrard-Lucas has been at the cutting edge of African wildlife photography using his BeetleCam and now BeetleCopter Camtraptions. The above video is from a GoPro Hero 3+ … but there are some excellent stills from the BeetleCam using a DSLR after the launch of his company in January 2014. Some great innovations.

Click image for more showcase photos

Category: Nature, Photography, Travel, Video | No Comments »
Tags: africa, burrard-lucas, photography, quadrotor, techfriday, wildlife

Posted By RichC on March 27, 2014

Yesterday was the 2 year anniversary of my purchasing a second-hand iPad 2, shortly after playing with my friend’s new iPad 3 (that device has been out over 2 years, not sure about my iPad2 … 4 years?). I can’t believe how much I use this tech gadget — everything from email to web surfing … and just plain eBook or magazine reading. The relatively snappy speed, variety of apps and ease of use has made it my favorite go-to device for quick information and to use while traveling. I’ve yet to meet a dissatisfied buyer.

The Kensington keyboard and case is well worn and even though I carry my entire old Dell leather bag, and hefty older upgraded Gateway laptop, I usually can get by with just the iPhone and iPad when traveling. Maybe I should have activated the Verizon connection since it is in my device, but frankly find plenty of wifi hotspots and carry my Freedompop wireless puck when I really need to connect. If there is anyone on the fence, don’t be … buying an iPad is an easy call.

Category: Advice, Apple, Computer, Photography, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: anniversary, apple, ipad, tablet

Posted By RichC on March 26, 2014

This morning in a discussion with a friend about the new Sprint HD Voice being rolled out, I mentioned that my LTE capable iPhone5 was not connecting to the 4G Sprint towers in the area that did service my Freedompop4G LTE data access device. I’ve yet to figure out why some areas are servicing Sprint phones with the LTE service, but other are not … YET devices backboned on Sprint seem to be able to connect?

Currently north of Cincinnati in Ohio the Sprint LTE has not been announced, but the Freedompop device has been connecting for at least a half year. In other areas, both devices are connection fine and speeds have been great.

What gives?

Category: Cellphone, Computer, Tablet, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: 4G, freedompop, iphone5, lte, sprint

Posted By RichC on March 26, 2014

Ok … so I have the holidays confused, but then so does Mother Nature. While driving around on Tuesday afternoon the squalls started and figured it was a perfect opportunity for an animated GIF. We can’t seem to shake off winter.

I expect to see a few flurries when I’m in northeast Ohio (had them last week), but not in Cincinnati. I suppose it’s not really that rare, but it is rather tiring after the long cold winter this year. I think it must be time to head south again!

Category: Photos, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: animated, cincinnati, gif, snow

Posted By RichC on March 25, 2014

While I should be spending a few more evening hours working on taxes, I’ve instead been tinkering around on another boat improvement. This time I’m working to re-shelve one of the hanging lockers in order to install a removable 10,000 BTU Air Conditioner/Heat pump on the cheap. After reviewing all the more robust and expensive marine units in the thousands of dollars, not to mention the installation cost, I’ve opted for an off the shelf portable AC unit for $309 with free shipping. This is a self-contained vented model that requires a 4 inch flexible duct pipe to exchange the hot or cold air (depending on mode) outside. The install will require a 4 in deck cap to be added to  the cabin side that can be dogged down when sailing. The compact AC unit will “hopefully” have enough ventilation to operate efficiently, yet the hanging locker door can be closed when it is turned off (out of sight and out of the way). Obviously this is a work in progress and I’ll reserve my final conclusion until using it an doing some tweaking, but boats spending any amount of time in Florida marinas need AC.

Category: Sailing | No Comments »
Tags: encore, project, sailboat, sailing

Posted By RichC on March 24, 2014

It was a whirlwind week ending visit for Taylor as he was home from North Dakota for a visit with his friends in Cincinnati, Oxford (Miami University) and Cleveland. He also found time for family and picked up sister Katelyn in Columbus on his return from Cleveland. He drove her home for the weekend as her alternative motive was to borrow his VW GTI until she buys a new car (sold her VW Jetta TDI).

I took Taylor to the Dayton Airport on Sunday  for his trip home and continued on up to Sidney in order to visit with my Dad. My brother Ron and his wife brought dinner and we had a nice time together – dad is doing great. Ron’s son Jaben drove up and had dinner with us, then he invited me to stop and see his new project home in Huber Heights (north of Dayton area). It is a great first house and has the starter home “needs” that will set him up well for the future. There will be all the learning repairs and do-it-yourself “fun.” Great memories for both my brother Ron and me as our first homes had “some” of the same needs. I’ll have to admit, his project has a few more! So far he has been gutting the bad and is getting ready to replace with new. It is a near perfect starter home … thanks for sharing Jaben!

Category: Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: family, home, house, jaben, project

Posted By RichC on March 23, 2014

Wallethub compared how average families from each state when it comes to paying taxes … how does your state look? According to their color coded map, the brighter red your state, the more you pay; conversely, the greener your state, the lower your taxes, and brown puts you somewhere in the middle.

If you hate paying taxes, Wyoming residents pay the lowest taxes. Taxpayers there shell out 66 percent less than the median nationwide. Alaska came in a close second and those oil revenue checks sure help. Even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s state of Nevada keeps state taxes pretty low … the 3rd lowest in fact (no wonder it attracts Californians).

On the other hand, if your considered an average American according to this survey, New York is probably not for you. It has the highest tax burden per resident of all states followed close by you guessed it, California. Those two state punish their residents to the tune of 39% and 37% HIGHER than average for states in the U.S. By the way, average* means your family income is $65,596 and you live in a  $174,600 home. No wonder those actually paying the taxes are moving from NY and CA?

* The study accounts for everything from income taxes to alcohol and vehicle taxes, so individual results may vary. Higher taxes can also mean more social services and benefits for residents, so their impact on metrics like quality of life and social mobility may make the expense worth it.

Click this link or the map above for the full listing at WalletHub.

Category: Financial, News, Politics | 1 Comment »
Tags: economy, government, states, taxes, wallethub

Posted By RichC on March 22, 2014

With the improved weather (70 degrees in Cincinnati on Friday) and spring smell in the air, its feels like it is past due for some music on the blog. Here’s a mystery tune for the day, which of course from the 1970s, but this is one hit that I’m sure everyone has heard. The first hint may not give the tune away:

1. The female of the duet was the first British artist to sign with MoTown. Her name was Pauline Matthews which probably will not give away the 1976 chart-topper … but her previous 1975 recording might?.
2. Both singers of the duet were born in 1947 and from England, as were many musicians making their mark in both the U.S. and Britain in the late 60’s and 70’s.
3. His name was Reginald Dwight which for music buffs may be a giveaway … if not, I’m betting you’ll know who they are by the first few notes.

Category: Music, Weather | 2 Comments »
Tags: dgbmh, elton john, Music, spring, weather