My Desultory Blog

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

Posted By RichC on March 21, 2014

Before I renew my current VPN service it is time to keep them honest when it comes to their subscription pricing. I’m testing the lower cost AnchorFree’s Hotspot Shield Elite using their trial program before renewing my more expensive, but easy to use VPN service just to see if there is any difference. So far so good, but if you know of a better inexpensive VPN (under $30/yr) let me know. 

Category: Advice, Computer, Technology | 1 Comment »
Tags: hotspot, internet, security, vpn

Posted By RichC on March 20, 2014

My son Taylor is back for a few days from North Dakota to visit friends (and mom and dad) and do a little shopping. That last part about shopping is my theory since I don’t think they have many JCrew stores or the like in Williston, although I could be wrong?

Anyway it is nice to have him home if even for a short few days. At least we’ll get his taxes done and a few loose ends tied up in following up on a dentist appointment.

I’m also working with the Mophie people to see if we can get his “relatively new” Juice Pack Air iPhone 5 case fixed (I think it is the switch … so far it sounds like they stand behind their product?? We’ll see)

Here’s a left over photo from my trip to Florida – it’s not that often you see a Great Blue Heron from the “above” perspective.

Category: Nature, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: birds, mophie, taylor

Posted By RichC on March 19, 2014

It’s a big day for Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen as she took the stage and continued a third wave of tapering of the Federal Reserve’s bond buying program. Not that any of this was unexpected, but it an indication that the Fed sees the economy improving and is slowly removing the nation’s fiscal training wheels (its embarrassing, really). Hopefully we’ll see continued improvement in both economic growth and in the unemployment numbers … which has historically been Yellen’s number one priority. Today, she detailed “her deep concern about unemployment far more than she expressed an eagerness to raise interest rates.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was largely flat ahead of the statement, tumbled by as much as 200 points in the hours that followed, then ended down about 114 points.

On a follow up note, I do tend to be partisan when it comes to liberal appointments to powerful positions, but I’d like to give Yellen the benefit of the doubt, even if philosophically there are differences. She is supremely qualified and probably one of the more capable Fed chairs “on paper” and was a reasonable choice considering President Obama’s leanings. Before my right colleagues attack me for my softness, I’ve just finished a excellent and enlightening eBook assembled by the WSJ called Yellen and The Fed.

If you are interested, check with Jon Hilsenrath to see if he’ll send a link for a free download.

Category: Books, Financial, News | No Comments »
Tags: ebook, economy, fed, Politics, wsj, yellen

Posted By RichC on March 18, 2014

In wrapping up the “work trip” (cough, cough) down to Florida … I figured the trip would not be complete without at least a walk on the beach. Sunday afternoon sunshine made a good excuse to see how the sand felt on my feet – nice (panorama with the iPhone 5 above – click for larger … I’m still impressed at what a cellphone camera can do nowadays).

One of best parts about being at the boat is being able to spend a little time with my friends Mark and Dar. We enjoyed lunch together and time just catching up sitting in the cockpit. Dar’s eyesight after her stroke is improving, but still a long way from back to normal. It has improved enough that she even spotted a wasp building a nest in our bimini … something I missed when opening up and cleaning the decks. The had a nice bosun’s chair (used for going up the mast) and gave it to me so I could retire my 1982 homemade 2 x 6 model I used on Brenich when I was young and stupid (photo right).

On my final day I drove down to Delray Beach in order to show my mother-in-laws condo to prospective renters for next winter. It doesn’t look as if she is going to be able to stay alone or wants too, so perhaps offsetting the maintenance by renting January – March is a good thing. We all are getting older and change is inevitable. So glad that Fran and Fred had 20 years to enjoy their places together.

Category: Cellphone, Personal, Photos, Sailing, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: beach, condo, condo1718, encore, florida, iphone5, panorama