Winter daze and contemplating more Encore projects

Posted By on February 13, 2014

winterdaze140212Winter seems to be dragging on this year perhaps because it started earlier and has not let up. The “daze” have been colder and snowier than usual without the usual intermission of warmth and melt.

It is notable that even in Cincinnati snow plow companies have adopted the practice of piling the snow in parking lots rather than just pushing it snowpileshondapilot140210aside until it melts. I’ve even commented that this is the first year I’ve really needed a snow”blower” on my old 1980’s John Deere rather than just a snowblade. My son in North Dakota mentioned that the snow in Williston has completely disappeared. Hmm … and I thought he was going to have a problem with winter this year?

Winter seems to be a good time to work on a couple of indoor boat projects such as refinishing an outboard motor mount for the Suzuki that we use on the Zodiac (again) or contemplating what I’m going to do about replacing Encore’s thru-hull transducers.

 refinishingteakmotormount20 encore_transducer_locations  

The entire electronics project has taken on a life of its own since just fixing the old Navman instruments seems out of the question since the company is no longer making or supporting the instruments. encore_lazerette_levelThe depth is super essential and so I will at minimum need a new unit and that means a new underwater transducer and all new wiring. Ugh! I should have replace them when Encore was out of the water last year.  There are some newer transducers (Airmar) installed in oil filled cavities or wells, but since I already have 3 holes in the hull, replacing one of them makes the most sense (probably the log/speed paddlewheel while I’m at it?)

Another minor project is cutting a fitting a new plywood “floor” for the cockpit lazerette. Rain and water has leaked onto it over the years causing it to delaminate to the point it is no longer firm (it is also a lid to keep anything from sitting on top of the batteries).

Closing in on 7 years with Twitter as @RichC

Posted By on February 12, 2014

twitter_richc_999It has been 7 years since I (@RichC)first started using the social network known as Twitter and in that time I’ve tweeted over 8000 times from my personal account and almost 2900 from @MyDesultoryBlog (RSS feed style blog updates). I’ve added 1600 to my stream (many news feeds) and am closing in on 1000 followers. It has been impressive to watch this 140 character micro-blogging phenomenon grow into a incredibly successful marketing company. What’s next???

birthcertrichctwitter

Reviewing Kona and Jamaica Blue Mountain coffees

Posted By on February 11, 2014

One of the pleasures of my “adult” life has been enjoying coffee. Generally I’m content with run of the mill canned coffee or “plain Joe” restaurant brew for that first cup of the day, but after dinner or on the weekend I much prefer a freshly ground bean from roasters who know their craft.

ccspecialtycoffeesamples

Recently the good folks at CCSpecialtyCoffee.com heard me talking about Kona coffee (a favorite of mine) and thought I might be interested in trying their 100% Hawaiian Kona Coffee just as I was preparing to purchase from another company. To sweeten the deal, they also suggested I give their Jamaica Blue Mountain beans a try too (a future post).

The first surprise was absolutely no coffee smell when I opened the Priority Mail box … something that I’ve almost always noticed when receiving a coffee shipment. This tells me that more than likely the roasting and vacuum sealing process is separate from the shipping (one of my clients is a coffee roaster and reseller). Since it was a weekend, I quickly went about opening and getting my first whiff of roasted beans. Yes, I closed my eyes and felt my pulse slow as the pleasure filled my senses … even if you don’t like the taste of coffee, I’m betting you enjoy the aroma?

keurigbasketFor the first cup, I ground enough beans to fill my Keurig K-cup reusable filter basket … which reminds me that I need a new stainless filter. Unfortunately the grind was a bit too fine and I ended up restricting the drip … note to those grinding, original_mr_coffee_sm_02keep the grounds on the course side for the Keurig. For paper filter drip  or percolator the finer grind doesn’t seem to present as much of a problem. French Press, “without” a paper, can be another story as the fine grounds find their way into the cup.

Anyway, my first cup was a disappointment, but it was my own fault. I quickly ground another and after correcting my error and sat back with a favorite sailing magazine (another pleasure) and enjoyed a mild yet flavorful cup of Kona coffee. I’m looking forward to a full pot experience using my well seasoned Mr. Coffee. For the record, I’ve retired an older Bun (home brewer) and no-name drip and returned to the old cheap looking Mr. Coffee.

If you are in the mood for some coffee … consider CCSpecialtyCoffee.com and Kona for these 10 reasonsalthough I’m suggesting they add Valentine’s Day!

  1. Birthdays – buying a friend or family member a pound or more of Kona coffee makes an excellent birthday gift. Perfect for your brother, sister, grandparents or friends.

  2. Christmas – buying Kona coffee for you, loved ones or a friend makes a perfect present during the Christmas/Holiday season. Perfect for moms, dads, uncles and aunts.

  3. Thanksgiving – Planning on hosting this years Thanksgiving dinner? Buy 1-2 pounds of coffee for your Thanksgiving guests to enjoy before or after the feast. Hosting a large dinner, buy 3 pounds!

  4. Fathers Day – there are plenty of dads that would enjoy receiving some gourmet Kona coffee on Father’s Day. Make sure dad gets a wiff of those great smelling gourmet coffee beans.

  5. Mothers Day – Any mom that is a coffee lover would graciously appreciate the jester of receiving specialty Kona coffee on Mother’s Day. Truly bring a smile to her face.

  6. Business Meetings – Amaze clients with some great tasting gourmet Kona coffee during business meetings. A minor business expense that will definitely impress many individuals.

  7. Weddings – Planning on serving coffee at your wedding, jazz it up a bit by serving specialty Kona coffee. We offer per pound pricing with discounts as you purchase more pounds! For smaller weddings purchase 1-3 pounds, having a large wedding? Purchase 4-5 pounds.

  8. Made in the USA – Kona coffee is the only specialty coffee that the USA, specifically the Big Island of Hawaii.

  9. You are a Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Lover – if you love blue mountain coffee, coffee cultivated on the beautiful island of Jamaica, you will love 100 Kona coffee as well. Try a pound and see if you like this specialty coffee as well!

  10. Lastly, that Morning Cup of Ambition May Reverse Symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

Monday morning Blues …

Posted By on February 10, 2014

Muddy Waters from 1948 (I’m not sure what got me thinking about the Blues … but enjoy)

Archive: Boneyard windshield salvaging tip

Posted By on February 9, 2014

Picked up a great tip from Classic Motorsports:

Guitar String: Best Tool for the Job
Classic Motorsports forum reader wheelsmithy suggested a creative trick for removing windshields. Have you found a sweet U-PULL-IT windshield and need to remove it from a vehicle without breaking it? Just bring an old guitar E string and a buddy (very important) to the junkyard. Pass the string through the rubber windshield surround, and saw away. Works every time and is sort of like a lumberjack competition. Also works with bass strings (round wound, not square wound for the non-musical types).

Joined a Kickstarter project called HeatWorks

Posted By on February 8, 2014

Monitoring Kickstarter projects is a great way to see just what entrepreneurs and inventors are coming up with … and to rejuvenate pride in American Exceptionalism. heatworksThe other day I saw a guys talking about Mobile Personal Theatre headphones  called Glyph on the business channel CNBC which was pretty neat. I’ve micro funded a few projects in the past and know several people who have enjoyed being on the ground floor with products like the Pebble (watch).

This week I joined a Kickstarter campaign for a new kind of instant water heater called HeatWorks Model 1 with the plan on getting on to test out on the boat. It is small, efficient and looks like it should be the perfect solution if it can withstand the nautical elements (and be plumbed to work). I’ll be anxious to watch the progress of the company and at this point wouldn’t mind being in on the ground floor as an investor either! Stay tuned.

Tech Friday: ‘;–have i been pwned?

Posted By on February 7, 2014

With data breaches in the news recently (Obamacare website, Target, Neiman Marcus) it was just a matter of time before someone archived the list of sites and collected a list of email addresses so that users could check their own.

haveibeenpwned

Check your email address with haveibeenpwned.com and see if your information has potentially been compromised. The site offers a simple search which will either give you a little comfort or a reason to update your email password and security precautions. Most experts recommend two-factor authentication be used to access sites or webmail when available … and if your email is listed, it might be a good time to adopt better email security practices. Try to imagine what information could be collected and “sold” to hacker IF a user gained access to your Google account or other email … besides just loosing your account access and data.

pwnned

A 1947 Willys Pickup makes for creative VW TDI diesel

Posted By on February 6, 2014

veedubtdi

Gauge Magazine featured a great Willys pickup conversion using a Volkswagen TDI diesel TDI engine. It is a bit “rust”ic … but would be pretty interesting to see. Check out the additional photos on the featureinfo page.

More snow and more ice. When will this winter end?

Posted By on February 5, 2014

snowyicyday140205sThe winter of 2014 has been one of the colder and snowier in southwestern Ohio that I can remember (although we had some snow in 2010). In previous years, putting the snow blower on the old John Deere 330 was almost optional, but this year it has been used and abused more that any since moving from our house in Hudson in northeastern Ohio. Those were the days before 4WD SUVs and when I would  push Brenda up our driveway with the tractor. I guess it’s really not that bad?!?

Rental car vs my Honda Pilot: “What difference does it make”

Posted By on February 5, 2014

fordfocusrentalJan2014It is about time that I wrapped up the numbers for the recent Florida trip in order to work on the boat. One of the “high level” decisions that I had to make (snicker), was whether to drive my own car down and back with my 300 or so pounds of batteries and gear, or whether to rent a car. If Brenda was along I’m sure that we would have driven the Honda Pilotfor comfort sake, but after running the numbers I decided it would be cheaper to rent a car. My neighborhood Budget has discounted rate for week long rentals and having rented one once before thought I might be able to get pretty good fuel economy?  Unfortunately I was only able to average about 34 mpg down and back hauling batteries, just a little bit better than the time Taylor and I tried the same thing over his spring break. Still, after calculating the $160 week rental plus $206 in regular gasoline, the total car related expense for the trip was $366. If I were to assume “zero” wear and tear on my SUV (not realistic), the fuel cost alone for the 2300 mile round trip would have been $380 … so I saved at least $14! Good decision again.

In family news, Katelyn and Drew were busy making headway planning their move to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Katelyn spent today interviewing and having dinner with a couple places she might be able to put her pediatric medicine skills to use. They are definitely in an exciting time of their lives together … AND the key word is together … they are enjoying it together.

kvisitinghospMN140204

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog