My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on November 16, 2024

Officially this is a “replaced the garbage disposal project” from a week ago, but since I’m still mentally in “vacation-mode,” I’ll archive this post for condo improvements records and include a panaramic photo above from my new phone (I’m relaxed just looking at it). 

The old InSinkErator Badger brand disposal was replaced in 2012 (Brenda’s sister Chris tagged it) and I moved it to the kitchen remodel sink in 2018, thinking it was still new enough to keep (purchased that brand for house too). Thankfully it is a well known brand and the update (smaller physical size) model fit the mount perfectly. For $114.41 on Amazon, it made quick weekend repair work affordable and left me time for Sunday afternoon football. 😊 

Thanksfully the replacing was much easier to do that reading the instructions. 😊 

Category: Personal, Photos, Repairs, Shopping, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: amazon, atlantic dunes, badger, beach, condo1718, garbage disposal, improvements, insinkerator, pano, project

Posted By RichC on November 15, 2024

It has been a challenging week and a half for a few of my more liberal Democrat friends on the social media platform X.com (previously Twitter). I’m unsure if it is anger, disbelief or a way to strike back now that President-Elect Donald Trump won the election. Trump has been rapidly nominating his cabinet (mostly loyalists) and many on the left can’t stomach seeing and hearing about it on social media. I suspect that in frustration, Democrats partially blame Elon Musk (owner of X) and are leaving X just because he is part of the team?

So for now, I’ll tweak this and pretend it belongs on Tech Friday.

In any case, I’m a little sad (but mostly disappointed) to see social acquaintances for now leave the platform and joining a “leftist-friendly” BlueSky. I mentioned to one of them who claims to just be adding BSKY as “another” app, that it will likely be just another echo chamber as I found with a few other platforms in the past when Twitter was being manipulated by those with a leftist political ideology. Time will tell.

Category: Politics, Social Media | No Comments »
Tags: donald trump, election, elon musk, social media, tech friday, techfriday, x.com

Posted By RichC on November 14, 2024

After a great visit with Taylor in Florida last week for his planning conference, he’s right back into the hornet’s nest in trying to find the best way to navigate economic growth and housing development in his township. The battle lines are being drawn between fairly large housing developers and builders who are growth focused and residents seeing more homes straining the community resources.

My thoughts are “as a property tax payer” and knowing that property values are forcibly being increased in a couple SW Ohio counties by 40+%. My discussion with Taylor before his Cincinnati WKRC News interview was to give him a little insight from the “property taxpayer perspective” facing huge increases split over the next few years. With hundreds new homes, all services such as fire, schools and roads will be asking for new tax levies … and I doubt any existing resident will be interested in even higher taxes. 

Anyway … here’s an archive for posterity sake … since I’ve done the same for Katelyn. 😉 

Category: Archive, News, Personal, Photos, Travel, Video | No Comments »
Tags: batavia township, interview, planning, taylor, tv, wkrc

Posted By RichC on November 13, 2024

Obviously the economy ranks high as to why incumbents were on the losing team when it comes to the November 2024 election. But for me, it’s the same as it was back in 1992 when James Carville said, “It’s the economy, stupid” … although this go around it could be argued that social issues played a big part in outings the Democrat’s VP Kamala Harris for president.

Long before Kamala Harris and Donald Trump became their parties’ nominees, one factor guaranteed Democrats faced an uphill battle to keep the White House: inflation. Since 2021, high prices have been mowing down incumbents everywhere.

In the past five months, the ruling parties of France, the United Kingdom and Japan lost outright or lost their legislative majority. Germany and Canada could be next.

It is a reminder of a lesson largely forgotten during a generation of price stability but obvious from history: Inflation is politically toxic. It corrodes public trust and feeds a sense of disorder.

In the competition between culture and economics as a theory for how people vote, clearly, both matter.

LINK

Category: News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: debate, economy, election, kamala harris, social issues, wsj

Posted By RichC on November 12, 2024

This content is restricted.

Category: Archive, Personal, Photos, Video | No Comments »
Tags: 2024, annalyn, autumn, brenda, drew, ellerie, family, katelyn, richc, taylor

Posted By RichC on November 11, 2024

My buddy Jeff decided to make a detour from his business appointment in NYC and drive to the end of Long Island “just” to grab a lobster roll and beer at the Shagwong tavern … because he is a lifetime Jimmy Buffett parrothead. I’m not sure there is a more devoted fan … unless it is Megan. 😊 

That said, I did not know what he was talking about when he called on his drive to Montauk, NY … until his hints had me reading the lyrics to the surfing son “Hey, That’s My Wave” on Jimmy Buffett’s “Life On The Flip Side” album.

…
Hey, that’s my wave

(I’ll meet you at the Shagwong, we’ll talk about it)

(Hey dude, that’s my wave)

…

Lyrics LINK 

It’s got a rock & roll feel and a Jimmy Buffett sound, of course, but the surf anthem “Hey, That’s My Wave” originally sprang from the mind of Sag Harbor chiropractor, surfer and musician Dr. Glenn Goodman.

LINK

Category: Friends, Music | No Comments »
Tags: dr. glenn goodman, jeffp, jimmy buffett, long island, montauk, music monday, musicmonday, new york, surfing

Posted By RichC on November 10, 2024

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”  — Matthew 24:36: 

Category: Faith | No Comments »
Tags: christ, christianity, cross, jesus, mirror

Posted By RichC on November 9, 2024

The “yellow tape” applied to the table saw sled has bothered me since adding it in 2019 (above left). I’ve never had a problem remembering to keep my hands away from pushing the sled with my hand in the wrong place, but realized not having a guard was foolish (added above right). 

So a little curve of wood (reminding me there’s a 10” blade coming through there) and flexed a bit of plexiglas to cover the normal red colored blade might help keep my fingers away. It never hurts to play it safe when it comes to using tools. 

Category: Photos, Tools, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: safety, sled, table saw, tablesaw, workshop

Posted By RichC on November 8, 2024

Apple is finally rolling out the much ballyhooed Apple Intelligence on Apple devices … including my new iPhone 16 Pro Max. Their have been a few laughs from me when it comes to the AI “summary” feature generating a questionable summary (an automotive enthusiast John Rowe’s X.com comments – he does NOT recommend Sunbeam). 

On the other hand, the “summary feature” was a bit more helpful … although too brief in my opinion … when summarizing emails.

My son Taylor relayed a long-winded email from work for my thoughts, and although I read the entire email, the summary was helpful. I do wish it could have been a “little” more detailed and perhaps highlighted a few more points. It is still interesting to see AI weaving its way into our everyday lives. 

Apple Intelligence is a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) features designed to integrate into existing Apple apps and services, enhancing user experience and productivity. It’s a pragmatic approach to AI, leveraging generative models to improve upon existing features, rather than creating a standalone AI platform.

Key Features:

Writing Tools: AI-powered writing assistance for Mail, Messages, Pages, and Notifications, providing summaries, proofreading, and even composing messages based on content and tone prompts.

Image Generation: Custom emojis (Genmojis) and Image Playground, a standalone app generating visual content from text descriptions, usable in Messages, Keynote, or social media.

Siri Revamp: A redesigned Siri experience, integrated more deeply into Apple’s operating systems, offering onscreen awareness, contextual answers, and the ability to edit photos and insert them directly into text messages.

ChatGPT Integration: Supplementing Siri’s knowledge base and adding to Writing Tools, allowing users to access premium features, including unlimited queries, with a paid ChatGPT account.

Availability and Limitations:

Apple Intelligence is initially available with the iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 updates, with a limited number of modern devices supported. The feature set will expand with future updates, including Genmoji and Image Playground in December (likely with iOS 18.2) and ChatGPT integration for Siri.

Privacy and Security:

Apple Intelligence processes data on-device, ensuring user privacy and security. The company maintains its commitment to protecting user information, unlike some other AI platforms that rely on cloud-based processing.

In Summary: Apple Intelligence is a suite of AI features designed to enhance user experience and productivity across Apple devices, leveraging generative models and on-device processing for privacy and security. It’s a unique approach to AI, focusing on practical applications rather than a standalone platform.

Category: AI, Apple, Automotive, Cellphone, Productivity, Social Media, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: apple, apple intelligence, email, iphone 16 pro max, sunbeam, taylor, tech friday, techfriday, wikipedia

Posted By RichC on November 6, 2024

Finally the 2024 Presidential Election is over (the White House and U.S. Senate flips to Republican control) … but America is still waiting to see who will control the House of Representatives. 

It has been a taxing election for American voters and likely even those just watching overseas. Both allies and adversaries are wondering what kind of leader the United States will have in 2025 and oversea our foriegn policy for the next four years.

President-Elect Donald Trump, by winning the state of Wisconsin at 1:45AM, pushed him over 270 electoral votes (according to my “from bed” TV watching). It also looks as if a few other states might follow, but the votes are still being tallied (too close to call them on Wednesday morning). A clear message was sent though, Americans, especially those hardest hit by inflation and open-border polices, want change. They have no interest in four more years of the same Biden/Harris policies from a Kamala Harris presidency … and as she has said, “[eliminate all of that] let’s move on.” 

The Fox News Decision Desk projects former President Trump has defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in a stunning victory, delivering him a second term in the White House after a historic election cycle filled with unprecedented twists and turns and two attempts on his life. 

Trump defeated Vice President Harris, who entered this race just over 100 days ago after President Biden, who won the Democratic primaries, was convinced to stand down.

Trump was projected to have breached the 270 electoral vote threshold after stunning wins in the battleground states of North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

MORE

Category: News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: donald trump, election, foxnews, kamala harris, potus, president, representatives, senate, united states, wsj