Posted By RichC on November 15, 2013
The U.S. stock market powered forward again today with the expectation that Janet Yellen will continue the easy money policies as head of the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (chart above) has investors cheering even as recent bumps attempted to derail the anemic jobless recovery. I doubt the party can continue forever, but until the majority of Americans lose faith in the Fed’s ability to print money out of thin air while keeping interest rates low and still not face inflation, there aren’t any normal economic roadblocks to contend with … equities could go higher. On the other hand, big money managers have seen great returns this year and may just be willing to book profits so they can relax and the holidays.
The big picture isn’t really that rosy. Tax policies are keeping corporate profits sheltered overseas, the administration siphons more money from consumers while they spend inefficiently and pressure for more borrowing and taxing (Obamacare will surely be a drain). More so for all the wasted stimulus efforts only the wealthy are profiting and only a few in the lower and middle class are gaining ground. Good jobs people … where are they? Let’s focus on real growth and policies that create private sector jobs.
I heard a discussion this week on CNBC that was so true: The Republicans dislike President Obama’s economic policies yet their “supposed” 1% rich friends have gained considerably. The Democrats claim they fight for the lower and middle class, yet the current policies are primarily benefitting the wealthiest Americans and are costly for the rest. Again … few jobs and very few good middle class jobs are being created. It seems backwards to me?
Category: Financial, Politics |
No Comments »
Tags: investing, stock market, wall street
Posted By RichC on November 15, 2013
I found out my small 28HP diesel “sailboat duty” jump starter had a bad battery last week (my starter and deep cycle battery bank is another story). Yes it was frustrating, but since Encore was still hanging in the travellift slings it wasn’t panic time either. Nevertheless it is time to find a new battery.
I did some online surfing and the one I wanted is tough to find … but zbattery.com had one with a $25.99 price (high?) and $11+ for shipping. It seems finding a seal lead-acid battery with the heavy nut and bolt terminals is more of a challenge than I thought?
Category: Misc, Sailing |
No Comments »
Tags: battery, encore, jumpstarter
Posted By RichC on November 14, 2013
Nice Jeep project with a Volkswagen TDI diesel for someone with the time and money. It’s not cheap, but well designed and something most VW TDI advocates have thought about. Check out COTYbuilt and their step 1,2,3 components … I particularly like their 2010 SEMA project (video).
Category: Automotive, Diesel, Volkswagen |
No Comments »
Tags: diesel, jeep, project, tdi, volkswagen
Posted By RichC on November 13, 2013
Busy day back at work, but noticed some pretty impressive Sprint LTE data service driving on rural I-71 near Wilmington, Ohio (between Cincinnati and Columbus). The LTE light has been popping on once in a while lately (previous posts), but this is about the fastest ping, down and up speeds I’ve seen. As the Mazda commercial whispers … “zoom, zoom.”
Category: Cellphone, Mazda, Technology |
No Comments »
Tags: 4G, lte, sprint, wireless
Posted By RichC on November 12, 2013
The excuse I made for putting the boat in the water this week was that I would purchase a new refrigerator and have it installed in the Howard family condo before our snowbird tenants arrive in January. Sounds like a simple enough plan, right? Not so this week. The buying was easy enough as I found the exact size, model and sale price at the neighborhood Home Depot, but then came setting up the delivery – only available slot was my last day in Florida. Whew!
I did my homework and measured the opening width (at the counter) and carefully check the height. Tight, but all good. What I failed to do was to check the measurement between the cabinets that hang down and the wall … about a 1/4” narrower. Yikes. Of course this oversight wasn’t obvious until the delivery guys removed the doors to get the frig in the kitchen, hooked up the waterlines and begin to slide it in – it didn’t fit. Good grief Charlie Brown! What more can go wrong this trip. Thankfully there was still time in the day to meet with one of the retired handyman guys in the complex who has handled similar issues and is a trustworthy neighbor. We discussed the “fix” and is planning to tackle things later this week or next. On a bright note, the new refrigerator works, I plumbed the new fittings and just heard the first ice cubes dropping into the tray!
Category: Misc, Personal |
No Comments »
Tags: condo, condo1718, delray beach, florida, refrigerator
Posted By RichC on November 11, 2013
The bank of three deep cycle AGM marine 105AH were not new when I got the boat and since they were installed in 2006 are considered to be running on borrowed time. Add to it the lousy care I’ve been giving them AND the fact that a non-AGM wet cell was added to the mix as a dedicated starting battery, the charging was not always efficiently done (according to my “light” reading on the subject). On return I’ll be shopping for more batteries and these puppies are not cheap … even if I do horse them aboard and into the bilge myself. I can feel my sore back aready!
🙂
Category: Misc, Sailing |
No Comments »
Tags:
Posted By RichC on November 10, 2013
I spend most of today in the “spacious engine room” (that’s a joke BTW) working on basic diesel auxiliary maintenance. The aging 27 year old diesel has worked hard most of it’s life pushing our Westerly Corsair II around the world bit by bit. Just as with most older gals, Encore no longer measures beauty by age or an hour meter … she no long has one. Still, the 3-cylinder Volvo 2003 runs strong, even if her 28 HP can’t always power her forward quickly in heavy seas or strong currents. I repaired the alternator (temporarily), changed the oil and filter as well as installed a new primary Racor and secondary engine fuel filter (unfortunately there was debris). Speaking of debris, I also cleaned out the raw water strainer basket and tighten a couple of the double hose clamps.
The depressing news is that I’m finding out my four batteries are not charging? I’m hoping maybe the Heart Inverter/Charger isn’t working correctly, but deep inside I know that our 7 year old deep cycle batteries (3 – 650AH) need to be replaced. What really bothers me though is that my newer (relative term) 4 year old engine starting battery is only showing 10.05 volts which probably indicates a bad cell. Any experts?
Speaking of experts, I’ve been “consulting” with Mark and Dar (well at least they have replaced everything on their boat … an inside joke). They had me over for a great spaghetti dinner on Friday night so I returned the favor tonight by taking them to Chili’s. They are liveaboards at the marina and we seem to enjoy each other’s friendship … at least I do theirs. Great people and genuine friends.
Category: Sailing |
No Comments »
Tags: encore, engine, friends, maintenance, sailboat, volvo
Posted By RichC on November 9, 2013
The day was windy for the launch but we opted to sling Encore up and plunk her in the water before her roots took hold of the ground any more. She has been out for quite a while after a few unanticipated repairs and personal events this past year. I “had” thought there was enough juice in our battery bank to start the diesel … but I was wrong. Seems the solar panel didn’t keep our batteries topped off enough to deal with the “diesel fuel turned varnish” in the lines. Thankfully the guy at the yard left me in the slings while they went to lunch and I was able to bleed and charge the starting battery enough to crank a bit to bring the Volvo 2003 diesel back to life. So far so good as the alignment after replacing the cutlass bearing, welding up two customer stainless front mounts (above) and replacing the cast rear motor mount. The trip to the slip was uneventful. Now for cleaning and maintenance.
Category: Misc |
No Comments »
Tags:
Posted By RichC on November 8, 2013
Our sailboat has been out of the water far too long considering the hurricane season was a bust this year. I think we would have been better in the water. The hurricane forecast models aside, it has been far too long since Encore had her keel wet even with all we’ve had going on. (Katelyn and Drew’s wedding, moving Taylor to North Dakota and medical issues for my mom followed by her funeral and then Brenda’s dad’s passing) While out, I had the yard replace a seacock in the head, welded one engine mount and replace another after realizing the broken mounts were why my cutlass bearing wore out so soon. Encore now has relatively new bottom paint and an epoxy barrier, but also some very distressed teak. The varnish jobs I did at home look pitiful, but Cetol trim is holding up a little better -it all definitely needs work. I’m hoping for a smooth Friday launch and then a start the more critical seasonal services this weekend. My work ahead includes bending on the sails, installing the bimini … doing it alone again … and some overall cleaning along with engine maintenance (impeller, fuel filters, oil change and of concern my alternator). We’ll see how much actually gets done with the shortened days, a marina potluck and invites for dinner already (thanks Mark and Dar).
Category: Sailing |
No Comments »
Tags: encore, florida, sailboat
Posted By RichC on November 7, 2013
Can you spare a few dollars so I can buy this little island —
Melody Key in the Florida Keys is
for sale.
Category: For Sale, Misc |
No Comments »
Tags:
