My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on October 19, 2013

After offering a little tech help to a computer novice setting up email and an a few bookmarks, my friend asked me why some web pages are so “busy and confusing.” He was refering to the columns and underlined words in of all places … MY BLOG.

Hmm … is it that confusing I wondered? Maybe because I look at it everyday and am regularly on the Internet I don’t realize just how much information is packed in on My Desultory Blog. It might be confusing it might be to a first time reader?

So its time to make a visual 15 point “site map” as a way to explain the 3 column WordPress theme that I’ve modified over the years. Someday I might opt for a new super-clean look … but for now the cluttered look with simple Craigslist type links is what I like (click image for larger).

Category: Blogs, Computer | No Comments »
Tags: blog, desultory, layout, map, richc, wordpress

Posted By RichC on October 18, 2013

Deadspin‘s Albert Burneko is not fond of Cincinnati style chili … be it on a hotdog or on pasta … and isn’t shy about dissing it. Something tells me if he ever visit Cincinnati again that he’ll be wearing chili. A word of advice if you ever come to town Mr. Burneko … don’t wear a white shirt.

The Great American Menu: Foods Of The States, Ranked And Mapped

Cincinnati chili (Ohio)

For the mercifully unacquainted, “Cincinnati chili,” the worst regional foodstuff in America or anywhere else, is a horrifying diarrhea sludge (most commonly encountered in the guise of the “Skyline” brand) that Ohioans slop across plain spaghetti noodles and hot dogs as a way to make the rest of us feel grateful that our own shit-eating is (mostly) figurative. The only thing “chili” about it is the shiver that goes down your spine when you watch Ohio sports fans shoveling it into their maws on television and are forced to reckon with the cold reality that, for as desperately as you might cling to faltering notions of community and universality, ultimately your fellow human beings are as foreign and unknowable to you as the surface of Pluto, and you are alone and always have been and will die alone, a world unto yourself unmarked and unmapped and totally, hopelessly isolated.

 
But wait! This abominable garbage-gravy isn’t just sensorily and spiritually disgusting—it’s culturally grotesque, too! What began as an ethnic curio born of immigrant make-do—a Greek-owned chili parlor that took its “Skyline” name from its view of the city of Cincinnati—is now a hulking private-equity-owned corporate monolith that gins up interest in its unmistakably abhorrent product by engineering phony groups of “chili fanatics” to camp out in advance of the opening of new chains, in locations whose residents would otherwise see this shit-broth for what it is and take up torches and truncheons to drive it back into the wilderness.
 
Whatever virtue this bad-tasting Z-grade atrocity once contained derived from its exemplification of a set of certain cherished American fables—immigrant ingenuity, the cultural melting pot, old things combining into new things—and has now been totally swamped and consumed by different and infinitely uglier American realities: the commodification of culture; the transmutation of authentic artifacts of human life into hollow corporate brand divisions; the willingness of Americans to slop any horrible goddamn thing into their fucking mouths if it claims to contain some byproduct of a cow and comes buried beneath a pyramid of shredded, waxy, safety-cone-orange “cheese.”
 
Cincinnati chili is the worst, saddest, most depressing goddamn thing in the world. If it came out of the end of your digestive system, you would turn the color of chalk and call an ambulance, but at least it’d make some sense. The people of Ohio see nothing wrong with inserting it into their mouths, which perhaps tells you everything you need to know about the Buckeye State. Don’t eat it. Don’t let your loved ones eat it. Turn away from the darkness, and toward the deep-dish pizza.
  Deadspin LINK

Category: Blogs, Misc | No Comments »
Tags: chili, cincinnati, deadspin, goldstar, ohio, skyline

Posted By RichC on October 18, 2013

While watching Kent Bergsma’s latest video on a smooth shifting W108 280SEL Mercedes Benz, I stumbled on a video clip of old Mercedes photos set to The 5th Dimension’s  Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In music. Although the era was slightly before my time (and a decade before my MB 300D Turbodiesel), I admired and remembered the W108 cars as well as enjoyed the memories associated with the music. Who knows, you might too?  

Category: Automotive, Mercedes, Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: mercedes, Music, youtube

Posted By RichC on October 17, 2013

The good news from my end is that the FCC is back in business and processed some of their backlog today. One of those items was my new amateur radio call sign … KD8VSB. I’m legal to be on the air. Woohoo!

Category: Radio | 4 Comments »
Tags: amateur, fcc, ham, KD8VSB, radio

Posted By RichC on October 17, 2013

A sad, sad day for this little Volkswagen TDI diesel engine transplanted in a VW bus. VWWestyman posted a couple photos of his “toasted” engine on TheSamba.com forum and explained that this is what happens when the engine loses all the coolant but keeps chugging along … well, until it doesn’t.

VW TDI toasted engine VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Category: Automotive, Diesel, Volkswagen | 3 Comments »
Tags: diesel, engine, tdi, vw

Posted By RichC on October 16, 2013

EDIT: I’ve added a small recording “app” to the iMac called eXtra Voice Recorder. In the old Mac days we would call these small apps “DAs”(Desk Accessories). If you’re a pre-X Mac user, do you remember them? Below is the audio test.

Brenda and I stretched out this past Columbus Day weekend and towed a U-Haul trailer up to Jamestown, New York in order to begin cleaning out her parent’s farmhouse and barn – it is tough closing the chapter on a lifetime of memories.

Most … no ALL of my time was spent in the barn and workshop. The neglected outbuilding was in serious need of cleaning, sorting and organizing since caring for it was no longer something Brenda’s dad was able to do in his later years. He had collected a lifetime of tools and treasures from his youth, World War II and 40+ years as a dentist; he had a pretty healthy collection of scrap and salvaged wood along with the miscellaneous items that many of us find too easy to keep and store when you have a small barn. (check out mud nest! – photo right)

Brenda’s mom and her sister and brother-in-law were there for the “fun” too. Chris and Jerry’s oldest son David and his girlfriend Rachel (now fiancé) arrived and found room on the couches (thankfully still there) – the big surprise was that he proposed on Monday morning … and did it by hiding a ring in the built-in cabinets in the farmhouse stairway. Very nice touch!

There were a few sisterly disagreements, but all in all we had a nice time together and accomplish a lot – still a lot to do. I only wish more of the family would have been there to sort through the memories and help line little things up for the family lottery. We talked about having one more family gathering and trip to Peek’n Peak over the holidays … something we have done for most of 30 years. We’ll see?

Category: Audio, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: brenda, dadh, family, farmhouse, jamestown, momh

Posted By RichC on October 15, 2013

Category: Computer, Tablet, Technology | 6 Comments »
Tags: 4G, freedompop, hotspot, lte, sprint

Posted By RichC on October 14, 2013

Since I’m looking to bring my son home from North Dakota over Christmas, I figured it might be time to archive a list of shopping tips I copied and saved in a document a few years ago … can’t remember where I found them? I can’t vouch for the current accuracy, but I’m using the 4 tips as a starting point in shopping. (Hopefully experience travelers will be able to update the tips in the comment section below — my friend Steve  is a big advocate for Matrix its Software and as a traveler and aviation expert, he always have helpful tips)

#1: Shop for domestic airfare Tuesdays at 3pm EST. The best day to shop is Tuesday. An airline will typically kick off an airfare sale late Monday. Other airlines join in to stay competitive. Price matching is usually complete by early Tuesday afternoon. Newly discounted airfares hit reservation systems by 3pm EST. 

#2: Don’t buy airline tickets earlier than 3 ½ months before departure. Airlines don’t begin actively “managing” prices until three or four months before departure, and if you buy any earlier than that, chances are good you’ll pay too much. Airlines typically have as many as 10 different prices points on a single plane. Knowing when to buy and when not to buy is key to getting cheap plane tickets.

#3: Don’t buy too early, but don’t buy too late, either. Airfare prices can rise dramatically within 14 days of departure. When it comes to most legacy carriers (which include American, Delta, United and US Airways),  airfare prices can rise dramatically inside the 14-day before departure window; with discount or low cost airlines, that window is usually 7 to 10 days before departure. This is to take advantage of the last minute  business traveler who often doesn’t know his/her travel schedule much in advance and is willing to pay higher prices.

#4: The cheapest days to fly are usually Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Most people want to squeeze as much time out of a vacation as possible which is why flights on Fridays and Sunday are so popular. However, the airlines know this and they usually charge more for flights on those days. The cheapest days to travel are the least popular days to fly: Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday. Fly these days and you’ll almost always save on airfare.

Category: Archive, Shopping, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: airfare, flights, matrix, pricing, tickets

Posted By RichC on October 11, 2013

When information on Buzzy came to my inbox, I had to forward the URL to my daughter just in case she wasn’t aware of it as won’t be long before she’ll be finished with her residency. She is currently in her third year at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus and will soon be joining or starting a practice. Buzzy might be just the thing to improve a doctors’ bedside manners and keep patients returning and passing along positive comments. 

Buzzy is a reusable and inexpensive device that provides natural pain relief.  Gate control is the basis for the device and it works by confusing the body’s own nerves and distracting attention away from the poke. The stimulation dulls or eliminating sharp pain from shots, itching, or burning from medications. It has been independently verified by research and can be used for dentistry, immunizations, splinter removal, flu injections, etc. 

Buzzy®’s contoured design tucks under a standard tourniquet, or fits easily in the hand to deliver powerful pain blocking right where you need it. This more compact Buzzy® optimally delivers vibration, even for smaller hands or locations. Buzzy® leaves fingers free to help with needle procedures. Durable design. Comes with 2 reusable single-patient slip on Softies Wings, comfort strap, instructions, and batteries.  Single screw makes replacing AAA batteries simple!

Check it out — buy a Buzzy.

Category: Health, Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: buzzy, katelyn, medical, pedicatics

Posted By RichC on October 10, 2013

A long time friend and fellow EAA284 chapter member Ken Miracle passed away last week and his family will be holding a gathering and a memorial service this Friday evening  (10/11) and Saturday morning (10/12). I regret being unable to attend.

Ken was one of the first EAA guys to befriend me when I joined the local aviation chapter many years ago and he continued to be my buddy whenever we’d work on chapter projects. He is the man I think of when I hear someone called a “gentleman” … he was perhaps the most “gentle” man I have ever know (those who have met him will know what I mean). I will miss working with Ken … be it tinkering on hanger projects or flipping pancakes at the Taildragger Fly-in.

Bob Luken shared a comment from his wife Barbara: “In July, our daughter took us down to the Waynesville Airport … on a Saturday.  A beautiful day…. sunny with beautiful white clouds … Ken sat in the SUV with the windows down and enjoyed watching all the action.  Lots of planes coming and going and he would tell us about each one.  That was a good day for him!  We had ice cream at McDonalds in Waynesville before taking him back to the nursing home.  A good memory.”

Ken Miracle

Kenneth F. Miracle, age 80, of Xenia, went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at the Greene Memorial Hospital. He was born March 13, 1933 in Manchester, Ohio the son of Silas and Opal Miracle.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother: Robert Miracle.

Ken was a proud graduate of Lockland High School, Class of 1952. He was a four year veteran of the US Air Force in the air-sea rescue. A graduate of Miami University, he taught at Springfield North and Xenia High School, before retiring from Greene County Career Center. He loved flying and was a private pilot and club member at the Waynesville Airport. A faithful Christian at First Church of Christ, he loved serving in the area of Missions, and was helpful on many other projects.

He is survived by his wife of 53years, Barbara (Poll), sons: Kenneth S. (Terri) of San Diego, CA; daughters: Lisa (Rich) DeWees of Macon, GA; and Lori (Russ) Lawrimore of Jacksonville, FL; grandchildren: Kyla and Colter DeWees, Nicholas and Sam Lawrimore; sisters: Mildred Bollmer, of Mason, OH, and Joan (Mike) Foster of Jacksonville, FL; brothers: Ric Miracle of Bradenton, FL and Don (Chris) Miracle, of Denver, CO; as well as several nieces, nephews, other relatives and a host of friends.

A Gathering of Friends will be held 6-8 pm Friday October 11, 2013 at First Church of Christ, 441 Ledbetter Road, Xenia. A Memorial Service will be held 11 AM Saturday, October 12th at First Church of Christ. Interment will be in Arlington Memorial Gardens in Cincinnati. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the First Church of Christ, Missions Fund, 441 Ledbetter Road, Xenia, 45385.

Category: Aviation, Obituary | No Comments »
Tags: eaa, eaa284, ken miracle, Obituary, waynesville