My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on October 23, 2013

Yesterday’s Apple product event came on the heels of last months lackluster iPhone 5c and 5s announcement (I watched on and off on my iPad – Jony Ive in photo on right) . First off, there wasn’t anything earthshattering just as with the new iPhones, but the updates and upgrades will be “want to have” items. About every computer product in Apple’s lineup will see some kind of improvement, be it the new OS X Mavericks (10.9) or speedier chipsets. I kept my eye on the new Macbook Pro which will be offered in both a 13” and 15” model although am not sure I really need another computer? They are thinner, lighter, sharper (retina displays) and have the latest in efficient but powerful processors from Intel. Either model would be hard to beat if you need a new notebook.

The more anticipated announcement for me was the full size iPad, now call the iPad Air and the retina display available on the iPad Mini. Thinner, lighter in a couple more colors. As for specs, they will come in several models but all have great battery life, superb displays and snappy performance. I’m to the point I’m not sure I really need a notebook anymore? A lot of choices (see below).

For a full write-up … check out CNET.

Category: Computer, Software, Tablet, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: apple, Computer, ipad, mac, maverick, notebook, osx

Posted By RichC on October 22, 2013

With a $25 coupon about to expire, I decided to buy a new pair of grippy Sperry SeaRacer Sneakers. These boat shoes were not exactly what I expected as they were much lighter in weight and lighter in construction than any “sneaker” I’ve ever had. In fact, they were almost wimpy.  But … after wearing them around the house, I started to appreciate the lightweight and tactile feel.

On Monday evening I decided to wear them out on the pool decking and noticed that the breathable material keeps the foot nice and cool (a little too cool for 40s and 50s), but there is a downside to this ventilation  — the breathable construction leaks water. Of course that is the designed purpose as well.  The “water shoe” works best on wet decks and the design functions to drain seawater out. Unfortunately if you don’t want wet feet, or wet socks, you better not step in a puddle or walk on wet grass. For this reason I may just have to leave them on the boat, as they are not made for daily “sneaker” wear?

Another critique for those looking at this shoe is that the initial comfort could be better. In fact, I’m not the only person to complain that this shoe quickly rubs one’s pinky toe raw, especially if you wear them barefoot all day. Plan on a couple blisters if you intend to break them in fast or toughen up the tops of your toes.

REVIEW

sandpaper inside                                              October 4, 2013

No other shoe will give you instant blisters on your little toe like these shoes. They are designed to be worn without socks but you need to wear socks to stop the blisters. In other words they are a failure in what they were designed for, so unfortunate.

Category: Advice, Sailing, Shopping | 1 Comment »
Tags: boat, boatshoe, boatshoes, shoes, sperry, topsider, topsiders

Posted By RichC on October 21, 2013

If you are looking forward to seeing the new Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. space oriented movie Gravity, here’s an interesting real life International Space Station demonstration showing just how much (or little) effort it takes to move in zero gravity.

While thinking about it … check out the Gravity Trailer.

Category: Space, Video | No Comments »
Tags: gravity, iss, movie, space

Posted By RichC on October 20, 2013

Last week Dave Ramsey attempted to simplify the Affordable Care Act on his financial advice radio program for his listeners. He asked listeners to take off the political blinders – be they those of the supporters of Obamacare or those who want the law overturned.

In a “tough love” Dave Ramsey kind of way, he stripped the political ideology (as best he could) and tried to make sense of “the math.” The conclusion was that there is no way to “lower premiums by $2500” as President Obama promised in 2009 (or frankly saving those paying for insurance any money). Saving money on health insurance (without reduced care) is totally unrealistic considering the new law puts onerous demands on the kind of insurance required and because same health insurance and pricing is demanded of everyone … regardless of age, health condition or ability to pay.  Does “the math” work???

Category: Audio, Financial, Health, Politics | 1 Comment »
Tags: healthcare, mp3, obamacare, radio, ramsey

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