My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on October 2, 2013

I was sad to hear of the passing of one of my favorite authors Tom Clancy (Apr 12, 1947 – Oct 1, 2013) as his early cold-war novels were a staple of my fictional reading. His military novels and well developed characters like Jack Ryan held my interest for many years after losing John D. MacDonald and his Travis McGee character. Clancy set the bar for all the military fiction novelists that followed, and was the envy of many aspiring male writers.

According to early news reporting, he died after a brief illness at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He was perhaps the best known military thriller novelist in my lifetime and wrote suck best best-selling books as "Patriot Games," "Clear and Present Danger," and "The Hunt for Red October." His next book, “Command Authority,” is planned for publication on December 3rd and a film "Jack Ryan: Shadow One" starring Chris Pine is set to open in theaters on December 25th. 

I’ve read the majority of his best-sellers and enjoyed several movies based on his writings. The listing of published work is impressive (fictiondb.com below) … as are the number of his books on my bookshelf! His exceptional talent will surely be missed as few authors capture in realistic detail the technology which is now part of our national defense and sophisticated military.

The Hunt for Red October

Red Storm Rising

Patriot Games

The Cardinal of the Kremlin

Clear and Present Danger

The Sum of All Fears

Without Remorse

Debt of Honor

Executive Orders

SSN 

Rainbow Six

The Bear and the Dragon

Red Rabbit 

The Teeth of the Tiger

So They Went and Elected A Jewish President

Dead or Alive 

Against All Enemies

Locked On

Tom Clancy’s Op-Center Novels 1-6 (e)

Tom Clancy’s Op-Center Novels 7-12 (e)

Tom Clancy’s Net Force Novels 1-5 (e)

Tom Clancy?s Net Force 6 ? 10 (e)

Tom Clancy?s Power Plays 1 ? 4 (e)

Tom Clancy?s Power Plays 5 ? 8 (e)

Threat Vector

Command Authority

Tom Clancy also was “creator” of several other Acton Adventure series writings … the list is substantial.

Category: Books, News, Obituary | No Comments »
Tags: Books, clancy, obit

Posted By RichC on October 2, 2013

In my pile of books, I’m reading one co-authored by Robert Wiedemer called “Aftershock Investor” and he is anticipating, after he accurately pinpointed the housing bubble, that we are nearing two additional bubbles. First, he highlights the dollar bubble as the Fed’s “quantitative easing” continues … followed by the government debt bubble as at the current pace finding lenders will soon become impossible. Seeing that we’re figuratively printing dollars as fast as the presses can run, it is puzzling to me that more economists aren’t concerned.

We’ve only printed about $800 billion in the last 100 years.  We’re going to print more than that next year.  So, literally 100 years of printing next year.”   LINK

While Rome burns this week, the debt continues to climb with no end to government spending in sight. No matter how you slice it, one of these days servicing our national debt is going to take all the tax revenues raised in this country just to pay the interest – although the bubble will surely pop before we get to that point.  Who in their right mind will continue to buy our bonds?

The next question that crosses my mind, noting that nearly half our citizens relies on government subsistence is,  “are we preparing for this?”

Obviously those in charge in Washington DC aren’t making any headway, be it in raising revenue, growing our way out of the debt or cutting  overhead in order to not add any more to the deficit each year. In fact, we are actually adding more and now with underfunded Obamacare health care program rolling out, one can only imagine how much that will eventually add? It is difficult for me to see how we are planning to get a handle on our spending addiction without a very rude wake up call.

As age inches up on me, I’m giving more thought to how I and my generation is preparing for the day we won’t be working?  It is coming … maybe not at the magic 65 years old, but eventually health is going to take a toll even if we want to keep working. It is concerning to see the retirement savings numbers compared to where they should be for most Americans … but even if we are saving and are able to depend on social security (questionable) … will the dollar or investment be able to keep up its end of our planning?

For those who do save for their retirement, the statistics aren’t that promising. The conservative pension fund managers use to count on the 7% per year returns for pensioners. For a decade now those funds are far short of what they need to grow and private IRAs and 401-Ks far less stable.

With savings falling short for older Americans, the tendency is to keep whatever they are accumulating in vehicles which have a much higher risk … stocks, equity mutual funds, etc. Older boomers and seniors that I know are hoping to earn enough from growth to offset their savings when they traditionally would have or should have moved to fixed income assets for capital preservation. It is very risky IF Mr. Wiedemer’s prediction comes true … and may be just as risky for even those with a longer period to recover. At the minimum, I fear a market correction is coming even if the upcoming debt ceiling drama is averted … and that’s being optimistic!

Category: Financial, Politics | 1 Comment »
Tags: aftershock, ceiling, debt, investing, wiedermer

Posted By RichC on October 1, 2013

Once again our dysfunctional federal government reared its ugly head and made many of us wonder why we continue to send money to Washington DC?  The taxpayer continues to be squeezed by our bloated bureaucrats who can’t seem live on the nearly trillion dollars we send them each year — it’s ridiculous!  

Category: Politics | No Comments »
Tags: government, healthcare, obamacare, Washington DC

Posted By RichC on September 30, 2013

Once upon a time, a “little” boy named Taylor lived with us … but that was a long time ago.
That little boy has grown into a young man and as of Monday is working for Williams County in Williston, ND. Before heading out the door for work, he sent me a “selfie” as he prepared to make his loooong “minute and a half” commute to the office — yes, he is that close.

Looking good Taylor! Mom and I are very proud of you.

Category: Personal, Photos | 1 Comment »
Tags: nd, planning, taylor, williston

Posted By RichC on September 30, 2013

Bummer … I missed bidding on this old truck [kidding] … and it sold for ONLY a paltry $142,000.

Collectors came from all over the WORLD to bid on several of the vehicles at the VanDerBrink auction of the closed Lambrecht Chevrolet dealership inventory (they closed in 1996). According to the owner Ray Lambrecht, it was his policy not to sell trade-ins or the previous year models when new cars came out. Most of the inventory was kept in a field in Pierce, Nebraska, but a few were kept caked with original dust in a closed indoor showroom.

Here are the four vehicles that fetched the highest prices Saturday:

• 1958 Chevrolet Cameo pickup truck with 1.3 miles: $140,000
• 1963 Chevrolet Impala with 11 miles: $97,500
• 1978 Corvette Indy pace car with 4 miles: $80,000
• 1958 Chevrolet Apache 31 Series Pickup (5 miles): $80,000

Almost all of those vehicles come with their original paperwork and a new Nebraska title and bill of sale. The Cameo pickup’s transmission is a "three on the tree" …

NPR story

Category: Automotive, News | No Comments »
Tags: auction

Posted By RichC on September 29, 2013

Category: Apple, Blogs, Software | No Comments »
Tags: app, apple, blogging, livewriter, pixelpumper

Posted By RichC on September 28, 2013

This past week I flew up to Williston, North Dakota to help my son Taylor move into his new apartment. My expectation were low and so the brand new apartment with easy access to everything made for a very positive first impression. Taylor drove his late grandfather’s “loaner vehicle,” a Chevy Trailblazer, from Cincinnati to North Dakota with the U-Haul trailer a few days prior to the arrival of his “slave labor” (aka, me). He also enjoyed a couple days in Minneapolis with a friend from high school and his cousin Justin and family. The drive was long and he (we) really appreciated their hospitality as a way to break up his trip.

Taylor and I unloaded in no time and headed out to eat and off to the Walmart to pick up a few forgotten items; there are a few more forgotten items being shipped up in a care package from mom as off today. We spend the next day making a few phone calls, setting up his Fedex box and exploring a bit of the area. We also drove 20 miles on both newly paved roads and questionable gravel roads  to Lake Sakakawea and Lewis and Clark State Park. The weather couldn’t have been nicer for a bit of hiking around the lake and exploring the shoreline; we even collected some sands and a couple rock for Brenda (she collects samples when possible from everywhere we go). The lake is big, the third largest manmade lake in the U.S. and is formed by the earth-filled Garrison Dam on the Missouri River (map). It’s a nice recreation area … although a bit desolate.

By the time it was time to go, we had pretty much covered all there is to see in Williston. I got the chance to meet a few of the people he will be working with in the Williams County Planning and Zoning department, but unfortunately not his boss (he was away at a meeting down-state). Everybody I talked with was very nice and besides the remote location, I think Taylor will learn a lot and enjoy his first “real job.”

Leaving was actually more challenging for me that I thought since Taylor has always been independent and regularly been away from home. In junior high he was a student ambassador and traveled for a month in Europe. He has taken mission trips to Romania and spent a summer at Norwich University in Vermont at a leadership camp. Throughout college he’s lived away from home and we’ve gone for months without seeing him … but for some reason, North Dakota felt different. It probably has something to do with the distance and the fact he is moving their alone. I’m sure it will seem challenging for him at first too, but knowing his social nature, it won’t be long before he makes a few new friends.

Here are a few photos downloaded from my phone.

Category: Archive, Personal, Photos | 2 Comments »
Tags: career, north dakota, taylor, williston

Posted By RichC on September 27, 2013

If there was more time in the day I would have updated a bit more about my trip to North Dakota and moving Taylor into his new apartment … but that will have to be for another day. Currently I’m contemplating a move to Digital Ocean for at least one of the websites I manage and might give it a try first with my blog (we’ll see?) I hate making moves while everything is running smoothly, but the ease of management and cost of the service is pretty attractive. Any users currently care to chime in?

EDIT: Set up my first Droplet and of course there is a referral program … so if you are interested, click here then let me know. Thanks.

Category: Cloud, Computer, Technology | 1 Comment »
Tags: cloud, digital ocean, techfriday, webhosting

Posted By RichC on September 25, 2013

A shocker to be sure — I had given up on America’s Cup Team Oracle and declare New Zealand the sure winner a week ago. I was convince that after the first few races that the U.S. team was over matched and in an inferior boat; they just couldn’t keep up tack for tack. Oracle’s 72-foot catamaran had a serious problem when sailing upwind and New Zealand demonstrated a clear advantage by at least a knot and a half.

But, they didn’t give up and continued to make changes to their boat deep into the competition … and just as in business … Larry Ellison’s team, and deep pockets, found a way to make up the deficit. “It just doesn’t make sense they’re faster than us upwind, we finally broke the code.” Ellison commented. “You know what 8-to-1 is? 8-1 is motivated.”

Congratulations to Team Oracle for defending the Cup in an impressive comeback.

Category: News, Sailing, Sports | 1 Comment »
Tags: cup, new zealand, oracle, san Francisco

Posted By RichC on September 24, 2013

While dropping voice calls on Sprint heading thru Dayton, I was surprised by the 4G LTE indication. It looks like we are one step closer to switching on Sprint LTE service in Ohio.

Category: Misc | 2 Comments »
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