The wipeout of saving and our economy
Posted By RichC on October 4, 2011
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Rowing & small boat survivalist nears finish line
Posted By RichC on October 4, 2011
Roz Savage is 1 mile from qualifying as crossing the Indian Ocean. Impressive feat considering this makes the Atlantic, the Pacific and now Indian Oceans. (more in the mornings news I’m sure)
Wedding congratulations to Emily and Benjamin Skinner
Posted By RichC on October 3, 2011
Ben, Emily, Chris and Jerry Skinner – October 2, 2011 (click for larger)
We enjoyed my nephew Ben and Emily’s cool (45 degrees) but sunny Sunday morning wedding at the Darby House near Columbus, Ohio this past weekend. They were the "picture-perfect” couple and exchanged personal vows on the terrace overlooking the beautiful setting. My brother-in-law Jerry (Ben’s dad) officiated the wedding as friends and family huddled gathered for the nuptials and following afternoon reception. We all had a wonderful time … thank you to the Eyermans and Skinners, and congratulations to Ben and Emily.
A few more photos from my camera below …
Google embedded not supported … go to LINK
Continuing to enjoy the slow rebuilt of the MBG
Posted By RichC on October 2, 2011
Friday night and Saturday morning gave me a few more hours to disassemble the MBG engine once again, although this time I also removed the head. As noted previously, the #2 intake valve was sticking in an open position taking compression to zero. Under further inspection, I can see that it doesn’t seat correctly … who knows if it has anything to do with it being designed for leaded gasoline and running most of the miles on unleaded fuel? I suspect that may have something to do with it.
I called a friend, Jack Cook who owns a small machine shop, in hopes that he would be able to machine the head and seat the valves next week … thankfully he met me over at the shop and suggested we install a couple hardened valve seats in the exhaust ports too. Sounds like a plan.
While I’m at it, I’m going to have him re-tap a couple emission ports so I can install proper plugs rather than the pinched off lines (eliminated them when I installed the new Weber downdraft in place of the Zenith carburetor).
One of my debates now is whether to pull the pistons and install new rings? I’m doing a leak test with some diesel fuel to see just how long before the fuel drains into the oil pan … it held for about an hour or so, but eventually all but number one cylinder “leaked” all of the fuel. Hmm …I do wish this car had the potential for value since I’m putting a few too many hours into it (mostly pleasure), not to mention dollars.
Is Warren Buffett’s tax plan being presented correctly?
Posted By RichC on October 1, 2011
I saw a CNBC interview with Warren Buffett the other day and didn’t realized just how twisted the “tax the rich” ideas had become. I’m not saying that I agree with either Warren Buffett or President Obama’s new tax proposals, 
BUT I was surprised to have them being reported as nearly one in the same by most of the media … as well as those political partisans seeing this as benefitting them (both far left and right).
I’m including a couple questions asked of Mr. Buffett (below), one answer, that in my view, shows a significant difference between the Buffett Plan and the Obama’s proposal. Buffett didn’t answer the support or not question directly, but drew pretty significant distinctions between taxing the über-rich, who earn the majority of their income from capital gains, and the working-rich who earn their multi-millions via earned income (IRS definition). With this distinction made, it doesn’t sound as if he is endorsing higher taxes on the majority of small business or for that matter the majority of high income Americans. After explaining his ideas, he then also stated that President Obama’s plan to raise taxes on households with incomes over $250,000 is “another program.”
CNBC: Is the program that the White House has presented a million dollars and over your program? "
Buffett: "Well, the precise program which will — I don’t know what their program will be. My program would be on the very high incomes that are taxed very low. Not just high incomes. Somebody making $50 million a year playing baseball, his taxes won’t change. Make $50 million a year appearing on television, his income won’t change. But, if they make a lot of money and they pay a very low tax rate, like me, it would be changed by a minimum tax that would only bring them up to what the other people pay."
CNBC: "Does that mean you disagree with the president’s new jobs proposal which would be paid for by raising taxes on households with incomes of over $250,000?"
Buffett: "That’s another program that I won’t be discussing. My program is to have a tax on ultra-rich people who are paying very low tax rates. Not just all the rich people. It would probably apply to 50,000 people in a population of 300 million."
Does the average voter detect this difference … or is the Obama administration (and media folks who support them) deceptively misleading the public that their tax proposals are those of the Oracle of Omaha?
An update and mini review on our Roku 2XD
Posted By RichC on October 1, 2011
So far I have been satisfied with our relatively low cost purchase of a Roku 2XD as a way to stream Internet content to our plasma TV. The Roku is must quicker to navigate than our TivoHD and offers a simple interface and one 
HDMI wire set up. Amazon online movie rentals worked great and Netflix content streamed effortlessly … again, better than our Tivo. The unit is WiFi, it is HD, low power and is so small and lightweight that the bend in our kinked HDMI cable prevents it from sitting straight. My biggest regret is that our Panasonic Plasma has only one HDMI input and I now much switch cables every time I use it. Hmm, why didn’t they build in a few more HDMI inputs?
- Pros: High quality picture, Built in Wi-Fi, Compact
- Cons: Want more video choices, yet another single purpose remote
- Best Uses: HQ Internet TV HD "Networks" … in our case, GBTV.com
I’m looking forward to trying it out on the boat … while within range of our marina’s Internet service of course. Although IF I had a 4G connection wouldn’t mind trying it tethered to the smartphone while being “untethered” to shore-side power?
Aww, shucks … another terrorist leader dead
Posted By RichC on September 30, 2011
As someone who has never been comfortable with President Obama’s policies or what he says publicly (particularly his “apologies for America” overseas) or in regards to terrorism (does the Obama administration even use that word?) — I will acknowledge that there has been continued aggressive actions to the exterminate top Al-Qaeda leaders (and pretty successful I might add … thanks to our military, CIA drones and U.S. special forces). I thought Glenn Beck’s headline was pretty good and used it as the subject line while archiving the removal of Anwar al-Awlaki … “Aww, shucks, another terrorist leader is dead.”
American born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed by American forces. The death is being universally applauded as everyone agrees this dirtbag was a terrorist – ok, almost everyone is applauding it. Ron Paul immediately came out and expressed concern that an American citizen was assassinated without trial. Does he have a point? Or did al Awlaki seal his own fate?
Read more at Glenn Beck.com.
One of the most peaceful rest stops, if I had time
Posted By RichC on September 29, 2011
Although this might just be my opinion, but the Bemus Point, New York rest area which overlooks Lake Chautauqua is one of the nicest stops I rarely miss. I know I’ve posted a few photos before, but today I though I’d give our (Brenda’s) new Kodak Playsport Zx5 pocket camcorder a test. The video is out of the windshield while exiting Interstate 86 east after crossing the lake which opens into a vista. Besides being beautiful, the large park-like setting and clean rest rooms are some of the best around … certainly better than the rest areas of old. (yes, I remember the smelly pits that were part of Ohio’s highways and byways in the 1960s and 70s)
Kindle Fire and new eInk readers from Amazon
Posted By RichC on September 28, 2011
Stopped to check on the big NYC coverage from Amazon for their new eInk Kindle Touch reader device and highly anticipated Kindle Fire 7″ tablet device. A couple surprises are the “Silk” browser and pricing at $199. For those looking for a competitor to Apple’s iPad … look elsewhere. The new Kindles are more of a B&N Nook killer than a full featured tablet device.
Here are a few specs from Amazon:
Display 7″ multi-touch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors.
Size (in inches) 7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″ (190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm).
Weight 14.6 ounces (413 grams).
System Requirements None, because it’s wireless and doesn’t require a computer.
On-device Storage 8GB internal. That’s enough for 80 apps, plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.
Cloud Storage Free cloud storage for all Amazon content
Battery Life Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as web browsing and downloading content.
Charge Time Fully charges in approximately 4 hours via included U.S. power adapter. Also supports charging from your computer via USB.
Wi-Fi Connectivity Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.1X standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.
USB Port USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
Audio 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers.
Content Formats Supported Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.
Documentation Quick Start Guide(included in box); Kindle User’s Guide (pre-installed on device)
Warranty and Service 1-year limited warranty and service included. Optional 2-year Extended Warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately. Use of Kindle is subject to the Kindle License Agreement and Terms of Use.
Included in the Box Kindle Fire tablet, U.S. power adapter (supports 100-240V), and Quick Start Guide.
via Kindle Fire – Full Color Kindle with 7″ Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi.
Good news and bad news for the MGB idle problem
Posted By RichC on September 28, 2011
So much for the carburetor tuning and electrical issues that have frustrated me lately (posted yesterday) … it wasn’t the problem. Can you tell what the problem is from this photo?
I’ve been struggling to figure out why the 1975 MGB would not run smoothly at idle … now I know … the problem is the #2 cylinder’s intake valve. The sticky valve didn’t show up immediately after I took the engine apart and installed a new cam … or when I adjusted the rockers and tweaked them for a second time. I just so happened that the valve spring returned the valve back to a resting closed position each time I worked or looked at it. The initial compression test showed all cylinders with compression and #3 and #4 slightly higher at about 110 psi. BUT after rechecking tonight, I noticed something odd … zero compression in the number 2 cylinder? Hmm … a stuck valve?
After popping the valve cover off I didn’t immediately see the problem; the spring returned the valve to it’s closed position again. It wasn’t until I cranked the engine a couple revolutions that the intake valve on #2 opened and eased S-L-O-W-L-Y closed again. After a quick crank again, it stuck open for a few more seconds, enough for me to snap the above photo. AHHH … the culprit!
Unfortunately the MG will be sitting for a week or so before I pull the head. The next few days are travel oriented and then we have my nephews wedding this weekend. (Congratulations Ben and Emily … a happy time)
To be continued.
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.