My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on June 14, 2024

After chatting with Brenda’s sisters and brother-in-laws about booking flights for a trip together, I mentioned that I was partial to Southwest Airlines. My brother-in-laws are both Delta fliers … and have a long history of booking business travel with the major airlines — I did feel as if I were ruffling feathers (text updates as mentioned previously). Now that they are retired, it seems they are more open to the value proposition (Chris and Jerry have booked on SWA with us). 😉 

This “searching for others” got me thinking about how to know the best day to book on Southwest.com. So started trying different search options from Google to DuckDuckGo and even Brave Search and added that what I’ve read in newspapers, magazines and newsletters (Kiplinger tidbit above). None gave me the results I was looking for and basically pointed to a few older articles on the subject …which just confirmed my “book flights on Tuesdays” thoughts. 

So I started using a couple AI assistants to see if they were up to date; the bigger named early out chatbots failed me … citing don’t have current information, etc. Then I recalled a WSJ article comparing AI competitors and gave Perplexity.AI a try. I was impressed.

what day is the best to book a flight on southwest airlines

Answer

The best days to book flights on Southwest Airlines are typically Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. On Tuesdays around 3 pm Eastern Time, Southwest releases its weekly “Click ‘N Save” fare sales and matches competitor sale prices. These sales usually run through Thursday night, so booking between Tuesday and Thursday can yield the cheapest fares.

Key Points

• Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays are generally the cheapest days to book Southwest flights.
• Southwest releases new fare sales on Tuesdays around 3 pm ET, matching competitor prices.
• These sales typically last until Thursday night, so book between Tuesday-Thursday for the best deals.
• During major holiday periods, these cheaper “sale” days may have limited availability.
• Set airfare alerts and check Southwest’s website frequently, as they sometimes extend sales at the last minute.
• While Tuesdays tend to offer the initial cheapest fares, monitoring prices mid-week and rebooking if rates drop further can maximize savings on Southwest flights. Being flexible with travel dates also helps secure the lowest fares.

Category: Advice, AI, Aviation, Technology, Tidbits, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: ai, airlines, artificial intelligence, assistant, booking, Computer, delta, kiplinger, search, southwest, tech friday, techfriday, tools

Posted By RichC on June 13, 2024

It is shocking to count the years since I gave Brenda her first Apple Watch for Christmas in 2015 — NINE … shocker! I would like to be able to say that it actually lasted that long, but not all that long after she started wearing it, the battery “bloated” in the charger and failed. It was replaced, but did leave a bad taste in my mouth for small devices without replaceable batteries. (Hm, can I make this a Throwback Thursday #TBT post?)

Fast forward to her using it everyday for more tech things than I ever expected (she tends not to be all that techy) … and has been complaining that the battery would no longer last a full day. So for our anniversary earlier this month, I decided it was time for an upgrade with the primary goal to be something she could wear in the water … or at least get wet. She loves the new Apple Watch SE v2 which is rare when I give her a technology based gift like a notebook computer, phone or watch. 😉 

Category: Apple, Archive, Gadget, TBT, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: anniversary, apple, battery, brenda, gift, upgrade, watch

Posted By RichC on June 12, 2024

Great from Eastwood‘s “Mark’s Garage” in using a 4-fluke end mill in a cordless drill to remove “weld through” primer’s and coatings when making plug welds. Also appreciated the budget minded 3/16″ drill bit advice from a follower:

“You don’t need to buy an end mill. Grind a drill bit flat on the end and you have the same thing. Learned that tip off of Garage Journal years ago.”

Category: Automotive, Tools, Video | No Comments »
Tags: drill bit, eastwood, endmill, garage, plug weld, welding, workshop, youtube

Posted By RichC on June 11, 2024

The map below might not be up-to-date map (2021), but it looks like most states have there share of stressful traffic. Personally speaking … after driving to and from SW Ohio  to NW Ohio for the better part of 20 years, I can attest that winter driving (snow and ice) and constant road construction on I-71 was far more stressful than passing through Columbus at rush-hour (morning traffic on my way north if running late and almost always returning home and hitting afternoon/evening). 

The map did get me thinking … I’m glad I’m not commuting in big cities and densely populated states everyday! Check out the Fleetlogging website for the full article. 

Category: Automotive, Human Interest, Memories, Travel, Weather | No Comments »
Tags: commute, commuting, driving, maps, stress, traffic

Posted By RichC on June 10, 2024

This content is restricted.

Category: Music | No Comments »
Tags: into the mystic, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, van morrison, youtube

Posted By RichC on June 9, 2024

Taylor and Megan for Birthday golfing at Beckett Ridge
(he worked there when he was in college)

The weather was cooler than normal for a June birthday get-together for a few of our 35 year old sons’ friends, their spouses and now young families. It wasn’t a formal party per se, but it was a chance to remember backyard pool parties of the past. They sure did enjoyed warming up in front of the fireplace after getting out of the warm pool — no rain, so glad that worked out. Happy Birthday …tomorrow … Taylor (6/10).

It is interesting for us as boomer-parents to notice the generational differences between when our children and their friends are getting married and start to have families (later) and our generation. Most of his friends are in their 30s and starting families … where we were in our 20s. Perhaps it was the same for previous generations who married out of high school and started families, when we were just finishing college and starting to work. 

In any case, Brenda and I have failed by not taking any photos (shame on us, but I’m leaving space at top hoping Taylor has one) … but we did enjoy being “papa and grandma” to the little ones; Brenda held babies and I enjoyed cute 3 year old girl on the playlet and playing kitchen with sticks. 

Category: Archive, Friends, Memories, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: ani-gif, birthday, fireplace, friends, per se, pool, taylor

Posted By RichC on June 8, 2024

As rural turns to even more suburban, the bolder some of our wildlife is getting.

Last week a slender fox appeared on our security Wyze Cam and instead of just passing by as usual, opted to lounge for a few moments ‘midday’ in the front yard. Very strange behavior for the coyotes and foxes that we usually see in our neighborhood. Perhaps it is a younger fox?

Category: Environment, Nature, Photography, Photos, Video | No Comments »
Tags: Cam, fox, gx8, liberty township, lumix, mp4, ohio, red fox, rural, security, suburban, wyze

Posted By RichC on June 7, 2024

I’ve been using Twitter, which is now X.com after Elon Musk purchase $TWTR and renamed it, since the early days of the 240 character social network. Shockingly, it has now been over 17 years since I joined in February of 2007 … and I decided it was finally time to eliminate the ads and gain the “verified” Blue Check and pay for the only social media service I use nowadays — it is also my go-to newsfeed and automotive group chat messaging hub.

Also .. since I enjoy maps and WW2 history, I thought this thread from @BrilliantMaps was a great way to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day on June 6th 2024.

(more…)

Category: History, Millitary, Social Media, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: anniversary, brilliantmaps.com, d-day, social media, subscription, tech friday, techfriday, twitter, ww2, x.com

Posted By RichC on June 6, 2024

My Grandpa Bluhm made this workbench and gave it to me for Christmas back in 1966. His influence early-on likely influenced my interest in tinkering and woodworking (car restoration and rebuilding was probably mostly influenced by DadC). 

This past weekend I cleaned it up a bit and added a homemade light strip with a roll of LEDs taped (as with the bookshelves) to my late father-in-law’s unused 4 foot aluminum level (DadH) that needed a storage solution (half joking). But the primary purpose was to create a work/play-station for my granddaughters in my workshop. While cleaning out the draws and tightening them up, I found a bunch of childhood memories, and to make this a ThrowBack Thursday #TBT post … here are two of the many treasures:

1. My first fish cleaning knife (who knows how many Yellow Perch heads this knife has severed?) 
2. Extra 1974 Capri steering wheel inserts – my true first car (click photo for larger)

Category: Archive, Automotive, Memories, Personal, Photos, TBT, Tools | No Comments »
Tags: bluhm, capri, family, fishing, granddaughters, grandpa, knife, license plates, workbench, workshop

Posted By RichC on June 5, 2024

While reading paper or digital versions of magazines, I’m prone to clipping tips that I might find useful. Here’s one on soaking “just the bristles” of a varnish or polyurethane paint brush in solvent without the tips of the brush getting gunked up on the bottom. I have several wood handled brushes that I tried to keep clean, or parked overnight before another coat of finish, and this “hole in the handle” tip much just work? 

Category: Tidbits, Tools, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: cleaning, magazines, paintbrush, tips, workshop