My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on December 16, 2025

It is the time of year that I do my best to reach out to my existing Consolidated Printing and Publishing Co. customers that I’m still serving. The gradual slowing down of my nearly 40 year old business continues and I’m still doing my best to keep loyal and long time customers satisfied. Is maintaining a handful of printing orders, domain services and web servers worthwhile? Probably not … but I’m not ready to stop just yet. 

That said, keeping things going isn’t really all that taxing as usually I spend most of the day with a phone at ready and am usually in my home office (focused on trading and investments). The old days of sales calls and travel are nearly non-existent these days and are a far cry from weekly trips to NE Ohio … or long nights in the building finishing up printing jobs to hit a deadline.

I’d like to believe that the daily 8:30 to 4:30 schedule keeps me mental stimulated which will hopefully keep my mind sharp. This past year hasn’t been great for my physical health though and perhaps I can make exercise the highlight in my New Year’s resolution once my foot returns to normal? For now, and as long as Brenda is happy with my schedule, I’ll continue this semi-retirement lifestyle for another year (or at least until I can hire a Tilly Norwood to take over for me). 😉 

Who is Tilly Norwood?
Norwood is a fully digital, AI-generated character designed to appear as a realistic human actress. Her creator, Eline Van der Velden, developed her as part of a creative experiment to explore new storytelling possibilities using artificial intelligence. The team behind her produced approximately 2,000 variations to achieve a “girl next door” aesthetic, prioritizing authenticity over idealized beauty to foster emotional connection. She has appeared in a short comedy sketch titled “AI Commissioner” and maintains an active social media presence, showcasing her “reel” and promotional content.

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Category: AI, Personal, Retirement | No Comments »
Tags: artificial intelligence, cpp, semi-retirement, tilly norwood

Posted By RichC on December 15, 2025

The 34th Annual Reindog Parade was held in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Mt.Adams (Cincinnati) and guess who was there? Gigi, Taylor and Megan (well done)!

Canines and fellow owners participated in a unique procession that puts spectators of all ages in the holiday spirit. They walked through the historical streets of Mt. Adams with this year’s Grand Marshall, television sportscaster Thom Brennaman. There were festive costumes and prizes in the following categories:

 • Small Dogs (under 25 lbs)
 • Large Dogs (26 lbs and over)
 • Dog/Owner Look-A-Like
 • Group (Three or more dogs)

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Category: AI, Archive, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: cincinnati, dogs, gigi, megan, mt adams, parade, reindog, taylor

Posted By RichC on December 15, 2025

Every once in a while I come across some music that catches my ear (and eyes). It is not necessarily that it is my taste in music, but a recognition that talented musicians come from unlikely places. I haven’t done any research on the Finnish country rock band Steve’n’Seagulls, but thought I’d include their version of “Thunderstruck” (by AC/DC) for this Music Monday. 

Category: Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: ac/dc, mp4, music monday, musicmonday, steve'n'seagulls, thunderstruck

Posted By RichC on December 14, 2025

Have you ever tried to read (or listen to) the Bible in one year? 

Last year, Brenda and I started the process of “listening to” the Bible being spoken to us every night. We have been surprisingly consistent and good about it and are nearly finished … although I haven’t counted down the days yet so it is still a little questionable if we’ll make it by the end of 2025. 😉 

Listening has bee far easier than actually reading, but if doing it again, I’ll  probably try to read along as it is being read. The most difficult parts were the genealogy segments in the Old Testament … but to be fair, as a “Good News” Christian, I’m much more familiar and interested in the New Testament.

If you’re interested in doing the same, check out the Dwell app as it has been worth the subscription to us AND as I’ve mentioned to Brenda, I’d like to re-listen to  the books after The Gospels again … or for that matter, the New Testament in its entirety again. 

Category: Audio, Faith, Human Interest | No Comments »
Tags: app, audio, bible, christianity, dwell, Faith, subscription, wikipedia

Posted By RichC on December 13, 2025

AFTER a photo from my daughter, who was very proud of her husband, and his “Teaching Excellence” award a few days ago (we are very proud of you  too, Drew)  … I’m going to comment on happiness in America (see previous personal post).

First, and for the record, my family makes me happy, very happy. Perhaps those not having a family or placing family as a higher priority … and it is often “self” these days … is why so many Americans are decidedly unhappy. We could all probably list the many reasons, but something tells me that boomer and later parents did a lousy job of preparing our children for the brutality of life. We sheltered  them and put them at the center … then held them up as uber important; it may have given them a higher sense of importance than they needed.

This chart shows the results of the General Social Survey, from the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center. It’s one of the oldest studies of Americans’ views on different social, political and cultural issues.

When asked “How happy are you?” the majority feel pretty happy. That’s been true since the survey started asking this question in 1972.

But look at the yellow line, showing how many Americans are not happy. It reached a new high in 2022 and is stuck there. Similarly, the percentage who are “very happy” has fallen to a new low and is trending further down.

If these trends continue, the percentage who say they’re unhappy will climb above those who are very happy for the first time in history. 

If it is financial burden and struggles, I’m not sure if those that were “given” so much as kids really know how to do with less. Are they as dedicated and hard working as the generations before them? Do they know how to show perseverance even if there isn’t a guarantee that everything will be “sunshine and roses” … then that again might also be on us?

The boomer and later generation may have sheltered them a bit too much? How many parents do you know that sacrificed for their kids and did less for themselves? Quite a few and that has always been the case. Each generation wants better for their kids, but ours could be doing the next a disservice … especially if we have coddled them (see book post)?  I see too many young people expecting life to be easy – heaven forbid it requires hard work, getting their hands dirty or giving up luxuries. Yikes … I’m sounding like my parents! 😉 

Category: Books, Human Interest, Idioms | No Comments »
Tags: birthday, cef insider, codding, drew, graph, happiness, idioms, lecture, part two

Posted By RichC on December 13, 2025

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Category: Archive, Financial, Human Interest, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, birthday, drew, ellerie, happiness, idiom, katelyn, parenting, sunshine and roses

Posted By RichC on December 12, 2025

What is Vibe-coding … and an interesting CNBC segment on Google partnering with Replit.

Vibe-coding is an informal term for a newer style of software development in which the intent, flow, and natural language “vibe” of what a developer wants matters more than writing detailed, line-by-line code.

Leading companies and platforms

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Category: AI, Coding, Computer, Technology, Video-TV | No Comments »
Tags: anthropic, cnbc, coding, cursor, github, google, microsoft, openai, replit, tech friday, techfriday, vibe-coding

Posted By RichC on December 11, 2025

Have you ever wondered about those oddities on clothes and why they continue to be added even though “most” people don’t use them?

I suspect most people have heard that the little pocket on jeans was put their by Levi Strauss for the pocket watch, but it is still interesting.

Coins? Matches? Lipstick? Flash drives? Gold nuggets? The tiny pocket on jeans likely has been used for all of these, even the last (more on that in minute). But, as designed by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis in 1873 as a feature of the original “waist overalls,” the small pocket was intended to hold a watch.

LINK

Another oddity that I’ve never used, but see on men’s collared shirts is that little loop on the back called a “Locker Loop” – women’s clothes, maybe???  Obviously it was intended for hanging a dress shirt in a locker so as not to get it wrinkled and it makes perfect sense – perhaps I should be using it?

Random Thought: I wonder if the Pocket Watch could make a comeback as an artificial intelligence (AI) powered “Smart Pocket Watch” and replace the smartphone and smartwatch … and maybe even the virtual assistant devices (Google Home, Siri, Alexa, etc)?

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Category: Cellphone, Tidbits | No Comments »
Tags: britannica.com, clothes, encycopedia, interesting, iphone, jeans, levi strauss, locker loop, pocket watch, random, samsung, shirts, sph-i500, wikipedia

Posted By RichC on December 10, 2025

A couple of automotive “oldies” crossed my interests this week. One of them was of course on my automotive social media feed, but another pulled from an old magazine in my workshop. 

First, the Earl Scheib sign and left me remembering the annoying voice and advertising from the 1970s and 80s: “Hi, I’m Earl Scheib, I’ll paint any car for just $99.95 …”

Earl Scheib | 1986

I”m thankful not to hear the Earl Scheib commercial today, but we all know there are still plenty of annoying voices pitching products these days too. (The video of the same commercial below if you can stand it … followed by the Chevrolet Vega magazine advertisement from the 1970s)

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Category: Audio, Automotive, Human Interest, Marketing, Social Media, Video | No Comments »
Tags: advertising, cars, Chevrolet, earl scheib, magazine, Marketing, painting, vega, youtube

Posted By RichC on December 9, 2025

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Category: Holiday, Memories, Personal, Photos, Volkswagen | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, christmas tree, christmas tree farm, drew, ellerie, family, katelyn, memories, oostra