My Desultory Blog

Posted By RichC on April 30, 2008

The Federal reserve is expected to make a 1/4 point move lower today … many believe this will be the last and that this indication will be mentions. Anything but an expected move will certainly make markets swing wildly so it could be time to hold on. Inflation is a growing problem as we try to survive the sub-prime banking mess and huge moves in oil prices. Everybody feels energy costs and all the affected areas by those increase costs … particularly food items. Its eventually going to impact the bottom line for most families and two of the three leading candidates (McCain and Clinton) for President are supporting a summer fuel tax holiday in hopes to relieve some pain. Its a small help, but might help buy the poorest American drivers the most.

Fed announcement: 1/4 point in the fund rate and 1/4 in the discount rate. Core inflation has improved, but energy and food higher. Uncertainly remains high. Moderate growth expected and Fed will act as needed.

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Posted By RichC on April 30, 2008

What’s better than a home library of original EAA (Experimental Aviation Association) newsletters and magazines for checking out past articles and tidbits for homebuilders? All the past issues available online with a browse and search feature. Wow!

Now that’s a great way to put technology to use and a really nice bonus for EAA members (members only) who enjoy knowing a bit more history of their organization and find past articles and photos of interest. Believe it or not, the folks in Oshkosh have gone through the trouble to create a digital archive for all the issues of the original Experimenter Newsletter and Sport Aviation Magazine and made them available to members at members.eaa.org.
That’s 59,000 pages from 1953 to 2006 for those counting! Interestingly the original newsletter was typed at the home of Paul Poberezny and brings back memories (not mine mind you) of the homebuilt and experimental aircraft organizations humble beginnings in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Check out the For Sale ad … $75! Its heartwarming to know where we are now, and where it all began back in those early days. Currently the archives are in the “beta testing” phase, so if you are a member give it a try. Browse, search, print and offer comments to info@eaa.org with “SA Online” in the subject field if you spot any problems. Well done EAA!

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Posted By RichC on April 29, 2008

Earthrace, the biodiesel powered circumnavigating spacecraft speedboat is off and running ahead of world record time as they beginning their second attempt around the world. The unique boat left Spain and is crossing the Atlantic Ocean traveling on “beautiful and flat” seas at 24 knots. This is pretty good time for a fully fueled boat running at 75% power. According to Captain Bethune, the extra speed this time is due to polishing the props and a Teflon based antifouling bottom paint offering a super smooth surface. (est. and extra 2 knots) Here’s wishing them well for their second go of it. (mp3 radio broadcast from Pete Bethune — hard to hear)

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Posted By RichC on April 28, 2008

My back is sore and my muscles ach as this past weekend was spent working in the yard … well really in just part of the yard. I’ve been reworking the landscaping as the ‘new porch’ is slowly coming together — this past weekend was the small pond and opening up the pool. (too many rocks to move and place for my aging back)

Monday was the asphalt day as the rain held off and the guys were able to pave my rear driveway; not quite as straight as I wanted it, but it will work. It should be much nicer than constantly adding gravel and killing weeds, but suspect will crack as does most blacktop. Never the less … we’re on a deadline to get the project done: My son’s high school graduation.

Category: Archive, Misc, Personal, Photos | 4 Comments »
Tags: addition, back porch, blacktop, construction, driveway, family, home, house, improvements, landscape, pond, project

Posted By RichC on April 27, 2008

I’ve been focused on multiple home repair and improvement projects this spring and am always looking for a quick way to make a repair and keep the mess to a minimum. I generally use the “empty box” under the repair technique when cutting or drilling drywall, but Dean Johnson from PBS’s Hometime suggested a sheet of newspaper and tape.

Category: Tidbits, Video | No Comments »
Tags: drywall, handyman, hometime, mp4, tips

Posted By RichC on April 25, 2008

A shocking day for those who love the oceans and beaches along the U.S. coasts as the first fatal shark attack in 3 years happened in an area rarely seeing sharks. Dave Martin, a 66 year old tri-athlete training veterinarian from San Diego, was swimming with a group of 9 at 7:30 AM about 150 yards offshore (see Triathlon Club of San Diego) and was attacked by what experts conclude is probably a 12 – 17 foot Great White Shark. The attack was characteristic of this species coming up swiftly from below with violent impact, as is their pattern when hunting seals. In Mr. Martins case, the powerful bite injured both legs and forced him first up out of the water and then struggling before other swimmers could get to him. His fellow tri-athletes quickly brought him to shore where rescue workers administered first aid. Martin suffered severe damage to both legs and blood loss was significant. The shark did not return.

The attack occured in Solana Beach which is 14 miles northwest of San Diego California and rarely sees any sharks let alone a Great White of this size, although experts say that the female do swim to the southern California area to have babies. Great White Sharks are far more common in the area off San Francisco, but are known to travel significant distances. The beach along this area of California have been closed for 72 hours and an aerial search is underway. (although it is unlikely to come up with anything)
In the U.S. and the world, shark attacks are extremely rare. There were only 71 confirmed unprovoked cases worldwide and 63 in 2006, and only of these attacks was in 2007 was fatal — and that was in the South Pacific. The last fatality in California was in 2004 where a man skin diving was attacked by a Great White of the coast in Mendocino County. In the San Diego area the last fatal attack occur in 1994, and a 29 year veteran life guard along this stretch of beach says he has never even seen a Great White. Still, we humans have an instinctive fear of sharks, perhaps triggered by their image and their legend.

Fatal Shark Attacks In U.S.
Jamie Marie Daigle, 14, killed June 25, 2005,
by a bull shark while swimming off a beach in Destin, Fla.
Randy Fry, 50, killed Aug. 15, 2004,
by a great white shark while diving off the coast of Mendocino, Calif.
Willis McInnis, 57, killed April 7, 2004,
by a tiger shark while surfing off the coast in Maui, Hawaii.
Deborah Franzman, 50, killed Aug. 19, 2003,
by a great white shark while swimming off Avila Beach, Calif.
Eric Reichardt, 42, drowned Sept. 16, 2001,
in a suspected shark attack off Pompano Beach, Fla.
Sergei Zaloukaev, 28, killed Sept. 3, 2001,
off the coast of Avon, N.C.
David Peltier, 10, died after a Sept. 1, 2001,
attack while surfing at Sandbridge Beach, Va.
Thadeus Kubinski, 69, killed Aug. 30, 2000,
by a bull shark while swimming in Boca Ciega Bay in Florida.
James Tellasmon, 9, killed Nov. 21, 1998,
by a tiger shark while swimming off of Vero Beach, Fla.
William Covert, 25, killed Sept. 13, 1995,
while diving off Alligator Reef in the Florida Keys.
James Robinson, 42, killed Dec. 9, 1994,
in a great white shark attack while diving off San Miguel Island, Calif.
Michelle von Emster, 25, killed April 16, 1994,
by a great white shark while swimming off Point Loma near San Diego, Calif.

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Posted By RichC on April 25, 2008

Who is to blame … Costco, Sam’sClub/Walmart, the media or just crazy Americans thinking they’ll be left ‘rice-less.’ (as if rice is a daily necessity for most American?)

While their may be a worldwide concern that the primary source of nutrition for many is in short supply, that is not true in the United States. What is true is that the media hype following a couple wholesale store restrictions in California due to limited stock “at a couple location” panic restaurants and individuals to make a run on the stores. Once the run began, the shelves were emptied due to the increased demand, much from ‘rice buyers’ that rarely purchased rice in the past.

The stocking up … or hoarding … has put a temporary shortage in place causing store to limit the number of bags of rice per purchase (like a two case limit on soft drinks as a dollar cost leader). Reporters ran with the ‘rationing’ stories which is creating even more demand for rice which has now turned into a national story.

Americans can be nutty! (Rice News Stories)

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Posted By RichC on April 24, 2008

First … Volkswagen Group of America announced that they would be shortening their bumper to bumper warranty to 3 years or 36,000 miles for all 2009 models.
🙁
Second … they will be offering free maintenance for VW models for three years or 36,000 miles.
🙂
Third … the much ballyhooed and timely Golf TDI Hybrid Concept which claimed super low CO2 emissions and nearly 70 mpg will not be going into production. (link)
🙁

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Posted By RichC on April 23, 2008

Groan … with a bunch more miles to drive yet this week, gasoline made the usual Tuesday move up again. This time it went about 25 cents at most retail stations in Ohio — on average about $3.59/gallon for unleaded regular gasoline after the move. No doubt price increases have something to do with U.S. and worldwide demand, but I’m sure Tuesday afternoon’s all time high close of $119.90 a barrel isn’t helping.

In other news dominating the headlines, Hillary Clinton wins the viciously fought Pennsylvania primary beating Democratic front runner Barrack Obama in an historic 10% margin of victory. (lots of credit goes to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell for helping Senator Clinton – photo above) I’m not sure this will change the eventual outcome, but it does make the race interesting to watch and makes May’s primaries far more interesting … especially Indiana and North Carolina.

Category: Misc, Politics | 4 Comments »
Tags: barrack obama, democrats, ed rendell, hillary clinton

Posted By RichC on April 22, 2008

Its interesting to see what Google comes up with for their logo designs … today’s is for Earth Day, but it looks more like an ad for the History Channel’s “Life after People” documentary.

How the First Earth Day Came About
By Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day

What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked.

Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political “limelight” once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.

I continued to speak on environmental issues to a variety of audiences in some twenty-five states. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation’s political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not.

After President Kennedy’s tour, I still hoped for some idea that would thrust the environment into the political mainstream. Six years would pass before the idea that became Earth Day occurred to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969. At the time, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, called “teach-ins,” had spread to college campuses all across the nation. Suddenly, the idea occurred to me – why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment?

I was satisfied that if we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force this issue onto the political agenda. It was a big gamble, but worth a try.

At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air – and they did so with spectacular exuberance. For the next four months, two members of my Senate staff, Linda Billings and John Heritage, managed Earth Day affairs out of my Senate office.

Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events:

“Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation’s campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam…a national day of observance of environmental problems…is being planned for next spring…when a nationwide environmental ‘teach-in’…coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned….”

It was obvious that we were headed for a spectacular success on Earth Day. It was also obvious that grassroots activities had ballooned beyond the capacity of my U.S. Senate office staff to keep up with the telephone calls, paper work, inquiries, etc. In mid-January, three months before Earth Day, John Gardner, Founder of Common Cause, provided temporary space for a Washington, D.C. headquarters. I staffed the office with college students and selected Denis Hayes as coordinator of activities.

Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.

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