Archiving leftover family photos to close out October 2023
Posted By RichC on October 31, 2023
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Music Monday: “One Tin Soldier” – learning something new
Posted By RichC on October 30, 2023
For most of my life, hearing the 1971 counterculture era song “One Tin Soldier” automatically triggered the band Coven in my musical memory … until last week. It was only then that I realized that the song was recorded (not surprisingly) a couple years earlier by the Canadian folk group The Original Caste (below).
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Archive: Memories from our October 2023 beachy vacation
Posted By RichC on October 29, 2023
Before the photos from our October 2023 vacation to Florida are buried too deep on my phone, I’ll use this weekend post as is an excuse to archive them. Brenda and I had great weather for most of our vacation and enjoy many days walking on Delray Beach. She has recovered from hip surgery impressively and can now out-walk me on the beach and could not be happier with how well the rehab has given mobility back in less than a year.
October has made investors nervous for nearly 100 years
Posted By RichC on October 28, 2023
What is there about October that upsets people and financial markets?
For nearly a century investors get nervous this time of year. Unfortunately watching the market as closely as I do, one would think I would have sold stocks at the first sign of trouble in October. Nope, I expected better from a few of my conservative holdings , but they are not immune ($CVX, $XOM and utility CEFs and ETFs).
Shares of Exxon, the largest U.S. oil producer, rose as much 2.1% in early trading Friday before sliding to decline as much as 2.28% after the company said its third-quarter net income at $9.1 billion, or $2.27 per share, was off 54% from the same quarter in 2022.
Chevron’s shares, meanwhile, plunged more than 6% Friday after the No. 2 U.S. producer said its net profit fell 42% from the same period a year ago to $6.5 billion, or $3.05 per share on an adjusted basis. The per-share results missed consensus expectations by 28 cents.
Tech Friday: What do you mean when using the buzz term AI?
Posted By RichC on October 27, 2023
“In other news” as the 6PM nightly news talking head would say, Rich broke his Fitbit Versa 2 watchband last night while raking the first drop of the leave this year. Bummer … but thankfully replacements on Amazon are just $7.99 or $9.99 for THREE (two of the three are the wrong colors for me, so a single black nylon band it will be).
The things we discuss when looking up at clouds 🎶
Posted By RichC on October 26, 2023
Most people enjoy a day or week at the beach, but few who are younger get the opportunity to spend much more time than that enjoying the sand and surf. Thankfully Brenda and I have figured out how to do it … even if it is not on a sailboat as I had planned.
While looking up at the clouds earlier this month, the conversation shifted to just how our seasons and “where” the sun is over our Northern Hemisphere during each season in a year. This “flat earth” map semi-illustrates it if studied carefully.
| Joni Mitchell – “Both Sides, Now” or “Clouds” |
Archive: A couple of Corn-Mazing granddaughters
Posted By RichC on October 25, 2023
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Archiving a weekend wedding photo of Taylor and his college buds and an impressively engineered antique candle snuffer
Posted By RichC on October 24, 2023
The title of this post is a little disjointed, but since I don’t have all that much to say about either topic, I’m putting them in one post.
First, Taylor stretched out a long weekend with Megan in Key Largo Florida with his fraternity buddies at a wedding … and second, I’m just impress with the ingenuity involved in making this antique brass automatic candle snuffer (below the break).
Music Monday: Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Posted By RichC on October 23, 2023
While laying on the beach and watching the clouds drift over last week, Brenda stuck a granola bar in my mouth and I laughed, commenting that I was like a seagull … a Jonathan Livingston Seagull. She rolled her eyes as I headed down memory lane remembering and played the Richard Bach story (fable) from my youth. Eventually I pulled up the Neil Diamond soundtrack on my phone … and so for today’s Music Monday, here’s a live performance from 1977 on YouTube.
Sunday Thoughts
Posted By RichC on October 22, 2023
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.