commentary | My Desultory Blog

Art: “There is a different Winslow Homer for every age”

RichC | July 6, 2022

Winslow Homer’s 1899 painting “The Gulf Stream” (“reworked in 1906’) is a much-celebrated work of art for a variety of reasons, but appeals to me due to the ocean scene and dismasted sailboat, as do his other Atlantic scene paintings. This one has seen renewed interest likely because of our current “turbulent times” … politically. […]

Category: Art, Human Interest, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: Art, commentary, crosscurrents, csmonitor, metropolitan, new york, painting, the gulf stream, winslow homer

Inflation Hot? Stop it with a recession or two. (Part 1)

RichC | February 11, 2022

It is pretty obvious to most consumers that even with years of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates low, printing money and Congress spending, inflation remained in check at under 2%. Unfortunately after the last round of easy money policies during the pandemic, business shutdowns and government giving away money, this is no longer true. […]

Category: Financial, History, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: barrons, commentary, economists, economy, federal reserve, History, inflation, part 1, recession

A softening in attitude towards socialism for America

RichC | March 16, 2021

Support for socialism has been on the rise in America as I have previously noted and according to trend we have seen and the acceptable rhetoric/terms politicians have been willing to adopt this past decade. Liberals, who now prefer the “progressive” label, have decidedly shifted from resisting the status quo, traditional “right and wrong” norms, […]

Category: Education, History, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: capitalism, commentary, conservatives, debate, democracy, democrats, Education, freedom, hillsdale, liberalism, opinion, Politics, progressives, Republicans, socialism

Opinion: Do we know who the 46th POTUS will be yet?

RichC | November 10, 2020

It has been a long week since the 2020 Presidential Election and I haven’t posted or commented on the vote or “media reported results” regarding several projections as to Joe Biden being our president-elect. For me, the tabulation of votes in key swing states is very close and legitimately contested based on several questionable issues […]

Category: News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: commentary, corruption, donald trump, election, election2020, fraud, joe biden, law, News, opinion, Politics, president, presidential, supreme court

Diesels are not Done

RichC | January 1, 2017

Much has been made of the death of diesel after the VW cheating scandal … but there is still room for debate and a need for diesel vehicles – innovation benefits diesel as well as EVs. Electricity has potential in passenger vehicles, but in its current state of innovation, it falls short to the Diesel […]

Category: Automotive, Biodiesel, Diesel | No Comments »
Tags: blog, cars, commentary, diesel, trucks, vehicles

Would legalizing drugs improve our illegals and border problem?

RichC | May 19, 2010

Yesterday’s repost concerning illegal immigration triggered a comment from a regular reader concerning his thoughts on drugs. His contention is that the narcotic trade significantly contributes to the more serious criminal activity on the US/Mexican border and throughout the country as it relates to the illegal alien population, and that if we would “legalize the […]

Category: Politics | No Comments »
Tags: alien, commentary, comments, illegal, immigration, krauthammer, opinion, Politics

Most Recent Posts

08/08/22: Music Monday: Nights Are Forever by Dan Seals and John Coley
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08/07/22: What’s this political football call the “Inflation Reduction Act?”
While discussing the “will it” or “won’t it” Inflation Reduction Act being pushed by Democratic leadership in Washington DC as a way to replace the failed 2021 Build Back Better spending plan by President… »
08/06/22: Summer storms continue, more COVID and Gilligan’s Island
Well if one has to stay at home … looking at our backyard “storm is coming” pool photo … and we aren’t to be out and about, there could be worse places to be isolating? The summer storms continued rolling thru… »
08/05/22: Tech Friday: Amazon Drive cloud storage to be phased out
Not that I use Amazon Cloud Drive for all that much (using AWS S3), but it will be disappointing for those who adopted Amazon for their backups and cloud storage needs … other than Photos (they will still support).… »
08/04/22: The itsy bitsy spider stopped by the pool: Misumessus oblongus
One never knows who will stop by to join me by the pool on a hot evening (it is hot this week). On Wednesday it was an American Green Crab Spider (Misumessus oblongus). These little “almost luminous” vivid green… »
08/03/22: Why are these paint brushes are my favorites?
It is likely that I’ve used and cleaned over 100 paint brushes in my lifetime … besides the throw-away bristle and foam versions. That said, I find myself gravitating to a couple favorites that I hang over the… »
08/02/22: Kiribati: Located in 4 hemispheres and unique GMT+14 timezone
Learned a few interesting geographic facts about the nation of Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean from Brilliantmaps, Reddit and of course Wikipedia the other day and found the timezone oddity particularly interesting. The… »
08/01/22: And we have been COVID free these last two years. UGH!
Well it looks like COVID19’s BA.5 subvariant has found us … or we found it. Fortunately for us, we have been vaccinated and at least I have one of the boosters … so hopefully the more serious and severe illness… »
08/01/22: Music Monday: Danny’s Song – Loggins and Messina 1971
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07/31/22: Video tips on how to do a better job caulking
As someone who is not fond of both painting and caulking, whenever there are professional tips that make those jobs easier, I listen (a better “dripless” caulking guns link too).… »
07/30/22: Moving back into the home office and pondering family artists
This past weekend I started what is going to be a slow, but deliberative process of moving out of the basement and back into the upstairs home office. No window blinds yet, but we did move the oriental rug from our… »
07/29/22: Tech Friday: A delay for Google phasing out invasive cookies
A couple of years ago, Google announced that its Chrome Browser would start phasing out their support for “third party tracking cookies.” Users concerned about privacy and data tracking from their web browsing have… »
07/28/22: Taylor is planning to own rather than rent in Cincinnati, Ohio
A bit of news from my son Taylor who has decided to buy a condo in Cincinnati rather than renting a few blocks away. He has been looking for a while now and pondered a house vs property vs urban condo or townhouse.… »
07/27/22: A last minute trip to Perrysburg babysitting our granddaughters and to check on new home planning and lot clearing progress
Eventually I’ll get to part 3 of our family Canadian Rockies 40th Anniversary trip (post-trip nightmare, part 1 and part 2), but for now I’ll archive a few photos from this past week’s babysitting trip to… »
07/26/22: An old tree in Mexico has trunk diameter of 60 meters #tidbit
The 2000 year old tree in Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico. It has the largest trunk diameter in the world. Its circumference is close to 60 meters.… »
07/25/22: Music Monday: Does Cincinnati still love Jimmy Buffett in 2022?
An especially “cool” Jimmy Buffett concert in Cincinnati, Ohio was enjoyed by Taylor’s Megan and her Parrothead father Dave. As usual (except thru COVID), they were at the annual Riverbend concert and enjoyed the… »
07/24/22: Summer fill up of the #diesel 2010 BMW 35d in 2022
UGH! Gasoline may have dropped 40 cent per gallon as American consumers cut back on travel and driving due to inflation and the likely coming recession, but diesel prices continue to remain elevated. There are very few… »
07/23/22: Video: Comparing a few different wall anchors for screws
Here’s a very short video highlighting several different kinds of popular wall anchors or mollies and how easy they are to use compared to each other. I saw it on social media and found it an interesting tidbit for… »
07/22/22: Art: “Tired” Elephant sculpture
Just a Friday filler post for today since I’m too “tired” to blog. 😊… »
07/21/22: Our 40th Anniversary trip to the Canadian Rockies (part 2)
This is part 2 (see pre-wrap-up and part 1) of our Canadian Rockies 40th Anniversary trip, but I can tell from the start that I’m not going to get very far (late and tired … and just WAY too many photos). Still, it… »
07/20/22: What side and where do you mount a woodworking vice?
Some time ago I spotted a Rockler article with a couple of experienced woodworkers explaining the placement of a vice on a woodworking bench. Years ago (decades) I remember contemplating where to put “my” vice too… »
07/19/22: Just an impressive “enhanced” astronomy related photo
This is what the Andromeda Galaxy would look like from Earth … IF it were a little brighter. Very impressive.… »
07/18/22: Music Monday: “Movin’ On Up” – Ja’net DuBois
Don’t ask me what triggered the 1975 television show The Jeffersons theme song, but caught myself bopping to the tune in my head this past weekend (and I’m not really a “bopper”). The All in the Family spinoff… »
07/17/22: Our 40th Anniversary trip to the Canadian Rockies (part 1)
Well … this is part 1 of the Canadian Rockies 40th Anniversary wrap-up (a pre-post was made last week) and since there are just WAY too many photos and memories to recall for just one post (the curse of multiple… »
07/16/22: Do Statins Increase Your Risk for Dementia?
Since a lot of aging Americans have been prescribed a statin, they likely pay close attention to articles talking about possible links between statins and dementia –I take note too. Thankfully each time the… »
07/15/22: Fishy Friday Filler: Fish, Fish, Fishes
… »
07/14/22: A nightmare ending to a great 40th anniversary family trip
It is probably good to have waited another day before posting in frustration over how our return flight was handled by Air Canada since we were not happy being stuck in Toronto after our final leg was canceled. To add… »
07/13/22: Oostra lot clearing has begun, a KETO diet and Fitbit update
Instead of starting a rant on our nightmare return trip from the Canadian Rockies flying Air Canada … I’m going to let the stress dissipate for a while. It was painful travel. So instead I’ll archive a couple… »
07/12/22: Astrophotography and The Sombrero Galaxy (Messier 104)
For the good and the bad, Twitter’s AI algorithms do feed my astrophotography and amateur astronomy interests. Here’s a space photo of galaxy Messier 104 or better known as The Sombrero Galaxy. For a max sized… »
07/10/22: Where do you WANT vs where SHOULD you live in retirement?
While I personally have not worked the numbers, a May 2022 Barron’s Advisor column on retirement offered an enlightening look on “where” to live; it can be eye-opening! Low income taxes aren’t everything.… »
07/08/22: Friday filler: Ambition knows no limits for hard workers
If you are on social media, you likely have already watched this shared video of a couple of ambitious and obviously hardworking guys using their skills to build a below ground level sanctuary.… »
07/06/22: Art: “There is a different Winslow Homer for every age”
Winslow Homer’s 1899 painting “The Gulf Stream” (“reworked in 1906’) is a much-celebrated work of art for a variety of reasons, but appeals to me due to the ocean scene and dismasted sailboat, as do his other… »
07/05/22: Mystery of the oily red/brown spot killing the new grass
While shoveling some additional soil fill next to the edge of our driveway, I noticed a dead “oily” looking patch on the relatively new grass seed? It seemed odd but figured perhaps an animal died there and that I… »
07/04/22: Number of shots or gun salute for Independence Day celebration?
According to a little American Revolutionary War reading this past year, our Declaration of Independence was celebrated on July 4, 1777 with a 13-gun salute in the morning and 13-gun salute in the evening (13 for the… »
07/03/22: Books: “The Dying Citizen” by Victor Davis Hanson
With a little travel and vacation time coming up, I went into my “want to read” list and downloaded “The Dying Citizen” from the local library to my Kindle. The 2021 book is a longer read (433 pages) from Victor… »
07/02/22: Automotive freedom: The politics of fossil fuel factors in
In one of my social media automotive threads, I saw this comparison graphic and it triggered my thinking … both from a “freedom to choose” and “work need” perspective vs a “forced to comply” based on… »
07/01/22: Tech Friday: Just a low-cost data serving test post #video
For Tech Friday today, here’s an impressive slow-motion video used more for an internal streaming test than for the actual content. In my quest for low-cost minimalist data storage and serving, this is just a tiny… »
06/29/22: The Federal Aid Highway Act was sign into law by President Eisenhower in 1956 (Interstate Highway System)
It has been 66 years since President Eisenhower signed the act that created the Interstate Highway System into law on June 29th, 1956. An amazing political ($$$) and engineering feat. Eisenhower and the House Democrats… »
06/29/22: What was I thinking about the iPhone 15 years ago? 😳
After nearly 40 years of buying and using Apple products, it is kind of embarrassing that I doubted Steve Jobs and the iPhone publicly on my blog on June 29, 2007. Happy Anniversary iPhone! Check out this post from 15… »
06/28/22: Sometimes it’s the little things that irritate … thankfully!
Back in the late winter or early spring, the pool supply catalogs began arriving in the mail. Chlorine pucks and shock powder were my primary “look for” items as we were contemplating opening the pool for the… »
06/27/22: Music Monday: Radio Margaritaville and Jimmy Buffett singing “Slack Tide” from “Life on the Flip Side” while mowing
It is officially summer … and what’s better in warm weather and sunshine than songs from Jimmy Buffett on Music Monday? So here’s “Slack Tide” off Life on the Flip Side album (as heard on Radio… »
06/26/22: U.S. Supreme Court ruling changes abortion in America
Friday’s Supreme Court decision has us all pondering where our country is heading? We’ve had 65 million legal abortions since 1973 and now after 50 years of “abortion being a protected right” since the Rowe… »
06/26/22: Never a dull moment for parents no matter their expertise
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06/25/22: Stay on your retirement planning track and consider iBonds
It is stomach-churning to follow the often heard “hold tight” and “stick with the plan” advice often given by financial advisors. If you are currently retired and living off of a fix-income and nest egg, or… »
06/24/22: Tech Friday: Ultrasound detection and the 4th gen Echo hub
After a week of working with the new “trade-up” from an older Echo (triggered by a $30 trade-in offer) to the 4th generation Amazon Echo “with premium sound, smart home hub (Zigbee) and Alexa” … the results… »
06/23/22: Words to think about before speaking negatively about others
Really, I’m just sharing a couple leftover photos from the past couple of days, but thought the sign below offers some pretty good advice. Also a tidbit: Rice boiling over creates a sticky goo … and my new… »
06/22/22: A neighbor playing practical joke with a plastic armadillo
I’m sure what I think about this, but when I heard about it on Twitter from someone in Texas, it did make me laugh. As the story goes, it seems a couple of neighbors enjoy joking with each other as they attempt to… »
06/21/22: Interesting information on Summer vs Winter Solstice
On Tuesday’s solstice, everywhere north of the equator will receive at least 12 hours of daylight and everywhere south of that point will get less than 12 hours. The continental U.S. will get 14 to 16 hours of… »
06/20/22: Music Monday: “So Many Paths” by Little River Band
Just another Music Monday song from the 1970s, as heard on the relatively new SiriusXM Yacht Rock, Deep Cuts, Xtra “app-only” channel (from what I can tell?) Today song is from Australia’s Little River… »
06/19/22: Wishing all the purpose-filled dads a Happy Father’s Day
I enjoyed a very nice Father’s Day on “Saturday” yesterday with Taylor, Megan and their long time friend Meredith, who was “dog-sitting” her sister’s dog “Chase” (below). They enjoyed the nice weather… »
06/18/22: Leftover “Tech Friday” thoughts for Saturday morning
Not that I was bored or anything while running on generator power for 24 hours, but last week’s outage had my small load-sharing Raspberry Pi “server farm” (semi-joke) that I run at the house (see Brenich.com), in… »
06/17/22: Tech Friday: Replaced my old MPOW Bluetooth headphones with discounted Wyze Noise-Cancelling headphones
When it comes to a headset/headphones, I wear them all the time and am pretty much an Aftershokz guy. I find that I rarely take them off during the day, ever since getting my first “bone conduction” Bluetooth… »
06/16/22: Astrophotography is an interesting but expensive hobby #TBT
As the warm evening and nights of summer arrive, I catch myself looking up at the sky again. It may have started with a purpose back when Charlie (Kamikaze) and I were locally sailing the “Fiberpile” and studying… »
06/15/22: Big storms ripped through SW Ohio and knocked trees down
Big storms ripped through our area on Monday night and left a mess of things in much of SW Ohio. Lots of tree damage and even a loss of power for 24+ hours in our neighborhood. I spent the lunch hour working with a… »
06/14/22: Books: “Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America” by Douglas Brinkley
Although I once enjoyed reading biographical and history oriented books by Douglas Brinkley, as well as enjoyed interviews with him on TV, I’ve recently noticed a bit more political partisanship in his commentary and… »
06/13/22: Music Monday: “South City Midnight Lady” – Doobie Brothers
My “go to” Sirius XM channel for easy listening 1970s music has been The Bridge for the past decade now and it never fails to sooth my soul. The Music Monday pick for this week is another Doobie Brother song, this… »
06/12/22: Sunday thoughts: A rainbow photo and delicious fish dinner
Thank you Drew for sharing this amazing backyard rainbow photo from last week! “I set My rainbow in the cloud … and I will remember My … every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a… »
06/11/22: Inflation hits a new FOUR-Decade High, with food and energy increases hurting those who can least afford it
CPI up 8.6% driven by a 35% jump in energy prices and 12% increase in groceries This is what a “sea of red” looks like for investors and stock market traders … and I can only imagine the “red” those living on… »
06/10/22: Wishing my son Taylor a very Happy 33rd Birthday
Taylor last weekend at the Cincinnati Zoo with Megan While typing the subject line of this post, I wondered at what “age” is respectful to NOT mention a number when sharing a Happy Birthday greeting? Hopefully not… »
06/10/22: A movie remake, with a twist? "iMac Down" … stocks down too
A semi-disaster struck as my iMac choked on a Parallel 17 "virtual Windows" update on Thursday. It reminded me of the movie "Blackhawk Down" or perhaps "White House Down" … hence the… »

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