ddj | My Desultory Blog

Returning to nautical flavored child safety gates for the stairs

RichC | April 15, 2018

Now that our granddaughter Annalyn is walking, our THREE (ugh!) hardwood staircases are serious safety hazards. We thought about the normal commercial gates, but Brenda mentioned she really liked the nautical sailing ones that I made for our kids when they were little tykes in Hudson, Ohio (a lame attempt at a reference to the […]

Category: Misc, Personal, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: annalyn, ddj, family, gate, house, hudson, little tykes, ohio, project, safety

Most Recent Posts

03/18/19: Music Monday: Eric Carmen songs and a memory from Brenda
Here’s an Eric Carmen song (Make Me Lose Control – 1988) for Music Monday with a personal connection based on where we lived in the 1980s. Brenda and I were talking about my blog and the fact that I include… »
03/17/19: A question from a novice investor planning for retirement
Years ago I thought I could outsmart the market … and in the 1990s when the tide was lifting all boats, I could … but that was before algorithms and computerized trading. I’ve since learned not to continue… »
03/16/19: Great little tidbits from innovative old school woodworkers
There are times when trying to hold or clamp irregularly shaped pieces can be difficult. Usually I resort to using my Jorgensen Handscrew clamps, but obviously with a little “old school” ingenuity, there are simpler… »
03/15/19: WordPress update to 5.1.1 – testing the Editor Performance
Just upgrading blog to WordPress 5.1.1 and needed a little text copy to try out the new editor (below). It does seem a bit snappier? BTW, did you know WordPress now powers over 1/3rd of the top 10 million sites on the… »
03/15/19: Tech Friday and some etymology history of the word Emoji
I enjoy receiving the occasional email on words from Science Diction (Science Friday folks) and this one from the word emoji was a good one. READ the full history here … or on the archived WaybackMachine LINK… »
03/14/19: Ancestry: Allen George Howard’s horse was named Gus #TBT
Throwback Thursday posts can be interesting, especially when archiving a couple of my old photos from the early 1990s and tidbit of information that is likely not saved any place else (the horse’s was named Gus).… »
03/13/19: A little leftover Annalyn “dance party” video to archive
With a short video clip of Annalyn dancing on Saturday, I’m going to tie Monday’s music “story” and the birthday party post together, if possible … although if this were gears, they would not mesh! On our… »
03/12/19: Archive: A family birthday party for Annalyn. She is 2 years old.
We celebrated our granddaughter Annalyn’s second birthday with the family at Katelyn and Drew’s house in Perrysburg this past weekend. Like last year, her birthday made a great opportunity to get both the Corbett… »
03/11/19: Music Monday: John Mellencamp songs and my parents
Surprised even myself that I’ve not made a Music Monday post highlighting music from John Cougar Mellencamp since my parents square danced in the 1990s with his mother and father, Marilyn and Richard.… »
03/10/19: What’s the difference between a caiman, crocodile and alligator?
Personally I’m not fond of any of the water, swamp or land creatures with teeth and jaws that look prehistoric … but all crocodilian (photo left, caiman, crocodile, alligator) definitely keep me on my toes,… »
03/09/19: A couple inexpensive suitcase packing tips for any kind of travel
We all see them, even if we are not using Pinterest or refuse to go to pages designed to generate click income … but still, there are some great ideas. Here’s a packing tip that might help next time your… »
03/08/19: Have a “leaping” great weekend! (testing a new blog tweak)
Animated GIF of Dolphin pod jumping and leaping… »
03/08/19: Tech Friday: An update on the Samsung Chromebook Pro
Chromebooks are not my preferred devices, but they are excellent for those with more limited computing needs. For the most part, they are relatively inexpensive, easy to update, very reliable and frustration free. They… »
03/07/19: Ohio gas taxes and a book by Kristin Tate – How Do I Tax Thee?
I do miss browsing in bookstores … something our family would regularly do Sunday after church … and something my daughter and I would do “in the good ol’ days” when I would visit her in college. I suppose… »
03/06/19: A dab of epoxy and a neodymium magnet can be like magic
Back on what would have been my dad’s birthday, I posted a photo of my new Ridgid work light hanging on his old toolbox. The toolbox was one of those items of my dad’s that both my brother and I wanted when we were… »
03/05/19: Happy Birthday to our 2-year old Annalyn, the “Apple of MY eye”
Where has this year, and the past TWO YEARS, gone? It seems like my granddaughter Annalyn just turned ONE, and now she is TWO already! We will be celebrating with the family in a few days, but sang her Happy Birthday… »
03/04/19: Music Monday: Vahevala from 1971 by Loggins and Messina
It is odd that the band Loggins and Messina has not been highlighted, for either a Music Monday post or with other bands. A quick search did not turn up a mention of Kenny Loggins as a solo artist or even Jim Messina in… »
03/03/19: The six degrees of separation theory strikes again
But before the “six degrees of separation” reference (see below), how do you stack up to the WSJ survey of “workers benefiting from a strong U.S. labor market?” One thing that seems to remain consistent over the… »
03/02/19: When all is well, life is good, even if it is not always as planned
There are still exciting adventures ahead … but as someone who always has a plan, and dreams ambitiously, I’m detecting my life plans are changing … again. Dreams are good for the soul IMHO, so as long as… »
03/01/19: Tech Friday: The Wayback Machine and Cincinnati Style Chili
This is an unusual Tech Friday post, but after being frustrated this week in clicking a dead link to an article that disappeared after a website was updated, I decided there must be a better way to ensure information,… »
02/28/19: Photog unknown, but a beautiful beach/surfer filler photo #TBT
I enjoyed this photo enough to use it as my “too lazy to blog” filler photo for the day … and just to make it a ThrowBack Thursday #TBT … how about a photo with my buddy Mark Jones from 2014 looking down from up… »
02/27/19: Pres Trump meets Kim Jong Un in Hanoi for second summit
As far as news goes, one would think that the biggest news of the day would be a second summit meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump. It was only two short years ago that “little… »
02/27/19: Creative bindery guy sets his machine up to fold paper airplanes
Since printing presses (and bindery equipment) is in my DNA, I can’t help but have a soft spot for this guy tweaking his equipment to spit out paper airplanes. Personally I would rather … and remember many-a-late… »
02/26/19: Where do you do your best thinking? In the shower? #humor
Wintertime offers longer days for reading and thinking and some of my better thoughts happen during my morning shower … although other thoughts aren’t quite so inspirational or deep …like, “Why can’t the… »
02/25/19: Music Monday: Average White Band–Pick Up The Pieces
Average White Band performing in 2013 – Wikimedia Highlighting this band seems a bit out of my character for Music Monday (except for being 1970’s music), but hearing “Pick Up The Pieces” by the Average White… »
02/24/19: Spinning Fork, our favorite local Italian restaurant has closed
Brenda and I have been eating at The Spinning Fork Restaurant in Fairfield, Ohio since even before we moved to the Cincinnati area – was our favorite restaurant. Our family grew up enjoying their delicious food and… »
02/23/19: Politics, a socialist movement and the Overton window in 2019
About a decade ago, I researched a bit about Joseph Overton’s theory regarding a range of ideas that will be tolerated in discussion and debate. This “range of acceptable ideas” is now termed the “Overton… »
02/22/19: Just a little diesel automotive #humor to end the week
Normally, I don’t forward emails or reposted viral images on social networks … but as a diesel car guy and TDIClub and BMW forum reader … I couldn’t resist including this as a humorous response… »
02/22/19: Tech Friday: Simple advice IF you must use a virtual assistant
TechFriday advice for those of us who enjoy using virtual assistants like those from Google, Apple or Amazon: 1. Change the Default Password on Your Wi-Fi Router 2. Set the Voice Lock 3. Decide Whether You Want to Shop… »
02/21/19: With reciprocity, I will let my Florida CCW license expire
With nearly all states offering concealed carry permit reciprocity with Ohio, I’m no longer going to renew my Florida CCW license. It seems like just a waste of money and bureaucratic duplication. Florida always… »
02/20/19: The Great White Shark hunting from below #photo #filler
Just an ominous filler photo that you probably don’t want to be looking at before going for a swim in the ocean. The Great White Shark can definitely give you nightmares. EDIT 2/22/2019 with an image from a Twitter… »
02/19/19: Condo1718 Master Bathroom update project for 2019
After working on both the condo guest bathroom and kitchen last year in Delray Beach, Florida, I’m hoping to work on the master bathroom when we vacation this year. Our renters have emailed just how pleased they are… »
02/18/19: Music Monday: Remembering hits from the band Train
The struggle continues for me to listen to music that isn’t 40+ years old; it is too easy to let my music taste to fall back into my “oldies” rut. I will keep reminding myself that this year’s plan is to try to… »
02/17/19: Spectacular 12 car crash in lap 191 of #Daytona500
Impressive safety advancements in car safety as a crash near the end of the Daytona 500 wiped out 12 cars. All drivers were fine and red flagged race has Toyota cars leading strong Ford and Chevrolet Cup cars waiting… »
02/17/19: Such a DEAL – SiriusXM and Amazon Echo Dot 3rd gen
Like clockwork, it was time to either renew or cancel SiriusXM (again). I refuse to pay the month to month rate with them or the very few newspaper/magazine subscriptions I still use that does the same thing.… »
02/16/19: We had a great time babysitting Annalyn on Valentine’s Day
Another wonder day spent with the ones I love, and a little one who definitely returns the love; now that’s the way to enjoy a Valentine’s Day! Brenda and I headed to Katelyn and Drew’s in Perrysburg this past… »
02/15/19: Tech Friday: Had some new iPhone envy so downloaded Focos
Same photo with min aperture option and maximum. Note Bokek effect. On a recent trip, I happened to break my favorite pair of polarized sunglasses, so am using them as one last prop before tossing them in the trash… »
02/14/19: Happy Amazon Alexa Echo iHome iAV2B Valentine’s Day
It may be a quirky Valentine’s Day gift, but Brenda tossed our alarm clock of 36+ years into the trash a couple months ago saying, “I don’t trust it anymore.” I was relatively happy to see it go since the… »
02/13/19: Obituary: John Harold Haynes, founder of Haynes Publishing
For those of us who grew up working on cars pre-Internet, the Haynes Manuals were one of the “go-to” sources on how to fix automobiles … or at least a particular brand and model of car. Last week John… »
02/12/19: It has been interesting reviewing my Ancestry.com DNA results
Having worked on my family tree with Ancestry.com back in 2010 and then ignored returning 9 years later, it has been interesting to look into it again now that DNA testing has grown in popularity. My results came back a… »
02/11/19: Music Monday: A recycled Beatles song and something from 1969
There is probably a name for them, although I’m not sure what it is … but my nephew Aaron always seemed to me to be that guy who missed his era, particularly in music taste? Last week he commented that my… »
02/10/19: Enjoyed a few days of Florida sunshine aboard Encore last week
I enjoyed the warm sunshine and working on a few project on Encore this past week. It was a delayed trip due to a flight cancelation, but thankful my schedule is pretty flexible. It would have been nice to stay longer… »
02/09/19: A great photo makes for the perfect filler blog post
Although I’m not fond of birds that mess up the topsides of our boat, this Osprey made for a great photo from Aruba. Above is an Osprey is catching a blue reef fish.… »
02/08/19: Tech Friday: Do you have a Flickr account with 1000 photos?
Yup … I have over 1000 photos. Once again, the lesson to take to heart is to "control your own data" whenever you can or be blackmailed into new subscription rules or lose everything. Even more… »
02/07/19: Perhaps you should get a wireless phone plan in Oregon?
The 2018 wireless phone Tax Foundation report came out in December 2018 and although we may have seen income tax rates drop, wireless phone plans continue to be ripe for the taxman’s pickings. It is shocking to… »
02/06/19: Government cannot give anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else
We often act as if we are so enlightened in the 21st century when it comes to political philosophy and an understanding as to what motivates human beings. Politicians, and in turn their dreamy-eyed followers, are once… »
02/05/19: What will higher diesel fuel cost mean for the economy? #inflation
The prediction that diesel fuels will rise (“double in price” – note the last minute of the interview) is bound to impact the price of goods. Everything is shipped using diesel fuel, be it on ships,… »
02/04/19: Joking with my son who is pondering his career options
While chatting with my son Taylor over the weekend about the terrible news regarding the killing of a law enforcement officer in the county where he works (depressing), we discussed his career options again. His job is… »
02/03/19: Patriots are Super Bowl champions for the 6th time
Not much doubt about it … the New England Patriots are the the best team in the NFL and their team leader and QB Tom Brady is the best to have ever played the game (oh, how I hate admitting that). Nevertheless,… »
02/03/19: The colorful Coquina Clams emerging from a sandy beach
After watching a short YouTube video of the Coquina Clam emerging from the “swash zone” on a beach after a wave retreated, I thought a short animated gif would make a great winter filler post for the blog.… »

March 2019
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
« Feb
	1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

March 2019

« Feb

Most Recent Posts

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

Search

Year(s) ago on this day

Archives

Categories

Most Used Tags

Contact

Meta