magic | My Desultory Blog

Friday Filler: Probably the cutest thing you will see this week

RichC | October 16, 2020

Watch what happens when this “magic hat” is put on a baby duckling …

Category: Social Networking, Video | No Comments »
Tags: cute, duckling, filler, flower, hat, magic, mp4, video

A little Computer Mouse history … and then some #TBT

RichC | November 21, 2019

Hello World! It is frightening to think that I’ve been using computers for FORTY years and have used and have seen the slow evolution in input devices clustered around a device called the Computer Mouse. So for ThrowBack Thursday #TBT this week, the above is a photo of the original “mouse” in 1964 by Douglas […]

Category: Archive, Computer, History, Memories, Photos, TBT, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: alto, apple, ball mouse, compaq, Computer, History, imac, magic, miami, mouse, onu, tandy, TBT, throwback, thursday, trs-80, university, xerox

Music Monday: A one hit wonder – Oh, Oh, Oh It’s Magic

RichC | July 15, 2019

Heard this one-hit-wonder this past week and thought it would make a great addition for Music Monday. The once Bay City Roller members, David Paton and Billy Lyall, formed the group Pilot in 1973 and in 1975 “Magic” hit the charts.

Category: Music, Video | No Comments »
Tags: magic, music monday, musicmonday, pilot, youtube

TechFriday: Magic Mouse Mac users and Google Calendar

RichC | February 13, 2015

Judging from the suggestions complaints to Google from users making an accidental “mouse swipe” through their online Calendar app, it looks like I’m not the only one frustrated. The problem of scrolling to the wrong month has existed for years and is most noticeable when using the Apple OS and their Magic Mouse. The sensitivity […]

Category: Apple, Cloud, Computer, How-To, Software | 2 Comments »
Tags: apple, calendar, google, magic, mouse, techfriday

Most Recent Posts

06/23/21: The mixed messages on inflation and what does it mean?
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06/22/21: A leftover weekend photo and video turned animated gif
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06/21/21: Another Music Monday TV theme song from an in-my-opinion effective Applebee’s commercial with “Cheers” intro
Earlier this month for Music Monday, The sitcom “Welcome Back Kotter” theme song was mentioned as an Applee’s Grill and Bar post-pandemic reopening commercial. There was a second commercial, equally effective… »
06/20/21: Birdhouses and raccoons and a great Drew and Katelyn photo
Received nice photo from Katelyn and Drew last week and since I included one of Taylor and Megan last week, this is one that needed to be archived on my blog. Most most personal photos nowadays are of our granddaughters… »
06/19/21: Tool tip: The Alligator Forceps purchase pays off immediately!
Having just posted on the tool tip from Adam Savage yesterday, the Alligator Forceps paid immediate dividends. It was the exact tool I needed to replace the degraded gasoline tubing of my aging TroyBilt 4-cycle string… »
06/18/21: Tech Friday: Security and less than consistent VPN connections
Generally, I don’t use a VPN connection at home, but since I’ve been having slow connections on my laptop and iPad with VPN connections (both TunnelBear and ProtonVPN), thought I was test at home. ProtonVPN has been… »
06/17/21: Small item Alligator Forceps tool tip thanks to Adam Savage
After repairing our iRobot pool sweeper last week and figuring out how to hold a “behind the riveted new screen” tiny nut in place (after I dropped it!) … I happened to see Adam Savage’s model building… »
06/16/21: The odds are at least 50-50 … right? #learning #statistics
So why do I always end up trying to open the wrong end of a trash bag? With human intelligence and adaptive learning being what it is, one would think knowing which end of the trash bag to open when pulling one out of… »
06/15/21: Moving ahead a little bit with the mini split AC installation
This past weekend I moved forward in getting the mini split AC unit installed in my home office. I started the planned chair rail and cork wall (insulation, sound deadening and a place to pin maps, etc). I’m not… »
06/14/21: Music Monday: B.T.O. – Roll On Down The Highway
Once again, Music Monday highlights another 1970s Canadian rock and roll band and a song from the greatest music decade (IMHO). HA! If you’re not turning up the volume or moving in some way when listening to this… »
06/13/21: Books: Brave By Faith by Alistair Begg
The current pile of books to read is too high for my nighttime side table; I think I need to move a few to my office … or better yet, finish reading them! Since Alistair Begg is a favorite teaching pastor of… »
06/12/21: WW2 Aviation History: Why are F4U-1 Corsairs so taped up?
Well talking to Taylor at his birthday dinner, I mentioned someone posted a photo of a WW2 Vought F4U Corsair and asked about the “stripes” … or duct tape … on the cowl in front of the pilot. The answer from a… »
06/11/21: Annalyn’s imagination and critter ‘picture week’ at our house
When Annalyn and Ellerie were visiting in May, she helped me get out my live trap to “relocate” a raccoon or two (or more?) that has been climbing up on our house. Annalyn is so inquisitive and a real thinker when… »
06/10/21: We celebrated Taylor’s 32nd Birthday in Cincinnati for dinner
We had a great time celebrating Taylor’s 32nd birthday last night after work at Pepp and Dolores restaurant in Cincinnati thanks to Megan. Brenda and I enjoyed arriving a little early and sitting at the bar talking… »
06/09/21: Who knows when we are closing in on a stock market top?
When it comes to investing, I’m primarily a “value investor” who relies on fundamentals, but as for “trading,” which I have tinkered with for 30 years now, I’m an advocate self imposed rules and focusing on… »
06/08/21: Weekend chores, a bonfire and iRobot pool cleaner fixes
It was a “work around the yard” weekend for me and besides power washing the patios on Saturday, I cut down honeysuckles in preparation for the new concrete driveway project later this summer (if it is still… »
06/07/21: Music Monday: a commercial for Applebees, John Sebastian, Television themes songs and Welcome Back Kotter (1975-1979)
As the COVID19 pandemic has dissipated in most of the US … I’ve been seeing restaurants running television advertising that coaxes people back to “in-person” dining. An effective one (although haven’t gone… »
06/06/21: Mexican lunches, salsa, discussions, reading and a good friend
For years now … no, it is now decades … my buddy Jeff and I have gone out for lunch ever other week and almost exclusively to a Mexican restaurant … primarily for the chips and salsa (and relaxed conversation).… »
06/05/21: Celebrating wedding anniversary number 39 without fanfare
Brenda and I are still a year away from a milestone wedding anniversary, but we aren’t taking our 39th for granted – Happy Anniversary Brenda! This past year has been challenging … but an improving year on all… »
06/04/21: Tech Friday: Pondering the new Mac Mini vs iMac setup again
The Joanna Sterns review in the WSJ about the new Apple iMac highlighted a few plus and minus points last month … and started me thinking about a desktop computer replacement. It is difficult to imagine spending $2000… »
06/03/21: Jimmy Buffett in Delray Beach & automotive pandemic insanity
While Brenda enjoys binge-watching a favorite TV series or whatever in the evenings after work, I escape with some reading or by streaming news to my Aftershokz Aeropex or flipping through a favorite SiriusXM music… »
06/02/21: Prepping for summer and admiring a porch view from a friend
Although I’ve enjoyed summertime on the beach ever since I was a little boy (we live on a beach), there is something relaxing about seeing the photo above that a friend sent me from his families rented beach house in… »
06/01/21: Weekend chores update: Robins, office cleaning and AC prep
The robin eggs in the back porch (earlier in May above) wreath Brenda made from her grandmother’s grapevines years ago, have hatched Below was day one (left) and day two (right) … as Brenda commented … “you… »
05/31/21: Music Monday: Hard to believe Bob Dylan turned 80 last week?
This should have been a post for last week’s Music Monday, but here’s a belated 80th Happy Birthday to the legendary singer-songwriter-poet Bob Dylan. What a unique and talented musician. So now they your 80 years… »
05/30/21: Memorial Day: Honor those who gave their life for our country
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05/29/21: Bought a high efficient HVAC mini split unit for the home office
A separate air conditioning unit has long been on my “want list” for my home office. I’ve contemplated adding a high efficiency minisplit inverter unit for years to better balance the southwest corner upstairs… »
05/28/21: Back to Perrysburg for Annalyn’s dance recital and babysitting
Our family has been burning up the highway this past month, but it has been great to get together again with our granddaughters and of course Katelyn and Drew. We’ve had this dance recital planned for a while now,… »
05/27/21: Woodworking: Love this simple table saw push-stick design
When I come across an item that interest me in woodworking, I either try to write them down, take a photo or save the plans. In this case the idem is a simple shop helper … a table saw push stick, of which I have many… »
05/26/21: A Toledo Mud Hens game and Katelyn’s surprise birthday party
As planned and mentioned in a weekend catch-up post yesterday, I’m archiving a few photos from a Sunday trip to Toledo for a 35th Birthday surprise our daughter Katelyn, thanks to her “sneaky” husband Drew (if she… »
05/25/21: Blood Moon, Lunar Eclipse and our new Half-Moon Window
The final new “half-moon” window was installed on Monday this week with the proper wagon-wheel spokes (photo below) .. which coincides with this week’s “Super Moon.” What makes this one somewhat unique… »
05/25/21: Washing cars, opening the pool before a surprise trip to Toledo
This past weekend was a busy weekend and won’t likely let up for a little while – full schedule … and I’m not even really back to traveling for work! It started with getting the mowing finished up on Friday… »
05/24/21: Music Monday: "Signs" by Five Man Electric Band (1971)
A photo posted last week on Twitter by Trey Joens had me remembering a 1971 song by the Five Man Electric Band: “Signs.” I didn’t remember the Canadian rock group or their previous early 1960s name The Staccatos… »
05/23/21: Hm, where did I park that VeeDub Beetle again? #humor
… »
05/22/21: Audio book from WSJ+: "All Against All" by Paul Jankowski
Audiobooks and eBooks are some of the perks that come with being a long time Wall Street Journal subscriber. This WSJ+ membership includes early pre-production copies and likely word-of-mouth publicity marketing… »
05/21/21: Tech Friday: Check the password scheme you are using
It is easy to get complacent in securing your online and computer lives, so use last weeks Colonial Pipeline cyberattack and the Statista image of “The Most Popular Passwords Around the World” as a reminder. Longer… »
05/20/21: Toyota 4Runners: Remembering a couple favorite vehicles #TBT
Car clubs and automotive aficionados have been getting together for years to talk about their vehicles with like minded folks. For my dad it was his local “in-person” Vint Car Club, car shows and museums. For me it… »
05/19/21: Thoughts on better sun protection with a better slim brim hat
Like a lot of middle-aged Americans from the baby boomer generation (FYI, I”m at the tail end), I’ve spent way too many years unprotected in the sun. Although I haven’t gone out of my way to get that “healthy… »
05/18/21: Archive: Family photos from Katelyn’s birthday weekend
We celebrated Katelyn’s 35th birthday this past weekend and enjoyed getting the family together at our house. Besides Katelyn growing up, our two granddaughters are a well. Taylor and Megan were up for steaks on the… »
05/17/21: Music Monday: Mercy Me and their “Say I Won’t” music video
My Desultory Blog‘s Music Monday does not include enough music from the Christian music genre and after hearing the story of Gary Miracle last weekend, I had to include Mercy Me‘s “Say I… »
05/16/21: Book: "The Cost" by Maria Bartiromo and James Freeman
When it comes to reading, I once again have started more books than I can finish. It started with our “rest and relaxation” vacation where I wanted to be sure to have a “paper book” to read on the beach and… »
05/15/21: Forgot about this Hubble Space Telescope birthday link #Space
Yesterday was my “space-camp” and NASA Sharp daughter Katelyn’s birthday and I had been saving a link that I forgot about just for the occasion … so will post it a day late … along with an amazing 2020 photo… »
05/14/21: Happy 35th Birthday to our daughter Katelyn today – 5/14/2021
Today is a special day … the day God gifted us a daughter. Our little girl Katelyn has been amazing since day one and she continues to make our lives better than we could have ever imagined and far better than we… »
05/14/21: Tech Friday: A housekeeping update and WordPress 5.7.2
MyDesultoryBlog.com was overdue for a backup and since I stepped away early from my desk on Thursday, I figured the end of the day was a good time to sync online and offline storage (the backups make for a sluggish… »
05/13/21: A birthday honing guide and spiral router bit. Thanks Taylor!
A big thank you to my son Taylor for the Amazon gift card for my birthday last week. When he asked me what I was going to buy with it, I didn’t immediately have an answer ... now I do … so I’ll now post a… »
05/12/21: Civility in debating political views and "my" Letter to the Editor
In February 2021, I mentioned The Hustings news website which highlighted how much I appreciated that in America we can hold different political views and civilly debate issues without fear of government retribution… »
05/11/21: Flowers, some Kubota service and waking up the Packard Hawk
This past Saturday was nice, but Sunday not so much (rain). It does seem like we are having unusually cool weather for this time of May? But 30-40 degree weather aside, Taylor did stop by to give me a hand with the pool… »
05/10/21: Music Monday: The Who – “I Can See For Miles” triggered by an astronaut Alan Shepard memory
The Who was never at the top of my music listening list, but like all who grew up in the 1960-70’s era, we all knew the music. This past Wednesday was the 60th anniversary of Alan Shepard‘s flight into space… »
05/09/21: Happy Mother’s Day: Revere, respect and honor your mother. Who knows how many days either of you will have.
I probably should be quoting from Leviticus 19:3, but I can’t help but remember Ferris Bueller commenting that, “Life moves pretty fast …” when thinking about respecting and honoring mothers today. So for… »
05/08/21: What do MMT economists theorize? "The Deficit Myth" #book
A few times before I’ve thought, and blogged about MMT or Modern Monetary Theory, when it comes to newfangled economics. Personally, I (nor many economists) can accept the thinking or rationalize the large deficits… »
05/07/21: Tech Friday: Would you consider buying this iPhone 5G slider?
If you keep your eyes open, there are plenty of interesting Android and iPhone concept videos floating around. As a Palm Pre slider user, I’ve always thought there might be another slider (or foldable) pocket friendly… »
05/06/21: Selling my May Fly lures inventory came back to haunt me #TBT
Whoops … an interesting Throwback Thursday #TBT flashback and mistake on my part … I received an order for MayFly Lures that I posted back in 2018 and sold a few and then sold my entire inventory in one lump in… »
05/05/21: Archive: A few saved family photos from the week that was …
Received an email from a friend who said, “hey, there are no photo of you in your last week’s vacation post?” Hm, true .. and realized that this panorama is the nearest photo I have of me relaxing on the beach.… »
05/04/21: Looking at New York City from the Empire State Building #pano
How many building top water tanks can you count? (you could spend hours zoomed in on this photo … and if that is not enough, there is a naked man somewhere in this “Where is Wally or Waldo-like”… »
05/03/21: Music Monday: The Beach Boys, "Fun, Fun, Fun" and some R & R
PLACEHOLDER It was a week of R and R for us with some sun and fun, so for Music Monday what better music than The Beach Boys and Fun, Fun, Fun from 1964. Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote the song based on a party… »
05/02/21: It was good to get away to sunny Florida for a restful beach week
Although I know much of the country has lived locked down for much of the year, Brenda and I have probably done a little more than most. She has worked in the pharmacy without much of a break and since the COVID19… »
05/01/21: Struggling with Lenovo laptop, router and Internet connections
Either the Netgear Nighthawk R7000 router at our condo is glitchy, Xfinity is not giving my any upload speed or my Lenovo laptop is struggling to stay connected. No time to diagnosis, but I may end up chucking the… »
04/30/21: Tech Friday: Rumor says new Apple iPad and perhaps the iMac and Apple TV will be available on May 21st
On April 20th I streamed part of the the Apple event to see what was in the works for 2021. We already knew about the iPad Pro, but I was interested to know about the M1 iMac and Brenda uses the Apple TV for streaming… »
04/29/21: President Biden has a bold tax and spend plan for the US
Personally I don’t like using the word "bold" for taxing and spending by big government since it has a positive attribute (at least to my thinking), but President Biden’s Joint Address last night… »
04/28/21: Pandemic TV watching has shifted from people to their homes
Brenda and I chuckled the other day that while we watch television news interviews and participating on Zoom calls, that we find ourselves noticing, pondering and commenting on "backgrounds" since the COVID19… »
04/27/21: GE tops estimates, but share price is still suffering
General Electric‘s ($GE) first-quarter 2021 earnings were as they should be. Still, it wasn’t quite enough for investors. General Electric (ticker: GE) shares were down about 2.7% in premarket trading. S&P 500… »

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June 2021

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