plans | My Desultory Blog

Tech Friday: Life after switching to Mint Mobile has been good

RichC | March 12, 2021

Back in January I switched my “off contract” iPhone7 Plus over to Mint Mobile and a month later switched over Brenda’s iPhone7. The transition was smooth and pretty much glitchless. Service from our previous Virgin Mobile then Boost Mobile plan is basically the same, although initially restricted me to 3GB of data per month (now […]

Category: Cellphone, Financial, Gadget, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: apple, boost, carrier, Cellphone, contract, iphone, iphone7, mint mobile, plans, review, sprint, switching, t-mobile, tech friday, techfriday, virgin

Woodworking: Tinkering on a prototype desktop book stand

RichC | February 20, 2021

The weather has been … well, wintery and I’ve been working on a self-designed prototype desktop bookshelf or bookstand with the thought of making a couple of them. Unfortunately desks … let alone books … are disappearing as a Future of Everything WSJ article mentioned this past year. The design is relatively simple in that […]

Category: Books, Hobby, Personal, Photos, Tools, Woodworking | No Comments »
Tags: blade, Books, bookshelf, bookstand, dado, desk, flat grind, jig, office, plans, prototype, tablesaw, walnut, weather, woodworking, workshop

Tech Friday: The wireless carrier blues with a positive ending

RichC | July 6, 2018

It is never fun playing plan games with wireless carriers, especially if you have been 100% satisfied with everything "as is." After switching to VirginMobileUSA last year due to a SUPER promotion, I could not be happier with Virgin’s special price and service … but all good things seem to come to an end. This […]

Category: Advice, Cellphone, Productivity, Tablet, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: aaa, carrier, Cellphone, data, hotspot, plans, smartphone, sprint, tech friday, techfriday, ting, virgin mobile, wireless

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry

RichC | March 22, 2015

Last year about this time I had mentally decided that Brenda and I would be cruising the Bahamas aboard our sailboaat Encore in March 2015, but as “life happens” those dreams were not meant to be. As the year progressed, both of our surviving parents had health concerns requiring more of our attention, Encore started […]

Category: Personal, Sailing, Travel | No Comments »
Tags: cruising, diesel, encore, plans, sailboat, sailing, volvo

We switched our cell service to Ting.com this weekend

RichC | October 6, 2014

After a few months of talking, we finally switch two of our phones to Ting. Hopefully the service won’t change and that with only two of us on the account we’ll be able to save a few dollars. As I mentioned before, my daughter made the switch a couple months ago after her move to […]

Category: Apple, Cellphone, How-To | No Comments »
Tags: apple, carrier, Cellphone, iphone, plans, sprint, ting.com

Most Recent Posts

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
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day and was first observed on May 30th, 1868 to commemorate the sacrifice’s of Civil War soldiers. It was declared a General Order No. 11 by General John A. Logan on… »
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… »
04/26/21: Music Monday: The Foundations – “Build Me Up Buttercup”
A British soul band that was popular with a few late 1960s hits was popular before most of my music listening. The group was The Foundations and one of their hits was “Build Me Up Buttercup” released in 1968. It… »
04/25/21: Learning more about cryptocurrency with webinar #Bitcoin
Although I’ve owned a small amount of Bitcoin in a cryptocurrency account for a while now, I’ve been wanting to attend a primer on the subject. Thankfully Barron’s offered a free webinar hosted by Beverly Goodman… »
04/24/21: New Montana Brand countersink 4-in-1 countersink bits
There’s not much a tools and gadget guy like me likes more than getting something new for my workshop. After breaking a bit in my cheap-ish countersink a few weeks ago (probably imported from China), I opted for a new… »
04/23/21: Tech Friday: Evaluating my newsfeed & “waste of time” tweeting
I’ve used Twitter as my interactive Newsfeed for almost 15 years now and it has been a struggle to decide if it is worth it or not? BUT, like most people who start the addictive habit of using social networks and… »
04/22/21: Come on, it is late April 2021! Is Spring really in the air?
After just finishing cutting the lawn on Tuesday night and working on our landscaping this past weekend in anticipation of a cold front with some “expected rain,” it ended up coming down as SNOW! I mean, come on, it… »
04/21/21: Auto racing: Too close of a call for this flagman #video
Thankfully no one was hurt at this Sprint car race, but this is too close of a call for any flag person’s comfort. Yikes!… »
04/20/21: Are we teaching kids to focus on the color of their skin?
It seems like a lot of politicians and journalists on the left feed into and retain power by stoking racial unrest? It also appears that the leaders who are fueling the fire also have a Marxist/Socialist ideology, which… »
04/19/21: Music Monday: Not my taste, but definitely Bluegrass talent
This past weekend I saw what looked like an amateur musician in a college dorm or apartment video roll across my Twitter feed and thought, “this young man has talent.” It reminded me of a post from 2014 when Jacob… »
04/18/21: How do you dice and onion? Let’s check with Lifehacker.
Is there a better way to “dice” and onion? The Lifehacker “Hack or Wack” crew gave the UK tipster’s method a try … and I’ll probably do the same even though they concluded it was “wack.” Still, there… »
04/17/21: Yardwork and getting ready to freshen up our mounds
It’s that time of year … cleaning up, getting the landscaping mounds ready for new mulch and of course, Brenda has to burn something … decorative grasses go up fast. Let’s hope she doesn’t burn the fence… »
04/16/21: Tech Friday: A powerful Copy and Paste app for the Macintosh
If you use a computer for any length of time (my “go-to” is an aging 2012 Apple iMac), you’ll find yourself cut, copy and pasting things on a regular basis. Security experts do not recommend using the cut/copy… »

June 2021
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June 2021

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