reflection | My Desultory Blog

Thankful to have a long time friend like Jeff – #TBT photo

RichC | December 31, 2020

I had lunch “out” this week with my good friend Jeff, although this routine has become very infrequent compared to previous years. Still, we had a chance to catch up, talk about politics (Ugh), the old-days backpacking in North Carolina (an old scanned photo for Throwback Thursday #TBT) … and I opened his cool gift […]

Category: Faith, Friends, Health, Memories, Personal, Photos, TBT | No Comments »
Tags: backpacking, blessings, camping, coronavirus, covid19, family, friends, hiking, jeff pitts, jeffp, katelyn, memories, Memory, reflection, solo, stove, TBT, thankful, vaccination, vaccine

Aging, health, diet, a new decade and a New Year’s resolution

RichC | January 1, 2020

We’re not getting any younger … and in my case, I’m a bit more conscious of age creeping into my decision-making process. Things I did years ago like heavy lifting, working under a car then jumping up and back down after retrieving a required tool … or even the enjoyable laying down on the floor […]

Category: Advice, Food, Holiday, Medical, Misc, Technology | No Comments »
Tags: eating, exercise, fitbit, goals, healthy, how not to die, how not to diet, michael greger, new year, plan, plant-based, reflection, resolution

Happy New Year – Make the most of each day this 2019

RichC | January 1, 2019

This year our our 2018 Christmas letter included a quote by the Dalai Lama and it reminds me that our time on earth is finite. Once a grain of sand has passed through the hour glass, it is gone … so make each day count this 2019. There are only two days in the year […]

Category: Faith, Holiday, Quotes | No Comments »
Tags: 2019, dalai lama, Faith, new year, reflection, resolution, timeline, y2k

The crystal pendant lights, china and big knobs are growing on me

RichC | March 3, 2018

The new kitchen décor favored by Brenda is growing on me. Initially I fought the oversized glass crystal cabinet knobs (more expensive) and three rather than two crystal oriented pendant lights (I had already wired for two and had to add a third – $$$), as well as the excessive number of cut glass drinking […]

Category: Archive, Art, Misc, Personal, Photography, Photos | No Comments »
Tags: brenda, crystal, decorating, glassware, kitchen, photography, reflection, sun

Most Recent Posts

03/02/21: Celebrating Ellerie (1) and Annalyn’s (4) Birthdays in Toledo
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03/01/21: Music Monday: Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show video. Yikes!
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02/28/21: MyDesultoryBlog maintenance and WordPress 5.6.2 update
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02/26/21: Friday Filler: A little duct tape humor (quack, quack) 😉
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02/25/21: Opinion: We need an all of the above energy plan in the U.S.
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02/24/21: Woodworking Idea: A homemade Router Table Multi-Sled
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02/23/21: Is there a high quality, maintenance-free garage door and opener?
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02/22/21: Music Monday: The Marshall Tucker Band – “Can’t You See”
The Marshall Tucker Band was one of my favorite groups in the 1970s and I mentioned them before. I was a big fan of modern country music as it inched towards what we know as southern rock. It really made inroads into… »
02/21/21: Thoughts on the passing of conservative icon: Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh died on Wednesday of this past week. It wasn’t a surprise to those who have followed his health challenges and in particular a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis a year previous. He continue his radio work up… »
02/20/21: Woodworking: Tinkering on a prototype desktop book stand
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02/19/21: Tech Friday: Switched our iPhones to Mint Mobile to save $$$
Well it is official, we are both with Mint Mobile. I’ve been using them for a month now and haven’t had any issues with their service (backboned on T-Mobile I believe) … and since saving money for the same service… »
02/18/21: Archive: The Howards and the Woodcocks in Florida #TBT
A couple of weeks ago I shared a 1990s photo of Brenda’s dad with a close friend Hugh Woodcock and saw another one from 1997 to archive for a Throwback Thursday #TBT. Both MomH (2017) and DadH (2013) have passed away,… »
02/18/21: Archive for posterity: Sold a little more fractional Bitcoin shares
Almost 1 year ago, I started to use the Chromium-based Brave Browser and an Uphold account to receive the BAT (Basic Attention Token). I convert to Bitcoin along with the income generated on MyDesultoryBlog.com …… »
02/17/21: The retirement dividend income plan was challenged in 2020
For those of us living in a post-pension world, planning for retirement comes down to how much can be saved in 401K and IRAs … and how to make it last once retired. Most people rely on the “multiple buckets… »
02/16/21: Workshop brainstorming for better chip and dust containment
It is time for a little more research on better dust and chip control in my basement workshop. Brenda can deal with the noise and giving me a place to escape, but she is not fond of the dust that makes its way upstairs… »
02/15/21: Winter weather for mid-February 2021. More snow.
Click here for ani-gif above for full 25 second iPhone slow-motion video The icy sleet on top of our existing snow and pre-cleared roads has made travel dangerous this Monday afternoon in southwest Ohio. Thankfully for… »
02/15/21: Music Monday: Steely Dan – “Peg” from their 1977 album Aja
Well I’m still stuck in the 1970s for today’s Music Monday, but this time it is some jazz rock from the group Steely Dan … and band leaders Donald Fagan and Walter Becker. I can still see myself (a bit younger and… »
02/14/21: Happy Valentine’s Day to friends and family, especially my girls!
Brenda packaged up a nice box of fun gifts for our granddaughters and they connected by FaceTime with high energy and happy faces – it was fun. Both Annalyn and Ellerie are camera “hams” and seem to enjoy what to… »
02/13/21: The coyotes in southwestern Ohio are healthy and active
We live in a fairly developed area and yet the variety of animals surviving amidst the traffic and people continues to amaze me. When we built in Liberty Township, Ohio in the mid-1990s you would have called our area… »
02/12/21: The pitfalls of Zoom meetings: “I am not a cat” #humor
It was the Zoom video that nearly broke the Internet this past week and it made me smile enough to save the mp4 video to my blog. Very funny. 😊 … »
02/12/21: Just how safe are your passwords and online security measures?
My friend Jeff is a cyber security guy and is regularly interrogating me about “best practices” online. I suspect he sees so much that it nearly frightens him away from putting anything online (which is nearly… »
02/11/21: What do you know about the Tennis Racket Theorem?
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02/10/21: A snowy 2021 February stay-at-home day and a few idea photos
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02/09/21: Political venting and a new website called TheHustings.news
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02/08/21: Music Monday: Gilligan’s Island theme mashed with Led Zeppelin
For those who grew up on one of my favorite TV shows, Gilligan’s Island … and in later years listened to the music of Led Zeppelin … here’s an interesting YouTube video for this week’s Music Monday. On a more… »
02/07/21: Congratulations to Tampa Bay, Super Bowl LIV champs
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02/06/21: Woodworking Ideas: Thinking about a cyclone chip separator
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02/05/21: Tech Friday: New 1500mAh batteries for my Lumix GX8
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02/04/21: Archive: DadH, Hugh Woodcock, Lynda and Mark photos #TBT
I always stop in to visit with lifetime friends of Mom and Dad Howard, Ann and Hugh Woodcock when I’m close, but hesitate to even tell them I’m nearby “in the days of COVID19.” I really hate putting it off… »
02/03/21: Filler: Workshop Waxed Canvas apron ideas–just #photos
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02/02/21: "Three on the Tree" (for car enthusiast or those of a certain age)
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02/01/21: Music Monday: The Cranberries – “Linger” (Irish Alt Rock)
No, I’m not purposefully moving out of my 1970s Music Monday comfort zone (rut) in selecting today’s 1993 Irish alternative rock song “Linger,” but enjoyed the music by The Cranberries enough while painting in… »
01/31/21: What goes around, comes around … and spins around
This past Christmas, Megan ordered a fancier turntable for Taylor, which arrived this past week. He was excited set up his gift and shared the photos. It looks nice. It is hard to believe millennials have gravitated to… »
01/30/21: Woodworking ideas: Workshop dust collection improvements
My basement woodworking shop is a dust-making mess in our house, but there isn’t much I can do about it now other than to improve how I collect and filter and keep dust from gravitating into the furnaces cold air… »
01/29/21: Tech Friday: Our small Echo Dot on the Home Theater ceiling
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01/28/21: Archive: Professional Brenda and the Hawk Migration #TBT
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01/27/21: Do all grandparents love their grandchildren as much as I do?
January 2021 is already getting away from me and after receiving a cute photo from Katelyn of “Ellerie’s first pony” (tail) in a text message, I realized just how fast time is whizzing by. Before I could do the… »
01/26/21: Bubblicious, but I am not talking about bubble gum popping
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01/25/21: Music Monday: Lexington Lab Band does 1971 Chicago song
A few years ago (2013 and 2014), I mentioned that a talented classmate of mine from high school in Sidney performs regularly with the Lexington Lab Band. They play music that I enjoy and so will include a new video for… »
01/24/21: A Sunday filler post for those willing to pray for our country
"if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."… »
01/23/21: These days, I have been upscaling my coffee and my toothpaste
Once upon a time, I was … or at least tried … to be frugal in most things. I’ve always shied away from buying higher priced brand names, when there were less expensive option. Coffee is a prime example … since I… »
01/22/21: The best part about Inauguration 2021: Memes of Bernie Sanders
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01/22/21: Tech Friday: Look what arrived this week – the Wyze Cam 3
It was back in November when everyone was Black Friday shopping for gifts or ording Cyber Monday items … that is when the inexpensive security camera company Wyze, sent me an email about their new camera and motion… »
01/21/21: We love having our photo albums on the Echo Show #TBT
Both Brenda and I enjoy the hundreds (if not thousands?) of photos from our albums and digital archives that I’ve uploaded to the the photo section of the Amazon Prime storage cloud. We likely enjoy it more since it… »
01/20/21: Question: Can I get the COVID-19 vaccine in Ohio yet?
While talking with a customer on the phone today and talking about when I’ll be traveling to NE Ohio again, they asked me when they could get the Covid-19 vaccine? See Covid-19 Vaccination Program – LINK. So I… »
01/20/21: Woodworking: Collecting workbench hold-down ideas
It is common when woodworking on a bench to use some kind of vise or clamp to hold down a work piece. For longer boards I’ve always used either a couple of clamps on each end or my home-built vise and square hardwood… »
01/19/21: The US trend is politically left as opposing voices are squelched
It’s not “breaking news” that we live in a changing United States of America or that propaganda and control over speech is being used to steer large swaths of the population towards leftist ideology … but what… »
01/18/21: Music Monday: Early Pure Prairie League and Vince Gill
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01/17/21: Adding and storing cordless power tools and lithium batteries
In keeping up with lithium battery powered tools, those of us who have married into a brand have our reasons (battery warranty in my case).In reading most of the comparison literature and write-up websites, Price and… »
01/16/21: The wire from the TV signal box is now in the basement ceiling
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01/15/21: Tech Friday: Increased memory cheat on a smallish web server
Years ago when RAM was expensive, it was common to set up a SWAP space file for additional memory on computers and servers with plenty of fast hard drive space … especially when speed was not as important as… »
01/14/21: A bit disappointed in the 2021 LSSU’s Banished Words List
One of my favorite January traditions is looking at the Lake Superior State University’s Banished Words listing that get posted on December 31. I can’t believe LSSU has been doing it since 1976 and it is fun to… »
01/14/21: A Toyota 4Runner window sticker and missing a photo #TBT
While shuffling through a bunch of old scans and photos and uploading stuff to my Miami University .EDU Google Drive account for free cloud storage after downgrading my subscription to OneDrive (they refused to renew… »
01/13/21: Archive: On January 6, 2021, my nephew Ben, Emily, Liev and Ellis welcomed beautiful baby Lyra Eileen Skinner into the world
We don’t see my nephew and his family nearly enough, but a week ago, my nephew Ben, his wife Emily, and their two boys, Liev and Ellis welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. The boys baby sister, and Ben and… »
01/12/21: Stealing cookies, punishment, deterrents and election laws
The Storming United States Capitol 1/6/2021 and White House plus multiple cities protests 2020 In recent years, NPR has not been my source for balanced reporting and commentary, but I still occasionally pick up a morsel… »
01/11/21: New for me on Music Monday: Call It Dreaming by Iron & Wine
Every year, in trying to get out of my 1970’s Music Monday rut, I say that I’m going to try something new. So to keep January 2021 going with that same resolution for Music Monday, I’m listening to Iron… »
01/10/21: An interesting #book: EPIC – An Around-The-World Journey Through Christian History by Tim Challies
Thanks to my daughter Katelyn and her family, I’m in the process of reading the Tim Challies book, “EPIC – An Around-The-World Journey Through Christian History.” It is the new book I mentioned in my 2020… »
01/09/21: Bold and accomplished leaders often lack diplomatic tact
As a “very” amateur military history buff who is currently reading the book “I Marched With Patton,” I came away from Frank Sisson’s memoir in thinking about other leaders who earned the respect of their men,… »
01/08/21: Tech Friday: New audio player for blog with CSS tweaks
A simple blog upgrade project that I’ve been contemplating for a while now was one of my 2021 New Year’s resolutions … so I’m worked on it this past week’s Music Monday post. I’m not sure how long the new… »

March 2021
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March 2021

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