reflection | My Desultory Blog

Are we really safer from terrorism 20 years after 9/11?

RichC | September 11, 2021

The news media has been doing their part this week to remember the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and memorializing the 2977 people killed by 19 radical Islamist terrorists. Twenty years ago, four commercial airliners loaded with unsuspecting passengers were hijacked and the fuel-ladened planes were used as suicide weapons. To […]

Category: History, Idioms, Millitary, News, Politics | No Comments »
Tags: 9/11, afghanistan, anniversary, idioms, opinion, Politics, reflection, safety, terror, terrorism, war

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

09/23/22: Tech Friday: A Versa 2 smartwatch and setting up Fitbit Pay
It has taken me a while, but after updating my Fitbit Versa smartwatch a couple weeks ago, I couldn’t be happier with the “at the time” difficult decision. Once before, my original was replaced under… »
09/22/22: A few years ago, Taylor moved to Williston, ND #TBT
A lot has happened in 9 short years … but it has been NINE years! Where does the time go? While cleaning out a few miscellaneous files and moving a few photos off my iMac’s upgraded SSHD and to cloud storage only, I… »
09/21/22: Who doesn’t love an illusion that messes with your mind?
The triangle with the missing block … explained (below the break).… »
09/20/22: Taylor’s slow move, galls autumn oak leaves and pool pump
After helping Taylor move a few larger things over to his new condominium last weekend, he sent a photo of his still bare living room, but it is coming together. The TV is working so he could watch the 2022 losing… »
09/19/22: Hurricane Fiona batters Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic
Power is out in Puerto Rico with two-feet of rainfall after Hurricane Fiona came ashore. The Dominican Republic was saturated as well with flash flooding and mudslides as the category 2 hurricane slowly moved off the… »
09/19/22: Music Monday: “ABC” and some early Jackson 5 #video
The trigger for today’s Jackson 5 song “ABC” was due to hearing it as segment music on Fox Business last week. It triggered a memory of the choreographed “five-some” dancing and singing back on 1970’s TV,… »
09/18/22: More repairing: Dowels to strengthen a broken table leg
Who hasn’t needed to repair, or re-repair, a broken piece of furniture? In today’s world, most furniture, as well as other items, are throw-away after they break, but there are still a few of us who enjoy getting… »
09/17/22: The enticement emails from HelloFresh.com worked
Having initially enjoyed the weekly meal offering from Hello Fresh, the menu started to get a little stale as new items began to resemble previous meals. With inflation at the grocery store (and the fuel and time cost),… »
09/16/22: Repairs: Contemplating an electric pool pump motor rebuild
Besides noticing that a new school bus driver has decided to use our driveway as a turn around spot (should not be “the norm”) … I took apart the old 2017 pool pump motor. Last week I replaced the old motor with a… »
09/15/22: A look back at the financial markets for today’s #TBT post
As we face another recession (some believe we are already in one – see February 2022 part 1 and part 2), I couldn’t help but notice a post from about this time of the year in 2008 (see chart at left) when we… »
09/14/22: A little tested and untested advice for flying on @SouthwestAir
Read an interesting Washington Post article (PDF ReaderView archive) this past week discussing Southwest Airlines “open seating policy” and challenges in landing preferred seating without paying a premium –… »
09/13/22: Stock market pain was felt on Wall Street – 9/13/2022
If you believe the number 13 makes for an unlucky day, you’ll probably point to that as an omen … but the deep, nearly 1300 points, drop in the Dow came as investors and economists were expecting an easing pace of… »
09/13/22: Leftover family weekend photos and a Mud Hens game
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09/12/22: Music Monday: “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight”
The tail end of summers weather has been conducive for both working outside (and sweating) in the yard and cooling dips in the pool. I usually relax in a patched up floating lounger with a copy of Barron’s … but… »
09/10/22: Dinner and a classic movie: “Gunga Din” from 1939
We did another one of our “now regular” dinner and classic movie nights … which shockingly we are both enjoying. This one was another Cary Grant movie from 1939 called “Gunga Din,” to which I had to look up… »
09/09/22: Friday Filler: Even crabs hate getting sand in their eyes
Who likes getting sand blown in their eyes at the beach … not even crabs.… »
09/08/22: Marking history and longevity: Queen Elizabeth II dies peacefully
The Queen of England passed away today after becoming Queen at the age of 25 in 1952. Most living under her reign have never known another ruling monarch. So now after a historic 70-year reign, her son, the former… »
09/08/22: Book: “Team America: The Age of Generals”–Robert L. O’Connell
The WSJ book reviews are a great place to find new and interesting military history books and biographies. The recent download for me is a book by Robert L. Connell highlighting several bigger than life U.S. military… »
09/07/22: Apple Event introduces products including iPhone14 Pro
Considering our current iPhones are seven generations behind (iPhone 7), today’s Apple Event was watched with interest, as usual. The new iPhone14 Pro is particularly interesting and carries a higher price point …… »
09/07/22: Space Filler: Impressive super high resolution look at Mars
Be sure to click on the photo or download to see the larger version… »
09/06/22: Salvaged office closet shelves project and polished headlights
Having a few extra “rainy” hours over the Labor Day weekend, I decided to tackle an office closet project that I’ve been pondering. The plan was to either build in a few permanent shelves with holes… »
09/06/22: Leftover Labor Day weekend photos from the Oostras
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09/05/22: Checking out Taylor’s place and Labor Day weekend chores
Labor Day weekend was relatively busy with chores and stay-at-home chores. We have also noticed a coyote regularly making his round again (photos above). On Friday night we stopped to see Taylor’s new condominium in… »
09/04/22: Books: “The Day the Markets Roared” by Henry Kaufman
Having recently read an article about Dr. Doom and “his pinnacle of influence” on August 17th, 1982, I’m adding Henry Kaufman’s book “The Day the Markets Roared” to my Amazon Kindle “want to read” list.… »
09/03/22: Orcas attacking Great White Sharks for their liver and heart
Over the past several years, I’ve been reading stories about how pods of Orcasattack Great White Sharks. A Daily Mail article with photos and a short drone video segment this summer was particularly interesting. Would… »
09/02/22: Chick-Fil-A masks and Taylor has “the keys to the Castle”
We are looking forward to seeing Taylor’s new condominium in Cincinnati for the first time this weekend. He informed us that he “has the keys to the castle” a couple days early (negotiated current tenant move out… »
09/01/22: Penny-pinching my Amazon Prime membership in 2022
Some days I over-think things … today was one of those days. Like a lot of people, we have had an Amazon Prime membership for a long time. It has its pluses and minus, but continues to provide value and has become a… »
08/31/22: Pyramid of Giza in Egypt from above
The largest of the Egyptian pyramids is the Great Pyramid of Giza., one of The Seven Wonders of the World. It was the tomb of the Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu and was build in the early 26th century BC. It stands… »
08/30/22: Treating Sod Webworms is delayed by a Sprayer repair
Having recently ordered some Permethrin SFR 36.8% from DoMyOwn.com in order to hopefully prevent the sod webworm invasion that happened last year, I started a late August spraying this past weekend. Little did I know… »
08/29/22: A couple Great Horned Owls surprised us with their hoots
Neither photo is mine, but Brenda and I were both startled in hearing the sounds of owls coming from was seemed like inside the house. Great Horned Owl Hoots After we slowly crept around inside our house,… »
08/28/22: Summer 2022: If only every day could be like this
Neither Brenda or I have fully retired yet (although I loaf more than I should), but there is no reason THIS couldn’t be every day during retirement IF the weather was perfect all year around. I probably take more… »
08/27/22: My granddaughter enjoyed mowing with me on the Kubota
Along with Brenda sending me a couple of belated video clips from her phone from earlier this month with our granddaughters, I thought the one of Annalyn mowing with me was pretty special. She spent hours with me while… »
08/27/22: A quick babysitting trip to Perrysburg and a check on Katelyn and Drew’s property and house building progress
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08/26/22: A day of negative news and some positive: The stock market was down big, but the plus, Taylor closed on a condo
It was an ugly day on Wall Street as investors reacted to comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell who indicated “that the Federal Reserve must continue to raise rates” and “hold them at a higher level until they… »
08/26/22: Friday Filler: Photos like this bring peace and tranquility
Another “too lazy to blog” Filler Friday post. Instead I will fill this space with a photo that brings me peace and tranquility. Who wouldn’t mind hanging a hammock in the shade and pretending there wasn’t… »
08/25/22: The 2022 school year has started for my granddaughters
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08/24/22: Leftover travel weekend update and photos from our kids
While Brenda and I were in Atlanta celebrating her sister’s birthday, Taylor was once again at another wedding clear across the country. One of his elementary school friends (they stayed in touch) gave a bunch of… »
08/23/22: A birthday weekend in Georgia with the Gerbers
It was a nice weekend to drive to Atlanta, even though it was only for a short birthday visit for Brenda’s sister Ann. As always, we had a very nice time together, had a great day hiking up to Indian Seats (panorama… »
08/22/22: Music Monday: “That’s My Wave” by Jimmy Buffett
While listening to Radio Margaritaville and relaxing in the backyard at the end of the day last week, another Life On The Flipside song caught my ear and started me thinking about how I’m missing sailing and the… »
08/21/22: Reading: Long-range winter weather predictions since 1792
While I generally do not plug things on My Desultory Blog, I do enjoy reading the paper edition of a couple of publications. Barron’s Magazine is my go-to weekend reading, but their shrinking size and poor delivery… »
08/20/22: Motorheads are slowly showing interest in EVs #automotive
My social participation in automotive groups and forums that were common for me decades ago (CinciTDI, TDIClub, etc) have shifted to social media friends on Facebook groups (not so much anymore) and Twitter (daily).… »
08/19/22: Tech Friday: Campaign to fix the Apple iMessaging problem
Google and their Android mobile OS platform has a social media campaign running to hopefully get Apple to fix their widely used text messaging app called iMessage. For years now, sending messages between Apple iPhones… »
08/18/22: When hammerhead sharks feed, stay on the beach #video
It is summer vacation season … and shark video time … so here’s one from Twitter of a LARGE Hammerhead Shark chasing a stingray in Orange Beach, Alabama. Whoa … it’s better to stay out of the water when… »
08/17/22: Blood pressure and Ibuprofen, like Advil and Motrin?
Read this medical information the other day and thought it likely might be a question many of us may have when taking over the counter (and prescription) doses of the common NSAID Ibuprofen. Check out the full article… »
08/16/22: Fitbit: What does COVID do to your resting heart rate?
Since I wear a Fitbit and monitor a few things like heartrate, exercise and daily step count, I was concerned when my resting heartrate (graph left) seemed to be rising? After talking with my daughter about it, she… »
08/15/22: Music Monday: Olivia Newton-John succumbs to cancer
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08/14/22: Summer 2022 at home with our granddaughters wrap-up
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08/13/22: Wyze Cam Motion Alert: An alien lifeform?
Well … perhaps not, but it did catch my eye. Each “sunny” morning the sun rises in the east and peeks through the trees. If there is wind, the movement as shadows cast on our driveway trigger a motion alert. On… »
08/12/22: A Happy Birthday for Brenda … with her granddaughters
It has been a perfect summer week with Ellerie and Annalyn and all topped off with our family together to celebrate Brenda’s birthday. Katelyn and Drew are taking the girls to Kings Island today while we recuperate… »
08/11/22: Look what else is pouring across our open borders …
As the Biden Admin ignores illegals pouring across our southern borders, cartels are taking advantage of distracted border patrol and ICE “processing” agents to flood the United States with drugs …… »
08/09/22: Magic tricks: How did they do that? #video
Who doesn’t like knowing how a magician deceives an audience, especially when the magic trick is performed flawlessly. Here a behind the trick look at some deception.… »
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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