Quadrotors are likely going to be the next personal aircraft

| June 28, 2016

I’m not sure how the whole "drone" future is going to turn out, but it is exciting to watch the improvements over a short period of time. The ease of flying, improvements in batteries and quality of video have really advanced. It will not be long before we’re "jumping" around town in a quadrotor. I […]

Video: Heavy rains in Australia wash away a marina

| June 7, 2016

This makes me a sick to my stomach as I’m thinking about our Encore sitting in a marina as hurricane and tropical storm season move closer to peak months.

VIDEO: How to Make a Soft Shackle >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News

| June 1, 2016

Soft shackles made from Dyneema are lighter and stronger than stainless steel, they are also kinder to your boat and your hands. Yachting Monthly demonstra Source: VIDEO: How to Make a Soft Shackle >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News

The sweet sound of the American V-8

| March 21, 2016

Will the next generation of car enthusiasts continue to appreciate the sound of the American V-8?

Kee Bird B-29 Superfortress story

| March 16, 2016

Watched an older aviation documentary this past weekend on YouTube (remembered reading about it years ago). The attempted rescue of the Kee Bird was a 1996 video story and heroic attempt ending in disaster — NOVA: B-20 Frozen in Time.

Easy to see why most fear snakebites – BBC slow-motion #Video

| February 27, 2016

Pretty impressive Puff Adder strike in slow motion … those are some fangs (video below).

Love this Slick TRIP Kickstarter backpack project

| February 7, 2016

I’d be jumping onboard for this Slick Kickstarter Backpack project if the $249 for the TRIP version didn’t frighten me away. Sure looks like the perfect traveling companion for my many trips — both for weekly work trips and those trips to the boat. It looks like they intend to keep the quality high … […]

Christmas 2015 – a family time

| December 26, 2015

We had a wonderful family time on Christmas day. Taylor came after work on Christmas Eve day and Katelyn and Drew drove from Minneapolis after a half day of work (long day for them), so we were all home for Christmas morning. After our morning gift exchange, which was wonderful, although too much … we went outside and enjoyed […]

Encore is having water pump woes … drip, drip, drip

| November 20, 2015

Yet another part to be serviced, rebuilt or replace on Encore‘s Volvo diesel. This time it’s the raw water pump dripping from the weep hole … and indication the seal is no longer keeping the water in the pump. This is a normal wear item and most cruisers not only carry a spare impeller and […]

TechFriday: Can YouTube Red compete? Coming 10/28/2015

| October 23, 2015

The best known video streamer, YouTube, has entered the subscription based video streaming service with their YouTube Red. They are asking $9.99 from potential subscribers for ad-free content that can be viewed on a variety of devices or saved for offline viewing. They’ll compete with services from several others who have significant content libraries (movies) […]

Got to love the Ultimate Driving Machine — BMW

| October 22, 2015

I’m fortunate to have a son, who even at 26, seems to enjoy and appreciate hearing his father opine and help hunt for new car. The two of us spent hours emailing back and forth, several weekends looking … and a few evenings after work test driving over the past couple of months … in […]

Unfortunately I’ve had Tootsie’s age wrong all these years

| October 5, 2015

  According to my records, we call October 5th Tootsie’s birthday … so Happy Birthday to “this man’s” best friend. It is possible to be off a few days when knowing a dogs birthday, but unfortunately I’ve had her age off for several years now – she is 17 (again)! Whoops … I added a […]

The Sony Mobile and ZMP Inc tests their new UAV

| August 25, 2015

After getting a chance to play with a quad copter last week, I’ve been a little more intrigued with the advancements in “drones.” Who knows, this innovation may find its way into the first realistic personal transportation device someday? Sony’s Aerosense drone that takes off and lands vertically but during flight gets most of its […]

Video: World record semi truck jump

| July 28, 2015

More video and info – Washington Post Link

Video: The robins have been busy this year – brood two!

| July 2, 2015

As with baby birds in previous years, the same tree is being used by the robins … with a new nest … again. This is the second brood for this pair of robins for 2015. They do have ugly chicks … and this guy is pretty weak (watch him flop below).

Noticing more Great White Sharks in Florida

| June 7, 2015

We're continuing to learn about the movement of Great White Sharks near the eastern U.S. and coasts since Ocerea has been tagging a few. It has been shocking to see the number of miles they travel and just how near these large sharks occasionall get to beaches and shallow waters. John Dickinson and his wife […]

Video: A Great White Shark is not a puppy

| May 26, 2015

Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers Waiting on Love music video

| May 24, 2015

Once upon a time I use to listened to music records, tapes and CDs. Now with hearing loss, I usually prefer silence or just “voice/talk/news” coming from speakers or the occasional online ditty … but there are a few exceptions. I still enjoy old favorites — from the best music decade, aka: 1970s, usually on […]

Video: A 30 year old Westerly Corsair II sailing at 6.5 knots

| May 1, 2015

Sharing and archiving a little left over video from our recent trip sailing on Encore with our son Taylor last week. He stretch out a week using some of his vacation time (wisely … more later) while coaxing Brenda and me to do the same for a few days. We had great spring weather (80s) […]

TechFriday: Playing with Periscope from Twitter

| March 27, 2015

I wasted a couple hours on Thursday morning while “working” (cough, cough) from home and downloaded the Periscope app for iOS on the iPhone.  To the novice “tech geek,” these live broadcasting social networking apps will soon have the Internet filled with video streams. Currently I’m seeing broadcasters like CBNC’s Julia Boorstin (above) jumping on the […]

In need of a smile? #video

| June 3, 2013

With funeral preparations underway for my father-in-law, it has each in the family working to celebrate the extraordinary life of Frederick Howard (obiturary). I’ve been searching through some old photos and video … and getting plenty distracted. I came across a short segment of my daughter Katelyn in 1989 and couldn’t help but smile.  

Testing MP4 compression for streaming

| May 20, 2012

This is a video test to check for streaming compression using Handbrake on a PC. (this is a test for Keith Thomas at GroupBibleStudy.com) Deleting the Hana-FLV-Player plugin from WordPress as it is no longer supported.

If only to be able to do this in 50 years …

| April 29, 2011

NASCAR fan, Rachel Gilbert, drove around the New Hampshire Motor Speedway at age 100! If all senior citizens could only have her spirit and health. (also I’m posting to test a different webm HTML5 plugin after my first attempt failed — video below)

Testing the WebM video embed

| April 14, 2011

Testing an embed after encoding a HTML5 WebM video of the JFK Airport Airbus A380 spinning a CRJ700 commuter jet. EDIT 4/16/2011: Uninstalled the WordPress plug in as it messed up all my previous audio and video embeds. Waiting for more universal acceptance and less intrusive plug in. EDIT AGAIN 4/29/2011: After the uninstall I’m […]

When your son sends you a song …

| November 4, 2010

I’m not sure why, but out of the blue my college age son sent me a music video last night? I don’t know whether I should take the lyrics to heart,  just enjoy the music or look to improve some flawed area of my life? Anyway, he sent the 2006 Rodney Atkins song “Watching You” […]

TDIFest OH8 Road Rally Video

| September 1, 2008

I’m back dating a couple of blog entries so I can include a few photos and video from this past weekend — TDIFest OH8. Here’s a great video by TDIClub member “TeDeEye1” of the “timed drive” Road Rally: TDIFest OH8 Road Rally from Fred on Vimeo.

Timing belt intervals improve … but beware

| December 23, 2007

The timing belt replacement is the bane of Volkswagen TDI ownership — partially due to the complexity and cost of servicing, yet it needs to be taken seriously as in any zero-clearance engine. Understanding what’s included in changing timing belts of any car can help one better understand what should be included in this service. […]

Memorial Day 2007 and a Birthday Bash Video

| May 27, 2007

In remembrance of those who gave their lives for our country, I paused for a moment to retire our tattered flag and hoisted a new one. As a nation and a people we have so much … I thank God for our nation and for those who gave their lives to found, secure and protect […]

Happy ‘biodiesel’ Earth Day :-)

| April 22, 2007

Happy Earth Day … I guess that’s what you’re suppose to say? (click for larger macro photo of Tullip) It has been a beautiful couple of days in Cincinnati and I’ve been lax in posting and instead I’m getting the swimming pool opened, tuning up lawn equipment (fixing actually) and finishing a first compete grass […]

Surfing the Banzai Pipeline … kinda

| March 4, 2007

Haven’t posted a video clip for a few days and thought I would post this one for Taylor — he would rather be one of these rats. (Does PETA regulate rats?)

VW TDI “How-To” Cabin Filter preview

| December 20, 2006

I finally pulled some 3 month old VW TDI “How-To” footage off the camera and encoded it last night before going to bed. I haven’t had a chance to put fresh eyes on it or even watch it through, so before I post it to the CinciTDI video section, perhaps a couple Volkswagen TDI oriented […]

Lock Bumping: How secure is your home?

| November 28, 2006

One advantage of a “desultory” blog is that there are very few topics too far out to blog on. Last night I caught a ‘news teaser’ from local Cincinnati television station WXIX talking about “Lock Bumping” and have included the short segment at the bottom of this post. (or check it out on YouTube) Hmm, […]

Bad Larry: Flexible Auger Bit for electrical work

| November 11, 2006

I picked up a home improvement tip from “This Old House” that might come in handy for those needing to get a wire into a room without damaging plaster or wallboard — using “Bad Larry” as Alan the electrician and Host Kevin O’Connor call it. “Bad Larry” is a flexible drill bit, a screw tipped […]

Senator John Kerry … strike two …

| November 1, 2006

Oh … its getting hot in the political kitchen as John Kerry fires up the Republicans with comments made on October 30th as we near the November elections. Senator Kerry used a few words yesterday that either were not carefully selected, or he just poorly communicated his point — strike one. Nevertheless, his damage control […]

Volkswagen Guitar marketing campaign

| October 27, 2006

While watching the end of game 4 of the World Series (9th inning), I noticed that there is a new Volkswagen sales campaign call V-DubsRock. The marketing approach is reminiscent of the “buy a car, get a bike” gimmick, but this time it is an FirstAct electric guitar. Nevertheless since the commercial has high-speed motion […]

Fireworks – Riverfest Cincinnati 2006

| September 3, 2006

If you’ve ever been around Cincinnati, Ohio on Labor Day weekend you most likely have seen (or at least heard of) the annual fireworks display. This year was the 30th year and the display was better than ever. It was 45 minutes of mind-boggling color, smoke and noise. In Cincinnati, you know what fireworks are […]

Desultory thinking: Storm Drainage Solution

| July 9, 2006

I’ve been battling a storm water problem since we built our house and every year tweak my existing water routing plan contemplating new ways to deal with it. I spotted a “This Old House” video clip that offered a solution … a few more dollars than I want to spend, but I appreciated the engineering […]

Palm Treo 700p first look

| May 18, 2006

Mobility Today video taped a first look at the Treo 700p as they somehow got there hands on a new PDA smartphone. If you are at all interesting in a Treo device and what it can do, check out the the video clip that David Ciccone put together. It is mirrored at several locations so […]

Ferris Bueller DirecTV ad

| May 17, 2006

Twenty years after its debute, DirecTV has capitalized on the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with a with a commercial sure to make a few of us grin. Who can forget Ben Stein as the dull … I mean dull … teacher taking attendance — “Bueller, Bueller …” Kudos to DirecTV’s ad agency for nabbing […]

Teacher/Student relationships

| May 12, 2006

It’s amazing to me that with all the recent news coverage that any teacher thinking about having relationships or inproperly interacting with students could still allow it to happen, let alone encourage it. Teachers certainly know better and shockingly are not showing judgement worthy of their position of trust. It hit pretty close to home […]

Windows on a Mac: The Movie

| April 19, 2006

Someone asked me a bunch of questions about running Windows XP Pro on a Intel based Mac, so instead of just answering them, I’ll include a video clip. Several of the questions were about boot speed and comparisons, while others were general install comments. The video clip should cover the speed issue and differences in […]

VW GTI commercials – Speedy Gonzales moons the cats

| March 21, 2006

Volkswagen is one of those companies that seems to get a tad ‘edgy’ in it advertising campaigns. From the “Vee-Dub” and “German Engineering, ya-man” ads mentioned a couple weeks ago, to the latest Hispanic targeting ads featuring the cartoon mouse ‘Speedy Gonzalez.’ I posted a comment a week or so ago on the CinciTDI group […]

Engadget’s Treo 650 Birthday Cake

| March 18, 2006

I’m an Engadget fan and a Treo cell phone admirer, but when Kirk Sutherland submitted his entry for his working Birthday Cake Treo 650 there was little competition. Nice job Kirk! This past month the ‘gadget’ reporting website Engadget decided to give away presents for their 2nd birthday. Toward the end of the daily giveaways, […]

Another Ford Sportka Commercial

| February 9, 2006

A couple days ago I posted a commercial (Video Clip for Bird Lovers) and figure it only fair to return the politically incorrect post. This one is for cat lovers. 😉

Video Clip for bird lovers

| February 5, 2006

I’m guessing that across the pond there don’t worry about political correctness in their advertising? This Ford Sportka ad is rather disturbing. “Here kitty – kitty – kitty.” 😉

Motorweek turns 25

| February 4, 2006

PBS’s Motorweek celebrated 25 years of reporting on the auto world this past weekend and after taking a look back, also looked ahead to what is in our automotive future. Since I’ve been tinkering with video and encoding this weekend, I’ll include the tail end clip that mentions of diesel making a comeback and visions […]

Video: Just for fun …

| February 4, 2006

I’ve been wanting to be able to incorporate a series of short video clips in my blog. Some clips have most likely been spotted on the internet before, others might be new and a few I’ve recently encoded. Instead of ‘forwarding’ to friends I thought I would share them here. Without further ado I’ll put […]

Outstanding Rally Video

| January 16, 2006

By accident, I picked up a great videocast link from a visitor to NAIAS. The Climb Dance WMV clip (right click/save as) is short at only 3 minutes 45 seconds and 11 megs. I thought it was worth sharing with the automotive types that might occasionally read my blog. The audio is nearly as good […]

A rare interview with Neil Armstrong, “First Man”

| November 11, 2005

For many baby boomers, “The Eagle has landed” and “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (click for audio) were monumental audio moments that recall American success and rekindle proud memories of the Apollo space program. Practically every American alive and countless millions around the world held their breath and watched as […]

Imagine … newspapers on a computer. No way!

| May 15, 2005

2005.5 Jetta V Trunk with CinciTDI.com

| April 29, 2005

Since my digital Canon S50 comes with a limited ‘video’ mode I thought I would try it out and include a short video clip without audio below. What is noticable is that the trunk opens slowly when one triggers the trunk release and that the capacity is huge. Over 16 cu. ft. which is larger […]

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

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog