RichC | January 20, 2012
I saw the Shapecatcher link highlighted on one of the technology media sites and thought it might make for a good a Tech Friday post. Yes, it has been a while since Friday has seen a technology related idea … so here’s any easy way to find the correct Unicode hexidecimal equivalent for a particular [...]
RichC | January 20, 2012
Could help but sharing this pretty interesting (long) video illustrating traditional Birch bark canoe building … who knew so much went into building these boats.
RichC | November 20, 2011
Finally, after about a month of trial and error fiddling with WordPress and MySQL since moving to a new server, I’ve figured out why MyDesultoryBlog has been so slow. Initially I blamed the new server since everything was fine at the old host, and even started to wonder if 6 years or so of daily [...]
RichC | November 5, 2011
Reposted from EAA284 … thanks Steve. One of our EAA284 members, Steve Dilullo, keeps a personal flying blog and posted a great article for those wanting to create videos of their flights. His how-to article is a great starting point for those who might want to capture their flights on video and are looking for [...]
RichC | November 4, 2011
via youtube.com Excellent tips for growing and maintaining a raspberry patch (row). Posted via email from RichC’s posterous
RichC | July 14, 2011
One would have thought that owning and renting cars for 30 years that I would have known that the little indicator arrow on the fuel gauge indicates which side the filler cap is located on. I don’t know how many times I’ve pulled into a gas station with a “new to me car” and guessed [...]
RichC | June 26, 2011
Although I’ve not been overly concerned with “my personal” Internet browsing and how my habits are being watched, I am conscious that more and more of online habits are being tracked and marketed to interested parties. It does seem a bit intrusive. After reading a few more articles on the subject the use of https [...]
RichC | March 22, 2011
With hundreds of great woodworking sites on the web, it is difficult to know which ones are worth viewing whenever there is a new article. Most promote their published product or so overrun with advertising that it reminds me of going to a myspace page (mind you I haven’t gone to one in a few [...]
RichC | February 14, 2011
I’m had a problem with my speed/log and particularly depth sounding Navman instruments on the boat this last trip and I brought back both the instrument ‘heads’ (transducers are in the hull) and the teak mounting pod from above the companionway. Although I’m not sure what is wrong with the instruments, I’m running them in [...]
RichC | February 9, 2011
The latest install of the Tweetdeck (v0.37.2) Twitter client added a new feature, a shortcut link called deck.ly, that allows for longer messages. Although the feature enables significantly more text to be included in a tweet, it does take away from the simplicity of Twitter … and the necessity to be concise. Personally I doubt [...]
RichC | January 18, 2011
I dropped one of our juice glasses on the hardwood floors this morning and it really shattered into small shards of glass … hopefully I’ve swept up them all. I was surprised at how small the pieces were, but then that’s really not the point of this post. Really it was just an opportunity to [...]
RichC | January 16, 2011
Once upon a time, I packed a small portable printer — Canon i70 — in my car when I traveled, but found it to be a hassle to keep it working. Fast forward to 2011 and I have found a possible use for a small lightweight printer – on the boat. Who knows if it [...]
RichC | November 21, 2010
I almost forget … but I promised Jacob I would post this video. Here’s the footage that survived a CinciTDI How-To video attempt a year or so ago. Unfortunately the second part of the video (the more difficult part) covered the seal which requires more delicate adjustment and didn’t survive. I’m hoping we get a [...]
RichC | March 29, 2010
I had trouble finding the little half-notch with the adjusting crown on my son’s new watch (the one that forwards just the date), so I improvised and used a soft rubber barrel of an old pen on my cordless drill to speed up the hands of time. Surprisingly it worked great. So for the fun [...]
RichC | March 6, 2010
I’m a couple days late in commenting on the newly released Facebook application for the Palm webOS smartphones, but wanted to mention that it has been significantly improved. If you are a Facebook user, or even a newbie, the enhancements available for the Pre and Pixi make the popular social networking site almost worth using. [...]
RichC | February 3, 2010
Some reading it hear might want to add their landline phones or cellphones to the National Do Not Call Registry. Thanks Sam for sending the email to remind me. REMINDER…..all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS To [...]
RichC | January 4, 2010
Success … finally! I been all thumbs in an ongoing struggle (post one and two) to fix my notebook computer during the Christmas and the New Year holiday. I ordered the suspect part, ‘an inverter,’ for my Gateway notebook computer and after hassles with pre-Christmas shipping, finally received it only to find out it was [...]
RichC | January 1, 2010
There come a time when having even small fingers and thumbs isn’t good enough, let alone bigger finger like me, isn’t to repair. Here’s a time tested technique that might just keep your frustration level down. When you’re tinkering with small parts like electronic devices screws, try a dot of silicone sealant on the end [...]
RichC | December 4, 2009
In a follow up to my post concerning defective Christmas lights, I’ve been working to salvage strings of mini lights before tossing them into the landfill. So far I’ve been pleased the Lightkeeper Pro and have been successful in being able to repair at least a dozens strands of lights. The fixes have not been [...]
RichC | December 1, 2009
I know that I’m not the only one ‘collecting’ tangles of miniature Christmas lights which grows each season as the decorations are packed and unpacked. I’ve vowed a number of times to either fix or dispose of the faulty and half lit strings. This year, knowing my repairman patience is nearing it limit, I’m giving [...]
RichC | November 30, 2009
I’m archiving — and sharing — a good sailing advice blog and video series by shipwright and rigger Jerr Dunlap (@myboatworks) out in Marina del Rey, California — thanks Jerr. He has several great video “how-to” clips … here are two on how to fit a Norseman Fitting.
RichC | September 19, 2009
We stopped over at the Cincinnati area Homearoma this year in Mason, Ohio even though it was smaller … five homes between $550K to 850K as I recall, compared to the 18 homes mostly over a million or so dollars in previous years. Brenda and I still had a good time and enjoyed check on [...]
RichC | September 4, 2009
I used an excellent free conference call product from FreeConference.com yesterday. The registration took about 3 minutes and a conference call can be scheduled in about 5 minutes. I set up my first call and had very good results while conferencing with three others … that is, right up until the end – see comment [...]
RichC | June 30, 2009
Ever need another outlet even when you have a couple surge strips and wall outlets are full? Perhaps you need an entire wall wired and ready for the latest and greatest electrical gadget. (See Make Online – Thanks Scott)
RichC | June 6, 2009
Here’s a “How-To” technique for making FREE computer to “phone” calls (not computer to computer) from overseas to any U.S. phone number. Its more the penny pincher in me which enjoys finding a way to use technology than the actual dollar savings since it hardly seems worthwhile for the few calls I “really” need to [...]
RichC | May 7, 2009
According to computer security expert Steve Gibson, there is a javascript flaw in the widely used Adobe product Acrobat 7, 8 and 9 includiing their Reader software. There is an easy fix that can be taken by users before Adobe come out with the ‘fix’ — it as simple as unchecking the ‘Enable JavaScript’ box. [...]
RichC | April 29, 2009
Have you ever need to get a group together and try to schedule the best time for a meeting or conference call? If so, you know what a pain this can be sending emails or making phone calls to everyone. Try this simple, innovated and FREE website service next time you’re faced with finding “When [...]
RichC | April 25, 2009
Occasionally I enjoy looking at archived posts from the previous year, or even several years ago by clicking on links in the right hand side bar’s “Years ago on this day“ list. It is surprising how fast 4 years have gone by? It was in April 2005 that I moved my paper journal to a [...]
RichC | April 19, 2009
I posted a follow up letter from the FCC on my junk fax post and below. Also pointing out that so far this month I haven’t received any additional faxes from the two companies that have been sending marketing by fax. (click image above for full letter view) The FCC also states how marketing faxes [...]
RichC | April 7, 2009
Although my confidence is low that I’ll be able to reduce the number of “junk faxes” being sent to me, I’m going through the procedure put in place by the FCC anyway. The steps are fairly straight forward in entering a complaint online, but I suspect results may not be all that forthcoming? An online [...]