60 Watts

When I saw the USB and USB-C outlets on our flight from College Station, TX, to Dallas, I was surprised to see that they could deliver up to 60 watts of power.  But over the years, smartphones and tablets have improved their charging rates, with the Pixel 10 Pro XL supporting up to 45 watts and the iPhone 17 Pro Max up to 40 watts.  I guess Southwest was looking a few years into the future when they decided 60 watts was a good number.  More on all that watts, volts, and amps can be found at the link below.

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question501.htm

Mug Rug

I like mug rugs so much more than traditional coasters.  They are larger, skinnier, and as you can see below, perfect for this Ohio State football fan.  If you're crafty, you can sew a mug rug perfect for your passion, or turn to Etsy (link below), Amazon, or many others for designs that please.

Big shout-out and THANKS to Mary for this awesome cutie!

https://www.etsy.com/market/mug_rugs_machine_embroidery_designs

Using AI For Research

A few years ago, I heard that Electric Vehicles (EVs) were going to be a problem because they weigh so much more than conventional gas cars due to their large batteries.  That made sense, and because I wasn't thinking of buying an EV, I really didn't care.  Recently, I took some heavy stuff to the dump, and the invoice said my Infiniti QX60 weighs nearly 4,800 pounds, more than I expected, but certainly not the largest SUV you can buy.

With the advent of AI and its ability to produce answers to questions, I asked Google Gemini how Tesla's weight compared to its gas-powered brethren.  The table you see below shows that Tesla EVs and regular SUVs are very comparable.  Using AI for research has made my life much easier.

https://gemini.google.com

All The Best Delicatessen

We had lunch a few months ago at our local All The Best Delicatessen, with my selection being the soup and half-sandwich combo shown below.  The chicken soup was packed with chicken, carrots, and noodles, and the corned beef Reuben was served on a seeded rye bread.  The food was great, and this isn't your normal deli.  We got seated at a table set up with silverware wrapped in cloth napkins, given menus, and we placed our order with our server.  This is no stand-in-line joint that's mainly self-serve.  To top it off, they even have a full bar with seating.  Very cool place.

https://allthebestdeli.com

Traffic Sign Recognition

We rented a Mazda CX-50 from Budget during our last trip to Texas, and like many cars, it displays the speed limit on its dashboard, which you can see as "55" in the picture below. It seemed odd that it would disappear for a while, only to return as we approached a new speed limit sign.  I thought the car might actually be reading the signs, but I had never heard of anything like that.  

Took a little research to find that some newer cars have a Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) system that uses a small, forward-facing camera, typically located near the rearview mirror, to scan the road ahead for traffic signs, and an onboard image processing computer to recognize a variety of road signs.  The TSR can be combined with the car's navigation system, which may have limited or outdated speed limit data, to keep the driver better informed.

That's all good, but the Mazda included one very annoying feature.  Look closely at the end of the needle on the speedometer, and you will see that the speed limit is highlighted in red with a red line curving to the limit of the current speed.  That piece of nanny-nagging is too much.

https://caradas.com/understanding-adas-traffic-sign-recognition

Rain-Sensing Wipers

As I was driving on the rainy day you see below, it got me to wonder how rain-sensing wipers work.  A little research showed it starts with a light-emitting diode (LED) located between the windshield and the rearview mirror.  When the windshield is dry, most of the infrared light is reflected back to a light detector (photodiode) within the sensor.  When raindrops land on the glass, they disrupt this reflection. The water droplets scatter the infrared light, reducing the amount reflected back to the sensor.  Pretty slick.

More information can be found at the link below.

https://www.carparts.com/blog/how-do-rain-sensor-wipers-work-and-are-they-the-right-choice-for-you

Skinny Caps

Back in November 2024, I blogged about the skinnier cap on cartoons of Half-n-half, which measures in at 3/8" high, and how I had to use pliers to get it open.  Ice Mountain has taken that to new lows with a cap that measures only 1/4-inch high, as you can see in the image below.  Activists pressure companies to reduce their "environmental impact," apparently with no regard for what is good for the consumer.  I, for one, will be looking very closely at cap heights when buying in the future.  

More on "wrap rage" from USA Today at the link below, including the next bad design idea, "Tethered caps".

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/12/04/shrinking-plastic-caps-bottles-harder-to-open/75719362007

Using AI For Landscaping

Since a blight killed all the boxwoods at the front of our house, we decided that a complete redo was necessary, and I turned to AI for an assist.  I uploaded a picture of our house and asked it to "remove all the bushes, shrubs, and shadows".  Then I asked it to "recommend landscaping with plants that do well in southwest Ohio", and that's the picture you see below.  I really like the pop of color from the purple and bright green hostas and how it puts a larger bush at each end to frame it nicely.  It was also nice that it removed all the leaves from the grass and made the American flag look brand new.  I used Google Gemini 3 with a trial of their Nano Banana Pro image generation tool.  Now we can't wait for spring!

https://gemini.google.com

Honey-Garlic Shrimp Skewers

I picked up a large bag of 16-20 Wild Ocean Shrimp at our local Foremost Seafood store, and Gourmet Chef Elaine turned them into a wonderful meal you can see below.  The glaze consisted of honey, sriracha, crushed red pepper, garlic, lime zest and juice, and parsley, which was brushed on the skewered shrimp as they fried.  It's sitting on a bed of wilted spinach, which was sauteed with a couple of grated garlic cloves.  The full recipe is at the link below.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/honey-garlic-shrimp-skewers-6601298

Love Field

Our recent return trip from Austin, Texas, went through Dallas, but I thought that would be the huge Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) airport; but it happily turned out to be the original Dallas airport, Love Field (DAL).  There are only 20 gates in its single terminal, but it is packed with plenty of restaurants, bars, and shops.  We'll be looking to fly through there for future trips.

The Southwest Airlines sign you see below has several screens with useful information, but I particularly like "how full is the aircraft for the next flight", which for this Atlanta-bound plane is 55%.  It's nice to know you'll have room to spread out and stow luggage in the overhead bins.  However, our Columbus, Ohio-bound plane was 85% full, but we still had adjacent seats, albeit in the back of the plane.  Southwest is changing from its "cattle call" boarding process to assigned seats beginning January 27, 2026, a change we are 100% looking forward to.

https://www.dallas-lovefield.com