Just Walk Out

While roaming around the Dallas Love Field airport, I noticed the "Just Walk Out" store you see below.  Turns out to be an Amazon invention that enables a seamless shopping experience.  You enter the store using your Amazon account and pick up your purchases.  AI and sensors to monitor items picked up or put back, and keep track of what you have.  When you leave, your Amazon payment method is charged.  No cashiers means no checkout lines.  Read more about it at the link below.

https://www.justwalkout.com

Using Grams

Our small kitchen scale measures weights in ounces and grams, but I never had a reason to use grams.  at least, not until I started making little balls of ground chuck for smashburgers.  We typically buy 1.5 pounds, enough for eight, three-ounce balls, but by the time I get to making the eighth ball, it usually comes out a little too small or a little too big.  That small difference is due to rounding, so it dawned on me one day that a rounding error with grams is way smaller.  So I now make 85-gram ground chuck balls, like you see below, and life is a little easier.

An ounces-to-grams conversion is available at the link below.

https://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/ounces-to-grams.htm

Using AI To Sound Like A Pirate

AI chatbots can create output in multiple languages and in different voices.   I decided to try that out by asking Google Gemini to "Write a half-page speech for the best man, Pat, to give to his younger brother Brian and new wife Deborah at their wedding reception in the voice of a pirate."  I also uploaded three photos, asking, "Use the pictures to create an image appropriate to the speech."  Here's what it came up with...

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Gather ‘round, ye scurvy dogs, landlubbers, and fine-dressed folk! Silence yer tongues or I’ll have ye walk the plank into the chocolate fountain!

I stand before ye today not just as the Best Man, but as the elder Captain of the crew. I’ve known the groom, Brian, since he was naught but a wee cabin boy—constantly tripping over his own boots and stealing my gold doubloons (or, as the Mutiny of ‘98 remembers it, my favorite action figures).

Brian, ye’ve always been a brave sailor, but ye were drifting aimlessly in the fog without a compass. Ye spent many a night searching for treasure in all the wrong ports. But then, across the horizon, appeared a vision of beauty—the formidable Deborah.

Deborah, me lady, ye didn’t just board his ship; ye took the helm! Ye brought order to his chaotic deck, ye polished his rusty heart, and ye taught him that "sharing the loot" actually means letting ye pick the restaurant. Ye are the finest gem in the Seven Seas, and how this scallywag convinced ye to drop anchor with him is a mystery greater than the Kraken itself!

So, raise yer grog, ye salty lot!

To the Captain and his new First Mate! May yer winds be fair, may yer hull be strong against the storms of life, and may yer hold always be overflowing with rum, riches, and joy.

To Brian and Deborah! May ye sail together ‘til the stars fall into the briny deep! Huzzah!

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https://gemini.google.com

Stuffed Bell Peppers

There's a pop of color in these stuffed peppers that Gourmet Chef Elaine cooked up.  We're not fond of green bell peppers, but the yellow and red varieties are delicious.  Add our favorite flavorful tomatoes, Roma, pepper jack cheese, onion, and garlic to the milder flavors of ground beef, zucchini, and rice, and it's an all-in-one meal that pleases.  Takes about an hour and a half total, and all those nitty directions can be found at the link below.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/stuffed-bell-peppers-3325315

Luggage Scooter

When I first spotted the luggage and 3-wheel scooter combo in the Austin airport, I thought it was kinda genius.  The kid hauls his own luggage, easily keeps up with his parents, and amuses himself at the same time.  But after his Dad had to chase him down because he was too far ahead, I wasn't as keen on the idea.  This is the first one of these I've seen, but after seeing all the options available on Amazon, they must be quite popular.  You can check them out at the Amazon search link below.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=luggage+scooter

Siri On Apple Watch

I talk to our various Alexa devices all the time.  I talk to Google smart speaker and Pixel 7 smartphone daily.  But I never talk to Siri, even though "she's" available on my iPad and my Mac Mini.  So when Gourmet Chef Elaine was frustrated with her Apple Watch, I would never have guessed that Siri could come to the rescue.  

A recent update to her Apple Watch changed the location of the Workout app, which she uses to track the progress of our frequent 3-mile walks.  Multiple taps and lots of scrolling were now needed, made very difficult by the precision needed for the small watch face.  I was hoping to find a way to rearrange the Workout icon and put the Outdoor Walk at the top of the list, but I couldn't figure out how to do that.  But while searching for a solution, I found the easy way.

"Hey Siri, start an Outdoor Walk."

Done.

https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-use-siri-on-the-apple-watch

SuperTool

I used the Gemini AI chatbot to repair the photo you see below, but I wanted to create an animated GIF that starts with the original photo and slowly shows the image being repaired.  I found that the Supertool website can do just that, along with a whole bunch of other neat PDF and image utilities.  You just upload the two photos, adjust a few settings, and download the animated GIF.

I can't tell if you can see the animation or not.  It appears some email systems will render it properly, while others just show a static picture.  But you should be able to see the animation by going to this blog's website, https://dailyposts.paulishing.com.

https://supertool.org/make-video-gifs-from-two-images

Using AI To Repair An Image

The first picture below is my completion certificate from the 1985 Columbus Marathon, the one and only marathon I've ever completed (out of three marathon attempts).  Somewhere along the line, it got ripped, and I had to scotch tape it back together.  I uploaded the image to the Google Gemini AI chatbot and asked it to "repair the image," and it produced the second image, looking brand new.  I've done this with a few other documents, and it works great.

https://gemini.google.com

Honey Butter Creamy Skillet Corn

This gem of a recipe from Gourmet Chef Elaine's kitchen will stun you.  It takes only four ingredients and fifteen minutes to produce this side dish that will knock your taste buds silly.  Butter and honey are melted over medium-high heat, then frozen corn is added.  Cook and stir for 5-8 minutes, then cream cheese, salt, and pepper are added.  Stir another 3-5 minutes, and you have a taste bud masterpiece! 

All the delicious details are at the link below.

https://togetherasfamily.com/honey-butter-creamy-skillet-corn/

Organizing The Spices

We've been looking to improve the organization of our spices.  Most of the time, we're pulling jars and cans out until we can finally spot the one we want.  Gourmet Chef Elaine bought a 5-piece Seville Classics Acacia Storage Bin Set during a recent trip to Costco, and we're using the three 6" (wide) by 11.25" (deep) by 3" (tall) you see in the top picture below.  The one on the left has the tallest jars, the one in the middle has the half-size jars (with their labels facing up!), and the one on the right has the medium-sized jars.  In the final picture, the tallest box is on the left, and the medium box sits on top of the half-sized box.  We'll see how we like it, but early indications are that we'll love it.

https://www.costco.com/p/-/seville-classics-acacia-storage-bin-set-5-piece/4000415316