Eudora Brewing Company

Opening weekend for the new location of the Eudora Brewing Company in Kettering, on Wilmington Pike just south of Dorothy Lane, was a bit of a madhouse, and even with a winter storm making travel more adventurous than usual, thirsty folks braved it for a chance to see the new place.  In addition to the 18 taps they have a nice menu, including a grilled cheese I can't wait to try, and they have several large screen televisions, a couple of pool tables and my wife's favorite, an old-fashioned bowling machine.

http://www.eudorabrewing.com

Levolor Drums And Retainer Clips

Over the years I've replaced all the window coverings in the house with 2-inch, faux-wood Levolor blinds, but recently we noticed that a few of the strings had come loose at the top, so I went back to Lowes for replacement parts.  They don't carry that, but suggested I visit the nearby The Blind Spot in Bellbrook, where I met the extremely helpful Nancy Link.  She took the time to listen to what I needed, did some Internet research and pointed me to FixMyBlinds.com, where I was able to buy the plastic drums and retaining clips to make the needed repairs. 

https://www.blindsdayton.com

https://www.fixmyblinds.com

Payable On Death

We don't want to leave this earth with our children having to figure out our finances and going through probate court.  So in addition to having our offspring listed as contingent beneficiaries on all our investment accounts, we recently modified all our bank accounts to "Payable On Death" and added them as the payees, so the bank will take care of sending them their share when we both pass. 

As Forrest Gump said, "that's one less thang".

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/payableondeath.asp

The Best Of 2018

Over on my Life Experiences blog, I posted my traditional list of the top ten experiences from the last year, including one that came off my Bucket List. 

https://lifeexperiences.paulishing.com/2019/01/the-best-of-2018.html

Aerial Cities

I'm a big fan of Aerial America on the Smithsonian Channel and the most recent addition to their high-flying, informative shows is Aerial Cities, with six shows covering Chicago, Las Vegas, Seattle, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Check out the link below for upcoming showtimes, which in my area will happen at 6:00 am and 7:00 am during dates in the second half of February 2019.  Thank goodness for DVRs.

https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/aerial-cities/1005269

GoodRx For Animal Prescriptions

My daughter just saved 75% off her dog's phenobarbital prescription for thanks to GoodRx, totaling a $59 savings.  For us humans our insurance may provide greater savings, but who has a prescription plan for their pet?  Grab their current pill bottle and head over to the link below to see if you can find a better price.

https://www.goodrx.com/pets

Buckin' Donkey

There are bars that serve good "bar food", but the Buckin' Donkey serves great food and happens to be a bar, the hole-in-the-wall type (see image below) that you can drive by without a second thought.  Check out the menu at the DoorDash link below, but my friends and I can vouch for the Old Style Chicago Weck, Triple Bypass Burger, Crabby Dip and Onion Rings.  They're located at 2866 S. Dixie Drive in Moraine, just north of Dorothy Lane, just don't blink or you might miss it.

https://www.doordash.com/store/buckin-donkey-kettering-150989

Dark Mode

Ah, what's old is new again.

Dark mode is all the rage on smartphones these days and it makes perfect sense that dramatically reducing all those battery-sucking bright whites to zero-energy blacks makes your device last longer between charges.  It's also easier on the eyeballs and less noticeable in darker venues.  I've turned on several dark mode themes in apps on my Google Pixel 2, but Android Q, due out in 2019, looks to deliver that system-wide, as per the article below.  Can't wait (but I guess I have to, duh).

And the image below?  That's a 1980s-vintage IBM 3270 terminal, which always had a black (i.e. Dark Mode) background.  Full circle, once again.

https://bgr.com/2019/01/07/android-q-update-features-dark-mode-seemingly-confirmed

Technology First Magazine

The New Year brings a new format for the Technology First magazine, moving to a 8 1/2 by 11 inch magazine format printed on glossy paper for a great look.  The member-contributed articles continue being high-quality and insightful, with my favorite in this Jan/Feb 2019 issue being a look at the risks your business faces when your employees use ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft.  If you prefer, you can also read the magazine online using the Issuu link below.

https://issuu.com/technologyfirstdayton

Volume Butler On Android

I use a short audio clip of ocean waves as my notification tone, preferring a quieter sound that won't wake me up at night, but like a louder ring tone for incoming calls so I don't miss them.  But since my Pixel 2 only has one volume level setting for both rings and notifications, I had to try to find a middle ground and that wasn't possible.  The solution was a free (I love free) app called Volume Butler, which as seen below, provides for separate volumes, and I cranked the ring up and the notification down, to my desired levels.  If this is something you might like to try, follow the instructions at the link below carefully to get it configured properly.

https://www.guidingtech.com/separate-ringtone-notification-volume-android