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

Easter Jumping Popper Toys

It's not too late to order a set of the twenty-four Easter Jumping Popper Toys you see below in time to put a few in every Easter basket.  The eggs, bunnies, and bears are as cute as can be, and you just press the head down to the bottom, then wait 3-10 seconds (or a bit more), and it will jump up to 12" - 20" high.  There are eight designs, and you get three of each one, all for $14.  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BN917PN3

A Time That Does Not Exist

If you ask me to meet you on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at 2:30 am, I would have to tell you that time does not exist.  Ask me to meet you on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 1:30 am, I would have to ask you, "Which one?'  Of course, I'm talking about the effect of starting and ending Daylight Saving Time.  But time itself doesn't leap forward or fall back; it's just the way we humans want to label time.  Because of that and a few other factors, like the Earth's rotation continuing to slow down, keeping track of time is difficult, particularly for computers, where it's really important.

For those non-techies, you can stop reading now.

The programming language of the Internet is JavaScript, and it was modeled on Java.  Java had a flawed "Date" function, and in the haste to get JavaScript completed, those flaws got included.  That's been (finally) fixed with the introduction of a new JavaScript time function called Temporal, which provides a more reliable and feature-rich way to handle dates and times compared to the legacy Date object. It includes support for time zones, calendars, and immutable date-time representations, making date management simpler and less error-prone.  More details can be found at the following link.

https://dev.to/pritampatil/introducing-the-temporal-object-a-game-changer-for-javascript-date-handling-3n1b

Using AI To Colorize Photos

The first picture below is an original photo of Gourmet Chef Elaine (with the ribbon in her hair) and her siblings.  I asked the Google Gemini chatbot to colorize the photo, and you see that in the second picture.  

Along with the picture, Gemini responded, "I have colorized and enhanced your photo, focusing on bringing natural skin tones and fabric colors to life. I also restored the details and texture to the clothing, such as the boy's plaid blazer and the various ties, and removed the gold studio signature for a cleaner finish."

Gemini made up all the colors, including Elaine's red hair (which it's not), and it's nowhere near what they actually wore, but it's kinda cool to see what it could have looked like.

https://gemini.google.com

Pepperoni Roll

We went to Jimmy's Italian Kitchen on our once-a-month, eat-lunch-out dates.  I had the yummy Pepperoni Roll, which you see below, one of six New York Rolls on the menu.  They have quite the menu, including pizza, salad, calzone, ravioli, ziti, lasagna, and luxurious desserts.  You can check out the menu at the link below.

https://jimmysitaliancuisine.com

Flavortown Sauces

We watch Guy Fieri (pronounced guy fee-ED-ee) 's competition cooking shows all the time, and when he began marketing sauces, rubs, and wing sauces, we had to give them a try.  The Smokin' Hickory BBQ sauce, on the left below, is great and rivals the best ones on the market.  The other one is his unique Donkey Sauce, featuring a combination of lots of garlic, EV olive oil, salt, pepper, mayonnaise, yellow mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.  You'll notice the top of the lid is different than other bottles, and it's a great feature that allows you to open the top using one hand.  Pretty clever!

https://www.flavortownsauces.com

Cat Houses

It looks like a high-density feline metropolis has sprouted right in front of the picture window.

I often wonder what people are thinking, and that certainly applies to the front porch you see below, which, unfortunately, is at the west end of the street we live on.  Is the purpose of all the cat houses and platforms to provide a home for stray cats, or perhaps they think this is decorating at its finest?  At the top, you'll see their Christmas lights are still strung, and the sign to the right of the picture window says "Home Sweet Haunted Home."  Sigh...

Cordless Electric Scissors

It wasn't until the electric scissors you see below went on sale for about $25 that I decided to buy.  While you can use it to cut wrapping paper, fabric, and many other things, there are two things that I'll use it for the most.  First, cardboard boxes.  I recently used a carpet knife to cut down the boxes our new nightstands came in.  Pulling that razor blade towards me over and over to make small enough pieces to fit into the recycle can was both dangerous and exhausting.  Second, plastic clamshell packaging.  Our heavy-duty kitchen scissors can barely cut the stuff, and ripping it apart leads to enough injuries that OSHA releases an annual clamshell packaging injury report.  I haven't tested cutting really heavy-duty plastic yet, but I believe it should work.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GD7MF41Z

Using AI To Diagram A Sentence

There seems to be no end to what Chatbots can do, and this example might take you back to the horror (or happiness) of grade-school English class.  Diagramming teaches the logic of language.  It forces you to categorize every word and sharpens your ability to write with more clarity and precision.  I asked a few chatbots to "Diagram the first sentence of the Gettysburg Address," and ChatGPT gave the nicest result, shown below.  I didn't know English could be this complex.

https://chatgpt.com

How the structure works

Main clause

• Subject: our fathers

• Verb: brought forth

• Direct object: a new nation

Verb modifiers

• Four score and seven years ago (time)

• on this continent (place)

Modifiers of “nation”

• conceived in Liberty (participial phrase)

• dedicated to the proposition… (participial phrase)

Object of “to”

• proposition

Clause modifying “proposition”

• that all men are created equal

Beef Barley Soup With Prime Rib

Put leftover prime rib to a delicious use by making a big pot of Beef Barley soup.  Butter, celery, carrots, garlic, and onion are cooked until almost brown.  Add beef broth, prime rib, apple cider vinegar, ground thyme, and barley, and cook over medium heat until the barley is tender.  The recipe at the link below also calls for "broth", but only beef broth was used.

It's more of a cold winter day meal, but it's so good I would never turn a bowl down.  Gourmet Chef Elaine hits another one out of the park.  Lucky me.

https://www.delishscript.com/beef-barley-soup-with-prime-rib-recipe