RYO Non-Slip Cutting Board

We have a number of cutting boards including a few that say they're "non-slip", which has never been true enough to be useful.  The board shown below started out with such a promise but failed to deliver so I bought a 12"x12" Adhesive Non-Slip Solid Rubber Pad from Amazon, cut a couple of 2" strips from it, peeled off the release paper, and stuck it to one side of the cutting board.  It's now close enough to "non-slip" as I think is possible (push hard enough and anything will move).  Sometimes you just have to "Roll Your Own".

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SWBGMSJ

Pelonis Space Heater

Our east-side guest bedrooms are at the farthest points from the furnace and are always too cold in the winter.  Our #1 requirement was that any solution made absolutely no noise, not a fan whirl, not a tink, nor a click.  I found the Pelonis Oil-Filled Space Heater shown below at Menards and it was the perfect solution.  The most significant tradeoff is that it doesn't heat up as quickly as other options, but a little planning ahead solves that.  And for $50 bucks it was a great buy, particularly since they will not get all that much use.

https://www.menards.com/main/heating-cooling/heaters/space-heaters/pelonis-reg-1-500w-oil-filled-space-heater/psh07m1aww/p-4221069730350547-c-5617.htm

Roasted Pecans

Raw pecans are a tasty treat but a little roasting takes them to the next level.  Chef Elaine puts a layer of pecans on a cookie sheet in a 400-degree oven for 5-7 minutes, watching over them very closely for the moment they turn the perfect shade of dark doneness.  The smaller pieces bake faster, so save those for me.  A little more char is my thing.

Windows Logo Key Shortcuts

Along with the mind-boggling number of Windows CTRL, ALT, and Function key shortcuts, there are dozens more that start by holding down the Windows Logo Key, that oft-looked key that looks like the image below.   Which ones you might find useful depends on how you use your PC.  The five I use the most are:

Windows logo key + E - Open File Explorer

Windows logo key + L - Lock your PC

Windows logo key + R - Open the Run dialog box

Windows logo key + D - Display and hide the desktop

Windows logo key + P - Choose a presentation display mode

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec

Apple Watch Storage Full

As you can see in the left screenshot below, Chef Elaine's Apple Watch was very low on memory (only 0.3 GB remaining) and over half of the total storage was being used by "Other", whatever that means.  Most of that "Other" was reclaimed by a simple restart of the watch, freeing up 2.4 GB seen in the after-boot picture on the right.  There is still another 2-3 GB of "Other" remaining, but that would require totally resetting and restoring the watch and that's not worth the effort.

It used to be that remembering to wind your watch was the only thing to worry about.  Miss those simpler days.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204510

EZ Pass Holder

Instead of getting an electronic toll device from the rental car company (a considerable cost), we used our own EZ Pass inserted into the triple-suction-cup holder shown below that we bought at the Amazon link for just over $10.  It worked flawlessly during a recent trip to central and eastern Florida, not even having to slow down as we flew by the fare readers.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BNMBKLN

Forward Email to Text

Do you know people that are glued to their text messages but hardly ever check their email?  Yeah, me too.  So if, for example, you want your child to at least be aware you sent them an email, they can set themselves up to automatically forward your emails to their text messages, at least if they are a Gmail user.

The link below shows how to get that set up and the image below shows I'm forwarding someone's email to my text messages using my cell number followed by "@msg.fi.google.com", which is the format for my cell service, Google Fi.  Verizon uses your cell number followed by “@vtext.com”.  

https://www.howtogeek.com/210956/how-to-configure-automatic-text-message-alerts-for-important-emails

Black Truffle Filet

We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary with dinner at Jag's in West Chester, Ohio.  We both ordered the Black Truffle Filet Mignon and it was "to die for."  An eight-ounce cut, perfectly medium-rare, with a Morel-Madeira reduction and served with Wild Mushroom Risotto and Steamed Asparagus.  

For steak lovers like us, it doesn't get any better than this.

https://www.jags.com

No Uturn?

I have to admit that seeing the "no Uturn" sign below made me briefly wonder if I was driving in the U.K. instead of the U.S.  This oddity is located on Union Centre Boulevard just west of I-75 in West Chester, Ohio, and is caused by the uniquely confusing "Diverging Diamond Interchange" that you can see at the Google Maps link below.  Just follow the lights and signs and ignore any headlights coming at you on your right side.  

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3223287,-84.4240832,17.57z

The Best Of 2022

Over on my Life Experiences blog, I've published the annual list of my top ten experiences for 2022 (from a list of 43) and like all twelve lists I've done, this one is filled with unique and wonderful memories.  It's a two-page read, so nothing too terribly long.

The image below is the "teaser trailer", listed in alphabetical order, by their two-word summaries.  

https://lifeexperiences.paulishing.com/2023/01/the-best-of-2022.html