OUPS

I see "OUPS", like the one in the picture below, painted in various places, and I was curious to know what it means; a quick search led to more information than I expected.  OUPS stands for the Ohio Utilities Protection Service (also known as OH811).  They are responsible for ensuring that underground utilities are located before digging or excavating.  They use these various colors to identify what lies beneath.

• Red: Electric power lines, cables, conduit, and lighting cables
• Yellow: Gas, oil, steam, petroleum, or gaseous materials
• Orange: Telecommunications, alarm or signal lines, phone, internet, and cable TV
• Blue: Potable (drinking) water
• Green: Sewers and drain lines
• White: Proposed excavation boundaries (painted by the contractor before calling 811)
• Pink: Temporary survey markings
• Purple: Reclaimed water, irrigation, and slurry lines

I had no idea that so many different things are run below our surfaces.

Ohio law requires callers to wait at least 48 hours (excluding weekends and legal holidays) after contacting OUPS/OH811 before digging. The contractor must check the OH811 system to ensure every notified utility company has either marked their lines or responded with "No Conflict."

https://oups.org

Oklahoma Onion Burgers

I mentioned Oklahoma Onion Burgers in a previous post, but I haven't shown how to make them yet. Start by placing two 85-gram (3 oz) balls of ground chuck per burger onto a cast-iron griddle over medium heat. Season them with salt, then press a generous handful of thinly sliced onions into the top of each ball. Place a piece of parchment paper over each patty and smash it down to a thin patty with a grill press or a heavy spatula. Cook for 3 minutes, flip, lay a slice of American cheese on each patty, and crown them with the buns. Cook for another 3 minutes, assemble your burgers, then scrape the griddle clean—tossing about 20 ice cubes onto the hot surface makes cleanup a breeze.

If you want to see the entire production, I recommend George Motz's video at the link below.

Big shout-out to my daughter for this every-Monday delight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wm-rPBkW2o

Frederick's Coffee

I was fed up with ground Starbucks coffee costing so much more at Meijer lately, so I decided to give their store brand, Frederik's, a try. I bought the Espresso Roast pictured below, and I honestly can't tell the difference in my morning cup of joe. I'll still buy Starbucks when it's on a great sale, but it's nice to have a cheaper everyday alternative.

https://www.meijer.com/shopping/c/collections/frederiks-coffee.html

Wavy Sidewalk

Gourmet Chef Elaine and I drove down Magnolia Drive in Sugarcreek Township and encountered the unique sidewalk pictured below. While there may be psychological or aesthetic reasons for this design, the best reason, in my opinion, is to slow down bicycles—especially e-bikes that can reach 20 miles per hour or more. Even if they are legally allowed on sidewalks in some cases, that doesn't mean we should build infrastructure to encourage high speeds.

Pixel Watch 4

The only watch I've owned since I was in my twenties, I used exclusively while running.  But after Gourmet Chef Elaine bought an Apple Watch a few years ago and loves it, I reconsidered, over many, many months, if I should take the plunge.  I knew I would wear it while taking our frequent walks, but would I really wear it for its other features?  When the price dropped by $50, I decided I would never know until I tried it.  

I opted for the Pixel Watch 4 (since I have a Pixel 7 phone) with the larger (45mm) face.  I paid extra for the LTE (cellular) model since I could add it for free (I love free) on my Google Fi cell phone plan, and it has Internet connectivity without having to carry my phone.  I choose the watch face you see below that has the date, time, temperature, heart rate, steps, battery level, miles, and calories burned.  

I'm still exploring its many features, but it has exceeded my expectations, and I wear it most of the time.  I really like its familiar "Hey, Google" voice commands, which allow me to scan my emails, listen to my calendar, take notes, and open apps.  Answering phone calls and listening to music (via earbuds) are my next features to explore.

https://store.google.com/us/product/pixel_watch_4

The Bald Advantage

I received an email from Grok promoting their image creation abilities, and the one that said it could create comic strips looked intriguing.  I clicked on the link that sent me to Grok.  The following script was waiting for me.

---

Create a comic strip using the subject from the uploaded image. Style the comic strip in a bold Sunday funnies style with thick outlines, halftone textures, and bright 1980s colors. Pick one clear, exaggerated visual element from the photo and build the story around it, leading to a funny or unexpected payoff. Keep the dialogue short, natural, and easy to read, and make sure the joke lands clearly at a glance with no randomness or confusion.

---

I was surprised at how detailed the script was, and that's a good lesson about using AI: the more detail, the better.

I uploaded a picture of myself and, after crunching for a minute or so, here's what it conjured up.

Quick-Pickled Jalapeños

I had a combination of leftover jalapeños, a few end-of-season ones in a patio pot, and even more that our friends gave us.  Gourmet Chef Elaine found the quick pickled recipe you'll find at the link below, and it was the perfect solution (pun intended) to use them up.  You just bring water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil over high heat until the salt and sugar are dissolved, and pour that over sliced jalapeños in a jar.  Since they don't use the more time-consuming canning process, these need to stay refrigerated.  I wrote "HOT" on the lid to distinguish them from the Candied Jalapeños I make.  The simple recipe is at the link below.

https://www.southernliving.com/quick-pickled-jalapenos-8643492

Primer

I don't believe I blogged here about the twelve words I used to describe how a night of partying in Pittsburgh always played out.  You can read, if you like, about the Capper, Splitter, Slammer, and the others at the link below.  But recently, a friend who had read "Then The Party Really Starts" asked if I had a word that describes a drink you have before you go out drinking.  I said I did not, but I would noodle on that.

With a little research and an online thesaurus, I made a list of words:

• Beginner
• Foreword
• Intro
• Opening
• Overture
• Preamble
• Preface
• Prelude
• Primer
• Preview
• Prologue

I sent out a whittled-down list, and we all agreed that the most appropriate word was Primer, just like the guy pictured below who is priming a pump.  Now I have thirteen words...

https://lifeexperiences.paulishing.com/2017/11/then-party-really-starts.html

Alexa Voices And Speed

We noticed that Alexa had changed its voice recently when we bought a new Amazon Echo Dot Max, and not to our liking.  I found that the cause was the default Alexa+ Voice, called "Feminine 1, upbeat".  That was just too cheery for our liking, and we found seven other options, some of which you can see in the image on the right below.  I changed that to "Feminine 2, relaxed," and it is much nicer.  You can listen to all eight options at the YouTube link below, and per his suggestion, I'm trying "Feminine 4, grounded" to see if that's a better option.  You can also change how fast Alexa speaks, and I made mine a notch faster, another nice change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsTop0BaN7w

Corner Counter Hanging

This is not a picture of me praying in the kitchen, nor did Gourmet Chef Elaine put me in timeout.  I use this hanging position to let my lower body relax and stretch out.  I use gravity to pull down my spine and hips by using my arms to support my whole body weight.  This simple maneuver readjusts me just enough that it can immediately alleviate my discomfort.