Google Meet On Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a $35, single-board computer built for the IT hobbyist.  I loaded it with its standard Raspbian Linux image, which includes the Chromium web browser (the open-source version of Google Chrome), and started up a Google Meet video conference from the comfort of my basement.  It's a good project to learn about the Raspberry Pi and Linux, but having something really useful at the end is a bonus.

https://meet.google.com

State Route 11

I was introduced to U.S. 35 back in the early 1970s when it provided a much quicker route to my grandfather's home in Beavercreek from my parent's home in North Dayton.  But what I recently found out is this road was State Route 11 back before the adoption of the U.S. Highway System in 1926.  I've circled the 11's in the picture below and also circled the 1's, as U.S. 40 was known as State Route 1 back then.  You can also see the neighboring towns of Fairfield and Osborn, which were still 25 years away from merging and becoming Fairborn in 1950.

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions/Planning/TechServ/TIM/Official_Transportation_Maps/1925.pdf

Costco Cod

While Costco is a "big box store", they are really good for their meat, shrimp and, as shown below, Trident brand Beer Battered Cod fillets.  Add some dill pickles and a few dollops of Frisch's tartar sauce (simply the best version) and you have a quick and delicious meal. 

What about the peas?  They make the photo prettier.

https://www.tridentseafoods.com/browse/products/trident-seafoods-panko-breaded-cod-2-5-lb

Lincoln Park Civic Commons And Fraze Pavilion

This has been one of the longest springs in my memory, with blooms staying on trees for weeks instead of a few days.  This turned the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering into the beautiful sight seen below, the entrance to the Pavilion being seen across the pond in the Lincoln Park Civic Commons. 

Fraze is named for Ermal Fraze, who was born on a farm near Muncie, Indiana, later moved to Dayton, Ohio, started Dayton Reliable Tool & Manufacturing Company (now DRT Manufacturing Company) and most loved for inventing the pull-tab opener used in beverage cans, ending the need to carry around a "church key", whose pointy end was used to poke a hole through the top of a can.

http://fraze.com

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Sanborn maps detail U.S. city streets and buildings for over 100 years beginning in the 1860s.  They were created to allow fire insurance companies to assess policy risk and liability, but they offer an invaluable resource for exploring history.  For example, the 1900 U.S. Census provided the street addresses my grandmothers grew up at, but neither street came up in Google Maps, as they no longer exist, but I found them on Sanborn maps. Another example is shown below, displaying where the Miami-Erie Canal (shown as just the Miami Canal) split in two, with the left, local extension traveling up what is now Patterson Blvd, before turning east between Monument Avenue and the Mad River.

https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps

Smith Gardens

Smith Gardens, located on Oakwood Avenue in Oakwood, Ohio, is a small yet beautiful oasis.  Ohio Magazine called Smith Gardens the “finest tiny public garden in Ohio" back in 1996.  It's just one stop on an 8-mile, self-guided tour of Oakwood that includes Hawthorn Hill, home of the Wright Brothers, and many other stunning mansions.  While touring in a car is an option, if you have the legs for it, I suggest walking the route, perhaps breaking it into 2-4 sections and doing them on different days.  If you think we don't have hills around here, this path will correct that misperception.

http://oakwoodhistory.org/oak/Self_guided_Tour.html

Google Fi Savings

I was pleasantly surprised when my last cell phone bill was $7-$8 less than normal, then realized that I'm on Wi-Fi most of the time since I'm mostly at home.  My Google Fi plan costs me $20/month, one penny per ten megabytes of data (yes, it's billed in penny increments) and, of course, almost 14% additional for taxes and fees.

Contrast my plan with my wife's Verizon plan.  She's currently getting an additional 15GB of data per month free.  This is perfectly useless for her and almost everyone else, except Verizon can keep their normal revenue ($52.07 this month) and make it look like they're so very generous at the same time, giving away to those very few the bandwidth we freed up by staying at home.

Not fooling this guy.

https://fi.google.com

Eggs Benedict

A little recipe modification here, subbing sliced turkey for the traditional Canadian bacon, but the star of this show is the Hollandaise Sauce, made with an entire stick of butter, lemon juice, and a couple of egg yolks.  I gave myself permission to lick the plate clean before putting it in the dishwasher.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/sunnys-1-2-3-hollandaise-sauce-4649082

World Of Engineering

One of my favorite followings on Instagram and Twitter is World Of Engineering.  They present a host of short videos on how things work, how they are made or just fascinating stuff, like a drone using a flamethrower to clear power lines.  It’s a wonderful diversion from cats, politics and annoying promotions.

https://www.instagram.com/world_of_engineering

https://twitter.com/engineers_feed

Foam Sucker

Somethings you discover as a kid last forever.  I don't know if anyone else loves to suck on the foam of a soda (in my case Pepsi) right after it’s poured, but I do, as shown below.  Maybe it's just that the first taste is always the best or I can't wait another five seconds.  Or I just haven’t grown up yet.