Altafiber

It has been almost 2 years since I blogged about Altafiber (the rebranded Cincinnati Bell) starting to run fiber down the major streets, and I've been (not so) patiently waiting for them to begin stringing fiber on the access poles, as you see them doing below.  Now I have to wait until they're ready to offer service to our house and allow us to save $50 per month over our current Spectrum Internet.  Hurry up, folks!!

https://www.altafiber.com

Golf Ball Picker Upper

New to the practice green at Walnut Grove Country Club is the ball sweeper you see below.  You attach an empty bucket to the rear, and as you push it across the green, the golf balls are gathered at the center of the diagonal pipes and conveyed into the bucket.  In under a minute, you can collect an entire bucket of balls without bending over.  This is genius!

https://walnutgrovecc.net

Streaming Cost

Comparing how much I pay to watch "TV" against what others pay is a bit of a challenge.  If I include the total cost of our high-speed Internet access, our monthly total is $191.34, which includes YouTubeTV and Netflix.  That overstates the cost since the Internet is used by lots of other things.  It also doesn't include what other services, for example, HBO, STARZ, and Disney+, that I use for a few months and then cancel until something good comes along.  

At the moment, that includes ESPN Select, to watch certain football games, for $12.89 a month for the next three months, and STARZ to watch Blood of my Blood now and the final season of Outlander early next year.  STARZ's special promo cost us a cheap $29.99 for a year, so I'll be looking hard for more shows to watch there.

Butt Dial Prevention

There just seem to be select people who butt dial (i.e., an unintentional call) you most often, and it made me think what they must be doing to cause that.  I've concluded that after a call, they just stick their phone in a pocket, where the slightest touch calls you back.  That's even more annoying when it's a group FaceTime or other video calling app.  The article at the link below has several more suggestions, but I think just making sure you turn your screen off (and have a lock code of some type set) before putting it away will solve the issue.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-prevent-butt-dialing-calls-from-your-iphone

Cowboy Candy

Also known as Candied Jalapenos, this recipe combines the heat of sliced jalapenos with loads of vinegar and sugar.  Three pounds of jalapenos are sliced using a mandolin (and a cut-proof glove), shown in the top picture below.  A sweet pickling liquid takes four cups of sugar, two cups of apple cider vinegar, and some turmeric, celery seed, garlic, and cayenne peppers, which are boiled, the peppers added to it, and simmered.  The jalapenos are packed into pint jars, topped with the liquid, sealed, and boiled for fifteen minutes to kill harmful bacteria and allow for longer-term storage.

The full recipe at the link below (a public link to my personal Google Drive) will take two hours and yield four pints of these snacking delights.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VDoHTlQMPwEKa7SKPADhZm_orO0FCJNPWlYOCdsmu7o/edit?usp=sharing

Unexpected Costco Moment

One of the three Miscanthus sinensis 'Strictus' (aka Porcupine) grasses we planted last spring did not make it, and I dug it out a few weeks ago.  The plan was to wait until spring and buy another, but that changed when we saw the exact same plant, shown below, at Costco.  We didn't know Costco had plants because we usually come in on a different side than where the plants are, we're trying to get a cart, and I'm fumbling for the membership card.  But this time we came in the other side, and when we saw these grasses were only $18.95, instead of the $50 we paid at a nursery in the spring, we jumped on it.  Paying attention sometimes pays off.

https://www.costco.com/live-plants.html

Gemini Image Editing

Whether AI is good or bad for humanity is certainly a debatable topic; it can certainly be funny.  I uploaded the photo I use on Instagram (on the left below) to Google's Gemini and asked that it give me hair like Pierce Brosnan.  I also asked for a better smile.  As you can see on the right below, it did that and made me look about twenty years younger.  Or it just made me look goofy.  That's also up for debate.

You can try Gemini's image editing at the following link.

https://gemini.google.com/app

Calvary Sunflowers

At the western edge of Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, on St. Andrews Drive, are two fields of sunflowers, some of which are shown below.  It's an annual tradition and a stunning display.  Calvary is a great place to take a walk, particularly that western edge, which has very little traffic.  With cooler temperatures on the way and leaves changing, I'm going to follow my own advice and take a hike.

https://calvarycemeterydayton.org/news/sunflowers-in-bloom

Uranus Fudge

Before I start, let's agree that Uranus is pronounced "YOO-ran-uhs".

This thoughtful gift, a box of delicious fudge from the Uranus Fudge Factory General Store and a copy of the Uranus Examiner, comes from Gourmet Chef Elaine's brother and sister-in-law.  The original location is in central Missouri along historic Route 66 in the Uranus Missouri Towne Center.  They now have three locations, with our gift coming from the newest location in Richmond, Indiana, near the Indiana Welcome Sign.  Where they pulled that location from is unknown.  Check out all things Uranus has to offer at the following link.

Shout-out to Dale and Kim for the fudge and their sense of humor.

https://www.uranusgeneralstore.com

Harrison's

Harrison's is a cute restaurant in historic downtown Tipp City, Ohio, and after considering many of their delicious sandwiches decided on the All-American Gourmet Club you see below.  Layers and layers of turkey, ham, bacon, Swiss cheese, and tomato on an awesome pretzel bun made getting all that goodness in a single bite quite the challenge.  More of their menu is at the link below.

https://harrisonsrestaurant.com

Custom MultiView

Football season just got better with YouTubeTV's new custom multiview feature.  I was able to select the four specific football games I wanted to watch, instead of the old system where they decided which combinations to offer.  When the game I'm mostly interested in goes to a commercial, I return to the four-panel view you see below and catch up on the other scores.  When I see my game has come back on, I select it to watch it again on the entire screen.  Love it!

https://support.google.com/youtubetv/answer/13418774

Deck Lighting

Our deck lighting has a control that turns the lights on, off, or to come on at dusk and stay lit for 4, 6, or 8 hours.  But at this time of year and at the 4-hour setting, it stays on longer than we like.  We wanted the lights to turn off at our bedtime, so I had to get creative.  The solution was to add a TP-Link smart plug between the outlet and the power cord, as shown below.  I created a pair of Amazon Alexa routines, one to turn off the power at 10:30 pm (aka bedtime) and another to turn the power back on at 10:00 am (well past sunrise).  I set the patio control to its 8-hour setting (way longer than needed), and now the lights come on at dusk and turn off at bedtime.  Pretty slick home automation!

Boxwood Blight

Like all the other boxwoods in the neighborhood, ours have been destroyed by a blight that quickly killed the bushes.  With the recent nice weather, I figured I'd get a jump on removing them instead of waiting for spring and having to see their sad, brown carcasses all winter.  I pulled out my handy reciprocating saw and my new badass Milwaukee Wrecker blade and cut them off at the base, which only took a couple of minutes per bush.  I'll wait for some wetter weather before shoveling out the roots.  

Read more about Boxwood Blight at Ohio State's Buckeye Yard and Garden onLine (BYGL) link below.

https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1359

Quick Fire TV Restart

Like every computer I've ever owned, our Amazon Fire TV Cube streaming device occasionally needs to be rebooted when it starts "acting up".  Before learning this tip, I would have to navigate through several menus to find the restart option, or God forbid, get out of my recliner and pull the power out and back in.  The easiest way to do this is to simultaneously hold the select and play/pause buttons for ten seconds, and the reboot will start.  This is demonstrated at the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gu2pkhp6wMQ

The Silos

I had to include the multiple pictures you'll find below because properly describing The Silos in downtown Dayton can't be done in a single shot.  The Silos is a combination of an inside and outside bar, four restaurants (Nood Bar, Kung Fu BBQ, The Burger Bistro, and Indigo), and outside play areas with various games to play.  This is a very family-friendly establishment, and the menu is sure to please everyone, including those with gluten-free and plant-forward preferences, with options available at Indigo.

https://www.silosdayton.com

Biggee Size

Most Long Island Iced Teas you'll order at your favorite watering hole will be served in a tall glass of 16 or 20 ounces.  But the bad boy shown below is served in a 64-ounce pitcher with an extra-long straw to reach the bottom.  You won't find it on the menu at Jorrge's Restaurante Cantina in Kettering, but George will make you one if you ask.

Locking Total Wireless

A few weeks back, I blogged about doing a Line Lock on my Pixel 7 phone, but I was still trying to figure out how to do the same on Gourmet Chef Elaine's iPhone.  I scoured the Total Wireless website and can't find it, so I'm either blind or it's not there.  Some searching led me to look in the Total Wireless app she had installed on her iPhone, and voila (as the screenshot below shows), that's where the Line Lock option resides.  Learn more about the SIM Swapping threat at the link below.

https://www.tracfonewirelessinc.com/en/ProtectingYourMobileIdentity

Tag For Stupid People

I recently bought a pair of pajama pants, and while cutting off the excessive number of tags (I hate tags), I just had to share the tag shown below that warns to "KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE".  No s#*t, Sherlock!  You don't live very long on the planet Earth if you don't know that 100% cotton fabric will catch flame in a hurry.  If you need signs like this, your life expectancy is very short.

Today's blog is number 2,500, which I started back in 2013 and is still going strong!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J942JZ7

New Toaster

Our old toaster was fading fast, taking way too long to do its job, so we replaced it with the Elite Gourmet long slot model you see below.  Having enough space to toast four pieces of bread or English muffins will come in handy, as well as the extra-wide slots.  There is a retractable warming rack for warming pastries, buns, etc.  A real bargain at $35 and having the "Amazon's Choice" label, we bought this after seeing a similar model while visiting family in Pittsburgh.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HYW76FK

Basil Reborn

Among the plants you see below, there are three basil plants.   The one closest is much greener and has wider, healthier leaves.  The reason behind the difference is that after Gourmet Chef Elaine harvested a batch, she placed the leftover stems in a jar of water.  After a week or so, they sprouted roots and she planted those in a pot, where they took off.   It's like getting free (I love free) new plants in the middle of summer.

A Side Of Melon

The smaller-sized cantaloupe this summer has been sweet and delicious.  One of the workers at our local farmer's market stand told Gourmet Chef Elaine about the simple recipe for the side dish you see below.  You spread a layer of ricotta cheese, add cut-up cantaloupe pieces, and top with freshly torn basil leaves.  It's a match made in heaven.

AlvAnother

Our trip to Lake Loramie included a stop for a beer and pizza at The Loramie Brewing Company, also known as Loramie Brew Bank.  It opened a few years ago in a hundred-year-old building that was first a bank (hence the moniker).  My choice from the sixteen rotating taps was the AlvAnother, from Edison Brewing Company in Gahanna, Ohio.  It's a Scottish Ale with a soft, malty, and creamy body, featuring notes of caramel and butterscotch.  I liked the name, a compression of "I'll have another".  

https://www.theloramiebrewbank.com

Lake Loramie

Lake Loramie, at about 1,655 acres, is the smallest of the three principal lakes created as reservoirs for the Miami-Erie Canal.  It was constructed in 1844–45 by damming up Loramie Creek, a natural 40-mile-long tributary that rises in northern Shelby County, Ohio, and traverses southwestwardly (forming Lake Loramie), then continues southeastwardly before joining the Great Miami River in northern Miami County, near Piqua.  It's a beautiful and peaceful place to watch a sunset from a pontoon boat, as you might gather from the picture below.  More information on things to do there is at the link below.

https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/Lake-Loramie-State-Park

Select And Print

Here's another example of me doing things the hard way, even though an easy solution is right in front of my eyes.  I wanted to print out the highlighted text in the screenshot below.  What I've always done is copy and paste the text into a document, then print the document.  I never noticed, because I never looked, that the "Print..." menu selection is available in the drop-down list.  There is also a "Save selection to Keep" (Google's note-taking app), which will also come in handy. 

Freezer Hack

Here's an easy way to know if the items in your freezer have thawed when you've been out of town.  It's particularly difficult to know if everything refreezes.  Fill a small jar most of the way with water, let it freeze solid, and lay a coin on top.  If you come home and the coin is at the bottom of the jar, you know you've had an outage and probably need to through everything out.

A big shout-out to our friend Grace for this appliance hack!

Mission BBQ

Mission BBQ opened its doors for business on September 11, 2011, the brainchild of two friends who are patriotic for Our Country and passionate about BBQ, on the tenth anniversary of our world changing forever.  Sandwiches include the Pulled Pork shown below, brisket, chicken, and sausage.  Baby Back ribs, chicken, and salmon headline their smokehouse selections.  The children's menu includes smaller, slider versions.  The food is great and the service top top-notch.  You can view the rest of the menu for the Dayton store at the following link.

https://mission-bbq.com/locations-and-menu/dayton

Cast Iron Griddle

We've upgraded the griddle on our GE Cafe stove with the cast-iron version you see below.  The one that came with the stove was a coated aluminum version, but after making our weekly Oklahoma Onion Burgers, that coating is just about gone.  This griddle was seasoned several times by heating it up, applying oil, and letting it cool down.  It's about twice as heavy as the old one, but it's worth it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJV1GNB7

ThermoPro TP50

We needed a second thermometer and found the one you see below on Amazon for $12.  I like the humidity sensor, and while you can barely see it in the photo in the upper-left-hand corner, it displays a smiley face when it's comfortable.  It also displays the range of temperature and humidity, which is useful if you are trying to see how it varies across a hot summer's day.  They also make a model for $36 that includes WiFi connectivity, which would be very nice if you're away from home often.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H1R0K68

Wall Of Tomatoes

Just down the street on Marshall Road is the house pictured below.  It's kind of genius to use the south-facing wall of your home, with just a foot of dirt between the house and the driveway, to grow tomatoes.  I don't know the variety, but growing plants over six feet tall is pretty amazing.  

The Practice Center

The scenic golf course picture below is at The Practice Center (TPC) in Franklin, Ohio.  It's an executive course (i.e., par 3s) and a great way to practice your short irons since most holes are less than 130 yards long.  It's not tour quality, but again, it's meant for practice, not tournaments.  And, unfortunately, the geese find it a pleasant place to gather.

So if you're traveling south on I-75 and notice a very large driving range on your right, you've found TPC.

http://www.tpcgolf.com

Original Jerk BBQ Sauce

Gourmet Chef Elaine picked up the bottle of jerk BBQ sauce at Dorothy Lane Market and used it to kick up our evening meal of sautéed Kielbasa, and it was a delicious choice.  The sauce is both spicy and sweet, and would pair well with chicken or other types of sausage.  If you're looking for something a little different, this sauce, or any jerk BBQ sauce, is something to try.

Lock Your Phone Number

A recent Clark Howard article (link below) discussed scammers who attempt to transfer your SIM card identification to their phone.  If successful, they can use that to bypass any two-factor authentication that involves sending a text message to your phone, since it will go to their phone instead.  Clark goes on to strongly recommend you lock your SIM card with your cellular provider.  The procedure varies by carrier, but I was able to quickly find it with my provider, Google Fi.  Still looking into how/if I can do this on Total Wireless for Gourmet Chef Elaine.

https://clark.com/cell-phones/why-you-need-to-lock-your-phone-number-today

Farmer's Market

The picture below is just a small portion of the Farmer's Market located at 4404 Wagner Road, which borders Kettering and Beavercreek.  Map it out before if you pay them a visit, as the entrance will sneak up on you if you're not prepared.  It's very quaint, laid back, and their prices seem much better than other options.  When you get there, if no one is around, just wait a little while, and someone will wander down from the house to help you.

Twenty-Seven Cents

Martinis and Oklahoma Onion burgers have become our Monday cocktail and dinner combination, and the biggest mess is the splatter from the burgers on the uncovered sides of the gas stove.  I solved that by using a sheet of aluminum foil on both sides of the grill, as shown below.  That has saved Gourmet Chef Elaine the time it takes to clean that up, but I wondered whether it was really worth it.  So I did the math.

The 2.5 square feet of foil times the cost of $0.11 per square foot equals $0.27.  

Definitely worth it.

HEIC Viewer

Gourmet Chef Elaine received a photo with a ".HEIC" (High Efficiency Image Coding) extension, presumably a picture sent from an iPhone or iPad.  Her Windows PC (I love her anyway) could not open the file, so I had her send it to me, figuring my Mac (I love my Mac) would handle it, which it did.  For the more technical types, a HEIC file is typically half the size of JPEGs for the same image quality and offers additional features (e.g., multiple images) that make it superior.

It figured that somebody somewhere had created a solution for Windows, and sure 'nuf, the free (I love free) HEIC Viewer is available on the Microsoft App Store.  It's from Duckhead Software, and they offer a range of useful image and video converter software. However, only a few are free, with the others ranging from $0.99 to $9.99.  Find the HEIC Viewer at the link below.

https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n490gv4j2xl

Awesome Cheesesteak

This cheesesteak you see below puts all others I've ever had to shame.  Expertly cooked on a Blackstone grill, the onions, multi-colored peppers, very thinly sliced steak, and melted cheese on a soft and hearty hoagie bun delivered the taste.  

Big shout-out to our friends Dan and Kim for this delicious dinner!

Buffalo Trace Bourbon

For the last 3-4 years, my favorite bourbon, Buffalo Trace, has been on allocation, meaning it has been very hard to find.  It's now, finally, off allocation, and while I find it at my local liquor store more often, nothing beats a trip to The Party Source in Bellevue, Kentucky, and finding the display you see below.  These stacked cases brought a tear to my eye (and 2 bottles in my shopping cart).  Glorious!

https://thepartysource.com

Flagpole Fix

We love flying Old Glory, but our biggest problem was the flag wrapping itself around the pole.  It had pole rings that were supposed to allow the flag to spin tangle-free, but they were not doing their job.  The biggest issue was the screws that held the pole rings in place being too big.  I found new pole rings at the Amazon link below that work much better, and added some WD-40 lube to decrease the friction on the pole rings.  It's 99% better, and when it does wrap around, a light tug on the flag quickly puts it back in place.  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2PKJ5VW

French Doors

We replaced the French doors from the dining room to the deck in 2019, and I'm surprised I didn't blog about it at the time.  We love having our windows open and getting a breeze through the house, and we tried a couple of different external screen options on the previous doors, but neither worked well or lasted very long.  I searched for quite some time until I found the Venting Patio Door you see below at Home Depot.  The bottom glass panel on each door can be raised, and the fixed screen behind it lets in the breeze and keeps out the bugs.  Unfortunately, Home Depot no longer carries this door, so I hope this lasts a long, long time.

Planter Selections

Gourmet Chef Elaine likes to try something different in her tall planters, and this year's selections resulted in the stunning splashes of color you see below.  The purple flowers are Aria Blue Angelonia, the orange flowers with green leaves are Glorious Orange Celosia, and at the small cluster at the bottom right are Golden Oregano.  It's tolerating the day-after-day scorching temperatures and occasional downpours this summer has brought.  

Chipped Ham and Egg

Our Pittsburgh family likes to bring us a pound of their local chipped ham (i.e., very thinly sliced) when they visit.  They mentioned how good it was grilled, so for lunch, I created the seared chipped ham, fried egg on toast sandwich you see below.  It was really good and a pleasant change from my normal routine of bologna sandwiches and leftovers.  

Peach Milkshake

When Gourmet Chef Elaine saw that Chick-fil-A had peach milkshakes on the menu, yours truly just had to go and drop $5.15 for the bundle of joyness you see below.  It's a combo of Chick-fil-A Icedream dessert, chunky peach puree, whipped cream, and a cherry.  It was so chunky that I had to replace the straw with one of my wider-diameter straws.  It's a limited-time summertime menu item, so don't wait to treat yourself.

https://www.chick-fil-a.com/menu/treats/peach-milkshake

Riley Green

We saw country music star Riley Green at the Fraze, and as you can see from the photos below, it was a sold-out, packed house.  Everyone stood for the entire concert and the energy was electric.  It was one of the nicest weather evenings we've had this summer, adding to the enjoyment.  Country music is alive!

https://fraze.com

Adding Debit Card to Apple Wallet

I appreciate the contactless feature on credit/debit cards, where you simply need to place the card on the reader, eliminating the need to figure out which way to slide it or locate the chip reader slot.  But our Universal 1 debit card doesn't have that feature, but you can go contactless by adding it to your Apple Wallet.  Now our shopping trips to Meijer can be done entirely with Gourmet Chef Elaine's iPhone.  While this feature is also available on Samsung Pay, Google Pay is not supported for payments, so I'm out of luck on my Pixel 7.  Drats.  

How to set up is at the link below.

https://www.u1cu.org/digital-wallet

Cook Mode

For those of you who use your iPad while cooking to display recipes, the Cook Mode feature found on some websites, such as Food and Wine, shown below, is a welcome addition.  It simply stops your screen from dimming or turning off while it's enabled.  You can achieve the same effect by going into your settings and turning the battery-saving feature off, but it's much easier to simply click the checkmark.  

Being the curious techie type, I wanted to know how Cook Mode works.  It's accomplished by using the Screen Wake Lock API (Application Programming Interface) that's available in relatively recent versions of all the major web browsers.  Not that any of you really care about that...

https://www.foodandwine.com/cook-mode-recipe-feature-8713147

The Food Dude

I wrote about The Food Dude last year on a blog with their lemonade, and this year they get another mention for their fully-loaded Smashburger.  Two patties topped with cheese, bacon, pickles, jalapenos, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce between a pretzel roll bun.  The potato chips were appreciated, but frankly, there was no room left in my tummy to eat more than a couple.  Check out their Facebook page at the link below to find when and where they will be making these beauties near you.

https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Food-Dude-Street-Eats-and-Catering-LLC/100091404420448

Pop First

For years, I've put the ice in the glass first, then poured the carbonated beverage on top, being careful to add it slowly enough so that the foam doesn't overflow.  Recently, I discovered it's better to perform that operation in reverse: pouring the soda (or pop) in first, then adding the ice last, a few cubes at a time at first.  Instead of all that warm soda hitting all the cold ice all at once, the soda is cooled down a little at a time.  Yet another example of things I've been doing backwards all my life.

Popsicle Riddle

A recent popsicle purchase resulted in a surprise riddle.  After I unwrapped the treat, I saw there was a question written on the bottom of the stick which read, "Who cleans up after sailors?"  I figured the answer must be hidden on the top of the stick, and sure enough, it was.  It's hard to see in the image below, but the answer is "Mermaids".  Yuk, yuk, yuk ....