Bento Box

A bento is a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal of Japanese origin.  The bento box uses dividers to separate ingredients or dishes, especially those with strong flavors, to avoid them affecting the taste of the rest of the meal.  I had this Thai Basil bento box for lunch at Sky Asian Cuisine, our favorite local Japanese restaurant, and it's a very sizable mid-day meal.  It included shrimp with vegetables and two spring rolls. fried rice, and four sushi rolls with wasabi and ginger.  For $15, it was very budget-friendly as well as delicious.

https://www.skyasiancuisine.com

5-in-1 Wireless Charger

The charger shown below can wirelessly charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, with front-facing USB-A and USB-C ports to accommodate two additional devices.  It's everything Gourmet Chef Elaine needs to handle all her devices and takes up very little of her nightstand space.  At some point in the future, we might consider a second one to pack on our travels, since it neatly folds flat and weighs about eight ounces.  A lot of technical details can be found at the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHL1RD2Y

Low Cut Quarter Socks

I needed some new walking socks, and I like ones made out of a wool blend.  I got a good deal on a 3-pack of gray, ONKE brand training socks, which you see in the picture below.  They cost $5 per pair for the gray ones, but 3-packs in other colors can be had for $10.  They are made of extra fine merino wool, arcylic and spandex, with merino being a breed of domestic sheep.  I think they are very well made, and they are super-cushy-comfortable.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GPG8XHF

Song Sung Blue

Gourmet Chef Elaine and I recently saw the movie Song Sung Blue at the movie theater.  It's the story of the life of Mike and Clair Sardina, a Wisconsin couple who performed as the Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder, based on the 2008 documentary film of the same name by Greg Kohs.

The lead roles are played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, and they do a great job of singing the Neil songs I know by heart, including the film's title song, Play Me, Holly Holy, I Am...I Said, and, of course, Sweet Caroline.  If you're thinking that Jackman, best known as the character Wolverine that he has played in ten Marvel movies, couldn't possibly be as good as Neil, you're right; that's a high bar, but his singing, and Kate's, is a marvel (pun intended) and is wonderful.  Two thumbs up from this occasional movie critic.

https://www.reelasdirt.com/song-sung-blue

Laundry Basket

One of our highest priorities is not falling.  We see too many people, young and old, who suffer serious injuries from a fall.  The older we get, the more we realize how that could wreck our quality of life.  So we're always on the lookout for tripping or falling hazards, and we identified taking our laundry from the second-floor bedroom to the basement laundry room as something we needed to address.

Our old laundry basket is on the right below.  It takes two hands to carry it, leaving none to hold the banister.  After searching on Amazon, I found a great solution, the laundry basket on the left.  It's made with a sturdy iron wire frame sewn into the top edges, which, when you stretch it out, will stand upright on its own.  The handles make it easy to carry in one hand, leaving the other free to prevent falling.

I got a pack of two baskets for $12, a 40% discount off its normal price, at the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7JGC67R

Jalapeno Honey

Like most folk, we don't vary from our list of regular purchases very often, but when Gourmet Chef Elaine spotted the Tillamook Jalapeno Honey cream cheese spread you see below, she made the impulse buy, and we're glad she did.  When you take a bite, the sweetness of the honey is pronounced, but wait a couple of seconds, and the flame of the jalapeno takes over.  If you like hot, this is for you.  Tillamook makes a few other flavored cream cheeses, and their Chive and Onion is next on my list.

https://www.tillamook.com/products/cream-cheese/jalapeno-honey

Bent Light Pole

I have no idea how long the light pole you see in the photo below has had a serious bend to it, and I would think I would have noticed this long ago, it's that out of place.  I have to assume that the power line that runs to it must have a large tree limb lying on it, without breaking it, and that force was enough to bend the aluminum pole a couple of feet.  My home city of Kettering, Ohio, has a website, at the link below, where issues can be reported, including street lights, barking dogs, potholes, dead animals, manhole covers, and illegal dumping, among others.

https://www.ketteringoh.org/report-an-issue

Expedited Service

Gourmet Chef Elaine had a horrible delivery experience after ordering an Advent calendar she found in an Instagram advertisement.  She even paid a premium for expedited delivery, only to watch it very slowly traverse the planet.  The snippet of the tracking log shown below doesn't indicate the weeks it took to travel from China (of course) to Spain, but rather the four weeks it spent being transported around Spain and finally entering the United States.  The top line shows the package in Ogden, Utah, nowhere near the intended destination.

Long story short - no more ordering via Instagram.

The Best Of 2025

As is my yearly tradition, I keep track of notable events and experiences during the year, then narrow that down to the top ten, and publish the results over on my Life Experiences blog, each with a short descriptive paragraph, which you can find at the link below.  Each of the balloons below represents one of the top ten adventures.

https://lifeexperiences.paulishing.com/2026/01/the-best-of-2025.html

Using AI To Find Stores

We're in the market for some new end tables and don't want to spend a small fortune, so I turned to the Gemini AI app at the link below.  The question I posed was "List the top five largest discount furniture stores in the southern half of Montgomery County, Ohio," and the list can be seen below, along with a little narrative and their address.  At the bottom, it threw in an extra suggestion, CORT in West Chester, that was a little outside the bounds of the question, but may be worth checking out.

https://gemini.google.com/app

Ruth’s Chris Buttery, Melted Cheese Potato Delight

Included in our Christmas dinner (which we more appropriately call a feast) is the potato casserole shown below.  Gourmet Chef Elaine used a mandolin to make perfectly thin slices of potatoes and combined heavy cream, whole milk, and shredded Gruyère cheese, shredded sharp white cheddar, and grated Parmesan into a creamy sauce.  Garlic powder, salt, and black pepper were the only spices.  Plenty of leftovers that yours truly did not let go to waste.

As often happens, the first time you make a dish, you learn how to improve it the next time, and the chef wants it to cook a little longer and use our oven in convection mode.  I can't wait!

You can find the recipe at the Instagram link below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DR6HgL1j5qG

Volcan Tequila

Not only is the Volcan shown below a delicious tequila, but its 14.5" tall bottle is stunning.  It comes from the western Mexican state of Jalisco, where tequila is thought to have originated.  When we finish it, we will add it to our small collection of repurposed liquor bottles, which we fill with water and serve at special dinners.

Big shout-out to our friend Janet for this tasty treat!

https://www.volcan.com

BBX Pro

Forget a motorized wheelchair.  This guy is fishing at the Lincoln Park Pond in Kettering, Ohio, from the comfort of his BBX Pro.  That's short for Boomerbuggy X Pro, a micromobility scooter with an enclosed cabin, climate control, and safety features.  The Short Range model will set you back around $6,000 with a battery with a range of about 30-35 miles.  Still, you have to admit, that's pretty cool.

https://medium.com/evolve/discover-the-bbx-pro-a-mobility-scooter-that-redefines-independence-1a64a93b2b65

Radio

For no particular reason, my brain decided it needed to know why it's called a "radio", like Gourmet Chef Elaine's Sony shown below.  At first, I figured it might be an acronym like "laser" or "scuba", but that's not it.  It's derived from the Latin root word "radius," which means a spoke of a wheel or a beam of light, and words like "radiate", "radial", and "radius".  

At first, "radio" was used as a prefix, for example, a "radiophone" or "radio-conductor", anything that moved in "rays" or "radiated" energy.  While initially called "Wireless Telegraphy" and preferred across the British Empire, "Radio" was the preferred term in Continental Europe and the United States.  By the early 1900s, "radio" was crowned the worldwide winner, although still as a prefix.

By the 1920s, as broadcasting became a massive public medium for music and news, people dropped the "telegraphy" or "telephony" suffixes. The shortened version, radio, became the standard noun we use today.

Changing GMail Address

Google has announced that its Gmail users will be able to change their email addresses.  This is great news for people who have legally changed their name, for example, brides.  It could provide relief for people who regret choosing some goofy name long ago.  While you could always just set up a new email account, it's a hassle to get everyone to change your contact information and migrate calendar entries and files.  Now you can keep your single account, and both the old and new email addresses will deliver to your one Inbox.  Read the details and restrictions at the link below.

https://www.howtogeek.com/google-is-finally-letting-users-change-their-gmail-address

Standing Rib Roast

Gourmet Chef Elaine made the 6-pound Standing Rib Roast you see below, resulting in the best prime rib I've ever eaten.  The day before, she coated the meat with kosher salt and put it, uncovered, in the refrigerator overnight.  Using the reverse sear method, she set the oven at 225 degrees and let the meat roast for a little over three hours until the internal temperature reached the medium-rare temperature of 125 degrees.  The roast came out of the oven, and the temperature increased to 500 degrees.  Back in the oven for 7-8 minutes to sear the outside.  Be careful when you open the oven door, as there will be spitting going on.  All the details can be found at the link below.

We bought the roast at our local Dot's Market, where the butcher removed the ribs and then tied them to the roast.  That kept the extra flavor that the bones provide while making it much easier to carve.  Pro tip!

https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/everything-to-know-about-prime-rib

2002 Château Lafite-Rothschild

I recently had the bottle of 2002 Château Lafite-Rothschild, one of the five First Growths, the highest classification of wines in the Bordeaux region of France.  I've been holding onto this for fifteen years, and the story of how I came into its possession is one of those rare, right-place-right-time stories.  

Back in 2010, I was searching for a 30th birthday present for my daughter, and thought one of the First Growths would be appropriate.  I searched and searched but could not find a bottle at any reasonable price.  Two days before her birthday, I decided I needed a "plan B", but as a last desperate try, I visited one of our local Arrow Wine stores.  I inquired if they had any First Growths, and was not surprised when they said they hadn't carried them for years, as the demand for such a pricy wine was nil.  He asked me if I wanted him to call the other Arrow Wine store to see if they had some. I  almost said "Don't bother", but a little something told me to have them check.  He called the other store and asked.  They said they did.  He asked how much.  His eyes widened.  When he hung up, he told me they had two bottles of Château Lafite-Rothschild for $180 each.  I was shocked and made the drive in record time.  I looked around the store for glass cases, sure they would be locked up.  No so.  I found them on a shelf out in the open, and as I stared at them, I thought to myself, "You have to buy both of them."  One made the birthday gift I had hoped to give, and the one below waited for the right occasion to open, which was this last Christmas family dinner, shared with Elaine's youngest son and his wife.  It's the most amazing glass of wine I've ever tasted.

https://www.lafite.com

XHose Pro

Filling up our hot tub in the winter just got way easier with the addition of a Big Boss XHose Pro that I picked up at our local Greive Hardware store.  It's a twenty-five-foot, expandable hose that comes in a compact, 8.5" x 8.5" x 4" box.  It replaces a fifty-foot hose that is nearly impossible to unwind/wind when the temperatures sink below freezing.  I have one just like it permanently attached to our water heater, making a quarterly sediment purge easy to perform.  It's a really cool invention and I love it!

https://www.doitbest.com/product/702616/big-boss-xhose-pro-5-8-in-dia-x-50-ft-l-expandable-hose-702616

Light Ring

The latest addition to our home office is the light ring you see below, mounted on top of the TV that serves as the monitor for my Mac Mini.  It provides a light shining towards my face, highlighting the entire surface, instead of the natural light coming from the office's two windows, which makes half of my face dark.  This will be very useful for a couple of video calls I take in the office.

The light in the picture below is not on.  I took a picture with it on, and the glare coming through the camera was not a pretty picture.

Thanks to my lovely wife for this wonderful Christmas gift!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YJPJLFV

Using AI For Gift Ideas

If you're struggling to come up with a gift idea, AI can help.  The response below was generated from the request, "Recommend 5 stocking stuffer gift ideas for a five-year-old boy."  I like that Google's Gemini chatbot not only came up with suggestions I probably would have never thought of, but also included a brief explanation of why it would make a great gift. 

https://gemini.google.com/app

Bunkers

Bunkers is a sports bar located on National Road (US-40) in Vandalia, Ohio, just east of I-75.  A few months ago, I ordered the Walleye fish sandwich you see below and was greeted with three times the fish needed for the Brioche bun.  I ended up taking the extra fish home, which made two more sandwiches for lunch.  Bunkers is also a relatively inexpensive place to eat, and at least half of their menu is under $10.  They have 42 taps with a rotating selection of beers, also at a great price.  Two thumbs up!

https://bunkersbarandgrill.com

Pub Passports

Shown below are Gourmet Chef Elaine's and my Pub Passports and the source of a recent bizarre experience.  My Passport has been lost for many, many years, and we've searched everywhere we could think of multiple times, while Elaine's has been safely stowed in the small glove compartment of our Infiniti G37x.  Fortunately, before mine was lost, I scanned them into my Google Drive, so when we're asked for our Passports at The Pub Beavercreek, we can bring them up on my smartphone for verification.

We did the Ohio BMV yearly renewal for the registration and tags, and like every year, I put the sticker on the rear plate and exchanged the old registration for the new one, which we keep in a Baggie in the glove compartment (along with proof of insurance).  As I was digging around the glove compartment, I pulled not one, but both Passports.  I was shocked they were both in there, as we've searched it many times.  

My theory is that some Harry Potter magic is the only way to explain it.  It must have disappeared into some magic cabinet or something and only recently made it back into our dimension of time and space.  No way we could have missed it time and again.  No way.