Sunday Roast

Veggies from the barbecue, chicken thighs still on the barbecue. Simple Sunday dinner, easy cleanup.

Categorized as Cook

Halibut and Gratitude

Tonight’s our anniversary, so I whipped up a special (well, for a Monday night) dinner. Halibut baked in parchment is so easy, yet feels a touch exotic. Accompanied by an eight buck bottle of New Zealand Sav Blanc from Trader’s we had a fine meal, grateful for our years together. The extra halibut (in the… Continue reading Halibut and Gratitude

Starting Low and Slow

Prepared a dry rub and applied it to baby back ribs which I then placed in an oven at 250°F. Low and slow. This was a chance for a slow cycle ride, ducking occasional rain. As the afternoon progressed, the sound of thunder intensified, prompting me to crank harder on my return home. Back home… Continue reading Starting Low and Slow

Happy Grass, Smart Watering

Relaxed day: walking, reading, troubleshooting, …. Here I’m troubleshooting a plant watering schedule on a Hubitat home automation hub. I finally set up schedules for a water pump that irrigates the long line of grasses on our balcony. Back in the day, a plug-in mechanical timer would’ve done the job.

A Quiet Day Was Had

Rain ruled out a cycle ride, but not a morning walk. An afternoon on the couch ensued, napping and reading a novel, with cups of tea delivered periodically. It was that kind of day.

Categorized as Hygge

I’m Being Watched: But It’s Okay (It’s For Science)

Enrolled in a study at the university that tracks my daily activities through a location-aware phone app. The researchers are interested in understanding the time cancer patients dedicate to cancer-care related tasks compared to everyday living. I feel a bit of a fraud because all I have to do is show up at appointments. I’m… Continue reading I’m Being Watched: But It’s Okay (It’s For Science)

An Irresistible Upgrade

Ordered the current Google Pixel tablets to replace these 2018 6th generation iPads. The Pixel tablets are $399 each, but Google is offering a $399 trade-in for each iPad, with free shipping. The only cost is sales tax (6.875% Minnesota, 0.65% Hennepin County, and 0.5% Minneapolis), which comes out to $36.01 per tablet. We already… Continue reading An Irresistible Upgrade

Categorized as IT

Minimizing Paper Mail

Picked up a week’s worth of mail from the mailroom downstairs. We’ve minimized snail mail to the point we don’t stop mail delivery when we travel. We’ve used DMAchoice, PaperKarma, CatalogChoice, and OptOutPreScreen. We’ve contacted senders directly to cancel mail and we give anonymously. The online USPS Informed Delivery service let’s us preview mail and… Continue reading Minimizing Paper Mail

The Case of the Missing Pillowcase

I looked everywhere, but I couldn’t find it. I searched twice: inside the duvet cover, under the bed sheet, in all the pillowcases, under the bed, and inside the washer and dryer. Then, Dwight, in a stroke of brilliance, climbed on a step stool and fished out the missing pillowcase from the “The Land of Unpaired Socks” behind the dryer.

Cheap Insurance

Downloaded files from our cloud service to an encrypted 256GB thumb drive which we will keep permanently. Doing this periodically is some protection from worst-case scenarios like being permanently locked out of the cloud service.

Categorized as IT