FEBRUARY 2024
Wednesday 2024.2.28
Sausages
I made Italian Sausages again this week. The process went fairly smoothly — only one blowout. It yielded a dozen sausage links. The filling meat left over in the bottom of the stuffer was covered and refrigerated. I cooked that to eat with my dinner yesterday evening.
I used a pre-packaged Italian sausage seasoning mix. The one ingredient I added for a little more color was some fresh parsley from my herb garden.
It's much less work and more economical to buy the Italian sausages at Costco. I like the flavor of them. However, I find it fun to make my own sausages.
Vine Voices
I have really curtailed my shopping on the Amazon Vine Voices program. I can't find anything I want. There is plenty to choose from. This morning there were around 38,000 items available. Nearly all of it, however, is schlock.
One device I received is a little clamp to put my GoPro camera on the handlebars of my bike. Someone wants me to do more biking videos, but there very few, if any, interesting places I haven't already videoed.
The clamp is almost enough. I want to use my gimbal, which steadies my camera as I ride and keeps it pointing in the right direction. I used to put that on top of my helmet, but I couldn't see if it was shaken out of alignment. With it on my bike, it will be in front of me all the time.
I'm looking forward to riding my bike again. I need the exercise. I haven't been able to ride because a large planter was blocking the way in my shed. After the next rain storm, which is expected this coming weekend, I'll move the planter out of my shed. It's an outdoor planter anyway. I was merely trying to protect the cardboard box.
Questing
I played a little of Myst on my VR headset this morning. I could probably complete the entire game in one day. However, I am taking my time, making the fun last longer.
And today I'll play another round of mini golf with my friends in Kentucky. That is the one thing I appreciate most about my Quest 3. The games are fun to play, but they are even more fun when I can meet with my friends more than 2,000 miles away. I don't see them physically; I see avatars. But I can hear their voices as we talk to each other while playing.
Sunday 2024.2.25
Taxing Credulity
Occasionally I like a little something sweet to sip. Chocolate milk is a favorite. A protein shake is probably better for me, especially if I use stevia rather than sugar. I requested a jar of protein powder from the Vine program. The jar is huge, but I was shocked when I opened it.
It is less than half full. For decades I've been seeing "sold by weight, not volume" on labees. "A little settling might have occurred in shipping" is another gimmick to put less product in a package. But the protein powder was beyond anything I ever saw before.
A little aside:
When coffee companies changed from 1-pound cans to 13 ounces, Trader Joe's still sold their coffee in the larger can. Then, when they switched to the smaller can, they advertised it as: "Our coffee roasts up so plump, we can fit only 13 ounces in the can." Yeahhhhh.
I put a flashlight, protected by a plastic bag, in the jar to reveal the level of powder inside. I also drew a line. The jar is nine inches (23cm) from the base to the shoulder. The product uses only 4 inches (10cm) of that volume. At least they didn't have the gall to claim some settling might have occurred during shipping.
Maybe needless to say: I didn't give this product a positive review on Amazon.
Only Slightly Better
I've been looking for camera tripods on Vine. I already have two. One is a Sachtler fitted exclusively for my video camera. The other is a really good Bogan I bought maybe 35 or 40 years ago. It's beautiful and I made it even better by ordering metal clamp levers to replace the plastic ones (one of which was broken by the airline when I went to New Zealand in 1989).
The Bogan is for my Nikon camera, but I can also use it for my teleprompter when I'm shooting My Kitchen Vlog videos. I don't like using it for my prompter because it is a little difficult to switch to the camera when I need it. I want a tripod solely for my teleprompter.
Last week I found one on Vine and requested it. It arrived on Thursday. My first impression was, "Wow, it's all metal!" My next impression was, "Wow, what a piece of junk!"
It immediately fell apart at the bottom. Without going into too much boring detail, there is a central stainless steel tube. It fits into a base and a cheap pop rivet was supposed to hold it in place. I could see what they did wrong. They failed to align the holes properly when they inserted the rivet. What to do?
I drilled out the center of the rivet, leaving most of it in place. I happened to have some stainless steel rails from a computer CD drive that I disassembled several years ago to put the pieces in recycling. It's amazing what we sometimes hold onto. It was just the right size; so, I aligned the central tube properly and then I hammered that rail through the rivet and into the tube. It's holding better than the original build.
The pin sticks out too far, but unless it gets in my way, I'll leave it. I can always cut off the extra with a Dremel tool later. The important thing is the tripod is now usable. I put the teleprompter on it and I put the Bogan away for my camera.
Maybe also needless to say: I gave this product a negative review on Amazon.
More Mini Golf
Okay, lets get to some fun stuff.
I've blogged about the Walkabout Mini Golf game before. There are some two dozen courses and I have them all on my Quest 3 headset.
Each course has two levels of play — an easier daytime course and the same course at night with more obstacles and traps, the difficult course. There are lost balls to find, 18 per course. Those are added to the collection, from which the player can choose any ball to use in the game. For a while I was using an eyeball (yeah, kind of macabre).
Each difficult level offers another challenge. There are puzzle hints arranged around the course. Collect all those to solve the puzzle and be rewarded with a new putter designed from that course. The putter can be used on any course. Some are beautiful, some are downright ugly.
On Wednesday I collected the final putter (until more courses are released for the game). I finally have them all, 27 of them. There are a few extra because some courses offer more than one putter.
One of my favorite courses so far is Laser Lair. All the holes are equipped with lasers to be avoided. If the ball should enter a laser it is fried. The challenge of avoiding lasers while trying to make par was fun. And the putter from that course is beautiful.
Meanwhile, the chair mat I discussed last Sunday is working very well. I really like it.
Wednesday 2024.2.21
A New Gimmick?
It's not a secret I've been spending a lot of my time on the Amazon.com web site, especially the site for the Vine Voices program. I've been noticing something new, at least new in my eyes.
Many of the products are labeled as "improved" or "updated." I can't help but wonder if that is some sort of a new type of click bait to lure shoppers to purchase the item.
I don't pay much attention. I have my short wishlist. I stick to that.
More About My Quest 3 VR Headset
More and more I'm seeing these headsets as a good way for shut-ins to associate with friends or relatives, either locally or hundreds of miles away. Online chat sites like Zoom work well for meeting face to face. It's pleasant to see the person you're meeting online. The headset uses avatars rather than an actual image, but I can hear my friends' voices. And using the device to play a game together, such as mini golf, makes it fun to associate. We can still talk to one another, but we have a game to play together, which I find more enjoyable than a chat site.
A Good Test of Eneloop
I have a TV on my office desk. Often I have the news on while I'm working on something. There has been two remote controls on that desk, neither of which I ever used. I cover my remotes with plastic to keep them clean. I also put a note in the bottom to record the date on which I installed batteries. One was dated 4/2/2017. The other was 1/24/2014. It was time to remove those batteries and maybe save them for another time.
I put the batteries in the charger, wondering if they were still any good. The green light came on and stayed on, indicating they were being charged normally. Meanwhile, the remotes went into a drawer where I keep all my old remote controls.
This morning the green light on the charger was off. As old as they were, those batteries still held a charge.
Big Vine Day (sort of)
Amazon is making up for a really slow day yesterday. No new items were added to the program. So far this morning more than 11,000 items were added and the number keeps going up. Sadly, though, there is nothing I want. As I said above, I stick to my wishlist.
Number 9
Storm number 9 is now in the books. This last one was another atmospheric river that dumped a lot of rain on the region. Where I live, more than four inches fell. San Marcos Pass, which always gets the most rain, recorded more than 11¼ inches. Evidently water was released from the reservoir to prepare for this storm. The capacity changed from 98% to 97%. We are at 151% of our normal-to-date rainfall and 102% of our normal water-year rainfall.
Another storm will move through the region on the weekend, but that is either of weak storm or a fast moving one. The forecast is for only two days of rain.
Sunday 2024.2.18
Not Everything is Free
I like getting free stuff. Who doesn't? But there are times when I want something that isn't available for free.
Those who read this blog regularly know about the office chair I requested a month or so ago. It's in the middle of my living room where I always play mini golf on my VR headset. Something concerned me, however. Would the wheels eventually cause wear to my really nice somewhat-Persian (made in India) carpet?
My office is carpeted. It isn't the finest carpet, but it has been good all the years I've lived in this home. I shampoo it occasionally. There are two plastic chair mats, one at each computer, protecting the carpet from wear.
I thought it was time to protect my living room carpet as well. So I ordered a nice chair mat from Amazon. I bought a rigid one. The mats in the office arrived rolled up in a box. It took a while for them to completely relax. The plastic is slightly soft and dimples under the wheels of the chairs; although, the dimples do recover fairly quickly. The new mat will arrive flat in a box. It cannot be folded or rolled; therefore, I look forward to no dimpling.
If there is one potential downside, the plastic is thick and the edges are not beveled. Unless I wear slippers or shoes all the time, I look forward to stubbing my toes on the edge and delving into my library of expletives.
Stormy Weather
As mentioned earlier, another atmospheric river has been on its way. Late yesterday afternoon Santa Barbara county issued an evacuation warning for flood prone areas. I don't live in any of those.
Tonight one to two inches of rain is expected. That doesn't seem like much, but it's serious in an area where people are hardly prepared to deal with dew, let alone rain. I don't understand why so many houses and buildings have a ground flour that is literally level with the ground. That invites water to seep in beneath the doors.
The rain started falling yesterday evening. Rain is a big deal here in SoCal. We don't always get enough of it and therefore we have to adjust our water usage to save water through a drought. Last night only two tenths of an inch fell where I live. More is yet to come.
I look forward to the rain. As I've discussed so many times, one of the blessings of retirement is staying in my home, warm and dry, when the rain is falling outside. I open the drapes to watch it rain. It doesn't rain often here, which gives me all the more reason to enjoy it.
When it's stormy outside, it's also a good time to bake something. Let the oven help heat the house. I'm making more Chex Mix today.
Golden Oldies
I haven't mentioned the latest with my Meta Quest 3 VR headset. Way back in the 1990s (1993 to be more precise) there was a computer game I loved — Myst. Without going into a lot of detail, the beautiful island of Myst had fallen into neglect. The native inhabitants abandoned it. As a new visitor to the island, the player is presented with some of the history and many puzzles to solve to get to the other worlds of Myst.
Little by little the history of Myst is revealed and the culprits are caught and imprisoned. Then the original creator can start restoring his beautiful island of Myst.
The game of Myst was recently adapted to the VR headset. Not surprisingly, it's much better. The original game was played on a flat computer monitor screen, kind of like looking at the island through a window. This new version if fully immersive. It's beautiful. Needless to say, I bought it.
Then, another old game from 1993 was released for the Quest 3 — The 7th Guest. I had that one too. There isn't much I remember of it; so I bought that game as well. Again, it's beautifully immersive and I look forward to refreshing my memories of the two games.
Meanwhile, I continue to improve my putting skills in mini golf.
Wednesday 2024.2.14
Happy Valentine's Day
I remember Valentine's Day when I was in nursery school. I looked forward to getting all those colorful cards. Back then it was mandatory to give cards to everyone in class, not just your favorites. I don't know what children do today.
This is the time of year to see heart-shaped boxes of chocolates in the store. I used to look for them after the holiday on the clearance shelf. Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I don't dare attempt that now.
And speaking of diabetes, I'll be joining two friends today for a round of mini golf. The course chosen is Sweetopia in honor of Valentine's Day. The 18 holes are designed around sugary sweets.
Vine Reviews
Hopefully I don't bore you too much with my blogging about Vine. Yesterday was a big review day. Nine items were delivered to my doorstep. Not all were free Vine items. Three of them were items I ordered and paid for on Amazon.
I mentioned before how my Vine requests have greatly diminished. My favorite search category now is "disposable." I'll order coffee filters, paper plates, paper towels or napkins that can be used as paper towels.
The goal is not to accumulate more stuff. I'm trying to downsize. I don't need more junk,.
Snow
I opened the live cam of Mystic, Connecticut on my computer yesterday and let it run all morning. It was snowing there. It was a good reminder why I moved to Southern California nearly 50 years ago.
As for weather here in SoCal, another atmospheric river is predicted to dump more rain on the state starting this weekend. I enjoy seeing it rain outside, but I hope we don't see another power outage like we did during the last storm. And I hope it won't be windy at night. That keeps me awake.
Cooking
I've been craving New England Clam Cakes lately. Thankfully, I had two cans of baby clams out in the shed. But first, why freeze yeast?
I keep my yeast in a glass jar in the freezer. On top of the jar I taped the expiration date. The date was April, 2023, nearly a year ago. I wasn't going to take any chances, so I dissolved some yeast in some warm water with a little sugar and waited. A few minutes later the yeast was foaming nicely. It was still good. Nonetheless, I put a 1-pound package of yeast, along with another case of clams, on my Amazon wish list. Why a case? Because the cost is about the same as canned clams in the grocery store and it's convenient to have clams in the shed when I want them.
How were the clam cakes? Delicious.
I'm sure I explained these before. The name is wrong, of course. Technically, these are fritters, not cakes. But they are known as cakes throughout New England. I grew up with them and I love them. By the end of the evening I had eaten them all.
Sunday 2024.2.11
Sometimes It's the Simple Things
I have an office chair that I've been happy with for more than a decade. There are actually two chairs in this office, one at each computer.
I've written about the oldest chair before. It's probably at least 25 years old, maybe older. Back around 2001 the metal bracket beneath the seat cracked. To keep the chair from leaning way backward I shoved a thick book (Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter — something I was supposed to read in grad school, but never did) into the mechanism. It worked. The chair has been usable all these years. But it has been slowly falling apart.
The newer chair is almost good enough, but the armrests are about an inch too low for ideal comfort. I miss the support. Neither chair has adjustable armrests.
Then I found something on Amazon Vine — padded armrests. They strap to the chair with Velcro and they add about two inches to the height of the chair's armrests. Now that chair is my primary office chair. The one that was falling apart I disassembled and the pieces were tossed either into the trash bin or the recycling bin.
Enough Already
I added a note to my Vine wish list — "no more vacuum sealer bags or rolls." I probably have enough to last for the remainder of my life. Missing from my collection were 11/12-inch bags and rolls. I found those on Vine and requested them. That should be the last of those orders. I'll have what I need for storing foods in the freezer and for cooking sous vide.
Meanwhile, I await the right size box to keep all my vacuum sealer supplies organized.
Maybe Not Enough
Found on Vine yesterday: Nitrile examination gloves. I've seen them before, but usually large or extra large. I prefer medium.
Before I cath I wash my hands well with soap and water. However, when I get up in the middle of the night, it's easier to put on a disposable rubber glove. I usually buy them at Costco, but if I can find them for free on Vine, why not request them? All the sizes, from small to extra large, were available in either blue or black. I chose blue in a package of 100. The gloves sold at Costco come in a box of 200 and usually two boxes are wrapped together — you probably know Costco's preference for larger quantities. But, again, the gloves on Vine were free; so 100 will suffice for a while.
More Weather
According to the National Weather Service, another atmospheric river is developing to deliver more rain to the West Coast. We probably won't see any precipitation until the weekend. More rain is okay. However, I'm a little concerned about the wind. This coming storm is supposed to be a windy one. Wind keeps me awake at night. I'll know more on Wednesday.
Wednesday 2024.2.7
Pressure Cooking Beans
I tried it again. I cooked some cannellini beans in my pressure cooker. I did my research this time. Soak for four hours, cook for six to eight minutes in a pressure. Allow the pot to depressurize naturally. The beans were better this time. Not mush. However, I know I can do better.
The goal was to make Pasta Fagioli, one of my all-time favorite soups. I want the beans to be a little firm, maybe a little on the al dente side. The problem is that I can't open the pressure cooker to test the beans for texture.
The next time I cook cannellini beans I will do it on the stove top. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes after soaking and rinsing. Then, start tasting the beans after 20 minutes. Continue the cooking, if necessary, to get the desired tenderness.
I do know this about cooking the beans: The water should barely be simmering. To much agitation can remove the skins and break up the beans.
I made the Pasta Fagioli. Delicious. When I was very young, kindergarten age, my Grampy lived with us. He was from Italy and he made the best Pasta Fazool (a regional name). I loved eating the soup with Grampy. It wasn't the healthiest. He'd chop a block of pork fat until it resembled corn meal and that went into the pot. I make mine without the fat.
More About the Weather
I came through it quite well. Other than the wind that kept me awake one night, the storm was actually pleasant where I live. I enjoyed the patter of the rain on the roof. It was amusing to see the Weather Channel stationed one of their reporters in Santa Barbara. Although at one time half a million homes were without electricity in California, the power never went off where I live.
The local reservoir released some water in preparation for the storm, expecting a large influx from the storm. It was effective. As of this morning the lake is at 98% capacity.
The forecast now is for days of sunshine as we dry out from all the rain we enjoyed.
Chair
Yesterday I unboxed and assembled an office chair I requested from Vine. I shot a video of the process. I'll examine it this afternoon and if it looks good enough I'll edit it for My Kitchen Vlog channel on YouTube.
The chair is good for playing mini golf on the VR headset, but not something to use for long term in the office. The back doesn't lean backward far enough and the seat is a little too small front to back. At about $100, I don't expect it will last long anyway. And it was free; so I'm fine with that.
The chair I really want is a lot more expensive. I was planning to purchase it as a Christmas present to myself in December, but I might buy it as a birthday present in July.
And Speaking of Vine
As I said in Sunday's blog post, my requests are way down. There really isn't much of anything I want. I ordered two pairs of sneakers. One pair has steel toes, not that I do anything that might injure my feet. The other pair is supposed to be more comfortable for walking. Whatever, they were free.
And I'm still looking for the ideal bedroom lamp. I think I found one. It will actually go in my living room, replacing a lamp I will move into the bedroom. I usually wake up in the middle of the night (usually to cath) and I like to put a lamp on when I check the latest news on my laptop computer.
Sunday 2024.2.4
The Pineapple Express
No doubt you've been hearing on the news about the atmospheric river approaching the USA West Coast. It's a stream of very moist air from the tropics, like somewhere around Hawaii, and thus it is sometimes called the Pineapple Express.
The rain started falling yesterday evening, but it was a light rain. There is more to come. This storm will move slowly through the region. That's good news and bad news. I'll get the bad news out of the way first.
Because this is a slow moving storm it will rain a lot — days of rain. The forecast, so far, is rain all this week. A lot of water will build up in some areas. That means localized flooding. If the soil is already saturated from the previous storms, that can lead to debris flows, mud and rocks sliding down the side of mountains and foothills, especially in areas where there was a recent fire. The fire strips the land of the plants that help hold the soil in place.
I live on high ground. The water flows away from this area and there is good drainage into the ocean. Of course, if the rain falls hard enough and long enough that can overwhelm the streets and cause localized flooding. It's not unusual to see a lot of water flowing down the street here in the trailer park. So much water can build up, it flows over my yard on its way out of the park.
More bad news: There was a high wind warning with this storm. Not an advisory. Not a watch. A warning. That means high winds are a certainty. Wind speeds were forecast to be 30 to 45 miles per hour with possible gusts of 65mph in this area. A little up north the forecast was 35 to 55 with gusts as high as 80mph. The wind howled last night, which kept me awake most of the night. I can't sleep when it's windy.
High winds also knock down trees and with them power lines. I expected the power might go out; so I prepared as I usually do. I lit my oil lamps to burn off any wax buildup in the wicks. That makes them easier to light when I need them. I also moved some battery-powered storm lamps into my home from the shed, just in case I might need them. Walking around with a lantern feels safer than walking with an oil lamp, which can fall, break and cause a fire.
And I made sure the batteries for my Quest 3 headset were fully charged, which is not an emergency situation, but at least I can play a game if I can't watch TV.
Now some good news: long-duration rains like this do wonders for our reservoirs. Lake Cachuma was at about 93% capacity yesterday. The Gibraltar and Jameson reservoirs, upstream from Cachuma were full. Their overflow goes into our lake. However, the people who tend Cachuma must have suspected a great influx of water into the reservoir and therefore released some of the water in advance. This morning the capacity is 90%.
Many years ago we were under drought conditions when a storm like this passed through the region. After days of raining all the reservoirs were full. That ended the drought. People called it a miracle storm. Cachuma is nearly full; so a lot of this rain will likely spill over the dam and flow down the Santa Ynez river to the ocean.
Fewer Vines
I really cut back on my Vine requests. I even reduced my wish list.
I felt a little guilty scoring another office chair. It's the same as the one I already have, but I wanted it to replace one that is falling apart. I've had a chair in my office for probably 25 years, maybe longer. It was excellent when I bought it. Then a bracket beneath the seat cracked and I had to push a book in there to prop the chair up. That has worked for the past 20 years. Now one of the side arms is falling off and the leather is cracking. It really is time to replace that chair.
I know what chair I really want, but it's very expensive. However, if I am good about saving money this year that chair will be my Christmas present to myself in December.
Meanwhile, I hardly ever browse anymore on Vine. There are only two items I really want — a better desk lamp and some rechargeable lithium AA batteries.
I might have explained it before. I prefer lithium over NiMH (nickel-metal hydride), which I have plenty of, because lithium batteries have the full 1.5 volts of power. NiMH are around 1.2 volts, which is okay in most devices, like remote controls, but in my clock the "low battery" indicator pops up even if the batteries are newly charged.
For me, the trick now is to watch to number of available items on Vine. If the number is going down, there is no need to look for items. Other vine members are requesting items from the spoils. When the number starts climbing, that's when I jump in and start searching. Again, I only want wish list items. I avoid browsing because I don't want to be tempted into an impulse purchase (like that champagne saber I ordered). The items are free; so I'm not wasting money. But I need space to store these things. I don't want something unless it replaces something I already have, like that office chair.