While at the condo in Florida this past week, Brenda was searching for a side table and lamp to replace the very ugly and cheap one between the couch and chair (photo right). She found one online that was way overpriced for "particle board or manufactured wood." I’m not a fan and mentioned that it would be much nicer if it were hardwood with the antiqued paint treatment I used on the toothbrushing stools. She agreed and sent me the photo to archive.
Brenda commented that I didn’t link any information on the the large numbers of Portuguese Man O’ Wars earlier this week, so figured I would share a beach photo of a bourgeoning Portuguese Man O’ War spawn that were washing up all over the beach this past week (click above). The interesting colored spot on the shore has me linking and reading a bit more … and finding this “lefthanded vs righthandedness” section intriguing.
For each man o’ war or bluebottle, the float can be oriented towards the left or the right (dimorphism), believed to be an adaptation that prevents the entire population from being washed on shore to die.
The “left-handed” bluebottles sail to the right of the wind, while the “right-handed” bluebottles sail to the left. The wind will always push the two types of bluebottles in different directions, so at most half the population will be pushed towards the coast.
Since a new iPhone will eventually be in my future, I’m paying a little more attention to the rumors around what is changing. The most obvious seems to be the USB-C port, but according to 9to5mac photos and renderings, the iPhone15Pro could see some bezel changes too.
With the iPhone 15 lineup, a USB-C port will be added to all iPhone 15 models in lieu of the Lightning port. Based on the renders, the port won’t look significantly different, but there may be some changes to the speaker holes at the bottom.
The iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have somewhat thinner bezels than than the iPhone 14 Pro models, plus there is a minor change to the curve of the edges. The frame is slightly more curved and the glass curves into the edges, a subtle but noticeable tweak.
Nothing like a big game, a bag of frozen Costco chicken wings and a desire to make them crispier than in a normal oven to talk us into a splurge buy!
At home in Cincinnati, we enjoy our Breville convection toaster oven at home so much that really wanted one down at the Delray Beach condo ever since the kitchen update and tossing our old 2-slice bread toaster. We’ve used the regular oven … which does a fine job … but used the Super Bowl and desire for crispy Buffalo wings as an excuse to buy a new Cosori brand air fryer/toaster oven. I debated one of the smaller dedicated 5-qt air fryers, but decided the convenience of making other smaller oven and toaster items for the two of us was worth putting a combo model on the countertop, besides we do not have a toaster.
The Catholic martyr St. Valentine was beheaded on that date in the third century, supposedly for breaking a Roman ban on performing marriages. Now in Dublin a church claims to exhibit St. Valentine’s heart; in a Rome basilica his supposed skull is displayed; in a Glasgow friary his skeleton sits in a golden box; in a Prague basilica his shoulder bone is an attraction; and in a Madrid church his remains are encased in glass.
While driving and listening to a few of my usual music stations last week … one being SiriusXM The Bridge … hearing Bonnie Raitt singing “Angel From Montgomery” reminded me how I’ve always enjoy the solemn blues sounds she can offer in her southern rock.
Super Bowl LVII between AFC Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles came down to the final minutes of the 4th quarter. The Eagles flew to a first half lead sending NFL’s 2023 MVP Patrick Mahomes into the locker room limping (again). After a long 30 minute halftime, Mahomes and his team was able to return for the second half with renewed vigor, Coach Andy Reed’s game plan clicked. The Chiefs offensively came out scoring over and over to take the lead as they dominated the Eagles on both sides of the ball for most of the second half … until Philadelphia scored in the 4th quarter to tie up the game.
As with too many close games, Super Bowl 57 came down to a questionable first down call with seconds to go … and a field goal giving the Chiefs the go ahead lead … and more importantly, less than ten seconds on the clock.
While at the condo in Florida this past week, Brenda was searching for a side table and lamp to replace the very ugly and cheap one between the couch and chair (photo right). She found one online that was way overpriced for "particle board or manufactured wood." I’m not a fan and mentioned that it would be much nicer if it were hardwood with the antiqued paint treatment I used on the toothbrushing stools. She agreed and sent me the photo to archive. 
