Andrew

2021 Week 47 – Sausage Party

I took a quick trip down to Cincinnati to visit family, and I had to make a stop at Findlay Market on the way home. Findlay Market is located in the city’s heart in an area known as “Over the Rhine” (OTR). As expected, it was pretty busy on Saturday, especially the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

OTR has seen its share of issues over the years, it’s been in the midst of a gentrification effort for as long as I can remember, and the transition has been a slow one. In the same block, you can see homelessness, drug use, high-end boutiques, and cars costing well over $100k cruising the streets. It’s pretty surreal, to be honest.

Findlay Market has a nice mix of outdoor seasonal markets and brick and mortar shops ringing around a large indoor market lined with various shops along its long central corridor. You can shop at the various meat, seafood, and produce stalls, as well as a couple of bakeries and a world-class spice shop.

One of my favorite vendors, Kroeger & Sons Meats, has been replaced by the “LK” sausage counter in the indoor market. LK does the old vendor proud by continuing to offer a huge selection of freshly made sausages, smoked meats, and other pork products. This is THE place to shop for some of the best sausages around.

One side of the L-Shaped LK stall at Findlay Market in Cincinnati

LK is Findlay Market’s premiere sausage destination. Founded by two local Cincinnatians, John Knodel and Ryan Lillis, LK offers more than 40 varieties of handcrafted sausage as well as smoked meats, fresh pork products and seasonal offerings. Launched in 2020, LK has taken over the iconic space once inhabited by Kroeger & Sons Meats. LK is focused on celebrating food and community, with top-notch service.
https://www.lkfindlaymarket.com/about

With over 40 types of sausages available, it’s tough to pick the right one. Luckily LK had a bracket challenge earlier this year, listing all their varieties and how they rank against each other. I ended up walking away with a nice mix of flavors and some sweet and spicy mustard too.

Before leaving the market, I stopped at another favorite along the north side of the outdoor shops, Dean’s Mediterranean Imports. Here you can find various spices, oils, and Mediterranean staples such as olives and pita. On this trip, I picked up a couple of new condiments (both LOW CARB!).

If you find yourself in Cincinnati and have some extra time, I encourage you to check out Findlay market and the OTR area. It’s got something for just about everyone, and you’re sure to find some great food to take home and try.

That’s it for this week. Turkey Day is just a few days away, along with an extra day of football. I’m looking forward to a 4-day weekend and hope to get more recipes added to the blog during that time. See you next time.

2021 Week 46 – The Donut King

Short post this week as I’m getting back into the swing of things after being off work for a few days.

Hulu is now showing the rags to riches Documentary called “The Donut King.”

The story of Ted Ngoy, also known fondly as “The Donut King,” is one of fairy tales- fate, love, survival, hard knocks, and redemption. It is the rags to riches story of a refugee escaping the Khmer Rouge, arriving in America via Camp Pendleton in 1975 to escape the brutal genocide in his home country of Cambodia, to build an unlikely multi-million dollar empire baking America’s favorite pastry, the donut. From gas station janitor to donut shop owner and the surprising success that came with it, Ted found that a great joy in life was the ability to help others…and help, he did. Ted sponsored hundreds of visas for incoming refugees, who were coming to California by the thousands, and helped them get on their feet by teaching them the ways of the donut business. By 1979, he was rich, living the American Dream. But, in life, great rise can come with great falls. With his great success, he was seduced by the casinos in Las Vegas and lost it all. By 1992, in his sixties, he was homeless, sleeping on a friend’s floor in a mobile home in Long Beach, CA, and the very community he helped in the seventies turned their backs on the hand who once fed them. Alas, a spirit like Ted Ngoy’s doesn’t die easily and he left behind a legacy of independent donut shops spanning from California to Texas to Canada, shaping everything we know about the beloved pastry. It’s the American Dream, with a twist.
https://bentonvillefilm.org/artists/the-donut-king/

If you have Hulu and 90-minutes to kill, this is a very interesting documentary. Have you seen it? Leave your thought in the comments section below.

2021 Week 45 – Tech Upgrades & Tacos

I’ve been absolutely loving the new iPad Pro since I purchased it a few months ago. In fact, It’s my primary computing device when I’m home. Paired with a Lap Desk from Amazon, I can crank out all kinds of work and keep up with my reading from the comfort of my couch (while watching Soccer & Football).

The Apple Watch Series 7 arrived last Monday & I’m thrilled with the upgrade from the Series 4 I was using. Apple offered a $100 trade-in, and my company provides an annual fitness reimbursement of $60 for wearable devices, which brought the overall price of the device down to something a lot more reasonable.

Speaking of reasonable, Amazon just released the new Kindle Paperwhite for $139. I have an original one from 2012 that has gotten very sluggish (and stopped receiving software updates). I was able to get 25% off the price of the new Kindle if I traded my old one in. I think this trade-in option is something I’m going to start looking for when upgrading electronic devices. Otherwise, these old units end up taking space on the shelf with no benefit to anyone.

In local food news, Chris’ Ice Cream (and Tacos) has relocated across 86th Street from its old location, just east of Total Wine and next door to Subway. They haven’t put a permanent sign up yet, so it’s a little hard to find. I had lunch with a former colleague the other day, and the food is just as good as it was before at the old location. The new site isn’t any larger than the old one, so I think the relocation might have been landlord or rent-related. Either way, this is a great little hole-in-the-wall with some excellent Mexican food.

And finally, this video is a few years old, but it’s hilarious. There is NO WAY I would ever try Noodling, but it sure was fun watching these guys do it. Have a great week, and we’ll see you next time!

2021 Week 44 – Fall Back

It’s about that time again where we set our clocks back to observe Daylight Saving Time (DST). The official date is Sunday, Nov. 7th at 2:00 am so you have a week to go! It doesn’t seem that long ago when Indiana didn’t participate in DST. In fact, we had our own “Timezone” called Indiana in the settings on computers. The last time I checked it was still there in Windows 10, even though it’s not used anymore.

I’ve been trying to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and get some steps in by walking around the neighborhood. This is a perfect time to catch up on the numerous Podcasts I have downloaded to my phone. One of my all-time favorites is from 99% Invisible. This podcast explores all kinds of interesting topics such as the Sears catalog that had mail-order houses available, and why Margarine was PINK at one time.

99% Invisible is a sound-rich, narrative podcast hosted by Roman Mars about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world.
From 99percentinvisible.org

After the impressive iPad Pro upgrade, I decided to upgrade my several-generation-old Apple watch to the new Series 7 model. The larger display is what really sold me. I use my Apple Watch daily and I’m looking forward to checking the new model out. If there’s anything worth reporting I’ll do a mini-review in a few weeks.

And finally, I stumbled upon some motivational videos on Youtube last week and the following one featuring Joe Rogan was very interesting. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4taz6dfPQc

2021 Week 43 – Odds and Ends

No real agenda for this post but I had a few notes of things to discuss on the Blog. Let’s start with Dopesick on Hulu!

Dopesick follows the Sackler Family, who founded Purdue Pharma and are thought to be responsible for the creation of the ongoing Opioid Crisis in the US. In fact, they just settled a huge lawsuit where they won immunity from future lawsuits and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties. The Hulu series stars Michael Keaton and after 3 episodes I’m hooked.

Speaking of hooked, I’ve seen the brand “Real good” a lot lately. They specialize in High Protein, Gluten, and Grain-free frozen products. I’ve tried their gluten-free (and LOW carb) chicken parmesan in the past and enjoyed it. Purchased at Costco, their Bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breasts are a BIG hit in this household. These are raw and frozen, so they take about 40-minutes to prepare. The chicken is nice and tender, and the bacon on the outside and cheese on the inside make an awesome combo, especially when paired with a vegetable side (or salad). Probably one of the best frozen chicken entrees I’ve ever had.

You NEED these in your freezer!
Image from “My Costco Finds website”

You can’t watch an iPad Pro video on YouTube without seeing an ad for the Paperlike screen protector. I’ve used a Paperlike in the past, but at $40 (for two pieces), it’s a little pricey for what it is ( I don’t remember ever paying that much). I saw a few people talking about an alternative called Tech Armor, so I thought I’d check it out, especially since it was only $10 for two pieces. They have a lot of different protectors available for various devices, but this is the one that works with the current 11” iPad Pro. So far, I’m really impressed with the glare and fingerprint reduction the protector provides, and installation was about as easy as it can be. The following video is what made me give the Tech Armor a try.

I think that’s about it for this week. I’ve got some info on a bagel and a biscuit place opening up, both on 96th St. One near I-69 and the other near Keystone Parkway. I’ll be sure to cover that in an upcoming post. See you next week!

2021 Week 42 – Grammarly App Review

I have a confession to make. I’m lazy when it comes to writing. I let the computer recommend corrections and highlight spelling mistakes. I thought I had it all figured out, and then I tried Grammarly.

Years ago, I played with Grammarly when it first came out and didn’t see the need to keep it as it didn’t appear to be any better than the built-in tools I was already using. However, I kept seeing Grammarly pop up online, and several people I know are happily using it, so I decided to give it another try.

First off, the amount of integration this tool provides is impressive. From browser extensions on the desktop to additional keyboards on mobile devices, Grammarly has you covered just about everywhere. I’ve been using it for the past month or so while drafting Blog entries, and it’s caught WAY more grammatical errors than the built-in editor, especially missing commas that I’m guilty of having. Some of the more technical emails I’ve needed to write at work have greatly benefitted from Grammarly too.

There are a few different options with Grammarly. Free, Premium, and Business. The Premium version I’m currently using is $12 a month (less expensive if you opt for the annual plan). It’s a little steep, I’ll admit, but it’s become so integrated into my workflow I’m willing to pay the price. Of course, it’s not a perfect solution and will, on occasion, make a recommendation I don’t quite agree with, but those are few and far between. Another thing to know is an Internet connection is required for Grammarly to function.

All in all, if you love to write, or you need some help polishing up your communications, Grammarly is an excellent tool for the job!

In other news, I just started listening to a new podcast called “How We Survive” from NPR Marketplace. The first season is all about the lithium used in batteries that will be powering everything in the future and how we need to mine more to meet the demand.

The climate crisis is here. Time is slipping away to stop the worst effects of global warming, and the world is looking for solutions. On “How We Survive,” Molly Wood explores the technology that could provide some of those solutions, the business of acclimatizing to an increasingly inhospitable planet, and the way people have to change if we’re going to make it in an altered world. Our first season dives deep into the economics, the tech and the human stories behind the race for lithium. It’s the “white gold” that will help electrify our cars, homes and power grids, and unlike the gold rush of the 1800s, this time, our survival might depend on it.
Molly Wood – Host of the “How We Survive” Podcast.

That’s it for this week. I have a few ideas for upcoming blogs and have several drafts in the works. See you next time!

2021 Week 41 – iPad Pro Upgrade

I’ve been completely integrated into the Apple ecosystem for a while now and have always wanted an iPad Pro, but the price has always stopped me from making the leap. Because of that, I’ve purchased several iPad Air models and was generally happy with that decision. Well, I finally broke down and bought my first iPad Pro last week.

I opted for the 11″ model with 512GB of memory. Priced at just under $1000, it was not a cheap purchase, but compared to the Air model it replaced, this thing is an absolute beast when it comes to performance. I’ve been blown away by the responsiveness and power of the 2021 iPad Pro. I should have done this a while ago.

I’ve always used an external keyboard with my iPad, and I had a few choices for this one. I ordered both the Apple Magic Keyboard and the Logitech Combo Touch so I could try them both out and return the one I didn’t want. Initially, I was leaning towards the Logitech option because of its flexibility, but once I tried the Apple keyboard, I was hooked. Both add a considerable amount of weight (and cost) to the package, but the Apple Keyboard is rock solid, and the keys are almost identical to my MacBook Pro. My only complaint is the trackpad is smaller than the Logitech keyboard, and it costs more. However, it DOES have a dedicated charging port to free up the USB-C port on the side of the iPad Pro.

I’ve had an Apple pencil (V1) and didn’t find myself using it much because you were pretty limited in what you could do with it, so it stayed in my bag. Now, with iPadOS 15, the pencil is a lot more capable, and it’s always available since it can be docked (and charged) on the side of the iPad with some impressively strong magnets. Unfortunately, I had to upgrade to the new V2 model as the V1 is not compatible.

Restoring from a recent backup of the old iPad is all it takes to be up and running. Apple has made upgrading to a new device about as simple as it can get. iCloud keeps everything synced between devices, and the whole ecosystem just works. That’s what’s so nice about the Apple environment.

I took the iPad Air I’m replacing and mounted it to the refrigerator to use while cooking. I had an older model on there for years, and it comes in really handy to have an iPad in that location for recipe reference and multimedia controls of the stereo in the other room.

If you’re an Apple iPad user and considering an upgrade, the Pro series is worth looking into. It’s more expensive than the Air options, but the performance jump is noticeable, and the screen resolution is nothing short of amazing.

In other news, Netflix just released the entire Seinfeld series. I remember watching the show, off and on, in the ’90s and always enjoyed it. Now that I’m re-watching it, I realize what a well-written and acted show it really was! I’m only 3 episodes in with 176 left to go. I hope Netflix keeps this available for a while because it’s going to take me a while to get through all of the episodes.

That’s it for this week. I have a software review on deck & should be ready to publish it in the next week or two. Enjoy the wonderful fall weather & we’ll see you next week!

2021 Week 40 – Upland Brewing FSQ

Low-carb eating at lunch leaves you with a few options. Of course, salad and some kind of protein are the easiest to locate, and it’s nice to visit different places to see what they can come up with. Upland Brewery in Fountain Square has been a destination for a couple of lunches over the past few weeks, and I think it’s time I share it with the readers of IndyScan.com.

The brewery is nice and open, with a covered patio on the west side of the building. Unfortunately, their parking lot, shared with Grey Goat Cycles, only has about five spaces available, but there’s plenty of street parking in the immediate area.

The staff has always been super friendly, and the menu has a nice variety of sharable appetizers and burgers, salads, and tacos. After 5 pm they serve larger entrees like steak and pasta.

On my first visit, I ordered the Chicharrón appetizer. This was a HUGE pile that I ended boxing up and taking back to the office to share. The crispy pork skins we’re made fresh and were delicious but be warned, the rub they sprinkle on top is spicy! I need to remember to ask them to lighten up on the spice next time I order these.

The Side Salad I ordered was very fresh, and the buttermilk dressing was delicious and made in-house. For my protein, I chose the char-griller burger with Jalapeno Blue Cheese sauce on the side. The burger was cooked perfectly, and the sauce was delicious; if I had some french fries, it would be an excellent dipping sauce.

If you’re looking for a place to have a group lunch and maybe a beer on a Friday afternoon, this is a great place to check out. They have a lot of available seating, and the atmosphere is very comfortable. Also, for a brewery, I think their food is pretty excellent.

I have a few more reviews in the works, including a few new purchases from Apple and an application that’s really opened my eyes to how I communicate. Stay tuned!

2021 Week 38/39 – San Diego Visit

I went on a Cross Country trip for work last week, so I missed my regular Sunday posting deadline. So this will be a post with 2-weeks’ worth of updates (and probably pretty long, too), but I have lots of pictures to share!

I left on Saturday to head out to San Diego, a place I’ve never visited. Indianapolis International Airport was pretty busy, being a weekend, but as usual, once you checked your bag, security was a breeze. Correct mask usage was close to 100%, but you always have a few defiant people trying to be difficult.

Airline employees are NOT messing around, and the trouble makers were given a choice; wear your mask or leave. It’s also funny how people are so anxious to get on the plane and just sit there. I’m quite fine waiting at the gate until it’s closer to time to depart. I like to minimize my time crammed into a tiny space.

We had an uneventful trip to Dallas, and it was the first time flying into DFW, where it didn’t take 30 min to taxi up to our gate. I had just enough time to grab a bite to eat before we loaded up and started our second leg of the trip. For some reason, we left 20-minutes early, and there were plenty of open seats on the flight. This is the first time flying since COVID, but it was nice to let someone else do the driving and visit a place not easily accessible by car.

On this trip, I stayed in the Gas Lamp District of San Diego. It’s a lovely area of the city that’s like a mix of Broad Ripple and Mass Ave in Indianapolis (with a baseball stadium only blocks away). Just about every restaurant had outdoor seating in what were once street parking spaces, and the later it got, the busier the streets became. I got there a little earlier than others in my group and hit a local seafood spot called Water Grill for some oysters. They came with some delicious bread and salted butter.

East and West Coast oyster sampler and fresh bread and butter at Water Grill in the Gaslamp District of San Diego.

I stayed in the Pendry Hotel this trip. It’s a great little boutique hotel with a price tag to match. One of the interesting features of the rooms here is the showers. It’s right there, in the middle of the room, with glass on 3 of the 4 sides. The attached pub was a favorite hang out for those of us on the trip, and I made several great business connections making the trip well worth the time and expense.

BIG shower in the center of the rooms in the Pendry Hotel

After a couple of days at the conference and seeing some great places around town, it was time for the discussions to end. I opted to stay in town an extra day to do some exploring. One thing that caught my eye was the maritime museum along the harbor. I had passed it several times in our travels, so I decided to visit on my last full day in town. It was a remarkable history display and had more model ships onboard real ships than I have ever seen in one place.

After the museum, I took the train up to Encinitas for lunch. The “Coaster” runs north and south from San Diego to Oceanside and is very scenic. It’s a good way to check out the scenery outside the city for just a few dollars. My round trip to Encinitas was under $10.

Sad Diego to Encinitas via train that travels along the Pacific coast.

Time to head back to Indy! So far, the travel part of this journey had been great, but…. You knew there was going to be a but…. I got stuck in DFW on the way back. All that rain in Indy while I was gone made its way out east and delayed my flight from New York to Dallas to come pick me up for the last leg of the trip. I ended up getting back 3-hours later than expected, but we made it back safe.

Although I was a little apprehensive about traveling across the country with the current status of the Pandemic, it was a great trip with enough activities to keep me busy the entire time. The weather was perfect, and I can see why people love it out there as much as they do. It’s always nice to get home, though. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of the San Diego area, I’d like to visit again and see some of the things I missed on this last trip.

Here are some bonus photos taken during the conference and some of the excursions we went on.