Tag: Military

2023 Week 26 – It’s Not Easy Being Green

What’s Going On:
It’s the weekend before the 4th of July, and a couple of weeks ago (while I was on my road trip), the Leadership Team at my office decided to give everyone an extra day off (July 3), so it’s a much appreciated 4-day weekend for this guy. Unfortunately, the weather has been anything but ideal, with rain and thunderstorms every day since Thursday and more on the way tonight (Sunday).

What I’m Buying:
Study Guide for the Amateur Radio General Class License Exam – Even though I didn’t get on the Air during the Annual Field Day, my interest in Amateur Radio is starting to pick up again. Like most hobbies, there are usually varying levels of participation, and in the Amateur Radio community, that can be classified through the different levels of licenses you can earn. Each license allows you to do more on the radio and talk to people farther away.

I’ve had the basic license for years that allows me to talk to people locally, and I have always wanted to upgrade my license to gain more privileges. I took a couple of practice exams online and quickly learned my knowledge was limited, and I needed to do some studying.

I stopped in the Sierra store again and picked up some lightweight shirts for the summer at deeply discounted prices. I’m still amazed at the prices and selection at the new Sierra store. If you’re in the area, it’s worth checking it out.

What I’m Eating:
Do you know what’s better than the Chicken Salad Sandwich at The Garden Table on Mass Ave? The Chopped Cobb Salad with a SCOOP of Chicken Salad at Garden Table on Mass Ave!

A coworker gave me a couple of his Athletic Greens travel packs to try. If you’ve spent any time on YouTube, you have never seen this product sponsoring all kinds of content (especially travel and outdoor channels). This stuff is not cheap at just under $100 a month, and they don’t offer samples for you to try before committing.

As I mixed the contents of the green packet into 8 oz of cold water, I was hesitant about what I thought it would taste like. It’s very dark green, and I expected something in the broccoli family of flavors. Surprisingly, the taste was very light with a touch of sweetness (like watered-down pineapple). It can be a little chalky if you let the powder settle out of suspension (especially the last little bit), but it was not awful to drink, and if you believe the hype, it has a lot of health benefits. I could see this replacing my daily multivitamin and probiotic I take each morning.

If you want to learn more about the “Greens” powder revolution and a review of the top contenders, check out The Ultimate Greens Power Test. This was a comprehensive evaluation of 11 different Greens powers with a lot of detail in the decision-making process.

I’m going to order the winner of this test (Ensō Supergreens) and compare it to Athletic Greens. At $39.99 a month, it’s a lot less expensive and might be with the hype! I’ll report back after I’ve used it for a few weeks.

What I’m Watching:
AirNow Interactive Map
Given how the air has been full of SMOKE from the Great White North this past month, I watched this website daily to see if things were improving.

The Bear on Hulu
In its second season, The Bear picks up new challenges as the team tries to rehab its space and open a new restaurant.

Jack Ryan (Final Season) on Amazon
The Final Season just started this past week, and it hit the ground running with a great storyline. I’m going to hate to see this one end.

What I’m Reading:
In addition to the Study Guide mentioned earlier, these articles caught my attention this past week.
Why Was Benjamin Franklin’s Basement Filled With Skeletons?
Americans have ‘tip fatigue,’ resent ‘tip creep.’
What you need to know about Indiana’s new laws taking effect July 1, 2023

And Finally…
Inside a Nuclear SUBMARINE! | USS Indiana Tour

2023 Week 8/9 – Sorry I’m Late

I’m finally getting into a groove with the new job and the ability to work from home some days. I typically get up early on the weekends because they are my days to do what I want, and I want to make the most of it. In January, I started an early Sunday morning routine of going to the grocery store at 8 am, washing the car, and topping off the gas tank. It’s usually a really quiet time of the day, and the store is normally well-stocked. I also try and publish Blog posts on Sunday since it’s the day I’m always online prepping for my upcoming week. Unfortunately, the last post was stuck in the queue and I didn’t have time to post one last weekend, so this one is a double.

I normally do a 1-2 hour Weekly Review on Sunday, but lately, it’s taken longer to get things in good shape for the week. My previous job only involved a few weekly meetings, but the new one has me in several a day, all of which I walk out of with action items. No regrets, though, I love the new job and do not miss the old one at all.

I recently purchased some new toys, one of which is an Elgato Stream Deck MK.2. The Stream Deck is a 15-button controller that’s fully customizable. Each button has its own mini full-color LED display.

Elgato Stream Deck

You can create pages of icons for various apps and there are a lot of plugins to perform various functions. I’ve been doing some video editing lately and I have a page of commands to help with those tasks. Stream Decks are very popular with content creators because you can perform complex actions with the touch of a button. Besides that, it’s a fun addition to the MacBook Pro I use in my office at home.

While not a comprehensive list the Indy Today newsletter had some fun making a list of Indy restaurants from A-Z. They had to stretch a little for some of the letters (BBQ for the letter Q) but it’s a good read.

If you’re looking for a light morning read the Indy Today newsletter is great. it always has timely information and details about events happening in the city. It’s worth checking out!

If you’re into computers and electronics, you might have heard that Micro Center is FINALLY opening a store in Indianapolis. It’s going into the old Gander Mountain location in Castleton (just east of Ale Emporium). The nearest MicroCenter location currently is on the north side of Cincinnati.

This will help replace the void created when Fry’s electronics closed (when it was good). You can find almost anything computer-related at Micro Center, and their prices are very competitive. This place is going to be PACKED.

And finally… The History Guy had an interesting video about a “Broken Arrow” incident in 1964 at Bunker Hill AFB (not called Grissom ARB).

2023 Week 7 – Lock-n-Load

Feb 27, 2023 – I just realized this post was still sitting in the Drafts folder!

The last two posts have had a lot of food content in them so I’ll start this one with just one piece of food news. According to Eater, In-N-Out is expanding eastward and opening up an office outside of Nashville, TN to oversee “expansion”. My son & I tried In-N-Out on a trip out west several years ago and while we both enjoyed it, we liked Del Taco better.

Given all thats going on in the world these days, I found it very interesting an Air Force General sent his troops a memo telling them to get prepared to go to war with China in 2025.

“I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me will fight in 2025,”

Gen. Mike Minihan in a memo sent to the officers he commands and obtained by NBC News.

Gen. Minihan feels the upcoming 2024 elections are going to be a distraction where China will invate Tawain & provoke a war. I sure hope he’s wrong!

8888 Keystone Crossing, Indianapolis, IN, 46240 - Coworking Space on ...

Here’s a link to a fun video about Keystone at the Crossing, the Fashion Mall at Keystone and the Bazaar (YouTube would not let me embed it into the post). The facility was opened prior to the completion of final leg of 465 in October, 1970 between Keystone and Shadeland Avenues. You can (kind of) see the 465 construction in the background of the arial shots. I visited it before it’s demolition in 1986 and only remember the wood paneling and the stairs everywhere (so many stairs)… Evidently the mall even had a Disco called Lucifer’s.

And finally… Speaking of history, it’s been 20 years since Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry creating the largest crash site ever on record. The following is a very well produced video shoing what happpened.

2022 Week 6 – Snowmageddon

We received our first big snowfall of the season last Thursday. Total accumulation in the Indy area was 6-8 inches. It was enough to shut the city down for the day. Although some people like it, I’m not a big fan of the snow shovel (or the sore back for days afterward). Luckily I found a neighborhood Boy Scout on Next Door offering his services to neighbors and asking people to pay what they think is fair. Glad to see some kids out there are willing to do a little manual labor to make some money.

When the weather turns cold, it’s fun to start a new show & really get into it. I’m not one to “binge” in the true sense of the word by watching non-stop all day long, but I can knock out a few episodes a night and finish a season pretty quickly.

My current Top-10 “binge-worthy” shows (in no particular order) are:

  • The Sopranos
  • Breaking Bad
  • Better Call Saul
  • The Americans
  • Homeland
  • Halt and Catch Fire
  • Sex Ed
  • Ozark
  • Good Girls
  • Ted Lasso
  • Bonus: Rick & Morty

I’ve been working a few days a week in the Lawrence, Indiana area, and there’s a serious lack of decent food over there. After a lot of scanning the area on Google Maps, I happened upon a place called Fitzgerald’s Lunch House. My first meal was an online order because I was short on time. I ordered the Roast “Beast” with Mac & Cheese (self allowed cheat day). Everything at Fitzgeralds is scratch-made, and you can really tell. The quality is superb, and the portions are plentiful. It honestly was one of the best roast beef sandwiches I’ve had in a LONG time.

Roast “Beast” with Mac-n-Cheese

I returned the next week for more of the same, only to be told they were out of roast beef. I immediately spotted the Cubano on the menu and placed my order. The is the real deal, the sliced pork loin was the key, and it was pressed to perfection on the proper roll. After talking to one of the employees for a few, I found out they even make their own pickles. And I’m here to tell you the pickles shine on this sandwich.

I’ve since visited Fitzgerald’s Lunch House each week of the past month, and the quality and consistency have remained on point. This is a place I would eat at every couple of days if I worked in the area more.

And finally, are you old enough to remember hearing Sonic Booms in the Midwest? OrangeBean had an interesting article that explains why Sonic Booms are very rare these days over the U.S.

That’s it for this week. I’ve been trying out some new places to eat & should have some more reviews coming soon! Stay warm out there.

COOKIES, OATMEAL; AND BROWNIES; COCOLATE COVERED

Here’s the 26-page “Guide” (MIL-C-44072C) to making the perfect military Cookies & Brownies.  As typical with any government document it leaves nothing to chance and has more references to other documents than actual ingredients!

On another note, THANK YOU to all of the military service personnel past & present.  It is your sacrifice that has made the United States of America what it is today & there is NO PLACE I would rather LIVE!