A Thinker's Dozen

When you order a dozen donuts at our local shop, they provide your dozen and then they throw a stack of donut holes on top. I think it's their version of the baker's dozen.

In that vein, here is a Thinker's Dozen with 13 random thoughts:

• We've had an ongoing conversation around our dinner table about lime flavoring. We're fairly certain that there is no food that can't be at least marginally improved with a little squeeze of lime. Lasagna, pancakes, cookies, even other fruit all seem to improve with lime juice. (Assuming you like the taste of lime of course.) One of these weeks we're going to put this theory to the test as a family so stay tuned for updates.
• They should color coordinate lids near fountain drinks. I waste at least one wrong-sized lid every time. I'd feel bad but there is so much markup in fountain drinks that the house still wins.
• I recently passed my first kidney stone. Wow. That was an experience. Shout out to all the moms that have been doing this forever.
• We place these little lights in dark places that need an occasional soft light. Ideal spots might be something like a medicine cabinet so late night treatment doesn't wake you up completely. We also use them in closets where you have to make early/late changes without waking someone else sleeping. The battery lasts a long time and it's simple to just touch the light to turn on and off
• In my forever goal to taste and rate Snickers, I tried the new pecan Snickers currently available at 7-11. It’s good but seems abnormally sweet for my taste.
• Why do musicians put talking before or after their songs on a studio album? Maybe it seems like a fun idea in the moment but it’s a nuisance for long term for listeners.
• Speaking of albums, there is a site called "Albums That Should Exist." Some dedicated individual takes obscure concerts from the last 6+ decades, cleans up the sound, separates them into tracks, and puts them out. I really, really enjoyed the early Garth and JT stuff.
• In the last year, the most forwarded post on this blog was "The First Person Problem." It's like people want other people to know without being the one to say it.
• I'm always surprised when I see the "internet" on other people's devices and it's full of ads, banners, and other annoyances. There have been content blockers available for Safari for many years now. My favorite one is called Wipr and a new version was just released. It costs $5 and only takes very little setup just one time. Once installed, you won't ever see ads on your iPhone, Mac, or iPad. Highly recommended.
• I like to run early in the morning before the sun comes up. It is quite dark and I always forget my armband lights. I think that when you start an “Outdoor Run” workout and it’s before sunrise, the Apple Watch screen should glow bright red with white text during the whole run.
• When we made our way around the world, it was hard to stay clean shaven. My home shaver was too big and bulky to carry and charge. Whenever we left a country, we had to get rid of shaving cream that was purchased. Since then, Candace bought me this little shaver and it's been perfect for travel. It's small, has a good battery, and charges with USB the same as our iPhones. Recommended gift for any man travelers in your life.
• Punctuality is a form of respect. Keeping commitments is a form of kindness.
• Do you use the "People" album on your iPhone? You should. It makes it much easier to find photos of people but also it's about to become much more fun. Image Playground will be released soon and you can easily create fun images of people in your Photos library. Just open the album and attach names to people that are already there. Your phone will keep working at night while it charges to build out full libraries of all the people you name. (It's still a work in progress but it's improving constantly.)