Household Hacks 5 of 5

Here it is, the last bunch of household hacks that will save you time, maybe money, and certainly a lot of frustration. 

• Use a dryer sheet to replace your lint brush.
• Add a sheet of newspaper to smelly Tupperware or fridge drawers overnight before cleaning.
• Unstick your zippers with olive oil from the kitchen.
• Add salt and water to the ice bucket to cool drinks quicker.
• When nailing into a wall, cover the target point with Scotch Tape to prevent chipping.
• Soothe insect bites with Alka-Seltzer fizzed in water and soaked in cotton balls.
• Whiten your whites with lemon juice (about a half-cup per load should do the trick).
• Whiten your teeth with … banana peel.
• Use a blow dryer on the back side of a page that has a photo stuck on it to loosen the adhesive.
• Use that banana peel to heal bruises, cuts, rashes, itching and warts.

And there you have it. The end. Just do it.

Household Hacks 4 of 5

All righty then. Here are 10 more household hacks that will have you singing “Hallelujah, I saved time and money!”

• Deodorize your garbage disposal with whole slices of lemon.
• Remove burnt-on grease and food stains from your pots and pans by adding Alka-Seltzer when you soak them.
• Relieve diarrhea (eww) by adding two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a cup of water.
• Remove scratches from glass with toothpaste.
• Relieve itchiness by adding 1 to 4 cups of powdered Cheerios to your bath soaking water.
• Store/sort your earrings by attaching pairs to buttons.
• Prevent pets’ hairballs with a few drops of coin oil added to their food.
• Remove gum from hair with whipped cream; it gives you an excuse to keep whipped cream in your fridge.
• Pour Coca-Cola on driveway oil stains to remove them.
• Scrub your face with brown sugar to remove dead skin and bacteria in the pores.

One more (the last) batch of hacks coming up later.

Ya-ahr, It's a Yaris

The good thing about renting a car from Hertz on a trip is that they usually assign me a pretty good late-model car that in essence allows me a test drive.

This last trip to California, I drove a tiny Toyota Yaris. The only rental car that was smaller was a Fiat 500 we rented several years ago.

And like that Fiat, we had to fold down the rear seats to accommodate our two pieces of luggage.

The Yaris had an amazingly good pickup with pretty frisky power. The ride was smooth and very quiet. It was easy handling, but most importantly, the wife and I could get in without slamming the tops of our heads on the door frame. The only thing that bothered me was that it didn't have a remote key; that was a little inconvenient.

She loved the car and for the first time since we started regular visits to family in California, she drove our rental all by her lonesome.

I wouldn't mind trading in my full-size 2000 Buick Park Avenue for this little bugger.

Pho Noodle Soop

I just thought you'd get a kick out of this phonetic spelling from Fremont's Pho Saigon Pasteur Vietnamese Noodle Shop menu. No big deal ... LOL.

It's sooper dooper!

Leeeaving On a Jet Plane

Okay, so that's not a jet plane up there. But you know what I mean. We're shutting down the keyboard and flying east toward the sunrise on Wednesday to spend some time with family in California. Left Field Wander will probably resume on Aug. 27 or so. Until then, look both ways before crossing the street.

Household Hacks 3 of 5

The wisdom of the ages … pure science applied to everyday things, just to make our life easier:

• Remove bumper stickers with mayonnaise, rub on, let sit 30+ minutes, and then remove sticker.
• Replace dryer sheets with aluminum foil to remove static electricity.
• Polish your leather shoes with the inside of a banana peel.
• Swab your feet with cotton balls soaked with mouthwash to get rid of bacteria and athlete’s foot.
• Use a paste of ½-cup water and a cup of baking soda to scrub your charcoal grill.
• Use your coffee grounds for plant fertilizer.
• Replace your shaving cream with olive oil.
• Run dryer sheets over clothes, TV screens, hair, to remove static electricity.
• Freeze your candles for 2+ hours to make them last longer.
• Take two cups of water (drink it quickly) to help cure your headache.

More are forthcoming. I promise.

Winner, Winner, Ice Cream Dinner!

About a week ago, I entered a contest on Facebook sponsored by Meadow Gold Dairies Hawaii, asking Facebook friends to share their favorite Meadow Gold ice cream memories.

Since their page has 2,178 followers, I figured I didn’t have much of a chance, but what the hell, I gave it the old college try.

Here was their challenge: “Moohalo to all our fans who made this ‪#‎NationalIceCreamMonth the most memorable yet! We are giving away one more Meadow Gold Ice Cream Summer Prize Pack, so tell us, what is your favorite childhood memory with Meadow Gold Ice Cream?”

Fifty or so followers entered. Here’s what I wrote: “I won a gallon of Meadow Gold ice cream in 1963 (I believe) from Bob Krauss when I drew a picture of a ukulele, following directions he ran in his Honolulu Advertiser column. He ran the picture in his column when he announced I'd won!”

And I won. The wife and I dropped by their Honolulu headquarters Friday to pick up the Summer Prize Pack. Included in the prize box were:

1. One box of Keebler Sugar Cones
2. One bottle of Chocolate Syrup
3. One bottle of Caramel Syrup
4. One bottle of Chocolate Sprinkles
5. One bottle of Candy Sprinkles
6. One Ice Cream Scoop
7. Four Spoons
8. Four Ice Cream Dishes
9. And best of all, 6 Gift Certificates for Meadow Gold Ice Cream.

Sometimes it pays to enter these things, no matter how silly they may seem, no? Thank you, Meadow Gold Dairies Hawaii.

Fatherly Advice 2 of 5

These wise bits of advice from a father to his unborn son were posted on Facebook. I think I was meant to share it with you. There are 100 of them by Walker Lamond; I’m sharing them, 20 at a time.

1. Take a vacation from your cell phone, internet, and TV once a year.
2. Don’t fill up on bread, no matter how good it is.
3. A handshake beats an autograph.
4. Don’t linger in the doorway. In or out.
5. If you choose to go in drag, don’t sell yourself short.
6. If you want to know what makes you unique, sit for a caricature.
7. Never get your haircut the day of a special event.
8. Be mindful of what comes between you and the Earth. Always buy good shoes, tires, and sheets.
9. Never eat lunch at your desk if you can avoid it.
10. When you’re with new friends, don’t just talk about old friends.
11. Eat lunch with the new kids.
12. When traveling, keep your wits about you.
13. It’s never too late for an apology.
14. Don’t pose with booze.
15. If you have right of way, TAKE IT.
16. You don’t get to choose your own nickname.
17. When you marry someone, remember you marry their entire family.
18. Never push someone off a dock.
19. Under no circumstances should you ask a woman if she is pregnant.
20. It’s not enough to be proud of your ancestry, live up to it.

My iPad Keyboard

Lookit my latest toy. It's not a laptop, it's a Kensington keyboard that facilitates blog writing with my iPad Air.

One day, my son asked if I wanted to go to Fry's Electronics, just down the street from his house in Fremont. Of course, I went, and was immediately drawn to the tablet accessories section.

The tablet keyboards started their luring siren song, and next thing you know, I picked one out and bought it (about a hundred bucks).

When we got home, I discovered my keyboard was for the iPad 2 and wouldn't lock into mine. So back we went, and I found a proper brand and model for a few dollars less.

I've turned into a pretty good one-finger typist on my iPad, but there are times when a keyboard is mighty helpful – like when I wrote medium-length to fairly long blog articles on my flight back home. Or most recently, when I had to pound out nine of them while waiting for the wife at my son's house.

There are three minor drawbacks to the keyboard: (1) It adds quite a bit of weight to the iPad. I estimate the weight more than doubles. (2) I can't disconnect it to lighten the load. (3) And, I have to lay it on a table (or on the airplane's food tray) in front of me.

But like I said, those are minor; I've adjusted.

Random Musings 26

I just thought of something: Wouldn’t school be easier if they taught us stuff we already know? We’d all get better grades.

* * * * *

Instead of just tossing their shed skins, why don’t baby snake start using their siblings’ hand-me-downs?

* * * * *

Will the children of kids today have smaller eyes evolved from their generation having to peer at a lot of small telephone and watch screens?

* * * * *

Is a limousine the only kind of automobile a long sausage dog can fit in?

* * * * *

When the wife irritates me, I want to put her out to pasture. But we live in a residential zone and I can’t do that.

Phone Pix 51: Black and White

Although we live in a Technicolor world, sometimes it's a lot more dramatic to see things in old-fashioned black-and-white. It brings back memories of the '40s and '50s (if you can remember that far back), when times were simpler and people were less complicated.

Go back in time with me ...

Benziger Winery, Sept. 24, 2013, Glen Ellen, CA

BR Cohn Winery, Sept. 24, 2013, Glen Ellen, CA

Houge Park, Sept. 29, 2013, San Jose, CA

Dry Arrangement, Dec. 12, 2013, Fremont, CA

Driveway Lichen, Jan. 22, 2014, Honolulu, HI

Neighbor's Chimney, Aug. 12, 2014, Fremont, CA

Board Fence, Aug. 13, 2014, Fremont, CA

Mailbox Post, Aug. 16, Fremont, CA

Radio Tower, Aug. 21, 2014, Honolulu, HI

Zippy's Xeriscaping, Aug. 23, 2014, Honolulu, HI