Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

Caulipower Pizza Crust (that's a brand name, not a misspelling)

I have had very good cauliflower crust pizza at three restaurants. But I don't know how much cauliflower they contained or what other ingredients were included. I tried Green Giant frozen cauliflower crust that was not good.

I tried another frozen crust recently - Caulipower. The first three ingredients are cauliflower, brown rice flour, and rice flour. So maximum 33% white (rice) flour. It's easy to work with - I bake (425) for 5 minutes, then add sauce, cheese, toppings, and bake for ten minutes. The prebake is my change to the instructions because thick toppings can insulate the crust.

This is my new crust for homemade pizza. It tastes good and should be healthier than the white bread refrigerated dough that I had been using. I am not under the illusion that this counts as a vegetable serving, but it does reduce my intake of white flour.

I make mushroom pizza - prebake the mushrooms or the water content will make the crust mushy. And salmon/artichoke heart pizza - no sauce, bake with just cheese, saute the salmon, add it with the artichoke hearts and bake for a couple more minutes. I need to try adding some pesto. I don't know if these instructions are optimal, but they work well.

Buckwheat Husk Neck Pillow

At the suggestion from a massage therapist, I purchased a buckwheat husk six inch tube pillow - Waterglider brand but there are many choices on Amazon. I added a form fitting pillow case.

The casing (not the pillow case) feels thick and not stretchy. The zipper that lets you remove stuffing seals well - I haven't had any buckwheat husk leaks.

The pillow conforms to your head/neck and then provides firm support. I find this much superior to elastic or viscoelastic pillows that change thickness as you move - these never let my neck muscles completely relax.

I have also used plastic bead pillows. These are great for a time, but as the casing stretches, the firm support disappears. The thick cloth and tube shaped casing of the Waterglider pillow and the additional friction between the buckwheat husks should solve this issue.

This pillow is wonderful.

Apple TV Streaming

I signed up for Apple TV + to watch Lessons in Chemistry. Not bad, not as good as the book. All worked well on my Roku stick.

Then I made it through half of the first episode of Foundation - BORING. I read all of the Foundation and related books, many years ago. I don't remember them being boring.

Ted Lasso was very good.

On to For All Mankind. Pretty good. Kind of sci-fi on the moon and soap opera on the earth. I am almost done with the fourth season.

On oddity - early in the show they explain that communication with people on the moon will have a two second delay. But when earth to moon conversations become part of the show, I don't hear any delay, or explanation of the discrepancy.

About halfway through the end of the second season, the resume function quit working. If I stop the show and return to it the next day, it starts at the beginning of the episode that I had been watching. VERY annoying. And if I pause and wait too long to start watching again - about 15 minutes I think, it goes back the the start of the episode. EXTREMELY annoying.

I tried backing out in different ways - back out from watching, back out from pause, pause then start watching then back out. Resume did not work. I checked the web. Many people have this problem, dating back at least a year. The "solutions" are things like reboot the Roku, sign out of the app and sign in again, turn on "use play history". I also cleared my play history. After doing all of this, the problem was fixed. Until midway through season four. I'm not doing all of that again.

This is not a slightly annoying bug. It is a major problem. And Apple apparently doesn't care to fix it.

Fortunately I am in the initial three month free trial period. And one episode to go. Then I'm done with Apple TV.

Softsoap Soothing Aloe Vera

I have been using this liquid soap for over twenty years. It has now become Softsoap Soothing Clean Aloe Vera Fresh Scent. It stinks - literally. Many reviews also says it dries your skin. I won't be using it long enough to find out.

2024-01-28 - After testing four hand soaps that appeared to meet my requirements, the winner is Molly's Suds Foaming Hand Soap unscented (from Amazon). I like the foaming - makes it easier and quicker to use. I'm not sure yet how the dispenser will handle being in a shower - some pumps let water into the bottle. Beside a sink, very nice.