13 Useful Gadgets

I've been trying to write this Thursday 13 for something like three years. I finally have thirteen things to list. 

I've acquired a few things that until I got them I didn't know they existed. And they definitely solve a problem I had. Some you've probably seen and/or heard about. But there are some I'm sure will be new to you. Let me know in the comments of other gadgets that you have that you've found useful. I'm sure there will be others I want to acquire. 

1. GripStic (where to find)

I was at the Orange County Fair more than fifteen years ago. We were in the building where the various vendors sold stuff. And the guy slipped one of these on a bag just as I was walking past. I stopped. What the...? 

These are way better than any clips you might use. It seals any bag up very simply and securely. I have used these continuously since I got my first bag and even went back and got more a couple years later. These are the best. 

2. Bowl holder

I first saw these at a craft fair. I'm sure they have mass produced ones, but I've only ever gotten them from independent sellers. They can go in the microwave with the bowl while it's heated, and then when you take it out, you don't burn your hands. It's also great to hold a hot bowl (of soup or something) when you're not sitting at a table. 

3. Seat belt clip (where to buy)

As someone who's rather well-endowed in the chest department, I used to have issues with my seat belt. It never stayed positioned across me in a comfortable manner. It always rode up and choked me. And then I was introduced to this thing, and it is the best. It clips on the lap part of the belt, and the chest strap hooks on it, keeping that from straying up to my neck. I no longer have to adjust my seat belt for my entire drive. Game changer. 

Sadly, I only found these on Amazon. And they have all sorts of different types. My link is to one example (as the one I bought I can't find). If you find it at another retailer, let me know so I can buy from them next time.

4. Shower step (where to buy)

We got a new shower for my bathroom. (It was a process which I detailed in another Thursday 13.) And while it's very nice in some ways, there was one glaring problem. With no bathtub component, I had no place to balance my leg when I would shave in the shower. There had to be a solution for that. 

Once I started looking, I found this. And it's perfect. Just what I need in a shower with no way to balance my foot. 

5. Cell phone kickstand (where to buy)

When I got my current phone, I discovered MagSafe cases and wireless charging. One thing I had had before was one of those things for the back of the case to help me grip the phone. When I went to purchase a new one for the new phone, I found one that magnetically attaches, and I'm never going back. It helps me grip the phone. It props it up when I've set it down (making my knit pyramid redundant, sigh). And it comes off easily when I charge my phone. I've had this two years, and it still works great. Expensive (for what it is) but worth the price. 

When I went to find the link for this, I discovered that they've upgraded it with a finger strap, and now I need a new one...

6. Phone charging clock (where to buy)

Speaking of my phone... When I got my first iPhone, I had the best bedside clock. It was a docking station. It charged my phone and it played music from my phone through a speaker. It worked via an app, and I loved this thing. But, the iPhone charging connection changed, the apps were upgraded, and the clock became obsolete. 

I'd been looking for a replacement for a decade. 

Clock: check. Charging: check (via wireless). Speaker: check (via Bluetooth). And no app to go out of date. Perfect. 

7. Bed caddy (where to buy)

This attaches to the side of my bed. I keep my ereader in it. It's big enough for physical books, remote controls, or anything else you might want to keep handy. It's brilliant, and I love mine. 

I got mine via Zulily back before it went defunct (but it's back now), but when I searched it online, I found that Target had one, Walmart had one, and there were instructions on how to make your own. I linked to Amazon, but those are not the only options. 

8. Shower speaker (where to buy)

Waterproof. Connects to my phone via Bluetooth. Just what I need to listen to music in the shower.

9. Neck light (where to buy)

I know, most people get these to read by. I use mine to knit (or crochet) with. It's great in the summer (rather than a big task light that heats me up). I didn't buy mine off Amazon or a online yarn retailer, but I've linked to the latter. You can search these up as many retailers have them.

10. Door stopper (where to buy)

This is one I use at work. Nowadays we don't unlock the classroom doors. Mostly a safety thing. (The doors don't lock from the inside.) But what do you do if you want the door closed, but you want kiddos to be able to get in without knocking? I use this. (The doors are self-closing.) I mean, most teachers have something that works, like a magnet or a blocker, but not all do. It's helpful for the days I need it.

11. Desk ring light with phone holder (where to buy)

When I started making videos (for my YouTube channel), I got this phone holder/light that clipped on the side of a table. It worked, but I needed something better. So, I got one of these.

I haven't used it yet, but the light is much brighter, so it should make my next videos that much nicer. 

12. Microwave egg poacher (where to buy)

Did you know you can make hard-boiled eggs in the microwave? I happened upon a gadget that did that a couple years ago, and I'm never going back. (Alas, the first one I used kept failing at the vent hole. The second one I used exploded one day with a force so hard it blew the microwave door open.) This is the third version that I've bought, and so far, this one works pretty well. Will it fail, too? I hope not. This is way easier than boiling the eggs in water. 

13. Meat chopper (where to buy)

When I was in elementary school, my father worked in fast food. The way they mashed up the ground beef for the burritos was by using a potato masher. (That's how he taught us to brown ground beef.) But now there's a better tool. 

Do you have any gadgets that you don't know how you ever did without? 

Enabling Cookies to Comment

A fellow blogger asked about why they could no longer log in and use their profile when commenting on others' blogs. They try, but instead of logging them in, the comment resets, and they can either comment using anonymous or it won't let them comment at all. 

Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to this. But it got me thinking about when I had a similar problem. I wrote a blog post about it then. 

At that time (three years ago) the Incognito Mode had a screen that looked like this: 

The fix was to turn on the cookies. After I did that, my commenting woes disappeared. And everything was fine, until the IT people in my school district decided to disallow Incognito Mode on district Chromebooks. Deep sigh. 

(It took me a couple months, but I came up with a solution that worked for me: I bought my very own Chromebook just for work.) 

So, I wonder if the logging in and being recognized issue on Blogger blogs is still just a cookies issue. 

What are cookies? They are small pieces of data stored on a user's device by web browsers to remember information and track browsing activity. When you log into Blogger, it's the cookies that hold your username and the information to link back to your user profile. Google's own terms of use describe how they use cookies. (And how to manage cookies in your browser.) 

If you're using Google Chrome, you need to click on your profile (it's your picture in the upper right hand corner), and then you'll choose "Manage Your Google Account".

Then, in the sidebar (on the left side), go into "Data & Privacy". 

At this point you'll want to check a few things. Personalization Settings. Data Sharing. (Under my Data Sharing, I am sharing information with Blogger under "Third-party apps & services". If you aren't, this might be the issue with logging into Blogger comments.) This is probably a good thing to explore even if you aren't having issues as there might be some settings you want to check out. 

(Google's own help topics talks about turning cookies on or off. This might be of help as well.) 

This is a place to start, anyway. Whether it solves the problem or not, I can't be sure. 

If you're using a different browser, finding data and tracking and finding the cookies should be similar. Look under your profile and check the settings. Whether you allow all cookies or just for Blogger will be up to you. 

Safari (for Apple) has protections in place to disallow tracking, so that might be harder. But there should be a way to opt in to cookies, at least for Blogger. 

I hope this helps. Let me know in the comments if it was of any use or not. And if you have a different solution, please also add this into the comments. If anyone can solve the issue, there are many bloggers who would like to know. 

America250

I only found this out recently, so some of you may also be unaware. 

This July 4th is our semiquincentennial (that's 250th). And now that I've been seeing things about it, I wondered about who was organizing this thing. Turns out that ten years ago a bipartisan congressional committee was formed to organize the celebrations. 

Here's the official website. 

Very forward thinking of them. Very organized. They're ready to go. 

But, a certain someone who has to be the center of everything signed an executive order to create his own little party. (Here's an article explaining this.) It's called Freedom 250. And we get to ignore it.

Because the official celebration stuff is America250. 

(That concert that was announced? And then all the acts backed out? Yeah, that was the fake celebration.) 

I hope this clears things up.

The Wavy Second Side

Last week I showed the start of the second back/front of the reluctant sweater: 

This week: 

And you will notice the lettuce-ing. I followed the exact same increase pattern that I used for the other front/back, and yet... 

So, do I rip it back? Or do I keep going? 

I'm just going to keep going. Because I figure once washing and doing some blocking, it should be mostly flat. (Maybe not, but I'm going to live in that delusion for a while.) 

I worked a couple more rounds on the first side:

(See how flat that lies? Not quite perfectly flat, but close. Same increases. *shakes head*)

Both are almost the same size:

When I look at these, they remind me of amethyst geodes. That might become the official name of this sweater (although I'm still calling it the reluctant sweater to myself). And yes, this is purple. It may appear blueish on your screen. (There's something about purple, digital photography, and screen settings.) But purple. Just sayin'.

So, more plugging away. That's the plan for now. Hopefully they'll travel. More about that next week. 

The Reluctant Sweater: 

• Questionable Quality
• Planning and Research
• And It Begins
• Watching the Increases
• Second Sock Syndrome

What Fursona Are You?

Now that the school year has officially ended (and I've completed my end-of-year posts), it's time for the summer schedule. On Fridays it's all about the random quizzes. To start this summer, let's look at your fursona. What's a fursona? It's a self-claimed animal persona. 

Why would you take a quiz to determine your fursona? Why not? 

What Fursona Are You?

I got Bookish Rabbit. 

I'm good with the bookish (and there were a lot of references to books and libraries and such in the quiz), but rabbit? Meh. 

So, let me know what you got in the comments. Are you a Bookish Rabbit like me? Or did you get something completely different? 

13 Phone Apps

What apps do you have on your phone? 

Most of us have the usual things, like texting and calls. We know about food delivery and ride shares. We scroll social media. But I have run across some apps that were news to me, so they might be news to you as well. Some are more specialized (getting up to 13 apps presented a challenge), and some are ones you'll need as soon as you know about them. And yes, this is a Thursday 13.

1. Roku remote (Android link / Apple link)

The other day I was searching for something on my TV. When I went to the search bar ready to use the arrow keys to slowly spell out the title on the screen, my Roku TV offered to connect to my phone so I could pull up a keyboard and type in what I was searching. So much easier. 

I'm sure the other streaming platforms have something similar. This app is just for the remote (not for the platform which you can totally stream on your phone as well). I did not know this thing existed until prompted, but now it's one of my many apps. 

2. SkyView Lite (Android link / Apple link)

Looking up at the night sky and wondering what that bright object is? There's an app for that. 

Open the app, and point it towards the sky. This app names the constellations and identifies the planets. Way cool. (I could not find this name in Android, but I'm sure they have something similar.)

3. IMDb (Android link / Apple link)

For years I have whined about this. You're watching a TV show and that actor just looks so familiar. Where do you know them from? There has to be an app... 

Well, this is not perfect, but it's close. Type in the actor's name. It lists their filmography. There's also so much more information about movies and TV that you can find, but the only thing I use this app for is to look up actors that I just can't place. 

4. Yuka (Android link / Apple link)

An instructional aide introduced this one to me. Scan the barcode of whatever food you're choosing. It gives you a rundown of what's in it (and how healthy it is). Ingredients. Calories. Healthier alternatives. (Full disclosure: I can't recall which app the IA showed me as when I went to look for it, I found several versions of the same idea. But this was news to me, so I thought it might be news to you, too.) 

5. Fetch (Android link / Apple link)

Scan receipts. Earn points. Use your collected points to convert into gift cards. (I got a $50 Amazon gift card a bit ago. I'm waiting until my point total is high enough for another good gift card. Soon.) 

If you're interested in trying it, you can use my referral code: 6VMWJH. (I get points and you get points for using the code. And then we become "friends" on the app.) 

6. Strava (Android link / Apple link)

When I go for a walk, I "record" it using this app. It tells me how long I've been walking and for how far. Then I get a nifty map of where I've been (although, the map can be glitchy). I have not signed up for the subscription, which has more features, as the free version has everything I need. But if you're serious about tracking your walking (or running or biking), this is a good app to do that with. 

7. WeWard (Android link / Apple link)

Fetch, but for walking. This app tracks your daily steps. You convert them to wards. And those wards convert to gift cards and/or shopping discounts. This is another one I have a referral code for: ValidTiger9242. (If you're going to sign up, this gives you and me a few wards to start with.) 

8. LastQuake (Android link / Apple link)

I live in southern California. Of course I have an earthquake app. (Although, they changed this one so that it's functionality isn't as good as it once was. It's time for me to make a switch.) 

It happens frequently enough. I feel something. Was that an earthquake? Time to open the app. Usually, it was. And the app tells me the severity and the epicenter. And then I move on with my day. 

9. My Q (Android link / Apple link)

Okay, this one is pretty specialized. A little over a year ago our garage door opener broke. They replaced it with a "smart" garage door opener. It has a camera. (We don't pay to store the video, so it doesn't "record", but if we want to check the camera, we can see what's going on in real time.) It has alerts (that you can turn off if you don't want to be notified every time the garage door opens or closes). And, this is the cool thing, you can open and close the garage door via your phone. 

I usually use the remote. I don't often check on the empty garage. But, if you've ever gone, "Did I remember to close the garage," well, this solves that problem. And, when my remote's battery dies, I have a backup. 

10. Sub Alert (Android link / Apple link)

Speaking of specialized...

Have you wondered how substitute teachers get their gigs? The school districts contract with a company that posts the jobs, pushing alerts to the subs who can then pick them up. But competition is fierce. So, this second party app (that does cost money) exists. Do the jobs pop up quicker? All I know is that I see this app more than the official one, and it's kept me in work (during the school year). I'll keep it.

11. Medisafe (Android link / Apple link)

I have run out of apps I have that you might not know about. But, that's what the internet is for. I found this one that reminds you to take your medication. This is something I will probably need in not too many years from now.

12. Soundscape (Android link / Apple link)

This contains a library of calming sounds. Nature sounds. For relaxation, sleep, focus, or meditation. 

13. Daylio Journal (Android link / Apple link)

Mood diary and happiness tracker. It's a bullet journal for your phone.

What apps do you have on your phone that I might not have heard of? 

School Year End Stats Post

The last day of school has passed. Last week I finished up the last posts of the school year. And now it's time to reflect on the year that was by tallying up all the classes I covered. (This is a very dry post, so no worries if you want to skip it.) My previous years are linked at the bottom, for comparison. 

There are 180 days in the school year. I worked 161 of them. That's... low... It's down from last year's 173 days and way down from my all-time high of 177 days. But, the district hired more subs so jobs were a bit harder to get, and I had only one long term assignment at the beginning of the school year. It's nowhere near my lowest totals, back when I was a newbie sub. So, meh. It makes it easier to do better next year. 

This total does not include the day I worked summer school at the adult transition center in June nor the three days I worked at the continuation high school in July before the official first day of school. I also worked one day of teacher prep for that vacant art class I started the school year in. 

I worked 84 days at the high school level, 69 days at the middle school level, and 4 at the adult transition center. I only caught one day at the alternative education center, and that will be my last as I heard that they're closing the school. I only worked 3 days at the continuation high school, but I had to stop going there for much of the spring semester for reasons (which I haven't blogged about, but probably will explain eventually). 

10 of those days I covered an extra class while a different 10 of those days I covered a teacher who did not have a prep period. 

I worked both the first day of school and the last. Woo-hoo! (I did a happy dance when I caught a last day of school assignment. It's been a few years since I managed to work both in the same school year.)

Now on to the specifics. But first, some definitions. 

Most teachers do not teach the same class all day. An English teacher might have a period of ninth grade and two periods of eleventh grade. So, when I say "partial day", I mean that I covered at least one or maybe two periods of that subject. When I say "full day", the teacher taught one specific class all day (like biology). An extra period assignment is when I covered a different teacher on the prep period of the teacher I was booked to cover for the day. 

Each subject is listed with three numbers: 5/2/1. The first number is for a "full day". The second number is for a "partial day". And the third number is for an "extra period assignment". 

• My winner (of the core subjects) is, of course, English (like it is almost every year) with 25/11/3. 
• In first place is freshman English at 2/8/0.
• Next is sophomore English at 1/8/1.
• In third place, eighth grade English at 5/2/1.
• Then, following, junior English at 0/7/0.
• And the rest, in no particular order: 
• Seventh grade: 0/5/0
• Senior English: 2/3/0
• English language development: 0/7/0 (which is for students who are learning English. It's generally taught by the same teacher who teaches their core English class, so it's not surprising there's no full day for this.)
• Creative writing: 0/2/0 (which is an English elective. The teachers who teach this only have one period of it.)
• Journalism: 0/1/0 (which is only one period a day. I haven't caught this class in several years.) 
• Yearbook: 0/1/0
• Supervising the writing center: 0/0/1. The writing center is new. It's a place where the kiddos can go if they need help with an essay or such. 
• In second place is math with 6/27/0. Why all the partial days? Many of them were for special ed teachers who also do a period in the learning center. Or there's one math teacher who also teaches computer science (who I did a long-term assignment for two years ago). 
• Winning the math is, of course, IM2 or integrated math 2 (which is sophomore math which was probably geometry when you were in school) at 0/11/0. Which tracks. Mr. J, the teacher I did the long-term for, and his co-teacher Ms. L were the teachers I covered, and neither of them only has IM2 on their schedules.
• Business math (math for juniors or seniors who aren't college bound): 0/8/0. Ms. L co-taught one of those classes, plus I subbed for Ms. C a couple times (who Ms. L co-taught with). 
• IM1 (read: freshman math or algebra 1): 2/5/0
• And the rest are tied:
• Seventh grade math: 0/5/0
• Eighth grade math: 0/5/0
• IM3 (read: algebra 2): 0/5/0
• And finally, statistics: 0/1/0
• In third place, social studies with 12/9/1.
• 10th grade world history: 1/6/1
• 8th grade U.S. history: 0/4/0
• 12th grade government: 2/1/0
• 12th grade economics: 2/1/0
• 11th grade U.S. history: 1/2/0
• 7th grade world history: 1/1/0
• 9th grade geography: 0/1/0
• 11th grade U.S. history, ethnic studies: 0/1/0
• AP African-American studies: 0/1/0
• And rounding out the core subjects: science with 7/4/3.
• 7th grade: 2/1/0
• Chemistry (10th grade): 2/1/0
• 8th grade: 2/0/0
• Biology (9th grade): 0/2/1
• Health (9th grade): 0/1/0
• Earth Science: 0/1/0
• Forensics: 1/0/0
• Environmental science: 0/1/1
• Intro to Health Care Careers: 0/0/1
• Next on the list of subjects is special ed, although this isn't necessarily a subject. These classes overlap with the above. If I covered a co-teacher, I tallied the subject (English/math) as well as here. If I covered a "special day class" (SDC), I tallied the subject and here. This is why these numbers are high: 41/5/1.
• Mostly I was co-teaching: 5/19/2
• Next were the special day classes: 10/7/0
• Then were the mild/moderate or moderate/severe special ed, or the "very" special ed classes: 11/0/1
• Learning center: 0/10/0. This is where the kiddos go when they need a quiet room to take a test in. The special ed teachers supervise the room, generally one period a day.
• Study skills: 0/8/1. Basically this is a study hall for special ed students.
• BEST (behavioral and emotional support teacher): 2/0/0
• My art totals are high due to the vacant class I started the school year in: 30/3/0
• Under the art umbrella are also digital media art: 4/0/0
• Photography: 1/0/0
• Ceramics: 1/0/0
• World languages: 
• Spanish: 6/1/2
• French: 4/0/0
• Mandarin: 1/0/0
• Computers: 4/3/0
• Computer science: 1/2/0
• Graphic art: 1/1/0
• eSports: 2/0/0
• Leadership: 0/4/0. The teachers who cover the student government classes don't cover that all day. They teach other subjects as well. 
• ASB: 0/2/0
• WEBS (middle school leadership): 0/1/0
• Link Crew: 0/1/0
• And then a miscellaneous category for those classes that don't fit anywhere else: 
• CTE (career and technical education): 2/0/0
• AVID: 0/1/0
• Success: 4/9/0
• Woodshop: 4/1/0
• Culinary: 1/0/0
• Credit recovery: 0/8/0
• Drama: 0/1/0
• PE: 0/1/0
• Athletics: 0/2/0
• Film studies: 0/1/0
• Roving: 1/0/0

Whew. Yeah. I get around. 

When people ask me what I teach, I never know how to answer. I substitute. For what? Whatever they need me for. And if the questioner drills down, I still can't give a simple answer. "A bit of everything." Because, yeah. I cover just about everything. If not this year, then last year or next year. 

And here's the stats from previous years:

• 2025
• 2024
• 2023
  
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011
• 2010