I learned while on vacation in Europe and using an eSIM, the value of including the country code in the phone numbers for your contacts if you’re on an iPhone. 
Peter Drinks Ožujsko beer in Split, Croatia
Peter Drinks Ožujsko beer in Split, Croatia. Good stuff!
An Affordable Robot Vacuum That Won’t Try to Kill Itself or Your Wallet
A few weeks ago I purchased a new robot vacuum. Its full name is “Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo,5000Pa Robotic Vacuum Cleaner,180mins Runtime Vacuum Robot with App/Remote/Alexa Control, Ideal for Hard Floor/Carpet/Pet Hair, Self-Charge,Schedule Clean(UR1).”
My hot take? It’s absolutely worth it. 👍 I picked mine up for $99 on sale at Amazon. (It’s $109 at the time I’m writing this.) It features a combo sweep/mop function, similar to my iRobot Roomba j5+. Note: I have never used the mopping function on either yet.
Beyond the price as a differentiator, we have the “cliff detection” feature. In my experience, the Roomba will happily throw itself off a or down a flight of stairs. I’ve seen it do this on multiple occasions! As if it knew I was writing about it, my j5+ decided to act up today. After purchasing replacement brushes (because the old ones broke while trying to eat a bolt it gobbled up on the floor) the j5+ now just spins around in circles and throws error codes. I have a call in to iRobot support on this, but it’s just the latest in a string of problems with these things. No bueno.
Wireless CarPlay is a Simple and Huge Quality of Life Upgrade (Review)
Okay, so this is clearly an Amazon product name. Where else would you expect to find something named 2026 Wireless CarPlay Adapter for iPhone – No Audio Lag, 5s Auto-Connect- Convert Factory Wired to Wireless CarPlay – Bluetooth 5.3 & 5GHz Wi-Fi – Plug & Play (Includes USB A/C)? Prior to buying this unit this weekend, I have been using wired CarPlay with my Kia EV6. I love CarPlay! (I don’t care for the occasional failure of my phone and car to connect, which – thankfully – hasn’t happened for a while.) But I don’t like having to plug the phone in every time I get into the car, or disconnecting the cable when I get out. This is especially annoying in the winter when the car hasn’t warmed up and I have thick gloves on. Not a great experience.
Enter the… here we go again… 2026 Wireless CarPlay Adapter for iPhone – No Audio Lag, 5s Auto-Connect- Convert Factory Wired to Wireless CarPlay – Bluetooth 5.3 & 5GHz Wi-Fi – Plug & Play (Includes USB A/C)! What is it? A small – thumb-drive sized – USB/Bluetooth adapter. Instead of plugging the phone in via cable, I just plug this in to the CarPlay/Android Auto USB port and… voila! My phone is connected. It really is that simple.
Setup took about a minute. Simply pair the adapter like you would any new Bluetooth device and go. As for performance, I could not tell any difference between wired and wireless. No perceptible lag time.
The only drawback is now I need to use a separate USB port to charge the phone via its MagSafe adapter. Fortunately the EV6 has 4 charging ports under the media/climate controls cluster, so it’s not a problem finding a spare.
This is a worthwhile lifestyle upgrade. It’s so nice to get in to the car and be able to just drive with no fiddling with cables or phones. If you like CarPlay, you’ll LOVE wireless CarPlay!
Review: Marvel’s The Ultimates: The Tomorrow Men
I devoured yet another Marvel Comics audiobook adaptation from GraphicAudio – The Ultimates: Tomorrow Men. Yet another well done work with stellar voice acting. The actors portraying Tony Stark and Bruce Banner sound especially similar to Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, so if you’re a fan of the MCU, they’ll help make you feel right at home.
No spoilers, but in this adventure, five mysterious visitors arrive, purporting to be from the future and here (now?) to save this timeline from the disastrous future that it will become. How will the Ultimates respond? Are they really good guys, or do they have an ulterior motive? And of course, will the Ultimates’ own internal conflicts tear them apart before they can even get to that? Pick up your unabridged copy today and find out.
Review: Civil War
I just finished Civil War – the audiobook adaptation of the epic Marvel Comics storyline which pit Iron Man and Captain America – and their associated allies – against each other in an epic confrontation that shook the Marvel Universe. This series also was the basis for the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Captain America: Civil War, but note that the movie takes significant turns from the comic series (which is to be expected given the big screen adaptations they have to make).
The narrator omits the need for character exposition I’ve heard in other audiobook adaptations. Several of the same Graphic Audio voice actors who portray characters in other novels reappear in Civil War, most notably James Keegan as Captain America, Richard Cutting as Iron Man. The voice actors really bring the story to life, and bring the full spectrum of emotions to the performance.
Note that there are some changes from the comics – it is not a 1:1 reading of the comics like a script, so you may be in for a pleasant surprise by this adaptation if you have read the originals. Maybe needless to say, there are also very significant differences from the movie adaptation, as it differed greatly from the comics.
If you like comics, like audiobooks, and – like me – don’t always have the time to sit down and page through them, I highly recommend this adaptation of Civil War!
Review: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies
Last weekend I finished The Ultimates: Against All Enemies. Produced by Graphic Audio, this is a high-quality production read by talented voice actors. They really bring the characters to life (especially Tony Stark/Iron Man)!
I won’t go to deeply into the plot, but in summary, the Chitauri suffered a defeat at the hands of the Ultimates, but they’re not gone! Reminiscent of other recent Marvel storielines adapted from comics, they have infiltrated the highest levels of government, and the AvengersUltimates have to work with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. to root out and vanquish the threat.
The only complaint I have is that Bruce Banner appears in only a couple of scenes, and doesn’t turn into the Hulk. But Hank Pym as Giant Man fills the role of belligerent jerk hero.
If you like the AvengersUltimates, and appreciate high quality voice acting – not just a good narrator reading a book – you’ll enjoy The Ultimates: Against All Enemies.
Mushrooms
Do you eat mushrooms? Do you eat them for their nutritional and therapeutic benefits? I’ve been taking Cordyceps for a couple of years now, mostly because they’re one of the few supplements I can actually feel an effect from. I started taking Cordyceps in 2022 when training for my first ultramarathon in the summer when 80˚F was a cool day.
My neighbor just turned me on to these guys. I’m curious but haven’t tried them yet!
I’ve tried various Lions Mane, Reishi, and Chaga supplements and never felt anything from them, so I stopped. But since this has cordyceps too, I am curious to see if they benefit me.
Now, unrelated to this, she also recommended a calcium based anti-aging serum. I totally have not tried this one yet and am not endorsing it… yet!
How I FINALLY Got a Good Night’s Sleep While Traveling
Last fall I relocated to Berlin for September. For the first couple of weeks I rented an AirBnB in the northern part of the city.
And I slept like absolute crap.
Why? Because the down pillows they had were worse than nothing! I tried everything I could, like stacking them, rolling them up, swapping pillows for a towel roll, and not using pillows at all. No good. I slept terribly and woke up feeling like I’d been out in a night club all night pounding vodka and Red Bull. Note: had had NOT been out in a night club all night pounding vodka and Red Bull.
I went to a home furnishing store and bought a small couch pillow, hoping it would help. It did, but it wasn’t great. I still slept poorly, despite the improvement.
Fast forward to January 2026. I’m back in Berlin! This time I’m at a hotel. And they have the same, crappy, less than good for nothing down pillows. No, seriously – not only are they not doing anything good – they’re doing harm!
I happened to have a birthday during this trip, and the first present I got was a €100 gift card to a sporting goods store. I’d planned on picking up a new pair of tights, or maybe a replacement for my YakTrax that had broken.
Then I stumbled on the Backroll Recovery Pillow. It’s a travel-sized memory foam pilow, very similar to my Tempurpedic pillow I sleep on most nights. It comes with its own carrying case that lets you roll it up to the size of a large water bottle, so it easily fits in a suitcase.
I used it and the result was night and day different. My neck had been hurting for three days, as well as my teeth, which I’d been grinding, despite wearing a night guard. As soon as I lay down on the pillow, my neck felt better. No joke! I felt an immediate improvement. I woke up the next day significantly more refreshed and in less pain.
This is now part of my travel routine, and is going with me any time I’m not sleeping at home.
Review: Garmin Forerunner 965
As previously covered, I converted from Apple to Garmin in the middle of 2025 prior to my first 50 mile race. I liked the Forerunner 955 Solar enough that I decided to treat myself to an upgrade and bought a Forerunner 965 for the larger, fancier display. Here’s my experience now that I’ve had it for a couple of months.
- The screen is a great upgrade from the 955. It’s much easier to read, and brighter.
- Battery life is not as long as the 955. This was expected. By default, the 965 wants to operate without the display always on. In this mode, standby battery life is around 21 days or three weeks. Turning the display to always on dramatically shortens this to less than a week. I’ve tweaked the settings a few times and settled on having the display always on during a workout but on demand / with wrist flick at other times. This is slightly less than estimates for the 955 Solar but still plenty for me and my planned long distance runs for the next few years.
- The charging experience is the same, except that the included charging cable has been upgraded from USB-A to USB-C connection on the other end.
- The replacement bands I purchased for the 955 do not fit. The 965 is a different form factor. As a result, my friend – who bought a Forerunner 265 at my prompting – got my old 955 bands because they fit. The stock bands are okay but I wanted something a little more comfortable, so I purchased a stretchy, adjustable nylon strap.
- The flashlight function is inferior to that of the 955. On the 955 when you enable flashlight mode, the entire screen lights up white or red. For some reason on the 965, you get less screen lit up – a choice of one, two, or three circles instead of the whole screen. While this is fine for indoors and confined spaces, I find it less useful at night when outdoors.
- I was able to back up and restore my settings from the 955 to the 965. It remembered my device connections, including my Polar Verity Sense heart rate monitor as well as a number of other customizations. (A separate review for the Polar is coming soon!)
Overall I give the 965 a strong thumbs up, and would absolutely buy again. The only regret I have relating to the upgrade was not asking enough for the used 955 when I turned around and sold it becuase – now that it’s discontinued – the market price has gone up! This is just further reinforcement that Garmin smartwatches hold their value and typically have lifespans of several years.
”But Peter! Why didn’t you buy the Garmin Forerunner 970,” you ask? Simple. Black Friday sales. The 965 was discounted so much that I could not justify the additional features of the 970 at the time of purchase. This may change in the future. Maybe I’ll acquire a 970 or 975 or whatever is new this year. But so far I feel like I am being well-served by buying “n-1” versions and taking the discount.