Simple Living

Picked up another triple mini set of Iroshizuku Ink.  For the price of one 50mL bottle, I got 3 smaller 15 mL bottles to sample different colors of ink.  This brings my growing collection to about 8 different Iroshizuku inks; I think there are at least 26 standard colors, with several seasonal and special editions.

I am paranoid and wanted a way to find my keys so I bought an Apple AirTag and key case.  Overall it’s about $40 ($30 AirTag and $10 key case). It works as expected and I feel a little safer knowing I have a way to find my keys. If it works out, I may add one to my car as a way to track it (heaven forbid, it ever gets stolen!)

  Picked up a 2015 Toyota Camry XLE as a replacement for the Lexus IS250.  I’m optimistic the Camry will enjoy the famed Toyota reliability, but hedging my bets with another $3200 extended warranty. The Camry cost me about $18k, then $3200 for the warranty with an out the door price of about $23,000. Yes, it’s a bit high, but it’s the top level trim for the 4 cylinder and had only 88k miles.  The previous owner also did the oil change every 5k or 6 months.  This is a big plus as the 2AR engines while Toyota advertised it could go 10k / 1 year between oil changes, don’t do it.  Stick to 5k / 6 months. I did the math and no matter how I spin it, the monthly cost to own any reasonable car was going to be about $350-$400.  The Camry hits the high end of that range. Specs - 2015 Camry XLE Engine - 2.5L - 4 Cylinder - 2AR-FE HP - 178 @ 6000 Torque - 170 @ 4100 Transmission - 6 Speed Performance: 0-60: 7.9 seconds 1/4 Mile: 16.2 seconds @ 88 mph EPA MPG: 25 City / 35 Highway Dimensions:

Flew for the first time on Southwest Airlines, yes I know what took so long?  Don’t have a good answer. Overall, Southwest is very reasonably priced for what they offer and it’s a low fare for a decent seat, pretty good wifi entertainment system and some free drinks and snacks.  Got to enjoy some free movies and text friends while flying…pretty awesome. Honestly, with the quality of airline meals that other carriers offer in economy, the simple snacks that Southwest offers is not half bad. Sadly, no alcohol.  I can see the appeal of enjoying a beer or some hard liquor with the pretzels.  Maybe in a few months they may bring back liquor sales. I’ll likely fly Southwest again as it’s so cheap for what they offer. For planes, I got to fly on both the 737-Max8 and an older 737-700.  I prefer the Max8 as it has more bathrooms, but otherwise both are about the same.

Both my old 8 and 10 amp power banks died and I replaced them with a new Anker Power Core 10400 (10.4 amp).  I’ve always wanted an Anker and figured now was as good a time as any to get one. Cheap as it’s slow charger 12W max The Power Core 10400 is an older model and usually retails for a lower price (I got this one for $20).  The reason it’s so cheap is it’s max output speed on charging is about 12 watts which is fine for smaller devices, but would take forever to charge bigger phones that are used to 15-45 watt fast chargers. Besides the wattage limitations, it has good capacity relative to its weight and size.  But unfortunately, because of the slow charging speed I can only use this for smaller devices. Unless you can snag this for $20 or less, consider spending more for a faster charging model and newer Anker’s can run at 4.8 amps or higher which translates to 24 watts or more of charging speed, it actually makes a difference.

When I was looking for a replacement for my venerable 6s the XR and 11 were high on my list and I debated which one to get.  The XR and 11 are almost identical with only 2 major differences being the faster A13 chip and dual rear cameras of the 11. Dual Camera’s — Yes, it makes a difference I ended up going with the 11 and paying $300 on a special deal (normally $600 full retail) and am very happy and find the dual camera's a must have.  You don't realize what your missing in casual photography until you've tried a dual camera setup. iPhones hold their value It's been a year since I picked up the 11 and was in the market for an XR to give to another friend who wanted to upgrade from their 6s.  I couldn't find refurbished XR's from Apple.com anymore and settled on a refurbished model from eBay for $340.  Overall, the eBay refurbished XR was in excellent condition with 87% battery health, so my friend was estatic and fell in love with her XR. As I setup the XR, I

Retro Gaming has come a long way since the early PC emulators.  I was curious at how well a portable handheld could handle emulation and am impressed with the Anbernic RG351p.  Based on online reviews the RG351p is probably the best handheld for those serious about portable retro gaming and only want to own 1 device. I'll have to agree with those reviews and was able to start gaming within 10 seconds of owning the device.  This by itself is impressive. The RG351p is by no means 'perfect', but there are no perfect portable handhelds and its competitors using the same chipset may have features and capabilities that out class the RG351p, but have their own share of drawbacks. The target audience for the RG351p are casual gamers who plan to spend 15-30 minutes in a gaming session.  It can run for much longer multi-hour sessions, but really this is for casual gamers. When shopping around for a portable, I evaluated the following devices: Retroid Pocket 2 RGB 10 RG351p RG351m RG3

As 2021 draws to a close, I'm planning what I want to pick up in 2022.  I'm focusing on various collections and budgeting about $ 800. I. 2022 Wish List Clothes - $360 Uniqlo - T-Shirts x3 - $45 - DONE Uniqlo - Polo Shirt x2 - $50 - DONE Banana Republic - Crew Sweater - $15 -  DONE Uniqlo - Heat Tech Shirt - $20 - DONE Uniqlo - Ultra Down - $80 - DONE Northface - Venture 2 Rain Jacket - $100 - DONE Adidas - Red Gym Shorts x2 - $50   - DONE Shoes - $200 ($110 spent) Air Jordan 1 - $110   - DONE Total - $470 spent I'll add to my list over time, but these are the items I want to start budgeting for. II. Wardrobe Refresh 2022 is also a refresh year for my wardrobe and I've decided to standardize to Uniqlo Supima Cotton T-Shirts.  Uniqlo Supima cost about 2-3 times more than a Hanes, but last 2-3 times longer than a Hanes. I've personally tested this by wearing in rotation both Hanes and Uniqlo T-Shirts for last 2 years and have already had to replace the Hanes T-Sh

Updating my Inventory List for my various Collections.  I've added a 7th Category Swiss Army Knives and replaced Clothing to focus on Sneakers. Headphones -- 11 Tech -- 12 Watches -- 7 Swiss Army Knives -- 16 Sneakers -- 4 Fountain Pens -- 4 Whisky -- 3 The only collection that hasn't changed since 2018 are my fountain pens.  All others have grown or been updated. 1. Headphones -- 11 Reduced by 3 items by dumping all my old MDR-ZXs, ATH-EQ500 and WM-77 as they were getting too old and I haven't used them in years. Over-Ear Audio Technica - ATH-MSR7 Audio Technica - ATH-M50x On-Ear Grado - SR80e In-Ear AKG IG955 // Office Klipsch R6i // Home Beats Urbeats // Bag Apple Earbuds x4 Wireless Apple AirPod Pro 2. Tech -- 12 Added an iPhone 11, Fire 8 Tablet and RG351p.  Sold off the Apple Shuffle and gave away my old 6s. I’m going to sell the LG K7. Phones iPhone 11 iPhone 4 LG K7 Tablets Amazon Fire 8 iPad 2 Laptops HP i7 HP i3 Gaming RG351p Sony Playstation PS4 Sony Playstation

I picked up my 2007 Lexus IS250 in 2018 for $11,000 and have owned it for more than 3 years (as of 2021).  I kinda went into this one blind having only experience with Toyota’s and thought a Lexus would be similar in terms of reliability and maintenance; they are not.  I fortunately purchased an extended warranty for $2,400, which later proved a very wise move. For comparison a brand new 2018 Corolla would have cost about $22,000 at the same time I purchased the Lexus.  So initially, I was ahead by $8,600 and driving a very nice luxury car. Specs - 2007 Lexus IS250 Engine - 2.5L - V6 RWD HP - 204 @ 6.4k Torque - 185 @ 4.8k Transmission - 6 Speed Performance: 0-60: 7.4 seconds 1/4 Mile: 15.4 seconds @ 88 mph EPA MPG: 24 City / 32 Highway Dimensions: Length: 180.1  inches Wheelbase: 107.5 inches Height: 56.1 inches Width (w/o mirrors): 70.9 inches   I. Conclusion - TL/DR - It's Not Worth It So my journey comes to an end and I'm parting with the Lexus for $6,000.  This r

Lately, I’ve simplified my Pocket EDC and generally carry 7 core items with an additional 4 optional items. My core consists of: iPhone 11 Wallet Keys Wristwatch USB thumb drive (on keychain) Swiss Army Knife (on keychain) Bandaids (in wallet) My optional items: Airpod Pro Pen LED flashlight BIC Lighter More often than not I’m including only the optional Airpods with my core EDC.  The rest I find more convenient leaving in my messenger bag or backpack that I have near me.

Casio digital wristwatches have become famous as they offer the best value.  You will be hard pressed to find an alternative. The G-Shock DW5600 and vintage A168 are excellent examples of their respective model lines and can be had for around $45 and $20 respectively.  It's that low price point that make these watches so attractive relative to their very high quality and feature list. When comparing watches you would want to compare 5 criterias: Features Accuracy Reliability / Durability Wearability Aesthetics I. Features - DW5600 wins The huge advantage that digital watches have over regular analog watches is its display.  For an analog watch to hold multiple features it would need to reserve room on its display for each feature and this can be inherently difficult due to the limited real estate on a wristwatch dial. Digital watches avoid this problem as they can cycle through multiple features sharing the same display.  By pressing the mode button either Casio can cycle through 4

I began my quest of building a sneaker collection in 2019 and focused on the basic classics.  I’m now feeling confident to venture into the larger $100-$200 segment that brings me into the orbit of Air Jordan’s, Air Max and quite a few famous Nike’s. Current Collection: White - Adidas - Stan Smith // Size 9.5 White - Converse - All Star // Size 9.5 White - Nike - Air Force 1 // Size 9 Black - Nike - Miler React // Size 10 The AF 1’s are my special pair.  Nike Miler’s and Stan Smith’s are my daily drivers.  Stan Smith and All Star’s for casual outfits.  Miler’s also double duty for trainers. Very versatile set with 4 pairs. Retired Shoes: Adidas - Superstar Puma - Suede Red - Onitsuka - Serrano // Size 9.5 Future Acquisitions: Nike - Air Jordan 1 Nike - Air Max 90 Nike - Air Force 1 (New colorway) Adidas - Superstar (New replacement) I’m still debating what to get and in what colorways, but focusing on and therefore researching Air Jordan’s and Air Max’s.  These would become my new spec

I had to retire the Adidas Superstar’s and for a while survived with the Adidas Stan Smith’s, but both are for fashion. For work I have to be on my feet for several hours at a time making both Adidas shoes painfully impractical. React Foam Enter the Nike React Miler’s.  These have an insane amount of React foam cushion in the sole and I can feel it squish with every step.  They feel absolutely amazing on foot and I can see these ideal for endurance. From what I’ve learned, React was Nike’s response to Adidas Boost technology.  Boost was first to market and gained fame that hit its apex with Kanye West’s collaboration on the Yeezy line, but has since fell out of popularity. No clear reasons given other than they lacked a ‘story’ like many legendary Nike’s from the AF1, Air Jordan’s or Air Max 90’s. Which is unfortunate as Adidas has several storied shoes of their own with the Stan Smith’s and Superstars. Pricing for Ergonomics They normally retail for $130, but I found them for $100 and