Simple Living

The Casio A168 has a certain charisma and charm that once it hits, you can’t get enough of this inexpensive gem.  I’m debating rocking this again as my daily driver. Update - 10/14/23 So I tried wearing the A168 for several days and I’ve learned I actually rely on the Apple Watch for quick updates on the weather and other information that required me pulling out my iPhone to check. While at home, the A168 is ideal as I just need to know the date and time.  But when outdoors the Apple Watch is useful. At least I gave it a go and while it messed up my 3 rings and exercise records, does it actually matter if it’s logged on my Apple Watch so long as I keep doing the exercise routines?  Of course not.

I’m liking the Huntsman Victorinox 4 layer more and more.  I thought I’d prefer a Deluxe Climber/Tinker but the added height from the pliers make it debatable.  I also am oddly enjoying the Champion Plus for EDC pocket carry…it’s even larger than any 4 layer. I think what’s making me prefer the Huntsman is the wood saw.  It makes it ideal for true EDC. Outside of a Mountaineer, Angler, Fisherman and Deluxe Tinker.  I have most common 4 layers to choose from.  Doubtful beyond collectible only would I EDC the Fisherman/Angler.  Mountaineer sounds cool, but I’d prefer a discontinued Passenger or a Ranger instead.

Picked up another discontinued model that’s a bit more uncommon, a Deluxe Climber.  It’s almost identical to a current model Deluxe Tinker, except it has a corkscrew instead of a phillips. I’m debating on whether to sell this and get a Deluxe Tinker instead, but for now will pocket EDC this as I do like the pliers. This was a fair price of $26. Truthfully, this needs only the bit driver and it’s a Cybertool M.  If all I want is a phillips, I should splurge for the Cybertool.

Picked up a Champion Plus.  It’s a discontinued Victorinox Swiss Army knife model and the predecessor of the current Swiss Champ.  The one big difference it lacks the Pliers. I kinda like this 6 layer tool set, although it feels impractical for pocket EDC, I’ll try it.  Otherwise I’ll stick to my Huntsman or Deluxe Climber. As opportunities present themselves I’ll pick up discontinued models in good condition to add to my collection. Paid only $45 for this one, a decent price.

My secret vice… cheap iced coffee in a can from Mr Brown.  My absolute favorite is Cappuccino, but the others have their moments. The flavors I’ve had or know of: Cappuccino Blue Mountain Ice Coffee Iced Coffee Black Black - No Sugar Macadamia Nut Caramel Latte Vanilla Mandheling There are other sizes, but these the ones I know of in the states.  Some other flavors in this 8 oz can are: Chocolate Columbian Espresso (but this might be the sugar free Black Coffee)

J Lohr from Paso Robles has an easy to drink Cabernet Sauvignon.  I tried the 2020 vintage from Costco and paid a mere $11. I wanted to expand my wine experience beyond Trader Joe’s and was happy with this one. It’s easy to drink as a 1st day pour and seems more like a blend between a true Cabernet and a Pinot Noir as it had a lighter color almost translucent like a Pinot. At same time while easy to drink it’s a little bland and lacks much depth or complexity.  I wouldn’t drink this everyday, but when your bored and don’t want to try something uncertain, this is an easy choice.

I was foolishly curious and decided to try 4 Loko for the first time.  Yuck.  It tasted like liquid jolly ranchers.  My teeth were hurting indicating a ton of sugar and wasn’t sure if my head was buzzing from the sugar or the alcohol. It did give a buzz though so I know this is potent, but the sugar rush masks the alcohol and makes this somewhat dangerous as it’s equivalent to 4 servings of beer in a single can. At least I tried it. One benefit of trying 4 Loko - Add to your taste portfolio There is one benefit in trying something like 4 Loko, it expands your taste profile experience so you can recall and compare it with future taste profiles.

Wow.  I didn’t realize the bagels from Einstein Bro’s are great.  I’m used to Starbucks and this place beats them hands down.  Coffee was decent and had a syrupy texture on the simple, unsweetened Americano. For smears, I’ll stick with the spicier jalapeño one vs. chives.  Chives was ok, but jalapeño gave it a little kick.

Had a nice lunch of Seollungtang and Tonkatsu at the Food Court in the Fresh K Market in Carrollton.  The curry was delicious and I could eat just that with the rice.   The Seollungtang beef soup was excellent.

Trying the Victorinox repair service for the 1st time and sent it in to their Monroe Center in Connecticut. Summary Day 1 - Create Repair Order online Day 1 - Mailed to Victorinox - Paid for USPS - $5.85 Day 6 - USPS delivered to Victorinox Day 11 - Victorinox email received knives Day 17 - Victorinox emailed shipping w/ UPS tracking Day 18 - Victorinox charged $5.41 per knife Day 21 - Received my knives back Total Cost $ 16.67 Total time for repair was 3 weeks from printing form to receiving back my knives.  2 weeks (11 days) was for shipping transit time so actual repair was about 1 week (10 days). Overall, quite good.  Huntsman is spectacular.  Explorer is functional again, but due to its age might be better to buy a new one than seek a repair. The new scales alone are wow!  Absolutely stunning like a gleaming gem.  Thank you again Victorinox. For $17 it’s not cheap, but reasonable.

Starting a maintenance log for my 2016 Toyota Highlander. 10/10/2020 - New Tires - $750 04/02/2021 - Oil Change & Tire Rotation - $120 09/03/2021 - Oil Change & Air Filter - $259 02/03/2022 - Oil Change - $126 06/01/2022 - Oil Change, New Brakes & Rotors - $1200 They did a terrible job on the brakes.  Had to go back 5 times until they finally fixed most of it.  Still squeals, so never going back to this shop. 10/05/2022 - New Battery - $122 Car died and suspected the battery so got a new one at Costco and installed it myself. Part# 852154 Group# 24F 07/07/2023 - Oil Change - $140 Standard oil change and asked to check the brakes. 09/03/2023 - New Tires - Michelin - $900 Didn’t realize I need to perform a wheel alignment and never did it when I bought tires back in 2020.  So I learned  the hard way to do an alignment. 09/09/2023 - Trans Flush, Coolant Flush, Wheel Alignment - $650 Did the wheel alignment as well as trans and coolant flush as I hit 70.8k miles. 11/04/2023 - O

It’s been a while and I’ll get back into the habit of cleaning my knife collection.  I’ll need to get some oil, sharpeners and other tools to do this properly. For now it’s simple cleaning off any residue on the knives and implements as I often use them to open packages and get all the tape gunk on the blades and scissors. My Trekker sees the most action and I’m finding the Phillips head is useful.  I’ll need a Deluxe Tinker or Handyman to include a set of Pliers.

There are many Pho restaurants in Richardson and I tried a bit south that it’s in Dallas,  La Me in a different strip mall area, the place is a bit dated and rundown in some parts, but La Me was clean and friendly. Food was excellent and I can see why some rate this place higher than Pho Pasteur.  The broth is more subtle and defined.  Pho Pasteur has a richer broth that after a while is overwhelming.  Something about the combination of ingredients made this pho extra tasty. The spring rolls were good.  A bit unusual they serve the sauce with whole peanuts, most places grind them a bit, but otherwise it’s tasty and good. Slight edge over Pho Pasteur giving this place 8.75 out of 10.

This is my 3rd Pax & Beneficia Coffee location I’ve enjoyed in DFW having already been to Las Colinas and Grapevine.  The Plano location is nearby the old Collin Creek Mall. Overall, it’s a gorgeous location with ample parking.  Fun place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee.  I had the Cappuccino and Cortado.  Between the two as the espresso was slightly bitter, but more than acceptable the Cappuccino masked it nicely with whole milk.