Simple Living

I hit my weight goal of 170 and decided to splurge on a pair of Airpod 2nd Gen.  They were on sale and got them for $60.  I also scored a free pair of PowerBeats 2 from a friend so I wanted to compare them after several weeks of use. In short, they are very different form factors so hard to really compare them as they serve different purposes.  The PowerBeats are more rugged and designed for outdoors and exercise, while the Airpods are more for casual and indoor use.  Airpods are packaged nicely in their carrying case making them easy to slip into a pocket or backpack. The Power Beats are more substantial in size, but that is the benefit of having it on a wired cable that you can hang around your neck and also manual inline controls.  Perfect for outdoor exercise, especially my daily morning walking sessions. 1. Battery Life - Power Beats wins I only use the Power Beats for 30-60 minutes at a time, but don't charge them for several days and know they outlast the Airpods that requir

I found a new coffee shop called Eiland that roasts its own beans and I’m impressed the espresso was decent.  It had some bitter, but much better than most of the shops so far in Dallas.

More bulk buys.  Some Bourdeaux and Cabernet-Merlot mixes.  Let’s see how they fare as I’ve been impressed by the Garnache, GSM’s and hopeful for Bourdeaux. My wine rack is full at 24 bottles.  Not that difficult with the inexpensive but delicious wine options at Trader Joe’s. Update - 7/13/23 - Fonbadet Bourdeaux is good The Fonbadet Bourdeaux is good!  I’m quite pleased and will bulk buy this along with the La Sonrieta Grenache.  Rounding it out with GSM’s.

It’s a nice concept with a coffee shop in an old house.  Staycation in Richardson Dallas Texas was on my list and it’s acceptable.  It’s acceptable as they do far better than the coffee in North Texas, but not quite as good as those nearer downtown Dallas. I tried an Espresso that was sour indicating it was under extracted, but still better than over extracted bitter shots that North Texas is infamous for. The Cortado was a little better as the milk masked the sourness of the Espresso. Overall, 6 of 10 Espresso rating so I’d imagine the Cappuccino would be comparable. I’d drive further to Houndstooth if you’re seeking good espresso. It’s still a nice coffee shop overall.

Finally made it out to Merit Coffee.  And it was worth the trip.  Nestled in Deep Ellum near downtown Dallas, it’s one of several good coffee shops in all of DFW. Merit is one of the few that doesn’t burn the coffee and makes excellent espresso drinks.  I’m not sure why DFW likes burnt coffee? I ordered an affogato and cappuccino.  They used ice cream instead of gelato for the affogato, but it was still ok and it made the espresso rich and creamy.  Cappuccino was also good. Magnolia Sous Le Pont has a better affogato but it’s due to their using gelato.  Cappuccino is just a tad behind Fiction and Otto’s but still exceptional. Deep Ellum is also cool place to walk around and explore the artwork.

I’ll admit becoming a bit of a snob after I discovered the world of wines.  I used to think it was a matter of types of grapes and wine was wine.  So I bulk bought the $4 Charles Shaw red wines and settled on the Cabernet Sauvignon; Pinot Noir are hard to find now. But after a while sampling finer wines in the $30-50 range…I noticed CS didn’t taste that great and shunned them for a bit. I’ve come full circle and while they don’t taste as good and probably never did, I can appreciate that they were the gateway to the wine world and I still keep a bottle of Charles Shaw - Cabernet Sauvignon as a reminder of my humble beginnings. Yes, I’ve tried every version of Charles Shaw and settled on Cabernet’s as the best deal.

The online reviews are accurate and this $7 Trader Joe wine is a bulk buy.  The 2021 - La Sonriente is pure Garnache/Grenache and the main component of many Red Blends like my growing favorite GSM wines.  I also picked up another bulk buy the 2016 Rancho Viejo a GSMT, T for Tempranillo. The Rancho Viejo was delicious and a good Segway from the pure Garnache La Sonriete.  I’m pleased with both and these are worth the bulk buy status at $7 a pop. To round out my growing collection, I went upmarket and picked up a 2019 Margaux Grand Cru from Chateau Giscours.  I’ll try to grab 1 nicer bottle of wine each month to eventually have 4-5 nice bottles for special events. I’ve also mostly filled my 24 bottle wine rack from IKEA.  Paid $60 for the Omar Bottle Rack.  I’ve now 19 bottles loaded and drinking a bottle a week so I can refill now 2-3 bottles every 2 week visit to Trader Joe’s.  And monthly get a nicer bottle.  I’m going to limit this to 20 bottles and keep the top row empty. Update - 1

Wanted to try this place for a while and stopped in for a Cappuccino and Macchiato at The Book Shoppe.  Overall, it’s ok.  The espresso feels a little burnt, but they don’t overdo it on the sweetness from the milk.  I’m finding that’s the way to compensate for Texas espresso being burnt is to not overdo the milk. I’d prefer more balanced, but this is how I’m finding to enjoy coffee based on what is available.

Bought another pair of Air Jordan 1 Lows as I wanted to test if the foot pain I’m suffering is due to wearing a size too small in 9.5M and moved up to 10.5M. So far I have zero foot pain and think it really was wearing shoes that are too small for my feet.  Air Jordan 1's do not stretch, fit for comfort The Air Jordan 1's do not stretch so if your gonna wear these, wear them for the size you feel comfortable and I also went in the afternoon after having walked for 3 miles in the morning so my feet were likely swollen to the largest they would be during a typical day. Uncomfortable Shoes are a big deal You have no idea how big a deal it is to wear comfortable shoes.  The 9.5M Air Jordan 1's Mid & Lows, Court Vision and Converse were making me miserable and it made my whole life miserable.  All I had to do was go up a size in my shoes, and done.  And if you look at the pics the difference in size between a 9.5M and a 10.5M is quite small and for me it's not the length

I’ve been liking the French reds now and especially the GSM’s and Côtes de Rhône’s.  I also grabbed a Cabernet to round out this month’s haul. I got 2 bottles of the Ponticifics GSM as I really liked that one, so doubled up.  I’ll try the others and if I find more labels I like and stock up on those. Moon X - Cabernet Sauvignon - 2021 - 🫤 meh Pontificis - GSM - 2020 - 👍  Laurent Dublanc - Cotes de Rhones - 2021 Vignobles de la Vallee du Collection Rhones - Cotes de Rhones - 2020 Maison Barboulot - Cabernet Syrah - 2021 - 👍    So far only dud was Moon X Cab.  Issue is the finish feels like drinking a sugary juice and hurts my teeth. The Pontificis and Maison are good and I’ll buy more. 

It was on my list and I stopped by Houndstooth Coffee in Dallas near Northpark Mall.  I tried the Cortado and was impressed it’s decent.  I’ve stopped trying cappuccino’s in Dallas as few can make it the way I like. They used whole milk for this Cortado.  While the El Paso one was better, this was good and I give it 8.5 out of 10. It’s also a very beautiful coffee shop with indoor and outdoor seating.  Very scenic.

This is a good wine.  I was surprised as I also bought the higher end Reserve version of the Carson Ridge Cabernet and was disappointed, so I wasn’t expecting much from the cheaper version…I was mistaken and never judge a wine by its label. I love the fruit forward bold Napa Valley Cabernet’s and so I expected something similar from the cheaper Paso Robles wines.  It’s been hit or miss so far but I’m starting to find and appreciate several Paso Robles Cabernet including this hidden gem. It’s not an amazing wine, but it’s amazing for the price I paid of $10.  There are better wines at $10, but this one is acceptable and better than some $20-30 wines I’ve felt I wasted money on. Taste Notes Fruit forward, blackberries and dark fruit.  Slight acidity.  Smooth finish, slight aftertaste that has a dryness that I think is due to the acidity. Nose is weak but it’s after a day being opened.  It still tastes fine after a day which is good.

As a souvenir I bought a 2000 Yen ($14.50 USD) Casio F-91W.  This is a very basic watch and the black resin version is ubiquitous and even cheaper in the states, but these translucent color ways are more for the Japanese market and sell for double on Amazon. I’m not seeking to sell it and more as an inexpensive souvenir of my time in Japan.  I’m not quite sure when I’d wear this as my A168 is actually better. But it was less than $15. Same time, I don’t think I’ll count it towards my collection and just something I’ll have on the side.  Which is something I may do as well for my other Casio watches as they are so inexpensive and maybe just focus on my luxury Swiss watches as my actual ‘collection’. I’ve already done so for my old Apple Watch Series 2 as it’s dead and sitting in my junk drawer of old electronics.  It’s not counted in my collection, but I still have it.

As I plan for the future it's time to think what types of computers I'll want or need.  I don't want to have a large collection and am considering the following: Windows 11 Linux - Touchscreen Thoughts on Current State of Collection & Plan for Next 2 Years My current HP i7 6th Gen is not eligible for Windows 11 meaning it'll no longer be supported by Oct 14, 2025 and I'll need to find something else to run Windows 11.  The Dell 7530 should be able to run it.  Seems Windows 11 only support 8th gen processors or higher. So my plan is: Dell i5-8400H - setup as Windows 11 PC. HP i7-6th Gen - run on Windows 10 until 2025, then switch to Linux. HP i3-4010u - Linux - Touchscreen until 2025, then retire . I'm on the fence of actually retiring the HP i3-4010u, but same time its getting old and in terms of 'retirement' I'll just put it into cold storage.  I won't actually throw it away.  This will however streamline me to 2 machines, and I always pref