Simple Living

Finally taking the plunge and picked up my first Limited Edition and going with the Aqua Blue Alox Pioneer.  The Pioneer is part of the annual colors editions released in 2020 and found this one for a particular good price. I’m also halting my collecting for remainder of 2021, with exception of picking up perhaps another Limited Edition like a 2021 Alox Pioneer X. They made half-a-billion Swiss Army Knives as of 2017 so I see no reason to chase after common models and styles.  Instead focus on the Limited Editions. The Main Blade This is the most substantial main blade that I've yet to experience on a Swiss Army Knife and I own several different models from the svelte 58mm Classic to the 111mm Trekker and the blade on the 93mm Alox is a beefy contender.  It has a very strong backspring and is sharpened more aggressively.  I could feel my fingernail getting cut just by running it across the edge.   The Pioneer earns its reputation as the 'Civilian' version of the old Soldier

I was able to pick up a bottle of Yamazaki 12 year Single Malt Whisky from Suntory.  I remember people used to say this sold for cheap back in the day for the price of Johnnie Walker Black Label sells for today.  I had a chance to taste it over the years and was looking for a bottle for quite some time. I got it as a gift so I’m going to wait for a good day to savor it.    

Amazon is pretty cool (or scary) in that it retains a history of everything I've ever purchased and I just realized I got my Victorinox Swiss Army Knife - One Hand Trekker from their site in 2011, making it a decade old.  It still looks and feels brand new as I barely used it. Locking Blade The Trekker is a substantial size knife in comparison with other Swiss Army Knives and one of the reasons I picked one up was I had sliced my hand pretty badly using a regular 91mm Swiss Army Knife and was seeking a locking blade and preferred sticking with the Victorinox brand, thus the 111mm Trekker. Error was more on me, I was moving while on a hike and trying to multi-task and was cutting something and wham.  Blood dripping everywhere.  Fortunately, I was able to wrap my hand and apply first aid.  I was only a few hours into my journey and circled back before it got dark.  While it hurt like heck, I was still able to drive home and didn't need to go to a hospital.  I had just gotten my

Portability, Weight and a good pair of Scissors.  These are the three (3) factors in determining which Swiss Army Knife is ideal for Urban EDC and after trying and owning several models I've reached the conclusion the Climber is the ideal model for me.  Other contenders would be: Compact (no awl, no second blade) Super Tinker (Phillips head instead of corkscrew) Pioneer X (no bottom side tools and awl instead of second blade). Specifications Large Blade Small Blade Can Opener Bottle Opener Scissors Awl/Reamer Corkscrew Tweezers Toothpick Go Big? But the Saw... You can easily get all the tools you want by upgrading to most 4+ layer models like the Huntsman, Explorer, etc, but then weight and portability become an issue and I've pocket carried on separate occasions the Huntsman or Climber and I could feel the difference of an extra half ounce of weight in the Huntsman.  Also, while I have used the wood saw, I don't think that is of value in a typical Urban setting (although

I've decided to restart my Victorinox Swiss Army Knife Collection for 2021.  I recently acquired an Alox Cadet and now have both a Huntsman and Climber on the way. I plan to acquire only a few more models and prefer now the Alox for durability and aesthetics.  The plastic scale models will be more for utility and stored away at the office, home and bags. Current Collection Swiss Champ Red // 2011 // Collectible Trekker Black // 2011 // BOB bag Huntsman Silver Tech // 2016 // EDC rotation Black // 1979-1985 // Hiking Bag Cadet Alox Silver // EDC rotation Climber Black // 1979-1985 // Collectible Traveler // 1979-1985 // Collectible Hoffritz // 1985-1990 // Collectible Ruby // 1992-2005 // EDC rotation Camper Red // 1999-2005 // Collectible Spartan  Red // 2009-2011 // Car Red // 2009-2011 // Office Ruby/Sapphire // 2009-2011 // Messenger Bag Classic Classic // First Aid Classic Lite // Collectible With the Huntsman and Climber on the way, this has freed up several Spartans that are

I’m usually with my messenger bag that includes more items, like first aid, bottled water and some snacks.  But if I’m on foot around town this is usually what I have in my pockets along with my keys and a Kingston 8gb USB drive. I’ll likely add a Bic lighter to make for a more complete basic tool set.  Possibly a small bit of paracord wrapped in a keychain. March 2021: iPhone 11 Ballpoint pen Victorinox Cadet Swiss Army Knife Leather wallet    

The past 12 months have been the wildest of my life and even that is an understatement.  To commemorate the COVID-19 years and remind myself of how crazy its been I picked up a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife - Alox - Cadet. I've always wanted an Alox model ever since I purchased the Alox 8gb USB drive and found the all metal design truly breathtaking.  There is a certain feeling of assurance in its durability when you hold it in your hands and while its smaller than my Spartan it weighs about the same. My trusty Spartan has been by my side for several years and unfortunately its begun to show its age and the plastic scales are warping and coming undone.  While I have several other Spartans, I wanted to opt for an Alox as my everyday carry as I anticipate this will last longer and not require more regular replacement, although my Spartan has been with me for at least 7 years. In short, the Alox Cadet is beautiful and I'm very pleased.  While it'll take some getting used to as I

There are several Dean & Deluca's in Waikiki and I stumbled upon one of them in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.  It's fairly tiny with a mere three tables outside and this one seems to be more of a Coffee Shop with a narrow selection of coffee, teas and typical matching accessories like coffee mugs, cookies and jams. It's nothing like the larger Dean & Deluca's I'm used to that are more an upscale grocer like a fancier Trader Joes. Nonetheless, this was a nice respite and the iced Americano was good.  

I acquired the Swiss Army Victorinox - USB Drive in Green Alox several years ago and found it both useful as a storage device and for its aesthetic design, but since then have relegated it to a storage container as I have drives with much larger capacities and faster USB 3.0 speeds. This particular Alox model has since been discontinued and to my surprise these now sell for more than I paid for it and hovering near $50 - $70 for pre-owned.  I'm assuming this is more from a 'collectible' standpoint as while it still works fine as a USB drive and 8 GB is more than sufficient storage capacity for most non-media files, I have no use for it and perhaps its time to part with it? While beautiful in both its design and function, there are other things I'd prefer and considering using the funds from the sale to acquire either a Platinum Century 3776 fountain pen (to replace the one I lost years ago...) or a Pioneer Alox X knife.

Prices were cheap and figured I take a break and went to Honolulu for a short vacation.  I've been here several times before for work and play.  I'm amazed at how empty the whole place felt, the downside was there wasn't much to do other than eat, drink and sleep. I took in the sights and was actually quite soothing sitting outside my balcony and listen to the ocean waves.  The Victorinox INOX is proving a keeper and other than its tendency to get a few sand particles lodged between the bezel and the crystal, its the perfect watch for the beach.

Back to Coffee Weekends and a good book.  Enjoying a cappuccino and Sakhalin Island by Anton Chekhov.  I bought the book a while ago and been casually reading a few pages at a time and so far am maybe 1/4 into it. He is already on the island and visiting the various settlements.  His descriptions of the inhabitants and their conditions is quite stark and consistent as if you were reading a business report, but with a novelist flair using his social commentary. I could speed read through the book and have done that in the past with other books to just ‘say’ I read it and felt amassing a great quantity of books ‘read’ is equivalent to a more deliberate read of a few books, or just one book. I’ll try make it halfway or wherever there is a meaningful part by this summer.

I’m evaluating new Linux distros for my revived Linux rig.  The old Lubuntu 17.10 while fantastic is obsolete and I am unimpressed with Lubuntu 20.04 LTS. It seems the mindset of Linux has evolved to take into consideration increasingly more powerful computers and now a minimum of a dual core CPU and 2 GB of ram is required.  The HP i3-4010u with 8 GB of ram is just slightly above those minimum standards. 1. Lubuntu 20.04 LTS I’ve been a longtime Lubuntu user and fan.  My absolute fave has been Lubuntu 17 and later 18.04 LTS so I was expecting the same experience with 20.04, but was disappointed. It is laggy and unresponsive and feels bloated.  It took 15 seconds for Firefox to open and the loading of pages would take even longer!  I found this unacceptable as 17 is lightning fast and on the same machine with less ram. Finally, I threw in the towel and installed another distro. 2. Linux Mint 20 Cinnamon  I used an older version Mint before and wasn’t impressed with it then but now I’m

My overview of my HP 15f-10dx.  One of the toughest laptops I've ever owned and its still chugging along on the original battery.  I really don't know when to get rid of it as there is no reason to let it go, even if the battery dies.  I think its winning charm is its 'touchscreen'. Why a cheap laptop Specs BIOS Battery Drain on Linux How it became Linux Machine 2021 Water Death SSD Upgrade I. Why a cheap laptop? I've own several laptops in my lifetime and the HP 15f-010dx was a budget choice for about $399 back in 2014.  I never really spent much on laptops as I wasn't into gaming or anything computing intensive. However, Windows 8 was horrible on this slow machine.  The i3-4010u was sufficient for my needs, but Windows 8 was awful.  It's main thing going for it was the 'touchscreen' and surprisingly is very useful. II. Specs i3-4010u CPU 8 GB RAM (original factory was 4 GB) 500 GB HDD Windows 8.1   III. How to enter BIOS At startup immediately clic

I'm quite pleased with the Adidas Stan Smith's that I picked up about a week ago for under $40.  I've had them for a full week now and still breaking them in.  At closer inspection these look and feel like classic oxford dress shoes and have a thick leather upper and tongue mated to the rubber sole.  As a result, they are taking a while to break in. Sizing I went with a size 9 1/2 and while they are snug, I'm sure as they stretch out a bit they will be perfect and worth the wait than sizing up to a 10.  If you don't plan on wearing them too often, then size them up as it'll take a while to break them in. Most people also seem to make a similar recommendation to go up a size on the Stan Smith's.  I normally follow that advice as my right foot is slightly wider than my left and usually I rate a shoe on how comfortable it feels on my right side. Style These are one of the classics and has a more svelte profile making them fit almost any outfit.  I would rate th