Simple Living

I hope to hit Chapter 8 this Sunday.  That leaves 9 chapters remaining.  I will budget two weeks to finish the rest and try to do 4-5 chapters per week (1-2 over the weekdays and 2-3 on the weekends).  It was just this past weekend I decided to cram so many chapters.  I'll take the practice exams and maybe in 1-3 weeks sit for the actual exam.  I'll have to go find the exam center and schedule a testing appointment.

More study!  Goal for this weekend?  Finish up to Chapter 8 or halfway through the book 70-461.  299 of 677 pages... I'm finishing up Chap 4, so got 5 tonight and 6,7,8 on Sunday. Chap 8 is table creation and data integrity...I can make it there.

My Signature Drink that I usually order when @ Starbucks is the ICM or Ice Coffee w/Milk and No Sugar.  I've been drinking this for years and originally, I had the Hazelnut Version, but gave that up as I stopped liking sugar.

Keep chugging along.  Refresher on Joins.

Moving along.  Mostly because I read all this before a year ago.  Still learning new stuff though.  First pass was overwhelming, second round a bit better.

I read this book already, but it's been over a year and decided to read it again. Still not confident on sitting for the exam even though I use this stuff daily at work.  I've got 2,000 pages to read (3 books)...20 pages/ hour = 100 hours to complete.  Dang.

It's been almost five years since writing some heavy SQL and time to get serious and sit for the MCSA.  But before that...study, study, study.  And so, first step, invest in the books for the MCSA.  Study time.

I'm now in Sekigahara, working on leveling up to 70.  When I get bored I travel back to Kyoto for an easy dungeon run and to level up my sword skills.  Still using my Tatsujin and Ranmagiri.  Looking for a third sword to add and the Hakujin and Helm-Splitter look promising. Stuck in Sekigahara Dang it, I need to level up friendship ratings with Shizuka.  Otherwise, I can't continue.  I kinda want to go to Kaga already.  From what I'm reading online,Shizuka needs to be at least level 10 friendship by Sekigahara and Susanoo level 15 before end game.  Good to know.

Still testing and researching online and developed a basic strategy for Onigiri. 1.   Focus on good skills.   Quality skills on weapons are better than a purely high grade or damage rating. 2.   Spam skills.  You want to be able to one hit kill enemies.  SP recovery potions are cheap, fraction of the cost of HP recovery sushi items.  Use lots of SP potions and spam away on the skills to finish dungeons faster. 3.   White class weapons.   Go for Bronze item drops and seek white class items.  These are cheaper to enhance and smelt vs blue, red or gold items.  A +50 white sword with good skills is better than a gold weapon of the same ryou cost. 4.   Max Affinity.   Put stat points in a single star that boosts your main weapons affinity.  Goal is 3,000 affinity.   At lower levels you can use +% affinity items like magatama's to get 3,000.  But later you want to switch to +% Skill Force magatama's so plan ahead and boost your stat points. 5.   Magatama's-  S

Sweet, on my third Gacha Ticket I got the top prize on  Nyankoropon Unit # 1, the Black Goth Rozen Costume with Accessory 'Property Hadou' that grants +15% Money gain for 30 days. I was hoping for the HP or SP boost costume set, but this is great too.  Makes gaining money for smelting and weapon enhancement easier.

I've tried several character types and for now settled on the Odachi/Katana Sword with Power Stat focus.  Learning as I go along and experimenting with this build.  Was able to make it to the Izumo Rest Area after about a week of casual playing. Odachi for Group fights The Odachi is the long sword and while slower than a Katana has more attack power and a wider attack range.  It's good for medium size mobs. Katana for surgical fights The Katana is proving better for fast boss strikes or single enemy duels.  You can unload several skills in rapid succession with the shorter and faster Katana. Goal is Affinity = more damage to enemies I'm focusing all my stat points towards Power.  This raises sword and Odachi affinity which boosts attack rating.  The max is 3,000 (including any +% affinity items like magatama's). Weapons Using the basic gold weapons I've found along the way.  Nothing fancy and most are just +10 to +50 enhancement.

Casio has a fantastic bargain with the model MDV-106.  It is an actual diver style, water resistant for 200 meters.  This is not a regular diver style watch, this one could actually go for a swim thanks to its screw down crown.  Which makes it a good deal as many sell for about $33 - 40. Features Unidrectional bezel marked for 60 minutes. Basic lume on hour indices and hands Date Display Quartz Movement (Casio 2784 / Miyota 2115) 200 Meter Water Resistance 44 mm case size 22 mm band width Size This watch is comparable to the Seiko SKX007 in size.  Both are 22 mm lugs and roughly the same dial and bezel width along with wrist height.  However a Seiko SKX007 is a real dive watch, this is still diver style.  For some this watch might wear a bit large, but for others it's sufficient.  For me, I prefer 20 mm lugs and a smaller face of 41.5 mm max, this one is closer to 44m w/ crown. Other Options This is a bargain basement choice, but hits well  abov

It's been over two years since I bought the Audio Technica EQ500 headphones in Tokyo.  They still sound good and look reasonably well after two years of ownership.  I've only used these casually maybe once every two weeks and at most maybe 50-60 hours a year of listening time.  But one problem has emerged and you have to play with the 1/8" audio jack as the sound cuts out from one side.  It takes a few quick twists and usually it sounds fine.  They have become my backup pair as I usually carry larger over ear headphones like the Audio Technica WM77's.  Next time I'm in Japan I may try upgrade to the EQ600's or EQ700's that include a retractable cable.  I'll need to research those newer models, but it'll be at least a year before I can fly over to Japan again.

Johnnie Walker -- Red Label Scotch Whisky has been my basic go-to drink when I just need something for a Mixer or on occasion straight up on the Rocks.  It's certainly more harsh compared to Black Label, but over the years I've grown accustomed to the bite and actually kinda like it sometimes. In terms of Prices, I find the 1.75 Liter a better deal; twice the Scotch for half the price 😀 Costco 750 mL - $20 1.75 Liter - $30