Simple Living

I've begun preparing for MCSA Exam 70-480 - Programming in HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3.  There are a total of sixteen (16) chapters.  I already was skimming as quite a bit of this stuff I already know, although they go into greater detail into certain things like lossy vs. lossless which was something I never really paid attention to before on why choose JPG, GIF, PNG or SVG; so in that sense this book has been quite useful.  6/3 - Chapter 1 & 2 -- VS2012 + HTML5 Yeah, I know sometimes it actually helps to study with a Pint of Beer. 6/4 - Chapter 3 -- JavaScript Sidecar + JavaScript! Update 12/17/17 // Cancelled! As is life...giving up my studies in Web Apps.  Well, for now.  I do wish I know where my Platinum 3776 Fountain Pen went...this book was the last one I studied while writing with that pen!

I'm happy I waited and just learned that Microsoft has created a new MCSA certification for Web Applications that is more closely tailored to what I do.  It basically a trimmed down version of the MCSD that eliminates the 70-487 Azure/Web Services Exam and limits scope to: 70-480 - HTML5, JavaScript, CSS3 70-486 - ASP.NET MVC I had already purchased the books last year and was going to start diving into an MCSD after completing the MCSA in SQL Server 2012/2014, but as always the case life got in the way and I had to focus on other priorities.  I'm now ready to resume my Technical Studies and excited to go for this new MCSA Certification.  The Certification itself is not my goal, but is just helpful as a way to focus my Studies. Budgeting about $460 in Exam Fees and Six Months Training Time so estimating if I stick to it I can get the MCSA Certification by Nov/Dec 2017. Update 12/17/17 // Cancelled... As is life...have to push this one back and maybe pursue in 2018

I was in Shibuya and decided to check out Tokyu Hands Department Store.  They had a modest, but decent selection of Fountain Pens and Inks on the 5th Floor.  Prices are fantastic @ 1500 Yen and I picked up my 2nd Iroshizuku Ink - Murusaki Shikibu (Purple).  I always wanted this ink and its actually cheaper here than on Amazon. The name is a play on words as its both the name of a famous Japanese Author and a Japanese Berry.  The Author was fond of wearing Purple and the Berry is also a Purple Color, but then it could be that the Berry was named after the Author and they made this ink the same color, so who knows... It's not as vibrant as Kon-Peki, but that subdued characteristic is what I like.  It flows better, but then that could also be because I left a few drops of water in the Platinum Pen after rinsing it out before Inking.  I'm quite pleased with this color and happy I took a chance with it. Tokyu Hands was also fun and they let me try a variety of Pens and Colors.  They

Took advantage of the 3-Day Weekend and went to Tokyo via Haneda Airport.  I hit up six (6) places in my short blitz: Shinjuku / Kabukicho Akihabara Shinagawa/Sengaku-Ji Ginza Shibuya Haneda I had several objectives for this Trip: Indulge in my Hobbies (Headphones, Fountain Pens, Shoes, Coffee & Reading) Finish a Novel Stay within Budget Have Fun I was able to achieve all three, but the best part that made this trip Fun, was I stayed within Budget and got to do most of the things I wanted. Budget (Rough Approximations) Took 66,000 Yen with me and only used Cash so it was easy to tell how much I spent as I had 50,000 Yen remaining (5 x 10k Yen Notes). 3,600 Yen -- Lodging 2,000 Yen -- Transportation (Trains) 8,900 Yen -- Food, Drink, Misc 1,500 Yen -- Iroshizuku Ink 16,000 Yen -- TOTAL I am quite pleased by this as that is roughly $ 75 USD / Day and only in Japan can you enjoy traveling that cheap.  The reason being anywhere else I would have to factor in $200 USD / Day Hotels + $1

Took a break from Mishima and purchased 'Snow Country' by Yasunari Kawabata.  I've been wanting to read some of his works and while I couldn't find anything at the Used Bookstore, they had a new copy @ Barnes and Nobles.  Granted it's cheaper online, but I feel its better to just purchase items at the physical store, otherwise what's the point of having Brick n' Mortar Stores anymore? The book is surprisingly a short read of just 177 pages.  I should be able to finish this over the weekend and see what next I'd like to read. Update 5/28/17 Took a bit longer than I anticipated and finished the novel while in Japan.  Figured that would be a more suitable venue to read this book.  Overall, it was okay and I got the general context of the story between Shimamura, Komako and Yoko.  Very simple list of characters, yet it does provide a good story of their interactions. However, the English translation from Japanese probably lost some meaning as I didn't qu

I wanted to spend more time at that Used Bookstore I found last week and was fun exploring their selection of books.  I picked up a few more works by Yukio Mishima.  The prices are very reasonable and barely $5/each (Amazon wants double for a Used Copy or several times that for Brand New).  I'm not able to find them at my local library so this seems to be the next best thing. I could only snag Book# 4 of his Tetralogy and will need to stay on the hunt for Book #1 & #2, which kinda makes it fun like a mini-treasure hunt.  I'll be in LA and Vegas in a few months so I'll try find those books there (already scoping out where the major Used Bookstores are in those Cities...) For Coffee, took the SideCar as I was undecided whether I wanted an Espresso or a Cappuccino.  I love whoever invented this thing as I get the best of both Worlds and somehow the Cappuccino tends to taste sweeter when you can readily compare/contrast it with a bitter Espresso, although this particular on

I took the plunge and picked up the 42mm size Apple Watch Series 2 in Space Gray for $399.  The Apple Watch looks and feels a lot better than I had thought and it was worth the wait to get the basic improvements like GPS and 50M Water Resistance in the 2nd Generation release vs. the 1st Generation. Initial Reaction -- Positive I've only worn it for a few hours and haven't really tried much beyond the basic functions of Email, Text Messages, Phone Calls, Music, etc.  It'll take me at least a week or more to really get a better understanding of how useful this watch will be, but I do like the utility of being able to control & access some features of my iPhone without having to access it.  Sounds silly to say, but makes more sense when you have the Apple Watch and your iPhone jammed inside your pants pocket. Overall, the Apple Watch is very well designed and has an appealing look & feel.  The build quality is good and like most Apple Products they focus on form m

It was surprisingly difficult to find some books by famous novelists at several local bookstores and by chance I stumbled across a small used bookstore that had the mother lode in terms of many great works I've been wanting to read from Mishima, Chekhov, Hemingway and more...all for a low price!  For now I restricted myself to just three (3) books and one of them is by Yukio Mishima 'The Temple of Dawn'. This is the 3rd book in his 4-part epic 'The Sea of Fertility' that was to be some of his last published works before his abrupt death.  While I would have liked to start from the beginning, they only had this one available and it proved an excellent choice. For starters, it's a mere 330 pages (much shorter than a Tolstoy colossus) and surprisingly the first few chapters read more like a Traveler's Guide as the main character Mr. Honda travels from Thailand to India and back to Japan with very detailed descriptions of the life & culture of each of these

Was surprised at how cheap this Old Fashion was at a local bar.  For Happy Hour they charge a mere $4.75, about the price of a regular beer.  Other Bars would charge $10-12 for the same drink.  Granted it's not as fancy using plain ice and whatever fruit & ingredients they have in stock, but it tasted decent. The only danger was at this price it's easy to drink a half dozen of these and not realize you consumed that much alcohol.  Cheap, but Dangerous.

Another chill weekend enjoying a Cappuccino, Tolstoy and Music.  For lunch had a simple Bento + Beer.  Great Weekend.

I've developed a habit and it's become a ritual to enjoy a nice Cup of Coffee @ a local shop and enjoy a Novel and Music.  This helps keep me on a schedule & routine to balance out my day and also help me have some motivation to wake up early on a Saturday (I get up @ 7 am!) The best part this little ritual while only about an hour or so helps give me almost the full day to enjoy whatever, otherwise I would have got up @ 11 or past Noon and wasted half the day...sticking with this routine.

I'm now on my 5th Coffee Drink concoction...a Gibraltar that is an Espresso with some Milk.  It's similar to a Cappuccino minus the Foam.  Overall, I'm getting the hang of this thing as there are just three (3) basic ingredients [Espresso, Milk, Milk Foam] between the various Espresso based drinks.  So far the Cappuccino is my favorite as it embodies all three ingredients, but the Gibraltar is a close 2nd ahead of the Macchiato.

In my quest for the perfect 'Old Fashion' I've been trying one at every Bar and decided to give Nordstrom's a shot.  Based on what I'm reading online this is closer to a traditional Old Fashion with the choice of glass, square ice cube and garnishing.  The drink was quite strong and I didn't start to enjoy it until the halfway mark with the last sip being the best.

This is becoming my new 'Coffee Shop' and going down the list of drinks.  Tried a 'Sidecar' which is a single shot of Espresso paired with a Macchiato.  The difference as far as I understood the Macchiato doesn't have the 'milk' and only the foam compared to a Cappuccino.  The Sidecar was interesting, but I prefer the Cappuccino from last week.