Simple Living

I've owned an Apple iPad 2 for almost 8 years and still love it.  While I probably should have bought a newer iPad, I wanted to give an Android tablet a try and for $50 the Amazon Fire HD8 (2018 Model) was too tempting. When you accept the fact the HD8 is a 'budget' device you can appreciate that Amazon made just the right sacrifices in terms of screen resolution, speed, capacity and other design elements to make it a great deal at $50. Google Play Store is a Must! However, there was one absolute must and that was installing the Google Play Store to allow usage of Chrome, Youtube and a few other Apps.  Without Google Play, the HD8 is quite lacking in usability. But with Google Play, the HD8 is amazing! I've used the device for only a few days and am quite satisfied with the purchase.  I'll take it on several upcoming business trips to see how it goes.  Hopefully, it's advertised 10 hour battery life holds true on the long flights ahead. HD10 Initiall

It's getting harder to find Mr Brown Coffee and I know of only two locations in my area that still carry them.  A friend of mine told me about a local specialty grocer that might have them in stock. Like the other locations they had 4 flavors, but instead of my favorite Cappuccino they had a new flavor (Caramel Latte).  I got 2 cans of each flavor and decided to try the Caramel Latte. Sadly, it was disappointing and appears the only flavor I still prefer is the Cappuccino.  I'll have to stick to the known locations that still carry it and stock up. But for now these are not half bad and perfect for a morning treat.

Previously, I was under the impression that 10 years was considered old for a car and usually got rid of them before then.  I've owned several cars and 2 in particular hit the decade mark with 120-130k miles on the odometer. Goal: 20 Years @ 2027   This time around, I've been more careful with my 2007 Lexus sitting at 12.4 years, which is both the oldest car I've ever owned and to my surprise the average age of most cars in the Western United States.  The Lexus is doing surprisingly well and I'm hoping to keep it for 8 more years until 2027. I've got warranty coverage for 2 more years until 2021 so I just need to 'survive' 6 more years on top of that.  But if it doesn't last...no biggie, I can just pick up a Civic or Corolla for under $10k and start a new odyssey. With 72k miles on the odometer and 8k miles more per year.  I'll hit 136k miles by the 20th year mark, which also seems reasonable considering my old daily beaters hit that mark.  https://n

I started blogging Jan 2014 (well...Nov/Dec 2013 to be specific).  I guess that makes it 5 years since.  Some things have changed in my life and I've learned quite a bit from blogging, I'm just amazed at how much time has gone by.  It feels 'almost' like yesterday when I started blogging. My primary goal in blogging was to wean myself away from social media and it has proven successful.  I'm able to post whatever I want, whenever I want and not feel pressured or watched by my friends and family who may find offense with what I write.  Granted, I write generally benign, practically boring stuff, it's still nice to be somewhat free under semi-anonymity (we are never truly anonymous online). By freeing myself from the constant need (addiction) of checking social media every few minutes...I've probably given myself back 2-3 hours to invest in the mundane habit called 'living' and 2-3 hours a day is a lot of time.  I can sit and relax, get lost in my

I've had the pleasure to enjoy many different types of whisky's and grew up on the sweeter side with bourbons (primarily Jack Daniels) then graduated to the peat smoke of a good scotch, but no matter what I fancied at any given point in time, I always find myself going back to my all time favorite Johnnie Walker Black Label. I'm not sure why I'm drawn to a dram of JW Black, but I can enjoy it neat, on the rocks or even in a mixed drink and find something pleasing about it.  It has just enough of a taste profile to keep me intrigued.  And after several years, I've reached the conclusion why I enjoy JW Black so much, consistency.  This realization hit me when I bought a new bottle of Macallan 12 from a reputable store and found it to taste utterly appalling and worse than rotgut.  I've yet to experience such a thing with any Johnnie Walker, no matter where I've procured it. I've had JW Black in over a dozen countries and dozens more different cities an

It's taking a while and I just completed Chapter 6 of Kimball's 3rd Edition of Data Warehouse.  It's probably one of the best books I've ever read in the 'Data Analytics' domain.  I started in November 2018 and six months later have only cracked a portion of this book. I'll keep at it and will try to improve the pace by hitting Chapter 7 on Sunday as this is something I need to finish and focus on in my life.

White shoes are one of the most versatile items in any wardrobe.  They are about as essential as blue jeans or a black or white T-Shirt.  Granted, white shoes require additional maintenance to keep clean, but are worth the effort considering their utility. I've owned several pairs of white sneakers over the years between the classics of Nike, Adidas, Converse, Reebok and more, but never really maintained a set after one wore out.  I previously, would keep just one pair of sneakers, no matter the color. I've since remedied that and embarked on establishing a basic set of the major classics and two of the most iconic are the: Converse All Stars Adidas Superstar Both come in a variety of colorways, but the ones primarily in white are the ones you would want to invest in first, before trying out new color options.  Both models are so popular, you can easily find them on sale periodically or at a discount retailer. I got the Converse for about $40 and the Adidas for $20.  Making the

I went ahead and did it and purchased an Armani AR0585.  Again!  I used to own this exact same model several years ago and foolishly sold it.  Having regretted selling it because it was the perfect beater watch, I decided to get it again and was fortunate to purchase it at about the same price I sold it for; plus in better condition!  For $65 this is an awesome watch!  Armani doesn't make watches like this anymore. Original Post from 2014: Armani AR0585 -- 2014 Post Specs 43mm dial 23 mm lug Quartz Movement (Miyota OS20) Battery SR927W (395/399 equivalents) Chronograph 3 registers @ 3,6,9 dial positions 5 ATM (50 Meter) water resistance Stainless steel, deployment clasp Comparable model is the AR0527 (rubber strap instead of metal bracelet) Domed vs Flat Crystal One of standout traits and things that make the AR585 spectacular is its use of a domed crystal.  While this makes it more susceptible to chips and scratches; especially if it hits a hard surface.  I

Often its the simple things in life that give us the greatest pleasure.  For me it's sometimes enjoying a simple can of iced coffee from Mr Brown.  It's a Taiwanese based company and I usually can find one of these 8.12 ounce cans for about $1 each at several stores in town. It comes in several different flavors and so far my favorite has been Cappuccino. I tend to limit myself to 1 or 2 cans of iced coffee per week.  A welcome treat and I'll likely drink more during the hotter summer months.

Been enjoying Cappucino's at one of my favorite local shops. I usually have a cup of coffee on Saturday or Sunday and either read a book or get in some study time (still working on Kimball DW). I've been trying to cup back and limit myself to 1 or 2 cups a week as they cost easily $5 a pop.  My daily grind at work is Starbucks grounded coffee for about 20 cents a cup.  So I like to splurge sometimes...

I was having a hard time finding a Large size Supima Cotton T-Shirt at Uniqlo in the States and asked a friend to pick me up a couple in Japan.  My friend said they had a ton of Large size shirts there so I ordered five (5) Supima Cotton T-Shirts. When I got them however, the Japan size Large fits more like an American size Medium and was very disappointed.  After researching online, it appears this is due to vanity sizing and the sizes will differ between countries. I gave away the Japan shirts to another friend and just by luck, I checked my local Uniqlo store in the States and they finally got Large in stock.  I bought the five (5) I was seeking. The experience was bittersweet.  While I finally got the exact shirts in the size I wanted, it required wasting almost $50 bucks getting a bunch of shirts of the wrong size. Lesson learned.  Do your research before buying clothes you cannot try on in-person.  Been quite a few hit-or-misses when ordering clothes online. Still...I f

I picked up my Lexus IS250 on June 2018 and next month it'll be about a year since I've owned it.  The car is 12 years old and still running quite well.  I've never owned a car this old before and quite impressed that it still a decent ride. Just got my second oil change at the dealership and I do notice the engine runs a little smoother and the gas mileage has improved just a bit; although that could just be confirmation bias.

The Apple Airpods have been around for a number of years and they are now selling the 2nd Generation.  I've had my 1st Gen for about 5 months now (December 2018). Overall, I like them primarily due to their convenience.  I derived this based on 5 categories: Good Battery Life Ease-of-Use Build Quality Average Sound Quality Form Factor The Good Like most Apple products, the Airpods are well made and designed to work perfectly with most other Apple products.  They sync with my iPhone effortlessly and they can last me several days (roughly 8 hours of listening time daily). The Not So Good Where the Airpods suffer is on sound quality, while decent, they don't sound as good as wired headphones.  Even the standard wired Apple Earbuds sound better. The other problem is form factor.  While it fits in a small case that is very portable, it lacks any way to latch onto anything and I'm constantly paranoid I'll lose them; I did purchase a case with keyring, bu

I received as a gift the 3-pack sampler of Pilot brand Iroshizuku ink.  This set contains 15 mL samples of: Syo-Ro Ama-Iro Fuyu-Gaki I'm elated to receive this as I slowly build up my collection of fountain pen inks and now have 5 different Iroshizuku colors (Kon-Peki, Murusaki Shikibu). I inked one of my Pilot Metropolitan pens with Ama-Iro and was quite surprised at how much a lighter shade of blue and initially looks a lot like Kon-Peki; after it's dried.  Kon-Peki in comparison initially is much darker, but lightens up to what Ama-Iro looks freshly inked. Looking forward to trying the other colors and perhaps considering getting the other 3-pack samplers of (Asa-Gao, Shin-Kai, Yama-Budo) and (Tsuki-Yo, Take-Sumi, Kon-Peki) to establish a decent collection of 10 colors. Eventually, I may try to own all 24 standard colors and also the 3 special edition colors (Edo-Murusaki, Fukugawa-Nezu, and Shimbashi-Iro).  Based on some online research they released the special