Simple Living

There are so many options and choices in sneakers and I want to build a simple collection of all the great basics: Converse - Chuck Taylor - All Stars White/Red Stripe Adidas - Superstar - White/Black Stripes Nike Cortez - White/Red Logo Onitsuka Tiger  Mexico 66 White/Red/Blue Nike Air Force 1 Low Cut - All White Puma Suede - Black/White Stripe White & Black Pretty much it'll be 5 white and 1 black shoe for the basics.  Although, I may reduce this count to 3 white and 1 black. More Colorways Additional colorways will be handled by my 2 Onitsuka Tiger Serrano's (Blue, Red) and when they are retired I'll replace them with comparable shoes in likely a Burgundy Red New Balance and maybe all-Black Converse, Adidas Superstar or Air Force 1's. 2-3 Years to Build I'm in no rush and it'll likely take 2-3 years to fill out this collection as I have ample shoes already and will only buy something when I'm ready to replace something.  Probably

For over 2 years I was on a Verizon Postpaid family plan paying about $140 plan (about $153 including tax) for 2 lines with unlimited data. Prepaid 2 lines @ ~$93/month I did the math and realized Verizon Prepaid offers a similar deal for much less and opted for the 16GB for my main line and unlimited for my second for a total of $90 a month (about $ 93 including tax). That is roughly a savings of about $60/month, which is quite significant! Limitations of Prepaid There are three (3) limitations: Video streams at lower 480 resolution, not that it matters on a small screen. Cannot use data while on the phone. No Disney+ for free Honestly, I bought Disney+ for a low price so that's not a big deal and I'm not too concerned on low video resolution as I stream mostly on WiFi.  The only one that is a slight pain is inability to use data like search the web while on a phone call.

I've owned my iPhone 6s since 2016 and it's served me well.  However, with the impending iOS14 and the decaying battery life, I'm planning on upgrading and evaluated my options as follows: iPhone XR iPhone SE iPhone 11 iPhone 12 Replaced the Battery Feb 2020 Initially, I planned to make a decision after the release of the iPhone SE in April, but decided to replace the battery on my 6s to give me more time to decide and also prepare the 6s to become my backup phone. It's almost like a new phone with the brand new battery and the phone can last me the full day again.  Before that I was constantly having to recharge within 1-2 hours or have a battery pack on hand. iOS 14 Second to the poor battery life, is the impending iOS 14 release that may skip the 6s.  If it does, I have no choice, but to upgrade and this is the main driver for my choosing to upgrade.  So I'm anticipating this may happen in September when iPhone 12 is possibly released. Long Term

Getting closer to my ideal wardrobe and plan a few more adjustments in 2020.  I'm discovering that I look pretty good in Earth Tones (Dark Green, Light Brown/Tan) along with Burgundy Red and Dark Purple.  I'm going to reduce my reliance on Dark Blue in favor of more of these other colors to balance my Black and White basics. Uniqlo/Adidas I'm quite pleased with Uniqlo and that's becoming a larger proportion of my wardrobe.  I'm also liking Adidas for my sneakers and sporty jackets.  It's quite possible in a few years a good 50-60% of my 51 main articles of clothing will be from Uniqlo/Adidas. Shoes & Jackets My Shirts & Pants will focus on the basics and I'll dedicate my budget on Jackets and Shoes.  I'll start simple on shoes to find the ideal choices and want to stick with the standard Converse All Star, Adidas Superstar, Adidas Samba and a Nike or Air Jordan.  Possibly, squeeze in a Puma, Onitsuka 66, etc. Outerwear, considering a Harr

The Sidecar is becoming my favorite coffee drink.  It has a little bit of everything and when I have time to spare to enjoy it.  Otherwise, I'll go to my cappuccino. While the espresso has remained consistent, the cappuccino/macciato? has differed slightly with each barista.  Albeit, I only enjoy the sidecar a few times a year so it can also be for other factors.

After years of trying various brands, I finally found the perfect Polo shirts.  Previously, I relied on Ralph Lauren exclusively, but the quality has declined and started trying other brands. Brands I've tried: American Eagle Abercrombie & Fitch Old Navy GAP Banana Republic Foot Locker Armani Exchange Ralph Lauren Tommy Hilfiger Nautica LZOD Moncler  Burberry  Naturally, the higher priced shirts generally were better...but I'm not about to spend $50-200 per shirt when I need about 5-7 polo's.  Uniqlo had me covered with some excellent options at $20. At first I was hesitant as the Uniqlo poll's have two buttons on the collar, when I'm used to three.  Don't judge until you try them on and they were perfect. Will the collars survive?  Will get back to you in a few months... However, only time will tell if the collars hold up.  That's an inherent problem in most polo shirts.

Spent a week in Vegas for work and stayed at the Venetian on the Strip. Always wanted to check out this hotel and for most part it's 'okay'. Not as 'great' as I had hoped. But then all the Casino's I've tried from Bellagio, Mirage, Paris and Caesars were all about the same. There is something for everyone, at nearly every price point so that was great. I finally could find decent beer for $2-5, and not have to visit CVS or Walgreens. Best of all, I got to learn how to play Craps; still lost money. Venetian Hotel Room - Double Single Beds...very nice & spacious layout. 🤗 Old Fashioned @ Casino Bar -- Meh.. 😑 I'm always seeking out the best Old Fashioned, wherever I go and figure I try the 2-for-1 coupon that comes with a stay @ Venetian.  Went to the round Casino Bar and it was meh.  The drinks were certainly strong and I couldn't taste the alcohol, but it was neither amazing nor great for the $ 18.75. Learned lat

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