Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Short birthday thoughts

In this most extraordinary of years, I nearly forgot that it is my birthday in two days. I am turning 33, which symbolically doesn’t really mean anything within the social schema of significant birth milestones. It’s just another tick in the box until I hit the big four oh. Not for awhile, thankfully.

Society puts certain demands on you in relations to how old you are, doesn't it? By the time we hit our thirties, we’e suppose to have our careers figured out, with steady amount of money, and the beginnings of family starting. Well, I can honestly say I’ve not achieve any of those things. I’ve only just moved out of my parents’ house this year! Something that, by the socially-accepted standards of American culture, has been overdue for a decade.

I go at my own pace, obviously. And so does my friends: only one couple out of the group is married with kids. The rest are getting there ever so slowly. Not me, of course: I am still on my traveling and spending money on cars phase of life. With 2020 being a sort of lost year due to the global pandemic, there’s much catching up to do once the COVID-19 vaccine is rolled out to the masses. Life seemingly have hit a paused button - while the video is still rolling - and I'm looking forward to resuming my previously scheduled programing.

That will hopefully be what age 33 will be about: a resumption of normalcy. I am as prepared as possible, having finally moved out on my own this year. I feel like I’ve already reached the next stage of life, so therefore 33 will be a time for acclimatizing to this new arrangement and see what other changes it may permeate to. Because as of this writing, we are all still confined to our homes, waiting.

I sincerely thank the higher powers for this gift of another year of life. Let’s get after it and make it count.

I am not getting the AirPods Max

“Wait, this thing is how much?!”

Yesterday, Apple announced the AirPods Max, a premium noise-cancelling headphone. The thing that immediately sticks out about it is the price: $549. In a product space that hovers around the $300 mark, the price for AirPods Max seems rather absurd. Why would anyone pay over two hundred dollars more for this instead of the critically acclaimed (and oddly named) Sony WH-1000XM4? $549 is not an impulse purchase by any stretch.

And yet shipping times for the AirPods Max have already stretched to weeks beyond the December 15th release date. Some of the color options are backordered well into February of next year. It seems the demand for this nearly-the-cost-of-an-iPhone product is strong. More evidence that this pandemic have largely spared the white-collar professional class. The tech bros still have jobs and money, and there’s no problem at all spending this amount of listen to music.

I understand why the AirPods Max cost so much. These headphones essentially has a computer chip inside, doing all sorts of computational trickery to make the sound as best as possible. No other competitor in the space have the CPU prowess that Apple possesses. So I’m sure the AirPods Max will sound absolutely fantastic, well worth the insanely high entry price.

But I am not buying one. I already have a set of AirPods Pro that I use frequently. I'm not a frequent user of headphones anyways: the only time the excellent Bose QC35 comes out of the case is during flights. Getting the AirPods Max at this point would just be something to showoff with; it’s very low on the utility scale.

I said I wasn’t going to get the AirPods Pro when it launched, so we’ll see what happens down the line. Should third-party retailers discount the AirPods Max to, say, $400, then that would be something to consider. Perhaps during Black Friday of next year.

Test drive: BMW M340i

In buying a car from a luxury brand such as BMW, you pay for the privilege of excellent service at their dealerships. One such perk is the availability of service loaners, something mainstream brands aren’t wont to provide (at least the local Toyota dealership offers a shuttle). The convenience of dropping your car off and then leaving in a replacement car cannot be overstated. UBER is nice and all, but driving yourself is better, especially during this pandemic of ours.

Service loaners also provide a great opportunity to sample other cars from the same manufacturer. Sadly, often times dealerships stick you with the most poverty-spec model. Even a premium automaker like Porsche provides owners with the base-model Macan, the least expensive car they produce. Why not use the latest 911 as a loaner? Perhaps the extended “test drive” can entice a few to actually buy it. Missed opportunity, I would say.

Whether by luck or on purpose, I was provided with a brand-new BMW M340i as a courtesy car when I took the M2 Competition for its first service last week. The loaner barely has 50 miles on it, with protective wrap still present on the media displays. Maybe M-car owners get better treatment? I was expecting the lowest spec X1, so it’s a pleasant surprise to get the top-trim 3 Series - an over $60,0000 car. Obviously, I took full advantage of the situation and drove the M340i as extensively as I can during a working Friday.

With 382-horsepower on tap, the BMW is effortlessly quick and comfortable. The latest 3 Series have grown in size, but somehow the interior still feels intimate and cramped. The ZF 8-speed automatic is expectedly superb, though not as rapid to shift as the dual-clutch gearbox in my M2. The M340i is a competent cruiser that’s perfect for commuting, with enough power to get you into trouble very easily.

However, the steering is dead numb. The M2’s rack isn’t exactly super feel-some, but the M340i is ever worst. If the forthcoming M3 keeps this steering, I’m not sure it can be considered a proper driver’s car.

I got a Swiffer

My friends know me for being a fastidiously clean person. It’s habits passed down to me from my parents. They’re the type of people who would mop the floors nightly, and clean the kitchen stove after every dinner making. The house carpets would get vacuumed twice a week. I grew up in a clean home, so naturally then I carry those habits with me to my new place of abode.

Thankfully, it’s only a small in-law studio, so the physical surface area that needs to be clean is tiny. During the first month of living, I was content with spraying down the floors with all-purpose cleaner, then do a wipe with a towel (hardwood floors, obviously). The process takes about 10 minutes, not the most back-breaking of work. Once a week of this is enough to keep the place satisfactory clean to my high standards.

Last week I was suddenly inspired to get a Swiffer mop. A combination of both laziness and low entry price barrier impelled me to make the purchase. For only about 15 dollars, I got this plastic stick that cleaning pads clip onto at the base. This simple device cut down my cleaning time to mere minutes. The Swiffer saves me from having to bend down to the floor, and it picks up more dust than the old fashion method.

This goes to show that sometimes it’s worth paying for convenience. Whatever saves me time and energy from the mundane tasks is money well spent. I salute the person who invented the Swiffer system; I won’t clean hard floors without it ever again. The pad refills are economical enough, too. I am glad I made the switch.

Let's go George!

I am very excited for this weekend’s Formula One race. Current world champion Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19, so in his seat goes young George Russell from the Williams team. While we all hope Sir Lewis recovers fully and quickly, the spectacle of seeing the Mercedes protege put into the fastest car on the grid is something new and refreshing in this decidedly dull season. Spare a thought for the Mercedes reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne, though: it must suck to not get the seat even though you are the official third driver of a two-car team.

Obviously, team Mercedes is looking towards the future. This is a unique opportunity (spurned on by an unfortunate event) to see just how good young Russell is. Over the past two season, George have built a reputation for being a fast qualifier, handily outperforming the underwhelming Williams car and his teammate. The question was always: could he replicate this in a wining car? We are about to find out this weekend, and it makes this second Bahrain race must-see television.

And how desperate Valtteri Bottas will be to win the race - or at least place in front of Russell? After four season of playing second-fiddle to the all-conquering Hamilton, losing to Russell this weekend would be the death knell to Bottas’ racing reputation - he’s just not world championship calibre. However unfair that may be, that’s how motoring fans will perceive him if he is to lose out to Russell. God forbid if George actually wins the race; that would be scandalous for Valtteri.

Don’t forget the F1 drivers will be racing on a new layout of the Bahrain circuit - the outer loop. With qualifying times estimated to be well under the one minute mark, laps will come quick and fast. Fingers are crossed for some exciting racing and massive amounts of overtaking.

I bolding predict a race win for Russell.

I should get a motorcycle...

Now that I am settled into my new place, and life has returned to a Groundhog Day-like similarity, it’s time to think about things to do to break that boring equilibrium. Like the rest of you, I am waiting for the promising vaccines to reach distribution, not only because I’d like to sit at a restaurant with my friends and break bread, but also to be able to travel freely like it was before the pandemic.

The economy would be saved, too, which means we’d get to keep our jobs.

As a general enthusiast of cars, one of the core tenets is sample as much as possible the mass variety of experiences. Cars come in many different shapes and layouts, and I’m lucky to have owned quite a handful of variations. One such experience that’s always hold a fascination for me is motoring on two wheels: the motorcycle. If you’re a fan of high-revving, naturally-aspirated engines - as I am - then bikes are the cheapest entrance ticket. And because of their diminutive size, two-wheelers get excellent fuel mileage while delivering the thrills.

The barriers to entry is rather low, too: used bikes can be had for mere thousands. Insurance is peanuts compared to sports cars, and as mentioned, motorcycles are great on gas. However, to ride legally, one must get a motorcycle-specific license. For me, that entails a few weekend classes at a local junior college, and then a riding test. Easy enough, but that means I have to wait until the pandemic is over/under controlled to feel comfortable being in a classroom full of hopeful new riders.

Oddly though, COVID-19 have created the urgency for me to actually get off my ass to get the license and a motorcycle. There’s no better reminder to stop procrastinating and do the things you want to do, as soon as feasible, than a world-wide pandemic.

It’s time to tick that box on the list.

One month moving update

Welcome to December, everyone! We made it to the final month of this absolutely crazy year. Pat yourself on the back if you and the people close to you are still healthy and employed through all of this. If that is indeed you, then consider giving a helping hand to those less fortunate.

The turn of the calendar also marks the occasion of me having moved out of my parent's’ place for one full month. I have to say it still sometimes feel strange to wake up at this new spot, thinking this isn’t where I belong. As if I am off somewhere on vacation instead, and soon I’ll have to go home to my own bed. In other ways, new routines have set in, and the studio unit I’m renting have morphed into something truly my own. One month’s worth of cooking and living smells have permeated through the place, and it’s recognizably home when I return from work and open the front door.

Speaking off work, the real magic of this new house is how close it is to my place of employment. A 10 minute leisurely stroll is all it takes for me to arrive on campus, ready to rock. Not having a slogging commute is the biggest improvement to well-being that moving to this place have created. Living this close to work is a game-changer: stress is lower, and I get more time back in the day. It was done on purpose, too: if I were to move out, it had to be somewhere nearer to campus.

The other huge benefit is the absolute quietness that my new neighborhood provides. The western side of San Francisco can largely be described as suburbia, and it’s such a contrast from the southwestern side’s bustle and noisiness. I can now read a book without being interrupted constantly by the blaring radio of a passing car (I live in practically a subdivision), and can go to sleep without needing earplugs because the neighbors aren’t playing loud music way into the night.

These two factors alone - proximity to work and the quiet environment - is well worth the monthly rent that I now have to pay. More often than not, I am very willing to trade money for less stress and peace of mind.