eat, drink, play, and sleep - aug

August has not been that good for windsurfing. There were about 7 days of really good days.


i went to ikea to see the new products released for 2014; this is one interesting light fixture that i like - though i see a major flaw it being very difficult to clean after a few months

 this is not new to 2014 that i also like

i picked up this plastic bin for its interesting shape, bright color, and most of all super flexibility to use in Brunnhilde

 i also bought this LED lamp that double as stool for the fun of it

 green indicates it is fully charged - red is charging

i scratch my head as why the white LED lamp will not turn on after a full charge - it turns out there is a plastic tab you have to remove for the batteries to make contact to the terminal

i always why so many european companies so hell bent in creating these stupid manual with no text; yes dyson do the same and manuals like this are crap and demeaning

 a small grouper

time to decommission this butt-ugly rubbermaid plastic bin; i bought it long ago when there were no better alternatives

 the flexibility of the sides allow the bin to squeeze pass the steel support arm of the bench bed

 this is just perfect for storing wet windsurfing gears

now Brunnhilde has little to fear from a midnight knock at the door by the design gestapos

 i use a vacuum pump to suck out water inside the hull of my 7'6" board

poor man's vacuum pump - a compressor from a discarded refrigerator; i had used it to install mini-split air conditioners myself years ago as well as servicing automotive air conditioners

my friends had been teasing me that i am a wind snob (meaning high wind junkie) so i dug out my 5.1 sq m sail that only been used a few times

a nice all electric car

 equipment maintenance in a windless searing dog day of summer

one of my neighbors put up this modern fence - it is quite popular in my neighborhood; however i don't think the cedar (he use due to economy) will resist gravitation sag too well

 the red stuff is actually epoxy

 very expensive butane cartridge - i normally pay $1.1

 stocked up on flip flops - finding good ones can be harder than you think

I didn't realize the benefit of walking on flip flops until recently. I was watching "in good shape" that is a health program on DW.DE recently. Something called barefoot shoes has gained popularity amongst runners and athletes. Walking barefoot or with foot wares that forces you to use all your foot's muscles keep your feet healthy. My happy feet spend a lot of time bare or walk with these minimal flip flops. In a lot of Asian countries, people take off their shoes when entering residences and I do the same at home. After hearing my story and watch the DW.DE video he rushed out and bought a few pairs of these flip flops.

Here is the in good shape video if you are interested.

Before you rush out to find the barefoot shoes, I do see some problem finding ones that fit well. It is hard enough to find shoes that fit these days when shoe manufacturers has stop making shoes with different width compare to many decades ago. I suspect it would be very difficult to find shoes that has individual toes that fit a vast variety of foot shapes. Also your toes are force to spread out like a duck with these overdone designs. I would look for shoes that like rock climbers.

I really like DW.DE's live TV. The programming is always very even keel and globally diverse. It has become my most watch TV for a long time now, and there is hardly any programs that do not appeal to me.

 i am saving the robin nest for next year's family

pig stomach

pig cheek - this is the first time i cook with this

i simmer it with sake and simple spices and seasoning - inspired by washoku; make for a light lunch for a dog day of august

makes a stable place to rest a cup of coffee

watching netflix

this big ass remote for the 24" LCD TV inside Brunnhilde really irks me - typical Samsung; next to it is the sensible and effective remote from Alpine for the head unit

My rant about the remote for the Samsung TV really resonates with this recent blog

wwtsd

 equipment failure

just a 4 oz piece of steak with plenty of delectable root vegetable and corn

making a batch of smoked salmon

 i am going to start using this old 3.1 sq m sail to replace my other 3.0 sq m

i sealed 2 pieces into a vacuum bag to store in the freezer