Modern Simple Living

Gear Review Custom Storage for iPhone backups on Mac Repurposing spare components to solve modern storage constraints $0.00 Total Cost ~30 Seconds Assembly 256 GB Initial Capacity ~500 MB/s Speed Table of Contents ① The Inventory Audit ② Performance and Practicality ③ The Modular Strategy Section I The Inventory Audit As I continue researching and preparing to purchase my first external SSD hard drive; likely the Sandisk or Samsung, I wanted to evaluate the practicality of using an external SSD for storing my iPhone backups. I had a spare 256GB Inland SSD that I got for free years ago and it worked decently enough in my now retired 2014 HP laptop.  I also had a Sabrent 2.5" housing for when I upgraded my 2016 HP laptop and combined, creating a complete external SSD solution. And this worked perfectly with my M3 iMac.  I'm now impressed and convinced this would work as a long term solution for iPhone backups on my Mac.  And following the 3-2-1 backup strategy, I have a...

Gear Review Digital Storage — The Case for Local Redundancy Breaking the cloud subscription cycle with intentional hardware and local backups. 2TB Capacity ~11 Years Old 4 Storage Units Table of Contents ① The Hardware Bottleneck ② The Hybrid Strategy ③ Speed and Future-Proofing Section I The Hardware Bottleneck I'm hesitant to pay Apple $120 a year for 2TB of cloud storage. While, I maintain the $0.99 monthly tier for my 50GB of critical device backups, but for everything else, I prefer to own the hardware. Another way to view this, even with SSD prices, a 2TB SSD pays for itself in 2 years and doesn't require a recurring subscription to access my own files. I missed my own deadline for this transition. I typically rotate my primary backup drives every 3 years, but my current setup has been spinning far longer than I am comfortable with. I have been leaning on a pair of 2TB USB 3.0 drives—one Western Digital from 2015 and 2017. In the world of mechanical storage, that 2015...

Travel Journal 1st Epic California Coast Road Trip San Diego → Los Angeles → San Francisco 13 Days ~1,400 Miles 12 Nights 4 Cities 1 National Park Will fly into San Diego and embark on a California road trip — really taking time to enjoy things. 13 days, a full loop from San Diego to LA and San Francisco, with stops in Yosemite, Napa Valley, Monterey, and the Pacific Coast Highway. While I've been to California countless times, I never really attempted to take in many of the famous landmarks and destinations at a more leisurely pace — it was always a quick 5-minute snapshot and, in hindsight, not an efficient way to truly appreciate things. Table of Contents ①  The Route ②  Los Angeles — 1 Night (Marina Del Rey) ③  Yosemite — 2 Nights (Curry Village via Fresno) ④  San Francisco — 2 Nights (Nob Hill, The Marker Unio...

Gear Review 2016 Toyota Highlander or pivot to an Avalon *Why I choose the "subscription fee" of long-term ownership over a new car payment.* 103,000 Miles ~10 Years Longevity ~$10,700 Projected Cost ~$833 New Car Payment Table of Contents ① I. The Diagnostic Process ② II. Managing Expectations and Trade-offs ③ III. A New Strategy: The "VIP Cruiser" Pivot   Section I I. The Diagnostic Process I prefer keeping a machine running over chasing the latest model year. My 2016 Highlander hit the 103,000-mile mark recently, and with that came the inevitable chorus of mechanical complaints. A faint, persistent whine began appearing at startup and during initial acceleration. It’s the kind of sound that doesn't trigger a check engine light but demands attention if you want to avoid being stranded. Simplicity in maintenance means starting with the least expensive, most likely culprits: → Drive Belt — Replaced at 90,000 miles (Preventative). → Idler Pulley — Swapped o...