Footnotes: Teva Zilch Sandal

My new Teva Zilch Sandals. I think it's a good looking and comfortable sandal for being quite light and minimal. Note the unconventional big toe loop. I imagine this sandal may not fit a lot of people (Morton toe) but it works for my foot model-grade feet. I plan on wearing them when flip flops wont do.

Questions to be answered as time goes on...

When will it start smelling (of desperation and foot sweat) and how easy to wash?
When will the velcro wear out and how to resolve?
How will I resole it?
How well does it run?
How does it fare in a water environment?

Stay tuned...

If you want to get some Zilches of your own, try this link if you want. I earn some kind of commission if you end up buying from that link.
Teva Zilch - Male

and now some stuff

Gadgets.
On the heels of my anti-stuff rant comes a post about buying stuff. I'm typing this post on an iPad (though not the new one) using a wireless keyboard. It took a few seconds to get used to and is working well. Pro tip...use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the cursor around and save you from having to reach and touch the screen when typing. This set up will come in handy to blast out a quick post whether I'm on the move or just sitting at home without needing the laptop.

Footwear.
Warm weather is here and my toes ache for a breath of fresh air while at work or on the run. My Soft Star Moc3's are awesome as always but I'm just keeping an eye out for some sandal action. With my precious REI gift card burning a hole in my pocketses, I looked online to see what was available. Chaco has a new slightly lighter sandal. Hmm, interesting but still heavy. Ha! Teva has something called the Zilch, a minimalist sandal. Not too ugly but has a toe loop, a strap across the forefoot and ankle. My ankle bone seems to be located a little lower on my foot which enables straps or edges of shoes to rub my ankle badly. But I'm willing to give this a try, especially with REI's stellar 100% satisfaction guarantee. I will make sure it fits well indoors to insure they can be resold as new if I need to return them. Stay tuned for an update next week when I get them in! If it works out I'll probably be wearing these exclusively for awhile.

Cars.
Relax. I didn't buy a new car. One of the most anticipated cars for enthusiasts is coming out - the Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ. Now we know it will cost $25K for the Scion, and get 22/30 mpg for manual transmission and require premium fuel. It is a lot of car for the money but it is still a lot of money compared to a used Miata. You can have as much fun on the street and track in Hiroshima's finest for $5k for a used NA generation, using regular gas and get an average mpg of...26.2.

Tax Returns Done!

Blam. My tax returns are sent off and done for another year. Just waiting for confirmation from State.

Here's how to do your tax returns theevildrsin way...meaning max efficiency balancing time, cost, and stress.

1) Get Turbo Tax, whatever edition best suits your needs. I split the cost with my GF. Install it on a functional computer. ;) Turbo Tax is worth the cost for a tax illiterate for me. It really does go step by step to minimize confusion and mistakes. It also checks your possible errors and audit risk. Also, it is great if you can carry over data from last year to speed things up. I E-filed the Federal returns and then promptly didn't worry about them anymore. Got confirmation the next day that it was accepted.

time/cost/stress
one hour data entry, one hour debating / 1/2 cost of Turbo Tax Premier + $6 gas to work on it at parents house / low stress aside from some debating.


2) E-file state tax returns. Turbo Tax charges $19.95 to E-file your state tax return. You can save that money and go the the post office if you want. I debated for awhile and decided to spend the money to e-file just for the experience. Plus I will consider the $19.95 a tax for filing state returns with no pants on. Seriously. Turbo Tax does not require you to set up an account (or wear pants) and does not charge extra fees aside from that $19.95. Then you have to go to your state's department of revenue website and make a payment if required for your taxes. No service fee if you do a bank draft. Best part is I will get an email confirmation from both places, something you don't get if you mail it in.

time/cost/stress

10-15 mins / $19.95 / very low stress, no pants.

Done.

Special shout out to my GF, Dad, Mom, and BroMad (TM) for advice, moral support, and food!

TurboTax Premier Fed + E-File + State Tax Year 2011 417416

Another reason to visit my blog

For all you people (4) getting blog post feeds, youre going to miss out on the new feature on my blog. my photo slideshow from our very own MUNIGEO photographers!

Right now it's just pics from existing blog posts but i will soon add random photos that I may not dedicate a whole post to.

Enjoy!

Minimalist gear reviews

Silence.

March is an example of what happens when a failed minimalist has a blog that reviews gear.

I have much more than I need so buying new stuff is going to be sporadic. And I'm ok with that. I think too much about stuff already. I have a list in my head of things I want when the things I have wear out. I need to just assume my stuff is going to last for a long time and not worry about it until I need to. The good thing about me buying quality stuff is it lasts for such a long time.

Swimming
I've said before that the great thing about swimming is it is easier for me to focus on working on technique rather than wondering what gadgets I can buy for this hobby / sport. I see so many people that bought watches, kickboards, pull buoys, fins, hand paddles, etc. And guess what? Most of them are not very good. They need to focus on technique and worry about the other stuff later. I'm still working on my technique.

A word about my swim gear. Goggles, suit, swim helmet, watch dial to count my laps. water bottle. That's all I have. Really, only the first two are needed. I use my girlfriend's fins and the pool's pull buoy. No interest in buying my own. The chlorine really kills my suit though. I switched to a dark color to prolong use. This Speedo Solar suit has made I about six months. My new Sporti Euro Brief is about ten dollars cheaper and it would be great if I can get it to last this long. It sure is small though...also will try just rinsing the suit and not using it in the hot tub to lengthen is life.
As a novice I never knew suits, goggles, and helmets were wear items. Chlorine just eats them up.

Internet addiction
I think I need to reduce my use of the internet to healthier levels. I think I've been addicted to it since it became available on mobile devices. It's great because anytime you have a question you can look it up immediately. It's horrible because when ever you are bored, it's like smoking...light it up to give you something to do.

So I've reduced the number of people I follow on Twitter, which does make it a little more boring and more like a news feed. I reduced the number of apps on my iPod Touch homepage. I already visit far less car blogs than I used to. I put retail websites bookmarks in a folder marked "consumer" so I will visit them less often.

Will any of this make a difference? What will I find when this form of entertainment is reduced? Boredom? I don't know but that's the nice thing about life. I have an opportunity to tweak it, try to change things if I want to, and learn a lot about myself in the process.

Cars
What is the longest you've owned a single car? My record is my current car...7 years and counting. I plan on owning it until it is too expensive to keep running. I checked and my family has owned the same car for up to 12-13 years! geez. As a car enthusiast I wonder if I would get bored having the same car for so long, but I really like my car so I might make it.