Looking at Pulpconnection stats for today (Wednesday, June 24, 2015), here are my favorite search terms:
While I don’t define portague jokes, the post, 21 Slang Words You Should Know Before Visiting Hawaii, discusses haole aka howie haiwaiian mainlander.
Really, it’s HyperFr3sh with the number 3 replacing the letter “e” but you know what Nike means.
Kinda interesting looking, but I passed. Not a fan of that fat heel look though I like that tropical motif. Available in Hong Kong right now and supposedly coming to the States in July.
The days of stopping by Foot Locker at the mall to look for new shoe releases are long since gone. In this modern, connected times, there are no kicks secrets. Sites publish release dates way in advance and build the hype as releases gets closer. Now with software-based bots to speed up online purchases, coppin’ popular favorites is very difficult.
A simple suggestion for this dilemma is to increase your view and look to alternate stores. Everyone knows about nike.com, Footloocker, and the neighborhood boutique kicks carriers. But you might be pleasantly surprised at what’s available elsewhere. Like where? There’s the hit-or-miss searching at Ross and other discount stores. You just never know what you’ll find. Zappos sells mainly mainstream shoes, but it doesn’t hurt to search their site for a specific model.
One of my recent favorites is Nordstrom. Yup, that Nordstrom. Not only do they carry a variety of athletic shoes, they feature their Sneaker Project collection. This upscale retailer doesn’t only offer conservative kicks; they have an eclectic collection including Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Saucony, Asics, and more. Online inventory is expectedly much better than what’s in brick-and-mortar stores, but I still nod at what I see in-store.
An alternate shoe source in Hawaii is the luxurious Leather Soul. Leather Soul is a purveyor of the finest, so carrying lifestyle sneakers may seem far-fetched unless you’re a New Balance fan. Just don’t expect just any NB model at Leather Soul. Think upscale like the NB Connoisseur lineup.
I saw @ryankanno wearing these NB M1300BK from the Connoisseur Painter’s collection and with the pop of color, these kicks polished off his look.
The world of kicks is a big place. Take a look around, see what’s out there, and you’ll find kicks that you can indeed cop.
Did you notice the similar but different words, assure, insure, and ensure? I hadn’t thought much about them until Pulpy reader @abaggy pointed out my usage of ensured versus assured.
Here’s what Dictionary.com says about this trio:
Basically, insure, ensure, and assure mean to make a person or thing more sure. Insure should be restricted to providing or obtaining insurance to indemnify or guarantee someone or something against a loss. Ensure can be used in all other senses, especially ‘to make certain’. Ensure can also imply a guarantee. Then there is a third word, assure, which means to make a promise or convince. Assure also implies the removal of doubt and suspense within someone’s mind.
So in my post, either “ensure” or “assure” would have worked. Irregardless, for all intensive purposes, I assure you that the pain of making color copies was too much. Anyways, it’s all a mute point.
So you know not to sleep on’em, and while that may be scary to plunk down cash on a pair of unknown kicks, the second kicks coppin’ rule will alleviate your concern. Know the return policy.
I’m surprised at how good return policies are. There are a few businesses that make returns difficult or costly, but for the most part, many offer liberal return policies. No cause for returns, no restocking fee, no shipping charges – look for these clauses with the business you’re dealing with. Most do have a return timeframe, usually 30 days, but that’s sufficient time to figure out if you’re keeping your kicks. Even after the 30-day window, some vendors may accept the return but issue store credit instead of a refund.
Nike has free shipping for orders more than $75 for members (membership is free). This is okay for regular kicks purchases, but you may run into issues with clearance kicks that are less than $75. But you can always buy more to get over the minimum cost then return the unwanted items. Who knows? You may keep everything.
If you’re shopping for shoes aka kicks coppin’, there are a few rules you should know and heed. The first rule is don’t sleep on’em, meaning if you see a pair of shoes that you’re interested in and your size is available, you should buy now and return later.
If you wait and sleep on your purchase, the shoes will be gone. The kicks game moves so fast now, especially with limited runs, special releases, and a very competitive connected marketplace out there. This rule just doesn’t apply to online purchases but in real life as well. You may be able to sit on your purchase at a retail location like Foot Locker, but at a discount store like Ross, most definitely buy now. You never know about Ross’ inventory so you may never see that pair of kicks again, even at other locations.
Don’t sleep on’em was a lesson driven home today. This morning I came across the Saucony G9 Shadow 6 Mint Chocolate Chip, the first from its Scoops Pack. When I looked at the online sizing, there was every size, and since I didn’t know much about Saucony, I wanted to read up. Time passed and when I re-engaged two hours later, guess what? Yup, sold out. No mint chocolate chip for me, and I’m guessing ever again since I doubt there’ll be a restock.
If you see’em, get’em, and don’t sleep on’em!
I’m intrigued by all things Tesla including their newest product, the Powerwall. The Powerwall is essentially a Tesla battery installed in the home to store excess power which can then be used later like during a power outage. Additionally, the Powerwall can charge itself when electricity rates are cheaper and then provides power to your home to avoid high cost peak times. But since Hawaii doesn’t tier its electricity rates for residences, that downplays a big feature of the Powerwall.
Couple the Powerwall with PV solar and the situation becomes more compelling. Assuming you don’t have enough solar panels to “zeroize” your electricity bill then the Powerwall could store excess electricity produced by the sun and when your home’s power consumption increases, the Powerwall provides the free power rather than getting it from (and paying) HECO.
But is this worth the $3000-3500 price tag of a single Powerwall (not including installation and other ancillary equipment)? I don’t know if there are tax considerations. More than one Powerwall can be interconnected by the way if you’re trying to live off the power grid.
Supposedly, Hawaii has the highest electrical rates in the country, and the U.S. Energy Information Admininstration says the average American home consumes about 11,000 kWh per year or about 30 kWh per day. This equates to getting three 10 kWh Powerwalls for $10,500 to store enough power daily (generated from solar) and remove your home from the commercial power grid.
Looking at my power usage (and assuming I’m doing the math right), it looks like my household averages usage of 4.3 kWh per day for months that we get power from HECO. That’s far short from the estimated 30 kWh for an average home. Anyways, with that 4.3 kWh daily usage, the 7 kWh Powerwall unit for $3000 should suffice and with room to spare.
But looking at my HECO bill, my solar panels don’t generate enough to juice up the Powerwall. So I’m not sure how it works. Do you initially charge the Powerwall using HECO and solar. Then when charged, your house draws from the Powerwall first then when depleted falls back to HECO? If that’s the case, I should be good shape with my daily average of 4.3 kWh. I would have to see the solar production numbers to verify that it can keep up that 4.3 kWh depletion. Then in theory, I would be paying the minimum monthly bill to HECO (after that Powerwall charge up).
Looking over one year’s worth of electricity bills and factoring out the roughly $18 minimum bill, I’d be saving around $360 in one year. So roughly, that equates to a 10 year return on investment?? The Powerwall does include a 10-year warranty with optional 10-year extension. Having power when the grid goes down (which seems to happen at least once a year for us) is a benefit although the 7 kWh Powerwall wasn’t designed for this (that’s the intent of the 10 kWh model but assuming only capacities differ, I’m guessing the smaller unit can serve as a power backup for a home).
Again, I’m not sure if my rough calculations are on track. But looking at my power usage, there seems to be enough benefits for Tesla’s Powerwall – paid off in about ten years (under warranty), not relying on HECO (as much), and having power during blackout and brownouts.
Each time I go hand-to-hand with Microsoft SharePoint, I get my ass whooped. Call it a learning experience, but I’m getting tired of it. I don’t know how organizations adopt SharePoint without also heavily investing in developers and/or experts to make SharePoint do what you want.
While I’ve learned that SharePoint can do stuff, making it do stuff is entirely different. I’m looking at our average workforce who uses SharePoint, and I know they don’t have the want to figure out how to make SharePoint do stuff. Lots of seemingly simply stuff is not so simple to do and as you figure it out, you’ll get a SharePoint beat down.
Only recently, I think I’ve tamed Content Types and actually used them correctly. But now that I’m thinking about it, I think I scoped some columns incorrectly, meaning SharePoint has just won again.
A mere two days after the release of Lilly Pulitzer’s affordable collection at Target, it’s like it never happened. On Sunday, Lilly fans overwhelmed Target and its stock. On Tuesday, there was nothing to be found. Even the signage celebrating the collection was removed, and all the clothing displays reset. You would’ve been none the wiser.
But scouring around,I did manage to find two Lilly Pulitzer products proving the release did indeed happen.
But by now, I’m sure there’s no trace of the Lilly + Target line.
I so wanted to love these shoes, but in the end, I had to pass on them. The Adidas Tubulars have been out for a few months and while they caught my eye, I just didn’t act…until I saw someone wearing them. The silhouette of the Tubulars was distinctive, but the texture and colorway muted the uniqueness into sneaker-ish sophistication. Then I saw the new batch of colorways announced by Adidas, and I had to go looking for the Tubulars. Hawaiian camo!?!?
Sadly, when I tried on a Tubular size 10, they were considerably too big. A half size down to 9.5, and they were still too roomy. Dropping to a 9 was just too snug. This unusual sizing might be due to the single layer bootie-like makeup of the upper. Instead of your typical shoe with a tongue, the Tubulars upper is like a sock made out of Neoprene. Because of the construction and material choice, the upper is also very pliable like the Nike Roshe Run and Adidas ZX Flux. With stretchy Neoprene, you just won’t get that lockdown feel or rigid structural support no matter how tightly laced they are. Me and my flat arches need more TLC.
Surprisingly, the exaggerated EVA outsole felt pretty good. Even with its hollowed out middle, the ring of EVA was firm with tacky traction. Overall, the shoe is very light in weight. But that size. I just couldn’t find a size that fit just right. Too big or too small. It’s like I needed a size 9.25.
Even more sad, Champs Sports had a few (original) colors discounted $30, going for $80 instead of $110.
I wish I coulda loved me some Tubulars…
The nostalgia of summers past is rolling out at Starbucks with their upcoming S’mores Frappuccino. Starting on April 28, 2015, Starbucks will inspire you with the nostalgic experience of roasting S’mores. That means that you’ll be sucking down:
marshmallow-infused whipped cream and milk chocolate sauce, a creamy blend of graham, coffee, milk and ice, then finished off with more mashmallowy whipped cream and a graham cracker crumble.
Not really a summer memory I can recall in Hawaii. Maybe if Starbucks made a rainbow shave ice inspired drink then I could relate more. But no matter, I’ll try one of these S’mores Frappuccino, especially since the Hammer signal was beaconing this morning. Although it was a bit too early for my radio listening, other Pulpy fans told me about reviewing this drink for one Gregg Hammer.
No, I didn’t pre-order an Apple Watch, wanting to see it in person first. So I scheduled a fifteen minute appointment to try on Apple’s newest wearable at the Ala Moana Apple Store, but those fifteen minutes are woefully short. Other than making an appointment, there’s no way of actually putting an Apple Watch on your wrist. The demo units are either behind a case or mounted in a display.
The appointment runs through an educational demo of the Apple Watch. It’s kinda cool, but kinda lame since you’re standing there bed to your Apple concierge essentially watching a tutorial about the Apple Watch. The fun begins when you try on the different sizes and bands.
Guys definitely need the 42mm model. The 38mm looks too small and the band itself will barely fit. I could not slip my wrist through the 38mm Milanese Loop band.
A quick physical comparison to my Kickstarted Pebble watch, the 42mm Apple Watch is actually smaller. However, the craftsmanship and feel cannot be compared with the Apple Watch.
I’m not totally digging the Sport’s fluoroelastomer band. Yeah, it feels good, but I had a hard time putting it on single-handedly. It doesn’t align easily since you have to insert the pin first then tuck the excess band on the inside of the band. When taking off the Sport band, it comes off too readily, making for accidental drops.
The watch bands are easy to interchange, but personally, I don’t think all the bands match with the aluminum finish of the Sport model in case you’re thinking of “upgrading” your Apple Watch.
The display of the Apple Watch is clear and crisp if not tiny. Looking at watch faces and well-designed activity monitors is fine. But trying to use Maps is too difficult for aged eyes. I guess the point is to use audio or haptic feedback to guide your directions.
The general consensus is to buy the most inexpensive Apple Watch Sport model to minimize your investment in a first generation device. That’s very sound advice. Heed that advice and don’t try on the stainless steel Apple Watch. Otherwise, you very well may disregard that logical advice. I’m not sure what it was, but when I tried on the steel Apple Watch, it simply resonated with me. It felt heavier, making me more conscious about wearing it, but it wasn’t a burden. The leather strap definitely projected sophistication, and the magnetic closures felt more sure than the pin-and-tuck Sport band. Maybe I was imagining things, but I thought the steel itself felt cooler. Touching the sapphire crystal face, it felt smoother than the Ion-X glass of the Sport. And the stainless steel finish simply has an elegance missing from the anodized aluminum Sport. Trying on the Apple steel will only make your buying decision harder.
Initially, I was leaning to the Sport model in silver with a white band. But space gray with the black band is now my preferred Sport model. Seeing the gray/black combo stands out next to its colorful family members. But yes, the steel outshines all the Sports.
And there went my allotted 15 minutes. In fact, my appointment went overtime, nearly at 25 minutes, and it still wasn’t enough to adequately comprehend and assess the Apple Watch. I still haven’t figured out which watch to get.
While at the Apple Store at Ala Moana, I ran across Ryan Ozawa and Burt Lum there for their try-on appointments. Here is Ryan’s Apple Watch post, and watch Burt’s video entering the store.
