Starbucks Japan: American Cherry Pie Frap
Now this is a Starbucks Frappuccino that I actually wouldn’t mind trying. Unfortunately, the American Cherry Pie Frappuccino is available only in Japan from April 13 to May 16.
My MacBook Pro Saga Ends
Four months later, the saga comes to an end with the receipt of this final shipment.
The saga started in January when I received my MacBook Pro charger and charging cable. A few days later, another USB-C dongle showed up. Now in April, my USB-C dongle life is full with the ThunderBolt and Ethernet adapters.
My Kryptonite
My weakness must obviously be red cinders. While moving bags of these cinders, my back seized up, and I’m still in pain.
Stay away from red cinders, and don’t get old.
Hawaii Ocean Expo 2017 Poke Eating Contest
A new year, a new event, a new food, but the results are well… watch and see.
This was the first ever poke eating contest at the Hawaii Ocean Expo.
Need more gut-busting amazement? Check out his first win at the Farm Fair in 2009 followed by a victory in 2014. Now add spicy ahi poke to the list of defeated foods. Simply the best.
Where’s the Caffeine, Costco?!?
Is this an epidemic or just bad timing? I’ve been to two different Costco locations in the past two weeks, and on both occasions, I haven’t been able to find their signature Seattle Mountain Coffee in anything other than decaf. What’s up with that?
There are other caffeinated coffee brands available like Starbucks, Kauai Coffee, Peet’s, and more, but my all around, go-to choice is missing. Hopefully, this is just a temporary outage, not a sign of permanent changes to come.
Starbucks Toasted Coconut Cold Brew Is Bitter
I don’t know if I just had a bad one, but I found Starbucks’s new Toasted Coconut Cold Brew to be way too bitter. My drink was nearly undrinkable without diluting it with creamer. Yes, the coconut taste is definitely detectable, but I hope that toasted aspect isn’t the cause of the overall bitterness.
Granted I love the Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew, so this new flavor combination could just be so different from what I was expecting. I just don’t know, but if my second taste is the same as my first then this drink is off my list.
UPS Store in Kailua Temporarily Closing
If you have to return your Nike purchase via UPS soon, do so before the weekend when the UPS location in Kailua will be closing its doors. But this is only temporary as some kind of short term renovation is done over from April 7 to 10.
The Next Fashion Crush at Target
The next fashion crush at Target will happen this Sunday on April 9, 2017. My only source of this information is this poster announcing the launch of Victoria Beckham’s clothing line collaboration with Target.
If this is like other collaborations in Target’s past, the store will be stormed and inventory wiped out essentially that day.
Kicks Analysis 2017 #8: The Champ
Too much Jordan. Has to be, but in any case, North Carolina barely outlasted Gonzaga in the Finals of 2017 Men’s NCAA basketball season. It was tight until the end before that 9-2 burst by the Tarheels did in the Bulldogs.
Of course, I was rooting for the underdog since the Gonzaga basketball program has yet to win a National Championship, but how can you fault the “opposing” team for wearing the Cool Gray colorway of the Air Jordan 11?
Going back to 1999, the kicks title looks like this:
- 1999 Connecticut (Nike)
- 2000 Michigan State (Reebok Answers)
- 2001 Duke (Nike)
- 2002 Maryland (Nike Shox Stunners)
- 2003 Syracuse (Nike Shox)
- 2004 Connecticut (Nike Lebron Zoom Generation and Air Force Operates)
- 2005 North Carolina (Nike Retro Jordan X)
- 2006 Florida (Nike)
- 2007 Florida (Nike)
- 2008 Kansas (Adidas)
- 2009 North Carolina (Nike)
- 2010 Duke (Nike)
- 2011 Connecticut (Nike)
- 2012 Kentucky (Nike)
- 2013 Louisville (Adidas)
- 2014 Connecticut (Nike Kobe 8 or Venomenon)
- 2015 Duke (Nike)
- 2016 Villanova (Nike Kyrie 2)
- 2017 North Carolina (Nike/Jordan)
That’s 16 championships for Nike in the past 19 years, upping the Swoosh’s winning percentage to 84%. Congratulations to the Tar Heels and Nike.
Researching Data Plans for Japan
Staring up some research on mobile data plans while in Japan. A pocket wifi device is a very popular option and frompineapples has a rundown on vendors. Decent prices, fast speeds, lots of data capacity, but it’s a shared resource that also needs charging (or an extra battery).
Global Advanced Communications and the Wifi Rental Store look like solid starts. Delivery of the device to your hotel appears to be a common convenience, otherwise pickup at the airport is an option.
bmobile offers a data-only SIM card for mobile phones that are unlocked. Their plan goes for 21 days and offers 5 GB of data. But at its cost, you could get two SIMS for phones for the price of one pocket wifi. That means you’d have two phones that work independently, not tethered to the proximity of a pocket wifi. And since you’re using your own phone, you already have its charging routine down with perhaps an external battery charger. But since you are most likely using a non-native phone, you can’t connect to Japan’s super high speed data network. The hardware and network commonality is at 4G, not LTE.
Depending on the number of devices, we may have to go with a hybrid approach. One shared pocket wifi along with a few SIMs, one per family? More research to do…
Kicks Analysis 2017 #7: The Finals
It’s over… from a kicks point of view anyways. Nike has another championship locked down with North Carolina and Gonzaga playing in the finals. Starting out, Nike had a 59% chance for one of its teams to win it all. Under Armour and Adidas were close to each other at 19% and 22% respectively.
For the Sweet Sixteen, Nike’s odds increased to 75%, and Adidas and UA were at 12.5% each.
In the Elite 8, Nike maintained its 75% mark meaning Adidas and Under Armour again had 12.5%.
The Final Four featured three Nike teams, again 75% of the teams, with only Under Armour remaining.
Now with the Bulldogs battling the Tar Heels, Nike has a 100% chance of winning.
On Monday, it’s Jordans versus LeBrons, Kobes, Kyries, and KDs.
Kicks Analysis 2017 #6: The Final Four
One down, and I’m surprised (as well as bummed since that’s the end of my bracket). Kansas and Adidas are out, leaving Nike with Gonzaga, North Carolina, and Oregon. Under Armour is still scrapping on then backs of the South Carolina Gamecocks.
