Modern Simple Living

Gear Review Review of the Seiko Chronograph SSB003 A budget-friendly timepiece for everyday versatility ~4 Months Owned 1 Model Reviewed 1 Strap Paired 2 Brands Mentioned Table of Contents ① Design and Comfort ② Performance and Usability ③ Everyday Versatility ④ Conclusion I purchased the Seiko Chronograph model SSB003 about four months ago in November 2014, and it has quickly become a favorite in my collection. Here’s a brief overview of my experience with this timepiece.     Section I Design and Comfort The stock metal bracelet is comfortable enough for daily wear, but I prefer the look and feel of the watch on a leather strap. Currently, I have it paired with a Hirsch Liberty strap, which contrasts beautifully with the silver dial. This combination gives the watch a classic yet understated appearance—almost like a 'poor man's' Hamilton Khaki. Section II Performance and Usability The main issue is its legibility in low-light conditions; the lack of luminescent mater...

Gear Review Linux RAID 0 on USB Flash Drives *Doubling Speed and Storage with Off-the-Shelf USBs* 2 Drives 64 GB Array RAID 0 ~50% Read Increase Table of Contents ① Introduction: The Quest for USB RAID ② Building the RAID 0 Array ③ Performance Benchmarks ④ Conclusion: Practicality and Future Thoughts Section I Introduction: The Quest for USB RAID I was able to create a Linux RAID 0 Array with two (2) SanDisk 32gb Ultra USB 3.0 Flash Drives. I opted for RAID 0 - Striping as it would give me one logical 64gb Drive with theoretically 'double' the speed. Due to the Linux Test Machine having only USB 2.0 ports, the theoretical maximum it could achieve is limited by USB 2.0 max speed of 480mbits/sec (roughly 60mb/sec).   Section II Building the RAID 0 Array Initial Setup & Single Drive Performance Initial test of a Single USB Flash Drive showed a 30mb/sec Read Speed. To begin, I installed mdadm , which was conveniently located in the Ubuntu Software Center. I reviewed other ...

Gear Review Quick Review of the SanDisk CZ48 USB 3.0 Ultra Flash Drives _A personal take on a budget-friendly USB 3.0 drive's performance._ 32 GB Capacity 2 Items ~$17 Price 75 MB/s Read 25 MB/s Write Table of Contents ① Performance ② Pros ③ Cons ④ Conclusion I recently purchased two 32GB SanDisk CZ48 USB 3.0 Ultra Flash Drives for $17 each on Amazon. If I had acted a bit sooner, I might have snagged them for $14.99 each, but that’s hindsight for you. Here’s a breakdown of my experience with one of these drives, particularly during large file transfers.   Section I Performance Read/Write Speeds → Read Speed — 75 MB/second → Write Speed — 25 MB/second SanDisk clearly states that the CZ48 drives are optimized for read speed. The write speed of 25 MB/second is decent, especially compared to the 4-10 MB/second speeds I typically got with USB 2.0 drives. Given that these drives are priced similarly to USB 2.0 Cruzer Glides of the same capacity, opting for the CZ48 Ultra is a no-b...

Gear Review Audio-Technica MTH-50 Review: One Year Later An enduring review of the Audio-Technica MTH-50 headphones after a year of use. ~1 Year Ownership MTH-50 Model ~5-10 Years Projected Life Reviewed Mar 2014 Table of Contents ① The Long-Term Listen ② Durability and Wear ③ Recommendation Section I The Long-Term Listen It has been almost a year since I purchased the Audio-Technica MTH-50 headphones, and they are still going strong. I blogged about them back in March 2014, and I can confidently say they continue to sound fantastic—perhaps even better than when I first got them. While I wouldn’t necessarily attribute this improvement to "burn-in," I do think that as you become accustomed to their sound signature, you start to notice more of the subtle details that might have been blurry or drowned out in cheaper headphones.   Section II Durability and Wear In hindsight, the 'white' color looked cool initially, but it has proven to be a magnet for dirt and grime. ...