[1102] Kitchen Appliances

I'd like to make a list of kitchen appliances I'd love to have. I most likely will not give a brand since I have no idea what brands are good, so if I do share links it will be because I'm showing you what the appliance looks like. So here we go, in no particular order.

• A rice cooker. I'd love to own one of those high tech rice cookers, but even the most basic rice cooker can do a lot of things aside from cooking rice. You can steam in them and you can cook those rice cooker meals that became famous in different social media channels.
• An air fryer/oven combo. I am now an air fryer believer. I've eaten different food cooked in an air fryer and if it is indeed a healthier option then I am all for it. Plus having it be a combination oven then even better because you can toast bread, bake cakes, and do other things with this appliance. I can even make sandwiches here instead of using a panini press grill.
• A single induction cooker. Combine this with the two appliances I wrote above and you have a pretty good set of cooking appliances. This can be used for other things you can't cook in the rice cooker nor the air fryer. Make soups, stews, and fry stuff that will taste even better fried in oil.
• A microwave oven. Here's my grand vision: meal prep food every Sunday using all the appliances above. Store them in individual plastic containers and keep them in the freezer. Reheat with the microwave oven. So basically the microwave will serve as a defroster and a re-heater.
• A blender. I think this is more needed than a food processor since you can make shakes and smoothies with this. Yes you won't be able to mince and julienne ingredients with this but at least you can make shakes and smoothies.

And those are, so far, the kitchen appliances I would love to have.

Out.

[1101] Exercise

So I think it was a youtube video I watched where they said if you weren't feeling sore then your workout wasn't really gaining anything from your workouts. And honestly I've felt that way about almost any of my exercises since when I'm done I don't feel sore or anything.

It can be frustrating at times but then I need to remember what my goal is with my exercise, which is to hopefully maintain my fitness level and improve it a bit so I can have a nice health span.

Lately though I have been feeling sore. My hamstring and glute is sore, and I have no idea if it was because of the intermittent jog I did or the kettlebell complexes I do. Maybe it's a combination of both.

All I know is I've decided to bring back my reps in my kettlebell complex to 5 per exercise but I need to do at least four sets per workout. Movements should be slow and controlled and none of the explosive movements.

Then I did a 3km jog, and that's when I felt my right hamstring get sore, as well as my right glute.

Hopefully that just means the body parts are getting stronger.

Out.

[1100] Bike Build Idea

This one isn't as wild as a long tail cargo bike build, it'll be a "normal" drop bar bike build. So here we go.

I just watched Path Less Pedaled's video about Growtac's friction drop bar shifters. This basically means it's a "one size fits all" type of brifter than can accommodate any speed derailleurs. And this is where my crazy idea comes in.

I want those brifters. So I can "just" buy any RD and I won't have to replace the brifters. That's it.

I also want to own Growtac's Equal mechanical brake calipers, but man are they expensive.

Then add bike racks for bikepacking from Old Man Mountain.

Out.

[1099] Crazy Restomod Idea

So I've blogged a couple of times already about how I would love to restomod a classic VW Beetle. Well, this post won't be about a classic Beetle.

I got this idea recently when my mind was once again wandering and I was daydreaming of crazy car builds. So here's my idea.

I'll buy an old, locally sold Suzuki Super Carry minivan. The one sold here locally, based on a really quick Wikipedia search, was the eight generation. This guarantees that the base is indeed built for left-hand drive countries.

Here's where it gets fun. I then get one of those Japan surplus Suzuki Every van. As is. Then I have the experts strip everything and transplant it to the local Suzuki Carry. I'm not sure what can and can't be transferred, but hopefully the engine, transmission, drivetrain, and brakes can be transferred.

The wiring harness I'm not so sure if it can be transferred, but if it can hopefully it'll be wired for left-hand drive steering wheels where the wipers are on the right stalk and the light controls are on the left stalk. That's it.

Seats front and rear can be refurbished and improved from whatever seats are available and comfortable. Interior sounds should be the latest Android Auto and Apple Car Play ready head units with good quality speakers. Maybe even a nice amp if it can fit somewhere.

All the lights, both interior and exterior, should ideally be LED already and bright but not blinding for the headlights. Ideally add a bull bar in front so I can also have some fog lamps installed.

As for the rear, definitely adding a rear LED chase light bar on top of the rear hatch, hopefully having a custom built JDM looking spoiler on top of that. We can also probably add a step-ladded to climb up the roof, where a roof rack will also be installed.

Basically I just want an old Suzuki Carry with modern stuff so it won't be underpowered and hopefully be road trip ready.

Out.

[1098] 2024 Toyota Wigo G CVT

My family recently purchased a brand new 2024 Toyota Wigo G CVT. These are the reasons why we chose to get this vehicle.

• Practicality. We needed a car that could bring my wife and daughter to where they needed to go everyday. The car can seat four adults, or five but tight. It has enough trunk space to hold the usual stuff you bring to school and/or work.
• Fuel efficiency. So far the Wigo has been averaging around 10 - 11 km/L of fuel every week. This includes four work days, and it only usually doesn't go out on its number coding day. This is way better than our old 2001 Toyota Rav4 that usually averages around 6 km/L of fuel. That's almost double the distance you can travel on one liter of gas.
• Reliability. The "newest" car we previously had was 2011. The Rav4 was starting to break down (issues included replacing ignition coils and a refurbishment of the transmission). We needed a car that we would be confident wouldn't have surprise issues any time.
• Price. The Wigo G sells for PhP729k. I originally wanted the Wigo E which goes for PhP684k but since this was a family decision we decided on the higher spec model. No regrets. Except the color for me personally. Technically we were fine with the Wigo E but since the only color available was yellow it was only me who wanted it. We settled for grey metallic for the Wigo G. Again, it's a family decision.

Now you may be wondering why not just go for a used car? To be honest I was also looking at used cars and I was seriously considering getting one. However, the biggest reason why I chose not to get a used car is fuel efficiency. Yes I could have gotten a bigger vehicle with the same budget. However the vehicles I was looking at all had relatively poor fuel consumption. Some got 7 - 8 km/L which is still better than the Rav4, but not as efficient as the Wigo. And currently with fluctuating prices of gasoline I'd rather get the most efficient vehicle we could afford.

Then the available cars at my budget were a wee bit too old for my taste, usually seven years or older. If I looked at smaller cars, around Wigo or Vios sized, then to be honest it was still, at least for me, the better bang for the buck to go with a brand new car.

Finally, why didn't I go with the Suzuki S-Presso or the Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback? Well for the former it was a safety thing. The Wigo is rated 4-stars while the S-Presso is rated at only 3-stars. The Mirage is just way more expensive than the Wigo and I'm not sure how okay Mitsubishis are.

So there you have it.

Out.