Sounds like your sales rep may not have explained leasing to you properly. Was it constructed with a specific amount of miles per year...say 12000 instead of what you actually needed? A properly built lease can be a great way to buy vehicles. You get a new one every three years or so and the buyout should always reflect actual mileage on the vehicle. So on your van, at the end of 3 years, the buyout should have reflected there were 200,000 miles on it...or however many years you were leasing it for.
Dignity and the Wet shave
- Thread starter BigAlVista
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #202
Day 17: Thorns and Ferns
Following a busy weekend of long rehab walks and car shopping, I'm spending the morning doing my very finest impression of a ground sloth. It's 8:23am, I've been awake for three hours, and I haven't yet sat upright.
I've not been completely useless. I connected with an electrician to get a quote on a level 2 car charger installation, I ordered a magnetic mount blue light bar for my new car, and I reached out to Verizon to see if my fire department would be eligible for priority connectivity on the cellular network.
All this typing upwards is giving my delts, biceps and triceps a good workout!
My $18 Twig was successfully swapped for a Thorn and I am looking forward to taking it for a test drive on my face in a few minutes. It looks almost identical to the Twig, but the safety bar seems to stick out a bit further. I wonder if the exposure is different as well?
Time to get my lazy butt out of bed and find out:
Today's Shave of the Day:
Following a busy weekend of long rehab walks and car shopping, I'm spending the morning doing my very finest impression of a ground sloth. It's 8:23am, I've been awake for three hours, and I haven't yet sat upright.
I've not been completely useless. I connected with an electrician to get a quote on a level 2 car charger installation, I ordered a magnetic mount blue light bar for my new car, and I reached out to Verizon to see if my fire department would be eligible for priority connectivity on the cellular network.
All this typing upwards is giving my delts, biceps and triceps a good workout!
My $18 Twig was successfully swapped for a Thorn and I am looking forward to taking it for a test drive on my face in a few minutes. It looks almost identical to the Twig, but the safety bar seems to stick out a bit further. I wonder if the exposure is different as well?
Time to get my lazy butt out of bed and find out:
Today's Shave of the Day:
| Pre-Shave | BigAlVista's Shave Butter, PAA cube and Grooming Dept. Mojito Preshave |
| Soap/Cream | SV Felce |
| Brush | SV 2-band |
| Scuttle | Pereira |
| Razor | Leaf Thorn |
| Blade | Feather (2) |
| 1st Pass Eval | 8.9 |
| 2nd Pass Eval | 8.6 |
| 3rd / Buffing Pass Eval | 6 |
| Razer, Blade and Cream Observations | A Feather half-blade did not make it through the second shave before it became irritating. Will need to try the Thorn with a fresh Nacet and again with a Kai. Maybe a Wizamet as well. So many choices. Love it! |
| Post Shave | Thayers, AofS Bourbon balm |
| Cologne/Fragrance | SV Felce |
| Overall Efficiency | 7 |
| End of Shave Irritation | 5 |
| Nicks | 0 |
| Weepers | 0 |
| Overall Shave Rating | 6.5. DFS, but too much iritation |
| Comments | The shave started out really strong with an excellent first pass. Second pass started to irritate and cleanup was rough. The blade clamping does not appear to be as tight as with well made CNC base plates and caps. |
The lease was set up for 15K miles a year.. with heavy penalties for exceeding the mileage at the end. I sold the van and broke even as I didn't have to pay the penalty for exceeding the mileage allowance. My boss at the time wasn't that stellar and it was my first venture into sales. It was quite an adjustment coming from carpentry into sales, but it turned out, I was good at providing people equipment that solved their manufacturing problems.
After that fiasco, I bought Volvo 240s with 100k miles on them and drove them to around 250K. When you drive that many miles a year, which I did for 19 years. new cars are a waste of money.
I have zero experience with leaf razors, but from what I have read the Thorn is considered more aggressive over the Twig - some even say much more aggressive. So that might contribute to your second and third pass?
Guido
- Thread starter
- #205
Absolutely a possibility. I may try a Wizamet next for just that possibility.
I had a few fiddly moments with the Thorn, getting the cap straight and tight etc. But a bit of practise and it's all good.
- Thread starter
- #207
Day 18: BigAl's Purchasing Process
Generally, there is a method to my madness.
Generally.
When it comes to purchasing things that are important to me, I often take the following approach:
At $18, the Thorn kills it in the mid tier bracket. Now to find a blade.
It's hard to use BigAl's Purchasing Process on razor blades. The prices are similar, the features highly overlapping, there are only a few vendors, and reviews are mostly subjective.
Based on the nature of the Thorne's blade clamping mechanism and my own expetience, I want to try the relatively rigid Kai blade. Based on the irritation I had with the Feather, I want to try a Wizamet or a Rapira Platinum Luxe. Based on recommendations, I should try a Nacet, Perma-Sharp or GSB
So much to try. So little time!
Today's shave of the day:
Generally, there is a method to my madness.
Generally.
When it comes to purchasing things that are important to me, I often take the following approach:
- Through research, develop an understanding of the available products/services and the organizations that make or sell them
- Identify 3-5 vendors/manufacturers in the Space based on my specific objectives and general information on pricing. Through additional research, develop an opinion on their relative strengths and weaknesses of these firms (values, reputation, place in the market)
- From each Vendor, identify the top 1-3 products/services that might serve my purpose
- Research each offering and stack rank them based on relevant non-price criteria.
- Segment the list into three three tiers. Discard the offerings from the lowest tier.
- Within what was the middle tier, determine if there is a significant differential in price between any of those offerings and those in the top tier. Remove from the list any middle tier offerings priced similarly to or greater than top tier products.
- Retain the top 2 mid tier offerings
- Within the top tier, if a product is priced materially higher than a product ranked as better, remove it from the list. If there are more than 2 top tier products, do additional research to narrow the list down to 2.
- I ask myself "Are the top tier offerings worth the extra money?" If so, pick one of the top tier offerings, otherwise, I pick one from the middle tier.
At $18, the Thorn kills it in the mid tier bracket. Now to find a blade.
It's hard to use BigAl's Purchasing Process on razor blades. The prices are similar, the features highly overlapping, there are only a few vendors, and reviews are mostly subjective.
Based on the nature of the Thorne's blade clamping mechanism and my own expetience, I want to try the relatively rigid Kai blade. Based on the irritation I had with the Feather, I want to try a Wizamet or a Rapira Platinum Luxe. Based on recommendations, I should try a Nacet, Perma-Sharp or GSB
So much to try. So little time!
Today's shave of the day:
| Pre-Shave | BigAlVista's Shave Butter, PAA cube and Grooming Dept. Mojito Preshave |
| Soap/Cream | SV Felce |
| Brush | AP Shave Co. W/25mm Muhle STF knot |
| Scuttle | Pereira |
| Razor | Leaf Thorn |
| Blade | Wizamet |
| 1st Pass Eval | 8.7 |
| 2nd Pass Eval | 9.0 |
| 3rd / Buffing Pass Eval | 9.0 |
| Razer, Blade and Cream Observations | The razor does not appear to be aggressive enough for the Wizamet. Need to try a Nacet next |
| Post Shave | Thayers, AofS Bourbon balm |
| Cologne/Fragrance | SV Felce |
| Overall Efficiency | 8.7 |
| End of Shave Irritation | Moderate irritation chasing a BBS face. |
| Nicks | 0 |
| Weepers | 0 |
| Overall Shave Rating | 8.9: BBS- |
| Comments | First pass yielded a CCS. Second, a DFS. Buffing could not get the shave where I wanted it to be. |
- Thread starter
- #208
Day 19: Ants In My Pants
Yesterday afternoon, I see a big box at my front door. While my many acquisition disorders might have been the root cause for this delivery, a quick check of my Amazon and Shopify accounts ruled that out. Did I order something else and just forgot?
I may need professional help.
I see a red "perishable" label affixed to the top. Hmm... I grab my trusty Crawford pocket knife, cut the tape and open a beautiful box of almost ripe, curated fruits. A card on the box says "Hope you are doing well, your friends at work"
Inside my head, I am ready to get back to my desk, and the inbox which is approaching the 4-digit mark of unread messages since I went on leave. So much for my OOO message. I've been home from the hospital for 19 days and away from work for 25. By the time I get back, I'm going to have to send everyone in my service line an appology note. "Sorry I missed your messages. I was having my head reattached to my shoulders. Now that it's clear I can move without a wheelchair, breathe without an iron lung, and type with a normal keyboard rather than one based on the movements of my retina, I will priorize your message, along with the 1,500 others I received while out. I should get back to you sometime within the 48 hours months."
I hope the healing speeds up. That inbox is not going to just go away in a fashion I would be happy with. Until then, I will just try to take my own advise, and appreciate each and every moment. Today, I'm going to appreciate a nice, relaxing shave and some lovely fresh fruit, courtesy of my wonderful colleagues.
Today's shave of the day:
Yesterday afternoon, I see a big box at my front door. While my many acquisition disorders might have been the root cause for this delivery, a quick check of my Amazon and Shopify accounts ruled that out. Did I order something else and just forgot?
I may need professional help.
I see a red "perishable" label affixed to the top. Hmm... I grab my trusty Crawford pocket knife, cut the tape and open a beautiful box of almost ripe, curated fruits. A card on the box says "Hope you are doing well, your friends at work"
Inside my head, I am ready to get back to my desk, and the inbox which is approaching the 4-digit mark of unread messages since I went on leave. So much for my OOO message. I've been home from the hospital for 19 days and away from work for 25. By the time I get back, I'm going to have to send everyone in my service line an appology note. "Sorry I missed your messages. I was having my head reattached to my shoulders. Now that it's clear I can move without a wheelchair, breathe without an iron lung, and type with a normal keyboard rather than one based on the movements of my retina, I will priorize your message, along with the 1,500 others I received while out. I should get back to you sometime within the 48 hours months."
I hope the healing speeds up. That inbox is not going to just go away in a fashion I would be happy with. Until then, I will just try to take my own advise, and appreciate each and every moment. Today, I'm going to appreciate a nice, relaxing shave and some lovely fresh fruit, courtesy of my wonderful colleagues.
Today's shave of the day:
| Pre-Shave | BigAlVista's Shave Butter, PAA cube and Grooming Dept. Mojito Preshave |
| Soap/Cream | AofS Sandlewood |
| Brush | SV Ebony |
| Scuttle | Pereira |
| Razor | Blackbird Lite |
| Blade | London Bridge - UK (1) |
| 1st Pass Eval | 9.0 |
| 2nd Pass Eval | 9.1 |
| 3rd / Buffing Pass Eval | 9.2 |
| Razer, Blade and Cream Observations | The razor and blade yielded a 1 pass DFS and a BBS- shave by the end of the second pass. The combo was not efficient enough to give me a solid BBS shave with moderate touch up/ buffing |
| Post Shave | Thayers, AofS Bourbon balm |
| Cologne/Fragrance | Channel Allure |
| Overall Efficiency | Moderate |
| End of Shave Irritation | Some minor irritation chasing a BBS face. |
| Nicks | 0 |
| Weepers | 0 |
| Overall Shave Rating | 9.2: BBS- |
| Comments | Solid shave. May try the standard BB plate for the next one with this blade. |
- Thread starter
- #209
Day 20: Investing in Expertise
When I received my first DE razor (Merkur 39C), I knew there would be a learning curve, but I didn't expect it to be an expensive one. There was the razor, a few tucks of blades, a few soaps, croaps and creams, a bit of aftershave and done. Right?
While that's true, it's really not the full story. One can typically get comfortable with something for one price, but to become an expert can require a whole other level of investment, both in terms of time and cash out the door.
I'm one year into my wet shaving journey, have about 150 hours of hands-on experience, and probably another 300 hours of "studying". If it takes about 6,000 hours to become an expert at something, I've a long way to go, if I were to take that on. On the $$$ side of things, I've purchased and gotten comfortable with about a dozen each of razors, brushes, shaving soap base formulas, and after shave products. I can reliably give myself a DFS/BBS shave without breaking the "no blood on the furniture" rule.
An interesting question is how much of an expert does one need to be with something?
In one's career, as a parent, and as a husband, I believe you need to continually strive to be the best, noting that conflicting interests force us to make difficult decisions and satisfice. I've spent over 30 years in the technoloogy consulting business. For that, I shelled out serious Ka-Ching for a Stern MBA and accrued those 6,000 hours through long work weeks and lifetime Marriott Platinum status travel. As a father, I've paid for braces, baseball bats, bicycles and automobiles. The investment in time never stops. My parents, both in their 80's still call me with important reminders like: "It's going to be cold today. Wear a warm jacket". They are still striving for expertise in their parental roles. As a husband, I've purchased a home, cars, jewelry, dinners, movie tickets, trips to Poland and flower bouquets. Like with being a father, learning to be an expert spouse is continual. Am I a good enough listener? Can I appreciate how my wife felt when her boss went on a tirade at work this week?
What about the next level of priorities in one's life. Do we need to be an expert in those?
When I look in the mirror, I like to see a Renaissance man. I like photography, so I apprenticed with a well known photographer in college and spent six months documenting the American experience. The cost? Cameras, lenses, film and darkroom equipment. I like food, so I studied the culinary arts in Europe and regularly make nice meals. The cost? A fancy kitchen and a deck full of BBQ and grilling equipment. I like to write, so I worked as a stringer for a regional newspaper when I was in my early twenties, and had a monthly column on volunteerism in my local paper when I was in my forties. The cost? Time not spent at work, with my family or with my friends. I feel it's important to give back to the community, so I trained to become a motor pump operator and ambulance driver for my local volunteer fire department. The cost? Duty cloths, a blue light bar for the car, ongoing training, and sleepless nights when I am on call. I believe it's important to be accountable for my own safety and for the safety of my family, so I studied martial arts and became a range safety officer and pistol instructor for a local gun club, where I try to train every week. The cost? Lessons, ammunition firearms, and insurance premiums.
While I would not consider myself an expert at these secondary interests, I've gotten to a point with all of them where I am capable and competant.
I've spent a good bit of time these past few days learning about electric cars, the car I just leased, and how to take care of it. 12 hours of reading. I purchased an adapter plug ($300), a level two charger ($550) and a small battery powered jumper ($75). I am looking forward to about $2k in installation fees for the wiring of the L2 charger. How much more of an investment in time and money will I need to make before I am sufficiently knowledgeable and capable with this new "save the planet" transportation device?
Life is a wonderful journey filled with learning and joy. Doing it well can get expensive.
Today's shave of the day:
When I received my first DE razor (Merkur 39C), I knew there would be a learning curve, but I didn't expect it to be an expensive one. There was the razor, a few tucks of blades, a few soaps, croaps and creams, a bit of aftershave and done. Right?
While that's true, it's really not the full story. One can typically get comfortable with something for one price, but to become an expert can require a whole other level of investment, both in terms of time and cash out the door.
I'm one year into my wet shaving journey, have about 150 hours of hands-on experience, and probably another 300 hours of "studying". If it takes about 6,000 hours to become an expert at something, I've a long way to go, if I were to take that on. On the $$$ side of things, I've purchased and gotten comfortable with about a dozen each of razors, brushes, shaving soap base formulas, and after shave products. I can reliably give myself a DFS/BBS shave without breaking the "no blood on the furniture" rule.
An interesting question is how much of an expert does one need to be with something?
In one's career, as a parent, and as a husband, I believe you need to continually strive to be the best, noting that conflicting interests force us to make difficult decisions and satisfice. I've spent over 30 years in the technoloogy consulting business. For that, I shelled out serious Ka-Ching for a Stern MBA and accrued those 6,000 hours through long work weeks and lifetime Marriott Platinum status travel. As a father, I've paid for braces, baseball bats, bicycles and automobiles. The investment in time never stops. My parents, both in their 80's still call me with important reminders like: "It's going to be cold today. Wear a warm jacket". They are still striving for expertise in their parental roles. As a husband, I've purchased a home, cars, jewelry, dinners, movie tickets, trips to Poland and flower bouquets. Like with being a father, learning to be an expert spouse is continual. Am I a good enough listener? Can I appreciate how my wife felt when her boss went on a tirade at work this week?
What about the next level of priorities in one's life. Do we need to be an expert in those?
When I look in the mirror, I like to see a Renaissance man. I like photography, so I apprenticed with a well known photographer in college and spent six months documenting the American experience. The cost? Cameras, lenses, film and darkroom equipment. I like food, so I studied the culinary arts in Europe and regularly make nice meals. The cost? A fancy kitchen and a deck full of BBQ and grilling equipment. I like to write, so I worked as a stringer for a regional newspaper when I was in my early twenties, and had a monthly column on volunteerism in my local paper when I was in my forties. The cost? Time not spent at work, with my family or with my friends. I feel it's important to give back to the community, so I trained to become a motor pump operator and ambulance driver for my local volunteer fire department. The cost? Duty cloths, a blue light bar for the car, ongoing training, and sleepless nights when I am on call. I believe it's important to be accountable for my own safety and for the safety of my family, so I studied martial arts and became a range safety officer and pistol instructor for a local gun club, where I try to train every week. The cost? Lessons, ammunition firearms, and insurance premiums.
While I would not consider myself an expert at these secondary interests, I've gotten to a point with all of them where I am capable and competant.
I've spent a good bit of time these past few days learning about electric cars, the car I just leased, and how to take care of it. 12 hours of reading. I purchased an adapter plug ($300), a level two charger ($550) and a small battery powered jumper ($75). I am looking forward to about $2k in installation fees for the wiring of the L2 charger. How much more of an investment in time and money will I need to make before I am sufficiently knowledgeable and capable with this new "save the planet" transportation device?
Life is a wonderful journey filled with learning and joy. Doing it well can get expensive.
Today's shave of the day:
| Pre-Shave | BigAlVista's Shave Butter, PAA cube and Grooming Dept. Mojito Preshave |
| Soap/Cream | AandE Asian Plum |
| Brush | Simpsons Chubby 2 Super Badger |
| Scuttle | Pereira |
| Razor | Ti Blackbird Lite |
| Blade | London Bridge - UK (2) |
| 1st Pass Eval | 8.9 |
| 2nd Pass Eval | 9.0 |
| 3rd / Buffing Pass Eval | 9.3 |
| Razer, Blade and Cream Observations | I was hoping that the blade would have sharpened up a bit after the first shave, but that does not seem to be the case. This shave was almost identical to yesterday's. As mentioned then, the combo was not efficient enough to give me a solid BBS shave with moderate touch up/ buffing |
| Post Shave. | Thayers, AofS Bourbon balm |
| Cologne/Fragrance | Prada Luna Rossa |
| Overall Efficiency | Moderate |
| End of Shave Irritation | Minor |
| Nicks | 0 |
| Weepers | 0 |
| Overall Shave Rating | 9.2: BBS- |
| Comments | Solid shave. Will try the standard BB plate for the third shave with this blade. |
They say expertise takes 10,000 hours of dedication at something. Judging your story I would say you’re there Mark. So here’s to your expertise and expert status 
.
Guido
.Guido
Last edited:
Ansel Adams, a very famous photographer, said... You don't really know what you are doing until you've taken 10,000 photographs... I find that pretty funny these days... With my digital wildlife camera, I can take 14 shots per second. I've had many days where I've taken over 1000 bird photos in that one outing... I got to 10K and still didn't know anything. <eg>They say expertise takes 10,000 hours of dedication at something. Judging your story I would say you’re there Mike. So here’s to your expertise and expert status
Guido
- Thread starter
- #212
Thanks, Guido. BTW, my name is MarkThey say expertise takes 10,000 hours of dedication at something. Judging your story I would say you’re there Mike. So here’s to your expertise and expert status
Guido
- Thread starter
- #214
I studied with a photographer named Larry Fink. He passed away recently. Very sad. As to Ansel Adam's, he was shooting with large format cameras and hand held light meters. A single shot could take anywhere from 10 minutes to hours.
- Thread starter
- #215
No worries. Mike is a fine name- edited and fixed
My bad.
I'm not a great photographer. I did learn a lot from a forum site similar to this one: Photography on the Net..... I would be lost without a fast camera. I have a lot of wildlife photography books... Older ones, and all the photos were shot on film... Birds in Flight... lots of other action photos. I could never get those with a film camera but I do OK with a fast DSLR... Eventually, I might end up converting to one of the mirrorless cameras but the cost is staggering, even if I stay with the same camera company.
The cost of photography equipment makes wet shaving feel like chump change... even though, we know it isn't.
- Thread starter
- #217
Lenses aside, the image sensor in my IPhone has a resolution similar to 1980's vintage medium format film. It will be interesting to see how the photo industry evolves with tech. Imagine being able to capture a photo of El Capitan, with better resolution than Ansel was able to achieve, with a not to distant future iPhone.
- Thread starter
- #218
I imagine the pruning effort can take some time!
Kim, I get the feeling that you may be overly modest about your skill.
I took a DSLR with us on the two previous dental tourism trips to Bali... but I knew we were going to take surfer photos and needed a longer lens. This time around, we both used just our iPhones... and we came back with some amazing shots... The latest camera phones have destroyed the point and shoot camera market....
The best camera is the one you have with you.. as "they" say.
- Thread starter
- #220
For sure...
From my DSLR. Taken 20 years ago...
And from my IPhone, taken within the past few months
Honestly, I think the image quality of the iPhone pics may be better.
Similar threads
