Orthofeet Yari Hands-free

Miles walked: 407

Realtor

Ah, a little more than I'll write in a shared web review. More in depth anyway.

As you may have read, I recently went through the process of buying a different house, one much larger than the one I was in. Having a child certainly has a way of shrinking houses. So, I made the upgrade from two bedrooms to four, a single living room to three, and one kitchen to two. Almost. The second kitchen is more of a kitchenette, but it serves a purpose. Surprisingly, I also wound up with a larger back yard. My old house already had a good size back yard, but the new house surpasses that by a decent margin. More room for running, but not my running.

I had a total of three realtors helping my out. The first realtor moved from selling cars to houses. This realtor is the one I had bought three cars from within the past decade. I won't mention a name since she is no longer in that business, and isn't the subject of this review. But, suffice it to say, she was better in car sales. I share no ill-will in her direction, and certainly understand the switch given the car market, but the realtor market needs a different personality.

The third realtor hit me up just after Kenny. Again, she doesn't get a name. But, after I had stated I already made contact with Kenny, she countered that it was always a good idea to have multiple realtors just to make sure everything was covered. I agreed, but she missed out. Her searches had a minimum sell price. I had no minimum. If someone wanted to give me a house for free, I was interested in looking. And, although I had a distinct list of what I wanted, she didn't waive from the list to catch something that could sway me in any way.

I've already mentioned Kenny, he was the second realtor. From Symbio, and the target of this review. Derek is the person that started Symbio, and we'll talk about him later.

Kenny was very personable and listened to what my wife and I were looking at. I think he also caught on that I wasn't interested in only looking at my affordable price range. It always pays to look a little higher. I can afford this now, but what could I afford with a couple more years worth of pay raises? What's the difference between this bracket and that bracket? How can I get the affordable house to raise up a little by using the design methods of the next bracket up?

I think Kenny was fairly new and learning the trade, but he will do very well in the future. And I think Derek knew exactly what I was circling around. Derek would show us houses when Kenny wasn't available for whatever reason. Derek is definitely the business person, but he also has a great personality and listens. He just understands that although a house is a home, it is also an investment. Investing in the wrong home certainly won't net you the growth you're looking for if you plan to get into something that better resembles a dream home.

For what I was looking for, well, it doesn't exist. Intentionally, and understood.

I was in no hurry to get into this home, but was also open to moving if something sparked. And that's something to keep in mind when making any large purchase. Derek and his team understood this and didn't push into any direction. They were certainly able to get a sense and push houses away that we looked at, which is appreciated from a realtor. In the past, I've had realtors try to sell me on a house I wasn't interested in. And they were supposed to be working for me. In the past, I dumped the realtor and bought a new-build home on my own. I had no thought of doing so with Derek and his team.

One of the more daunting tasks when buying a home is selling the home you're living in. I had been tempted by the cash-offer places, but Derek simply asked that I give him a chance to sell my home instead. If he'd been like the other three I've mentioned, I would have sold to a cash-offer place. But, Derek sold my home in a weekend. I wasn't impressed with the painter he had, but the past tense is what it is. After the shoddy work, I'm sure that is one number now missing from his contact list.

Even so, I came out a little ahead of a cash-offer place and was able to move into my new home without too much headache. The real estate transaction process itself leaves a lot to be desired, but Derek and his Symbio team certainly made it as painless as possible.

Dodge Charger

To start, I was actually hoping for the Charger when I made my rental reservation. It stands as the last American sedan with an eight cylinder engine available. Of course, the rental is missing two of those cylinders. And it really needs them.

If you read yesterday's post, you know the reason I was driving a rental for five days. I will say the repaired fender on my truck looks great, which just means it isn't noticeable. The wheel didn't really buff out very well, but they were getting chipped up and will likely get replaced when the truck becomes more of a side vehicle than a daily driver.

I had thought about giving a note when I first received the Charger, but that would have been unfair. After all, it isn't until you return to your normal vehicle that things come back to light.

For instance, the ride. When I first picked it up, I noticed it was a bit stiff. Not in a punishing way, but it was a stiff ride that kept the car in control. I should note the rental had a package that included the sport suspension. More on that later. Overall, I would have said at that time the ride was okay, as I would have opted for a non-sport suspension if I bought one.

I also noted it was a bit noisy, but again, sporty suspension with big wheels.

Then I got into my truck on Friday. Smoother ride and much quieter. From a truck.

The next thing that stands out about the Charger was the power. I wasn't expecting a lot since it was just a little engine in a big car. If you're curious, that Charger was less than a thousand pounds lighter than my truck. I'll let that sink in.

I wouldn't say the Charger was lacking in power, as it performed okay during the week. The first thing I noticed was how sensitive the throttle was. This is a normal trick, along with gearing, to make a car feel quicker than it really is. And, yes, it does feel quick. Until you look at the speed dial. Your body says your accelerating quickly, the numbers tell the truth. to add to that sensation, the engine noise also added a sensation of speed. I'm not sure if it was real noise or speaker-based noise, but it really did sound okay. For a week. But, there is a second problem with that twitchy throttle. The third being the throttle response between normal and sport modes isn't really discernable. Sure, the transmission acts different, but the engine really doesn't.

As for that second problem, this is a sedan. Not a coupe. It would be intended to take along family, such as small children. That twitchy throttle makes it nearly impossible to drive smoothly. Which isn't all to blame on sensitivity, it's just masking the real problem. And that is an engine with no real torque trying to pull a very heavy car.

So, how slowly does that speed dial move? Let's just say that if you subtract my truck's time to sixty from the Charger's time to sixty, you have the zero to sixty time of a nice sports car that costs the same as that Charger. Or about four and half seconds difference between the two. The Charger is that slow, although it doesn't feel like it.

You may be thinking that it would get better fuel economy with that smaller engine. The response may be obvious, but the engine does have to work a little extra due to the lack of power versus the chassis it's pulling around, and that throttle sensitivity also doesn't help that cause much. Granted, when the cruise control is set and it's just cruising a highway, it does return excellent fuel economy. Which for a grand tourer, is great. But, in normal driving, it simply matches my truck. Which is good for a truck, but bad for a sedan.

As another counter to the small engine thing, I used to own an older truck with the smaller eight cylinder engine, and at another time I owned a very similar truck with the larger of the small eight cylinder engines. The larger engined truck actually return better fuel economy overall, even though it's highway mileage was a bit less. The reason is how much the smaller engine had to work, while the larger engine could remain lazy. There is a point where a larger engine simply returns worse economy overall, the trick is finding that sweet spot.

I did upgrade the smaller engine to better performance, which did increase economy along with the fun factor. But, it still wasn't in the fast category.

So, what did I notice when I got back into my truck? Easy. It was quieter, rode better, and was easier to modulate throttle for a smoother ride. And, the torque difference to change speeds is indescribable. In the Charger, it turns to boy-racer mode when accelerating from thirty or forty miles an hour. The truck may or may not down shift, but makes the dial on the speed meter swing rather quickly without making any fuss, and leaves the Charger behind while it hollers and screams about how hard it's working.

While I didn't mind the extra noise and stiffer ride of the Charger at first, a second thought changed my mind on that. This is a sedan. Even with the grand touring package, it should act like a sedan and not punish the occupants who are taking that grand tour. It would be a good parlor trick to use a car to count the change on a road, but that wears quickly when the performance return isn't there. And, a lack of speed accompanied with a lack of fuel economy is just a dual-edged dagger.

Now, you may be thinking I'm being a bit harsh, but here's the final nail. I looked at optioning a Charger with an eight cylinder. Dodge isn't exactly known for fuel economy, but the smallest of the three eights would likely be similar enough to not really notice a monthly cost difference overall. The car I'd option would be around fifty thousand, which may sound high, but is really not too bad considering the car really is comfortable aside from the sporty suspension. On a very heavy sedan. So, a softer suspension with a small eight would be good. Except, they don't let you have that option. All the eight-cylinder cars have the sporty suspension. In a sedan. I can understand that for the top-level engine with over seven hundred horsepower, but not for the smallest of the three eights.

I should mention not all is bad with the Charger. The electronics were actually light-years ahead of the truck I'm driving. The USB music always worked quickly and never had to display a notice that it was trying to find the device. The USB songs didn't skip like they do on the Ford, and the sound quality was much better. I did like the gauge display you could set up on the Charger, but you would have to set it up each time you start the car. You can't look at a full set of gauges without that app, and it did take some time for the app to start. So, overall, not worth it each time. But, if you took those electronics and put them in my truck, I'd be much happier.

So, yeah, the Charger is the last of the American V8 sedans. And, as it's executed, it's easy to see why it's disappearing. I'm sure a modern chassis with better engineering and better engines would solve all of its issues, but they are just giving up.

And that's too bad. The American V8 sedan is legendary, as it should be. And, maybe it will return when people find out the truth behind electric cars.

But, I'll be happy when I get my Japanese V8 sedan back up and running. It may be thirty years old, but they knew what the recipe is and followed it to a tee.

At least that was my first impression when I drove it once. We'll see how it feels after a week.

Can you score?

As the days fly. That's what I really should be talking about. But, instead, I overheard a conversation while in a bowling pro shop recently. So, I thought I'd go into a bit of math while my apple-cinnamon tea cools. Now with honey. The cheese and crackers didn't quite make it this long, but they did increase the desire for some tea.

So, the conversation. Someone was talking about how unfair it was for a high average bowler to be getting handicap. Another chimed in that they should just go to the normal eighty percent of two hundred so it'd be fair for the people talking. Without too much assumption, these were people averaging about one fifty. Most likely less.

Now, here's the problem in a summary. Any time you mention a bowling handicap that doesn't use a hundred percent in the first part, the advantage goes to the higher average bowler. And, the lower the second number, again, advantage higher average bowler.

First, let's talk about these numbers for the uninformed.

When you're bowling a league, you establish an average based on the scores you bowl. Pretty basic. Some leagues add some complication by establishing an average over a larger number of games, but many just use three. The latter is worse. The former is better, but few go beyond twenty-one games, which is merely okay.

The handicap is based on the two numbers I've already mentioned. A percentage and a score. The score is typically chosen to be higher than the highest average expected in the league. If you have some very good bowlers, this number will be two-forty to two-fifty. For a normal recreational league, you may see this number around two hundred. Your handicap starts by subtracting your average from that score. If your average is higher, most leagues just use zero. Very few use negative handicaps, even though it is allowed and more fair.

Once you have your delta, you multiply it by the percentage and drop the decimal, no rounding, just drop it. Easy enough. Let's put down some examples. I'll make a table at the bottom of this section, but words for now. This handicap is then added to the score you bowl in an attempt to make the play a bit more even across ability levels.

Let's start with the handicap being discussed, ninety percent of two forty. And, for all these examples, we'll use three different bowlers. The one-fifty bowler, the two hundred bowler, and the two twenty bowler.

And first, a rabbit hole. Do you know the difference between these three? The first two are typically very close if you only look at the first ball they throw. They'll average about four or five strikes per game. The two hundred bowler will tend to leave more single pins than the one-fifty bowler, but spares are unforgiving in bowling math either way. But, the key difference is that the two-hundred average bowler will pick up most spares, while the one-fifty average bowler will tend to leave those as open frames. If you're averaging one-fifty, work on your spare game and you'll start approaching a two-hundred average rather quickly.

Now, to make the leap another twenty pins, you need to learn how to get more strikes, nearing seven or more per game. That's a bit more than I'll put into a line or two, so I won't.

Back out of the hole. The number of handicap pins given to each bowler is eighty-one, thirty-six, and eighteen. That isn't the story. The score is what matters. Assuming the bowler bowls their average exactly, which is why it's an average, the one-fifty bowler scores two-thirty-one, the two-hundred bowler scores two-thirty-six, and the two-twenty average bowler scores two-thirty-eight. So, the highest average bowler is getting a free seven pins over the lowest average in this case, which means the lower average bowler needs to bowl better than average to win.

Let's go to the handicap these people think they wanted, and I'll skip a bunch of math. In this case, when bowling average, the scores are one-ninety-five, two-hundred, and two-twenty. Now, the highest average bowler has a twenty five pin advantage. Meaning the one-fifty average bowler has to bowl more like the two-hundred average bowler. And the two-hundred average bowler would now have to find an additional twenty pins instead of two. One is much easier than the other.

This makes the one hundred percent of a really high number seem like it'd be fair, and it is the most fair that I've seen bowling. It does exist, but many still believe in a lower score, and it typically isn't the high-average bowlers making that argument.

But, one hundred percent isn't fair. That number would have be ten points higher at one-hundred-ten percent. And even that still favors the higher average bowler, according to studies that looked at more bowling scores than any of us want to count. You'd need to add another point or two to that percentage.

Why? That's easy. Leagues are meant to be relaxing, and most leagues are. There are a few leagues that focus more on the competition than the leisure, but they are few and far between. So, even the high average bowlers are more inclined to relax and not really throw the ball with absolute perfection each time. Tournament level concentration.

But, when the game is on the line and you need that strike to win the game, guess which bowler can up that concentration level and deliver? Yes, the high average bowler. And, I even have a real-life example.

The two teams were separated by about two hundred pins in total handicap. Fifty pins per bowler. This is a classic two-hundred average team versus the one-fifty average team. Typically, the higher average team will catch up by the ninth frame, assuming everyone is bowling about average. In this case, the higher average team was still down by over a hundred pins.

But, there was a big difference on the score board. The higher-average team had either spares or strikes in the ninth frame. The lower-average team was all open. That was a forty-pin advantage there, but that wasn't much compared to the large lead the other team had.

The lower-average team did as expected. A couple spares and a couple opens. The higher-average team? Each threw a strike, followed by a second strike. Nearly thirty points per bowler in the final frame. Plus the reach-back to the ninth frame. The higher average team ended up winning by twenty pins or so. That's really the reason why even a handicap based on one-hundred percent doesn't level the field.

But, at least it looks fair. Now for that table of numbers.

Handicap: 90% of 240

Avg=150

Hcp=81

Total=231

Avg=200

Hcp=36

Total=236

Avg=220

Hcp=18

Total=238

Handicap: 90% of 200

Avg=150

Hcp=45

Total=195

Avg=200

Hcp=0

Total=200

Avg=220

Hcp=0

Total=220

I almost forgot to elaborate on the basis of average comment. But, here we go.....

So, I mentioned above that a bowler's average could be established based on a certain number of games. Most leagues say the first three games establishes an average, while some put that number at twenty-one. Give or take the number of games per night. Most leagues are three. The leagues that use the numbers higher than the games-per-night will use that established average to determine any awards for high game or high series for the bowler and team. Team being all members getting to that established average. While the latter is better, the best system would be to use the final average. But, that makes things a bit complicated and most bowlers don't have a league's worth of patience to determine if they're getting an award or not.

But, let me give you an example of why three games is bad. Personal example.

For context, it is quite normal that I bowl a two-hundred game. So much so that my average is just a few pins shy of that. Something that bugs me. A little anyway. To the tune of bowling with fifty-year-old equipment that requires more accuracy to fix whatever was ailing my game. I averaged one-ninety with the old stuff.

But, the fall league I started establishes after three games. Awards from the second week count using that average. To start the fall league, I bowled horrible. Absolutely horrible. Averaging a couple pins shy of one-seventy. Second week, quite the opposite. I bowled a seven thirty-five. Now, here's the fairness part. With that low average, that gave me an eight seventy-three for a handicap series. That's nearly untouchable. Really. In order for my real average to get there, I'd have to bowl and eight hundred series. That is no easy task, and I've only been within forty-five of that score. Most bowlers will not bowl an eight hundred. Very few bowl over seven hundred.

But, if that average, and award score, was based on my twenty-one game average, it drops by sixty pins and is a much more fair representation of that score versus my average.

But, even that won't be enough to make the league adjust the rules in the interest of fairness. I've tried.

Shavers

For the first part, this is the default color scheme. Hideous and not easy to read. But, I'll keep it for now. I'll let you know if I change it.

There really isn't much to be said here that is purely objective. Two things really. Time and effectiveness. And, really only two types so far. I may add a third, but not quite yet.

What I won't add are straight and safety style razors. You really have to be a fan and have quite a bit of practice with the former. The latter? Same, but the practice may be a bit shorter.

I'll stick with more popular options. The manual multi-blade, and two types of electric. Foil and rotary.

I have tried a few different manual multi-blade shavers, but I'll put them in one category to start. I will say just buy the best you can buy in this category. Those discount club ones aren't nearly as good as the more expensive models you'll find. But, not everyone can afford the best.

As for electrics, I've only tried the rotary recently. A relatively inexpensive, but well-known brand. It's actually similar in price to the manual when stocked for a year. And, yes, the electric would need new blades before that year is up to keep with optimum performance.

But, guess what. The type of rotary probably won't have much to do with my own preference. Based on my own use.

From what I've used, the electric and manual take very similar amounts of time. The only real advantage of the electric is portability and the ability to use it in less than ideal locations. As such, it's great for travel.

But, for overall use, the manual is much better. It produces a much closer shave, which can negate a day's worth of shaving. Saving time overall.

To be honest, I do need to use an electric daily to keep the stubble at a certain level. But, I can easily skip a day with a manual razor and get to the same level.

I may get a foil shaver to see if there's any real difference, but I'm not expecting much difference.

And about those flights

Five different airports, six flights, and more than fifty hours. Plenty of time to get to know each, and think about what you will see below. I did wait a while before coming back on here. You'll see.

So, for the first flight. Actually, let's back up a little. Due to the length of flights and the month we spent in my Earth-wife's home country, I hired a limousine service to get us to and from the airport. On top of what we were already spending, the extra five hundred was money well spent overall. But, you can be the judge after you read along.

To catch our first flight, we left our house at four in the morning. Of course we had a toddler in tow, which was mentioned. They did ask about seat for her, and I said I could use my booster seat. But, the driver said he had one so we wouldn't have the extra baggage to worry about. I guess he forgot that seat, but I'm not docking him for that. My daughter really is tall enough without the booster to be safe in the car. She does use a booster seat in my truck, but the seat belt has fewer adjustments.

At the airport, we were greeted by a seemingly board airline employee with a large trolley. Needed that. The car service limited us to five checked bags of the six the airline said we could have. The Escalade could have handled more. So, this employee trollied around while we checked in and had to put stickers on everything. And scan three passports. And keep a four-year-old entertained. A different airline employee took the self part out of self check-in. That was greatly appreciated. Did I mention the three carry-ons, computer bag, and my wife's bag?

After dropping off the check-in's at the conveyor down the way, the trolley followed us. Apparently he thought people with that many bags would have extra money for the homeless, or for whatever reason he was begging. Sorry, no small change. Thank you for doing what you were hired to do.

Security was next. This is where most airports cause issues. Not this one. It has two different security check points, east and west. Everyone goes west for some reason, so we went east. Very fast and all the lanes were open. I'm not sure how many lanes they have as I didn't count, but we were through less than ten minutes after dropping off our bags.

Our terminal was quite a ways away, but they have trains for that. And the gate was a couple moving sidewalks away, which tired four-year-olds tend to like.

Overall for departing, Denver International Airport gets five stars and an asterisk. That asterisk is to help with the beggars.

This flight took us from DIA to Los Angeles. Little did we know we'd already reached the apex of travel pleasure. One interesting story, just because.

This was the first flight my daughter had been on. The last time she was on an airplane, she was a super tiny tadpole in my wife's belly. I'm sure there was no recollection. So, what's the most interesting part of a flight? I'm going to say the acceleration for take-off. As the plane taxied, I started to video my daughter to catch her reaction. She was watching out the window as we started to roll, seemingly enjoying the view. As the captain hit the throttle...she fell asleep.

The landing was about average roughness. Not bone-jarring like later landings, but definitely not as smooth as I'm used to. The flight itself was a three-hour warm up for what was to come. A few drinks and snacks, but nothing too special.

Now, LAX. I will say one good thing. We didn't go through security here. You'll see why that stands out later. But, the reason is I didn't want to take the bus from the domestic side over to the international side. Then, we would have had to go through security. Sorry, I wasn't going to take my chances.

If you haven't been to LAX for international travel, you may not know the distance between these two terminals. I surely didn't. I did check the steps on my phone, and two miles and a phone call later, we were at our international gate. The phone call was the airline. Apparently, they had to change planes and the one we were now on didn't have a seating upgrade for all three of us. That row didn't exist on this plane. So, back to normal seats.

One thing we did buy that made this travel experience better was a child's carry-on from Stokke. It has wheels, of course, but is made for a child to ride it as you pull the tether. It sure beats carrying a fifty-pound sleepy sack on a two-mile hike through an airport, along with all other things we were already carrying. Although the interior is a little small, as is the backpack, it makes up for it in overall utility. Definitely get one of these.

Since I'm already traveling into weird places, there were many halls in LAX that can recall video game locations from shooters in abandoned locales. There were the construction areas, false walls, and detours that were straight out of Duke Nukem.

So, leaving LAX was uneventful and on-time, just like leaving DIA. I should mention that leaving on time was a new aspect of my trips. Pilots tended to make up time in the air, but being on time was nice.

Now, as for the flight, a couple experiences I've had. There has been some inconsistency in the meal choices, but the majority of flights offered meals suited to the destination. Some would offer one choice for the destination and one for the origin. Asiana Airlines seemingly doesn't do this. Both offerings were Korean. We had one of each, while my daughter had a kid's meal. Spaghetti with sauce, a salad, vegetables, and dessert. I don't remember what my wife and I were offered, but it was less than ten percent appetizing. Yes, this flight was going to Korea. I can't remember the actual city, and it doesn't matter, but it's outside of Seoul.

I did notice one interesting thing about our flight path. We flew over the eastern side of Japan before turning west to Korea. Instead of using the arc that goes directly to Korea. I only noticed this because I really wanted a connecting flight into Narita. Probably my favorite airport. DIA is close, but Narita is just a little better. Mainly because I've never left there late.

After another bouncy landing, we were on the ground. I will note that all of our lay-overs were two and a half hours. On purpose. It may sound like a lot, but if you travel internationally, that is usually enough time to get you thirty minutes or so of rest before you next flight. A chance to shop a little or grab better tasting food. I'm sure you won't be too surprised later on.

We did get about twenty minutes to relax in Korea. Enough time to get some ice cream and use rest rooms that were accommodating. The ice cream was inexpensive and a tasty surprise after the two mealtimes on the airplane. This is my argument against getting rid of sugary drinks. At least they taste good.

The reason behind the twenty minutes was having to go through security. After arriving from an international flight and going through to another international flight, go through security. I'm not sure the rationale here, but they pretty well limit what you can buy. You are a bit of a captive audience with access to a select variety of goods. Of course, you may have purchased a bottle of water at the previous airport for ten bucks, and therefore must throw it in the trash before going through security. At which time, you can visit a shop there to buy another ten dollar bottle of water. They do serve drinks on the airplane, but only enough to keep you alive. Not enough to keep you hydrated.

Another airplane change here. This one is smaller and didn't have enough overhead space for everyone to have a carry-on, so it was check-the-carry-on time. I typically make sure I'm carrying at least three-day's clothes with me to a foreign destination. As the two times my luggage has been lost in the past, it tends to arrive two days after me. The first time, I only had the clothes I was wearing and one extra set in my computer bag. This latest trip, I had one set in my computer bag and now they were checking my carry-on. But, thankfully, this was the final leg to my destination. It arrived with us.

This was also a smaller plane that original. This is significant since Korea was only a little more than halfway to our final destination. If you're curious, I still hadn't slept. The seats are just too small to get a good slouch or to get a good stretch of the legs.

Food choices were unchanged. I was really hoping for Vietnamese cuisine. This time, I looked around a bit more and noticed very few plates were emptied. Some of the Americans and Koreans emptied their plates, but none of the Vietnamese did. Nor did I. I wasn't hungry enough for more than ten percent.

A bouncy landing later, and we were at our destination, Saigon. Yes, it was renamed to Ho Chi Minh officially, but many in the south still call it Saigon. Especially the refugee-originated families.

Yes, I do believe Ho Chi Minh, the man, did a good thing to unite his country under a single flag. There were definitely some misses politically, but that's for another day.

So, finally, good food. For four weeks. Then, we had to return.

Leaving Vietnam took some time to get through security. They are a bit on the strict side and make sure everything is correct. I would say only Japan is better, in my experience. And that's because it takes less time in Japan, not because they are any more or less thorough. If you want to look up justice in Vietnam, I'll wait here. But, suffice it to say, this is not a country you want to commit a crime in. Yes, this paragraph is important.

It was back to Korea from Saigon. Food choice? Korean again. This time some less universal type food and more you-better-know-how-to-assemble-your-dish type food. Sorry, I'm not versed in how these five things on my plate go together, but none of them are tasty by themselves. To be fair, the lettuce leaves were okay, but they were also dry. Next meal was worse. More Coke, please.

I will state that we did leave Vietnam a bit late. The reason was the airplane didn't arrive from Korea on time and there was required maintenance during its time on the ground. Important things, like fuel and cleaning. They did stock the food, but I could have made some suggestions, and I'm not putting that in the important category. Still Asiana Airlines. I'll mention when we make a change.

So, this plane left about forty-five minutes late, but it arrived only twenty minutes late. Not too bad. But, it was time for Korea's security screening. As we arrived to the security station, they announced our flight was boarding. Wonderful. I certainly didn't want to get stuck in Korea after the meal experiences we'd had to date.

But, thanks to our Stokke and the fact I checked everything except the computer bag, we made it just as the last of the priority boarders were on the plane and it was down to the common folk. But, thanks to kid in tow, we were shuffled ahead and onto the plane. No breaks. No big restrooms.

This plane also left thirty minutes late, if you were wondering how we actually made it. I was sweating in the seat from the exercise, but at least I could relax in my sardine-seat. Kinda.

I was actually hoping that a flight to the United States would be geared more towards that pallet. Nope. Even stranger Korean foods, this time with allergens in everything. Shellfish and peanuts. Coke, please. No, not a cup, just leave a couple cans.

So, now we arrive in San Francisco. Maybe the worst of the worst. First of note, in Vietnam our bags were marked as priority since we would be claiming our baggage in San Francisco in order to re-check them in San Francisco. This was so they would be unloaded first to make that transfer easier. Why, you ask, would they need to go through this treatment? Beats me. But I guess they need us to look at our bags. I would have been happier if they'd just moved those bag-pods from the international plane over to the domestic plane. They have those cool little trolleys for some reason.

And, speaking of trolleys. Up through San Francisco, all luggage trolleys were available and free. Even if one came with a beggar. Keep this in mind.

So, I did skip something here. It took ninety minutes to claim our bags. Ninety minutes. The other time I had to claim our bags was in Vietnam. I was getting anxious at fifty minutes, thinking they were lost. Ninety minutes. With priority stickers. You probably also recall that my layover was around two and half hours. And the plane was late. The math is easy, and it sucks. But, that wasn't the worst part.

Because, we again had to go through security screening. Because the last two international airports weren't good enough. But, San Francisco being beyond idiotic, they only had one line open. One line. Big airport. They are bad at math. Again, we get in this line. Our plane is boarding, and the line is moving very slow. So, I asked the security gal about getting a priority in line. The response was that if people were okay, we could cut in line. Great. Thankfully, the people here were much better than the airport and allowed us, along with half of our plane, to cut in to that one line.

Then, someone was able to walk by the security station without being in a line or stopped by a barrier. What does that mean? They have to stop all lines and close all doors while they stop the threat. This happened to be an older gentleman that simply walked through an open door that went to one of the twenty or so closed security lanes. Open door. No barricades. And they called him the security threat.

Again, no chance to get a snack or use a big restroom stall. There were ten people left to board when we show up at the gate. Another close call. San Francisco is another place I don't want to get stuck. Although, if we did, I likely would have slept a few hours then rented a car to get home. That should give you a note of how I was feeling at this time. And it gets better.

You know that Stokke held up well in all the fast pace moving of that day. Run here, run there, barely make the gate. And, it will get used next year.

Now, after we got on the plane, this time from United, they closed the doors and backed away about ten feet. Then stopped. I didn't think much of it, as I was trying to figure out the channels on the video screen. This time it was a satellite service. The plane moved again, ten more feet. Satellite signal goes fuzzy.

Then we sit. And sit. And sit. For an hour. At the gate with closed doors. I could have eaten a hamburger. And used a toilet that didn't place both arms against a wall. Why did we sit? Checklist they said.

A couple dozen more minutes and we're finally taxiing to the runway. I was able to text my driver that we were going to be late arriving to DIA. He said that wouldn't be a problem. Many others on the flight weren't as lucky. They had connecting flights at DIA to go elsewhere. I felt their pain.

This pilot made no effort to make up time. This may have been to keep the plane in one piece, if you've been reading about United's efforts as of late. But, at least the satellite signal kept up for the flight.

Now, you may think this adventure is over since I said I like DIA. You may have read that wrong. I like leaving through DIA. Coming, different story. This time was domestic, so I thought it should be okay. I was wrong. Not horribly, but wrong.

So, our checked bags coming back included a couple big suitcases, a couple carry-ons, and smallish box. Smaller than a carry-on. Not a big box, and certainly not heavy. It's contents consisted of dolls and their clothes. Maybe ten pounds. And smaller than a carry-on.

Before I get there, we did wait at the baggage conveyor for quite some time before bags started coming out. Priority. Priority. Not ours. Priority. This goes on for thirty minutes. Then, the first carry-on. I will admit it was packed fairly well. But, the poor bag was at its last legs as I picked it up from the conveyor. The zipper let go. People were nice enough to help stuff everything back to me, at least. Then other bags showed up and I was able to stuff the extra bits into them and keep the blown bag mostly at bay.

Notice, I said bags. No box. Poor little box. Thirty more minutes. No box.

This is probably a good time to note that DIA has what may be a reasonably unique baggage claim area. There is a moving wall made for people flying in with skis. Snow skis. Tall and slender packages. Makes sense for a mountain town that brags about ski access. Although I don't ski, I can say you're better off going elsewhere if you want to make more runs and have fewer people bumping into you. I won't say where, as I'm sure people that go there enjoy the quiet and the low lift prices.

I went to the first counter to ask about my little box. They said they were busy, but the counter at the next conveyor was less busy. Liars. It was the same. Next, I found the sticker for li'l box and they said it was scanned out of the plane and into baggage claim. I thought it seemed obvious that it wasn't on the conveyor. But, did I look in the moving wall for skis? Nope, it's a little box. Not skis. Oh, but look there. Poor little box all by himself on the wall.

Now for the final leg. You may have guessed, but this driver didn't have a booster either. But, that's okay, it was late now. I was supposed to have arrived at four in the afternoon. It was eleven. The first driver was off-shift, so I got the next driver. He may have been a good driver, but not a good chauffeur. First, the vehicle was an SUV as was the Escalade. Both only had two seats in the middle, with the rear folded/removed for bags. He seemed to have expected me to sit in the middle row, with my wife and child. Three people, two seats. Nope, I climbed in the passenger seat.

I've figured out small-talk on Earth. General topics. Light and easy. He hadn't figured that out. It was a bit of a drive from the airport to my house. Much longer after the last thirty-plus hours. And four weeks of not conversing with anyone. Though I did enjoy that. I wasn't enjoying silent ride. And having to give directions. But, we made it home. And, unlike the first car ride, they didn't ask for my review. First guy was good, second, not so much.

I will be making this trip next year. But, not on Asiana Airlines. Not through San Francisco. Not through LAX. Not through Korea. I may have to dip into my tractor fund next time...

Toyo Tires

To be fair, probably not all Toyo tires. But, I only have experience with one of their tires in a certain size on a certain vehicle. And, that will be all the Toyo tires I will ever buy. Read on to know why.

You probably already know I drive a small pickup. Half-ton to be specific. I've had three other sets of tires on either this particular truck, or the extremely similar one I owned for a couple years prior.

The first set of tires were the factory Goodyear tires. Then some General tires. Followed by Bridgestone. And finally, the Toyo Open Country A/T III SL. Only two of these sets were rated for severe snow service, the General and Toyo tires. The only tires I've bought that weren't load range E were these, and that was intentional.

The Toyo tires are listed at forty-one pounds in this rating versus fifty pounds for the load range E. Nine pounds may not sound like much, but when it's on wheel itself, it will make a difference. Theoretically. And, the lighter tire should also have a more compliant sidewall for a better ride. More on that later. The heaviest tire I had run weighed sixty pounds, and is the most direct comparison.

Ride quality hasn't really changed for any tire I've used. They all ride the same. The General tires gave the best overall fuel economy, even being the heaviest tire. The worst fuel economy: Toyo. By a large margin. An easy fifteen percent drop-off. To be fair, the other three tires were very similar to each other in fuel economy, but the General tire was a little better overall. But, not enough to be a decision point.

One possibility for better fuel economy with a heavier tire is a flywheel effect at speed. As it is a heavier mass, once it is up to speed, it will want to maintain that speed and resist the changes in wind and elevation to give slightly better economy overall. I haven't seen this tested, but I know anecdotally that it is correct when dealing with engine flywheels. A racing flywheel is much lighter than most factory flywheels from the sixties cars I work on mostly. Adding that light flywheel makes driving the car at a constant speed much more difficult resulting in more fuel used. Does it correlate to tires? That would need a better test.

However, most of my driving is city. So, I'm accelerating a lot more. The lighter tire should allow the engine to work less when accelerating. This is why race-oriented cars use the lighter flywheel. And why oversized off-road style tires will slow you down in a drag race. The same effect should be at play with a tire that is a third lighter than another.

Grip. In the dry, my truck handles better than it needs to for most city turns and intersections. Especially in a place that doesn't know how to lay down a smooth street such as where I live. I will say all the tires behave similar in turning. In acceleration, none of these tires will hold the ground unless I use four wheel drive. No real appreciable difference. Any one of them turn to smoke as quick as any other. But, no real complaints.

Wet. Only the factory tires were horrible here. And the Bridgestones after fifty thousand miles. I will note the Bridgestones still retained about half their tread after that mileage, but they had very little traction left when it got wet. I was okay with the mileage, but I would have preferred the same tread rubber from start to finish.

Ice and snow. Here's where I'll mention that I've never used ballast weight in my pickup. Until now. I've always had to climb slight inclines in snow and ice just due to the topography of my city. I've never had to use four wheel drive, either. That is, unless the snow was hitting the bumper or undercarriage. Until now.

There was about three inches of snow on the ground. Not really enough to make me think twice. For reference, the sidewall on these tires is about seven inches tall. Probably five inches with as much as these squish. More later. So, three inches isn't worth thinking about.

I got stuck driving on the street to my house. So, I locked the rear differential. Stuck. Four wheel drive. I was able to claw my way to the top, but it was spinning the whole way. I tried the next day. Same result. So, I tried the snow and ice driving mode. It gave up. I spun the whole way up in four wheel drive. In three inches of snow.

If you want a comparison, I also have a reasonably modern muscle car. Rear wheel drive, eight-cylinder in the front with a manual transmission. It was time for an experiment. First, it has performance-oriented all-season tires. No extra features for driving in snow or on ice. It didn't get stuck. The snow was touching its rims. None of the other two wheel drive vehicles had much issue either.

So, I added four hundred pounds near my tailgate. That was enough to both drop the already bad fuel economy even more, but also get me around that three inches of snow.

Now for squish. These tires have a weigh rating that matches the max weight of my truck, with about three thousand pounds to spare. Or, empty, I only need two tires to carry the weigh of my truck. One more tire for payload. And one for balance. Even though when you load down a pickup, the front and rear will weigh nearly the same.

I have a gross weight rating just a bit more than seven thousand pounds, and each tire is rated to hold twenty-seven hundred at max pressure. Again, I have my doubts. When inflated to max pressure, they look under-inflated and feel the same. The tread also rides as though they are over-loaded.

So, in general, I'll never buy a Toyo tire. You shouldn't either.