Oct 01 2012

Time off

Last month, I decided to take a bit of time off from blogging. I was just really swamped with trying to get readjusted after the move, and the large number of projects that I had on my plate. However, I feel a little less stressed now, and think that October should bring back regular blog posts. I have a lot of restaurants, films, and music to review, as well as talking about a bunch of new and fun activities that I have found around the area.

The time off was nice, but it is good to be back in the standard routine. Oh yeah, October is also the month with the crazy amount of birthdays. If I remember correctly, there are 24 birthdays for friends, family, and loved ones this month. Jeez, more gift shopping than pre-Christmas. 😛

Cheers,
Zach

Sep 09 2012

Zen Thai and Japanese Cuisine – Saint Louis, MO – review

This past Friday night, Deb and I had planned on going out to a restaurant in Chesterfield, but there were pretty bad storms and, as such, we didn’t feel like driving that far. Instead, we went to a place that we had been several times in the past: Zen Thai and Japanese Restaurant. They offer pretty good traditional Thai and Japanese dishes, and they are significantly closer than many of my preferred eateries.

This night, I decided to get a classic offering called Thai Rama, which is broccoli, carrots, and a choice of protein with a peanut sauce on top:

Zen Thai and Japanese Cuisine, Crestwood, MO - Thai Rama

I was going to get chicken, since my favourite protein (tofu) is generally twice-fried when it comes in Thai Rama. They typically deep fry it, and then add it to the wok whilst they stir-fry the vegetables. However, our nice waitress offered to steam the tofu for me instead. I thought that sounded like a great alternative to having it the “standard” way.

Though the meal was quite tasty, I wouldn’t say that it was exceptionally prepared. The part that bothered me about it (and does so about Zen in general) is the ratio of portion size to price. The prices are fairly low, but I would expect a little more food. That being said, it is convenient, the staff members are friendly and courteous, and some of their dishes are very well-made. I especially love the traditional Thai dessert of Mango sweet sticky rice.

Cheers,
Zach

Sep 07 2012

Sandisk Sansa Clip Zip

After having used my Sandisk Sansa Clip+ for about a year or so whilst running and exercising, it finally died, and I started looking for a new one. Though the Clip+ wasn’t exactly state-of-the-art, had everything that I needed for a workout player:

  • Small profile
  • Flash-based instead of disk based (to endure the shock of exercise)
  • Ability to play Ogg Vorbis (as all of my music is either Vorbis or FLAC)
  • Decent sound output

The amount of storage space wasn’t drastically important to me, given that my workouts average about 60-90 minutes, and I could readily change the tracks on it whenever I want. I decided to look around and see if any new, but similar, players had hit the market since then. I found out that Sandisk had released the Sansa Clip Zip, which introduced a colour screen, and the capability of also utilising a microSD card for additional storage.

Sandisk Sansa Clip Zip - blue

The Clip Zip does the job, and I do actually fancy the the colour screen. However, it has a fatal flaw, and one that I recognised after using it for the first time. The headphone jack is loose, and will sometimes cause either crackling noises, or one of the headphone connections to cut out. That was what finally killed my previous Sansa Clip+, but it started happening with the Clip Zip almost immediately! I should have sent it back at the first sign of the cut-out, but I didn’t. It isn’t too bad when I get into a steady pattern on a treadmill, but whilst running outside, one side or the other will stop functioning fairly regularly.

Overall, it is a decent player, but I would like to find one that can meet my requirements above and that doesn’t have as fragile of a headphone jack. I think that Sandisk should focus on the functionality before adding any new features.

Cheers,
Zach