News

My Stats

  • Posts - 305
  • Comments - 223
  • Trackbacks - 82

Twitter












Tag Cloud


Recent Comments


Recent Posts


Article Categories


Archives


Post Categories


Entertainment


Friends


Tech/Geek


March 2007 Entries

Another awesome ride


Like I said in my last cycling post - I promise not to blog about ever single ride I do. This was a great ride on a beautiful spring day. I rode on some roads that I had never ridden on and up some hills (well, one hill) that I've never ridden up. I added it to bicycleclimbs.com here. Pretty damned killer hill: length 1.0 mile, elevation Gain 457 feet, gradient 8.9%.

Ride Stats:
Moving Time (h:m:s): 1:12:08
Distance (mi): 17.38
Moving Speed (mph): 14.5 avg. 40.3 max.
Elevation Gain (ft): +1,230
Avg. Heart Rate: 155 bpm
Food: None (I ate dinner right before we rode)
Drink: 20oz water bottle

 

posted @ Thursday, March 29, 2007 5:12 AM | Feedback (0) |


Awesome Ride


I don't plan on blogging about ever single ride I do... but yesterday was notable in that 28 miles felt really, really good. The weather was awesome - chilly but no rain and the roads were dry. I did ride my winter bike (1984 Trek 610 + full fenders = a sexy beast!) just in case the rain came but I still felt great. The wind was crazy. Riding South felt like hell while riding North made me feel like a rock star! As usual the hill back up to the house was a killer.

Food: Clif Shot Bloks - Strawberry. 2 Servings (1 whole package) 200 calories.
Drink: 20oz water

posted @ Monday, March 26, 2007 6:04 AM | Feedback (0) |


Coding Horror: Primary Keys: IDs versus GUIDs


Good post with links to great resources. Considering that at work we are seriously considering replication we might need to know as much as possible about using GUIDs as PKs.

Long-time readers of this blog know that I have an inordinate fondness for GUIDs. Each globally unique ID is like a beautiful snowflake: every one a unique item waiting to be born.

Perhaps that's why I read with great interest recent accounts of people switching their database tables from traditional integer primary keys ...

Source: Coding Horror: Primary Keys: IDs versus GUIDs

posted @ Wednesday, March 21, 2007 8:53 AM | Feedback (0) |


NXTway-G


Robots are so damned cool...

NXTway-G, a descendant of Steve Hassenplug’s Legway and Philippe Hurbain’s NXTway, is a two-wheel self-balancing mobile robot.

 

Source: NXTway-G

posted @ Wednesday, March 14, 2007 12:41 PM | Feedback (0) |


Google Earth GPS Tracking and Navigation - GooPs


Looks like a very cool donation-ware application.

GooPs Features:

  • Fast Real-Time Tracking/Navigation (typically less than 1 second from when received from GPS).
  • Track yourself AND your friends (requires that they be "visible" on your network).
  • SpeedTrack - track color shows how fast you are going any place on your trip.
  • AutoView - custom hands free tilt, rotation, and zoom – no more fussing with controls while driving.
  • Supports full native Google Earth navigation - no need for secondary navigation interfaces.
  • 3D Cursors - make it easy to see current position and heading from any angle.
  • Custom Cursors – see your own car in Google Earth (supports most image formats).
  • Real-time Tracks - see where you and your friends have been (tracks can be saved to kml or kmz).
  • Robust communication layer - makes connecting to your GPS easy.
  • Easy setup - just download and run.
  • Track cars, boats, and aircraft

Link to Google Earth GPS Tracking and Navigation - GooPs

posted @ Wednesday, March 14, 2007 12:31 PM | Feedback (0) |


CI Factory


Wow. Having created a few CI systems in the past all I can say is that this looks awesome. I'll have to read up on it over the weekend to see if I can use it at home. 

CI Factory is a canned Continuous Integration(CI) server and installation script. Adherence to a standard development workspace allows for this product to build most any project out of the box. It uses a plugin architecture. For more information on what it is and how it works see the introduction. If you are ready to get start using it download it and read the install document. You should be able to get a build server up and running in no time.

[via: jay.flowers - CI Factory]

posted @ Friday, March 09, 2007 1:21 PM | Feedback (0) |


MotionBased.com offers RSS Feeds


After considerable digging I uncovered the fact that MotionBased.com offers RSS feeds of your recent activities. Here is the link to my feed  http://deitysteve.motionbased.com/rss/

Apparently the feed also contains GeoRSS tags so that you can map the entries... here is an example: http://mapufacture.com/map/show/432

Cool stuff. Now if I could just get a little map over on the left sidebar - that would be awesome.

posted @ Tuesday, March 06, 2007 5:52 AM | Feedback (1) |


Ambient Clock


The Ambient Clock looks extremely interesting.  

Ambient Clock from AmbientDevices - you know the Orb people.

The most interesting aspect of this product is that the makers want you to try out a virtual version (a Google Gadget) of the clock on your Google homepage. This Gadget hooks into your Google calendar for schedule information. What a sweet idea. They are using an existing platform to obtain feedback on their new interface design.

Only problem is that the Google Gadget does not work for me. The time is wrong and my appointments are not showing up. Nice idea poorly implemented. I sent an email off to the Ambient Devices support address. I'll update comments if they can resolve the problem(s).

posted @ Monday, March 05, 2007 11:51 AM | Feedback (0) |


Reflector 5 Released


Scott Hanselman does a much better job than I ever could at enumerating the virtues of Reflector 5.

[via: Scott Hanselman's Computer Zen - Reflector 5 Released - World Domination Assured]

Reflector 5 is out, and it is good. Go get it immediately, or just run your current version and go Help | Check for Updates. ...

  • Reflector 5.0
  • Reflector 5.0 Add-Ins @ CodePlex
  • Reflector 5.0 New Features (PPT)
  • posted @ Monday, March 05, 2007 11:25 AM | Feedback (0) |


    iPodifier


    iPodifier Looks like an awesome solution for getting TV shows from your PVR to your iPod. Kinda makes me wish I still had a bus commute so that I could watch video content on a regular basis. Oh yeah - I guess I'd need an iPod, too. I'm still using my trusty Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra 40GB that doesn't do video but I'm looking at an upgrade in the near future.

    posted @ Monday, March 05, 2007 11:21 AM | Feedback (0) |


    Virtualization Tips and Optimization


    Very comprehensive article about running and optimizing VMs from Scott Hanselman...

    posted a list of tips on Optimizing Performance on Virtual PC a while back, and I'm a big fan of Invirtus VM OptimizerJeff prefers to do the optimizations himself, but the time saved is worth the $70 for a tool like this. With the new Orcas March CTP available as a VM and weighing in at 9 gigs, I need to save all the time I can. Frankly, anything I can do to squeeze performance out of a VM is a good thing.

    Source: Scott Hanselman's Computer Zen - Virtual PC Tips and Hardware Assisted Virtualization

    posted @ Friday, March 02, 2007 8:32 AM | Feedback (0) |


    2007 Cycling / Tri Events


    I thought I'd throw together a list of the bicycle (and one Triathlon) events that I'd like to do this year.

    02/25/2007 - Chilly Hilly - Done!
    05/20/2007 - TWO-COUNTY DOUBLE METRIC CENTURY 2007
    06/16/2007 - Flying Wheels Summer Century
    06/23/2007 - Tour de Blast
    07/08/2007 - Ocean Shores Big Weekend Triathlon (Sprint)
    07/14/2007 - Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic
    09/29/2007 - DAM2DAM "Thumbs Up!" Bike Tour

    To be honest I may only do either the Two-County Double Metric Century OR the Flying Wheels Summer century. Not sure I want to do both.

    Is there anything that I'm missing? Any ride that I just "must" do? Any ride on the list that I should avoid? Let me know in the comments.

    Edit: I forgot about the Tour de Blast - had to add that in. It also means that I definitely will not do both the Two-County Double Metric Century AND Flying Wheels Summer century.

    posted @ Thursday, March 01, 2007 4:13 PM | Feedback (1) |


    Garmin Forerunner 305


    Earlier this week I ordered a Garmin Forerunner 305 and the compatible GSC 10 Speed and Cadence Sensor to better track my bicycle training. Should be arriving today. Just arrived! I'm pretty excited. I've been using my Garmin 60C to track my bike rides and upload them to MotionBased.com. It works fine but I wanted to step-up to advanced training-specific features (alerts, virtual partners, courses, heart-rate monitor, workouts). I looked at the bike-specific Garmin Edge 305 but it seems that the Forerunner 305 is just a better all-around unit than the Edge - at least from what I can tell from many reviews and it does work well on the bike. 

    One downside is that there is no bike mount yet but according to current users, a piece of pipe-insulating foam on your handlebars works well. Garmin did announce a multi-sport quick-release system at CES this year that allows you to pop the 305 unit into or out of your watch band or your bike mount in seconds. Cool. Very cool since I want to complete a Triathlon this year (probably this one - the Sprint distance not the Olympic distance).

    If I ever to get into running (yeah, hell will probably freeze over first) I can wear the Forerunner on my wrist where I'd have to carry the Edge in a pocket or in my hand.

    Warning: Extreme GEEK alert. The paragraph that follows proves how much of a total geek I am.

    Another cool thing about watch form factor is that you can just wear it around. For example, if I would have Forerunner 305 while in DisneyLand  last month I would have worn it around for a day or maybe even the entire 12 days. Now that we've returned I am really curious as to how far we walked each day and now I'll never know. As an added bonus I would have been able to tell how fast the rides were really going!

    posted @ Thursday, March 01, 2007 11:59 AM | Feedback (0) |


    Customers Are Like Patients


    [via: Andrew Whitechapel and his post Customers Should Be Seen And Not Heard]

    ...you foster customers who don’t know what’s good for them, who waste time/money/resources on inappropriate uses of technology, and who then blame their parents/software vendors for problems they’ve brought on themselves. [read more here]

    Anyone who has known me for more than a few hours has probably heard this but I'll say it again. I feel that technology customers should act more like patients visiting a doctor. I would like my customer to explain symptoms to me. I do not want my customer to tell me how to alleviate the symptoms.

    Far too many times I'm had customers dictate solutions to me. I equate this to going to the emergency room with a side-ache and telling the doctor that you need an appendectomy, telling the surgeon where to cut, telling the surgeon to use a particular scalpel and telling the anesthesiologist what drugs and doses to to use.

    As the drugs start to take effect, you relax, you fart, your side feels better and before you can say anything you lose consciousness. Yep, your side-ache was really just gas. Then you wake up with pain, a scar and a very large invoice. All of which could have been avoided had taken the time to tell the doctor your symptoms.

    posted @ Thursday, March 01, 2007 11:51 AM | Feedback (0) |