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November 30, 2004
Tyler Hamilton Fired by Phonak Cycling Team
CyclingNews.com reported that Tyler Hamilton's contract has been terminated by the Phonak Cycling Team under pressure from the International Cycling Union (UCI). The firing actually took place on November 25, but was not made public until today. Team Phonak had hoped that taking this action would result in the UCI favorably reconsidering its application for a UCI ProTour license, but this was not the case.
Earlier this year, Tyler Hamilton was accused of twice violating UCI rules on homologous blood transfusions. I think he appeared to be in a stronger position when he was attached to a major professional cycling team, so the UCI exerted tremendous pressure on the team to distance itself from their team leader.
Now that these events have taken place, it will be interesting to see how Hamilton's handles the appeal of the anti-doping test results.
Don't Miss Overhaulin' Tonight on TLC
A quick reminder to all Operation Gadget readers who are also Lance Armstrong fans: Lance's 1970 Pontiac GTO will be renovated tonight on Overhaulin' on TLC at 9:00pm Eastern and Pacific Time. We will be watching here at the Home Office.
November 29, 2004
Glad I Received "The Flintstones - The Complete First Season" as a Gift
One of the first things I received from my newly revised Amazon.com Wishlist is The Flintstones - The Complete First Season. Kathleen and I sat down and watched the extras and the first episode last night, and I can already see this is a great compilation.
The extras include the pilot, a 45-second-long film called The Flagstones. I thought this showed the potential of The Flintstones concept very well. Several ads for consumer products featuring The Flintstones are also part of the extras. Most of them are for Miles Products: One-a-Day Vitamins and Alka-Seltzer. You'll find that these products are now part of Bayer Health Care's Consumer Care Division, which coincidentally markets Flintstones' Vitamins. That means the relationship has lasted 44 years.
I got a kick out of the first episode, The Flintstone Flyer. It showed a lot of the comic elements that are woven throughout the series, but not all of them. Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble are at each other's throats from the get-go. Fred dismisses Barney's tinkering with a prehistoric helicopter, but claims credit for the device when Barney gets it in the air.
The rest of the episode deals with how Fred and Barney avoid going to The Opera with Wilma and Betty so that they can go bowling instead. Wilma and Betty believe the story that Fred and Barney concoct in order to cover-up their plans (Fred's sudden sickness), but the cover is blown when the women decide to call home to see how Fred is feeling.
So far, there's no Dino, no Pebbles and Bam-Bamm, no Mister Slate or the Quarry. They're all in the future of the series at this point. Dino comes along midway through the first season. Pebbles and Bam-Bamm don't appear in this season at all.
I can't wait to watch more, and I urge everyone who watched The Flintstones reruns every day after school like I did to give The Flintstones - The Complete First Season a serious look. Rent it next time you go to Blockbuster or put it on your Netflix list.
November 22 - 28, 2004 Weekly Summary
This is the Operation Gadget weekly summary for the fourth week of November 2004. I'm experimenting with a weekly summary so that readers who want to receive a periodic email with Operation Gadget headlines can receive the links to all of the articles published each week. I will post a mechanism for readers to sign up for this service when I work out the details.
The headlines:
November 26
- Received a Tour of Hope Dri-Fit Shirt
- Motorola A630 Now Available for Use on T-Mobile
- Roku Soundbridge M1000 is a Great Partner for iTunes, Except for Purchased Music
November 24
November 23
- PocketFactory Laments "The Sad State Of The Palm Economy"
- Black Friday Sale Coming to Apple Online and Retail Stores
November 22
Does a weekly summary work for you? Is it a waste of time? Let me know by posting a comment. Thanks....
November 26, 2004
Received a Tour of Hope Dri-Fit Shirt
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company sent me a Tour of Hope Sphere Dri-fit Shirt today. The letter I received from them reads as follows:
Dear Tour of Hope Cyclist and Fundraiser:
Thank you for your generous support and contributions to the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope. We appreciate the time and energy that you committed to this important cancer cause and to making this year's event a success. Enclosed, as a token of our appreciation, is the Tour of Hope Sphere dri-fit shirt in recognition of your fundraising efforts that exceeded $1,000.
As a result of your efforts and those of other cyclists in Washington, DC, approximately $800,000 was raised during the Tour of Hope. One hundred percent of these funds will directly benefit cancer research through the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Tour of Hope cancer community partners. Now, more than ever, there is hope for a cure and you have played an important role in the search for a cure through your participation.
From the emotional kick-off ride at the City of Hope in Los Angeles to the joyful finale in Washington, DC, the weeklong Tour of Hope was marked with inspirational events. We celebrated the opening of a new oncology center in Denver, held a powerful public rally in Pittsburgh, and inspired the public in a moving event in our nation's capital. Every movement of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope was filled with hope and the passion of each member of the 20-person team to spread the word about the promise of cancer research.
Thank you for helping us go the distance for cancer research!
Warmest regards,
Rebecca Womble
Director, Tour of Hope
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Thanks again to my sponsors who made this success possible.
Motorola A630 Now Available for Use on T-Mobile
The Motorola A630, a tri-band GSM/GPRS mobile phone with an alphanumeric keyboard, is now available for use on T-Mobile USA's wireless network. Amazon.com is selling the A630 for as little as $99.99 when you sign a contract.
I talked about the Motorola A630 back in July when it was announced. At the time, not much was known about the feature set. We now know that it has the following features:
- a 176 x 220, 65,000 color display landscape display,
- an integrated VGA-resolution digital camera with 4x digital zoom, and
- Bluetooth.
When I'm evaluating datacentric wireless handsets, I look closely at email and browsing capabilities. An ideal email client would support both POP3 and IMAP. It appears that the A630 supports POP3 only. There is very little information about the web capabilities of the A630. I will look into this and provide an update when I can. [ via infoSync World ]
Roku Soundbridge M1000 is a Great Partner for iTunes, Except for Purchased Music
Roku Soundbridge M1000: A great
companion for your iTunes music library,
except that it won't play secure files
purchased from the iTunes Music Store.
[ Photo: Amazon.com ]
Ever since I started building my iTunes music library, I've been toying with the idea of buying some sort of network audio streamer to allow my wife and me to play songs from our library during parties. There is a large number of these devices on the market now. One of the most heavily advertised is the Roku Soundbridge M1000 from Roku Labs. This is a stylish device that looks good in your high-end audio component stack.
It has a 280 x 16 element blue flourescent display that is visible from some distance away. The display shows the title and album information for each track, sound frequency levels, and timing-related information. The Soundbridge M1000 and its siblings include a remote control that lets you navigate your library using Roku's Fast Browse interface.
Roku claims that the Soundbridge is the "Most Compatible Player" because it supports Apple's Rendezvous and iTunes as well as Microsoft Windows Media Connect and Windows Media Player 10. It is not, however, entirely compatible with iTunes, because it will not play secure AAC files purchased from the iTunes Music Store. This doesn't affect me that much right now, but it is an impediment to total ITMS enjoyment if you buy and install a Soundbridge.
I like the Roku Soundbridge M1000, but I wish more of the reviews I read of it pointed out that iTunes Music Store music doesn't play on it at the moment. That's really important information. If you definitely need iTunes Music Store play-through capability, you have to look at the Apple Airport Express.
November 24, 2004
Offbeat Nintendo DS Review from BargainPDA.com
Nintendo DS Gaming System: Killer
feature set includes Wi-Fi and dual
processors. Did I mention you can
play games on it?
[ Photo: Amazon.com ]
Leave it to BargainPDA.com to use a review of the Nintendo DS gaming system to prod PDA manufacturers to incorporate more cutting-edge technology. They point out that the Nintendo DS has features like:
- built-in Wi-Fi,
- dual ARM processors,
- dual LCD screens,
- chat collaboration software,
- a stylus, and
- a built-in microphone
... all for a price of around $149. Of course, they can probably afford to price a gaming platform very aggresively because they're going to make money on the games that customers buy. Hey wait a minute, isn't that the rationale that the wireless carriers use to subsidize mobile handsets? Hmm....
November 23, 2004
PocketFactory Laments "The Sad State Of The Palm Economy"
Kent Pribbernow of PocketFactory gave a severe tongue-lashing to palmOne and palmSource in his editorial, The Sad State Of The Palm Economy, And Other PDA Ramblings. He argues that most of the current palmOne PDAs are poor competitors to Pocket PCs at the same price points. The Treo 650 is spared much of this criticism, since many analysts agree that it's the leading smartphone at the moment.
I'm focused entirely on the Treo 650 at the moment, since business has firmed up to a point now where I'm finally able to plan the purchase of a replacement for my late lamented Treo 180. A lot of the palmOne PDAs I've looked at recently (like the Tungsten T5) are hard for me to imagine using on a day-to-day basis.
I think the issue that Kent Pribbernow raises about the uneven quality of third party applications written for the PalmOS is an excellent observation. A lot of these programs are simply not well supported-- probably because developers often dosn't profit sufficiently from maintaining Palm OS software. Some of the most popular third-party apps are maintained on a shoestring and written to the lowest-common-denominator of PDA functionality.
Black Friday Sale Coming to Apple Online and Retail Stores
MacMinute pointed out that Apple has pre-announced a sale that will take place on the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 26, 2004. The sale will involve both the Apple Online Store and Apple Retail Stores throughout the United States.
The "Black Friday Sale" has a dedicated page on the Apple website: http://www.apple.com/retail/thanksgiving/. I could use an iPod, if anyone's buying.
November 22, 2004
Major Cyclocross Event in New Jersey on November 21, and I Missed It
The Home News Tribune reports that a series of cyclocross races took place in Highland Park, New Jersey on Sunday, November 21, 2004. I missed them because I had to officiate two hockey games (fun, but I can do that any weekend). I would have really enjoyed going to watch. I could have taken some photos and learned more about the sport.
For those of you who don't know, cyclocross is sort of an amalgamation of road cycling and mountain biking, usually contested over the sort of course that is used for a high school or college cross-country running race. Organizers generally throw in a few obstacles that require most riders to dismount and carry their bikes.
The Highland Park Cyclocross has been run annually for five years now. It is a
November 15 - 21, 2004 Weekly Summary
This is the Operation Gadget weekly summary for the third week of November 2004. I'm experimenting with a weekly summary so that readers who want to receive a periodic email with Operation Gadget headlines can receive the links to all of the articles published each week. I will post a mechanism for readers to sign up for this service when I work out the details.
The headlines:
November 19
- Shipments Begin for Treo 650 on Sprint PCS at palmOne Treo Store
- Columnist from USA Today Urges Readers to "Trade in Your Dumb Phone for a... Treo 650"
- Superslim CRTs Expected to Compete Against Flat Panels in TV Market in Mid-2005
- U2's Participation in iPod + iTunes Ads Debated
November 11
November 17
November 16
November 15
Does a weekly summary work for you? Is it a waste of time? Let me know by posting a comment. Thanks....
November 19, 2004
Shipments Begin for Treo 650 on Sprint PCS at palmOne Treo Store
BargainPDA.com reported that palmOne has begun shipping the Treo 650 to people who pre-ordered it for use on Sprint PCS. palmOne is offering the Treo 650 for $449 with a new Sprint PCS contract and throwing in free express shipping. Orders placed now are expected to ship in one to two weeks.
Columnist from USA Today Urges Readers to "Trade in Your Dumb Phone for a... Treo 650"
Edward C. Baig wrote a terrific review of the palmOne Treo 650, urging his readers to "trade in your dumb phone for a smart one." He liked the improved keyboard, display, removable battery, and Bluetooth. Baig was most concerned with the lack of WiFi, the rather weak digital camera, and the price. No surprise there.
I always scratch my head when I read that a reviewer thinks that a multi-function device like the Treo 650 should have mobile phone data service, Bluetooth, and WiFi. Having all three technologies in one device makes me worry about supportability from the carrier's perspective. As long as we continue to accept carrier subsidies on our handsets, the complexity of handsets will be a major factor in whether we are able to buy them and if so, how quickly.
Amazon.com's best deal on the Treo 650 at the time of this writing is $369.99, if you sign up for the right contract with Sprint PCS.
Superslim CRTs Expected to Compete Against Flat Panels in TV Market in Mid-2005
Martin O'Donnell pointed out a CNet report that says superslim cathode-ray tubes will hit the television set market soon at significantly lower prices than flat-panel displays. Pioneered by LG.Philips Displays, these superslim CRTs are at least 20 to 30 percent less deep than traditional CRTs, are expected to be priced at $250 to $500 when assembled into a television and sold at retail in the United States. Superslim CRTs are already being produced in 21 and 30-inch sizes and will go on sale as televisions in the first quarter of 2005 in South Korea and in the second quarter the USA.
According to Riddhi Patel, an analyst with market-researcher iSuppli, "CRTs are not going away anytime soon. They will account for 70 percent of the market in 2008."
If 21 and 30-inch CRTs can be made into TVs for $250 to $500, they will be stiff competition for low-end LCD televisions.
I looked for a photo that would help tell the story of these new CRTs, but none of the ones I've found so far really gave me the impression of the size difference between them, existing flat panels, and traditional CRTs.
U2's Participation in iPod + iTunes Ads Debated
Edna Gunderson from USA Today reported on a debate among U2's older fans about the merits of the band's participation in the iPod + iTunes Vertigo ad. I didn't start listening to U2 until the early 1990s, so I never really understood the anti-corporate tendencies that the band and their fan base exhibited early on. It's that cohort that loved the band before The Joshua Tree album that seems to be up-in-arms.
I'm from the school that thinks that U2 will go down in history as one of the most savvy rock bands around because they got fully behind digital music early on. They've done so few commercial endorsements in the past that their iPod + iTunes ad speaks even more loudly. It's pretty clear from Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen's comments that U2 considered its involvement with Apple from every angle before jumping in with both feet.
I didn't think the Apple U2 Special Edition iPod was that significant a product until I saw that it had reached number 2 on the Amazon.com Early Adopter List for Computers. I was pretty sure that this iPod would do well simply because U2 has a tremendous following, but it's hard to believe that it would be selling this strongly without the push that comes from the iPod + iTunes Vertigo ad.
I think U2's association with the iPod culture is a win-win situation. I wouldn't be surprised if U2's new album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, achieves blockbuster status in terms of CD and iTunes sales.
November 17, 2004
Happy First Birthday, Operation Gadget
On November 17, 2003, Operation Gadget was launched. In its first year, a number of really nice things have happened:
- Nearly 650 articles posted.
- Several article categories have substantial regular readership, including:
- Gadget-related:
- Event-related:
- Fund-raising:
- LiveStrong Program,
- Breast Cancer Fund-raising through the Target Pink Breast Cancer Awareness and the Living in Pink programs, and
- 2004 Tour of Hope.
- Photo archive begun for events in which Operation Gadget participates. Look for more interesting photos to be posted before Thanksgiving.
Thanks to everyone who reads and comments on Operation Gadget stories. You are a major reason that this blog continues to grow and prosper. Special thanks to:
- my wife, Kathleen Aiello, for not giving up when times were tough,
- the Aiello and Kuykendall extended families,
- my sponsors in the 2004 Tour of Hope who helped me raise over $2,100 for cancer research,
- Phil Lurie for providing network facilities and connectivity for Operation Gadget when it was starting out,
- Martin O'Donnell for acting as the West Coast Editor,
- John Cloninger for loaning his digital camera for the masthead photo,
- Ramona Morel for her moral support in times of mutual personal difficulty,
- Ed Anuff for tremendous advice, help with networking, and moral support,
- Chris Nolan and Chris McCarthy for being excellent customers and advisors and becoming my friends,
- Doc Searls for plugging Operation Gadget on Day 1,
- Cecil Ledesma for being an excellent riding partner in the 2004 Tour of Hope,
- Dr. Steven Sharpe and Greg Millett for fixing the broken pedal on my bike during the 2004 Tour of Hope,
- Art Iger for his advice on self-employment and successful micropublishing,
- Sesh Rengaswamy for regularly emailing me from India,
- Henry Scheuer for helping me manage my financial affairs and offering advice on a lot of subjects,
- Michelle Milford of the Lance Armstrong Foundation,
- Jackson Jeyanayagam of Waggener Edstrom for building a relationship between Operation Gadget and T-Mobile USA, and
- the folks at Movable Type / Six Apart, MySQL, the Apache Software Foundation, Red Hat, and the Fedora Project for providing the tools that helped build the Operation Gadget infrastructure.
So many people have generously offered advice and support during Operation Gadget's first year, it's hard to remember them all in one sitting. I'll probably add more people to this list as I think of them.
I think regular readers of Operation Gadget will agree that the site has been relentlessly upgraded and its content has been fine-tuned in a number of ways. Look for more of improvements coming up soon.
Operation Gadget depends on feedback from its readers for many article and site enhancement ideas. I'd love to hear from you if you have an idea for a story or a new service that Operation Gadget can provide. Send your story ideas to tips [at] operationgadget.com or email me directly at daiello [at] operationgadget.com.
Backend of Operation Gadget Upgraded
In case you're wondering why Operation Gadget has been so quiet for the past few days, I've been working on upgrading to the current version of Movable Type, installing a number of support programs and utilities, and making design tweaks. So far everything has gone well, and I hope to be finished soon.
November 16, 2004
Serotta Ottrott ST Tested by PezCyclingNews
Serotta Ottrott ST: The bike that John
Kerry rode during the early days of his
presidential campaign was reviewed favorably
by PezCyclingNews.com. [ Photo: Serotta ]
PezCyclingNews has published an extensive review of the Serotta Ottrott ST that highlights the differences between it-- a custom-fit bike-- and more "stock" high end bikes like the Trek Madone 5.9. In order to get an Ottrott ST, you have to go to an authorized dealer who must interview you and fit you for the bike. According to the article:
What you get from the extra effort is not simply a slightly adjusted seat angle or head angle, but a true custom frame where every single weld angle and tube length are specified (they also have a variety of tube choices for all sizes). In fact, they use an order spread sheet that has twice the number of data entry points as was the case for the other 3 custom bikes I have had. And it’s hell and gone from shops that think a custom bike is an off the peg frame where you specify parts (and some still don’t fit you!)… Hell, choosing the latest component without fit consideration is the most frequent mistake people make.
There are a number of very good photos of the bike that Serotta made for the PezCyclingNews review, the Serotta factory in Saratoga Springs, NY, and the Serotta bike production team.
Because of the custom nature of the Serotta Ottrott ST, it's pretty difficult to compare it with other high end bikes, at least on price. The frame alone costs $5,295 before tax. Operation Gadget published an article comparing President Bush and John Kerry's riding styles in August that was based on a New York Times article on their bike choices. The Times article estimated that Senator Kerry's bike cost $8,000. So, my guess is that the average cost of finishing an Ottrott ST is $2,700 above the cost of the frame.
November 15, 2004
Case Against Tyler Hamilton Examined by The New York Times
TDFblog pointed out a New York Times article summarizing the doping case against Tyler Hamilton and his on-going quest to clear his name. A lot of fans of the sport have difficulty believing that Tyler would commit the offense that he is charged with (transfusing another person's blood into himself without medical purpose). Others, such as Olympic timetrial silver medalist and USA teammate Bobby Julich, wonder how so many blood tests could have been done in the past three months and only three positives uncovered for this offense (two by Tyler Hamilton) without a presumption that the test results are valid?
The New York Times takes a fair look at it, providing people on both sides an opportunity to say why they feel the way they do. In any case, the biggest issue yet to be decided is whether Tyler Hamilton will be banned from competition for two years. This is expected to be the penalty if the test results are upheld.
November 8 - 14, 2004 Weekly Summary
This is the Operation Gadget weekly summary for the second week of November 2004. I'm experimenting with a weekly summary so that readers who want to receive a periodic email with Operation Gadget headlines can receive the links to all of the articles published each week. I will post a mechanism for readers to sign up for this service when I work out the details.
The headlines:
November 12
- Lance Armstrong's GTO to Be Overhauled on November 30
- Treo 650 Orders Are Being Taken at Amazon.com
- T-Mobile Increased Its U.S. Marketshare by 24 Percent YTD in 2004
- Harvey Levine Shot Cycling Photos with Nikon D2H Pro Digital SLR Camera
November 11
November 10
November 9
- Leapster Multimedia Learning System Will Entertain 4 to 8 Year Olds
- "Amazon Theater" Debuts as an Entertaining Vehicle for Holiday Product Promotion
November 8
Does a weekly summary work for you? Is it a waste of time? Let me know by posting a comment. Thanks....
November 12, 2004
Lance Armstrong's GTO to Be Overhauled on November 30
My wife, Kathleen Aiello, just told me that the long awaited Lance Armstrong episode of TLC's series "Overhaulin'" will air on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 at 9:00pm Eastern and Pacific Time. In this episode, a 1970 Pontiac GTO that Sheryl Crow gave Lance in honor of his sixth Tour de France victory is apparently stolen. Of course, it's actually abducted by a team of vehicle customizers who return it to him a week later.
I'm going to go back downstairs right now and set the TiVo to record the show. Whoops, I forgot. TiVo's only got a two week future TV schedule.
Treo 650 Orders Are Being Taken at Amazon.com
I noticed that Amazon.com is taking orders for the Treo 650 to run on Sprint PCS. Everybody who's been following news about the Treo 650 knows it's not going to be discounted very much in the near future. If you want one of these, you are looking for the absolute best integrated mobile communicator on the market regardless of price.
I'm probably going to wait a month or two before placing my Treo 650 order. This is partly because I'll be able to afford it better in a couple of months, and partly because I want a unit that will run on a GSM network.
Sprint was out there selling the Treo 600 when it was brand new, so a lot of early adopters ended up with their service. I'm sure many of those people will upgrade and keep their service. Ever since I travelled to Zurich with my Treo 180 in 2003, I'm convinced that GSM is the way to go. So, I'll be choosing from T-Mobile USA, AT&T Wireless, and Cingular Wireless service when the time comes.
T-Mobile Increased Its U.S. Marketshare by 24 Percent YTD in 2004
Martin O'Donnell pointed out this Wireless Week article that reports T-Mobile USA has added over 3.2 million subscribers in the last nine months, a 24-percent increase in their customer base. Revenue for the third quarter was $2.46 billion or about $55 per customer. This has had a very positive impact on parent company Deutsche Telekom's earnings.
At one point, it looked like Telekom had overpaid to acquire VoiceStream, the company now called T-Mobile USA. I'm not hearing too much mention of that now.
I like T-Mobile because their wireless data service rates are among the cheapest around. This makes them the carrier of choice if you use a Treo 600, a BlackBerry 7230, or an exclusive on their network like the T-Mobile Sidekick II.
Harvey Levine Shot Cycling Photos with Nikon D2H Pro Digital SLR Camera
Nikon D2H Pro Digital SLR:
Harvey Levine used this with
a Nikon 400mm f/2.8 lens
to shoot cycling photos.
[ Photo: Amazon.com ]
John Cloninger asked what camera Harvey Levine used to shoot the photo of me that was taken at the Covered Bridge Metric Century that I featured on Operation Gadget?
Harvey reports that this photo was taken with a Nikon D2H Pro Digital SLR Camera and a Nikon 400mm f/2.8 lens. This is a premium setup to be sure.
I was telling John that you can't get the photo that Harvey took of me, or the photos he's taken at Penn State Football games, without having a long lens with fast focus and excellent sharpness. The Nikon 400mm f/2.8 lens apparently delivers this in spades. According to a review of the lens on FredMiranda.com:
...for what it does, this lens is the fastest and most accurate focusing lens I have ever used. It is also sharp beyond sharp and delivers a bokah {blur outside the depth of field} like a portrait lens. I have used it for field sports and racing. On my D2h body, it will follow a player running at me or diagonally across the field at full speed and it will follow an Indy car coming straight at me at 200 mph. The short {depth of field} when it is wide open, or close to it is wonderful for isolating a subject from its background, and it remains plenty sharp wide open, although it seems a bit sharper at f4.
A review on KenRockwell.com says that the Nikon 400mm f/2.8 lens costs about $10,000 new and $5,500 used. Many people apparently own the D2H body and rent the 400mm lens from a full-service camera store. I don't know whether Harvey owns or rents the one he was using that day.
November 11, 2004
The Best Action Photo of Dave Aiello in a Long Time
Dave Aiello Out of the Saddle:
Covered Bridge Metric Century,
August 15, 2004, Lancaster, PA.
Click on the photo for a larger image.
[ Photo: Harvey Levine ]
Here's a photo of me riding the 2004 Covered Bridge Metric Century, a large cycling event that took place on August 15 in Lancaster, PA. The photo was taken very near the Pinetown Bridge which crosses the Conestoga River in Lancaster.
The Covered Bridge Metric Century is a ride I mentioned in an Operation Gadget article called Toolkit for Turning Garmin Forerunner 201 Data into Overlay Maps. My father-in-law, George Kuykendall, and I rode it together. We chose to do the 50-kilometer (31 mile) route rather than the full 100 km.
This photo was taken by Harvey Levine, a professional photographer from Harrisburg, PA who has taken some really good Temple University Basketball and Penn State Football photos. It has taken a while to get this specific photo and publish it here, but Harvey made sure I got the one I wanted. I'm going to put a copy on my bio page as well.
This photo is probably the best sports action photo that's been taken of me since I graduated from RPI. I'm going to try to find out what equipment he used to take it because that information is probably more interesting to Operation Gadget readers than when or where the photo was taken.
In case you are wondering, I bought an 8 x 10 print and it will be hanging in the living room before too long. [ Thanks again, Harvey. ]
Trek Madone 5.9 Reviewed by CyclingNews
Trek Madone 5.9: The bike that Lance
Armstrong rode during the 2003 Tour de France
was reviewed favorably by CyclingNews.com
[ Photo: Trek ]
John Stevenson of CyclingNews.com evaluated a Trek Madone 5.9 by riding it 1,500 kilometers (930 miles). [ Where do I sign up for that job? ] He really liked it, in that it performed in a solid and understated fashion while making him competitive with riders who had been able to drop him when he was riding less sophisticated bikes:
Like any race bike, the Madone is a tool for winning races. Its job is provide the rider with a platform for turning training into trophies. It shouldn't be in any way distracting or irritating to ride, and it needs to be as comfortable at the end of a long ride as it is at the beginning. That characteristic Trek neutrality, which could be interpreted as a lack of excitement, is a virtue in a race bike.
The Madone's handling, then, is unobtrusive. It complies evenly and smoothly when you point it into a turn and holds its line confidently round curves even at high speed. It responds willingly to rider input, but without that feeling of puppy-dog enthusiasm that characterises some very light bikes. Nevertheless, I found myself climbing in higher gears than on my regular rig and keeping up with riders who usually leave me behind.
This bike has an estimated price of $6,300.00 as tested, so most of us won't be buying one anytime soon. It's even a little much for me to put on my Amazon.com Wishlist. But, as a fan of pro cycling and the technology behind it, I want to understand the differences between what the pros ride and what I ride. This review does a great job illustrating that.
If you can afford to buy one of these with your own money, let me know. I'd love to do an Operation Gagdet article on even more specific features than this review discusses.
November 10, 2004
George H.W. Bush, BlackBerry User
Time Magazine published an article by Hugh Sidey called Savoring Victory, Family Style [ Time Magazine subscription required ]. It talks about George H.W. Bush's involvement and impressions of his son George W. Bush's re-election campaign.
To me, one of the most interesting passages in this article was Sidey's illustration of how much Bush the Elder travels, and what he takes with him:
Even while racing across the country to help raise funds for George W., the father kept his BlackBerry handy and touched hundreds of bases.
George H.W. Bush is 80 years old. My question after reading this passage was, how did he become a BlackBerry user, and how can I convince my father to become one?
The elder President Bush is a speaker in great demand for corporations throughout the world. I discovered that one of his speeches in 2003 was at the 3GSM World Conference in Cannes, France, where he could have met Jim Balsillie the co-CEO of Research in Motion as well as Cingular CEO Mark Feidler, now back at parent company BellSouth. Maybe they gave President Bush a BlackBerry then.
One of the most difficult things for me is to try to explain to people my father's age is that they are missing a lot of conversation that they would be part of if they were serious email users. My father spends very little time at home, just like many able-bodied retirees. I occasionally suggest to him that he consider getting a Blackberry and use it to correspond with me and other members of the family.
Maybe learning that President Bush the Elder is a Blackberry user would intrigue him enough to take a good look at a handheld like the Blackberry 7230.
Halo 2 Ships, First Day Sales Estimated at $100 Million
The San Diego Union Tribune reported that thousands of people lined up across the country to purchase Halo 2, the long-awaited new Xbox game from Microsoft's Bungie Studios. Over 6,000 stores from coast-to-coast opened at midnight to sell Halo 2 to adoring fans.
CNN Money reported that Gary Cooper, an analyst from BancAmerica Securities, expects upwards for 3.5 million copies of Halo 2 to be sold by December 31. That sounds low to me. If the first day sales were $100 million, as expected, that translates to about 1.9 million copies sold yesterday. I think that Microsoft has to be able to at least double their first day Halo 2 sales by the end of the year.
November 9, 2004
Leapster Multimedia Learning System Will Entertain 4 to 8 Year Olds
Leapster Multimedia Learning System
is an educational toy aimed at kids
between 4 and 8 years old. There are quite
a few cartridges available for this system.
[ Photo: Amazon.com ]
The other day I got a chance to play with the Leapster Multimedia Learning System for the first time. This is a handheld electronic toy that straddles the line between educational and entertaining products. It's aimed at kids between the ages of 4 and 8.
The Leapster looked like a winner to me. This is the second holiday season that it will be available. Last year, the big criticisms of it were lack of program titles and poor quality control associated with the screen and the sensitivity of the touch screen. Both of these issues seem to have been addressed.
Cartridges available for this system include:
- SpongeBob SquarePants Saves the Day,
- Dora the Explorer- Animal Rescue,
- The Incredibles, and
- Spider-Man.
As you can see, Leapster has a lot of titles starring characters that are popular with kids this age. Whether these particular titles are all educational would be the subject of a website unto itself, b