« July 2005 | Back to Operation Gadget Main | September 2005 »
August 31, 2005
Thanks, Judge Bissell
Judge John W. "Jack" Bissell, the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, retired from the bench today. I've known Judge Bissell since about 1990 when I joined the Metropolitan New York - New Jersey Chapter of the National Ice Hockey Officials Association. He was a member of that organization at the time and helped me resolve a dispute with a coach that had the potential to disrupt my officiating career.
The Star-Ledger published a long article about Judge Bissell's 27 years as a state and federal judge. All of my friends from hockey officiating got a kick out of reading it. The part I liked best is this:
Today, with the rap of a gavel given to him when he first became a judge, Bissell will conclude his duties on the bench by swearing in a new group of citizens -- a send-off he selected because it is a time in a federal courthouse where everyone is happy.
I didn't want to miss this opportunity to wish Judge Bissell well as he retires. He's done a lot for the people of New Jersey and the United States.
August 30, 2005
Mapping Race Courses with a GPS and Google Maps
Dave Mabe has published a couple of articles on compiling race maps by taking GPS tracklogs, processing them, and running the resulting data file through the Google Maps API. The articles are:
Looks like he's getting a lot of ideas from the Mapping Hacks book published by O'Reilly. I saw this book in a local Barnes & Noble the other day and I definitely want a copy. I just don't have time to work through all the interesting recipies in it right now.
August 29, 2005
I'm Tired of Getting Ripped Off by Splogs
I want to join my friend Doc Searls in pointing out splogs and urging concerted action from the search engine providers and context-sensitive advertising services to take as much of the profit out of splogs as possible. According to Mark Cuban, a splog is any blog whose creator doesn't add any written value.
The owner of a splog is typically trying to create a site with high search engine relevance without doing any work. The goal is to divert information seekers to these splogs, display context-sensitive ads, and get the information seekers to click those ads. Google, Yahoo!, and other ad service providers then pay the splogger for the clicks and the splogger has a quick profit.
I pay attention to referrals to Operation Gadget from other sites. Many of the sites that provide referral tracking services such as Technorati and IceRocket have recently shown a large increase in links to Operation Gadget which would normally be welcome. However, a disproportionate number of recent links to our site are actually from splogs. Here are a few examples:
- A page from "Your snow tires info" contains the bulk of a post called Maxxis Inflatable Tire Not in Place on Brasstown Bald Due to High Winds, a report I filed from the top of Brasstown Bald during the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia. No information about snow tires whatsoever.
- A page from "Your pmp info" contains the bulk of a post called Discovery Uses Personal Media Players to Fine-tune TT Technique, an extremely popular article about the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team's use of AMD technology. This splog appears to be trying to divert people searching for information about the Project Management Professional (PMP) business certification, but it's scooping up information about Personal Media Players as well.
- A page from "Your tmobile info" contains the bulk of a post called What T-Mobile is Missing by Not Quickly Upgrading to EDGE, an important article about management decisions that T-Mobile USA made about their wireless data services deployment. This splog appears to be trying to divert people searching for for T-Mobile ringtones, hotspots, and billing plans.
I'm sure you can see the similarity between these splogs. They take original content from Operation Gadget and other sites by scraping RSS feeds and simply put the articles on new web pages. Any ad clicks that these splog sites capture result in money paid to people who didn't do any of the research, reporting, or analysis.
Doc Searls doesn't run ads on his site, but he realizes that lots of sites would cease to exist or be scaled back if the value chain of context-sensitive advertising is disrupted by profiteering such as that embodied by splogs.
What I'm doing to help fight the splog phenomenon is:
- I'm calling attention to it in this article.
- I've started submitting splogs that misappropriate content from Operation Gadget to a site called Splog Reporter. This site was inspired by Mark Cuban's call to arms and built by Frank J Gruber V. [ Thanks to Doc for the correction. ]
Please let me know if you think of anything else I should be doing.
Technorati Tags: splogs
LSU Professor Maintaining Hurricane Katrina Blog
Dr. Kaye Trammell, an assistant professor of visual communications at Louisiana State University, has set up Kaye's Hurricane Katrina Blog and has been blogging regularly all night from Baton Rouge. That's about 65 miles west of New Orleans.
From what I've been able to read, Baton Rouge is west of the path of the storm. Katrina made landfall east of New Orleans earlier this morning.
I think this blog is interesting because Trammell is critiquing local television coverage, comparing it to what's been airing across the country, and reporting on what she's experiencing at her home. [ via Josh Hallett at Hyku.com ]
4th Week of August 2005 Workouts
Here's a quick summary of the workouts that I did last week:
- Monday, August 22: Biked 10.6 miles in 52 minutes 29 seconds.
- Tuesday, August 23: Biked 10.4 miles in 44 minutes 4 seconds.
- Wednesday, August 24: Biked 10.6 miles in 51 minutes 3 seconds.
- Thursday, August 25: Rest.
- Friday, August 26: Mowed lawn for 1 hour 43 minutes 1 seconds.
- Saturday, August 27: Officiated hockey for 1 minutes 47 seconds 4 seconds; Officiated hockey for 1 hour 41 minutes 6 seconds.
- Sunday, August 28: Officiated hockey for 1 hour 6 minutes 33 seconds.
This week hockey got underway in a pretty significant way for me. Early in the week, I got three 10 mile bike rides in, then rested on Thursday because I knew the rest of the week was going to be intense. I did my usual lawn maintenance tasks on Friday.
I officiated in a Junior hockey tournament in Exton, PA on Saturday. I refereed the first game and worked as a linesman in the second. On Sunday, I participated in the annual USA Hockey Level 4 Officiating Training Seminar put on by the Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association. In order to maintain my certification as a referee at the Junior age level and qualify to participate as a referee in a USA Hockey National Championship, each year I must attend a Level 4 officiating training seminar each year and pass graded skating proficiency and rules knowledge test.
For the week, I exercised for 8 hours 45 minutes burning 6,893 calories, and covering a total of 31.4 miles on my bike. This is about the same number of miles on the bike as last week, but the number of calories burned in exercise doubled. This is an indication of why I need to increase the intensity and duration of my training for the first few weeks of September.
August 22 - 28, 2005 Weekly Summary
This is the Operation Gadget weekly summary for the fourth week of August 2005. 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:
August 27
- Where I'm Looking for Bluetooth Headset Reviews
- Treonauts Backs Off on Strong Cardo Scala 500 Rating
- No Need for Bluetooth 1.2 Compatibility When Connecting an Accessory to the Treo 650
August 26
August 25
- Armstrong to Appear on Larry King Live to Address Doping Allegations
- Dine with the Pros and Support the Phinney Foundation in San Francisco on September 2
- TVPredictions Discusses the Features of the New DirecTV Plus DVR
August 24
- PhoneGnome Straddles Regular Phone Line and Broadband Connection to Provide a Hybrid Phone Experience
- VeloACE Is Ideal for Palm Zealots Who Want a Bike Computer
- Lyon, France's Rent-a-Bike System Loaded with Technology
August 23
- Study Says Handheld Communicators Help Doctors Respond Faster than Pagers
- R-Driver II USB 2.0 to IDE Cable Is Ideal for Copying Data from Hard Drives Being Replaced
- No Good Will Come from Retroactive Drug Testing in Pro Cycling
- Developing a Workout Plan to Simulate the Effort of Other Athletic Performances
August 22
- Replacing the APC Uninterruptible Power Supply Battery Protecting Our VoIP Lines
- Mavic Crossland Mountain Wheels Take a Year of Riding with No Problems
- Installed Performance Topo FasTracs on My Mountain Bike
- 3rd Week of August 2005 Workouts
Does a weekly summary work for you? Is it a waste of time? Let me know by posting a comment. Thanks....
August 27, 2005
Where I'm Looking for Bluetooth Headset Reviews
I'm looking high and low for credible reviews of Bluetooth headsets to use with my Palm Treo 650. Many of the Treo-related sites have limited Bluetooth headset reviews, despite the fact that many Treo users I know either have purchased or are strongly considering purchase of a Bluetooth headset.
Here are some places where I have found a number of good Bluetooth headset reviews:
- MobileBurn: An excellent mobile phone technology site edited by Michael Oryl. I couldn't find a category where Bluetooth headset reviews were collected, but a MobileBurn site search for "Bluetooth headset" produced lots of useful results.
- Treonauts: In spite of the fact that Treonauts changed its review of the Cardo Scala 500, this site has the best collection of Treo 650-specific Bluetooth headset reviews. Check out the head-to-head comparison of eight Bluetooth headsets. It's not exhaustive because they leave out a couple of the Motorola models, but it's the best one stop comparison I've found so far.
I'll add links to this story for additional sites with Bluetooth headset reviews as I find them.
Treonauts Backs Off on Strong Cardo Scala 500 Rating
In my search for a Bluetooth headset for my Treo 650 and VoIP use, I revisited a favorable Treonauts review of the Cardo Scala 650 that I pointed out a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to see the following paragraph had been added to the review:
UPDATE: Following a flurry of comments and emails as well as additional testing on my part, I have very disappointingly found that the Scala 500 suffers from a significantly higher level of 'static' compared with the Palm Treo BT Headset as well as others. There is no doubt that the Scala 500 still offers the best accessory kit but unfortunately with a sub-par call quality I now have to reconsider my earlier rating and lower it to just 6/10. It's a real shame but I hope that Scala will work to improve their offering in the future.
This caused me to look elsewhere for reviews of the Cardo Scala 500. The sense I got from reading dozens of reviews and comments on different websites is that some people had a great experience using the Cardo Scala 500 with the Treo 650 and some people experienced the static problem that's mentioned in the revised Treonauts review.
What's more troubling to me, however, is the idea in several articles that the problem may lie more with Treo 650 Bluetooth performance than with the Scala 500 itself. Some headsets have a harder time maintaining a connection with the Treo 650 than with other phones. Some have intermittent or persistent static issues with the Treo 650 and not with other phones.
I'm surprised that the experience people have with Bluetooth headsets is so configuration-dependent. I'd think that a device that's Bluetooth 1.1 or 1.2 certified would "just work" with another certified device. On the other hand, this is wireless networking, so is it unreasonable to expect some variability.
Your mileage may vary with the Cardo Scala 500 and the Treo 650. I'm not changing my view that this headset is a great value, but I may not buy one myself either.
No Need for Bluetooth 1.2 Compatibility When Connecting an Accessory to the Treo 650
I've been talking to Martin O'Donnell and Andy Abramson recently about getting a Bluetooth headset in order to be able to use it with both my Palm Treo 650 and my PC when I'm using Skype and Google Talk.
Many of the Bluetooth headsets that are currently on sale will do double duty in this manner, but some of them are Bluetooth 1.2-compatible while others are only compatible with Bluetooth 1.1. I wasn't sure if it mattered whether I had Bluetooth 1.2 compatiblility, so I had to do some research.
It turns out that the Treo 650 only supports Bluetooth 1.1 anyway and that Palm says it has "no plans to upgrade the Bluetooth technology in the Treo 650 smartphone to version 1.2". In addition, most Bluetooth USB adapters like the Belkin F8T003 that I have installed on my Blogging Workstation are only Bluetooth 1.1 compatible.
If the Treo 650 and my PC had both supported Bluetooth 1.2, I would have excluded Bluetooth 1.1 headsets from my product search. I clearly don't have to restrict myself now.
Technorati Tags: VoIP
August 26, 2005
WSJ Article on VoIP Focuses on Embedded Voice in Applications
I forgot to mention that yesterday's Wall Street Journal had a free article called Talk of the Internet that surprisingly focused on computer applications that support voice communications between users. The article begins by describing how users of Battlefield 2 from Electronic Arts can communicate with each other via a Voice over IP (VoIP) client that's embedded in the game itself. How cool is that?
Of course this is old hat to people that have been using XBox Live for a while, but I missed the peer-to-peer voice communications aspects of this on-line service until it was recently pointed out to me.
I keyed in on the discussion of Battlefield 2 in this article because it's a perfect example of an application for VoIP that's not simply about saving money on telephone calls by routing them over the Internet. The voice communications capability in Battlefield 2 is arguably a new dimension of Internet-aware computer applications.
Analysts like Maribel Lopez of Forrester Research believe that VoIP is overhyped because cheap long distance calling will not drive VoIP adoption as far into the mainstream as will new ways to use voice communications that come embedded in products and services we buy.
The article goes on to point out that VoIP is also being embedded in Instant Messaging and similar Internet communications apps that already have a huge number of users. The IM-feel of Skype was probably helpful in its rapid adoption. Google probably thought it would catch a wave of early adopters by designing Google Talk with a similar feature set.
I'd also like to point out that the WSJ article mentions my new friend Andy Abramson of VoIP Watch and how VoIP helped facilitate his long distance relationship with his fiancee Helene Malabed. This story has gotten a lot of play in VoIP-related blogs recently, but it's illustrative of the new opportunities that people will have to build close relationships with people who live some distance away.
I hate to think about how much money I spent on long distance charges talking to Kathleen when she lived in Philadelphia and I lived in Denville, NJ, before we got married. If that part of our relationship were taking place today, we could have saved most of that cost. It would be extremely difficult to quantify those savings without going through many dozens of phone bills, but I wouldn't be surprised to have paid a four-digit number of dollars over the three years Kathleen was in medical school.
Technorati Tags: VoIP
Busy Working on a Client's New Blog
I'm hard at work on a new blog for one of my Weblog Improvement clients. I hope to be done with the first production-ready version of their templates and style sheet early this afternoon. In the meantime, you won't see much posted here....
August 25, 2005
Armstrong to Appear on Larry King Live to Address Doping Allegations
Frank Steele over at TDFblog.com pointed out that Lance Armstrong will appear on CNN's Larry King Live tonight (August 25, 2005). He'll be appearing to discuss the article that appeared in L'Equipe on Tuesday, which claimed that he used the performance enhancing drug EPO during the 1999 Tour de France.
Larry King Live airs from 9:00 to 10:00pm Eastern Time. Further information about the program can be found on the Larry King Live program page on CNN.com.
Technorati Tags: Tour de France, Lance Armstrong
Dine with the Pros and Support the Phinney Foundation in San Francisco on September 2
VeloNews reports that a charity dinner benefitting the Davis Phinney Foundation will take place on Friday, September 2 at 7:30pm at the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club, 1630 Stockton Street, San Francisco. "An Evening with Davis Phinney and Friends-- Dinner with the Pros" was organized by Scott "The Tour Baby" Coady and is sponsored by fi'zi:k.
The dinner features:
- Delicious Family Style Italian Dinner
- Silent Auction & Raffle
- Roast of Davis Phinney
- Special and Surprise Guests
- Exclusive VIP After Party starting at 10:00 PM
Tickets are $40 in advance and can be purchased at Scott Coady's website www.thetourbaby.com. If you're going to be in San Francisco for the Barclays Global Investors Grand Prix in San Francisco on Sunday, September 4, this event is a perfect start to the weekend.
The Davis Phinney Foundation supports Parkinson's Disease research and wellness. Davis is the winningest pro cyclist in American history. He was diagnosed with Young-Onset Parkinson's Disease in March 2000.
TVPredictions Discusses the Features of the New DirecTV Plus DVR
Phillip Swan of TVPredictions.com obtained a copy of the manual for the forthcoming R15 DirecTV Plus Digital Video Recorder. The DirecTV Plus DVR is going to be marketed instead of the DirecTV DVR with TiVo that's currently being marketed by DirecTV. The sales and marketing switch-over is expected to take place in October.
Swann went through the DirecTV Plus DVR manual and identified the unique features of this unit. They include:
- 90-minute program buffer,
- frame-by-frame program replay,
- program bookmarks, and
- caller ID display for incoming phone calls on a connected phone line.
A few of the things that Swann referred to as new features in the DirecTV Plus DVR don't seem like new features to me. One example is the enhancements to the on-screen programming guide. Swann said:
The programming grids include a symbol for when a show is broadcast in the widescreen format or if you have set it to record.
My DirecTiVo has those feature.
The decision by DirecTV to switch DVR platforms is significant to them and to their former partner, TiVo. I'll try to keep an eye on it and report on new developments.
August 24, 2005
PhoneGnome Straddles Regular Phone Line and Broadband Connection to Provide a Hybrid Phone Experience
Earlier today, I was talking to Martin O'Donnell about a plug-and-play VoIP terminal called PhoneGnome. PhoneGnome is a small appliance that you can use to make Internet telephone calls, but you "buy and own it" and no monthly subscription fee is charged.
A lot of the VoIP services encourage you to use them for all of your telephone calls. PhoneGnome is designed for users who:
- have broadband already,
- want to keep their local phone line for basic services like unmeasured local calling and 911, and
- want to use VoIP when it's convenient and when it results in significant savings.
The PhoneGnome appliance straddles your regular phone line and broadband connection. It extends to the local telephone line some of the advanced services that VoIP users take for granted, like voicemail with email delivery, call waiting, and three way calling. Once you install the PhoneGnome, you can drop some of these services from your local phone line. Most local phone companies charge at least $7.00 per line per month to provide voicemail service.
When a PhoneGnome appliance is installed, it gets programmed with the phone number for the regular telephone line that's connected to it. That number is registered in a directory of PhoneGnome devices so that other PhoneGnomes know to route calls to it via peer-to-peer VoIP. This is how PhoneGnome delivers VoIP calling that's free of monthly fees and per-minute charges.
If you spend a great deal of time on calls with other PhoneGnome users, you can save a lot of money by reducing the cost of those calls to $0. That's why PhoneGnomes can be purchased in a two-pack (although they can also be purchased individually). I think people with overseas relatives or friends and family members far away will save a lot of money this way.
PhoneGnome is Session Initiation Protocol-compliant (SIP), which means that VoIP calls can be placed using an SIP address rather than a phone number. This feature is unlikely to get extensive use by the non-technical portion of the PhoneGnome user base, but more computer-oriented users will probably figure out ways to put SIP addresses on speed dial and save themselves additional money.
PhoneGnome can also be used to make VoIP calls to any phone number in the world, but those calls must be routed through a VoIP service provider for delivery back to the local telephone network or a mobile phone. A list of PhoneGnome-compatible VoIP services and rates is available.
PhoneGnome seems like a very unique product that approaches VoIP telephony in a new and different way. I'm sure it will be a God-send to people who have large long distance bills today and don't have the technical skill to use Skype or a more computer-oriented VoIP service.
I hope to get a PhoneGnome for review so we can put it through its paces and report on the experience of using it.
Technorati Tags: VoIP
See also:
VeloACE Is Ideal for Palm Zealots Who Want a Bike Computer
VeloACE: An Open Source Bike
Computer System for PalmOS.
For when you absolutely
want to have your bike
speedometer be a PDA.
[ Image: Mark Hammerling ]
Sammy and the other folks over at PalmAddict don't normally scoop us on fitness gadget news, but you'll see why they did in a moment. One of their readers tipped them off to VeloACE, an open source bike computer software project for the PalmOS.
I think this is an interesting proof of concept, but I honestly have no idea what would motivate a cyclist to use this program unless he or she was also the biggest Palm geek in the world. I can't imagine mounting a Palm IIIx or Palm IIIxe to my bike handle bars as suggested, then installing a wired wheel sensor. The late model Palm's aren't water-resistant by any stretch of the imagination.
I think it's amazing that someone wrote a bike computer PalmOS application. It certainly illustrates the bredth of third-party software offerings for Palm handhelds, but a solution like this belongs in Make.
I realize that a program like this is going to intrigue some people. If you're interested in comparing VeloACE's feature set to the kind of technology available in gadgets designed from the outset to be used as bike computers, check out these devices:
- Polar S625x: more of a running computer than a bike computer. Includes a heart rate monitor wrist receiver and chest transmitter, training log software for a PC, and a weather-resistant foot pod for measuring running distances. Add a Polar Cycling Speed Sensor and a Polar Bike Mount Kit and you've got a computer suitable for running or biking.
- Garmin Forerunner 301: a GPS-based biking or running computer that includes a heart rate monitor. Great for creating maps of training runs and rides. Also includes training log software. Get the Garmin Forerunner 201 if you don't need/want the HRM.
Lyon, France's Rent-a-Bike System Loaded with Technology
Velo'v Grand Lyon is a bike rental network in Lyon, France. Wired News published a great little article about the system works and how technology is being used to try to ensure that it stays solvent.
To use Velo'v in Lyon, you have to make a €150 deposit via check or credit card. This allows you to go to one of the stations and borrow a bike. If you don't return the bike to a station within 24 hours, the deposit is forfeited. The bikes themselves are loaded with sensors that help make the system as automatic as possible.
The owners of this system are JCDecaux, a French company that is primarily in the advertising business in the USA. They are most prominent in a business they refer to as Street Furniture: everything from signs on city streets displaying information to bus shelters.
I have no illusions of this type of bike rental system working in most cities in the United States, but the design of this system seems unique and is certainly worth reading about. [ via Engadget ]
August 23, 2005
Study Says Handheld Communicators Help Doctors Respond Faster than Pagers
E-Health Insider reports that a study published in a journal called BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making indicates that handheld communicators helped surgeons at a London hospital respond to calls more quickly than they did with pagers. The study also indicated that communication between clinicians was improved. According to the article:
A team of surgeons at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, had their pagers replaced with Palm Tungsten W PDAs, with GPRS on the Vodafone network, for three alternate weeks out of six. Several reference textbooks were also loaded onto the devices, including the British National Formulary, as well as medical calculators.
If they were more productive with the Tungsten W, imagine what the surgeons would have accomplished with a more modern handheld like the Palm Treo 650.
My wife (Dr. Kathleen Aiello) has been using a Treo 650 since March and loves it. She uses it as a mobile phone, an IMAP email client, and a reference tool by running Palm medical software like Epocrates.
Since we got our his and hers Treos, Kathleen and I have wondered whether devices like her Treo would have as profound an effect on her fellow doctors as hers did on her. This study suggests that they certainly might. [ via PalmAddict ]
R-Driver II USB 2.0 to IDE Cable Is Ideal for Copying Data from Hard Drives Being Replaced
Earlier today Engadget pointed out a review of the R-Driver II USB to IDE cable adapter that retails for less than $35. The review they noticed was published on theGadgeteer.com and gives basic information about the product. I did some research on this and other USB 2.0 to IDE solutions and the review I liked best is found on DansData.com.
Quick and dirty tools like this are great if they work and you need a cheap, temporary solution. Other people like Martin O'Donnell swear by little drive enclosures that they buy at places like Fry's Electronics or on EBay. YMMV.
No Good Will Come from Retroactive Drug Testing in Pro Cycling
Many of us who covered the Tour de France have just learned of L'Equipe's latest article charging Lance Armstrong with doping during the 1999 Tour de France. Using Google Translation Tools I learned that L'Equipe used investigative journalism techniques to assemble documents from multiple sources that they say indicate that Lance Armstrong had traces of EPO in his system during the 1999 Tour.
In 2004, the Laboratoire National de Depistage du Dopage (LNDD, the French National Doping Control Laboratory) in Chatenay-Malabry, France apparently began retroactively testing frozen urine samples from pro cycling events. L'Equipe says that the purpose of this testing was to fine-tune testing methods to more accurately detect erythropoietin (EPO), a drug that is considered performance-enhancing. Some of the samples tested were from the 1999 Tour de France. The test protocol being used was not available until 2001, and some articles say that it wasn't applied to riders in the Tour de France until 2004.
L'Equipe says that several of the urine samples taken at the 1999 Tour de France indicated that the cyclists who provided them may have used EPO. The articles conclude that six of the samples were taken from Lance Armstrong. They concluded this by combining information provided by the LNDD with documents L'Equipe obtained from other sources. The information that links Armstrong with the urine samples is allegedly a six-digit control number that appears in the EPO test results from 2004 and medical control documents from the 1999 Tour de France.
It's amazing that L'Equipe would publish a sensational story like this now. It shows how interested parts of the European cycling fan base are in finding some nefarious explanation for Lance Armstrong's dominance of pro cycling over the last seven seasons. Why else would a media company spend this much time investigating the results of an event that ended more than six years ago?
Instead of questioning Lance Armstrong's 1999 victory, I'd like to ask a couple of questions that L'Equipe didn't address:
- If the LNDD really wanted to fine-tune their EPO testing methods, shouldn't they use samples that are taken from trained athletes who have intentionally taken EPO and also used any tactics designed to foil the test?
- Did the LNDD have any frozen samples available from other years, particularly the years prior to 1999? If so, did they find any evidence of doping in 1998 when there was a bona fide doping scandal?
I suspect that this was a calculated attempt to implicate Lance Armstrong on the part of some dissidents within the LNDD. The results probably took this long to come out because of the fundimental unfairness of using anti-doping tests that were developed after a competition is over.
The way L'Equipe presented their findings is truly insidious. The LNDD can deny that its researchers had any bad intent because they didn't lookup the tracking numbers for the samples that they were testing. The laboratory had to know, however, that L'Equipe or some other media outlet could correlate the numbers with names based on documents from other sources.
Lance Armstrong has repeatedly said that he has never taken performance-enhancing drugs. The authorities had many opportunities to detect any doping that Armstrong might have undertaken. Since they couldn't confirm any doping allegations while Armstrong was competing, I believe the book should be closed on these issues.
Retroactive drug testing will do no good for professional cycling or any other sport. Anti-doping tests conducted in this manner will cause spectators to further question the officials' ability to determine the winner in future competitions.
Technorati Tags: Tour de France, Lance Armstrong
Developing a Workout Plan to Simulate the Effort of Other Athletic Performances
Heart Rate Chart from Training Log: Here is the heart
rate chart for a game I refereed in the Chicago
Showcase. Click on the chart to see a larger view.
[ Image: Polar Precision Performance Software ]
See more Chicago Showcase exercise data in the
Operation Gadget Photo Gallery.
Regular readers of Operation Gadget know that I was on the ice officiating hockey this weekend for the first time since April. Just like any athlete in the preseason, I saw how far below my end of season peak fitness level I am now.
The hockey season will begin after Labor Day, with the intensity of competition increasing steadily over the month of September. Most competitive leagues in this area will begin their regular seasons between September 15 and November 15. As a hockey official, I need to increase my training effort now to be ready for the intensity of regular season games.
I went out for a 10-mile bike ride on Monday night into the Tyler State Park in Newtown Township, PA. I rode as hard as I could for much of the ride and got my heart rate up to an average of 145 beats per minute. That's at the lower end of the average heart rate range that I need to achieve.
I'm able to make judgements like these because I use a Polar S625x Heart Rate Monitor and I upload all of the performance data into Polar Precision Performance Software. As a result, I have performance data from most of the physical training I've done over the last few years, including the hockey games I've officiated.
This allows me to carefully tune my mountain biking workouts to simulate the kind of aerobic effort I'll need to be able to maintain to successfully officiate high level hockey games. In this article, I'll walk through my approach to planning workouts, and show how I determine whether a workout is helping me reach my training goals.
At the Chicago Showcase high school all-star ice hockey tournament in which I officiated last year, my heart rate averaged 141 when I was working as a linesman and 155 when I was working as a referee. Although 10 to 15 beats per minute may not seem like a lot greater effort, it's easier to gauge the level of effort involved in refereeing high-level ice hockey based on the amount of time spent in heart rate ranges.
Using the targets recommended by Polar Electo, I calculated relative effort ratios based on data collected over three games working in each officiating position at the Chicago Showcase:
For working as a linesman, my heart rate was in the:
- 90 to 100 percent of Maximum Heart Rate: 12 percent of the game
- 70 to 89% MHR: 70%
- 60 to 69% MHR: 11%
- 50 to 59% MHR: 6%
- 0 to 49% MHR: 1%
For working as a referee, my heart rate was in the:
- 90 to 100 percent of Maximum Heart Rate: 57 percent of the game
- 70 to 89% MHR: 27%
- 60 to 69% MHR: 8%
- 50 to 59% MHR: 6%
- 0 to 49% MHR: 2%
The 10-mile ride I did on Monday broke down as follows:
- 90 to 100 percent of Maximum Heart Rate: 26 percent of the ride
- 70 to 89% MHR: 61%
- 60 to 69% MHR: 11%
- 50 to 59% MHR: 1%
- 0 to 49% MHR: 1%
This means that the course I chose and the level of effort is appropriate for simulating the aerobic effort of being a linesman in high level hockey games. The effort does not match up as well as I had hoped to the aerobic effort of being a referee.
In order to do more appropriate referee-training, I need to find a flatter (more level) course where I can maintain high pedal cadence over long stretches. I can also do some sprint intervals on such a course.
The area around our old home of East Windsor, NJ was very good for this type of training. The best example was the East Windsor-Millstone Training Loop that I put together to train for the 2004 Tour of Hope.
Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania is hillier than Eastern Mercer County and Western Monmouth County, New Jersey. I've got to do more route scouting in order to find a route that will help me prepare for refereeing high level hockey games.
August 22, 2005
Replacing the APC Uninterruptible Power Supply Battery Protecting Our VoIP Lines
Amazon.com put many APC products
When I saw this I said, "I must need a new battery, but why hasn't the UPS been beeping at me?" I ordered a replacement battery the next day. That night at 1:30am, I woke up because I heard the UPS alarm beeping in the basement.
If you run your home or work phone service using Voice over Internet Protocol, make sure you have a UPS providing power to your DSL modem and VoIP Telephone Adapters. If you already have a UPS, make sure your battery is good.
I like to buy Genuine APC Replacement Batteries for two reasons:
- Genuine APC Replacement Batteries preserve any applicable warranty coverage.
- APC sends a shipping label with Genuine APC Replacement Batteries so you can send the spent battery back for proper disposal.
Technorati Tags: VoIP
Mavic Crossland Mountain Wheels Take a Year of Riding with No Problems
I'm definitely pleased with the set of Mavic Crossland mountain bike wheels I put on my mountain bike last July. I bought the wheels because the set that came with my Marin Bear Valley SE years ago were falling apart due to metal fatigue, and I kept breaking spokes.
I just looked at my training log and figured out that I've ridden these wheels 1,535 miles with two tire changes but no problems with spoke breakage. That makes the investment worth it to me.
Installed Performance Topo FasTracs on My Mountain Bike
Ten days ago I reported that I was replacing the tires on my mountain bike with Performance Topo FasTrac MTB Tires, a semi-slick tire that I found on sale at Performance Bicycle:
The Topo FasTrac Mountain Bike Tire reminds me a lot of the Ritchey Speedmax tires that are installed on my wife Kathleen's mountain bike. The biggest difference is that the tires are only 1.9-inches wide rather than 2.1.
I thought the Topo FasTracs were easier to work with than many other semi-slicks I had installed before. They were flexible enough to go on my Mavic CrossLand wheels pretty easily. I rode up and down the street a couple of times to make sure the tires were properly installed and inflated, but I didn't have much of a chance to see how well they performed. I'll try to write a follow up article on that issue after a week or two of riding.
3rd Week of August 2005 Workouts
Here's a quick summary of the workouts that I did last week:
- Monday, August 15: Biked 10.2 miles in 59 minutes 34 seconds.
- Tuesday, August 16: Biked 10.4 miles in 47 minutes 13 seconds.
- Wednesday, August 17: Busy.
- Thursday, August 18: Biked 11.3 miles in 1 hour 4 minutes 7 seconds.
- Friday, August 19: Mowed lawn for 1 hour 48 minutes 11 seconds.
- Saturday, August 20: Officiated hockey for 31 minutes 41 seconds.
- Sunday, August 21: Busy.
This week I got three short bike rides in and got back on the ice to officiate part of a Junior-level ice hockey scrimmage. I would have gotten another ride in on Sunday, but I used the time to replace my tires instead.
For the week, I exercised for 5 hours 10 minutes burning 3,491 calories, and covering a total of 31.9 miles on my bike.
August 15 - 21, 2005 Weekly Summary
This is the Operation Gadget weekly summary for the third week of August 2005. 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:
August 21
August 19
August 18
- Mini Version of Opera Browser Reportedly Working on Treo 650
- Fossil Reportedly Exiting Smart Watch Market
August 16
- Mobile Phone Users Want to Receive Email from Family on Handsets
- Treonauts Discusses Mobile RSS Readers for the Treo 650
August 15
Does a weekly summary work for you? Is it a waste of time? Let me know by posting a comment. Thanks....
August 21, 2005
Finally Got Back on the Ice
I reintroduced myself to my skates this weekend.
On Saturday I participated in a scrimmage game between two Junior hockey teams at a rink in Union, New Jersey. This was the first time I'd been on the ice since I officiated at the Chicago Showcase back in April. I wouldn't normally take three months off from skating, but the move to Newtown, PA was a lot more complicated than I expected.
I would have liked to stay out on the ice for the entire game, but the purpose of this scrimmage was to get a lot of players and a lot of hockey officials on the ice for evaluation purposes. I'm looking forward to getting out on the ice again, and hopefully I'll be able to do that in a game in a pre-season tournament during this coming weekend.
August 19, 2005
NHL Signs U.S. Media Deal with OLN
The National Hockey League announced a national media partnership with OLN that will include a minimum of 58 regular-season games broadcast on Monday and Tuesday nights, Video on Demand, HDTV, and on-line streaming. The first game to be telecast will be the New York Rangers versus the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, October 5.
The NHL may have chosen OLN because it is owned by Comcast. Comcast is a media company that also owns cable television systems throughout the United States, regional sports networks that have the rights to broadcast some NHL teams, and majority ownership of the Philadelphia Flyers. Comcast has been deeply involved in the National Hockey League for a number of years.
OLN needed the NHL because it had nothing comparable to the Tour de France in terms of audience potential for the primary rating periods of the year. The NHL has been a major sport in this country and can be again, not withstanding the labor dispute that resulted in the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season.
This finally ends a long relationship between the NHL and ESPN. There are many reasons for me to like and support ESPN, but their coverage of the hockey took a backseat to basketball once ESPN established a relationship with the NBA.
On OLN, the NHL will be the big draw during the cold weather months. Some people say that OLN's distribution will be a bit of an impediment, because it is not available on every cable system in the country. OLN is available in the key NHL markets. I think that the product on the ice will determine how well the national television audience develops beyond its core markets.
August 18, 2005
Mini Version of Opera Browser Reportedly Working on Treo 650
PalmAddict reported that a version of the Opera browser now works on the Treo 650 and other powerful PalmOS devices. Included in this group are the Palm LifeDrive, Treo 600, and the Tungsten T3.
The article refers to an Opera Mini Treo installation howto that explains system requirements (most significantly Java) and technical issues (the default language is Norwegian, but can be changed to English).
I keep thinking that I should try browsers like Opera Mini and Xiino but I haven't done it yet. Maybe I should try Opera Mini, since I recently installed Java on my Treo to test KMaps, a Treo 650-friendly client for Google Maps.
Fossil Reportedly Exiting Smart Watch Market
According to SpotStop.com, a site devoted to MSN Direct-based products, Fossil is exiting the Smart Watch market. The article says:
Fossil has made their last MSN Direct watch, at least for the foreseeable future.... {We} hear Fossil is no longer going to make new watches and will re-direct their technology efforts after current inventory is sold through. Microsoft has recently pulled the SPOT initiative back into R&D and appears intent on pushing the technology into other products like the weather clocks and integration with the PC and other Microsoft products.
In December 2004, MSN Direct sent me a Fossil Abacus Wrist Net for review. The watch stopped working within a couple of weeks after I received it. MSN Direct was kind enough to send me a replacement so I could finish my review, but that watch was Dead on Arrival.
I'm disclosing this now because I think MSN Direct-based watches from Fossil are prone to failure. You should be aware of this if you're considering buying one because they're heavily discounted and you just want to try out the technology.
August 16, 2005
Mobile Phone Users Want to Receive Email from Family on Handsets
Critical Path sponsored an interesting survey that says that U.S. mobile phone users want to receive email from family members on their handsets provided the service is inexpensive and easy to use. According to the survey, 69 percent of respondents considered emails from a spouse or significant other to be the largest priority.
The reason Critical Path sponsored the survey is that they offer a service called Memova Mobile, a service that mobile phone operators can resell that delivers email to mobile handsets. The results of this survey should be interpreted with that in mind.
This survey interested me because Kathleen and I definitely use email on our Treo 650s to communicate with each other during the business day. We pay a premium for service at this point ($40 per person per month for unlimited wireless data from Cingular), but we made made the decision to spend the money on mobile communications and economize on telephone service at home by using VoIP instead of POTS. [ via TreoCentral ]
Treonauts Discusses Mobile RSS Readers for the Treo 650
Andrew Carton of Treonauts published a good summary of RSS reader options for Treo 650 users. The headline readers include PalmOS applications that have paid licenses, browser-based RSS readers that are free, as well as email and Java-based offerings.
Of the RSS readers I've tried so far, Bloglines Mobile (part of Bloglines.com) is my favorite. However, if I was more into podcasting, I'd probably be using QuickNews. QuickNews has robust RSS attachment support, which means it can do things like download podcasts directly to an SD card installed in your Treo and play them in Pocket Tunes.
August 15, 2005
How Not to Discolor Your Baseball Caps in the Dishwasher
A Ball Cap Buddy helps your baseball caps maintain
their shape in the dishwasher. Make sure you check
the ingredients of your detergent. [ Photo: Lids.com ]
I often wear baseball caps when I'm working outside my house. In weather like we've had recently (95 degrees Fahrenheit and 90 percent humidity), these baseball caps are often stained with sweat.
A couple of years ago, my wife and I started using a Ball Cap Buddy to wash stained baseball caps in the top rack of our dishwasher. Most of the caps have come out as good as new. However, I've recently had problems with a couple of black hats changing color to a distressed brown after washing.
When the first hat was discolored in this manner, I thought it had something to do with the material that made up the hat. After a second hat was discolored in the same way, I started looking for a difference in the cleaning process we were using.
It turns out that the dishwasher detergent we are currently using, Cascade with ShineShield, contains potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate, and chlorine bleach. This works very well on everyday dishes, but it obviously discolors baseball caps that are colored certain types and colors of dyes.
I like using the Ball Cap Buddy in the top rack of the dishwasher, but I think I'm going to try using it in the clothes washer instead. It's unlikely that laundry detergent would discolor black baseball caps the way that our dishwasher detergent does.
If you decide to use a Ball Cap Buddy on the top rack of a dishwasher, check the ingredients in your dishwasher detergent to ensure that your caps won't get discolored like mine did.
2nd Week of August 2005 Workouts
Here's a quick summary of the workouts that I did last week:
- Monday, August 8: Busy.
- Tuesday, August 9: Busy.
- Wednesday, August 10: Biked 12.9 miles in 49 minutes 51 seconds.
- Thursday, August 11: Busy.
- Friday, August 12: Mowed lawn for 2 hour 2 minutes.
- Saturday, August 13: Busy.
- Sunday, August 14: Biked 22.7 miles in 1 hour 42 minutes 7 seconds.
This week I formally signed up to participate in the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope. I'm behind on my training since our move to Pennsylvania, so I need to get more rides and milage in over the next few weeks.
I was glad to be able to do a 22-mile ride on Sunday, although I had to do it in conditions where the temperature was about 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celcius). The longer routes I'm riding in Pennsylvania have a lot more hills than the ones I rode in New Jersey. This makes riding in extremely hot conditions even more challenging.
For the week, I exercised for 4 hours 34 minutes burning 3,607 calories, and covering a total of 35.6 miles on my bike.
August 8 - 14, 2005 Weekly Summary
This is the Operation Gadget weekly summary for the second week of August 2005. 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:
August 13
August 12
- Help Me Ride the 2005 Tour of Hope Fundraising Ride in Washington DC
- Replacing My Mountain Bike Tires with Performance Topo FasTracs
- Official Tour de France Replica Yellow Jersey Offered by Discovery Channel Store
August 11
August 10
August 8
Does a weekly summary work for you? Is it a waste of time? Let me know by posting a comment. Thanks....
August 13, 2005
How to Find Your Tour of Hope Rider's Donation ID Number
Earlier today, Barry Penn Hollar emailed me to ask:
I'm also registered {for the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope} and have been trying to figure out this Donor ID# thing. I see you have yours listed on your {Tour of Hope Fundraising} page. How'd you get it?
A rider in the Tour of Hope DC Fundraising Ride needs to provide his or her Rider's Donation ID Number to any donor who wants to make a contribution by check. This number lets the Lance Armstrong Foundation associate the donor's check with the correct rider.
The Payment Receipt for the Tour of Hope DC Fundraising Ride Registration Fee: My Rider's Donation
ID is circled in red.
If you look at the receipt you received when you made your initial $50 payment, you'll see a line that reads "Rider's Donation ID #". That's the number you need to give to your sponsors who are paying by check.
I'm glad that fellow Tour of Hope riders are already finding the infomation I'm posting about participating in the 2005 Tour of Hope. The source of the Rider's Donation ID Number certainly isn't clear from the materials I've gotten, so I'm happy to be able to post the answer. If you think of any other questions about the Tour of Hope fundraising that aren't answered by the Tour of Hope website, you can email them to me at daiello [at] operationgadget.com and I'll try to help find the answer.
Thanks to Jamie Snow at Active.com for confirming this information.
Technorati Tags: Tour of Hope
August 12, 2005
Help Me Ride the 2005 Tour of Hope Fundraising Ride in Washington DC
On Saturday, October 8, I'm going to join the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope by participating in a 50-mile fundraising bike ride ending in Washington DC. You can help me in this effort by making a donation to the Tour of Hope to support my ride. One hundred percent of the funds raised during the Tour of Hope Fundraising Ride will benefit cancer research through the Lance Armstrong Foundation. To learn more, visit www.tourofhope.org.
Last year I dedicated my ride to my friend Peter Andreas Frank who died of brain cancer in August 2003. Through the generous support of many friends and readers of Operation Gadget I was able to raise over $2,000. That money was used to fund cancer research and promote awareness of clinical drug trials.
Most of the people that donated to the Tour of Hope last year at my request told me about a friend or relative whose life had been changed by a cancer diagnosis. The stories of their experiences gave me a sense of the scope of the effort required to find cancer cures.
I want to continue to participate in the effort to find cures for the cancers that are not yet beaten. I'm urging adults I meet who have cancer to look into participating in a clinical drug trial. Clinical drug trials have been a key part of the treatment stategy for childhood cancers for many years. This has resulted in a higher overall cure rate for childhood cancers than for cancers striking adults. In spite of this, only five percent of the adults who receive a cancer diagnosis each year take part in clinical drug trials.
Will you please join me in this effort?
All you need to do is click on the big Help Dave ride the Tour of Hope button. You'll be sent to a page where you can make a tax deductible donation to the Tour of Hope by credit card. Instructions are also there for making a donation by check.
Thanks for your help. I'll be talking about the 2005 Tour of Hope here on Operation Gadget, including my training for the 50-mile ride and the experience of riding with Lance Armstrong on October 8. I hope you'll come back from time to time and check on our progress.
You can also see some of the photos that my family and I took at last year's Tour of Hope Finale in the Operation Gadget Photo Gallery.
Technorati Tags: Tour of Hope
Replacing My Mountain Bike Tires with Performance Topo FasTracs
We've got about 90 days of riding weather left in Newtown, PA, and I need new mountain bike tires. The old, reliable Continental Double Fighter on the rear wheel of my bike has started to develop holes in the center of the tread. I'm bound to start getting flats long before I do the Tour of Hope Fundraising Ride in Washington, DC in October.
Continental doesn't make the Double Fighter anymore, otherwise I might buy two new ones. Performance Bicycle has a new semi-slick tire that looks a lot like the Double Fighter that I decided to try. They're called Performance Topo FasTrac MTB Tires:
The Topo FasTrac Mountain Bike Tire is on sale at Performance right now for under $20. I'll put two of them on my bike and see how they ride. If you need replacement semi-slicks now, it's going to be hard to beat this price.
Technorati Tags: Tour of Hope
Official Tour de France Replica Yellow Jersey Offered by Discovery Channel Store
Replica Maillot Jaune from
the 2005 Tour de France:
Lots of Lance Armstrong
fans are buying a Yellow
Jersey to remember Lance's
seventh and final Tour
victory. [ Photo: Discovery
Channel Store ]
The Discovery Channel Store is commemorating Lance Armstrong's seventh-consecutive Tour de France victory by selling official replicas of the yellow jersey he wore on the Champs-Elysees.
The Yellow Jersey is made if Nike Dri-Fit polyester and has sublimated Discovery Channel, AMD, and Trek team-sponsor logos as well as Nike and Credit Lyonnais jersey-sponsor logos. These jerseys have an "invisible front zipper" which is really long. They also have deeper rear pockets than most of the jerseys the I own. I wish more of the jerseys sold for everyday training were constructed this well.
When we rode the Tour of Hope Fundraising Ride in Washington, DC last October, my friend Cecil Ledesma wore a replica Tour de France Yellow Jersey similar to the one on sale at the Discovery Channel Store. The biggest difference between the jersey he wore and the one being sold now is that the new one includes the team-sponsor logos just as Lance wore them.
If you buy this jersey or any other products from the Discovery Channel Store with a total cost of $75.00 or more, you get free shipping by entering the coupon code VICTORY. This offer is valid through August 31.
Technorati Tags: Tour de France, Lance Armstrong
August 11, 2005
Trying Del.icio.us and Del.icio.us Direc.tor to Get Control of My Web Bookmarks
del.icio.us direc.tor: I'm trying to use a
new AJAX application called del.icio.us
direc.tor to manage my web bookmarks.
Last week I said that leaving a browser window open to an interesting web page can be a productivity killer. Since then I've been looking for ways to better manage and track all of the interesting stuff I find on the web that I'd eventually like to mention on Operation Gadget or I want to refer to later.
The easiest thing for me to do would be to bookmark all of the pages that I want to remember for later, then close each browser window. However, dropping bookmarks on the desktop or into a toolbar isn't really an answer for much of the work I do.
I think the desktop metaphor works for pages that I need to work with all the time such as Paypal, my bank's on-line banking application, and e-commerce sites such as Amazon.com. The metaphor definitely breaks down for pages to which I will make infrequent reference.
Bookmark management sites like del.icio.us are designed to keep track of those infrequently used but still useful or interesting web pages. I've never gotten into using del.icio.us, however, because I couldn't comprehend the home page and didn't see the personal organizational benefits.
I don't honestly remember where I stumbled across del.icio.us direc.tor, but John Udell wrote the kind of description of it that caused me to give del.icio.us direc.tor a try:
The top item today in my experimental del.icio.us affinity feed is del.icio.us director, an alternate interface to del.icio.us from the the guy who created the Gmail agent API last summer, Johnvey Hwang.... It loads your del.icio.us bookmarklets into the browser and creates powerful new modes of navigation and search.
I saw the potential power of bookmark tagging in a screenshot like the one I've included in this story, so I created a del.icio.us account for myself and started migrating the bookmarks out of my browser and into it.
Probably the most confusing aspect of del.icio.us direc.tor is the fact that you have to be on a del.icio.us page before you can invoke it. This has to do with del.icio.us director's nature as a client-side web service broker. I understand that it capitalizes on a del.icio.us API and creates an alternative AJAX-based interface between your browser (Firefox or IE) and del.icio.us. Beyond that, it's easier for me to focus on what del.icio.us direc.tor does rather than how it does it.
When I'm done migrating my bookmarks over to del.icio.us, I'll only have links to frequently-used web applications left in my Firefox bookmark toolbar. I will have a separate place where I can keep bookmarks that can be retrieved by searching for them according to keywords.
I've come to the conclusion I am more productive when I find a definite place to keep things that I need to use or refer to again in the future. This type of organizational system can work in the physical world (clean desk) and in the electronic world (clean desktop). For the moment del.icio.us and del.icio.us director are part of my organizational system. I will try to report back in a couple of weeks on how well they are working as a personal bookmark management solution.
August 10, 2005
Polar and Adidas Planning a Line of Apparel and Shoes with Built-in Fitness Measurement
Janus Sandsgaard pointed out that Polar Electro is teaming up with Adidas to produce a line of fitness clothing and running shoes that will have embedded transmitters for heart rate and running speed and distance. According to a Polar press release, the products will collectively be called Project Fusion, and will include:
- AdiStar Fusion apparel: t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, bras, and women’s tops,
- Adidas adiStar Fusion shoe,
- Polar s3 Stride Sensor,
- Polar WearLink transmitter {already available}, and
- Polar RS800 Running Computer.
These products will be available in Spring 2006.
Janus also found and published photos of the Polar S3 and the RS800 Running Computer. He notes:
Unlike the RS2000 it looks as if Polar remembered the IrDA port this time, and reading the press release you get the impression that the product will work with {Polar Precision Performance Software}. The new S3 {running computer footpod} does not look a lot smaller than the S1, but indeed slimmer.
August 8, 2005
1st Week of August 2005 Workouts
Here's a quick summary of the workouts that I did last week:
- Monday, August 1: Biked 10.0 miles in 40 minutes 54 seconds.
- Tuesday, August 2: Busy.
- Wednesday, August 3: Busy.
- Thursday, August 4: Biked 8.4 miles in 32 minutes 19 seconds.
- Friday, August 5: Mowed lawn for 2 hour 20 minutes.
- Saturday, August 6: Busy.
- Sunday, August 7: Busy.
I was really busy this week. It's becoming clear that moving from New Jersey to Pennsylvania is a lot of work and has some fairly significant hidden costs even if you end up saving money on some major expenses like car and medical insurance.
For the week, I exercised for 3 hours 33 minutes burning 2,224 calories, and covering a total of 18.4 miles on my bike.
August 1 - 7, 2005 Weekly Summary
This is the Operation Gadget weekly summary for the first week of August 2005. 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:
August 5
August 3
- Sales at Performance Bike on Electronics, Clothing, and Wheel-Related Products
- A Worthy List of Treo 650 Add-on Software for the Productivity Minded User
- Trying SplashID on My Treo to Keep Track of Passwords
- Measuring the Steepness of Hills on Cycling Routes
- First Sign of Campagnolo Bike Technology for 2006
- Leaving a Browser Window Open to an Interesting Web Page Can Be a Productivity Killer
August 2
- Fitness-Related Applications Popping Up for Google Maps
- Deal on Cardo Scala 500 Bluetooth Headset at Amazon.com
- Ftech Solar 7 Bluetooth GPS Receiver Reviewed by Ubergizmo
August 1
- Important Update for Cingular Version of Treo 650 Released Recently
- 4th Week of July 2005 Workouts
- Polar Precision Performance Software Update Provides New Features and Calendar Themes
- Bush Called "Most Fit" President in History
- I Need to Stop Sweating the Small Stuff
- Freshness Interviews Mark Smith on Lance Armstrong Iconography
Does a weekly summary work for you? Is it a waste of time? Let me know by posting a comment. Thanks....
August 5, 2005
Unpacking My CanoScan LiDE 500F
CanoScan LiDE 500F Flatbed Scanner:
I got my new, inexpensive CanoScan
scanner on Wednesday. I bought it to
replace my fax machine in the new
VoIP-based Home Office.
[ Photo: Dave Aiello ]
I received my CanoScan LiDE 500F Flatbed Scanner the other day. It's a very inexpensive color scanner that fits on my desk between my flat panel displays and the place where I keep my laptop.
I've opened a new CanoScan LiDE 500F photo album. This currently has a bunch of "box unpacking" photos, but I'm planning to add example scans in the near future. Check them out if you're interested.
At well under $150 this scanner is a great deal. I can use it to scan documents that I will faxed using my eFax Plus account. I can also use it to scan 48-bit color images at 4,800 x 2,400 dots per inch.
I got the idea to buy this from Jeremy Zawodny and I agree with him that the LiDE 500F is:
- small,
- quiet,
- light, and
- pretty fast.
Technorati Tags: VoIP
No Getting Around the DMV
Pennsylvania License Plate: The only one
you'll find on my Jeep, and it's on the rear lift
gate. [ Photo: Dave Aiello ]
Kathleen and I spent several hours yesterday working our way through the bureaucracy of the Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles, also known as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation or PennDOT. I found the overall experience better than I did with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, but New Jersey was one of the worst systems in the country before it started enacting reforms recently.
What blew my mind about the process of getting new titles, license plates, and registrations for our cars was the gaps in the information provided by the DMV in How To Title and Register Your Out-of-State Vehicle in Pennsylvania. This page tells you how to get a new title and registration for your car, but it says nothing about license plates. It also implies that you should go to the DMV to do this business, when most Pennsylvanians go to a insurance agency or another business specializing in "auto tags".
Maybe this is the way it is in the rest of the country, but in New Jersey the Motor Vehicle Commission issues license plates and the only way to get them without going there yourself is to get someone from a car dealership to go and do the work on your behalf.
The Driver's License Procedure made a lot more sense. The people at the Bensalem, PA office of PennDOT were overjoyed when we showed up with all the correct identity documents, including our marriage license. I guess they deal with a lot of folks who don't look at their website, or had the same experience we did with getting tags and just disregarded all of the other information on the site.
I guess everyone wastes many hours when they move and sometimes moving from one state to another makes things considerably worse. However, I expect that when I find authoritative information on a state's website it would better reflect reality.
Did I mention that Pennsylvania only issues one license plate per car and you put it on the back? I guess that's an oddity on par with not being able to pump your own gas in New Jersey.
Finally, I have a question about vehicle inspection in Pennsylvania that I have not seen answered anywhere on-line:
If I get a car inspected at a repair shop and it fails the inspection for some reason, do I have to pay the full price at that repair shop to have the car reinspected?
August 3, 2005
Sales at Performance Bike on Electronics, Clothing, and Wheel-Related Products
I just noticed that Performance Bicycle is running good on-line sales in their electronics, clothing, and tires/tubes/wheels departments. All of these departments stock things that I desperately need at the moment.
The prices are good. They have a good deal on the Ciclosport HAC4 if you need one of those right now. They also have Performance Elite (8-panel) shorts on sale for 33% off.
I'm in the market for some semi-slick MTB tires, but I don't see anything like that on sale at the moment.
A Worthy List of Treo 650 Add-on Software for the Productivity Minded User
Marc Orchant published a great list of add-on software for his Treo 650 over on The Office Weblog a couple of days ago. He's suggested two or three Palm applications I'm trying out now:
- SplashID, part of Splash Wallet: I mentioned that I'm trying this out a little while ago here on Operation Gadget.
- Note Studio: a PalmOS-based wiki with a conduit and a desktop app for both Mac and PC. Definitely worth trying.
- Card Backup: a Palm app that backs up your PDAs main memory to a memory card. I bought an MMC card for this purpose before my trip to Chicago in April, but never used it to store a backup. I think there is a freeware and a more fully featured version of this.
These applications and the others mentioned in Marc's article are great ideas for Treo 650 users who are looking to improve their personal productivity.
Trying SplashID on My Treo to Keep Track of Passwords
Somewhere in the transition to my Treo 650 back in March, I lost a memo entry that contained a big list of passwords for websites and other applications. It was a bad idea to store that information in that manner in the first place, so I resolved to find a Palm application that did a better job.
I found one and so I've downloaded a trial version of SplashID from SplashData. According to the website:
SplashID safely and securely stores all of your personal identification information including user names, passwords, credit cards, calling cards, bank accounts, PINs, and more. Information is stored in a secure, encrypted format and is quickly accessible on a Palm OS handheld or Desktop computer with the included desktop software.
I'll load some of my passwords into SplashID and see how I like it. When I have some thoughts on its usefulness, I'll post them here on Operation Gadget.
Measuring the Steepness of Hills on Cycling Routes
The other day I alluded to the posted grade of a hill between New Hope and Wrightstown, PA. In the course of trying to figure the actual grade of the hill myself, I found Measuring the Hilliness of Routes which is part of Ken and Sharon Roberts' Bike Hudson Valley website. This page contains the formula for calculating the grade of a hill as well as something called a "hill index" which is an attempt to put a number on the average hillyness or steepness of a cycling route.
You'd think that a Rensselaer graduate like me would be able to accurately estimate that a hill that rises 257 feet in a mile (courtesy of my Garmin Forerunner 201) would be a 4.8% grade. I wanted to make sure I was computing this correctly because I thought the sign on the other side of the road indicated that the hill was even steeper.
I could have sworn that I saw a sign on PA 232 that said the hill going down into New Hope was 9%. Was I so out of it as I reached the top the climb of the year that I couldn't read the sign correctly as I glanced over my shoulder?
First Sign of Campagnolo Bike Technology for 2006
Velonews just published some early information about Campagnolo's new cycling gear for 2006. Looks like they'll be featuring:
- a new road wheel set,
- compact drive cranksets across their gruppos, and
- an ultra narrow chain that is supposed to improve performance if the derailleur is not adjusted correctly.
These things should be featured in September at Interbike and Eurobike, the two big bicycle industry trade shows.
Leaving a Browser Window Open to an Interesting Web Page Can Be a Productivity Killer
A couple of years ago I got into the habit of leaving a browser window open to contain an interesting or useful web page that I'd just found. I usually intended to come back and mention the page here on Operation Gadget or on CTDATA.com back when I used it as a blog.
This was one of the worst productivity and organizational mistakes I'd ever made. Now I'm bound and determined to put an end to it.
I have two 17-inch flat panel displays on my Blogging Workstation. At one point I thought this configuration would make feasible the habit of keeping a dozen or more web pages open simultaneously. It didn't. I spend a minute or two several times a day looking for a page I've left open for myself on one of my six virtual desktop screens which are usually chock-full-of-information.
These extra windows that I keep open have become a significant distraction. In the course of searching for a piece of information amid the open windows on my desktop, I often take another look at several of my open windows and say to myself, "You know, that's interesting...." Yea right. That's why I left it open in the first place.
I don't yet have an effective solution for this problem. It may come down to a combination of a bookmark manager such as del.icio.us plus handwritten notes and/or a wiki, but I'm guessing.
I just wanted to point out that I see this as an issue that effects my productivity. If it hurts you in the same way then admit it, try to find a solution that works for you, and let me know what it is.
August 2, 2005
Fitness-Related Applications Popping Up for Google Maps
Earlier today my friend Maria Norton sent me the following message:
Hi Dave,
Hope you're getting settled into the new place.
Just wondering, have you heard about the Gmaps Pedometer? It's a pretty good to map out routes and mileage.
Also, on the Google maps website {http://www.google.com/help/faq_maps.html}... you will find the ability to create custom Google maps on your website (you must register and get an API key to do this).
For other Google maps hacks, see: http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/
Take care, and good luck with the training.
I've been thinking about training route mapping since I moved to Newtown and started scouting for cycling and running routes. I checked out the Google Maps API and it looks like I can definitely use it to make maps of my training routes for the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Fundraising Ride in Washington DC.
I'll let you know when I start experimenting with the API. [Thanks Maria!]
Technorati Tags: Tour of Hope
Deal on Cardo Scala 500 Bluetooth Headset at Amazon.com
Treonauts published a review of the Cardo Scala 500 Bluetooth Headset which is considered a worthy alternative to the Palm Bluetooth Headset for the Treo 650. There are a couple of things that make the Cardo Scala 500 stand out and probably make it a better choice:
- there's a great deal on it at Amazon.com right now,
- it has better battery life than Palm's own model,
- it comes with clips for your glasses, a belt clip holster, and a neckband.
The chief drawback seems to be that the Cardo Scala 500 is not USB-chargeable, but they make up for that with a very compact charger. I charge my Treo by plugging into a power strip anyway, so I'd need a second outlet which I can easily find.
The current price on the Cardo Scala 500 is just about two times the list price of a replacement Treo 650 wired headset from Palm. If you need a new headset now (I know I do), maybe it's time to consider going wireless.
Ftech Solar 7 Bluetooth GPS Receiver Reviewed by Ubergizmo
I IMed with Hubert Nguyen from Ubergizmo.com yesterday who told me about his nice review of the Ftech Solar 7 Bluetooth GPS Receiver. There are a lot of buzzwords in that product name, so let me summarize. This is a solar-powered GPS that can communicate with a Bluetooth-capable handheld or notebook so you can add navigation functions when you need them.
The innovation here is solar power. The tradeoff is the size of the GPS which is larger than many competitive products because it incorporates a solar cell.
The Ftech Solar 7 is about $130 and you still need a piece of navigation software for your handheld or notebook. Having said that, I like the idea of a self-powered GPS for the car, and it would clearly interface well with my Treo 650. I doubt that I'd ever need to charge it as long as I put it on my dashboard whenever I was going to use it.
August 1, 2005
Important Update for Cingular Version of Treo 650 Released Recently
Treo 650 Updater 1.15 for Cingular was released last Monday. I needed to perform this upgrade because I was running Treo650-1.04-CNG which is an old revision of the Treo 650 firmware for Cingular.
According to the Palm website, the features included in this update are:
- Optimizes memory handling and frees up more memory with non-volatile file system improvements (info). [Important to me.]
- Includes VersaMail 3.0c, the latest version for Cingular Wireless Treo 650. [Not important to me, I use Chatter Email.]
- Adds voice quality enhancements. [I want to see if I notice these.]
- Includes "Get Good" application which facilitates faster, wireless installation of Good Technology’s GoodLink email software for business customers. [Not important to me.]
- Improves battery life by automatically turning off screen after 30 seconds of a call. Most users will not notice while the handset is next to the ear, but this power-saving feature lets you continue your conversation with the display off. The power savings will vary depending on usage patterns. To turn the display back on at any time, tap the screen. Do not press the red Power/End button, unless you want to end the call. The screen-off feature applies to handset mode only, not speakerphone or headset modes. [Want to see how this works and whether I think it's an improvement.]
- Incorporates two software patches previously released on Palm's website:
- Carkit Update for Treo 650 (Bluetooth carkit drivers)[Not important to me]
- Treo 650 Voicemail Updater 1.04 for Cingular Wireless [The Treo 650 has always had a problem with getting the right voicemail number from Cingular's network.]
The website goes on to say "Please set aside 30 minutes to complete the process" of running this update. They should have said an hour because I didn't have all of the Documents to Go software installed on my desktop and Treo, not to mention that I wasn't registered with Dataviz yet. As far as I can tell, that's the easiest way to get the latest version of Documents to Go.
The ability to view Microsoft Office documents sent to you by wireless email is just too useful to not have installed on your Treo. I had it at installed at one point, stupidly lost it when I did a previous firmware update, and never put it back. So last night I had to bite the bullet.
When you get into the upgrade, you have to:
- sync to backup your data, then hard reset your Palm,
- sync to an empty profile, then soft reset your Palm,
- install the updater, and sync to the empty profile again (This causes your Palm to load the updater and patch itself.), and
- sync again with your regular profile to bring your data back.
All of this takes a long time.
To top it all I have to do the entire process again for Kathleen's Treo. Ugh.
The Treo's still the best integrated communicator money can buy, but these firmware updates try the patience of even the most devoted user.
4th Week of July 2005 Workouts
Here's a quick summary of the workouts that I did last week:
- Monday, July 25: Busy.
- Tuesday, July 26: Busy.
- Wednesday, July 27: Biked 22.7 miles in 1 hour 42 minutes.
- Thursday, July 28: Rest.
- Friday, July 29: Mowed lawn for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Saturday, July 30: Canoed for 53 minutes. Walked for 49 minutes.
- Sunday, July 31: Biked 10.1 miles in 40 minutes.
This week I finally got in a long ride on a new route from Newtown to New Hope, PA and back. This included a stretch of road that is posted as a 9-percent grade. (I rode up it.) I have some data on my Garmin Forerunner 201 from this ride that I need to unpack and I hope to turn into an article later.
I found that I can reduce the time it takes to cut the lawn by 30 minutes (from 2 hours down to 90 minutes) by using the Toro Recycler's mulching feature. (See Mowing The Big Lawn for more details.) I tried this in the back yard only and it worked quite well.
On Sunday, I rode a 10-mile course that includes a lot of hill work at a flat out pace and finished in 40 minutes 39 seconds. I'll try to document this course later also.
For the week, I exercised for 5 hours 36 minutes burning 3,416 calories, and covering a total of 33.4 miles on my bike.
Polar Precision Performance Software Update Provides New Features and Calendar Themes
Polar Precision Performance Software: A
new update has been released which includes
new screen themes like this.
[ Image: Polar Electro ]
I recently received word that Polar Electro has released a free update to its Polar Precision Performance Software for that comes with its high end Heart Rate Monitors like the Polar S625x. The following features are included:
- Synchronize function enabling quick transfer of new exercises. The default sport settings are used for quick transfer. (Tools > Synchronize)
- Easy merging of two exercise files. (Edit > Merge Exercises)
- Delete data from a selected area in the curve view. (Edit > Delete Selection)
- Sport-specific pace unit. (Options > Person Properties > Sports > Edit > Pace)
- Polar OwnOptimizer test value with explanation added to Day Information.
- Calendar theme selection added with a package of 8 ready themes available in the Themes folder. (Calendar Properties > Theme)
All of the other features are more important, but I want to call attention to the screenshot that's posted in this article. This is the new default theme for the software and it's a major improvement from the color scheme that Polar Precision Performance had in previous versions. (See the screen shot in Why Training Log Software is One of The Most Important Features of a Fitness Gadget from December 2003 for comparison.)
As is the case with every Polar Precision Performance update, I'm going to have to look carefully at the application to see what the new features do. If I see anything worth reporting in more detail I'll let you know.
Bush Called "Most Fit" President in History
Last night, Matt Drudge reported some interesting facts from President George W. Bush's latest physical that clearly make Bush the "most fit" president in history. The President's fitness is something I want to keep in mind because no one has more time commitments or things to worry about than the President of the United States, yet he has the time (or makes the time) to take care of himself.
Here are just a few of the stats:
- Vitals:
- Age: 59
- Body Mass Index: 26.6
- Resting heart rate while seated: 47 bpm
- Resting blood pressure while seated: 110/64
- Workouts include:
- bicycling (15-20 miles, 15-18mph)
- treadmill (low impact "hill-work"),
- elliptical trainer,
- free weight resistance training, and
- stretching
If he can take the time to be this fit, so can I.
I Need to Stop Sweating the Small Stuff
One of the problems I had during the month when Operation Gadget focused on the 2005 Tour de France is that writing became a really intense process for me. This was an outgrowth of an email exchange I had with Frank Steele of TDFblog.com at the beginning of July in which we agreed that so many more people were blogging the Tour de France this year than had previously that we both felt we had to focus on what differentitated our sites from others.
I tried to put an emphasis on quality over quantity and stay away from reporting stage results. This was successful in several ways, such as the three articles I got out of my opportunity to interview Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen:
- Liggett and Sherwen Think that Lance Will Not Have a Second Act as a Triathlete
- Leblanc Made the Tour de France a Top International Television Event
- Liggett on the Saint-Etienne Time Trial Course
I looked back on my productivity in the week following the Tour, however, and saw that I was still in that mode in spite of the fact that I should be moving on.
I started thinking about this because I found myself abandoning stories that may have been interesting to you because I was having difficulty expressing my thoughts on the matter. When this happens to me it's generally an indication that my blogging process has become overwrought.
I'm going to try to correct this by publishing shorter, less reflective articles. I hope that I'll be able to produce more interesting content in less time.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, you can post them here or email me at daiello [at] operationgadget.com. Thanks for reading.
Technorati Tags: Tour de France, Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen
Freshness Interviews Mark Smith on Lance Armstrong Iconography
I've been searching around the Internet for articles containing illustrations of the icons that were placed on Lance Armstrong's bikes during the Tour de France. I think that the icons are really interesting and I want to understand the inspiration behind the project better. The most informative article I've found in these respects is Mark Smith Q&A on the Lance Icons, an article from Freshness which is a on-line magazine about sneakers, toys, and urban culture.
According to the article, Mark Smith fully developed the icons for the project that were originally designed by a graphic artist who calls himself Futura. (For more information about Futura, see his website http://www.futuralaboratories.com.)
The Freshness article includes a page containing illustrations of all 40 icons that currently make up the series with captions indicating the meaning of most of them.
Technorati Tags: Tour de France, Lance Armstrong
July 25 - 31, 2005 Weekly Summary
This is the Operation Gadget weekly summary for the fourth week of July 2005. 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:
July 30
- Replacing a Fax Line and Fax Machine with a Fax Service and a Scanner
- Replacing POTS with VoIP for the Home Office
July 28
July 27
- Comcast Considers Building Up OLN to Compete with ESPN
- 1.7 Million Watch Lance on the Champs-Elysees
July 25
Does a weekly summary work for you? Is it a waste of time? Let me know by posting a comment. Thanks....
|
|
|
Categories
|
|
SearchWelcome to Operation Gadget
Operation Gadget is a weblog dedicated to news and reviews of electronic gadgets and technology used in sports.
Syndicate
Add Operation Gadget to your My Yahoo!.
Got a tip for Operation Gadget?
|
Bloggers Comment on Operation Gadget
"... Lots of cool toys, well described to feed your gotta-have-one impulse."
"...a blog filled with the reviews of the latest and greatest things from geeky toyland. Hopefully it will help me expand my ever-shrinking Amazon wishlist and help get me some good ideas for other folks on the Nice list." "... a cool resource for anyone interested in the latest cool electronic toys; including a section solely devoted to fitness gadgets. Check it out..." Credits
editor and publisher: Dave Aiello
west coast bureau chief: Martin O'Donnell Copyright © 2003-2008, Chatham Township Data Corporation. All Rights Reserved. "Operation Gadget" is a service mark of Chatham Township Data Corporation. All other products and company names mentioned on Operation Gadget may be trademarks of their respective owners. Any comments posted to Operation Gadget are the legal responsibility of the person that posted them. Comments may be removed from this system at any time, at the sole discretion of Chatham Township Data Corporation or its authorized agents. |
|
Powered by 
|
|
