Month: November 2008

Nike+

I got a Nike+ footpod and receiver in the mail yesterday. One of my Twitter friends won it as a door prize (or something) and said that he had no use for it. I tweeted back and told him that he could send it to me whenever he was ready. Later he asked for my address and sent it to me this week. Cool!

This is a little device that plugs into an iPod nano and receives data from an accelerometer that you place on, or in, your shoe. If you have a Nike+ enabled shoe, you can slip the pod under the insole. Otherwise, you can get a little pouch and strap the pod to your shoe laces. My friend sent me a pouch too.

It then records how many steps you take and your pace. This is all calculated with the distance per step (you calibrate the device) to tell you how long and far you travel on your runs.

This morning I went through the calibration step twice. I was not sure it calibrated correctly the first time. I am not convinced it worked right the second time either. I did not have enough time to do another run with it before appointments this morning to see how it worked or if the calibration was right. The next time I run with it I will know.

I have wanted one of these for a while. It does have one limitation that has kept me from buying one in the past. My heavy duty iPod case cannot be used with this device. Until I get a better solution, I will be running with the nano in my hand or pocket which just means SWEAT all over the iPod. I should be able to find something soon. At least I don’t sweat as much here as I did in Mexico.

New shoe: New Balance 1222/1223

I got another new pair of shoes today. It seems like I am buying these too regularly these days. This time it was due to two cosmic events happening at one time. Well, maybe not cosmic. Saturday I ran my final race in my current NB1222. Secondly, I happened to see a New Balance store in a strip mall when driving home from my race.

Yes, this is November, 2008. I know that the 1222 and 1223 models have already been discontinued. But, that is the way I buy my shoes. I find discontinued shoes in the models I would have bought anyway and get the older version on sale. Sometimes a crazy cheap sale.

When I stopped at the shoe store on Saturday they did not have any 1223s in my size. They only had a few left since the 1224 model has been out for a short time. But, they did have 992s that they were clearing out for the new 993 model. The 993 shoes are not available in most stores yet. I checked a few places online that I have bought from before and they don’t have the 993 ready to ship. That line of shoe, 992/993, are the ugliest shoe that New Balance makes in my opinion. However, they are extremely popular. The older shoes have a memory foam that conforms to your foot and is supposed to be top of the line in comfort. The memory foam was heavy though and they tossed it out in the newer 993 to save weight. They are still a very heavy (and ugly) shoe.

Weight and yuck factor don’t bother me as long as the price is right and they fit well. The price was right, but they did not fit well. I tried on several pair of the 992s in different widths and lengths. Nothing quite fit right. The one width/length combination that would probably be perfect had been bought out. Someone recently came in and bought all their 992 shoes in 11 4E in each of the 3 colors they had. I guess that is someone who really loves the shoe.

Lamenting my situation, I asked the store owner to pull out what 1223 shoes they had that might fit. Surprisingly I landed on a size that is totally wrong, but it fit like a loose glove (I like my shoes big). She got me into an 11 2E shoe. These shoes were $140 regular price. I bought them for $59. I think that is the best shoe deal I have gotten so far. The 992 that I originally went in for was $69. So I got a shoe I like better, looks nicer, fits great and weighs less for $10 cheaper than I planned to spend.

The interesting thing to me is how different the 1223s are from the 1222. In the pictures you see a 1222 (the dirty one) and the new 1223. They look nothing alike. Not as far as shoe models go. I am wondering how NB justified calling this an update when it is really a different shoe. Whatever the justification, it should still have the same basic properties.

The store owner flagged my name with the fact that I want stability+ (or strong stability) shoes. In the future when they change models and start clearancing out the current ones, she should give me a call. That is service. I just hope I am home to be able to take advantage.

Doctors, doctors everywhere

When we were in Atlanta two weeks ago my wife was sick. She had a cold that just would not let go. It developed into a massive sore throat. Thinking she had strep, which she has had quite often, we went to a clinic to get some medicine. As soon as the doctor checked her blood pressure he sent her to the emergency room. One of these “do not pass go, do not collect $200” type commands to get to the ER.

When we got there her blood pressure was even higher from the concerns heaped on her by the doctor and wondering how much insurance was going to pay. They gave her an IV to get the pressure down and got her started on BP medication.

We got home and I scheduled her in to see a doctor here locally. Today was that visit. They changed her BP medicine (the other stuff was not bringing it down enough and it made her scalp itch). In the process of examination the doctor’s office found a nodule on her thyroid. Tomorrow she goes back in for blood work and an ultrasound on the lump.

Most thyroid lumps are harmless, but the testing proceedure is necessary to know how to progress from here. We won’t know the results of these tests until the second week of December. So it is sit and wait time.

Installing an Ad Blocker in Firefox

Recently I was at my brother’s house using their computer for a bit of surfing. I have gotten used to my computers having ad blockers on them and I rarely see an ad for anything questionable. It was a shock to my system to see so many advertisements show up on screen.

I decided to write a tutorial for them on how to get rid of the ads. I hope it helps others.

This will be dependent on you using Firefox as a web browser. There are probably other solutions for other browsers, but I use Firefox and that is all I currently recommend. I am also going to be working through this on Windows so I can get the steps right for them.

Start by having Firefox open. Select Tools | Add-ons from the menu. Click the tab that says “Get Add-ons” and do a search for adblock plus. On my search, it was the first hit returned. Click the “Add to Firefox” button and go through the installation procedure. Once that is installed then restart Firefox.

When Firefox restarts it will give you a list of filters that you can apply to Adblock Plus. Choose the Easy List (USA) option. Then get back to the Add-ons section (it was still open after the Firefox restart on my machine). Now look through the search results and install the Adblock Filterset.G Updater. Again you will have to restart Firefox. When it comes back up the filterset updater will be up and running and will install the latest update. Exit out of those windows and you will be ready to use Adblock Plus.

Notice that there is a small red octagon beside the search box on the top right of the screen. This is where you can make changes to the way Adblock Plus operates. As it is, it will eliminate the vast majority of advertisements. But there may occasionally be a site that needs extra tweaking to get rid of especially offensive ads.

I know there is controversy as to whether you should block ads on websites. Many sites are able to be free because of the ads that support them. I understand that. But, I also don’t want my kids nor myself to be inundated with ads for activities which are not appropriate for our family. When I do use someone else’ computer to touch the Internet I am always shocked at the lewdness of advertisements on-line. With an adblocker I am able to control most of what comes across my computer screen.

Missionary Talks 59 and 60

I looked back over my posts recently and realized that I did not give an update when I posted episode 59 of Missionary Talks. That was an interview with Chris and Carol Woodley. They are missionaries in the Philippines working with the Deaf. They are a couple we had met about 6 years ago and enjoyed getting to know them. We were able to be in a conference together a couple of weeks ago. You will enjoy hearing their passion and love for the work they do.

Tonight I uploaded an interview with a missionary to Mexico, Tim Strang. He grew up on the field and has been back there for the last 12 years serving in smaller towns and villages. Many of the missionaries I talk with are in the bigger cities. Some will even make an issue as to why we should do our work in the larger areas. Tim is very much interested in the villages and has a love for where he is serving the Lord.

Enjoy these two episodes of Missionary Talks. I have a couple more interviews already recorded with a couple more scheduled. Looks like things are headed in the right direction for a while.