31 Oct 08 Outlaw Trail 100

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Travis and I did the 100K bike loop of the Outlaw Trail. It was a good ride with nice weather and “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!” afterward. The night before, my parents and my family went to the pre-ride pasta dinner. Little did we know that we would be the opening scene of the promo video. I also found an image of Travis and me at the starting line:

Next week, the Wurst Ride followed by Wurst Fest. Yum! They have a pretty cool interactive ride map, and they even let people embed it thusly:

Tags: biking, maps, Outlaw Trail, video, Wurst Fest, Wurst Ride

17 Oct 08 My favorite iPhone apps

I’ve had my iPhone for a couple of months now (really 2 1/2) and over that time I’ve found several iPhone apps that I really like and regularly use. I’m going to first discuss the replacements for the Palm apps I was worried about losing and then others I was either less concerned about or hadn’t even considered.

Just before I ordered my iPhone, I described how must of my areas of concern were basically handled. Here’s the current status:

Pocket Quicken

No change here and this is probably what I miss the most. There are lots of financial apps for the iPhone, but I’m still married to Quicken for Windows (under VMware Fusion). I don’t expect this situation to change any time soon, so I have resigned myself to entering receipts at home and not being able to look up historic items on-the-go.

IntelliGolf

TeeShot (version 1.6) is serving me pretty well for this, though it does tend to crash quite a few times during a round of golf. Luckily, it is very good about saving state such that when I re-launch it, it is pretty much right where I left off. Usually the crash completes very quickly and the re-launch is also quick, so it isn’t that big an inconvenience, though occasionally, that isn’t the case and it takes a while to recover. The usability has improved with each new version and the next version (1.7) should be coming out soon.

HandyShopper

I went ahead and purchased SplashShopper (version 2.5), but I find that I am only using it for checklists. For shopping, I am using ShoppingList (version 1.2). It has a nice feature to dynamically order the items based on the order that they have previously been bought. Unfortunately, this doesn’t quite work well enough for me as it only applies if the items are filtered to only show the items previously purchased at the current store or not at any store. Just because I purchased an item at a different store in the past and not at this store doesn’t mean I don’t want to get it here. I emailed the author about this and his response was positive, but the app hasn’t been updated in nearly two months. The other thing I used to use HandyShopper for was to track when I last watched each of my DVDs. I use this as a guideline for things like which DVDs to take on trips without having to think about what I might want to watch — if I own it and haven’t watched it in a while, I’ll probably enjoy watching it again. SplashShopper does not have a built-in date field for items, and using one of the custom fields for that doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve ended up using iProcrastinate Mobile (see below) and it is working quite well for this.

AutoMobile

In addition to the fundamental functionality of tracking fuel efficiency, I also wanted maintenance reminders and a graph of fuel price. Car Care (version 1.15) provides everything I wanted and the interface is pretty nice. I do wish startup were a bit quicker and that I could configure it to startup on the fill-up entry page.

DateBk6

iCal on the iPhone isn’t anywhere near as functional as DateBk6, but I’m surviving OK. For ToDo items I’ve settled on iProcrastinate Mobile (version 1.1, icon name “Tasks”). It does not support repeating items, which is mainly what I have, but I’ve found that rather than marking an item as done I can simply reset the date to the new due date (I store the repeat pattern as text in the Note field to remind me of what to do). As I mentioned above, I am also using this app to track when I last watched each of the DVDs that I own. This app would be greatly improved if Apple would add the ability for an app to update it’s badge (number shown on the icon in the app launcher) at some regular interval without the user having to launch the app, along with allowing for alarms from 3rd party apps.

Other iPhone apps I am using as replacements for Palm apps:

Separate Checks

This is by far the best iPhone app I have found for dividing up a check as it lets you actually assign the items to individual people rather than simply splitting the total evenly. Other than a couple of usability issues, and the fact that it doesn’t save any data between invocations (so if you leave the app for some reason before you’re finished, you have to start over — ugh), the main design of the app is, I think, superior to the Palm app I was using, Tipsy.

Expense Sharer (web site under constructon)

I’ve been waiting for an app like this since I got my iPhone (in fact, I seriously considered writing it myself, but the learning curve seems fairly steep if you haven’t done any Mac/Cocoa programming before) and it finally came out last week. Yeah! Based on at least one review in iTunes, some people simply do not understand the point of this app. The ideal use is for sharing expenses when going on a group vacation (as the name of Palm app I used, Holiday Debts, indicates). While I do use the app for this purpose, I also use it to track daily lunch debts between my regular lunch group — whomever is behind pays for that day’s lunch and the expense is divided appropriately (possibly with the help of Separate Checks) and entered. The app then shows how much is owed to and from each person which tells us whose turn to pay it is next. I like this app a lot, particularly the nicely formatted email summary that can be sent.

WeightMan

Simple body weight tracking app, but the first one I found that is both free (as this is not really something I care enough about to pay for) and shows a graph. In truth, this isn’t really a replacement for the Palm app I was using, CK Diet Diary, as that app did much more (tracked meals and exercise, including a database for both), but for the last few years I had only used the weight tracking aspect of that app.

And, of course, there are a number of iPhone apps I use that fill an entirely new niche for me:

Wikipanion

Nice iPhone interface to Wikipedia — better than accessing via Safari as it is formatted better for the iPhone and includes a table of contents view that can be handy.

Urbanspoon

I like this for finding nearby restaurants. There are lots of apps for this, but this is the one I have liked best so far. I also like that it lets me post a Twitter update with a link to the restaurant’s Urban Spoon page.

Where

This app is for finding all sorts of nearby stuff, but the only thing I use it for is for looking at nearby gas prices. There may be a better app for this.

Dashbuster

This is a very cool app that interfaces with either Netflix or Blockbuster Online and lets you manage your queue. I’m only using the free version at this point, which doesn’t let you add DVDs to your queue, but still lets you reorder and delete items.

Tags: AutoMobile, Calorie King, Car Care, CK Diet Diary, Dashbuster, DateBk6, Expense Sharer, HandyShopper, Holiday Debts, IntelliGolf, iPhone, iProcrastinate Mobile, Palm, Pocket Quicken, Separate Checks, ShoppingList, SplashShopper, TeeShot, Tipsy, Urbanspoon, WeightMan, Where, Wikipanion

14 Oct 08 True Blood

I’ve been reading Charlaine Harris‘ Southern Vampire novels over the past year and found them reasonably entertaining. Since I got rid of cable, I cannot watch HBO’s new show, True Blood, based on these novels. The other night while I was at Blockbuster I found that they had the first episode of True Blood available as a free rental. Naturally I took it — that way I’d know whether it was really worth the bother of watching the series once it become available to me (in a legitimate way).

Well, I got around to watching it tonight and I loved it! Subsequently, I found that it is also available for free on iTunes — at least I didn’t pay for the rental. I’m pretty resistant to iTunes TV episode prices, but I’d probably pay for this show, along with Showtime’s Weeds and Californication, if they were made available as they aired or shortly thereafter, rather than once the DVD was released (at that point, I’ll just get it from Blockbuster Online or Netflix).

Am I unique in being unsatisfied by the pricing and delivery models currently being offered for TV shows? Paying as much as or more than a DVD set for iTunes downloads when the DVD is already out seems silly. Likewise, paying $2 or $3 (HD) for a show I can watch for free from one of the broadcast networks makes little sense to me. Admittedly, I do have to pay for my TiVo service, but that amortizes out to way less per show.

Perhaps the problem is that there’s no room in the pricing model for renting TV episodes. I haven’t bought into the idea of owning TV shows, so that portion of the value isn’t really a factor for me. I think I might be willing to pay $1 per episode to just rent it, but more than that just doesn’t seem worthwhile to me, at least not for broadcast shows — I’d probably be willing to pay more for shows from premium stations. As I already observed, I’d likely fork over the $2 (maybe even $3 for HD) for certain shows.

Something else that would make the whole situation more palatable would be if I could go ahead and pay the prices that are currently being charged but in doing so I would also received the DVD (or Blu-Ray for HD prices) version once it was released.

HBO and Showtime just need to let me subscribe via the Internet.

Tags: cable, HBO, iTunes, Showtime, Tivo, TV

05 Oct 08 Davestin

 

On Friday night I went to my very first blogging event, Davestin! I had a great time at Opal Divine’s. I even took the bus downtown from work, though I hitched a ride back with Wayne. I think there were thirteen people there, including myself, though I may have lost count of some of the later arrivals. I spent most of the evening talking with Dave, Karla, Mags and Badger (and, of course, Wayne and Christy).

 

In addition to the custom badge and cool button-flair pictured to the right, Dave also handed out decks of playing cards featuring his artwork. I had wanted to order a deck of these cards before, but figured Wayne had probably ordered eight — which he had. I was going to get one from him, but now I don’t have to — Yeah!

By the way, the shrimp tacos at Opal Divine’s were the best I’ve ever had.

It would be nice if I could take the bus more often and more places, but it just doesn’t work out that way. The nearest stop is five miles from my house and requires a transfer to get to work. There’s also the issue of picking up my kids and delivering them to whatever after-school activity they have that day. Oh, well.

Tags: blogoverse, dave2, wayne

02 Oct 08 Credit Crisis Is Good

I have read a lot of commentary about the pending $750 Billion Bill to “fix the frozen credit market”. Most of the commentary seems to be targeted at either the unfairness of bailing out Wall Street or that it is really Main Street that will suffer if the bill is not passed.

My problem with this analysis is that it ignores what I consider to be the fundamental issue. The credit markets need to be much more restrictive than they have been for the last two decades. Also, I simply do not believe that the credit markets will become completely frozen — at least not for very long. Much more likely is that it will simply become more difficult to get credit, which is a good thing. Admittedly, it may become a bit *too* difficult in the short term, but that is not likely to last as lenders look to find some way to earn at least a modest return.

The chart I’ve included here is from America’s Total Debt Report, an analysis put together by the Grandfather Economic Report. There are many other interesting charts in that report, along with a good description of the situation.

I have heard a few commentators complain that we need this bill because we cannot quit our debt addiction cold turkey. The problem I have with that viewpoint is that debt begets debt. Ask any financial planner how to get out of debt and step one is stop borrowing.

Tags: bail-out, credit crisis, debt, economy, finance

20 Sep 08 New Laptop Table

I ordered a laptop table the other day and it arrived today. This is a table designed to extend over a chair (or bed) with a laptop. It can also tilt to improve the angle of the laptop.

Prior to this, I was using a combination of a lapdesk and a TV tray (floor-standing). The laptop was always on the lapdesk and the lapdesk was usually on the TV tray and then sometimes on my lap. When I was only casually using the laptop (reading a new email, perhaps), I would not bother putting it in my lap. However, I would often find myself leaving it on the TV tray even when I was typing or browsing for longer periods of time. This was not the least bit comfortable. On the other hand, even with the lapdesk between my lap and the laptop, my legs still got quite warm.

With the new laptop table, the situation is very much improved, though it is far from perfect. Keeping everything off of my lap is great, and the tilt provides a much better combination of typing and viewing angles. The problems are several. The arm is not long enough for my chair, so I cannot actually have the laptop directly in front of me. If I’m watching TV, this isn’t an issue as it would probably block my view of the television anyway. Of course, that is at least partly due to another problem — the table is height-adjustable, but the lowest selection is still too high. I guess the higher selections are for using a laptop while standing. I can get it lower than the lowest selection, but then the table rotates freely (which is actually how I’m using it now). When using one of the notched heights, the notch prevents the table from rotating. When using without a notch, and therefore “all the way down”, it doesn’t take much pressure on the tilted surface to cause it to rotate away from me. So far, it seems manageable though, and better than having the laptop too high.

Another issue is really the fault of my MacBook Pro. The screen simply doesn’t tilt back as far as I would like, which limits how far forward I can have the table tilted and still have a good angle for the screen. Moreover, if I decide to live with the screen tilted slightly toward me, the resistance of the laptop hinge is not quite strong enough and the force of gravity slowly (at first) causes the laptop lid to close. Oh, and it’s a good think I don’t use an external mouse as there’s simply no room for one with my 17″ laptop — I doubt there’s really room for one with a 15″ laptop either. If I placed the table on the other side of my chair (not at all feasible here) then I could use the secondary surface for the mouse, but I’m not sure how realistic that is. Without tilting the secondary surface (which does tilt), the mouse would be too high, and if it is tilted then the mouse would not stay in place.

For $73.44 (including shipping), I think it’s a pretty good table. Assembly was quite straight-forward. Amazon link: Mobile Laptop Desk (Mahogany/Silver) (30″ to 47″H x 32″W x 17″D)

Tags: Amazon, laptop, mac, working from home

19 Sep 08 BBL (Blog-Blog-Love)

Watch One

Yesterday, Wayne (easily the most prolific commenter on my blog) sent some blog love my way. (Thanks Wayne!) I tried to follow this meme back to its source, but ran into a receiver that didn’t seem to link back to the giver and thus I couldn’t follow any further.

Do One

I’m supposed to nominate seven other blogs. That might be tough as I don’t read all that many blogs to begin with and many of them are family or friends IRL that I’m not at all sure want their blogs shared that way, but I’ll see what I can do.

I’ve got nothing to say …

Ben is a good friend of mine that writes about a variety of things. Like me, there are occasional long gaps between updates, but I think that’s perfectly OK — when life gets in the way of blogging that’s probably a good thing.

The Meming of Life

I guess this is really a celebrity blog as it is written by the author of Parenting Beyond Belief. I find it to be a very thought-provoking blog.

2million - My Journey to Financial Freedom

This is a “personal finance weblog” that I find to be a very frank self-biographical examination of a young couple’s attempt to manage their finances in such a way as to allow them to retire early (in their 40s, I think).

Cool Mom

Another celebrity blog, this one by Daphne Brogdon, that features almost daily 1-minute videos that I usually find hilarious and often quite insightful.

Blogography

What can I say, David’s writing and drawings are highly entertaining, but you probably already know that.

Musings from Manhattan

Dee Anne is one of my second cousins, the only one I know of that blogs (though I have several first cousins that do). I enjoy reading about her garden, her teaching and her opinions about television shows. I hope she isn’t bothered that I’ve linked her here.

Hmm… that’s only six. Close enough, I suppose.

Teach One

So, here are the rules:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog
2. Link the person from whom you received your award
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on the blogs that you’ve nominated.

As far as I can tell, #5 is not followed very often, and I don’t think I’m going to follow it either. I guess that means I fail as I only completed 60% of the steps.

Tags: finance, wayne

18 Sep 08 Journal… Ramblings… Renagerie

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying (with help from whall and others) to come up with a new domain name for my website. At one point during this process I decided to go ahead and rename my blog from “Ren’s Journal” to “Ren’s Ramblings”. Because of this, rensramblings.com was a possibility, but my website hosts other things besides my blog (my photos and my needs-to-be-updated running and biking maps), so I wasn’t satisfied by this.

We went through all sorts of alternatives, some of the best of which were “renfinity” and “rentinuum”. Some of the goals I had were for it to be memorable, identifiable (though I’m not actually sure what I mean by that), easy to spell from its sound and with an implied meaning that was at least vaguely applicable to my (or a generic) website.

I finally came up with “renagerie” and I immediately liked it better than any of the other suggestions. In fact, I like it enough that I plan to rename my blog (again) after the domain is configured.

Tags: DNS

14 Sep 08 Comparing Obama and McCain Tax Plans: A Different View

It seems that there has been quite a bit of publicity for the tax proposal comparison graph done by the Washington Post based on the analysis done by Tax Policy Center.

I thought it would be useful to see the data with a bit more context. It’s the same data, though the numbers might vary slightly because this graph is based on the September 12 update to the Tax Policy Center analysis, but presented as actual rates rather than changes in rates.

I didn’t include the income break-downs, but they are the same as for the other versions of this chart.

Tags: chart, McCain, Obama, Political, taxes

12 Sep 08 iPhone 2.1 Update

For once Apple is actually listing the changes. The ones that strike me as significant are:

• significantly improved battery life for most users
• dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
• faster loading and searching of contacts

Downloading now (5:42pm).
Updating now (5:46pm).
iPhone restarting now (5:56pm).
iPhone syncing now (5:57pm).
Backup complete (6:03pm).
Sync complete (6:06pm).

Everything seems OK. Time will tell if the improvements are noticeable.

Tags: iPhone