J LO

Starcraft II and the Authenticator

J LO — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 03:58:02 +0000

The Authenticator

So I got Starcraft II on release day thanks to Amazon Prime and their Free Release Day Shipping… yet another way I can help pay off my subscription. I noticed in my email that my account was locked out due to security concerns and my password was submitted for change. I decided that I should change my password to something new and also to order… The Authenticator. Now that the device is ordered I just need to wait around for it and ensure that my account doesn’t get compromised before it arrives.

Planning for Camping: GORP

J LO — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:19:42 +0000

I came across a site that I like, GORP. I’m doing research on places to hike and camp in the US, and this website is very thorough. In addition, they have a trail finder which allows you to get detailed information about various trails based on location. My goal is to find a series of websites that can help me determine where to start my trip, and what to see while I’m there. If I can manage all of that then I’m sure it will be a successful trip.

The GORP Trail Finder

I’m particularly interested in Utah, because I know that there are some awesome caverns. My last vacation involved a hotel and museums, and I would like this vacation to involve hiking, natural beauty, and caverns! Some features require free registration. I unchecked all of the offers for travel, and if it turns out to be spamalot then I will post back here.

After searching around for a while I realized that GORP also runs Adventure Finder. This sounds appealing to me because I do not have any experience in the wilderness. It would be nice to go on a camping trip for fun and to learn some things without having to starve to death or hunt bears to eat and keep warm.

One trip that seems interesting is the 3 Day Backpack – A Taste of Glacier National Park this is a hiking and camping adventure through the backwoods of the Glacier National Park.

Camping and Hiking Gear

J LO — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:16:15 +0000

I got a coupon in my email for 25% off of REI equipment, exciting! I decided at that point that it was time to get a tent and a backpack. This is of course in preparation for future trips where I will be blending in with the nature and the sunshine… odd for me. I started out by looking at the backpacks, but I quickly found out that I didn’t know at all what I should get. I asked a man wearing the REI vest about the backpacks and based on his comments I concluded a “medium” capacity backpack would be best… 65Liters.

Frontish

I decided that the Men’s Ridgeline 65 (Lightweight Multiday Pack) was the best option. It can carry 65 liters (3,966 Cubic Inches) and weights 1.9 kilograms (4lbs 4oz). The tag says that it is hydration compatible (good since I already own CamelBak), has a string lightweight aluminum perimeter frame, adjustable suspension, and is comfortable from 25-55lbs of stuff.

My friend, Neel, recommended that I have them fill it with these weighted pillows to simulate me walking around with it. I took this time to peruse the rest of the store and fill my head with ideas of what I will do in the future.

I looked at sleeping pads and found one that was pretty sweet. I didn’t buy it because it was expensive $119 and it wasn’t REI brand so I wasn’t getting 25% off of it. The Exped SynMat 7 has a built in pump that is operated with your hands. I deflated it to try it out, and the operation was quite simple. Put both hands where the pictures of hands are on the mat, when you push down cover the hole in the pump and air will be pushed out of the “pump” and into the rest of the mat, and when you lift up allow air to flow into the hole to re-inflate the pump. Sweet! Maybe…

Only 5 lbs, and packs very small in its own bag.

Next, I spoke with the man about tents. I brought it down to three tents, and then I realized that the three pound, two person tent he was showing me was something on the order of $265… haha I’m not that serious yet. I called up Neel and talked over the difference of having a 1 and 2 person tent. Essentially… if I’m traveling alone… two is still nice because all my gear can be inside, and if I’m not traveling alone then it is nice to have that second space. So, I settled on the 5 pound Half Dome 2 tent. This was the tent that they had on display in the front of the store so I actually laid down inside and found it to be plenty large for two people my size (“large” build for the backpack… 6ft 5in and a 36in waist). I’m considering opening this tent up to see how it all goes together before going on my trip… thankfully I have a large amount of open floorspace.

I was informed by the man in the green REI vest and Neel that I should have a tent footprint. I got the one that matches my tent the Half Dome 2 Tent Footprint. I’m not going to post a photo of it, because it seems pointless. This should help protect my tent from damage over its lifespan.

You may be wondering… who the hell cares… who is this guy… and why does he keep posting about things he has purchased. Well, for different reasons really. These are not just travel purchases, but the next step towards living my dreams. I want to travel and see the world, hike until my legs fall off, sleep in the wilderness inside my very own tent, and feel like my life is having an adventure… I want to live. Having the pack and the tent sitting in my living room will keep my smiling that I am that much closer.

TDF 2010 Tour Tracker

J LO — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:03:59 +0000

I decided that I should have some 2010 TDF coverage even though I don’t have cable. It didn’t seem fair to rip it off the net so I’m officially paying for it $20.00 on Versus.com.

If I had an IPhone it would be nice to use their official tour tracker app which gives livegps coverage of the peloton. Unfortunately, I have a Blackberry so I can only access the website. I wonder if it would work with the IPad or IPodTouch, but I don’t have WiFi access while at work anyway so it doesn’t matter.

The recap coverage quality is… good, but it appears as the audio from the cameras has been cut, so when the narrator is not speaking you don’t get the benefit of bike noise. I’m testing with the coverage of Stage 16. It starts out with giving you inside information about the route for the stage as well as the elevation map. Finally, a map of the overall Tour de France is shown.

TDF 2010 Flow Chart

J LO — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:54:11 +0000

I found this flow chart with a review of the Versus Tour Tracker.

[BikeRidr]

Lance Armstrong for Me

What Does Marcellus Wallace Look Like?

J LO — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:45:31 +0000

Thanks to The Oatmeal for linking to this sweet video.

And another cool one:

Running:Walking 1:1

J LO — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:57:16 +0000

Today I ran with Kirk from http://www.spryfeet.com doing a 1 minute walking and 1 minute running pace. It was probably the best I have every felt, and for 11 miles that is saying a lot. I’m fairly certain that I wasn’t even the last person to finish this time. My total time out was close to 2 hours and 20 minutes!!! This has motivated me to order an interval timer… I chose the Soft Black Gymboss.

I decided I need to do some sock research, because I think I need some extra padding on the back of my heel where I seem to be getting a rub spot. Also, I think that I need to decrease the size of my shoe by 1/2 to prevent me from squeezing my toes in and getting blisters on the ends.

Overall, I am very happy with my performance today and it gives me new hope for running the San Antinio Marathon this year. If this 1:1 thing goes well maybe I will sign up for that Disney World Goofy Marathon!!!! SAWEEEET!

MapMyRun – View Workout Details.

The Oatmeal

J LO — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:20:13 +0000

Today is the 1 year birthday of The Oatmeal, and there was a 50% coupon for The Oatmeal Shop! I have been reading a big fan of The Oatmeal for a while now, and have been wanting fan stuffs for a while now.

I decided to get some things…

Cereal with Milk

Signed print from the awesome comic: Minor Differences

10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling

Poster print of the Comic: 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling

And my personal favorite:

How Everything Goes to Hell During a Zombie Apocalypse

Poster print of the Comic: How Everything Goes to Hell During a Zombie Apocalypse

Returning Home

J LO — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:58:38 +0000

I have discovered that traveling abroad is not as hard as I first imagined. If Russia is one of the harder countries to get in and out of then the rest of the world should be fairly straight forward. I think this will be the beginning of many trips in the future.

I’m surprised about the number of people that think I traveled to somewhere in the United States when I say that I’m in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Is it really that unusual?

St. Petersburg is a great place to go if you are very interested in history and museums. If for nothing else you can spend multiple days checking out the Hermitage. The museum is primarily for art (paintings and sculptures), but the building itself is quite stunning. There is also the Peterhof which is an enormous collection of fountains (Note: Find out which fountains you want to see before arriving and map them out for the best experience, and also take the hydrofoil to get to the Peterhof). I recommend the Lonely Planet travel guide for St. Petersburg for their walking tours (Note: Pack good shoes so you can be sure to have a good time walking around… your feet will still be tired though at the end of your stay).

Learn Russian… I think this is the same with most foreign countries, but it is important here to learn enough Russian to count and at least pronounce the alphabet properly. I think videos made for children to learn Russian as their first language is a good place to start. I found that Pimsleur (LittlePim) has a video series for many languages that is geared towards children learning. Also, Russian children TV shows might be valuable.

Overcoming Obstacles

J LO — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 23:47:06 +0000

Today I had an amazingly productive day. I woke up one time at 5:00am… yeah, on Saturday… and ran with Houston Fit Fall (a marathon training program). I missed the last two weekends of training (the long runs), and thus my previous maximum distance ever run was 6 miles. Today the group set out to run an incredible 11 miles! I nearly didn’t make it, and if it hadn’t been for one of my good cycling friends I probably would have given up.

For details about this route click here: http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/detail/18645216/

My new Nikon lens arrived today from Amazon. I ordered it specifically for my trip to St. Petersburg. Since this is primarily a travel and low-light lens I decided to shoot around my apartment where it is not very bright. I think that this will be an awesome lens to carry around vs the default lens that came with my Nikon D5000. I’m also hoping that this lens will encourage me to take photos of who I’m with and what I’m doing rather than what I’m looking at. I hope to get a lot of great portrait shots and scenery.

For details about this lens click here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001S2PPT0/ref=oss_product

In the same box I had a UV filter: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004ZCJG/ref=oss_product

Also, there was another 16GB SDHC card to supplement my existing one on the trip: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012W7HQK/ref=oss_product