Last weekend had me at Shmooconwith a few friends.  Shmoocon is one of my favorite cons, as it’s a strange mix of hackers, geeks, security goons and just interesting people and topics.

Friday had us doing the check in thing and catching a few opening talks, none of which were “wow” talks or anything, but all were pretty good.  We then ended the day with a somewhat unofficial party.  The odd part was that the party was in a church.  It’s a bit weird to have thumping rave music and laser pointers amongst pews.  Still, a good time was had by all, new friends were met and we barely avoided freezing on the way back to the hotel.

Saturday was a basic “don’t get mugged” class called “Cuong Shmoo”.  Rob promptly used a demo as an excuse to smash me in the arm, which is currently a nice shade of sickly yellow with nice purple highlights.  It was also our first exposure to the lockpick village and our attempt at escaping the mock Tijuana Jail.  Rob and I both got cocky and started with cuffs behind our backs.  Rob had to get “rescued” from the cuffs and lost 2.5 minutes in the process.  But, he managed to get through everything else (basically taking out an inflatable guard and picking 4 more locks).  His time was smthng like 4:58 – just barely under the 5 minute cut off.  I got out of the cuffs myself at around 2:40 minutes, but got destroyed by the next lock.  But, I was not to be completely stymied (more on that later).

An excellent talk by the creator of a tool called “Fast Track” convinced me that I’m really glad I’m not responsible for SQL servers in our environment.  This thing will pretty much pwn any SQL server you point it at.  :S

Saturday night started with us at the official party at Chloe’s club.  Good times with new friends were had, but a freak texting accident had someone do a full plant on the back steps.  Initial assessment was that no harm was done, so a small batch of us headed over to Brickskeller’swhen the open bar ran out.  Good drinking and more lock picking shenanigans ensued.  A couple could easily manage a Master padlock someone brought along (with a nice set of Southern Ordinance picks), while myself and another had a really hard time with it until we figured out “the knack”.  Returning to the hotel after last call had more social hilarity ensuing until we had to crash.

Sunday was pretty much wrapping up, saying goodbye, helping take care of the previous night’s texting accident (probably severely strained ligaments), and another attempt at the Tijuana Jail.  It was “unofficial” as timing and scoring were already shut down, but Rob and I wanted a whack at it for our own satisfaction.  This time we kept the cuffs in front.  I was out of the cuffs in 17 seconds and through all the other locks in under 2 minutes total. :)  Rob did much better on the cuffs than previously, but got stymied by the first lock (same one that got me the day before).  The locks were all pretty shot at this point, so I’m not surprised.  I’m amazed I managed it at all.

All in all, it was a great con and I met some really cool people.  Picked up a new minor interest in Locksports and have already determined that I need slightly better picks and that poorly made locks are bad to learn on (I can pop a Master No. 3 in about 15 seconds, but an unnumbered Master is a complete crap shoot). 

I'd hinted in a previous comment that I would talk a bit about the electronic wizardry I'm using to help me keep running.  Purists won't care about this, as they pretty much "just run".  If you fall in that category and like it that way, don't waste your time on the rest of this post. ;)

I am a big fan of "instant gratification".  I completely understand that if I run for three months, I should feel better, lose weight, run better, etc.  But, I don't want to wait for three months to see those kind of results.  I need to know that I'm doing smthng other than wasting my time... NOW! Hence, I resort to electronic gadgetry. :)

The primary (and currently only) source of electronic wizardry I employ for running is a Garmin Forerunner 305.  This is basically a GPS crammed into something that looks vaguely like a big watch.  It also has a wireless heart rate monitor (optional - not required for running).  In the simplest sense, it keeps track of where I am and how fast my heart is beating.  It can also keep track of my times and follow a simple workout schedule to prompt me to change pace.

However, what makes it really useful is the software to analyze that data.  This can pretty much tell me everything about my run and map out my performance and improvement over time.  That's kind of a big deal to me.  The instant gratification factor comes from being able to look at where I ran and see that I ran longer, further, faster, whatever.  It's also a real bonus to me to know that I ran 6 miles the first week, 8 miles the second week, 11 miles last week, etc.  If you want to get really technical, I also know that my shoes have 28 miles on them already (I expect to get at least 300 out of them).

The Forerunner 305 comes with some software called Garmin Training Center. This is one of the products I use to keep track of everything.  It's also about the only practical way to set up a workout and send it to the 305.  Here's the main portion of what it looks like after plugging in the 305 when I get home from a run (click for biggie):

The four panes are pretty easy to deal with... the top left is a calendar showing either when you ran or when you are scheduled to do so (depending on which screen you're looking at).  The pane below that is a list of activities you've uploaded.  The top right is a map of any given activity and the bottom right is the graph of the activity itself.  There's plenty of other stuff buried on tabs too...  like stats and such.

For example, for the walk/run above, I went 5.17 miles in 1 hour 13 and a half minutes, at an average pace of 14:14 minutes per mile, average speed of 4.2 mph, max speed was 7.8 mph, burning about 642 calories, with an average heart rate of 138 bpm (max was 182), etc.  I also have specific readouts of how long (and for what distance) I was in each "zone" for heart rate and speed.

By looking at the graph, I can tell that my first leg of jogging was where I did the most work, as it was about 12 minutes and I maintained a heart rate of about 170 during that time (it was also where my max HR of 182 was, because I started running too fast).

The Forerunner and the software give me a LOT of information.  For some people, this won't be a big deal at all.  For me, it's a "must have"!  Without it, I wouldn't be running as often and I wouldn't be running as well as I am.

This is just sort of an introduction to using a GPS for running... I've already got a lot more info on this, as I'm already branching out into other software (like SportTracks, which kinda rocks).  I'll post up more details about Training Center and SportTracks in future writings.

BTW...  it should be noted that there are lots of ways you can get our training data online.  The Garmins even come with a basic service to do so.  Just be careful what you upload...  Notice that the above map is in a park in Washington, DC.  It's not a map showing my wife's regular running route, nor is it showing where the front door of my house is.  You'd be surprised at how many "tracks" I've found online with this kind of stuff in it.  There are weirdos out there... don't make their jobs too easy.  Don't be paranoid... just be aware.

Hey all, time for more silliness in the life of smthng...

I still need to finish off the posts for my Colorado/Yellowstone trip, but I'm not really motivated to do so (yet).  I'll get to it eventually.

I've pretty much stripped down the FJR, but it's got to get into the shop for a tune-up before I sell it.  I just feel "wrong" about selling a bike I'm not convinced is in the best shape it can be in.  Might do that this weekend.

I got the KLR back from the shop with a new muffler, rear brake line and a few other bits that got killed when the exhaust fell off.  It's all good now.

Speaking of the KLR... I might be able to live with it for a bit and hold off on getting the BMW F800GS.  Not sure yet, which means I probably don't really need the BMW right now.

What else has been going on...  I took the wife camping and Jeeping last weekend.  It's her first time camping.  She had a decent time, but was a little put off by the lack of participation from our off-roading club (so was I).  Still, we had a good time and hit some good trails.  My friend Rob (the other Rob) and his wife joined us, and it was pretty much his first time out on rocks.  They had a great time and he's already trying to figure out what else he wants to do to the Jeep to be more capable.  JEEP = Just Empty Every Pocket. ;)

The camping trip got me thinking about how to make camping easier and better for both me and the wife.  I'm not sure how it happened or exactly why, but she gave the financial nod to get a SylvanSport Go pop-up camper/trailer thing.  :)  That should just about cover any camping issues in the future.  It's ridiculously expensive, but it really does do everything I need it to...  camping, hauling stuff from lumber stores, towing the bike, etc.  It's also light enough that the Jeep can handle it (Jeep Wranglers are great vehicles, but don't weigh much, so they have a really low towing capacity).

Ok...  so now onto my running efforts.  I've decided to start running.  It's mostly my wife's fault.  :P  She's a bit of a health nut, but I hate working out because I don't feel like I'm doing anything.  A friend talked her into running a 10k last month and she diligently stuck to her little regimen and completed the training and the race (in a decent time, no less).  Honestly, I didn't think she'd stick with it, but she proved me flat wrong.  Wouldn't be the first time!  ;)

She was kind of at a loss of what to do after the race, and didn't have a real "goal" for continuing to run.  She also didn't have any real idea of how well or how bad she was doing.  So, I suggested a GPS for running as a good tool to help her train, examine her progress and stay with it.  I ended up getting a Garmin Forerunner 305 for her.  Of course, I couldn't let the wife get a new toy unless I got one too. ;) 

The 305 is really a neat little piece of equipment.  I'm very much "gadget motivated" and this is a cool gadget.  While I'd probably keep running without it, I know that I wouldn't be making great progress and I wouldn't be looking forward to running.  With the 305, I really do look forward to getting home, running a session, plugging in the 305, then immediately seeing everything about how I did.  It's instant gratification!

A bit about me and why I'm running...  I'm in my late 30s, 5'10" and was about 200 lbs.  200 lbs is my "trigger" to get off my butt and do smthng about my computer geek lifestyle.  I'm in reasonably good shape, but I eat a lot and don't do much in the way of physical activity unless I'm on a Jeep trail (which is only about once a month).  I do have a few issues with running, but I think I can get past them.  First, I'm basically out of shape.  Nothing critical, just fat and sedentary.  Second, I have a weird gall bladder issue that none of the docs have been able to diagnose enough to do anything about it.  It's occasionally very painful (morphine levels of pain), but I can pretty much manage it by watching my food.  Third, I have incredibly high arches.  Bad enough that a walk around the block in bad shoes will leave me in agony for days.  That pretty much covers the reasons not to run.  I'm working on all of them. ;)

Basic stats on me before starting to run...  male, 199 lbs, 5'10", 27.7% body fat.

Reasons to run...  Well, I've only gone out about a half a dozen times.  But, I've also been laying off the junk food and eating relatively healthy stuff when there's an option.  The results?  194 lbs, 26.2% body fat. That's 5 lbs and 1.5% body fat gone... in about 10 days of running and eating better. :)

More motivation...  Other than fighting "getting old", losing weight, feeling better, etc...  I'm signed up for an 8k run November 2nd.  I don't know if I'll actually be in shape to run the entire 8k, but I have no doubt that I'll be able to finish and that I won't feel like death on a stick when I'm done.  If you want to join in, check out Run! Geek! Run!  It's for a good geeky cause.

Anyway, that's enough of my chatter for now...  I'll keep you posted on my running progress (and what I'm learning), the Sylvansport (when it's built) and the bikes.

I got the Onkyo TX-SR805 hooked up two days ago, but no real "configuration" done.  I decided to rearrange the entire "theatre room" in the process, so it took a bit longer than expected.  Our room is a bit goofy and it's in a state of flux right now, so I didn't expect much from the Onk right off the bat.  There's no way I can describe the room, so here's the current config... kinda. 

The dead couch is one I'm tossing out, but I have to scavenge some bits from it first, so it's going to be hanging around messing up my acoustics for a while.  But here's the cool bit...

The Onkyo comes with a little tuning microphone.  You plugs it in, it tells you where to puts it and it starts sending sound pulses out the speakers (one at a time).  It listens to the results, figures out what your configuration is, how each speaker performs, what the acoustics are like and then it programs itself to compensate for everything.  It takes about 15-20 minutes to do the minimum of three readings (it can manage up to eight) and then about 5 minutes for it to calculate everything.  Voila!  As good of a sound as possible considering the environment.

I actually had the power go out in the middle of the first session, which sukt mightily.  But, I did it again when the power came back and it did a pretty decent job of managing two issues that I knew I had...  My mismatched center channel (it's an Infinity, all others are KLH) and the dead couch absorbing everything from the rear left speaker.  We slapped in our most recent NetFlix...  PathFinder (horrible movie with mediocre sound, but excellent visuals).  I was quite surprised that the Onk did a phenomenal job of setting itself up and I didn't even notice the dead couch "sound suck".  Job well done!

I've got some more thoughts on the Onk, but I'll tackle them in another post or three.