Feb 20 2012

Self Motivation with RunKeeper

Category: MiscPhil @ 2:13 pm

I started jogging a little over 4 years ago after seeing a story on the news. The story was about the benefits of only 20 minutes of daily exercise! My metabolism had definitely slowed down as I got older, combine that with expanding responsibilities and time demands, meant less time for to stay fit. The only exercise I got was mowing the yard! So, I started jogging every morning before I went to work and it honestly made (makes) me feel a lot better; I did lose some pounds, but more importantly, it energizes me for the day.  It gives me about 25 minutes of me time, to listen to a podcast, music, or just think. It is a really good opportunity to get your day started on the right foot.

I basically run everyday on a treadmill; bad knees prevent me from running outside. So, unless I am not able to get out of bed, I am on the treadmill by 5AM.   I was running one morning last December and I smelled something burning, I thought the house was on fire! Unfortunately, the motor burned out and put a damper on my running! I figured it would be easier to fix it, rather than figuring out how to get rid of it! I had previously replaced two circuit boards in the treadmill, so I knew a guy in Michigan who dealt in treadmill parts (I found him on eBay!). He was a pretty interesting guy; he knew exactly what I needed and even through in a new belt. After a couple hours of fun and a lot of little adjustments, I had a brand new treadmill! I wish I knew how many miles I have logged on this thing; I assume that I have at least 3000+ miles on it… I know I have been through quite a few pairs of Brooks shoes!

One of my goals this year was to actually track my running.  I decided to  give RunKeeper a try. There are numerous web site / mobile application suites like this, but I had seen some good feedback on this one. The Android application is pretty basic and did what I need it to do.  The mobile applications are much more useful if you run out side; they are GPS enabled, recording your path and mileage, pretty cool! The RunKeeper website is actually pretty nice. I don’t really use it that much. You need to be an Elite member to get access to all of the interesting graphs and reports. I would actually like this information to be integrated with my blog, but have not found a WordPress plugin that does exactly what I want.  I might actually use this as an opportunity to create a small plugin that will let me manage my data the way I want! I actually have the whole thing designed in my head, it is just a matter of prioritization!

I thought that I would share my progress today, since I ran my longest distance of the year. Sometimes, if I feel the desire or need, I will actually run again when I get home from work; those are days that you see the unusually tall lines in the graph! I unfortunately broke my daily streak in January due to an illness, but have been fairly consistent ever since. It is kind of amazing, according to the treadmill’s calculations, I have burned an extra 22,000 calories this year!

My next challenge is to make it through a P90X session… I friend loaned me his DVD series to try… Sadly, my 4+ years of running has done nothing to prepare me for those workouts. I’m not very consistent with them, but will keep trying.  The problem is, I usually cannot walk the next day, they are seriously hard! Jogging is so much easier!

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Feb 20 2012

Inspiration and Motivation

Category: MiscPhil @ 1:02 pm

I am so far behind in my blogging, apparently, I’m the one that needs some inspiration and motivation! I recently started a new opportunity which has given me the time and energy to be more creative and productive; I just have to start putting that extra time to good use!  I shared a really good motivational video a couple of years ago; apparently is still well received as it recently showed up again in my reading list, 4 Great Motivational Videos for 2012.   I was thinking that most people have probably given up on their New Year’s Resolutions by now or might need some encouragement or inspiration, so it seemed like a perfect time to re-share these videos… better late than never!

I have watched this video several times and it touches me every time…

This video is very clever, make sure you don’t give up on it…

Enjoy!

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Feb 11 2012

Buffalo LinkStation Tear-down and Rebuild

Category: Ubuntu,WindowsPhil @ 10:55 am

I have been a big fan of Buffalo Technology products for some time. I purchased a couple of their NAS storage devices and use them as my primary backup solution. After working flawlessly for years, my first LinkStation died on me; it was was the original version and only had a 160GB drive.  We had a home office setup in our barn; I moved the LinkStation out there, just in case we ever had a fire in the house. The embedded print server was a nice addition, allowing us to print from anywhere in the house. Unfortunately, I think the barn was a tad bit dirtier than the LinkStation preferred. Even though the office was in a separate room, it was next to my wood shop and must have sucked in a lot of dirt and dust. As you can see from the picture below, there was a lot of black gunk on the fan intake, which ultimately caused the fan to fail. The device would still power up, but the hard drive would spin up and then quickly shutdown. Buffalo’s built in diagnostics indicated that the internal fan had failed, and unfortunately, this prevented the NAS from working at all. What a drag!  I did a little bit of research and found the suggested replacement fan on the Buffalo forums. Amazingly, they wanted about $20 for a new fan. I thought that was a little too steep; considering that can you get a 12omm case fan for under $5! I did some more Googling and found one for for $4 with free shipping; I figured why not!

Getting the box apart was a little challenging; I did the typical man thing – did no research and just grabbed a couple of screwdrivers! I did find some good instructions, after I was done with my project! There was one primary screen in the back, that basically holds the whole thing together. Once you get the case apart, it is quite easy from there. I was pretty impressed with the clean design, the main system board and an auxiliary power board, which eliminates the need for an external power block.  To replace the fan, I just snipped the three wires and spliced in my new one. Once I remembered how to put all of the pieces back together, it was a snap. Literally, the case almost snaps together; the hard drive bracket pops into the enclosure and the only screws are to hold the system board onto the hard drive bracket. There were two small screws that secure the power board, but that is it!

So, the real question is, did it it work after I put it back together?  The answer is sort of!  Actually, I think it worked fine. I could connect to it through the web interface and my son’s Windows 7 computer was able to mount the file system and save files. Unfortunately, neither my Ubuntu box or MBP was able to mount those partitions. Both computers could see the box on the network, but when I clicked on the device to access the shared file systems, they both complained that nothing was exported.  I believe these old LinkStations were supposed to support all operating systems, but I honestly have not used it for so long, I cant’ remember if it ever worked with Linux. My newer LinkStation NAS works with all of the computers, with no problems at all, so it is kind of strange!

While I was doing research on the LinkStation, I found a really cool site called NAS-Central. I know I should not be surprised, but as I was disassembling the device, it struck me that it was way more than a simple NAS device, it was a just another computer.  I really never thought about the internals, I just wanted something that I could plug an Ethernet cable into and  save some data!  NAS devices are actually pretty cool, but not really that exciting! You basically just plug them it and forget about them; they are a true network appliance. Little did I know, just like people who build custom ROMs for cellphones, they do the same thing for these NAS devices… You can easily turn your LinkStation (or other NAS device) into a real Linux server, with a wide variety of additional capabilities. I have not decided what I’m going to do with my old LinkStation yet, but if I get really bored, I might have to give of of these distributions a try!  If you ever decide to purchase a NAS device, make sure you have Buffalo a look. I have several friends and family members who purchased LinkStations, and I have yet to hear about any problems! I think Buffalo makes a pretty solid product, I’m sold!

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Feb 04 2012

Show your car some love….

Category: CarPhil @ 12:45 pm

My neighbor Hugh Murray has a great side business, a car detailing service.  I have never had my car detailed before, but  since I did not spend the money my parents gave me for Christmas, I said why not! ! I have no problem keeping my car clean, I wash it all the time. The thing is, I hate waxing cars. I don’t know why, I just find it a painful process and don’t remember being happy with the results.  Hugh happened to be out washing his daughter’s car a couple weeks ago, so I stopped by to find out about his business. He does the whole  detailing process, but is very flexible on what you can have done; I just wanted my car waxed!

Hugh, is a pretty cool guy; he has stopped by a couple of times when I was out working on my car.  He recommended a product to help me keep my rims clean… The rims on my car are a serious pain in the behind. They get dirty so fast; the brake dust clings to the rims and makes them look terrible. He let me try the product that he uses, Meguire’s Wheel Brightener.  The product is very easy to use, just spray it on and rinse it off.  It worked so well, I decided to buy a gallon from him; it should last me quite a while!

Hugh was able to fit me into his schedule last Saturday and I could not be happier with the results.  As you can see from the picture below, he come to you with everything that he needs. His van has a generator in the back, which he uses to power all of his tools. I was really impressed with his process, which is probably why his work looks so much better than mine! First, he starts with a Clay Bar Treatment, which removes all of the contaminates from the paint surface and provides the foundation for an awesome finish. He and his buddy used a couple of heavy duty orbital polishers to apply the wax and then used some buffers to bring out the shine. They cleaned inside the trunk and door jams, and polished all of the emblems; they even cleaned my windows, inside and out (which I also hate doing too!)   The car looks just like new, not to bad considering it is almost four years old. I would post a picture, but I don’t think they would do it justice!

Yes, I could have waxed my own car, but would have never achieved the results that Hugh delivered.  I assume that most people don’t bother waxing their cars; from the looks of a many cars on the road, I don’t think they bother washing them either! So, if you what to show your car some love and give it a nice coat of wax in preparation for Spring, I highly recommend giving Hugh a call. He is a nice guy and really enjoys what he does; what more can you ask for! Also, if you happen to have a motorcycle, his buddy has a motorcycle washing service, you might want to throw him some business too!  I really don’t think you will be disappointed!

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