tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75857402024-03-13T20:42:07.861-07:00Randomly GeneratedDoug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.comBlogger1494125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-1009947941032008552012-04-11T22:21:00.008-07:002012-04-11T22:44:45.311-07:00Two Years From Today...<p style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><i><span>*This post was written to provide early material for a new site devoted to our pending trip. That site is still heavily under construction and will not go live until sometime next year. In the meantime, here's a short update concerning where we're at in our RTW preparations...</span></i></p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="line-height: 1.5; font-size: 100%; ">It's April 2nd, 2012 and if all things go according to hopes and plans, two years from today we'll be heading northward past the town of Darrington, WA on our way to the junction with the North Cascades Highway and the Northern Tier bicycle route. I must say that despite the lengthy amount of time before we depart, the excitement is already building. I suspect it's this way for anyone planning such a monumental uprooting. Which brings me to why I'm writing this post. I want to make sure and seed our site with posts that point to the steps we took to prepare for the trip and, as with everything that will ultimately appear on TwoFarGone.com, to provide another data point of reference for those who will one day be where we are now: scouring the internet like mad for all the tips, advice, and information you can find. So, in that regard, here's where we currently stand on a few things.</span></p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><strong style="line-height: 1.5; ">Savings<br style="line-height: 1.5; "></strong>There's nothing more important during the long waiting period than saving and so far so good. We're past the halfway mark for our goal and several months ahead of schedule due to some good investments and are now socking away $700/month towards the trip. We continue to increase the monthly savings amount by $50 every six months.</p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">Kristin and I are lucky in this regard that we haven't had to make any sacrifices in order to save for the trip (very lucky considering Kristin was laid off in December, 2010). We combine for a relatively comfortable "household income" and don't have very expensive tastes, except perhaps in bicycles. But going hand-in-hand with saving for the trip has been a full-frontal assault on all of our outstanding bills. Our mountain of credit card debt has been whittled to a molehill, the cars have been paid off for a couple years now, and we are soon to be debt-free outside of the mortgage for our house in WA, a minuscule mortgage on land we own in NC, and a lingering student loan. The latter two will be paid off this time next year.</p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><strong style="line-height: 1.5; ">Gearing Up<br style="line-height: 1.5; "></strong>I built up our Salsa Fargos last winter and though I do intend to swap out the butterfly "trekking" handlebar for a standard mountain bike flat-bar to give us a wider grip for rocky/technical tracks (not to mention more cockpit space for accessories), they are otherwise tour-ready. We enjoyed every moment of these bikes during our 10 day tour around the Olympic Peninsula last summer and anxiously await our next short trip. Hell, I actually look forward to my quick jaunts to the grocery store. Anything to sneak a ride in on it.</p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">Though we are two years away and are trying our best to not dwell on the trip too much, we have begun researching and buying gear in earnest. We've so far stuck to products that we either know will not change between now and 2014 and those we love and fear may be discontinued. Part of our reasoning for this was to also make strategic use out of our annual REI Dividend and the gift cards we've been receiving from family for holidays and birthdays. The pile of inspiration in the spare bedroom has been growing of late.</p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">So far we've purchased Ortlieb front and rear panniers for each bike along with our sleeping systems of choice (an unorthodox combination that I'll explain in a separate post). We have a lot of gear already from our past trips, but I've also begun adding some clothing as I see things go on sale. Merino wool for the win!</p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">We've created a spreadsheet that is already taking the form of a packing list, though it's really a way for us to track the things we've bought, what we still need, and what our top choices are for certain topics (detailed gear lists will be provided on this site). We read a lot of bike touring blogs and have studied more than a few people's gear lists over the past few years and have finally begun tracking the products that we want to get. This way we can purchase it gradually over time. This nets us two benefits: 1) We don't suddenly have to dip into our trip savings just as we stop working, and 2) We're not running around trying to research/acquire gear while also trying to sell our house and all of its contents.</p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><strong style="line-height: 1.5; ">Hair Removal<br style="line-height: 1.5; "></strong>Kristin is in the process of writing a separate post about this, but she'll be going in for her third of six scheduled sessions for laser hair removal this week. This was a costly expense, but one I was not about to say no to. I know some women would rather let their leg and armpit hair grow out and that some guys don't mind their wives or girlfriends going a few days or weeks without shaving. Not us. Actually, Kristin was probably going to eventually do this anyway. I guess the trip just provided the necessary motivation. For those considering this, do note that it cost more than the total cost of my Fargo including racks and panniers. And it's extremely painful.</p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><strong style="line-height: 1.5; ">Snow Route<br style="line-height: 1.5; "></strong>Earlier I mentioned that we hope to be crossing WA via the Northern Tier in early April. For those who aren't familiar with Washington State geography and highway closures, the North Cascades Highway (Hwy 20) closes every November due to avalanche and re-opens sometime that following spring. There are essentially four major routes through the Cascade Mountains in WA and Hwy 20 is not only the most scenic, but the one we prefer by a wide margin not only for its beauty but it also passes the town of Winthrop in the Methow Valley, one of my all-time favorite places in the Pacific Northwest. The highway didn't open until May 25th last year, its second-latest opening ever. This year it is expected to open the first week of May. As of late March, it still had snowdrifts 50 to 60 feet deep in some of the avalanche zones and the road surface at Washington Pass was under 9 feet of snow.</p><p style="text-align: center;margin-bottom: 24px; "><span><span style="line-height: 24px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/6915875386/" title="SR 20 Cutthroat Ridge by WSDOT, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7180/6915875386_e0d58813e4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SR 20 Cutthroat Ridge" /></a><br />Photo from WA DOT of Highway 20 near Cutthroat Ridge during 2012 snow-clearing.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157629681048559/">See their impressive collection of photos here</a>.</span></span></p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">If our hoping to ride this route in early April sounds like wishful thinking, it is! But it's not without precedent. Here's just a few of the highway opening dates I'm hanging my cycling helmet on: April 16th, 2010; March 10th, 2005; April 8th, 2004; April 14th, 2003; March 22nd, 2001; and March 30th, 2000 (<a href="http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Passes/NorthCascades/closurehistory.htm" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.5; ">source</a>). Oh, and the road never closed during the winter of 1976-77 so we can always hope for a repeat. The two words we don't want to hear are "La" and "Nina" as the La Nina winters (like 2011 and 2012) are responsible for the immense snowfalls.</p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">It's worth noting that Hwy 20 is only closed to cars. As long as you stay clear of the road crews while they are removing the snow, you are otherwise allowed to be up there on foot, bike, or ski (avalanche risk notwithstanding). So there's always the possibility that we time our crossing with the last remaining days of the snow-removal process and make it down the east side before the road opens to cars. More than likely though, we'll either luck into an early opening or have to take the route over Stevens Pass (Hwy 2), Snoqualmie Pass (I-90), or cross much further south, perhaps in Oregon or on Highway 12 through Washington.</p><p style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-family: Candara, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">The one thing we don't want to do is wait around until late May to start. We're waiting long enough as it is..</p>Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11601362819785178691noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-31195389407953501712011-05-02T09:09:00.000-07:002011-05-02T09:17:37.532-07:00One Year Ago...As I commence packing for a lengthy bi-coastal business trip (and a couple days on the beach in North Carolina with my sister), I can't help but think back to what I was doing this time last year: Riding! I was about halfway through a 9 day mountain biking trip to the Fruita/Moab area of the southwest US with some new friends. But rather than tell you about this incredible trip, let me show you. Here's a two-part video I shot with my Kodak Zi8 pocket HD camera.<br />
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I did 99% of the filming and all of the editing. There's a couple of shots of me in there (usually in a red top, on a white Specialized Stumpjumper 29er). Unfortunately, YouTube replaced the third song "Venice Queen" by Red Hot Chili Peppers with some muzak. Best moment? Definitely part 2, at 2:20. Oh, and definitely bump it to 720p and full screen for the proper effect.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XWNTBfc0thk?fs=1" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f-GvNDgFRwI?fs=1" width="480"></iframe>Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-40584714942327067902011-04-28T10:01:00.000-07:002011-04-28T10:12:56.980-07:00Losing Weight the DBLDBS Way!It's been five weeks since I stepped off a plane from San Francisco weighing a few pounds more than at any previous point in my life. Nine days spent sitting idle behind a computer. Nine days of eating way too much for breakfast and drinking too many beers with dinner. We need not discuss the desserts. I can't pin all of this blame on <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/strategy-guides/duke-nukem-forever-official-strategy-guide/89424?ref=recpdp&cross=830571">Duke</a> though. My eating habits in general had deteriorated over the winter and the frequency at which I was working out could be measured in lunar phases. I wasn't getting fat, but I was certainly getting soft. Something had to give.<br />
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This is where I could write about how hardcore I've become in terms of working out and watching what I eat. I could tell you that I'm again training for marathons and Ironman triathlons and stage races in Canada. But it'd be a lie. As it turns out, I'm enjoying pretty significant results with what I would consider a very non-drastic course of action. I call this the DBLDBS plan, short for Don't Be Lazy, Don't Be Stupid. All rights reserved, copyright 2011, property of Randomly Generated blog. Rebroadcast or description of events prohibited without the expressed written consent of Major League Baseball. Oops.<br />
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Before I share the details of my plan, a few results are in order. I've been using our wonderful <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-510W-Composition-Monitor-Scale/dp/B001IV61J4">Omron</a> scale every Thursday morning to chart my progression in terms of weight loss, body fat percentage, visceral fat, and skeletal muscle percentage. After five weeks of DBLDBS...<br />
<a name='more'></a><ul><li><strong>Weight</strong>: Lost 9.4 lbs OR 4.6% improvement.</li>
<li><strong>Body Fat</strong>: 1.6 percentage points lower OR 6.4% improvement.</li>
<li><strong>Muscle: </strong>0.9 percentage points higher OR 2.5% improvement.</li>
</ul>Most importantly of all from a long-term health perspective was my decrease in <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/30641.php">visceral fat</a>. I dropped from a reading of 10 to an 8. Visceral fat is that which builds up around your internal organs and potentially contributes to higher cholesterol and diabetes. According to the log sheets that come with the Omron scale, a rating of 10-14 is considered "High" whereas 9 and below is considered "Normal" (15 and above is considered "Very High). I'd love to get it down to a 6 or 7 just to on the safe side, but I'm happy to have it down to an 8.<br />
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So what have I been doing? Well, like the plan states, I stopped being lazy and stopped being stupid. <br />
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<strong>Exercise</strong><br />
The first thing I did that Thursday after I got home was go for a run. It didn't go well. I hadn't run in a year and I was very heavy on my feet. I was slow and I even had to walk a short hill just 2 miles into the run. But I felt good having done it. It was a 2.9 mile trail run at a pedestrian 8:59/mile pace, but I was feeling good. Good enough to want to go biking the next day, and the day after that, and the next day too. Essentially, I've finally embraced the idea that even 30 minutes of daily action is better than inaction. That a bike ride doesn't need to last for 3 hours to be worthwhile, that I don't need to beat myself up over running so much slower than I used to.<br />
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I also discovered the Garmin Connect website which works wonderfully with all manner of Garmin training devices. Kristin and I both have a Forerunner 305 for running and I have the Edge 305 for cycling. I've been uploading the data from each workout to the site the past five weeks. The blue squares are running, red is for cycling, and purple is for strength training (done exclusively with Active 2 for Xbox Kinect).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil9EQNceR1u1ZSY9Y4zoHIAikRtzMWtUqwmYaL2CKJXixMUke1jKUsy5twraPcA3213BL_owzqxFch8KAvaWypcYXQNhlNB7g_WzE-eXH5WOWijiD7oGWCqM0i2vk0FuQLTKTe/s1600/March.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil9EQNceR1u1ZSY9Y4zoHIAikRtzMWtUqwmYaL2CKJXixMUke1jKUsy5twraPcA3213BL_owzqxFch8KAvaWypcYXQNhlNB7g_WzE-eXH5WOWijiD7oGWCqM0i2vk0FuQLTKTe/s320/March.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March Garmin Connect Calendar</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKOp7m9pazw0HtV3DyXfSvbX4O_iogasbsEMC6Nh0tMxgBU22WOzCvJZvovBbSKRMsm5tC9SKyfs5YTHE61Kqobaaog9cpnVmcuvK8sj_C8MWL-RMQGZLA5GI6rkkt8deGtLz/s1600/April.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKOp7m9pazw0HtV3DyXfSvbX4O_iogasbsEMC6Nh0tMxgBU22WOzCvJZvovBbSKRMsm5tC9SKyfs5YTHE61Kqobaaog9cpnVmcuvK8sj_C8MWL-RMQGZLA5GI6rkkt8deGtLz/s320/April.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April Garmin Connect Calendar</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Admittedly, there's not much information in the calendar view, but if you were to click one of those days on my Garmin Connect site, you'd be able to get a much more detailed view of the activity like <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/81033280">this entry</a> from last weekend's mountain bike ride. I mention all of this to show that 1) I've been working out 5-6 days a week, 2) that my weekly totals are rather modest, and 3) that having little gadgets and software like this makes it easy and fun to track your progress. All of the routes you upload are shared with other Garmin users too and are searchable by city and zip code. I've already downloaded a running route two miles from the hotel I'll be staying at next week in NC.<br />
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As an aside, regarding Active 2 for Xbox Kinect, I've been strictly using the "trainer generated" mode. Many of the squat and jumping exercises were destroying my knees (we have bamboo hardwood floor in the room with the Xbox and the yoga mat I workout on wasn't helping at all). Depending on my mood, I either tell it to generate a 30 minute upper body workout (Hard difficulty), or I'll do 20 minutes of upper and 15 of core. Or some other combination. I can toggle on/off exercises I don't wish to do. This ends up being a very solid workout yielding results that I can see in the mirror.<br />
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One final note on the workout schedule though. I learned the hard way a year ago not to ramp up the running mileage and pace too suddenly. I did that in the fall of 2009 and wound up hobbled with a stress fracture (in my femur of all places). So I've been limiting myself to just 3 to 5 miles for the time being, with my "longer" runs being done with Kristin so it forces me to slow down (and her to speed up). That said, I did manage to bang out a 7:45/mile average during yesterday's 3 mile rain in the run. Not exactly fast, but it felt really good.<br />
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<strong>Diet</strong><br />
This is where we address the DBS portion of the plan. There's the obvious things like cutting back on beer and sweets and yes, fast food too (as an aside, I honestly believe the McDonalds Double Cheeseburger is penny-for-penny the best tasting food of all time... unfortunately, I can't not eat 3 of them) but I had to cut deeper than that. After all, it's not like a drank a beer every night or passed through the Golden Arches more than once every two or three weeks.<br />
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So I started with breakfast. My typical breakfast was either two huge bowls of cereal or a couple of toasted bagels with butter. Too many carbs, too much buttery fatness. So, thanks to Costco's reasonable prices, I've been enjoying Chobani Greek Yogurt (non-fat, full of protein) with some granola every morning for the past 5 weeks. Yes, every morning. I've also been waking up much earlier, eating earlier, and having a snack during late morning. Which brings me to my other change. Out with the Pop-Tarts, in with the Nature Valley Fruit&Nut granola bars (again, thank you Costco). For lunch, I've managed to restrain myself to a single sandwich and not two. Afternoon snacks are now fruit or a nuts/trail mix instead of Pop-Tarts or chips & salsa. Kristin and I have also been better about dinner lately. We've always eaten pretty healthy at dinner, but we've cut back on various saucy chicken dishes and have been eating a lot more grilled chicken with a light seasoning. More fish too. We've also adjusted our eating out habits to lean more heavily towards sushi and Panera Bread instead of pizza and Chipotle Grill. Exceptions can be made though.<br />
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Finally, the other change I've made is in the realm of vitamins. Now, I don't actually know if this matters at all -- there's always a strong placebo effect at work when you talk about vitamins and people's dietary supplements -- but I've been much better about taking my adult gummy vitamins in the morning, and an Emergen-C and multi-vitamin after working out. <br />
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<strong>So What's Next?</strong><br />
Seeing 204 pounds light up on the scale last month was a wake-up call that gave me a few goals. For starters, I wanted to get back under 195lbs by the end of April. Mission accomplished! Next up is to get below 190 by the end of our bicycle trip in June/July, and be firmly back under 185 before my birthday on October 1st. That would really enable me to better enjoy the new Stone Gardens location when it opens this fall in Bellevue (bouldering at 196 pounds was not fun).<br />
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I was in the best shape of my adult post-college life in 2002 when I was running ultramarathons and doing long distance triathlons. I weighed 176 pounds back then, had single-digit bodyfat and was in excellent shape. I was also swim/bike/runnning over 25 hours a week. I won't be doing that again, but there is a lot of room for improvement between where I sit today and that pinnacle. And somewhere in the middle perhaps sits a pleasant plateau at which I can hopefully set up camp and stay a while.<br />
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Care to join me?Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-15543107559685861052011-04-26T11:38:00.000-07:002011-04-26T11:44:19.246-07:00Ikigami: The Ultimate LimitIt's rare for me to watch a movie that I remember two years later, let alone one that I not only import on DVD, but that I even end up buying the accompanying comic books too. Or, in this case, the <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga">manga</a></em>. Actually, it's not rare; it's unheard of. While this may not shock those of you who know me well, many suspect that because I work in the videogame industry that I have certain, shall we say, traits. Assumptions are made that I'm into action figures, that I like science-fiction and superheroes, and that I've collected comic books, played Magic: The Gathering or Dungeons & Dragons, and, well, you get the idea. The truth is, the only action figures I've ever owned were a couple of ThunderCats when I was 10; I hate all things Stars, particularly <em>Wars</em> and <em>Treks</em>; I couldn't tell you who the Superfriends are. I'm not even sure if there are Superfriends or if I just made that up. And though I did buy a couple of "Ghost Rider" and "Silver Surfer" comics as a child, 90% of the reading I've done since then has been, gasp, non-fiction. I'VE. NEVER. ROLLED. TWENTY.<br />
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Alas, I am a very poor excuse for a geek. But this doesn't mean I can't be swayed. My time spent writing the <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Arkham-Asylum-Signature-Guide/dp/0744011116/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303838451&sr=8-1-spell">Batman: Arkham Asylum Official Strategy Guide</a> </em>two summers ago sparked such a keen desire in me to learn more about the Batman universe that I actually bought the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkham_Asylum:_A_Serious_House_on_Serious_Earth">Arkham Asylum" graphic novel</a> by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean (an exceptional piece of storytelling and art). Though I now have no idea where that book went, I do recall enjoying it considerably (and yes, I do hope to be writing the guidebook for the sequel later this year... fingers crossed).<br />
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And that brings us to my foray into manga and <em>Ikigami</em>...<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
I first watched the movie <em>Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit</em> somewhere over the Pacific, on a flight home from Osaka two winters ago. There are few movies that left such an impression on me. I remember sitting motionless in my seat, eyes tearing: I felt frozen, run over, shocked, and tortured all at once. I tried to describe the movie to friends on multiple occasions, but it always comes out weird. I tried to track it down on Netflix, but it's not available. Alas, I recently found a seller on Amazon with an imported copy (English subtitles, Japanese language audio).<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Z3GlJQjOMBc" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br />
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The movie is set in Japan, in an alternate reality in which the government, as part of a plan to increase national prosperity, gives all children a vaccine. One in one-thousand of the syringes contains a tiny capsule that will release a lethal heart-blockage at a known hour, at sometime during their early twenties. The victim is contacted 24 hours prior to the their death and notified that they carry the capsule and will be dead the following day. The government's [flawed] rationale is that by killing 1/1000th of its citizenry, the remaining population will come to value life that much more and better devote themselves to making the most of their time on earth.<br />
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The story follows the career of one of the government's messengers, one of the many men whose job is to hand-deliver the death notice (the 'ikigami') to the victims 24 hours before they are set to expire. Each victim's life yields a different tale and the movie centers around three very different final days in the lives of three young Japanese citizens, sentenced to die for seemingly no reason other than to try and encourage others to live more fully. <br />
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This is a very interesting philosophical and sociological question. Could eliminating 0.1% of the population be a justifiable means if it ends in a greater life for the other 99.9% of the population? Perhaps. So long as you're not that 0.1 percent. Would seeing someone--an innocent--die a senseless death invoke in you feelings to try harder and make the most of every day? Or would you succumb to feelings of helplessness knowing that you could be next?<br />
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Little did I know that the movie was actually based on a long-running series of manga<em>. </em>Amazon is very good about recommending additional purchases to its customers and I hesitantly added the first volume to my cart upon discovering the books. The series began in 2005 by Motoro Mase and consists of eight volumes under the genre of psychological thriller. The books maintain the Japanese right-to-left design ; the only differences is that the speech bubbles have been replaced with English text. It reads quickly and I was flipping the final two-hundredth page in no time at all. And I was hooked. Like novels, the manga not only provides far more detail than the movie has time to include, but it also covers a variety of story arcs. Some of the character-stories from the movie are in the first volume, but also others that aren't. There's also more emphasis on the internal struggle the messenger, Fujimoto-san, must confront with his new career.<br />
<br />
I wasn't going to purchase the other volumes at twelve-bucks each on Amazon but Kristin quickly discovered that the King County Library actually has them in their system. She had volumes 2 and 3 delivered to our little Snoqualmie Library the other day -- and the stories keep getting better. I highly recommend checking out the movie and, if you like it, see if your library has the manga. Even Kristin is enjoying them too and she's even got fewer geek genes than me!Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-814571413506485682011-04-04T15:00:00.000-07:002011-04-04T15:00:50.741-07:00Deciphering Your Xbox Stats EmailSo I got an email today from Microsoft detailing my own personal usage stats for March, 2011. But before I share with you a bit of my own time with the system, allow me to show off my avatar's new pant. No, I didn't forget to make it plural.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI18TfUg77jBm42QNuGqFBgbgLjNU_cFPqMYnGM0FmRe1HIGnhonpG9k-0WlCldn47-S4PGoAw30Heci65EsWJXufsdzQwYo_Gw5G6duHqZYsAtA88WU9TFVg98iI2Vg-HHA4y/s1600/pantleg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI18TfUg77jBm42QNuGqFBgbgLjNU_cFPqMYnGM0FmRe1HIGnhonpG9k-0WlCldn47-S4PGoAw30Heci65EsWJXufsdzQwYo_Gw5G6duHqZYsAtA88WU9TFVg98iI2Vg-HHA4y/s1600/pantleg.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold the Plaid Attack!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Yes, it's a hideous concoction (though he seems to look perfectly dressed when sitting at the table in the new Full House Poker game). Think what you will about his appearance, what everyone wants to know is where did I get my pant. Well, it's actually an unlockable item in the new version of "You Don't Know Jack." Each episode in YDKJ has a sponsor-themed wrong answer. Answer incorrectly (by accident or intentionally, it doesn't matter) and happen to choose that right wrong answer during the show and you get a prize. My fabulous pant was provided by a world famous designer of high-fashion pant and slack.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Now, about those stats. First, the fine print says that the personal data is current as of March 22, 2011. The gameplay information is for the month of February, 2011. So right off the bat we can already tell that these stats are probably more confusing than necessary. Hopefully MS can find a way to generate month-end stats for both personal data and gameplay information (and get them out in a more timely manner), though the only thing that really changes with the former is your Gamerscore.<br />
<br />
According to the email, my Gamerscore was 37,170 when the report was generated. My current Gamerscore is 38,525, but I've only unlocked another 100 or 200 points since the middle of March, so this tells me that the Gamerscore data contained in the email is, like the gameplay information, only current through the end of the month of February. In other words, everything about this email is essentially a month old. The more current personal data is little more than the date I joined Xbox Live (11/26/03) and when my membership expires.<br />
<br />
So, on that note, here's what my February looked like with Xbox Live.<br />
<br />
<strong>February, 2011 (Enduro)</strong><br />
Total time on Xbox Live: 37 hours 36 minutes.<br />
Most frequent Activities: Netflix, Mafia II, EA Sports Active 2.<br />
<ul><li>Netflix: 10hrs, 49min</li>
<li>Mafia II: 8hrs, 02min</li>
<li>Active 2: 4hrs, 20min</li>
</ul>I suspect March's report will be dominated by Monopoly Streets and Full House Poker as those two games dominated recent time with the system, not to mention I was out of town for 9 days for work. Unless Kristin was binging on movies or doing the Active 2 workout every night, I doubt either of those activities will crack the top three in March.<br />
<br />
<strong>Other interesting tidbits from the email:</strong><br />
<ul><li>Highest confirmed USA Gamerscore: 894,540</li>
<li>Average Gamerscore among Gold subscribers: 7,282</li>
<li>Average Gamerscore among free members: 1,083</li>
<li>Most common Achievement: "VIP" in Call of Duty: Black Ops</li>
</ul>Oh, and speaking of Monopoly Streets and Full House Poker, if you are even a mild fan of either Monopoly or Texas Hold 'Em style poker, than I highly recommend you pick them up. They are both excellent recreations of the traditional games and both feature excellent single player as well online multiplayer options.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-31484158341289371732011-03-27T10:59:00.000-07:002011-03-27T11:05:20.567-07:00Ride Report: Blanchard, err, Chuckanut MountainDid I really think the ride wouldn't be that hilly? What made me believe Preston would bother looking for others to join him if he wasn't going to at least be leading a relatively serious ride. Sure, he "takes the winter off" and it's "just an early season ride," but me? This year? They say luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. What about when zeal meets sloth? Pain and embarrassment, that's what...<br />
<br />
I had never heard of this place Preston called Blanchard (Google Maps insists we were actually at Chuckanut Mountain). I tried to find it on the <a href="http://evergreenmtb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page">Evergreen Trail Wiki</a> (an outstanding resource) and came up empty. I asked Preston, and was told it's just a place he likes to ride up by Mount Vernon (a lie, it's actually much closer to Bellingham but he didn't want to scare me off with a longer drive). I should have asked how far we'd be going, or how much climbing we'd be doing. After all, I had only been on my mountain bike for longer than an hour once or twice in recent months. I was also walking quite gingerly thanks to going for a run on Thursday -- my first run in a year. Forty-eight hours later is when the true muscle soreness sets in. Way to time it perfectly, Doug. All I knew was the trails "kicked the shit out of the ones at Tokul." I like Tokul. It's my favorite local ride. And I really wanted to ride someplace new, with guys I don't usually get a chance to ride with. It was settled, agony be damned.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83d57LwrZxl4-FvC908gywV6bVqYbl0B5cOCLr3iJlyEoqUaeeHDGRQwiZL_zPnoL2me-u0H6HU8QT7mXFOrFIJNR1vmEjLJ9SRvWNMdCjsKMCC5p-L624IOW9eq43H8kALTI/s1600/IMG_3633_BellinghamBay_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83d57LwrZxl4-FvC908gywV6bVqYbl0B5cOCLr3iJlyEoqUaeeHDGRQwiZL_zPnoL2me-u0H6HU8QT7mXFOrFIJNR1vmEjLJ9SRvWNMdCjsKMCC5p-L624IOW9eq43H8kALTI/s320/IMG_3633_BellinghamBay_resize.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Across Bellingham Bay to Anacortes and beyond...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<a name='more'></a>The climbing started at once. The grade was rideable, but my breathing was loud and instantly betrayed my lack of conditioning. My continued gasping for air would be a subject of much mockery throughout the ride, that is whenever Preston was close enough to hear it. At one point I apparently sounded like a scene from "Debbie Does Dallas." The dude, I hope. I was prepared for some hills, of course. And it's not like I forgot how to ride a bike or put on <em>that </em>much weight. But I wasn't ready for a 750-foot climb over the first 2.5 miles. If only this was the hardest climb of the day... but enough about hills for a moment.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGIVx5iYnkJZeKphqTPS4wRcu4qHWSUj7kNImZ6CGfaFooZR_3EukwBeFpAxLv3zpgc9Iy6QpZbmOozFRL6c8T5BFZZeN2FB_YOLAqNelm1OuP919kWxLaLyR7TaWhwXQ5V8Y/s1600/ElevationProfile_Chuckanut.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizGIVx5iYnkJZeKphqTPS4wRcu4qHWSUj7kNImZ6CGfaFooZR_3EukwBeFpAxLv3zpgc9Iy6QpZbmOozFRL6c8T5BFZZeN2FB_YOLAqNelm1OuP919kWxLaLyR7TaWhwXQ5V8Y/s320/ElevationProfile_Chuckanut.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chuckanut Mountain: 14.5 miles, 3150' elevation gain</td></tr>
</tbody></table> I must say, as a first-time visitor to Blanchard, err, Chuckanut Mountain, that the trails were in excellent condition. They were very dry and tactile -- in March! The occasional rock and root step-ups made for just enough technical challenge to keep things interesting and to even provide the occasional spot to stop and session. We started on the backside of the mountain, just west of I-5 near the town of Alger. We climbed and climbed through an empty forest, not seeing any hikers or bikers until reaching a beautiful overlook, looking out across Bellingham Bay towards Anacortes and the snow-capped mountains of Vancouver Island further west, beyond the San Juans.<br />
<br />
Preston had been talking of <em>the hole</em> periodically throughout the ride. As in, "Not sure if you're up for the hole." and "We should probably skip the hole." Now, to me, <em>the hole</em> doesn't sound like much. It sounds steep, but not very big. It was at the viewpoint where the decision to ride the hole was made. <br />
<br />
"How far down does it go?" I asked.<br />
<br />
"Oh, about a thousand feet," Preston replied with a smirk.<br />
<br />
"We can't even be a thousand feet above sea level, it's gotta be less than that."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfCo68iEJOz58lG5_YwoJcPIl_m5vX1GIAdiNzulAOQoUIP_8AzeYR6HjI6AdwvrnV3ljrJRqOa7QMIQXR7n4SE4ILOl3eJxDfs4GR4mX77Rg2f15zbZ75jbVsYe9NsNA4KFX/s1600/IMG_3634_Farmland_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfCo68iEJOz58lG5_YwoJcPIl_m5vX1GIAdiNzulAOQoUIP_8AzeYR6HjI6AdwvrnV3ljrJRqOa7QMIQXR7n4SE4ILOl3eJxDfs4GR4mX77Rg2f15zbZ75jbVsYe9NsNA4KFX/s320/IMG_3634_Farmland_resize.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farmland in northwestern Washington.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> We were higher than I thought, but not by much. We were at 1240 feet. And though the descent didn't take us straight to water's edge, it might as well have. For two miles we descended, sometimes gently, sometimes much more steeply. The trail was benched the entire way, providing plenty of exposure to keep you honest, along with the occasional root and rocky pile. The trail continued down, down, down all the way to Chuckanut Drive, one of the most popular roads in all of Washington. And coming up the other way were two dozen hikers, trail runners, and dog walkers. Preston, ever the model mountain biker, dismounted for every hiker we saw and slowly carried his bike past. I followed suit. Truth is, I can't believe we're allowed to bike this trail. It's a short, 2.0 mile trail with 1100-feet of climbing, and it's crowded. The descent was exhilarating, but the climb back out? Well, now I know why he called it <em>the hole</em>. Agony. I pedaled maybe half of it, and had to push the bike the rest of the way. My tender legs were screaming in revolt from my run on Thursday and the short spin I did on Friday did little to stretch them out. This was shock therapy to my system. This was knocking the rust off with a sledgehammer and melting the soft surface below with a blowtorch.<br />
<br />
This was exactly what I needed.<br />
<br />
Back at the viewpoint, we sat and ate some food. Me, not really thinking along the lines of preparing for an epic, or even a mini-epic as this ride has become for me, didn't bring a proper lunch. Cliff Bloks and Gu. Yum. Preston explained our options: we could descend back to the car or we can add a little loop that leads to an even better descent, but it has a bit of climbing. A bit of climbing. Apparently "a bit" means 800 feet of gain. This is where I finally, truly, ran out of gas. I seemingly had to push whenever the trail tilted up, even in the slightest. I had no energy. No strength. I'd say I bonked, but I really didn't have anything in the tank to begin with. I was bonked when I sent the email off telling him I'd come.<br />
<br />
We eventually reached Lily Lake, or was it Lizard Lake? I forget. My mind was focused on staying upright and getting back to the car safely. Which we eventually did. We descended for nearly four miles along an exceptional stretch of singletrack, virtually free of hikers and bikers. It truly was an outstanding stretch of trail. Fun, fast, and with plenty of little hits to catch air off of. That is, if you're not like me, and struggling to even stay awake. I cruised it at a comfortably fast pace and enjoyed it the best I could, but all I kept thinking about was making a return trip later in the season when I'm actually in better shape.<br />
<br />
There's a lot of work to be done.<br />
<br />
Get the details on this route at my Garmin Connect page: <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/75258323">Click here</a>.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-64037100621232642442011-03-25T09:43:00.000-07:002011-03-25T09:43:29.941-07:00New Pounds, Garmin ConnectI returned Wednesday night from a nine-day trip to the San Francisco Bay area for work and brought a little something extra home with me. There was the usual suitcase crammed with dirty laundry and a pouch filled with dozens of receipts for the expense report, but there was also an extra four pounds around my mid-section. I knew we were eating well, but I didn't realize just how well. The extra poundage comes at a bad time, as I've yet to shed my winter weight. And the fact that I just nonchalantly typed the words <em>winter weight</em> makes me want to punch myself in the face.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>A rather unfortunate pattern has developed these past few years. The Seattle weather and increased workload of the late fall and winter conspire to shift my weight 10-15 pounds above what it is in summer, typically going from 188 to 200 pounds every season (for the record, I'm a smidge over six-feet in height). The problem is that both the lower and upper limits of this range have been creeping up ever so slightly each year. The creep apparently built up enough speed to make a full-blown leap yesterday. After these 9 days in Marin County my weight shot up to several pounds above my previous heaviest weight of all time. I'm not quite in fatass territory, but this is certainly not cool.<br />
<br />
Apparently my periodic mountain biking and occasional working out with EA's Active 2 for Kinect is no longer enough. Not that I wasn't already excited about the improving weather and anxiously awaiting long days in the saddle on my mountain and road bikes, the true tale of the tape is thus: I need to start running again. But this time I need to ease into it gently. During my hiatus from blogging last year, I had gotten back into running. It was painful at first, as running always is if you haven't done it in a while (e.g. years). But my pace and endurance soon came back and I was back to doing regular 10 mile runs at a 7:30 pace within a couple months. A pace not even within the same zip code of what I was formerly capable of, but not shabby for someone who hadn't run in years. This unwillingness to hold myself back led to a stress fracture in my femur followed by some severe plantar fasciatis just in time for a couple 25k trail races I was doing with Kristin. I had custom orthotics made, but we just couldn't ever get the shape right. They seemed to hurt my arches even more. The pair I had from my days running track and XC in college were shot and the doctors convinced me that though I still had the molds from 1995, new ones were warranted.<br />
<br />
Yesterday was bright, sunny, and warm enough to go running in shorts and a t-shirt (oddly enough, the mountain pass just 30 miles east of me got a bunch of snow later that night). I decided to charge up the Garmin Forerunner 305 and even downloaded the new firmware for it. While playing around on the computer I came across the site for <a href="http://www.connect.garmin.com/">Garmin Connect</a>. It seamlessly blends the logging characteristics of the Garmin Training Center software that comes with your various Garmin fitness devices (I also have the Edge 305 for cycling) with Bing maps and does an absolutely fantastic job of presenting info for your workout, whether it be running or cycling or something else entirely. The ability to search the online database for routes from other users and download their workouts as courses to your device makes it all the better. Best of all, it corrects the elevation numbers. While the Edge 305 does a very good job of tracking cumulative elevation gain thanks to its barometric altimeter, the Forerunner series relies on GPS for elevation. The unit itself measures elevation very accurately, but the Training Center software does a laughably bad job of summing it all up.<br />
<br />
For example, my 3 mile trail run yesterday is mostly flat. I've done the loop many, many times on bike and have always clocked it right around 150 feet of elevation gain. Well, yesterday Training Center told me it contained 551 feet of gain. Nonsense. But when I uploaded the data from the Forerunner 305 to Garmin Connect, it corrected the elevation and reported it as 151. You can see my workout file <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74887558">from yesterday here</a>. The pace was pretty slow, and I decided to briefly walk a short bit after the 2 mile mark (where my pace drops) but it felt good to get back out there. Even if it means, predictably, that I'm sore today.<br />
<br />
Going to go for a short ride on the Moots today to stretch the legs out and get the Stumpjumper ready for a ride tomorrow with some hammerheads I know. They're going to show me some trails up near Mt. Vernon I hadn't ever ridden yet. Can't wait. Then we're going bike shopping for Kristin, as she wants a proper road bike to go on group rides with some ladies she knows. Probably put our 20% off coupon to use and <a href="http://www.rei.com/product/807241">get her this one</a>. Take it for a maiden voyage on Sunday if the weather isn't crummy, otherwise we'll probably go hiking or take the mountain bikes up to Poo Poo Point for a hill climbing cardio ride.<br />
<br />
I recently discovered that the climbing gym we used to belong to will be opening a second massive new location at the site of a former Circuit City in Bellevue, about 25 minutes closer to my house than the location we used to go to. Kristin and I spent a year or so going bouldering twice a week and loved it up until the 45 minute drive got to be too annoying and the imbalance of my strength-to-weight ratio started to really hold me back. The new climbing gym is set to open on October 1st, 2011. My birthday. I'm really hoping to give myself a proper gift and get my weight back down to 185 (or less) by then so that I can better enjoy climbing and not be held back by my own unwanted mass.<br />
<br />
Watch this space for updates.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-85201846148749315912011-03-09T09:24:00.000-08:002011-03-09T09:24:21.423-08:00Tactics Ogre Strategy Guide: Don't Take My Word For ItSome reviews are starting to pop up on Amazon for our <a href="http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/0744012929/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0761513302&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0FQTV0CQ55QQKS1NWCJN">Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together strategy guide</a>.<br />
<br />
Both reviewers love the content and the writing, but would have preferred heavier paper. I don't blame them, but it was a simple matter of economics. The book is 400 pages... for a game that is played on a handheld device. In order to keep both the heft and the price of the book reasonable, cheaper paper had to be used. Now, I'm not privy to the discussions that take place regarding page count and paper stock, but my guess is that going to heavier weight paper would have pushed the retail cost of the book up to that of the game. And nobody wants that, especially for such a niche game as this.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-82046862319187783622011-03-05T12:05:00.000-08:002011-03-05T12:06:58.090-08:00Guidebook Giveaway: Tactics OgreI have three copies of our absolutely enormous strategy guide to <em>Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together</em> to give away. It's not often that I say having a strategy guide is essential for getting the most out of a game, but I can't imagine anyone discovering more than 70% of this game without the help of this guide. It's over 400 pages of densely packed maps, side-quests, data, and strategy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bradygames.com/ShowCover.aspx?isbn=0744012929&type=a" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" l6="true" src="http://www.bradygames.com/ShowCover.aspx?isbn=0744012929&type=a" width="154" /></a></div>My co-author and I (with help from the lovely Mrs. Walsh) submitted over 1200 pages of manuscript for this book. There are hundreds of maps, countless items and weapons detailed, and hundreds of skills and spells described. <br />
<br />
And I've got three autographed copies to give away. All you have to do is sign up to become a Friend of RG (see links on the left) and post a reply to this thread. Take a moment to tell me why you want the book, your memories of playing past Tactics Ogre games, or even let me know what you're favorite character class is. I'll do a drawing of names on 3/12 to pick the winners.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-73308985998407496332011-02-09T22:08:00.000-08:002011-03-25T10:01:20.024-07:00A Punch to the GutThe year has gotten off to a busier start than I ever dared imagine. My work on the<em> </em>strategy guide to <em>Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together</em> carried through the New Year and nearly all the way to the end of January. At one point I averaged over 7 hours a day for 27 straight days, not including a single minute for time spent checking email or making coffee. I started my current project just a few short days later and already have another waiting in the on-deck circle for me to begin as soon as this one ends. <br />
<br />
Nevertheless, I came across a bit of news last night that I just can't shake from the back of my mind. It hit me with such force, I nearly doubled-over in shock.<br />
<br />
I've spent the past week reading the book "Miles From Nowhere" by Barbara Savage, what I believe is the best-selling and most well-known travel memoir on bicycle touring. And it's obvious why. Barbara writes with an honesty and pacing that is as easy to read as it is enjoyable. And she tells a great story too. She and her husband set off in 1978 from southern California on a journey to bicycle around the world. Recently married and not too far removed from their college days, they were already tired of the humdrum routine of wake, work, sleep and set about giving themselves a memory to last a lifetime.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Barbara's storytelling voice feels eerily similar to my own. Her sarcasm, her self-effacing humor, and her tempo and word selection feels very much like reading something I have written for this blog; a race report or a travel essay, perhaps. I've read a lot of travel writers over the years, but this was the first time I encountered one that felt so familiar. I found myself actually completing more than a few of her sentences as I read the book, even though it was written nearly 30 years ago and about places I have yet to visit.<br />
<br />
I took one of the bikes out for a quick spin on the neighborhood trails yesterday and found myself thinking about the book (Kindle tells me I'm 86% through to the end) and her and her husband Larry's journey. I wondered if she had written any other books, and if she and Larry were still out there, perhaps, cycling back and forth across every stitch of the world.<br />
<br />
So late last night, just before turning off the monitors and sending the computer to sleep, I decided to Google her.The first link I clicked directed me to a page on The Mountaineers website. A quick glance revealed a writing grant of $2500 awarded to first-time authors submitting unpublished works. "That's nice," I thought and promptly clicked the back button my mouse.<br />
<br />
The arrow hovered over another link on the list of search results when a thought popped into my head: grants like that are often left in memoriam. I returned to <a href="http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/client/client_pages/mtn_b_savage_award.cfm">the page describing the grant</a> and, sure enough, it describes the award as the "Barbara Savage Miles from Nowhere Memorial Award."<br />
<br />
Below it, reads the following:<br />
<blockquote>Barbara was killed in a cycling accident shortly before the book’s publication; the story of Barbara and Larry Savage’s two-year, 25,000-mile, round-the-world bicycle adventure continues, however, to embrace a wide readership and to generate letters from readers who have come to know Barbara through her book. The author’s husband, Larry Savage, created this award in cooperation with The Mountaineers Books by donating royalties to encourage adventure writing in the genre of Miles from Nowhere.</blockquote>I was shellshocked. I stared in disbelief at the screen and suddenly felt very exposed. We read about death all the time, but this hits way too close to home for my liking. As further reading on other websites revealed, she had survived her at-times harrowing journey around the world with her husband, only to return home and be killed while cycling in her native land. Her book was just weeks from being published. She was training for a triathlon.<br />
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I turned the computer off and dragged myself into the bedroom where Kristin was already asleep. I stood and stared at her and imagined. I imagined how close Barbara and Larry must have become during their journey, through the hardships, the joys, the arguments, and the struggles. I envisioned how much closer Kristin and I will become on our own journey. I dreamt the book I intend to write. And then I closed my eyes and imagined Kristin being taken from me after all that. I couldn't. That's how hard it is. We can't imagine. My brain doesn't even allow contemplation of it. We can't know what Larry, this man I know only through his wife's book, was feeling. We can't imagine his pain and sense of loss. The more I tried to imagine what that would be like, the larger the pit in my stomach seemed to grow, yet I know I still couldn't approximate the hurt. I couldn't think about Barbara's zest for life or how much living she managed to pack into her final years, as some commenters did. <br />
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I could only think about Larry, the one left to ride alone.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-55487193125277505782011-01-28T00:43:00.000-08:002011-01-28T00:45:39.781-08:00TomsI first thought they were slippers. We were opening gifts from Kristin's sister and the brown corduroy shoes in my hand bore a striking resemblance to the types of slippers an uncle might wear. Not necessarily the uncle with the cane and ear hair so visible you can see it across the room, but an older uncle for sure. Then, as Kristin opened her box to uncover a pair of red ones, I recognized the little blue and white flag in the bottom. Toms!<br />
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I meant to write about Toms early last year, during my hiatus from blogging. I meant to check out their website and order a pair, but one thing led to another and the story I heard on the radio slipped from my memory. <a href="http://www.toms.com/">Toms Shoes</a> isn't your typical shoe brand. Founded in Santa Monica (naturally) a few years ago by Blake Mycoskie, an American traveler during a trip to Argentina, Toms was created as a way of bringing free shoes to the barefooted children of the world. For every pair of shoes purchased, another is given to a child in need as part of the company's "One for One" mission. They've given out over 1,000,000 pairs of shoes as of September, 2010.<br />
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As someone who practically grew up sockless in <a href="http://shop.vans.com/catalog/Vans/en_US/style/41$.html?categoryId=10147">Vans canvas classics</a> (my favorites being a pair of fluorescent green ones, circa 1993), I was ecstatic to not only have a pair of shoes meant to be worn sockless, but that wouldn't look ridiculous on someone whose neither a teenager nor who lives near the beach. The brown cords I was given (thanks Erica!) were a little too small so I exchanged them for a <a href="http://www.toms.com/mens/classics/natural-burlap-classics-shoes">burlap pair</a>. Yep, burlap. You see, the shoes are very simple. Just a lightweight upper, a thin suede insole that is surprisingly breathable (i.e. no foot stink!), a spongy arch insert for a touch of support, and a very thin outsole.<br />
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To say these shoes are light is an understatement. They weigh next to nothing. Your footfalls are so soft that -- pardon the nauseating marketing speak -- you actually feel a lightened carbon footprint with each stride. Which is part of the point of these shoes as Toms Shoes strives to use sustainable materials in their shoe construction. And they're surprisingly comfortable. I already look forward to bringing them on bicycle tours, as sandals and cycling shoes are just not appropriate in some places and it will be nice to have a super light pair of shoes that look great to slip into.<br />
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This isn't to say that the shoes are perfect. If I'm being completely honest, I have to say that the shoes are a bit pricey for what you actually get. The standard plain-Jane canvas classics are $44 (compared to the $40 for Vans) but the outsole is surely not going to hold up as well as Vans. The shoes are light, flimsily so, and there's nothing about them that screams durable. My burlap classics were $54 and though I really like them (and have my eyes on at least three more pairs), there's nothing about the shoes on their own that convices me that this is a good deal.<br />
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Of course, the shoes aren't all your paying for. You're paying for the knowledge that a second pair of shoes, designed specifically for children 18 and under, is being cobbled for their specific terrain and living conditions. One of the customer reviewers on the Toms Shoes' site comments "For those of you complaining that they wear too fast or don't like them, you're completely missing the point of TOMS shoes." I get what he's trying to say, that the point is the kids, but I don't believe the point should be to fill up landfills with used-up shoes either. I've been wearing my shoes for a few weeks now and though they show no signs of wearing down, they've barely seen the outdoors. January in Washington isn't exactly the weather for sockless slip-ons. Maybe I need those wool botas... Either way, I'll be sure to post a follow-up concerning their wear and durablity in the spring after I have pounded some pavement with them.<br />
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I can only hope Kristin and I will be inspired through travel to launch a company that finds such an original solution to a global problem as this. Kudos, Blake. Kudos.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-53606893699464420582011-01-27T00:42:00.000-08:002011-01-27T00:53:11.632-08:00Get Used to this NameHannah Cunliffe.<br />
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The world's fastest 15 year old. Last year, at age 14, she walked away from the field in both the 100m and 200m sprints at the American Athletic Union Junior Olympics winning by an obscene margin in both events. Despite then being in the 8th grade, her time of 11.71 (wind-aided) would have won the state championship in the two largest classes in Washington state, would have placed her 3rd overall at the Pac-10 Championships, and would have placed her 4th all-time in the University of Washington record books. Her performance in 200m was even more incredible, clocking a 23.91 and winning by over a second! Again, as an 8th grader.<br />
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Now she's in high school and she'll be competing (as a freshman!) at the UW Invitational this weekend against some top Division I collegiate talent from the PAC-10 and beyond. She's just a half-second from qualifying for next year's Olympic Trials. She could very well be racing for the Stars & Stripes at age 16. <br />
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Source: <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2014048931_girlsprinter27.html">Seattle Times</a>Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-20256120330702677562011-01-24T00:03:00.000-08:002011-01-24T00:44:12.028-08:00Not Running From Xian to TrafalmadoreIt's high time for a books post, but first a word about <strong>Kindle</strong>. As it relates to my preferred reading medium, I had long considered myself firmly in the camp of the traditionalist, wanting to feel the heft of a book in my hands, flip and dogear its pages and, yes, admire the cracked spines aligned vertically on my bookshelf. And then I saw a Kindle in person. One of the guys I worked with on the <em>Official Halo: Reach Strategy Guide</em> brought his first-gen Kindle in to show me. No amount of marketing or online advertisements can ever be as effective as those first ten seconds with a borrowed device. For it only took those few seconds to get it. The screen's eerie similarity to that of newspaper or a paperback immediately washed away my main reservation--the screen--and the ease of use, incredible battery life, and massive storage capacity won me over.<br />
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I went home that night and scoured all the information I could find on Amazon's site to see how many holes I could poke in its glossy veneer. None. One of the biggest selling points for me was the ability to share books with up to six Kindles on a single family account. This meant I could buy a book once (often at a steep discount over the physical form) and Kristin and I could be reading it simultaneously. Then I thought to travel guides and our future trips and realized I could pre-purchase all the guidebooks we would want and have them stored on the Kindles. A fine alternative to lugging around heavy travel guides, not to mention the challenge of finding English language guidebooks (or books in general) where nobody within a thousand miles speaks the language. I ordered a second-gen Kindle one evening late last summer, the 3G model, and have since purchased books while laying in bed well past midnight, in an airplane stuck in a lengthy queu on the runway, and, yes, in the bathroom. Kristin now has a Kindle too, one of the newer graphite-colored third-generation ones. I actually think the newest one is a little <em>too</em> sleak and prefer mine. She, of course, loves it. Kristin's sister gave us both Amazon gift cards for Christmas and I must say it was a lot of fun to pick out four different books each and have them beamed to both devices within seconds. We're both reading Ian Frazier's "On the Rez" right now, in fact.<br />
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Kristin was immediately impressed with the device, just as I was, and then I showed her the ability to instantly look up a word with its built-in dictionary, highlight passages, enter notes, and export your comments and selections as a PDF. She didn't appreciate these features right away, but moments later I heard her exclaim as she looked up her first word. Just as I had done the previous night, she too wondered what a "genet" was and didn't want to wait for the author to explain it, which he did a few sentences later. But enough about the Kindle, let's talk about some books.<br />
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I've been reading a lot lately, in part due to a serious case of insomnia, and I want to mention a few that I finished recently. First up is <strong>"The Shadow of the Silk Road" by Colin Thubron</strong>. Thubron is often mentioned in the same sentence as Paul Theroux when it comes to the world's great travel writers (that is, when people aren't discussing Theroux's penchant for being, in polite terms, an old crank). If you've read The Big Trip page on this blog, then the draw to a book about the Silk Road should be obvious. Thubron walked, bussed, and hitched his way along the historical trading route, from its eastern terminus in Xian westward across China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey, to the Syrian coast. The book's title provides an important hint about the true focus of the book. This is not one of those "and then I did this, and then I saw that" travel books. This is about history. More specifically, about how the cultural boundaries that lie as residue from the ancient trading caravans bear little resemblance to the current political boundaries. Thubron writes not about himself, or even what his emotions are, but rather about what he sees and hears, and how it relates to history. He meets some very interesting people along the way, explores substantially on his own, and even gets himself locked in a Chinese quarantine at one point. But rarely does Thubron deviate from his effort to overlay the historical roadmap of the Silk Route atop the current layers of politics, religion, and culture and vice-versa.<br />
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This isn't my first time reading Thubron, but it is the first book of his I was able to finish. I received his "Lost Heart of Asia" as a gift several years back and had to shelve it after just a few dozen pages. I wasn't ready for it. It was heady material and my lack of knowledge and interest in the region at that time made my head swim. Having read a lot of travel literature (and just travel essays in general), I've noticed that there is a broad spectrum of styles out there ranging from the simple journaling entries to those books that strive to be literature. Or is that Literature? I forget. I would place Thubron, or at least this book, at the far end of that line, representing the lofty pinnacle of literature and seriousness (but not pretentiousness). His anecdotes and personality seldom bleed into the story, he offers little in the way of editorializing, and his level of understanding and breadth of his research are beyond equal. You read these books not to be entertained but for knowledge. I mentioned Theroux earlier, almost out of obligation. I'd place him slightly down the line, but not far from Thubron, though the differences between the two men are large. Both are masters of language, I will say that. But there is a lot more personality in Theroux's writings along with much more emphasis on the actual act of traveling. You'll hear Theroux comment--complain, mostly--about his arrangements, his traveling partners, and his food far more in one chapter than you will Thubron in an entire book. Theroux is certainly an easier read and, despite his penchant for being a bit whiny, more entertaining as well, for what it's worth. Other books, like the lighthearted "Sex Lives of Cannibals" by J. Maarten Troost and the family-journaling of John Higham's "360 Degrees Longitude" occupy the other end of this spectrum where the emphasis tends to be less on the location and culture, and more about the travelers. Having designs of my own to enter this genre soon, I've been thinking a lot lately about where my "voice" will fit on this spectrum. Somewhere in the middle, I hope. Regardless, the one thing I know for sure after reading "Shadow of the Silk Road" is that Thubron is certainly in a league of his own.<br />
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Wanting something quite a bit lighter, my next book was actually the serial story <strong>"The Game" by Jack London</strong>. This was London's seminal story about his favorite sport, boxing, and was published in the spring of 1905 in the Metropolitan Magazine. Set in Oakland, California the story follows the love affair a young neighborhood boxing champ has with both with his sport, <em>the game</em>, and his delicate financee who wants him to quit boxing. They are one another's first true love and in honor of their pending marriage, he agrees to make his next fight his last, despite being at the top of his boxing career. London's experience in the ring and love of the sport as a reporter are evident here as he tells a fantastic heart-pounding story. The language can feel a bit dated, but the excitement can match anything from today.<br />
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Normally I make a point of not making any resolutions come the turn of the new year, but the Kindle made it easy to start a new one: reading at least one quote-unquote classic each year. First up was the most popular book from one of my favorite authors, and a book I have long felt shame for having not read. Yep, it was time to read <strong>"Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut</strong>. And so I could say, with a certain amount of confidence, that my first week of 2011, in my thirty-sixth year on this planet, was spent in much the same way as more than a few high school sophomores. Go figure. Crazy as it may sound, I managed to approach this book with no prior knowledge of its subject. Whatever I may have gleamed from second-hand reports over the years had escaped my memory. So it was with pleasant surprise that I soon came to find, in that familiar Vonnegut voice, a book about World War II, space aliens, optometry, the faraway planet of Trafalmadore, time travel, zoo-exhibit sex with a porn star, and the seemingly forgotten assault on the city of Dresden, Germany that, at the time of this book's publication, was erroneously believed to far exceed the casualty tally of Hiroshima. <br />
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Vonnegut's trademark style of writing in a series of short entries and blurbs keeps the story moving quickly, as does his ever-present wit. The book is indeed quite funny at times, but also somber. Vonnegut clearly calls on his own experiences as a prisoner-of-war during WWII and the memories of what he saw during the aftermath of the fire-bombing of Dresden and it's startling. Just last winter I stood in the main square of Frankfurt's old-town neighborhood, comparing the current scene built to imitate the past to WWII before-and-after postcards. The aerial shots of the utter destruction made me gasp at the devastation we humans can inflict on one another. A quick bit of research now tells me the devastation of Frankfurt quite possibly paled in comparison to the assault on Dresden. We're all lucky Vonnegut survived this journey to the "moon's surface" and, if like me, you've made it this far without reading "Slaughterhouse Five" then you owe it to yourself to pick it up. Vonnegut may have passed away in 2007, but this story is timeless.<br />
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Lastly, I direct your attention to the extremely entertaining page-turner <strong>"Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Stories of a Botswana Safari Guide"</strong> by Peter Allison. Poor, poor Allison. Coming on the heels of my readings of Thubron, London, and Vonnegut, the poor guy didn't stand a chance. I all but threw the Kindle down in disgust during the first chapter, turning up my nose at his amateurish language, lack of details, and his tendency to gloss over large chunks of story. Fortunately, those first two chapters bear little resemblance to the quality of the storytelling of the remainder of the book. I'm so glad I kept reading though as this book had me laughing out loud, groaning with embarrassment over the imbeciles attending his tours, and completely mesmerized by the recounts of his man-meets-predator encounters. It's clear that Allison has kept many a campfire audience completely entranced by his tales from the bush and that he was convinced to write a book. This book is essentially a collection of stand-alone stories accumulated from a decade of guiding tourists on safari in Botswana. I think it's pretty obvious how a job like that can produce more than a handful of entertaining stories. I know it's not summer, but if you want a "beach" book to read as a guilty pleasure, make it this one. At the very least, you'll learn what a genet is.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-20187151103084927772011-01-17T00:50:00.000-08:002011-01-17T00:51:50.722-08:00Coming Soon... I hope.I have post-it notes sticking all over my monitor, reminding me of topics to write about. They're primarily about the several books I've read recently, the Kindle, our dances with unemployment, and looking ahead to 2011.<br />
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The only problem is that I'm positively crushed with work right now. I've submitted nearly 700 pages of manuscript for the guidebook I'm currently working on, my co-author has submitted over 200 additional pages (mine contained hundreds of pages of data tables), and neither of us are done. The game we're writing on was released in Japan in December alongside a 704 page strategy guide written by 11 people.<br />
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Lucky for us, we were able to get my wife hired on to assist with the data entry and some match-and-find style translation work with a 4000 word English-Japanese glossary. Never thought I'd be saying "lucky" with respect to her having become suddenly unemployed, but it was a real blessing (in more ways than one, but that's for another post).<br />
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I should be wrapping up my work on this guide in the next couple days and will have a proper post soon. I realize this is in bad form, to bring the blog out of the closet only to post so infrequently.<br />
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Nevertheless, I hear that you're always supposed to leave them wanting more. And on that advice I'll tell you the next post will be titled "Not Running from Xian to Tralfalmadore."<br />
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I hope that piques your interest.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-53378714880433700432011-01-11T09:14:00.000-08:002011-01-11T09:16:21.692-08:00Flash Flood in AustraliaIncredible footage of a flash flood cleaning out a parking lot in Australia.<br />
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<object height="317" width="520"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kYUpkPTcqPY&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kYUpkPTcqPY&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="520" height="317"></embed></object>Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-61648797513312179542011-01-05T11:04:00.000-08:002011-01-05T11:10:51.187-08:00The Trail UnblazedI unlocked a rather unique Achievement yesterday while playing with the Xbox: Squat Master. I did my one-thousandth squat-based exercise with EA's Active 2. I also dodged 1000 balls in the dodgeball exercise of the same game. Not at once, mind you. Over time. I've done 10 workouts in the game's 9-week "hard" program so far and the milestones are starting to pile up. The game has a number of these quadruple-digit based Achievements. I'll unlock another one once I complete my thousandth lunge, pushup, crunch, etc., etc.<br />
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I wrote about Active 2 earlier and I'm every bit as impressed with it now as I was when the novelty of Kinect was still day-one fresh. EA also released a patch for the game that has done a good job of eliminating the chance of the game confusing your arm movements for wanting to pause and see a tutorial. I'm not sure if that was what the patch, err, "title update" was for, but it seems to have gotten much better since then.<br />
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My workout yesterday concluded after 38 minutes, with me drenched in sweat after sustaining an average heart rate of 143bpm, including warm-up and cool down. The calorie-counter says I burned 517 calories, much higher than the projected burn at the start of the workout. I try to stay right on the border between zones 4 & 5 in the heart rate scale (out of a scale of 1-5) and it seems that the game expects players to spend more time in zone 3. I routinely pop my heart rate above 175bpm while playing.<br />
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But back to the Achievements. One of the reasons I enjoy this "game" so much is that the developers did a great job of keeping the carrot out in front of you, allowing you to sniff, lick, and taste tiny bites just often enough to keep you coming back for more. Unfortunately, a bit of lazy design in regards to the Achievements has given this game what may be the most difficult Achievement in all of the Xbox-land: <br />
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Trail Blazer - unlocked by running 1,000 kilometers/621 miles.<br />
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Before I get into the absurdity of it, let me give you a bit of background on how one "runs" in their living room. Active 2 has a number of running-based exercises sprinkled throughout each workout. It often begins with a sequence of high-knees and fast-kicks, but there are also some sprinting exercises and some mixed-pace running exercises as well. They are long enough to let you really crank out a sweat if you push it, but only last a minute or two at the most if you don't. In other words, they're only about a quarter-mile to a half-mile long in duration (and this is on the hard setting).<br />
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I'm willing to look past the awkardness of running in place (it's actually not as bad as I feared) and admit that you can get a good workout from it. However, it's clear that whoever put the Acheivements together for this game simply settled on the number 1000 for the other repetitive exercises (steps, squats, pushups, soccer goal saves, boxing punches, etc) and copied/pasted it straight over to the mountain biking and running exercises without any thought to how ridiculous it would be.<br />
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You might be thinking that I'm being unfair. That I'm simply not working hard enough or am, to borrow Governor Rendell's phrase, too much of a wussy to run 1000 kilometers. Not true. Let's put this number into perspective.<br />
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As a former Division I NCAA middle-distance runner specializing in the 800 meter run, my weekly workout schedule looked something like this:<br />
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Monday - Intervals totaling 2.5 miles + 4 miles of warm-up/recovery/cool down.<br />
Tuesday - Run 9 miles<br />
Wednesday - Intervals totaling 2.5 miles + 4 miles of warm-up/recoery/cool down.<br />
Thursday - Run 9 miles<br />
Friday - Run 2 miles<br />
Saturday - Race Day (roughly 2-3 miles including warm-up, races, and cool-down)<br />
Sunday - Rest<br />
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That's only 35 miles per week, and lest you think it was too little, I'll add that workout schedule was good enough to help my 4x800 relay team place very high at conference championships and set a school record.<br />
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If I replicated that workout schedule every week, running in place, in front of my Xbox Kinect, it would take over 17 weeks to unlock the "Trail Blazer" achievement. It would still take a gaudy 10 weeks if I was to use the typical mileage we ran during cross country season, or for when I was training for marathons for that matter.<br />
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So how long will it take doing Active 2's workouts? Roughly 77 weeks. Yes, that's right, almost a year and a half.<br />
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I've done 10 workouts in the 9-week "hard" program and, according to the in-game stats, each of the full workout sessions tends to yield an average of roughly 2 miles of running per workout. Since the program has you doing four workouts per week, that works out to 77 weeks worth of two-mile runs in front of your television.<br />
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Good luck with that.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-7369740059147401212010-12-27T11:18:00.000-08:002010-12-27T12:46:33.555-08:00Tooth the Nightmare Before ChristmasThe resort manager had barely finished extolling the virtues of our room -- "the best in the lodge," he promised -- before Kristin began what would be a brief obsession with the concierge, Floyd. He was taller than me. He was darker than me. And try as I might, I have to admit Floyd is even a much better listener. And we all know how important that is to the ladies. Lucky for me, Floyd also outweighed me by nearly two thousand pounds and was quite hairy. And dead. Floyd was a stuffed bison on display in the main lobby that, according to Kristin, was just oh-so-cute. Whether or not he performed concierge duties we don't know for sure. We never saw anyone at the desk adjacent him, yet the reservations were always well taken care of.<br />
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As for our room, it was every bit as fantastic as we were assured. We entered to the sound of classical music playing on a stereo, a ready-made wood fire waiting to be lit in the fireplace, and a view looking out to an endless winter snowscape every bit as pillowy as the down-clad bedding. The four and one-half hour drive went smoothly with clear roads over both mountain passes, yet we were anxious to commence with the relaxing. Armed with a couple bottles of pinot noir, a favorite single malt, some books and a backgammon board, we embraced the lack of a television in the room and set about putting the stress of the preceding weeks behind us. Back home in Snoqualmie I'm neck-deep in one of the most frustrating and difficult projects I've been a part of in years and Kristin, well, she just got laid off two weeks prior. But here at Sun Mountain Lodge, none of that mattered. All we had to remember was that our couples massage was scheduled for three o'clock on Friday and we had a dinner reservation for seven on Christmas day. It would be four days of blissful relaxation.<br />
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We settled into a pair of leather armchairs near one of the two massive fireplaces in the lobby, just feet from a towering two-story artificial Christmas tree, to do some reading while the local Cascadia Choral group filled the room with a harmonious hour of Christmas carols. Kristin sat working her way through one of my favorites, "The River of Doubt" by Candice Millard, while I read Colin Thubron's "Shadow of the Silk Road." The choir was explaining the finer points of miming along to the reindeer song as I came upon the following passage:<br />
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<a name='more'></a><blockquote><em>"For several hours my mouth had been filling with pain, and now I was seized by nausea. In the train's mirror I saw a swollen, discoloured face. Its two halves might belong to different people, one cheek so inflated that its eye was closing. Beneath a wobbling tooth, the gum was inflamed by a livid abscess. I wondered with misgiving what dentist might work in the old Mongol town of Maragheh ahead of me, and regretted leaving behind the delicate hands of Persia."</em></blockquote>And then, after finding an Iranian dentist with whom he could not communicate...<br />
<blockquote><em>"In the basement an old man worked an antique X-ray machine. On its photograph my tooth looked like a rotted mandrake, its roots coagulated. The dentist held this to the light, and murmured foreboding. Then he motioned me to his divan and chose his instruments. He gave no anaesthetic. Overhead a lamp shed a baleful pool. For two hours he drilled and dug and chiseled, first at one tooth, then at its neighbor, and I had no idea what he was doing. From time to time he realigned my head left or right by pulling my nose. He seemed to be grinding my skull with pumice stone. I mewed again that I wanted to keep my tooth, most my teeth, any teeth, but he only grinned uncomprehendingly, and went on excavating with the help of medieval-looking tongs and files, while I tried to recall what instruments my London dentist used."</em></blockquote>An hour later, sitting in the rustic Wolf Creek Bar & Grill, drinking our pints of Twisp River Brewery's seasonal ale, I told Kristin about that scene in the book. Kristin is well aware that my biggest fear regarding our trip around the world is not of our bikes being stolen or us getting mugged. Nor am I terribly concerned about being blackmailed by unscrupulous border police. I expect it. Rather, my single biggest fear is having to lay myself at the feet of a third world dentist. I have notoriously problematic teeth and only this month, after finally getting my two front teeth crowned, did I complete a three-year marathon of dental procedures involving multiple root canals and more crowns than I care to admit. Thubron ultimately survived his ordeal -- a four-hour root canal without anaesthetic -- but the thought of developing an oral emergency so far from the comforts of modern dentistry is enough to give me goosebumps.<br />
<br />
I wasn't two bites into my prime rib sandwich when the first jolt of pain hit. It struck sharply at first as it pierced my gums then blunted itself against my upper jaw and spread to my eye socket. Sudden throbbing pain, the likes of which I had never experienced. I reached for my tooth, a bicuspid I had crowned just two years ago, and it gave no signs of moving. My touch neither intensified nor dampened the pain. Three minutes later, it was gone. As swiftly as it emerged, the spontaneous face-melting anguish vanished. All that was left were the beads of sweat that dotted my brow. The pain struck again, in the elevator on the way to the room, but I was able to quickly nullify it by splashing some whisky onto the guilty tooth. I washed a pair of Advil down with a finger of scotch and tried to enjoy my time with Kristin, but my mind was running wild with the fear of what may be. The level of my preoccupation was evident on the backgammon score sheet as Kristin, who had never before beaten me, had built an impressive lead of thirty to naught thanks to my absentminded use of the doubling cube.<br />
<br />
The nicest room in the lodge with a king sized bed of feathers, and I couldn't sleep a wink. I had ravaged the first-aid kit I keep with my snowshoeing gear and swallowed nearly a dozen Advil that night. I tossed. I turned. I was up and out of bed every fifteen minutes, padding around the room in fleece-covered feet, one hand clutching a glass of painkilling single malt while the other cradled my fracturing face. The flickering remnants of our bedroom fire cast a haunted silhouette of my pathetic form onto the wall above my sleeping beauty. <br />
<br />
Daybreak comes late this time of year in northern Washington and gift shop owners rise even later. We begged our way into the locked hotel shop to buy some more Advil then set about finding a dentist. Not only was it a Friday, the national day of rest for dentists, but it was Christmas Eve. I hated the thought of calling a dentist I never met on his day off and I despised even more the thought of being the stereotypical city slicker who couldn't handle a toothache on his vacation to the country. I knew I wasn't being that guy, that this was a serious matter, but I hate to put people out. I finally decided it was better to make that call on Friday and try to coax a prescription or two out of him than to wait for Christmas morning and beg for a surgery. The woman working the front desk gave me the number of two dentists: there was the local guy her family sees and a clinic in nearby Twisp called Sawtooth Dental Care. I applaud the latter dentist's commitment to celebrating the local mountain range, but would recommend a correspondence course in marketing. I went with the first option.<br />
<br />
True to his wife's word, Dr. Harrop called me back as soon as he returned from the grocer and gave me directions to his practice in Winthrop, the tiny old-west town just eight miles back along the snow-covered road winding down off Sun Mountain. As if Winthrop, population 1,916 as of the 2000 census, wasn't already one of my favorite places in the United States, Dr. Harrop's friendly demeanor and hospitality is just the sort of thing that makes people leave it all behind and move to the Methow Valley (just as he did several years ago). He met us outside his practice in trail sneakers, nylon running pants, and a fleece pullover and quickly ushered Kristin and I inside with a smile and a don't-mention-it wave of his hand as I thanked him for agreeing to see me on his day off. The office lacked the high-tech wizardry of my dentist's practice in Seattle, but made up for it with a warm, cozy atmosphere resembling a quaint mountain cabin. While waiting for the x-ray to develop, we got to talking about our shared love of the area and compared notes on nearby trails with him educating me on the wonders of the nearby Maple Pass loop and me encouraging him to bring along his mountain bike the next time he heads up to Angel's Staircase.<br />
<br />
Sadly, my chattiness waned when the x-ray showed that an abscess was developing and that I would need a root canal as soon as possible. This word, <em>abscess</em>, means nothing to me other than misery, the exact opposite of the bliss we were supposed to be experiencing on this trip. I can't even recall ever hearing the word prior to reading about Thubron's experience with one the prior night. Dr. Harrop gave me a prescription for some vicodin and an antibiotic that would reduce the inflammation and put an end to the pain, but there was a catch. The antibiotics wouldn't really kick in for at least 24 hours and the pain was likely to get much worse before it got any better. Kristin and I thanked him and raced off, prescriptions in hand, in hopes of reaching the pharmacist in the next town before they closed up shop for the holiday weekend. We made it in time, but they were nearly out of the prescribed antibiotic. I would have to drive to the next closest pharmacist, forty miles and a steep mountain pass away, to fill the prescription. That was not an option. A couple phone calls later and Kristin and I were on our way back to Dr. Harrop's office to collect his remaining stash of the abscess-fighting wonder drug.<br />
<br />
Maybe it was the vicodin working its magic or perhaps I was just buoyed by the relief of having actually gotten to see a dentist and received the drugs I so desperately hoped to get my hands on, but I was riding high. We sped back up to the lodge, donned our snowshoes, and hit the trails for a quick two mile hike. It was but a fraction of the route we planned, and quite a bit manicured for our liking, but the unobstructed views of snowclad peaks and fog-shrouded valleys more than made up for the lack of challenging terrain. As did our reward. Waiting for us back at the lodge was a super-indulgent appointment at the spa. Merry Christmas to us in the form of a bottle of champagne, a platter of delicious chocolate truffles, and his and hers 90-minute massages. We thought about cancelling the treatment on account of my dental problems, but washing another pill down with some bubbly left me pain-free all the way to dinner. And it's a good thing too, else we would have missed out on the best massage either of us had ever experienced.<br />
<br />
The massages weren't the only gifts being given that night though; it was Christmas Eve after all. There was a building sense of excitement in the air as the night passed on. Though many of the guests were many years our senior, there were also a number of younger families staying in the lodge and in the cabins down by Patterson Lake. Having no children of our own, it was fun to see the anticipation in the faces of the younger kids as they wandered the halls in their pajamas, and we had to smile at overhearing more than one ask their parents how Santa will find them if they're not at home.<br />
<br />
Though the abscess attacked with sporadic bouts of cringe-inducing ferocity during dinner, I had managed to endure its wrath and continue on. I soon realized that each bolt of pain would only last for a couple minutes, then life would return to normal. This was how it went throughout dinner, while we were exchanging the few gifts we got one another, and after as we laid by the fire. But this was merely the quiet before the storm. Perhaps sensing the building concentration of Clindamycin in my system, the abscess unleashed a last-ditch unrelenting sequence of assaults on my sanity and pain-tolerance that lasted through the night. The vicodin was useless in this war. Countless times, I would jolt from sleep and make my way to the bathroom where a pile of cotton swabs and a tube of Anbesol awaited me. Four times per day as directed? More like four times per hour, applied vigorously! I smeared the gel around my tooth and gums and welcomed the immediate, though short-lived reprieve it afforded. Back in bed, I fell asleep the second I hit the pillow only to be stirred awake sixteen, twelve, and sometimes just seven minutes later. More Anbesol. More vicodin. More whisky. Anything. I had never before felt a pain like this. I would happily trade away the abscess for another broken collar bone or crack in my femur. It was all I could do to not curl up in a sobbing heap on the floor of the bathroom.<br />
<br />
Christmas morning brought no relief. Dashed were the plans to videochat with family on the east coast as I couldn't bring myself to search the lodge to find where the wifi signal was strongest. Breakfast wasn't much better. Once again we had the table by the window in the restaurant, but I was in too much pain to even order, let alone enjoy the view. I hated the thought of us not getting in the full day of snowshoeing as we planned and though Kristin could have gone without me, neither of us wanted that. Finally, I convinced myself that the pain came and went irregardless of whether I was lying on the couch or out hiking in the snow. So we added a small mirror, some cotton swabs, and more Anbesol to my pack and set out for a six mile trek through the snow.<br />
<br />
This time we abandoned the well-traveled tracks atop the ridge and descended to Patterson Lake, then continued onto a seemingly forgotten track that wrapped around a nearby knob. There is no better stimulus for having long, private conversations with a loved one than snowshoeing. The utter stillness of the snow-draped forest combines with the majestic views of distant mountaintops to inspire the daydreamy talks we too often don't make time for in the course of our daily lives. Step by step we made our way over hills and across streams, over fallen logs and under snow-burdened branches. We paused in a clearing ringed with towering cedars to dig out the garland and ornaments in my pack to decorate a small evergreen poking up through the snow. The abscess was no match for the surrounding beauty of the land. We broke trail for four hours before finally cresting the ridgeline leading back to the warmth of our room.<br />
<br />
The antibiotics finally began to win the battle and though I hesistated to go anywhere without the Anbesol (or a flask of whisky and pocketful of vicodin), we were able to enjoy a special dinner and our final night at Sun Mountain Lodge. And Kristin was able to get what she wanted most from the trip: a photo of her and Floyd.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_JHteTUFeufnfIhKda628MIicibtub_iKwEnElYefualsjMcwRwO3-Vkwqv0-GyeFbfW4LIIYTBrZAvlbCa2H9YeEJT46btGBRxvRDDALc7MskszCrd9StdGPOfhI35AeOCh/s320/Kristin_Floyd_resize.jpg" width="240" /></div><br />
And I finally got to enjoy a proper night's sleep in that luxurious bed. I'd worry about the pending root canal another day.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-40914048691200835932010-12-21T11:34:00.000-08:002010-12-21T11:34:57.635-08:00Fargo: It's a Wrap!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Finally received delivery of the gel padding that I wanted to include under the leather handlebar tape (and red anodized Salsa skewers to match the headset!) and was able to finish up the build. Had a request for some close-ups of the cockpit so I'm attaching a couple extra down below. I admit this is a pretty unorthodox setup. Butterfly trekking bar, disc brakes, grip shifters, and leather Brooks bar tape... wha-wha-what?</div> <br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyngU-dqSnaB7yHxuCQIo_VyzAkUPCThf_7oX42ZWyx9DGfpzHGWBnuUrcHFgRp7VjsvLMmAKomk4qKvg42RRGTcWqLQCYbifC3X1iq01S60jPRKtq5S5SKraruiGLZfcrHz3M/s1600/IMG_0615_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyngU-dqSnaB7yHxuCQIo_VyzAkUPCThf_7oX42ZWyx9DGfpzHGWBnuUrcHFgRp7VjsvLMmAKomk4qKvg42RRGTcWqLQCYbifC3X1iq01S60jPRKtq5S5SKraruiGLZfcrHz3M/s320/IMG_0615_resize.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The orange gel padding that was holding up the show. Looks ugly now, but should add some<br />
comfort for the hands during those long days in the saddle.</div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Hs9xZIon5rakvE4xc2QuZ5uDdL5zepBOX-SbF8mWfcXLMZafFfyhzKNsLr77vaehovJbEE-zf-Ih_WZhhpeCPmjeVj0T1pETz-VcKEiHDv9updQmhUFfZztTB0mFzZCGV6Gi/s1600/IMG_0622_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Hs9xZIon5rakvE4xc2QuZ5uDdL5zepBOX-SbF8mWfcXLMZafFfyhzKNsLr77vaehovJbEE-zf-Ih_WZhhpeCPmjeVj0T1pETz-VcKEiHDv9updQmhUFfZztTB0mFzZCGV6Gi/s320/IMG_0622_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Head-on view of the control arrangement. Installed the brake levers on the edge of the bars and the grip shifts just inside of them. It gets tight underneath with the brake and shifter cables dueling it out in close-proximity, but it works well!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWH7XC98FfZNdlE098CkKTg0uhE2Izm-zIuhRzsxeW06DZ1Ub9beoIKPwCtILCQhMWC-x_3ETNMprIx2gppXKYa60WQX66ddZSiL0qtBAmOUS-CZsYjpRha8riZ_fK6rGxX1V/s1600/IMG_0625_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWH7XC98FfZNdlE098CkKTg0uhE2Izm-zIuhRzsxeW06DZ1Ub9beoIKPwCtILCQhMWC-x_3ETNMprIx2gppXKYa60WQX66ddZSiL0qtBAmOUS-CZsYjpRha8riZ_fK6rGxX1V/s320/IMG_0625_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">My baby's first track-stand!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOL65ATajNqPQaRIA9kXPCQzAgigVAddzeyqvE_FhsgD2ahGjZNS3sdzKhtoL5n5CjBi57v5RVk6K7k4zYPhyi0niSGt-zKt9uXYnyJWF_M_BDrsfguDn2JsGjTEXOaXqGJOt/s1600/IMG_0619_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOL65ATajNqPQaRIA9kXPCQzAgigVAddzeyqvE_FhsgD2ahGjZNS3sdzKhtoL5n5CjBi57v5RVk6K7k4zYPhyi0niSGt-zKt9uXYnyJWF_M_BDrsfguDn2JsGjTEXOaXqGJOt/s320/IMG_0619_resize.JPG" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">My first time wrapping handlebars didn't go too bad (thanks for the second set of hands Kristin!). I realize it's not normal to wrap the lower end of the bars with tape, but the grip shifters don't allow for excess to be tucked in behind the bar plugs. It's a bit unsightly, but a pretty good insurance policy against it unraveling.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">That's it for now. I'm off to go take this thing for its maiden voyage. Finally! Can't wait to install the racks and fenders. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Anyone know where I can get a half-dozen red anodized bottle cages? Just kidding. I'm only going to install four.</span> </div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-64179672011728346742010-12-09T09:34:00.000-08:002010-12-09T10:12:23.950-08:00The Fargo BuildThere's something really magical about building up a bike that was purchased for the express purpose of being ridden around the world (although it's maiden tour will be a slightly more modest 500 mile trip around the Olympic Peninsula next summer). I hemmed and hawed over each part like never before. Weighing the pros and cons of frame materials, disc brakes versus rim brakes, standard 26 inch wheels or 29er, drop bars versus flat bars versus trekking bars. The list goes on...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0DTWjN8h4v1H7-BTLhoXoKV3L3fvL_XDDdFo5vyZc_FN7hT81F_9iuhJv6Ealh004il8PPJ7dctOl1rJgNHEhREzZ5cgRioLcLqgQoVK4Mm2vsHCUlrSrKzCPHroq4iZRY0wV/s1600/IMG_0576_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0DTWjN8h4v1H7-BTLhoXoKV3L3fvL_XDDdFo5vyZc_FN7hT81F_9iuhJv6Ealh004il8PPJ7dctOl1rJgNHEhREzZ5cgRioLcLqgQoVK4Mm2vsHCUlrSrKzCPHroq4iZRY0wV/s320/IMG_0576_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bike parts galore, spread out like a buffet for our building pleasure!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijP4lupk-B_UOOjB-arPWfmD6GlxnTrdqHmXW4ofARXNXqapIN4hegfQXvZlZ6dqsVnqbWn3Ss5WmnN_J7nelDVAAudyvDZ6Me9Pfrdg6jPZFFOPFpdDJ0IYnSZXQinmdiuCaa/s1600/IMG_0578_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijP4lupk-B_UOOjB-arPWfmD6GlxnTrdqHmXW4ofARXNXqapIN4hegfQXvZlZ6dqsVnqbWn3Ss5WmnN_J7nelDVAAudyvDZ6Me9Pfrdg6jPZFFOPFpdDJ0IYnSZXQinmdiuCaa/s320/IMG_0578_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold the "Funguy Green" Fargo by Salsa... and its family of future stablemates in the background.</td></tr>
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First things first, the frame. The Salsa Fargo is billed as an adventure touring bike, a steel framed mountain bike built to accomodate drop bars (think road bike handlebars), six water bottle cages, fenders, racks, and panniers. It's a 29er (sorry, but I can't ever go back to 26-inch wheels after four years of riding the bigger hoops) and it's disc-brake only. It even has welded on bosses for a downtube shifters, should the need arise for an on-road repair from parts salvaged from third-world bicycle parts. I fully loved the concept of the Fargo, but didn't intend to buy it. That is until I saw the frame hanging in a forgotten corner of a bike shop. The manager, a generous supporter of Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, told me that nobody wanted just the frame, that they could only sell complete builds. I, however, only wanted the frame. I was expecting him to take enough off the price to make me really have to think about it. When he quoted me $375, I jumped on it. A savings of almost $200!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQet8vq8YmlCjg6bs3SU7HC5H8GLxfzzVDmQudHXmtG7EbEC5WuPUlIH5oBtXrLTg2O0fRXTCPUnVgGk3SLcK1-wx0U3ezmiAGbYPJTlCKkoNjBK7QuyKXE7FKDrxjDKkOd3o/s1600/BuildSpecsPrice.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="161" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQet8vq8YmlCjg6bs3SU7HC5H8GLxfzzVDmQudHXmtG7EbEC5WuPUlIH5oBtXrLTg2O0fRXTCPUnVgGk3SLcK1-wx0U3ezmiAGbYPJTlCKkoNjBK7QuyKXE7FKDrxjDKkOd3o/s320/BuildSpecsPrice.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Itemized list of price (including shipping/handling) and where I bought the parts.<br />
This had to be a true DIY job (a learning experience), hence the profliferance of online shops. Sorry local guys.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><em><em>Aside:</em> I know the bike-touring community is slow to embrace 29er wheels and disc brakes as disc brake and 29er parts are quite a bit harder to come by in the undeveloped corners of the world. Then again, so are a lot of things. I'll take my chances and plan for the worst. I'll carry extra pads and a spare rotor for the brakes and a spare tire and tubes. Worse comes to worse, I'll order parts from Jenson. They ship to just about every country in the world. I'd rather have to suffer an occasional headache and maybe pay a little extra later for shipping in new parts, but spend most of my time riding a bike I am comfortable with. Your mileage may vary.</em><br />
<br />
As for the rest of the parts, my thinking was to opt for the most reliable, quality parts I could when it came to parts that, if they failed, would render the bike inoperable. So I splurged on a Chris King headset and Thomson stem and seatpost. I've never heard of any of these failing. They're pricey, no doubt, but they're virtually bombproof. After four years of flawless shifting from the Sram X0 twist-shifters that are on my Moots, I knew I wanted that style shifter for the Fargo (not to mention the ability to make on-the-fly micro-adjustments to remove any chain-rub is wonderful!) which demanded a Sram rear derailleur. I opted for X9, as it's cheaper and a bit more stout than the X0 grade. Shimano XT triple-ring crankset and front derailleur round out the drivetrain with Sram cassete and chain. This is virtually the exact build I have on my Moots, although I have XTR and X0 on that bike. And yes, it's perfectly fine to combine the parts from the two different brands in this manner.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj849MlOdM3I8Tsx48pvNj-vYJkH2GNniCL0ZhrAIkdhDOn43Npdw10nvkJG6zn-ty8Nfj7efoXp4F-8m5eQuI6tghthfCyS36TkGx7J_yL14_wvEULyuzeqTz0BTPeHiajN57t/s1600/IMG_0581_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj849MlOdM3I8Tsx48pvNj-vYJkH2GNniCL0ZhrAIkdhDOn43Npdw10nvkJG6zn-ty8Nfj7efoXp4F-8m5eQuI6tghthfCyS36TkGx7J_yL14_wvEULyuzeqTz0BTPeHiajN57t/s320/IMG_0581_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had to pilfer the wheels off the Moots to help with shifter/brake lever positioning.<br />
Waiting for a battery to charge to drill out the valve hole on the rims for this bike to accomodate schraeder style stems.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Though I was definitely going with disc brakes, there was never even a moment's thought to installing hydraulic disc brakes. While it's true that they are very durable and need very little adjusting/service, the service they do need is not something I'm completely comfortable doing on the side of the road. And lines do get yanked out of the caliper and/or levers occasionally (I saw it happen on day one of our Moab trip this past May). The natural choice was Avid's BB7 mechanical disc brakes. They operate much the same way as a rim brake, but they're disc-based. They came on my Kona singlespeed, and I love them. The BB5 lacks the adjustability of the BB7, hence my decision to go for the better grade.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZv37N7g-AdGF77dn8Kpsoajv3tQlLcuMEwYNfXG3eD0W6UMKnKKF_B_k_SWQk3U9B0wyhz5rDkAH5e1xLH2ex3DRnpHvcVWUnQ_-XhJ2VnHSCFxmXqknbBVL6cIPvfkLIEV2/s1600/IMG_0583_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZv37N7g-AdGF77dn8Kpsoajv3tQlLcuMEwYNfXG3eD0W6UMKnKKF_B_k_SWQk3U9B0wyhz5rDkAH5e1xLH2ex3DRnpHvcVWUnQ_-XhJ2VnHSCFxmXqknbBVL6cIPvfkLIEV2/s320/IMG_0583_resize.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huge thanks to my friend Doug for teaching me how to build a bike and<br />
for bringing over his various torque wrenches.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In attempt to add a little style to the bike, I opted for a Brooks leather saddle and matching bar tape (not pictured). The seat will be a torture device until it breaks in, but it should be worth it. I'm waiting to pick up some gel handelbar pads to put under the bar tape. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvSw9TJzecLDTnx6XQ-GpY7TuVHhMTdnGx6BExYVrW2kF-QSENrrDaOB_wqEenCX51nf88NeIlQoFyH80o0_boSEKnUq0OmFjHs4N7zy9TbQGiglwKwNWThGCtfveZtiGYpfx/s1600/IMG_0585_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvSw9TJzecLDTnx6XQ-GpY7TuVHhMTdnGx6BExYVrW2kF-QSENrrDaOB_wqEenCX51nf88NeIlQoFyH80o0_boSEKnUq0OmFjHs4N7zy9TbQGiglwKwNWThGCtfveZtiGYpfx/s320/IMG_0585_resize.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing like a shiny new drivetrain!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lastly, there's the wheels. I didn't include wheels in the pricelist above because the plan is ultimately to order a custom set of touring wheels that may or may not contain a dyno hub for lighting/recharging capabilities. In the meantime, I had picked up a spare set of 29er wheels before doing TransRockies stage race in 2007 that I never used. They have XT hubs and WTB SpeedDisc Trail 29er rims. These rims can take a beating, but I want 36-spoke wheels with heavier gauge spokes before I head out for a longer tour with 50+ pounds of gear. I mounted the Schwalbe Marathon Plus touring tires that I was using throughout this year. They have thousands of miles left in them.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OzThjoFkE3lPfFfceQTwBryT0h_mpc9MdqYrY97dvk8zQTMVRV-x3f0weccBlXBfYJ1-9TAlY4jwxIc-6tYYKj5uFa9jh3OcHlXsPg1772Xw1jqzZk3vKZ6CDVfShyVV71WL/s1600/IMG_0589_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OzThjoFkE3lPfFfceQTwBryT0h_mpc9MdqYrY97dvk8zQTMVRV-x3f0weccBlXBfYJ1-9TAlY4jwxIc-6tYYKj5uFa9jh3OcHlXsPg1772Xw1jqzZk3vKZ6CDVfShyVV71WL/s320/IMG_0589_resize.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still needs bartape, fenders, racks, and a slew of bottle cages, but she's ready to be ridden!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-72221285453186866782010-12-03T14:09:00.000-08:002010-12-03T14:11:15.419-08:00Crossing the Congo in a ToyotaI just spent the better part of the day reading what may be one of the most entertaining and exciting trip reports I've ever seen on the Internet (thanks to the Dubious Quality set of Friday Links). It's a trip report about a Belgian couple's crossing of the Democratic Republic of Congo in their Toyota Landcruiser. They spent 40+ days driving through jungle and savanna, along many of the worst roads in the world, if you can even call them roads (they were little more single-track trails at many points). And that doesn't even begin to touch on the hostility of the people they encountered.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://radiobaobab.be/assets/etogal/547/pembeyangu%20010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="http://radiobaobab.be/assets/etogal/547/pembeyangu%20010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Frederick's trip report was posted over time on a <a href="http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50799">message board here</a>. It's filled with incredible photos and lots of questions, answers, and criticism from other readers. Don't be intimidated by the length of the thread. Just scroll ahead for posts made by Frederick, aka "RadioBaobab". You'll be glad you did. Note ahead of time that this was just a small part of their 2-year long trip. They had already been on the road for over a year before embarking on this leg of the journey.<br />
<br />
There were several comments that Frederick made in his report that I felt were particularly wise and offered some good advice for folks planning a trip like Kristin and I are. One was his saying that "It's better to be sorry for what you did do, than be sorry over what you didn't do." Let that one sink in.<br />
<br />
The other came up at the end of his telling of a particularly harrowing ordeal. <br />
<blockquote>"As agreed before we would not try to convince each other to push on. She contemplated the situation for half an hour with a warm tea. She is no quitter, she wanted to continue!"</blockquote>Trips even less ambitious than theirs will always have their tough times. And sometimes the stress can be too much. I think promising one another ahead of time to not try and convince the other to push on is a great idea, as that can only lead to resentment and greater problems down the road.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-82266005963583327252010-12-02T12:51:00.000-08:002010-12-02T13:01:22.723-08:00Return of the Guidebook Giveaway<div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #38761d;">Twas the last day of rest, and all through the house</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #38761d;">boxes of books stacked high, many edited by a man we call Haus</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #38761d;">The guides I've written, stored away with care</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #38761d;">In hopes they would one day see eyes in a pair</span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Taking advantage of this final day off today to tackle some of the things I've been meaning to do since I sent in my last bit of text for the Splatterhouse strategy guide back on October 29th. Boring stuff like backing up files and cleaning the closet. It took four trips up and down the stairs, but I've finally recycled the mountain of boxes and user's manuals I was holding onto for some inexplicable reason. We don't even own half the stuff that originally came in those boxes anymore.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The other big task was pairing down the volume of strategy guides I have stacked in my closet. I used to receive 10 author's copies for every guide I'd write, but that number has fortunately shrunk to 5 as the books grew in size and paper/shipping costs increased. I was fine with this as I was literally running out of space to store them. And now that the blog is back up, it means it's time to revive the Guidebook Giveaway!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">My copies of our guide for Halo: Reach were spoken for long before the book was even printed, but I do have copies of a few of my other recent titles, namely <strong>Fable III</strong>, <strong>Splatterhouse</strong>, and <strong>Darksiders</strong>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHTBKGZEjF8AOF9e95wVNQWR4B2Lz5k1vr6Xj0RPGYl6grCqq1E5vLGvQb9JL2Jti0P8-0nxVZEvSURdvBtTLM928QLRkaDbO7NNxze3x9LKYG1SXDG2d2sGUtZUs1taf61UV/s1600/FableIII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHTBKGZEjF8AOF9e95wVNQWR4B2Lz5k1vr6Xj0RPGYl6grCqq1E5vLGvQb9JL2Jti0P8-0nxVZEvSURdvBtTLM928QLRkaDbO7NNxze3x9LKYG1SXDG2d2sGUtZUs1taf61UV/s200/FableIII.jpg" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Need the guidebook? Reply to this post!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong>Post a comment in response to this thread with the name of the guide</strong> you're interested in -- one per person please -- and tell us <em><strong>what single game you are most looking forward to in 2011</strong>? </em>Mentioning a game I end up writing the guidebook for will win you a copy of the book once it's published!</div>Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-11907886471015762852010-11-24T13:04:00.000-08:002010-11-24T13:08:58.183-08:00Kinecting With FriendsI just cancelled my gym membership.<br />
<br />
It was a nice place, only a half mile from my house and never crowded when I went. It had everything I wanted in a gym, but it turns out so does my living room. Ever since buying EA Sports <em>Active 2</em> for the Xbox Kinect, that is. But more about that later...<br />
<br />
We arrived home from my sister's wedding in New Jersey to find the Kinect bundle on the front porch and a copy of Harmonix's <em>Dance Central</em> in the mailbox. Yes, the same Harmonix that birthed the <em>Guitar Hero </em>and <em>Rock Band </em>franchises. Nevermind the lingering hangover, the cross-country flight, and onset of one of the worst head colds I've had in years, I rushed downstairs the following morning like a child on Christmas morning and immediately connected the Kinect sensor and booted up the packed-in <em>Kinect Adventures</em> title. <br />
<br />
Setting the sensor up was a breeze. I had read plenty of tips in the weeks leading up to the Kinect launch about lighting conditions and space requirements and was ever thankful for our house's large open floorplan. I shoved the couch back about 6 feet towards the kitchen, turned on all the lights behind me and was immediately detected in the "best" position for Kinect enjoyment. <em><strong>Kinect Adventures</strong> </em>delivers a wonderful first impression of the technology. The disc includes a half-dozen different mini-games that seem designed to show off the Kinect's ability to track your skeleton in three-dimensional space. The games themselves lose their appeal quickly (only Achievement hunters and small children need apply), but as a tech-demo, it does its job admirably. I was at once impressed with the sensor's ability to not only track my hands and feet forward, but my head as well. And the game's ability to take random snapshots of you while playing and then upload (with your permission) Polaroid-like memories to a central website is a bit of genius.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZO8SbHXv798Thx8dmPkSlML5iKlO2CaGGW9prfp-Ta3FgKvplj5PcrGP9tmBjdX8csRe6hORcoTGfMrLFa_GekVoRrKdssBoDioSY2_zu2MSs-FZs1eQuFTbwJxUqIrJam8J/s1600/Kinect_Postcard_110910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZO8SbHXv798Thx8dmPkSlML5iKlO2CaGGW9prfp-Ta3FgKvplj5PcrGP9tmBjdX8csRe6hORcoTGfMrLFa_GekVoRrKdssBoDioSY2_zu2MSs-FZs1eQuFTbwJxUqIrJam8J/s320/Kinect_Postcard_110910.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yours truly jumping for coins during the river rafting game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a name='more'></a> <em><strong>Dance Central</strong></em> (<a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/video/body-movin-dance-central/702934">gameplay video</a>) is the real star of this show, however. My wife and I have spent thirteen years mocking one another's [lack of] ability to dance, yet that didn't stop us from cutting a rug (technically bamboo flooring) and laughing all night as we attempted a host of dance moves set to music that I'd otherwise be embarrassed to have on my iPod. Learning to play is super easy, even for those with two left feet. Every song has its own specific set of dance moves and three difficulty modes (each successive difficulty setting builds upon the previous one with additional, more complicated dance moves). Simply pick a song, then a difficulty, and select "Break it Down" to learn the moves. The instructor will step you through the moves and you can slow it down even further at any time with a wave of your hand. Learn all of the moves then select "Perform It" to put it all together. You're goal is to try and mimic the movements shown by the dancer on the screen: the on-screen dancer's body parts glow red to show where your positioning is off. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcU9oscaEmfq1NZUUsai1sc3tHo2LSJwB-lwdnjZmySRs7J2iAuKqIO22AiGpRxemGQIPLreYUOJLBm2WwBAL_tQ68Whju6ZBKgJxI3bs0v9SPobgFW_uUB6zKEPvDdrChzzUm/s1600/DanceCentral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcU9oscaEmfq1NZUUsai1sc3tHo2LSJwB-lwdnjZmySRs7J2iAuKqIO22AiGpRxemGQIPLreYUOJLBm2WwBAL_tQ68Whju6ZBKgJxI3bs0v9SPobgFW_uUB6zKEPvDdrChzzUm/s320/DanceCentral.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friends having fun with Dance Central.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">One of the best features of Kinect, and especially <em>Dance Central</em>, was on display this past weekend during our Kinect party: the ability to track three people at once. We were all amazed at how well the system differentiated between the main dancer and backup dancers, even when arms and legs were crossing in front and behind of one another. Not only that, but the system's ability to instantly know when someone has left or entered the dancefloor was particularly impressive. Especially when it was Kristin or I since we both completed the facial recognition process and it immediately recognizes us by appearance. <em><strong>Kinect Sports</strong> </em>(<a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/video/launch-trailer-kinect-sports/707078">launch trailer</a>) was also great fun to play during a party as well thanks to the ease at which teammates could jump in and jump out of the game as the events went by. No more passing controllers back and forth. No more loading profiles or signing players in and out of the game. It didn't matter whose turn it was; just step in front of the sensor and you were ready to go! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIn6VSzhn-nMl8_RgC0MidhG6iuKqzE_j3cf5DKW1zXYn-9zDWOYe7Y0aRZEWCoRE4PFqomXd1MQc0ZgsLDHUA8-pKT-VpuIZBIk0KjXltw8rRlm7a_imytCL38meX_fVO2uH/s1600/KinectSports.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIn6VSzhn-nMl8_RgC0MidhG6iuKqzE_j3cf5DKW1zXYn-9zDWOYe7Y0aRZEWCoRE4PFqomXd1MQc0ZgsLDHUA8-pKT-VpuIZBIk0KjXltw8rRlm7a_imytCL38meX_fVO2uH/s320/KinectSports.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotta protect the face when the wife is coming at you with a right jab.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Unfortunately, my enjoyment with <em>Dance Central </em>and <em>Kinect Sports</em> has been somewhat limited due to the time I spend with <strong><em>Active 2 </em></strong>(<a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/video/what-is-ea-sports/707520">game trailer</a>)<em>.</em> I'm simply too sore to play them. <em>Active 2</em> by EA Sports is a fitness game that comes bundled with a heart rate monitor and a resistance band (the game supports using dumbbells also, which I do). I wasn't expecting a whole lot in terms of intensity so I set up a 9-week program on "hard" mode. The game uses your heart rate and weight to calculate the number of calories you burn. Each of the 9-week program's workouts typically consists of 30+ exercises and takes roughly 35 minutes to complete, that is if I didn't have to pause the game periodically while I lay collapsed in a puddle of sweat on the floor. I've burned as much as 250 calories in a single 30 minute workout with an average heart rate of 141 bpm (including warmup and cooldown).<br />
<br />
The exercises range from pushups and squats to side-jumps and planks, but there are also several more "gamey" exercises that do a fine job of tricking you into thinking you're not working out. I was shocked to see how intense the mountain biking exercise was. It was only naturally for me, an avid mountain biker, to have pretty low expectations for this activity, but the combination of holding a squat during the descents, squat-jumping on the ramps, and sprinting the hills makes for a very intense 90 seconds of activity. Another favorite is the goal keeper exercise. Playing goalie while three players kick rapid-fire soccer goals at the net is not only fun, but exhausting. The precision of the Kinect sensor makes it clear on-screen when you're slacking. It also makes you stand up and celebrate a particularly impressive kick-save. The in-game character you create does an excellent job of mimicing your motions (even your bad ones) and the game accurately counts your reps and tracks body positioning so you know when you're slacking or not performing the exercise/lift properly.<br />
<br />
<em>Active 2</em> comes pre-loaded with over a hundred pre-set workouts that you can select from. You can also create your own custom workout by selecting which of the dozens of exercises you want to do. It's also possible to have a custom workout created on the fly by simply telling the game how much time you want to workout for, what intensity level, and what type of workout you want to target (core, legs, cardio, etc.). The degree of flexibility and customization with the game is pretty impressive and, best of all, it does a great job of encouraging you to keep at it. Weekly fitness checks help you monitor your weight and improvement through high-intensity heart rate test designed to measure your cool down. <em>Active 2</em> retails for $99 USD, but I found it for $79 at Fry's and I've seen ads for Target giving away a $20 gift card with the purchase.<br />
<br />
So am I impressed with Kinect? Yes. Does this mean I'm no longer a so-called "hardcore" gamer. Who cares? It's entirely possible to enjoy Kinect <em>and</em> still enjoy going online and blasting folks in <em>Halo: Reach</em> or settling into a game like <em>Fallout</em>. Kinect is not a replacement for traditional games, but rather a way for people to get more out of their Xbox, especially when entertaining. The ease of use, the laugh-out-loud fun you can have with the games, and the jump-in, jump-out nature of the experience makes it unlike anything I've played before. We had 9 people over last Saturday and every single person, including those who haven't ever owned a game system, went home intending to buy an Xbox Kinect bundle and Dance Central. And our friends with The Playstation Move were vocally wishing they had a Kinect instead. I don't expect many great games for Kinect -- just like there aren't many for the Wii -- but I am more than happy with the ones I bought. Which is saying something, considering I originally ordered my Kinect simply for the voice and motion controls for the dashboard.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-2823421179812822142010-11-19T00:31:00.000-08:002010-11-19T00:38:42.973-08:00RG Lives OnRandomly Generated is back online. My ego can only hope this hiatus was that much harder for you than me. <br />
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As you can see, I've given the ol' blog a pretty drastic makeover with the help of Blogspot's new (and occasionally maddening) controls. For starters, I've created a handful of standalone pages linked directly below my mugshot that I will update when necessary. These are to give the blog a more informative touch and to make it easier to show essays or photos or whathaveyou that I'm particularly fond of. There's some other cosmetic changes as well, but the biggest change from the old RG to the new one will the be in the type and quantity of posts that I'll be making. I was averaging over 35 posts per month for quite a while, a pace that is not only too time-consuming to maintain, but one that doesn't allow for much selectivity. I'll be ratcheting back the posting frequency to just one or two entries per week, hopefully of substance. No promises though.<br />
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Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think of the new look. And, as always, thanks for reading.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-34167182517237691562010-11-01T01:12:00.000-07:002010-11-02T15:02:31.060-07:00The Big Trip... By Bikes?I wrote three years ago that Kristin and I had made a handshake agreement about seriously, <em>honestly</em>, beginning the process of planning and saving for a trip around the world. A mid-life gap year, if you will. The plan was rather humble at first, at least as far as these round-the-world (RTW) trips tend to go. We'd beg for sabbaticals from work, lease our house, sell one of our cars. And we'd head off on a ferry to Alaska, then train and plane our way eastward around the world. At least that was the initial plan the morning after that talk when I posted <a href="http://randomlygenerated.blogspot.com/2007/09/screw-louvre.html">this</a>.<br />
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The plan has grown since then. Three years have passed since we promised each other that we would not allow our years to bleed into one another in an endless series of indistinguishable workweeks. Three years and rarely has a week gone by that we haven't talked about the trip; nary a day that I hadn't daydreamed about it, or a night spent researching and planning our route. We're still several years away, but much progress has been made towards making our shared dream a reality. Since the online journals and blogs of those who've gone before us have proven to be an invaluable source of inspiration and information, I want to dedicate this page to our own efforts and plans in hopes that it may provide a small amount of assistance to those curious enough to read this entry.<br />
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<strong><em>The How and the When</em></strong><br />
The plan, as it stands, has transformed. A funny thing has happened this year: we've fallen cleats-over-helmet in love with bicycle touring and have shifted our thoughts and dreams to a lengthy multi-year trip around the world by bicycle. If I get my way, we'll not leave the surface of the earth and will find a way across all oceans and seas by cargo ship, cruise ship, or ferry. If we have to work for our passage, so be it. I can think of no greater way to travel slowly--and independently--than by bicycle. And no better way to truly absorb the size of this rock called Earth than by eschewing the shortcuts that air transit affords.<br />
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I'm the first to admit that my second-hand experience in extended bicycle touring far exceeds any I've done. Kristin and I completed two 3-day tours in 2010, one in the San Juan Islands and another around Mt. Rainier, and we're smitten. We are in the process of building up proper touring bicycles this winter in preparation for a 10-day, 450-mile tour around the Olympic Peninsula next summer, starting from our driveway. That should give us a good feel for whether or not we are cut out for this, but even that's not going to be enough. Ten days is a far cry from three years. Though others have embarked on a RTW trip by bicycle with even less experience than we already have, our plan is to tackle the <a href="http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/pacificcoast.cfm">pacific coast route</a>, from Vancouver to Tijuana, during the fall of 2013 as a proper shakedown tour to see if we--and our gear--are truly ready for the rigors of extended bike touring. If so, we'll blast off in early spring of 2014*.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>*The issue of when is a sensitive subject. For starters, we need enough time to save. Though we plan to sell our house before leaving (along with the vast majority of our belongings), that money is to be set aside for our return. More importantly is the health of our dog and family. We always knew we would not take the trip so long as our dogs were alive. Never did we think that day would come so soon, but we did lose our male dog, Kimo, to a brain tumor this summer. Annana will be turning 12 in 2011 and is quite healthy. We hope to have her with us for as long as possible and I can think of no greater reason to delay the trip to 2015 or beyond than her living a long and healthy life. The other issue is family. We won't leave if any immediate family members are seriously ill or dying. Enough said.</em></span><br />
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<strong><em>The Why</em></strong><br />
If nothing else, this trip is about freedom. Not the politicized, sloganized freedom, but true freedom. The freedom that comes with waking up each morning to a totally new day and asking yourself, "where do you want to go today?" And being able to answer any way you dream. No office to go to. No lawn to mow. No bills to pay. No reservations. The bicycle helps make this a reality and has added a wonderful dimension to my research and planning, though we fully expect to zig when our original plans call for a zag. The only limitations will be those stemming from the stars & stripes that adorn our passports. In all honesty, the where doesn't even interest me nearly as much as the who. My goal in this trip isn't to check off a list of places to see before I die, but rather to meet our neighbors around the world. I want to see how the rest of the world lives. To eat their food; to drink their drink. To try and see the world through their eyes and, should they ask, to help them see it through an American's.<br />
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Of course, only a fool would embark on such a trip without any plan at all, and contrary to common belief, I am no fool. Not to mention I love maps and research far too much to forego this wonderful aspect of the journey. So, without further ado, allow me to gaze at the string and the pushpins on the world map in my office and tell you the general plan, as it stands now, subject to change a thousand times.<br />
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<strong><em>The Where</em></strong><br />
Our plan as currently envisioned (and very much subject to change as necessary) is to begin in Seattle in April of 2014 and head east across the northern states to Minnesota then turn left and follow the coast of Lake Superior up into Ontario then onward into Quebec before turning south towards New Jersey to spend a week or two with family. From there, we'll cross the Atlantic to the UK and bike north to south from northern Scotland down to London and cross the North Sea on a ferry to Denmark. Once on mainland Europe, we'll follow the coast of the North Sea southwestward through Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium into France with the goal being to tour the Iberian Peninsula in a counter-clockwise loop and cross into Morocco by October.<br />
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Our foray into Morocco isn't just to "tag" the African continent, but to visit one of the places I'm most interested in seeing. After a loop in Morocco, hopefully before the snows bury the high passes of the Atlas Mountains, we'll cross the Strait of Gibraltar back into Spain and hug the coast of the Mediterranean as we journey back through southern France and into Italy. We'll make our way down the western coast of Italy before crossing the heel of the boot and sailing over to Greece. We'll likely head as far south in Greece and Turkey as we can get and take a month or two to let winter's bite pass. Our goal is to use one of <a href="http://www.wwoof.org/">these</a> <a href="http://www.helpx.net/">sites</a> to arrange a work-stay. We very much want to take a side-trip into Syria and possibly Jordan before crossing back through Turkey to the north and into Georgia.<br />
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Here is where things get tricky. We want to bicycle that mysterious network of roads once known as the Silk Road. There's a number of ways to do so, but only a couple are likely for American nationals. The details will be worked out, but we'll likely avoid Armenia by looping through Georgia into Azerbaijan. From there, we'll take a ferry across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan and make our way eastward through the "'Stans" and into China. We'll be giving Afhanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan a wide berth and aim to cross into China along its border with Kyrgyzstan. <br />
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We'll make our way eastward across China from the northwestern corner towards Vietnam in the southeast, keeping a steady eye to the Tibetan Plateau for possible passage to Lhasa. I'm not saying it's something we'll definitely do, but I found a guy who helps arrange permits and planning for self-guided bicycle trips from Lhasa to Kathmandu. Just saying, that's all. Once in Vietnam, we'll make our way south to Cambodia, Thailand, and down to Malaysia and Singapore.<br />
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From there? We'll just have to see, won't we? We fully intend to tour the eastern coast of Australia and to outstay our welcome in New Zealand, but Bali, Indonesia, and Micronesia/Oceania will also be calling. The biggest hurdle that I see as of now is finding a ship-based way across the South Pacific to South America. Ideally, we'll be able to <a href="http://freighterworld.com/">find a freighter</a> that is going from Australia (or Singapore or China, if necessary) to Argentina or Chile. Once in South America, we intend to spend a month or two at an immersive language school before beginning the long journey home along the west coast of South America. <br />
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It's exhausting to even put into words, but this is the route traced in string on my map. It's the route in my dreams. The towns and streets will work themselves out. We'll take what the weather gives us. We'll be leaves in a playful breeze, carried away in fits and starts with the only true direction being ahead.<br />
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<strong><em>The Cost</em></strong><br />
Money. No amount of daydreamy ideology can get around the fact that this is going to cost a tidy sum of money to pull off. Conversations about money are usually taboo in public forums, but I'll admit that finding out how much others have spent on RTW trips (and how they saved for it) was one of the first things I began researching three years ago. And fortunately there were plenty of people willing to share their expenses down to the penny. And because it was so helpful to us, I don't mind sharing our own savings goals and spending plan.<br />
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We began saving for the trip in October 2007 with a plan to put $200 per month into an ING savings account. We stuck to a strict schedule of increasing this amount by $50 every 6 months to give us time to pay off our cars and a student loan and to, fortunately, take advantage of any pay raises we received along the way. Our deposit in October 2010 was $500. We also use a Bank of America "Keep the Change" plan which rounds up to the nearest dollar on all of our debit transactions and dumps the change into a savings account. We're able to transfer an extra $200 out of this account and into our RTW savings account every 6 to 8 months or so. Yeah, we use our debit cards a lot.<br />
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The ING Orange Savings account was pulling in about 4% interest the first 18 months or so, as were the CDs we rotated the money in and out of every 9 months. This, we figured, would bring us to roughly $35,000 by the fall of 2013, but then the market tanked. The savings account is now only getting 1.1%. Fortunately, I made some smart stock purchases as the economy bounced back and came out ahead. I was a little risky with the money, but it panned out. Now we try to keep much of the money in cash, some trusty stocks, and put the rest in a mutual fund designed for folks planning to retire inside of 5 years. We're obviously not retiring, but the principal is the same: we want modest growth and income with minimal risk.<br />
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So how much are we aiming for? And what about the cost of the bikes and the gear? We've decided to separate out the cost of touring bikes and gear from the trip savings and pay for all of that stuff by selling things we no longer use. Ebay, Craigslist, and a garage sale have netted us more than enough to build up a Salsa Fargo for me and we have a couple other things to unload this winter to pay for Kristin's Salsa Vaya. Tubus racks and Arkel panniers will round out the gear purchases for now.<br />
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Our initial goal of $35k (plus the money from the sale of one or two cars) was based on a one-year sightseeing trip around the world by plane and train. We've seen <a href="http://travellingtwo.com/resources/the-cost-of-bike-touring">estimates</a> that traveling by bicycle can cost an average of $23USD for a couple per day if you cook your own meals, camp a lot, and use sites like <a href="http://www.warmshowers.org/">Warmshowers</a> to stay for free. We plan to do all of that, yet we also know we like to splurge. We want that nice hotel every now and then. We also know we'll want to eat out more often, hit the cafes in the morning on occasion, and certainly sample the world's great beers and spirits. We don't want to do this if it means having to pinch pennies every day. Our plan is to save a minimum of $45,000 for the trip, but also get as close to $60,000 as possible. We've tracked our expenses very carefully on recent trips and feel that an average of $60/day for the two of us is a reasonable goal that would allow for occasional splurging or high-priced activities (naturally, we'll spend a lot more in some countries than others). Not to mention that $60k would allow us to go 1,000 days at $60/day. And something about that makes me smile. The trip accounts have roughly $16,500 in them as of October 2010. We have a ways to go, but we're on our way.Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7585740.post-80211871227465652152010-09-07T11:05:00.000-07:002010-11-19T00:24:23.216-08:00Next Summer's Bike TripHad a little fun with Google Maps over the weekend laying out the route and proposed camping sites for a 10 day, 450 mile trip around the Olympic Peninsula starting/finishing at our house in Snoqualmie. We'll take a day off from riding in Copalis Beach, but will ride the other 9 days, for a nice even average of 50 miles per day.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="350" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=104392058464742009521.00048f7db2a7f9e65dc41&ll=47.58506,-123.238621&spn=0.9747,2.737312&output=embed" width="425"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><small>View <a href="http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=104392058464742009521.00048f7db2a7f9e65dc41&ll=47.58506,-123.238621&spn=0.9747,2.737312&source=embed" style="color: blue; text-align: left;">Olympic Peninsula Bicycle Tour</a> in a larger map</small></div>Doug Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09492162192250783305noreply@blogger.com1