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Completed a video game!

image_114x196.jpgI’m not very good at video games, but sometimes I enjoy playing them. Through some generosity of a friend of my wife, I have a big collection of PlayStation Portable (PSP) games. One of the most recent ones I got was SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALS Fireteam Bravo. While I’m not very good, I managed to get through the entire campaign mode of the game in about 1.5 weeks which is quite impressive for my lack of skills. I play to complete the game so I don’t also get the best scores or complete the missions with an A rating, but I managed to get through it. There is still more to play including online and something called Instant Action, but I made it through the 12 missions. Unlike the PS2 version of this game, it only saved at the end of a mission, so if you didn’t make it through, you had to start over. While the PS2 version also saves at the end, as long as you don’t quit the game, you’re taken back to a “temporary” save point. For me, this makes the game enjoyable as I can complete missions without having to make it through in one try.

I haven’t played much online, but might have to give it a try. It might be embarrassing to play against teenagers and get the crap beat out of me.

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Marathon, here I come!

Today I made the commitment to run the Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon on June 4. While I sort of already committed in my head, I wanted to do another long run (today was 15.2 miles) to reassure myself that I could do it. I was about to sign up online when it looks like there is a $4.95 processing fee to do so. I’ve requested an entry by mail or fax (they’re here in San Diego, so I shouldn’t have a problem making the deadline. (I have a major problem paying fees to make someone else’s life easier if I can help it; hopefully they won’t charge me the fee registering by mail). I’ll keep training so that I can tackle the remaining 11 miles. Today’s long run was similar to my other long runs, but a little slower mainly because I didn’t have to stop for traffic lights and didn’t rest; also, it was 3 miles longer than I’ve ever run. It’s still in line with trying to be at a 9 minute mile.

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Life as a camel

In my readings about running a marathon, there is a lot of talk about being well hydrated which makes a lot of sense. I’ve always had problems remaining well hydrated as I just don’t like to drink water all that much. So, I’ve started getting myself to drink a lot of water. I bought a 2 liter container at Wal-Mart ($2.77), fill it up everyday and pretty much drink the entire 2 liters throughout the day. That’s a half gallon of water! In addition, what I’ve read says to eat pretzels or something else salty to retain water and replenish the sodium lost in exercising. As I don’t have high blood pressure, I’ve been doing this and must say that it’s getting much easier to consume large amounts of water. Now as long as I don’t have to run to the bathroom every 30 minutes, I’ll be fine.

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Nice work Sprint (again)

I received notification that my bill was ready for my Sprint PCS account, so I went to take a look to make sure it was accurate. I logged in, clicked invoices and got nothing. Tried 2 browsers and it turns out that the invoice page points to www.sprint.comnull. Yes, that’s right it points me to an invalid domain. Should I be surprised that no one at Sprint saw this yet and made the simple fix? It just makes me laugh when major companies have screwed up websites; they must have scores of people working on them, but apparently no one checking them close enough. If the goal is to reduce phone calls and drive people to your website, your website better work.

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I love programming

It must be a good day in my world as I can say that I really enjoy what I’m working on right now. I’m working on some brand new code where I pretty much get to make all the decisions and there are no outside dependencies. Almost every project I’ve ever worked on has relied on something, starting with NotifyMail required server configuration, to my handheld work that required code to work with third parties that I can’t control. Having full control over my code (with the exception of maybe Apple bugs which I haven’t encountered any with my current stuff) makes it so much more enjoyable to do my job. While there are still tricky parts to my code, they can be solved without too much effort. This isn’t to say what I’m doing is easy (I still code in my sleep). I’m sure I’ll move on to something that I can’t control real soon, but for now I’m going to enjoy what I’m doing.

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Obsessed with weather

Now that I’m running regularly, I am checking the weather a few times a day to see the forecast. I don’t like running in the rain and am not all that fond of the cold. I lived in Portland, OR for a year and ran there sometimes; it was miserable. So, I keep crossing my fingers that it doesn’t rain when I have to run. This just happens to be the time of year that it rains in San Diego, so it is kind of hit or miss at least for a few more weeks, I hope. I’ve run on a treadmill at the gym, but frankly that sucks. It’s boring, there are smelly people around, there is no wind blowing on my face and the TVs show something that I don’t care about. Yesterday I was quite lucky in that the forecast called for rain, but it cleared up around 9 am and stayed clear until about 7 pm when it poured for a little bit. I’m spoiled to live in San Diego.

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Another run

I went on another run today following the same course I did 2 weeks ago, but 2 miles longer. The course, around a bay and along the ocean is a decent run as there is only 1 stoplight which lets me keep running (I encounter it both ways) and pretty much I can go whatever distance I want without looping back until I’m done half way. Today took me within a block of my parents’ place, but I didn’t stop in as I wanted to keep running. Maybe next time I’ll have to use their place as a refueling stop. The Forerunner again told me all I needed to know and kept me going at the pace I’m targeting (right now about a 9 minute mile). I actually beat my pace the last time I did this run which shows that I’m improving. Now I hope that I can make the distance.

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Mini Review of Garmin Forerunner 305

Forerunner 305I’ve had my Garmin Forerunner 305 for 2 weeks now and have been quite pleased with it. A few people have asked me for a review of the unit, so I’ll do the best I can.When I first opened the box, I put it on the docking station plugged it into my DC inverter in my car so that it could charge on the way home from REI as I wanted to use it that day and it was supposed to charge for a few hours. After I got home, I plugged it in and it was ready to go in no time. I turned it on, took it outside and it acquired a signal pretty quickly. I browsed the instructions while waiting for it to charge, but didn’t thoroughly go through them.There was no configuration required and I started my first run by strapping on the heart rate monitor (I read a tip that said to put water on the monitor before putting it on), putting the monitor on my watch and I was off. There really was no configuration needed to get it going. It seemed to keep a signal and gives me the data I need to train (current pace and heart rate are about it).I’ve read some complaints about the unit from others in that it doesn’t keep a signal, the heart rate monitor doesn’t work, etc. My unit has performed flawlessly and keeps the signal all the time; I don’t run in wooded areas and there is pretty much a clear view of the sky. Also, the heart rate monitor works fine; another complaint I’ve read has to do with the heart rate monitor not registering when the GPS unit is placed on bicycle handlebars or on a crossbar on a boat. Since I run with it and it was designed for running, it works well. My only problem with the monitor was that I didn’t wet it down one day so it didn’t start registering until I had worked up a good sweat. Continue reading “Mini Review of Garmin Forerunner 305”

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Human guinea pig

When I go for my training runs, I feel like an experiment and loaded down with gear. You’d think I’d just grab my shoes and run, but no. First I strap on my heart rate monitor (it’s quite cold putting it on as I put water on it to get a better reading), put on my Garmin Forerunner 305 on my wrist, put my iPod Nano on my arm using the armband holder, put my headphones in my ears, put on my RoadID wrist strap (I thought it was a good idea to carry some type of identification heaven forbid something happened to me), and my sunglasses. It’s a routine to get ready for a quick run!

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More waste of taxpayer money

I was reading in this morning newspaper about the ongoing battle between the San Diego County Airport Authority and the military about exploring the joint use of military facilities for a new San Diego airport. It really amazes me that the military has said that this isn’t possible due to security and logistics, however, the airport authority is still spending lots of money exploring it. This is a complete waste of time and money as it is extremely unlikely that the military will change its mind or that a base will close any time in the near future (the local bases survived the last round of base closures). Why can’t the airport authority understand that no means no?

The members of the airport authority are all appointed and those that favor continued exploration of military installations should not only be fired, but also forced to pay for the studies conducted about joint use of military bases after the military said no (which the military has done a number of times already).

Personally, I like the size of the airport. In addition, another article in the paper showed a decrease in population in San Diego; granted it was pretty minor, but it shows that the grow of population has not only slowed, but reversed. Do we really need a larger airport? I’ve been to a number of airports in the country and San Diego’s Lindbergh field is one of the easiest airports to navigate and use. I hope it stays that way.