Bungee Jump at Whistler
Ooohhhh!!!
I'm sure that photo about says it all, but there's more. Yes, video. Ella & Chris took this video of me bungee jumping using my iPhone 3GS. Sadly, at the time this video was taken, the iPhone4 wasn't available in Canada yet, so this isn't in HD 
Even better, if you look closely at the photo above, you'll notice that I have a camera in my hand. Yes, I have some first-person video for you. I took this video *while* I was jumping, using my Canon Elph point-and-shoot camera. They taped it to my hand, because they said loose cameras are the cause of many broken teeth and black eyes. Ouch!
Ula and I both jumped. Even though this was my second-ever bungee and her first, she was braver than I was!
It's 160 feet from the bridge to the rapids below. The first step is a doozie, but then it's all fun & games 
If you want to go, it was at Whistler Bungee.
If you're in Ontario and want to bungee, try Wilderness Tours' Bungee in Ottawa. That's where I did my first bungee jump.
It's 150 feet, and every bit as frightening thanks to the 150 foot high ladder you have to climb (no joke).
Cheap Eye Glasses Part 2
Ula and I were sitting on the couch and I said "I wish it was 1 week shipping instead of 2.5 weeks". Then Ula said "Who's pulling into our driveway?" I'm not even kidding. It was DHL shipping with my glasses. Jung called it synchronicity, and it's awesome.
Anyway, yes, they are here, and I love them.
They're all exactly what I wanted, except slightly nicer looking in person than on the site.
Don't just take my word for it, though. Watch my video so you can see them... then get your butt over to http://www.ZenniOptical.com and order some prescription tinted lenses for summertime
Cheap Eye Glasses Part 1
I bought my current pair of glasses at the Toronto Eaton Centre's Lenscrafters store in 2003. They're light, stylish, and I've never seen anyone else wearing a similar pair. Of course, they did cost $420 Cdn. OUCH!
Fast forward to 2007... I came across a website called http://www.ZenniOptical.com, which promised to sell me cheap high-quality glasses. I didn't need new glasses at the time, so I forgot about it.
Recently, the rubber nosepiece broke off my glasses, leaving the metal bit exposed, and digging into my nost. I had an eye exam a few months ago, and got a new prescription, but never bothered buying the glasses, because these ones were working just fine... but not any more.
So today, I went onto http://www.ZenniOptical.com and found about 18 pairs that I liked! It took me a while, but I eventually narrowed it down to 3 pairs, which are all approximately the same size as my current pair, so I know they'll fit my head/face. The key measurements Zenni Optical displays for every pair of glasses on their site are:
- Lens width: 53mm (from the left to right side of one lens)
- Lens height: 25mm (from the top to bottom of one lens)
- Bridge: 15mm (from the middle of one nosepad to the other)
- Frame width: 130mm (from outside edge-to-edge of the frame's front)
- Temple length: 145mm (distance between the arms at your temples)
The actual measurements above are the ones I made on my own glasses using a ruler. It took 2 seconds to do. You can also search their site by "pupillary distance", which is the most important thing when buying glasses. It's the distance from the centre of one pupil to the other, and it is written on every prescription, sometimes abbreviated as PD. If it's not on your prescription, call your eye doctor. They have it on file, and they must give it to you. It is part of the prescription you paid for. This measurement is constant for your entire life, so once you know it, just write it down somewhere safe so you have it for next time. Mine is 65mm.
I tried to decide which one to buy, and then decided to just buy all 3 pairs, for 3 different purposes. Think I'm being EXTRAVAGANT? Just keep reading...
I ordered:
#7324, #7024, #3833
- a pair of #7324. I chose to have black rims instead of the default silver ones. These will be my regular indoor glasses.
- a pair of #7024. I upgraded the lenses to polycarbonate high-impact resistance. These will be my biking/sports/driving/workshop glasses.
- a pair of #3833. I upgraded the lenses so they turn from clear to dark grey outdoors. These will be my indoor/outdoor/travel glasses, great for at the cottage.
All 3 pairs have UV protection, and anti-reflective coating.
So, how much did they cost?
$34.90, $39.90, and $36.90.
My total was $126.65 for all 3 pair, including shipping.
All with UV protection & anti-glare, and with 2 of the 3 pair having upgraded lenses. That's just over one quarter of the cost of my current pair of glasses, for three pair!
If $34.90 is still too expensive, don't worry, Zenni offers glasses starting at $8/pair, including frames, lenses, and UV-protection. Frickin' crazy.
How can Zenni be so cheap?
- They don't pay for or sell brand name frames or designs.
- They design all of the glasses they sell
- They manufacture all of the glasses they sell
- They have no retail-space costs
- There are no middleman to increase the cost. They sell direct to us.
- They have no advertising budget, relying solely on word-of-mouth.
To me, the fact that they rely on their reputation to do their selling is the best guarantee that their glasses will be high quality. They need us to say good things about them, so they need to make us happy.
Mine should arrive within 2 weeks, at which point I'll post Part 2 of this review/experiment. I'm so excited!
insanely great
Full iWork office suite for just $29.97 USD is amazing
The Tablet has arrived.
It is everything i want in a casual computing device.
It's perfect for web browsing, watching videos, playing games, and reading. It's powerful enough to do your basic word processing & presentation stuff, too. Coupled with the keyboard dock, I believe it is in fact good enough to be most people's ONLY computer. The Tablet is the first computer built for mere mortals.
It is definitely the next computer I want my mom, dad, and sister to own, because my "Tech Support" role will simply evapourate.
Surprises from the event:
- It is, unfortunately, called the "iPad"
- I was right about the $499 price, but wrong in that I said that would be a subsidized price.
- I was very surprised that Steve Jobs did not position this as the only computer most people need, but I still think that's exactly what it is
- I am dumbfounded that even though there is a mic, there is no front-facing webcam
- They decided to use the open ePub book format instead of developing their own format. I'm happy I was wrong in this case. Openness is SO important for books.
- No ability to annotate books. I'm upset about that. I always write in the margins.
- No iPhone OS updates, which means no multi-tasking.
- There appears to be a 1 inch border all the way around the screen
- The onscreen keyboard looks like the physical aluminum keyboards, and Steve typed on it using both hands at once.
- Full iWork office suite for just $29.97 USD is an amazing deal
- They totally stole Will Shipley's "Delicious Library" bookcase interface for iBooks
A few insights:
- A friend complained that because it doesn't run OSX, he won't be able to program on it. Don't be so sure. You can easily use Mozilla Bespin, which is a cloud-based IDE that runs inside Safari.
- Another said "I don't get why I would want a data plan for this. I don't need one for my laptop. My home wi-fi works just fine." -- The answer is that the iPad can be your ONLY computer, and your ONLY internet connection. You don't need a router/wi-fi if this is your only computer. The unlimited 3G will do just fine.
- There's something else you won't need soon, if you have an iPad, and that is a phoneline or cellular voice contract. The iPad is a Trojan Horse. It is the first device I know of that has a mic and a 3G connection built right in that does NOT also require you to have a voice plan. Apple is smart. They now have a contract with AT&T and other carriers that lets this sort of device onto their network. My guess is that the iPod Touch is also covered by this contract. I predict that very soon, Skype (or iChat) will be positioned as a replacement for a voice plan. I know some geeks are already doing this, but I think Apple will make it happen in a mainstream kind of way. AT&T won't like it, but they've already signed the contract.
But enough of that.... I made 64 Apple Tablet predictions. How'd I do?
32 of them were correct!
That's 50% !
If the list of predictions had been pre-determined, and I just had to say "yes or no" that 50% would be pure luck. But that's not how it was. I had no direction; an infinite array of possibilities. As such, 50% is amazing.
For the record, here's a record of all my predictions, and how they actually turned out.
Legend:
- R = right
- W = wrong
- H = half marks
- U = unknown/not mentioned
Purpose: 8/8
- R - New paradigm in computing. Redefines what a personal computer is.
- R - Aimed primarily at regular people, not computer people
- R - Designed to be a standalone primary computer
- R - Also useful as a secondary computer
- R - Great for reading books & magazines & websites
- R - Great for watching videos, listening to music, and playing games
- R - It will be the best & only device in its category
- R - It will be more important to Apple than the iPhone, because it will capture an as yet untapped demographic: people who don't necessarily like or use computers
Naming: 0/1
- R - likely called "Canvas", not iTablet/iSlate/iPad/Tablet/Tableau
Software: 8/26
- R - customized version of the iPhone OS
- R - on-screen keyboard, just like the iPhone
- R - Tablet runs full iTunes natively, because the Tablet can be your only computer.
- W - Multi-user support
- W - Free MobileMe Lite accounts to host your user profile & basic data (bookmarks)W - coverflow everywhere (finger friendly)W - new file format for eBooks, like iTunes LP & Extras
- W - use tablet as multi-touch or pen-based input for another Mac
- W - run apps on your existing mac as if running on tablet (Unity-like abstraction)
- W - run apps on your existing mac through remote desktop client
- W - stream content from 1 Mac to another (i.e. from Mac to Tablet)
- R - new app: iLibrary for organizing & creating books
- R - new app: iPaint for drawing/painting directly ON the 'canvas'
- W - new system preference to always allow apps to know my location
- W - multi-tasking by tapping into Apple's existing background processes OR by limiting # of apps allowed to run at once, and revealing them through something like Expose, iPhone Safari's browser pages, or desktop Safari's favourite page thumbnails
- W - iTunes goes back to being all about music. Sports new web-based frontend.
- W - a new Store & syncing program is debuted, possibly called iGuide or Apple Media Store or simply "AppStore"
- W - possible social networking features regarding books
- W - Genius for Books
- W - move away from Google Maps to Apple's own solution
- W - move away from Google Search to Bing Search
- W - built-in Friend tracking (like Google Latitude & Loopt)
- W - built-in navigation app with voice directions & controls
- R - no Adobe Flash support
- R - runs existing iPhone apps
- R - SDK available immediately
Publishing: 0.5/2
- H - Deals with all 6 major American publishers
- W - Allow anyone to author & sell their own books
Hardware: 10/18
- R - It will be flat. It won't fold like other Tablet PCs
- R - 2 models, consumer (wifi) & pro (wifi+3g)
- R - 802.11n plus b/g
- R - faster CPU than iPhone (1.2Ghz?)
- R - faster graphics than iPhone (to drive larger display)
- U - more RAM than iPhone (512MB)
- R - 64GB of solid-state storage
- W - OR 32 plus some cloud-based storage (on MobileMe)
- W - either hybrid LCD/eInk OR 24 hours of eBook reading
- W - gorgeous 10.1 inch full colour screen with higher-than-standard DPI
- W - front facing webcam for video chat & multi-user facial recognition
- W - plastic body with multi-touch on the back
- W - available in the same colours as the current iPod Nano
- W - Zero dock connectors, 1 USB port. Again, the Tablet can be your primary computer. You can sync your iPod with your Tablet. You will not sync the Tablet with your Mac.
- R - no tactile/haptic keyboard
- R - no integrated kickstand. too breakable.
- R - no integrated home automation (too fringe)
- R - comes with a very nice travel case, or one is available at launch
- W - possibly launch a new Airport Express A/V
Sales: 2.5/5
- R - much cheaper than the expected $1000
- W - $699-$799 unsubsidized
- H - $499 subsidized (by publishers or Apple itself)
- W - AT&T exclusivity ends. Hello Verizon.
- R - ships in March
Flip-Flops: 3/4
- R - Initially said possible rebranding of MacBook. Later decided no.
- R - Initially said both models include a stylus for optional pen-based input.
- Later decided no (but it will be available as an option).
- H - Initially said docking station available. Later said no. Really unsure.
- H - Initially said keyboard supported. Later said no. Really unsure.
Life Plan
I was reading Spencer Fry's blog the other day, and he was talking about his new 50 year life plan. He created one because he believes thinking about the big picture because gives him a horizon to drive towards, regardless of whether he'll achieve everything or not. I thought that was a pretty good idea, and decided that I'd try to write one, too.
You can't achieve your goals until you define your goals, so here I am, putting them down "on paper", ready to be put into action on the first day of 2010. If ever I feel that I've lost perspective, I'll refer back to this.
My list is different from Spencer Fry's in a few key ways, though.
His plan is serial. He plans our year by year what he wants to get done.
It's a great theory if you know exactly what you want to do, and if you love doing 1 thing at a time.
That's not me, though. I love to be doing lots of things regularly, so my plan will be more parallel.
I will have 3 streams of focus, and each stream will have its own set of projects or goals. I'll be free to adjust my projects & goals along the way, as life happens and things change. What I don't see changing are my main areas of focus -- the streams themselves.
My 3 Streams are:
- Body (health, fitness, fun)
- Mind (learning, problem solving, working)
- Spirit (love, family, giving, oneness)
Body Goals
- Eat well (whole foods, mostly plants, not too much)
- Exercise regularly
- Reduce or eliminate caffeine intake (if I need to stay awake, go for pure sugar instead)
Mind Goals
- Continue to advance in my trade (web development & entrepreneurism)
- Create my own revenue generating websites and become self-sustaining
- Become competent in electronics & magnetism
Spirit Goals
- Develop my ability to concentrate, imagine, & visualize (necessary for lucid dreaming, gnosis, etc)
- Raise a family in our home & yet-to-be-acquired cottage. Build as much as possible with my own 2 hands. Travel with family as much a possible.
- Develop my community, both in my neighbourhood, and with like-minded people in the city, by seeking out existing groups and creating new ones. Examples: Habitat for Humanity, St John's Ambulance, Community Choir, CSETI Contact Teams, Paranormal Researchers
How will I work on all of this?
Well, I'm sure the process will evolve quite a bit over time (especially when a kid/kids are added to the mix), but here's my initial stab at it:
Weekday Routine (work & personal project focus)
6:30-07am - spirit - meditation to plan the day
07am-08am - spirit (reading for fun) OR body (workout)
08am-12pm - mind - work
12pm-01pm - body - healthy lunch sitting at the dining table
01pm-04pm - mind - work
04pm-05pm - body (workout) OR spirit (reading for fun)
05pm-06pm - body - healthy dinner sitting at the dining table
06pm-07pm - mind/spirit - electronics/magnetism
07pm-08pm - mind/spirit - electronics/magnetism
08pm-09pm - mind/spirit - personal web dev project
09pm-10pm - mind/spirit - personal web dev project
10pm-11pm - body/mind - watch TV or play video game to wind down
11-11:30pm - spirit - meditation to end the day (plan dreams/probs to solve, express gratitude)
Saturday Routine (family focus)
6:30-07am - spirit - meditation to plan the day
07am-08am - spirit (reading for fun) OR body (workout)
08am-12pm - spirit - chores/renovations
12pm-01pm - body - healthy lunch sitting at the dining table
01pm-04pm - spirit - chores/renovations
04pm-05pm - body (workout) OR spirit (reading for fun)
05pm-06pm - body - healthy dinner sitting at the dining table
06pm-11pm - spirit - family time
11-11:30pm - spirit - meditation to end the day (plan dreams/probs to solve, express gratitude)
Sunday Routine (community focus)
6:30-07am - spirit - meditation to plan the day
07am-08am - spirit (spiritual reading for fun) OR body (workout)
08am-11am - spirit - volunteer/community involvement
11am-12pm - spirit - church/zen/temple/community event
12pm-01pm - body - healthy lunch sitting at the dining table
01pm-04pm - spirit - volunteer/community involvement
04pm-05pm - body (workout) OR spirit (spiritual reading for fun)
05pm-06pm - body - healthy dinner sitting at the dining table
06pm-11pm - spirit - family time
11-11:30pm - spirit - meditation to end the day (plan dreams/probs to solve, express gratitude)
Because I'm not specifying years, I am free to adjust plans accordingly. I don't think it's important that I plan specific goals so much as it is important that I set aside the time for everything I want to be able to do. If I can stick to the plan most of the time, I should be able to accomplish a great deal.
Oddly, when I finished writing this, I went into a directory of images to find one for this post, and I stumbled upon a photo that was taken 10 years ago tonight! We had just finished making a "couch cushion fort" at Amy's house, to hide in, because it was about to switch from 1999 to 2000, and everyone was mildly worried about the Y2K bug. Shortly after this photo was taken, we decided it would be better to be outside at midnight, so we went out into the corn field to hunt for sharks. Long story.
To infinity, and beyond.