Monday, June 28, 2010

Withings WiFi Scale

The first WiFi enabled scale, I assume we will start to see many more since the healthcare space is becoming a self monitored area. 

Data collection

  • Instant weigh-in by getting on the scale
  • Automatically turns on and off


Weight

  • Display units : kg, lb, stlb
  • Graduation 0.1 kg (0.2 lbs) - 4 sensors
  • Maximum 180 kg (396 lbs)


Display

  • Big graphical screen (2.4" x 1.6")
  • White, high-contrast lighting

Friday, June 25, 2010

Alex Honnold shoots up Half Dome

Madman rock climber Alex Honnold shot up The Nose and Half Dome in a combined 8 hours over the course of the day. He set at least one speed record on Half Dome, breaking his old record by 41 minutes, and he likely broke a combined route record by adding The Nose.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

WikiBoulder

Welcome to WikiBoulder. This site serves as a communal guidebook site for rock climbers around the world. WikiBoulder allows you to create or edit guidebooks with its unpantented super cool guidebook creator. You are also free to view the guidebooks others have created or edited.



During a trip to Font in March of 2010 a discussion began around the dinner table regarding quality ratings for boulder problems. I'm sure this discussion has been repeated ad nauseam by many serious boulderers. In fact, ours was repeated ad nauseam around the dinner table every night for way too long. One night you'd be sick of it, and the next you'd find yourself arguing the nuances of what 'obvious start' meant. Eventually we did come up with a purely objective system, but once we began naming some decent, but hardly 5 star problems that fit all the criteria, we knew it wasn't going to work. Well, I knew it wasn't going to work; others had hope. I figured the best system would be based on mass consensus, and being a web developer, began formulating a possible website to capture all the data.


At this point the concept began to fork. On one side sat the quality rating system, but with this became a need to define all the problems to rate. A guidebook site seemed the most logical answer. Like the rating system, I knew it had to be open to mass input; I wasn't going to enter in all that info. Luckily I had a background of dealing with visual data creation on the web and an idea of what developing a topo creator would entail.

ABOUT
"While I was churning through the guidebook piece of it, my Font companions began realizing how far you could take the quality rating system. Once a user had rated enough problems, a picture of the style of boulder problem that appealed to them would develop. Using this info the site could begin recommending problems and areas that would appeal to the user.


Back from my trip, I immediately began to throw myself into the project. At the time I still had a job, but as that slowly began to fall apart, I found myself putting more and more time into WikiBoulder. Now I'm working on WikiBoulder full time and want to have it in a stable state by the end of July.


I hope everyone finds this thing useful and any recommendations or comments are much appreciated.
– Sundev
sundev@wikiboulder.com"

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Oil Spill Live!

In todays age with all that we have it oil has leaked in the Gulf since May 2, 2010. How is this not the top priority of the U.S.A., let alone the world. We can pull wine bottles of the deck of the Titanic but we can't cap gushing oil. I guess they should send in James Cameron, he can then save the day and make millions of the movie right, come on, someone fix this mess before all ocean life is ruined.


Monday, June 07, 2010

Freeflow Slacklines

Any Product that helps train your core is the way to go. Freeflow is second to non.

Plain and simple the sport is called slacklining. The "rope", which is called webbing, isn't pulled tight like a tighrrope. This is what makes slacklining so unique. The ability to bounce and sway allows you to build superb balance while maximizing your core strength.

The tensioning systems on all Freeflow Lines are so easy to set up and use that anyone can quickly adjust the line to their specific liking. Lines can be set super tight for jumping and aerial tricks. Go for moves like the 180, 360, Moon Walk - and if you really get good nail the backflip!

Looking to really build your balance and put a little wobble in your step? The line can be set loose and it will provide you with a really nice back and forth sway that mimics the motion of carving on a surfboard, snowboard, wakeboard or skateboard. Many board and ball training systems exist, but none offer the full range of motion that Freeflow Lines provide.

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Mechanical doping and the future of e-bikes | Bicycle Design



From Bicycle Design..
Listening to the May 20th episode of the Velocast podacst, I first heard the term “mechanical doping” used to describe a hidden electric motor in the seat tube of a racing frame. In the podcast, they mentioned that the UCI was investigating allegations that lightweight Gruber Assist motors may have been used in bikes raced at Paris Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Over the weekend, an article in Bike Biz discussed the matter further, quoting a former pro who claims to have “ridden a 10 kg pro bike with an electric motor housed in the frame at the crank.” After the Bike Biz story broke and a video surfaced, rumors that Fabian Cancellara may have ridden the Spring Classics with a motor in his bike spread quickly on the web. Today, even Cycling News and VeloNews are addressing the issue. The latter even has a statement from Cancellara about the accusation- “It’s so stupid I’m speechless, I’ve never had batteries on my bike.”