SXSW and related activity

I’ve been in Austin, Texas for the annual South By Southwest interactive conference. A lot of my activity here has been focused on cycling and triathlon training, talking with new, current, and prospective clients/colleagues, and exploring ideas related to the web industry. Bikehugger put on another amazing event (the Mobile Social SXSW), which I’ll be writing more about over on bikehugger.com.

For details on my posts for Bikehugger, visit http://bikehugger.com/people/robert/.

More updates will be posted here as soon as I’m back home from Austin.

Austin CarShare has vehicles with bike racks - a nice touch.

The Austin CarShare offers vehicles with bike racks.

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Review of Ibex Roaster Wind Briefs

Ibex Roaster Wind Briefs - merino wool

Ibex Roaster Wind Briefs - merino wool

The following product review and associated drivel is made possible by a generous grant of frigid weather from the Great White North.

 

Baby, it’s cold outside

I went running during one of the coldest , windiest mornings during the East Coast’s recent arctic blast (gee, thanks Canada). Since I’m training for a half Ironman triathlon and don’t particularly enjoy indoor/treadmill running, I decided to bundle up. I’m ok in the cold, and I layer religiously in the winter. This run was no exception. I was sporting poly-pro base layer top and bottom, fleece tights, wool longsleeve top, hat, gloves and windproof jacket. I was set.

Bullshit! The frank and beans disagreed. Wind gusts around 25-35mph made the per-dawn air around my nether regions feel like they were forced to take an ice bath. I pushed on, knowing I wasn’t going to suffer frostbite with the layers and all, but the discomfort made for a short, serious tweet later that morning about needing some windproof undies to protect my junk.

Warmth from the bosom of the Interweb

Keith Anderson (@ibexwool) replied via Twitter, and that nudge was all I needed to make the purchase. Ironically, I had actually looked at those undies earlier in the day, and my one concern was the $40 price tag. What if they didn’t block the wind well, or chaffed me in ways no man should be chaffed?

Based on the quality of the swag Ibex beanie I received at last year’s SXSW Bikehugger Beer and BBQ event, I decided to trust the recommendation and make the purchase. Ordering was easy on Ibex’s site, and my stuff shipped quickly and arrived on-time, just as one expects these days. There were the usual email notices confirming the order, package tracking info, etc. God bless the Interwebs. You know, I could really do well as a shut-in.

Like springtime in the Rockies

I took my first run the morning after the briefs arrived, and I can honestly say my goods and services felt like they were still indoors, within the warm confines of the bed. The temperature was about +15 Fahrenheit with winds blowing around 10mph sustained. Not exactly the coldest, harshest conditions, but nothing to scoff at, either. Not only did I not feel the wind or any cool air under the briefs, but they were really comfortable. It was almost like they weren’t there at all, except for the support that a solid pair of tighty whities gives.

Running in these briefs is like waking up to realize it’s springtime in the Rockies. You just feel great and want to keep moving as a result. And, knowing that these briefs are eco-friendly, sustainably produced, and constructed in the U.S. by what seems to be a great group of individuals gives me an even warmer feeling. I highly recommend the Roaster Wind Briefs to anyone who likes to stay active outdoors in all kinds of foul weather. 

Nuevo California

This is an open letter to the Red States. Reposted from http://gist.github.com/19930 by Al3x. Original author is unknown.

Dear Red States,

We’ve decided we’re leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we’re taking the other Blue
States with us. In case you aren’t aware, that includes Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, New York, and all of the Northeastern states. After this
election, we’ll be adding Colorado and New Mexico. We believe this split will be beneficial to the
nation, especially to the people of our new country – Nuevo California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states; we get stem cell research, the
best beaches, and the best ski resorts. We get Elliot Spitzer; you get Ken Lay. We get the Statue of
Liberty; you get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft; you get WorldCom. We get Stanford, Harvard,
Princeton, Yale, Cal Tech, MIT and Columbia; you get Ole’ Miss. We get 85 percent of America’s
venture capital and entrepreneurs; you get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue; you get to
make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than that of the Christian Coalition, we get a
bunch of happy families and you get a bunch of under-educated single moms. Please be aware that
Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we’ll need all of our citizens back from Iraq
at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They apparently have kids they’re
willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don’t mind if you don’t televise their
kid’s caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq and hope that those Weapons of Mass
Destruction turn up for you, but we’re not willing to spend any more of our money in Bush’s
Quagmire.

With the Blue States, we will control 80 percent of the country’s fresh water, 90 percent of
pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation’s fresh fruit, 97 percent of America’s quality wines
(you can serve French wines at your state dinners), 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high
tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, and all
the Ivy League and Seven Sister schools. We also get New England, the Great Lakes and Yosemite,
thank you very much.

In the Red States, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans and their projected
health care costs, 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, 100 percent of tornadoes, 94 percent of
hurricanes, 99 percent of Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush
Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, and Clemson. Additionally, in the Red States, 38 percent actually
believe Jonah was swallowed by a whale; 62 percent believe life is sacred unless it involves the
death penalty or semi automatic gun ownership; 44 percent claim that evolution is only a theory; 53
percent insist that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11; and 61 percent of you crazy bastards
believe you have higher moral standards than those of us on the left.

By the way, we’re taking all the good pot, too. You get that dirt weed from Mexico and Kansas
ditches.

Peace out,
The Blue States

This Gist brought to you by GitHub.

SmartyPig goes live!

A little over a year ago, I received a call from a guy named Mike Ferrari who had what sounded like a fantastic idea for a website. Simply put, he wanted to build an online bank offering high-yield savings accounts with a social twist.

Problem solving ideas

With people sliding into debt for small, medium and big ticket items, why not offer a way for people to establish accounts with specific savings goals? And why not allow users to share their goals publicly so that family, friends and even perfect strangers could contribute safely and securely? Couple those ideas with additional discounts offered by best-in-class retailers when savings goals/accounts are redeemed, and that’s an idea a whole lot of people can benefit from.

Our work together

We (Happy Cog) worked with Mike and the team at SmartyPig to refine the banking experience, which is often overly complex and rigid, into a easily understood and pleasing process without forsaking valid security concerns and controls.

About my savings goal

I’ve been working with a highly-regarded, Austin-based bike builder named Whitney Moyer. I decided to set this up as my first public SmartyPig goal. Feel free to contribute as much as you wish to my goal or setup your own account and take advantage of the savings system built with users in mind.

If you want to check out the progress on the bike build, just let me know by commenting below.

As Rob pointed out…

On September 11th, I noted that my move back to MT was complete. And then, in true slackass blogger fashion, I made no attempt to post again. I thought I’d come up with a clever and beautifully original design, but I’m not that guy.Where’s your post, Rob?

Move back to MediaTemple: Done!

Randomness will eventually be replaced with updates on selected topics. Stay tuned.