Apple iPod Touch, the Ultimate Gadget for Excercise?

December 3rd, 2008 • Cycling/Fitness, Review • Comments

While many people view exercise as a dull, monotonous task, the truth is, that with the right entertainment, it can be quite fun. For most of my cycling and other work-outs, I listen to a 1st generation 8gb Apple iPod Touch. While riding my bike at the end of an 80 minute session on the rollers, I began thinking how perfect the iPod Touch is as an exercise tool.

Music

Good music can make or break a workout. The iPod is the perfect tool for providing you with great music for long, intense workouts. Current iPods have more than enough memory to hold sufficient music for days of exercise without replaying a song. My 8gb Touch model can hold 1,750 songs, more than I, and most other people, have in their entire music library. In addition, the playlist features in the newest versions on iTunes make designing a workout playlist easier than ever.

• Manual Playlists: Obviously the oldest and simplest form of playlist available in iTunes, they offer you the most control over which music occurs in your playlist. However, they require that you design the playlist ahead of time in iTunes (unless you use the On-The-Go feature).
• Smart Playlists: These are slightly more complex than manual playlists, but have been a part of iTunes for almost as long. Smart playlists allow you to set up a set of conditions that dictate which music will appear in your playlist. Because they can be based on play count, rating, last play date, etc., etc., the playlist is dynamic and changes every time you sync with iTunes.
• Genius Playlists: The newest type of playlist in iTunes, genius playlists are perhaps my favorite of the three choices. They allow you to choose a song in your library and it automatically designs a playlists with songs similar to that playlist. For exercise, I like to choose an intense, fast paced song, and then design a playlist around it.

The music features of the iPod Touch are its main feature, and its most used on mine, and many other devices. In addition, music is one of the biggest reasons why the iPod Touch may be the perfect gadget for exercise.

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5 Coolest 2009 Motocross Bike Innovations

November 29th, 2008 • My Thoughts • Comments

The 2009 motocross bikes are here, and they look great! The “Big 5″ have made a lot of changes to make this years bikes the best ever. However, 5 innovations within the industry have struck me as the coolest and most interesting.

Electronic Fuel Injection

-Photo from DirtRider.com.

Obviously, Electronic Fuel Injection (EFi) is one of the biggest new features of 2009. This has been in testing for a few years, but 2009 is the first in which the majority of motocross 450s will be EFI based. Form my point of view, EFI is almost entirely a step in the right direction. Not only does it produce soother, more consistent power in various weather conditions and locations in the power-band, but it also eliminates the troublesome and sometimes even dangerous low end bog that four strokes experiences sometimes. The one downside is that EFI adds some foreign technological complexity that mechanics experienced with carburetors may be confused by. Hopefully, however, the EFI systems should work good out of the box and not need a lot of after market tuning. Overall, I believe that EFI is a great transition for the sport of motocross and will provide us with better performing bikes for years to come. The auto industry has not looked back since switching to EFI and I doubt motocross will.

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UK Motocross Star Billy Mackenzie Revealed as Member of Radical Political Party

November 28th, 2008 • My Thoughts • Comments

It is clear that our world is in a time of extreme political tension. From terrorist groups to race supremacy groups, every country is facing some form of political difficulties. Motocross has been relatively free from political tension, although this is about to end. British motocross star Billy Mackenzie has been revealed as a member of the Britain Nation Party, an anti-immigration British political party. According to the article on Mail Online:

The 24-year-old, who is the UK’s reigning MX1 motocross champion, was described on the leaked list as an ‘activist’ and a ‘high-profile sportsman’, according to The Independent.

There has been a lot of debate over the morality of his public involvement in such a radical group, and as a result, I decided to share my views on the topic.

Personal Choice

-Photo from twmx.com.

The beauty of political parties is that every member of the country has the personal choice to support which groups they wish to. Without this concept, democracy simply would not work. In this same train of thought, it is perfectly acceptable for Billy Mackenzie, being a British citizen, to support the BNP. The BNP is a legitimate political party of Britain. However, their radical views regarding immigration and racial superiority have earned them the reputation of being white supremacists. Regardless, Mackenzie has the moral and ethical right to support whichever political party he chooses, and should not be pressured by his occupation or his sponsors to supports ideals and political philosophies which he does not agree with. This idea is the basis of free and open politics.

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My 2008 Thanksgiving Cycling Excursion

November 28th, 2008 • Cycling/Fitness • Comments

As my interest in cycling has brown over the past few months, I decided that as long as the weather was decent, I would cycle to my Aunt/Uncle/Cousins’ house in Rhode Island for Thanksgiving. Thankfully, the weather was perfect fall riding weather and I was able to successfully complete my ride. The ride was nothing special in terms of terrain, temperature, or distance, however it was fun and I figured I would right up a small ride report.

What I Wore

When I left my house at about 10:30AM Thanksgiving morning it was about 40°F, and the high for the day was 45°F, so I bundled up pretty good to make sure I was warm throughout the ride. Here is what I wore:

• Cannondale Surpass Bib Shorts
• Burton Snowboarding Socks
• Peal Izumi Quest Jersey
• Hot Chillys Peppers Fleece
• Burton Pipe Gloves

Overall, my outfit was really effective. I was warm overall although on certain sections of the ride I got a little hot or a little cold, but that is almost unavoidable when riding in and out of shadows. A lot of the gear I wore was not cycling specific, but actually snowboarding gear. I just started cycling, and have been snowboarding for years, so I have a lot of snowboarding gear and would rather not spend hundreds of dollars on cycling specific winter riding gear.

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Happy Thanksgiving

November 27th, 2008 • General • Comments

-Photo by riptheskull on Flickr.

Hey everyone, just wanted to stop by and say Happy Thanksgiving to all. I hope everyone has a great day with lots of great food. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love spending time with family and friends and getting to enjoy one of the absolute best meals of the year. Spread the Thanksgiving cheer to everyone you see!