Virginia Beach Quickie

We just finished a wonderful brunch with one of my clients. The food was great and so was the company. But especially impressive was the ocean view, with a pod of dolphins swimming by no less! See, my client is located in Virginia Beach and we came down last night to see them. And now we're headed back to DC.

It's been years since we've been here. Out little strolls on the boardwalk last night and this morning only makes me want to come back when we can spend some serious time in the sun and sand. And when I do, I have every intention of calling it a Business Trip.

The MiniSuit Bluetooth Mini Keyboard and Why I Had to Have One

For as long as there has been mobile computing devices, true Geeks have asked themselves this critical question: Why the heck am I schlepping around this X pound laptop, when I could just as easily do everything I want on my Y device. Sure, I give up screen size, keyboard comfort and computing power, but think of the weight savings! From the TRS Model 100, HP200LX and IPAQ to the iPads of today, a true Geek can't resist at least attempting this (often useless) exercise.

I have to admit, after plugging my Nexus 7 into a keyboard and feeling the rush of a Bash prompt, I was once again ready to go on this quest. But why use a bulky Nexus 7 for my computing device? Surely I can go smaller. No, the perfect setup isn't a tablet; it's my phone, my trusty Galaxy S3.

But where to begin in this effort to turn my cell phone into an on-the-go laptop replacement? A Bluetooth keyboard seemed like a good start.

For years I was a dedicated hardware keyboard guy. Give me the opportunity and I'll wax on about how amazing the feel of the original Sidekick keyboard was. But, thanks to software like SwiftKey, the onscreen keyboard on my S3 isn't half bad. In fact, the predictive text makes it actually quite effective. That is, as long as I'm typing away in English. E-mail, SMSs and even blog posts can be pounded out with relative ease. But switch to an environment like a Bash prompt or vi and all that predictive text does you no good. So off I went in search of a hardware keyboard which would fill this need.

While it was tempting to get a full sized keyboard, the extra bulk and lack of a mouse, means that they probably wouldn't get much use. After all, if I'm going to carry along all these accessories, why not just bring along a laptop? Fortunately, searching around, I found that there's a whole class of Mini keyboard which seemed more appropriate. After watching this review, I decided I'd pick up a MiniSuit Bluetoth Mini Keyboard.

The review turned out to be an accurate one: the keyboard is a bit plasticy, the key travel is OK, not great and the touchpad's positioning means that the symmetry of the keyboard is out of whack. But, the review was also right about one important fact: the keyboard works quite well. It flawlessly paired with my Galaxy S3, and while it takes some practice, it's definitely usable. Most importantly, it's a full QWERTY keyboard. Every key an aspiring Linux hacker could ask for is there: alt, control, tab, pipe and more. And just as importantly, it's where you'd expect it to be (for example, the question mark is above the forward slash). There's even a Windows and Open-Apple key. There's two different ways to generate mouse events and a set of media keys as well. Another nice feature is that the keyboard is backlit. The keyboard has its own internal battery, and seems to have excellent battery life. I've used it for relatively short bursts for days without charging it.

Size wise, it's about the same size as the S3 itself:

(There's a bit of black Gorilla tape covering the blue LED that indicates the keyboard is on. I found that the light was so bright was actually annoying.)

I suppose the most important question is, how close does the keyboard get me to my dream of turning my cell phone into a laptop-killer? In many respects, it does quite well. It works well with Terminal IDE, VIM Touch and Juice SSH, so I can hack away with relatively ease. For example, I was able to pop-open Terminal IDE and tab complete my way through: mv extsdcard/Eye-Fi/* extsdcard/Photo_Archive. I hit enter, and Bam! I've moved hundreds of image files from one directory to another. Quite trivial on a Unix box, but something that would normally be a pain using an Android file manager. I had similar success with Juice SSH, allowing me to tab complete and use screen remotely without issue.

For most text I type I'm definitely slower on the keyboard than with SwiftKey. However, gaining the extra real estate from not having the soft-keyboard pop up is another win.

I did find that a few extras made life with the keyboard far better. Including:

• Null Keyboard - switch to this keyboard and Android won't ever try to pop up a software keyboard. Useful to for insuring maximum screen real estate.
• Ultimate Rotation Control - this oddly named app allows Android to rotate every screen, including the home screen. Why this isn't built into the Galaxy S3 from the start, I have no idea. But, having a rotated home screen is key. It means that you can prop up the device in landscape mode and keep it that way the entire time.
• Tasker - one major annoyance: when the keyboard connection is detected, it forces the input to be the default Samsung keyboard. Then, I have to manually switch it over to the Null Keyboard. I use Tasker to make this switch easier. If I was really hard core I'd root my phone and get rid of this awful behavior.
• Anker Astro e3 Battery Pack - while not exactly required, I find that now all my cell phone playing runs down my battery even faster than usual. By using the Anker battery pack, I have a fighting chance to keep my cell phone alive and full of juice.

How long will this use-my-phone-as-a-laptop phase last? If past attempts are any indicator, probably another couple of weeks. I'll then go back to my beloved Netbook and write a blog post about how silly I was to think I could travel without it. In the mean time, I'm enjoying that discovery phase where I figure out just how much I can stretch my phone to do.

Housing Hidden in Plain Sight

Today on a walk I noticed a number of honeycomb shaped nests like this one:

From Googling around it looks like they were probably Paper Wasp nests.

Two interesting factoids about Paper Wasps: (1) they are considered beneficial to gardens. Apparently, they feed on various insects, which actually make them a form of natural pest control (and pretty bad-ass).

(2) they have very well developed facial recognition capabilities. This may be useful for navigating their social hierarchy.

Next time I'm shooing away a wasp, I'll try to remember that they are more than just a summertime hassle.

My Most Significant Accomplishment Of The Week

Five days ago I picked up this innocuous looking package of sunflower seeds. At 59 cents, they seemed like a reasonable impulse buy. And besides, I like trying new things.

And so began my 4 day (I started noshing the next day) journey in consuming 8 frustrating ounces of sunflower seeds.

I opened the package and popped a seed in my mouth. Mmmm....salty... But now what? I managed to crack open the shell only to detect the tiniest sliver of edible material. Now I had the tricky business of discarding the chaff and keeping my newly found bit of yum. This turned out to be tricky business indeed. I popped a few more seeds. Surely I was missing something obvious. Nobody goes through this much trouble to each such a tiny quantity of food.

I actually searched the package for more information. Maybe I was doing this all wrong. The good folks at FritoLay were kind enough to include instructions:

EATING INSTRUCTIONS: CRACK OPEN SHELLS, DISCARD SHELLS. ...

Unfortunately, I tore the package when opening it and lost the remainder of the above text. I was at least encouraged that I was indeed supposed to crack open the shells and discard 98% of the sunflower seed.

Any sane individual would have simply discarded the nearly full package of sunflower seeds and moved on with his life. But not me. I wanted to see this through. I wanted to attempt to master this new skill that was going require intense oral dexterity. I wasn't going to back down from this fight.

So for the last few days I've been hard at work, slowly making my way through this package. At least I won't be lacking for salt intake, thanks to this one package, I've got 82% of my daily sodium covered. Whoooo!

I wasn't content to simply muddle my way through this package of sunflower seeds. No, I decided I better seek out an expert. Luckily, the web had the answer. I give you the 16 step (I kid you not) WikiHow: How to Eat Sunflower Seeds.

The diagrams and text are actually quite informative.

And this evening I finally did it. I finally crunched the last seed in the pack. I'm not sure if I'm hooked and will be desperately seeking a fresh package of seeds tomorrow, or if I never want to see a sunflower (let alone a seed) again in my life.

I just know that it's Wednesday, and I've already had my greatest accomplishment of the week. That's saying something.

Review: A History of Weapons: Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults & Lots of Other Things that Can Seriously Mess You Up

You wouldn't think a survey of historical weapons would make for page turning hilarity, and yet that's exactly what I found with John O'Bryan's A History Of Weapons. I suppose it all comes down to writing style. O'Bryan just kept me smiling and learning as he took me from prehistoric weapons to the Colt Revolver.

Like the Daily Show O'Bryan uses cuss words at just the right time to make me smile like a teenager. Keep that in mind if you want to buy this book as a gift.

So, what did I learn? Well, for one thing, people are amazingly gifted at devising ways of killing each other. I also have an appreciation for how seemingly all cultures, from the Knights of the Crudades to Shaolin Monks, got in on the creative (read: brutal and deadly) weapons business. Even cultures who never had access to metal weren't lacking gruesome war making tools.

Picking a favorite weapon of the bunch isn't easy. As I mentioned I'm quite impressed by the simplicity and power of the ancient sling (the kind used to kill Goliath). If I had to pick another favorite it would probably be the Tessen (disclaimer: I have yet to watch any YouTube videos where a Tessen is demonstrated. Perhaps after seeing it in action I'll change my mind.)

The Tessen looks like a traditional Chinese fan, the kind that you expect to see ladies unfold and use to cool off. Unlike your grandma's fan, this one has metal ribs and sharp points. It was a Samuri's backup / every day carry weapon of choice. It looked harmless enough, but apparently could be used as both a bashing and slicing weapon. What can I say, I have an affinity for clever designs, and making a weapon that goes everywhere and is ignored until needed is my idea of clever.

I know this book won't be for everyone, but I for one found once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down.

Snaking Into The Distance

The shot below was taken on our flight out of Jacksonville. I love how the Florida swamp(s?) look from the sky.



This image was edited by Snapseed, a terrific photo editing app for Android. See, here's the original:

Jacksonville Day 4

Today being Veterans Day meant that our friend had to work, but her son was off from school. Not to worry, Shira and I were excited to spend the day playing with our 4 year old buddy.

We started the day at Big Talbot Island State Park. Many of the state parks near Jacksonville sounded terrific, but this one had a special site to offer. Mainly, there's a beach which was supposed to be absolutely chocked full of eroded trees. With all the old trees, the beach has earned the name the "Bone Yard."

The beach didn't disappoint. The old trees made for an unique photography subject for me, and more importantly, it was a kid's paradise. With a little imagination the trees were easily pirate ships, cars and anything else a 4 year old can come up with. The trail down to the beach was about a quarter of a mile, and provided a pleasant hike and lots of bird activity.

From the beach we made our way to Fort Clinch on Amelia Island. Like St. Augustine, the fort there is actually quite well preserved. From the drawbridge to the canons to the winding steep steps, this was another terrific place to explore with a 4 year old. After poking around the fort we hit the beach in front of it for a little play time in the sand. Using shells and a lot of imagination our little friend recreated his own castle, including shell drawbridge. When leaving he had two large flat shells in his hand. When I asked what they were he explained: "they are Batman and Robin's surfboards." Well obviously, how did I miss that?

As we left Fort Clinch Park we stopped to do the short Willow Pond hike. Turns out, Willow Pond isn't a pond in the traditional sense, but a series of green swampy pools that the trail winds through. With multiple signs warning of alligator activity, it feels wonderfully spooky. You can truly appreciate how well alligators have adapted to their landscape as downed floating logs look *exactly* like an alligator snout. We didn't see any alligators, though we did see a turtle, which is probably just as well.

With those adventures behind us, we hit downtown Amelia Island for lunch and then made our way back home. It was one of those rare days that was nearly completely filled with activities that were both kid and adult friendly. Such fun.

View Photos

Jacksonville Day 3

Today we spent the day in St. Augustine, "the nation's oldest city" and had a fabulous time. We started off the day at the local Alligator Farm which claims to host every species of crocodile and alligator in existence.

I've been to my share of zoos and such, and while I expected our friend's 4 year old to be enamored with the place I wasn't expecting to be blown away. But blown away I was. Never before have I see so many crocodiles and alligators in one location. There were hundreds of them, and just watching them sun themselves and do their daily business (which in the middle of the day, isn't much), was quite a thrill. What gorgeous and scary animals.

From the Alligator Farm we made our way to Caps on the Water, a seemingly out of the way fish place which was actually quite crowded. And I can see why, the food was delicious and the eating-on-the-deck made for the perfect ambiance. I felt like I was in a Florida Vacation commercial as I munched away on very tasty fish tacos.

After lunch we returned to the historical downtown area of St. Augustine and did a little wandering around. Shira was spared any visits to museums because neither our friend's 4 year old nor she could tolerate them. We did get to explore the fort in town which was castle-like-enough that both the little guy and I were very excited to check it out. We played with the canons while Shira and our friend pretended not to know us.

Of all the historical sites we saw in St. Augustine I think one of my favorites was the Constitution Monument. To make a long story short, in 1812 Spain wrote its first constitution, and to celebrate the fact, required all towns throughout their empire to erect a constitution monument. Which St. Augustine did. Then, in 1814 the constitution was chucked out and towns were given a new order: you must destroy the monuments you just created. Luckily, St. Augustine didn't follow this directive. I just find this decree followed by counter-decree to be such a classic government move.

Jacksonville Florida, Days 1 and 2

We're living it up and spending Veteran's Day Weekend in Jacksonville, Florida. Not only is the weather about 20 degrees warmer than back home, but we're able to visit our good friend and her 4 year old (of backpacking fame).

We arrived yesterday, got oriented, and saw our friend in the afternoon. We busted the little one out of school a little early and officially kicked off our vacation.

We're staying down by the riverfront, and have an amazing view from our hotel window. It's the kind of scenery that causes me to just keep snapping photos. Call me an 8 year old boy, but I'm absolutely fascinated by the variety of bridges that span the river. A few of them appear to be drawbridges of sorts, and others look quite modern. It's so cool.

Today, after a wonderful breakfast at Metro Diner (I can heartily recommend the Breakfast Pie. Yum!), we took the little one for a bit of outdoor adventuring.

He hadn't napped yet, so we figured we'd head out of town and he'd sleep in the car. By the time we'd arrive at Camp Milton for some hiking, he'd be well rested. Of course, that's not how it played out. The boy stayed wide awake the whole trip (which was relatively short, 25 minutes maybe?). Convinced that a nap was critical, we decided we'd actually just keep driving hoping that eventually sleep would overtake him. Unfortunately, my curiosity beat out his urge to sleep. After randomly driving on, we managed to find Pope Duval Park.

While driving in the park, we noticed a boardwalk trail and the idea of a nap went out the window. The trail turned out to be a wonderful one. It wound through a pine forest and gave us some views of a nearby lake. The only wildlife we saw were a few spiders, but the little guy loved it all.

After the Pope Duval Park, we made our way to Camp Milton. This turned out to be a slight bust. They have a boardwalk trail, but it's really no different than the one we had just been on. From what I've ready, they occasionally have players dressed up in Civl-War era costumes, and a visitor center open to explore, but we managed to come on a day when everything was shuttered. Still, to be out in the woods in shorts and short-sleeves, enjoying a perfectly sun shiny day, it's hard to complain. So I won't.

One neat feature of Camp Milton is that they have quite a number of trees grown from either seeds or acorns originally collected from witness trees relating to the Civil War. In other words, you can look at a Magnolia tree that was grown from a hand collected seed at the site of Andersonville Prison Camp. It's a really clever way to keep history literally alive and connected to its roots.

One thing I've been reminded of this trip: never underestimate the ability for a 4 year old to remember things. Within 15 minutes of picking up our friend's little one at school he asked if he could help setup the tent to sleep in it, and whether we'd have time to play with his boat. Both of these activities come right from our overnight backpacking trip 4 months ago. Amazing.

Here's a handful of photos to get a the gist of the trip.

A Total Zero. Running to the DC Zero Milestone

For years I've wanted to track down the Zero Milestone located in Washington, DC. Unlike many blocks of granite in DC, the original vision for the Zero Milestone was purely functional:

When this marker was dedicated in 1923, it was expected that it would be the milestone from which all road distances in the U.S. would be reckoned. Obviously people in places like Oregon and California didn't like the idea that their road markers would begin and end in the 3,000s, and the idea was scrapped. Now the Zero Milestone only anchors roads distances in Washington, DC.

While completely impractical, I do love the regularity that would have come from having a universal mile marker. Whether you were in Alexandria, or Los Angeles, you'd have a common sense of distance.

Regardless, I've wanted to track it down. Last night, as I was running into DC, I found myself on Pennsylvania Avenue. My thought process suddenly ticked off the following facts: "The White House is located on Pennsylvania Avenue and the Zero Mile Marker is located near it." Before I knew it, I was charging forward in search of the milestone. The fact that it was dark, I didn't know where I was going and that I'd surely be late getting back to Shira were all not concerns in my hypoxic state.

Fortunately, it wasn't that tricky to find. If you ask nicely, Google Maps will tell you exactly where it is.

When I arrived, it was long past dark. So my photos are, well, awful.

But still, I was there. I wasn't particularly pleased when I routed my return trip with Google Navigation and it told me that I had an hour and 20 minute walk back to my starting point; as I only had 23 minutes left before my run was supposed to be over. But, I hauled my butt back as fast as I could, and for the second run in a row, I was late. But did make it back before Shira disappeared with the car. Whew.

Here's a few photos and the complete route:

View Run to the DC Zero Milestone in a larger map

The Nest, Bringing Elegance To Your Thermostat

We've had a Nest Thermostat for a couple weeks now. Long enough that I've formed an opinion worth sharing on the blog.

The Nest, for the uninitiated, is a newfangled thermostat. That's right, the thing that you pretty much ignore (or fight endlessly with your spouse over) has received a massive makeover. The Nest strives to both look sleek, and more importantly, be brilliant. It wants to bring Artificial Intelligence to the problem of heating and cooling your home; effectively managing your furnace and AC through software. By doing so, it's pretty confident that it can be more efficient than the old style set-it-and-forget-it or programmable models.

So how does it do?

Well, after our relatively short stint with it, I can say they nailed the sleek part. Every part of the product, from the packaging, to the install, to the device itself, seems well designed. The thermostat, for example, has a bit more weight to it than an all plastic model, which means that it feels like a quality product. It has other nice touches, like a motion sensor that causes it turn on when you walk up to it. In many respects, it feels like a better designed Apple products than the actual Apple products I have in my house (an iPad and Mac-Mini).

And the sleekness isn't just about hardware. The software on the thermostat is as simple as you'd expect (turn dial to temperature; you're done). But more impressively, the web and Android apps are also clean and polished. That means that it's trivial to manage your thermostat from any room in the house, or any location in the world.

As for brilliance, the jury is still out. Shira's not a fan of devices that think they are smarter than she is. Still, she can fine tune the Nest whenever she wants; which she loves. We'll have to see overtime if the AI aspects of the device shine through. For example, it supposed to automatically detect if we're out of the house and adjust the thermostat accordingly. But I work from home, upstairs. So, how's it going to deal with that? At the very least, I can say that we don't feel like we're fighting with the AI. The Nest does what Shira tells it to do (unlike me, most of the time), and if it wants to try to be smart too, that's great.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the day when all our appliances have this same transparency and control as the Nest. Why can't I pre-heat the oven from upstairs? Or see exactly how much hot water I have left in the hot water heater? Would I like to know if our freezer is working overtime, or our fridge is too humid? Sure, why not. For years we've been talking about Smart Homes, whatever that means. But with the Nest, I'm finally getting a sense of how it may actually be useful.

So, is the Nest worth $250? From a hardware and software perspective, I'd say yes. Do you *need it*? Almost certainly not. But I'd be willing to be, it's the way of the future.

The Making of Jam Snob

It all started out innocuously enough. Our friends Jen and Eric were kind enough to bring us a wonderfully delicious meal in memory of my grandpa. Included in said meal was this:

That's right, homemade Blueberry, Congnac, Allspice jam.

Since that evening, I've been using it exclusively, relegating my usual Giant brand raspberry jam to the back of the fridge.

And this morning, I was greeted with the following sight after making a mid-morning snack PB&J sandwich:

And now what am I supposed to do?! Go back to that mass-produced non-cognac and allspice containing "Jam?!" But how?!

Thanks a lot Eric. No, seriously, thanks.

My Take Away on Malcom Gladwell's David and Goliath TED Talk

A couple weeks back I watched Malcom Gladwell's TED talk on David and Goliath. More recently, I've been making my way through A History of Weapons which is a mostly-hilarious take on weaponry from the beginning of time until around 1900. The TED talk is excellent, here watch it:

And what, you may ask, was my take away from this talk and the book I'm reading?

Was it the inspiration that small entities (be they individuals or organizations) can topple large ones (be it in business, politics or anywhere else), not out of luck, but out of their inherent and often overlooked skills? That *of course* David beat Goliath, looking at the facts, it would almost be hard for him to lose.

Nope. All this I know. In fact, it's essentially my day job (except instead of slaying giants, I write software that helps individuals and small companies slay the competition. OK, maybe not slay, but at least outperform.)

No, my big take away was this? Why haven't I learned to sling?!

You're telling me I can make a deadly weapon out of little more than some rope and a bit of fabric? What a hack. I'm in!

Luckily, there's Slinging.org, which is exactly what you think it is: a site that covers old-school slings (versus say, sling-shots) in great detail.

There's a wonderful collection of articles worth reading. Two useful places to start (from what I can tell) are: Making a Simple Sling and Slinging Advice for Beginners.

Of course, YouTube has a plethora of videos on the topic. Including videos like this one, that actually show how slinging may be useful for something other than putting out your or someone else's eye.

This all looks terrifically fun. The big challenge: finding a large 360 degree area where I can experiment with this wannabe hobby of mine without destroying life or property. Still, as soon as I find such a location, I'm totally in.

The Funny Thing About Virginia Electorial Politics

Look at this election map of the Governor's race in Virginia:

Pretty obvious what happened, right? The Red candidate smoked the Blue candidate, winning by a ridiculous margin.

Except that's not what happened all. The Blue candidate won by 55,420'ish votes (99.92% of precincts have reported in).

I almost feel bad for all those folks who live in Red counties and have to wake up to this map. But then again, I live in a a county that lean's so far to the left that they contributed 71% of their vote to the Blue guy. So around here, the election results seem right on track.

It's About Time: Running to the United States Naval Observatory

This evening I decided on an especially clear goal for my run. I wanted to run into DC and make my way to the United States Naval Observatory (USNO). Specifically, I wanted to grab a photo of the master clock they have running outside the grounds (where mere mortals can see it).

On the map, the route looked easy enough. The 7.5 mile trip would more than take up the hour of running I had planned, so I didn't have much margin for getting lost. You can imagine then, how disappointed I was when I got to my first potential short cut and found this gate:

Apparently it's not just the buildings of the Naval Observatory that are off limits, but the grounds as well. Rather than doing the smart thing, and running back home, I kept charging forward following the route suggested by the bigger streets on Google Maps. In relatively short order, I found my master clock:

At one point (around the 1890's) the Naval Observatory was indeed in the business of astronomical observation. However, that job has since been delegated to a more appropriate site. Another role, that of master time keeper, on the other hand has been going strong since 1830. That clock above may be for decoration, but the notion of being the master time source isn't. Especially given my new found appreciation for ship chronometers and clock parts, I found this site even more appealing.

And what's up with the import looking anchors in front of the USNO?

They get mentioned on the web, and they've been there since at least 1961, but other than that, I can find no further detail. Unlike the clock, they apparently are just decoration. Probably picked up from Pier One or something.

OK, I had the photo of the clock, now I just had one tiny detail, I needed to run my butt back to meet Shira before She drove off. I could have backtracked the way I came, but that's no fun. Instead, I looked at the map and saw what seemed to be some sort of connector that would loop me back around the USNO. Could it be off limits like my other shortcut? Probably, but it was my best shot.

I ran to said path and sure enough, I found an important looking guard station with no "Welcome Runners!" sign. As I was about to back track further and probably get even more off course, I saw two police officers and asked them about the connector. Sure enough, there was a trail that ran *next* to the gate. They pointed me the right direction and before I knew it I had found this:

The trail ended up being relatively short. Maybe even a couple hundred yards. However, after running the length that tracks near the fence above, it turns into pitch black woods. I had to bust out my cell phone flashlight app, and between that and Google Maps, make my way through the trail. I'm going to assume for the purposes of this story that this path is also haunted. All I know is that I could only see what was directly in front of me, and I was hoping this path would take me someplace sane.

It did. I popped out right where I needed to be and was able to truck it home. Had I not found the path, I'd probably still be out running around DC.

Here's the final route:

View To the Naval Observatory in a larger map

My only disappointment: the USNO is the home of the Vice President. I was so hoping I'd be jogging along and see Biden out watering the lawn in his boxer shorts. Alas, he was nowhere to be seen.

I've got the power! Review: Anker Astro 3E 10000mAh Portable Cell Phone Charger

During the work week, my cell phone is plugged into my computer nearly all day. That means that battery usage never drops below 80-90%. But on the weekend, and especially when traveling, I find that I can chew through the battery in what feels like a matter of hours. A couple Sundays ago I was fiddling exclusively with my phone in the morning, and by the afternoon it was completely out of battery juice.

A little poking around on the web taught me that there's such a thing as a portable cell phone charger. Essentially, this is little more than a battery that plugs into your cell phone to recharge its battery. Unfortunately, there's too many choices for which to pick! Do I want compact, inexpensive and low capacity or do I skip worrying about size and focus on one with lots of capacity?

In the end, I just went with the LifeHacker.com recommended Anker Astro 3E 10000mAh external battery. At 10,000mAh, it was supposed to charge my Galaxy SIII's 2,100mAh battery almost 5 times. I was hoping that this would finally put my battery woes to rest.

The Anker arrived and the size, as promised, is almost exactly the same as the Galaxy S3 itself:

The coiled cable, variety of tips and mesh travel bag all seem to be high quality. I thought about only carrying the one tip that I need for charging my phone, but the charger, cord and tips all fit in the mesh bag without a problem, so for now, I carry all the options. This is useful if I need to charge my Garmin GPS, which uses the large USB sized plug. Here's what the setup looks unpacked an packed:

This past Sunday, I had a chance to run the setup through its paces. I used my phone for web surfing in the morning, GPS tracking for a run, and photo editing throughout the day. By the time I was done with my run, my battery was at 44%. Throughout the day, as I noticed the battery usage dipping, I simply plugged in the phone to the battery and dropped it the man bag I was carrying. At the end of the day, I had 88% battery left on the phone, and 3 out of 4 bars still lit on the Anker backup battery.

I'm sold. For someone who uses his cell phone for a heck of a lot, this may be my best purchase in a long, long time.

As for surprises, the Anker didn't have many. I expected relatively compact size and quality, and that's what I got. The only real surprise I had was just how fast this sucker can charge my phone. I guess I'm used to USB charging, which is inherently slower than AC charging. The Anker Astro 3E must deliver AC levels of charging, because I found that in what seemed relatively short order (30 minutes?) the battery percent available would often go up significantly (say, 15 or 20%). I didn't keep any sort of detailed notes on the topic, but I was definitely surprised how quickly the charger worked.

For now, I'm happily considering my battery woes solved.

Lake Accotink, 4 miles of smooth trail running

Shira has know and suggested the Lake Accotink trail for years, but today was our first time actually hiking (well, running) it. What a wonderful little loop. At 4ish flat miles it's not especially challenging, but the scenery on this fall day couldn't have been more perfect.



This would be a great location to take non-hikers for a walk in the woods. It also seemed like a perfect spot to practice some off road biking, giving you some dirt trail experience minus major hazards.

Here's an Android tip: you can download the GPX route of the trail here and import it into MyTracks to get an on-device visual of the map. This was helpful to avoid missing the turn off into the short section of suburban streets that the hike requires.

Caption Me: Holloween Edition

Of all the photos I took last night I think this is my favorite. Can you suggest a caption?

I'll start: When Ninjas and Zombies cooperate, it's bad news for us all!

Putting Our Halloween Knowledge To Good Use

Last year we had a 7 year old in the house, and no clue as to the best Trick-or-Treat strategy for Arlington. This year we are empty nesters, but we are also armed with quite a bit of inside information. Luckily, last night we were able to put it to good use. We offered to help take around our friends kids who had never done Halloween in this area and they took us up on the offer. David and I were back in business as trick-or-treating guides!

We started in the same South Arlington neighborhood at around 6:30pm. Again, it was perfect! It was buzzing with kids, adults and lots houses handing out candy.

After about 45 minutes of working that neighborhood we headed over to North Jackson St. and Pershing to check out an Arlington neighborhood with a reputation for awesomeness. The street did not disappoint. A few blocks into N. Jackson St. and we found that the road was closed off to traffic and the place absolutely swarming with trick-or-treaters. Many of the houses had amazing facades put up and the mood was beyond festive. The only frustration was that with all the crowds, there were actually some lengthy lines to stand in to get to some of the front doors. Yeah, that won't fly on Halloween. Still, it was a wonderful neighborhood to check out.

What a peculiar holiday Halloween is. You wouldn't think that teaching kids to run from house to house asking for candy would be a good thing. And yet, I have to admit it is. Maybe it works because it's one of those great equalizers: for a couple of hours kids just get to be in kid heaven, and parents get to just stand by and watch without a care in the world. It's a few hours of communal bliss. Rich or poor, black or white, zombie or ninja, it doesn't matter.

Here are some photos from the evening: