[ {"id": 2, "title": "Digital Imaging Notes", "date": "2003-11-03 16:41:22.053", "content": "This category is for storing my notes w.r.t. Digital Imaging.\r\nThis is stuff to do with the creation, storing, filing, indexing and editing of digital images.", "categories": "\n\n", "author": ""}, {"id": 4, "title": "DE Process & Templates", "date": "2003-11-03 16:53:24.362", "content": "

DE Process & Templates

\r\nThis category is used to capture my notes for the DE process and templates.\r\n\r\nThis process is still in quite a bit of flux and I need to capture what we are currently doing.\r\n\r\nAlso need to have a post mortem after MR to see what worked and didn't work for the DE process.", "categories": "", "author": ""}, {"id": 5, "title": "Personal Organization System", "date": "2004-02-27 09:20:43.657", "content": "I had thought that the use of a personal diary or blog application would be useful for capturing my work items and ideas on personal development. I'm not sure why I didn't catch on using the \"Thingablob\" application.\r\n\r\nI think part it is the way categories are defined. You can't have categories with sub categories. This is why I have named my categories with dashes to separate the main category and sub categories.", "categories": "", "author": ""}, {"id": 6, "title": "Achilles Tendon injury update", "date": "2004-08-10 09:50:18.936", "content": "

Well, here it is WK33 2004 and what do I have to show for myself? :-)

\r\n\r\n

I tore my achilles tendon back in WK22 (May 27th to be exact) which has slowed me down quite a bit. I was playing Nortel Intramural co-ed soccer for the Hornets team when it happened. It was late in the first half and I remember waiting for the opponents goal kick and then chasing the ball. I fell down to the ground thinking someone had kicked or tripped me. I even gave a bit of yell. However, when I turned around there wasn't anybody there!!! That's when I realized that I had torn my achilles tendon. A bit of panic came over me... not much... but a bit. Then I think I started thinking about our vacation and making sure I was in a short cast (not a long one) by the time we went to Vancouver for our vacation. I ended up driving myself home, although Anne was upset that I didn't call since she really didn't think I should have driven.

\r\n\r\n

Before the injury, I started really getting into the swing of getting in shape again. What really kick started me this time was getting in shape for the soccer season. Jerry invited me to play on their pick-up soccer games on Friday evenings. I was running in the mornings fairly regularly and writing down my mileage and times. I was doing push-ups (I was up to 44 consecutive push-ups!), sit-ups, and stretching at night. I was practicing juggling the soccer ball down in the basement (my record was 60 juggles in a row!). I could really start to see improvements in my stamina and my body fat around my stomach seemed to be decreasing. Then I tore my achilles...

\r\n\r\n

I had surgery on my achilles tendon on Friday afternoon, the day after I had torn it. I was very happy with our medical system and that I was able to have my surgery done very quickly. This was the same as when I tore my left achilles tendon. Anne was talking to our neighbours Ed and Betty and they were surprised (and angry?) how quickly I was able to get my surgery scheduled. Apparently Ed has been waiting for his surgery for over 6 months (?). I don't know why my circumstances are different, but I am sure glad that I could get the surgery done quickly and get started healing.

\r\n\r\n

I was really worried about having to be in a full length cast (up to my hip) for our Summer vacation to Vancouver. However, Dr. Hradecky said that he was only going to put me in a short cast (up to my knee). But I needed to be very, very careful. He told me not to fall or else I could re-rupture the tendon. Oh... there's that thought of re-injuring the tendon again... Just keep being super careful and get those negative thoughts out of my head... :-)

\r\n\r\n

After surgery I remember being in the post-op room, and then being wheeled into the \"Overload 2\" hospital room. There must have been 10-15 beds in this room. I also remember a nurse asking me how my leg felt and to rate my pain from 1 to 10. I said \"zero\" since I wasn't really feeling any pain at the time. This must have been because the pain killers were still in effect because that night I was really starting to feel it. It was a sharp pain at the back of my leg and I had to shift my weight around to find the most comfortable position. I just tried to ignore the pain and get some sleep. I guess I could have taken some drugs, but I just don't like taking pain killing drugs.

\r\n\r\n

The next day, Saturday, Anne and Elizabeth came to pick me up in the morning (Joseph was off at the Opemikon cub camp). I had a short session with the Physiotherapist on the use of crutches (especially on how to go up and down stairs, \"good - up, bad - down\", meaning you put your good leg up first when going up, and put your bad leg (ie. crutches down first when going down)). You also had to put both your crutches on one side, and then use the free hand to hold the railing. The pain wasn't too bad at home just a little uncomfortable. Anne got 30 pills of super strength Tylenol, but I didn't end up taking any of it.

\r\n\r\n

My next appointment was on June 7th. During this appointment they cut a section at the back of my cast to inspect how I was healing and to remove the stitches. The cast cutting blade kind of freaks me out, although it won't cut or injure you. It just makes me flinch every time the blade touches my skin... I was joking with the nurse that it was hard to keep still and not flinch when they were cutting the cast. The removal of the stitches was painful. I had to grit my teeth and try to ignore the pain. Nurse said the wound was healing well. They put the rectangle piece of cast back on and wrapped up the cast with some fiberglass to keep the cast in place. I was wondering how they were going to fix the cast back up. It actually works pretty well. Except the fiberglass stuff was rough and hurt if I rubbed it up on something. Wasn't smooooooth like the plaster.

\r\n\r\n

Dr. Hradecky booked an appointment just before our flight to Vancouver to remove the cast and put me in a brace. On June 28th, they took off my cast. I was in the cast for approximately 4 weeks. Dr. Hradecky said they were rushing me because of my trip to Vancouver. I guess normally they don't take off the cast this quickly. He instructed me on the use of the brace. Keep the ankle locked and move it up a notch every two weeks or so. When they first tried to stick me in the brace I was shouting in pain because my ankle wouldn't flex enough due to my tight tendon. They ended up taking the soft boot out of the brace and then sticking the boot (with my leg in it) back into the brace. I actually had to push on my toes and my heel was not down touching the brace because it hurt to do so. Later on that day, I found out that the brace was not set correctly!!! The doctor thought that it was at 30 degrees Plantar Flexion, but it was more like 15 degrees. No wonder it hurt to put my foot into the brace. What happen was that the brace was locked at 15 degrees, but the stop pins were at the 30 degree setting. I loosened the brace lock and moved the brace to the 30 degree position and then locked the brace again.

\r\n\r\n

Our family went on a great trip to Vancouver between WK27 - WK30. Overall it was a very relaxing vacation for me, since I was hobbling around in a brace and crutches and couldn't do too much. Anne did all the driving and we ended up spending a lot of time at beaches and parks. I would just sit and watch while the kids played. I wrote a vacation log journal that you can find here (put a link to the journal).

\r\n\r\n

During the last week of vacation, I started to walk around without my crutches. The tendon was starting to feel better and better although my calf was very weak. I even started to take baths without my brace. I was very careful not to put any stress on the tendon. A week after we got home from vacation I unlocked the brace so that my ankle could swivel freely. I just put the stop pins at 0 degrees Dorsi-flexion.

\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\nI had a follow-up doctor's appointment on Monday, Aug 9th and the doctor told me he wants to me stay in my brace for another six weeks!!! It has been almost eleven weeks and I still have 6 more weeks to go in this brace!#@* :-(. What a drag... but I need to remember to go slow and follow the doctor's advice. The absolute last thing I want to do is to re-rupture my tendon. Eeew, don't even think about it...\r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\nA positive out of the doctor's appointment is he said I could walk slowly and carefully around the house without my brace. (I didn't tell him that I had already started doing that this past week...) He also said that I could start doing some gentle exercises such as going up on my tippy-toes or riding an exercise bike. Just don't over-do it. Oh yeah, he also said I could do some swimming.\r\n

\r\n\r\n

After the doctor's appointment, Anne and I went to Terry Fox stadium to watch Joseph compete in the Catholic School Board track meet for OLP school. Joseph was running in the 100 meters and in the relays. Unfortunately, we missed his 100m run by a few minutes!!! :-( It was because I was dilly dallying at the car when we got parked. If I hurried as soon as we parked, we might have had a chance to see him. We did get to see him run in the relay and I video taped it.

\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 7, "title": "Anthony Robbins Personal Power II", "date": "2004-08-11 10:05:03.481", "content": "

I've started listening to the Anthony Robbins Personal Power II program.

\r\n\r\n

Need to really focus on changing things that I want to change.

\r\n\r\n

On the first day it said I need to focus on two decisions that if I made would really change my life. It's funny, at the time, I didn't think of anything. But at home, two ideas popped into my head... (could this be my subconscious talking to me???). Anyways, the two decisions are to

    \r\n
  • \"Stop procrastinating. Be action oriented.\", and
    • \r\n
  • \"Be Organized. Start being neat.\"
    • \r\n
\r\nWell there you are. Two ideas and personal challenges that have been around for a long, long, long time. Well... what are you waiting for? LET'S START WORKING ON THEM!!!!

", "categories": "", "author": ""}, {"id": 31, "title": "Priorities Discussion with Gil - Wed, Aug 4th, 2004", "date": "2004-08-05 08:50:21.463", "content": "

Had a very disappointing Priorities discussion with Gil. Disappointing in the fact that I am not doing very well in my current role. Of course this shouldn't be surprising to me... I just haven't been performing up to my potential and slacking off recently. Could be several reasons, but I'm just not that motivated at the moment. Ever since my Achilles Tendon injury, I haven't been able to do much myself. Anne has to drive me into work so I've been trying to work at home more. But then it's hard to concentrate and really get motivated when working at home.

\r\n\r\n

How do I change my motivation and performance so that I'm back to being AT THE TOP???

\r\n\r\n

Gil was saying that I wasn't performing at a JCI 5 level. We need to review whether the position is a JCI 5 level and also whether I am performing at a JCI 5 level. He said it wasn't a threat... but I need to treat it as such!!!

\r\n\r\n

Gil listed three things I need to work on:

    \r\n
  • Leadership
    • \r\n\t
      \r\n \t
    • Take a refresher of attributes associated with JCI 5.
      • \r\n \t
    • Problems exist which don't have any solutions. Figure out recommendations and follow through.
      • \r\n\t
    • Need to be passionate if things are bothering you. Need to get in front of people's faces and let them know.
      • \r\n\t
    \r\n
  • Follow-up - I'm not following up on actions.
    • \r\n\t
      \r\n \t
    • No system for follow-up.
      • \r\n \t
    • Need to have a plan and continually cross check.
      • \r\n\t
    • (Paul's note: Just need to start being an action oriented person and stop procrastinating.)
      • \r\n\t
    \r\n
  • Visibility
    • \r\n\t
      \r\n \t
    • Need to get more assertive in PLM alignment meetings.
      • \r\n \t
    • Sometimes I'm in there like a bulldog, other times it's \"radio silence\".
      • \r\n\t
    \r\n

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n

Here's a summary of the notes that I took during my priorities discussion.

\r\n
    \r\n
  • Need to start to give proof points of my performance. Tangible inputs of achievements and my role in those accomplishments
    • \r\n
  • For the DE data, need to abstract model from content.
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • eg. Take away DE units, and will have impact .
      • \r\n
    • eg. Use DE units to do 13.0 churn, then will decrease planning capability for 14.0 .
      • \r\n
    \r\n
  • Need to do a better job of putting these in fron of directors and PLM.
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • What are the impacts of our churn? Effort in doing DEs (person months) are now lost resources in next release (delayed ramp?).
      • \r\n
    \r\n
  • Point to two things: PLM churn and resourcing on design side.
    • \r\n
  • Need to have some type of commitment.
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • How many DEs we will do in a given time. (OAM team has given this.)
      • \r\n
    • Need to work with PLM saying that this is our DE throughput.
      • \r\n
    • If you chew up resources then give the impacts. Here are the new dates due to the impacts.
      • \r\n
    \r\n
  • Gil wants me to put together a list of what works well and what doesn't work well in the CPT. Doesn't need to be tied to a release. Gil wants to give me visibility. Need to put this list together and start improving the process! Make recommendations, proposals.
    • \r\n
  • RMT Lead role MR->BR for NBSS13.0
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • Need to expand on this. Gil said I did a lot of work here. Need to put down all these details of what I did. Separate what I did versus what Mike has done.
      • \r\n
    • eg. Put templates together, tracking work towards milestones, actually failed MR and BR multiple times, FS tracking...
      • \r\n
    \r\n
  • Need to really think hard about what works and what doesn't work. How do we keep moving forward? PLM would say put more resources on DEs. Think about what works and what frustrates you. Start collecting data and metrics!!!\r\n
  • What are the impediments we see in existing process? (I think I wrote down my thoughts on this before... Need to find my NOTES!!!)
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • BSC not doing DEs. Carey has been especially frustrating (to work with). Won't give dates/commitments. Able to deflect everything away...
      • \r\n
    • no resources to do DEs
      • \r\n
    • only do DEs for what they have resources for
      • \r\n
    • expectations for priorities for 14.0 planning vs. other POR (eg. churn)
      • \r\n
    • the way we do DE resource planning just isn't working...
      • \r\n
      \r\neg. 14.0 SR milestone not important but can't move MR milestone. Work needed left to do depends on feature list.\r\n\r\n
    \r\n\r\n
  • DE Process
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • We (release management) are the biggest user. Need to provide feedback on whether it is meeting our needs.
      • \r\n
    • Almost need a HC profile for Stage 0
      • \r\n
    • Still need data to determine what is above and below the line.
      • \r\n
    • I told Gil we have to be very careful interpreting the data (don't agree with HC profiles for Stage 0 DEs).\r\n\r\n
        \r\n\t
      • Need to have a Stage 0 planning with features categorized into buckets.
        • \r\n\t
      • Use the bucket categories to say what fits in the release. Eg. Say we are pretty confident the \"must-have\" features are in the release.
        • \r\n\t
      • Do this based on shirt size estimate.
        • \r\n
      \r\n
      • \r\n
    • Gil wants me to formalize and put into a presentation package.
      • \r\n
    \r\n\r\n
  • Stage 1 Template
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • Need to finalize on intervals
      • \r\n
    • ACTION: Timeline for availability of Stage 1, 2, and 3 templates. Need to get from Steve T.
      • \r\n
    \r\n\r\n
  • DE Estimation Accuracy
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • ACTION: I really need to drive this.
      • \r\n
    • Pick 2 or 3 features.
      • \r\n
    • Get actuals from Paul Pillsworth!
      • \r\n
    • Compare to estimates. Pull in primes from features.
      • \r\n
    • Do analysis on cause effect. What was impact of churn? Impact of error in scope of work?
      • \r\n
    \r\n \r\n
  • CDMA Release Dates Presentation
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • ACTION: Need to DO THIS!!! Update monthy.
      • \r\n
    \r\n \r\n
  • CDMA Content Planning Process
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • ACTION: Need to update this process with the recent changes in the process (eg. Architect assigns R&D prime (based on node which is most likely to have the most work)).
      • \r\n
    • There was also debate in the CPT PLM/Design alignment review meeting on who is responsible for making sure the right design folks are reviewing an FRS. Is it PLM or Design? Answer: Design is responsible for identifying the reviewers. It is the responsibility of the Feature SDA to do this. If there is no feature SDA, then it is the responsibility of the Release SDA. For NBSS14.0 currently, there is no Release SDA defined. Also there is a question on who assigns the Feature SDA (Vish and Steve (?) ). Currently there are no Feature SDAs assigned.\r\n
    • There is a new release planning tool \"Release Planner\". Need to check this out and see if it can be useful for NBSS14.0
      • \r\n
    • Need to start driving agenda (ie. purpose) of the CPT... Need to start cranking up the intensity level... Drive the availability of the metrics on the front end. How do we evolve CPT to where we want it?
      • \r\n
    • How do I separate what I'm doing for the CPT and what Roger does as the 14.0 RMT prime? Don't want to have overlap.
      • \r\n
    \r\n\r\n \r\n
  • JCI 5 level performance
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • ACTION:Need to crank up visibility for the next 3 to 4 months. CRANK UP VISIBILITY!!!!
      • \r\n
    • Much more difficult as a JCI 5. Not as tangible. More difficult.\r\n
    • Gil mentioned that in peer review there will be some tough questions. Is he performing at a JCI 5 level. Or is it JCI 4? I want to give Gil enough data to support my performance at a JCI 5 level.
      • \r\n \r\n
    \r\n\r\n \r\n
  • DE metrics and throughput
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • ACTION:Gil wants to understand how we can use metrics and throughput to start forecasting DE planning intervals.
      • \r\n
    • How many people for a stage 0 DE? stage 1 DE? stage 2 DE? How long to do the different types of DEs
      • \r\n
    • Use this info to determine the number of resources we need in our planning cycle, and how long the planning cycle needs to be...
      • \r\n
    • Steve Todd said DE takes 1-4 weeks. Phil Lowder said if PLM gives design an FRS today, should expect a DE 4 weeks later. But this would depend on the DE starting as soon as the FRS is received. This is the concept of \"ideal time\" versus \"elapsed/calendar\" time. The 1-4 weeks is ideal time if the designer worked just on the DE 100% of the time (or is Steve referring to ideal time here?).
      • \r\n
    • Need to monitor and communicate what are DE throughput and performance is.
      • \r\n \r\n
    \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": ""}, {"id": 162, "title": "Not following personal power program...", "date": "2004-08-12 09:29:20.919", "content": "\r\n

Well, here it is Thursday morning, 4 days into the personal power program, and I've only listened to the Monday tape. I also haven't done the Monday assignment except for coming up with the two decisions that would make a large impact. Do I need to re-start again next Monday?

\r\n

I was also thinking this morning that I've already gone through a good program from Stephen Covey's seven habits. Why don't I just resurrect that and try to make important life changes using that method? I think Covey's program has helped me in the past and I just need to get back into it again...

\r\n\r\n", "categories": "", "author": ""}, {"id": 163, "title": "Work Items List", "date": "2004-08-12 10:30:40.093", "content": "\r\n

I thought I would use this for listing down ideas for work stuff I want to do:

\r\n\r\n
    \r\n
  1. Release Planner - there is a new tool that Gil wants me to look at.
    2. \r\n
  2. There is some release planning info I found on the web and printed off. Want to review this.
    3. \r\n
  3. There was some excellent documentation that I found from the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) in NASA. There are some really interesting documents on derivation of design estimates that I need to review again and see what things we should incorporate here in Nortel.
    4. \r\n
  4. 360 feedack surveys. Need to fill these out.
    5. \r\n
  5. While looking through the web for stuff on release planning, I came across a lot of references to something called Extreme Programming (XP). This methodolgy uses a lot of small iterations (1-4wks in duration) for their projects. Each iteration is self-contained and includes requirements analysis, design, coding, testing, integration...
    6. \r\n
  6. Analysis: DE's vs. Actuals. Get Actuals from Paul Pillsworth. DEs from Stage 1, 2, and 3 NBSS13.0 DEs. Present in EQP. Also ask Mike if he is tracking any data for Actuals from the Release.
    In the WK33 Release Review meeting, Ray M. made a comment on the feature priority churn index chart that Roger was presenting. He said that we should also track FRS Requirements churn. I agree. I was thinking one way we could do this is with the new Requirements template in Chapter 1 of the SDS. For each of the three categories (market/customer level, systems level and design level requirements) could track the number of requirements that have changed or have been added. Can do this on a per feature basis.\r\n

    Interesting discussion with Sheila Daley on Monday, Aug 16th. She will pull out the financial data that I was asking for for the NBSS13.0 projects last year and this year. We had a discussion on the granularity of the data. Currently this data is on an IPT (or project) basis. If you want it on a feature basis, the data would go up exponentially. Sheila also said that features keep on churning so it would be very difficult to keep the data up to date and the work would go up exponentially??? Sheila said she would try to send me the data by the end of today.\r\n
    7. \r\n
  7. Process documentation updates. See e-mail from BTS team and the responses. What other process documents need to be updated? What are all process changes? eg. SDA responsible for ensuring the FRS gets reviewed by the appropriate design primes. Requirements template in Chapter 1 of SDS needs to be filled in for Stage 1 DEs. I have sent an e-mail to Eric S and need to follow up with him in WK34. In Margaret's e-mail she said that it is unclear whether the e2e DE prime is a PDM or an FM. Thinking about this some more, perhaps we shouldn't even specify who this is. Just specify the role and the responsibilities. Do we need to specify the expected JCI level? I also had another thought. Need to explicitly identify these roles in some project team chart. (use EBMS?) This way it should be very clear who is doing what role.
    8. \r\n
  8. Need to add reference to the NCD process from the CPT process. See e-mail from Matt Brodersen, Fri, 8/13, 11:45am.
    9. \r\n
  9. Requirements traceability. Had discussion with Julia Schmidt on this. She is working on a team to trial Requirements traceability and wants to know what we will be doing in NBSS14.0. Also had a discussion with Mike. He explained that there is now a requirements template in the SDS that ensures that we capture as complete a view of the requirements as possible. It has headings for areas of requirements that we need to be thinking about (eg. capacity impacts...). Therefore, there needs to be an SDS for every NBSS14.0 feature and this chapter needs to be filled in. The requirements template will also have the cross references to the other design documentation (FS, SDS/HLD, TCAR...) to ensure there is requirements traceability all the way through the design cycle.
    Also had a discussion with Matt Brodersen. He is said he now owns the FRS and SRS (Systems Requirements Spec). He wants the requirements in these documents to align with the requirements templates in chapter 1 of the SDS.
    10. \r\n
  10. With all the churn in the FRSes happening now, need to have a process that makes sure that the generated DEs align with the latest FRS versions. Perhaps put together a table that has the DE version and the FRS version that they were generated against.
    11. \r\n
  11. Gil had an excellent e-mail on EQP that I need to follow. It's dated July 30, 2004 10:43am. It looks like I could probably contribute here in the process improvements area if Roger does most of the driving for NBSS14.0. Need to find stuff I can contribute to!!!
    12. \r\n
  12. I was reading an e-mail from Marc Gauthier about the \"playground.net\" High speed access service. For Nortel Employees, they will provide high speed access for ~$28.00 per month. Pretty good deal. Need to see if it would be a good idea to switch over from sympatico.
    13. \r\n
  13. Interesting discussion with Trevor on Tues, 8/16. How do we capture the work we need to do for the Airvana release DO release 2.0, 2.1, 2.2...? The are (fairly) independent of the NBSS software release, but how do we want to show this work in the CPT lists. Trevor mentioned for DORA Phase 1 this is really Airvana software running on DO Release 0 hardware, with maybe a little BTS software required. However there is a lot of work on the systems side (and also on the product test side) that needs to be captured, but it isn't NBSS14.0 work.
    14. \r\n
  14. Interesting discussion with Ahmet on Tues, 8/16. We eventually started talking about CSVS and the issues/problems they have had with their dates. Ahmet thinks it ultimately comes down to the DEs and the management of the project. He doesn't think the DEs were broken down enough to a detailed level. Integration is certainly taking a very, very long time. Why is that? It would be good to do a post-mortem analysis on the DEs versus actuals if it's even possible.
    15. \r\n
  15. Attended a very interesting session on Risk Management. Some very interesting themes during the presentation. \r\n
      \r\n\t
    • Risks are always there in your project no matter how simple or small the project is.
      • \r\n\t
    • If you do not plan for your risks (ie. you assume you will execute your plan to perfection (my words)), then you will always be in crisis management because your plans are always changing.
      • \r\n\t
    • Risk management allows you to look ahead. What problems will get in my way? What actions do I need to take?
      • \r\n\t
    • You must develop a culture in order to incorporate this new technique into your EVERYDAY processes. (This applies to anything new you want to try. Change is not easy to do. Talked about this as a \"Change Management Issue\". Need to adopt this system into your culture. What you do every day! It's in your face. There are flags in the schedule to prompt you to do something about risk management, etc... Need to provide appropriate training for your team. Need to be able to talk the same language.
      • \r\n\t
    • A favourite topic of his is \"INTERFACES\". This is a big source of risk in a project. He also talked a lot about peer reviews (code inspections. This will decrease your risk. Finds bugs earlier.
      • \r\n\t
    • Also talked about closing the loop. Have a feedback loop. Do lessons learned. How do we eliminate these risks for future projects. Example he talked about was peer code reviews. You will find bugs, but this doesn't address the underlying root cause. How did the bugs get there in the first place? Need to stop the source of the bugs.\r\n\t
    • I like this quote from him: \"Never introduce any process or methodology without putting metrics in place to ensure it is effective\".THis is really important. I have been involved in many process changes, but have not been doing this at all!!!
      • \r\n\r\n\r\n\t
    • Here are some benefits of Risk Management. 1) Biggest area of improvement is your delivery predictability. 2) Not always in crisis mode. 3) Your quality will improve.
      • \r\n \t
    • \r\n \t
    • \r\n

      \r\n\r\n
\r\n", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 227, "title": "Personal Power Day 1", "date": "2004-08-23 17:28:58.448", "content": "Personal Power 2 - Day 1\r\n\r\n

The Past does not equal the Future

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It doesn't matter what has happened in the past. Only thing that matters is what decision you are making now and the actions that you take.

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People fail in life because people major in minor things. Most people don't realize that the things that they're making as real big are not important. Don't realize that success is simple. \r\n

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They're not designing the life they want.

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Do little things. It all adds up and takes you towards yours success outcome. Build up your massive action muscle.

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Ultimate success formula

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    \r\n
  1. Know your outcome. What do you want the outcome to be? Get clear on what you want.
    2. \r\n
  2. Decide to take action. The road to \"someday\" leads to town called \"nowhere\". What holds you back from taking action? FEAR. It's not what we can do in life, it's what we will do. We don't follow through because we don't know what we want, and when we know, we're afraid to take action. Use fear as a counsellor not a jailor. Make decisions and follow through on them. Decide to take action. Exercise your power to act - your personal power. Develop your massive action taking muscle! To decide means to cut-off any other possibility.
    3. \r\n
  3. When you do decide to take action, do you always succeed? NO. The most successful people in life are successful because they've failed the most. Step 3, notice what you're getting with your action. Are you moving towards your outcome, or moving away from it. Develop your sensory acuity. Notice what's working and not working.
    4. \r\n
  4. Step 4, if you're not going towards your goal, try something else! How many times are you going to try something else? UNTIL YOU SUCCEED!!!! Be flexible in your approach. Build on your frustration to help you push to action!!! Many of the emotions that many consider negative: frustration, rejection, pain, can be our greatest friends because they can drive us to success. When people are successful, they party, when they fail, they ponder...\r\nKeep changing your approach until you succeed!!! Manage your emotions that you don't fear the failure anymore.\r\n
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A way of speeding this process/formula, is to use role models. Model people that are successful. Find someone that has the results that you want and model exactly what they do. Do this instead of taking random action. Success leaves clues. If people succeed, it's because they do things over, and over, and over again. The law works for everyone. Instead of re-inventing the wheel. Knowledge is not power. It's potential power. Bottom line, knowledge is not enough. We need to follow through.

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Neuro-sciences. Science of Success Conditioning.

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Changing yourself is the first step in changing your career.

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Do the personal program everyday. Make these changes into habit. Feed your brain, emotions, and mind. Allow yourself to be challenged.

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Keep a success journal.

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There is power in momentum. When you decide to take action, do it immediately. Just go for it! Don't fear failure. Need to exert your will and act against gravity.

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What are two actions you can do right now that would make a difference in your life?

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 228, "title": "360 feedback", "date": "2004-08-27 09:12:28.829", "content": "\r\n

I was filling out my personal 360 feedback form and I thought I had some good comments in the verbatim section:

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Greatest strengths:

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    \r\n
  • Broad experience in software development with excellent knowledge of the software development process
    • \r\n
  • Excellent technical problem solving skills
    • \r\n
  • Strong inter-personal and teamwork skills
    • \r\n
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Important areas to improve:

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    \r\n
  • Taking a leadership role
    • \r\n
  • Influence
    • \r\n
  • Visibility
    • \r\n
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Other comments:

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Early release planning to meet SR and MR milestones is difficult, since it is always placed lower in priority relative to all other POR activities. Consequently it is very difficult to drive the team to meet these SR and MR milestones. The challenge is to demonstrate and prove the benefits of excellent early planning to our POR predictability, and to have these activities staffed appropriately.

\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 250, "title": "Harold's weekly release review notes", "date": "2004-08-27 18:37:14.279", "content": "\r\n

I attended Harold's weekly release review meeting on Aug 27th, 2004. Harold again had some excellent comments and insights. Here are some of my notes.

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Harold is disappointed with the way the release planning is being run. He said the top end process is not connected to the actions and deadlines. Set targets and drive to this. Thinking about this some more, we need to set targets and have specific actions to achieve those targets. We need to look at the release planning, look at what needs to be done, by when, and drive the team to deliver those items.

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He said we should already have a view of what MR deliverables are and what we already have. CSVS is already way past the SR milestone and is a big part of the release. Are we as bad off as we say we are?

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Need to close off Stage 0 DEs. Harold understands that there is an issue with DE bandwidth, but in the context of the NBSS14.0 release, need to close off the discussion and stabilize the list as we go to SR.

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Ken Geisheimmer also made a comment about some 12.1 churn that will impact the 14.0 resources. Harold really jumped on this. He asked if the directors were aware of the churn (EBSC config tool, CACP impact, firewall tunneling...). He said we can not continually impact our planning process with these churn items. There was very rigid churn process for the 8 items in NBSS13.0 and he wants the same thing for any other churn. Can't always assume that we'll accept churn, and accept the impact that it has to our 14.0 planning.

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PCR 6.1 - Harold asking what is the process for making a decision. Who makes decision? Are we using a matrix? When do we need the decisino made by?

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For CSVS, two key items that Harold is interested in is the Capacity Plan closure and streaming strategy. Harold also thought it was interesting that product test already had their capacity plan complete, although design was still working on theirs. There was a comment that the product test capacity plan was for the 13.1 work, while design was looking at the capacity plan for the 25K erlang EBSC. Harold wanted to hold a separate 2 hour meeting with the CSVS folks next week to review these two items.

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When VO was presenting their slides, Harold commented that the defect number was nice, but didn't give him the info he needed. Harold is worried about defect density. What was the size of the release? The bigger the release the more problems you get in total. So when VO presented a chart saying that the 12.1 base number of defects was less than 12.1 something-or-other, Harold jumped on this and said that one release was much bigger than the other so it is expected. Harold is also interested in coverage. Is VO being effective in their testing. Does the line go up and then start to flatten out? (Meaning VO is being effective). Or does the line just keep going straight up? (meaning VO is not being effective.) Harold made these comments on the VO chart showing the total # of issues found. Harold also wants in-service days on the x-axis. You can't compare releases unless you normalize to the same units and in-service days is one way of doing this.

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Harold disappointed that CACP requirements keep changing. Lance made a comment about an MNCL being kept open for \"any new requirements\". Harold asked Norm if he was aware of any new requirements. Norm said no, and said that the MNCL was not the place to put new requirements. I think this hit a nerve for Harold. He said that he wants closure on this CACP. What are the requirements, what are we supposed to build? We can not have predictable releases if we can not close on this. I think he's upset that CACP keeps holding up the milestones.

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Harold stated that we need to start using the trending information. He saw in last week's chart how some stuff was red and then in this week's it is a lot better.

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Harold was asking about the NBSS13.0 DI activity. How do the progress and risks in the DI relate to the JI activity that was being reported. Harold said that DI was 87% complete, but the JI was a bunch of red status on schedules.

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Prioritization of features. Use this to make some tough calls. Harold said in this critical part of the release, need to start following closely the progress and might need to make some tough calls. I think Harold was saying that if the features start missing their milestones, and risking the release dates, start making some tough decisions. Do we boot them out?

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Harold made some comments at the end of the call. He said people are mis-interpreting his comments/questions as meaning they need to add more information to the charts. This is not right!!! He wants you to distill the information. Do the analysis. What is broken? What is not? He used Mike McQuade's charts as an example. Mike highlights the issues and what needs to be looked at.

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Harold also said you need to introduce yourself. Tell everyone what you're going to be talking about. He said there are 27 lines connected to the call (probably 35 people). How many of these people understand what you are talking about? He said probably less than 50%.

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I like this quote from Harold which I've written down before, \"Are you trying to help me understand, or help me not understand.\" He also said that people need to start asking questions when they don't understand. An example was in the Product Test NBSS13.0 presentation, he asked about the JI column and what it meant. Jerri answered that it just indicated whether JI started or not (so the column was either 0% or 100%). Harold thought this was a funny way of showing this (perhaps a checkmark or something similar would be better).

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 251, "title": "Product Test discussion", "date": "2004-09-01 08:17:57.055", "content": "\r\n

Had an interesting discussion with Mark Malzahn on the status and state of affairs for the resourcing and tasking discussions that we have been going through

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BTS is very conservative in their DEs. \"Sandbagging\" them.

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Supposedly BTS has very high quality and does not need as much Product Test. However, Mark points out that for compact the BTS team was so far behind in thier designer testing, that they asked the product test team to help out. Patrick Couchman, sent 75% of his testers to help them out. Then when the testers started to write CRs, Peter McCurdy would complain (that they're not yet in product test and the CRs were too much overhead). Mark was saying that Patrick Couchman wanted to get credit for the help they were giving the BTS team, and rightly so.

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Mark was also saying that any chance David gets, he says that the product test ratio is too high. They don't need as much product test for the BTS.

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 264, "title": "Process for getting DEs - how to get more of them from the directors", "date": "2004-09-01 21:06:30.579", "content": "\r\n

Gil and I had a discussion on the DEs and how we need to continue the pressure on the directors and their teams to keep giving us the DEs needed for the planning process. I've been trying to get DEs out of the teams for months and they keep pushing out their dates. Now they're only working on the top 13 DEs.

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We had a discussion with Harold and he acknowledged that we're probably getting more DEs now because he is involved in the meetings. However, we need to get to a process that continually produces the DEs. He also said that we need to continue to produce DEs independent of the release process. I guess that means we should always be looking far enough ahead that we have a view of what the availability HC for the next release is, and a view of the content that would fit in that release.

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When we first started this firedrill last week, all we had was a \"big boulders\" spreadsheet with a very high level view of where we were at. Harold said he was disappointed with this data and wanted much more from the team. I remember talking to Gil about this meeting and he said that he didn't like th position he was in. He told the directors that he needed their support in order to get the DE data. He kept telling me that Harold was very disappointed in the data they presented. We should have been much farther along in our planning. We need to start implementing a process where we get this data!!!

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Harold realizes that this is difficult. He wonders what the directors have skipped doing in order to perform this firedrill to get us all the DEs. He questions if those things the directors would normally be doing is higher priority than what they had just done to do the DEs. He doesn't think so. Harold wants to ask the directors these types of questions...

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This is long term planning stuff. We need to start allocating some bandwidth to these important longterm planning activities. I guess this means changing the mindset. The directors didn't think this was important enough. They could just miss the SR milestone, CPS milestone, and not have a view of how to get to the MR milestone. The planning just keeps slipping and slipping, but nothing seemed to make this a priority. It is so hard to get the Stage 0 DEs out of them. Then the firedrill came and we started getting amazing turnaround times on the DEs.

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I think we need to work closely with PLM to help define the requirements and then quickly get a Stage 0 DE so that we can start the planning process. There is no drive to get past roadblocks. We won't do DEs until the requirements are solid and \"approved\" by the design/architect team. We just seem to be continually blocked and the process goes so slowly. No sense of urgency or need to hit deadlines, schedules, milestones. I think Harold is looking to us to set those targets and then drive the team to achieve them. But how do I do this? Need to start clearly defining the deliverables and targets, start collecting the metrics, report them up to the directors and to Harold, make the metrics visible, start showing them that it is important to complete the deliverables, and start hammering on them and raising the visibility when they don't. Make it uncomfortable for them not to hit the deliverables!!!

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It is obviously very important to keep and report on metrics. It shows the progress (or lack thereof) and should help motivate the teams to meet their deliverable targets on schedule. I have not been doing this at all.

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I was just thinking that we need to set up meetings with VPs and directors to review the data. This should provide motivation to ensure that the director teams have the data they need to do the analysis in the meeting. Perhaps I also need to set up individual meetings with the directors (and perhaps Gil) to review their progress on DEs and their plans and commitments to meet up coming release planning milestones. How many people are they assigning to the planning of the release and achieving the deliverables. Currently the directors are not involved at all in this process. They have not attended many PLM/Design alignment review meetings. This is where the disagreements in requirements need to be discussed and hammered out. eg. The incremental CSVS requirements for 14.0 have been debated for ages. PLM thinks it's done, but design doesn't...

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Here are some questions I thought of:

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    \r\n\r\n
  • How much effort is it to do the DEs? Is the reason we're not doing the DEs (or at least dragging our heels on them) is that we want to be absolutely sure the feature is in the release before we do any DE work on it? We don't want to waste any effort. Is it actually a lot of effort to do the DEs? Perhaps we're spending too much time coming up with the Stage 0 DEs. What is the right amount of effort to spend on a DE according to the stage of the planning process that we're using the data for?
    • \r\n
  • We need to align on the CPT list and what the priority order of features means. Is it DE priority? Or project priority? We staff to the order of the features in the CPT list. What does that mean about the priority of the features in the list, from an absolute priority perspective and a relative priority perspective?
    • \r\n
  • What is the right timeframe to be doing the analysis that we're doing right now? Is it where we are no in the release planning process? ---> Of course not!!! We're late... --> Should be done much earlier. At SR???
    • \r\n
  • Look at this as a problem solving scenario. Apply problem solving analysis.\r\n
      \r\n
    • Describe the problem
      • \r\n
    • What are the issues?
      • \r\n
    • What are the possible causes?
      • \r\n
    • What are the possible solutions?
      • \r\n
    \r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 470, "title": "Excel Spreadsheet guru ;-)", "date": "2004-09-07 11:01:26.267", "content": "\r\n

Man, I was busy last week (end of WK35, all of week 36). I was pulled into some director level meetings to help them plan the program and resource impacts due to the tasking that was going to occur in September. I had a spreadsheet that I created in NBSS13.0 planning that was used to track the resource supply and demand on a per nodal per feature basis. It kept a running subtotal of the remaining HC after each feature DE (demand estimate) was subtracted from the remaining HC supply.

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This tool was used to determine how many features we could do in NBSS14.0 before the different nodes ran out of people. This exercise was done before and after tasking to determine the impact of the tasking. I was in the meetings mostly to drive and manipulate the spreadsheet (otherwise I would not have been pulled in...). Things were moving fast and I had to do spreadsheet changes and updates on the fly. Sometimes it was frustrating since they would want a change in the spreadsheet and then complain that it wasn't right. I also felt under pressure as directors would wait and watch while I made updates to the spreadsheet.

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Currently the spreadsheet has now become fairly flexible. It allows you to do some different scenario planning by turning features on and off. It also allows you to shift the DE data (simulating a delayed start or delayed development schedule) and see the impacts this has on the resource availability. I'm not sure if the directors appreciated the flexibility and the power of the tool, but it certainly has come a long way since its humble beginnings... :-)

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I need to write a user's guide so that I'm not the only one who knows how to drive this tool. Also want to write a programmer's guide so that other people looking at the spreadsheet (as well as myself!) understand why I did things the way I did and what I was trying to achieve.

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Here are some changes that I've made to the spreadsheet.

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    \r\n
  • I used to have a single all Access DE worksheet where I cut and paste all the nodal DEs. I changed this so that this single worksheet got its data from separate nodal DE worksheets. My thinking here was that I could just cut and paste all the DEs for a single node at once. Of course this also meant the nodal DE input must be in the same order and format as the ones I was using in my nodal DE input worksheet.
    • \r\n
  • I added a capability to be able to shift the DEs by months to simulate a delayed start or delayed schedule. I did this in the all Access DE worksheet by shifting the nodal DEs (by adding a month(s) shift to my link into the nodal DEs). The month shift was set as a variable at the top of the all Access DE worksheet to facilitate any number of months shift.
    • \r\n
  • \r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 511, "title": "Personal Development", "date": "2004-09-07 16:34:17.734", "content": "\r\n

I am always interested in personal development, the process of improving myself and learning new things. Today I was thinking I need to clean up my desktop and I was trying to find the \"sizemgr\" application so that I could find out which folders were taking up the most space. (There are actually two trains of thought there: 1) Clean up my desktop by organizing my folders and files better (and not just throwing them onto the desktop), and 2) Cleaning up my disk space usage. Looking at my Windows desktop, I was reminded of my own physical desktop and how unorganized it is as well. This comes back to me trying to be organized!!! When will I change!!!

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I finally had to do a search for the sizemgr application and found it buried in one of my folders (D:\\Profiles\\pvh\\My Documents\\!!!!Desktop\\!Projects). Also in this folder was an interesting powerpoint presentation on \"Tips for improving Employee Morale, Motivation, and Retention (wmgx_motivate7_02.ppt). There was also another Word document on Leadership which talked about motivation (wmgx_toughtime7_02.doc). Digging through links in these articles I found a Leadership website that had articles on leadership and was maintained by Gary Driver. (\"http://ttm.ca.nortel.com:8887/woidb/owa/mm1.WPView?iPageNo=21432&iModelID=60\").

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Of course this was another side track I was going into deeper and deeper, but it was all interesting to me! (Because of my interest in personal development...!) How do I keep all these interesting info in front of me so that I can continually learn? One of the methods, of course, is to write stuff down in this journal/blog. I then need to read my journal to jog my memory and follow up on the info to learn new things...

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 540, "title": "Windows nightmare :-(", "date": "2004-09-10 09:16:45.897", "content": "\r\n

Well, over the labour day weekend I ended up spending Sunday night and all of Monday wrestling with Windows XP and installing it on Anne's new computer. A lot of it was my fault because I was trying to learn how to do unattended installs and slip streaming for updating windows service packs. I also ended up wrecking the windows on my PC (paulspc2)!

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It all started off innocently enough. Anne's PC kept crashing (still don't know the reason). It was just so unstable. When the kids were playing on it, it would crash constantly... I finally decided to bite the bullet and get a new motherboard on which I could put the Duron 1GHz processor that I had lying around. I also ended up buying some memory (PC2100 instead of the PC3200 I wanted since the store ran out of stock), and a new Antec PC case. In the end I think I spent over $375!!!

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Then the fun really began. I had Joseph help me install the motherboard into the case and put on some of the connectors. However, when I started to get ready to install Windows, he got bored and no longer helped me. In order to prepare for the windows installation, I decided to use an old 30Gig hard drive from paulspc1, clean out the files, and install this on Anne's new PC. In the process of doing this, I had to swap some hard drives on paulspc2 in order to install the old paulspc1 hard drive and copy the files over. I also changed the 30Gig hard drive to be one big partition.

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I have these two nice removable hard drive cages that I had planned on using for easily swapping hard drives in and out of the PC. The exact thing I wanted to do now. Unfortunately, the way the PC booting was set up, any time I removed any of the removable hard drives, the PC would no longer boot. After studying the \"boot.ini\" file and looking at the hard drive connectors, I finally figured out why this was happening and how this multi-boot thing worked.

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First I need to explain how the multi-boot syntax works in the \"boot.ini\" file. For every windows installation that you want to be able to boot, you specify the disk number and the partition number on this disk. This is specified using \"rdisk(#)\" and \"partition(#)\". Now you have to figure out how to find the disk #. Using partition magic 8.0, it shows you the disk number and the partitions and drive letter assignments for those partitions. It has a nice graphical view of all your disk drives and these number and letter assignments. One tricky thing you need to know though, is that the partition magic view starts numbering the disks starting at #1, while the \"boot.ini\" syntax starts numbering the disk at #0. Therefore you need to remember to subtract 1 from the partition magic disk number.

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Looking at the cable connectors to the hard drives, this is how the drive numbers are assigned. I was using three different IDE connectors. One on the motherboard, and the other two were on the TX133 IDE PCI interface card. The drives connected to the motherboard (primary IDE connector) are numbered #0 and #1. The master drive is #0 and the slave drive is #1. On the TX133 card, the connector closest to the front of the computer is the primary IDE connector and the drives connected to here are #2 (master) and #3 (slave). The TX133 card connector closest to the back of the computer is the secondary IDE connector and the drives connected here are #4 (master) and #5 (slave). Ok, so I now know how to figure out the the drive number to use for \"rdisk(#)\".

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So why did the computer no longer boot when I removed a hard drive? It took some thinking, but I finally figured it out... :-) The bottom removable hard drive was the slave on the TX133 primary IDE connector. This made it rdisk(3). The top removable hard drive was the master on the TX133 primary IDE connector. This made it rdisk(2). The bottom hard drive was also my main windows boot drive (drive letter \"I:\"), and of course I couldn't remove that drive. So I figured I should be able to remove the top drive (drive letter \"P:\") and still be able to boot. But NO!!! This didn't work!!! And the reason for this was that when I removed the top drive (rdisk(2) drive letter \"P\") this will change the drive numbers for all drives higher than this!!! This is the key point, so it's worth repeating. Whenever you remove (or add) a drive, the drive numbers for all drives higher than this drive will have their drive number changed!!! Therefore, in this case rdisk(3) (my \"I:\" boot drive) now became rdisk(2), rdisk(4) is now rdisk(3) and so on. So what does this mean??? It means that in the \"boot.ini\" file we are still pointing to rdisk(3) which is now a different disk and doesn't have windows installed on it!!!

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Therefore, when I take out the top drive (drive letter \"P:\"), my computer no longer boots. To fix this, I went into the boot.ini file and added a new line which said boot from rdisk(2)partition(2) and chose this in the multi-boot window. Now I'm pointing back to the right disk with the windows installation and it works!!! After I did this quick test and it worked, I was finally happy that I figured all this out.

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When I look back at this problem, if drive letter \"I:\" was the master, then when I removed drive letter \"P:\" it would have been OK, since the disk number for drive letter \"I:\" would not have changed. I was thinking that the boot pointers had to do with drive letters, but it doesn't. It uses the physical disk number. This leads to the question, how are the drive letters assigned? Once the drive letters are assigned, they will not change even if you add and remove disks.

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I did a quick search on the web and found my answer. There are registry entries in \"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SYSTEMS\\MountedDevices\" that are used to assign the drive letters. Armed with this new information, this is how I got myself into trouble and ultimately corrupted my windows registry so that paulspc2 would no longer boot. One of the things that bothered me about my Windows XP installation was that the boot drive letter was \"I:\". I wanted to change this to \"C:\" or \"D:\". So I thought, why don't I change the assignment here in the Mounted Devices registry keys? I could then use Partition Magic to map the drive letters from \"I:\" to \"C:\" and I would be set. I thought this was so simple and just decided to do it. Even though in the web pages I read, it said not to change your boot drive's letter assignment!!! After doing this... KABOOM, everything blew up. My windows no longer booted. I tried booting in safe mode, booting to debugging mode, booting using the last known good configuration and nothing worked. My windows was dead. :-(

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One thing I tried to fix this was to go back in the registry and try to change the mounted devices entry back to letter \"I:\" for the disk partition that I changed. It took me a while to figure out that the registry files I needed were in the WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/CONFIG folder and the file that I wanted was named SYSTEM. On my windows 2000 PC at work it is in this folder \"C:\\WINNT\\system32\\config\". There is also the same filename with the extension \"sav\" which I believe is the backup registry file. However, I couldn't find a standalone registry editor that would let me change the value. I did find a registry viewer, but it didn't let me change the values. I could have tried to do this with a Hex Editor, but I didn't. I even copied the SYSTEM file so that I could have a back up copy. However, sometime later when I tried re-booting the PC again, it came up with a setup screen (like it was trying to install windows) and there was an error saying it couldn't find a file. After this, I booted up using another installation of windows xp on drive \"G:\" and I found that all the registry files on drive \"I:\" were changed. Even the backup files I had created were gone!!! There goes all the registry entries I was trying to save!!!

\r\n\r\n

So I lost my windows installation on drive \"I:\" and had to use my windows installation on drive \"G:\". The windows on \"G:\" didn't have any applications installed. Also it was installed using an \"xBetas\" disk and had xbetas all over the place. That's one reason I didn't want to use it. In the Systems Properties dialog box (right click on My Computer icon and choose properties), there is an xbetas logo that I really didn't want to have. I did run across how to get rid of this stuff. This type of info is installed by OEMs and when I was learning about unattended installs, there was a whole section on how the OEMs could add their own specific stuff during a windows install. You have to look at the help file called ref.chm in the deploy.cab archive in the SUPPORT/TOOLS folder of the windows install disk. When browsing the help file, scroll down to the bottom of the left hand pane. I can't remember exactly what it's called, but it's something to do with OEM stuff. This part of the help file also showed how you can change some of these settings (eg. use a different bitmap logo in the systems properties dialog box) by updating specific files or registry entries.

\r\n\r\n

For Anne's PC I finally created a bootable windows XP install disk. I followed the instructions on a web page ( http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=297). I copied all the files on the windows XP install disk that I had into a folder. I then downloaded a boot image which is written to the boot sectors of the CD. I used Nero to burn the bootable CD image. I booted Anne's PC off this windows install disk and successfully installed windows XP.

\r\n\r\n

I also tried to build what's called a slipstreamed windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) bootable disk. From what I've read, slipstream is a term used when you update the files of a windows install disk with the updated files from a service pack. You run some executable from the service pack, point it to where the windows install files are, and then it updates the files. You can then burn these files and make a bootable windows install disk just like above. I first tried this with the windows SP1 RU integrated disk that I have, but the service pack said you can not slip stream windows install files that have already had another service pack applied (which in this case I already had SP1 applied). So I went and got an original windows XP professional disk, copied the install files to a folder, and then slipstreamed SP2 on that. This worked!!! Unfortunately, when I tried to install, I didn't have a CD Product Key that worked... :-(

\r\n\r\n

So I went and used my original windows install disk for paulspc3. A while back something happened to hard disk \"D:\" and this PC would no longer boot the windows XP installed on that partition. Luckily, I could still boot the old windows 98 installed on disk \"C:\". I was using windows 98 since then, but decided to install windows XP back onto disk \"D:\". I tried to do this using an unattended installation which used an answer file. I also updated the batch file to pass some parameters to the winnt32.exe program that actually does the install. Some of the parameters I passed were: copysource (which copies the source files onto the hard disk before starting the install. This allows you to use install files from disk later on, and you don't need the CD-ROM, tempdir which tells it the drive letter to install windows on.

\r\n\r\n

I did some investigation the past few days on windows product keys and product IDs. There is a windows key generator (called bluelist) which I used to generate some valid product keys. However, need to remember that not all keys generated work!!! I also found another keygen call 4in1Windows XP/2003 keygen. I've found that the XP Professional keys generated here are all valid!!!

\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\nThings to write:\r\n\r\n- Add my computer and my documents to the desktop (use \"customize\" button)\r\n- update screen refresh to 85Hz\r\n- Change screen background to none\r\n- Explorer options: change the way files are viewed. \r\n\t- Use detailed view instead of icons.\r\n\t- Go to View and turn on status bar.\r\n\t- Go into tools/folder options and view tab. Change so you don't hide known file extensions, see hidden/system files, use full path on title bar, etc...\r\n\t- Then set all other folders to use this same view.\r\n- Backup installation using Ghostscript. Need to learn to do this.\r\n- mounting NFS volumes. This might be a useful method for keeping my files in order. Need to start keeping my files in order!!!\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 616, "title": "Short conversation with Harold", "date": "2004-09-10 17:30:39.248", "content": "Had a short hallway conversation with Harold (actually in the bathroom)...\r\n\r\nHe was talking to me about my spreadsheet and asked if Gil had mentioned anything to me. I told him that I had made some formatting changes and updated some of the caculations/formulas. Harold said he was asking Gil what each of the fields meant, and Gil didn't know. He said it is always good to know where the data is coming from. You must understand what you are looking at!!!!\r\n\r\nThis is something I've learned from Harold. Don't just accept things. Look at what people are giving you. Understand it. What is the information they're trying to tell you? Does it make sense? Do you understand the information? If not, ask questions!!!\r\n\r\nAlso, turn the questions around. Is this the information you want to see? Is the timing of the information correct (eg. is this information stuff you need to know at this point in the development cycle)? If not, tell them what you need to see and why!!!\r\n\r\nIn today's Release Review meeting, Harold made more comments that I thought were very good.\r\n\r\nHe said there's three types of information:\r\n
    \r\n
  • What do I have to tell him?
    • \r\n
  • What could I tell him?
    • \r\n
  • What do I want to tell him?
    • \r\n
\r\n\r\n

He said you need to think about the message. Are you getting the message across that you want to your audience. In Tony's presentation on CSVS 14 release level stuff, he was pretty harsh on Tony. He wanted the passed test metrics to be based on the tests already run, so he knows that they should be close to 100%. Tony had the number of passed tests as a percentage of all test cases. Also Tony had some CR metrics in there, and Harold was saying he didn't want to know any CR metrics at this point. I think he wants to know the CR metrics after DI.

\r\n\r\n

Tony also had in there as a risk that the integration plan was based on optimal test case execution. Harold said he didn't want to see the same risk week after week. The plan has a test case execution of 350 per week. He wants to know what is being done about it. What is the resolution of this risk? Are we reforecasting? Are we validating and accepting this risk? Later on in Rick Morris' presentation, they talked about this, and I think Flavio is putting together metrics to see what has been done in the past and what needs to be done to make the integration plan realistic and achievable. When this was being discussed during Tony's presentation, they should have spoke up and defended Tony at this point (my thoughts).

\r\n\r\n

During the CSVS design presentation, Harold mentions that he wants to see the specific actions that have come out of the previous meetings and making sure they are presented and tracked. One was the risky integration plan that was mentioned above. Others are PMC strategy, PCR6.1 rebase, and Hybrid Fair Share There is also a BSC resource shortfall. Harold wants Ed to talk to the othe directors. What creative solutions can they come up with to resolve the problem. Harold acknowledged that projects the size of CSVS will always have resource issues. We have to handle them. What solutions can we come with?

\r\n\r\n

Harold also mentioned CR resolution profiles. We are obviously very poor at forecasting CR profiles. Harold knows we struggle with this. What are we doing about it? Main thing Harold wants to see is the methodology you are using to come up with your profiles. Based on historical comparable projects? Based on SLIM tool? He asked David Chavez to make sure his fellow directors see the benefits of using the SLIM tool. Harold wants us to converge on methodologies.

\r\n\r\n

Harold also wants there to be upfront planning for being able to deliver NBSS14.0 without CSVS. He wants 14.0 to be predictable and go out the door. He said we need to start planning now similar to what we did in NBSS12.1 with a 12.1 base, 12.1 CPDS, and 12.1 Compact BTS. Again with these large programs, there is risk, but he wants 14.0 to go out the door on time. Roger mentioned something about CSVS 14.0 planning has been thorough, but still a good idea to have the decoupling strategy in your \"back-pocket\". Harold said he agreed with everything said, but he wants the decoupling strategy to be in your \"front-pocket\". I think Harold is also looking at the overall project including VO. Dividing the CRs into 14.0 and CSVS14.0 gives better flexibility so that we don't allow CSVS to hold up the whole release.

\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 617, "title": "Using the log...", "date": "2004-09-27 10:17:54.86", "content": "

I've converted over to Thingamablog v1.0b2. It took me a while to configure the database and weblogs directory, but I finally got it all figured out... :-)

\r\n\r\n

I really want to start using this log to capture all my thoughts, info, ideas, to do's, assignments, priorities, etc... Really make this my one-stop-shopping for myself.

\r\n\r\n

I haven't put in a log entry in a while. Need to catch up.

\r\n

\r\n

    \r\n
  • Did a lot of stuff on windows. Need to capture all the tricks and tips I've learned in the last month.
    • \r\n
  • Start using the blogs to organize my info at work
    • \r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 618, "title": "CPT Process overview discussion with Ken Z.", "date": "2004-09-27 12:32:15.001", "content": "\r\n

Had a very good conversation with Ken Zubricki on the CPT process and how it fits into the overall LCM 505.32 / BDP process milestones. Here are some ideas and thoughts I wanted to capture from that conversation.

\r\n\r\n
    \r\n
  • Need to ensure that we make the documents light-weight. No one is going to read a 500 page document. Who is the customer of the document? What is the information they will need to get out of the document? Focus the document to meet the customer and/or the purpose of the document. Ken talked about the HLD and how it might contain too much detail for the architect. I told him that there are several audiences/customers for the HLD. Some want just the key high level summary, others want the gory details to do their design...
    • \r\n
  • Do we have too many deliverables in the up front planning process? Similar to above, need to streamline to make process as efficient as possible. Ken mentioned Bill Owens and his push to make the company more efficient and effective. The reason for putting all these deliverables and process changes up front is to make us more predictable in the back-end. What is the most effective things to do in the up-front planning to produce the predictable back-end? Focus on these high payback items, and don't worry about the other more lower value things. Maybe they can be delivered later on in the process. Need to make the process as streamlined and effective as possbile!!!
    • \r\n
  • Ken says there is a big disconnect between management and the working level of the planning process and deliverables. Working level: \"The UVP sucks... it doesn't work.\" Management: \"UVP is working great!\"
    • \r\n
  • I told Ken that we need to get this process information and deliverables out to the designer/working level and not just out to the management. Ken agrees and supports this. Designers will not read huge process documets. They will read a 4 page powerpoint presentation. Put together checklists of what's needed. Make it very clear. What are inputs/outputs for the milestones? What are the milestone criteria? They'll stick the summary up on their walls.
    • \r\n
  • Ken thinks there should only be DEs that align with the BDP milestones (SR, MR, and BR). Therefore, shouldn't have more than 3 stages of DEs. I think the intent of the Stage 0 DE is being lost in our planning stages for NBSS14.0 Because NBSS14.0 is so late, I think we're doing Stage 1 level DEs (investigation time, detail-wise, etc...) and then still calling them Stage 0 DEs.
    • \r\n
  • I was thinking we need to start giving recommendations on the size and details of these documents. How much effort is expected to be expended in producing these documents? How long should it normally take? Need to focus on the key information in the document and getting that filled out for the specific milestone.
    • \r\n
  • Ken said in his previous positions, anything before BR was kind of a black hole. He'd take out his PLM guy to lunch to find out about the upcoming features in the next release. He likes the definition that we've put in place, but is it too much? Are we getting the FRSes from PLM? Are the documents too big?
    • \r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 619, "title": "NBSS Release Dates and Content Tracking", "date": "2004-09-28 09:47:00.805", "content": "\r\n

Gil has asked me to keep up-to-date a presentation which has the NBSS release dates and contents. I have not been doing so, and this was a negative mark against me in my last review. He has asked me again to keep it up-to-date and I still haven't gotten around to updating it. Now, WK40, he has asked me again... Now I've really got to do it!!!

\r\n\r\n

I'm not sure why it is so hard for me to do this. Maybe it's because this used to be done by an admin and now I've got to do it. Or it could just be one of my procrastination things...

\r\n\r\n

One of the things I was thinking is really trying to understand what the information is going to be used for. I don't think people are really looking at the document (since I haven't updated it in a long, long time). Maybe Gil is the only audience for it?!#@? Or maybe this is the type of information that people want to see, but don't know where to get it. I was thinking we could optimize the way Release Information is kept and displayed for everyone (RMTs, designers, IPTs, etc...).

\r\n\r\n

I started searching on the internal web looking for sites that have Release Date information. I didn't really find any single spot that had all the information. The release date information is all over the place, and a lot of the sites have data that is stale and not kept up to date. Looking at the release management information and how 2J is managing the releases, there is no consistency! The data collected and status reports are different for every release. Can we change this to make it consistent across all the releases? I think an issue is that there is no real release management process that we follow. There are no templates for the status reports. There is no standard web page structure. The info is in livelink, but the type of documents and folder structure in livelink vary widely between releases.

\r\n\r\n

Actually, I'm making things hard for myself. I could probably just go rooting around, find the data, and update the presentation. Instead I'm trying to find one spot that has the release dates information, and if there is one that already exists, create it. Is this what I really want to do?

\r\n\r\n

I think I'm getting two things mixed up here. Let's just update the Release Dates presentation to reflect the current status. Then I also want to look into the Release Management processes, how we do things now, and what are the things that we can improve upon. I'm going to stick this into another blog entry.

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 623, "title": "NBSS Release Management processes and workflow", "date": "2004-09-28 10:25:12.478", "content": "\r\n

I wanted to capture in a separate blog, ideas on how we currently manage Releases.

\r\n\r\n

Julia Schmidt told me yesterday that the core guys are now getting rid of the Release Milestones Management process that we are also using in Access. This is the only Release management process that I am aware of. Right now the way we manage the releases is not consistent. The criteria for the milestones, deliverables, status reports/updates, documents, release dates info, etc...

\r\n\r\n

Perhaps we could do better and have consistency by putting all this down into a process document, or put together some primer or RMT guide which gives the templates and stuff we need to manage releases.

\r\n\r\n

Another thing I was thinking of is that we are also trying to keep a lot of new metrics for all the releases. We should standardize on this as well and the reporting of these metrics. There are also reports that we need to generate after CR, like the predictability reports that show plans versus actuals and the variances including reforecasts. I like the idea of a web page that has the release info and then drilling down from there to get all the other info. Perhaps there are links into e-BMS or livelink for the actual data and documents. Need to look at the core guys and what they have set up. It seems like they are way more organized than us in this regard.

\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 626, "title": "More windows stuff...", "date": "2004-09-29 11:23:11.062", "content": "I've been spending a lot of time getting my computer environment back up after re-installing windows on my PCs. I've tried to capture the steps I've taken in my primer or user guide documents. Need to keep this up.\r\n\r\nOne of the things I was trying to do was create a bootable, unattended Windows install CD. I was specifically trying to create one for the Windows XP SP2 (service pack 2). Using instructions I found on a web page (given in a previous blog entry), I was able to successfully create this bootable CD. However, for one version (the retail version?) when I installed it, it required an activitation. So off I went, creating an OEM verion of Windows XP SP2. My logic was that the OEM version would not require activation. I successfully created a Dell OEM version of Windows XP SP2, but now when I tried to install it, I could not get a Product Key that worked. I think I need to try this again, but use a different OEM version.\r\n\r\nOn PaulsPC3, I tried a different tactic. What if I tried to apply the service pack 2, to the already installed windows? I installed windows again to a free partition on PaulsPC3. Then I applied service pack 2 to this windows XP installation. And it worked!!!! So now I had an SP2 version of XP on PaulsPC3. So now I know I can do it, but I still want to see if using a different OEM windows XP to start with, if I can create a bootable Windows XP SP2 that I can install and use the keygen for the product keys.", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 627, "title": "Is it \"genetics\" or \"environment\"? The age old question of Nature vs. Nurture...", "date": "2004-09-29 11:45:50.159", "content": "

\r\n I found out end of last week, that Joseph was accepted into the "Gifted \r\n Kids" program!!! Wow!!! I'm really proud of the little guy. We've always \r\n known that he's smart and intelligent, but to have this confirmed by the \r\n school system is very cool...\r\n

\r\n

\r\n We got a bunch of information for parents of gifted children and it was \r\n interesting reading through these articles last night and this morning. \r\n I certainly see a lot of Joseph's characteristics and traits in the \r\n descriptions. Another interesting factoid is that bright kids usually \r\n have bright parents... :-) This one is a bit of an ego-booster!!! :-) \r\n The article stated that the parents IQ is usually within 10 of the \r\n child's IQ. It also stated that siblings of bright children are usually \r\n bright/gifted as well.\r\n

\r\n

\r\n It also makes me think of the kinds of impact that Anne and I can have \r\n on the development of our children. What are the kinds of values we \r\n teach our children? What are the values we want to teach our \r\n children? This ties in to all the personal development stuff that I've \r\n always been interested in. One of my favourite authors is Stephen Covey \r\n and I really like the model he presents in his Seven Habits book. Start \r\n with the self. Know what is important to you. Align all your actions \r\n with those values. Then work on your relationships. Really learn to \r\n listen. Learn to communicate effectively. His exercise he uses for \r\n getting to the root of your values is one that sticks out in my mind. In \r\n his book he talks about attending your own funeral. What would you want \r\n your family to say about you? Your spouse? Your children? Your mother \r\n and father? Your brother and sisters? How about your friends? Your \r\n co-workers? Look deeply at your answers. What are they saying about your \r\n values? It's interesting that in later versions of the book (?) he \r\n changed the example to use your 65th birthday or retirement party... The \r\n example of the funeral was too final and didn't give a chance for \r\n changing yourself. I still like the example of the funeral. Too me this \r\n is very powerful.\r\n

\r\n

\r\n Here is a list of the seven habits:\r\n

\r\n
    \r\n
  1. \r\n Habit 1: Be Proactive\r\n
    2. \r\n
  2. \r\n Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind\r\n
    3. \r\n
  3. \r\n Habit 3: Put First Things First\r\n
    4. \r\n
  4. \r\n Habit 4: Think Win-Win\r\n
    5. \r\n
  5. \r\n Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood\r\n
    6. \r\n
  6. \r\n Habit 6: Synergize\r\n
    7. \r\n
  7. \r\n Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw\r\n
    8. \r\n
\r\n

\r\n There is so much information and literature about raising kids. I \r\n remember just recently seeing Dr. Phil talking about ensuring you have \r\n traditions and routines built into your kids lives. I think Anne and I \r\n do this well with our evening prayer and songs before bedtime. All of us \r\n freely say "I love you!" and freely give hugs and kisses. I think this \r\n is just an awesome environment for our kids. I really want our home to \r\n be a safe haven and always be seen in this manner. Sometimes I get upset \r\n at Anne for yelling at the kids, but then I do too. (I think Anne's view \r\n is I shout more at the kids then she does.) One thing for sure is that \r\n I'm certainly being very aware of this and trying my best to always be \r\n calm, rationale, and diplomatic with the kids.\r\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 629, "title": "DE Accuracy - Planned vs. Actuals", "date": "2004-10-06 07:39:12.372", "content": "\r\n

I've been assigned the task of looking at the NBSS13.0 planned vs. actuals. I need to look at our NBSS13.0 DEs and plans and compare them to what actually happened. I need to analyze the variances and determine causes for them. What caused us to go off track? What were the original assumptions/restrictions/limitations/etc...? Were they valid and did they change? Were we \"forced\" to change our DEs to fit within the release schedule?

\r\n\r\n

Ideas of things I need to look at:

\r\n
    \r\n
  • Ahmet and I have had several conversations regarding the Call Summary Logs feature. He has some very strong opinions on the issues within the BSC. Need to talk with him again and write down his ideas. eg. Skillset of designer is wrong, planning on the BSC is not right... Get this down on paper!!!!
    • \r\n
  • David Chavez once did a presentation in EQP on DE predictability. Need to dig this out and look at it again.
    • \r\n
  • NASA Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) had some documents on DEs and the key factors to use when deriving them. Review these again.
    • \r\n
\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 631, "title": "Building a learning organization", "date": "2004-10-08 07:48:52.493", "content": "\r\n

I attended the first day of a Learning Leaders Workshop and I wanted to capture some thoughts from the first day.

\r\n\r\n

Learning Practice -> EL

\r\n\r\n

Learning Tool\t->\tEL Map

\r\n\r\n

I just wanted to distinguish the difference between the learning methodologies vs. the learning tools.

\r\n\r\n

Learning Culture

\r\n
    \r\n
  • want to develop this in the organization
    • \r\n
  • this is what we do when we question our current practices
    • \r\n
  • is there a better way to do things than we are doing now?
    • \r\n
  • what are the metrics we should measure and show improvement for in adoption of the new changes?
    • \r\n
  • is the effort worth the result(s)??? -> perhaps treat as business case
    • \r\n
  • is there an easier better way of doing it???
    • \r\n
\r\n\r\n

IDEA:

\r\n
    \r\n
  1. We should always explain why a metric is being measured. ie. What is it being used for.
    2. \r\n\t
      \r\n \t
    • What is expected accuracy of the metric?
      • \r\n\t
    • How much time should we spend collecting the metric?
      • \r\n\t
    • What tools are available to collect metric?
      • \r\n\t
    • Make it as easy as possible for designer/manager to get metrics
      • \r\n\t
    \r\n
  2. Then show metric and evaluate its usefulness/progress.\r\n\t
      \r\n \t
    • Show how metric is used to designers
      • \r\n\t
    • Is the metric as valuable/useful as we thought???
      • \r\n\t
    \r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 633, "title": "CPIRATES! aka - How do we get a cool Release Management web page like this!!!", "date": "2004-10-08 09:58:55.608", "content": "\r\n

I was curious about what \"cpirates\" was since I ran across this looking at the BTS performance web page (http://btsperf).

\r\n\r\n

The web page is at: \"http://cpirates.ca.nortel.com/cgi-bin/captain.pl\".

\r\n\r\n

There was obviously a lot of effort put into the web page. There was a training presentation that I saw and that was pretty cool to. They had a logo/banner at the end that looks like it was taken from a movie poster and they had pasted the faces of the developers of the project.

\r\n\r\n

This is really cool! I'd like to do something like this. Need to give the release management team and identity!!! Build a cool web page that has everything you want to know about CDMA NBSS releases in it. Also want to have a cool server name that you can easily type in and get to our web page!!!

\r\n\r\n

Need to start thinking about this and how to get this idea kicked off. I had discussed the release dates with Mike and where they were kept. Right now there is no single repository. I told Mike that I'd like to create a spot where all the release dates information is kept in a single spot and Mike thought that that would be a great idea. I would also want to keep anything that is related to release management in one single spot. PUT EVERYTHING IN HERE!!! One thing I've realized is that livelink is a great repository for your information, but it is damn near impossible to navigate the livelink folders and find what you want. Use a web page as a front end with a cool user interface (like the cpirates web page!) and a logical structure where you can find the things you need!!!

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 634, "title": "Nortel Pension Plan tracking", "date": "2004-10-11 13:10:06.155", "content": "\r\n

I was filing away some papers, and I came across a website guide for the Nortel Pension plan. The website is called Mercer OneView and is at http://www.MercerOneView.com/Nortel.

\r\n\r\n

This web site gives you instant access to your pension information. It lets you project your estimated pension benefit and contains general retirement planning information.

\r\n\r\n

Nortel Networks also sends you an annual Canadian Pension Benefits Statement that summarizes my participation in Part II of the Nortel Networks Limited Managerial and Non-negotiated Pension Plan at Dec 31st of each year.

\r\n\r\n

I have filed away all this information in my \"Pension Info\" folder in my black filing cabinet.

\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 638, "title": "Continued DVD burning problems...", "date": "2004-10-11 23:57:37.438", "content": "\r\n

I'm still having DVD burning problems. I thought it started a few weeks back, after I had re-installed windows xp on PaulsPC2. It happened first on my LG 4040 4X DVD drive. I started getting verify errors and focus tracking errors on the drive. I thought it was the DVD burner drive itself, so I ended up getting a new LG 40120 12X DVD drive. However, as soon as I started burning DVDs on it, I continued to get errors... :-(.

\r\n\r\n

I tried booting into a clean install of windows with very little running in the background, and I still seem to get the verify errors. I also thought it might be bad DVD media that I had. However, I got errors on three different types of media that I bought. I also thought it might have to do with a new version of Nero v6.3 that I had installed. I went back to an older version of Nero v6.0.15 which I had used previously for a long time without any problems. But I continue to get verify errors on the DVDs I burn. There are no problems with any of the CDs I burn. It is only with DVDs!!!

\r\n\r\n

I also tried moving the DVD player from the tower case into an external firewire case. My logic here was that there was less vibration in the external case. I noticed that the tower case really had a vibration to it because of all the fans in the case. Another thing was that the external case had its own power supply, so I thought that might have something to do with it as well. As it turns out, there are still verify errors even when writing to a DVD using the external case.

\r\n\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 639, "title": "What makes an accurate DE?", "date": "2004-10-13 17:21:14.639", "content": "\r\n
    \r\n
  • You can measure planned vs. actuals, but there is more to an accurate DE than this.
    • \r\n
  • You could have an \"accurate DE\", but not execute or implement well. Is this then a DE problem?
    • \r\n
  • Here's what I thought. An accurate DE is about making valid and reasonable assumptions and making conservative estimates based on those assumptions.\r\n
  • Here are some assumptions, or parameters:
    • \r\n
      \r\n
    • What is productivity of designer?
      • \r\n
    • How much total effort is it to do project?
      • \r\n
    • What is reasonable timeframe?
      • \r\n
    • What is complexity of s/w on project?
      • \r\n
    • Need to have baseline view for all these.
      • \r\n
    • Then think about risks.
      • \r\n
    • Which risks have you assumed will trigger or happen, and have already compensated for in your DE?
      • \r\n
    • Which other ones do you need to monitor and watch closely?
      • \r\n
    • \r\n
    • \r\n
    • \r\n\r\n
    \r\n
  • Once these assumptions are made, the DE will remain accurate as long as these assumptions remain valid and true.
    • \r\n
  • The execution of the project has a large part in determining whether the DE was accurate or not.
    • \r\n
  • Need to have a standard set of assumptions which are consistently applied in order to have repeatability and predictability.
    • \r\n
  • Need to look at SEF parameters.
    • \r\n
  • In order to build a repeatable process, need to understand what we consistently do now. What methodologies do the nodes currently use? Do they measure planned vs. actuals? What are the metrics we need to measure?
    • \r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n

In a discussion with Carole, here are some other tidbits of info.

\r\n
    \r\n
  • Issue for Carole in NBSS13.0 was that the effort for all the deliverables was not factored into the project plan. ie. The effort to follow the new process was added to the work that already needed to be done without a change in schedule.
    • \r\n
  • When we do a DE, we need to figure out the effort for the actual technical work itself, and then also figure out the effort needed to complete the deliverables needed for the process. Is this baked into the KLOC productivity per designer?
    • \r\n
  • Labs was also an issue. Also talked about resources and not getting them when you had planned in your DE.
    • \r\n
  • Also talked about the end-to-end prime role. This is now tagged onto the technical manager for the BSC primed features, but this is overloading the manager. The end-to-end role could end up being enough work for a person full-time. eg. Look at the Release A/BAM/SDB example. It just depends on the size of the feature. For features that reach a certain threshold and complexity, need to explicitly assign and allocate effort needed for the end-to-end prime role. BTS team seems to assign this end-to-end prime role to someone other than technical manager.
    • \r\n
  • Carole also said she has never had training to do feature planning. This would be useful. What are the guidelines we should be using to estimate effort. How much for stage 0 of UVP? How much for SDS? etc... She also said we should have same guidelines across all the nodes. Need to be consistent. (Is this really an area we need to be consistent?) I think it probably does take the same amount of effort independent of the node, so we could probably come up with a single value that is usable across all nodes. Other deliverables may not be consistent across all nodes in terms of time and effort.
    • \r\n
  • Another way to look at the above is to ensure that you explicitly plan for all the deliverables (not just the coding and documentation, but the process deliverables as well). But need to be able to measure the process deliverables as well as the coding deliverables so you just don't increase the DE just because you've added more deliverables to process. Just like putting all your deliverables in series and then saying that it will take you \"x\" more months to deliver feature. Some work can be done in parallel.
    • \r\n
\r\n\r\n", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 640, "title": "Paul's Blogs recovered! Hooray!", "date": "2005-08-16 17:10:44.506", "content": "

\n Finally was able to recover my blog!!!\n

\n

\n I had copied the blog data files from a backup DVD. Problem was that you \n needed to put the files in exactly the same directory structure than \n previously used (since this info is saved in the blog data files). The \n other problem was that all the files were marked read only! I had to go \n set clear all the read only flags in the file properties dialog box. \n After doing this I was able to open the database.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 642, "title": "Laptop Hard Drive Crash!", "date": "2005-08-16 17:18:16.738", "content": "

\n My laptop hard-drive crashed and now I'm trying to recover my files. I \n had backed up my e-mail at the beginning of June, so I lost about a \n month of e-mail info before our Disneyworld vacation.\n

\n

\n However, I hadn't backed up any of my other personal files... :-( So the \n last snapshot I have of my blogs are back in Oct 2004. I don't think I \n entered too much since then. Probably some stuff on fitness and \n nutrition. I also lost my nutrition data spreadsheet I had started and \n my fitness log.\n

\n

\n I had also put our Disney vacation pictures on my laptop, but luckily I \n also copied these files to an external hard drive. Phew!!! That would \n have been so disappointing if I had lost those pictures!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 643, "title": "I'm back!!! Changing roles at work again.", "date": "2006-08-29 16:42:25.963", "content": "

\n Ok, so I haven't exactly been a prodigious blogger... but that doesn't \n mean nothing has been happening in my life!\n

\n

\n I had just moved to the EVDO project in June 2005 before my previous \n entry. Then in May 2006, Larry took over for Harold and we got a new \n Director, Steve Mariano, for EVDO Product Delivery. Paul Asselin had \n previously worked with Steve in UMTS and said he was a real task master. \n And we certainly found that out. He has his operating methods and \n demands a lot from his team and from others. I certainly got in his bad \n books pretty quick. I didn't do the things he asked for and he \n developed a poor impression of me and my capabilities.\n

\n

\n So when Steve had a chance to bring in one of his previous reports from \n UMTS, he basically moved me out to make room for Jean Francois on EVDO. \n Luckily he talked with Gil, and Gil said he had an opening that would \n suit me. I compare it to being placed on waivers and having Gil pick me \n up :). I appreciate Gil having the faith and belief in me. Need to \n always keep this in mind and always do my best in his team.\n

\n

\n Looking back, it's amazing how much better this is for me personally. \n EVDO was a very difficult project, and I just didn't know how to \n influence the current status quo to get things moving. I now have \n another good chance at a fresh start and need to take full advantage and \n impress the hell out of everyone!!! Carpe Diem, Seize the Day!!!\n

\n

\n Maybe someday, I'll capture my experience and lessons learned from the \n EVDO project, but for now, I'm just gonna concentrate in making Gil's \n group successful. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 644, "title": "Summer Vacation 2006 - Vancouver, Denisa passing away", "date": "2006-08-29 16:56:49.425", "content": "

\n We spent our summer vacation this year in Vancouver, BC. It was a great \n trip, although there was a solemn occasion when my dear sister, Denisa, \n passed away. Joe and I spent the better part of our last week in \n Vancouver making the funeral arrangements and attending the prayer \n service and funeral mass. I feel bad that I never kept in close touch \n with Denisa. We did see her when we visited Vancouver, and she always \n seemed to be her happy smiling self. Of course she always had her own \n opinions and wasn't afraid to voice them loudly.\n

\n

\n I think we had a good prayer service and funeral mass. Again it was \n nice to see family and friends, although this is such a solemn occasion. \n Manang Betty and Manong Caesar also flew in for the funeral. It was \n good seeing them too. Leanne's Mom, Rita, had a nice dinner that \n evening and invited the cousins over. We had an enjoyable time chatting \n about lots of different stuff.\n

\n

\n The highlight of our vacation was the big road trip to Calgary. We had \n fun driving through the mountains and stopping at the various site \n seeing spots.\n

\n

\n As is my tradition now, I compiled a journal of our vacation. It has \n lots of info on what we did, who we saw, and a bunch of other details \n people probably don't want to know. :) \n

", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 645, "title": "Getting into running again...", "date": "2006-08-31 15:12:02.71", "content": "

\n I went for a 10km run today. I've fallen out of a regular running \n routine, and I think it's time for me to get back into it. I was doing a \n long run once a week just before our vacation to Vancouver, and was \n planning to run during the vacation, but that never happened. I ran just \n once in the three weeks! In the two weeks after our vacation I've run \n twice.\n

\n

\n The current problem is that I'm sleeping waaaayyyy tooooo late to get up \n in the mornings to do my runs. Yesterday I got to bed just around \n 11:10pm so that wasn't too bad. I really need to shoot for 10:00pm \n though if I want to get up between 5:00am and 5:30am for a longish run. \n That'll give me an hour to 1.5 hours for a run. Hopefully I'll get into \n a routine!!!\n

\n

\n Today's run felt pretty good. My heart rate is still too high at around \n 155 bpm. This is about 7-10 bpm higher for the same pace \n (6:00-6:15min/km) than when I was in shape for the marathon. I wonder \n how long it'll take to get back into that shape. I performed my usual \n post run stretches: 50 leg swings on each leg, crouch, quad, calf, and \n cross legged stretches.\n

\n

\n I noticed that my pace started to slow on the run back (as usual). I \n need to consciously push the pace so that I don't slow down, especially \n when I'm tiring. I did focus on it and kept the pace around 6:15. For \n the last kilometer I wanted to get in under 6:00 so I really pushed it \n and came in at 5:50. My heart rate also went up to 160bpm. \n

\n

\n I also want to track how my body feels. Keep aware of the little aches \n and pains during and after the exercise.\n

\n
    \n
  • \n I noticed a little pain on the outside and top part of my right foot. \n Not too bad, just feel it a bit.\n
    • \n
  • \n I noticed a little pain on the inside and top part of my left foot. \n This is the same area as the tendon that swelled up previously when I \n had tied my shoe laces too tight.\n
    • \n
  • \n I noticed a start of a blister on the 4th toe of both feet! Tips of \n toes were sensitive.\n
    • \n
  • \n My hamstrings were noticeably tight and stiff in the second half of my \n run as I was getting tired. Do I need to stretch them out? Or are they \n weaker than my quads and just complaining more when I get tired?\n
    • \n
  • \n Also, at work, when I had my legs up for a while, after I put them \n down, the inside part of my left knee had a pain, near the knee cap. \n It's actually quite painful and makes me limp when I walk. It does \n disappear after a while. Don't know what this is. I was thinking back \n to the vacation, and I think I almost slipped at one point and maybe \n that put out my knee. Stretched ligament or something? Need to watch \n this carefully. I'd like to start weight training again, and maybe \n this will help strengthen the knee area.\n
    • \n
\n

\n I input the data into my running log. I haven't done this in a while and \n I had to figure out how to update all the charts again. Looking at the \n data, I see my heart rate for the pace I ran is about the same as when I \n started training for the marathon. Not good. Hopefully I gain back my \n fitness quick.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 646, "title": "Music streaming, or how to access your music from anywhere!", "date": "2006-09-05 17:46:14.671", "content": "

\n It's funny how I go into some of these different tangents and end up in \n a place that's so cool!\n

\n

\n I was searching on the internet for what ports needed to be forwarded \n for the VNC application. The answer to this question is port 5900. \n However, at one site, I read another solution about using SSH and \n opening up a tunnel to any port on the target PC. The author was using \n Softsqueeze as an example application that already has the capability to \n open a secure tunnel and stream music to anywhere with an internet \n connection. I was intrigued so I followed the link and this led me to a \n cool application with cool capabilities!\n

\n

\n Softsqueeze is a software implementation of the Squeezebox which is a \n hardware music player that has 802.11 wireless capability. There is a \n music streaming server called Slim Server that will stream the MP3 music \n to the Squeezebox which will then play the music on your home stereo. \n The connection between the Slim Server and Squeezebox is wireless 802.11.\n

\n

\n Softsqueeze is an MP3 player, which runs on your PC. It connects to your \n Slimserver just like the squeezebox either through the internet or if on \n the same LAN using wireline/wireless. From Softsqueeze, you can browse \n your playlists and MP3 files. You can also connect to the Slimserver and \n browse your playlists that way. You can now stream your music from your \n Slimserver running on your home pc to your Softsqueeze MP3 player on \n your PC which can be connected anywhere on the internet!!! How cool is \n that!!!\n

\n

\n Also, the article talked about using the secure SSH tunnels so you only \n have to forward one port from your router (Port 22 for SSH) to your PC \n running the Slimserver. You can also tunnel other ports from your local \n pc to your home pc to access other applications. Eg. Can use this same \n mechanism for VNC!\n

\n

\n Here's a link to the article:\n

\n

\n http://www.lifehacker.com/software/feature/special-how-to-access-a-home-server-behind-a \n routerfirewall-127276.php\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 650, "title": "VNC Recursive problem solved", "date": "2006-09-06 09:57:48.25", "content": "

\n Woo hoo! Finally solved my Real VNC recursive issue. Let me start from \n the beginning...\n

\n

\n I've had VNC working for a while now by forwarding port 5900 at the DSL \n router to the machine running the VNC server (eg. 192.168.2.10). \n However, I've just learned about SSH and wanted to run the VNC over the \n secure channel provided by SSH. New knowledge can be a dangerous thing \n :):):).\n

\n

\n Here's how it's supposed to work in theory... Install an SSH server at \n your home PC, and an SSH client at the remote PC. When connected to the \n internet, run your SSH client and open a secure connection to your home \n PC. I found an application called F-secure SSH that I used for the \n client and server. There is also Open SSH which uses cygwin and PTTY. \n The F-Secure application uses the users defined on the Windows XP \n system. It didn't allow for a blank password, so I added a password to \n my "Paul" userid. When I connect to the home PC using the SSH client, it \n prompts for a userid and password, and I just use my windows userid and \n password.\n

\n

\n After logging in to the home PC, you now open up tunnels from your \n remote PC ports to the ports on your home PC. For example, for VNC you \n use port 5900 so I created a tunnel from 5900 to localhost:5900 on my \n home PC. Now whenever you connect to port 5900 on your remote PC \n (running the SSH Client), this traffic is tunneled over a secure channel \n to localhost:5900 (ie. port 5900 on your home PC). The neat thing about \n this is you can actually forwad the traffic to another PC on your local \n LAN. Supposed the server is running on another PC from where your SSH \n server is running, then you could forward the traffic to another port on \n that PC. Let's say the VNC Server is running on a separate PC, then you \n would forward the ports to that PC (eg. 192.168.2.100:5900).\n

\n

\n The beauty of this configuration is that you forward only one port (port \n 22 for SSH) from your router to your PC running the SSH server. Then you \n just set up tunnels to the ports needed for the applications you want to \n connect to. For VNC it's 5900. For SlimServer it's 9000 (although \n Softsqueeze can connect using SSH without a separate SSH client). HTTP \n is 80, and FTP is 21. The SSH client also has FTP over SSH (don't know \n what it's called).\n

\n

\n Now this all sounds great, but I was having problems with VNC \n recursively connecting to itself. At the home PC, the VNC actually sees \n traffic that comes from the same PC (localhost:5900 or 127.0.0.1:5900). \n This is like a loopback connection. So what you see is a bunch of \n windows being opened inside the VNC window recursively. I just couldn't \n get around this issue. All the hints and guides I read told you to set \n it up this way and nowhere did I read about people having this recursive \n windows issue I was having.\n

\n

\n However, on one site, I read a slightly different set up and when I \n tried it, it worked!!! Woo Hoo!!! Basically you used port 5901 on your \n remote PC and tunnel that to port 5900 on the VNC server. Then on the \n VNC viewer you connect to localhost:1 or localhost:5901. I couldn't \n believe it when I tried it and it worked without giving the recursive \n window problem. I was so used to seeing the recursive windows and this \n one time it didn't happen. It was great!\n

\n

\n Here's the URL for this little gem of info:\n

\n

\n http://www.realvnc.com/pipermail/vnc-list/2003-January/036707.html \n

\n

\n I've copied the text below:\n

\n

\n \n

\n
\n Setup the SSH server and VNC server on the Linux box.\n
\n
\n Setup the Client PC\n
\n
\n Launch PuTTY.\n
\n
\n Under session:\n
\n
\n Host Name: your Unix box FQDN or IP\n
\n
\n Click SSH\n
\n
\n Give the session a name\n
\n
\n Under: Connection / SSH / Tunnels\n
\n
\n Enter a port forward for Local\n
\n
\n Source Port: 5901\n
\n
\n Destination: localhost:5900\n
\n
\n Click Add\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n Click on session again and save it.\n
\n
\n Now launch (Open) your PuTTY session and logon to your Linux box's SSH\n
\n
\n server.\n
\n
\n Then launch your VNC Viewer and enter localhost:1 as the VNC Server. Your\n
\n
\n SSH session will forward it to your Linux box. You should get prompted \n for\n
\n
\n the VNC Password setup on the VNC server on Linux.\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n You should now be connected to the Linux box via VNC.\n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 652, "title": "USDRP Processes... some impressions", "date": "2006-09-06 17:08:05.098", "content": "

\n I've started reading the new USDRP processess that are being defined and \n rolled out within Nortel. A lot of these items are common sense and \n common knowledge. We basically all know what we should be doing, and \n the process documents just re-state this. (Eg. Decision Analysis \n Resolution, Project Planning and Control...) So what's the problem? \n Why is it we continue to have issues with our projects?\n

\n

\n I also sat in on Larry's 6 Sigma meeting hosted by Gary Driver, and \n attended by the directors. There was a lot of interesting discussion on \n the different 6 sigma projects being proposed. What is the best \n approach to improvement? There are a lot of smart people in the room. \n The directors know what they're doing. How do we get better?\n

\n

\n I like one of Larry's comments on 6 Sigma. "There's the voice of the \n customer. And there's the voice of the business. Sometimes these are \n at cross purposes to one another. Need to balance this." This is why \n it's so easy to think you have the answer, when you're just looking at \n one point of view. However, you're just swinging the pendulum one way \n or the other. Perhaps one way of thinking about it should be an \n optimization problem and that you're trying to get "inefficiencies" out \n of the system. Not always necessarily trying to do more (in the name of \n quality), but to do things better, faster, more efficient, without \n losing sight of "the voice of the customer and the voice of the \n business".\n

\n

\n Along these similar lines, when I'm thinking about the adoption of the \n USDRP, we need to be very, very careful about overhauling the process \n and just making things more "expensive" than they are now. Are we \n spending more money with little customer value? We need to be compliant \n to USDRP, but let's do it with the least cost possible. Maybe we're \n already quite aligned to USDRP! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 653, "title": "Wk36-5 run", "date": "2006-09-08 22:48:57.39", "content": "

\n OK, once a week is not getting into a regular running routine, but I did \n go for a run this morning. I'm still having the same problem of not \n going to bed early enough. Last night I went to bed around midnight and \n got up at 5:15 to go for my run. Five hours of sleep, not good... :(\n

\n

\n I went on the path by the Queensway Carleton and then towards Andrew \n Haydon park. Because it was still quite dark out, I decided to run west \n along Carling where there were at least street lights. Going the other \n direction along the pathway would have taken me into some treed areas \n and I thought that it would have been way too dark. Before getting to \n Dick Bell park where the Brittania Yacht club was, I hit my 5km mark so \n I turned around to head back home. Felt pretty good most of the run. \n Hills at Acres and at Cedarview were tough. I tried leaning into the \n hill more and that seemed to help keep my pace up. Overall it took me \n just over an hour to run the 10K, at a pace of 6:00min/km. Not too bad. \n My heart rate is still way too high. My average HR was 158! So this \n was a pretty intense workout even though it should not have been.\n

\n

\n Weather was cool around 13 degrees C. I wore my knit gloves and my \n hands were nice and warm. Maybe even a little too warm. I wore my long \n sleeve cool max and I was fine in the upper body. I was sweating and I \n didn't feel cold at all. I wore shorts.\n

\n

\n Here's some of the aches and pains I noticed:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Hamstrings were the only real thing I noticed during the run. My \n right hamstring, upper part near my bum was the most painful. It's \n like I've got a slight tear. It feels stiff and is a little painful. \n I need to keep it stretched and loose. I'd also like to do some \n strengthening exercises like lunges.\n
    • \n
  • \n My left knee on the inside, under the knee cap was sore after my run. \n At work I could feel that it was sore. I mentioned this after last \n week's run as well. What could this be? It doesn't seem to bother me \n when I run, but when I cool down, it starts to get sore.\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 654, "title": "Bike Ride Saturday morning", "date": "2006-09-11 13:36:56.906", "content": "

\n I've really been thinking about this triathlon thing, and I'm getting \n psyched up to really go for it and try it. So I need to get into biking \n shape...\n

\n

\n Saturday morning, I went for a bike ride on my mountain bike. It was \n only a 40 minute ride, because I woke up late and I had to go with \n Joseph to get our haircuts around 8:30am. I took my running route out \n to Andrew Haydon park and then along the path towards Brittania. I \n almost got to the Parkway (just past the apartment buildings with the \n tennis courts), before I hit my half-way time limit (around 7:40) and \n had to turn around. I was on a strict time schedule because of the \n haircuts...\n

\n

\n I tried using my bike computer, but it only lasted for a while and then \n the screen went blank. Geez. I thought it was broken, but later that day \n I took the battery out, moved the connectors a bit, and then put the \n battery back in. And the screen came to life!!! Yeah! I was wearing my \n heart monitor and GPS, so my watch was telling me how fast and how far I \n was going. I really love my Timex GPS and the Microsoft GPS devices. \n They are just too cool. Being able to track where you're going, how \n fast, and how far is amazing.\n

\n

\n The bike ride was pretty short, so it wasn't too tough. However, my \n legs do feel the burn from the biking. I've read that you just need to \n put in the biking time. Your bike training should be 1/2 of your \n training time. This is in proportion to the amount of time that you \n bike in the bike leg of the race. After I could also feel that my bum \n was sore. Need to toughen up my butt!!! :)\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 655, "title": "VPN revisited", "date": "2006-09-11 14:03:12.58", "content": "

\n I had previously tried to set up VPN networking to my home PC. I \n eventually got it working. There was a problem with the CyberArmour \n firewall preventing the VPN from connecting properly. However, since I \n got refreshed, I needed to set up the VPN connection again.\n

\n

\n I did a search on google, and found a site that explained it step by \n step. Basically you need to add a new connection and choose the VPN \n option. Go to "My Network Places" and choose properties. On this page \n there is a "New Connection Wizard". Click next and at this next window, \n choose "Connect to the network at my workplace" which will set up a VPN \n connection. At the next window, choose "Virtual Private Network \n connection". Fill in the name for this connection and the Fully \n Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or IP address of the VPN server. Also fill \n in the userid and password used to connect to the VPN server.\n

\n

\n After this is set up, you should be able to double click on the VPN \n connection and it will automatically log you on. I got this to work, \n even without having to turn off the CyberArmour firewall.\n

\n

\n However there are some idiosyncrasies with this connection. For some \n reason, I no longer get DNS name resolution to work. Also, my WINS on my \n local subnet didn't work. I couldn't type "\\\\paulspc2" to get the \n directory listing for my PC. I had to type in "192.168.2.250", but it \n worked. I was able to browse the folders and I even copied an MP3 file \n to my local desktop to test it out. It transferred the file fine.\n

\n

\n So I just need to remember the IP address on local subnet. I've \n hardcoded this to "192.168.2.250", since I was using port forwarding for \n the SSH port 22, and every time PaulsPC2 got a new IP address, I had to \n change the port forwarding rule. To fix this, I set a static IP address \n for PaulsPC2 which is the one above, and then port forwarded TCP 22 to \n PaulsPC2.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 657, "title": "The power of SSH", "date": "2006-09-14 16:31:03.748", "content": "

\n OK, so I was talking about setting up VPN so that I could browse my \n files on my home PC. Problem with setting up a VPN connection is that \n now all your packet traffic travels to your home PC through the "PPTP" \n tunnel. You basically lose internet connectivity. So, I thought to \n myself, is it possible to tunnel VPN over SSH? Actually, what I really \n wanted to do was to figure out what ports are used by windows for file \n sharing and tunnel those ports.\n

\n

\n I did a search using google and hit the jackpot! I found a site that \n explained exactly how to do this. The article was actually about \n tunneling Samba over SSH, but Samba is just the linux implementation of \n an MS Windows Server. The magic port number was 139. This is the port \n used by Windows for NetBIOS. I looked up the name of this port on \n google, using a search string of "standard tcp port" and came up with \n this site: "http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers". \n This document describes port 139 as "NETBIOS Session Service". There is \n also "NETBIOS Name Service" at port 137, and "NETBIOS Datagram Service" \n at port 138.\n

\n

\n Here's the link to the article on setting up Samba over SSH: "http://www.aerospacesoftware.com/samba-ssh-tunnel-howto.htm".\n

\n

\n There are a couple of gotchas that you need to be aware of when setting \n this up.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n First port 139 is also used by Windows File and Printer Sharing, so \n you have to stop this server. Go to a DOS prompt and type "net stop \n server". For me this also stopped the "Computer Browser" server.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Windows XP SP2 doesn't allow incoming connections on localhost, so you \n actually have to specify the IP address of the external interface when \n you set up your tunnel. (eg. ssh2 paul@paje.dyndns.org -L \n 139:192.168.2.250:139 ).\n
    3. \n
\n

\n Using F-secure add a tunnel with the following settings:\n

\n

\n \tSource Port: 139\n

\n

\n \tDestination Host: 192.168.2.250 (Can't use localhost!)\n

\n

\n \tDestination Port: 139\n

\n

\n \tType: TCP\n

\n

\n Note that after you add this tunnel, it won't become active until the \n next time you log in. Therefore, you need to disconnect and then \n connect in again. In the F-Secure SSH Tunneller window, check that the \n status of the tunnels are "Active".\n

\n

\n Getting by these two gotchas, I was able to connect and browse the \n windows network shares on my home PC. I just typed "\\\\127.0.0.1" in the \n address window of an explorer window, and voila! up comes the shared \n directories on my home PC. How cool is that!!! This is so much easier \n than using VPN!!!\n

\n

\n The article also mentioned that there isn't a workaround for having to \n stop Windows File and Printer Sharing in order to free up port 139. \n However, this only impacts your client and what it can share, so when I \n turn it off on my laptop, that's not a big deal. I'm not sharing any \n files or printers from my laptop anyways!\n

\n

\n You can even map a network drive to using this method.\n

\n

\n Also, I found two very useful commands for getting info on your network \n connections:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n "net view" gives all the windows machines names that your PC knows \n about\n
    2. \n
  2. \n "netstat" gives all the network connections currently active on your \n PC.\n
    3. \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 658, "title": "DVDs de-mystified", "date": "2006-09-18 10:13:10.109", "content": "

\n From the title of this post, you can tell that I've been having some \n problems with DVDs. Let me explain.\n

\n

\n This weekend we went to Jenny & Dave's wedding. It was a lot of fun. I \n took a lot of video and pictures as usual. On Sunday, we were invited \n over to Donna and Gille's place for the gift opening. Therefore, on \n Sunday morning and early afternoon, I was trying to convert all the DV \n tapes from my camcorder to DVDs using the DVD recorder. I was using a \n firewire cable to transfer the video from the camera to the DVD recorder.\n

\n

\n At first, I thought that the firewire connection was only transferring \n video over because when I was recording and watching on the TV, and \n later playing back the DVD disc, I wouldn't hear any audio. Then I \n realized that I didn't have any audio cables hooked up. Doh!!! I had \n converted over to using an S-Video cable a while back, but I didn't hook \n up any audio cables. After I hooked the audio cables up, I finally heard \n the audio come out on the TV. Yeah!!! So now I successfully transferred \n the first tape over to DVD. Looks good, right? Well, not too fast \n there... Close to when we were getting ready to leave, I found out that \n the DVD's didn't play properly! Yikes! \n

\n
\n UPDATE: I found out my error. You need to finalize the DVD Disc \n before you can play it on another player. After I finalized the DVD \n disc, I was able to play it on our other DVD player. However, there is \n a catch-22. After I finalize the DVD, I no longer can grab the MPG \n video files off the DVD using Movie Factory 3! For some reason it no \n longer recognizes these video files. Does it have something to do with \n the IFO files. Maybe I can use IFO edit to fix this?\n
\n

\n Actually, the DVDs played OK on the DVD recorder and PaulsPC2, but \n didn't play on our other DVD player and on Annes PC. After more \n investigation, I think it was the formats the DVD recorder was using. \n For some reason, these DVDs weren't being read properly by the DVD \n players. Last minute, I decided to bring my lap top thinking that it had \n a newer DVD drive and therefore it should be able to play the DVDs. \n However, at the party, both Donna's DVD player and my laptop didn't play \n the DVD. Oh well... I ended up doing a quick slide show with the \n pictures that I took and played them for the folks on my laptop in \n Donna's living room. It turned out pretty well. Lots of people said I \n took good pictures!\n

\n

\n Later Sunday evening, I did some investigation. Ulead DVD Movie Factory \n has an option for getting video from DVD-Video disks, but using MF 4.0, \n I kept getting an error. I did a quick search on google and there was a \n forum discussion about using a new .dll file, but I couldn't get a copy \n of it. It was on a private Ulead FTP server and I couldn't access it. I \n ended up going back to a previous version of MF 3.0 and grabbing \n DVD-Video (VOB files) and it worked!!!\n

\n

\n Doing this created a bunch of MPG files in the working directory. So now \n I've got the video files in a standard format that any computer can \n read. I should be able to give these files to Cindy and she can use her \n Mac to create DVDs. Yeah! So now I'm happy that the video files are in a \n format that I can use to create DVDs that will work on any DVD player.\n

\n

\n I ran a quick test. (Actually it wasn't that quick....) I started again \n from scratch using MF 3.0 and grabbed the video from the DVD. It \n actually added to the original video files and started numbering them \n from 18! (I had 17 files from the first time I did it.) So I stopped \n this. Went back to the directory and deleted all the files, and then \n grabbed the video files again. So now I have 17 MPG files in the working \n directory. The files had some generic name like "dmf0917_01.mpg", or \n something like that. These names showed up in the DVD main menu, but I \n just left them for now. I used the default menus and just went straight \n to burn the DVD. This is where it took a long time. A pop-up window \n displayed and said that rendering this DVD may take long time, did I \n want to proceed? I said yes. This was just after 11:30pm, and half an \n hour later it was still trying to render the menus! So I just left it \n and went to bed.\n

\n

\n On Monday morning, I tested the DVD and it worked! I was able to see the \n menus and play the DVD on our old DVD player. Woo Hoo!!! Another big \n dance. OK, now I've really tested it, and I'll be able to give Donna a \n DVD she can play on her player.\n

\n

\n I did a bit more searching on the net, and found more info about the \n DVD-Video format. There is a VIDEO_TS directory where all the IFO and \n VOB files are kept. Here's an excerpt on the explanation of the file \n structure: (URL link: \n http://www.videohelp.com/dvd#struct )\n

\n

\n DVD File/Folder Structure\n

\n

\n Explanation:\n

\n

\n . BUP = Backup files of the IFO files.\n

\n

\n . IFO = The IFO files includes information such as chapters, subtitle \n tracks and audio tracks.\n

\n

\n . VOB = The VOB files contains the actual video,audio,subtitles and \n menus.\n

\n

\n Folder Files Explanation\n

\n

\n AUDIO_TS (undefined) DVD Audio\n

\n

\n VIDEO_TS VIDEO_TS.BUP\n

\n

\n VIDEO_TS.IFO The first video play item, IFO, usally a copyright notice \n or a menu\n

\n

\n VIDEO_TS.VOB The first video play item, VOB\n

\n

\n VTS_01_0.BUP\n

\n

\n VTS_01_0.IFO Title 01, IFO, usually the main movie\n

\n

\n VTS_01_0.VOB Title 01, VOB 0, the menu for this title\n

\n

\n VTS_01_1.VOB Title 01, VOB 1, the video for this title\n

\n

\n VTS_01_2.VOB Title 01, VOB 2, if larger than 1 GB it will be splitted \n into several vobs\n

\n

\n VTS_01_3.VOB Title 01, VOB 3\n

\n

\n VTS_01_4.VOB Title 01, VOB 4, up to 10(0-9) VOB files if necassary\n

\n

\n VTS_02_0.BUP\n

\n

\n VTS_02_0.IFO Title 02, IFO, usually movie extras\n

\n

\n VTS_02_0.VOB Title 02, VOB 0, the menu for this title\n

\n

\n VTS_02_1.VOB Title 02, VOB 1, the video for this title\n

\n

\n VTS_xx_x.BUP\n

\n

\n VTS_xx_x.IFO And so on\n

\n

\n VTS_xx_x.VOB\n

\n

\n VTS_xx_x.VOB\n

\n

\n VTS_99_9.VOB Up to 99(1-99) titles with max 10(0-9) VOB files each\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 659, "title": "DVD Workflow", "date": "2006-09-18 10:37:58.718", "content": "

\n I thought it would be a good idea to capture a summary of the workflow \n for converting my DV tapes to DVDs.\n

\n

\n I had previously used my computer to capture the video form DV tapes and \n put them as AVI files on my computer. I used Adobe Premiere and Movie \n Factory to capture the camcorder video. These were huge files, about \n 12Gig for an hour of video! For video on VHS tapes, I had used a cheap \n video capture card to convert the video to an AVI file. The problem I \n had with these files was that I converted to using a different video \n capture card (same manufacturer, newer model) and the AVI files are not \n compatible! The video shows up backwards and upside down!@#! But \n that's another story. Back to converting the camcorder tapes to DVD.\n

\n

\n The problem with the method above is that the AVI files have to be \n converted to formats needed for DVD video. I author the DVD using the \n AVI files, set menus titles, chapters, etc... and then burn them to DVD. \n In the burn process, the DVD authoring program converts the video to \n the DVD format and this can take a long, long time... However, with the \n DVD recorder, I can get the files from the camcorder DV tape using \n firewire, and have the video written as VOB files on the DVD. Then I \n can use utilities to convert these VOB files to MPG files. Once the \n video is in the MPG format, I can use them in any DVD authoring tool. \n Using the hardware video encoder on the DVD recorder, eliminates the \n need for the computer to decode the video from an AVI format. \n Swwwweeeettttt!!! \n

\n

\n So now it only takes an hour to play the DV tape and have the DVD \n recorder record the video on DVD. Using MF 3.0, it only takes about a \n minute or so to grab these VOB files and put them in the working \n directory as MPG files. I then go ahead as normal and create the DVDs \n with the menus, titles, and chapters.\n

\n

\n One thing I want to test is the different video compression rates. The \n "HQ" high quality setting fits one hour of video on the DVD. There are \n other settings for 120 mins, 240 mins. I'm wondering if I can take the \n 60mins high quality MPGs and try burning 120mins of these MPGs on a DVD. \n The DVD authoring program will have to convert these MPGs so that \n they'll fit onto a 4.38 Gig DVD. How long will this take? I'll have to \n decide if I want to just keep one hours worth of DV tape video and \n convert this to one hours worth of DVD video (one to one), or should I \n try and put two hours of DV tape video onto one DVD video using the 120 \n mins quality setting of the DVD recorder. \n

\n

\n I'll have to run this test and find out. Stay tuned!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 663, "title": "New fancy bike for birthday", "date": "2006-09-18 13:11:02.203", "content": "

\n Well, I haven't even tried a triathlon yet, but I'm getting psyched up \n for training for one and running some races next year. So, I got into my \n head that I need a good bike and I was monitoring ebay for a while \n looking at all the fancy bikes up for auction. I even bid on a couple of \n bikes. There was a real sweet bike that was probably over $3000 new. I \n bid $1400 but someone outbid me by $25. Was I crazy??? Probably good \n that I didn't get that bike. I ended up getting an older model 1998 \n bike, TREK 5200 OCLV carbon frame. It is older than what I wanted, and I \n probably paid too much at $910, but it's still a sweet bike.\n

\n

\n There were problems with FedEx delivering the bike. On their shipment \n tracking web page, they said they had tried to deliver the package, but \n I was home all day Friday, and they didn't try and deliver the bike! I \n was pretty upset when I phoned their customer service line. They said it \n was still at their depot at 999 Moodie Dr (just north of Moodie and \n Fallowfield, right beside the Primo Trailers). Joseph and I went late \n Friday afternoon and picked up the bike.\n

\n

\n We spent Friday evening putting the bike together. I video taped this \n because I thought it would be good to have a reference in case I needed \n to pack up the bike for any triathlon trips. (Planning ahead, maybe too \n far ahead, eh???) So I had video and pictures of our bike assembly \n activity. At one point, a small washer fell off the back of the front \n brake as I was trying to install it, and it disappeared!!! Joseph, \n Elizabeth, and I spent a long time looking for this washer and we \n couldn't find it. We looked through all the foam wrapping and under all \n the boxes and it was nowhere to be found. I was getting upset at the \n situation and taking it out on the kids... That's just not fair. Sorry \n guys. I told the kids to get ready for bed since it was getting late. \n Later, I found the washer when I turned over my seat and the washer fell \n on the floor. I called the kids down and we all high-fived and hugged \n each other, since the washer was finally found. What an adventure! Next \n time I guess I need to be real careful because when things drop on the \n floor they can roll around and end up lost! This has happened to me \n before in my workshop working with electronics and robotics stuff.\n

\n

\n On Saturday morning, I went with Joseph to MEC and I got some new biking \n stuff. I got biking shoes, SPD cleats for the shoes, Schraeder to Presta \n valve adapter, spare 700x23C inner tube, cycling gloves, technical \n t-shirt, and cycling shorts. Total came to almost $200! Cha-ching... \n spending lots of money! When I got home, I tried to fit the cleats in \n the pedals and visually inspecting them and didn't think they were \n correct. However, after I put them on my cycling shoes, and then getting \n on my bike, I was able to snap the cleats into the pedals. Woo hoo! Ok, \n so they were the right cleats.\n

\n

\n There is some play in the installation of the cleats on the shoes, and I \n found that the most comfortable position was having the cleat at the \n furthest forward and furthest inside (so my foot was further away from \n the cranks). I'll have to play around with this to see if this is the \n best position for me. At one time, I tried to uncleat, but it was hard \n because the cleat shifted on the bike shoe. One thing I need to be wary \n of and make sure I check is the tightness of my cleat bolts. Need to add \n this as part of my bike inspection ritual. I should make up a \n pre-race inspection list. Gotta keep all the bases covered!!!\n

\n

\n I fooled around with the bike some more and I noticed that the left \n shifter for the front derailleur wasn't "crisp" like the right shifter \n for the rear derailleur. The left shifter didn't spring back to the \n starting position and felt "soft". So, I decided to take a look at it... \n :):) I pulled back the rubber hood. There is a little rubber notch/hook \n that you need to pull forward and up to get off the metal hood. After \n you do this you can then slide the hood inside out and back to expose \n the lever more. I peeled off the round metal front cover of the lever \n which was the "Shimaon 600" label, and exposed a bolt underneath. I took \n this bolt off and pushed the brake lever to take a look inside. (I used \n the quick release on the rear brake to give more slack on the brake \n cable.) As I started to pull things further apart, a little tiny copper \n washer fell out onto the floor. Oops. Then a spring and plastic washer \n fell out. Oh, oh. I'm commited now. So I looked inside and I think I \n figured out how it works. There is a circular spring that connects to \n the lever and shifter body that pulls the shifter lever back into \n position. There are two holes where the spring connects to the lever and \n shifter body. My guess is that one of the spring ends fell out of the \n holes and therefore there was nothing pulling the shift lever back after \n a shift. That's what gave that "soft" feeling. and I had to grab the \n lever with my fingers and pull it back.\n

\n

\n I fiddled around some more to try and get the thing back together. I \n ended up pulling the shift cable out a little, to give some slack, and \n then twist the lever and the spring together and simultaneously pushing \n on the lever onto the shifter body. It took several tries, but I did \n finally get it together. I'll want to take this apart at a later time to \n grease the internals and maybe even wind up (coil) the spring a bit \n more. The lever now goes back into position, but doesn't feel as \n "springy" as the right shift lever.\n

\n

\n Another thing I noticed was the front brake wasn't springing back into \n position like the rear brake. I thought that maybe I had installed the \n brake too tight onto the frame and this was causing the brake to bind. \n However, I loosened it up so much that the whole brake body was shifting \n and still the brake wasn't springing back. I looked at it some more and \n saw what looked like an adjustment screw. It was really hard to turn, \n but I was finally able to turn it. I think it contacts the other arm \n which is connected to a strong spring. I tightened this screw as far as \n it would go. I might have even stripped the head a bit. Oops. However, \n the brake arms were definitely springing back into position better now. \n However, now the brake pads were closer to the wheels, so I couldn't \n even push the brake release lever into the fully closed position. I'll \n have to adjust this some more, but now the front brakes are crisp just \n like the back brakes.\n

\n

\n I also tried adjusting the seat. When I was looking at bikes at \n Kunstadt, the sales person said that when you put your elbow against the \n front of the seat and extend your fingers, the tips of your fingers \n should be about an inch from the center line of the handle bars. Well on \n this bike, it was more like 3 1/2 inches. I tried to move the seat as \n far forward as it will go, but it still is too far. I tried to turn the \n seat tube around, but I couldn't get the seat to be level with the seat \n tube this way, so I had to put it back. So for now, I just moved the \n seat forward as far as it will go. This is probably OK for a triathlon \n to give you a more aerodynamic position, but this may be too \n uncomfortable for a long ride. Need to go out riding and see...\n

\n

\n All in all, it's a sweet bike. I still want to weigh it. It's a little \n heavier than I thought (maybe 20lbs?). The frame is quite "fat", so it \n looks solid. Need to get out on the road and start riding!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 664, "title": "My first bike ride...", "date": "2006-09-22 15:21:10.298", "content": "

\n OK, maybe not my first bike ride ever, but it is my first bike ride on \n my new (to me) bike! It was awesome.\n

\n

\n I finally got a chance to ride my Trek 5200 OCLV carbon bike Thursday \n night. Anne took the kids to their swimming lessons, and after dinner, I \n put on my new biking gear and headed out. I was wearing my new technical \n t-shirt (tight fitting), cycling shorts (felt weird in the crotch area), \n and cycling shoes (with cleats). I spent some time starting the DVD burn \n for Jenny & Dave's DV #3 and took off around 6:45pm. I headed out \n towards Hillside park, Bell High School and the recreation path out \n towards Andrew Haydon park. The bike seems very smooth and easy to ride. \n Going up the hill at Hill Side park seemed too easy. Going down the hill \n on old cedarview, I was braking the whole time, because I just didn't \n want to go too fast. I kept worrying about things I might not have \n tightened enough or put together properly. I noticed the steering is \n very responsive. Don't need to turn the handlebars much.\n

\n

\n I remember reading something about how to get yourself to go faster if \n you're afraid of the speed. Just go a little faster every time, so \n you're adding a little speed at a time. That way you're always in your \n comfort zone or very close to it. Need to try this. I'm also thinking as \n I gain more confidence and trust that the bike will be stable and solid, \n I won't be as worried so much.\n

\n

\n I climbed up the hill by Shouldice farm and then down the hill towards \n Acres road. Braked on the downhill again so I didn't go too fast. I was \n going around 25-30kmh on the down hills. I took the bike path that cuts \n to Carling. I had to pass some people on the path, and that's when I \n remembered I should get a small bell for my bike. Going down the \n straight away towards Brittania Beach I thought I was flying. The bike \n is so easy to pedal. It's just a speed machine! I slowed right down when \n I passed walkers on the path. I didn't want to startle them. The bike is \n also super silent (I might need to adjust the gears a bit), so I would \n change gears or something to make noise to let people know I was behind \n them.\n

\n

\n I also noticed that my hands were getting tired and sore grabbing the \n brake hoods. I think I'm reaching too far out. When I was at Kunstadt \n sports, the sales person said that when you put your elbow against the \n front of the seat and then point your fingers towards the handle bars, \n the tips of your fingers should be about an inch from the center of the \n handlebars. On my bike it is more like 2 - 3 inches. I think this makes \n me reach more. However, another thing I read was that when your hands \n are on the brake hoods, the front hub should be blocked by the \n handlebars (the two are in line). This is true for me. When I look down, \n the handle bars block the front hub. So is this the right fit or not? \n Perhaps my hands got tired because they're not used to the riding \n position. As I get more mileage under me, maybe it'll start feeling more \n and more comfortable. Also, another thing I read was that the drop outs \n should point towards your rear axle. This will put the brake hoods at \n the right level and angle.\n

\n

\n Another thing I noticed about my riding position is the position of my \n cycling shoes on the pedals. My right foot feels a little too far out to \n the right. I'll need to adjust the cleat to bring my foot in. I remember \n when I first installed the cleat, I thought my foot was too close to the \n crank shaft, so I positioned the cleat so that my foot was the furthest \n out. Now I think I'll change this so the cleat is right in the center of \n its range. I was also reading somewhere else that your knees need to be \n over the pedals so that there is no angle on your lower leg (when \n viewing from the back). This is a common cause of knee injuries.\n

\n

\n The clipless pedals do make a huge difference. You can apply power \n throughout the pedalling stroke. I just need to work on my technique. I \n was reading about something Lance Armstrong said about his pedalling \n (was this in the triathlon book by Mike Finch?). Lance noticed that he \n was only putting power during the up and down part of the stroke. The \n article said you should be scraping your foot back like you're trying to \n scrape poop off your shoe. Need to really work on this. Get my ankling \n done right and apply power to the whole stroke. Another exercise is to \n pedal with just one foot. You can even take your other foot completely \n off the pedal. This will train you to use the whole stroke when applying \n pedalling power.\n

\n

\n Just after Woodroffe, I decided to turn around. (It's actually a very \n good thing I did, because it was already dark by the time I got home!) I \n tried to turn around on the bike path, but I went too slow, and because \n I was still stuck in the clipless pedals, I actually fell over! How \n embarassing. Luckily there wasn't anyone close to see me do this. I \n unclipped myself while lying on the ground and picked myself up. \n Luckily, I didn't see any damage to the bike. I also didn't feel any \n bruises on my body which was good. My pinky on my left hand was a little \n numb I noticed later in the ride, so maybe it got squished by the handle \n bar when I fell. Lesson learned: unclip your shoes when you slow down in \n case you have to put your foot down for balance. I did this at \n intersections in case I had to stop and put my foot down. I'm not sure \n why, but I seem to unclip my left foot for this. However, it seems \n easier to unclip the right foot (maybe the tension is less on this \n pedal?).\n

\n

\n It was dark by the time I was riding on the straight away towards \n Britannia. Under the tree canopy it was especially dark. I don't have \n any reflectors on the bike so I was worried that the cars wouldn't see \n me. On the hill at Shouldice farm I really struggled to go up. I geared \n down and realized that I was already on my easiest gear. Oh man! I'm \n going to have to get in better biking shape or I'm going to be in \n trouble going up those hills. Will need to work on those Gatineau hills \n and build my strength. I took the road up old Cedarview and when I got \n near the overpass, I ran over some glass! Groan... I checked later and \n noticed there was a cut on my rear tire. Don't know if it was already \n there, or if it was caused by the glass. I made sure there was no glass \n embedded in the tire.\n

\n

\n When I got home it was basically dark. I went in through the garage and \n brought my bike down to the basement. It was a great ride! My bike is \n certainly smooth and fast. I didn't push too hard and my breathing was \n easy for most of the ride. It will be interesting to look at my GPS and \n heart rate data. All in all a very, very good first ride.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 665, "title": "Total Immersion Swimming techniques", "date": "2006-09-24 10:09:31.701", "content": "

\n I found some cool training videos, off the e-mule/kad p2p network, on \n Total Immersion swimming techniques by Terry McLaughlin. It emphasizes \n balance and technique in the water to minimize drag and be as energy \n efficient as possible. So, I went to the Walter Baker pool on Saturday \n afternoon with Joseph to try out some of the Total Immersion drills. I \n wasn't very successful. I should have watched the videos more before \n going so that I had a better idea of the drills!\n

\n

\n I was able to do the back float with kick, but I wasn't really able to \n swivel onto my side and find my "sweet spot". I don't think my head \n position is quite right, even on my back float. I keep reading about \n pushing my head down to get the proper balance. But what I'm doing was \n bending my neck back, instead of keeping my neck straight and aligned \n with my spine and pushing down with my upper body to get balance. Need \n to go back and try this again, and really think about keeping my head \n "hidden" and aligned. I also wrote down the drills so I could better \n remember them and the order they need to be practiced.\n

\n

\n I tried the "fish drill" where you swim in sweet spot with your head \n down. I couldn't really find the balance here. I didn't seem to be \n moving and I also couldn't swivel my head and come up for air properly. \n During all my drilling, I swallowed a bunch of water! Yuck!\n

\n

\n I then tried some laps in the slow lane. Sometimes I could feel the \n power of the core when I rotated the body correctly during my stroke, \n but that wasn't very often. Really need to drill more and get the \n balance and core rotation correct. My stamina in the water is pretty \n pathetic. I get tired after one lap of the 25m pool. I think I did 6 \n laps in total spread out over a long time. (eg. Doing a couple of laps, \n going back to do drills, do more laps, go back to drills, etc.) Need to \n keep practicing all this stuff!\n

\n

\n Total Immersion Drills:\n

\n

\n Lesson 1: Balance and Slippery Position\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Float on back, gentle kick\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Sweet spot on both sides\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Help for weak kickers - vertical kicking, go from vertical to float on \n back\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Lengthen your vessel - float on back, go to sweet spot (face up), \n extend lower arm and hand in front\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Fish Drill - go to sweet spot, turn face down (look at bottom of \n pool), turn and go back to sweet spot for air\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Skating Drill - start with fish drill (face down), extend lower arm, \n roll to sweet spot to breath\n
    7. \n
\n

\n Lesson 2 - Underswitch drills - Effortless power from your core\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Underskate - start in sweet spot arm extended with face up, go to \n skating position with face down, bring upper arm and hand to face, put \n upper arm back on top of body, roll to sweet spot for breath.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Underswitch - Start with underskate, but continue arm forward and \n catch and pull extended arm back. Timing is such that as the upper arm \n passes the face, start the catch stroke with the extended arm and \n perform a body rotation to go back to sweet spot for breath\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Double Underswitch - Perform two strokes before going back to sweet \n spot\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Triple Underswitch - Perform three strokes before going back to sweet \n spot\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Can also practice swimming underwater.\n
    6. \n
\n

\n Lesson 3 - Zipperswitch drills\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Zipper skate - start in skating position, bring upper arm up by \n leading with the elbow and sliding hand/thumb along breastbone (keep \n hand and forearm relaxed!), pump arm up and down beside ear. Your \n forearm should be vertical at this point.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Zipperswitch - Go into zipper skate with hand by ear and forearm \n relaxed and vertical. Continue moving arm forward and do catch stroke \n with the extended arm, rotating core at same time and going to sweet \n sport for breath.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Multi zipperswitch\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Over switches - ear hop\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Effective propulsion - improving your catch stroke.\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Breathing - Exercise: skate, bite, skate; alternate ryhthmic breath \n with sweet spot breath. Then continue to build. (ie. Do two rhythmic \n breaths before going to sweet spot, then add a third, and so on.)\n
    7. \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 667, "title": "Long bike ride", "date": "2006-09-24 10:50:29.022", "content": "

\n Late Saturday afternoon, I went on a long bike ride. It took me a while \n to get organized and out of the house, so I didn't leave until 4:45pm. I \n was thinking about leaving at 4:00pm for a 2 hour bike ride and be back \n for dinner at 6:00pm. The ride ended up being about 1:30hrs (~34kms) and \n it actually felt pretty good! There were some spots where my legs were \n bagged, but I just told myself to take it easy, get a good ryhthm and \n cadence, and work on technique to apply power throughout the entire \n pedalling cycle. Average speed according to my bike computer was 24kph. \n Heart rate was still fairly high at around 145bpm. My butt also started \n getting a little sensitive and sore, but not too bad. At the end of the \n ride, my legs felt surprisingly good. Not too heavy with lactic acid \n build-up. I think I had the right intensity and effort level for a long \n bike ride.\n

\n

\n I rode up Cedarview, near Strandherd, and down Jockvale. My heartrate \n monitor had stopped working on my watch, so I stopped and tried to get \n the watch to recognize it again. I did this at the Quickie mall on the \n corner of Jockvale and Cedarview. I also stopped my bike computer timer \n and restarted it when I was off again. I went back down Cedarview to \n Hunt Club, east down Hunt Club, and then south on Woodroffe. This \n section of Woodroffe was absolutely great. It was newly paved so the \n ride was super smooth, and there was a wide shoulder/bike lane so I \n didn't feel like the cars were right beside me. I turned around before \n getting to Hunt Club and Woodroffe and traced my route back home. In \n total the ride was around 34km.\n

\n

\n Going down Cedarview from Barrhaven, I went down a hill and hit a max \n speed of 44kph! So I'm starting to get more comfortable on the bike and \n the speed of the bike. The bike is just solid and fast! I'm starting \n to get to know the gearing better too. I spend most of my time in 4th \n gear with the small chain ring on front. When I go to a higher gear \n (5th or higher), I need to move over my front derailleur to the middle \n click. This is just a quick little push on the shift lever. At first I \n was pushing it too far and putting the chain on the big chain ring. \n Just need to keep practicing.\n

\n

\n Another thought I had was to really understand the proper speeds to go \n with each gear combination. I read some stuff that said my pedalling \n cadence should be around 80 - 90 rpms. Could even go as high as 100 \n rpms, which is what Lance Armstrong pedals at. I think the higher the \n cadence, the better it is for your knees. But you want to make sure \n you're not spinning in an unbalanced fashion. You want to be smooth and \n efficient and not bouncing around all over on your pedal stroke. Like \n I've written previously, you need to apply even power across the whole \n pedalling stroke. I just need to find my comfortable pedalling cadence \n (one that feels natural, efficient and without too much \n effort/heartrate). That pedalling cadence and gear combination should \n translate to a specific speed. Right now on the flats, in 4th gear, \n with my comfortable pedalling cadence, my bike speed is around 23-24 \n kph. Want to figure out what this is for the other gears. As I grow \n stronger, I should be able to keep that same pedalling cadence and \n effort, but at a higher gear and therefore a faster speed.\n

\n

\n \n  \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 671, "title": "Long Run", "date": "2006-09-26 12:12:40.959", "content": "

\n I'm still not getting enough sleep at night. Need to get to bed earlier! \n However, I dragged myself out of bed on Sunday morning for a long run. I \n had done a long bike ride yesterday afternoon, so I was determined to \n keep the pace easy on this long run. I was telling myself to keep my \n heart rate at 140bpm or below. I set my alarm for 5:50am, but I didn't \n get out of the house until 6:20am. I was planning to do two 10km loops \n on my usual running trails. One down to Andrew Haydon park, and the \n other by Bruce Pit and Trend-Arlington Park.\n

\n

\n My heart rate was around 145bpm, but the pace still felt easy, so I kept \n running at this pace (~7:00mins/km). It's been a while since my last \n long run, so I had to remember what my hydration and nutrition plans \n usually were. I was using the white Umbro water bottles which hold \n approx. 28ozs. According to my sweat loss rate, I lose about 2 lbs (32 \n ozs) of sweat every hour. So I need to drink one water bottle every \n hour. I run about 10K just over an hour, so I need to drink one water \n bottle every 10km loop. In the Ottawa marathon, there are water stations \n every 3km, so this is what I was using as my drinking intervals. \n Therefore, every 3km I would take 8-10 squirts/sips from the water \n bottle. Every 6km I would eat a Quaker Oats chocolate granola bar. This \n hydration and nutrition plan work pretty well. Sometimes my stomach \n feels water logged with the Gatorade sloshing around, but most of the \n time it feels OK. I need to be vigilant about taking the 8-10 sips of \n Gatorade so I don't dehydrate. I also need to watch the cramping during \n hot days. Do I need to take salt tablets? Need to experiment with this.\n

\n

\n I felt strong through most of the run. The pace felt fairly easy and my \n breathing was not laboured. However, the pace was very slow compared to \n my long runs leading up to the Ottawa marathon. At the same heart rate, \n my pace is probably 45 secs to a minute off from before. Or to put it \n another way, at the same pace, my heart rate is about 10bpm higher than \n before. So I've definitely lost some fitness, but I just need to build \n it back slowly. One thing I remember reading was that the different \n adaptations the body goes through as it gains fitness will all occur at \n different rates. (eg. Strengthening of joints and tendons, aerobic \n capacity, increased blood vessels, capillaries, blood plasma volume...) \n The ones that occur the quickest, are also the ones you lose the \n quickest when your fitness starts to decrease. Conversely, the ones that \n take longer, like strengthening of the joints and tendons will also take \n longer to lose.\n

\n

\n The reason I mention the above, is that towards the end of the run, I \n decided to pick up the pace. I still felt strong and still had that \n "spring" in my step. With about 2 kms to go, I sped up and had a target \n of hitting 6:30min/km pace. This was just at the entrance to the Bruce \n Pit trail. There is an uphill section which slowed me down a bit, but I \n was able to hit 6:29min/km for that first kilometer. My heart rate \n climbed to 152bpm, but I still felt very strong and my breathing wasn't \n too labored. I picked up the pace some more and kept trying to push \n myself. My heart rate climbed to 157bpm and I finished that last \n kilometer in 6:00min/km! I even surprised myself on how strong I felt \n and the energy I had left to push the pace. I think the hydration and \n nutrition strategy really helps. Also, I felt that my breathing did not \n get that hard even though I was pushing the pace more and more. My heart \n rate was shooting up, but my breathing rate did not go up quite as fast. \n This is what got me to thinking that I still have some of my fitness \n from my marathon training. Perhaps my oxygen intake is still fairly \n high. Anyways, it was a very good run and I was pleased with how strong \n I felt at the end. The total duration of the run was 2hrs28mins with a \n distance of ~21kms and a pace of 6:59mins/km. Average HR 146bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 672, "title": "More bike adventures...", "date": "2006-09-27 16:34:51.257", "content": "

\n Tuesday evening, I went out for another bike ride. Anne took Elizabeth \n to her dance lessons, and Joseph stayed home to do his homework.\n

\n

\n I got home around 5:30pm from work and had dinner with Joseph. I had \n leftover Salmon and some spaghetti. I wanted to make sure that I didn't \n eat too much. I left for the bike ride around 6:10pm. It was a nice \n clear evening with the temperature around 15 degrees C. I was wearing my \n bike shorts, technical-T, and black windbreaker jacket. I planned to do \n a loop around Hunt Club, Woodroffe, Fallowfield, and Cedarview. Each \n loop is approximately 16.5km. I estimated it would take me ~45mins to do \n a loop and I was debating whether I wanted to do it twice. I'll see how \n I feel and to determine whether to do the second loop or not.\n

\n

\n At Cedarview and Huntclub, I was on the right hand side of the left turn \n lane between two cars. It was scary, but I guess I need to get used to \n riding in traffic and making left turns this way. I made sure I \n unclipped out of both pedals. One other thing I should also check is to \n make sure I'm in a low gear so I can accelerate to a quick start and get \n out of the ways of the cars quickly. When the light finally turned green \n it was a little scary because the car on the right hand lane also went \n at the same time, so I was a little squeezed between both cars. I was \n able to accelerate quickly and get into the bike lane on Hunt Club. \n After the turn, I was flying. I was going over 30kph and I had to tell \n myself to slow down and get my heart rate down into the right range.\n

\n

\n Going down Woodroffe, I felt my seat moving or shifting. At one point I \n was checking to see if it was loose by pushing down on the nose of the \n saddle and it moved down! Yikes! I tried pulling it back up, but could \n only get it up part way. It still felt like it was pointing downward. I \n just kept riding and finally got a chance to stop at Fallowfield and \n Cedarview. I used my handy new tool to tighten the seat. It still didn't \n feel right, but at least the seat won't move now, and I can get it level \n and positioned correctly when I got home.\n

\n

\n On the hill along Cedarview, I was thinking I wanted to beat my max \n speed from my last ride. I pedaled more, but I only got to 45kph. So I \n beat my last ride's max speed by 1kph. At the corner of Cedarview and \n Hunt Club, I had another embarrassing incident. There was a van stopped \n at the corner waiting to turn right. I thought that the traffic was \n clear and it was going to go, but it didn't. By that time, I was almost \n stopped and I panicked and couldn't get my shoes uncleated, so I fell \n over. Ouch! I actually uncleated my left shoe, but I fell to my right \n and fell onto the grass and curb. After I got up, I found that my right \n knee was really sore. I must have hit it really hard against the end of \n the handlebars when I tried to uncleat my right foot. It actually \n bothered me quite a bit as I continued to ride down Hunt Club. I tried \n to stretch out my knee but it still hurt! I just gritted my teeth and \n kept going. The pain finally subsided after a while.\n

\n

\n It was 7:00pm by now and the sun had set. I decided to do another loop.\n

\n

\n At Hunt Club and just east of Greenbank, I had another incident. I was \n riding along when I realized my rear tire felt different. I looked down, \n and it looked a little soft. So I stopped and found that it indeed was \n soft. So I pulled my bike off the road and onto the grass and by the \n time I did that, my tire was totally flat. Yikes! Oh well. I didn't \n panic. I realized I had a spare tube with me, but I didn't have a pump. \n Luckily, I could see a Sunoco gas station right near me. How lucky is \n that! So I carried my bike across Hunt Club and the median and rode on \n the grass to the Sunoco station. There I was able to change my inner \n tube. It took a while, but I did finally get it done. The first time I \n put the tire on and filled it up, I realized that the tube was still \n pinched against the rim and tire. So I had to take off the tire and do \n it again. Finally by 7:30 I was done. I gave Anne a quick call at home \n to tell her what was happening. I turned on my bike lights and rode \n gingerly home.\n

\n

\n When I got home, I re-installed the inner tube again. The tube must have \n been twisted inside because the tire had an indentation right where the \n valve of the inner tube was. Here are some hints to make it easier to \n remove the rear tire and install an inner tube.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Before taking off the rear wheel, put the chain on the smallest cog. \n This makes it much easier to both take off the wheel and put it back \n on. Make sure you loosen the back brake to give enough clearance for \n the brake pads to go past the tire.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n I should carry something with me to put on the ground to protect the \n rear derailleur and frame when the rear wheel is removed. Some plastic \n pad or similar thing.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Use the plastic tire levers to start lifting the tire over the rim. \n Keep the levers fairly close to together until you can get the tire \n bead over the rim. Once this is started, you can just use your hands \n to pull one side of the tire off the rim. You don't need to pull the \n entire tire off.\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Unscrew the valve of the old inner tube and pull it out. Screw in the \n valve for the new inner tube. Unwind and lay out the whole inner tube \n around the tire. Make sure there are no twists and kinks in the inner \n tube. I've read in the past that you can fill a little air into the \n tube to give it some shape.\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Now shove the inner tube into the tire and work your way all around \n the tire. Again make sure there are no kinks and twists!\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Next you need to tuck the bead of the tire into the rim and work your \n way around. At the end, you have to really push to tuck the last part \n of the bead in. You should be able to do this without any tools. Using \n a tire lever might pinch the inner tube and cause a hole, so be \n careful if you do use a tool.\n
    7. \n
  7. \n Putting the tire back on the frame should be quick. Just need to put \n the chain around the smallest cog and put it on the frame. It should \n go on quite easy, since the derailleur and chain are lined up for the \n smallest cog. Make sure you tighten the rear brakes.\n
    8. \n
\n

\n I also fixed my seat. I put a level on it and pushed it so it was all \n the way forward. I tightened it with my large hex wrench. I should check \n my seat height again. I've read more hints in the tri-books on how to \n set this correctly.\n

\n

\n I now need to buy some more spare inner tubes. I also have to buy a pump \n that I can fit on my bike. I also thought that I should get more of \n those Presta to Schraeder valve adapters. They're small and seem to be \n easy to misplace.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 673, "title": "Netmeeting Directory window fix", "date": "2006-09-27 16:39:49.354", "content": "

\n I had my "Directory" window in Netmeeting disappear on me again. What \n happens is when you open the directory window, you don't see it anywhere \n on your desktop. If you click on the task bar on the bottom and \n maximize the window, you can then see it. But when you click restore, \n the window disappears again. The window is actually in the top left \n corner but you can't see it, re-size it, or move it.\n

\n

\n Here's how to fix it. Open the directory window. Maximize it. Close \n it. Now when you open the directory window again, it will cover your \n whole desktop as if it was maximized, but it's not maximized. You can \n now re-size and move the window. Now you've got the directory window \n back.\n

", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 674, "title": "On becoming a fish...", "date": "2006-09-29 09:42:44.777", "content": "

\n Heh, heh... Well not really becoming a fish, but trying to be more \n comfortable and proficient in the water. Right now, more like a beached \n whale.\n

\n

\n I went to the Walter Baker swimming pool last night right after the kids \n had their lessons. I swam from 7:30pm to approx. 8:45pm. This session \n turned out a lot better than the one last Saturday. I worked on the \n Total Immersion swimming drills again and I was able to move past \n floating on my back and going to sweet spot. \n

\n

\n I was able to do the lengthen my vessel, skating drill, underskate, \n underswitch, zipper skate, and zipper switch. I'm less disoriented when \n I do these drills now. I can actually feel myself sinking when I bring \n my arm up in the zipper skate position, but after I do the armswitch \n and pull, and go into sweet spot, I rise to the surface again. I'm able \n to do these drills without getting too out of breath. However, when I \n start doing the multiple strokes drills, I'm not relaxing and I'm \n kicking too hard I think. This gets me more tired than I should be. \n Need to concentrate on keeping relaxed, smooth, and efficient! Never \n practice struggle!\n

\n

\n I practiced the zipper switch most of the session. I'm getting more \n comfortable in the skating position, but I don't think I've got it \n totally right yet. My head is facing towards the bottom, but I don't \n ever recall looking at the bottom. Need to really concentrate on \n keeping my head down and looking at the bottom (to emphasize the head \n down). My lead arm might also be a little high. I'm not a floater, so \n I should probably have my hand at 4:00o'clock or maybe even 4:30 as \n suggested in the video. Also keep hand position correct with palm down \n and hand angled slightly downward. When I bring my arm up, I need to \n remember to lead with the elbow and keep the hand and forearm relaxed. \n I did think about keeping the hand and forearm relaxed, but I didn't \n think about leading with the elbow. Need to think about that next time. \n Also, when I bring my arm out I do sense myself sinking, and then I do \n my switch, rotate my trunk, and come up in sweet spot on the other side. \n Most of the time I'm underwater and it takes me a while to get my face \n to the surface (similar to Ian in the total immersion video). However, \n there were times when I rolled right into sweet spot. Need to try and \n work on that to. Another thing I notice is that my head position does \n not remain straight when I do my stroke. I think I tuck my chin in when \n I stroke, so I have to adjust my head position when I get into sweet \n spot. \n

\n

\n I also timed myself when doing the zipper switch drill. It takes about \n 1:10mins to do the 25m length. I was trying to estimate how many laps I \n did. A conservative estimate would be 20 laps I think. Next time I \n should count!\n

\n

\n I did try to do multiple strokes with multiple breaths, but my \n co-ordination is just not there. Need to work on the zipper switch some \n more and then string multiple zipper switches before going to sweet \n spot. I should also work on the ear hop drill, and finally onto the \n breathing drills where I alternate between rhythmic breathing and sweet \n spot breathing. All in all, it was a good session, and I'm getting more \n comfortable with the drills and technique. Remember to stay balanced, \n and keep relaxed, smooth and efficient! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 675, "title": "More swim training sessions", "date": "2006-10-02 22:32:23.25", "content": "

\n I went to the leisure swim session last Friday from 6:00-7:30. Anne and \n the kids came too! I bought a 6 month pool pass, so I'm now committed! \n I want to start regular training sessions and build up my endurance and \n improve my technique and stroke proficiency. I also went tonight \n (Monday) to the adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00.\n

\n

\n Worked mostly on the zipper switch drill and also did a lot of just \n freestyle with mixed rhythmic breathing and sweetspot breathing. When I \n just do straight free style, I don't think my stroke timing is correct. \n I'm not waiting for the recovery hand to enter the water before starting \n my pull, especially when I'm breathing. I put my head to the side to \n breath, but then I start stroking because I start to sink. Need to work \n on my balance, and trunk rotation so that I rotate my belly button to \n where the air is. I'm more comfortable breathing on my left side, but I \n want to practice breathing on my right side too.\n

\n

\n I did correct my timing a bit. I tried to stay in the lengthen vessel \n position and wait for my other arm to enter before stroking. When I \n concentrate on this, I can usually get the timing right. However, when \n I incorporate my breathing, the timing goes off because I feel like I'm \n sinking and can't get my breath in. Just need to keep practicing and \n working on the timing. I watched the Total Immersion freestyle video \n section on breathing, and the timing is getting a breath just as your \n arm starts the recovery stroke. I need to rotate to the air so that I \n can leave my arm extended and not stroke while my recovery arm has not \n yet started. Really work on this!!!\n

\n

\n I tried counting laps again, but it's hard to remember the count. I \n think I did 36 laps in Monday's session, in about 1hr 15mins of \n swimming. Not bad! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 676, "title": "Visiting with relatives from the Philippines", "date": "2006-10-02 23:09:57.187", "content": "

\n Manong Ted (Teddy), who is uncle Tony's son, was visiting Toronto with \n his wife Raquel and their son Ted Patrick (TP). I drove down to Toronto \n to meet with them. I drove down Saturday afternoon and stayed with \n Robyn and Eunice Saturday night. On Sunday morning, I went to the house \n in Scarborough where Manong Ted, Manang Raquel, and TP were staying. I \n think it was Manang Raquel's brother. Unfortunately, I didn't remember \n his name or his wife's name. Manang Raquel's brother had lost his \n hearing just recently (in Jan). Doctors don't know what the cause is. \n Manang Raquel said she researched on the internet and found something \n called Sudden Hearing Loss (SHL). Her brother is going to have an \n implant operation in November for one of his ears. Hopefully that will \n restore his hearing.\n

\n

\n It was great to see Robyn and Eunice again. It's just like old times \n having a conversation with them. I showed them the family tree charts \n that I wanted to show to Manong Ted. I also spent some time getting \n Robyn's wireless router working. For some reason, it stopped working, \n but he later e-mailed me on Monday to say it was working again. Need to \n figure out what's up with that. \n

\n

\n I left at 8:10 to go to 151 Darlingside Dr. in Scarborough. It took \n around 20 mins. to get there. We had some short conversation at the \n house. I showed them the family tree charts and I think Manong was \n impressed. He asked if I was going to leave that for him and I said if \n he wanted it, he could have it. He said of course he wanted it. \n

\n

\n We left for Niagra just after 9:00am. I told them I needed some gas, so \n we stopped by an Esso station on Kingston street. Manong Teddy drove in \n the car with me. We followed Kingston street for a long while and then \n turned down some street which eventually got us on the Gardiner express \n way. This eventually led to the highway that took us to Niagra Falls. \n We arrived in Niagra falls around 11:00am. We first drove to the falls \n took a quick peek, and then found a parking spot right near the \n Renaissance hotel. We walked to the Denny's and had lunch there.\n

\n

\n We had a good conversation. We talked about Manang Raquel's work (for \n the department of energy?). She's looking at energy conservation. I \n also found out that TP is a musician. He plays guitar and base. Manong \n Ted was telling TP once came home with a trophy for best bassist.\n

", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 677, "title": "More swimming drills", "date": "2006-10-03 22:36:17.0", "content": "

\n I went to the Nepean Sportsplex swimming pool tonight. I swam in the \n smaller kids pool. It's still 25m, but the shallow end is really \n shallow.\n

\n

\n For some reason I really struggled swimming tonight, especially in the \n shallow end of the pool. I just didn't feel balanced. I couldn't \n float. My feet would be touching the bottom at some points. I couldn't \n get my breathing working. I felt out of breath, probably from just \n being tired in general.\n

\n

\n At one point I was doing breathing during each stroke. I was doing the \n zipper switch drills, but taking a breath after each stroke. This \n helped my breathing because I seemed to go out of breath so quickly. I \n need to go back to basics with the sweet spot, fish, and skating drills. \n Get back to a good balanced form and then add the arm strokes in again \n with zipper switch drills. When doing whole stroke swimming with \n breathing, need to stay in the lengthen vessel position with arm \n extended until the recovery arm enters the water just above the head. \n Also need to relax! I think another reason I'm getting out of breath so \n quickly is because I'm still tense, and doing the movements too \n forcefully, instead of taking it nice and easy, relaxed, and smooth. \n Need to work on making the swim stroke as efficient, relaxed and effort \n free as possible!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 678, "title": "Thanksgiving weekend painting", "date": "2006-10-09 23:12:49.0", "content": "

\n We had a beautiful thanksgiving holiday weekend here in Ottawa. \n Unfortunately I spent almost all of it indoors... :(\n

\n

\n I had made some plans to do a long bike ride on Saturday, and a long run \n on Sunday, but it just didn't happen. First of all, I became sick on \n Thurday night, and stayed home in bed most of Friday. I had a headache \n from a cold, and I also started to get that rash that starts at my neck \n and goes down my body. Due to being sick, I decided it would be best to \n just not do any workouts. However, I did do a lot of work on our \n bedroom. Anne and I moved all the furniture out of the bedroom so that \n we could paint the room. I did one coat of the ceiling on Saturday \n night, and then spent about 10 hours painting on Sunday! I did the 2nd \n coat on the ceiling, and then did two coats on the walls.\n

\n

\n It took forever to paint the walls! I had originally allocated about an \n hour for each coat on the wall, but it ended up taking about 3 hours! \n Have to re-adjust my time allocation when thinking about painting. \n Ceilings take about an hour, but walls will run anywhere from 1.5 to 3 \n hours per coat. Still, it was good to get all this painting done. Didn't \n get to go outside, which was probably good because I still didn't feel \n 100 percent, but I did get all this work done on our room. By the way, \n the green colour we chose for the walls, is really, really nice.\n

\n

\n On Monday, we went to Thanksgiving dinner with Anne's side of the family \n at Don and Claudia's house. The kids went for a walk to the new \n pedestrian bridge over the Rideau canal, and we spent the late afternoon \n chatting around their deck outside. For dinner, they set up two tables: \n one for the kids, and the other for the adults. It was a little crowded \n in their dining room, but we managed to squeeze in and fit us all in. \n After dinner, the kids spent some time decorating and then eating some \n halloween cookies. At one point, I went into their living room to sit \n down, I put my head on the arm rest and then fell asleep! Yikes! I must \n be tired. Since we were working on our room, I had slept on the couch \n Saturday and Sunday night and did not get a good night's sleep. Can't \n wait until we get our room back together and sleeping on our nice comfy \n bed!\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 679, "title": "WK41-4 Swimming drills", "date": "2006-10-12 22:33:12.389", "content": "

\n Went to the Thursday night adult lane swim tonight. It was a little bit \n of a mixed bag. It has been over a week since my last swim (last \n Tuesday). My drilling didn't seem to go well. I just felt a little off \n balance. The whole night, my legs felt "crooked" for some reason. Like \n I was swimming a little sideways. Don't know what's up with that. \n However, towards the end of the night, I started doing some whole stroke \n swimming with breathing on my right side, and it actually started to \n feel pretty good! My breathing was OK, and I almost made it across the \n whole 25m length. Just the last few meters I'd go into sweet spot to \n catch my breath a bit. And this was over many laps. At the end, around \n 8:30pm, I decided I wanted to do 10 more laps, and I was able to do this \n in about 20 minutes. In total I did over 30 laps (I think). One of \n these days I really need to accurately count the total laps I'm swimming \n just to give me some feedback on the distances I'm covering. Of course \n I'm resting after each 25m lap, but my endurance will come. My \n technique seems to be coming along...\n

\n

\n So things are starting to click. My right side breathing is really \n starting to become comfortable. I'm forcing myself to do all my \n breathing on my right side because it's my weak side, and now it's \n starting to feel comfortable. Yippee! However, thinking about my arm \n swing recovery during my right side breathing, I think it's a big loop \n with my hand way up high. I take my breath on my right side and then \n loop my arm way up high as I take my breath. Need to make this arm \n recovery same as the other side with the elbow high and leading, and the \n hand low skimming the water.\n

\n

\n I got the "cruising" feeling again where I can feel myself gliding \n through the water during my pull. Really need to concentrate on the body \n rotation as well on the pull. I could also relax a little and not have \n to pull so hard. Make it nice and relaxed and efficient! So, I'm \n feeling good about my progress. I just looked back and my first \n swimming session was about 2.5 weeks ago and I've gone about 6 times. \n Not bad. Keep on working on your drills and technique!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 680, "title": "WK41-5 10K run", "date": "2006-10-13 08:36:10.0", "content": "

\n Finally went for a run this morning. Got up at 5:15am (whoa that's \n early...). Started my run around 5:35am after drinking some water and \n getting my running gear ready. It was a nippy 2 degrees C this morning, \n clear with no rain. Ground was pretty well dry. It's been over two weeks \n since I've done any running and it was good to finally get out again. I \n consciously tried to keep the pace easy and for the most part, I was \n able to do just that.\n

\n

\n As usual, I started my stop watch at the top of the Hillside park just \n at the fence. My runs in the morning are now before sunrise so it is \n quite dark, and it's very difficult to read the watch. I have to wait \n until I'm under a street lamp and even then it's hard to read. I also \n started my Data Recorder just in our driveway. I was thinking that I \n could do a "re-start" also at the top of Hillside park and have both my \n watch and data recorder almost in-sync. Have to test out my theory and \n see if pressing the button on the data recorder starts another "session".\n

\n

\n My running route was down towards Andrew Haydon park and along Carling. \n This is my "when it's dark" route, because it's well lit for most parts, \n since I'm running beside roads. The 5km mark is about a block past the \n lights at Dick Bell park where the Marina is. As mentioned previously, I \n was able to keep a good easy pace. I think my heart rate was below \n 145bpm for the majority of the run. My legs felt good for the first 5km. \n After that I could feel them tiring and even getting sore. Running up \n the hills by Shouldice farm and up Cedarview I tried to keep pumping my \n arms and keeping up my pace. My heart rate went up to 149bpm going up \n Cedarview.\n

\n

\n It's interesting, that my heart rate will rise, but my breathing rate \n stays the same. I'm not really getting myself out of breath when I exert \n myself a little to push the pace more. Of course, I've lost some fitness \n so the pace I'm running at now I'm having a much higher heart rate than \n a few months back when I had fitness from the marathon training. My \n oxygen efficiency, however, still seems good, which I'm concluding from \n the fact that I'm not getting out of breath at these higher heart rates.\n

\n

\n As for clothing, I wore the right amount. It was 2 degrees, so it was \n pretty cool. I wore my long sleeve cool max, shorts, sweat pants and the \n K-way windbreaker. I also wore my ankle socks because I like the \n cushioning, but I should look for some longer length ones which will \n help keep my ankles warm. My body was warmed up by the time I was by \n Bell High School. My ears were cold, and I tried putting on my hood for \n the K-way but it wouldn't stay on. However, my ears didn't bother me \n that much for the rest of the run. On the way back, there was more of a \n head wind, so that also made me a little cool, but I was still \n comfortable.\n

\n

\n After my run, I had a bowl of cereal with banana, and a bowl of yogurt. \n My legs are tired and walking to the building at work, I could feel them \n being tired and even a little stiff. Yeah, it's good to get into running \n again.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 681, "title": "WK41-5 Swim", "date": "2006-10-13 20:58:10.0", "content": "

\n Went swimming with Anne and the kids on Friday night again. I did a few \n zipper switch drills, but I'm spending more and more time doing whole \n stroke swimming. At first I was getting out of breath at the end of the \n lap, and I realized that I was kicking like crazy. So I concentrated on \n making my kick nice and relaxed. I'm still not feeling as balanced as I \n would like. Also not rotating the core body enough. I tried counting \n the laps this time, and I counted 36 laps in the 1 1/2 hours of swimming.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 682, "title": "WK41-7 Long run", "date": "2006-10-15 22:00:19.609", "content": "

\n I went on a long run this Sunday. I had thought about doing 30km, but I \n decided not to push myself and did 2 X 12km loops instead. We had gone \n to church on Saturday night, so I had the luxury of starting late and \n not worry about coming back in time for the 9:30am mass. I ended up \n starting my run at ~7:00am. It was a nice clear day, around 8 degrees \n celsius. I wore my usual long sleeve coolmax with the K-way windbreaker, \n and sweat pants.\n

\n

\n My first loop was down to Andrew Haydon park. It was bright by this \n time, so I took the path towards Brittania. Instead of turning around at \n the 5km mark, I ran one more km and turned around at the 6km mark. This \n was just around Brittania Beach, almost to the road. When I got home \n after my first loop, I had to go to the bathroom badly. Elizabeth was \n already in the bathroom, so I had to wait. I filled up my waterbottle \n with more Gatorade, and then went off on my second loop.\n

\n

\n I ran by Bruce Pit and the recreation path. This loop is only about \n 10km, so at the end I decided to do a loop around Bruce Pit. This added \n about 1 mile or 1.6km. In the end I ran about 25km in just over 3 hours. \n It was a really good run. I ran at a good pace not trying to push it, \n and my heart rate averaged 145bpm. My hamstrings started to feel tight \n and had some twinges during parts of the run, and I just made sure I \n didn't over stride or stretch my hamstring too much. I also had some \n pain at the bottom front of my right knee. Not too bad, but I could feel \n a bit of pain. At the end of the run, I was tired, but I was very \n pleased on how good I felt. Excellent run!\n

\n

\n My re-fueling strategy for my long runs I think is working well. I have \n 10-11 sips of Gatorade every 3km. Every 6km (usually 1 km before my next \n Gatorade intake), I eat a granola bar. I think this helps me feel strong \n even at the end of my long run. There are times when I start feeling \n really tired, but then I get a second wind.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 683, "title": "WK42-1 Swim and ORE meeting", "date": "2006-10-16 22:09:00.687", "content": "

\n I went to the Ottawa Robotics meeting tonight. It was a fairly quiet \n meeting. Mordecai was showing his robot and the vision stuff he has \n working. There is a neat edge detection capability which can be used to \n do line following I think. He had a wireless camera hooked up to his \n robot and the wireless receiver connected to a USB video digitizer to \n get the video into his PC. He also demonstrated some Open CV (computer \n vision) utilities that performed neat stuff. I left the meeting early \n around 8:00pm because I wanted to go to the swimming session at Nepean \n Sportsplex.\n

\n

\n This was an adult swim session from 8:15 to 9:15pm. It was good that it \n started at 8:15, because I thought it started at 8:00pm and I was going \n to be late. In the end, I was just on time for the start of the session. \n I swam in the medium fast lane. I tried to relax and stroke efficiently, \n but wasn't being very successful. I'm still not comfortable breathing on \n the right side. I did whole stroke swimming the whole session and didn't \n do any drills. Didn't count how many laps I did.\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 685, "title": "WK42-2 Swim", "date": "2006-10-17 22:21:53.046", "content": "

\n I quickly rushed home today so that I could paint the second coat of the \n closets in our room. I finished painting the closests around 8:00pm. I \n then went to the swim session at the Pinecrest pool. This pool has an \n adult swim lane session Monday-Thursday from 8:30-9:30pm. It is a pretty \n nice pool. I swam in the slow lane again. However, the people in this \n lane just swam up and down either side. They don't do a loop like at the \n Walter Baker and Sportsplex pool. So I just basically found a lane that \n looked open and started swimming down. Had to check every once in a \n while by peeking up and looking forward. At one time, I had to swerve \n around a lady because she had a hard time moving (I think she had a \n floatation belt on).\n

\n

\n Still not balanced in my swimming. I did whole stroke swimming the whole \n session and didn't do any drills. I'm still not breathing that well, and \n I get out of breath easily. Trying to make sure I hide my head and swim \n downhill. I can really feel the balance working when I push my head \n down. However, when I breathe I think I'm lifting my head up too much, \n which causes my legs to sink too much and I'm not balanced at all. The \n deep end of the pool is 7ft. which is a little scary because when I'm \n tired near the end of lap, I have to make it all the way to the wall. \n But it's not too bad, I'm getting to the wall pretty easily, even when \n I'm really tired during the last few strokes. I could always go into \n sweet spot, but I haven't had to do this.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 686, "title": "WK42-3 Run", "date": "2006-10-18 22:26:27.562", "content": "

\n I ran Wednesday morning, and decided to make it a fast run. It probably \n ended up being too fast since my average heart rate was 154bpm! It was a \n cool day around 5 degrees Celsius. I wore my usual running clothes: long \n sleeve coolmax, windbreaker, shorts, and sweat pants. I'm also wearing \n an elastic on my left sleeve, since the K-way elastic isn't working \n anymore.\n

\n

\n I ran the Andrew Haydon-Carling route because it is still dark that \n early in the morning. I run one block past the lights at Dick Bell park \n which is just at the 5km mark and then turn around. I was breathing \n quite hard the whole run because of the quick pace. I think my average \n pace was around 6mins:30secs per km.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 687, "title": "WK42-4 Swim", "date": "2006-10-19 22:37:54.781", "content": "

\n I went swimming after the kids' swimming lessons again. There is an \n adult swim lane session from 7:30-9:00pm on Thursday nights. I did whole \n stroke swimming the whole session again. I really tried to relax. My \n first few laps, I was pushing too hard and I was breathing pretty hard. \n I was able to settle down and really relax. But I'm still not balanced. \n Especially when I'm breathing on my right side. Anne and the kids \n watched me from the observation window and later Anne said that I don't \n kick my feet and that they are really sinking. I told her I'm trying to \n have a very small kick. I just need to work on my balance more.\n

\n

\n I find that when I'm breathing, my legs are really low, and I have to \n quickly put my head down to try and level out again. So, how do I \n breathe without having my legs falling down so much? Keep trying to hide \n my head and swim downhill!\n

\n

\n I tried to count my laps again today. I think I did 42 laps! At one \n point I lost track so I did those extra last two laps to make sure I did \n at least 40 laps.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 688, "title": "WK42-5 Run", "date": "2006-10-20 22:46:27.875", "content": "

\n I did a nice relaxing run today. I did a really hard run session on \n Wednesday, so for today I really wanted to keep the heart rate and \n effort low. I wanted to stay around 140bpm and not go any higher than \n 145bpm. It was a very cool morning around 2 degrees celsius. I wore my \n usual running clothes. My wrists were cold in my last few runs, so I did \n something a little different with my watch today. I put it over my long \n sleeve cool max. This way, I didn't have my wrist exposed. I also had \n the elastic band on the K-way to keep the wind breaker sleeve in place.\n

\n

\n I did my usual run to Andrew Haydon and down Carling. I actually turned \n around a little early before the street because there was a person \n walking towards me and I didn't want to pass him going one way and then \n shortly pass him again going the other way. I was very pleased on how I \n was able to keep my heart rate low and my pace nice and easy. I really \n concentrated on the hills to make sure that I didn't push too hard. My \n average heart rate was 139bpm and my average pace was around 7:06. Not \n bad. I should keep my intensity low like this for most of my runs. This \n will help keep me from getting injured. I shouldn't always think that I \n have to push myself in order to gain fitness. Even running at these \n moderate intensities will benefit my fitness.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 689, "title": "WK42-6 Swim", "date": "2006-10-21 23:06:49.375", "content": "

\n I had a breakthrough today! I'm starting to solve the balance problem!\n

\n

\n I went to the 6:30-8:00pm leisure swim session Saturday night at the \n Walter Baker pool. Anne and the kids went to Daniella's birthday party, \n but I decided to go swimming instead. I did whole stroke swimming the \n whole session and didn't work on any drills. Before going to the \n swimming session, I watched the Total Immersion Freestyle DVD to help \n motivate me and see if there are any techniques I should work on. I \n decided that I need to keep working on hiding my head and swimming \n downhill. I also added that I need to make sure that I'm rotating my \n core body. Another thing was that I wanted to take more strokes before \n having to breathe.\n

\n

\n All this stuff seemed to work! At first I was working too hard and I was \n getting really out of breath, but I was making sure I rotated my core \n body. For the first few laps, my head was still too high. I really \n concentrated on keeping my head down and I could feel the balance \n improving. By concentrating on rotating the core body, I also noticed \n that I was moving farther on each stroke. I was also doing 4 to 5 \n strokes after pushing off the wall before having to take my first \n breath. I was really noticing now that I was gliding and moving a lot \n farther on each stroke. I was trying to take at least 3 strokes before \n breathing. Sometimes I was able to do 4 strokes before breathing.\n

\n

\n I continued to over exaggerate the core body rotation (although it was \n probably the right amount of rotation compared to the too little \n rotation I was doing before). The pool tiles and lane markers just \n seemed to fly by today. It seemed like I was getting to the other side \n of the pool so much more quickly and with less effort. It really felt so \n good!!! That's why I'm saying I had a breakthrough tonight. I'm now \n getting a taste of what it really feels like to feel balanced and move \n efficiently through the water with strong strokes and core body rotation.\n

\n

\n Need to ensure I continue to work on the core body rotation and taking \n multiple strokes before breathing. If I relax, I should be able to do \n the multiple strokes (3 or more). The last laps really felt good. It \n felt like I was moving quickly and the end of the lap seemed to come \n quickly. I would look up and the flags overhead were already there. I \n need to count my strokes again. I tried counting them last time and \n think it was around 25 strokes per lap. I'm sure that I've brought that \n down now that I've got my core body rotation and multiple breathing \n working better.\n

\n

\n I also counted the laps this session and I think I did 42 laps again. \n However, these 42 laps I think were much better than the ones I did last \n session. Need to keep working on hiding the head, swimming downhill, \n core body rotation, and multiple strokes per breath. My swimming is \n really starting to improve!!! Woo Hoo!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 691, "title": "WK42-7 Swim", "date": "2006-10-22 22:28:57.0", "content": "

\n I went to the 6:30-8:00pm leisure swim at Walter Baker pool tonight. It \n didn't start off too well, but I was finally able to get the balanced \n feeling again after a while. I left the house late and didn't get to the \n pool until 6:40pm. My first few laps didn't feel good. My legs were \n sinking again as I was breathing, I wasn't doing the core body rotation, \n and I was out of breath and really breathing hard at the end of the lap. \n I also started in the medium speed lane, since it was empty when I first \n got there. However, after 3 laps, I moved over to slow lane. There was \n another lady that went into the medium lane, and she was swimming way \n faster than me.\n

\n

\n I'm not sure how long it took, but I did eventually get that balanced \n feeling back. I really concentrated on laying on my side and rotating my \n core body on each stroke. This is something I need to really, really \n concentrate on. Lay on my side, hide my head, and rotate my core body. \n My neck is sore today after swimming and I'm thinking that I'm craning \n and bending my neck instead of keeping it aligned. Need to keep my head \n aligned and push my upper body down to balance. It might be enough to \n hide my head and keep it aligned. Just need to concentrate on keeping my \n head down and having that balanced feeling.\n

\n

\n My breathing is still not right. I think I'm lifting my head out of the \n water instead of rotating my core body and letting my head follow to the \n air. When I think about it, sometimes I get it right, but most of the \n time I'm lifting my head. Something else I need to work on after really \n perfecting my balance.\n

\n

\n Another thing I worked on was taking 4 strokes before breathing. This \n meant I was always breathing on the right side, and that's OK because \n that's the side I really want to improve. For many of the last laps, I \n was able to take 4 strokes and breathe for at least 3 cycles! Sometimes \n I was able to do it for 4 cycles and basically get almost all the way \n across the pool. I think this is good because it makes sure I'm relaxing \n in order to hold my breath for 4 strokes. I think I'm now around 20 \n strokes per lap if I just count how many breaths I'm taking with 3 or 4 \n strokes per breath.\n

\n

\n I also need to figure out my kicking, but that's a lower priority right \n now. Basically just kicking once or twice for each stroke. Now that my \n balance is a lot better, I don't really need to kick to keep my legs up. \n During breathing my legs are probably still sinking slightly, but as I \n work on my core body rotation during breathing, I should get better at \n being balanced even during breathing. I also notice that my feet must be \n near the surface because sometimes I'll do a kick with a big splash \n because my foot is right near or just above the surface of the water.\n

\n

\n All in all, I can feel my swimming improving! I was thinking perhaps of \n doing 2 laps at once, but I recall Terry Laughlin's comments on drilling \n and swimming 100% correctly. Even 95% correctly is 100% wrong. Need to \n drill perfectly and currently I'm only in that state when I'm not tired. \n When I get tired my stroke timing and breathing regress back and I \n struggle again. I think I did around 38 laps tonight. But again, don't \n worry about the number of laps. So for now, just stick to 25m laps and \n work on perfect form. I'm getting there and it feels good! Woo Hoo!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 698, "title": "WK42-7 No long run :-(", "date": "2006-10-23 09:42:17.929", "content": "

\n Couldn't get up early to do a long run on Sunday morning. Actually \n slept in to 9:10am and quickly got ready to go to church!\n

\n

\n I'd like to target at least 3 runs per week. All of my runs have been \n in the morning, so I need to really get into a routine of getting to bed \n early so I can fit in my runs in the morning. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 699, "title": "WK43-2 Swim", "date": "2006-10-24 22:42:41.093", "content": "

\n I went to the adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30pm at the Pinecrest \n pool tonight. Actually I also went last night, but they didn't have an \n adult swim lane session on Mondays. Doh!\n

\n

\n It was a good session again. My first few laps didn't feel good, but I \n was able to quickly get that balanced feeling again. I think it just \n takes a few laps to get the blood flowing and my breathing settled. \n This is probably similar to warming up for a jog, where I'm breathing \n hard for the first few minutes until I get warmed up and I'm starting to \n be aerobic. I'm really learning to hide my head and swim down hill. I \n really feel balanced when I have my head down. When I breathe I'm going \n out of balance, and it's something I need to work on. I can even \n manoeuver around swimmers fairly easily because I'm so balanced.\n

\n

\n I didn't concentrate on laying on my side and core body rotation as much \n today. I guess my balance felt pretty good. However, I should be aware \n of this as well to ensure that I'm laying on my side and doing my core \n body rotation. I'm breathing mostly on my right side and doing four \n strokes per breath. I actually did several laps where I did four strokes \n per breath for the whole lap! I'm really starting to settle down, relax, \n breathe slowly and not get out of breath. My swimming is becoming \n efficient! I'm certainly not as out of breath at the end of the lap as \n before, so I think my rest periods are shorter. But I still need to \n ensure that my form is perfect. A couple of times I left a little early \n and was tired and my form was not good for that lap. Remember, don't \n worry about laps or the pace clock. Take as much as rest as I need to \n make sure each lap is in perfect form. Don't worry about the other \n swimmers. Concentrate only on what you are doing - remember perfect form!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 700, "title": "WK43-3 Run", "date": "2006-10-25 23:43:20.244", "content": "

\n Did a morning run on Wednesday. I missed my long run on Sunday, so it \n has been a while since I've ran. I did a nice easy run and kept my heart \n rate around 140bpm. Overall pace was slower from my last easy run \n though. I needed to keep the pace slow to keep my heart rate low.\n

\n

\n It was cool this morning around 2 degrees C. It seemed even colder than \n that for some reason. I wore my usual running clothes with my long \n sleeve coolmax, k-way windbreaker, and sweat pants. I forgot to reset my \n stop watch so my times were continued from my last run. Had to do some \n calculations and adjustments when I entered the times in my running log. \n The data recorder was OK though. Just dumped the data from the data \n recorder to the Timex Trainer software.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 701, "title": "WK43-3 Swim", "date": "2006-10-25 23:45:48.775", "content": "

\n Went to the adult lane swim session at the Pinecrest pool tonight. I'm \n starting to feel more and more comfortable with my balance and swimming. \n I had to swim around folks in the "leisure lane" but it seemed really \n easy because I was balanced. I just look up and if there is someone \n ahead, I just swerve to go around them. I was still breathing every 4 \n strokes and mostly on my right side. Got lost counting the laps again...\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 703, "title": "WK43-4 Swim", "date": "2006-10-27 00:00:14.244", "content": "

\n Went to the adult lane swim session after the kids swim lessons at \n Walter Baker Pool from 7:30-9:00pm. Still feeling good with my balance \n and swimming. I started breathing every 3 strokes and alternating the \n sides that I'm breathing. This actually felt really good! I think it's \n because I don't have to hold my breath for so long. My stroke rate is \n very slow, so it takes a while to do 4 strokes and I feel like I need to \n hold my breath for a little longer than I'd like. With the 3 strokes the \n breathing seemed to be nice and easy. Even the breathing on the right \n side seemed pretty comfortable. I think I'm still lifting my head \n (especially on the right side) and my legs are sinking. Just need to \n keep working on this!\n

\n

\n I concentrated on the core body rotation at the beginning of the \n session, but at the end I don't think I was doing it as much. I think \n when I get tired, I don't seem to rotate my core body as much. I think \n my fitness is also improving along with my efficiency. I'm not using as \n much energy to do a lap and I think my rest periods are also shorter. I \n was able to do 44 laps today!\n

\n

\n Also, I was able to keep up with the Chinese lady that does the slow \n free style for the first part of the session. I was doing laps a little \n faster than her and I would rest at the end of each lap. She wouldn't \n stop, however I was still able to keep up with her since I think my free \n style is faster than hers (and much more efficient!). One thing I \n noticed on my pull is that my left arm doesn't seem to catch as much \n water than my right arm pull. Just seems like there is much more \n resistance on my right arm than when I pull with my left arm. Maybe this \n is something else to work on.\n

\n

\n Anne and the kids watched me from the observation deck for a short \n while. Joseph told me later that I looked much better balanced than \n before. I told him "Thanks!, that was nice to hear". I actually do feel \n a lot better balanced. And the effort expended also seems less. I also \n noticed that when I stick my head down to get balanced, I can see just \n the tips of my feet and toes. The pool tiles are also moving by fairly \n quickly. I'm also relaxed and I can see stuff at the bottom of the pool. \n I noticed a clump of hair once. Yuck!\n

\n

\n Just keep on working on balance, core body rotation, hiding my head, \n swimming down hill, and nice smooth breathing. It's feeling really good!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 704, "title": "WK43-6 Swim", "date": "2006-10-29 22:39:29.25", "content": "

\n Went to the leisure swim session from 1:00-4:30 at the Walter Baker pool \n on Saturday. I swam for about 1hr 35mins from 1:30 - 2:35. It was \n another good session. My balance is starting to come naturally now. \n Really learning to hide my head and swim down hill. My breathing is \n still not that good, since it really disrupts my gliding and my legs \n sink. It's like I almost stop moving when breathing because I'm no \n longer being sleek and streamlined. It's because I lift my head instead \n of rolling to the air and keeping my head aligned. Just need to keep \n working on this.\n

\n

\n Continued to do three strokes between breaths. Usually do four strokes \n after the push off from the wall and then three strokes per breath after \n that. However, there were times when I did up to five strokes per \n breath! I guess I'm starting to relax more and more which allows me to \n hold my breath for longer and not gasping for air. It was neat to see \n that I was able to hold my breath for that long between strokes. I \n wonder if that would impact my SPL if I took five strokes between \n breaths. Actually, more important is to be efficient when I take my \n breaths. Keep my head aligned and remain streamlined when I breathe.\n

\n

\n Also really started to concentrate on SPL today. I counted for many \n different laps and my SPL is currently around 23. I had previously \n thought it was around 20, but now I now it's 23 because I consciously \n counted today. I find that after my first four strokes, I'm usually well \n past the flags. When I get to the flags to the other end, I'm usually at \n 17 strokes.\n

\n

\n I counted the number of laps I did today, and it was 60! Wow, that's \n pretty good for me. I swam for a good 1hr:35mins and hit 60 laps. I even \n did a fast lap for my last lap. I kicked the whole lap and increased my \n stroke rate. It actually felt like I was swimming really fast! And at \n the end, I wasn't out of breath. My swimming is becoming really \n efficient.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 705, "title": "WK43-7 Swim", "date": "2006-10-29 22:59:10.843", "content": "

\n Went to the 1:00-4:30 Leisure swim session on Sunday. I went late this \n time and didn't get to the pool til 2:00pm. My first few laps I get \n really out of breath. I think maybe I'm trying too hard and not relaxing \n for the first few laps. I eventually settle down and the laps get easier.\n

\n

\n I counted my SPL and it was around 23 again today. So now I've got a \n baseline and I can work on decreasing my SPL. I tried working on my \n kick, but I get confused which leg I should be kicking down when I \n stroke, so I wasn't very successful. I was watching the Total Immersion \n DVD and it looks like I can use the underswitch drill to help out with \n the timing of the kicks and the correct leg to kick. I should kick the \n leg on the same side for the arm which is performing the pull. Right now \n it's pretty well random for my kicks. I'm thinking I need to correct \n this now, before my stroke is totally ingrained in my mind and it would \n be much more difficult to change. I hope I'm not at that point yet!\n

\n

\n On the first few laps, I tried focussing on the core-body rotation. I \n don't know how well I was doing on the rotation after that. I think it's \n OK. I do concentrate on having the shoulder of my recovery arm be up and \n out of the water, just like Katherine on the Total Immersion DVD. You \n can really see the core body rotation since her shoulder blades are \n almost vertical at the beginning of each stroke.\n

\n

\n I looked at the pace clock on one of my laps and the lap time was around \n 40 seconds. This is when I stroke at my usual easy pace. However, the \n pace clock is really not important for me right now. Terry Laughlin says \n forget the pace clock and just make sure that you have perfect form. \n That's exactly what I'm trying to do in my swimming now. I rest after \n each lap so that I can concentrate on having perfect form.\n

\n

\n I also did some strokes where I had 5 strokes between breaths. I \n surprised myself in that I was able to hold my breath for that long and \n not need to gasp for air. It was nice and easy relaxed breathing.\n

\n

\n I counted my laps today and got to 50 laps. I originally targeted 40 \n laps, but then when I was around 36 laps, I decided to go for 44 laps. \n At 44 laps, I decided to just go for 50 laps. This is amazing! I'm able \n to really swim the laps easily now. Of course I'm resting after each 25m \n lap, but I know my fitness is improving. I'm not as out of breath after \n each lap, and my heart rate is around 28-29 beats per 15 seconds (around \n 112 - 116 bpm). After the 50 laps, I got out of the pool and touched my \n toes stretching my hamstrings for a few seconds.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 711, "title": "WK44-1 Run", "date": "2006-10-30 09:18:12.281", "content": "

\n Did my morning 10K run down by Andrew Haydon park. Kept a nice easy \n pace with heart rate at around 140bpm. Weather was 3 degrees C and \n windy at times. I'm wearing my black jacket from Mark's Work Wearhouse \n instead of the k-way. I was warm, and my upper body was actually \n sweating quite a bit. I tried to unzip my jacket a little to help \n regulate the heat. However, when it was windy, sometimes I would be \n cold, so I would zip up a bit.\n

\n

\n My GPS battery died half way through the run at the 6km mark. So I only \n have heart rate data after 6km. I didn't notice any aches or pains \n during the run. My knees were a little sore, but not too bad. I could \n just notice them a little. Didn't really get any twinges from my right \n hamstring which I had been getting in my previous runs. Also, didn't \n get any bowel urges which have been plaguing me for my runs last week. \n I remember for one of my runs, the urges were so strong and it was very \n uncomfortable to run, but I had to make it home. Went to the washroom \n as soon as I got home. Today, I thought about the urges, but then told \n myself not to think about it and not to jinx myself. Didn't get any \n urges for the whole run which was nice!\n

\n

\n We had set our clocks back one hour on Sunday, so there was lots of \n light by the time I finished my run. Probably half way through my run I \n was able to see my watch without having to be under a street lamp. \n However, the days are still getting shorter, so the sun is rising later \n and setting earlier. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 712, "title": "WK44-2 Swim", "date": "2006-10-31 23:00:01.453", "content": "

\n Went to the adult lane swim session at the Pinecrest pool from \n 8:30-9:30pm. It wasn't as crowded today, although I still had to swim \n around and avoid people. Got out of breath as usual on my first few \n laps, but after that I was fine. My pull seemed stronger today, \n although I didn't concentrate as much on my core body rotation and \n hiding my head. I did count my strokes and was consistently around 21 \n spl. This was 1-2 strokes less than at Walter Baker and I wondered if \n this pool might be a bit smaller than 25m. Or maybe my stroke has \n improved slightly from the weekend!\n

\n

\n I was watching the pace clock and trying to time my laps. They were \n usually around 40 seconds. This is at my regular easy pace so I'm not \n trying to set any speed records. I tried a fast lap once, but my \n kicking wasn't co-ordinated. Have to really work on my correct kicking \n one of these sessions. I need to kick the opposite leg of the arm doing \n the entry. (Or kick same leg as the arm doing the pull.) I also tried \n counting the laps and I think I did 36 laps. I swam for about 55 mins \n so the average is around 1.5mins per lap. This is around 45 seconds \n swimming and 45 seconds rest. I do notice that I'm not as out of breath \n after a lap and I don't need as much rest, so my efficiency and \n endurance are improving. Yippee!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 713, "title": "WK44-3 Run", "date": "2006-11-01 22:16:39.953", "content": "

\n Ran my usual 10k route to Andrew Haydon park. I decided to run at \n faster pace today to vary my running workout. I targeted a heart rate \n of 145bpm. I got up at 5:20am and was out the door just after 5:30am! \n I'm not drinking or eating anything before my run to see if that helps \n prevent me from getting any bowel movement urges. So far this seems to \n have worked. It's still dark out when I start my run, but due to the \n daylight savings time change, by the time I get home around 6:45, it's \n very bright out. Today was clear, and the temperature was around 2 \n degrees C. I wore my usual running clothes, and I put on my black \n jacket instead of the K-way. I also put my watch on the outside of my \n jacket sleeve. This way I don't have to pull up the jacket sleeve to \n read my watch. This worked well.\n

\n

\n Felt pretty strong most of the run. I could tell that I was pushing the \n pace, but it didn't zap my legs so I felt pretty good even at the end of \n the 10k. My pace did slow down during the second half of the run and I \n could have concentrated more and pushed the pace. Overall, the run felt \n really good. I'm going to continue to have my runs at an easy pace, but \n I do want to have a nice tempo run once a week as well. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 714, "title": "WK44-3 Swim", "date": "2006-11-01 22:26:29.734", "content": "

\n Went to the Sportsplex Pool adult lane swim session from 6:30-8:00 \n today. I didn't get to the pool until about 6:45pm. I swam for one \n hour and did 40 laps. That seems to be my average now, 1.5mins per lap \n which includes the swim and the rest times. My lap time is around \n 40-45seconds, so I'm averaging about 45seconds rest per lap as well.\n

\n

\n My pull continues to feel strong and I can really feel myself gliding \n during my pulls. However, my breathing is still not good, and I think \n I'm lifting my head out of the water instead of rolling my core body and \n keeping my head aligned. Also tried working on my kick, but it's just \n totally uncoordinated. I was getting around 20 spl, so my efficiency \n was really good. I think this pool is the same length as the Pinecrest \n pool. \n

\n

\n I quickly showered and rushed home. I wanted to get home before 8:15pm \n because that's the time Anne was leaving for her Dance lesson. I was \n able to make it home before Anne left. I think I'm going to try this \n routine on Wednesday nights so that I can still swim and be home to \n watch the kids while Anne is out on her dance lessons. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 715, "title": "WK44-4 Swim", "date": "2006-11-02 22:41:32.125", "content": "

\n Went to the 7:30-9:00pm adult swim lane session at Walter Baker pool \n just after the kids' swim lessons. I got there a little late around \n 7:35pm and swam for 1hr:15mins. I completed 50 laps which is the 1.5min \n average per lap I've been doing lately. Pull continues to feel good, \n and my breathing and kicking still weak. I'm also not focussing on my \n core body rotation, so that's probably a little weak too. I'm still \n doing about 21-22 spl but sometimes I get it down to 20 spl. This is \n probably when I get my kick co-ordinated enough.\n

\n

\n I did have some breaths where I rotated the core body and kept my head \n aligned. I could feel a difference, and I just need to continue and \n capture that feeling so it becomes second nature and natural. I'm also \n not getting as winded after each lap, so my swim fitness must be \n improving. I had a few laps where my rest was pretty short (< 15 secs).\n

\n

\n For most of the session I was keeping up with the lady that does the \n slow freestyle. With my laps and rest at around the same pace as her \n continuous laps. However when she switched over to the breastroke, she \n was much faster and she would lap me every few laps. \n

\n

\n I'm pleased with my swim progress the last 5-6 weeks. I'm now relaxed \n when swimming the freestyle, and my breathing is relaxed as well. It's \n hard to believe that I'm now up to 40, 50, and even 60 laps per swim \n session (did that once during a 1.5hr session last weekend). That's \n just awesome!!! As my swim fitness continues to improve, I'll start \n shortening the rest periods until I'll be able to do more than one lap \n at once before resting. However, need to remember to never practice \n struggle. Make your swimming efficient without struggle. So continue \n to take as much rest as you need and keep your stroke efficient. There \n are times when I feel tired, and I certainly regress back to struggle. \n I was really watching the pace clock today, but I kept forgetting to \n look at the end of the lap for my lap time. Don't worry about the pace \n clock and work on having perfect form. I still have some ways to go, \n but it just feels so good right now too!!! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 716, "title": "wk44-5 Run", "date": "2006-11-03 22:50:22.546", "content": "

\n Went for a morning run. Kept the pace easy for today. Tried to keep my \n heart rate around 140bpm, but I went out too fast and it was hard to \n bring the heart rate back down. In the end I was able to get the \n average heart rate at 140bpm. It was below zero today (-1 degree C). I \n wore my usual running clothes: long sleeve coolmax, shorts, sweat pants, \n and black jacket. I wore my Toronto baseball cap, but my ears were \n still cold. I need to find my ear muffs and wear them like I did for my \n early spring training in March.\n

\n

\n As for aches and pains, there was a slight pain on the bottom front of \n my knee. My left thigh was tight and complaining at one point. What's \n up with that? Never had that feeling before. Outside of left knee (ITB \n area) started to flare up slightly near end of run. Didn't really feel \n anything with my hamstrings, though, which is good! Knock on wood that \n the hamstrings are healing up and getting stronger. (Not sure what \n they're healing up from, but they were feeling tight during my runs.)\n

\n

\n Runs feel nice and strong. Pace is a little faster with the same heart \n rate, so I am gaining some fitness. I like this easy pace for most of \n my runs, with a tempo run thrown in. It's helping me from breaking down \n physically and keeping me away from injury. Good thing! Going to go \n for a long run this Sunday. It has been several weeks since I've done a \n long run. I'm thinking of running 20-25km. Will see how I feel to \n determine if it'll be the low or high ends of that range. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 717, "title": "WK44-6 Swim", "date": "2006-11-04 23:05:53.125", "content": "

\n Went to the leisure swim session from 1:00-4:30 at the Walter Baker Pool \n today. I swam from 1:05-2:35pm. It was another excellent session. Seems \n like I'm improving every time out, which is a great feeling. The key \n learnings for today was "core body rotation" and slicing in my hand and \n arm "steep and deep". I had started working on my kick, but just \n couldn't get it co-ordinated again. Towards the end of the session, I \n decided to focus on my core body rotation. I made sure that I was \n rotating fully when I was doing my strokes. I noticed an immediate \n difference that I was moving farther on each pull. It was a startling \n difference! I just moved faster and farther, and it seemed like I wasn't \n getting as out of breath either!\n

\n

\n I counted my strokes and I was around 22-23 spl for most of my laps. \n However, after concentrating on my core body rotation, my stroke counts \n went down. I was even able to get one around 18-19 spl!!! It was \n amazing. Not all were that low, but I think my average was going down to \n 20-21 spl. So I really concentrated on core body rotation and slicing my \n hand to a steep angle and a little lower than I have been doing. Again \n the feeling of gliding faster and farther was very evident. The deeper \n hand position seems to make my pull feel like I'm catching much more \n water. My left arm pull is also feeling good. Also it seemed like I was \n working less because my breathing was not as heavy. I didn't need as \n much rest at the end of the laps.\n

\n

\n I also tried to think about my breathing more and roll to the air \n instead of lifting my head. It's starting to actually feel better now. I \n am rolling to the air but still revert to lifting my head at times. The \n breathing however is starting to feel pretty natural. If I roll \n correctly, it actually feels really good. I'm also breathing on both \n sides which I think is a good thing. Breathing feels natural on both \n sides now.\n

\n

\n For the session, I wanted to average my 1.5laps per minute (including \n rests). I planned to go 60 laps for the 90 minute session. I started \n swimming around 1:05pm. Just before 2:30pm I had completed the 60 laps. \n I decided to keep going and swim for the full 90 minutes. I ended up \n swimming 4 more laps for a total of 64 laps. Just amazing! Especially \n with the core body rotation, the laps are certainly getting easier. \n Can't wait to go back on Sunday and keep practicing with the core body \n rotation. This really is the secret of generating power in your stroke. \n I'm a believer!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 718, "title": "WK44-7 Long Run", "date": "2006-11-05 20:25:25.531", "content": "

\n Finally went out for a long run this morning. It has been about 3 weeks \n since I've gone on a long run. I was planning to do around 25km, but I \n ended up doing 27km. A 12km loop down Bruce Pitt, Trend Arlington and \n the bike path, and 15km loop by Andrew Haydon Park, Brittania Beach, and \n out close to the Parkway. It was actually snowing for most of my run! \n The temperature was around 1 degree C and I wore my usual running \n clothes. I was sweating under my jacket so it wasn't too cold. Total \n time for the run was 3hrs 8mins.\n

\n

\n My new strategy for running is to focus on my heart rate and keep it in \n the desired zone. Don't worry about the pace clock. As my fitness \n improves, my running pace for any given heart rate should also improve. \n My target for my long runs is to have an average heart rate around \n 140bpm. Currently this equates to a pace between 6:45 and 7:00mins. \n

\n

\n I did my usual hydration and carb strategy. Drink 10 sips every 3 km \n and eat a granola bar every 6 km starting at 5km. (ie. Eat a granola \n bar 1 km before my next drink time. I was drinking orange gatorade. I \n felt strong throughout the whole run. Towards the end my legs were \n getting tired and sore, but I was able to keep up my pace and even \n improve it over the last kilometer! \n

\n

\n For aches and pains, bottom front part of right knee was a little sore. \n My left ITB was also sore. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 719, "title": "WK44-7 Swim", "date": "2006-11-05 20:35:47.89", "content": "

\n Went to the leisure swim session at the Walter Baker Pool from \n 1:00-4:30pm. I swam from around 1:10 to 2:15 (65mins). My swimming \n continues to improve. The first few laps I am now able to relax enough \n that I don't put myself out of breath so easily. I found that I was \n going fast than my usual 1.5mins per 25m lap pace. For the 65 mins, I \n was able to swim 50 laps! I even moved over to the medium speed lane \n because it got crowded in the slow lane and some people just weren't \n moving very fast. My stroke is pretty efficient now and I'm swimming \n faster than most people in the slow lane.\n

\n

\n The chinese lady with the slow free style was there. When she does the \n free style I'm pretty well able to keep up with her. When she does the \n breast stroke she is faster and laps me every few laps because I rest \n after every lap.\n

\n

\n I tried to concentrate on my core body rotation, but it didn't seem to \n make a difference. Perhaps it already feels natural to me, so I'm \n already doing it. I counted my strokes and they were usually 21-22 spl. \n I get to the flags around the 17th stroke. My breathing is starting to \n improve too. Sometimes I rotate my core body correctly and other times \n I'm lifting my head too much. One thing though is that I'm not as out \n of breath after each lap compared to before. I think my efficiency is \n way better and also my breathing is way better.\n

\n

\n So key focus areas continues to be core body rotation and keeping the \n head aligned during breathing. I also need to work on co-ordinating my \n kicks better with the arm movements. Kick the correct leg at the \n correct time! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 720, "title": "WK45-1 Swim", "date": "2006-11-06 22:15:13.0", "content": "

\n Went to the adult lane swim session at the Walter Baker pool from \n 7:30-9:00pm. I started around 7:35pm and finished at 8:50pm so I swam \n for 1hr 15mins. I completed 60 laps during the session. During the \n last part of the session I was trying to stay ahead of the chinese lady \n doing the breast stroke, so I didn't rest as long. Maybe I need to push \n myself a little bit more and not take as long a rest. Can use others to \n help push me. Just remember that I need to have perfect form at all \n times. If I start to struggle or form breaks down because I'm not \n rested then I need to stop and rest. Don't practice struggle!\n

\n

\n Worked on core body rotation again. Got some laps with 18spl, but most \n were around 20-21. Breathing is continuing to get better. I remember \n once where I rotated to the air, but my head was deeper than I thought \n and I almost breathed in too early! Just need to continue to turn my \n core body to the air. I also need to concentrate on my pull when I'm \n breathing. With a steep and deep entry, I feel like I'm catching way \n more water on my pull. However my left arm pull is weaker than my right \n arm pull. Especially when I'm breathing on my left side. I don't think \n I'm pulling very hard when I breath on my left side. Need to work on \n that. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 721, "title": "WK45-2 Run", "date": "2006-11-07 22:47:25.437", "content": "

\n Ran my usual 10km route today to Andrew Haydon park. Weather was 3 \n degrees C, clear and cool. I wore my usual running clothes. I'm actually \n sweating quite a lot in my black jacket. Maybe I should switch back to \n my K-way while the weather is still above 0 degrees.\n

\n

\n My right outside part of the knee (ITB?) was really bothering me today. \n I even stopped at one point. I also felt like I was limping at times. \n Bad, bad, bad. Need to really watch this. At work the knee doesn't seem \n to be complaining so that's good. I think I need to work on my ITB \n strengthening exercises again. These are the ones where I lay on my side \n on the bed and lift my upper leg. Was it 3 sets of 30reps or something \n like that I was doing.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 722, "title": "WK45-2 Run", "date": "2006-11-07 22:47:06.625", "content": "

\n Ran my usual morning route. Weather was clear, not too cool at 3 \n degrees C. Right near the beginning of the run, near Shouldice farm, I \n could feel my outside of right knee feel sore. It got worse as my run \n continued. At the hill going up to Bruce Pit, it was starting to get \n painful and I actually stopped and walked for a few steps. What's wrong \n with my knee. Is it ITB tendinitis again? Need to really watch this. \n Don't know if I'll run on Thursday morning. I'll need to start those \n ITB leg lift exercises again.\n

\n

\n I kept my heart rate around 140bpm. This is a good pace. Hopefully \n I'll be able to steadily improve my pace at the same heart rate. \n Currently around 6:45-7:00mins at 140bpm. I'd like to get that down to \n 6:00mins or less at 140bpm. I looked through some old workout data I \n have, and I think I did run at that pace and heartrate on some of my \n runs!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 724, "title": "WK45-3 Swim", "date": "2006-11-08 22:54:45.312", "content": "

\n Went to the leisure swim session from 6:30-8:00pm at the Nepean \n Sportsplex pool tonight. I swam from 6:35-7:40pm. Just a little over an \n hour. I completed 44 laps. There were other people in the swim lane with \n me. There was one lady that was fairly slow, but she didn't stop for \n rests. I would let her get ahead, but I would sometimes catch her. I had \n to swim around her a couple of times. There was another lady swimming \n that went pretty quick. She also swam laps without stopping and resting. \n I looked at the pace clock and my laps are around 40-45 seconds per \n length. I also rest around 45 seconds so that gives a total time of \n 1.5mins per lap. This is about the average for me.\n

\n

\n I continued to work on body rotation. I was getting around 21-22 spl, so \n I wasn't stroking as efficiently as I had been. Don't know why, but \n today my strokes per length seemed high. However, the swimming still \n felt pretty good. I'm gliding and doing my core body rotation. I'm also \n pulling quite hard and I think that's also getting me out of breath. I \n think I need to take it easy and not put so much energy into my pull \n that I put myself out of breath. Also, I'm not really kicking at all \n since I feel such good balance. This might be why my SPL is so high.\n

\n

\n I'd like to shorten my rest times. When I was swimming in the medium \n speed lane on Sunday, I think I had short rests. This is what allowed me \n to get to 64 laps in 1hr 15mins. Need to keep relaxed swimming and see \n if I can shorten my rest times.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 725, "title": "WK45-4 Swim", "date": "2006-11-09 10:52:50.0", "content": "

\n Went to the adult lane swim session after the kid's swimming lessons at \n the Walter Baker Pool tonight from 7:30-9:00pm. I got there just at \n 7:30 and swam until 8:55 (1hr 25mins). I didn't have any breakthroughs \n in terms of form or technique, but I continue to feel really comfortable \n with my stroke. My breathing is OK. Ironically I think I breathe on my \n right side the best now. This used to be my weaker side. When \n breathing on my left side, I'm still lifting my head instead of just \n rotating the core body and letting the head follow. This is probably \n just my bad form that I need to unlearn from my previous swimming \n technique. On my right side I don't think I lift my head at all. \n

\n

\n Also, I don't do a strong pull with my left arm when I'm breathing on my \n left side. I really need to concentrate on driving the entry hand/arm \n steep and deep, and having a strong pull when I breath on my left side. \n For rotating the core body, I actually concentrated on the steep and \n deep hand entry with body rotation, instead of focussing on the pulling \n arm. I'm probably not getting as strong a pull on my pulling arm, but \n I'm also probably spending a little less energy. I think by \n concentrating on the pulling arm with core body rotation, I'm pulling \n really hard and exerting a lot of effort. It just seemed like my \n breathing was very relaxed today. I was never too out of breath. My \n stroke spl was around 20-21 spl so I wasn't too far off my best spl. \n (My best spl is 18 I believe.)\n

\n

\n I started in the slow swim lane today and I was keeping pace with the \n chinese lady. I actually let her get ahead (about half the pool length) \n before I start, and by the end, I've almost caught up to her. I'm also \n able to "sense" someone swimming ahead of me. It's really interesting. \n A couple of times I could feel water swirling on my lead hand and when I \n look up there is someone ahead of me. Their kick is swirling the water \n and I can feel it with my lead hand. However, the swimmers aren't super \n close, they're still a few feet ahead of me, so it's surprising that I \n can feel the swirling water. It also shows me that I'm relaxed and my \n leading hand is relaxed.\n

\n

\n It got pretty crowded in the slow swim lane at one point, so I decided \n to switch over to the medium speed lane. I don't think I'm out of place \n in the medium speed lane, so maybe I should think of switching over. I \n don't think I rested as much either. I was never really out of breath \n so my rests were short. I still rested, though. On my last laps, I \n turned around right away and I could feel that my breathing was more \n urgent on the lap coming back. I needed air more often because I didn't \n get that rest. \n

\n

\n I ended up doing 66 laps in 95mins! I wanted to get to 60 and when I \n got there, I said let's get to 64 (which was the maximum I've done \n before). Then at 64 I said what the heck, there's still time and I did \n two more laps. This is when I didn't rest in between laps and I could \n feel it on the way back. However, it was amazing that I did 66 laps. \n Woo Hoo!!! Key take away points for me this session are that I am \n feeling very relaxed with my stroke and my breathing is not hard at all. \n I need a short rest, but after that short rest my breathing and stroke \n are the same. I felt like I could just keep on going as long as I kept \n my relaxed stroke and had a short rest after each lap.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 726, "title": "WK45-5 Run", "date": "2006-11-10 22:25:02.281", "content": "

\n Ran my usual route to Andrew Haydon park. It was fairly warm at 5 \n degrees C. I wore my K-way windbreaker instead of my black jacket today. \n I found that my arms were sweating so much in my black jacket. With the \n K-way my arms didn't get as hot. My right knee ITB bothered my during \n the run again. I've figured out that my knee really starts to hurt \n during hill climbs. So maybe I need to stay on flats for a while.\n

\n

\n My watch also made the first kilometer too short, just like last \n Tuesday. My watch beeped for 1 km right at the overpass! So I ended up \n resetting the stopwatch and starting the timer again. So I ended up \n running to the next corner after my usual turnaround point. My knee \n started hurting again running up the hill on old cedarview. When I got \n home, the odometer was just over 10km.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 728, "title": "WK45-6 Swim", "date": "2006-11-11 22:40:34.421", "content": "

\n Went to the Leisure Swim session at the Walter Baker pool from \n 1:00-4:30pm. I actually got there a little early around 12:45pm. There \n was an adult swim session before from 12:00-1:00pm. They have 3 narrow \n lanes for the adult swim. I went into the medium speed lane. My first \n few laps felt horibble. I didn't feel balanced, my legs were sinking, \n and my breathing was poor and I was lifting my head too much. I finally \n settled down. At 1:00pm they reconfigured the lanes so that the slow and \n medium lanes were two lanes wide. I did about 48laps in one hour, 60laps \n in 1hr15mins, and 80 laps in 1hr40mins! 80 laps, that's pretty amazing. \n I just kept swimming at a relaxed pace. I set a target at 60laps, then \n decided I wanted to get to 66 (my previous maximum). After that decided \n to hit 70laps. Finally shot for 80 laps. By the end, my arms were tired, \n but I wasn't out of breath. This is an average of 1.25mins per lap.\n

\n

\n My strokes spl wasn't too good today. At the beginning when I felt my \n form was horrible, I think I was around 25 spl. When I finally settled \n down, I was around 22spl. Not great, but ok. There were times that I hit \n around 20-21spl.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 730, "title": "WK45-7 Swim", "date": "2006-11-12 21:51:33.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest pool adult lane swim from 11:30am-1:00pm. I was \n planning to go over to Ron Clough's place at 2:00pm for an ORE get \n together to look at the firefighting robots, so I had to do my swim \n earlier than normal. I started right at 11:30 and finished at 12:55 \n (1hr 25mins). I swam 70 laps, so my pace was right around 1.25mins per \n lap. My strokes spl was usually around 19, so I think this pool is a \n little smaller than the Walter Baker pool. I was able to swim relaxed \n again and my breathing was easy. There were some slower people in the \n pool, so I had to swim around them at times. At first I was rushing and \n losing my form, but I was able to settle down and get into my relaxed \n stroke and form. \n

\n

\n At first I was thinking of swimming for an hour and doing just over 40 \n laps. My new pace seems to be about 1.25mins/lap so I did 48 laps in \n the first hour. I still felt good, so I decided to keep on swimming. I \n was thinking of going to 60 laps. When I got to 60, I decided to go to \n 64 laps, and then just kept going to 70 laps. I was feeling tired, but \n my stroke was still nice and easy. I also rested after each lap to make \n sure I wasn't too tired before starting the next lap. \n

\n

\n I am very pleased with my progress up to this point. I just looked back \n at the archives and my first session was back on Sept 23rd (end of \n WK38). So I've been swim training for just over 7 weeks and have gone \n from not being able to swim one lap to swimming 80 laps in 1hr 40mins! \n Pretty amazing! The "Total Immersion" swimming technique really is \n amazing. It has taught me to be balanced in the water and not to \n struggle. When you're balanced, you can relax and work on propelling \n yourself forward with your arm pull instead of pushing down and trying \n to keep yourself up in the water. By having perfect form and \n "lengthening my vessel", you also glide much further on each pull, and I \n really notice this now when I'm swimming. My breathing is becoming more \n and more comfortable and I'm not lifting my head as much when breathing \n on the left side. I'm only kicking with my right foot, so I need to \n work on also being able to kick with my left foot. Everytime I try to \n do this, I lose my form, so need to work on drills I think. I'd also \n like to work on some of the other strokes. Not sure when to start doing \n this. Overall though, I'm very, very happy with my swimming progress. \n Woo Hoo!!! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 731, "title": "Getting back into Robotics", "date": "2006-11-13 22:58:00.0", "content": "

\n It has been a long hiatus since I've last worked on my robots. Ron had a \n get together at his place to show off some firefighting robots that I \n attended on Sunday. It was the regular "hard core" guys there. \n Unfortunately, none of us had robots that would work in the maze. This \n got me motivated, though. I need to start working on my robot again. I \n really want to concentrate on getting a firefighting robot working. I \n have a rudimentary wandering algorithm working and now need to add more \n sensors for better hallway and room navigation, and flame detection.\n

\n

\n At Monday's ORE meeting, I brought my robot in and there were some new \n people that asked questions. I also worked with Ron C. to try and get my \n MiniORE board working, but it still isn't recognized by the Tiny \n bootloader. Ron is able to program the Tiny bootloader into the PIC with \n his ICD2 Programmer, but when I connect the MiniORE board through the \n serial port, the Tiny bootloader doesn't recognize it at all. I'm \n thinking I need to build my second board with minimal parts to see if I \n can program a bootloader into it and use the bootloader through the \n serial port.\n

\n

\n After the meeting, Aaron, Ron C, Attila, and I went out for beers at \n Darcy McGees. It was good to talk more robotics. Aaron and Ron are going \n to the Eastern Canadian Robotic Games (ECRG) at the Toronto Science \n Center this weekend.\n

\n

\n Last night, I also went onto ebay and bought an ICD2 clone, a USB to \n serial converter, and an RS232 level shifter. The seller is in London, \n Ontario, so the shipping was reasonable and I don't have to worry about \n duties, etc...\n

\n

\n I'll have to start organizing my thoughts and develop a strategy for \n working on my firefighter robot. Need to get my tools and development \n environment working proficiently again. Also need to get some control \n boards working!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 732, "title": "WK46-2 Swim", "date": "2006-11-14 22:19:19.0", "content": "

\n Went swimming at the 6:30-7:30pm leisure swim session at the Nepean \n Sportsplex. I started swimming right at 6:30 and went all the way to \n 7:30 (1hr). I swam in the swim lane at first, but there were a couple \n of guys that were really fast in there, so I moved over and just swam \n beside the lane marker. It seemed like I was struggling tonight. I was \n out of breath more than usual and took longer rests after each lap. I \n thought I was averaging the 1.5mins per lap and would only do 40 laps. \n But in the end, I was able to do 46 laps in 1hr which is not far off \n from my 48 laps (1.25mins/lap) that is my usual pace. I was able to \n switch back over to the swim lane when both guys left.\n

\n

\n I think that my arm recovery when I'm breathing on my right side is too \n big a loop. My hand should just be clearing the water, but when I'm \n breathing I think I'm doing a big loop around my head. Need to \n concentrate on this and see if I can correct it. Also tried to kick \n more with my left foot, but this just throws my timing and co-ordination \n off. I think I'll need to go and do drills to correct this and get \n comfortable kicking with my left foot. I'm having fun just doing the \n laps, and I'll need to really motivate myself to do those drills.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 733, "title": "WK46-3 Run", "date": "2006-11-15 22:32:48.0", "content": "

\n Went out for a run Wednesday night. That's right, you heard correctly. I \n ran tonight! I think this is the first time I've ever run at night. I've \n always run in the morning, but I've been having problems getting to bed \n early enough to get up at 5:15am to go running. So I decided to not swim \n tonight and just go for a run. It was Anne's dance lesson night which \n starts at 8:30pm. I ran 10K from 7:05-8:15pm. I took my usual route to \n Andrew Haydon park. It was 4 degrees C so I wore my usual running \n clothes: K-way, long sleeve cool max, shorts, and sweat pants.\n

\n

\n My step felt bouncy at the beginning. I guess I had fresh legs. My right \n knee didn't start bothering me until about kilometer number 6. The \n disappointing thing is that the knee now hurts even on the flats. Going \n up the hill by Shouldice farm on the way back, it hurt quite a bit. If I \n tensed my leg, I could ease the pain. My knee and ankle just seemed \n "clicky" when there was knee pain. When I tensed my leg or try to keep a \n straighter leg, the pain would ease up. So now I'm wondering what to do. \n Conventional wisdom says rest and keep off of it. But what else can I \n do? I'd like to do some leg strengthening exercises as well.\n

\n

\n Maybe I should set up my bike trainer and do some riding as well. I \n haven't ridden my bike since September and I'll need to start getting \n into bike shape too! However, I enjoy the running and want to keep that \n up too. How do I get over this right knee pain???\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 734, "title": "More robotics stuff", "date": "2006-11-15 23:44:51.0", "content": "

\n Worked on more robotics stuff tonight and last night. It's good to try \n and get in the groove again with my robotics and electronics. \n

\n

\n Last night I tried to get my PIC programmer working again. When I tried \n to program my new miniORE board it failed. It also failed again when I \n tried to program an 18F452 PIC. Oh, oh. My programmer is broken again. \n I connected the parallel port output pins to a breadboard and checked \n each output with an LED. I found that all outputs were always high. I \n tried deleting the parallel port and having Windows re-install it, but \n still had the same problem. Then I booted into the BIOS and looked at \n the settings for the parallel port. It was currently set to SPP \n (Standard Parallel Port???). There were other options: EPP, ECP, and \n EPP+ECP. I chose the EPP+ECP option and rebooted the PC. I think the \n cause of this was that I had reset my CMOS when my PC wasn't booting.\n

\n

\n When I checked the pins, I found that they were now able to be set by \n the programmer. The pins that were inverted had the LED lit when output \n was low, and LED off when output was high. Just what I would expect for \n an inverted output. The pin that was not inverted had the LED lit when \n output was high. OK! Now when I tried programming the 18F452 PIC it \n worked! Woo Hoo! OK back to normal. I tried reading the data from the \n miniORE 18F2620 PIC, but it didn't quite work. I got the jump command \n at location zero and the rest of the memory was FF, but only until a \n certain point. After that the memory was zero. At the bottom of \n memory, it was all zeros where I expected the bootloader code to be. Oh \n well, my programmer doesn't work on the miniORE. I'm excited to see if \n the new programmer I'm getting off of eBay will work. I hope so!\n

\n

\n I also dug out my old processor board (the original one!). I connected \n power to it and connected the serial cable. I was able to download my \n latest program into it using the tiny bootloader. Alright! Both my \n controller boards work. I also dug up a 20ch X 2 line LCD and connected \n it to the board. It also works, although it only shows the first two \n lines that I output (IRDS reading and zone info). I checked the output \n of the serial port on the terminal screen and it looks good.\n

\n

\n Wednesday night, I was looking at my Bedlam robot. It has the odometer \n test behaviour program running on it, but it was working quite right. \n When I had set the target distance to be 100ft (1220 inches including an \n error factor), the wheels would go wacko for a bit near the end. What I \n mean by wacko was that the wheels would burst out super fast and then \n stop and then burst out again. This would happen after the robot was \n running for a while (about half way down the 100ft run?). When looking \n into the code, I found that the adjust wheel speed procedures had an \n adjust for straight path check which incremented/decremented the motor \n power according to the delta between the wheel encoder counts.\n

\n

\n eg:\t\t\tif (adjust_motors_for_straight_path)\n

\n

\n \t\t\t{\n

\n

\n \t\t\t\tleft_motor_power +=\t(rwheel_odometer_counter - \n lwheel_odometer_counter );\n

\n

\n \t\t\t} \n

\n

\n I had noticed earlier that the left and right wheel encoder counts were \n way off. So this would cause huge jumps in motor power control (>100?) \n and I assumed that this was the cause of the funny motor behaviour. I \n commented out this code in both the left and right wheel adjust routines \n and now the wheels went at a steady speed. However, I now noticed that \n the wheel power and wheel target speed values on the LCD were not being \n updated at all. It took a while to figure this out, but this was due to \n my target speed being set to zero. I had earlier commented out code \n that set the target wheel speed to 30, because I saw some code above \n that set the target wheel speed to zone 1 wheel speed. But now that I \n think of it, zone 1 is when there is an obstacle in front and the target \n wheel speed is zero! And when that target wheel speed is zero, my \n adjust wheel speed routines just return without doing anything. So my \n motor power values weren't being updated at all. The wheel target \n speeds were being updated, but they were set to zero! When I put the \n code for setting the wheel speed to 30 back in, I saw the wheel speeds \n being updated again! Woo Hoo!\n

\n

\n I also found that the adjust wheel speeds were working very well. The \n wheel speeds were actually 30 (sometimes 29 or 31 but usually on 30), \n and the motor power values would be going up and down by 1. I actually \n need to change the LCD output routine to show all 10 bits of the motor \n power value. \n

\n

\n There also seemed to be an error in the terminal output where the \n scrolling area wasn't working. The cursor position wouldn't be saved \n when updating the information at the top of the screen, so the debug \n data was always being output at the top of the screen. This problem is \n actually caused by using the VT100 terminal type. When I changed this \n to the ANSI terminal type, the save/restore cursor position commands now \n worked and the scrolling area at the bottom was OK. I also found that \n my keyboard input routines were working so I can actually input \n characters into the serial port and the program would be able to echo \n back the characters to the screen. Now that I can interact with the \n robot program, I want to stick in some diagnostic programs which I can \n choose using keyboard input. For example I could go into some motor \n test routine and then use the arrow keys to increment the motor power or \n motor target wheel speed. Or I could type in a number to set the actual \n value. It would be cool to get something like this working!\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 735, "title": "WK46-4 Swim", "date": "2006-11-16 22:59:40.0", "content": "

\n Went to the adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm at the Walter Baker \n pool. The kid's swimming lessons ended last week, so I don't get to see \n them at the pool anymore. Too bad. It was nice to greet them there. I \n forgot to mention that both the kids passed their lessons. Elizabeth \n passed level 6, and Joseph passed two levels, 8 and 9! I started \n swimming right at 7:30 and finished just passed 8:45 (~1hr 15mins). I \n was able to do 66 laps in that time which is faster than my normal pace. \n I think I sped up quite a bit at the end.\n

\n

\n I'm starting to be more relaxed at the beginning of my swims. Although \n I will still get out of breath more than usual. I think part of it is \n just getting into your cardio aerobic zone. At first I'm probably \n anaerobic until my body adjusts. I've mentioned this before, and it's \n similar to when I start jogging. I'm out of breath early but then \n settle down and it feels much easier. Same with swimming, once I've got \n into my cardio zone the swimming seems much easier.\n

\n

\n I'm really pulling hard and I think this is causing me to be more out of \n breath as well. I could probably relax the pull some so that I don't \n get so out of breath after a lap, and then I could probably keep \n swimming without taking a rest. However, my strokes spl would increase \n I think. Anyways, my fitness is improving and my required rest times \n are getting shorter. I like that I'm pulling hard because that's the \n feeling I need to maintain when I have my good form. I actually \n concentrated on the body rotation for some laps. I made sure my entry \n arm sliced deep and steep, and made sure I rotated my shoulders so that \n they were almost vertical. I also try to feel my recovery shoulder nice \n and high and almost out of the water. I do notice that when I do this, \n my breathing is still easy and it doesn't seem like I'm getting out of \n breath at all. \n

\n

\n My stroke spl is around 21 which is my usual. I notice that having a \n strong kick really helps propel me forward, but I'm not really kicking \n that often. I could probably decrease my spl by adding more kicking to \n my swimming stroke. I keep talking about this, but I'll have to spend \n some sessions on co-ordinating my kicking. At one point I'm going to \n have to put the whole package together! Still, I'm making improvements \n and feeling very comfortable in the water now. Yipee!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 736, "title": "WK46-5 Swim", "date": "2006-11-17 22:36:31.0", "content": "

\n Went to the leisure swim session from 6:00-7:30 at the Walter Baker pool \n tonight. It was Anne's girl's night out, so the kids came with me \n swimming. It was fun having the kids at the pool. They even did some \n laps with me! We swam from 6:00-7:20 (1hr 20mins). I swam 64 laps \n giving my usual 1.25 mins/lap pace.\n

\n

\n There was a young chinese guy that I was trying to keep pace with. He \n swims with his head above the water, so my stroke is much more efficient \n than his. I really pushed the pace to keep up with him, so I ended up \n swimming even when I was tired and out of breath. Need to be careful \n that my form doesn't break down completely when I do this. It did feel \n at times that I was struggling so I need to really concentrate and hold \n my form. I ended up doing a lot more two stroke breathing because I \n needed to breath more. It's interesting that I do that breathing on my \n right side. My right side used to be my weak side, but now it's my \n strong side!\n

\n

\n I'm also not as efficient when I breath because I don't think I have a \n strong stroke and I don't glide as far. I tried doing more kicking and I \n can really notice myself moving more as I kick, but I can't seem to \n co-ordinate the continous kicking with my stroke. So I reverted back to \n doing the two beat kick on each stroke. My core body rotation is \n starting to be more natural now. I really concentrate on driving down \n the entry arm shoulder instead of thinking of the pulling arm and \n rotating that shoulder up.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 737, "title": "WK46-6 Swim", "date": "2006-11-18 20:55:31.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Leisure swim session at the Walter Baker pool from \n 1:00-4:30pm this afternoon. I swam from 1:00pm-2:40pm (1hr 40mins). It \n was another good session. I swam in the medium speed lane and I kept a \n good pace the whole session. I was slow at first, but I was able to \n keep up my usual 1.25mins/lap pace. I swam 82 laps, a new record for me!\n

\n

\n I tried pushing the pace towards the end again and not resting as much. \n I got pretty tired and did more 2 stroke breathing like last night. \n However, I was able to still hold my form and do 3 stroke breathing as \n well. Near the end, my arms were really getting tired and I didn't have \n much energy to pull. I tried to be very relaxed and not pull as hard as \n I normally would. It still seemed like I was moving at a decent pace \n down the pool. This got me to thinking that maybe I pull too hard and \n that I'm wasting my energy. This would be analagous to trying to run \n too fast on ice and spending more time slipping rather than moving \n forward. I pull so hard and only a certain amount of that energy \n propels me forward while the rest of it is wasted because of the water \n density and friction. Need to mull on that some more.\n

\n

\n I tried counting when using a more relaxed pull, and I think my spl went \n up to 24-25. So I'm doing more strokes, but I'm wondering if I use less \n total energy with my more relaxed pull. Another thing I tried working \n on was really rotating my core body on my breathing. It feels awkward, \n especially on my left side, but that's a good thing because I know I'm \n doing something different. I'm really trying to make sure I don't lift \n my head, but keep my head aligned and rotate my core body to breath.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 739, "title": "Using motor shaft encoders", "date": "2006-11-19 22:39:41.0", "content": "

\n I started looking at the small motors that I got from solarbotics and \n investigating how to install the small photo ir detectors on them as \n motor shaft encoders. Ron Hartman from the ORE club came up with this \n method and using a very small photo ir detector from Digi-Key. I had \n ordered these detectors way back in July when I built the miniORE board.\n

\n

\n I printed off some strips of black on white paper and then used a hole \n punch so that half the circle was black, and the other half was white. \n I filled in the black with a black marker because some of the toner had \n flaked off when I hole punched the paper. So now I had about 10 little \n discs for encoders. I went to Canadian Tire to buy some glue. I was \n thinking of using rubber cement so that I could glue the encoders, but I \n could also take them off and rub off the rubber cement if I needed to. \n I bought something called contact cement that I thought was the same \n thing. Not sure, will have to test it and see. I also bought some \n Krazy Glue.\n

\n

\n I ended up just using the Krazy Glue on the end of the motor shaft. I \n didn't go a good job of centering the encoder disc on the motor shaft. \n Need to find a good method for doing this. I tried using a pin through \n the center of the encoder disc and using this to pick up the disc and \n place it on the motor shaft. However the disc just kept falling off the \n pin. I couldn't pick up the disc with the pin. I think this is the \n right way to go about it, but I just need to push the disc further up \n the pin. I would then center the pin on the motor shaft, and then push \n the disc down onto the motor shaft. Will have to try this on the next \n motor shaft encoders I glue.\n

\n

\n After gluing the motor shaft encoders onto the motor shaft, I looked at \n how I could mount the photo ir detectors. I was thinking of gluing \n something on either side of the encoders which were the right height so \n that the detector would be 1mm from the encoder disc. I found something \n that was about the right thickness, but when I cut the plastic, it \n wasn't straight and flat anymore, so I ended up abandoning this idea. I \n decided that the simplest and best method would be to just bend the \n leads of the photo ir detectors so that the sensor was at the right \n height, and then glue the detector leads onto the body of the motor. It \n took a couple of tries, but I did manage to bend the leads and glue the \n sensor to the motor. I did this for the two motors.\n

\n

\n Next, I was going to glue wires to the detector leads which would \n eventually go to a wire and connector. I was thinking of using the \n wirewrap wire, since it was nice and small. However, I thought that \n with all the bending and moving these thin wires would eventually break. \n Then I thought, what if I glued a connector onto the motor and then \n soldered the wirewrap wires from the detector to the male connector? I \n really like the idea and so I hot glued the male connector to the side \n of the motor and then soldered wires to the connector. I connected the \n motor encoder to my robot control board and then tested it out. It \n worked! Woo Hoo, big dance!!! I was able to manually turn the wheel \n and I could count the turns on the spinning encoder disc.\n

\n

\n I put a sticker on the wheel so I could see when the wheel had turned \n one rotation. I manually turned the wheel and found that one rotation \n of the wheel was about 254 encoder ticks. I connected power to the \n motor and let the wheel turn 10 rotations. The last rotation was just \n over 9 rotations, and I manually moved the wheel to align the marker for \n exactly 10 rotations. The encoder counter was 2541 ticks, so each \n rotation is 254 ticks! I checked the specs on the motor and it's \n supposed to have a 143:1 gear ratio. Because I have two ticks for each \n motor shaft rotation, my calculated gear ratio is 127:1. It's pretty \n close... Anyways, I'm very happy to get this motor shaft encoder \n working. I now have a 254 encoder tick resolution for each wheel \n rotation. The wheels are 2-5/8" (2.625") diameter so the circumference \n of the wheel is 16.49". Therefore my encoder ticks per inch resolution \n is 254ticks/16.49" = 15.4 ticks/inch. On my bedlam robot my ticks/inch \n resolution is 2.5ticks/inch. Therefore this motor shaft encoder setup \n gives a 15.4/2.5 = 6.16 times greater resolution than the bedlam wheel \n encoder setup.\n

\n

\n I've also started looking at putting a motor shaft encoder on the bedlam \n robot, so hopefully I'll have increased resolution on my bedlam robot \n too! That would be awesome! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 740, "title": "Installing more motor shaft encoders on \"Screwy-bot\"", "date": "2006-11-20 23:53:37.0", "content": "

\n I was so pleased getting the motor shaft encoders working on the \n Solarbotics motors that I decided I wanted to install the encoders on \n the "screwdriver" motors that were used in our Discovery channel TV \n show. I thought it would be a quick install, but ended up being a lot \n longer than I bargained for. I had to remove the screwdrivers from the \n base. I then removed the planetary gears and opened up the casing to \n reveal the motors. There were already a capacitor and wires soldered to \n the motors so I had to work around them. Not too bad though. \n

\n

\n I decided to use the same installation technique as I used on the \n Solarbotics motors. I glued an encoder disc (two divisions) onto the \n back of the motor. I then took a sensor and bent the leads so that the \n legs were resting on the plastic part of the back of the motor and the \n sensor was ~1mm from the encoder disc. I glued the legs down. I then \n took a male connector, cut off the bottom leads, and then glued that \n onto the bottom of the motor as well. I did this on both motors.\n

\n

\n I then decided to make some cables for connecting the motor encoders to \n the controller board. I got some of those orange, black, white wired \n connectors from the PC surplus stash I have. I soldered two sets \n together to get a connector on both ends. I then connected them up to \n the sensor and my controller board, but it didn't work... :-(\n

\n

\n I debugged for a while, trying my old cable, but it still didn't work. \n I then realized that the black and white wires were swapped on one of \n the connectors. Yikes!!! The black (GND) is supposed to be in the \n middle, but on one of the connectors, the white wire was in the middle. \n Oh, man!!! I swapped, the wires but the motor encoders still didn't \n work. I checked the other motor encoder and it worked fine. Woo Hoo!!! \n At least one of them worked.\n

\n

\n One of the difficulties in debugging was that sometimes the sensor would \n work. When I had the motor in the vice, the counters would work. \n However, as soon as I started to assemble the motor, it no longer \n worked. I actually assembled the motor several times after getting it \n to work on the vice, and then finding that it no longer worked. How \n frustrating is that? I then had a revelation that maybe the light from \n my desk lamp was needed for the encoder to work. But that didn't make \n sense because the sensor itself has an LED that is supposed to provided \n the light. Then it dawned on me that maybe the LED on the sensor was \n busted. \n

\n

\n I ended up deciding that I had fried that sensor with a bad connection, \n so I removed it and put on another one. I de-soldered the wires to the \n sensor, pulled it off, and then scraped the glue off the back of the \n motor. I glued another sensor and wired it up. I tested it, but it \n still didn't work!!! :-( What's up with that? I looked at the sensor, \n and I noticed that there was solder on the leads right at the body of \n the sensor. This must have happened when I soldered the ground wire \n across the top of the sensor to connect the leads to ground. I wonder \n if this would blow the sensor? This time I couldn't get the encoder to \n count any ticks at all. I fiddled around with this some more, before I \n decided again that the sensor was bad and installed another one.\n

\n

\n After installing this third sensor on this motor, it finally worked!!! \n Woo Hoo!!! I covered the sensor with some black tape because I was \n afraid that it might get shorted to the capacitor. I checked to verify \n that the encoder counts still worked. After putting the screwdrivers \n together and installing them on the base, I tested them again. I wanted \n to see what the gear ratio on the motors were, so I counted the number \n of wheel revolutions and compared them to the encoder count ticks. For \n 10 wheel revolutions, the encoder counts were around 1620-1630. For \n each wheel revolution there are ~162-163 encoder ticks. Measuring the \n diameter of the wheel and calculating the circumference of the wheel, I \n should be able to get the number of encoder ticks per inch. There are \n two encoder ticks for each motor shaft revolution, so I estimated the \n gear reduction to be 1:81-82. \n

\n

\n OK, so I finally installed the wheel encoders on the screwdriver motors. \n I started before dinner around 5:30, and I didn't finish until after \n 11:30pm! Yikes!!! I spent time eating dinner, and took a few breaks, \n but I probably spent almost five hours trying to install those motor \n encoders!@%## At least I've learned lots. Now to connect a controller \n board to this new base and start using it!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 741, "title": "Programming the miniORE", "date": "2006-11-21 23:41:57.0", "content": "

\n Yesterday I received the PIC ICD2 programmer that I had ordered off of \n eBay Monday last week. I finally was going to try and program my miniORE \n board and get it working. I connected MPLAB to the ICD2, but I got \n errors. I read that you needed to turn off FIFO on the COM port, so I \n did that. However, I still kept getting errors. I couldn't download the \n right operating system to the ICD2 board for the 18F2620 pic. Various \n other things failed as well. Then I read that you need to do a re-boot \n after you change the FIFO setting. So I booted the PC and then the ICD2 \n started working! Woo Hoo!\n

\n

\n Ok, so I now have a programmer that works. I worked on the tiny \n bootloader assembler code for the 18F2620 version to set the right \n crystal clock rate and baud rate. I was trying to use the internal \n oscillator at 8 MHz with the 4 times PLL multiplier for a final clock \n rate of 32 MHz. I set the baud rate to 115200 bps. I set the FOSC \n configuration bits to HSS_PLL. I assembled the program and programmed it \n into the miniORE. I ran the tinybootloader PC program and tried "Check \n PIC", but there was an error. The miniORE was not sending the expected \n values on the serial port.\n

\n

\n So I started reading the datasheet for the 18F2620 PIC and I realized \n that I was using the wrong configuration setting for the FOSC \n configuration bits. HSS_PLL is for a high speed external oscillator. I \n wanted to use the internal oscillator. So I read and re-read the \n oscillator configuration section. I didn't get it all at first, but now \n I think I've got it. FOS3:FOSC0 should be set to INTIO2 which means use \n the internal oscillator and leave pins RA6 and RA7 as IO pins. But this \n is not all I have to do. I also need to set the Oscillator Control \n Register and the Oscillator Tune Register. Read on...\n

\n

\n The OSCTUNE register has bits to tweak the oscillator frequency, but the \n bit we're really interested in is the PLLEN - Phase Lock Loop Enable \n bit. PLLEN is bit 6 of the OSCTUNE register. This turns on the 4 times \n multiplier for the clock. The OSCCON (oscillator control) register is \n used to set the frequency of the internal oscillator. For this \n register, we're interested in the IRFC "Internal Oscillator Frequency \n Select" bits. This is a 3 bit value in bits 4-6. I wanted to use 8 \n MHz so the value is "111". With the 4 times multiplier of the PLL, this \n makes a final clock frequency of 32 MHz.\n

\n

\n So now I updated the tiny bootloader assembler program to set the \n appropriate bits in the OSCTUNE and OSCCON registers. I set the crystal \n frequency to 32 MHz and the baud rate to 115200bps. I assembled the \n program and programmed the miniORE board. I connected the serial cable \n to the board and used the tiny bootloader PC app to check the pic and it \n came back passed!!! Excellent!!! So now the tiny bootloader finally \n recognizes the miniORE board!!! Woo Hoo!!! \n

\n

\n I then tried to quickly write up a flash LED program to test the \n bootloader, but I ran into problems creating one. So I just called it a \n night. I was so happy with the breakthrough that I made tonight. I'm \n almost there in terms of getting a working development system for the \n miniORE! \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 743, "title": "WK47-3 Swim", "date": "2006-11-22 23:01:25.0", "content": "

\n I have been getting to bed very late these days and haven't been doing \n any running because of my fear of further injuring my right knee. So \n not doing any swimming for 3 days is not good either... My last swim \n was Saturday afternoon so I really wanted to make sure I swam today. I \n went to the Pinecrest pool for the adult lane swim session from \n 8:30-9:30pm. I swam in the leisure lane, but it wasn't too crowded so \n it wasn't bad at all. I'm able to start off easy so that I'm not \n getting myself out of breath compared to how I've previously started my \n swim sessions. Maybe it's a sign of my comfort in the water now. I can \n stay relaxed starting on the very first lap. I kept close to my usual \n pace and even went a little faster since I ended up with 50 laps in one \n hour. Sometimes I get lost in my lap counting, but I'm pretty sure that \n I did that many laps!\n

\n

\n I also think my breathing is starting to really improve. I don't feel \n like my head is coming out of the water, and my head remains aligned \n most of the breathing cycle. Wow! Another thing I started thinking \n about was relaxing my lead arm. I've been holding it very straight, \n stiff, and tense in front of me like an arrow. I started thinking about \n relaxing the arm and letting it hang (or float). I think this whole \n relaxing thing is really improving my endurance because I'm not as out \n of breath at the end of a lap and my rests are shorter. Sometimes my \n rests are just a few seconds!\n

\n

\n With my nice balanced and relaxed stroke, I'm also able to swim easily \n and avoid people around me. In the leisure lane there were two ladys \n that were moving slowly and I was able to easily stroke around them. \n This swimming balanced technique is totally awesome! I don't feel any \n struggle at all! I am so pleased with my progress in swimming. In \n Terry McLaughlin's book he talked about swimming becoming your best \n sport out of the three in the Triathlon. I didn't believe his comment, \n but now I can see the possibilities! It might not become my best, but \n it won't be my weakness either! Woo Hoo!!! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 744, "title": "Getting Tiny Bootloader working on miniORE", "date": "2006-11-22 23:21:01.0", "content": "

\n So I continued to work on getting a flash LED program and using tiny \n bootloader to program the PIC. I was trying to use an assembler program \n to flash the LED, but for some reason the assembler kept giving me \n errors about not having enough space. Don't know what I was doing \n wrong. I'll need to figure this out at some point, since I want to be \n able to program some stuff in assembler. However, for now, I decided to \n switch over to the C language. I made up a quick program to flash the \n LED on Port A bit 4. But the HTSOFT C compiler I have didn't recognize \n the 18F2620 PIC! \n

\n

\n So I downloaded a version of the MPLAB C18 PIC compiler and rewrote the \n program to use the new definitions for the PIC registers. I now had to \n use "PortAbits.RA4" to refer to bit 4 of the Port A register. I also \n found that there was already some delay routines defined in "delays.h", \n so I removed the delay routine I had and used the ones already provided. \n There was a delay in 100's of clock cycles which I called with a value \n of 160 to give a total delay of 16,000 clock cycles. With a clock of 32 \n MHz I thought this would be a delay of around 1/2 second. I built the \n program and then tried to use the tiny bootloader to program the pic. It \n didn't work... :-( After trying to bootload one program, the tinyboot \n loader didn't work anymore. The check PIC test would fail (meaning the \n serial communication wasn't working anymore). Somehow the tiny \n bootloader program was breaking (being overwritten?).\n

\n

\n I then tried programming the PIC with the ICD2 programmer and the LED \n blinked so my program was working. I debugged the bootloader and found \n some interesting things. Because of the code I added, this broke how \n the bootloader worked. The PC program for the tiny bootloader, expects \n the bootloader to be at a specific location depending on the device \n type. Because I had added some code, I moved where the beginning of the \n bootloader was and this was being trampled and overwritten when the \n bootloader tried to put in a program. \n

\n

\n Then I thought, OK, I'll leave where the program is now and just add \n code before in memory and just jump to the start of the program. \n However, the bootloader clears the memory and also changes the jump \n vector at the beginning of the program, so basically the code I add just \n gets erased. So now I thought I was stuck. \n

\n

\n But then I had an "a-ha!" moment. What if I trick the bootloader into \n thinking there is less memory than there actually is, then I could \n actually add code to the program and have it go past the "normal" end of \n memory boundary. I looked in the pictypes.h header file for the \n tinybootloader program and I found a device that had C000 bytes instead \n of 10000 bytes. I set the device type and max flash to this device and \n assembled the program. The tiny bootloader was then placed just below \n the C000 memory boundary and actually went a little past because of my \n added code. I assembled this modified program, put it in my miniORE, \n and then tested it out. It worked!!! I was able to program the flash \n LED program and then program it again! \n

\n

\n I could program the PIC, but the LED didn't flash, it just stayed lit. \n I looked at the flash LED program and increased the delay. I was then \n able to get it to blink! My error was that I was off in my \n calculations. 32 MHz is 32 million cycles and I was thinking in terms \n of thousands of cycles. So I ended up using the delays in terms of \n 10K's of clock cycles. Once I got the delay value right, the LED was \n visibly blinking. In my previous case, the LED was actually blinking so \n fast it just looked like it was always lit.\n

\n

\n So now I can use the tiny bootloader. Unfortunately, I lose the bottom \n 25% of my memory. So I'm thinking I can use this method until I hit the \n amount of memory used, and then will have to use some other method to \n program the pic (perhaps ICD2?). I'm also thinking of e-mailing the \n author of the tinybld program to see if he can make some changes or \n allow the capability to set the size of the bootloader so that it \n doesn't get trampled when you add code.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 745, "title": "WK47-4 Swim", "date": "2006-11-23 23:31:01.0", "content": "

\n I went to the adult lane swim session at the Walter Baker pool from \n 7:30-9:00pm. I swam from 7:30-8:55 (1hr 25mins) and I used the medium \n speed lane. I lost track of my lap count somewhere after 30laps, but I \n was at least going as fast as my usual laps with less rest. I did time \n a few laps and they were ~45 seconds. Today again I was able to start \n off with a relaxed stroke and stay relaxed so I didn't get into the out \n of breath scenario when starting off my swim session. That's two days \n in a row, so hopefully this is a new trend! \n

\n

\n My swimming today felt so easy! It was awesome. My breathing felt \n good, my kicking was easy (almost non-existent), and my arm pulls were \n relaxed without much exertion and stress. I concentrated on trying to \n keep my lead arm relaxed. Even when doing the arm pull, I tried to keep \n that same relaxed feeling. I could feel all the water that I was \n pulling with my arm when I did this. Even up around my biceps! I want \n to really work on getting this feeling on my arm pulls. I now realize \n that I've been pulling too hard and not being the most efficient. I \n equate this with trying to run on ice and pushing too hard on toe off. \n Because of the low friction on ice, more power on toe off just causes \n slipping and doesn't transfer power for your running. In water, pulling \n with your arm will move you forward, but going faster with your arms \n won't translate to you moving faster through the water. The water is \n resisting your movement as well. Where do you find the balance between \n arm pulling and the resistance of the water, and become the most \n efficient?\n

\n

\n Another new thing I was doing was keeping a streamlined body position \n with arms above my head after push off from the wall. I would then do \n some dolphin kicks before finally surfacing and starting my freestyle \n stroke. I found that I was moving well past the 5m flags by the time I \n started doing my stroke. This also contributed to a decreased stroke \n count which was around 20-21 spl.\n

\n

\n With my relaxed form and going at an easy pace, I hardly got out of \n breath today. My rests were mostly short. Sometimes they were longer, \n because I'd let people go through ahead of me and then wait for a bit of \n a gap. At one time, I actually hit someones foot. It's too bad I lost \n track of my lap count, because I feel that my rests were shorter than \n usual. I'm thinking that I did at least 70 laps. I also didn't feel the \n tiredness in my arms that usually occurs in my longer swims. I really \n did stay relaxed today, even on my arm pulls. Like I said above, I want \n to continue working on that relaxed arm pull feeling where you can feel \n the water along your whole arm as you're pulling. \n

\n

\n I think I'm now at the point where I can string a couple of laps \n together. Maybe I can even work on my open turn! But always remember, \n to practice perfect form. Never practice struggle!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 746, "title": "More debugging on Tiny Bootloader", "date": "2006-11-23 23:51:08.0", "content": "

\n I was looking at the tiny bootloader some more. I was thinking that if \n I didn't want to change the program, I would need to figure out what the \n default internal oscillator frequency is. I looked at the datasheet and \n found that it was 1 MHz. Ouch! That's so low. Anyways, I set the \n crystal frequency to 1000 and then tried setting the baud rate. The \n only one that would work was 4800 baud. Ouch! That's so low. OK, so I \n built the program, put it in my miniORE and then tested it with tinybld. \n It worked! The "check PIC" test passed and I was able to download the \n program. It took 1.4 secs for a 300 byte program. When the clock was \n at 32 MHz and the baud rate was 115200 bps, the download took 0.11 secs!\n

\n

\n OK, so now I proved that it would work, but it isn't really workable \n because the baud rate is too slow. I decided to go back and just use my \n other workaround which is to move the bootloader further up in memory. \n

\n

\n So I have a working bootloader (with some restrictions!) that I can \n start using. Now need to look at putting this controller board on a \n robot! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 747, "title": "WK47-5 Swim", "date": "2006-11-24 22:54:49.0", "content": "

\n Went to the leisure swim session from 6:30-8:00 at the Walter Baker pool \n with the kids. It's fun to have the kids swimming with me. I think \n they enjoy going to the pool as well. The medium speed lane was narrow \n today, so I decided to swim in the slow lane. It wasn't too crowded so \n it was OK. I had another nice relaxing start again today, so I didn't \n get myself out of breath. I didn't feel as smooth as I had the last \n couple of days, but it was still good. I was relaxing my lead arm and I \n could feel the water on my pulls.\n

\n

\n There were times when I lost my rhythm and started gasping for air. \n It's almost like I forgot how to swim! This also disrupts my breathing \n and the water gets into my mouth. When I'm breathing well, I breath out \n my nose just before my head turns to the air and I breath in my mouth. \n Breathing out my nose seems to clear the water around my mouth area so I \n don't have to worry about water going into my mouth when I open it to \n breath.\n

\n

\n I also was going at a good pace. I was almost tracking to a lap a \n minute in the middle laps. I ended up doing 72 laps in 80 minutes. \n That's pretty good! The kids and I left around 7:50pm to try and beat \n the crowds. It was still busy in the showers, but it got busier as we \n left. Another good day of swimming! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 748, "title": "Connecting a controller to Screwybot", "date": "2006-11-25 22:14:43.0", "content": "

\n Now that I have my motor shaft encoders on Screwybot, I decided to hook \n him up to a controller. I used my original controller on my Nerfbot. \n This was the first controller board I wired up using point-to-point \n wiring and wire-wrap wire. I had to make a special cable that would \n connect the motor control output connector to the Solarbotics motor \n driver that I had bought. I brought the motor wires and motor shaft \n encoder wires out to the controller and motor driver boards and \n connected them. There sure is a mess of wires! I bundled up the wires \n and wrapped them up with a twist tie.\n

\n

\n I programmed the PIC with my latest Nerfbot/Odometer test program and \n did a smoke test. It worked! The robot moved. I had to adjust the \n power values to match the new motors. The power to the left and right \n motors were also different on my nerfbot. After fooling around with the \n power values, I finally settled on some that made the robot move \n relatively smoothly.\n

\n

\n Here's a good sequence of steps for calibrating the motor values. I \n have a diagnostic mode where I can either set the motor power values, or \n set the wheel speed target values. To get into the motor power testing \n mode, press button 0 (on far left) while you power up the board. To get \n into wheel speed target testing mode, press button 2 (on far right) \n while you power up the board. To increment the left motor value, press \n button 1, and to increment the right motor value, press button 2. To \n decrement these values, press button 0 before pressing button 1 or 2. \n

\n

\n OK, to test the wheel target speed values, go into wheel target speed \n diagnostic mode and start incrementing the target wheel speed. For a \n target wheel speed of "1", (ie. 1 encoder tick for the 250ms sampling \n period), I found the robot would jerk forward and then stop, jerk \n forward, and then stop. I think this behaviour is due to the inertia \n needed to start moving the robot from a standstill. Once this inertia \n is broken the robot lurches forward and it is now going too fast, so it \n then tries to slow down and actually comes to a stop again. A nice slow \n wheel speed to start with is "5". Note that you can look at the motor \n power values to see what power values are being used to make the robot \n hit a specific target wheel speed. This value will fluctuate, but you \n can get an idea of what the power value range is. Also note that this \n value will be different when the robot is suspended off the ground on \n your workbench, compared to when it is actually moving on the ground. \n Because of this, I recommend that you do this test with the robot on the \n ground and actually moving. These are the real power values you should \n be using in a real scenario where the robot is moving. \n

\n

\n I also wanted to figure out a good starting value for the motor power \n which just makes the robot start to move. Hopefully, this will allow it \n to accelerate smoothly while starting from a standstill. I found that \n a value around "300" moves the robot slowly. Note that sometimes I only \n set the upper byte of the 10bits, so I divide by four to get the upper \n byte value. I finally settled on an upper byte value of "80" which \n gives a total power value of "320". This is the value I used for my \n "ODOMETER_TEST_FWD_SLOW_POWER" constants.\n

\n

\n When testing my odometer routine which goes forward a specified amount, \n waits for a button press, and then goes backwards a specified amount, I \n found that my robot tended to veer and not go straight when \n accelerating. So I went back to use the ramp up motor power state that \n I had created previously. I also modified these states to use the wheel \n target speeds instead of directly incrementing the motor power values. \n So now, I just set the wheel target speed, wait for the robot to hit the \n new wheel target speed, and then increment the wheel target speed to a \n new value. I was incrementing the wheel target speed by "5" each time. \n This helped a bit, but the robot still veered. I really want to get \n some type of odometery capability on my robots!\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 749, "title": "\"Moving Out\" Musical at NAC", "date": "2006-11-26 20:21:52.0", "content": "

\n Anne bought tickets for the whole family to see the musical "Moving Out" \n based on the songs by Billy Joel. It has been a long time since I've \n seen a live musical performance, and it was awesome. There was lots of \n energy, some sad parts, and just plain good entertainment. I really \n enjoyed the band playing the live music, and the dancers performing \n their difficult moves. It really got me thinking that I'd like to \n continue and attend these musicals and plays. Talking after with Anne, \n she also felt the same way. We thought it would be good to see these \n types of shows once a year.\n

\n

\n Seeing the musical reminds me of how much I really enjoy music and \n performances of the arts. After the show, I started playing more on the \n piano as well! I've started practicing some of my Christmas songs \n again. I'm thinking that I really want to improve my sight reading \n ability. It still takes me too long to translate the notes on the music \n sheet. Want this to start becoming automatic! Anyways, I do enjoy \n listening and playing music. Want to get back into playing music again. \n Too many hobbies, to little time...!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 750, "title": "Odometery module for robots", "date": "2006-11-29 23:54:19.0", "content": "

\n I've been reading up on using odometery for motion control of your \n robots and I've found some really cool stuff. A really good web page is \n by David P Anderson which describes his robot "SR04". It's at "http://geology.heroy.smu.edu/~dpa-www/robots/sr04/". \n In here, David describes his odometery routines at "http://www.geology.smu.edu/~dpa-www/robots/doc/odometry.txt". \n This is an excellent article that describes how to implement \n odometery for your robot using motor/wheel encoders.\n

\n

\n Basically, you use the encoder feedback to continually update your \n robot's position in Cartesian space (x,y co-ordinates) and it's heading \n orientation (rotation) in degrees about it's centerpoint. The key \n formulas are:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n distance travelled = (left wheel distance + right wheel distance)/2\n
    2. \n
  2. \n robot heading: theta = (left wheel distance - right wheel \n distance)/Wheel Base Length\n
    3. \n
  3. \n X_Pos = distance travelled * sin (theta)\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Y_Pos = distance travelled * cos (theta)\n
    5. \n
  5. \n X_target_delta = X_target - X_pos\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Y_target_delta = Y_target - Y_pos\n
    7. \n
  7. \n target distance = sqrt ( (X_target_delta^2) + (Y_target_delta^2) )\n
    8. \n
  8. \n target heading = atan (Y_target_delta/X_target_delta)\n
    9. \n
  9. \n heading error = target heading - theta\n
    10. \n
\n

\n Note that the angle theta is in radians and is based on a heading with \n zero being north. Putting the robot on the ground facing straight \n forward, it is facing right down the Y-axis with the positive X-axis at \n right angles to it's right. Zero degrees radians is straight ahead down \n the Y-axis. After I finally figured this out, I could understand the \n trigonometery equations better and how the robot should react given \n these calculated trig values. \n

\n

\n I started with David's code as a base and implemented the odometery \n routines for Screwybot. It seemed like I had a hard time getting it \n working, but looking back it wasn't too bad at all. I had to include \n math.h and use the floating point routine for the first time. One of \n the issues I had was displaying the trig values on my LCD screen. I had \n some funny values "655" at different points on my test runs, and I \n finally figured out that these were negative values. "65535" \n corresponds to "FFFF" which is actually "-1" for a signed INT. I \n actually didn't figure this out, until I displayed the values on the \n serial terminal window. And to get that working, I started using the \n "stdio.h" routines for outputing variables to a string, specifically the \n "sprintf" routine. All this is actually good, because I want to start \n converting to using the standard libraries, even for my display IO.\n

\n

\n When I finally displayed the trig values on the screen, I kept seeing \n zero for my theta and target heading error. I realized after a while \n that the values I was displaying were in radians and I needed to convert \n them to degrees. After converting the values to degrees, I was able to \n recognize them. So my odometery routines were calculating the values \n correctly. Why didn't it seem to be working? I looked at my heading \n adjust checks, and found that my angle was too big. It was looking for \n an error larger than 45 degrees before adjusting the robot's heading. \n When I decreased this down to 5-10 degrees, the robot was able to \n navigate to within 10 inches of the target. I slowly decreased the \n heading error thresholds and the target distance thresholds, and finally \n got them to work very well.\n

\n

\n In order to tweak the performance of your odometery navigation, you need \n to have good control of your turns and forward movement. For my turns, \n I actually turn off one of the motors while letting the other motor \n continue to move at it's current speed. The amount of turn is \n controlled by the encoder tick value that I pass to the routine. Right \n now I'm using a encoder tick value of "10". This means that the motor \n must turn "10 ticks" before the turn is completed. This seems to be \n working well. David mentions that for his target routines, he also \n varies the amount of turn and the robot speed as he gets closer to the \n target. I'm also thinking that I should do this, as well as tightening \n the heading error checks as I get closer to the target. This should \n enable the robot to really narrow down and focus on the target. I need \n to make all these boundary values as variables so I can dynamically \n adjust them as conditions and circumstances warrant.\n

\n

\n With the narrower heading check and turn of 10 encoder ticks, the robot \n was performing very well. I tested it with several target distances \n (eg. (0,95), (60,60), (95,0)) and it was able to hit all targets. The \n one at 45 degrees was cool. The robot would turn almost immediately \n after the odometer test start and ramp up states and go at 45 degrees \n right towards the target. (Note that I only do the heading and target \n distance checks in my odometer test continue state.) On the way back, \n the robot would turn around and head right for the target. You also see \n the robot adjust its heading sometimes (a quick veer). Woo Hoo!!! It \n works!!! This odometery capability is so cool!!! With this capability, \n I should be able to complete the 100 foot hallway contest.\n

\n

\n I decided to check the accuracy of the robot by marking the starting \n position. On the return, the robot is off by 4-6 inches. This is \n probably due to the slack and play in the motor gears. The wheels are \n also "loose" in that they'll turn a few degrees before engaging with the \n gears. Even with these mechanical in-accuracies, I am very pleased with \n my robot's odometery capability!\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 751, "title": "Making the jump to the Microchip C18 compiler", "date": "2006-12-01 21:16:17.0", "content": "

\n I decided to make the big leap to the Microchip C18 compiler. The \n current Hi-Tech compiler I'm using doesn't recognize the 18F2620 device, \n so I decided now is the time to change compilers. I wanted to convert my \n existing Nerfbot program to the C18 compiler. It took a lot of work, but \n I've now successfully converted over. I want to capture the changes I \n had to make.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Include new header file <p18cxxx.h>. Had to remove check for 18F452 \n device (didn't seem to be defined).\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Convert all hardware port references to the ones used in the new \n pic18f452 header file used by the C18 compiler.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Get rid of all references to "bank" in the variable declarations.\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Convert all string output routines from using "itoa" and \n "sci_puts/lcdputs" to using "sprintf" and "putsUSART/putrsUSART".\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Change the way interrupt routines are defined for C18 compiler.\n
    6. \n
  6. \n For the PWM, needed to change all math function (add/subtract) \n references to the LEFT/RIGHT_MOTOR_POWER variable. For some reason \n incrementing these variables didn't work and screwed up my set_motor \n and adjust_wheel_speed routines. Need to dig into this some more \n really find out what's going on. Ended up defining an INT variable and \n assigning the motor power values into this variable and doing the math \n on this new variable.\n
    7. \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 754, "title": "More notes on C18 compiler", "date": "2006-12-02 22:34:27.0", "content": "

\n After getting the program to compile after converting to the C18 \n compiler, I still had problems getting the program to run! There was \n some weird behaviour caused by nuances of the C18 compiler that I'll now \n need to understand and be wary of.\n

\n

\n The compiler differentiates between Program ROM and variable RAM. You \n actually have to call two different procedures (which do the same thing) \n depending on the type of parameters that you are passing to the \n procedure (eg. putsUSART and putrsUSART - put string USART and put ROM \n string USART). The compiler will give you a type mismatch error when \n you pass the wrong type of variable. This error really screwed up my \n LCD and serial output routines.\n

\n

\n You can't do math functions on the registers directly. eg. For the \n motor power PWM, need to first assign port value into a variable and \n manipulate that variable, rather then work on the port register \n directly. Still need to investigate this further.\n

\n

\n How is the device type defined? _18F452 device didn't seem to be \n defined.\n

\n

\n For some reason, I defined "RADS" in the odometer.h file, but then can't \n seem to use it in another file that includes odometer.h. What's up with \n that?\n

\n

\n Once I was able to clean up these compiler differences, my program was \n working pretty well. I was now able to output to both the serial \n terminal and the LCD screen properly. I was also able to set my motor \n power values correctly. On to extending and debugging the real program \n functionality!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 755, "title": "WK48-7 Swim", "date": "2006-12-03 22:58:55.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker leisure swim session from 6:30-8:00. I've \n really slacked off in my swim sessions lately. I have been going to bed \n really late and not getting much rest. I've also spent a lot of time on \n my robotics hobby and getting into that again. I nice side benefit is \n that I've gotten lots of rest from swimming and it seems to show up in \n my swims. Staying relaxed from the beginning of the swim session is \n pretty natural now, so I don't get that out of breath feeling. Also, I \n don't need much rest between laps. I'm starting to consistently average \n 1 min. per lap. Swam around 70 laps today.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 756, "title": "Debugging C18 version of Screwybot program", "date": "2006-12-06 22:46:13.0", "content": "

\n I've used WinCVS to create a branch off of the Screwybot module for the \n C18 compiler. So I'll have two different versions of my software. One \n with the HiTech compiler and one with the C18 compiler. I had captured \n some of the compiler nuances in one of my last posts. The performance of \n my C-program is also different with the different compilers.\n

\n

\n I had previously got my program working pretty well using the HiTech \n compiler. One behaviour that I noticed was when the robot was "veering" \n towards the new target (90 degree turn). Previously, it would be one \n continuous veer until the robot was close to heading in the right \n direction, and then it would start going straight. With the C18 \n compiler, the robot would veer a little bit and then go straight, and \n veer a little again. The result was that the robot took a much longer \n arc before heading towards the target. So this was a degradation in the \n robot performance.\n

\n

\n I ended up resolving this by putting a spin instead of a veer if the \n heading error was greater than a certain amount. I would spin the robot \n until the heading error was less than a certain value, stop the spin, \n and then move forward. This actually worked quite well! However, I found \n that the robot was oscillating around the target heading. (eg. It would \n constantly veer back and forth around the target heading.) At first I \n thought it was because the heading error wasn't being updated quickly \n enough, so I added a call to odometers() and locate_target() in the FSMs \n just before I checked the heading values. But that didn't work. Robot \n still did oscillation around target heading. I had changed this \n previously from using the odometer ticks to determine veer amount to \n using the heading error and stopping when it was within a certain amount.\n

\n

\n So now what to do? I tried adding some extra logic to vary the heading \n error accuracy depending how far I was from the target. Also, instead of \n stopping a motor, I would just decrease the power so that a veer would \n occur. However, continued to see oscillations.\n

\n

\n I also found that the robot performance was better when using the 7.2V \n battery compared to the 9.6V battery. This is because with the lower \n voltage battery, the robot wouldn't move as quickly. This helped the \n robot be more accurate while heading toward the target, and it would \n hunt less once it got to the target. Overall the performance of the \n robot isn't too bad. It still gets "lost" when navigating to the \n targets, but sometimes it gets pretty close to bang-on. Still need to do \n tweaking to optimize and get rid of that hunting and oscillation.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 757, "title": "WK49-5 Swim", "date": "2006-12-08 22:45:26.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker leisure swim session from 6:30-8:00. It was \n Anne's girl's night out, so the kids came along with me, which was nice. \n Continued to feel really comfortable in my swims. Still able to stay \n relaxed from the very beginning and not getting out of breath. My rests \n are short and I can just continue to swim the laps without much fatigue. \n The kids did a few laps with me and then went off to play around. I \n stayed at my nice steady 1 min/lap pace including my rest time. I ended \n up doing about 74 laps. (It's hard to keep track...)\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 759, "title": "Working on Sumobot - object detectors and wheel encoders", "date": "2006-12-10 22:29:32.0", "content": "

\n I had started looking at the "sumovore" sumobot I got from Solarbotics \n this past week. I had put some motor shaft encoders on the same type of \n motors that are on the sumobot, and I was thinking of installing them so \n that I had odometery capability on the sumobot as well. But before I did \n that, I upgraded the motors to the faster ones. I had bought these \n faster replacement motors at the same time I got the other motor \n assemblies. I glued a encoder disk on the motor shafts and soldered \n wires to the motor terminals. After hooking everything up, I found that \n one of the motors I used was the standard version! :-( So Solarbotics \n actually made a mistake and sent me 3 fast motors and 1 slow motor. I \n had to remove the slow motor and replace it with a fast motor, glue on \n an encoder disk, and solder terminal wires. Finally, I had two fast \n motors with encoder discs installed on the sumobot. The encoder sensors \n I used were recommended by Ron Hartman. The digikey part number is \n CNB13020R-ND. The regular part number is CNB13020R.\n

\n

\n I was using Joseph's sumobot and there was an ongoing problem with the \n front object detector sensors. I debugged the problem and found that \n there wasn't the right voltage being applied and the power LED was very \n dimly lit. The cause was a bad solder connection at the voltage \n regulator. I remember Joseph telling me previously about soldering the \n voltage regulator in backwards. One of the regulator leads was broken \n and just barely touching the solder joint. I globbed a bunch of solder \n on the joint and also re-soldered the other terminals. After I did that, \n the voltage was correct, and the front object detectors worked! The \n power LED was also nice and bright. This was now the same as my sumobot.\n

\n

\n Next work item was to connect the encoder sensors to the controller \n board. I was planning to use the same circuit as I had on my Nerfbot and \n Screwybot controller boards. Those controller boards had a 220ohm \n resistor on the LED, a 15K resistor on the photo-transistor, and a 10K \n resistor on the transistor (to provide hysteresis). However, I made one \n small change and used a 10K resistor instead of a 15K resistor on the \n photo-transistor. (This as it turns out was a bad idea!). After I \n soldered everything up and connected things up, it didn't work... :-( \n Debugged a bit and found that the hysteresis transistor was always \n turned on.\n

\n

\n I connected the wheel encoder sensors from my nerfbot and I saw my LED's \n flash indicating that my encoder counter interrupt routines were \n detecting the changes on the encoder disk. However, I connected up the \n motor shaft encoder sensors from Screwybot and my LED's didn't flash, so \n the controller board wasn't seeing the changes. I then made the \n assumption that the circuit I was using didn't work with the smaller \n sensors that I had. I needed to go and change to use 15K resistors. I \n had to hunt around for some and ended up taking them off of a breadboard \n circuit I had wired up. After I soldered in the 15K resistors, the LED's \n started flashing and it was now working! Geez, I can't believe changing \n from a 10K to a 15K resistor would have such a big impact. But now I'm \n glad that the circuit works.\n

\n

\n The left motor shaft encoder circuit was working, but for some reason \n the right motor encoder shaft was not. The inputs were RB4 and RB5. I \n noticed that everytime I turned the right wheel, my LED's would stop \n flashing indicating that my program was halted. Why was that? I thought \n it might have been some interrupt on Port B, but I couldn't find why \n they were turned on. After much debugging, and reading the 18F452 \n datasheet, I finally found the reason why this was happening... RB5 IS \n THE LOW VOLTAGE PROGRAMMING PIN!!! And by default this is turned on. So \n RB5 is the LVP and every time you pull this high, the PIC thinks you are \n going into programming mode. No wonder the program was halted! Anyways \n to fix this problem, all you need to do is put "#pragma LVP OFF" in the \n program (for the C18 compiler). After I did this, the right wheel \n encoder was now working!!! Woo Hoo!!!\n

\n

\n I was thinking why I never saw this problem with my Nerfbot or Screwybot \n and the reason was the use of the Tiny Bootloader. The bootloader was \n programmed into the PIC and sets the LVP configuration bit off. This LVP \n bit is never changed when I use the bootloader to program my PIC, so I \n never saw the problem with the Tiny Bootloader. OK, so I felt better \n that I understood the root cause of this issue...\n

\n

\n I was now able to work on the sumobot program to use the motor shaft \n encoder feedback. I was able to control the wheel speeds. I first tried \n setting the value to one, but the motors would not run smoothly. They \n would start then stop, then start, then stop, etc... It hunts around the \n target wheel speed because of the need to overcome the initial intertia \n would cause a high motor value, fast wheel speed, and then it would turn \n it down too quick and the motor would stop. A wheel speed of around 4 is \n about as slow as the robot would go smoothly. A value of 50 is pretty \n fast! I'm not sure what the maximum value would be. I can't get feed \n back on the actual motor speed value unless I hook it up to my other \n controller boards with an LCD or serial terminal for display.\n

\n

\n I also tried hooking up my RS232 level shifter, but couldn't get this to \n work... :( So I can't output to a serial terminal from my program. I \n also don't have an LCD connector. So right now I'm out-of-luck in terms \n of getting debug output from my program. Need to figure this one out!\n

\n

\n All in all, pretty happy with getting the wheel encoders working. Now \n need to add some logic to ensure that I can go straight and then some \n navigation capability so that the robot can navigate to specific \n cartesian co-ordinates just like Screwybot.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 760, "title": "WK49-7 Swim", "date": "2006-12-10 23:07:39.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest pool adult lane swim session from 11:30-1:00pm. I \n had a really good swim, kept an even pace, and did my best number of \n laps ever! The pool was really warm today (I heard from someone after \n that it was 85 degrees). It didn't really bother me though. Continued \n my relaxing swim from the very beginning. This is really becoming \n automatic now. I kept my average of 1 min/lap and swam 86 laps in 90 \n mins! At the end I could really feel my arms getting tired, but I never \n struggled. I'm at the point now where my swimming is pretty continuous. \n There is a short rest when I check the clock and then I'm off again. \n It really is amazing how far I've been able to progress in the last 3 \n 1/2 months. I've gone from barely being able to swim one lap to \n swimming over 80 laps. WOW!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 762, "title": "WK50-1 ORE December meeting", "date": "2006-12-11 23:08:40.0", "content": "

\n I attended the December ORE meeting today. I was trying to get my \n sumobot working with co-ordinate navigation capabilities, but it didn't \n pan out. So I brought Screwybot to the meeting instead. Joseph also \n went to the meeting with me. I demonstrated the capability of Screwybot \n to navigate to specific co-ordinates programmed. It was currently \n programmed to go out 8ft. turn around and return to it's origin. It \n worked pretty well, although at times it would still hunt and oscillate \n back and forth.\n

\n

\n After demonstrating the short distance a couple of times, I programmed a \n longer distance of 25ft. and went out into the hallway. During these \n test runs, the robot did a lot of oscillating back and forth around the \n target heading. It would reach the required distance, stop and then \n return to the origin. I tried to debug the oscillating back and forth, \n which was not a good thing to do at the meeting. Debugging and changing \n code on the fly like that is a bit dangerous. I was not able to fix the \n oscillating problem. Some of the guys were talking to me about this and \n seemed to have many ideas on how to fix it. One was to use the PID \n algorithm. I had heard something similar from Ron Clough regarding wall \n following. Use the PID algorithm when approaching a wall and trying to \n stay parallel to the wall. I was thinking that I could use the heading \n error to adjust the left or right veer of the robot. I'll need to try \n this.\n

\n

\n At the meeting, Joseph was talking with one of the guys. He had brought \n in a lot of small parts: wheels, pulleys, gears, springs, etc. Joseph \n found these small circuits with piezo speakers that came from greeting \n cards and played the tune "Happy Birthday". The guy was trying to give \n away all these parts, so Joseph grabbed a bunch of these small circuits.\n

\n

\n I wasn't able to successfully complete the 100ft. hallway navigation \n course, but Aaron encouraged to try again in January. I'll be the first \n one to do it if I'm successful! Need to make that my goal! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 763, "title": "WK50-5 Sumobot navigation debugging", "date": "2006-12-15 22:15:47.0", "content": "

\n I was debugging my Sumobot some more. I actually changed the motor \n shaft encoder inputs to use the "Port B Interrupt On Change" capability. \n This means that I no longer needed to poll the states of the wheel \n encoder to look for state changes. The PIC would just raise a Port B \n interrupt whenever the encoder disk state changed. I would just need to \n check for this specific case in my interrupt routine and then increment \n the odometer counter. I got it to work pretty quickly. Alright!\n

\n

\n I'm a bit worried that the encoder input is not fast enough to detect \n all the state changes. To test this, I hooked up the wheel shaft \n encoder sensors to my Nerfbot controller board so I could see the \n odometer counts on the LCD screen. I put the motor on full power and \n counted 10 revolutions of the wheel. I would stop the motor just after \n the 9th revolution and then manually move the wheel to align with the \n start mark for the 10th revolution. I then used my PWM to set the motors \n to a slower rotation. A value of '650' for the PWM made the wheel turn \n at a nice slow rate. I stopped the wheel at 10 revolutions using the \n same method as before. In both cases, the odometer counts are around \n 2450 ticks per 10 wheel revolutions, so I believe the motor shaft \n encoder sensors are not missing any state changes. Good to know!\n

\n

\n I changed my sumobot program to add the co-ordinate navigation \n capability. However, I couldn't get the basic veer routines working. \n The robot won't even veer correctly to adjust the target heading. Don't \n know what's wrong. Maybe I should just delete a bunch of the code and \n just start from scratch... I tried adding in the PID algorithm for \n staying on a target heading but this didn't work either (I was using the \n heading error values to update the motor power values). I was thinking \n at one point that I might have my motors mixed up in terms of left/right \n and forward/backward because the robot seemed to turn the wrong way. \n (ie. If the heading error is negative (to the right of target) the \n robot should veer left, but seems to veer right.) Need to do lots more \n debugging in this area!\n

\n

\n I also tested a theory I had on doing a veer. I thought if I could set \n different wheel target speeds the robot would naturally veer. Depending \n on the difference in wheel speeds, the arc of the veer would be greater \n or smaller. I tried this using wheel speeds of 10 and 15. The robot \n went in a circle as expected. I then tried this at 20 and 25. I \n expected the circle to be the same size, but to my surprise it was much \n bigger. I don't know how big, because I had to pick up the robot to \n prevent it from hitting objects in the computer area. Need to re-run \n this test and see that the ranges for wheel speed and wheel speed deltas \n should be to get nice arcs for veers and target heading corrections. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 764, "title": "WK50-5 Swim", "date": "2006-12-15 22:23:11.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker leisure swim session from 6:00-7:30pm. Joseph \n came with me too. Anne and Elizabeth went to see the Nut Cracker Ballet \n at the Centerpoint theater. I swam in the medium speed lane. It was \n narrow, but that was OK. Joseph swam with me and for a while we were \n the only ones in the medium speed lane. After a while a couple of other \n people joined in. Their swimming pace was much faster than mine, and I \n tried to wait for them to pass at the end of the pool if they were right \n behind me. I averaged my 1 min/lap and finished 72 laps. Joseph joined \n me at the end and did the laps with me. He too swims faster than me! \n Joseph ended up doing 40 laps altogether. Wow! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 765, "title": "WK50-7 Swim", "date": "2006-12-17 23:21:17.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pincrest pool adult lane swim session from 11:30-1:00pm. I \n left a little late and didn't start swimming until close to 11:40am. I \n kept my usual 1 min/lap pace and completed 82 laps in about 80 mins of \n swimming! I felt good most of the laps and never really got out of \n breath. There were some times I had to pass people or swim a littler \n faster, but most of the time I was on a nice relaxed pace. I really \n enjoy this session since it's early enough in the day that it still \n feels like you have the whole day ahead of you. It's not too crowded \n either which is nice.\n

\n

\n During my laps there was a swimmer in the fast lane that was doing flip \n turns. I was watching her once under water and I noticed that her head \n comes very close to the bottom of the pool when she does the flip turn \n at the shallow end. Scary! I want to learn the flip turn at one \n point, but I'm scared of bumping my head at the bottom of the pool! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 767, "title": "Debugging Lillibot", "date": "2006-12-19 22:55:04.0", "content": "

\n I've come up with a new name for the Sumobot. I think I'll call it \n Lillibot after the story Gulliver's Travels and the Lilliputians. The \n name reflects the small size of the robot. I can then call my bigger \n robot Gulliver... :-)\n

\n

\n So I was debugging Lillibot to get the behaviour the same as Screwybot. \n Right now it won't even navigate to one waypoint accurately. However, I \n first needed to debug my serial port. Currently I have no way of \n displaying any debug data from my program because I don't have an LCD \n screen nor a serial terminal. I tried to get the serial level converter \n that I got off of eBay working, but no luck. So I ended up breadboarding \n a serial level converter using a MAX232 clone chip that I had. I was \n able to get this working! So at least now I have the capability to \n output info to a screen.\n

\n

\n I now had to change my program to start outputing the debug data. I \n included "term.h" and "term.c" which displayed this debug data. I also \n called the library routine to open the serial port (OpenUSART). The SPRG \n value determines the baud rate for the serial port. I set the BRGRATE to \n High, and the SPRG value to 64 for 19200 bps. When I first added this \n code in my program hanged. I didn't see any flashing LEDs indicating \n that I wasn't even going through my main loop.\n

\n

\n I commented out all the terminal code I added and the program worked. \n When I added it back in the program stopped working. Problem here was \n that I was calling init_term() at the top of the main procedure before \n the OpenUSART call. Therefore the serial port wasn't yet initialized, \n and I was already trying to use it in the init_term() procedure. This \n procedure clears the screen and sets up the scrolling and non-scrolling \n areas of the screen. After moving the init_term procedure call to after \n the OpenUSART call, the program worked again.\n

\n

\n OK, so now I can see the output of my program. The next problems I had \n were due to my copying all the code over from Nerfbot/Screwybot and then \n commenting out a lot of it because some of the key code was not there. \n First thing I found was the the robot would never get out of the veer \n continue states. The problem here was that I had commented out the code \n that sets the NAV state to IDLE. The check for the heading error is \n correct, but the state was never set to IDLE and the program just stayed \n in the NAV continue state forever. So I fixed this and the program got \n out of the NAV continue state and went to the idle state and set the NAV \n FSM busy flag to false.\n

\n

\n But now, the program always stayed in the Behaviour Avoid Wait state. I \n looked at the code and it checked the NAV FSM busy flag and was supposed \n to go back to the Odometer Continue state. However, it just stayed in \n this state. There were two problems here. First was that I had commented \n out a bunch of code using the #Ifdef ... #endif to removed the code. \n Unfortunately, the avoid states were included in the code that was \n "removed". After fixing this, the program still stayed in the Avoid Wait \n state. I scratched my head and wondered how can that be. The NAV FSM \n busy flag should now be cleared, so how come it doesn't go back to the \n Odometer Continue state? The problem here was that the AVOID state FSM \n was never being called. I noticed this because the serial output window \n should have "A#" with the number representing what AVOID state is \n currently. I then had an "AHA!" moment and checked the main procedure \n that called the different Behaviour states. The procedure for calling \n the AVOID state procedure was commented out!!! Yikes!!! So now, I knew \n why we never got out of the AVOID WAIT state. After I removed the \n comments, the procedure was now being called and I now went back to the \n Behaviour Odometer Continue state. Woo Hoo!!!\n

\n

\n OK, so now my robot was at least going in a straight line and adjusting \n it's heading correctly. However, I still had the problem with the robot \n oscillating back and forth over the desired heading. This is the same \n behaviour I observed with Screwybot. Now I need to optimize the \n navigation routines and remove the robot oscillating over the desired \n heading. Nice to see some progress with Lillibot!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 768, "title": "WK51-3 Swim", "date": "2006-12-20 22:40:24.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30. Swam 60 \n laps in 60 mins. Getting really comfortable swimming laps now and don't \n need much of a rest between laps.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 770, "title": "WK51-4 Swim", "date": "2006-12-21 23:44:25.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker pool adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm. \n Swam 84 laps in 82 mins.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 771, "title": "WK52-1 Run", "date": "2006-12-25 23:50:21.0", "content": "

\n Merry Christmas!!! We had a green Christmas this year. There was \n absolutely no snow on the ground. Since I hadn't run for almost 6 weeks \n due to my knee soreness that I'm watching carefully, I decided that I \n wanted to run on Christmas Day and make it memorable. There have been \n many firsts for me this year. Since Mom passed away, I'm trying to make \n sure that I make this a unique and memorable year for me. Both to \n honour the life of my Mom and to ensure that I can look back on this \n year with many memories.\n

\n

\n So I went on ~7K run. I took it nice and easy. However, I could feel \n the knee pain start midway through the run. Darn! Really going to have \n to watch this closely. What can I do to prevent the pain? Should I do \n some types of strengthening exercises? \n

\n

\n Well, at least I've gone on my run. Merry Christmas!!! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 772, "title": "WK52-3 Swim", "date": "2006-12-27 21:57:40.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest pool adult lane swim session from 11:15-2:00pm. \n This is the holiday schedule, so there was an extra long swim session. \n I swam from ~ 11:25am to 1:05pm. I swam 102 laps in 100 mins. Since \n this was an extra long swim session, I really wanted to swim 100 laps \n and I did it! I think I swam more laps than this, but I kept losing my \n count. I knew I was swimming at least a lap a minute. I also got \n confused at the end, when I thought I hadn't swam 100 laps, so I kept \n going and swam an extra 2 laps. Still felt good at the end and felt \n like I could still swim many more laps. The easy pace doesn't really \n take much out of me.\n

\n

\n Woo Hoo! My swimming is just awesome now. 100 laps! I can't believe \n it. I remember reading on someone's blog that they had done a long swim \n session and swam 100 laps. I thought that was huge number of laps and \n didn't think I would be able to do that many. But here I am a couple of \n months later and I've done it! Yeah for me! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 773, "title": "WK52-5 Swim", "date": "2006-12-29 22:01:02.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest pool adult lane swim session from 11:15-2:00pm. \n This was the same session as I swam two days ago on Wednesday. I made \n sure I was there ready to swim right at 11:15am. I wanted to do another \n 100 laps, but I had to finish by 1:30 since we were going to Ethan's \n birthday party. I made sure I kept counting my laps properly today, and \n I swam 100 laps in 90mins!!! Wow. This ends up being an average of 54 \n seconds per lap. I'm really proud of how much my swimming has improved. \n It's amazing!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 774, "title": "Sparkfun Bluetooth modules", "date": "2006-12-30 21:50:58.0", "content": "

\n Last Monday night (Dec 18th), I ordered some bluetooth modules from \n Sparkfun. I foolishly thought that I might get them before Christmas. \n They were shipped from Boulder Colorado on Tuesday night (Dec 19th). \n Well, they arrived Friday, Dec 29th. There were a couple of holidays in \n there, and I also forgot they had to pass through customs which would \n have delayed them another few days.\n

\n

\n I spent tonight trying to get them working on Lillibot. I had \n previously got my serial port working by breadboarding a Max232 chip and \n connecting that to the controller board. I used the same breadboard and \n tried to connect up the Bluetooth module. At first I was trying to just \n use my current serial port setting of 115200 kbps. After reading the \n info sheet from Sparkfun, I discovered that the fastest baud rate in \n regular data mode was 57600 bps. So I tried changing the baud rate to \n 57600 bps, but I still just got garbage on the hyperterminal window. \n The info sheet had the command for setting the 57600 baud rate, but no \n other baud rate. You had to send a request to get the AT command set, \n so I sent in a request. \n

\n

\n I had to settle for using the default 9600 baud rate. I changed the \n serial port initialize procedure call to 9600 baud and it worked! I was \n getting the terminal screen to update properly. Now that I got it \n working, I quickly tried another test at 57600 baud rate, but it still \n didn't work. I'll have to wait for the AT command set info to make sure \n I'm setting the baud rate properly on the bluetooth module. Note that \n the Blue Soleil bluetooth application seems to require that you do a \n service discovery before connecting up the bluetooth device. I think I \n get the "sync" all mixed up when I turn on/off the bluetooth transceiver \n connected to the robot.\n

\n

\n For now, I've got a wireless serial connection going so this should help \n my debugging capabilities. Woo Hoo!!! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 776, "title": "Debugging navigation on Lillibot", "date": "2006-12-30 23:45:51.0", "content": "

\n Earlier this week I was calibrating the odometer parameters: "ticks per \n inch" and "wheelbase" to try and make them as accurate as possible for \n the odometery routines. At first I was changing the "ticks per inch". I \n was looking at whether the robot was travelling straight to its first \n waypoint and if it did a 90 degree turn. I would tweak the "ticks per \n inch" to see if I could correct some of the navigation errors. I \n couldn't get it to work well at all.\n

\n

\n Next I left the ticks per inch close to what I had calculated \n previously. I recorded how many ticks were in 10 revolutions of the \n wheel and repeated this several times. I measured the diameter of the \n wheel and calcuated the circumference to give me the total inches \n travelled for one wheel revolution. I then calculated the ticks per \n inch. Looking at whether the robot travelled straight to it's first \n waypoint and then whether it turned 90 degrees, I tweaked the wheelbase \n length value. I was able to get the robot working better, but it still \n is not as accurate as I would like it to be. There is a also a lot of \n variance between the different test runs. I think this means that the \n robot wheels are slipping.\n

\n

\n Another issue I had with Lillibot was that the front left object \n detector LED flashes while the left motor is running. When the left \n motor was stopped, the object detector LED was off, but once the motor \n started running, the LED would flash quickly. I was able to fix this by \n changing the PWM frequency for the motors. I originally had "FF" for the \n PWM timer set up, but changed this to "9F". Still need to figure out \n what PWM frequency this gives. However, at this frequency, the object \n detector LED no longer flashes, so that's good. Also need to be aware \n that you don't want to make the PWM frequency too high, because this \n means the controller board has to process more PWM interrupts and has \n less time available to run your robot program code. Just need to make \n sure that the PWM frequency is high enough to prevent the object \n detector LEDs from flashing.\n

\n

\n I also had an issue with not declaring the motor direction ports \n correctly. I had transposed the two pins RC3 and RC4. RC3 is the left \n motor direction and RC4 is the right motor direction. However, because \n I transposed the two output pins, when I wanted the left motor to go \n backwards, I actually set the right motor going backward. No wonder my \n robot was behaving so weirdly!!! When I finally figured this out, I was \n able to spin the robot correctly. For spinning the robot, at first I \n was shutting off one motor and letting the other one keep going. I \n ended up changing this so that I put one motor forward and the other \n motor backward. This makes the robot spin much more quickly, and I also \n thinks it helps prevent wheel slippage which contributes to the \n accumulated odometery navigation errors. In David P Anderson's tutorial \n on robot navigation, he states that errors in theta cause really large \n errors in the robot position. If the robot is on a known course such as \n a firefighting maze, the robot can align and calibrate itself to the \n walls and doorways so that it can correct it's theta variable. Need to \n keep this in mind when I'm writing my navigation code for the \n firefighting robot. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 778, "title": "Christmas Holidays 2006", "date": "2006-12-31 23:03:24.672", "content": "

\n We had another nice Christmas Holidays for 2006. My last day of work \n was on Wednesday, Dec. 20th and I return to work on Tuesday, Jan 2nd, so \n I get almost two full weeks off. It took a while to get into the \n Christmas spirit. I was pretty busy at work until the last week, and of \n course I didn't do any shopping until the last minute. I only had to \n shop for Anne so it should have been easy. I asked her what she wanted \n and she said a radio for the kitchen or a watch. I ended up getting her \n an under-the-cabinet clock radio with CD player. I went to Canadian \n Tire, but they had sold out of the model that was on sale, so I picked \n up the only one that was left which I think ended up being a \n top-of-the-line model because it had so many features. Other items that \n I thought would be good gifts for Anne included a new cell phone, and \n replacing the stoneware that was broken. I thought a laptop might be a \n cool gift too.\n

\n

\n We went to the 8:00pm mass on Christmas Eve. We like this mass because \n it's not as crowded as the Children's Christmas Eve mass at 6:00pm. \n Also the later time let's us have dinner and not feel so rushed. After \n mass, since we were already dressed up, I took out my camera and we took \n a bunch of family portraits. I did this last year, and I used my \n umbrella, but Anne's eyes are closed in all the pictures! This year, I \n just used the Speedflash on my camera body and Anne's eyes were open in \n all the pictures! Woo Hoo! I tried bouncing the flash off the ceiling \n which gives a nice even light with no shadows on the walls behind. I \n use my remote with a 2 second timer, so it's really easy for me to be in \n the picture. No more running to get in the picture after tripping the \n shutter. The 2 second timer gives me time to hide my hand with the \n remote after tripping the shutter. Also, I hook up the video output to \n the TV so we can immediately see the picture after it is taken.\n

\n

\n The kids were all excited at Christmas of course. From Santa, Joseph \n got a Nintendo DS with a Brain Age game that is really neat. There are \n puzzles and problems you have to work through and it determines your \n "Brain Age". As it says in the game, you want to activate your \n "pre-frontal" cortex. Elizabeth got Designer's World, Funky Furby, and \n mI-Flower. I got a spy car from Santa, which is a remote control car \n with a wireless camera. It's pretty cool! Anne got the kitchen radio \n from Santa, a pizza stone and fondue plates from the kids, and a wine \n opener from me. All in all a nice load of presents for everyone!\n

\n

\n For Christmas Dinner, we all went to Jim and Lisa's place. Here's a \n list of people: Rod and Janet, Jim and Lisa, Raymond, Brendan, Aislynn, \n Don and Claudia, Bastien, Daniela, Thalia, Charles and Imran, and of \n course Anne and I, Joseph, and Elizabeth. Lisa's brother Dmitri was \n also there. We all had to squeeze around the dinner table. I sat \n between Joseph and Raymond on a stool. I had to sit a little behind \n them and held my plate on my lap. We're a big family now!\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 779, "title": "New Year's Eve Party Hopping", "date": "2007-01-01 21:39:41.0", "content": "

\n We did some party hopping for our New Year's eve celebration. Both \n Maria and Mark/Jenny invited us to their New Year's eve party last week \n (and they both phoned to invite us on the same day). Anne talked to \n Maria and we were invited to their party. They were going bowling and \n then back to Maria's place. Later on in the day, Mark called and \n invited us to their party. We wanted to go to both parties so we ended \n up party hopping!\n

\n

\n First, Elizabeth had a dance performance at Nepean Centerpointe with the \n Classical Dance Academy. It was co-ordinated by Lida Chiarelli. The \n performance was scheduled to go from 7:00-8:00pm. It ended up ending \n just after 7:30pm. They were going to do another performance, but we \n told Lida that we had to leave. Anne had told Maria that we would get \n there around 9:30pm. However, we stayed at Marc and Jenny's much \n longer. The kids were having fun playing Cranium. Anne and I had fun \n chatting with our friends.\n

\n

\n I think it was 10:30pm by the time we left for Maria's house. The kids \n had fun playing with all the other kids there. Jeff showed Mike and I \n his new home theater room in the basement. It was pretty cool. He has \n a projector connected to the ceiling and his screen is 92" wide! We \n watched the opening of the Charlie's Angels movie and Jeff had it \n cranked up really loud. He also has these special home theater couches \n that have large arm rests with drink holders, and they also tilt back \n like a La-Z-Boy.\n

\n

\n At the kitchen table the adults chatted. Cindy was talking about an \n incident that happened at the 70th birthday party she held for her mom \n at Cindy's house. There was a big fight with her brother with insults \n being thrown around. Sounded messy and ugly. Just like watching a \n movie, I can feel my adrenaline flow when I see a fight or hear a fight \n and the expected response is to get mad. It's too bad about the family \n issues and problems. It just seems like everyone has their own views \n and they are all unwilling to stray from their opinions and views. I \n really want to make sure that Anne and I continue to nurture and raise \n Joseph and Elizabeth with principles and values that allow them to have \n extremely strong and high self-esteem along with immense ethics and \n respect for others. If you are happy with yourself and the person you \n are, and can show respect for others, then you don't need external \n positive feedback and validation. \n

\n

\n I'm sounding like a couch psychologist, but I really think it is \n important to raise the kids with strong character. Stephen Covey talks \n about working on yourself first, and then work on your interaction and \n relationship with others. The first 3 habits are to improve yourself, \n and the next 3 habits are to work on your relationships with others. He \n also talks about basing your values on True North Principles; having a \n moral compass that help guide your decisions and actions. OK, enough \n about that.\n

\n

\n At midnight, we went down to the home theater room to watch the \n countdown on TV. We watched the ball go down in New York. We also \n flipped to the Canadian Celebration in Niagra Falls. They had some \n cheesy thing about a "Kiss Cam". The US coverage in New York seemed \n cheesy too. I guess I couldn't get into the excitement about the New \n Year. After hugs and kisses at the New Year, we went up and had some \n champagne in the kitchen. We chatted some more in the living room while \n the kids played. In the end we left around 2:00am. Whew, what a busy \n party night. Happy New Year!!! \n

", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 780, "title": "WK01-2 Swim", "date": "2007-01-02 22:49:11.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm. I \n didn't get start swimming until 7:40pm. I lost track of the number of \n laps I was doing, but I swam all the way to 9:00pm, so I swam for 80 \n minutes. The lifeguard actually had to come to the lane and tell me that \n this was the last lap. I apologized and told him that I didn't hear the \n ring to get out of the pool so I got out right there at the far end of \n the pool. The swim session was pretty good. I need to continue to push \n my head down because it really feels like I'm gliding much further when \n I do that. Also work on rotating my core body and keeping my head \n aligned to stay streamlined when breathing. Also want to start \n concentrating on my kicking. I want to be able to add my kick in when I \n want to swim faster. Right now I have only one gear and that is relaxed \n and slow!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 781, "title": "WK01-4 Swim", "date": "2007-01-04 23:51:45.031", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30. Lost \n count of laps again, but I did close to 60 mins of swimming.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 782, "title": "Jan '07 ORE meeting", "date": "2007-01-08 23:02:15.0", "content": "

\n Joseph came with me to the January '07 ORE meeting. He wanted to show \n off his remote control lego car with attached camera. Everyone was \n impressed by his lego creation. Even Mordecai said he was very \n impressed. Mordechai also brought his son to the meeting. He's \n probably around 4 years old. Joseph built a camera tilt mechanism on \n the car. This way he could tilt the camera up and down while driving \n the car around.\n

\n

\n I brought my mini-sumo and screwybot. I was hoping that that the \n mini-sumo (Lillibot) would do the navigation ok. I programmed it to \n just go straight 7 feet, then turn around and come back to the starting \n point. However, even this didn't work too well. The robot couldn't \n even go straight forward! It would veer left or right. What's wrong? \n Is it missing encoder ticks? I really want to get to the bottom of why \n the odometery routines seem to be so variable. Screwybot seemed to be a \n lot more consistent than the sumobot. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 783, "title": "WK02-2 Swim", "date": "2007-01-09 22:07:49.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30 to 9:30pm. I \n hadn't gone swimming for almost a week, and my first few laps felt \n pretty bad. I didn't feel balanced at all. My legs felt really low. I \n didn't feel like I was lying on my side and rotating my body enough. I \n swam in the slow lane for the first 6 laps and then moved over to the \n medium speed lane. I lost track of my lap count again. Eventually my \n stroke started to feel comfortable again. I kept up a good pace and \n rhythm. There was a lady swimming right behind me and that made me want \n to keep going and not stop. I wasn't feeling rushed, I just didn't stop \n for long at the end of each lap. I think I was swimming my usual 45 \n second per lap pace. I swam all the way to 9:30 when the lifeguards \n started to pull up the lane markers. So the total swim time was \n approximately 1 hour.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 784, "title": "Cleaning up old files and papers", "date": "2007-01-11 23:16:14.0", "content": "

\n I've been spending a lot of time cleaning up my old files and papers. \n Two weeks ago was the paper recycling so I spent a lot of time going \n through my university notes and work files and throwing them all away. \n It was nostalgic looking at some of these papers, and I had the urge to \n keep some them, but I threw away almost everything. I did keep a folder \n with some stuff from my high school graduation. I threw away my \n university notes including labs and old projects.\n

\n

\n Today I continued to go throw old papers. This time I cleaned up the \n small desk and filing cabinet. There were mostly files from work and \n some stuff for computer apps. I got rid of a lot of the files. Even \n after all that cleaning up, there are still lots of piles of paper on \n the couches and futon that I need to file and organize. These are \n mostly new stuff such as: digital photography, health and fitness, \n finances, and robotics. I should file all the manuals I've organized.\n

\n

\n I've realized that in order to stay organized, I need to have a place \n FOR EVERYTHING. That means I need to have some type of filing and \n organization system that has a place for everything I want to keep. \n Putting stuff in a general pile will just get things messy and \n disorganized again. So the key for me is to determine what are the \n filing categories and then have a place for filing those categories. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 785, "title": "WK02-05 Swim", "date": "2007-01-12 22:52:21.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Leisure swim session at Walter Baker from 6:00-7:30pm with \n the kids. Anne had girls night out, so the kids and I went swimming. \n It was fun. I decided that I was going to wear my watch tonight and \n time some of my laps. It was interesting. I found that my laps were \n around 45-50 seconds, and it would take me around 3:15-3:30 to do 100m \n (4 laps). I was looking at my watch when I completed my 4th lap so I \n didn't count the rest I was taking before I started another set of 4 \n laps. We swam from around 6:05 to 7:20 for a total of 75 minutes. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 786, "title": "WK02-7 Swim", "date": "2007-01-14 22:25:53.0", "content": "

\n Went to the afternoon Adult lane swim session at Pinecrest pool from \n 11:30am-1:00pm. I really like this session. I think I've mentioned \n before that it's early enough in the day that I don't feel like I'm \n wasting the whole day to do my training. However, I do feel tired after \n the session, so I'm lazing around the house as I'm trying to carbo \n re-load and rest.\n

\n

\n I wore my watch again today, and now I'm thinking this is great. I kept \n the watch running the whole time and just timed my splits every 100m (4 \n laps). I would not hit the split button, until I started the next set of \n 4 laps. This way I would count my rest after the 4th lap. I did take a \n peek at my watch at the end of each 25m. My 25m splits were around 47-48 \n seconds, ~1:38, and ~2:22. The lap times for 100m ranged from ~3:00 to \n ~3:43. I had many laps around 3:15 and I had a couple of slow laps of \n 3:39 and 3:43. Overall I was very pleased! My average pace was 3:17 and \n I did 26 laps (2600m) in 1:25:31. I did 104 laps in 85.5 minutes! Wow! \n Woo Hoo!!!\n

\n

\n I plotted my 100m lap times and I noticed that the last 3 laps were my \n fastest at 3:00mins or under! Looking back, the reason they were so \n fast was because there was someone else swimming in the lane who was \n faster than me and I was really trying to stay ahead of that person so \n they wouldn't lap me. So I was really pushing myself and trying to keep \n a fast pace with little rest. I guess this really showed in the lap \n times. \n

\n

\n I also counted my strokes and I think they went up. It was around 22-23 \n strokes per length. I think the reason for the increase in strokes is \n that I'm barely kicking now. I actually don't need to kick to balance so \n I don't have much of a kick at all. However, I do really need to work on \n my kick so that I can improve my lap times. Another thing I noticed is \n that I seem to glide a lot further when I really push my head down. \n Looking at the bottom pool tiles it feels like I'm really moving and \n gliding. Need to work on this and see if I can improve my effeciency \n even further. Perhaps I can improve on my head position and decrease my \n strokes per length.\n

\n

\n Still, it was neat wearing my watch and getting feedback on my actual \n pace times. It was also much easier to keep track of my laps. My \n swimming has come a long way since last September!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 787, "title": "Robot testing", "date": "2007-01-14 22:46:35.0", "content": "

\n Did some fan testing for my firefighting robot. The kids helped me out. \n We set it up like an experiment and collected the data. It was fun!\n

\n

\n There were three fans that I wanted to test. Joseph has a motor with a \n fan blade on it, a squirrel cage fan that I just got from Computer \n Supply, and a small USB fan that I got from XS Cargo. I wanted to see \n what was the maximum distance that the fans would be able to blow out \n the candle. We also measured the candle height, fan height, battery \n voltage, and motor current. Joseph's fan was the strongest and could \n blow out the candle from over 40cm. However, it had a motor current of \n 1300mA (1.3A)! The squirrel cage fan was next strongest and could blow \n out the candle from 30cm. It was a 12V fan, but we used a 9.6V RC \n battery instead. The weakest fan was the USB fan that could only blow \n out the candle from 20cm.\n

\n

\n I also tested the IR detector that I have. I hooked up a 15K resistor \n to see what the voltage range would be for ambient light versus candle \n detection. There was definite change in voltage when the sensor was \n pointed at the candle. However, the difficulty will be when the candle \n is further away and the rise in voltage is not as great. Is there a way \n I can measure the ambient light and then subtract this from the sensor \n to get a delta value? A "summer" op-amp circuit? Need to figure this \n out.\n

\n

\n Another thing I tested was the IR filter made from exposed negative \n film. Putting this in front of the video camera, you could really see \n that it blocked the visible light and the candle was very evident and \n the brightest thing in the picture. I was pointing the video camera at \n our kitchen table area and everything was bright. When I put the filter \n in front of the camera, the whole picture went dark except the candle \n light. It was pretty cool. I also noticed that the reflection on the \n window of the candle was bright as well as the overhead kitchen lights \n (fluorescent or incandescent?). I want to video tape this experiment.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 788, "title": "Father Ockwood's sermon", "date": "2007-01-14 23:05:14.0", "content": "

\n Father Ockwood had a very good sermon this morning at church. I've been \n thinking about capturing these sermons in my blog, since they are often \n inspirational and thought provoking. This really gets me to think about \n the spiritual side of my life, which is a good thing.\n

\n

\n The second reading was about how the Holy Spirit gives everyone a \n special gift. Father was asking us to reflect "what is our special \n gift?". And how are we using this special gift to help spread the word \n of Jesus? It was an interesting reflection. After, Anne and I talked a \n bit about it. My first thought was that my gifts were my family and how \n lucky I was to have them. But that wasn't about me. So then I thought \n about my intelligence as my gift. I am really lucky to be smart. Then \n I thought about my music and my gift is my musical ability. Anne was \n thinking her gift is her organization ability. She is very methodical \n and organized in her approach to things.\n

\n

\n The gospel was about the "revelation of Jesus" when he first revealed \n himself to us by the miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding. \n Jesus responded to Mary his mother by saying "My hour has not yet come". \n This hour, father Ockwood stated, was when he died on the cross for us. \n Father said that he died for each of us. Father went on to mention \n that we do not let Jesus into our lives enough. When things are not \n going well and we are in despair, we need to turn to Jesus and ask him \n to help us. Letting Jesus into our lives will always make things better.\n

\n

\n For me, understanding what my gifts are and using them appropriately is \n a key message. I do try to be the best person I can and to use my \n gifts. Also, need to always be aware that Jesus is there to support us \n and help us. Use this to give you inspiration. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 789, "title": "WK03-2 Swim", "date": "2007-01-16 23:03:26.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30pm tonight. \n I had intended to do some drilling, but ended up doing a lot of swim \n laps beforehand. I guess I got caught up in the "train" of swimmers and \n just kept going and going. I think I swam a bit faster than normal \n because I was a little more out of breath than usual. I swam for about \n 40-45 minutes in the medium speed lane and then moved over to the \n leisure lane. I tried to swim in my sweet spot position, but I really \n struggled with this. I have to kick much harder than I have been the \n past 3 months just doing my freestyle. I need to really practice my \n kicking. I keep saying this, but I never do it! JUST DO IT!\n

\n

\n I drilled in my sweet spot with my arm extended. I felt like I wasn't \n even moving. This is what I mean when I say I need to improve my \n kicking. You really have to kick in sweet spot in order to move at all! \n I did a few underswitch and zipperswitch strokes. Then I tried to do \n some backstroke strokes really concentrating and ensuring that I was \n rolling my core body and shoulders from side to side. Every stroke my \n head would submerge below the surface, but eventually my face would rise \n above the surface again. I drilled for about 10 minutes. \n

\n

\n I should incorporate these drills into my swim sessions so that I start \n working and improving my other strokes as well. I already mentioned \n that I need to work on my kicking. Lastly, I should incorporate faster \n swimming so that I get used to swimming at different effort levels. My \n heart rate was around 30-32 for 15 seconds during my lane swim tonight \n because I pushed it a little harder than normal. Need to continue to do \n this in some of my swim sessions.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 790, "title": "WK03-4 Swim", "date": "2007-01-18 22:50:19.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm. I \n swam freestyle laps for the first 55 mins, and then did some drilling \n with sweetspot and backstroke for around 15-20 mins. I wore my watch \n again today and timed my laps. My freestyle laps were slower than last \n session. I also seemed to be struggling more and was more out of \n breath. I did settle down after a while. I averaged 3:27/lap for 16 X \n 100m laps (1.6km total). There was another lady in the medium swim \n lane. We were both swimming around the same pace, so that was good. I \n didn't feel too slow!\n

\n

\n After 55 minutes of freestyle, I started doing some drilling. By this \n time I was the only one in the medium lane, so I just stayed in this \n pool. I had earlier thought that I would jump out of this pool and go \n to the kiddie pool to drill, but since there wasn't anyone else in this \n lane, I just stayed here. I started drilling on my back in sweetspot \n with my arm extended. My sweespot float felt better today than in last \n Tuesday's session. I felt a little more balanced, but still not \n perfect. Need to keep working on keeping my head aligned and pushed \n back. \n

\n

\n I then added in some backstrokes with a pause in sweetspot for each \n stroke. There were some strokes where I was able to keep my goggles \n above water. However there were also times when my head submerged. Need \n to work on this as well so that the stroke is quick and smooth and I \n rotate my shoulders quickly. This will keep me well balanced and my \n face will stay above the surface. This is similar to the freestyle \n where a nice quick and smooth transition gets you to sweetspot right \n away after an underswitch.\n

\n

\n This drilling really gets me out of breath because I have to \n continuously kick to keep moving which I'm no longer used to doing. \n After each 25m lap, I rest for a few minutes before heading out again. \n I think I did about 6 laps in total. The last few laps I did a mixture \n of backstroke going into freestyle and back to backstroke again. This \n is in the first Total Immersion DVD and looks really cool! The swimmers \n make it look so easy. I found that it was pretty easy too, although I \n pause a little in skating postion and sweetspot when I transition \n between the two strokes. I also thought of something after, although I \n didn't notice it during the drilling. This is a good drill for me to \n keep kicking while I'm doing the freestyle. I have to kick when doing \n the back stroke and when I switch to freestyle, I just keep on kicking \n at the same rate. I believe this is what I was doing, but I'm not sure. \n Need to check this in my next swim session. \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 791, "title": "WK03-5 Swim", "date": "2007-01-19 23:04:22.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker leisure swim session from 6:00-7:30pm with \n Joseph tonight. Anne drove Elizabeth to her friend Sarah's birthday \n party. Joseph and I did a few warm up laps of swimming. Joseph started \n doing some backstroke and I showed him the Long Axis Combo's that they \n showed on the Total Immersion swimming DVD. There is an exercise where \n they go from backstroke to freestyle and then back to backstroke. I need \n to continue drilling on my back and doing the backstroke to become more \n proficient and balanced on my back as I am on my front with freestyle. \n After warm up I did freestyle laps for about an hour and then a few laps \n of backstroke. Joseph and I left around 7:20pm to beat the rush for the \n showers.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 792, "title": "WK04-2 Swim", "date": "2007-01-23 22:42:21.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30pm. I \n started swimming right at 8:30. I wore my watch again today and timed \n my 100m laps. It was a little crowded in the middle of the session, but \n it didn't really slow me down. (I don't swim fast anyways!) I rested \n mostly after 50m. I felt like I rested more than usual, but looking at \n the lap times, they weren't that slow. I swam for 52 mins and did 16 x \n 100m laps (64 pool laps). Not bad!\n

\n

\n After, I did 4 pool laps of backstroke mixed in with free style. I \n wasn't well balanced at all, and my head kept submerging when I was \n doing the backstroke. Also have to kick a lot harder to even move. \n Just keep practicing this drill! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 793, "title": "WK04-4 Swim", "date": "2007-01-25 23:19:52.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm. I \n swam laps and timed my 100m lap times. It was really crowded tonight! A \n couple of times I had to wait to take off from the end of the pool. \n Also, I ran into a lady doing a fairly slow freestyle and had to try and \n speed by her. I think I lapped her 3 times. Another good session \n although I'm not really focussing on my technique too much anymore. I \n don't know if I'm starting to let old habits creep back in. I counted my \n spl and it was around 24 so it's 3 strokes higher than my previous spl \n for the Walter Baker pool. One thing that's changed is I don't have much \n of a kick any more. I used to do a two beat, fairly strong kick, but now \n it's just barely noticeable. I'm hoping this is the reason for the \n increased spl and not because of worsening efficiency or technique. The \n stats for the session are: 22 - 100m laps (88 pool laps) in 1hr14mins, \n with an average 100m time of 3:22.\n

\n

\n After swimming the freestyle laps, I did 6 laps of backstroke and \n sweetspot swimming with a little freestyle mixed in. Need to continue to \n practice these drills especially since they force me to do a lot of \n kicking. I can also keep the same kicking rhythm when I move over from \n backstroke to freestyle, so this is a good way for me to also practice \n faster kicking for my freestyle.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 795, "title": "Reflecting back on the last 4 months of Swimming", "date": "2007-01-25 23:54:25.0", "content": "

\n It's been about 4 months since I've started my journey to improve my \n swimming. And what a 4 months it has been! I have to say that the \n biggest impact was me finding the Total Immersion method for swimming \n freestyle. This methodology and technique for freestyle is truly \n revolutionary and as Terry McLaughlin says allows you to swim any body \n of water and will transform swimming from your weakest discipline to \n your best discipline. I was excited to learn, although I was also a \n little skeptical (especially in the struggles early on). However the \n transformation for me has been absolutely amazing! I've gone from being \n a weak pathetic swimmer who could barely do one 25m lap of the pool, to \n a strong swimmer who can now easily swim for 1 - 1.5 hours continuously \n with a high of 104 laps in less than 1 1/2 hours! I guess it's hard to \n contain my excitement and enthusiasm!!!\n

\n

\n I remember going to the pool and watching some of the swimmers in the \n fast lane swim lap after lap without stopping. I would say to myself, \n how can they do that? Why don't they get tired? And now, I'm doing the \n same thing myself! I'm not going as fast as them, but I am swimming \n many laps without tiring. The first 4 weeks of drilling were difficult, \n but really set the right base for me to learn to be balanced and \n efficient. I struggled to get the right technique, but looking back, it \n was all part of the learning process for me. I'm not sure if I ended up \n learning the techniques more quickly or more slowly than average, but I \n eventually did get this all to click in. The "A-Ha!" day for me was on \n Saturday, Oct 21st at the Walter Baker pool. My blog entry on that day \n talked about how I felt balanced and was gliding more as the pool \n markers and bottom pool tiles flew by. That was the day I got glimpses \n of what the right feeling should be. The feeling that Terry wrote in \n his book about a swimmer that kept praying "Please, please, please, let \n it feel like that again...". I struggled early to keep regaining that \n balanced feeling after that session, but after a while, it did become \n 2nd nature for me.\n

\n

\n After I got the right technique, it was just a matter of swimming and \n focussing on having 100% correct technique. As Terry says, 95% correct \n is still 100% wrong. Need to hide my head, stay balanced, rotate my core \n body, and keep my head aligned when I breath. I still do a two beat kick \n with the right leg always being the stronger kick and I can't seem to \n change this. Right now, I actually kick very little. In order to \n maintain my correct technique, I only swam 25m at a time and then \n rested. I made sure that I never reverted back to struggle so I always \n made sure I was rested before starting a lap. Over the weeks, my rests \n became shorter and shorter. My lap times including rest went down from \n 1:30min, to 1:15min, to 1:00min, to less than 1:00min. Finally I got to \n the point that I basically didn't need any rest. I would take a break to \n fix my goggles, or wait for some space between the swimmer ahead of me. \n I have now started wearing my watch and timing my 100m laps. They are \n currently around 3:00-3:30mins per 100m.\n

\n

\n Now I'm starting to work on my backstroke. This actually gets me really \n tired because I now need to do a lot of kicking which I'm no longer used \n to. But this also gives me a chance to improve my kicking in freestyle, \n since I do the drill where I go between backstroke and freestyle and I \n just keep using the same kick for both. It's also a really cool drill \n when I can seamlessly go from backstroke to freestyle without skipping a \n beat.\n

\n

\n It's been an amazing 4 months for my swimming. I am now very confident \n that I can swim the 1.5km (60 laps) needed for an Olympic distance \n triathlon. I now need to get my running and biking up to the same level \n as my swimming!!! Who would've thought that I would be making a \n statement like that?#@! I've come a long way, baby... Woo Hoo!!! :):) \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 796, "title": "WK04-5 Swim", "date": "2007-01-26 23:38:57.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker Leisure swim session from 6:00-7:30pm with \n Joseph and Elizabeth. I started swimming in the slow lane, since it was \n empty and there were already two swimmers in the medium speed lane. I \n ended up really concentrating on my kick tonight, and I made a \n breakthrough. I was actually able to do one kick per armstroke and use \n the correct leg! When I watched the Total Immersion videos, I saw that \n Terry McLaughlin kicked with the same side leg as the one doing the arm \n stroke. (eg. If the left arm was doing a pull, then it would be a the \n left leg kicking at the same time as the pull.) I have known this for a \n while, but every time I tried this, my legs just weren't co-ordinated. \n I actually did two kicks with my right leg kicking first, and then my \n left leg kicking second for both my arm pulls. So it would be \n pull-kick-kick, pull-kick-kick, etc... Then after a while, I even \n stopped kicking, or having a really small kick. I think this is why my \n spl went up.\n

\n

\n However, tonight I was able to change things. My right leg kept wanting \n to kick even when I wanted to just kick the left leg. So what I ended \n up doing was really concentrating on keeping my right leg still and \n quiet. I just kept kicking the left leg for both my pulls. Then I \n started trying to pull-kick on left, then pull-kick on right, and I was \n finally able to do it! I'm not sure if the timing is quite right, and \n it still feels a little awkward, but at least I can now do the kick \n properly. I can now work on tweaking the timing and efficiency. The \n benefit of this is that my spl has gone down again. I'm back around \n 20-21 spl for the Walter Baker pool.\n

\n

\n I also felt more out of breath than usual probably because I'm not used \n to the kicking and my stroke efficiency is not as good. But as I get \n accustomed to the kicking and timing this shouldn't take more effort. I \n wore my watch as usual and timed my 100m laps. My lap times were about \n 15-30 seconds slower than usual. At one point the slow lane got really \n crowded, so I moved over to the medium speed lane. I increased my \n stroke frequency and it felt really good! My lap times also were \n quicker. The final session stats were 21 - 100m laps at an average pace \n of 3:30 and total time of 1:13:33.\n

\n

\n So now I've started to get the right kick timing. Woo Hoo!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 797, "title": "WK04-7 Swim", "date": "2007-01-28 22:03:09.0", "content": "

\n I went to the Pinecrest pool adult lane swim session from \n 11:30am-1:00pm. I kept working on my single leg kick and kept \n improving! I got to the pool a little late and didn't start until \n 11:35am. There were already quite a few swimmers in the medium speed \n lane. I guess I got caught up in a pretty fast pace with the other \n swimmers, because I was really out of breath the first few laps. After \n a 100m I was resting for 15-30 seconds. However, my lap times were \n still around 3:00mins because I was swimming at such a quick pace. I \n finally did settle down, to a good pace so I didn't get myself so out of \n breath.\n

\n

\n I was able to do the pull-kick, pull-kick co-ordination which I started \n in my last session. I noticed that my spl has improved considerably \n than when I was doing my freestyle with very little kick. My spl is now \n around 19-20 for the Pinecrest pool, which is close to my lowest spl. \n For the Walter Baker pool last Friday, I noticed that my spl went down \n to around 20-21. So adding a strong single leg kick really makes a huge \n difference in stroke savings!\n

\n

\n I also saw an improvement in my lap times. The session stats were: 27 - \n 100m laps at an average pace of 3:07 and total time of 1:24:03. So I \n did 100m more than last Sunday in the same amount of time. Another good \n improvement. Woo Hoo! I certainly worked harder during this session, \n especially the first laps where I went out pretty fast and got myself \n winded. However after some quick rests, I was able to keep going.\n

\n

\n After the session, I'm pretty bagged at home. I guess they take a lot \n out of me. I'm a bit light headed and sometimes I get a headache. I \n try to make sure I replace my carbs by eating a lot right after my swim \n session. By late afternoon, I'm feeling better. It probably takes this \n long to get the carbs back into my system. I also went canvassing for \n the Ontario March of Dimes around 4:30pm. I have to get this done by \n the end of January and I usually wait until the end of the month so it's \n not so close to Christmas. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 798, "title": "WK05-2 Swim", "date": "2007-01-30 22:29:04.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:00pm. I got \n there 10 minutes early and after I took my quick shower, there were \n still people in the pool in an aquafitness class. I said, "uh, oh" and \n actually went back into the change room thinking that they might have \n changed the schedule. I ended up going back out to the pool and the \n class was just ending, so I was relieved that there actually was an \n adult lane swim session.\n

\n

\n I went out too fast again and got myself out of breath. It's at these \n times, I tell myself "this hurts, this is not fun, why am I doing this?" \n But I take a good rest after (usually after every 100m) and finally get \n into a nice rhythm. There are times I get behind a slower swimmer and I \n relax and try to swim slowly which usually feels really easy and takes \n little effort. There are other times I try to swim faster to stay ahead \n of the crowd or some swimmer just behind me, and I get out of breath and \n feel like I'm really struggling and pushing myself. I think it's good \n to try to swim a little faster than I am used to because it makes my \n cardiovascular system work a little harder. Hopefully this translates \n into improved fitness. It will also train me to swim when I'm a little \n tired and out of breath. I need to ensure, however, that my form \n remains impeccable and perfect so that I am still as efficient as \n possible. I need to swim efficiently when I'm tired.\n

\n

\n Stats for the session: 16 - 100m at an average pace of 3:09mins and a \n total time of 50:24. After I did 6 laps of backstroke mixed with \n freestyle. This drilling really tuckers me out because of all the \n kicking I need to do. I'm actually gasping for air after I swim the 50m \n back and forth doing the drills. I'm also trying to make sure I keep a \n fast kicking rate even when I switch over to doing freestyle. This will \n train me to have a fast, strong kick for my freestyle. (That's kind of \n funny, because I've been training to have a small almost non-existent \n kick!) I need to be able to perform these different types of kicks so \n that I'll be able to do them at the correct opportunities in a race.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 799, "title": "WK05-4 Swim", "date": "2007-02-01 23:42:10.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm. I \n got there right at 7:30pm and basically swam all the way to 9:00pm. \n There was the lady who does the slow freestyle there too, and at the \n beginning I tried to make sure that I stayed ahead of her. This meant I \n was working pretty hard from the start and getting out of breath. I \n usually took a little rest at 50m or 100m. I settled in to a good pace \n after a while. I also had to pass the slow freestyle lady several \n times. I think my form is pretty good, except perhaps my breathing. I \n feel like I'm lifting my head a little when breathing. I counted my \n strokes again and it was around 22-23 spl. There were some laps that I \n think were down to 20-21. Sometimes I'll count my first right arm pull \n (when gliding after the push off from the wall) as a stroke and other \n times I won't. I still continue to work on my one kick per arm pull \n technique. It felt a little rough tonight, but it did bring my spl down \n from the 24 spl from last week.\n

\n

\n Here are the stats for the session: 28 - 100m laps at an average pace of \n 3:07mins and a total time of 1:27:16. This is just amazing!!! I did \n 112 laps in under 1.5 hours. Woo Hoo!!! I feel less tired at the end \n than at the beginning when I'm pushing myself and breathing hard. Part \n of this is due to getting my body warmed up and getting to the aerobic \n zone from the anaerobic zone. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that the water \n was absolutely freezing when I first got in! However, didn't feel the \n cold water anymore after warming up. But I didn't feel warm! \n All-in-all another excellent session! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 800, "title": "WK05-7 Swim", "date": "2007-02-04 22:42:30.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest pool adult lane swim session from 11:30-1:00pm. I \n went out very quickly again and was out of breath. I took some longer \n rests after a few laps. I finally settled down and got into a good \n rhythm. I was following a swimmer for many of the middle laps and that \n made me keep going pretty fast. The swimmer always turned at the wall \n quickly and I usually did the same thing. My average pace was \n 02:51mins. It was under 3:00mins! Woo Hoo! I was surprised, since I \n wasn't really breathing hard or pushing it. I just tried to keep up \n with the other swimmer so I probably swam a little faster than normal, \n but not enough to really get out of breath. Also, I wasn't resting at \n the walls so that also shortened my lap times. Session stats: 31 - \n 100m laps (124 pool laps!) with and average pace of 02:51mins and a \n total time of 1:28:30. That's pretty impressive! Swimming for an hour \n and a half and doing 124 laps!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 801, "title": "WK06-2 Swim", "date": "2007-02-06 23:52:29.203", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest pool adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30pm. I \n really made sure I started off slowly today and it made a big \n difference. I didn't get the out of breath, I want to stop feeling. I \n got into the groove and had a good pace again. I was following a \n swimmer that I thought was a little slower, but I stayed behind him for \n a few laps. Then, when I decided to try and pass him, the guy sped up \n faster! What a JERK! Anyways, I went in behind him again, and he just \n stopped at the end of the lap while I just kept going. HA HA!!! It's \n funny how people react when you try and pass them. It's like they feel \n insulted or something. I don't really care myself. I try to swim over \n as far as possible, so if anyone wants to pass me, they can easily do \n so. I think people that make it hard for you to pass are just jerks in \n the pool. It's not some macho thing, if I want to go at a faster pace \n than someone else. Anyways, I just go at my own pace, and if someone is \n blocking me, I try to go past him. If he doesn't let me then c'est la \n vie. They'll probably stop at one point, and I'll just keep on going. \n I was surprised again at how fast a pace I swam. Hey! My endurance is \n really getting good! Swim session stats: 20 - 100m laps (80 pool laps) \n with an average pace of 02:51mins and a total time of 57:03. Another \n fast swim. Woo Hoo!!! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 802, "title": "WK06-4 Swim", "date": "2007-02-08 22:32:59.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm. I \n ended up starting a little late and swimming almost all the way to \n 9:00pm. I made sure I started off relaxed again and not pushing myself \n at the beginning. Even though I feel like I'm swimming slowly, my lap \n times show that I'm still swimming quickly, so it really does make sense \n for me to slow myself down and rein in my enthusiasm at the beginning of \n my swim. When I do this it really helps since I get to ease into my \n aerobic zone, which is much more pleasant than breathing hard and \n feeling like you want to stop.\n

\n

\n There was the same lady doing the slow freestyle that I had to pass \n several times. I really don't like passing people because it takes me \n out of my rhythm and I have to swim faster than I want to. This gets me \n out of breath too. I did run into her once where I hit her foot with my \n lead hand. All other times I was able to pass her without incidents.\n

\n

\n I was counting my strokes and it was high around 23-24. I'm not sure \n what's happening there. My lap times were also a little slower than at \n the Pinecrest pool. Here are the session stats: 28 - 100m laps (2800m \n total) at an average pace of 03:00mins and a total time of 1:24:08.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 803, "title": "WK06-6 Swim", "date": "2007-02-10 21:02:46.944", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker leisure swim session Saturday from 1:00-4:30pm. \n I started at 1:00pm and swam for almost two hours! I had in the back of \n my mind that I was going to do at least 120 laps. The most laps I have \n done previously was 124 laps and I at least wanted to go past that. When \n I swam that distance previously it took about 1.5 hours, so I was \n planning to swim for longer than that today. It ended up that I swam for \n almost two hours and I did 160 laps!!! Can you believe it? Woo Hoo!!! \n That's Ironman distance!!! Before I get too congratulatory about myself, \n I still have a long ways to go before I have a decent pace, but just \n swimming that distance is a big achievement for me. I'm proud of myself \n and how far I have come in my swimming. The milestones just keep on \n coming for me!\n

\n

\n The medium swim lane was narrow today, but luckily it wasn't busy at \n all. There was the regular Chinese guy that I've seen before who swims a \n lot of breaststroke. In previous sessions, he has lapped me several \n times, but today he didn't. I think part of it is because I am swimming \n at a faster pace now, but also because of the narrow swim lane. There \n were also two other swimmers who joined in later after an hour or so, \n but I was able to pass them OK. One guy even let me pass him at the end \n of the pool several times which is really nice and I don't have to waste \n any energy.\n

\n

\n I also timed 200m laps (8 pool laps) instead of my usual 100m laps. This \n is because my watch only has a 30 lap memory, and I wanted to swim more \n than 30 - 100m laps. The swim was just awesome. I felt good the whole \n time. I counted my strokes and they were quite high around 24-25. I \n don't think my kick was particularly strong, and I don't think that my \n pull was that strong either. I was just trying to stay relaxed and \n smooth. When I first checked the clock to see how long I had been \n swimming, it was around 40 minutes into the session around 1:40pm. The \n next time I checked it was again 40 minutes later around 2:20pm. How \n weird is that? So I just told myself to keep swimming and keeping \n relaxed and smooth. I really didn't feel tired or out of breath. The \n next time I checked the clock it was 2:45pm about 25 minutes later. By \n this time I could feel myself tiring. My arms were tired, but otherwise \n I was feeling pretty good. I wasn't out of breath or struggling at all. \n I also counted my strokes and they were up around 29-30 spl! I guess by \n now my pull wasn't very strong at all!\n

\n

\n Finally I checked my watch and I saw that I had done 20 laps (160 pool \n laps)! I hadn't quite swam 2 hours yet so I almost started another set \n of laps, but then I just told myself that I had done the Ironman \n distance and didn't need to push myself anymore. There will be more \n oppportunities to swim this distance. Here are the session stats: 20 - \n 200m laps (160 pool laps) at an average pace of 5:49mins and a total \n time of 1:56:29. This is an average of 02:55 for 100m.\n

\n

\n Wow!!! What a milestone for me to achieve. And I felt so good after. It \n was just like all my other swim training sessions. I didn't feel any \n more tired. Just amazing! Of course my pace was nice and easy and my \n heart rate was probably between 120 - 130 bpm, but that is exactly the \n way I want to train for now. Speed will come with endurance, and I've \n already increased my speed in leaps and bounds.\n

\n

\n After, I was checking some of the swim times for Ironman races at the \n www.sportstats.ca website. Most swimmers have at least a 02:00min pace \n for a 100m, and the times that I want to get near are around 1hr 20mins. \n My time at the 3.8km mark was 1hr 50mins. So I've got some work to do, \n but this is such an encouraging milestone for me. I know I can swim the \n distance. Now I need to work on my speed. Woo Hoo!!! Yeah for me!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 804, "title": "WK07-2 No Swim - Pool closed!", "date": "2007-02-13 22:51:12.0", "content": "

\n I planned to swim at the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from \n 8:30-9:30pm, but the pool was closed due to a fouling! What a bummer. \n I was looking forward to getting back in the pool, because of my \n excellent long distance swim last Sunday. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 805, "title": "Registered for the 2007 Ottawa Marathon", "date": "2007-02-15 22:04:17.0", "content": "

\n I finally registered for the 2007 Ottawa Marathon! I waited until the \n very last day before the registration fee goes up by $10. I had been \n delaying my registration because of my worry about my right knee. It was \n bothering me last November when I was running, and then again when I ran \n on Christmas day. Also recently I could feel a twinge every once in a \n while from that knee. I was hoping to do a run just to check it out and \n validate that the knee was OK for running. In the end, I bit the bullet \n and just registered because it was the last day before the fee increase. \n I really want to run the race and finish around the 4 hour mark. I'll \n just take it easy and make sure I don't injure myself. I've got to start \n training NOW!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 806, "title": "WK07-4 Swim & Run", "date": "2007-02-15 22:46:22.0", "content": "

\n Finally! I went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from \n 7:30-9:00pm. It's been almost a week since my last swim. I tried to swim \n on Tuesday, but the pool was closed due to a fouling. I started slow and \n easy and didn't get the out of breath feeling, so that's good. I'm able \n to warm up slowly on my swims now, and I'm doing it for every session. I \n just need to control my enthusiasm and just take slow, relaxed, easy \n strokes.\n

\n

\n The lady with the slow freestyle was there again. I'm able to pass her \n by putting on a burst of speed. After, I try to relax again and get back \n into my normal rhythm. Usually, I don't get out of breath when I do \n this. But there are times when I really have to relax because I am a bit \n out of breath. My swimming today was a little slower than my previous \n swims. My 100m lap times were mostly over 3:00mins. Lately, I've been \n swimming under 3:00mins. At around 8:45pm, I checked my watch and I had \n just finished 25 laps. While swimming, I thought to myself, to get to 30 \n laps, I'll need to average 3:00mins for the next 500m. So, I picked up \n the pace and I got some faster laps at the end. At one point I saw them \n putting out the lane buoy line and I stopped to ask the Lifeguard if it \n was OK to do a couple of more laps. He said sure, so off I went to \n finish the last two pool laps. Session stats: 29 - 100m laps (2900m \n total) at an average pace of 2:58mins and a total time of 1:26:01.\n

\n

\n After the swim, I took a quick shower and went up to the exercise room \n and ran on the treadmill! During dinner I had told Anne that I was \n thinking of doing a run after my swim. I actually have been thinking \n about running on the treadmill at either Pinecrest or Walter Baker for a \n while now. I just never got around to doing it. Finally today, after \n registering for the marathon, I decided to do it! I took a quick rinse \n in the shower, put on my shorts, cool max t-shirt, and runners, and went \n up to the fitness room. I don't know how much the front desk guys check, \n but I was able to go up without being noticed.\n

\n

\n It was intimidating at first, since I didn't know how to control the \n treadmill. But it was pretty easy. I just hit "Reset" then "Quick \n Start", and the tread mill starts at 1 mph. Then I just increased the \n speed until my desired speed was reached. All the info is in miles and \n miles per hour, so I had to do a little conversion in my head to relate \n to my pace and speed in mins/km. I settled on a pace of 5.5 mph which is \n 10:54mins/mile. The treadmill actually shows the time per mile when you \n change the speed (it took me while to figure this out). At one point I \n tried to bump up the speed to 6mph, but then my right knee started to \n complain. I thought to myself, oh oh, this is not good. I bumped the \n speed back down to 5.5 mph, and the pain in the knee went away. Yeah! \n OK, so I must keep my pace lower than 5.5mph for now until I get \n strength and flexibility (ITB?) in my knee. I ended up running for 3 \n miles in approximately 35 minutes. I warmed down for around 5 mins by \n slowly ramping down the speed until it was walking speed. You can also \n check your heart rate by grabbing the front bars. It was around 143bpm \n and climbed up to 153bpm near the end of the run.\n

\n

\n After getting off the treadmill, it felt really weird. I was light \n headed and even a little dizzy. Had to really concentrate to walk. But I \n safely made it down the stairs, took my shower, and headed back home. \n Since this was an extra long exercise session, I made sure I carbo \n re-loaded after. I had my usual granola bar on the drive home. Then at \n home I had 591ml of Gatorade, flax seed corn chips, two chocolate rose \n buds, yogurt, chocolate milk with butter and jam toast spread out over \n several hours. Phew! What a long day. It was nice to get to bed after \n watching too much TV... zzzzzz...\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 808, "title": "WK07-6 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-02-17 23:07:18.0", "content": "

\n I went to the Walter Baker recreation center at around 12:20pm today. I \n was planning to run first and then head out to the pool. I ran for 4 \n miles at a 5.5mph pace and a total time of about 46 mins. My heart rate \n climbed up to about 157. (Or was it higher?) I slowed down the \n treadmill to walking speed and cooled down for 5 mins.\n

\n

\n After, I put on my swim trunks, took a quick rinse, and did laps in the \n pool. I started around 1:25pm. Started nice and slow again, and most \n of my laps were around 3:00-3:10 mins. After a while, I tried to pick \n up the pace a bit and swam laps around 2:50 to 2:55 mins. Session \n stats: 30 - 100m at an average pace of 2:59 and a total time of 1:29:24. \n These swims feel pretty easy. I did get tired, but I think its due to \n the run I did first. It's good that I'm now getting into running too \n since I really need to improve my fitness in this area. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 809, "title": "WK08-1 Run", "date": "2007-02-19 23:24:12.0", "content": "

\n Went to Walter Baker again today. I was planning to run and then swim, \n but in the end I opted for a longer run and skipping the swim. I got to \n the fitness center around 7:20pm tonight. When I first got there, all \n the treadmills were full! However, someone left very soon after. I \n checked the sign up sheet to see if anyone had signed up for the \n treadmill, and luckily it was free. I started the treadmill slowly and \n warmed up for 5 mins. Then I slowly bumped it up for another 5 mins. \n Finally, I set it to the speed of 5.3mph and did the rest of my run at \n that pace. 5.3mph gives a pace of 11:19 mins/mile. I added about 2 \n mins to my time given for a pace of ~11:20. ie. At 4 miles my time was \n around 4 * 11:20 ~ 44 mins + 2 mins ~ 46-47 mins.\n

\n

\n I measured my heart rate at 10 min intervals. At 10 mins it was around \n 142, at 20 mins it was at 149, at 30 mins - 152, 40 mins - 153, 50 mins \n - 154, 60 mins - 154. It pretty well stayed at 154 for the rest of the \n run. At 60 mins, the treadmill goes into cool down mode for 5 mins. I \n had to bump up the speed to 5.3mph. However after 5 mins it stopped. I \n had to hit reset and quick start and set the speed to 5.3 mph to keep \n running. I think at 65 mins I had run about 5.5 miles. I decided to \n run for another 1 mile so that I ran at least 10K. At 5.3 mph this took \n another 11:19 mins. So, in total I ran for 75 mins, and ran about 6.5 \n miles. My quads were really starting to hurt by the 4.5 - 5.0 mile \n mark. Luckily they weren't cramping, but I could feel that they were \n getting sore.\n

\n

\n I bumped the speed down to about 4.0 mph and did a brisk walk. I kept \n bumping down the speed to slowly cool down. My heart rate went down to \n 130 and then to 128. I warmed down for about 10 mins. I cleaned off \n the machine and then went to a mat and I did some stretches. I did the \n crossover hamstring stretch, quad stretch, calf stretch, and then did a \n hamstring stretch again.\n

\n

\n In the locker room I had a half bottle of Gatorade before I took my \n shower. I ate my granola bar on the way home. At home, I finished off \n the Gatorade. I then continued my carbo re-loading by having chocolate \n milk with peanut butter and jam toast, yogurt, and a nanaimo bar. I \n also had a glass of water. My legs are really sore right now. It's \n difficult to go up and down stairs. I think I'm going to pay for this \n tomorrow!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 810, "title": "WK08-2 Swim", "date": "2007-02-20 22:54:04.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30pm. I \n started off too fast again. I don't know what it is with this pool, \n where I seem to go too fast and get myself tired and out of breath. I \n also feel out of balance at the beginning. Need to really concentrate \n on proper form and balance so that I am as efficient as possible. \n

\n

\n It was crowded again tonight. I just swam with the crowds and there \n were times I waited at the end of the pool for my turn to go. The early \n laps were a little slow at 3:00 - 3:15mins per 100m. After a while it \n thinned out and I found myself at the front of the line with a clear \n space ahead of me. I picked up the pace a little bit and started \n swimming laps around 2:45. This is probably my best regular pace now. \n At the end of the session I really tried to push it, and my last two \n laps were 2:32 and 2:34 respectively. That's pretty fast for me! I \n took my heart rate and it was 32 beats per 15 seconds, or 128 bpm. I \n think it would have been lower than that for the majority of the session \n and it just spiked up near the end because of the fast last 200m.\n

\n

\n I also saw Joseph's friend Stewart's Dad at the pool tonight. At least \n I thought it was him. I didn't say "hi" because I couldn't remember his \n name. I asked Anne later on that night and she thinks his name is Greg. \n I'll have to be more sociable next time and say "hi" if I see him \n again. Need to remember his name!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 811, "title": "Ironman dreams", "date": "2007-02-21 22:02:16.0", "content": "

\n Ever since I've swam the Ironman distance a couple of weeks ago, it has \n really given me the confidence that I can do an Ironman. I know it \n sounds crazy, but I'm excited about the possibility of competing and \n completing an Ironman. The swimming leg is what really scared me, since \n I couldn't even swim 25m without getting out of breath and I'd have to \n stop and rest. With the Total Immersion techniques I've been working on \n the last 5 months, I can now swim for 2 hours at an easy pace. What a \n difference! So with my biggest doubt being conquered and overcome, I am \n now confident that I can complete an Ironman. I just need to put in the \n required training to be able to achieve this dream.\n

\n

\n I found a couple of blogs that have inspired me. One is by Karl, who \n completed the Ironman Cote D'Alene (in Idaho) in June 2005. He kept a \n training diary/blog on his ironman training starting in September 2004 \n all the way to the big event in June 2005. I'm looking at his blog and \n using it as motivation for me to get started and fulfill my dreams of \n Ironman.\n

\n

\n One of the first things I wanted to look at was to determine what kind \n of pace I needed to swim, bike, and run so that I had an idea of how far \n my current abilities are from achieving those event paces. The maximum \n cutoff times for the events are: 2:20 for swim, 10:00 for swim/bike, and \n 17:00 for swim/bike/run. Karl had a goal, which is similar to what I was \n thinking of in terms of pacing:\n

\n

\n \n

\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
\n

\n Event\n

\n 		\n

\n Distance (km) \n

\n 		\n

\n Target Time \n

\n 		\n

\n Target Pace\n

\n
\n

\n Swim\n

\n 		\n

\n 3.86 (2.4 mi)\n

\n 		\n

\n 1.5 hrs\n

\n 		\n

\n 2:20 / 100m\n

\n
\n

\n Bike\n

\n 		\n

\n 180 (112 mi)\n

\n 		\n

\n 7.0 hrs\n

\n 		\n

\n 25.7 km/h\n

\n
\n

\n Run\n

\n 		\n

\n 42.2 (26.2 mi)\n

\n 		\n

\n 5.5 hrs\n

\n 		\n

\n 7:49 mins/km (12:35 mins/mile - 4.8mph)\n

\n
\n

\n Total\n

\n 		\n

\n \n

\n 		\n

\n 14.0 hrs\n

\n 		\n

\n \n

\n
\n

\n \n

\n

\n So now I have an idea of how fast I need to do these events in order to \n finish in 14.0 hours. The objective in my training is to improve my \n fitness so that I can achieve these paces with a "reasonably low" heart \n rate. These "reasonably low" heart rate values will need to be \n determined as I progress in my training. It obviously has to be in the \n aerobic zone, but exactly where in that zone is what I need to figure \n out. The lower it is, the more comfortable the race will be because I am \n not pushing myself close to my limits which is what I would be doing if \n I had to be near the upper limit of my aerobic zone in order to achieve \n my desired pace. It is all a matter of balance and risk. The faster I \n push myself, the closer I will be to my theoretical limit and the higher \n the risk of pushing too far and not being able to finish the race. \n Thinking back to my run training, the best pace for running a race is at \n the maximum pace that you can maintain at a steady rate for the entire \n race. I call that my theoretical maximum. For the Ironman, I don't want \n to be near that maximum because it will place a lot of strain on the \n body and increase the risk of not being able to finish the Ironman. \n However, also don't want to go so slow that it becomes too easy (is it \n possible to have an easy Ironman?) and I feel like I could have gone \n much faster. Again it's a balance. Understand what fitness level you are \n at and what kind of pace you can maintain without being too close to \n your theoretical maximum and putting a large strain on your body.\n

\n

\n I was thinking of an analogy of Project Planning. You need to understand \n your process capabilities, develop a plan, and then manage the risks \n that throw you off your plan. For my Ironman training, I'd like to work \n up to be able to complete the distance at a slow pace, and then work on \n improving my pace. This way I'll have the endurance to complete the \n event (at my slow training pace) and just work on improving that pace.\n

\n

\n I also need to be mindful of having a complete preparation. Don't just \n focus on your physical training, but also need to have a plan for your \n nutrition intake during the race, and transitions (keep a list of what \n needs to be done during each transition). Mental training, including \n visualization may also help race performance. Understand what your \n strategies need to be if the weather is hot or if it is cold and \n raining. Think of your equipment. What could breakdown? What backup \n equipment do you need? What equipment would you like to upgrade? In \n summary, think of all the things that are risks for the race and come up \n with a plan on how to handle each of those risks. Make a list of all \n these risks and write them down! Then you can think about what to do \n about them. I was just thinking that this race planning is not only for \n the Ironman, but also for the upcoming Ottawa marathon I want to run. \n The hot weather and subsequent leg cramps were a risk I need to take \n into account from my experiences last year, and I need to mitigate and \n have a plan to handle these risks.\n

\n

\n Ok, lot's of stuff to think about. I'm psych'ed about acheiving this \n goal. Need to get off my butt and get serious about my training so that \n this dream becomes a reality! Woo Hoo!!!\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 812, "title": "WK08-4 Swim & Run", "date": "2007-02-22 22:56:29.0", "content": "

\n I went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm. I \n was low on gas this past week and I've been waiting to fill up at the \n Esso gas station, but they've had no gas the last couple of days! \n Apparently a refinery fire has caused a supply shortage and there are \n Esso stations with no gas. I'm mentioning all this because I had to go \n fill up at a Petro Canada gas station before going to the pool which \n made me have a late start to the swim session. It was around 7:45pm \n before I even started swimming.\n

\n

\n The swim was very slow today. I was looking through the TI website and \n found some info on swimming very, very slowly to ensure you're technique \n is correct and to allow you to be able to focus on your movements. I \n don't know if that's what it was, but my lap times were really slow. I \n tried to relax and pull with less force, and tried to "grab the water" \n and "keep my hand still". This is something I read. You're supposed to \n feel like grabbing a rung on a ladder and pulling yourself over that \n hand. For someone looking at you from the pool side, you're hand should \n remain almost stationary and your body should be gliding over your hand. \n All this meant I was trying to use much more finesse in my arm pull and \n feel the water passing slowly by my hand and arms, instead of forcefully \n pushing them back. However, I probably didn't pull hard or fast enough \n resulting in my slower times.\n

\n

\n Trying to understand this some more. The optimal case is when your hand \n is in this "stationary" position and your body moves over your hand. \n This means that the entire force of you're arm pull is translated to \n forward momentum of you're body. You want your body to be as sleek as \n possible so that you are able to glide and minimize the force needed to \n move you forward using your arm pulls and kicking. Incorrect head, arm, \n and body positions will drastically reduce your hydrodynamics and slow \n you down immensely. This is where mindful practice is critical and you \n need to ensure that your body positions and body movements are perfect!\n

\n

\n Looking at my current swimming stroke, there are two areas that come to \n mind for me to work on. The first is my breathing. When I turn my head \n to breath, it feels like I slow right down (almost stop). Am I lifting \n my head? Am I not being sleek while I'm breathing? The second area is \n my left arm pull during breathing on the left side. It just doesn't \n feel like I'm pushing that much water when I pull and breath on my left \n side. Need to investigate this further, because the pull on my right \n side does seem stronger. What am I doing different on the right side \n that makes it feel that much better? Lot's to think about and improve \n on.\n

\n

\n Here are the swim session stats: 22 - 100m laps (2.2km) at an average \n pace of 3:04mins and a total time of 1:07:19.\n

\n

\n After the swim, I went for a run on the treadmill again. I warmed up \n for about 5 mins and then slowly increased the pace to 5.3mph. By 10 \n mins, I was running at my target pace of 5.3 mph. I tried to keep my \n heart rate low again. Here are my heart rates at 10 minute intervals: \n 10 mins - 140bpm, 20 mins - 145 bpm, 30 mins - 148 bpm, 40 mins 152 bpm. \n This was lower then my last run where my heart rate was around 154 @ \n 5.3mph during the latter stages of the run. The stats for the run were: \n 4.0 miles in 46:05 for an average pace of 11:31mins/mile.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 813, "title": "Wk08-6 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-02-24 22:52:09.0", "content": "

\n Went to Walter Baker today to do my run and swim. Joseph had piano \n lessons from 2:30-3:30 pm, so I went early to do my exercise. I got \n there just after 11:00am and started my run on the treadmill at 11:10am. \n I wasn't sure what distance I would run, and decided that I'd just do 4 \n miles. I'll run my longer distance on Monday. It took around 47 mins \n to run the 4 miles and I did a cool down slow jog/walk for around 5 \n minutes. I was using Treadmill #1 and I actually signed up for the \n machine. However the HR measurement on this treadmill didn't work. I \n have to remember to bring my heartrate monitor so that I can track my \n heartrate accurately. I'm trying to make sure my exercises are in my \n target heartrate zone for each exercise session. \n

\n

\n I then went to the pool for my swim session. I saw Randy Biggs from \n work there. He swam in the fast lane. I started swimming around \n 12:05pm. I started off slow again, but still got some of that out of \n breath feeling. My lap times were over 3 mins. My spl was around 22 - \n 23. I was really concentrating on my stroke efficiency. I noticed that \n I was a little off balance, so I concentrated on keeping my head \n aligned. This seemed to really help my balance. Also when I turned my \n head to breath I tried to keep my head aligned. All this really seemed \n to help. I felt like I was swimming with a sleek profile and even while \n breathing it didn't feel like I was slowing down (which is the normal \n feeling I get). So I need to keep on practicing my head alignment. I \n think that is key in getting the correct body position. Remember "keep \n the head aligned"!!!\n

\n

\n Other things I tried were to put my fingers closer together when doing \n the pull and to bend my wrist and cup my hand to pull more water and \n have a stronger pull. It does feel like there's more pressure when I do \n this so it probably generates more power for my stroke. However, it does \n feel strange, so I'll need to work on it more. I also could feel the \n water pressure around my forearms and elbow. This pressure has probably \n always been there, but I just haven't noticed it. In order to work on \n my pull, I'll need to really analyze every aspect of my stroke.\n

\n

\n I tried to speed up a little near the end. My laps were a little \n faster, but not by much. Session stats: 30 - 100m laps (3.0 km) at an \n average pace of 3:01 mins, and a total time of 1:30:42. I didn't feel \n as fresh during this swim session than the previous sessions. Probably \n because of my run beforehand. However, it still is a good workout, and \n I'm very pleased that I'm able to swim this distance consistently with a \n very good efficiency.\n

\n

\n After I dropped Joseph off at his piano lessons, I went to Wal-Mart to \n buy a watch battery for the Ironman watch I got off of e-Bay. So now I \n have an extra watch that I can use with my heartrate monitor. I was \n wary of bringing my GPS watch to my exercise sessions at the pool \n because I didn't want to leave the watch in my locker. I'll bring this \n other Ironman watch instead, and I'll be able to monitor my heartrate. \n I also updated my Running log spreadsheet to keep track of my runs and \n swims. It will also track my bike sessions once I start getting those \n in. I have a pivot table that summarizes my exercises for the week and \n keeps track of the total training time for each of the disciplines. \n I'll have to rename this to my training log, because it tracks more than \n just my running. I also have my swimming lap data in there and some \n graphs that show my lap times and the running total time at each lap. \n It's cool looking at my training and tracking it this way. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 814, "title": "Skiing at Edelweiss and Cascades", "date": "2007-02-25 23:04:17.0", "content": "

\n It was a busy ski weekend for us. On Friday night we went to the Nortel \n Ski Night at Edelweiss. It was a little chilly, but the line ups \n weren't long. I skied on Zoomer the whole night with Joseph. The kids \n went on the Tubing run just before we stopped for dinner at our \n designated time of 7:30pm. There were no tables at the bar, so we \n brought our food to the cafeteria. After, we went back for more Tubing. \n It was a blast and kids had so much fun!\n

\n

\n On Sunday, we went to Mont Cascades for more skiing. It was a perfect \n day, with just a hint of windchill. However, with my necker on, it was \n just fine. We got to the hill just before 9:00am and it wasn't crowded \n at all. My skiing form felt really good today. I was focusing on \n keeping pressure on the shins of my boots on both legs and keeping my \n hands forward. I was skiing at a fast speed and making long giant \n slalom turns. Sometimes I'd focus on sitting off to one side just like \n had been taught in one of my ski lessons a few years back. Another \n thing was changing the weighting of my skis very subtley so I didn't bob \n up and down.\n

\n

\n We saw the Ohman's when we stopped for lunch at 1:00pm. After lunch, \n Elizabeth said she was tired so Anne and Elizabeth rested in the lodge \n while Joseph and I went out skiing. We skied with the Ohman's on the \n Triple chair run on the other side. I continued to work on skiing with \n both edges and really pushing on the skis to carve the turn. I also did \n some runs where I made quick turns like on a mogul run. Joseph and I \n stopped skiing around 3:00pm. Hans offered to let Joseph ski with them \n and drive him home, but Joseph said he was tired and thanked him for the \n offer. It was a full day of skiing and we all had an excellent day!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 815, "title": "Robotics Meeting at Ron's house and New ORE Contest", "date": "2007-02-26 23:22:27.0", "content": "

\n Mordecai has started a new Robo Magellan contest that is similar to the \n Darpa contest. The objective is to have a robot navigate to cones set \n out on a course in a parking lot. Most people will probably be using GPS \n to navigate and determine the position of the robot. Some will also have \n vision systems.\n

\n

\n Ron had his monthly get together at his home and we talked about the \n contest some more. Mordecai sent me some links to GPS info. He showed me \n some C code which will parse the strings coming from the GPS unit. I \n told him that I already have a Microsoft USB GPS from Streets and Trips. \n He said you can just plug it in and it usually shows up as a COM port, \n and then open up Hyper Term and look at the strings it is sending. You \n have to set the terminal to 4800 baud.\n

\n

\n Ron also showed his base that he got from The Source. It was large \n similar to the Hummer base that I have. He had cut a Sintra top for it. \n He also had hooked up a 25A motor driver he got from HVW Tech. It uses a \n Servo signal to set the speed of the motors with a 1.5ms pulse being \n stop. Ron said he had it moving forward and backward using the motor \n driver. He also said it is really quick. I quickly looked at The Source \n web page and found the truck. It's the Toyota Tundra 4X4 RC Truck (1:6 \n scale). Right now it's on sale for $149.99 from $199.99. I also saw the \n Hummer RC on sale for $99.99 from $199.99.\n

\n

\n After I got home, I connected my GPS to PaulsPC2, opened up a HyperTerm, \n and looked at the data. COM5 is the port I need to open to see the GPS \n output. At first I got an error message connecting and opening the port, \n but then it connected. I realized later that it takes about 10-20 \n seconds for the GPS unit to initialize and start outputting the data. I \n then saw the NMEA 0183 strings being output by the GPS unit. Woo Hoo, it \n works! I saved the Hyper Term configuration settings as "gps.ht". Now I \n just need to write a program that will read the strings in from the COM \n port and then decode them. I can then control the behaviour of the robot \n using the data from the GPS. This is going to be cool!\n

\n

\n I just thought about something that combines the Nerf contest and the \n Robo Magellan contest. In the February meeting, Ron, Ken, and I were \n talking about resurrecting our Nerf bots and having a get together. We \n were thinking of April or May timeframe. I was thinking that I could \n just mount my Nerf gun on the Robo Magellan robot and use the vision \n systems to track the cone and shoot at it! That would be fun! It would \n double the amount of work, but it would be fun!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 816, "title": "WK09-2 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-02-27 23:18:33.0", "content": "

\n Since I went over to Ron's house yesterday for a Robotics meeting, I \n missed my scheduled run. So today, I did both a run and a swim. Went \n to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from 8:00-9:00pm. However I \n went early to get the run in. I was planning to start my run at 6:30 so \n that I could get in a 1.5 hour run before my swim. Unfortunately I \n didn't start my run until 6:40pm. I did my usual warm up for about 5 \n mins and then set the treadmill speed to 5.3mph. I wore my heart rate \n monitor today, so that I could more easily see my heart rate during my \n run. My heart rate range was from 144bpm about 20 minutes into the run \n up to 149bpm near the end of the run. The pace is nice and easy. I'm \n not breathing too hard, but I am working. I sweat like crazy because \n there's no wind to cool me off. The sweat is dripping off my face, and \n I sometimes wipe the sweat off with my t-shirt. I like the feeling of \n working hard and being sweaty! I ended up running 7.0 miles in a total \n time just over 1hr 20 mins. I then warmed down for about 5 minutes.\n

\n

\n I changed into my swim trunks, took a quick shower, and was at the pool \n around 8:10pm. Swim stats: 15 - 100m (1.5km) at an average pace of \n 3:09 and a total time of 47:21. It was a slow day. I really \n concentrated on my form and trying to be as sleek and streamlined as \n possible. My head alignment was just OK and my breathing was erratic. \n Sometimes it felt good with just getting my face above the water to take \n a breath. Other times it feels like I'm lifting my head and really \n slowing down. I also tried the drill where you keep your hand still and \n move your body over your hand. This one was much harder to visualize \n and know if you were actually doing it. What I did do was to ease up on \n my pull so that I wasn't pulling so hard. One thing I do need to do for \n this drill is to stroke at a faster rate so that I don't slow down so \n much after my pull. I should strive for a more constant speed rather \n than a burst/glide then burst/glide. \n

\n

\n One thing I need to remember is that I shouldn't be worrying about the \n pace clock, which is what I'm constantly doing now. I'm always looking \n at my watch and seeing how fast I'm going. I need to go back to looking \n at my form and trying to get that absolutely perfect. Once I've got \n perfect form I can look at stroke rate and other things to increase my \n speed. However, for now I should look at improving my form especially \n when breathing and my left arm pull. Still, I'm making lots of good \n progress!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 817, "title": "WK09-4 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-03-01 22:36:56.578", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm. I \n went early to do my run around 6:30pm I brought my water bottle today. \n My hydration strategy was to drink every 15 minutes (around 8-10 squirts \n of water). Run stats: 8.1 km (5 miles), 57:56, pace 7:07mins/km (11:29 \n mins/mile). I did my usual warm up and warm down.\n

\n

\n My swim was nice and easy. Session stats: 23 - 100m (2.3km) at a pace of \n 3:05 and total time of 1:10:44.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 818, "title": "WK09-6 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-03-03 22:23:12.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim and leisure swim sessions from \n 12:00-2:00. Went early again to get do my run. I was planning to run for \n 1:30hrs so I was shooting to get there for 10:30am. I was at Walter \n Baker by 10:20am, but I took my time changing, putting on my heart rate \n monitor and running shoes and didn't get started running until after \n 10:30am. I ran for 8 miles. I was really starting to feel tired for the \n last mile.\n

\n

\n Some of the aches and pains I felt were:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n my left ankle hurt a bit half way through the run, but then it \n disappeared\n
    2. \n
  2. \n my left hip was sore towards the end of the run\n
    3. \n
  3. \n my right knee started to get sore\n
    4. \n
\n

\n Need to watch these aches carefully and really listen to my body so that \n I don't over push. I felt good that I was able to run the 8 miles, but \n the last few miles were pretty tough. I was really feeling tired and had \n to push myself to keep going. I'm going to have to also develop my \n mental toughness to keep going even when I'm tired. However, also need \n to be wary of the fine line between pushing myself, and pushing myself \n too hard that I injure myself. Run stats: 12.8 km (8 miles), total time \n 1:31:51, pace 7:07 mins/km (11:29 mins/mile).\n

\n

\n After the run, changed into my swim trunks and went for a swim. I really \n took it easy during my swim. My legs were really tired and were on the \n verge of getting cramps, so I had to really relax my legs and not exert \n them too hard. To my surprise, I had some decent 100m lap times even \n though I was trying to relax and go as smoothly as possible. I wasn't \n pulling hard and just trying to concentrate on not slipping my hands in \n the water. (That's the pulling yourself on the rung of the ladder, and \n keeping your hand in one place and pulling your body over it.) My pace \n was around 3:00mins. My spl was fairly high around 26 through most of \n the session. Session stats: 30 - 100m (3km), pace 2:59, total time \n 1:29:22.\n

\n

\n I was pleasantly surprised that using a relaxed pull and stroke, I was \n still able to have a decent pace. This shows to me that I still have \n room to improve my efficiency and that pulling your hand so that it \n doesn't slip in the water is something I should strive for. Another good \n swim session!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 819, "title": "WK10-2 Run & Swim, Lacellesigns Web page stuff", "date": "2007-03-06 23:27:25.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30, and did a \n 1:10hr run beforehand. I was actually planning to go to the Walter \n Baker pool, like I have in past weeks, but I was helping Mike with \n updating his Lacellesigns web page. He had called me last night, but we \n couldn't get it working for some reason. I didn't know if it was \n because iWeb wasn't publishing the web pages properly to the folder, or \n if iDuck wasn't ftp'ing the files properly to the web server. Finally \n tonight, we figured out that Mike was uploading his files to the home \n directory instead of the "public_html" directory. When we finally \n uploaded the files to the public_html directory, the new web pages \n worked! Yeah!\n

\n

\n So anyways, after talking with Mike, it was almost 6:30. I finished \n dinner and then headed off to the Pinecrest pool. Since the Pinecrest \n swim session didn't start until 1/2 hour after the Walter Baker swim \n session, that gave me an extra 1/2 hour for my run. I got to the pool \n by 7:00pm, but I didn't actually get started on my run until 7:15pm. I \n did my usual warm up for 5 mins, increasing the speed gradually. At 5 \n mins, I set the speed to 5.3mph (11:19mins/mile) for the rest of the \n run. I hydrated every 15mins, taking 6-8 squirts of water from the \n water bottle. I found that the water just sat in my stomach because I \n was still digesting dinner. It was a little uncomfortable, but not too \n bad. I would also burp every once in a while and I could taste my \n spaghetti dinner. Yuck!\n

\n

\n The treadmills at Pinecrest were different than the Walter Baker ones, \n but I operated them the same. I just set the speed using the +/- \n buttons. At first I was using the up/down buttons, but I realized later \n that I was setting the incline! There is also a screen that showed an \n oval 1/4 mile track and where you were on that track. The treadmill is \n placed right in front of the window so you could see the pool. I \n remember seeing people running on the treadmill while I swam, and now it \n was me watching the people in the pool. There were aquafitness sessions \n happening in the pool during my 1:10hr run. There is a vent above the \n treadmill, so once in a while I could feel a breeze. However, I was \n still sweating a lot and sweat was dripping off my face.\n

\n

\n The run got tough at the end again. My heart rate wasn't too bad. My \n watch said it averaged around 145-146 for the last two miles. However \n during the run, when I looked at my watch it was around 148. I guess my \n heart rate fluctuates up and down a little. This might be because of my \n heart monitor strap moving a little. For aches and pains, I could feel \n some discomfort in my left hip, my left foot arch on the inside and top \n of foot, and outside of my right knee. Just need to keep monitoring \n these aches and pains. Also keep the intensity moderate to low with the \n right heart beat range. Run stats: 9.7km (6 miles), total time 1:08:46, \n pace 7:06 mins/km (11:28 mins/mile).\n

\n

\n For my swim I tried to be relaxed like in my previous session. My \n stroke rate was really low and my spl was around 22 which is a little \n high for this pool. I was swimming around 3:00 per 100m. In the middle \n of the session it got pretty crowded and I just swam behind a lady and \n an older guy (I've used him as a pacer before). I just tried to relax \n and keep my pace nice and easy and steady. When the crowds thinned out, \n I finally passed the lady (the older guy passed her earlier). I don't \n know if it was my imagination, but it seemed to take a long time to pass \n (did she speed up?). The last laps I really started to motor with my \n last lap being 2:27! All 100m times in the last 400m were under 2:40. \n Whoa, I'm starting to get some speed. Swim stats: 19 - 100m (1.9km), \n pace 2:52, total time 54:20.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 820, "title": "WK10-4 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-03-08 22:53:00.484", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm. I \n went early again to do a run before my swim. I got there just before \n 6:30 and I was able to get the treadmill right beside the mirrors \n (treadmill 6). I like this treadmill. You can see part of the diving \n pool from here. The run today seemed easier. At the end of the 6 mile \n run, I was still feeling pretty good. I remember the last few times I've \n run, that I was pretty bagged at the end of the run. Run stats: 9.7km \n (6miles), total time 1:09:03, pace 7:08 mins/km (11:31 mins/km).\n

\n

\n I didn't do a warm down today, since I was thinking that I was going to \n swim in the pool anyways. The swim is nice and easy so it would be \n similar to a warm down period. Swim stats: 2.5km, pace 3:05mins/100m, \n total time: 1:16:31.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 821, "title": "WK10-5 Run", "date": "2007-03-09 23:05:58.812", "content": "

\n I wanted to go for a long run and decided that I would do it tonight. I \n thought it would be difficult to do both a long run and a swim tomorrow, \n so I decided to do a long run tonight, and then a shorter run and a swim \n tomorrow. I went to Walter Baker and started my run around 7:30pm. \n Treadmill 6 was the only one being used, so I decided to use treadmill \n 4. This is not as nice a treadmill. It makes lots of noise! I've used \n it before and noticed then that it was noisy. Need to remember to avoid \n this one if possible. I planned on doing a 10 mile run because my \n previous long run was 8 miles. It was tough. At 5 miles, I was already \n tired and didn't know how I'd make it to 10 miles. I started thinking \n of stopping at 8 miles. One thing I noticed was that I stopped sweating \n at around 7.5 miles! Usually, sweat is dripping of my face, and this \n was the case up until around the 7.5 mile mark of my run. I noticed \n around this point that the sweat was no longer dripping off my face. \n This must mean that I'm not hydrating enough to replace my fluids so \n that I can continue to sweat. My body must now be saving my fluids for \n other functions rather than cooling my body through sweating.\n

\n

\n Need to be wary of this during my training. What is the right hydration \n levels and fluid replenishing rate that I need to achieve? Lots to \n learn! Run stats: 16.1 km (10 miles), total time 1:54:11, pace 7:05 \n mins/km (11:25 mins/mile). It was a tough run! I was absolutely \n bagged, but I was so happy to have run that distance. And the runs only \n get longer from here! :) \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 823, "title": "WK10-6 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-03-10 22:24:45.0", "content": "

\n I was interested in how I would feel on today's workout session. I had \n just done my long run last night, and this morning/early afternoon, I \n was going to do another run and swim. Today I wanted to do a long swim. \n My target was to swim 4km again which is the ironman distance. I was \n so proud of myself for swimming that distance just around 4 weeks ago. \n I wanted to swim that distance again. This time would be tougher \n because I was going to do a run beforehand. \n

\n

\n I got to Walter Baker just after 10:30am. I chose treadmill 5. This \n is another good treadmill. Nice and quiet not like the noisy treadmill \n 4. Run felt OK, but I was still tired from yesterday's run. Heart rate \n was nice and low though. Run stats: 9.7 km (6 miles), total time \n 1:09:17, pace 7:10 mins/km (11:33 mins/mile). I drank most of my water \n bottle during the run. After, I went down and quickly got changed for \n the adult lane swim session which started at 12:00pm. I drank some \n Gatorade and ate a granola bar to replenish some carbs before my swim. \n I got into the pool just around 12:05pm. I took nice easy strokes and \n was able to get around 3:00mins/100pm pace which is my usual standard. \n At the halfway point at 1:00pm, the leisure swim started so they widened \n the medium speed lane to two lanes wide. I noticed that my lap times \n went up over 3:00mins because I now needed to swim across the two lanes \n when turning around and heading in the other direction. I was starting \n to get tired, but I just concentrated on keeping a nice easy and relaxed \n stroke. I also started counting my 100m laps so I would have an idea of \n how much I had left to do. I noticed that my left ankle was sore when I \n kicked my left leg. My leg kicks were really slow because I didn't want \n my legs to cramp up. \n

\n

\n I also started to feel my bladder filling up. However I held on because \n I didn't want to have to go to the bathroom until after my swim. I \n counted my laps from 1, 2, 3... finally 17, 18, 19 and 20 for my last \n lap! My last few laps were a little quicker since I pushed myself a \n little more. Overall this 4km swim was slower than my previous one, but \n I'm not going to complain, because I ran 6 miles before I even did this \n swim! Still a great accomplishment I would say! Swim stats: 40 - 100m \n laps (4.0km), total time: 2:01:14, paced 3:02 mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 824, "title": "WK11-5 Run", "date": "2007-03-16 22:52:13.0", "content": "

\n It's been a week since I've done any training! We went on a great March \n break ski trip to Mont St. Anne and we just arrived back home this \n Friday afternoon. I was planning to do some running and possibly some \n swimming, but there wasn't an exercise room in the condo/hotel we were \n staying at, and we didn't have a pool in our building either. So no \n training the whole week!\n

\n

\n Tonight I went to Walter Baker to get a long training run in. I didn't \n know how long I would last, but I just told myself to run as long as I \n could. I was worried about my left hip, since it was really sore \n yesterday during skiing at Le Massif. During some traverses and poling, \n I could really feel the hip complaining. I don't know why it was acting \n up this way. However, on the run today, I didn't feel it at all. The \n only aches and pains I noticed were the outside of my right knee around \n the 9.5 mile mark, and a little bit on the inside arch of my left foot. \n After my run, at home, I could feel my right arch was a little sore. My \n legs were also dead tired!\n

\n

\n I ended up running 12 miles (19.4km)! I actually felt really good. My \n heart rate was so low the whole run (around 135bpm). The last 3-4 miles \n I picked up the pace and ran at 5.5mph (10:54 mins/mile). For hydration \n I drank a gatorade bottle for the first 1.5 hours. I also refilled my \n water bottle after the 8 mile mark. I was feeling really good that after \n refilling my water bottle I set the pace for 5.5mph. Run stats: 19.4km \n (12 miles), total time: 2:15:05, pace: 6:59mins/km (11:15 mins/mile).\n

\n

\n My legs are really sore right now. I can feel how tired they are when \n walking up and down the stairs. My right foot arch is also a little \n painful (sore feeling). Otherwise I feel pretty good for having just run \n 12 miles. I'm thinking that I'll need to do another run on Saturday and \n perhaps another long run on Sunday. Want to try to keep the mileage up \n and catch up to the total miles I should be running for the Higdon \n training program. I was very happy with my low heart rate for this run. \n Wonder why it was so low? Was it because of the long rest since my last \n run? My body must have been recovering and rebuilding this week while I \n did a more anaerobic skiing activity. Anyways, I'm going to increase my \n pace for my runs to 5.5mph and see what my heart rate does. Nice to see \n progress! 10 weeks to go til the marathon!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 826, "title": "WK11-6 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-03-17 21:14:16.0", "content": "

\n Went for my run and swim at Walter Baker on Saturday morning. I was \n planning to get there around 10:30, but I didn't get there until \n 11:00am. I did my run first as usual. I set my pace at 5.5mph and my \n heart rate was still low like yesterday. Nice to see this trend continue \n from yesterday's run. Run stats: 11.3 km (7 miles), total time: 1:17:07, \n pace 6:50mins/km (11:01 mins/mile). Heart rate was 131-132 bpm. For \n hydration, I drank 1 bottle of water over the 1 hour, 17 mins.\n

\n

\n After I went for my swim. I started around 12:25pm. I started my swim \n nice and slow as usual after a run. It felt a little strange to be back \n in the water. It's been a week since my last swim. My laps were mostly \n over 3 minutes. I felt pretty good after the first 1/2 hour so I decided \n to swim for another 1 hour and do 30 - 100m laps. Swim stats: 30 - 100m \n laps, total time: 1:32:58, pace 3:06 mins/km.\n

\n

\n I don't think I ate enough after my training to carbo re-load. I started \n to get a headache and it got worse into the evening. I also felt \n nauseous and felt like I was going to throw up. I ended going to bed at \n 9:30 right after putting the kids to bed. Anne wasn't feeling well \n either and had gone to bed earlier in the day.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 828, "title": "WK11-7 Run", "date": "2007-03-18 21:45:03.5", "content": "

\n I wanted to keep up with the mileage from the Higdon training program so \n I decided to do a long run Sunday to make up for the rest of the week. \n I was thinking of running 15 miles, but I didn't know how I would feel. \n Especially after yesterday when I had a bad headache and went to bed \n early. However, I felt pretty good this morning. I got up around \n 8:00am, so I got about 10 hours sleep!\n

\n

\n I was planning to go around 10:00am, but didn't end up going to Walter \n Baker until 2:30pm. I took another nap beforehand! I must really be \n lacking in sleep! I spent the first 5 mins warming up as usual, slowly \n increasing the speed until I reached 5.5mph. I kept at this pace, \n resetting the treadmill after 5 miles as usual, and then running another \n 3 miles. My heart rate continued to be low around 131-132 bpm. At this \n point, I had finished off the bottle of gatorade. I went down to the \n locker and re-filled the water bottle with another bottle of gatorade, \n ate a granola bar, and took a quick bio break. I went back up to the \n exercise room and got back on the treadmill. At this point I had run 8 \n miles and was feeling pretty good. I set the pace to 5.5mph and kept \n running. At 10 miles I was still feeling very good, so I increased the \n pace to 5.6mph. My heart rate increased slightly due to the faster \n pace and possibly due to cardiac drift to 136 bpm. My legs were \n starting to feel tired but I was able to keep up this pace for the last \n 4 miles. My heart rate went up to 138-139 bpm at 15 miles. Still \n that's pretty good for the distance and pace I just ran. Run stats: \n 24.2 km (15 miles), total time: 2:43:23, pace 6:45 mins/km (10:54 \n mins/mile).\n

\n

\n I felt strong during most of the run. I wasn't breathing hard. I \n increased the pace at 10 miles and that made me work harder, but still \n it was manageable. I felt some pain on the outside of my right knee. \n It got sore around the 10 mile mark, but then disappeared. My left hip \n is not bothering me at all, which is really good, since it hurt during \n skiing at Le Massif. Strange how it hurt while skiing, and not while \n I'm running. If I bend my hip the right way or put pressure on it in a \n specific way, I can feel a pain. However it isn't painful at all while \n I run. Just need to watch this closely. During the last part of the \n run, I noticed that my right big toe was getting sore. I consciously \n tried to push my foot back into my shoe to take pressure off the toe. \n It worked a little bit. Tonight, I noticed the right big toe nail is \n slightly reddish, so I might be getting another purple toe. Why do I \n keep getting these? Oh well, it was a very good run and I'm feeling \n pretty strong and that's a good thing! \n

\n

\n One thing I had noticed previously and noticed again today was that I \n stopped sweating (dripping sweat from my face) around the 6 mile mark. \n Was I not hydrating enough? After my break at 8 miles, I noticed that I \n did start to drip sweat from my face again. This was for a short while, \n but I didn't notice when it stopped again. Need to try and really be in \n tune with my body and these subtle changes that are happening during my \n training sessions. I could use these as clues on what is happening to \n my body and possibly figure ways of improving my performance by \n counter-acting these changes. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 829, "title": "WK12-1 Swim", "date": "2007-03-19 22:24:18.0", "content": "

\n I'm trying to more closely follow the Higdon Intermediate II Marathon \n training program in order to build up my fitness for this May's Ottawa \n marathon. In this training program, Monday is a cross training/rest \n day, so today I decided to just do a swim. It's been a while since I've \n just gone for a swim. I don't know what it was, but today's swim was \n just horrible!!! I felt off balance, my breathing was laboured, and my \n overall form just didn't feel right. I didn't know where to stick my \n head. At times it felt like my head was too deep and when I turned to \n breath my mouth barely broke the surface in order for me to take a \n breath. My legs also felt like they were sinking. I just didn't feel \n like I was floating at all. Sometimes water felt like it was going up \n my nose and I got that tingling feeling at the top of my head.\n

\n

\n Since I felt so out of breath, I basically took a break after every 50m \n of swimming. Sometimes even after 25m! I haven't had to do this for a \n while! My lap times were close to 4:00 mins and sometimes even greater \n than 4:00 mins. I'm not sure if my struggles are due to my long run \n yesterday and my body still recovering from that run and feeling \n fatigued. I hope so! Anyways, Higdon said you shouldn't be cross \n training too hard since you are trying to recover. Swim stats: 20 - \n 100m laps (2.0km), total time: 1:15:15, pace 3:46mins per 100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 830, "title": "WK12-2 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-03-20 23:05:21.0", "content": "

\n Following the Higdon training plan I was supposed to do 4 miles today. \n I decided to do 5 miles (I hope I'm not overtraining). I did my usual \n warm up and after 5 mins had the pace set to 5.6mph. I thought my heart \n rate was a bit high, but in the end it wasn't too bad. It was around \n 137 bpm which I think is what it was on my last run at 5.6mph. This is \n also the right heart rate based on the Maffetone formula that I got from \n a Mark Allen article (180 minus your age). There are some adjustments \n based on how much you exercise, but I just left it at the same number \n (for those that exercise 4-5 times a week). Run stats: 8.1 km (5 \n miles), total time: 54:27, pace: 6:45 mins/km (10:53 mins/mile). My \n heart rate averaged 137 bpm. My breathing was hard at times, but it \n wasn't too bad. I didn't feel like I was exerting myself much. I had a \n pain on the outside of my right knee, near the beginning of the run, but \n that pain subsided.\n

\n

\n I had started my run late at around 7:15pm, so I didn't end until aroun \n 8:10pm. By the time I got down to the pool for the Walter Baker adult \n lane swim session, it was past 8:15pm. My swimming felt way better \n today than yesterday. I didn't get so out of breath and was actually \n able to do continuous swimming. There were some times I got stuck in \n traffic, but not much. I notice there are a lot of swimmers that kick \n much more and harder than me, and I'm able to stay with them. I think I \n also have a slower stroke rate. I really like my stroke. It's very \n efficient, and I'm not working hard at all. I'll need to work on \n increasing my stroke rate, and swimming at a higher heart rate to start \n improving my lap times. Don't know when I'll start moving into that \n phase of training, but I'm really enjoying the long slow distance \n swimming at an easy stroke rate and low heart rate. Swim stats: 13 - \n 100m laps (1.3km), total time: 40:20, pace 3:06 per 100m. This is about \n the right pace for me now when I do a swim after my run. I can pick up \n the pace a bit, but I'd really start to feel it and breath harder. \n Maybe it's time to start challenging myself on some of my swims! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 831, "title": "WK12-3 Run", "date": "2007-03-21 22:39:31.0", "content": "

\n Today is a 9 mile run in Higdon's Intermediate II marathon training for \n Wednesday, WK09 (07WK12 on the calendar). I went to Walter Baker and \n started my run around 7:35pm. I used treadmill 6 which is the one on \n the end right beside the mirrors. I really like this treadmill. It is \n nice and quiet, unlike treadmill 4, and you can see part of the diving \n pool. I did my usual 5 minute warm up, ramping up the speed, until I \n set it at 5.6mph. This is my new running pace at my current fitness \n level. Looking at the pace chart, I'll need to get to 6.6mph (10.6kmh) \n or 9:05mins/mile (5:39mins/km) in order to run a sub 4:00 hour marathon. \n It looks a long ways off right now, but I'm hoping I can get there. \n Whatever my fitness level, my target will be to run the marathon with a \n heart rate around 140-145 bpm. I figure I'm a little above a 4:30 time \n at this point.\n

\n

\n Looking back at my training last year, this was the week I started my \n running! So I'm starting off at a much higher baseline this year. I've \n already had long runs of 24km (15miles), 19.4km (12miles), and 16.1km \n (10miles) so I've started to develop a good base. For the intermediate \n II training, I'll be running 3 - 20 milers which will be a good \n challenge for me. I will absolutely run these in a pace that keeps my \n heart rate in the target zone ~ <138bpm. I think this has helped keep \n me from injuring myself by going out too fast and straining my body. \n This nice relaxed pace helps me conserve my energy to complete the whole \n distance. \n

\n

\n I've got a cool plot on my training log that shows my weekly and \n cumulative totals including my 2007 training, 2006 training, and the \n Higdon training programs. I've already run ~170km this year at the end \n of 07WK11 compared to 0km at 06WK11 (I started training in 06WK12). So \n I've got a 170km headstart this year! Unfortunately, I still started 4 \n weeks later than the Higdon training programs which run for 18 weeks. \n Maybe next year I'll start on time! Still I'm very confident that my \n fitness level will be higher than last year and I'll get a good result \n at the Ottawa marathon.\n

\n

\n Now back to my training run today... I felt a little tired today. I \n can feel a slight soreness in my legs, especially at work when I've been \n sitting for a while and then get up. I filled up my water bottle with \n Gatorade and used my usual hydration strategy of drinking every 10 \n minutes during my run. My hip started complaining at one point (3 or 4 \n miles?) but it was just a slight discomfort. It wasn't painful. The \n outside of my right knee was pretty quiet. I didn't really feel any \n pain or soreness there during the entire run. At around 6 or 7 miles, \n my left thigh muscle right above my knee started getting sore/painful \n like there was a cramp about to come. The muscle was tight and felt \n tired, but I was able to hang on and keep running. It actually eased up \n a bit and wasn't bad at all at the end of the run at 9 miles. I also \n noticed that sweat was no longer dripping off my face, but I can't \n remember when that actually started. Another thing I noticed was that \n my heart rate actually started to drop in the middle of the run. At 5 \n miles, I stop the treadmill and reset it since there is a maximum 60 \n minute training session. After restarting a new run, my heart rate went \n from 136-137 down to 134. It stayed at 134-135bpm until the 8th mile. \n For the last (9th) mile, I decided to up the pace to 5.7mph. My heart \n rate went to about 137bpm for that last mile.\n

\n

\n A 9 mile run is starting to feel easier now. At the end I'm not overly \n tired and my legs aren't feeling overly tired. I can still recall my 10 \n mile run where I was wondering at the 5 mile mark whether I could finish \n 10 miles. Didn't really have any of those types of thoughts today. I \n continually do mental arithmetic to determine how much time I have left \n to run, but it's not driven by fatigue or tiredness. I believe I'm \n getting stronger! Woo Hoo! Run stats: 14.5km (9 miles), total time: \n 1:37:32, pace: 6:43 mins/km (10:50 mins/mile).\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 832, "title": "Converting Thingamablog entries to Wordpress entries", "date": "2007-03-22 10:33:41.366", "content": "

\n I've been thinking that I should publish my blogs on the huliganga.com \n web page. I thought the best way to publish the blog is to use Wordpress \n instead of the Thingamablog application. So I needed a thingamablog to \n wordpress conversion, so that I can convert all my blog entries. I did a \n search on Google and found that someone had outlined the steps necessary \n to do the conversion. The tricky part is that thingamablog uses an XML \n tag for the date format that Wordpress didn't understand. You needed to \n export the blog to XML and then do some string replacements before \n importing the XML file into Wordpress. The details are described on the \n web page: \n http://wordpress.org/support/topic/105125. \n \n

\n

\n I've also cut and paste the relevant text below:\n

\n
\n I resolved importing error first examining the rss.php import script and \n the format used in Wordpress to store post date in MySQL.\n
\n
\n Then I used in this workaround:\n
\n
\n 1) I used Find and Replace in a text editor to replace every <pubDate> \n and </pubdate> entry in the Thingamablog's xml export file with "*"\n
\n
\n 2) I used Find and Replace to change every <dc:date> and </dc:date> \n entry into <pubDate> </pubDate>\n
\n
\n 3) Finally I used the Import RSS tool in Wordpress to load the modified \n xml export file\n
\n
\n All posts, category and post's date are correct now!\n
\n
\n Bye\n
\n
\n Matteo\n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 833, "title": "Credit Card compromised!", "date": "2007-03-22 15:31:57.834", "content": "

\n I got the most unexpected call just now from CIBC. The lady told me \n that my credit card had been compromised and that they needed to cancel \n the card. She wanted to check my most recent charges to ensure that \n they were valid before cancelling the card. All the charges we reviewed \n were valid. Luckily, it was only my card, and Anne's card is still ok. \n I asked her what happened, and she said that they don't get much \n information. She said that my credit card number came up in some fraud \n investigation or is on some list (on the internet?). Yikes!!! Oh well, \n at least they caught it early and I didn't rack up huge charges that \n weren't mine. So now, I don't have a credit card until I get a new one \n in the mail in 5 - 10 business days. All this just makes you feel so \n vulnerable... need to continue to be aware and vigilant in keeping your \n personal information secure!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 834, "title": "WK12-4 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-03-22 23:56:03.375", "content": "

\n Went to Walter Baker and did my run and swim tonight. I started my run \n around 6:45pm. I ran 5 miles and kept a fast pace. I did the first two \n miles around the 5.6mph pace, but then I bumped the pace up to 6.0mph \n for the last 3 miles. My heart rate was at 137bpm so it wasn't too \n fast. I actually felt strong and the fast pace didn't get me out of \n breath. I hydrated with Gatorade at 10-15 minute interval. Didn't \n really feel any aches and pains. I was especially wary of my right knee \n pain, because when I first started running on the treadmill, a paced of \n 6.0mph caused my right knee to be painful. Nothing like that now! Nice \n to know that I'm getting stronger! Run stats: 8.1km (5 miles), total \n time: 51:56, pace: 6:26mins/km (10:23 mins/mile).\n

\n

\n It was around 7:45pm by the time I got into the pool for my swim \n training. I was able to start with a relaxed pace. Most 100m laps were \n just over 3:00mins. I tried various things like practicing core body \n rotation, relaxing my arms and pull stroke, and keeping my head aligned \n while breathing. My stroke spl is still high around 24-26 spl. But I'm \n trying to be as relaxed as possible, and not over exert on the pull so \n that I'm as efficient as possible too. I think the next thing I should \n work on is having a relaxed pull but speeding up my stroke rate. \n Hopefully that will help improve my time, but not use up too much \n energy. Swim stats: 22 - 100m laps (2.2.km), total time: 1:08:50, pace \n 3:08. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 835, "title": "Triathlon training info", "date": "2007-03-23 11:53:30.671", "content": "

\n I was at the Ottawa Triathlon Club web site and was looking at some \n training links they had.\n

\n

\n \thttp://home.cogeco.ca/~geordiem/triathlonottawa/training.htm \n

\n

\n There was one training link for half-iron man training and another for \n iron-man training. I looked at both sites and they have some good info.\n

\n

\n \thttp://www.trinewbies.com/tno_HIM.asp (Half-ironman)\n

\n

\n \thttp://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/ironman-workouts/  \n (Ironman)\n

\n

\n There was an interesting paragraph I read in the half-ironman training \n which talked about your heart rate in the swim leg. You should be \n swimming with a heart rate that will allow you to recover to a heart \n rate that is appropriate for your bike leg. For example, if your aerobic \n bike training was done at 125bpm, then you should swim at a heart rate \n that lets you recover to this 125bpm. If your recovery is 20-30bpm, then \n the swim heart rate should be 145-155bpm. After I read that, I thought, \n WOW that's a high heart rate. They even had an example of someone \n swimming with a 175bpm heart rate (!) and only recovering to 145-155bpm. \n That seems ridiculously high. I'm glad that I'm learning to be \n efficient in my swim stroke. My heart rate is below 120bpm when I do my \n long distance swim. Now I've got to learn to swim faster which would \n bring my heart rate up. I'm not sure where I read it, but you should be \n swimming at around 85% Max Heart Rate (?). I also read in one of these \n training programs that a good target for bike and run training is 75% \n Max Heart Rate adjusted down by 5 beats for biking and up 5 beats for \n running. These guidelines seem to agree with the heart rate zones I've \n been training in. Maffetone target is 180-42= 138bpm, 75% Max Heart \n Rate=134bpm, 75%+5bpm=139bpm (for running). All heart rates are around \n the same ballpark.\n

\n

\n Here's an excerpt about racing heart rate that I found very enlightening:\n

\n
\n Target Heart Rates When Racing\n
\n
\n The optimal zone in which to race is dependent on the distance of the \n race. The majority of an international distance race should be done at \n or just below your AT (88-92%), with the final miles of the run being \n done slightly above AT.\n
\n
\n For half-Ironman races, your HR should be between 75% and 85%, but \n mostly at around 10% (in terms of beats per minute) below AT. The hotter \n and hillier the course (hello, Wildflower!), the more reserved you need \n to be during the swim and bike legs so that you have enough energy left \n for the run.\n
\n
\n Finally, the majority of an Ironman-distance race needs to be done at or \n below 75% for you to remain efficient and finish strong. By elevating \n your HR into your anaerobic zones too much -- or to "shock" your system \n there at all -- you run the risk of building up much lactic acid to \n levels that will trigger an elevated heart rate for a prolonged period. \n In general, it's much better to think you have too much energy left at \n the end of the bike. Finishing with a strong run is what will keep you \n coming back for more!\n
\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 836, "title": "Heart Rate Training and Designing your own interval sets", "date": "2007-03-23 12:25:33.163", "content": "

\n As I was reading through the different half-ironman and ironman training \n programs and the interval sets they defined, I thought to myself that I \n should go back to first principles. What are the objectives for the \n different interval training sets? \n

\n

\n My view is something like this:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n You need to get your heart rate into the correct training zone.\n
    • \n
  • \n You need to stay in that zone for a specific amount of time (dependent \n on the zone)\n
    • \n
  • \n After, you need to be bring your heart rate down to a specific zone to \n recover\n
    • \n
  • \n After recovering, you repeat at the higher heart rate training zone \n again...\n
    • \n
  • \n The reason for doing the intervals is that you can do more work if you \n go at a high intensity and then recover, than if you just try to go at \n a high intensity for a longer period.\n
    • \n
\n

\n The amount of time you spend in your training zone and the amount of \n time needed to recover are all important variables. I think Pete \n Pfitzinger has some good info on this for run training. He talks about \n the different aerobic/anaerobic thresholds, what the interval maximum \n time/distance should be for the different heart rate zones, and what the \n total maximum time/distance should be for the whole training session. \n Need to dig up this info again and read through it. Here's a good \n article that explains some of the concepts:\n

\n

\n \thttp://www.pfitzinger.com/marathontraining.shtml \n \n

\n

\n My objective would be to understand what the different training programs \n are trying to achieve in terms of the concepts above. I would then be \n able to tweak the heart rate targets, duration, distance, etc. to \n achieve my own personal objectives. Ultimately, I would design my own \n training program and use these other programs as guidelines!\n

\n

\n This would actually be very useful for my swim training because all I've \n done up to now is long slow distance training. I need to start working \n on some sets to bring my heart rate up and learn to swim faster and with \n a higher heart rate.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 837, "title": "WK12-6 Run, Bike & Swim", "date": "2007-03-24 22:27:40.562", "content": "

\n I had a busy Saturday. I actually trained in all three disciplines \n today! Joseph and I went to get our haircuts this morning. We got home \n around 9:30am. I was going to go to Walter Baker fairly early so that I \n could swim starting at the adult lane swim session at 12:00pm. However, \n I ended up having some lunch before leaving, and I didn't end up getting \n to Walter Baker until close to 11:30am. I think my run started around \n 11:35am. Today I was supposed to do a 9 mile pace run. However, it \n didn't quite turn out that way.\n

\n

\n I started my warm up as usual and at the 5 minute mark I set my pace for \n 5.6mph. For mile 2 I bumped it up to 5.8mph, and then to 6.0mph for mile \n 3 on. I ended up only running 5 miles because there were people waiting \n for the treadmill. The two treadmills in front by the elliptical \n trainers were out of order, so there was a shortage of treadmills. I \n had to go the bathroom anyways, so I made quick pit stop, then went back \n to the exercise room and went onto the exercise cycle. This was tough! \n I set the resistance level to 3 bars, and my legs soon started to burn. \n My pace was around 19mph or 80-90 rpm. I could really feel the burn. \n My heart rate started around 130, but climbed steadily through the \n 30:00min session up to 135. Even at this heart rate, I could tell that \n I was breathing quite hard. I was also sweating like crazy and there \n was sweat dripping from my shirt sleeve to the floor. However, I was \n able to hang on and cycle for the whole 30:00 minutes. After, the \n resistance was removed and I just did some spinning to cool down. Bike \n stats: 14.5km (9 miles), total time: 30:00mins, pace: 2:04mins/km (3:20 \n mins/mile) ~ 18mph\n

\n

\n After, I went back to the treadmill. I then ran two more miles. I was \n thinking of running 4 more miles to make up the 9 miles, but I decided \n that I wanted to do some swimming, and I also needed to save some energy \n for my planned 17 mile run tomorrow. So in all I ran 7 miles mostly at \n a 6.0mph pace. Run stats: 11.3 km (7 miles), total time: 1:12:09, pace: \n 6:23 mins/km (10:18 mins/mile). \n

\n

\n I think it was around 1:45 when I finally got down to the pool. The \n water felt freezing when I got in, but I soon got used to it. I was \n able to start off slowly and not get out of breath. However, I soon \n picked up the pace. I'm trying to work on a faster stroke rate to help \n bring down my lap times, but my spl went up to 28-29 spl. So my lap \n times are mostly under 3:00mins, but my spl has gone up. I also tried \n to make my stroke more straight back rather than the c or s-shape. I \n actually think this is a better stroke. Need to experiment with this \n and see what my times are. During a lot of the swim, there was another \n girl that was swimming just a bit faster than me. She pushed me at \n first since she was behind me, but then she passed me and I had to chase \n her. It's good to try and push my pace. I found that I wasn't getting \n that out of breath, so I still have some room to stroke faster or push \n harder. I checked my heart rate in the middle of the session and at the \n end, and both times I got 30 beats per 15 secs or about 120bpm. Towards \n the end of the swim, I could feel my arms getting tired, but I just \n tried to relax them and not pull too hard. I want my pull to be \n efficient and not waste energy, so I don't really need to pull super \n hard. At the end of the swim I felt good. Not totally exhausted. Swim \n stats: 2.1km, total time: 1:01:56, pace: 2:57.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 838, "title": "WK12-7 Long Run", "date": "2007-03-25 23:15:19.89", "content": "

\n In Higdon's training program for Intermediate II, this week is supposed \n to be a recovery week. However, since I had a recovery week (not much \n training) last week due to March Break, I decided to increase the long \n distance run in order to prepare for the 19 miler next week. I decided \n that I was going to run 17 miles (27.2km). This would be a tough one!\n

\n

\n The weather was mild outside, so I decided to run outside instead of \n going to Walter Baker and run on a treadmill. In the morning, the kids \n had their Kangaroo Math Test at Ottawa University SITE (Engineering) \n building. We got home just before lunch. For lunch we had left over \n waffles that Anne had previously frozen. I ate mine with the usual \n strawberry topping and whip cream. Mmmm, yummy!!! After lunch I went \n to lie down and digest my meal, and promptly fell asleep on the couch. \n After I got up, I was still tired, so I went and laid down on our bed. \n It was almost 2:00pm, before I finally got ready to do my run. I got my \n Gatorade in the waterbottle, granola bars, heart rate monitor, GPS, put \n my shoes on and was running down the street. Then I realized that I \n didn't have my data recorder. So I had to go back and get it. Finally, \n I was able to start my run. \n

\n

\n I was planning to do 3 X 10km loops. The first loop was going to be \n down to Andrew Haydon park and along the bike path. I had a good pace \n around 6:45-7:00mins/km and my heart rate was nice and low around 131bpm \n (74% Max Heart Rate). I really wanted to keep my heart rate low, since \n this would be a long run and I didn't want to strain myself too much. \n At the 5km mark, I decided that I would run to the 7km mark and then \n turn around. This would make my first loop 14km. Then I could run 14km \n for the 2nd loop and that would make up my 27.2km distance. I felt \n really good, and I hadn't been drinking too much, so I had lots of \n Gatorade left over. There was still some snow on the ground, especially \n around the 5km mark, and also at Brittania beach. Other than that, the \n path was clear.\n

\n

\n On the way back, going up the hill to Shouldice farm, I noticed a pain \n on the outside of my right knee. This was the same knee that bothered \n me last fall. Uh oh... I walked up part of the hill and slowly started \n running again. The pain subsided, but then came back when I went up the \n big hill off Cedarview. I tried slowing down and making my strides \n shorter which seemed to help. I got home, made a quick pit stop, \n re-filled my Gatorade waterbottle, and got another granola bar. My \n watch had ~14.5km as the first loop distance. Off I went on my 2nd \n loop. My legs were really stiff and sore after my short break. There \n was also a nice stiff headwind so I started getting cold (since I was \n all sweaty under my black jacket).\n

\n

\n For the 2nd loop, I ran my road route out to Richmond road, then back \n along Ridgefield, Evergreen, and Stinson to Hillside park. At this \n point, my watch said 19.4km. I told myself that I need to run 8 more \n kilometers (4km out and 4km back), so I needed to turn around at 23.4km. \n For this part of the route, I went down to Bruce Pit and along the \n gravel path and then out to the bike path and Trend Arlington park. The \n gravel path by Bruce Pit was soggy and soft and there were still lots of \n places with snow on the path. At one point I was going along the edge \n of the trail and I felt my socks getting wet... ugh. I hate running in \n wet shoes and socks. Fortunately it didn't seem to bother me that much \n and my feet didn't feel that wet.\n

\n

\n Also along here my right knee started to hurt some more. At one point I \n started walking during my eating break. It was like that for the rest \n of the run out to the turn around point. My knees would start to hurt, \n so I would walk a little. I tried to walk when I was taking an eating \n or drinking break. I ate a granola bar at 20km, and took a drink break \n at 21km. It was around 23.75km when I turned around. My knees were now \n getting quite sore and I was getting worried that I might be injuring \n myself. I tried to take shorter strides and not push the pace too fast, \n since this seemed to aggravate the knee. At 24km I took a drink break \n and also walked for 200m. This was when I was thinking of Thai's advice \n when he ran long distances (greater than 30km?) he ran for 2km and then \n walked for 200m. I told myself that was what I was going to do on the \n way back. \n

\n

\n I actually didn't last 2km until my next walking break. At Trend \n Arlington, my knees were really sore again, so I walked. This was \n around 24.75 - 25km mark. At 26km I had my granola bar and walked. \n Near the end of Bruce Pit, I tried picking up the pace again. At Bell \n High School, I was feeling ok and my pace was pretty quick. I was able \n to keep a brisk pace all the way home. Except for the problem with my \n knee, I was feeling really good. My legs weren't that sore, and I \n wasn't breathing hard at all. My heart rate through the whole run was \n around 131bpm and usually not spiking more than 135bpm. I was pleased \n with the run, but worried about my right knee. I hope it's ok and that \n I haven't injured it. I'm going to try and do leg lift exercises and \n hopefully strengthen the knee some more. Run stats: 28.1km (17.5miles), \n total time: 3:14:41, pace: 6:55mins/km (11:10mins/mile). Average heart \n rate: 131bpm.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 839, "title": "Robotics meeting at Ron's house", "date": "2007-03-26 22:11:13.0", "content": "

\n Today I went to Ron's house for the monthly firefighting/robomagellan \n meeting at his place. Guy, Albert, Norm(?), Mordechai, Ron and myself \n were there. Ron gave me the code he had for doing some direction \n calculations using the GPS NMEA 0183 output data. He explained to me a \n bit on how his code works. Basically there is a serial input routine \n that captures a line of data from the GPS device. The main routine then \n calls some GPS parse routines to extract the different fields from the \n input line and populate a data structure with the GPS data. Then there \n is another routine that prints out the data from the GPS data structure.\n

\n

\n Mordechai also showed me his set up. It's actually set up on the bed of \n a jeep/truck body from his RC vehicle. It looks really cool. He has \n two processors. The first PIC is just reading data from the GPS using \n the serial port and storing the data. A second PIC uses the SPI \n interface to talk to the first processor and get the data from it. \n There is a flag that the first PIC sets to indicate that the data is \n valid.\n

\n

\n This got me psyched to start working on my robot too. I was thinking \n that I'd use my screwybot base and use my new Garmin GPS connected to my \n homemade PIC controller board. Actually the routines I already have for \n the (x,y) target roaming behaviour will be very useful for this contest \n as well. This code determines the robots current heading, the target \n bearing, and then turns the robot to face the target. This is exactly \n what I have to do for the Robomagellen contest, except now I'll get the \n heading information from the GPS instead of the wheel encoders. This \n will be so cool when I have it working!\n

\n

\n When looking at some Garmin technical info, I also found that my eTrex \n Summit will output data from its built in compass. This way I can get \n the heading information from this compass even when my robot is not \n moving! That will be great! Searching on google, I found this from the \n following web page: http://gpsinformation.net/main/etrexsum.htm \n

\n

\n \t"the Summit outputs a new NMEA Sentence, $HCHDG, which contains \n Heading and Magnetic Variation" \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 840, "title": "Robotics: Looking at circuit board for Hummer RC Vehicle", "date": "2007-03-27 22:29:00.0", "content": "

\n I started to look at the circuit board for the Hummer RC Vehicle that I \n had bought a couple of years ago with the intention of using it as a \n robot base. The Robomagellan contest is a good opportunity to use this \n base! I was going to reverse engineer the motor driver portion of the \n board so that I could connect it to my PIC controller board. This would \n allow me to control the Hummer base using the PIC controller board!\n

\n

\n The circuit board was covered with some white wax like substance that I \n had to remove so that I could look at the circuit board traces and \n devices. Everything went pretty well. I was able to use my ohm meter \n to track the traces and how the power transistors were connected to the \n motor leads, power leads, and some smaller transistors that I figured \n were how the main IC connected to the H-bridge. At one point I had the \n battery plugged in, but the power switch turned off and I was using the \n meter leads to touch certain solder points and the wheels started \n turning! I found some points near a transistor on the circuit board \n that would make the wheels turn forward and some other transistor points \n which made the wheels go backward. Cool! I was able to trace these \n back to the main IC on the board (pins 3 and 4 when looking at one end \n of the IC). I think the small amount of current the meter outputs to \n measure the resistance was somehow turning the transistor on and \n therefore the H-Bridge turned on and the motors turned.\n

\n

\n I then checked the voltage on the lines, and sure enough when I used the \n RC Controller to turn the wheels, these lines would go from 0 to +5 V. \n This used proportional control so a lower voltage would make the wheels \n go slower and a higher voltage would make the wheels go faster. I also \n found that the current requirements was only 45mA. Good! Now I had the \n connection points where I would connect the lines from my PIC controller.\n

\n

\n However, one bad thing happened towards the end. I was tracking a few \n more lines to better understand the connections between the devices, \n when I somehow fried the power transistors for the forward direction! I \n was so mad at myself for doing that. I was cursing so much Anne must \n have been wondering what was going on... :-) Now I have to replace \n some power transistors! Oh well. \n

\n

\n I took off the heatsinks to the power transistors so I could bend them \n back and read the labels on them. The two transistors were labeled NEC \n A1129 and C2654. I did a google on these strings and didn't find too \n much. However, I did find one page that was very useful. It was in \n french, and it was a message board. Someone asked the question on what \n the equivalent transistors for NEC A1129 and C2654. A person answered \n that 2SA1129 is a PNP, 30V, 7A, 40W (equivalent is BD244, BD544) and the \n 2SC2654 is an NPN complementary transistor (equivalent is BD243, BD543).\n

\n

\n I called Active Tech Electronics, and they said the equivalent \n transistors are NTE377 (NPN) and NTE378 (PNP), but it was a special \n order item. NTE377 was $3.61 and NTE378 was $5.31, and shipping was \n $18.00!!! The clerk suggested I call Gervais Electronics since they \n carried NTE parts too. So I called Gervais, and they had the NTE377 in \n stock for $5.78, but NTE378 they didn't have (I would need to order it).\n

\n

\n One other thing I noticed on this base was that the steering servo used \n a special connector that has 6 lines! I'm not sure what type of signals \n are needed on these lines to control the steering. Is it a 6 bit value \n to determine the steering angle? Will have to figure this out too. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 841, "title": "No Workouts yet this week :-(", "date": "2007-03-29 11:41:58.695", "content": "

\n I did something to my left shoulder on Monday night. It was so sore I \n could barely move it! It really hurt when I leaned forward and there was \n weight put on the shoulder socket by my arm hanging down. It also hurt \n when I tried to lift my arm above my head. What the heck was going on? \n Then Tuesday night, my back started getting sore. I tossed and turned \n that night in bed and just couldn't get a good nights sleep. When I got \n up on Wednesday, I noticed that I was starting to get that rash around \n my neck and hips. On Thursday, the rash hasn't seemed to have spread so \n I'm happy about that. I'm hoping that it will fade away quickly...\n

\n

\n So with all this stuff going on with my health, I haven't done any \n training sessions since my long run on Sunday. I just wasn't in the mood \n and physically I didn't know if I would be able to run or swim. My left \n arm is just starting to feel better today, but my left shoulder is still \n sore when I move it in certain ways. I guess this is a forced recovery \n week. I hope I don't lose too much fitness and can get back to my \n regular routine soon!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 842, "title": "WK13-5 Run", "date": "2007-03-30 21:24:59.0", "content": "

\n Finally went for a training session this week. I have not been feeling \n well since last Monday. First my left shoulder was very painful. I \n don't know what I did, but it was like I had dislocated it or something. \n Whenever I would move my arm or shoulder in a certain way, there would \n be a super sharp pain. This, of course, was very uncomfortable. I then \n developed some back pain during the night when sleeping. It seemed to \n get worse when I just lay on my back. I had to try and sleep on my \n side, but even then I could still feel the pain and I wasn't \n comfortable. Finally, I also started getting that rash around my neck, \n arms, and hips. Fortunately this bout wasn't too severe, and the rash \n wasn't too strong.\n

\n

\n So most of the week I was in a funk, and didn't feel like training at \n all. On Friday night, I finally got some motivation to go for a run. I \n started the run just after 7:30pm, so it was starting to get dark. I \n wore my new Asics Nimbus running shoe and started on my regular running \n route to Andrew Haydon park. It was a nice clear night ~2-3 degrees C. \n I was thinking that since I hadn't run all week, that I would make this \n a little longer run than my usual 10km, so I kept going straight when I \n reached my usual turnaround point. I ran all the way to Moodie Drive! \n At this point I had run a little more than 6km. In total I ran about \n 12.6km. I kept a nice easy intensity with my heart rate at an average \n of 136bpm. Run stats: 12.6km (7.8miles), total time: 1:21:52, pace: \n 6:30mins/km (10:29mins/mile).\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 843, "title": "Joseph's Science Fair at Carleton University", "date": "2007-03-31 22:33:11.0", "content": "

\n I took Joseph to Carleton University for the Ottawa wide science fair. \n We were there the whole day from 9:00am to 6:30pm. Joseph said he \n enjoyed the day, although it was a long day for the kids. I think it \n was a good experience and exposure for him. He had to explain his \n project to the judges so that gives him some valuable presentation \n skills experience. Also, I'd like to work with Joseph on these \n presentation skills including making eye contact, using a loud and \n excited tone of voice (as opposed to soft and monotone), and generally \n keeping an audience interested in your speech. Public speaking is a key \n skill and I think Joseph and Elizabeth can both do these well if they \n work on it. Joseph should also work on his presentation information. \n What are the key points he wants to get across to his audience? Is the \n information at the right level for them to understand? Is the \n presentation format interesting and captivating for his audience? Lots \n of stuff to think about and practice! This stuff is also useful for me!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 844, "title": "WK13-7 Long Run", "date": "2007-04-01 22:19:07.0", "content": "

\n Today was my Long Run day, and my training program had this as a 19 mile \n (30.6km) run. I was a little apprehensive before the run, since I \n hadn't done much training all week. I just wasn't sure how I would feel \n during this run, and even if I'd make it through the whole distance. \n Last night I went to bed super early around 9:30pm. I was feeling very \n tired, because of my lack of sleep the past few months during my \n increased training. I got up around 7:30am so I got 10 hours sleep! I \n was pretty slow getting ready. I had Honey Nut Cheerios with a banana \n for breakfast, and a glass of orange juice. Finally around 8:30am, I \n was out the door for my long run.\n

\n

\n It was around -1 degrees C. I wore my new Asics long sleeve technical-T \n under my long sleeve cool max. My plan is to overdress in layers to get \n used to running in hotter weather. This would get me used to sweating a \n lot and the fluid loss that this results in. I'm hoping to avoid the \n dehydration and cramping that I experienced in last year's marathon. Of \n course this also means that I need to hydrate properly and also replace \n some carbs as well. I was sweating during most of my run, and at times \n I even felt sweat on my face. I also had my black nylon jacket zipped \n all the way up to cover my neck. This kept me hot as well, and the \n sweat on my chin and neck was actually stinging me. Note to self: don't \n shave before a long run, because the sweat on your chin and neck will \n sting you! I also noted at the end of my run that the neck and collar \n of my black jacet had white stains from my salty sweat!\n

\n

\n I planned to do two loops like last week. Since it was still fairly \n cool, I decided to do the Bruce Pit loop first because it wouldn't be so \n muddy during the cold morning. As it turned out, all the snow has \n melted from the trail, and it wasn't muddy at all! For this loop, I \n needed to run about 15km, so I went past my usual turn around point and \n ran to Woodroffe, and then up Woodroffe to Hunt Club. Here I saw a bike \n trail, so I just followed this bike trail. This trail ended at a road \n just short of the 8km mark, and this is where I decided to turn around. \n On the way back, I decided to follow the bike trail along Hunt Club. \n Between Pinecrest and Cedarview, the bike path goes onto the residential \n street and I was able to follow the roads to get back to the bike path \n towards Bruce Pit. I then followed my usual route to get back home. \n This first loop was around 16.4km. I was going to wear my MP3 player, \n but the battery died 5 minutes into my run. So I ran without music. I \n actually enjoy this too. It frees my mind to wander and think about \n anything I want. A lot of times though I seem to be doing mental \n calculations on my pace and distance remaining, etc...\n

\n

\n I took a quick break at home. I re-filled my water bottle with \n Gatorade, ate a banana, drank some water, and took a quick bathroom \n break. In total the break was around 10 mins, and I was out the door \n again for my second loop. For this second loop, I was going to run down \n to Andrew Haydon park and along the bike path to the Parkway. Starting \n this second loop, my legs were tired, but I was able to keep up a decent \n pace with my heart rate around 137-138. Towards the end though, my pace \n really slowed and my legs were very tired. Going up the hills at \n Shouldice farm was tough. I didn't want to stop and walk so I kept \n churning my legs and I could really feel the lactic acid building up in \n my legs. Same thing at the hill going up Cedarview. When I looked at \n my run data, I noticed that the last 3 kms, my pace had climbed to over \n 7:15mins/km, with the last two at 7:30mins/km. My heart rate shot up to \n 144-145 during the last part of this run. I think in the end I was \n dehydrated. I'm not drinking as much during my run, because I'm doing 2 \n longer loops, instead of 3 - 10km loops. Also, I'm not eating as many \n granola bars to replace my carbs as I have been in my previous longer \n runs. I believe this is why I wasn't feeling as strong during today's \n long run than I have been in some of my previous long runs. I noticed \n during the hill climbs that I could feel a twinge of a cramp just \n starting. This also points to dehydration. Run stats: 31.3km (19.4 \n miles), total time: 3:31:27, pace: 6:46mins/km (10:55mins/mile).\n

\n

\n I am still pleased with running this distance. Although I feel tired, \n I'm not totally bagged. I can feel my legs are tired when I try to go \n up and down stairs, but otherwise they don't feel too bad at all. I'm \n also really pleased that I didn't hear much complaints from the outside \n of my right knee. It was a little sore, but it actually feels better \n after today's run that after last week's run. I noticed that there was \n a pain in my left knee that I'll have to watch closely, though. I'll \n have several more long runs of this distance to really improve my \n fitness even further. I'm hoping to increase the distance to 35-36km, 3 \n weeks before the marathon and when I start my taper. Overall, I'm \n feeling good about my current fitness level. I've revised my goal to \n run a 4:30 marathon and possibly bringing that down to 4:15. During the \n marathon, I want to run well within myself at a heart rate of around \n 140-145bpm. If my future training sessions show that I can run a 4:00 \n marathon, then that would be great, but I'm more interested in running \n at the right heart rate, rather than really pushing myself and perhaps \n blowing up before the finish line. I'm going to think positive and just \n be happy that I'm able to even run a race of this distance. Yeah for \n me!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 845, "title": "WK14-2 Run", "date": "2007-04-03 23:21:30.343", "content": "

\n Today was a 5 mile run. I decided to run my usual 10km route to Andrew \n Haydon. I was slow in getting ready for my run, and I didn't get out \n until 7:05pm. I was thinking of going for a swim after my run, but due \n to my late start, I knew I would be late and wouldn't be able to make \n the 8:30pm swim session at Pinecrest pool. It has now been over 1.5 \n weeks since my last swim! \n

\n

\n The run was a decent one. I wore my double layer and black jacket again \n to try to get my body used to the heat and sweating a lot. My heart \n rate was around 137-138bpm. This is higher than a couple of weeks back \n where it was around 131-132 for my runs on the treadmill. For the last \n 2-3km, I decided to really push the pace and got my heart rate up to \n 145bpm. I could really feel the lactic acid and burn in my legs when \n going up the hills at Shouldice farm and up Cedarview road. It felt \n good to have the strength to push the last few kilometers of my run. I \n might not be fast, but I certainly feel strong. Run stats: 10.0km (6.2 \n miles), 1:06:24, pace: 6:38mins/km (10:43mins/mile).\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 846, "title": "WK14-3 Run", "date": "2007-04-04 22:35:55.0", "content": "

\n Today was a longish 10 mile run. It is the longest mid-week run in the \n training program. I figured it would take me close to 2 hours for the \n run. We had salmon for dinner tonight. It was yummy! Of course, I ate \n too much so I had to lie down on the couch to digest my dinner. I think \n I fell asleep too! Anyways, it was 7:30pm by the time I got out the door \n for my run. That meant it would be almost 9:30pm and very dark by the \n time I finished.\n

\n

\n For the 16km run, I decided to go out towards Bruce Pit and Trend \n Arlington Park for a 5-6km loop, and then down towards Andrew Haydon for \n the 10-11km needed to make up the 16km total. I decided to do the Trend \n Arlington loop first because you need to have some light to run on the \n path since there are no street lights through Bruce Pit. As it turned \n out, it was pretty dark by the time I turned around at Trend Arlington \n Park and Pinecrest, and dark through the path at Bruce Pit. The rest of \n the run to Andrew Haydon is OK to run in the dark because most of the \n path has street lights. The only dark areas are through Queensway \n Carleton Hospital, and parts of the path by Shouldice farm. However, it \n isn't too bad at all.\n

\n

\n I felt pretty good through most of the run. My legs started to feel \n tired after my first 5-6km through Bruce Pit and I thought to myself, \n uh-oh, why don't I have the stamina in my legs? But I was able to keep \n up the pace and still feel fairly comfortable even though my legs were \n tired and didn't feel fresh. Not much to report on this run. I was able \n to keep a really good constant pace. I think my leg turnover (cadence) \n is a bit quicker now. Whenever I try some running efficiency stuff like \n moving my feet in circles (instead of back and forth) which I read from \n Helen Rooney's website, my heart rate seems to go too high, so I have to \n settle it down again. Maybe as my fitness improves, I can do more of \n these running efficiency drills and still keep my heart rate at \n 137-138bpm. Pushing the pace on the last hill going up Cedarview, I \n could feel tightness and a little pain in my right hamstring, so I eased \n up a bit. Need to watch this closely, since I had hamstring pain and \n tightness last year too. I think part of the cause last year was my \n stretching was too aggressive. I would tense up my muscle really \n tightly and then relax to stretch it even more. I think this caused me \n to overstretch. Also, my GPS battery died around the 14km mark so I \n estimated my pace for the last 3 kms to be the average of the first \n 14km. I think this is a good estimate because I tried to push the pace \n again at the end. Run stats: 17km (10.5miles), total time: 1:52:08, \n pace: 6:36mins/km (10:38mins/mile). My average heart rate was 137bpm. \n Effort felt nice and easy, not pushing too hard.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 847, "title": "WK14-4 Run", "date": "2007-04-05 22:01:33.984", "content": "

\n Today I went for a 10km run on the Bruce Pit, Trend Arlington path \n route. It was around 7:10pm when I started my run, so it wasn't too dark \n by the time I finished. I wanted to make this tempo run so that I can \n start working on my speed. The run felt really good, and I focussed on \n having a fast turnover/cadence to give me the speed rather than \n increasing my stride. I think increasing my stride causes me problems \n and joint pain in my knees. So I just concentrated on keeping my strides \n short but quick. I also thought about doing the circular movements \n rather than a back and forth movement. This has the effect of me picking \n up my feet a little more off the ground. At least that's what it feels \n like anyways. Overall a very good, quick run, with my heart rate not too \n fast. The last two kilometers I really pushed it and my heart rate went \n up to 140-141bpm and my pace was 6:00mins/km. Pretty quick! I also still \n felt strong even when exerting a lot of effort at the end. I remember \n when I used to think 10km was along run and would feel it at the end. \n Now I think of it as a normal run, and there really isn't that much \n fatigue at the end. I'd definitely getting stronger! Run stats: 10.52km, \n total time: 1:05:44, pace: 6:15mins/km.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 849, "title": "WK14-6 Run", "date": "2007-04-07 23:12:04.0", "content": "

\n This was a 10mile pace run. I found out later that it was just supposed \n to be a 10mile run and not a pace run, but I'm glad I tried to push the \n pace a little today. This morning I took Elizabeth shopping for a \n birthday present. We went to Wal-Mart. We had originally planned to \n get a new bike for her, but they didn't have the bikes that were \n advertised on sale, and the sales person knew nothing about them. We \n eventually made our way to the electronics section, and we ended up \n getting Elizabeth an MP3 player! It was cool! It is a 2GB RCA Lyra MP3 \n player with an OLE colour screen so you can view pictures and videos \n too. Elizabeth was very happy and thanked me for the present. It is \n really nice to see her smile and be so happy. I'm just a very luck \n Daddy!\n

\n

\n I finally got to start my run around 2:30pm. I took the Andrew Haydon \n route out to the Parkway. I really concentrated on having a quick \n cadence like my last run. Since I had to really push it to keep a quick \n pace, my heart rate was fairly high around 140-141bpm. This really \n isn't that high, but compared to my slow easy runs I've been doing up \n until now, I was breathing harder and could feel the lactic acid \n building up in my legs. However, I was able to keep up this effort for \n the whole distance and I felt fairly strong through the whole run. The \n two hills at Souldice farm and up Cedarview were tough but I managed to \n keep pushing. In the end, I ran at faster pace than I did on my 10km \n run on Thursday and for a longer distance at over 16km. Woo Hoo! Run \n stats: 16.77km, total time: 1:42:04, pace: 6:05mins/km.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 850, "title": "WK14-7 Long Run", "date": "2007-04-08 22:46:34.312", "content": "

\n This was Easter Sunday, but I still wanted to go for my long run. We \n were going to the 9:30 mass, so I had to be back home from my long run \n by 8:30am. Assuming that my run would be 3hrs30mins, that meant I had to \n leave for my long run by 5:00am. Yikes!!! I didn't get to sleep on \n Saturday night until 11:30pm, so I didn't get much sleep before my run. \n I set my alarm for 4:40am, and amazingly enough I awoke at 4:30am before \n the alarm went off. I tried to get 5 more mins of sleep, but I don't \n think I did. I got out of bed, got my running clothes on, and then went \n to the kitchen to have a quick snack before my run. I ate a banana, and \n had a glass of orange juice. It had snowed slightly overnight and there \n was a light dusting of snow on the ground. It was fairly cool around -4 \n degrees C. I had my double layer cool max and black jacket. I decided to \n put my black toque over my baseball cap to help keep my head warm. It \n turned out to be an excellent idea, since my ears were nice and warm and \n my head never felt cold.\n

\n

\n I headed out for my run just after 5:00am and ran my Andrew Haydon route \n out to Dick Bell marina. This is my running route when it is dark \n because there are street lights on the majority of the route. I ran out \n to Moodie drive and then turned around back towards Andrew Haydon park. \n This is normally a ~12km loop so I needed to add 4 more km. By this \n time, there was a little more light, so I decide to take a chance and go \n down the bike path towards Brittania Beach. When I made the turn onto \n the path, it was so beautiful. It was almost surreal. It made me think \n of a fairy tale scene with the snow covered path, and the very early \n dawn light giving just enough illumination so you can make your way down \n the path. I remember thinking to myself, wow, this is so amazing and \n beautiful. I'm glad I took this route. I kept a nice steady pace with my \n heart rate around 133-135bpm. First loop run stats: 16.63km, total time: \n 1:44:09, pace: 6:15mins/km, average heart rate: 133bpm.\n

\n

\n When I got back home, I took a quick bathroom break. I also put on my \n windbreaker pants, because my "privates" were getting too cold from the \n wind chill. This also turned out to be an excellent idea, because my \n legs were so much warmer on my second loop. For this second loop, I went \n to Bruce Pit and the bike path past Trend Arlington. It was 7:00am when \n I started my second loop so I made a mental note that I had to turn \n around at 7:45am to be back by 8:30am. The sun had now come out by this \n time and it was bright and shining. Running on the bike path, I could \n see footprints of other runners/or people walking their dogs. I tried to \n get to the turnaround point at 8km by the 7:45am time, but didn't quite \n make it. I turned around early, and my second loop only ended up being \n 15km. My legs started getting heavy and sore around the 10km mark (or \n 26km total). I found a second wind in there somewhere and was able to \n gut it out and finish the 15km back home. It was around 8:35am when I \n got back home, so I wasn't too far off my planned time. Second loop run \n stats: 15.02km, total time: 1:35:03, pace 6:19mins/km, average heart \n rate: 137bpm.\n

\n

\n I forgot to write about my aches and pains. It really hasn't been that \n bad. My right knee was sore again, but not too bad. I think my hips were \n also getting sore, but it's probably due to the long distance and long \n time for the run. My legs were certainly heavy and sore by the end of \n the run. I'll just need to keep building up my strength and stamina, and \n also the mental toughness to keep up my pace even though my legs feel \n like lead. This is where these long runs really build character for \n completing the marathon!!! My current long distance run pace would give \n me a 4:30 marathon time assuming that I could keep up this pace for 10 \n more km. Woo Hoo!!! So now I need to build a bit more speed with the \n same heart rate so that I can start improving on that time. Need to keep \n focussing on running with my heart rate at 135-140bpm. This will give me \n the stamina I need to finish the marathon at an even pace.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 852, "title": "Working on robot for Robomagellan contest", "date": "2007-04-08 23:22:51.0", "content": "

\n I really need to start working on my robot for the Robomagellan contest. \n I was looking through my old source files to find the latest version of \n the working code. I didn't really find a working version of the \n Screwybot code that compiled with the Microchip C (MCC18) compiler. \n Here's a summary of what I found in the different folders. \n

\n
    \n
  • \n In the Screwbot2 folder, there was a working version of the code, but \n it was compiled with the Hi-Tech (PIC18) compiler. In\n
    • \n
  • \n In the Screwybot_C18 folder, the source files wouldn't compile and \n link with the new compiler. It would run out of memory for when \n linking the code.\n
    • \n
  • \n I tried checking out the Screwybot_C18_V03 branch from WinCVS, but it \n had the same error. It wouldn't link because of the out of memory \n error.\n
    • \n
  • \n I looked in the Sumobot folder and there was a Screwybot folder in \n there. I was able to get these source files to compile with the MCC18 \n compiler, but some of the source files were already modified to work \n with the Sumobot. Specifically the TICKS_PER_INCH parameters were \n changed to align with the motor encoders on the Sumobot. \n
    • \n
\n

\n I ended up changing the source code in the Sumobot directory after \n making a copy of it. I updated the TICKS_PER_INCH back to what is \n needed for Screwybot. I programmed this into the robot and it worked! \n I was able to navigate to the four target points. However, it exhibited \n some behaviour which I have already optimized. After reaching a target, \n the robot should spin to orient itself towards the next target (since it \n is at 90 degrees to current heading of robot). However with the code I \n currently have, it moved forward (because it was ramping power) before \n spinning/veering towards the target. I need to look at all the \n different versions of the behaviour module I have and see which have the \n latest changes I want to keep.\n

\n

\n I had also previously been working on the GPS parsing and calculation \n routines. This was actually pretty cool. I was able to use the MPLAB \n Simulator to simulate the receiving of a serial string, parse the \n string, and then show some debug output using printf statements on the \n simulated USART. Pretty cool!!! It took me a while to figure out how \n to get the input file to work for simulating the serial input. There is \n an MPLAB IDE User's Guide, and in there, it described the format of the \n input file for the serial simulator. Refer to section: "18.2.5.2 \n MESSAGE-BASED DATA FILE DESCRIPTION" to get info on the format of the \n file. Once I got this corrected, I was able to read strings from the \n simulated serial port. I then called the GPS parse routines and was \n able to correctly parse the NMEA sentences. After I printed out the \n parsed values to check that they were correct.\n

\n

\n Now that I've got this working, the next step is to connect a real GPS \n serial device and get the serial input. I want to do this with my \n controller board which has an LCD connector so that I can display some \n debug info. Since the GPS is now connected to the serial port, I wont \n be able to display debug info to the PC terminal. Once I've verified \n that I can get the data from the GPS, I then need to work on the \n navigation routines that will determine the motion of the robot based on \n the current position and heading, and the target position and heading. \n It's getting close. This will be so cool when I get it working!!! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 853, "title": "SportTracks Training program with GPS capabilities", "date": "2007-04-10 22:30:22.0", "content": "

\n I found the coolest application for my training!!! I was reading Bruce \n Morgan's blog and he was talking about a Half Marathon race report. In \n this report, he showed a summary of his half marathon splits. The \n screenshot was from an application he used called "Sporttracks". I went \n to the web page, downloaded the application, and played around with it. \n Two thumbs up!!! This is an awesome application for tracking your \n training and using GPS devices for input of the training data. It will \n even plot your training sessions on a satellite map or street map. This \n is way quicker than the current method I have of creating a web page \n that uses the Google maps API. I just about jumped out of my seat when \n I saw this. The beauty of this application was that I was able to \n import all my data directly from the Timex Trainer MS Access database. \n How cool is that! I can also import data from the Timex Data Recorder \n after my training sessions. Right now I am importing data into both the \n Sporttracks and Timex Trainer applications.\n

\n

\n After getting your data into the application, there is some really cool \n analysis that you can do with it. It has a summary which shows your \n average pace, heart rate, time, total calories burned, weather, etc... \n You can also plot your pace, heart rate, elevation etc... vs time or \n distance. There are so many different views you can do, it is just \n amazing. After I played around with the software a little more, I was \n able to create a "Driving Trip" category in the My Friends category tree \n so that this mileage didn't get included with my training mileage. I \n also created a Skiing - Downhill category to separate out some of the \n ski data I had. I'm now also able to get the data from my Garmin E-trex \n GPS into the Sporttracks program. I took the GPS data I had from our \n Mt. St. Anne ski trip and also put that into Sporttracks. I'm going to \n have a lot of fun with this new software!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 854, "title": "WK15-2 Run", "date": "2007-04-10 22:35:49.0", "content": "

\n I went on my usual 10km training run tonight. I took the Bruce Pit, \n Trend Arlington route. I planned on running at a little faster pace \n today and I was able to keep my heart rate up around 140-141 bpm. I \n wore my usual double layer cool max and black jacket. I felt good most \n of the run. In the last 2 kilometers, however, I started getting a pain \n on the bottom of my left foot just below the ball of the foot. I tried \n to step "lightly" on it, but it still hurt quite a bit by the end of the \n run. My right outside of knee also started to complain slightly. Run \n stats: 10.44km, total time: 1:04:46, pace: 6:12mins/km, average heart \n rate: 138bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 855, "title": "Wk15-4 Run", "date": "2007-04-12 23:19:57.0", "content": "

\n I was supposed to go on a 6mile (10km) run yesterday, but my left foot \n was still sore from Tuesday's run. I decided to take a day off and not \n aggravate my foot further. Today, I almost took another day off, but I \n decided that I must go for a run. It was 9:20pm before I went out the \n door for my run. Anne was surprised that I was going for my run, since \n it was already late and dark. I decided to take the Andrew Haydon, \n Carling route since this path is well lit. It was drizzling slightly and \n 1C. I wore my usual double layer cool max with black jacket.\n

\n

\n I wanted to do a tempo run, so today I really picked up the pace. I \n wanted to see how my heart rate and body would respond to the faster \n pace. My target was to keep my heart rate above 145bpm. I took it easy \n the first 2 kilometers as a warm up, and then kicked it into high gear \n just by Shouldice farm. My breathing was much faster and I noticed the \n lactic acid building up in my legs. My heart rate rose up to 147-149bpm \n and my pace was around 5:35-5:45mins/km. I sustained this pace until the \n 8km mark (back at Shouldice farm) where I eased back and used the last \n 2km as a warm down. In total the tempo run was around 35mins out of the \n total 60mins. I felt pretty good, and was pleased that I was able to \n concentrate and keep pushing the pace even at the times I started to \n slow down. It didn't feel like I was over exerting myself, although the \n effort was greater than any of my previous runs. My left foot got sore \n again near the end of the run. I need to watch this closely and hope \n that it doesn't get worse. Maybe I need to rotate shoes to help this.\n

\n

\n Looking at my pace, I realized that this is the pace (~5:40mins/km) I \n will need to run for a 4:00hr marathon. However, I need to bring my \n heart rate down to around 140bpm at this pace. If I run at a higher \n heart rate, I'm afraid that I'll blow up before the finish line like \n last year. I want to be conservative this year and run the first part of \n the marathon with a heart rate less than 145bpm. I'm still really \n pleased where I am at this point in my training program. It's around 6 \n weeks from the marathon and I'm already at the fitness level that should \n get me to a 4:30hr marathon. Now to do the last little bit of training \n that can improve my marathon time even further!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 856, "title": "WK15-5 Run", "date": "2007-04-13 22:55:04.0", "content": "

\n Today was supposed to be an off day, but I felt guilty for missing my 6 \n mile run on Wednesday, so I decided to go for a run. I planned on \n running down Baseline road to Pinecrest pool to renew my swim \n membership. This way I would also have a purpose for this run. :-) I was \n treating this like a recovery run, so I wanted to make sure my pace and \n heart rate were nice and low. I left around 7:50pm and made my way down \n Baseline. My heart rate was around 130-132 most of the run, and \n surprisingly my pace was 6:30mins/km. When I got to the Pinecrest pool, \n I found out that the pool was closed until the end of April for annual \n maintenance. However, I was still able to renew my swim membership. Kept \n the same nice slow easy pace on the way back. Run stats: 9.78km, total \n time: 1:03:27, pace: 6:29mins/km, average heart rate 130bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 857, "title": "WK15-7 Long run", "date": "2007-04-15 21:19:46.625", "content": "

\n I didn't end up running yesterday, since I really wanted to work on my \n Robot program and then we went out for dinner at Sukothai. I ate so \n much! I basically felt full for the rest of the night, so I was in no \n shape to go for a run.\n

\n

\n Today was a step back week and the long run was only 12 miles (20km). It \n took me a while to get out of the house. Anne and Elizabeth were busy \n going to their Dance competition and soccer practice. I worked some more \n on my Robot program and made some good progress. Finally around 2:40pm, \n I dragged myself out for my long run. I wore my double layer cool max \n and black jacket. It was 4C and light rain. I decided that I would take \n the route out to the Greenbelt and down towards Nortel. My plan was to \n make a stop-over at Nortel to fill up my water bottle, and take a \n bathroom break if needed. I found out early that this run was going to \n be tough. My heart rate and breathing were laboured right from the \n start. My legs also didn't have much energy. I tried to keep my heart \n rate reasonable around 135-138bpm, but my pace of 6:30-6:45mins/km \n seemed slow especially compared to last week's long run. Where did my \n fitness go?\n

\n

\n I made my way down Stinson, Evergreen, Longwood and out by St. Martin de \n Porres church and out towards Moodie Drive. Ran by Canadian Tire, and \n then finally onto the path behind the buildings on Robertson road. I \n made the turn down by the farm and into the woods. Around the 8-8.5km \n mark, you emerge from the woods onto the recreational path that takes \n you out towards Moodie drive. It was around this point that I noticed \n that the bottom of my left foot was getting painful again. I was trying \n to run gingerly on this foot, but the pain was always there.\n

\n

\n At one point, there was a break in the fence on the left side of the \n path, and I went and took a gravel path towards Nortel. It looked like a \n shortcut that would take me right near Lab 9. However, there was a point \n where there was a large body of water and some beaver dams. It looked \n like someone had placed rocks for you to step on to get past, but the \n water was too deep. I took the first few rocks, but soon found myself \n stuck. I had to turn around and go back to the recreational path. Before \n going back to the paved path, I saw that the gravel path continued \n towards Moodie following the fence (and parallel to the recreational \n path). So I decided to take the gravel path instead (hoping that it \n wouldn't lead to another dead end!). I found that running on the gravel \n path, really helped my left foot pain. The path basically follows the \n fence all the way to Moodie drive. At the end, there was a gate that was \n locked, but I was able to follow a short trail that took me to the \n recreational path. I followed this all the way into Nortel and took a \n short break in Lab 9. I refilled my water bottle and went to the \n washroom. I also sat down and took some small pebbles out of my shoe. \n After about 10mins, I went back outside for my run back home. I noticed \n that my watch said 12km. So I made a mental note that it would be 24km \n when I got back home. At least I would be able to figure out how much \n longer my run would be at any point on the way back.\n

\n

\n My GPS took a while to re-sync to the satellites. Just before I got to \n the ring road the GPS was back in-sync. I checked my data recorder to \n ensure that it was recording both my heart rate and my GPS, and headed \n to the path for the run back home. Due to the rest, my legs had more \n energy, but this soon subsided. However, I was able to keep a decent \n pace. I followed the same gravel path back to help the pain in my left \n foot. The hills through the woods really made my legs burn, even though \n they weren't that steep. I tried to drive up the hills and keep my pace \n up and that drove my heart rate up to over 140 and higher. My legs were \n really sore by this point, but I kept pushing the pace and my body kept \n responding. The legs were tired, but my breathing wasn't that hard. I \n tried to keep my heart rate around 137-138bpm.\n

\n

\n I finally made my way out of the woods and onto Robertson road, and then \n through the side roads back home. I was still able to keep my pace up \n even though my legs were dead tired. It was good to see that I had both \n the mental strength as well as the physical strength to keep my pace up. \n This long run was humbling in that it feels like I've taken a step \n backwards from my previous runs. I just didn't feel as fresh and as \n strong. However, I think it really helped my mental side by making me \n focus on running hard even when my legs were sore and tired. At the end \n of the marathon, I know my legs will feel even worse, and this \n experience will help me during those times. This run also continues to \n teach me to respect the distance. Don't ever let yourself get over \n confident and think this is going to be easy. Respect, humility, \n training, and focus. That's what I need to get me through and finish in \n the way I want. Run stats: 24.07km, total time: 2:36:15, pace: \n 6:29mins/km, average heart rate 135bpm.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 860, "title": "Robomagellan 2 weeks away!", "date": "2007-04-15 22:52:11.0", "content": "

\n Ok... I've procrastinated long enough... and now Robomagellan is only \n two weeks away!!! So I spent quite a bit of time this weekend on my \n Robot. On Saturday, I drove Joseph to the Math Olympics. He was a member \n of the team from St. Paul's high school. The Math Olympics were being \n held at St. Mathew high school out in the east end right near where \n Cindy and Mike used to live. I told Joseph that I wasn't going to stay \n and he was ok with that. I drove back home around 9:00am and started to \n work on my robot. I had about 4-5 hours of time before I needed to go \n pick up Joseph at 3:00pm.\n

\n

\n I had previously got my GPS parsing routines to work correctly using the \n MPLAB IDE simulator. It was neat seeing that working. The next step is \n to actually get the serial input from the GPS, parse the NMEA sentences \n correctly, and then display them on the LCD. Since the GPS was hooked up \n to the serial port, I couldn't display any debug data on the PC terminal \n anymore. So, I needed to use the LCD to display debug data. First step \n was to construct a cable that would connect the GPS to my PIC controller \n board. The cables that I currently have connected the GPS to the PC with \n a female serial connector, and the PIC controller to the PC with a \n female serial connector. So I needed a cable that had a male serial \n connector. What I really needed was null modem since I was trying to \n hook up two DCE (data communication equipment) devices. This is tricky \n in that you have to make sure the Rx/Tx signals are going to the proper \n pins. The Rx on the DCE needs to go to the Tx on the DTE device. The PC \n is a DTE device. Here's some info I found on the web (http://www.zytrax.com/tech/layer_1/cables/tech_rs232.htm):\n

\n
\n RS232 on DB9 (EIA/TIA 574) (DTE perspective)\n
\n
\n Pin No. Name Notes/Description\n
\n
\n 1 DCD Data Carrier Detect\n
\n
\n 2 RD Receive Data (a.k.a RxD, Rx)\n
\n
\n 3 TD Transmit Data (a.k.a TxD, Tx)\n
\n
\n 4 DTR Data Terminal Ready\n
\n
\n 5 SGND Ground\n
\n
\n 6 DSR Data Set Ready\n
\n
\n 7 RTS Request To Send\n
\n
\n 8 CTS Clear To Send\n
\n
\n 9 RI Ring Indicator\n
\n
\n \n \n
\n
\n View - looking into male connector\n
\n

\n I found a spare male DB9 connector that I had and soldered pins 2, 3, \n and 5 for Rx, Tx, and Gnd. I used the wire coloring so that the orange \n wire from the GPS connected to the orange wire on the male connector to \n the PIC controller card. Note that when I used the short serial \n connector on the PC, you need to connect the orange wire (DTE Tx) to the \n non-orange wire on the PIC controller connector. Confusing, but that's \n the way it is because of the DTE and DCE devices. I was thinking that I \n need to create a "Quick User's Guide for connecting devices" for my \n robot.\n

\n

\n The next step was to display text on my LCD screen. This was a lot more \n difficult than I thought it would be. I was trying to just output a \n simple text string to the LCD and couldn't get this to work!!! Turns out \n that the issue had to do with program ROM/data RAM and near/far memory \n addressing. I tried using sprintf with "%s" conversion operator and a \n ROM const char string. I needed to use "%S" (Capital 'S') for ROM data. \n But that's not the end. I need to use "%HS" for FAR ROM data. After \n using the "%HS" conversion operator, I was finally able to output a \n simple text string on my LCD. How convoluted is that?#@? See section \n 4.7.2 on fprintf for further details on the conversion operators.\n

\n

\n OK, so now I can display debug data on my LCD. I connected up my GPS to \n the PIC controller board and was able to see messages being received!!! \n Woo Hoo!!! I was displaying a message count and saw it increment 3-4 \n times every 1 second. When I connected the GPS to my PC, I saw that the \n Garmin GPS was sending 13 sentences every 1 second. I was only seeing 3 \n or 4 of these, so I was missing 9 - 10 of these sentences!!! Clearly I \n had to look only for and process only specific strings. I changed the \n logic in my serial Rx interrupt routines to look for specific NMEA \n sentences. The two sentences I wanted to process were the $GPRMC and \n $HCHDG sentences. I added a state machine to look for "$" at the \n beginning of a sentence, receive the next 5 characters, check for the \n sentence type, and then only receive the rest of the message if it is a \n sentence I was looking for. Once a full sentence is received, the \n GPS_str_flag is set to indicate that a sentence is ready for processing. \n In the main loop, I was checking this flag and then copying the sentence \n into an internal buffer for processing. This worked really well and I \n was now able to parse and process the $GPRMC and $HCHDG sentences.\n

\n

\n I output some debug data to the LCD and verified the $HCHDG sentence. I \n could turn the GPS and see the compass heading change on both the GPS \n and the LCD screen. Later at night, I was also able to verify the SPEED \n value in the $GPRMC sentence. I also saw the GPS Bearing and Target \n Bearing values change as I walked around with the robot, but I was \n totally confused on which way was which and didn't verify if the values \n were correct. Still need to check this to ensure that the position and \n direction inputs for the behaviour and navigation module are correct.\n

\n

\n Another thing I worked on was new connectors for my Garmin GPS. The \n plastic connector I had made broke at the corner due to the slot that I \n cut into the plastic. I decided to make new plastic connectors without \n the slot. The plastic would just slide over the little raised key. I \n made two connectors. I cut out pieces of plastic that fit in the \n connector slot, punched some small holes for the wires using a small \n nail, and put a small strip of glue near the holes to raise the wire and \n push it against the contacts. I tested both connectors and they seemed \n to work. I tried to minimize taking these connectors on and off to \n reduce chances of damage to the connector.\n

\n

\n On Sunday, the next thing I worked on was the motor control. There was \n some old code in there that I needed to clean up. Also I wasn't \n initializing the PWM and this caused the motors to always be running. \n Not good... I fixed that. I found an error with setting the wheel target \n speeds being divided by 2. Fixed that. When I turned on my controller \n board, the motors would run briefly. This was a problem I remembered \n having with my nerfbot. I found that I could eliminate this by \n re-ordering the initialization routines. Also had an issue with my \n behavior fsm because I had commented out too much code in my attempts to \n save memory. I changed my previous target variables into new ones that \n used the GPS position data structure. I used the same concept of \n creating a GPS target array of the cone GPS positions. I then created a \n target array which would specify the order in which the robot had to \n navigate to each of the cones. I converted all the heading variables to \n degrees instead of radians. So now I think I've changed everything I \n needed to get the GPS navigation working, but I wasn't able to test it \n outside because it rained all Sunday.\n

\n

\n One thing to note is that the compass heading $HCHDG sentence will only \n be output if the speed is less than 16kmh. This can be changed in the \n settings page. I noticed this when I was driving and watching the LCD \n screen. When moving, the compass heading value didn't change at all. \n Once you slow down to less than 16kmh for a certain amount of time \n (default value is 90 seconds), the Garmin GPS will revert back to using \n the compass heading and outputting the $HCHDG sentence. I'm not sure \n if my robot will go faster than 16kmh, but will need to keep this in \n mind if I'm going to be looking for the $HCHDG sentence!!!\n

\n

\n Although progress was at times slow, I was pleased with getting the \n serial input from the Garmin GPS working and processing/parsing of the \n NMEA sentences. The next step is to take that position and direction \n input and use it to control the robot movement to hit specific target \n locations. Like I've said before, this will be so cool once I get this \n working!!!\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 861, "title": "April ORE Robotics meeting", "date": "2007-04-16 22:43:52.0", "content": "

\n April's ORE meeting was pretty quiet. I had brought Screwybot to show \n off my current status for the Robomagellan contest. Right now the Robot \n can receive the serial strings from the Garmin GPS, parse the strings \n for position, speed, and bearing (GPS and compass bearing) information. \n I have updated the behavior fsm to define the target positions using GPS \n lat/long co-ordinates. I've also updated the target distance and target \n heading/heading error values to use the GPS position information. I'll \n need to debug the navigation routines to determine how much to turn and \n for how long when making steering adjustments based on the amount of \n heading error. Mordechai was telling me that the key thing to debug in \n the navigation was how long to turn. His robot does full left or full \n right for steering and he just controls for how long to steer depending \n on the amount of degrees the target is from his current heading. This is \n what I'll need to debug with Screwybot. Basically change from using the \n heading error to stop steering to one based on time or perhaps odometer \n count. Mordechai also said that he used a pot as a multiplier for \n adjusting the steering time.\n

\n

\n Mordechai was showing me his Robomagellan robot. It was pretty cool. He \n has a key pad and display that basically acts like serial terminal. He \n can input commands and the results are shown on the LCD display. He can \n set the GPS target positions, display them, set the target acquisition \n order, accuracy, and more. It is a pretty sweet setup! Right now I'll \n have to hard code all that into my program.\n

\n

\n I asked Ron and Mordechai how they hacked their base to get a steering \n servo on. Ron said that it was major surgery to put a servo in. \n Mordechai said that they bought a part called a "servo saver" \n which is meant for these applications. The steering mechanism can \n receive large jolts from the wheels (when hitting objects etc.) and the \n "servo saver" protects the servo from these jolts. I think I know what \n Mordechai is talking about because there was a spring mechanism around \n the current steering linkage that allowed the wheels to move while the \n steering motor gear was stationary. Mordechai also said that they used a \n large heavy duty servo although he said that they could have probably \n just used a regular servo. I'm actually thinking that I can try to tap \n into the existing motor driver and steering motor driver boards to \n control the RC chassis rather than retrofitting a new motor driver and \n steering servo.\n

\n

\n I was speaking to Guy about the homebrew connector I made for my Garmin \n GPS and he told me about a web site where you can order these connectors \n for a "pledge". The prices were reasonable. I went and ordered 2 of \n these connectors. The website is: http://www.syz.com/gps/index.html. \n \n

\n

\n Mordechai also did a continuation of a tutorial he started last month on \n Visual Studio and C#. He was demonstrating a serial application which \n talked to a GPS. I believe this was code from the code project web page. \n I'll have to ask him for the link to that application.\n

\n

\n Looking through the old ORE yahoo groups messages, I found that \n Mordechai posted a link to the BlueRadios AT Command set. It's on the \n RobotShop.ca web page: http://www.robotshop.ca/PDF/BlueRadios_ATMP_Commands_Rev_3.5.1.1.0.pdf. \n I went back and tried to get my Bluetooth serial module working on \n Sumobot. I'm still having problems getting it to work correctly. I was \n able to connect the serial end to a terminal and set the baud rate to \n 19200. I can't seem to use the AT command set properly over the \n Bluetooth though. Over bluetooth I can get into command mode with the \n "+++", but none of the commands I send seem to work. Will need to debug \n this some more. I just read through the BlueRadios AT Command set \n document and found something that might be causing my problem. In \n "Section 3 - AT Commands", the last bullet says: \n

\n
\n If using HyperTerminal the following check box should be disabled: \n Send line ends with line feeds. If not the commands will not be \n submitted correctly.\n
\n

\n I just did a quick check and I had line feeds box checked. Need to \n uncheck this and see if this helps. I've shown an image of the config \n dialog box below.\n

\n

\n \n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 862, "title": "WK16-2 Run & Swim", "date": "2007-04-17 22:57:14.0", "content": "

\n Went to Walter Baker tonight to do both a run and a swim. My left foot, \n right below the ball of my foot is still sore. I noticed on last week's \n long run, that the foot feels better when I'm running on softer surfaces \n like gravel and grass. I'm worried that the injury might get worse, so \n I'm going to run on softer surfaces for a while. The treadmill is quite \n forgiving, so I decided I'll run on that tonight. Didn't start my run \n until 6:45pm. I ran for 6 miles at a 6.0miles/hr pace. This pace is \n fairly comfortable now. Run stats: 9.6km, total time: 1:01:16, pace: \n 6:23, heart rate: 139.\n

\n

\n After my run I quickly got my swim stuff on and went to the pool. I had \n thought that the swim session started at 7:30pm, but it turns out that \n on Tuesday's the swim session didn't start until 8:00pm. So I was \n actually a few minutes early!!! I ended up swimming in the slow lane. \n It has been about 4 weeks since my last swim and I felt really awkward \n at first. My balance wasn't quite right. I did eventually get \n comfortable with my balance and my stroke. I was able to keep a nice \n slow, easy stroke. My spl was around 24-25 which is about normal. I \n timed my 100m laps and took breaks so that I never got myself too out of \n breath. It was good to get into the water again. Swim stats: 1.6km, \n total time: 55:30, pace: 3:30.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 863, "title": "WK16-3 Run", "date": "2007-04-18 22:13:10.0", "content": "

\n Ran on the treadmill at Walter Baker again tonight. This was a \n scheduled 10 mile run, so I wasn't going to go swimming after the run. \n I started the run around 7:30pm. The 6.0miles/hr pace feels quick but \n still manageable. I even bumped up the speed to 6.1 to 6.2 miles/hr \n near the end. I could still feel the soreness in my left foot, but I \n think it was feeling much better than if I was running on concrete. I \n drank gatorade and then re-filled my water bottle with just plain water \n from the drinking fountain. I wore my Asics Nimbus runners. I had \n thought that maybe these runners were causing my foot problems, but it's \n probably the quick increase in mileage. I'm trying to rotate through my \n runners which I hope will help my feet. Overall an excellent run, and I \n felt very good after. Run stats: 16km, total time: 1:40:53, pace: \n 6:18mins/km.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 864, "title": "WK16-4 Run", "date": "2007-04-19 23:22:00.0", "content": "

\n I was hoping to get to the pool again tonight, but it never worked out. \n It ended up that I almost didn't go for a run, but I managed to convince \n myself that I couldn't skip anymore training sessions! I started my run \n around 8:10pm. I ran the Andrew Haydon, Moodie Drive route. It was a \n warm clear night and the temperature was around 10C. I wore just my \n Asics long sleeve shirt and my black jacket. I wanted this to be a \n Tempo run, so I really concentrated on keeping my pace high. Most \n splits were around 5:45-6:00mins/km. My heart rate was high too at \n around 142bpm. I could really notice the effort and my breathing was \n quick and the legs were building lactic acid. I slowed down the last \n kilometer as a warm down. Run stats: 10.61km, total time: 1:04:08, \n pace: 6:02, heart rate: 142bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 865, "title": "WK16-6 Run", "date": "2007-04-21 22:35:20.0", "content": "

\n Didn't get started on today's 10mile run until almost 8:30pm. I was \n feeling a little lethargic and was planning on doing just 10-12km and \n not the full 16km. However, during my run I felt surprisingly strong \n and ended up running the full distance. I ran my usual Andrew Haydon, \n Moodie drive route, but I added to it to get the extra distance for \n 16km. I ran past Moodie Drive to the next lights. I ran down the path \n to the lighthouse at the Dick Bell Park Marina. It was super peaceful \n during this part of the run. It was fairly dark and I could see the \n lights across the water. How serene and blissful this scene was! I ran \n past Acres along Carling to the Esso at the next set of lights. During \n this section of the run, I was feeling very good and actually decided to \n pick up the pace. I was running as fast as my Tempo run on Thursday, \n but my breathing was not as hard. It actually felt much easier today \n than on Thursday! I'm not sure if it was the day off and rest, but \n today's run was just awesome. I'm glad that I didn't bail out and \n shorten my run. Run stats: 16.58km, total time: 1:39:41, pace: \n 6:00mins/km, heart rate: 140bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 866, "title": "WK16-7 Long Run", "date": "2007-04-22 23:05:23.0", "content": "

\n Today Anne was helping out at one of the Sacramental Masses, so we went \n to the 9:30am mass. I didn't feel like doing my run at 5:00am to get \n back in time for church, so I had decided last night that I would do an \n afternoon run. Also, since I ran so late on Saturday, I felt it would be \n good to have a little time to recover before I went on my long run. I \n started my run around 2:30pm. Right from the start of the run, I felt \n slow and tired. Yikes!!! I tried to keep my heart rate low around \n 135bpm, but it was just high from the beginning. My pace was around \n 6:30-6:40 so I wasn't trying to go out too fast. It was a very hot and \n sunny day and maybe that contributed to my slow pace, high heart rate. I \n was planning to run 34km today. I ran the Shirley's Bay path to Nortel, \n re-filled my water bottle, and then ran back home. This part of the run \n was approximately 24km. At home, I re-filled with Gatorade and then ran \n the Trend Arlington route. This is my usual 10km route.\n

\n

\n I was hoping that at one point my second wind would kick in and it would \n start to feel easier, but that never happened. I was pretty beat after \n the first 24km, and when I went out for the last 10km, my legs were very \n tired and I didn't know if I would make it! Thankfully my left foot \n didn't bother me much. Right near the beginning of the run I could feel \n it, but it wasn't bad at all. I could feel it through most of the run, \n but it just stayed the same and never got worse. I tried to run on \n gravel or grass as much as possible. My right knee would also start to \n feel sore, but this came and went. I think my knees are getting used to \n the mileage now so they're not complaining as much. At least I hope \n that's what's happening! Near the end of my run, I also felt my left \n outside part of the knee also complain slightly. Uh, oh. I hope that \n this isn't the start of something new. The pain didn't last long, and \n faded away. I try to shorten my pace but have a quick rate and this \n seems to help with the knee pain. I think when I over-stride it bothers \n my knees.\n

\n

\n So this was a real gut check run. I took some walking breaks at 30km and \n 33km during my drink breaks. However, I think I drank too much! My \n stomach felt full and unsettled after I drank too much. During my break \n at 24km at home, I quickly drank a glass of water and that also sat in \n my stomach making me feel nauseous. Need to remember that during my \n runs. If I take a small amount of sips, then I feel way better, than if \n a take a lot of sips and chug a lot of fluids. It might feel good at \n first, but then my stomach is really unsettled and nauseous. The last \n 10km loop was pretty hard. My legs were very sore and it took all my \n concentration to keep pushing and running (even at a slow pace). I \n remembered Thai telling me about taking breaks and walking 200m every \n 2km once you hit the 30km mark and that's what I planned on doing. I was \n able to run all the way between my drinking breaks every 3km, but that \n was tough. That whole last 10km loop was tough, but I was able to push \n through it. It's interesting how I can feel so strong on yesterday's \n run, but then feel so badly on today's run. Of course I'm running twice \n the distance, but even the first 16km of Sunday's long run felt much, \n much harder than the 16km of Saturday's run. I think when Hal Higdon \n says that the 10mile Saturday run will make your Sunday long run tougher \n is so true!!! Still, I should feel proud of my progress. I now have two \n 20 mile runs under my belt. One more 20 miler a couple of weeks from now \n and then I start my taper. I'm fast. I'm strong. I trained for this. I'm \n going to have an excellent 2007 marathon. Go me! Run stats: 34.73km, \n total time: 3:51:12, pace: 6:39mins/km, heart rate: 134bpm.\n

\n

\n \n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 867, "title": "WK17-2 Run", "date": "2007-04-24 23:08:15.0", "content": "

\n Went for my usual 10km run tonight. I was debugging my robot for the \n Robomagellan contest tonight, so I didn't end up going swimming, and I \n was late getting started for my run. Tig our neighbour came over and \n talked to me when he saw me out in the driveway with my robot. I knew \n people were going to look at me strangely and wonder what I was doing \n out there! I finally got out for my run around 8:45pm. I did my usual \n route out to Andrew Haydon park. I wanted to run fairly quickly and it \n ended up being almost a tempo run. I kept my heart rate around 140bpm \n and my breathing was a little laboured. I need to start rating the \n Perceived Effort (PE) of my training sessions. I was having some \n problems with my heart rate monitor not getting good readings for the \n first few minutes. It seemed that the heart monitor used to get good \n readings much more quickly before. I also wore my Nike Pegasus runners \n to mix things up a bit. They felt really narrow and tight! Run stats: \n 10.48km, total time: 1:03:24, pace: 6:02mins/km, heart rate: 137bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 868, "title": "WK17-3 Run", "date": "2007-04-25 23:30:09.0", "content": "

\n I got started late again tonight. I was dreading having to run 16km \n tonight when I realized that this was a cut back week, and I only had to \n run 6 miles. I planned on running 12km (since for my 5 mile days I run \n 10km). Yippee! I was telling Anne and the kids that I was going to run \n for 1hr45mins, and now I only had to run for 1hr15-1hr20mins. This was \n good since it was 9:00pm before I even started my run. I had problems \n getting my heart rate monitor working. There was a "?" on my watch for \n the heart rate. I thought it was the battery, so I went and took the \n battery from the broken heart rate monitor I have. After replacing the \n battery, the monitor started to give a reading which was good. However \n during the first part of my run, the readings were super high and took a \n while to settle down. This is the same behaviour I've been complaining \n about.\n

\n

\n Tonight, I decided to take it easy and not push myself like I did \n yesterday. I thought my effort was easier, and my breathing was not as \n laboured, but looking at my heart rate it was the same as last night! \n The pace was also exactly the same. So maybe I didn't really push \n myself at all yesterday. It was 9C so it was fairly cool. I decided to \n overdress in layers again and put on both coolmax long sleeve shirts and \n my black jacket. Whew, it was hot during parts of the run! At some \n points there was quite a cool breeze and that cooled me off, but I'm \n really glad I'm doing this (dressing in layers) and sweating a lot. I'm \n hoping that this will help acclimatize my body to running in hotter \n weather. We'll see... \n

\n

\n Early in my run, I started getting knee pain on the outside of my right \n knee. I thought that I had recovered from this, but I think the high \n mileage is bringing this back again. I'll need to watch this closely to \n see if gets worse. One thing I'm really happy with is that the ball of \n my left foot isn't painful at all. In fact I don't really notice it \n anymore. I used to feel it ever so slightly, but now I don't feel any \n pain on the left foot at all. Woo Hoo!!! Just need to keep monitoring \n my body and ensure I'm not pushing myself too hard and overtraining \n which will lead to an injury. Run stats: 12.61km, total time: 1:15:59, \n pace: 6:01mins/km, heart rate: 137bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 869, "title": "WK17-4 Run", "date": "2007-04-26 23:03:41.0", "content": "

\n Another late start to my run tonight. Do we see a pattern developing \n here, folks? Bad, bad, bad... OK, so I should really be starting my \n runs earlier, but I wanted to work on my robot some more for the \n Robomagellan contest which is coming up this Sunday! Yikes, only a few \n days from now! Luckily, I've made some good progress the last couple of \n days and fixed numerous coding and logic errors in my program. I'm now \n tweaking my behaviour and navigation algorithms and I'm happy to \n announce that "It works!!!". I had my first few successful runs tonight \n in my driveway. The robot was able to successfully navigate between two \n waypoints on either end of my driveway. Not too smoothly, since the \n robot tends to oscillate back and forth sometimes, but successful \n nonetheless. At least my robot won't be DOA at the contest!\n

\n

\n Now back to my run. I decided to mix it up and run a route down \n Baseline to Centerpoint. I had done this route a couple of weeks back \n for the first time. It's noisy since you're running beside a very busy \n road the whole time, but at least the sidewalk is wide and there aren't \n that many intersecting streets to cross. It was a warmish night, with \n light drizzle. I wore my long sleeve shirt and black jacket as per \n usual. I planned on taking a very conservative pace and keep my heart \n rate around 135-137bpm. For the most part I was able to do that and was \n surprised to see that my pace was fairly quick around 6:00-6:15mins/km. \n Overall another good run. No aches or pains to mention, so knock on \n wood that this continues and nothing new develops. It's funny how I now \n view my 1 hour runs as a "short run". I'm getting the mindset of an \n endurance runner! Run stats: 10.62km, total time: 1:05:12, pace: 6:08, \n heart rate: 134bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 870, "title": "WK17-6 Run", "date": "2007-04-28 22:20:32.0", "content": "

\n Did a quick run today. I was working on my robot for Robomagellan, and \n then had to drive Joseph to his Piano lesson at 3:00pm. I left at 1:25pm \n and needed to be back by 2:30 so I would be back in time to drive \n Joseph. It was overcast and drizzling/rain during the run. As soon as I \n went out, there was a mist on my glasses and I had drops on my glasses \n the whole run. I tried to keep a quick pace, but it seemed like I was \n exerting much more effort and breathing a lot harder and my pace wasn't \n that quick. I had a tailwind on the way out, and a headwind on the way \n back. With the headwind, I especially noticed that my pace seemed slow \n with the effort I was expending. I ran the Bruce Pit, Trend Arlington \n route. I had some pain on the outside of the right knee again but that \n as usual subsided. I got back right on schedule at 2:30, took a quick \n shower and drove Joseph to piano lesson. Run stats: 10.86km, total time: \n 1:04:54, pace: 5:58, heart rate: 140bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 871, "title": "GPS Robot To Do's", "date": "2007-04-15 23:13:54.0", "content": "

\n I started a list of "to do" items for the GPS Robot:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Convert RADs to Degrees in behaviour module\n
    • \n
  • \n Change veer and sping routines to use time or wheel odometer count \n instead of heading error since heading error since heading error is \n only updated once per second. --> Could I use odometer routines to \n have finer and faster granularity for theta? Something to think about!\n
    • \n
  • \n Build new multi-level platform to hold 12V SLA battery (will 12V \n battery burn out screwdriver motors?), controller board, GPS, ...\n
    • \n
  • \n Need some type of cover for protection from rain ?\n
    • \n
  • \n Buy new case which is large enough to carry robot. Measure dimensions \n of the robot.\n
    • \n
  • \n Make list of items to bring for the Robomagellan contest: robot, spare \n batteries, GPS, folding table, chairs, power packs, inverters, tool \n box, soldering iron...\n
    • \n
  • \n put heat sink/fan on motor driver chip\n
    • \n
\n
\n \n
\n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 874, "title": "Robomagellan - understanding bearing", "date": "2007-04-17 23:52:44.0", "content": "
    \n
  • \n I've been trying to understand the odometery and GPS calculations.\n
    • \n
  • \n Odometery: x, y co-ordinates based on 4 quadrants.\n
    • \n
  • \n Robot rotation (theta) is the "bearing" of the robot (clockwise angle) \n from a reference of True North (True Bearing). This is the same \n bearing used in GPS.\n
    • \n
  • \n This really screwed me up in that the reference point is 0 degrees \n towards True North. If you use (x,y) space, 0 degrees is along the \n x-axis with positive angles going counter clockwise.\n
    • \n
  • \n Once I've oriented myself to 0 degrees North, I could more easily \n figure out the odometery formulas:\n
    • \n
\n
\n
\n Xpos = Distance * sin(Theta)\n
\n
\n
\n
\n Ypos = Distance * cos(Theta)\n
\n
\n
\n
\n Theta = Half PI - Arctan2(y,x) (note that the angle is with respect to \n the True North (y-axis))\n
\n
\n
    \n
  • \n As I looked at the GPS routines some more, I realized I could use the \n exact same routines as the odometery application. I'm going to call \n them "update_robot_position" and "locate target".\n
    • \n
  • \n "Update_robot_position" will use the lat/long to calculate Xpos and \n Ypos and GPS bearing for Theta.\n
    • \n
  • \n "Locate_target" will use (x,y)target and (x,y)robot to calculate \n distance and target bearing, and finally heading error.\n
    • \n
  • \n These are exactly the same variables I use now for my odometery \n application.\n
    • \n
  • \n The only difference is how I calculate (x,y) and theta. Instead of \n odometer ticks, I use GPS lat/long.\n
    • \n
  • \n I believe my analysis is sound, I just need to test it out!!!\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 876, "title": "Sumobot debugging", "date": "2007-04-18 22:16:51.0", "content": "
    \n
  • \n I was debugging my sumobot program and it seemed like everything was \n broken. Nothing was working!\n
    • \n
  • \n Looking at the serial debug output, I saw that the robot would go into \n the NAV veer routine and never get out.\n
    • \n
  • \n I inspected the code and found this behaviour was caused by changes I \n had made to the robot heading "theta" and "heading error".\n
    • \n
  • \n Here's a history of why I had made these changes and what I need to do \n to fix it.\n
    • \n
  • \n When I was previously looking at my GPS heading on the LCD, I had the \n bearing range set to -180 degrees to +180 degrees.\n
    • \n
  • \n However, looking at the GPS compass, this shows bearing from 0 to 360 \n degrees.\n
    • \n
  • \n This really confused me and I couldn't tell if my program was parsing \n and calculating the appropriate bearings correctly.\n
    • \n
  • \n So being the smart guy that I am :-), I decided to convert all \n bearing values to 0 to 360 degrees.\n
    • \n
  • \n I did this for theta, target bearing, and heading error. I realize \n now that we DON'T want to do this for heading error!!!\n
    • \n
  • \n For this value, we want it from -180 degrees to +180 degrees, since \n the robot uses the sign of the heading error to determine whether it \n should turn left or right to correct the heading error.\n
    • \n
  • \n Since I had now changed heading error to 0 to 360 degrees, all my \n heading error correction routines in Behaviour and NavFSM were \n broken!!! No wonder I could never get out of my veer routine.\n
    • \n
  • \n A side effect of this was I never updated the top section of the VT100 \n display. I have a check in the main loop and if NavFSM busy flag is \n set, the I don't update the VT100 display. This check was put in \n because I was trying to solve the problem where the robot was not \n responding quickly to heading error corrections. It would tend to \n overshoot which caused the robot to oscillate back and forth when \n correcting it's heading. Updating the VT100 takes a long time, so I \n didn't want to do it while the robot was turning and correcting it's \n heading.\n
    • \n
  • \n Another problem I found was when the robot interrupts weren't firing \n at all. I checked this by looking at the game clock and it wasn't \n changing at all!\n
    • \n
  • \n I figure out it was the version of tiny bootloader that I had in the \n PIC. This was programmed into the PIC using the ICD2 programmer.\n
    • \n
  • \n When I put in a PIC programmed on PaulsPC2 with the Tait programmer, \n my program seed to run properly.\n
    • \n
  • \n What is the difference between the two?\n
    • \n
  • \n Right now need to keep in mind that I have to program the \n tinybootloader using the Tait programmer.\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 877, "title": "Sumobot and Screwybot Hardware definitions", "date": "2007-04-18 11:22:56.0", "content": "

\n I wanted to capture the hardware specifics of each robot, so that I can \n easily change the program to reflect the hardware. I input this into \n excel and have pasted the excel table below.\n

\n

\n \n  \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 879, "title": "PIC Baudrate generator values", "date": "2007-04-19 22:33:59.0", "content": "

\n I made a simple table in excel that gives the value you need to put into \n the PIC baudrate generator for different baudrates.\n

\n

\n baud rate = Fosc / (16 (X + 1) )\n

\n

\n X = (Fosc / (16 * Baud) ) - 1\n

\n

\n \n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 880, "title": "Sumobot Simulator Testing", "date": "2007-04-19 22:54:42.0", "content": "
    \n
  • \n I found some more cool things I can do with the simulator testing.\n
    • \n
  • \n Previously I figured out how to simulate serial input from the USART \n using an input file.\n
    • \n
  • \n I found that I could also simulate the wheel encoder pins RB4 and RB5 \n going up and down.\n
    • \n
  • \n I actually set them as a clock so that they always went up and down.\n
    • \n
  • \n I had to fool around with the clock period to get a 10 ticks per \n sample count. Clock value used was 25,000 cycles low and 25,000 cycles \n high.\n
    • \n
  • \n At first I couldn't get this to work. I put a breakpoint in the \n interrupt routine to check when odometer was being incremented, but it \n never went in the "!= prev" check. The interrupt on change was \n triggered, but the RB4 and RB5 values didn't seem to change.\n
    • \n
  • \n When I put a watch on the Port B, then it seemed to work. Actually I \n think it has to do something about applying the stimulus workbook \n properly. Need to fool around with this.\n
    • \n
  • \n I could now see the odometer count increment and wheel speed being set \n to 10.\n
    • \n
  • \n I could actually see the target being hit!!!\n
    • \n
  • \n However, even when program stops robot, wheel's keep going.\n
    • \n
  • \n At first I couldn't figure out how the robot actually turned around to \n go to target #1 (starts at #0), but then I realized that the robot \n spin works because one wheel is forward and the other is backwards, so \n the robot will actually spin in the simulator!\n
    • \n
  • \n I actually got veer to work too by not incrementing wheel counter \n during a veer. But this is only debug code and I'll need to take this \n out!!!\n
    • \n
  • \n I was also fooling around with the "stopwatch" in the simulator. You \n can actually see how long procedures take.\n
    • \n
  • \n The vt100_update_display() procedure was taking over 350ms!!!\n
    • \n
  • \n I traced the procedure and found that the vt100 goto procedure calls \n were very expensive (12ms?).\n
    • \n
  • \n I optimized this procedure by only outputting a full line at a time \n instead of specific fields.\n
    • \n
  • \n This brought the procedure time down to 224ms.\n
    • \n
  • \n Then I also figure out that this time depends on the baud rate being \n used. \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
    \n

    \n Baud\n

    \n     		\n

    \n VT100 update time\n

    \n
    \n

    \n 9600\n

    \n     		\n

    \n 224 ms\n

    \n
    \n

    \n 19200\n

    \n     		\n

    \n 133 - 134 ms\n

    \n
    \n

    \n 57600\n

    \n     		\n

    \n 81 - 82 ms\n

    \n
    \n
    • \n
  • \n When you change the baud rate, you can actually see that the FSM's run \n way more times. I captured the program output for the different baud \n rates.\n
    • \n
  • \n At 9600 baud the NavFSM onlyruns 5 times between vt100 updates.\n
    • \n
  • \n At 19200 baud NavFSM runs 9 times.\n
    • \n
  • \n At 57600 baud, NavFSM runs 14 times.\n
    • \n
  • \n Therefore, the baud rate has an impact on how many times your FSM \n runs!!!\n
    • \n
  • \n Need to keep this in mind.\n
    • \n
  • \n This is why when the Nav FSM is running, I don't update the vt100 \n display, so I don't slow down the FSMs.\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 884, "title": "Robot Heading Error checks", "date": "2007-04-21 22:45:04.0", "content": "

\n I've drawn a diagram that shows the robot heading error check and what \n values are used for wheel speeds and heading error boundaries. If the \n robot is far away from the target, then relax the heading error \n boundaries. As we get closer to the target, start narrowing the focus \n so we stay right on the target bearing. These are defines in the \n behaviour fsm module.\n

\n

\n \n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 885, "title": "Robomagellen debugging", "date": "2007-04-22 23:16:39.0", "content": "

\n I was going to start from scratch and copy the code from a working code \n base. I was then going to use different versions of the files to see \n impact on robot behaviour/performance. First was intrpt1.c - original \n version in Copy Sumobot, New Screwybot and intrpt2.c - version in \n Screwybot3. I noticed that the Port B interrupt on change DOES NOT work \n for the wheel encoders. The robot does not go straight and wanders. \n Therefore, I went back for Screwybot3 to the polling for the wheel \n encoders. I believe Screwybot3 was based on the GPS Test2 code base.\n

\n

\n I changed the set wheel speed routine to remove the divide by 2 (shift \n right one bit). I don't remember the exact reasoning for putting this \n in, but it probably has to do with changing the sampling period. I also \n found that veer doesn't seem to work well, so I removed the calls to \n veer from the heading error checks. One thing to try is to subtract the \n wheel delta speed instead of adding it to achieve the veer.\n

\n

\n I created a new version of the code base and called it Screwybot4. Here \n are the changes I made:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Converted to meters from inches. Now have ticks per meter for the \n encoders and wheel base in meters. I should have dones this long ago!\n
    • \n
  • \n Added gps.c to files source list. Had to remove term.c to free up \n memory space to fit this module.\n
    • \n
  • \n Update interrupt routine for gps serial input. This was a small state \n machine that checked for "$" for beginning of NMEA sentence and then \n read the next 5 characters for the sentence type. If $GPRMC or $HCHDG \n then get rest of sentence and set gps flag when complete.\n
    • \n
  • \n Added GPS position targets, created define for GPS_Test and \n Odometer_Test to set whether to use (x,y) targets or GPS targets.\n
    • \n
  • \n Open USART for 4800 baud communication with GPS.\n
    • \n
  • \n Fixed error where get_bearing and compass_bearing were in degrees and \n odometers procedure used radians. Convert to use radians for all \n bearing variables. Only use degrees when outputting to the LCD or \n terminal.\n
    • \n
  • \n GPS Bearing procedure used North and West as positive!~@#? Needed to \n convert this to bearing with North as 0 degrees and positive is \n clockwise. Had to tweak long position where lon is negative, but is \n given as positive and increasing in west direction. Therefore, need \n to flip the sign for long calculations.\n
    • \n
  • \n Receive buffer overflow. The receive buffer for the GPS NMEA messages \n was only 80 characters and I remember reading somewhere that max \n sentence was 100 characters. I was getting weird values for the \n bearings and I think it was because the receive buffer was overflowing \n and overwriting variables that were defined after the message buffer. \n Increased the buffer to 100 characters and moved the variable \n declaration to the bottom of all variables.\n
    • \n
  • \n Flipped source and target parameters for GPS bearing procedure. \n Procedure calculates a-> b so 'a' is source and 'b' is target. I had \n these backwards so my target bearing was always 180 degrees off!!!\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 886, "title": "Robomagellan debugging (cont'd)", "date": "2007-04-26 22:47:40.0", "content": "
    \n
  • \n I've spent a lot of good time debugging my robot for the Robomagellan \n contest.\n
    • \n
  • \n I think I've got most of the coding errors fixed and I'm now getting \n my logic and algorithms working.\n
    • \n
  • \n Mordechai was calculating his robot direction (theta) by taking two \n points and determining the bearing.\n
    • \n
  • \n Up to now, I've been trying to use the data I get from the GPS rather \n than calculate my bearing.\n
    • \n
  • \n I really wanted to use the GPS compass bearing to determine robot \n theta.\n
    • \n
  • \n I had the behaviour odometer FSM continuously monitor heading error \n and perform veers and spins to keep heading error = 0. \n
    • \n
  • \n What I needed now was to figure out how to update theta from the GPS \n info.\n
    • \n
  • \n At first I was updating theta every GPS NMEA sentence, but this really \n screwed up the robot. It was oscillating like crazy. I thought that \n I was trying to adjust too quickly in odometers, so I put in a check \n to only do the veer/spin once per NMEA sentence. This didn't work.\n
    • \n
  • \n Then I realized that the compass readings took a while to show a \n correct reading after a spin. It could take up to two readings to \n settle down. So, I commented out the gps_bearing_flag check in the \n behaviour FSM that made the robot adjust only once per NMEA sentence.\n
    • \n
  • \n I added logic that checked the current compass bearing = last compass \n bearing to determine when the robot has stopped spinning and the \n compass has settled down. I was trying to find the time the robot was \n going in a straight line.\n
    • \n
  • \n Before this I found out that the compass readings were wrong when the \n GPS was right on the robot and close to the batteries and motors. I \n put a small box on the robot to lift the GPS higher and away from the \n batteris. I hope this fixes the accuracy.\n
    • \n
  • \n Once I made the current=last compass check, this really helped fix the \n robot oscillating problem. However, it still didn't seem to go \n towards the target consistently. Looking at the compass readings I \n think it's because the readings aren't too accurate. The North \n direction keeps changing!!!\n
    • \n
  • \n So now I decided to use the GPS bearing in the GPRMC sentence. I \n believe the GPS just does the calculation with two points to determine \n bearing. I did the same check to ensure the GPS bearing wasn't \n changing before updating theta.\n
    • \n
  • \n However, this didn't work at all. I need to add more logic to \n determine when GPS bearing is accurate.\n
    • \n
  • \n One thing I realized is that the GPS bearing doesn't change when the \n GPS is stationary. So I really need to check if the robot GPS speed \n is > 0. (or maybe a greater value?)\n
    • \n
  • \n The key point is that while the roobt is spinning or veering, the \n compass and GPS bearing are not accurate. Robot must be going in a \n straight line to use compass and GPS bearing for Robot theta.\n
    • \n
  • \n Only when I have an accurate GPS bearing, should I update robot theta!\n
    • \n
  • \n OK, so now I know what the robot needs to do, how do I code this logic?\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 887, "title": "Robomagellan robot works!", "date": "2007-04-27 23:06:37.0", "content": "

\n I had my first successful test runs of the Robomagellan robot in our \n driveway. I set two waypoints, one near the garage, and the other at \n the end of the driveway near the road. The robot was able to \n successfully navigate to the waypoints several times. I had a target \n order of (#0, #1, #0, #1), and the robot navigated to each point in \n order successfully. There is still a bit of hunting and searching \n sometimes, and the GPS accuracy is not too great, but you can see the \n general area the robot wants to get to. Also, I look at the LCD screen \n and I can see the distance to the target slowly decreasing.\n

\n

\n The main change I made to my algorithm was to use the GPS bearing from \n the GPRMC sentence. However, there are two things I check before I \n update the robot orientation theta with the GPS bearing. First the \n difference in the GPS bearing from the last reading to the current \n reading must be less than 5 degrees. I made this check to ensure that \n the robot is going straight before accepting the reading. The second \n check is to ensure that the GPS Speed is greater than zero. This check \n is needed, because the GPS bearing doesn't change if the robot is \n stationary.\n

\n

\n Making these changes really stabilized the robot behaviour and it was \n much more successful at finding the waypoints. I also put the veer \n heading correction back in to help with some of the oscillations. \n However, this time I subtracted from the wheel speed on the inside wheel \n to achieve the veer. This eliminated the quick burst or spurt that \n occurred when I was doing the veer before by adding to the outside wheel \n speed. You can really see the veer working well. The robot makes a very \n smooth adjustment to correct the heading error. Woo Hoo!!!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 888, "title": "Robomagellan contest!", "date": "2007-04-29 22:38:21.0", "content": "

\n Well the big day for the Robomagellan contest has finally come! We went \n over to the Lacelle's last night so I didn't have a chance to work on my \n robot. I did bring it over to show Mike and it was able to navigate to \n the waypoints in his driveway most of the time. I also worked on a \n little RS232 level shifter board that I'll use on Sumobot to connect the \n GPS to Sumobot. This morning, I spent time making a cover and sign for \n the robot. This will cover up the mess of wires on the robot. After I \n got it done, the robot looked pretty cool! It certainly looks a lot \n better than having all the exposed wires before! Joseph and I also \n decided to name the robot "Odyssey" for the journey that it is going to \n take.\n

\n

\n My Robomagellan robot run was successful! I programmed in the waypoints \n for the cones and then put in the target order for the contest. \n Basically the robot went around the square, then diagonally, around the \n square in the opposite direction, and then diagonally back to the \n starting point. One thing was that my robot was very, very, shaky. The \n parking lot was bumpy and because the robot had no suspension and hard \n rubber tires, my whole robot just shook! Mordechai kept saying he was \n surprised that my GPS stayed on my Robot. But being shaky didn't stop \n it from working well! :-) The robot was able to navigate to the \n waypoints. It wasn't too accurate at times, but that's mostly the GPS. \n I was very pleased with the steering behaviour, and the robot was able \n to spin and veer very well and stay on a mostly straight course once it \n was heading in the proper direction. Overall a very successful contest. \n I'm looking forward to getting my other robot bases working and perhaps \n even upgrading this one to use softer rubber tires and a suspension!\n

\n

\n On another run, I saw some funny behaviour that I'll need to debug. \n After navigating to several waypoints, the robot started doing a spin, \n going straight (or veering?) and then doing another spin. Each spin was \n 180 degrees or maybe more. What was the robot doing? How did it get \n into this state? My thought was that the heading error was very large, \n and the robot wasn't able to spin enough to correct the heading error. \n But why can't it spin 180 degrees? I was thinking I need to put in some \n checks for when my robot goes insane like this. Perhaps check if the \n robot theta has been corrected with the GPS bearing in the last 10 \n seconds or something. If not, then the robot is not going straight and \n is continually veering, so it can not get a constant GPS bearing. Need \n to stop the robot, go in a straight line, and then reset the robot \n theta. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 890, "title": "WK18-2 Run", "date": "2007-05-01 23:35:25.0", "content": "

\n Went for my usual 10km run today. I had not run since last Saturday. I \n was lazy on Sunday and didn't go for my long run. Yikes! That's the \n one run you're not supposed to miss. I ended up looking at my Robotics \n stuff instead. Oh well, my motivation was low and I was really psyched \n in looking at the robotics stuff because of the Robomagellan contest. \n Too many hobbies, too little time!!! :-)\n

\n

\n Today ended up being a really fast run. Probably my fastest training \n run so far this year. I planned on making it a tempo run, but I kept \n pushing myself harder and harder. Most of the run my heart rate was \n 148-149 bpm. This is really high for me, because I've been focussed on \n keeping my heart rate low and getting my body more efficient at burning \n fat. So this was really at the upper range of a tempo run. I think \n the two day's rest also allowed me to push harder without getting tired \n as quickly. The ball of my left foot was bothering me slightly and so \n was the top part of the left foot. I was hoping that the ball of the \n left foot injury was healed by now, but it seems to bother me still. I \n even noticed the slight pain on my offday yesterday while walking \n around. Need to really watch this carefully.\n

\n

\n It was good to see that I could push myself to run this fast (well at \n least fast for me). However, I'll need to really tone it down for my \n pace during the marathon. I still want to focus on heart rate and \n keeping it in the right range rather than look at my pace. I'm settling \n for around a 140bpm pace during the marathon. I think this is \n conservative enough that I won't crash before the end, but it is \n slightly faster than my long training run heart rate so it will push me \n slightly harder. I'm hoping this heart rate will give me a 6:00mins/km \n pace and around a 4hr15min marathon. One more week of hard training, \n and then I start my taper. Most of the hard work is now done, and now \n it's time to maintain my fitness and get rest during my taper. Run \n stats: 10.62km, total time: 1:00:20, 5:40mins/km, heart rate: 143bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 891, "title": "WK18-3 Run", "date": "2007-05-02 22:56:10.0", "content": "

\n Today was a scheduled 10 mile run. However, since I missed last \n Sunday's long run, I decided to make it a longer run. Normally I would \n run 16km, but planned to run 20km (doing two 10 km loops). I ran out by \n Bruce Pit, Trend Arlington, and then out to Andrew Haydon. I started at \n 7:50pm and was able to do the first loop out past Bruce Pit before it go \n too dark. It was getting dark by the time I was running through Bruce \n Pit so this is the latest time I can start a 10km run for this section. \n The run ended up being a fast run (probably a tempo run) and my heart \n rate was fairly high around 139bpm. I didn't mean to run that fast, but \n I felt pretty good and the 6:10mins/km pace felt comfortable. It didn't \n seem like I was over exerting myself or breathing hard. The last two \n hills at Shouldice Farm and up Cedarview were hard, but I concentrated \n and pushed it up those hills. One thing I'm trying is to shorten my \n steps, but keep a quick turnover. My legs really burn, but I was able \n to drive up those hills. Run stats: 21.11 km, total time: 2:10:18, \n pace: 6:10mins/km, heart rate: 139bpm.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 892, "title": "WK18-4 Run", "date": "2007-05-03 23:05:02.0", "content": "

\n After my last two hard runs, today was an easy, recovery type run. I \n went down Baseline out to Centerpoint. Kept my heart rate nice and low \n at around 132-135bpm, although I was surprised how quick my pace was \n even at that heart rate. Not too much to report. Just a nice steady \n slow run. Run stats: 10.56 km, total time: 1:06:32, pace: 6:17mins/km, \n heart rate: 132bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 893, "title": "WK18-6 Run", "date": "2007-05-05 23:44:04.0", "content": "

\n I almost wimped out on the run tonight. I had planned on going in the \n afternoon, but I ended up spending the whole day on my robot. I was \n trying to get the Hummer Truck base I have working. Then I was going to \n go after dinner, but was slow to get myself out the door. Finally at \n 8:20 pm, I started my run. It was supposed to be a 10mile pace run, so I \n planned on running 16km. I already had some hard runs this week, so I \n didn't know what kind of pace I could hold for the whole distance. I \n sure surprised myself! I felt good most of the run and was able to keep \n a quick pace, although not as fast as the 5:40mins/km pace I'll need for \n a 4:00hr marathon. I started off easy so my heart rate didn't jump too \n high and then picked up the pace. My left hip was bothering me at the \n beginning of the run, but that pain subsided.\n

\n

\n I did a 6km loop by Bruce Pit, Trend Arlington and then the 10km loop by \n Andrew Haydon park. Unfortunately my GPS battery died while going under \n the Queensway on Acres road, so I only have GPS data for the first part \n of my run. However, it felt like I kept up the same pace through the \n whole run, so I estimated my pace for the second part of my run. Run \n stats: 17.2 km, total time: 1:41:47, pace: 5:55, heart rate: 139 bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 894, "title": "WK18-7 Long Run", "date": "2007-05-06 22:59:00.0", "content": "

\n Today was my last long run before I start my taper. Yippee! I'm not sure \n why, but I've become apprehensive and slightly dreading my long runs. \n Maybe it's because my last few have not been that great. I've bonked and \n really struggled at the end of those runs. Today, I was determined to \n have a good re-hydration and nutrition strategy to carry me through the \n whole run and have a strong finish. I succeeded!\n

\n

\n The run started at 1:10pm. I had to wait after lunch to digest the meal. \n I actually went to our bedroom and had a 45 minute nap after lunch! I \n didn't get much sleep the night before because I was looking at my robot \n stuff, so I was taking every opportunity I had to get more rest. I was \n shooting to run 36km today, so I estimated it would take me about 4 \n hours if I ran at a 6.5mins/km pace. I changed my strategy as well in \n order to have enough gatorade for the whole run. I decided to do three \n 12 km loops and come home to refill my water bottle between loops.\n

\n

\n My first loop was down the Shirley's Bay recreational path. I started \n off nice and easy to keep my heart rate low. I was trying to keep my \n heart rate below 135bpm and it ended up being around 132 bpm during most \n of the run. While on the path, I decided to make this first loop 13km. \n If the second loop was also 13km, then that would mean my last loop \n would only have to be 10km. I thought that this would be a better \n strategy because I remember how bagged I was in my last long run, and I \n didn't know if I would make it if the last loop was 12km. So, with this \n new target, I turned around right near the Queensway where there is a \n small bridge. It was around 6.75 km at this point. On the way back, \n coming out of the woods, another runner passed me. He asked how long I \n was going and I said 34km. He said he was at the 30km point and was \n running 37km. He wished me a good run, and then took off ahead. I'm not \n sure why, but I kept thinking what I was going to feel like at the 30km \n mark. I was just at the 9km mark now, so I had a long way to go... At \n home, I took a quick bathroom break, refilled my water bottle with more \n orange gatorade, and grabbed another granola bar.\n

\n

\n My food intake strategy was to drink 6-7 sips of gatorade every 3 km, \n and having a granola bar every 6km starting at kilometer 7. This way, I \n would have my gatorade 4 times during a loop and a granola bar two times \n during a loop. This was about right because my water bottle was empty \n when I came back from my loops! During the first loop, I had gas that \n bothered me a bit. Was it because I was still digesting lunch? My left \n hip was also sore, but that went away.\n

\n

\n For the second loop, I decided to go down to Andrew Haydon towards \n Brittania. I thought this was a better option, because I didn't want to \n run up the big hills on my last loop. I still felt really strong during \n this part of the run. On the flat bike path towards Brittania, I was \n actually motoring. I had to rein in my pace to keep my heart rate low. I \n kept telling myself that there was a long way to go. No need to push the \n pace. I wanted to finish strong. I also started to notice the pain on \n the ball of my left foot so I started to run on the grass whenever I \n could. It was sore, but not too bad. I was thinking that it would \n probably hurt tonight. At Brittania park it was packed! People were \n everywhere having picnics, throwing frisbees, playing soccer, and \n generally having a great time outside. It really looked like summer at \n the beach. I turned around at Brittania street around the 20.1 km mark. \n Continued my nice steady pace all the way back. The hills at Shouldice \n and Cedarview were tough as usual. I got home around the 26.8km mark. I \n took another quick bathroom break and refilled my water bottle with \n gatorade. My legs were starting to feel tired at this point, but not as \n tired as my last long run. I remember running down our street starting \n my last loop and my legs were already sore.\n

\n

\n I still felt pretty good on the first part of the loop through Bruce \n Pit. However, past Trend Arlington and Pinecrest around the 30km mark, I \n could feel my legs starting to get really tired. I resisted the urge to \n walk and told myself that I could do the walk/run thing after the \n turnaround point. The ball of my left foot started to bother me more, \n but I kept on running. I had my gatorade at 30km and my granola bar at \n 31km. The last granola bar went down ok. I remember I had a hard time on \n my last run with swallowing the last granola bar because my mouth was \n dry and I was so tired. At the 33km mark I had more gatorade, but kept \n on running. I had a short break waiting at the traffic lights, so that \n was a forced rest. Down through Trend Arlington and to Bruce Pit, I was \n able to keep running and I just told myself I was so close to the end \n and I might as well run until I get home. When running through Bruce \n Pit, I noticed that my lap time was pretty quick. My watch said the \n kilometer split was 6:15mins/km! I couldn't believe I was finishing this \n strong!\n

\n

\n When I finally got home, my legs hurt and my feet hurt, but it was such \n a great long run! I did a little bit of stretching and then headed \n inside. It was hard going up and down stairs since my legs were so \n tired. I took a quick shower before dinner, and had a nice relaxing \n night. I had a good night's sleep, but I should have gotten to bed \n earlier! :-) Run stats: 37.73 km, total time: 3:58:19, pace: \n 6:18mins/km, heart rate: 131 bpm.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 895, "title": "Working on Hummer base for Robot", "date": "2007-05-06 23:26:28.0", "content": "

\n During Robomagellan, I really liked the bases that Mordechai and Ron had \n for their robots. They were based on RC trucks. I bought a Hummer RC \n truck several years ago with the intention of using it as a base for a \n robot, and now I was really psyched in getting that working. I had \n planned on putting the mini-ITX PC board that I had bought as the \n controller on that robot.\n

\n

\n When I was looking at the receiver and motor driver board a few weeks \n ago, I managed to fry something on the board so that the forward \n direction no longer worked. My first step was to try and debug this. I \n looked at the traces which I thought I might have shorted and they led \n to one of the NPN power transistors. So I decided to swap the NPN power \n transistors for the forward and reverse direction to see if the problem \n moved. I took some solder wick and removed both transistors. I \n soldered the forward NPN power transistor back in and the motor worked! \n I could now move forward. I soldered the other transistor back in, and \n as expected the reverse direction no longer worked. I dug up a smaller \n power transistor I had and soldered it in. The reverse direction now \n worked! However, I have to be careful because the transistor I put in \n was only good for 3A while the original transistor was good to 7A. I \n want to order some more power transistors when I put in my next order to \n Digi-Key.\n

\n

\n So now that I've got the motor drivers working again, I worked on \n getting the connections to the board that I could drive the forward and \n reverse signals using my microcontroller. I had already figured out \n previously where I needed to connect those wires. These were lines \n directly fed by the receiver IC on the board. These lines only went to \n +2.5V and 40mA when driven by the receiver IC. The PIC microcontroller \n could drive that voltage and current, so I was good to go! Using a \n battery pack, I was able to drive the motors by applying voltage to the \n forward and reverse lines I just soldered in. I had some problems at \n first, but it ended up that I had bad jumpers! It's tough enough trying \n to debug issues without having bad test equipment/wiring. I ended up \n soldering the jumper aligator connectors to the wires to fix this \n intermittent problem.\n

\n

\n The next thing I did was to replace the original steering motor with a \n steering servo. The original motor had 6 wires going to it. Two wires \n were connected to the motors, and one wire to motor ground. The other \n three wires were connected to a potentiometer which fed back the \n position of the motor. I'm wondering if I could connect this motor to \n the electronics of a servo motor and see if I can drive it that way. \n The thing to be wary of is the amount of current the motor drivers on \n the servo electronics can drive. It actually turned out to be pretty \n easy to replace the steering motor with a new steering servo. I had \n bought a "servo saver" from Dynamic Hobbies on Saturday and connected \n this up to the servo. I had to drill out the holes slightly so that the \n steering linkages would fit into the holes.\n

\n

\n Once the steering servo was installed, I tried testing it. I wanted to \n find out what were the right values to send the servo for center, left, \n and right. The servo was behaving very strangely. Finally I figured \n out I must have taken this servo apart and broken something. I replaced \n the servo with another, and was able to get it working as expected. \n Using trial and error I was able to find the best values for center, \n left, and right. I was also able to fix the other servo. I just needed \n to get the potentiometer in the right range so that the motor would turn \n in its full expected range.\n

\n

\n Next I hooked up the forward and reverse lines to my controller board. \n I figured out which was the left/right and forward/backward lines on the \n motor connector I have on my controller board. I used the right motor \n output and connected these to the forward/reverse lines of the Hummer \n base. I turned on the controller board, and I could see the motors \n turning on and off. This was because the motor power values were \n constantly going up and then rolling over at 1023 (10 bits for the PWM). \n The adjust wheel speed procedure was always trying to increase the \n motor power because the encoder feedback for the motor was non-existent!\n

\n

\n So, the next thing was to put a motor encoder on the Hummer motor. I \n was able to easily remove the motor cover, glue an encoder disk, and \n mount a sensor to read the disk. I used the same sensor as the ones I \n have on Screwybot and Sumobot. I really like these sensors and it's \n easy to install them. I put some small pieces of Sintra near the motor \n shaft to glue the sensor leads, since this motor had a "raised" center \n part. After positioning and gluing the sensor, I soldered up the wire \n connections. I used the wire wrap wire and fed these out of the motor \n housing. I soldered the other end of the wires to a male header which I \n then glued to the outside of the motor housing. I re-ran my motor tests \n after connecting the motor encoder to the controller board and it \n worked! I programmed an older version of the controller software that \n had my motor test code in there. I was able to set the wheel target \n speed and I could see the motor being set to the target speed. For \n speeds less than 5, the motor would oscillate quite a bit (it would run \n then turn off, then run, then turn off, etc...) But for higher speeds \n it worked perfectly. Woo Hoo, I now have motor control on the Hummer \n base.\n

\n

\n With motor control and steering control, the Hummer base is now ready to \n be connected to the controller board. However, I need to update my \n program to handle a base that has regular type steering rather than \n differential steering. I'm thinking I also need to change my navigation \n algorithm since I will no longer be able to track robot orientation \n using theta, but rely totally on the GPS or compass feedback rather than \n encoder feedback. Still, I made a lot of progress in getting this \n Hummer base to work as a robot base. Woo Hoo!!! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 896, "title": "WK19-2 Run", "date": "2007-05-08 22:04:55.0", "content": "

\n After my long run on Sunday, my foot was still sore, so I wanted to take \n it easy and not push myself too much. Ran my usual 10km route out by \n Andrew Haydon park and Dick Bell park. Run stats: 10.60km, total time: \n 1:06:31, pace: 6:16mins/km, heart rate: 139bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 897, "title": "WK19-4 Run", "date": "2007-05-10 22:48:19.0", "content": "

\n Still nursing my sore left foot. Wanted to do a tempo run and push \n myself a bit more. Since I didn't run yesterday, and it was supposed to \n be a longer run, I wanted to make this a longer run too. I ran out by \n Bruce Pit and Trend Arlington for the first loop, and then out to Andrew \n Haydon park for the second loop. This was a fast run! I was also very \n pleased at how moderate my heart rate was given the exertion effort. I \n wasn't breathing too quickly. However, my legs were burning slightly \n from the build up of lactic acid due to the quicker pace. All in all, \n an excellent run! Run stats: 14.77km, total time: 1:25:46, pace: 5:48, \n heart rate: 141bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 898, "title": "WK19-7 Treadmill Run", "date": "2007-05-13 23:42:25.0", "content": "

\n I was hoping that I would get some runs in during our trip to Grand \n Island, New York for Elizabeth's dance competition. All I could manage \n was a quick 3 mile run on the tread mill. I did have a short 1/2 hour \n swim in the pool on Saturday, but that didn't get my heart rate up at \n all. My left foot is still a little tender. Run stats: 4.8km, total \n time: 0:31:00, pace: 6:27mins/km. Heart rate was unknown since I didn't \n wear my heart rate monitor.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 899, "title": "Grand Island, New York trip!", "date": "2007-05-11 23:21:19.0", "content": "

\n We went on a nice trip to Grand Island, New York this past weekend for \n Elizabeth's dance competition. We left the house around 4:00pm, \n although we were hoping to leave around 3:00pm. There were just too \n many things to do to get ready. I had put on the car rack and ski box \n to hold our luggage. This left room in the trunk for the cooler and \n other gadgets I was bringing. I also filled up gas before we got on the \n 416 highway.\n

\n

\n The route we took was to go down the 416 to 401 and then exit 661 to \n highway 137 to the Hill Island border crossing. It took just over an \n hour to get to the border. We spent about ten minutes at the Canadian \n Customs to declare some electronics and camera equipment we had. Then \n we spent another ten minutes waiting and going through the US Customs. \n It was around 5:30pm by the time we were on the road again heading south \n on highway 81 towards Watertown and Syracuse. At around 6:00pm we went \n off Exit 45 at Watertown and went to Wendy's for dinner. The service \n was slow, and we took our time eating dinner, so we were there for over \n 50minutes! When we got back on the road again, I asked Anne if she \n could drive for a while, since I was getting tired and my eyes were \n heavy. At 7:40, there was a rest stop, so we got off and switched \n drivers. Anne and Elizabeth took a quick break to the bathroom and we \n were off again. At Syracuse, we got on highway 90 West towards Buffalo. \n This is a toll highway, but you don't pay when you get on. You get a \n ticket first, and then pay when you get off the highway.\n

\n

\n Around 9:00pm, we got off at another rest stop to switch drivers again. \n Joseph and I took a quick bathroom break. It was good to get some rest \n while Anne did the driving. I felt refreshed again. Just after \n 10:00pm, we were at Buffalo, and going off highway 90 and getting on \n highway 290 which circles around Buffalo. The toll for highway 90 was \n just $5.00! Pretty good deal considering we were on the highway for \n over 2 hours! We then took highway 190 which goes right to Grand \n Island. There was a toll here too for the bridge. Finally around 10:30 \n we rolled into the Holiday Inn hotel where were staying for the weekend. \n Anne went in to get us checked-in, I unpacked the car at the front \n doors, and we were able to snag one of the rolling luggage carriers to \n bring our bags to the room. It was late, but we were excited to be in a \n new place and starting off another weekend trip!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 900, "title": "Elizabeth's Dance Competition and tourist stuff", "date": "2007-05-14 22:48:48.0", "content": "

\n After a whirlwind trip to Grand Island, New York we were heading home \n again. Elizabeth did well in her dancing. I think she got Golds for the \n dances she was in. On Saturday night, after dinner at Pizza Hut, Anne \n really wanted to see Niagra Falls at night since it was all lit up. I've \n never actually seen Niagra falls from the US side, so I said let's go! \n It was already past 10:00pm by now and the lights were only on until \n midnight, so we quickly got ready and headed off. Joseph was my \n navigator again and he got us right to the falls. It was an amazing \n sight! The lights they have on the falls continually changed colour (I \n think it was red/purple, blue, white...). I tried taking lots of \n pictures, although I had to use the railing and other objects to steady \n my camera for the long exposure shots. It was also a really cool night, \n and I was glad I had put on my black sweatshirt and blue jacket. \n Elizabeth was cold when were walking back to the car, so I gave her my \n jacket to keep warm. It was surprising how cool it was and how much the \n temperature had dropped because it was so very hot during the day. \n Joseph asked if we could come back during the day, so we planned to come \n back early Sunday morning to do more touring and taking pictures.\n

\n

\n Around 9:00am Sunday morning, we headed out again to see the falls. We \n took more pictures and did lots of hiking around. We walked to Goat \n Island to get a better look at the Horshoe Falls, which is the main \n falls on the Canadian side. We could also see the Maid of the Mist boats \n going up really close to the falls. Around 11:00am, after walking around \n for a couple of hours, we headed back to the hotel. Check-out time is \n 12:00pm, so we had to hustle back to our hotel room to pack up and \n check-out. I was hoping that they would give us an extension so that I \n could do a run on the treadmill. I went down with Joseph around 11:30 to \n the fitness room and was running on the treadmill when Anne came by and \n signaled to me that they wouldn't extend the check-out time. I finished \n my run around 12:00pm after 3 miles. It was short, but I guess better \n than nothing. Joseph and I quickly took our showers while Anne finished \n packing our stuff and getting checked-out.\n

\n

\n We headed over to the dance competition at the high school, where we \n stopped in the cafeteria to have lunch. I took more pictures of some of \n the dance routines. Before you knew it, the time was 6:00pm and the big \n Aladdin production number was being performed. It was neat seeing the \n whole production, although I was looking at it mostly through the camera \n viewfinder. I don't even think I saw Elizabeth during the whole \n performance. After the performance, we packed up and started heading \n out. The kids really wanted to stay and watch the big production numbers \n from the other dance troupes, but it was already late and we wouldn't be \n getting home until after midnight! (There was one production that had \n hundreds of performers. The dancer list was absolutely huge! We also \n later found out that the Chiarelli's stayed and watched, and they didn't \n get home until 5:00am in the morning!)\n

\n

\n Around 6:40pm we started heading out for the long trip home. First we \n made a quick stop at a Grand Island sign where Elizabeth and I took some \n pictures. Anne and Joseph stayed in the car. Too bad, it would have been \n good taking a picture of everyone at the sign. At 7:30, we stopped at a \n rest stop to change drivers. It was going to be a long night, so I was \n glad that Anne was able to share some of the driving. At 8:45pm we \n stopped at another rest stop and switched drivers again. At 9:16pm we \n were going through the toll booth for highway 90 and heading north from \n Syracuse. During the drive towards Watertown, I decided that we should \n fill up gas before getting to the border. At first I was thinking of \n filling up gas on the 401, but then thought that gas would be cheaper on \n the US side. Joseph looked up on Streets and Trips and found a gas \n station at exit 46. There was bit of confusion and I missed this exit \n and we ended up going to the next exit 47 at around 10:15pm. There was \n also a large convenience store here, so after filling gas, we all went \n for a bathroom break, and then Anne bought all of us some chocolate \n milk!!! Yum!!!\n

\n

\n We got to the border around 11:00pm. Going through the border was \n totally painless. The Canadian Customs officer asked our citizenship \n status, how long we've been gone, if we were bringing back any alcohol \n or tobacco, and what was in our ski box. Then he said we could go. \n Yippee, nice smooth border crossing. I think it took less than 30 \n seconds. It was around 12:15am by the time we were in our driveway at \n home. The drive up highway 416 was tough in that my eyes were really \n heavy at this point and I was getting tired and sleepy. I had to keep \n eating and concentrating on the road. It was another school and work day \n on Monday, so we quickly brought all our bags inside and crashed into \n our beds. Another wonderful, whirlwind, road trip!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 901, "title": "May ORE Robotics meeting, \"Player\" and \"Stage\" robot applications", "date": "2007-05-14 23:01:30.0", "content": "

\n This month's May ORE robotics meeting was pretty quiet. Allen M. was \n showing off the propellor processor that he is using for his next robot. \n It looks pretty cool and has a lot of capabilities! It can even output \n composite video! I had brought in screwybot/odyssey to show off. One \n person asked me a few questions about it. I was also hoping that I could \n run the hallway contest, but didn't prepare my robot at all. It should \n be easy enough, however, to do this since I've got my odometery routines \n working pretty well right now.\n

\n

\n Albert was showing me some cool Linux applications called "Player" and \n "Stage" used for Robot control and simulation. He was showing me some \n simulation of robots wandering around an area with a laser rangefinder \n and sonar sensors for mapping out it's environment. I really want to \n look at this too. I'll have to put this on the list of things to do. \n However, this will require that I put together a Linux development \n environment. This will be a big learning curve again for me, since I \n have not worked on Linux for a long time. But these applications are \n just too cool!!!\n

\n

\n http://playerstage.sourceforge.net/index.php?src=doc \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 902, "title": "Computer Vision using OpenCV", "date": "2007-05-18 22:25:41.0", "content": "

\n I've been fooling around some more with the OpenCV library and utilities \n to understand their capabilities and how to incorporate them into my \n robot for the Robomagellan contest. I've been looking at the "Camshift" \n demo program and reverse-engineering the code to understand all the \n functionality. I'm really starting to better understand how this stuff \n works. First, I've been able to take the Camshift demo program and \n compile it under Visual Studio 2005. That is the first step to allow me \n to make changes to the code.\n

\n

\n I then started looking at the code to understand all the functions and \n procedures. I put in comments to describe what the code is doing. In the \n code, I also put in links to the documentation for the OpenCV library \n calls so I can easily find the documentation which describes the \n function and the parameters for the function. I've also saved bookmarks \n in the FireFox browser to the OpenCV documentation so I can easily open \n them up in my browser. There are 4 main OpenCV documentation files: \n opencv, cxcore, highgui, and cvaux. I'm still confused on what content \n goes into each file, but am starting to get better at learning the \n library functions. Here's a link to the folder with the OpenCV \n documentation:\n

\n

\n \n \n file:///D:/Program%20Files/OpenCV/docs/ref/ \n

\n

\n The "HighGUI" routines are for the user interface of OpenCV and are used \n to open and display images. You can open an image file, a video file, or \n a video stream from a video capture device such as a web cam. You can \n then process the images. I actually opened a video file of someone's \n face in front of the computer and did face tracking using the Camshift \n demo. I had to slow down the processing so that I had time to choose the \n tracking area before the video file finished showing! The speed of the \n video is actually determined by how fast the processing is being done by \n the program (reading each frame from the video file and processing it). \n I had to put in some delays in the loop to slow down the processing and \n see the video images at a more normal rate.\n

\n

\n In order to understand the processing being done on the images, I \n displayed some of the intermediate working images in windows. This \n actually ended up being quite easy. I created some named Windows and \n then displayed images inside those windows. The original Camshift demo \n program had 2 windows for the original image and a histogram. There were \n also some trackback bars in the image window so that you could adjust \n "Vmin", "Vmax", and "Smin". I added several more windows to display the \n hsv, hue, backproject, and mask. I also created a window to display text \n and some debug info.\n

\n

\n Doing this really helped me understand the program a lot better. Seeing \n the mask and how it changes by changing the "Smin" (saturation), "Vmin", \n and "Vmax" (brightness values) was a real eye opener and gave me a much \n better view of how this works. I also figured out how the tracking \n ellipse is drawn and modified the line width of the ellipse. I also drew \n the bounding rectangle for the ellipse using a red line. I drew another \n red rectangle for the original area of the image used for tracking and \n storing the histogram. I also displayed the (x,y) co-ordinates of the \n the tracking ellipse and the angle of the ellipse, as well as other info \n about the tracking and image.\n

\n

\n Using this info, I can now figure out how to track a cone in the image. \n Using the "x co-ordinate", I can determine if the cone is to the left or \n right and how I should adjust the robot heading to put the cone in the \n center of the image. (I can take the size of the image frame and divide \n the width by two to get the exact centre of the image in the \n x-direction. Using the x-co-ordinate of the tracking rectangle I can \n determine if the object is on the left or the right of center.) Using \n the height of the object (y-direction), size of the ellipse, or size of \n the bounding rectangle I can determine how close the cone is to the \n robot. There is also a variable which calculates the area of the tracked \n object (in pixels?) that could be used to determine the size of the \n tracked object and how close it is to the camera.\n

\n

\n I have also been able to save the image of part of the cone into a file. \n Now when the program runs, it automatically opens this image of part of \n the cone and creates a histogram used for tracking. In the original \n demo, you had to choose an area of the image to start tracking. Now when \n you open the program, it automatically loads in the "cone image", \n creates a histogram from this image, and then starts tracking based on \n this histogram. The original area I use for tracking an object is the \n whole image. I tested this and it works. When there is a cone in the \n image when I start running the program, the cone is automatically found \n and tracked by the program. Woo Hoo!!! These code fragments can easily \n be incorporated into the vision processing algorithms of the \n Robomagellan robot.\n

\n

\n Another thing I was thinking is to build a utility that creates the \n image file used for tracking. The idea would be to put the object in the \n same light that is used for the contest. This way, the hue and \n brightness values would be in the exact lighting conditions the robot \n would be operating in when searching for the cone. After putting the \n cone in the same light as the contest, you would then choose a portion \n of the cone image that would be saved to a file. This file is then the \n default tracking image for the program.\n

\n

\n Another "to do item" is to build a pan/tilt mechanism to move the camera \n under the control of the program. Using a serial interface to this \n pan/tilt mechanism, the program can move the camera so that the cone is \n always put at the center of the image. This is exactly the same as the \n CMU Cam demo where it tracks an orange ball.\n

\n

\n I'm really starting to make some progress in the computer vision \n processing area. It's exciting understanding how this functionality \n works and building a program to control a robot using vision input. I'll \n have to start working on my mini-ITX board and getting that up and \n running so I have a Windows controller board I can stick on a robot. The \n other option would be to have a wireless camera and do the image \n processing off-board and send commands wirelessly back to the robot. \n Might want to try both methods. This stuff is so cool!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 904, "title": "Converting to new 18F4620 PIC processor", "date": "2007-05-19 23:39:33.0", "content": "

\n I've run out of memory using the 18F452 processor with 16K words of \n program flash memory. Last week I received the 18F4620 sample PICs I \n ordered from Microchip, so I decided to convert over to using these \n processors on my robot controller board. The first thing I needed to do \n was to create a version of the tinybootloader that works on this chip. \n I took the 18F2620 tinybld.asm file and changed it to work for the \n 18F4620 processor. I was having problems getting this to assemble, but \n later found out that it was because I had two "periods" in the filename. \n DOS was complaining about this, and when I changed it the first period \n to an "underscore", everything worked fine. Sheesh... I wasted good time \n tracking down that bug!!!\n

\n

\n I tried to program the tiny bootloader using my Tait programmer and \n ICprog, but it didn't work. I ended up using my ICD2 clone and \n connecting that to my programmer to program the 40pin DIP chip. I \n really should put a programming connector on my robot control boards so \n that I can connect the ICD2 programmer and do in-circuit programming on \n the control boards. Put that on my "to do list" too!!! After \n successfully programming the tiny bootloader into the chip, I turned to \n the Hummerbot program to convert it to 18F4620. I had done this \n previously and the only thing I needed to do was to choose the new \n device type. The program compiled without any differences in the code \n between the '452 and the '4620 chips. I programmed the program into the \n new chip using tinybootloader and everything went fine.\n

\n

\n Here's where my problems began. My program just wasn't behaving \n properly. It wasn't outputting anything to my LCD screen. Since I now \n had lots of space, I turned on my terminal output code, but only the \n header lines was output to the screen. No debug output was being dumped \n to the terminal. I ended up putting some calls to the VT100 display and \n LCD display procedures in the loop after the behaviour fsm call and got \n the output to show. For some reason, the flags for triggering these \n updates to occur were not being set from my interrupt routine. Another \n weird behaviour from the program was that it kept thinking that my \n "button 2" was being pressed.\n

\n

\n After much debugging and putting in test code, I figured out there were \n two issues. One was that there are more A/D pins on this '4620 chip, so \n you actually needed to set some bits in the ADCON1 register to have all \n those extra pins set to digital. In the datasheet it said that some of \n these pins defaulted to Analog and are read as zero. Of course one of \n those pins happened to be my "button 2" input pin and was always being \n read as zero or "pressed down". Yikes! So after programming the ADCON1 \n register properly, I was now able to read the buttons and do my motor \n control tests properly.\n

\n

\n However, I still had the problem of my interrupt routine not behaving \n correctly. This problem turns out to be because of some global \n variables that I was initializing as part of the variable declaration. \n I guess this was somehow being trampled after the program was originally \n run. I created some initialization code for these variables in my \n interrupt init routine and, voila, problem solved. Yippee! So now my \n interrupt routine is behaving as expected, and I've now successfully \n converted over to the new processor with double the memory. I'll have \n to go back and put this fix into my old programs too. This bug just \n happens to not show up in the other processor, but it is still a latent \n bug waiting to rear its ugly head. \n

\n

\n There was also a minor issue with some VT100 output code that was not \n printing out the values correctly. I had missed a "%" sign so all my \n variable output was offset by one position from what I had thought. \n When I was looking at the output, I thought the target # was changing, \n but it actually ended up being the motor power value. Once I found this \n out, it made much more sense, since the motor power value was being \n changed by the "button 2" press down issue. I had tried commenting out \n the "target number" increment code, but this number kept changing. \n Huh?#? So when I found this bug, it ended up not being the "target \n number" changing at all!!!\n

\n

\n OK, so after fixing these bugs, I now have cut-over to the new \n processor. Next, I need to update the logic of my program to control a \n robot with front wheel steering rather than differential steering on \n Screwybot. I tried modifying my program so that it would read the GPS \n serial input and start controlling the robot towards the waypoint \n targets. I changed my logic, so that the robot corrects its bearing \n once for each GPS reading. The program then waits for the next stable \n bearing reading by checking that the GPS bearing hasn't changed much \n between readings (< 5 degrees), and then sets a flag indicating that a \n heading adjustment can now be made using the new robot bearing. Logic \n seems OK, just need to go out and test it now!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 905, "title": "WK20-7 Run", "date": "2007-05-20 21:51:39.0", "content": "

\n Boy, this hasn't been a very good taper for my marathon. More like \n complete rest. My foot is still slightly sore, so I've been err'ing on \n the side of caution and not doing any running, hoping I can completely \n heal what I think is a stress fracture in the center of the ball of my \n left foot. Today, I went out for a run for the first time since my \n short run last Sunday. I found that I've lost a bit of fitness in my ~ \n 2 weeks off training. I tried to run at a brisk pace, but found that my \n heart rate is about 5 beats higher than I would have expected it. Also, \n at the end of the run, my left foot was sore... Damn! It's going to be \n tough running the marathon next week, but I'm going to try and \n persevere. My last long run of 37km, my foot was sore, but I was still \n able to run. I'm hoping it will be the same during the marathon. \n Actually I was just thinking that I could have continued training on the \n elliptical trainer! This exercise is low impact and I don't think it \n would have bothered my stress fracture. Need to think of this for next \n time! Run stats: 12.8km, total time: 1:19:26, pace: 6:12mins/km, heart \n rate: 144bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 906, "title": "WK21-2 Elliptical training session", "date": "2007-05-22 22:02:45.0", "content": "

\n The ball of my left foot is still sore, so I decided to do an elliptical \n training session instead. Joseph had an ultimate frisbee practice, so I \n dropped him off at Ben Franklin park at 6:30pm and then headed off to \n Walter Baker to the fitness center. I did an elliptical session for \n just over an hour. It was weird getting used to the feeling of being on \n an elliptical trainer. I had to hang on to the bars, since I never \n really felt balanced. My heart rate is not as high compared to when I'm \n running, but I was still able to get it in the upper 130's range. I \n still have to learn the settings too. I fooled around with the height \n and tension adjustments. There is also a session timer you can set. I \n had it set for 30 minutes at first and then had to reset it again. I \n didn't realize it at first, but then found out that the next session was \n 60 minutes. I had to stop this session so I could take a quick shower \n before I went back to pick up Joseph. It was good to get a decent work \n out and not have to worry about my left foot.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 907, "title": "Wk21-6 Run", "date": "2007-05-26 22:19:40.0", "content": "

\n This was my last run before tomorrow's marathon. Yesterday, I went with \n the kids to pick up my race kit at the Fitness Expo. We went around \n 7:00pm and it was packed! For next year, I should try to pick up my race \n kit on Thursday night. I did find a good deal on a white hat that I \n wanted to get. It had a Brooks logo on it and was made mostly of mesh \n (to keep my head cool). And the price was right at $12.99. There were \n other hats that I saw on sale at $14.99 and some at $24.99.\n

\n

\n Today is a short 2 mile run to loosen up the muscles in preparation for \n the marathon. I ran my Bruce Pit route which ended up being just over 4 \n kms. Again my foot was sore, so I kind of resigned myself to the fact \n that it will be sore for tomorrow's marathon run. Run stats: 4.29km, \n total time: 0:26:26, pace: 6:10mins/km, heart rate: 141bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 908, "title": "WK21-7 Marathon Race!", "date": "2007-05-27 22:25:52.0", "content": "

\n Well the big race day has finally come! I didn't really plan the \n preparation for race day like I did last year, but everything went OK. \n On Saturday night, I put my timing chip on my shoe. I ended up cutting \n the extra length of the strap. I tried to get to bed early, but didn't \n quite make it and got to bed around 11:00pm. I set my alarm for 4:15am. \n I had a bit of a restless sleep. I slept soundly for the first part of \n the night, but then I awoke a couple of hours before the alarm was \n supposed to go off, and had a hard time getting back to sleep.\n

\n

\n After getting up, the first thing I did was have breakfast. I wanted to \n make sure I had fully digested breakfast by the race start time of \n 7:00am. I had my regular bowl of Rice Krispies with a banana. I then had \n a second bowl with a single Shredded Wheat. I think I also drank a glass \n of water. At around 5:00am I hopped into the shower. I put on my running \n clothes: regular running shorts, light MEC technical t-shirt (blue), and \n running socks. I pinned my bib number to my shirt. I also wore sweat \n pants and my jacket to keep warm before the race. At 5:30am I went and \n gave Anne, Joseph, and Elizabeth a kiss goodbye as they were sleeping \n and headed of downtown. I turned on my garmin handheld GPS to track the \n time and my routes.\n

\n

\n Last night I had looked at a map and planned on parking on O'Connor \n street. This is a one way street south that goes right to the Queensway. \n I got downtown before 6:00am and easily found a perfect spot on O'Connor \n between Laurier and Gloucester. This was two long city blocks from the \n starting line at Elgin and Laurier. After parking, I walked to City \n Hall. I took a couple of pictures of the starting line archway, \n continued on to city hall and went inside. I went to the washroom \n toilet. Luckily there was no line and I got in the stall right away. I \n then went and sat down on a bench and tried to relax for a while. I put \n on my MP3 player and listened to some of the slower songs. I closed my \n eyes and tried to relax...\n

\n

\n At 6:20am I went back to the washroom for one last check. This time \n there was a line-up for the toilets. I just went to the urinal so I \n didn't have to wait in line. I then walked back to the car. At the car I \n went in the backseat to take off my sweatpants and jacket. I re-tied my \n shoelaces to make sure they were not going to come undone during the \n raece. I started my Timex GPS to get satellite synchronization before \n the race. At 6:45am I got out of the car, locked the car with the spare \n key (I left my regular set of keys in my gym bag in the car), put the \n key in a pocket on my water belt, and pinned the pocket shut. I then \n walked down Gloucester towards Elgin. Once there I found my spot in the \n correct corral for my predicted finish time (4:01-4:30). I went right to \n the back and then waited for the race to start. It didn't take long, and \n we were on our way!\n

\n

\n I took a very conservative pace at the beginning around 6:00-6:10mins/km \n and I was being passed quite a lot! However, I knew the danger of having \n too quick a starting pace for me, so I stayed with my nice relaxed pace. \n There was something wrong with my heart rate monitor, and it kept \n jumping up to 240bpm. It did that for the whole race, so I basically \n have no heart rate data for the marathon. Too bad. Luckily my GPS was \n still working fine, so I could at least see my running pace. I remember \n my running pace felt very easy. My breathing was relaxed and easy too. \n This was a good sign! When we got to the 10km mark, I tried to check my \n time, but I couldn't find the total running time on my stopwatch. It \n only showed the lap times, distance, etc... So I ended up looking at the \n watch time. It was 8:02, so assuming we left at 7:00am, it was just over \n an hour for 10km. I was on a good pace! And it felt easy! That was \n basically the way I felt running through Gatineau and Rockcliffe. I did \n take a quick bathroom break in some bushes/trees in Rockcliffe somewhere \n around the 14km mark.\n

\n

\n At the halfway mark, my time was 2:10:07 so I was on track for a \n 4hr20min marathon. I remember thinking I'm going to nail this marathon. \n However, I was premature in my optimism and cockiness... Going up \n Colonel By drive the dreaded cramps started to appear in my legs. My \n thighs were first. They started getting stiff. Then my calfs started to \n get that feeling too. Once in a while one of the leg muscles would cramp \n but then stop. It would startle me and I would do a jerky step, but I \n never got a full-on cramp which was a relief! I tried to relax as much \n as possible and continued to run. Although the cramps would come and go \n frequently for the rest of the race, I never had to stop running because \n of the cramps. I actually was able to keep up my pace to the 30km mark. \n My split time was 3:06:26 so I was able to run a 1:02 10km pace for \n 30km. Not bad!!!\n

\n

\n Around the 30km mark, there was a water station and I remember that my \n toes started to cramp really badly once I stopped running and started \n walking (to drink from the cup). The toe cramp didn't go away and I \n spent some time trying to stretch the toes out. It still hurt after I \n started running, but the cramp must have faded away, because I don't \n remember them bothering me for the rest of the race. Going by Vincent \n Massey park, I saw the couple that I was using as pacers early on in the \n race. They were going on the overpass above on Baseline. I thought, \n they're only 5 minutes ahead of me. Yeah! When I got on that bridge and \n went down the turn on Prince of Wales drive, I thought of Mom passing \n away and it almost drove me to tears. I was thinking of how I kept \n wanting to dedicate my run to her and Denisa. It really started to choke \n me up emotionally, but physically it really made me push the pace. I \n kept thinking of how their spirits must be helping me now and how I was \n getting strength from them. I think my pace actually quickened through \n this part of the run.\n

\n

\n The last 10km of the run was especially tough. My legs were really tired \n by now. I kept thinking my pace was OK, but my watch kept telling me I \n had slowed down to around 7:00mins/km pace. Looking at my running data \n after, it was especially evident after the last water station around the \n 37km mark that after I stopped and walked to take my drink, I never \n really picked up the pace after that. It was always around 7:00mins/km. \n One thing, though, was that I kept on running! There were lots of times \n I wanted to walk, but I kept on running. I walked through the last water \n station around the 37-38km mark, but after that I kept running until the \n finish line. I was proud of that! Final results: Gun Time: 4:28:34, Chip \n Time: 4:26:23.\n

\n

\n \n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 909, "title": "Nickelback lyrics thought provoking...", "date": "2007-06-01 08:37:11.821", "content": "

\n You probably wouldn't think those words would be used in the same \n sentence, but I really like their new song: "If Everyone". I heard it on \n the radio again this morning while driving in to work and I tried to \n memorize the chorus.\n

\n
\n If everyone cared, and nobody cried\n
\n
\n If everyone loved, and nobody lied\n
\n
\n If everyone shared, and swallowed their pride,\n
\n
\n Then we'll see the day when nobody dies...\n
\n

\n The song has some hard rock guitar chords and riffs which are typical of \n Nickelback songs. For some reason the song really resonates with me. The \n lyrics are clear and easy to hear, and the message is just so relevant \n (especially in today's environment). I'll need to download the song. :-)\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 910, "title": "Huliganga web page and family tree stuff", "date": "2007-06-05 23:07:12.0", "content": "

\n We are going on a big trip to Virginia and North Carolina to attend \n Claire's wedding (Manang Susan's daughter). This family event made me \n think of all the family tree and family history stuff I want to capture \n and keep working on. I want to get an updated plot of the family tree \n and bring it down with me to show Auntie Rose and the other family \n members. I gave my copy of the plotted family tree to Manong Ted when \n he visited here last September 2006. I'll have to make several copies \n so that I can give them to Auntie Rose, Manong Caesar, Manang Susan, and \n Manang Betty. I also want to update the Huliganga family web page. I \n basically haven't updated it for over a year! Yikes! I just re-read \n my Mission Statement for the Huliganga Family web page and in there I \n said that I wanted to keep the information current to have the visitors \n keep coming back. I haven't done that!\n

\n

\n One idea that I had was to make the web page a Wiki page so that people \n can edit it. This way I can get content for the family page from \n everyone! I think this would be cool. Now to convince people to visit \n this page and to contribute. I'll have to put on my salesman's cap and \n start selling and recruiting people to "the cause".\n

\n

\n Just last weekend I was backing up the data for the SMF forum, since I \n was thinking of upgrading to the latest versions of SMF and Tiny Portal. \n I backed up all the MySQL databases for SMF, Gallery2, Wordpress, etc. \n Yesterday, I realized that the Huliganga web page didn't work anymore! \n I debugged it and found that it was due to me changing the login \n password for my Lunarpages account userid. I did this several months \n back and I don't know what happened just recently to trigger this issue. \n However, I shouldn't really be using this userid to access the MySQL \n database, since there are MySQL userids created for this exact purpose. \n I did a google on the error message and found some forums that talked \n about uploading a “repair_settings.php” utility and running it. You can \n download this utility at: "http://www.simplemachines.org/download/?tools".\n

\n

\n Running this utility it said there was an error connecting to the MySQL \n database and it had my Lunarpages account userid and my old password. I \n changed this to my new password and the Huliganga web page started \n working again. However, this isn't the right way to do it. So I set \n the password for the "huliga2_smf" userid using phpMyAdmin in Cpanel \n (click on "MySQL Account Maintenance" and scroll down to the bottom of \n the page) and put this into the settings for the MySQL access (on the \n repair_settings page) and this worked! So now I have a MySQL userid for \n accessing the database and now when I change my Lunarpages account \n userid password, this should not affect the SMF access to the MySQL \n database. Note that you need to delete the "repair_settings.php" file \n from your forum directory after you are finished using it, since it is a \n security risk. There will be a message displayed in the SMF forum if \n you are logged in as an "admin" and this file exists in your forum \n directory.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 912, "title": "Family tree web applications", "date": "2007-06-08 22:47:33.0", "content": "

\n Searching on other people's family tree sites, I found a really cool \n application that will let you maintain a GEDCOM file for your family \n tree on-line. It will draw charts, create reports, create notes and \n events, add citations and sources, and more! The application is called \n "phpgedview" and will do a lot of what the family tree maker application \n does. The home page URL is: http://www.phpgedview.net/ \n

\n

\n It was really easy to set up the phpgedview web application. I created \n a MySQL database with a new user for this database. Filled this \n information in a config file. I exported a GED file from Family Tree \n Maker and imported it into phpgedview. I could now browse and look at \n the family tree information on-line! You can even link photographs to \n the individuals and families. I uploaded a bunch of images and linked \n them to the appropriate individual or family. I also configured the \n default Theme to be "Cloudy", which I liked the best out of all the \n available themes. I need to add the information for installing and \n configuring the "phpgedview" web application to my "Web Page \n Administration" guide. I want to keep all the instructions, hints, \n tips, and help for all the stuff I do on the Huliganga Web page, so that \n I capture how I do things and don't forget how something was done.\n

\n

\n One thing I should note as well was that the first time I exported the \n GED file from Family Tree Maker and imported into phpgedview, the event \n dates weren't captured properly and didn't display at all in the \n calendar. I did the export a little differently from Family Tree Maker \n and was able to get the events to show up in the calendar. Here are the \n steps I performed. You choose File/Export File/Entire File... In the \n dialog box, choose "Save as type" as GEDCOM (*.GED) and type in a \n filename. In the next dialog box, I chose destination as "PAF", GEDCOM \n as "Version 5.5", and character set as "ANSI". I un-checked "Indent \n records" and checked "Abbreviate tags". This will create a GED file \n that you can import into phpgedview and get the events to show up \n properly in the calendar. Woo Hoo!!! This is a cool application. Now \n I need to recruit family members to contribute photos and stories and \n update the family tree data!!! \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 913, "title": "Family Tree WIKI", "date": "2007-06-10 22:30:16.0", "content": "

\n I've been doing a lot of thinking of how to capture our family history \n and genealogy information. I want to use the web and computer tools to \n make this information available and fun to use for the entire family. As \n I thought of all the things I want to capture, I found that there are \n actually different types of information and that each type of \n information will drive the type of application to use for storing that \n information. Here are the ideas I've come up with so far:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Family Genealogy\n
    2. \n
      \n
    • \n Family tree information. This information is best kept in a database \n which can store individual information and family information. The \n database information should be exportable to a standard GED format \n so that it can be imported into other applications. On the PC the \n application I use is "Family Tree Maker". I also found an awesome \n application called "phpgedview" that will let you manage your family \n tree information on a web page.\n
      • \n
    \n
  2. \n Family History and Family Stories\n
    3. \n
      \n
    • \n This is capturing the family history and family stories. I'd like to \n capture individual and family biographies. What were the significant \n and interesting events that people remember? Need to come up with a \n list of questions or topics that people can write about as part of \n the family history. Here's a quick list off the top of my head: \n individual info, birth info, death info, childhood stories, \n schooling (elementary, high school, university, college), awards, \n sports, friends, social events. Family info, engagement, marriage, \n children, grandchildren, immigration to another country, WWII, world \n events, social events, family reunions, special events, ... Also \n dedications, remembrances, eulogies, ...\n
      • \n
    • \n For this information, I thought that the best application to input \n and store this information is one that allows easy editing, \n collaboration, and info sharing. A way to link the stories and \n articles to one another is also required. The best solution I \n thought was to use a WIKI! This allows anyone to edit the articles \n (easy editing and universal access). The WIKI will also allow \n linking of articles, so there is a way of relating articles to one \n another. There is also an index which will help you find a specific \n article. Articles are identified and linked by their titles, so we \n need some type of convention for specifying the titles of these \n articles.\n
      • \n
    \n
  3. \n Family Current Events and News\n
    4. \n
      \n
    • \n This is current information about family. What's happening now in \n our lives. I thought that this information is best captured as a \n blog or diary. The entries can talk about anything and includes both \n text and multi-media. A newsletter can also be used to capture \n current news. Items include birth announcements, marriage \n announcements, fun stuff, puzzles, entertainment, stories, jokes, \n hints, help, ...\n
      • \n
    \n
", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 914, "title": "WK23-5 Run", "date": "2007-06-09 23:26:33.0", "content": "

\n It has been 2 weeks since the marathon, and I've been trying to push \n myself to go running again. Tonight, Anne had a girl's night out and \n the kids were watching a movie, so I decided go out for a run. I wanted \n to really push the pace for some reason. I took my usual route by Bruce \n Pit and Trend Arlington park. Right from the start, I was breathing \n hard. I couldn't tell what my heart rate was because my heart rate \n monitor kept saying 240 bpm. My guess is that it was close to or even \n over 150bpm. I've lost a lot of fitness!!! I guess that's to be \n expected since I did really run much during my taper and after the \n marathon.\n

\n

\n I started to get a pain on the outside of my right knee. I think it is \n the ITB complaining and is due to the fast pace I'm trying to run. I \n need to flex my knee more, which I was actually consciously trying to do \n as part of my running fast. I just have to be careful that it doesn't \n become ITB tendinitis. I had this several years ago, because I \n increased my mileage too quickly, and I was running to fast. I need to \n have some restraint and build my speed gradually just like building up \n mileage gradually.\n

\n

\n The foot pain at the ball of my foot came back again (it never really \n went away). Yuck! This really sucks. I'm going to have to phase in \n gradually and see if I can recover from this injury. I'm also thinking \n I'm going to have to do more biking. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 915, "title": "WK24-6,7 Bike", "date": "2007-06-17 22:01:04.0", "content": "

\n On Saturday, Elizabeth had a soccer tournament near Walter Baker Sports \n Center. I went and watched the morning game. For the afternoon game, I \n asked Joseph if he wanted to bike out there and watch the game and he \n said yes. So Joseph and I biked out to Walter Baker on our mountain \n bikes. We went to Bruce Pit and then down Greenbank and onto the bike \n path after Huntclub. The stretch down Greenbank after Huntclub is just \n flat farmland. It was a hot day, and a little windy. We averaged about \n 16-17kph going down this stretch. After crossing Fallowfield, we went \n one more block and then went down the next street heading west towards \n the park. When we got there, Elizabeth had just started their soccer \n game. I couldn't find the right field, since I didn't see any teams \n wearing a green jersey. Joseph then said that they were wearing their \n white uniforms and spotted them.\n

\n

\n After the game, I asked Anne if she had any water and she said no. \n Kalli's mom overheard and offered me her water bottle that hadn't been \n used. I declined, but she insisted so I took some water from them. I \n need to put my blue water bottle holder back onto my mountain bike. I \n had removed it last year thinking that I would put it on my Trek Road \n bike, but I bought some new water bottle holders instead.\n

\n

\n On Sunday, Elizabeth had another soccer game in the morning. Anne and \n Elizabeth left early to get in the warm up at the beginning of the game. \n I planned on biking again, and left a little later than them. I forgot \n to put on the water bottle holder, so I didn't have any water again. \n This time I went straight up Cedarview towards Fallowfield. I had left \n later than I wanted and I needed to get there quick. I pedaled hard most \n of the way. At Fallowfield I turned left and then down the side street \n towards Walter Baker. I got there maybe 10 minutes late.\n

\n

\n After the game, I biked back home. Anne and Elizabeth passed me in the \n car when I was going down Cedarview about a kilometer from Hunt Club. \n Elizabeth looked out the back window and was waving at me. Anne later \n said she was going to slow down, but there were cars behind her. It was \n good that I was looking up at the time and I saw Elizabeth waving at me. \n I waved back.\n

\n

\n It was really good to get back on the bike again. It was several weeks \n back when I rode with Joseph to Stewart's house in Crystal Beach.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 916, "title": "WK25-1 Bike", "date": "2007-06-18 22:13:53.0", "content": "

\n I was now psyc'ed to get out my road bike and start riding. Anne was \n able to drive both Joseph and Elizabeth today since Joseph was playing \n at Ben Franklin park right near Elizabeth's soccer practice at Craig \n Henry park. I was trying to get my bike ready. I tried to pump air \n into my tires, but I just couldn't get my bike pump working. I ended up \n using my small bike pump that fits on my bike frame. I don't think I \n got the tires as hard as they should be. It was also pretty late by the \n time I got started.\n

\n

\n I did my usual route around the Greenbelt. Down Cedarview to Hunt Club, \n down Woodroffe, down Fallowfield and then back down Cedarview. It is \n about 2 km to get to the Cedarview/Hunt Club intersection from home. The \n big loop around the Greenbelt is about 16km. After one loop, I rode out \n towards Pinecrest and stopped by Ben Franklin field to watch Joseph's \n ultimate frisbee game. I saw Anne as she left to go pick up Elizabeth. \n I took off for home shortly after. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 917, "title": "WK25-2 Bike", "date": "2007-06-19 23:11:31.0", "content": "

\n I drove Joseph to his Ultimate practice at Ben Franklin park, and then \n headed back home to go for another bike ride. I had figured out what I \n was doing wrong with my Presta valves. I actually had to repair the pump \n since an O-ring had slipped out of place when I had tried to pump up the \n tires yesterday. The Presta valve can be locked, and you must screw in \n the head slightly to allow the head to be pushed in to open the valve. I \n wasn't doing this yesterday. No wonder it was so hard to push the pump \n and get any air in the tires! After I unlocked the Presta valve head and \n pushed the pump head all the way into the valve, I got the pump working. \n Woo Hoo!\n

\n

\n I pumped up the tires to 120psi. They were rock hard! I'm not sure what \n the tire pressure should be. Need to check on that. I did the same ride \n as yesterday. I'm starting to get used to the speeds I should be \n travelling in each gear. In 5th gear I go about 28kph in my 'normal' \n cadence. Every gear adds about 2kph, so 6th gear is about 30kph, and 7th \n gear is 32kph. I need to keep my heart rate nice and steady and not go \n out too fast. Comparing this to my mountain bike, I was going about \n 17kph. So my road bike is fast compared to my mountain bike!\n

\n

\n The hill on Fallowfield going towards Cedarview is a killer! My legs \n start to really burn and I'm down to my lowest gear and still \n struggling! I eventually make it up, but by this time I'm breathing \n pretty hard. And when you look at it, the hill really isn't very big. \n I'll need to build my leg strength to be able to bike the hills in a \n triathlon race...\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 921, "title": "WK25-6 Bike", "date": "2007-06-23 22:56:19.0", "content": "

\n Went out in the afternoon for another bike ride. I did my usual \n Greenbelt loop, but this time I did two loops. The wind was just wicked \n today. Going down Hunt Club towards Woodroffe, I was just whipping. I \n think I was around 32kph for most of that stretch, even after the first \n initial downhill coming from Cedarview. I should have realized that I \n had quite a tailwind since I was going so fast. Normally I need to \n exert myself and concentrate to keep a 27-28kph speed. Of course I paid \n the price going back against the wind on Fallowfield. After turning \n from Woodroffe onto Fallowfield the wind was murder. I think my speed \n dropped down to 22-23kph. And I was getting out of breath.\n

\n

\n I tried to work on my bike form by going down to the dropped bars and \n getting my head and back as low as possible. I need to work on my \n aerodynamics, since I think this really pays dividends. The more \n aerodynamic and efficient you can be, the faster your speed at the same \n effort. I'd like to work on strengthening my back and core muscles so \n that I can stay in the aerodynamic position for longer periods. I \n should also look into getting some aero bars for my bike.\n

\n

\n After getting exhausted going against the headwind, I then had to face \n the hill going up towards Cedarview. I was bagged and had to really \n push to make it up that hill. Turning onto Cedarview, I had some sips \n out of my waterbottle and took it easy going up the hill on Cedarview. \n Go down the hill I put it in my highest gear and was able to hit 45kph. \n My top speed is going up slowly as I get more comfortable with riding my \n bike.\n

\n

\n The second loop was pretty much the same thing. Tailwind made me go \n fast on Hunt Club, headwind was a killer on Fallowfield. My legs were \n nice and tired by the time I got back home. Unfortunately I forgot to \n turn on my Timex data recorder so I don't have any data for this ride. \n I started my stopwatch, but I didn't turn on the data recorder. Doh! \n Need to remember to do this right away when I start my bike rides! \n According to my bike computer and watch, distance: 37.93km, time: \n 1:23:43, heart rate: 145bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 922, "title": "WK25-7 Bike", "date": "2007-06-24 23:27:51.0", "content": "

\n Got up early to go for a bike ride this morning. I started my ride \n around 8:30am. I ended up taking a different route than my normal \n Greenbelt loop. I decided to go down Hunt Club and just follow this \n road. I ended up going all the way past Conroy Road before turning \n around. This is near where Jeff and Maria live. It was a pretty good \n ride. It was cool in the morning so I wore my blue windbreaker jacket. \n When the sun came out, it started to get really hot and I was really \n sweating. After turning around, I took off my blue jacket when I was \n stopped at a light. \n

\n

\n I stuffed the jacket into its own pouch and then shoved the pouch down \n the pocket at the back of my bike jersey. However, I was afraid it was \n stretching the pocket too much, so I ended up taking it out and stuffing \n the pouch into my water bottle holder. It stuck out a little bit and my \n legs would rub against it, but this worked out OK. \n

\n

\n There weren't too many hills on this route. There is a big hill going \n up towards Riverside, but I was able to go up it OK. Just past \n Riverside, there is no longer a bike lane, so the traffic was a bit \n scarier at this point. However, the road widens again shortly after \n this. The same thing happens just after Bank Street where the Bike Lane \n disappears and then comes back. I wanted to get back home around \n 10:00am, so I had to turn around after 45mins. I was just at Conroy and \n decided to turn around at the next street (Malak St). I timed it pretty \n well since I got home just before 10:00am. Bike stats: Distance: \n 37.8km, Time: 1:24:22, Avg Pace: 2:13mins/km, Avg HR: 137bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 923, "title": "WK26-1 Bike", "date": "2007-06-25 22:48:25.0", "content": "

\n Continued my string of Bike training rides today. I dropped Elizabeth \n off at her soccer practice and then drove back home. I started my ride \n just before 7:00pm. I did the usual Greenbelt loop. It was around \n 7:40pm when I finished the first loop, so I started a second loop but \n just went to Greenbank and turned around. This added 4km to my ride. \n The hill going up to Cedarview was tough again, but not as bad as usual. \n I think I'm gaining some bike fitness! Yay!\n

\n

\n After getting home, I rushed in to change and then went to pick up \n Elizabeth. I arrived a little late around 8:05pm. Bike stats: \n Distance: 25.03km, time: 53:17, Avg pace: 2:07, Avg HR: 145bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 924, "title": "WK26-7 Run", "date": "2007-07-01 23:08:45.0", "content": "

\n Happy Canada Day! I spent yesterday changing the oil in my car in \n preparation for our big Vacation to attend Claire's wedding. When I had \n the steering wheel turned all the way to the right, I noticed that the \n inside part of my right wheel was basically bald! There was no tread \n left on them! This freaked me out, and I decided that I NEEDED TO \n CHANGE THE TIRES! So Sunday morning, I went to Wal-Mart and got the \n tires changed. As I was waiting to get them changed, I planned to do a \n run on the Parkway since I was very close to it at Lincoln Heights \n shopping center. I did a short 6km run. I was a little lost finding \n the bike path, but did eventually get on it. My running fitness is \n pretty poor right now since I haven't been doing any running since the \n marathon. My heart rate was fast and I was breathing hard even at a \n slow pace. The ball of my left foot was also hurting. This is becoming \n a big concern since this injury does not seem to be healing well. What \n can I do about this? Maybe I can concentrate on my bike and swim \n training to help my left foot heal. Run stats: 6.35km, time: 0:43:48, \n avg pace: 6:47, avg HR: 142bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 925, "title": "WK29-1 Bike", "date": "2007-07-16 23:03:22.0", "content": "

\n Wow, I haven't exercised at all for two weeks. But I have a very good \n reason! We've been on vacation the past two week's to Virginia and North \n Carolina. We attended Claire and Matt's wedding on the Outer Banks. It \n was a lot of fun. I should have done some training yesterday on Sunday, \n but I wasn't motivated. So today I was determined to get some biking in. \n Anne drove Joseph to his Ultimate Frisbee game at Lynda Lane. I drove \n Elizabeth to her practice at Craig Henry park. I decided that I would \n put my bike on the car and start my bike ride from Craig Henry park. \n This would give me an extra 20 or so minutes for my bike ride, since I \n wouldn't have to drive home and back. It actually worked out really well.\n

\n

\n I left Craig Henry park around 6:40pm. It took a while for my GPS to get \n satellite synchronization. I also brought my Garmin Venture CX handheld \n GPS and stuck that in my back pocket. My plan was to take Craig Henry to \n Conover street south and then take Knoxdale Road to Woodroffe. However, \n I couldn't remember the Conover Street name to go up to Knoxdale and \n ended up following Craig Henry to Chartwell. This goes back onto Craig \n Henry which eventually gets to Knoxdale. I eventually made it to \n Woodroffe. :-)\n

\n

\n My plan was to do two Greenbelt loops and then head back to the park. It \n wasn't quite two complete loops since I headed back to Craig Henry park \n shortly after the Greenbank/Hunt Club intersection (I turned left onto \n Knoxdale Rd then down Conover). The wind was pretty strong again today. \n Going down Woodroffe and Fallowfield there was a strong headwind. \n Especially down Fallowfield, my speed was down to 21-22kph. And at times \n I was in my first gear. Yikes! The hill was also tough, but I'm getting \n used to it. I think I made it up the hill on both loops using 2nd gear. \n Going up the hill on Cedarview, I went down to 1st gear near the top. \n Going down the hill, I got into my large chain ring and hit a max speed \n of 53kph! At one point the bike seemed very wobbly (front wheel seemed \n to oscillate), so I eased up. It's a bit tense, but I know I need to get \n used to the speed. It's scary taking my eyes off the road for a second \n to check my speed on the speedometer.\n

\n

\n There is quite a tailwind going down Hunt Club. For the first section on \n Hunt Club between Cedarview and Greenbank, my speeds were hitting over \n 40kph! That's quite the tailwind. Also going at this speed, I could \n hardly feel any wind at all (again because of the tailwind). It was \n around 7:25pm by the time I got back to the Hunt Club and Woodroffe \n intersection. That meant I had 35 minutes to do my second loop and get \n back to the park. This is cutting it close for me to get back to \n Elizabeth's practice by 8:00pm. I didn't quite finish the second loop, \n since I went down Knoxdale to head back to the park. By this time it was \n 8:00pm, so I was 5 minutes late getting back to the park. As it turns \n out, the coach still had them out on the field and they didn't finish \n for another 15 or so minutes. All in all a very good ride. Need to \n continue to improve my bike fitness! Bike stats: 35.49km, time: 1:18:36, \n avg pace: 2:12 (27.3kph), avg HR: 139bpm.\n

\n

\n After, I was analyzing my stats in SportTracks. The Greenbelt loop is \n approximately 16.5km and takes me about 36:00mins to go around. This is \n about a 27.5kph average for just the loop. The ironman bike leg is \n 160km, so I'll need to do about 10 laps of the Greenbelt loop!!! Need to \n work my way up to that distance!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 926, "title": "WK29-3 Swim", "date": "2007-07-18 23:20:41.0", "content": "

\n It has been a long time since my last swim. I looked at my training \n data and my last swim was on Apr 18th, exactly 3 months ago. Funny that \n today is July 18th. I would have to say that this was a pretty \n successful swim considering how long I've been away from the pool. I \n went to the 8:30 adult lane swim session at Pinecrest pool. I had to \n gather all my stuff since we used my bag for the vacation and my swim \n equipment wasn't all together as usual. I actually forgot to bring a \n lock and a granola bar. I started really slowly and just kept that nice \n easy pace the whole way through. I forgot to start my stopwatch when I \n first started, so I didn't actually count my first 2 25m laps. After \n that I timed each 100m lap as usual.\n

\n

\n At the beginning, I was the only one in the pool. It was empty. I \n asked the life guard if this was the adult lane swim session she said \n yes. She said I was lucky and that the pool yesterday was packed. \n Eventually other people did come, but it was weird being the only one in \n the pool. Usually people are waiting at the beginning of the session \n for the previuos activity to end so they can get into the pool. Today, \n I was the only one waiting.\n

\n

\n My swim stroke and form felt surprisingly good. My legs felt a little \n lower than they should be, but I was able to keep my head facing down \n and perform the core body rotation. I found in my swimming at the \n Comfort Inn pool in Buxton that I don't swim very straight. I think my \n left arm stroke is weaker than my right. This is probably something I \n should work on. Also should start working on sighting drills. I did take \n short breaks after each 25m lap, mostly to check my time and whether it \n was time to record a split at 100m. My lap times were at first around \n 3:20 or so, but I was able to get these down. I started to get some 3:10 \n times, and near the end they were sub 3:00mins. For the whole session, I \n never felt out of breath or struggling, and I never felt like I was \n exerting myself. It was just a nice relaxed swim. Very nice! Swim stats: \n 17 - 100m laps (1.7km), total time: 53:47, pace: 3:10mins/100m.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 927, "title": "Feeling sick, no training", "date": "2007-07-22 20:50:54.0", "content": "

\n On Thursday I started to feel a soreness in my throat. I was blowing my \n nose all day at work. I had a pretty poor sleep on Thursday night. At \n one point I woke up and I was soaking in sweat. At first I kicked the \n blankets off, but then decided that to put them back on top. My body \n was trying to heal itself with this fever/sweating, so I thought it \n would be better to stay under the blankets. On Friday morning, I had a \n headache and was coughing. I actually stayed at home and tried to do \n some work on the computer downstairs. I took my weekly 1-on-1 \n conference call with Gil at home.\n

\n

\n Over the weekend, I still wasn't at 100% so I continued to avoid any \n exertion and skipped more training. I did spend a lot of time working \n on Claire and Matt's slideshow. So, not much to show for training this \n past week (and past several weeks). Need to get into my regular routine \n again! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 928, "title": "Claire & Matt Wedding Slideshow", "date": "2007-07-23 22:21:40.0", "content": "

\n Although I haven't been doing much training, I did spend a lot of the \n weekend working on Claire and Matt's wedding slideshow. Most of Saturday \n afternoon, I was organizing the pictures into groups that would be shown \n together in the slideshow. I put these pictures into their own folders \n so that I could easily choose them from the slideshow software. I ended \n up with 3 slideshows: 1) Family Get Together, 2) Rehearsal Party, and 3) \n Wedding Ceremony and Reception.\n

\n

\n Next I went looking for music to put in the slide show. I was looking \n through the listings of MP3 files I have and started noting down songs I \n thought would be nice to put in. At first I was thinking of copying \n these MP3 files into another folder, but then I came up with the idea of \n creating a playlist and using the Media Player to keep the files I was \n considering. I could then save the playlist as I added new files to it \n and also play the music files when I wanted to hear a song I've stored \n in the playlist. This actually worked out really well. I didn't have to \n store extra copies of the MP3 files and yet I had access to the files I \n want all in a single list which could easily be played and listened to. \n I ended up with tons of files in my list. Anne also ended up helping me \n and giving me really good ideas on what songs to use.\n

\n

\n At first I tried to use Ulead Movie Factory to create the slideshow, but \n I couldn't figure out how to put multiple songs into one slideshow. \n Because of this, the slideshow would only be limited to the length of \n one song! So I went searching for another option. The slideshow software \n I ended up using is called Proshow Producer. I remember reading a \n photography website a few years back that talked about a really great \n slideshow program. I thought it was called Proshow Gold, so that's why I \n decided to try this software out. I was able to figure out the basics \n and was able to quickly create a standard slide show with slides and \n music. As I worked more with the program, I was able to edit the \n soundtracks to fade and end where I wanted them. I also changed the \n transition effects between slides. Next I learned how to perform pan and \n zoom effects so I was able to zoom in on the larger group pictures to \n get the faces bigger. For a really large group picture I zoomed in \n closer and then panned across the group to get everyone's faces in the \n picture. It was so cool!\n

\n

\n There were also some nice touches that we put into the slideshow. On the \n last slide, there was a transition where black slides down from the top \n (with a soft edge). Elizabeth commented that it looked like a curtain \n coming down. I said, "Wow, you're right!", so I used this transition \n effect for the end of the other slideshows. I also added a transition at \n the beginning of the first slideshow of an expanding heart shape to \n expose a picture of Claire and Matt underneath. I had to add a blank \n black slide as the first slide, and then use the transition of a \n shrinking heart to expose the next slide of Claire and Matt. The next \n transition was an expanding heart to expose the next picture.\n

\n

\n I burned the slide show to DVD. I had to create a menu that would let \n you chose the slideshow to display. I also chose some music for the menu \n screen. At first I had the Israel Kamakawiwo'ole... song Over the \n rainbow... (same as used for Jenny and Dave). But then Anne had a great \n idea of using some bag pipe music because that's what Claire and Matt \n had at their wedding. So I found a Bag Pipe version of Amazing Grace on \n limewire and put that as the music for the menu page. It takes a while \n to render the video image for the slideshows. The processing takes about \n 0.3X the speed of the slideshow, so it takes over 2 hours to complete \n the rendering. I set the output to an ISO image and then used Nero to \n burn the image to a DVD.\n

\n

\n I wanted to share the slideshow with the family before sending out \n copies of DVDs, so I also ended up creating an EXE executable file. This \n actually works out great! You can run the executable on any PC. It is \n self contained. The show looks exactly like it does when running from a \n DVD. The .exe file was 200MB long! I uploaded it to a "files" directory \n on the huliganga.com website (took about 30 minutes) and then sent an \n e-mail to everyone. It takes about 15 minutes to download the file using \n high speed internet access. I hope everyone enjoys it! I'm wondering if \n Claire is going to respond with some of her own music choices. We'll see!\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 929, "title": "Slideshow is a big hit!", "date": "2007-07-26 22:10:05.0", "content": "

\n I got some really nice feedback from everyone on the slideshow! \n Everyone really enjoyed watching it and is commenting on the high \n quality of the pictures. Nice! It feels really good to have everyone \n enjoy the work that you do. I am so glad that I'm able to contribute to \n Claire and Matt's special day in this way. Claire also sent a very nice \n heartfelt thanks as well!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 930, "title": "Guitar cover of John Mayer - Waiting on the World to Change", "date": "2007-07-27 22:21:49.0", "content": "

\n Earlier this week, I was watching a routine on "So You Think You Can \n Dance" and there was a guy doing some modern dance to the John Mayer \n song "Waiting on the World to Change". I really liked the song, so I \n went downstairs to download the song. But I found out I already have \n it! I then went searching for the guitar tab and started to learn this \n song. It's kind of a protest song, objecting to the state of the world \n today, killing of neighbors going to war, poor leadership, reasons for \n apathy/powerlessness of the younger generation... For some reason, the \n song just resonates with me. I really like it.\n

\n

\n It took me a while to figure out the strumming to the song. The melody \n is also tricky and it was difficult to learn and mimic John's singing. \n I had to repeatedly play and sing along with the song. I actually found \n some You Tube videos of different people covering the song, so I also \n tried to learn from these. There is one done by Paul Lines which is \n especially good. His strumming is excellent and even includes little \n runs and licks. I'm starting to get the strum down better now and it \n sounds half decent. Another good one was done by the Gomez brothers. I \n even tried recording myself using the web cam! The sound quality is a \n little poor, but it's an OK effort. My singing sounds falsetto and at \n times a little off key. Need to work on it! I had a blast learning \n this song and it's a nice addition to my repertoire of guitar songs.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 931, "title": "Lacelle signs - DVD show for Donald Abrahams' 65th birthday party", "date": "2007-07-28 22:54:22.0", "content": "

\n Mike had agreed to video record a party for the 65th Birthday \n celebration of Donald Abrahams, so he asked me to go along with my video \n camera and tape the event with him. The party was in the Rockcliffe \n neighborhood, so it was going to be a ritzy party. Of course the house \n was huge and beautiful and there were lots of nice cars out front. Mike \n pointed out Uncle Jim's house as we drove by. I think the address was \n 158 Acacia Ave.\n

\n

\n Mike and I thought there was going to be a professional photographer \n there, but it ended up that there wasn't. There was an older lady with \n a nice Nikon digital camera, but she was just taking pictures for \n herself and was going to make her own slideshow. So now we weren't \n going to have any digital pictures to add to the DVD show. I tried to \n take pictures, but I wasn't asking people to get closer together and \n pose. They were all candid shots from far away. This wasn't great, but \n at least we'll have a few pictures to work with and put into the DVD, if \n needed.\n

\n

\n This was our first assignment for video recording an event, so we were \n both learning. I tried to take some environment shots. There was a \n nice candy table set up, so I took lots of pictures of that table. I \n also took some pictures of the house and surroundings. I walked up the \n driveway following the "steps" that were put down. \n

\n

\n We video taped Don coming in and being surprised and Don greeting all \n the guests. We recorded the speeches and another performance of playing \n guitar and singing by Don's sister. The main event of the evening was a \n live band called Blue Soul that sang Motown music. They were really \n good! One of the members of this band used to be a singer on the \n Nylons. Wow, that's pretty cool! All the guests got up and danced for \n the band, so we recorded some of that too. After the band there was a \n belly dancer, and we recorded that performance.\n

\n

\n I think we recorded the events that Elanna (Don's wife) wanted us to \n record. Now Mike and I have to put together this DVD. I'd like to make \n it nice and professional looking. But what does that actually mean? \n What look and feel do we need to have to make the DVD look \n "professional". Lot's of stuff for Mike and I to learn about this \n business!!! \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 932, "title": "WK31-1 Bike", "date": "2007-07-30 23:25:34.0", "content": "

\n Anne drove Elizabeth to a soccer party and I drove Joseph to his \n Ultimate frisbee game at Ben Franklin park. I hadn't done any training \n in a while, so I decided to bring my bike with me and do a bike training \n ride starting from Ben Franklin park. It was a clear sunny day, and the \n wind wasn't too strong, so it was a nice bike ride. I kept a pretty good \n pace ~26-27kph average, but my heart rate was so high for most of the \n ride! I've lost a lot of fitness I need to gain back!\n

\n

\n I did two loops of my regular Greenbelt route. Going up the hill at \n Fallowfield and Cedarview, I was able to stay in 2nd gear again. I \n really had to push, but I think I'm getting stronger. I was actually \n able to stay in 3rd gear for a lot of the hill too. Going down the hill \n on Cedarview I was able to hit 57kph! I was whipping! It was a little \n scary, but I think I'm getting used to going downhill fast now. At the \n end of the 2nd loop, I decided to go up to Woodroffe and turnaround and \n come back, since I still had a little time before 8:00pm when I had to \n pick up Joseph. However, my legs were just dead! I had a hard time just \n doing this little up and back. I actually coasted at times to give my \n legs a little rest. I usually don't stop pedalling at all.\n

\n

\n I forgot to clip my data recorder on before I started my bike ride, so I \n didn't record my Timex GPS and heart rate data. However, I did have my \n Garmin GPS in my back pocket. Garmin Bike stats: 37.8km, moving time: \n 1:24, moving avg pace: 26.8kph, max speed: 57.1kph. From my watch data: \n avg speed: 26.5 kph, max speed: 55.7kph, event distance: 37.51km, avg \n HR: 142.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 934, "title": "Left foot injury update", "date": "2007-07-30 23:41:56.0", "content": "

\n The ball of my left foot is still sore so my injury incurred during my \n marathon training is still not fully healed! It's really not that bad. \n It's sore in the morning so I step around gingerly in the morning. \n Other than that, I don't really notice it much. I was pressing around \n the area to see if I could pin point what was injured. It is definitely \n in the bone connected to my 3rd toe. If I pull my 3rd toe up, I can \n feel a pain at the ball of my foot where the toe connects to the \n metatarsal. I tried to massage the ball area of the foot, thinking that \n might help. I'm hoping getting blood flow into the area will facilitate \n healing. However, it is a bone injury, so that may all be wishful \n thinking.\n

\n

\n I looked up the injury on the net, and found some useful information. \n Most sites talk about a stress fracture injury to the 2nd metatarsal, \n but mine is on the third. I believe mine is a mild case and treatment \n is basically rest, avoiding high impact activities, and keeping weight \n off the injury. One thing that was useful to know was to suspend the \n activity that caused the injury for six to eight weeks! This means I \n should be avoiding any running for two months to allow the stress \n fracture to heal. This is really good to know, because I keep telling \n myself to go back to running, but now I know that I need 8 weeks rest to \n fully heal. In the meantime I'll stick to biking and swimming.\n

\n

\n I did a google search on "stress fracture ball of foot". Here's a site \n I found with very useful information: "http://www.dynomed.com/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/foot_and_ankle/Stress_Fracture_of_Leg_and_Foot.html" \n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 935, "title": "WK31-4 Swim", "date": "2007-08-02 22:38:05.685", "content": "

\n Went swimming at the adult lane swim session at Pinecrest pool. I got \n there just before 8:30pm, and I was the only one there. I got in the \n pool and started doing my laps slowly. I even asked the lifeguard if \n this was the adult lane swim session and she said yes. It was really \n crowded yesterday and she said you should count yourself lucky with no \n one else here. Eventually other people started to come, but it was \n weird swimming all by myself for the first little while. \n

\n

\n My stroke felt pretty good especially since I haven't done much swimming \n lately. It was a nice relaxed stroke and I didn't get myself out of \n breath. My head is a little to high. Need to keep pushing my chest \n down to balance my legs. Swim stats: 16 - 100m laps (1.6km), total \n time: 51:08, pace: 3:12mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 936, "title": "WK31-6 Bike ride to Gatineau Park Champlain Lookout", "date": "2007-08-04 23:40:01.006", "content": "

\n I finally got up early this morning to go for a bike ride to Gatineau \n Park. I've been wanting to train on the hills for a while, but just \n couldn't get up early on the weekends. Today was my first morning ride \n to the park. Hopefully a regular training ride!\n

\n

\n I got up just before 7:00am. I had a crunchy granola bar and a glass of \n water. I filled up a water bottle with Gatorade. I also put my cell \n phone in my seat bag. I was out the door at 7:32am. I took Northside and \n then Richmond Rd. It was a little scary going under the train tracks \n where they are working on the bridge, since Richmond Rd. narrows down to \n one lane. There's not enough room for a car to pass with a bike in the \n lane. Anyways, I was able to get through OK since there was no traffic. \n I turned right at Carling and then took the entrance onto the Ottawa \n River Parkway. The Parkway wasn't too busy which was nice. Most cars \n passed me in the left lane. I took the Parkway to Island Park. The \n bridge has a nice bike lane!\n

\n

\n I took the first road after the bridge, Boulevard de Lucerne. It is \n really bumpy in some spots. I'm wondering if its better to stay on the \n road a little longer and go down Boulevard Alexandre-Tache. At the \n entrance to Gatineau park there is a big downhill and then a big uphill \n before you hit Rue Gamelin. This is where the visitors center is. There \n is an uphill right after this and a series of uphill/downhill \n combinations. Then you hit the big uphill at Pink Lake. After Pink Lake \n there is a big downhill then more uphill/downhill combinations. Soon you \n get to the turn off for Champlain Lookout. Right after this turn off \n there is a big uphill climb. More combinations of uphill/downhill. Right \n after Mulvihill Lake, there is a super long uphill climb. This was \n really tough! My heart rate climbed over 160bpm!\n

\n

\n My legs were pretty tired by the time I got to the lookout. They even \n felt like cramps were going to start! I tried to relax my legs as much \n as possible and not over exert myself going up the hills. At the lookout \n I had a brief 5 minute rest. I ate a granola bar and then headed back. \n Luckily going back downhill was much easier! It took about 1hr5mins to \n go up from the entrance to the park to the lookout, but going back down \n took only 45mins! Here are the approximate distances and times:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n 15.5km from home to the park entrance which took about 35 mins\n
    • \n
  • \n 10km to turn off to Champlain Lookout which took about 30 mins\n
    • \n
  • \n 10.5km to Champlain Lookout which took about 35mins.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Ride stats: distance: 72.64km, time: 3:04:16, avg speed:23.6kph, heart \n rate: 138bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 937, "title": "WK31-7 Bike ride to Orleans", "date": "2007-08-05 23:00:06.0", "content": "

\n Trying to keep up my momentum, I got up early again this morning for \n another bike ride. Compared to yesterday I got up even earlier around \n 6:30am! I had my usual quick snack of crunchy granola bars and a glass \n of water. I also went to the washroom and had a bowel movement. I \n wonder if I can time my eating so that I go to the washroom before my \n long training rides and not have to go while enroute. On yesterday's \n ride, I saw someone with two water bottles, and I decided to take two \n water bottles with me today. I planned to go down Hunt Club similar to \n what I did a couple of weekends ago.\n

\n

\n I ended up going down Hunt Club all the way to Hawthorne Rd, which turns \n into Russell and then turns into St. Laurent. I turned at Innes and \n headed east. On Innes there is a nice wide bike lane. However, this \n ended at the By-Pass where the road turned into a highway. I didn't \n think I should go on the highway, so I turned left to go down through \n Blackburn Hamlet. Later looking at the map, this road is actually Innes \n Road! This turned out to be a really nice residential road. Not too much \n traffic. Eventually the road merges back with the By-Pass. I recognized \n this road, because I drove down it with Mike a couple of times. I turned \n down Orleans Boulevard. Now I was supposed to turn left again on the \n second street called Forest Valley Drive. This street turns into \n Youville and then Grey Nuns Drive which is right near Mike and Cindy. \n Since I missed this turn, I kept going down Orleans, went down some \n residential streets, back onto Orleans, then onto Jeanne D'Arc and \n eventually onto Grey Nuns Drive. I took the long way around, but \n eventually did get to the Lacelle's house.\n

\n

\n At first, I couldn't see anyone inside, so I was just standing on their \n front porch and driveway eating my granola bar and looking at my GPS. \n Mike saw me and couldn't believe I had rode my bike there! He said he \n saw me standing on the driveway from upstairs and was wondering who this \n stranger was in their driveway. He came down and saw that it was me! I \n chatted with Mike, Cindy, and the kids for about 20 minutes and then \n told them I needed to head off again for my "training". Cindy and Brad \n suggested that I take the Parkway back. I just needed to head out St. \n Joseph Boulevard which turns into Old Montreal Rd. There is a turn off \n for Graham's Creek which gets onto the Parkway. There is some \n construction there, but Cindy thought that bikes were still allowed \n (cars weren't allowed). I ended up missing the turn off. I thought I had \n to get to Montreal Rd for some reason. I did find the Airport Parkway \n and turned onto that which got me to the Rockcliffe Parkway right near \n the aviation museum. I took this through Rockcliffe and then through \n downtown. Going down Sussex was scary since there is no room for bikes \n and cars. At one point there were buses parked in the right lane so I \n was following right behind a van in the left lane. The traffic wasn't \n going too fast so I was able to stick right behind the van.\n

\n

\n At the Ottawa River Parkway near the War Museum, the Parkway was closed \n to cars for the Alcatel-Lucent bike days. Woo-hoo! I had a nice ride \n back on the Parkway. I got off and onto the bike path just when the \n Parkway turns up to go to Carling. The bike path was crowded! I was \n really tired by then, so I just went nice and slow. I went up the big \n hill by Shouldice farm, and for some reason I decided to go up in 2nd \n gear, so I was totally bagged at the top of the hill. I then went \n through the recreation path by the Queensway Carleton Hospital and then \n up the big hill on Cedarview, which was tough. I was going up in my \n lowest gear, my legs were really burning and I was breathing really \n hard. Finally, I made it home!\n

\n

\n Bike stats: distance 74.96km, time: 3:04:29, avg speed: 24.4kph, heart \n rate: 125bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 940, "title": "WK32-3 Swim", "date": "2007-08-08 22:10:21.0", "content": "

\n I went for my weekly (!) swim at the adult lane swim session at \n Pinecrest pool tonight. I know I should be going more than weekly, but \n at least I'm going! I'm really nursing my left foot back to health, but \n that shouldn't prevent me from training on my bike and in the pool. I \n went out too fast today trying to be aggressive and get some faster lap \n times right away. This really screws me up since I get out of breath \n and I think my stroke is not as smooth. I also started to get a wicked \n headache, which I just put up with for the whole session. I got passed \n several times. My pace was about 3:15-3:20 mins/100m. For the last \n couple of 100m's I tried to pick up the pace and was able to do them \n under 3:00mins. I'm not really counting my strokes much, like I was \n doing before. However for the laps I did count my strokes, I was \n getting around 22-23 spl. I believe when I try to swim faster, my \n stroke count jumps up. Should look into that.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 18 - 100m laps (1.8km), time: 57:10, pace: 3:11mins/100m. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 941, "title": "WK32-6 Bike ride to Gatineau Park Champlain Lookout", "date": "2007-08-11 23:23:05.0", "content": "

\n I was able to get up early again to go on a training ride to the \n "hills". Actually I had a hard time going back to sleep after I awoke \n around 5:30am this morning. I don't know why. I stumbled out of bed just \n after 6:00am. I had my crunchy granola bar and glass of water. I filled \n up my two water bottles with orange gatorade. I put my cell phone in my \n seat bag, and I was off! It was 6:42am when I headed off for my bike \n training ride.\n

\n

\n I didn't want to go under the train bridge on Richmond Rd due to the \n narrow traffic lane, so I went up to Bell High School and down the 416 \n overpass and down Old Cedarview. Just coming up to Baseline, my chain \n fell off my front chain rings! I was trying to do something different \n when changing gears on my front derailleur which I thought would prevent \n the chain from falling off. Apparently my new method didn't work. :( \n What I was trying to do was not pedal when I changed from the large \n chain ring to the small chain ring. After I clicked to go to the smaller \n gear, I would start to pedal slowly. However, the chain fell off right \n away. Damn! I think the problem was that I was in 1st gear on my rear \n sprockets. I really need to be in one of the middle gears. Sooooo, my \n new strategy is to go into one of the middle gears (3rd gear or higher), \n then stop pedalling, then change the front derailleur from the big chain \n ring to the small chain ring, then start pedalling slowly. I think that \n should do it!\n

\n

\n Since I tried to pedal a bit while my chain was off, I really jammed the \n chain good. It took me a while to free up the chain and finally get it \n back onto the small chain ring. By now, my fingers were just filthy \n black from all the grease. Yuck! I tried to wipe off as much as I could \n on the grass. I also grabbed some kleenex from my back pockets and \n rubbed more off. I was afraid of getting black grease stains on my bike \n jersey! After all this distraction, I finally was on my way again. I \n turned left at Baseline and right onto Richmond Rd. The rest of the \n route was similar to last week. The one difference was I went down Tache \n instead of Lucerne to get to the park entrance.\n

\n

\n The hills seemed easier today. Maybe I'm gaining some bike fitness! I \n also knew more about the hills and knew what to expect, so that helps a \n lot too. The hill up Pink Lake, wasn't too bad. It was still hard and I \n was breathing hard, but I thought there was more of a hill ahead when I \n turned the corner and Pink Lake was right there! For some reason I \n thought the hill was longer. Looking at SportTracks the elevation change \n is about 60m in 1km. After the turn off to Champlain Lookout, there is a \n long fairly tough hill which I wasn't prepared for. I didn't think that \n hill was that big, but it took a while to get up. Elevation change was \n about 50m in 1km. After that there are a series of uphill/downhill \n combinations and then the big hill at Mulvihill Lake. This biggie hill \n had an elevation change of 102m in 1.7km. No wonder this hill is tough!\n

\n

\n After that there are some smaller hills before finally getting to the \n lookout. Near the lookout I ran over a huge hole that surprised me and \n gave me quite a jolt! It was marked with an orange circle, but I wasn't \n paying attention. Need to pay attention next time!!! I only stopped for \n a few seconds at the lookout. I started to eat my granola bar while on \n my bike. I stopped at the stone fence for a few seconds to finish off \n the granloa bar and I was off again. It was fast getting back down to \n the turn off point. Going down the "biggie hill" I hit 61kph again! \n Although I'm getting more and more used to the fast speeds going \n downhill, it still is pretty scary. Need to really keep my concentration \n and focus when going at these speeds. At the turn off, I decided to turn \n left and explore this part of Gatineau park. The are a couple of big \n hills going down to the parking lot on Chemin du Lac Meech. This is \n actually the road you go on to get up to Camp Fortune! So I was pretty \n near Camp Fortune. The big hill elevation change to get down to this \n point is about 60m in 1km. The elevation change from the turn off to \n Chemin du Lac Meech is about 100m in 5km with smaller uphill/downhills \n in-between. Looking at the map later, I found that I can keep going down \n this road which eventually loops around and turns into the road to go up \n to Camp Fortune. You can turn off this road to get to Promenade de la \n Gatineau which will take you up towards Champlain Lookout. Maybe I'll \n try this route next time.\n

\n

\n This little detour was about 10km in total (5km there and back) and \n added about 25 minutes to my ride. I then took the usual route to the \n entrance to the park. After taking the Island Park bridge, I hopped onto \n the bike path and took that all the way to Andrew Haydon Park. There \n weren't many people on it, so I was going at a fairly quick pace. I did \n my hill climb at Shouldice farm in first gear this time! The last hill \n at Cedarview was tough too.\n

\n

\n Bike stats: distance: 87.77km, time: 3:37:47, pace: 24.2kph, heart rate: \n 135bpm.\n

\n

\n \"Bike\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 943, "title": "WK32-7 Bike ride to Ashton, Tennyson - First century km ride!", "date": "2007-08-12 23:27:36.0", "content": "

\n After my successful ride to the Gatineau Hills yesterday and getting my \n ride distance to over 87km, I decided to try for a century km ride on \n Sunday. Wow 100km on my bike! So on Saturday night, I googled "Ottawa \n bike routes" and found a site where someone had put in the route for the \n Rideau Lakes Classic Tour which goes to Kingston. I printed off the \n directions and then set some waypoints in Garmin Mapsource and printed \n off the route directions. I figured I would get to around Tennyson near \n Mississippi Lake which is around 50km. I put the route and waypoints \n into my Garmin Venture GPS.\n

\n

\n It was hard to get up on Sunday morning. I set my alarm for 6:20am and \n that's when I dragged myself out of bed. I had my usual crunchy granola \n bar and water. I think I drank too much water this morning, because I \n had to stop enroute for a quick pee break. More on that later... I got \n my usual stuff together: 2 water bottles filled with orange gatorade, 3 \n chewy granola bars, cell phone, GPSes and was out the door around \n 6:52am. The route I planned went down Richmond Rd, then down Hope Side \n Rd. Turning down Hope Side Rd, I was struck by how beautiful the farm \n land looked with the sun just rising. It felt awesome to be out riding \n this early in the morning, with the scenery just breath takingly \n beautiful. There were very few cars and it was just peaceful and quiet. \n Amazing!\n

\n

\n It took about 18km and 20mins to get to the turn at Hope Side Rd. There \n was another biker that turned ahead of me at the lights at Stonehaven \n Dr, but he kept going straight and I turned down Hope Side Rd. I did \n find that I was catching up to him in the short time I was behind him. \n Was I really biking that fast? I went down Hope Side Rd, left on \n Eagleson for a short bit, and then right on Flewellyn. This was a long \n straight path down Flewellyn until Ashton. The highway actually curves \n right and becomes Ormrod Rd, but I wanted to go straight through to \n Ashton. I had to let a car pass and then do a quick U-turn to get back \n on Flewellyn for the one block through downtown Ashton. It was 29km and \n 1hr10mins to the turn at Ashton. Since this was just past halfway on my \n way out, I had a granola bar as I was riding through Ashton. I figured \n that I would have one granola bar per hour for the first 3 hours. Then \n for the last hour I would be home (so I could eat all I want! :) ).\n

\n

\n Shortly after, I stayed on the road which curved right to get onto 9th \n Line Beckwith. I followed this road all the way to Mississippi lake \n where the road turns into Tennyson. To this point it is ~43km and \n 1hr46mins. Just before this point, coming up to Highway 15, I went \n past Beckwith Park and there was a soccer tournament going on. It was \n around 1hr30mins on my bike computer, and I remember thinking to myself \n that I'll be back around this same point in an hour. It would take me \n another 1/2 hour to hit the mid-point of my ride where I would turn \n around and come back. It was around this point that my legs were really \n getting tired. I had to coast quite a lot and I went to lower gears to \n help rest my legs. I also noticed that the road was really bumpy around \n here.\n

\n

\n At highway 15 there is a set of lights. I actually went and hit the \n pedestrian crosswalk button to change the light. After the light, the \n road was nice and smooth! It was like the road was newly paved. This \n was a welcome relief after the bumpy road previously. There were also \n some train tracks I had to cross here. It was harder to keep my legs \n going and I was down to 23-23kph. My average speed up to now was \n 24.1kph. At first I was thinking to bike a little past the 50km mark in \n case there were some errors in odometry, but I quickly nixed this idea. \n I was going to turn around right at the 50km mark. This happened right \n at the intersection of Tennyson Rd and Concesssion 7 Rd. There was a \n car coming up to the intersection so I turned right and then went in \n behind the car and did my U-turn/Left turn. The time to this point was \n just over 2 hours, 2hrs05mins, so I was a little slower than my target \n pace. But my legs were really tired, so I was just happy to be on my \n way back.\n

\n

\n On the way back, I noticed that the pedalling was significantly easier. \n I must have had a headwind and now it had become a tailwind. Woo-hoo. \n I had my granola bar and drank more gatorade. It was around here that I \n noticed that I needed to go pee. At first I was thinking I could wait \n until I got home, but then I said why feel uncomfortable? I just needed \n to find an inconspicuous spot on the side of the road and take a leak. \n I was looking for a tree or some spot that had a little privacy. It was \n around the 62km mark I went off to the side of the road, because I \n remember seeing this on my speed chart in Garmin Mapsource and wondering \n why I stopped for a few minutes at this spot. Then I clued in that this \n is where I stopped to pee! Another funny thing was that a plane flew \n right over me. I wonder if he saw me. This point was also near to the \n train tracks.\n

\n

\n I also saw a group of riders coming by in the other direction. I later \n found out that they must have been the Ottawa Bicycle Club. Their \n Sunday ride today was out to Stittsville, Ashton, Almonte and Pakenham. \n The first group of riders was just motoring! The second group about \n 10mins behind wasn't as fast. The last group I saw were going at a \n leisurely pace. Going back seemed so much easier. I wondered if it was \n the carbs kicking in, or maybe the tailwind, but I was really moving \n most of the time. My speeds were consistently over 30kph even on the \n flats. I slowed down going up the bigger hills, but then was able to \n pick it up again. I looked at my average speed and it was now over \n 26kph! I also wasn't breathing that hard and my heart rate was \n reasonable around 135-140bpm. Wow. Before that I noticed on the way \n out near the turn-around point my heart rate was around 125bpm and my \n legs were pretty bagged.\n

\n

\n Getting closer to home, I stayed on Richmond Rd and then went to \n Ridgefield. I took a few more side roads to make sure that my mileage \n would be at least 100km. It was good to finally get back in our \n driveway. I felt pretty good. Tired, but not totally exhausted. My \n legs held up surprisingly well and felt strong. Woo hoo!\n

\n

\n Bike stats: distance: 100km, time: 3:51:00, avg pace: 26kph, heart rate: \n 127bpm.\n

\n

\n \n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 944, "title": "WK33-2 Swim", "date": "2007-08-14 23:07:48.0", "content": "

\n Went to the adult lane swim session tonight at Pinecrest pool. Went out \n nice and slow today with most 100m laps in 3:20-3:25. I still got a \n wicked headache, however. What's up with that? Maybe I'm still carbo \n depleted after my long weekend bike rides? I believe my heart rate at \n this pace is around 115-120bpm. Nice and low, so I'm not exerting \n myself at all. Even after my workout I continued to have my headache at \n home. It actually really hurt quite a lot, so I ended up going to bed \n early! Next day I felt fine, but I still need to figure out what's \n causing these headaches.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 16 - 100m laps (1.6km), time: 52:57, pace: 3:19mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 945, "title": "WK33-5 Swim", "date": "2007-08-17 23:39:22.0", "content": "

\n Went to the leisure/adult lane swim session tonight at Walter Baker \n pool. I thought that the leisure swim session was from 6:00-7:30 and the \n adult lane swim session was from 7:30-9:00pm. However, it seems like \n they've changed things a bit and have extended the leisure swim session \n to 6:00-8:00pm. The adult lane swim session is now only an hour and goes \n from 8:00-9:00pm. It really doesn't make much of a difference for me \n since I just swim my laps even during the leisure swim session. They \n don't have a fast swim lane during the leisure session, but I don't go \n in that lane anyways.\n

\n

\n I got to the pool just before 7:30pm and was starting my laps just \n around 7:30. I took my pace nice and easy again. One thing I've been \n doing on my laps, is not pushing off the wall. I want to try and swim as \n much of the distance as possible and not glide at the beginning of each \n lap. I believe this makes my lap times longer, and also gives me a \n higher strokes per length than what I was doing previously. My lap times \n were around 3:20, and my spl was 25-30. It was hard to count my spl, \n because I actually had to swim sideways towards the lane marker, before \n turning up to swim down the lane!\n

\n

\n It was a really good workout. Nice easy strokes again. Need to \n concentrate better on my form and balance. Just keep working on this. \n There was also another swimmer in the medium speed lane and I noticed \n that he had fistgloves on. I saw him later in the change room and I \n asked him if he was the one using fistgloves. His name is Terry and we \n introduced ourselves. He was telling me about all the Total Immersion \n techniques. Push your lead arm faster/harder into the water when you \n want to go faster instead of pulling harder. Also push your chest down, \n keeping your head aligned, and balancing on your side. These are all \n things I try to do myself! I really want to get the feeling of gliding \n fast during all parts of my stroke including pulling, breathing, etc. He \n also said you don't really need the fist gloves, just swim with your \n hands in a fist. Terry said there is a new TI book that just came out a \n couple of months ago. He suggested I take a look at it.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 26 - 100m laps (2.6km), total time: 1:25:11, pace: \n 3:17mins/100m.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 946, "title": "WK33-6 Bike", "date": "2007-08-18 23:14:20.0", "content": "

\n We were going to meet the Lacelle's Saturday morning at the Coliseum \n movie theater. We got some free tickets to the Mr. Bean Vacation movie \n from Jeff and Maria. However, I still wanted to go on my morning bike \n ride which I've been doing for two weekends in a row. I was thinking of \n doing the Gatineau Champlain Lookout ride, but that takes at least 3 \n hours, so if I wanted to be back by 9:00am, that meant I needed to leave \n no later than 6:00am! Yikes! So I set my alarm for 5:10am and went to \n bed. It was almost midnight, so I wasn't going to get much sleep. Oh \n well.... the sacrifices you make when training...\n

\n

\n I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for my ride. I had a banana \n and a half glass of water. I put on my Asics long sleeve technical-T and \n my new CycleCraft bike jersey on top. I remembered how cold my bike ride \n was last week when I went to the Gatineaus when it was 13C and overcast. \n This morning it was only 12C! It ended up my upper body was fairly warm, \n but my hands were freezing. I'll need to figure out how to keep my hands \n warm, for the first part of the ride. I left for my ride around 5:46am.\n

\n

\n I took the bike path through the Queensway Carleton hospital and then \n down Acres road. I then took Island Park bridge and then Tache boulevard \n to the Gatineau park entrance. The rides up the hills seem to be getting \n easier again. It's probably because I know the route better and know \n what to expect from the hills. There is a large hill just before the \n visitors center. Then there's the Pink Lake hill. And finally the hill \n starting at Mulvihill Lake. Pink Lake and Mulvihill Lake hills are the \n main ones and I just needed to push hard through those ones. I'm not \n pushing that hard that my legs begin to burn. (Maybe just a little on \n the Mulvihill Lake hill.) I do breath hard towards the ends of those \n hills, but I don't feel like I'm going up them forever and waiting for \n the hill to end. I feel strong enough that I get up the hill without \n feeling totally drained. Nice! I almost forgot to mention that I saw a \n deer and a black bear on the way up! I saw the deer just before the turn \n off to Champlain Lookout, and I saw the bear somewhere along this road. \n I was totally amazed at seeing the deer so close up. It was tall and \n standing on the other side of the road. I just biked quietly by and \n whispered to myself "Cool. That is so amazing!". I saw the bear on my \n right in the woods. It was standing on a downhill probably about 50m \n away. At first I was thinking "Wow, that's cool", but then I started to \n freak out because I realized I was climbing a hill and wasn't going very \n fast. If the bear ran towards me, I didn't know if I could bike faster \n than it. I kept glancing back while I was riding for the next few \n minutes. Heh, heh, still an amazing experience.\n

\n

\n At Champlain lookout, I didn't stop. I just slowed down, ate my granola \n bar while doing the circle around the parking lot, and then headed back \n down the hill again. My legs still felt pretty good considering the hill \n climbs. I tried to stay relaxed and not push too hard to prevent lactic \n acid buildup. I'm really getting used to the speeds. Going 50kph doesn't \n seem too fast anymore. I'm not sure why, but going down the hills, I was \n only hitting the upper 50's for my max speed. Maybe it was the cold air. \n I did try to tuck down as much as possible, but my max speed did not \n climb. In the end, I did hit 60kph for my max speed.\n

\n

\n On the way back, there was a kids triathlon being run at Westboro beach. \n There were cones set up along the road and the bike path. Luckily they \n hadn't started the race yet, so it was clear sailing as I went through. \n I tried to keep my effort level high on the bike path and my speeds were \n mostly over 27kph. I hammered it over the hills at Shouldice Farm and \n Cedarview Road. I got home around 8:50am right on target. My bike \n computer had 3hrs01mins for my total moving time. Awesome ride!\n

\n

\n Bike stats: distance: 73.86km, total time: 3:01:13, pace: 24.5kph, heart \n rate: 133bpm.\n

\n

\n \n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 947, "title": "WK34-1 Swim", "date": "2007-08-20 22:19:52.0", "content": "

\n Went to the leisure and adult lane swim at Walter Baker pool tonight. I \n guess these are the summer hours for the evening sessions where they \n have leisure swimming from 6:30-8:00 and adult lane swim from \n 8:00-9:00pm. I started my swimming around 7:40pm. They actually had 3 \n lanes and no one was swimming in the fast lane, so I went into that \n lane. I went at my usual relaxed pace around 3:15-3:20 mins/100m. There \n was a younger kid that came into the lane and passed me, but he rested \n at the end of the pool after one lap. Then he would pass me again going \n the other way. I found this a bit annoying so I actually picked up my \n pace a little. I could feel that this pace was faster than normal and \n not as comfortable, but I didn't get out of breath. I'll need to push \n myself to try and improve my speed and also swimming at a higher \n intensity level. I'm pretty sure I'll need to swim at a higher intensity \n level during the triathlon races.\n

\n

\n I also noticed that my legs feel like they're sinking especially at the \n end of the pool coming to touch the wall. I don't think I'm as balanced \n as I should be if I feel this. I should probably push my chest a little \n deeper. On the flip side, I did push my chest deep enough at some points \n that when I kicked I took my foot out of the water and made a splash. I \n think in this case I'm not balanced the other way (my chest is too deep) \n and my feet are too high. However, I definitely err more on the former \n way, so I should continue to work on pushing my chest down. Another \n technique I found useful to concentrate on is to think of my arm entry, \n opposite arm pull, and core body rotation as a single movement, instead \n of focussing on just one of these. When I think of all these actions as \n one fluid motion, it does seem smoother and I feel a nice glide.\n

\n

\n I'm also analysing parts of my stroke where I am not being as \n streamlined as possible. One of the areas I'm looking at is my \n breathing. I think I'm lifting my head which is causing my glide to \n really slow down. This one is difficult for me because when I push my \n head and chest down to glide more, and then when I turn to breath, it \n feels like my head is under water so I need to lift it up to get my \n mouth out of the water and take in some air. I don't think I have the \n correct head position yet for my breathing and still being as \n streamlined as possible. I'm using the strokes per length as feedback \n for how streamlined and efficient I am during my strokes. This seems to \n vary between 25 - 30 during my most recent swim training laps. I think \n I'll go back and do some laps with pushing off the wall to see some \n comparisons to my previous spl numbers.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 24 - 100m laps (2.4km), total time: 1:17:39, pace: \n 3:14mins/100m.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 949, "title": "Meaning of life...", "date": "2007-08-21 23:46:38.0", "content": "

\n I've found some other very interesting blogs by triathletes which also \n focus on their motivations and journeys rather than the triathlon sport \n itself. Here are some examples:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Cliff - http://ckct.blogspot.com/\n
    • \n
  • \n Wil (Tracy) - http://www.throughth3wall.com\n
    • \n
  • \n Comm's - http://commonmansyndrome.com\n
    • \n
\n

\n This blog entry is trying to look at the bigger picture. "Meaning of \n life" so to speak... It requires internal reflection, introspection on \n our values, our priorities, our likes, our dislikes, our motivations, \n our loves, our passion... so many things...\n

\n

\n Some of the blogs are beautiful to read, eloquently written, and often \n thought provoking. Triathlon is not life, life is not triathlon, \n although it may seem that way. Sometimes our pursuits can become all \n encompassing and engrossing that it becomes the driving force exclusive \n of anything else. This is not necessarily bad, but is certainly extreme \n and probably a bit too much for me.\n

\n

\n I go back to the question, "Who am I?". How do I define myself? I \n think of my kids and "what kind of legacy do I want to leave to my \n kids?". How do I want people to know me and remember me? All very \n important and emotional questions. A worthy topic of introspection...\n

\n

\n Triathlon itself is just a multi-disciplined sport: swim, bike, run. \n However, at its extreme distances, it really becomes more than that. It \n is an ultra-endurance sport that requires you to really think about what \n you do and need to do to complete the "insane" distances. It requires a \n discipline in training. Due to the long training hours, it in most \n cases requires sacrifices in all parts of your life. Then there is the \n "complete" vs "compete" mentality and the start of a cycle where you \n desire to improve in your performance which requires yet more discipline \n and more sacrifice. Because all this is not easy, the challenge of the \n ironman triathlon is very appealing. It is a goal. It is a very, very \n hard goal. It requires mental and physical strength. It needs to be \n planned, then executed. You can not wake up and then do an ironman. \n Physically there are limits and we train ourselves to improve and \n increase those limits.\n

\n

\n So this takes us back to the questions: "Who am I?", "How do I define \n myself?", "What legacy do I want to leave?", and now... "Why do I want \n to be an ironman?"\n

\n

\n For now the answer eludes me. Or somehow I just can not express it in \n words. Or maybe I don't feel ready to answer this question. Right now \n it is a goal, a burning desire for me to be able to race this "insane" \n distance. It's a challenge which I feel is within my grasp. It is a \n possibility knowing what I can physically do at this point in my fitness \n journey. And adding this challenge to my life journey just seems like a \n challenge I would like to step up to. It is a journey that I am looking \n forward to in my life's travels and reaching my true potential as a \n human being.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 950, "title": "WK34-3 Swim", "date": "2007-08-22 23:34:28.523", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker swim sessions tonight, starting with the \n leisure swim and then the adult lane swim. I got there a little later \n than usual and didn't start swimming until 7:45pm. I had a minor \n breakthrough tonight in that my pull felt much stronger. I was really \n starting to feel the resistance on my pull for the entire stroke all the \n way to my waist. What I concentrated on was to rotate my core and \n perform my pull to my waist. It really felt like I was propelling \n myself for a longer period of time during my stroke. I also really \n exaggerated my core rotation so that the line through my shoulder blades \n were vertical at the end of each pull and during my glide. I say I \n exaggerated the movement, but it's probably the right amount of \n rotation, since I don't think I was rotating enough before. My stroke \n counts were still around 25 spl, but the strokes just seemed stronger. \n My lap times were a little faster, so that was a good sign. Yippee! My \n swimming is continuing to improve!\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 24 - 100m laps (2.4km), total time: 1:14:42, pace: \n 3:07mins/100m \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 951, "title": "WK34-4 Swim", "date": "2007-08-23 22:50:19.0", "content": "

\n I was so pleased with my minor breakthrough last night, that I really \n wanted to swim again tonight. My shoulders and arms felt a little tired, \n but I decided to go anyways. I went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim \n session. It's only one hour long, which I thought would be less tiring. \n I continued to work on my full core rotation and strong pull all the way \n to my waist. I'm really starting to feel the resistance of the water for \n my whole pull stroke and this in turn really makes me feel like I'm \n strongly propelling myself forward. I didn't always have the right \n feeling, but it was there most of the time. At times I think I was \n getting more tired than usual, but I was able to relax more and after \n that it felt normal and I didn't feel like I was over exerting myself. I \n didn't count my strokes too much, but when I did, they were mostly \n around 22-23 spl.\n

\n

\n Near the beginning of the session, I was getting those self doubting \n thoughts again where I wasn't feeling great and I was telling myself I \n can't swim this distance. I was thinking about swimming in open water \n and how I might get a panic attack. However, once I got warmed up and \n got into the rhythm, everything felt just fine. Need to really try and \n relax, especially at the beginning of my swims where I might be a little \n anaerobic until my aerobic systems kick in.\n

\n

\n I found that my lap times were really quick tonight. Especially further \n into the session when there was less traffic and I basically just kept \n going at a good pace. I didn't pause for long at the end of the pool and \n just kept chugging along. Most of the split times I noticed were under \n the 3:00mins/100m lap times. Hey I'm starting to get some decent speed, \n although I'm still a slow poke. :-) I think I need to develop more arm \n strength for a stronger pull, and also a faster stroke rate (and \n therefore swimming at a higher heart rate). Maybe I'm ready for some \n interval sessions where I'm swimming faster lap times and resting for a \n bit. Something to think about!\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 20 - 100m laps (2.0km), total time: 57:26, pace: \n 2:52mins/100m\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 952, "title": "WK34-6 Bike - Double ascent to Champlain Lookout!", "date": "2007-08-25 23:39:05.171", "content": "

\n Today I was going to do another hill workout with a ride to Gatineau \n park and Champlain lookout. It ended up that I did the ascent twice! \n Wow! I got up around 5:15am to get an early start. I had a glass of \n water and a banana for a quick snack. I filled up two water bottles with \n orange gatorade, and grabbed 4 chewy granola bars. I was out the door \n around 5:46am. The weather was warm at 21C so I just wore my bike jersey \n and shorts. I felt fine and wasn't cold at all.\n

\n

\n I took the bike path to Champlain bridge and then down Tache Boulevard. \n The ride down Promenade de la Gatineau seems to be getting easier. The \n ride up the hill to Pink Lake was good and I didn't exert myself too \n much. I saw another deer today. It startled me, because I had my head \n down going up a hill and then when I looked up, it was only a few meters \n ahead of me. I ended up going on the other side of the road and the deer \n just stood there watching me. I smiled and whispered, "amazing!". It's \n so cool seeing the deer and wildlife on my early morning rides.\n

\n

\n For today, I decided to not take the turn off to Champlain Lookout, but \n instead go straight which takes you to the highway near Chelsea. I had \n done this once before on a ride a couple of weeks back. It had been \n about an hour into my ride, so I ate my first granola bar. At the \n highway, I kept going straight and this eventually leads back to the \n highway to get to Camp Fortune. I then took the turnoff which goes up \n towards Champlain Lookout.\n

\n

\n The first part of the highway is fairly steep, and the hill is fairly \n long. But it was still early in the ride, and I was able to go up fine. \n After the first steep part, the road seems to flatten out and the hills \n aren't that steep anymore. I saw one rider going down and we waved to \n each other. I ended up seeing this same rider when doing the ascent a \n second time on the other road. He must have been doing the loop several \n times too. Getting closer to the top, it started to get really foggy. I \n got to the lookout at 1hr50mins into my ride. So taking this route was \n only 10 mins longer than taking the other route! I had a granola bar and \n headed back down. I had to watch for the turn off to go back on the same \n route. It's about 2km from the lookout. I went down the hill and \n basically reversed my tracks. The hills to get back to the Champlain \n lookout turnoff are pretty tough.\n

\n

\n When I got to the turnoff, I decided to do the ascent again. I was \n thinking that there only two tough hills, one right at the beginning, \n and the other at Mulvihill Lake. The climb at Mulvihill lake was pretty \n tough, since my legs were starting to tire. It even felt at times that \n my calf muscles might cramp up. So I had to relax them and not over \n exert myself. I did eventually make it all the way back to the lookout, \n where I had another granola bar. It was nice cruising the downhill back. \n I tried to save my legs since they were pretty tired by now.\n

\n

\n Going back on the bike path, I could only manage about 23-24kph average. \n I made it up the Shouldice hill ok, but the Cedarview hill was pretty \n tough. I tried keeping my eyes on the road and not look up at all. When \n I finally did look up, I was about 50m from the top. It was nice to get \n back home. I was very happy to have accomplished such a tough ride!\n

\n

\n Bike stats: 104.0km, total time: 4:25:36, avg speed: 23.5kph, avg heart \n rate: 130bpm.\n

\n

\n \n  \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 953, "title": "WK34-7 Bike - Ashton, Carleton Place Highway15", "date": "2007-08-26 22:47:08.0", "content": "

\n I got up early again around 5:15am to do another ride today. I was \n planning to take Flewellyn to Ashton and perhaps farther. It was 18C and \n I thought it was warm enough to just wear my bike jersey. However, I was \n cold for most of the ride, so it would have been better if I wore my \n long sleeve technical shirt under my bike jersey. I ended up leaving \n around 5:49am. Right from the beginning of my ride, my legs were feeling \n tired. I told myself that I would turn around at Ashton. However, I \n ended up going a little further and turning around at Highway 15 near \n Carleton place. So instead of turning around at the 1hr10min mark, I \n kept riding for another 20mins and turned around at the traffic lights \n at around the 1hr30min mark.\n

\n

\n My legs just felt "shredded" the whole time and I couldn't keep up any \n decent speed. My legs felt like they were building up lactic acid and \n just felt tired and sore. I would often have to stop pedalling and just \n rest the legs. It was a tough ride, but I survived and gutted it out.\n

\n

\n Bike stats: 74.3km, total time: 3:01:07, avg speed: 24.6kph, avg heart \n rate: 119bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 954, "title": "Monday - day off", "date": "2007-08-27 22:46:54.0", "content": "

\n I can still feel a stiffness and soreness in my legs from last weekend's \n bike training sessions. Especially if I've been sitting for a while and \n then try to get up, I can really feel the pain in my legs! Not an \n injury pain, but the muscle soreness after exercise. I think it's \n called DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. So that's my excuse for \n not exercising today. I was thinking of a swim session, but I just \n plopped myself in front of the TV when I got home tonight after work and \n just vegg'ed out for several hours.\n

\n

\n I need to formalize my training program so that I have set goals and \n objectives for each of my training sessions, and that they build \n logically upon each other as I improve my fitness. I need to do some \n research and come up with my "plan". I'll need to pick a day off and \n right now I'm thinking Monday would be a good day because of the really \n tough training sessions on the weekends. Or perhaps make it an easy \n cross training day. Another possibility is making the rest day a Friday \n to get ready for the tough weekend training.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 955, "title": "Motivation...", "date": "2007-08-28 10:54:12.145", "content": "

\n I need some motivation!\n

\n

\n Currently I've been reading and spending a lot of time thinking about \n ironman triathlons and what I need to do to train and complete one. This \n is ok, but I just don't seem to be motivated to do anything else! I have \n to get myself out of this funk! I need more balance. I need to get \n motivated about work. I need to get motivated about robotics. I need to \n get motivated about music. I need to get motivated about computers. I \n need to get motivated!!!\n

\n

\n At work especially I have to get off my butt and start really producing \n and performing. End of year priorities is coming up and I really, really \n want to do better. I haven't left myself much time, so I'll have to do a \n lot in the next two months to impress Gil, Larry/Harold, and the other \n directors. Need to think about all the areas I can make a meaningful and \n important contribution and then GO DO IT!!! The time for ACTION \n is NOW!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 956, "title": "WK35-2 Swim", "date": "2007-08-28 22:57:15.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session tonight. I'm trying to get \n ready earlier so that I'm ready to swim right at 8:30pm. In order to do \n this, I should leave the house around 8:10pm so that I have 10mins to \n drive there and 10mins to change, shower, and be at the poolside ready \n to splash in! Going back in time some more, I should start getting \n ready by 7:50pm. I need to put in my contacts, grab my swim shorts and \n towel and put them in my sports bag, and then grab a granola bar (and \n perhaps some gatorade). So there you have it. I should start getting \n ready by 7:50pm, instead of 8:15pm where I kind of laze around and then \n rush at the last minute. So now I have a plan. I just need to execute \n it!\n

\n

\n Back to the swim. I started off too quickly tonight and got that awful \n feeling of not feeling comfortable, wondering what I was doing there, \n I'll never swim this distance, I can't keep going, I want to stop... \n Just yucky. I took my pulse after 8 laps and caught my breath, and then \n really tried to relax. I eventually got into the rhythm and felt much \n better after. During most of the swim I was stuck behind a swimmer that \n was doing some type of splashy back stroke, type thing. I was ahead of \n him at first, but somehow he went past me and then I was stuck behind \n him. I ended up waiting at the end of the laps for him to get ahead \n slightly before I started my lap.\n

\n

\n One time I let him get really far ahead (almost 25m?) and then started \n swimming. But for some reason, I decided I was going to swim fast, and \n then I caught up to him! I actually did a really fast 4 laps (the last \n 2 laps of a 100m split, and the first 2 laps of the next 100m split). I \n think I did one of the 25m laps in 30secs! So I actually can swim fast \n sometimes! Of course all this fast swimming got me out of breath and \n raised my heart rate. I stopped after the fast laps and took my pulse \n and it was around 32beats for 15secs, or 128bpm. I thought my heart \n rate would be higher than that. I was out of breath, but I could have \n probably gone a little harder. I was taking 3 strokes between breaths, \n so I wasn't gasping for air. I expect that if I pushed myself even \n harder, I'd have to go down to 2 strokes per breath, since I'll be \n gasping for air more. Maybe it's time to mix in a few intervals!\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 19 - 100m laps (1.9km), total time: 55:27, pace: \n 2:55mins/100m \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 957, "title": "WK35-3 Swim", "date": "2007-08-29 22:45:17.0", "content": "

\n After my speech yesterday of getting prepared early and being on time \n for the start of the swimming session, I didn't follow my own advice... \n I hemmed and hawed about whether I was going to go swimming, and then at \n the last minute decided I wanted to go. Anne and the kids were watching \n a movie, so I decided to go swimming. It was around 8:00pm. I quickly \n put on my contacts, gathered my swimming stuff, and grabbed a granola \n bar. I was leaving the house just after 8:15pm, so I wasn't too much \n later than my target time of 8:10pm. It took 10 mins to get to the \n Pinecrest pool. I quickly changed and showered, and by the time I got to \n the pool, there were a couple of people just starting to swim in the \n medium speed lane.\n

\n

\n I started off much more relaxed today, and didn't get those struggling \n feelings like yesterday. Except for the first 100m lap at 3:13mins, all \n my laps were under 3:00mins. There wasn't too much traffic so I didn't \n have to wait at the end of the pool very long to start my next pool \n length. There was another lady swimming laps and I seemed to be keeping \n a very similar pace to her. She would swim faster, but would have a \n short rest at the end of the pool. I guess this allowed me to catch up \n to her before she took off again. We did this for a long time, until she \n stopped and started talking to the swim coach. I wonder if she's taking \n lessons, or just knows him?\n

\n

\n With open water ahead of me, I seemed to pick up the pace a little bit, \n and my lap times went down to 2:42mins for a few 100m laps. Not bad! I \n was trying to concentrate on my pull all the way to my waist, and really \n feeling the resistance of the water during the entire pull. I also \n exaggerated my core body rotation more. I think this all seemed to help. \n Although I was going faster, I don't think I was exerting that much more \n energy. I was getting tired, but I wasn't getting out of breath. One \n thing I didn't really concentrate on was feeling the arm entry, opposite \n arm pull, and core body rotation as one fluid motion. I know this also \n helps. I thought of this on a few strokes, but I mostly concentrated on \n the core body rotation and feeling of resistance on my entire pull.\n

\n

\n After I was home for a while and watching Myth Busters on TV with the \n kids, I started feeling a pain and soreness on my left collarbone right \n near the neck. I'm not sure what it is. It only hurts if I turn my head \n to the right or have my left arm straight above my head. I didn't feel \n this right after my swim session at the pool, so I'm wondering what I \n did. I'll need to monitor this closely. Hopefully it starts to feel \n better quickly.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 20 - 100m laps (2.0km), total time: 57:30, pace: \n 2:52mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 958, "title": "Rest from training for a few days... Family Time!", "date": "2007-09-01 22:57:37.0", "content": "

\n My left shoulder was still bothering me so I decided not to do any swim \n training the last few days. On Thursday night, Elizabeth had a Parents \n vs. Kids soccer game. Joseph and I joined in, while Anne watched from \n the sidelines. It was fun! I was out of breath pretty quickly after a \n few wind sprints. After that I just took it easy. My legs after the \n game and a few days after were quite sore. I'm pretty out of shape from \n running!\n

\n

\n On Friday night, the whole family went out shopping at MEC and \n Bushtukah. I bought some cycling clothing and other bike goodies (chain \n cleaner, bike computer, spare inner tubes, tires...). And at Bushtukah I \n bought some Triathlon bars and a pair of neoprene booties. I spent close \n to $400 in total from both stores!\n

\n

\n On Saturday morning, Joseph and I went to get our haircuts so I missed \n my usual weekend bike training ride. I was thinking of going swimming in \n the afternoon, but I was still feeling tired. Then the family went out \n to Rockcliffe to watch the Gatineau Balloon festival and the balloons \n taking off. We left around 4:30pm and got there around 4:50pm. There \n weren't many people there yet, so we were able to find a good spot just \n before the grass started to slope down a hill. We spread out our blanket \n and put the folding chairs right behind. Anne had read that the balloons \n were going to take off some time between 5:30 and 6:30pm.\n

\n

\n We ate our chicken wraps (yum!) that Anne made for dinner, along with \n carrots, cucumber, Fruitopia, and brownies. It was delicious! Then we \n waited. And waited. And waited. We all had brought books to read, so it \n wasn't as boring as it sounds. Finally around 6:20pm, the balloons \n started taking off. It is really quite an amazing site. Balloons taking \n off every few seconds and a line of balloons filling the sky. Some of \n the more interesting balloon shapes we saw included a dog, lighthouse, \n space shuttle, Mr Planters Peanut, and an upside down Humpty Dumpty. The \n kids of course had loads of fun. By 7:00pm all the balloons had taken \n off and the show was over. We waited around for a while to let the \n crowds die down, and then headed back to the car.\n

\n

\n On the drive home, we saw many of the balloons going down Alta Vista \n towards the Queensway. It looked like the balloons were flying in a line \n south. It was an awesome way to spend a wonderful summer afternoon with \n the family and enjoying an amazing show.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 960, "title": "WK35-7 Bike", "date": "2007-09-02 22:52:41.0", "content": "

\n Since I missed my Saturday bike ride yesterday due to Joseph and I \n getting our haircuts, I went for my Gatineau hills bike ride on Sunday \n morning. My legs were still sore from the Thursday night soccer game. I \n couldn't believe it. It also felt like I had no energy. This was going \n to be a tough ride. I got up at 5:30am and had my usual banana and glass \n of water for breakfast. It was only 9C outside, so I decided to wear my \n new tights and new bike jacket. This worked out fine in the early \n morning since it was so cool out, but by the time I was riding home, the \n sun was shining and it was getting quite warm.\n

\n

\n I filled up my two water bottles with gatorade, stuck 4 chewy granola \n bars in my jacket back pocket, and stuck my Garmin GPS in my bike Jersey \n center back pocket and headed out. One thing I forgot was to turn on my \n Timex Data Recorder! Doh! I didn't get any Timex GPS and Heart Rate \n data, but luckily I had my Garmin GPS so I was able to get that data \n into Sportstracks. I ended up missing only my heart rate data. Oh well. \n C'est la vie. I need to keep reminding myself to turn on my data \n recorder on my training sessions!\n

\n

\n I took my usual route to Gatineau park along the bike path. Even on the \n flat terrain, I could feel my legs felt tired and lethargic. I think I \n only averaged 25kph during this stretch! When I got to Gatineau, the \n gates were closed, because of the Alcatel-Lucent bike days. Bonus! There \n weren't going to be any cars on the road today. The Gatineau hills were \n especially tough with my legs feeling so flat. I huffed and puffed and \n eventually made it up to Champlain lookout. I took the alternate route \n by Camp Fortune which has a tough hill right by Fortune. I decided that \n I didn't have the energy to do a second ascent like I did on my last \n ride, so I just headed back home.\n

\n

\n I was able to ride on the Ottawa River parkway because the road was \n closed to cars. By this time, it was really warm and I was sweating a \n lot. I had zipped open my jacket and bike jersey earlier and that felt \n good to cool off my upper body. However, my legs were pretty hot in my \n tights. Nothing I could do about that. I tried to push the pace when \n going down the parkway, and I could see my heart rate elevated close to \n 140bpm. The last tough hill up Cedarview, I just kept my head down and \n kept pumping my legs. I did this all the way to the top of the hill, and \n didn't look up until I saw the start of the right turn lane.\n

\n

\n After this ride, I noticed that the outside of my right knee would have \n some slight pain. It wasn't constant, it would just come and go. It's \n like the ITB tendinitis I had before. This is something else I'll need \n to watch closely. Maybe I should do some ITB stretches too. I need to be \n diligent in listening to my body and preventing injury. Do not push \n through the pain! Very solid advice as I start to increasing my training \n to increase my endurance.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 962, "title": "Balancing priorities - Time to clean up and get organized!", "date": "2007-09-03 22:26:34.0", "content": "

\n Anne had asked that I spend some time cleaning out the garage this \n weekend. Her quote went something like this: "I want to live in an \n organized house. I want to be able to invite friends over. I want to be \n able to invite the kid's friends over." Ouch. That hurt. The reality, \n however, is that it's all true. I've taken over the basement with my \n disorganized mess, as well as the mud room and garage. I've been meaning \n and trying to get organized, but I just can't seem to clean things up, \n throw away things, and organize all my stuff in a nice orderly fashion.\n

\n

\n I spent Saturday, cleaning out the shelving units in the garage. I threw \n away a lot of old metal brackets, bolts, etc. On Sunday and Monday, I \n continued to clean up the basement in the computer room area. I put my \n old files in file boxes and stacked them up by the dresser. I ended up \n emptying three plastic crates with old files and putting them into the \n file boxes. I'm not sure where to put these file boxes for safe keeping. \n Perhaps up in the attic.\n

\n

\n I'll need to continue cleaning up the computer room. I have to find a \n way to organize all my old computer and electronic equipment such as old \n hard drives, old printers, old joysticks, etc. I also need to organize \n all the cables, wires, and computer parts. I suspect that after I've \n organized that room, I'll still have stacks of paper organized into \n categories. I'm not sure yet, how to file those away, and still have \n access to all the notes and paper for my hobbies, sports, and music \n interests.\n

\n

\n The next step is to clean up my super disorganized and messy workshop \n area. Yikes! What a mess that is! Need to figure out the major \n categories to group items and then allocate spaces to store them away. \n I'd like to get more black plastic shelving units like the one I have \n now. This will give me more organization space. But I'll still need to \n figure out what the grouping categories are. I'd also like to throw away \n stuff I'll never use again, but I know I'll have a hard time doing that. \n I always feel like I'll eventually find a use for stuff, so I keep \n things around. I just need to be organized when I do this so my workshop \n area isn't so disorganized and messy!\n

\n

\n One saying I'm starting to repeat in my head is "A place for \n everything, and everything in its place." I need to have a \n place for every paper file and piece of equipment I have. Then I need to \n make sure that I put everything in its place. When I'm finished with \n using something, put it in its place. When I get something new, put it \n in its place. This is so important in order to stay organized once I've \n cleaned things up.\n

\n

\n The other thing I've been thinking about is to actually spend the time \n getting and then staying organized. I have to prioritize my organization \n time. One way I can do this is to force a balance between my training \n time and my organization time. I was thinking that: "For every hour I \n spend training, I need to spend an hour getting cleaned up and \n organized." By looking at it this way, I know that I'll be \n spending time organizing, because I know I'll want to spend time \n training. If I want to be really strict about it, I should ensure that I \n do my organizing time, before I do my training time.\n

\n

\n Ok. There you have it. The beginnings of an organization plan. It has \n been a long time coming, and I know I just need to go out and DO IT!!! \n And of course after this, I'll need to do things for fixing up and \n renovating the house!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 963, "title": "WK36-2 Swim", "date": "2007-09-04 23:22:58.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session tonight. I got ready on \n time and got to the pool ready to swim right at 8:30pm. I had a nice \n easy warm up, and I never got that uncomfortable feeling. There were a \n lot of people in the medium speed lane tonight, so I was pretty much \n stuck swimming a relaxed pace. There was a woman that I was swimming \n behind that would do freestyle and then a slow breast stroke. I ended up \n having to go very slowly behind her when she was doing her breast \n stroke. At least it helped me practice my balance and having a very \n relaxed stroke. All my first laps were over 3:00mins. One was even 3:16!\n

\n

\n At times I tried to pass people, but it just takes too much energy, so \n mostly I just stayed in line. Sometimes I would wait at the end of the \n pool for a few seconds to give myself a gap in case I caught up quickly \n to the next person. When the traffic started to clear up, I was able to \n go faster and swim at my normal pace. Looking at my swim data, I \n averaged 3:06 on my first 10 laps, and then 2:46 on my second 10 laps, \n giving an overall average of 2:56. My left arm pull felt weak again. I \n did concentrate on my core body rotation and pull all the way back to my \n waist. It's starting to sink in more. I think my lap times are slowly \n improving so I am swimming faster without increasing my effort level. I \n want to continue improving my efficiency. I want to have the smoothest, \n free flowing stroke as possible. My lowest strokes per length tonight \n was around 25 with many laps around 27. This is high. I did this near \n the end, so I could have been tired and not stroking as strongly. I \n measured my heart rate at the end of the session and it was around 32 \n beats in 15 seconds giving 128bpm.\n

\n

\n I saw Terry at the pool. I thought I saw him at Walter Baker the other \n day, but it was another chinese guy named Lim. There was a friend with \n Terry and he introduced himself, but I didn't listen and promptly forgot \n his friend's name. In the dressing room, Terry was saying I should \n practice with closed fists. It really helps the balance. I should try \n doing some drills rather than just straight freestyle laps.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 20 - 100m laps (2.0km), total time: 58:42, avg pace: \n 2:56mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 964, "title": "WK36-3 Swim", "date": "2007-09-05 22:57:36.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session tonight. I got there nice \n and early, took my shower, and then found the door to the pool was \n locked! I was wondering what was going on. Did they change the schedule? \n After a while I walked out to the front desk to get a schedule and saw \n that there was an adult lane swim session at this time. I walked to the \n side door to the pool and it was locked too. There was a small window on \n the door and I could see that the lifeguard had just unlocked the men's \n change room door. So I walked around back to the men's change room. I \n saw the young man that was also waiting to get in the pool, and he told \n me that they had just unlocked the door. So a little adventure before my \n swim session!\n

\n

\n The pool was so calm since no one was in it. The water just seemed so \n clear and still, like glass. I got in and started to do my slow warm up. \n Although I thought I was going slow, I still got a little out of breath. \n I just felt lethargic today. I didn't have any energy. Don't know why. \n I'm not overtraining am I? I decided to have an easy workout and just go \n nice and easy. I would often stop at the end of my 100m laps, stop my \n stopwatch, and rest for a few seconds before starting off again. I only \n ended up swimming 1.4km, and stopping after only 42mins of swimming time\n

\n

\n After, I decided to do the fist swimming drill. Did it ever feel weird! \n I could feel the water rushing past my forearm as I did my pull, but it \n didn't feel like I was moving any water. Almost like the water was \n providing no resistance. However, I was moving forward, but probably at \n a much slower speed. I didn't end up timing my laps with the fist drill, \n although next time I will because I'm curious what my lap times were. \n After a while I started to get the hang of it. My right arm pull felt \n much, much stronger than my left arm pull. I basically felt like my left \n arm wasn't providing any momentum. It also seemed difficult to breath \n because I wasn't moving on my pull and I had a hard time turning my head \n and getting my mouth out of the water for a breath. I think I did 100m \n (4 laps) of the fist drill.\n

\n

\n I really like this fist swimming drill. It certainly exposes my weak \n left arm pull. I need to work on the left arm fist pull and make it feel \n as strong as the right arm fist pull. I should incorporate this into \n each work out and do at least 200m of this drill. Another drill I was \n thinking that I should try is the one-arm freestyle. I'll probably need \n to work on my left arm one-arm freestyle. This should also help me \n improve my left arm pull. Although I didn't feel great during this swim, \n I did learn and try something new with the fist drill. Cool!\n

\n

\n I also saw Terry's friend, Andy, at the pool tonight. I had met him \n last night but forgot his name. We talked a bit in the shower and I \n asked him his name again. This time I made sure I remembered! We \n chatted about the Total Immersion program. He asked me how I learned \n about it and I said off the internet. I read some stuff about "TI" and \n it took me a while to figure out it stood for "Total Immersion". Andy \n said, Yeah, he thought it was "Texas Instruments". Heh, heh. He must \n be a high tech. dude. Andy said he found out about Total Immersion from \n the internet too. Andy was also saying that in previous swimming \n lessons, they told him he needs to get a stronger pull and kick. But \n it's not about swimming harder, it's about swimming more efficiently. \n That is really what I had learned. I was so inefficient with my \n previous swimming stroke. I was probably swimming with my body at a 45 \n degree angle. Now I'm horizontal and can actually glide! \n

\n

\n Swim stats: 14 - 100m laps (1.4km), total time: 42:36, pace: \n 3:03mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 965, "title": "WK36-6 Bike", "date": "2007-09-08 22:56:29.0", "content": "

\n Did my usual Gatineau bike ride Saturday morning. I slept relatively \n late last night after midnight, and set my alarm for 6:00am so I only \n got about 5 hours sleep. I had a banana and a glass of water, packed my \n usual 2 bottles of Gatorade and 4 granola bars, packed my cell phone, \n and was off at 6:17am. It has been a heat wave for the past few days and \n this morning was no exception. It was 23C at 6:00am in the morning! I \n wore my bike shorts and bike jersey. I decided to take Northside \n directly to Richmond road instead of going up by Bell High School. It is \n no longer restricted to one lane under the train bridge, so I'm not \n worried about the traffic as much.\n

\n

\n The ride felt pretty good. I seemed to be keeping a pretty good average \n speed. I did two loops again today! Did the climb up by Camp Fortune and \n descended the same way. Then went back around and climbed up by \n Mackenzie King Estates and Mulvihill and descended that route. On the \n climb up Camp Fortune, I actually passed a group of riders. They were \n older folks. On the other climb, I was passed by some guy not wearing \n bike shorts and a loose t-shirt (ie. he wasn't dressed like a biker \n dude). At Champlain Lookout, I had my granola bar, but didn't stop. On \n the way down, this guy passed me again (after the Mulvihill downhill), \n but this time I decided to stick with him. My heart rate shot up like \n crazy as I was pumping my legs pretty hard. Going down the Pink Lake \n hill, I actually had to press my brakes so that I wouldn't pass him. I \n think my bike's pretty fast! Just coasting down the hill I was able to \n catch up to him slightly! I followed him almost to the park entrance, \n but he got off at the bike path and I just kept going.\n

\n

\n For some reason, my heart rate was really high today. On the climbs, it \n was going 150-155bpm. It didn't feel like I was exerting any more than \n usual, and my breathing was heavy but not laboured. On the way back I \n tried to ease off a bit, but then I started to exert myself again when I \n kept up with that guy. I don't know why, but I didn't like being passed \n by him. I shouldn't worry about that stuff, and just have to shake it \n off. I really need to concentrate on what I need to do for my training, \n and not worry about anyone else. I guess it's just an ego thing, and I \n let it bother me today. Usually, I don't even think about it.\n

\n

\n I also started getting a pain on the back, inside, of my left knee. It's \n not a sharp pain, but a little pain when my left knee is bent. Later at \n home, I noticed the pain when walking and going up/down stairs. The pain \n occurs when the knee is bent, and then I try to straighten my leg. The \n location of the pain is near the large tendon at the back of the left \n knee, towards the middle (but on the inside). I'll have to watch this \n closely. I don't want to develop another injury!\n

\n

\n Bike stats: 103.65km, total time: 4:15:00, avg pace: 24.4kph, avg heart \n rate: 138bpm.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 966, "title": "WK36-7 Bike", "date": "2007-09-09 21:38:54.0", "content": "

\n Went for another bike ride on my "flat route" down Flewellyn by Ashton \n and down to Highway 15. I got to bed around 11:00pm, so I got more sleep \n tonight. However, I should shoot for getting 8 hours sleep. I had some \n thoughts of not going on my training ride this morning, giving myself \n excuses like my legs were tired and I needed the rest. However, I just \n shook those thoughts off and got up. Need to have an "iron will"! It was \n much cooler this morning at 13C, so I wore my tights and my yellow bike \n jacket. It was cool in the morning and my arms and upper body was cold, \n but later I started to sweat. I wasn't uncomfortable, but I still was a \n little cold. I saw another deer today. I hadn't seen any deer on my last \n few rides, so it was nice to see one today.\n

\n

\n I was thinking this should be a recovery ride, but I had a very fast \n average speed on the way out. It was over 25kph. After I turned around, \n I knew why. There was a wicked head wind after I turned around. My legs \n also felt like jelly and I basically struggled all the way back home. I \n was mostly in 3rd gear with a rare shift into 4th gear, and my speed was \n now only 20kph. At times I even struggled in 1st gear on the flats. And \n my legs still felt like crap in these low gears! Yikes! I basically \n couldn't wait to get back home. Need to work on my endurance and leg \n strength for the bike! My heart rate was nice and low, but my legs just \n didn't have any energy. Most of this is probably due to my hard bike \n ride yesterday, but I still need to be able to ride when my legs are \n tired and feel like crap. Another example of needing to have an "iron \n will".\n

\n

\n My butt was sore today too. I was wearing the Stanfields underwear I \n don't like very much and they were bunching up in the right side crotch \n area and making me really uncomfortable. I was wearing my bike shorts \n and my tights and it felt like there was a seam or something I was \n sitting on. I just seemed to be thinking too much about how \n uncomfortable it was. The previous time I wore the tights (which was \n also the first time), I didn't have any of these issues. Need to monitor \n and see what is causing this discomfort on my long rides.\n

\n

\n I could also continue to feel the slight pain in my left knee, \n especially at the beginning of the ride while I was still warming up. \n For most of the ride, I didn't really notice it anymore. After the ride, \n at home I could feel the pain again while I walked. It was about the \n same as after yesterday's ride. My legs were really tired and sore too. \n If I sit for a while (eg. sitting in front of the computer or TV), then \n when I get up my legs are really, really stiff! I worked my legs good \n this weekend!\n

\n

\n Bike stats: 73.21km, total time: 3:09:03, avg pace: 23.2kph, avg heart \n rate: 121bpm.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 967, "title": "WK37-2 Swim", "date": "2007-09-11 22:49:19.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session from 8:00-9:00pm \n tonight. I thought I would swim a little earlier and not finish so late, \n so that's why I went to Walter Baker rather than Pinecrest. When I got \n to the pool just after 8:00pm, it was already so crowded! It looked like \n there might be a swim class with all the people swimming in a line, so I \n actually asked the lifeguard if this was the adult lane swim session and \n she said 'Yes'. It was a pretty slow swim session, since I mostly stayed \n behind other people and waited at the end of the pool to start again.\n

\n

\n I did a few lengths of the fist swimming drill. That's when I got a 3:50 \n lap time (I guess I'm pretty slow when doing the fist swimming drill). \n When I went back to normal swimming, it really felt like I was pulling a \n lot of water. I think it was my fastest 100m time too! At times when I \n was behind someone slow, I practiced more fist swimming. Also worked on \n my core body rotation and pulling all the way to my knees. After the \n crowd thinned out towards the end of the session, I started to push it \n and picked up my pace. I also counted my strokes per length and my best \n was 22-23. This is pretty good and I think it ties the lowest spl I've \n done in this pool.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 17 - 100m laps (1.7km), total time: 53:10, avg pace: \n 3:08mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 969, "title": "WK37-3 Swim", "date": "2007-09-12 23:22:27.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session tonight. I started getting \n ready putting on my contacts nice and early at 7:50pm. I left for the \n pool around 8:12pm. The parking lot was more crowded than usual and I \n had to park further down the row than normal. After quickly changing \n and when I was taking my shower, there was another person already there \n and he told me the door was locked and asked what time I had. It was \n 8:27pm. So I just stayed in the shower until the door was unlocked. I \n tried to go slowly at first, but it still didn't feel comfortable. At \n one point even my legs were feeling super tired, almost like my thigh \n was going to cramp. And this was all in the first 100m! I was thinking, \n "Oh man, I'm going to stop." I rested for a while after the first 100m \n and then started off again. Everything was ok after that and I felt \n fine. It's really weird how it's so hard for me to warm up and feel good \n during the warm up.\n

\n

\n Today was a really fast session! There was another swimmer that was \n swimming fast and kept passing me. I still did my fairly low stroke \n rate, but I tried to pull strongly and didn't wait at the ends of the \n pool. I really concentrated on having my arm entry, pull, and core body \n rotation as one quick and strong motion. I also made sure I bent my pull \n arm at the elbow. I was watching some girl in the fast lane beside me \n and her pull arm was almost straight! That must take a lot of power, but \n I could see how much movement she was able to generate because she just \n went flying by me. I'll have to look at the Total Immersion video and \n see what the arm position is like for the swimmers there.\n

\n

\n My left shoulder was a little sore from last night's swim session. It \n wasn't as bad as the last time I hurt my shoulder, but it is still \n disconcerting. What am I doing differently that's hurting my shoulder? \n Is it the large body rotation? I think I also had a fairly straight arm \n pull and that was probably putting a lot of strain on my shoulder. \n Tonight I tried to make sure I bent my pull arm when I was concentrating \n on the entry, pull, and core body rotation as one motion. It did feel \n like I was going pretty fast, especially at the ends of the pool where I \n came up to the wall pretty quick after my pull.\n

\n

\n My heart rate was still reasonbly low even after my fast pace. I \n measured it at the end of the session and it was 32 beats per 15 \n seconds, or ~128bpm. This is about the heart rate I get when I try to \n push it a bit, so I wasn't exerting more effort than anything I've done \n in the past. It feels good to know that I'm getting faster at the same \n effort level, although some of the time savings is due to not waiting at \n the wall before starting my next length. Still, an excellent swim \n training session. I swam 21 laps in less than an hour. I usually target \n to swim 20 laps in an hour.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 21 - 100m laps (2.1km), total time: 57:32, avg pace: \n 2:44mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 970, "title": "WK37-5 Swim", "date": "2007-09-14 22:13:51.0", "content": "

\n Joseph has now started taking his Bronze Medallion swimming lessons from \n 7:00-10:00pm at Pinecrest pool. I decided to go swimming at Walter Baker \n tonight. There is an adult lane swim session from 7:30-9:00pm. I went \n there a little earlier around 7:20pm, since there is a leisure swim \n session beforehand. I ended up having a really good session. I just did \n laps for an hour and a half, and held a pretty good pace. At one point, \n I counted my strokes per length and it was quite high, around 27 spl. I \n think it was near the end of the session and my arms were pretty tired \n and I wasn't pulling very strongly. Still my pace was pretty quick and I \n was passing people. There was a person that was swimming just behind me \n for a long time (half an hour?). He just stayed behind me, and everytime \n I pushed off the end wall, he was right there coming up from behind.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 30 - 100m laps (3.0km), total time: 1:24:15, avg pace: \n 2:49mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 971, "title": "WK37-6 Run", "date": "2007-09-15 23:18:35.187", "content": "

\n I didn't feel like getting up Saturday morning for a bike ride, so I \n slept in until 8:30am! Wow, it has been a while since I've got over 8 \n hours sleep. After dinner tonight, I took the kids to the track to do \n some laps. I was going to try the Maffetone test where you see how far \n you can run at a specific heartbeat (~137bpm for me). Joseph is taking \n cross country, so he was telling me the interval workout that he was \n doing. Elizabeth is also trying for the cross country running team. So \n it was good that we were all out training.\n

\n

\n I was running ~2:45mins per 400m at 137-140bpm heart rate. For the \n 12:00 minute test, I ran about 4.5 laps (450m). In total I ran 10 laps, \n with 2 laps warm up. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 973, "title": "WK37-7 Bike and Run - First brick workout", "date": "2007-09-16 23:10:15.0", "content": "

\n Didn't sleep until past midnight last night, so I set my alarm for \n 6:50am. I had a banana and glass of water to eat and got my stuff \n ready. It was only 5C this morning, so it was cold... I decided to \n wear my tights and technical shirt under my bike shirt. I also wore my \n yellow bike jacket and put my shoe covers on. I was warm enough at the \n beginning of the ride. The shoe covers were really nice. My feet never \n felt cold today, unlike the other times where my toes got numb. I even \n started to sweat too much, so I regulated my heat by opening up the \n front zipper of my jacket and bike jerseys. I took my usual route to \n the Gatineaus. However I did change the way I did my loops. I went up \n the back side by Camp Fortune, and then went down the main road where \n Mulvihill is. I took it quite easy to keep my heart rate nice and low \n in the aerobic zone. There were a bunch of really strong and fast \n cyclists that went past me. Some of these guys are pretty fast!\n

\n

\n It was really foggy in the morning when I got to Gatineau park. The fog \n was even condensing on my glasses. I tried wiping off the moisture from \n my glasses. This worked pretty well. On the second time up the back \n hill, my legs were pretty tired. I just tried to relax and keep \n continuous pressure on the pedals. I think that hill takes about 6 \n minutes to climb. \n

\n

\n Bike stats: 102.7km, total time: 4:27:13, avg pace: 23.05kph, avg heart \n rate: 131bpm.\n

\n

\n After the bike ride, I went for a short run to get my legs used to \n running after biking. It was a pretty tough run. My legs were tired \n and I was breathing really hard. After a while though, it started to \n feel better, even though I was still really tired. I ran about 6km in \n ~42 mins.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 974, "title": "Left leg injury!", "date": "2007-09-18 22:43:43.0", "content": "

\n I'm not sure what's wrong, but the back of my left knee, on the outside \n part, is really killing me today! It hurt when I got out of bed this \n morning. After I've been sitting down for a while, when I try and \n straighten my leg, the back part of my knee just hurts like crazy. It's \n even causing me to limp a little when I walk. The pain is around the \n area of the tendon that connects the hamstring to the lower leg, on the \n outside part. I did a bit of research, and it could be an overuse \n injury. Gulp... Not another overuse injury...\n

\n

\n I also feel some slight pain on the outside of my right knee on the ITB \n tendon. I've had this injury before when running. The pain is not that \n bad, but I know from experience that if I push too much, it can get \n quite bad! Need to take it easy and watch this carefully.\n

\n

\n The stress fracture on my 3rd toe metatarsal on my left foot isn't too \n bad these days. I went running on the weekend, and it might have gotten \n a little sore, but it isn't too bad. If I really pull back on my middle \n toe and press the bone area, I can feel some pain. However, just walking \n around, I don't really feel any pain at all. I need to build up my \n running mileage slowly.\n

\n

\n One of my goals in triathlon training was to stay injury free. I might \n not always be injury free, but I don't want to push through the pain and \n make things worse. I definitely want to understand why I'm getting \n different pains and areas of soreness and ease back when appropriate. \n I"ve found in my marathon training that staying in my aerobic zone, \n going at a steady pace, and not pushing myself too hard, is a good \n recipe for success. Whenever I try to push myself, and start elevating \n the heart rate really high, I seem to injure myself somehow. I need to \n have a very strong base of fitness before I can start to push my body. \n Right now I'm in my base phase of training, so keep that heart rate in \n the aerobic zone and keep the effort easy! During swimming this is \n around 120-128bpm, for cycling it's around 130bpm, and for running it's \n around 135-1357bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 975, "title": "WK38-3 Swim", "date": "2007-09-19 23:04:22.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session. Had a hard time warming \n up again, and got myself all uncomfortable and out of breath. After the \n first few 100m laps, I stopped my stopwatch and took a little breather \n before starting again. However, after this I started to feel fine and \n just kept swimming without being out of breath or feeling like I needed \n to stop. Once I start swimming in open water, I wonder how I'm going to \n handle this? Reading some of the racing reports, some people get panic \n attacks and really struggle for a while in the water. I want to try and \n avoid this, just relax, and stroke really slowly until I feel warmed up. \n I want to try and avoid this uncomfortable feeling and feeling like I \n need to stop, because in open water I won't be able to just stand at the \n end of the pool.\n

\n

\n I was using an older gentleman as a pacer for many of the laps. I've \n seen him before and we've usually swum at a very similar pace. At one \n point he took a breather and I went ahead of him. I picked up the pace \n and got some really quick 100m laps in there. One was 2:23 and another \n 2:28!\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 20 - 100m laps (2.0km), total time: 55:29, avg pace: 2:46 \n mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 976, "title": "WK38-4 Swim", "date": "2007-09-20 22:16:03.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker adult lane swim session. This session is 1.5 \n hours long so I get to extend my swim training longer than my usual 1 \n hour. I went a little early and started swimming during the Leisure \n swim session. However the lifeguards blow the whistle between sessions \n and I had to get out and wait a bit before I could go in and continue my \n laps. There were a couple of fast people in the medium speed lane who \n would pass me every few lengths. I didn't get blocked much by the other \n swimmers. I had to pass a couple of swimmers, but I wasn't slowed down \n much. Towards the end of the session my arms really started to tire, \n and I didn't have a very strong pull. \n

\n

\n Swim stats: 27 - 100m laps (2.7km), total time: 1:19:31, avg pace: 2:57 \n mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 977, "title": "WK38-6 Bike - A tale of two rides", "date": "2007-09-22 23:36:10.0", "content": "

\n I decided not to do the Gatineau hills today, due to the really sore \n legs I had at the beginning of the week. I thought that this might be an \n overuse injury, so I wanted to be careful and not stress my legs too \n much on the hills. Instead I decided to do my flat route out towards \n Ashton, Carleton Place, and Mississippi Lake. It was really a tale of \n two rides. The ride out was just brutal. There must have been a \n headwind, but I didn't realize how strong it was and how much it must \n have been slowing me down. It was a real struggle, although I didn't \n realize it at the time. My average speed going out was around 23.3 kph. \n At times I was down to 18 kph and lower. My legs didn't feel good at \n all. At one point I said to myself that I'd turn around at Ashton (only \n after an hour riding!). My butt muscles were also sore (from the \n pedalling not from the seat). I stopped pedalling often, and just tried \n to get the pain out of my butt and legs. I hope you get the picture. I \n was struggling and struggling badly. My heart rate was around 130 and \n just kept decreasing, sometimes dipping below 120bpm.\n

\n

\n However, I gutted it out and went to past the 50km mark (at Concession \n Rd #7) and kept going almost to Highway #7. I ended up turning around at \n the 61km mark, 2hrs38mins into my ride. What a difference there was as \n soon as I turned around. All of a sudden my speed was over 30kph and I \n was able to pedal easily and I started flying! I basically felt this way \n all the way back. I got tired at points, but most of the time I was able \n to pedal at a high cadence and keep a really high speed. My heart rate \n remained at a fairly low rate around 130-135 bpm even at the high \n speeds. My average speed at the end of the ride was 26kph, so I must \n have averaged close to 29kph on the way back! Wow! During the first \n portion of my ride, I was wondering where my bike fitness went and why I \n was so slow and out of shape, and then on the way back, I felt like I \n was just flying effortlessly. Definitely a tale of two rides...\n

\n

\n I just wanted to also note that Tennyson road after 7th line gets \n really, really bumpy. My bike was just vibrating like crazy. At one \n point the pavement smooths for a while, but then gets bumpy again. On \n the way back when I was flying, there was a huge difference when going \n from the bumpy road to the smooth road. It was like riding on glass \n compared to the bumpy road. As I increase my distance even further, I \n wonder if there are other routes that I can take to avoid these bad \n roads.\n

\n

\n Bike stats: 120.03 km, total time: 4:33:23, avg speed: 26.3 kph, avg \n heart rate: 125 bpm.\n

\n

\n \n  \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 978, "title": "WK39-2 Swim", "date": "2007-09-25 23:53:10.477", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30pm. Tried \n to warm up slowly, but still went out a little fast and got out of \n breath and felt uncomfortable in the water. When I do this, I usually \n start with the negative self talk on how lousy I'm feeling and how I'll \n never swim the distance and how I just want to to stop. I took a quick \n rest after the first 100m and then started again. Eventually the \n negative feelings subside, and I start to feel comfortable in the water \n again. I equate this to running and how my body feels awful until I \n start getting into my aerobic zone and it starts to feel easy. Just \n need to get a good warm up so that I can get into my aerobic zone.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 21 - 100m laps (2.1km), total time: 57:24, avg pace: \n 2:44mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 979, "title": "WK39-3 Swim", "date": "2007-09-26 22:57:09.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session again tonight. I was \n feeling tired, probably because of my swim last night. My warm up, \n still made me feel uncomfortable so I stopped and rested after 100m \n again tonight. It wasn't as crowded as last night, and there were only \n a few times I had to speed up to pass someone. I hate having to do that \n because it ruins my rhythm and gets me out of breath. As usual, the \n last 15 minutes or so of the session, everyone is gone and I pretty well \n have the lane to myself! I really seem to speed up at this time.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 21 - 100m laps (2.1km), total time: 57:12, avg pace: \n 2:43mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 981, "title": "WK40-2 Swim", "date": "2007-10-02 23:25:12.0", "content": "

\n Went to the adult lane swim session at Pinecrest tonight. I only did \n two swim training session last week, with no other training. I had gone \n to the Toronto Sign convention with Mike on Saturday so I missed my \n usual weekend bike training ride. I was really tired from the trip and \n slept in on Sunday morning, so I didn't do a bike training ride on \n Sunday either. Oh well. At least I got some decent rest.\n

\n

\n I guess the rest helped, because I had my fastest swim session ever. \n The lane wasn't very crowded, and I was able to go quick most of the \n time. There were only a few times where I held back and stayed behind \n some swimmers. I noticed that my 100m times were pretty quick with none \n over 3:00mins. I also had a much better warm up today. I still rested \n after 100m and took my pulse. However, after that I never stopped again \n and felt fine the whole time. Woo Hoo! \n

\n

\n I forgot to mention in my last entry that I asked the lifeguard if the \n Pinecrest pool was 25m and she said it was only 25 yards. OK. So it's \n good to know that this pool is 25 yards and a little shorter than the \n 25m Walter Baker pool. I always thought there was a difference because \n my stroke counts in the Pinecrest pool were 1 or 2 less than in the \n Walter Baker pool. So now I know that my distances I've recorded for \n this pool are a little overstated. That's OK, I think it is close \n enough for now.\n

\n

\n They had hot water problems in the shower again. When I took my shower \n before I entered the pool, it was just barely warm. When I took my \n shower after swimming, there was only cold water. Brrrrrr... I didn't \n stay in too long, since the water was just too cold. They had this same \n problem last week too! I hope they eventually get this problem fixed \n for good. \n

\n

\n Swim stats: 22 - 100m laps (2.2km), total time: 58:22, avg pace: \n 2:39mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 982, "title": "WK40-3 Swim", "date": "2007-10-03 23:09:09.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session again tonight from \n 8:30-9:30pm. There were some other people there that were taking \n lessons in the medium speed lane. I later asked them in the shower if \n they did triathlons and they said "yes". One of them had a really \n muscular upper body, but when I saw him swimming, I thought he had his \n head too high in the water. I think he might have passed me a few \n times, but I didn't notice if he was well balanced and horizontal in the \n water or not. There was another guy that I also saw, and he had his \n head pretty well fully submerged in the water and he looked well \n balanced. However, he didn't swim very quickly, and I was able to pass \n him easily even at the end of the swim session when I was tired. I \n didn't really have to pull harder or swim faster to pass him. Later on \n I realized that one thing he wasn't doing was rotating his core body. I \n think he was laying flat on his stomach the whole time. Also, he wasn't \n doing a full extension after the entry with his lead arm.\n

\n

\n It was interesting seeing these guys in the pool, especially since I \n also want to do triathlons. I think my swimming has come very far in \n the last year, and I don't think I'm out of place in the pool with these \n guys. In fact, with the Total Immersion techniques I've been learning \n and practicing, I feel like I have better technique and knowledge than \n them. :-) I even thought the instructor splashed too much while \n stroking. I recall in the TI training that you should strive to be \n smooth and not make any bubbles or even splashing noises since that is a \n waste of energy. However, the instructor did swim very fast, since he \n passed me a lot doing the drills. I just wonder how effecient his \n stroke is. \n

\n

\n One thing about my swimming is that I'm relatively slow. I think this is \n due to my slow stroke rate of 1.5-2 secs per stroke, whereas I've read \n that the optimum stroke rate is closer to 1 sec/stroke or 50-60 strokes \n per minute. I could possibly work on a harder and stronger pull, but I \n really need to balance this against staying in my aerobic zone and not \n going anaerobic with my arm muscles. I think my technique, body \n position, and head position are pretty good right now and don't slow me \n down. Another positive is that my heart rate is nice and low around \n 120-128 bpm (30-32 beats every 15 seconds). When I finish my swim \n session, I'm not breathing hard at all, and I don't feel too tired. I \n wonder what I should target for my heart rate when I swim the ironman? I \n don't want to risk blowing up in the swim, so I don't think I should \n have my heart rate too high (maybe max 135 bpm). Perhaps when I start \n getting into swimming intervals, I can get a better feel of what my \n heart rate does when I swim faster.\n

\n

\n Back to my swim training session. I thought I was going slower than \n last night, but I ended up doing 21 laps at 2:39 which was the same pace \n as yesterday. Hopefully this is a good sign of me getting faster using \n the same amount of effort!\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 21 - 100m laps (2.1 km), total time: 55:33, avg pace: \n 2:39mins/100m. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 983, "title": "WK40-5 Swim & kids cross country running", "date": "2007-10-05 22:43:06.0", "content": "

\n Yesterday, I went to watch Elizabeth at her cross country running meet. \n It was great to see her running and doing well. I think she finished \n 75th or somewhere around there. On Tuesday, I went to watch Joseph at \n his cross country running meet. Joseph finished in 37th place, which is \n just awesome. At first I thought they could have done better, but then \n I think of where I'm at in my running and training. I don't worry about \n my finish place, I just want to do the best I can and not totally \n exhaust myself in the process. I need to have the same attitude for the \n kids. Support them, be happy for their accomplishments and results, and \n let them know you love them!\n

\n

\n Today, I took a day off work to make an extra long Thanksgiving long \n weekend. Joseph had his Bronze star swim course tonight, so I decided \n to go swimming too at Walter Baker. I planned on doing an extra long \n swim tonight, so I got there around 6:30pm. I wanted to swim for 2 \n hours and swim the full ironman distance of 3.8km. (At 3:00mins/100m, I \n should swim 4km in 2 hours.) I ended up starting my swim at 6:40pm.\n

\n

\n It was really quiet at the pool tonight. At times I was the only one in \n the medium speed lane! There was another swimmer there that did a \n breastroke for one length and then a fast front crawl for the other \n length. I thought that he was eventually going to pass me, but I was \n able to stay ahead of him until he eventually left. There were other \n people that swam, but I didn't notice them much and I didn't have to \n expend any extra effort to pass people. I was able to keep the majority \n of my laps under 3:00mins. I swam really easy at first to warm up, and \n I never got that out of breath, really uncomfortable feeling. Later \n into the session, I was surprised at how fast I was able to keep the \n pace. Most of my laps were around 2:45-2:50mins/100m. At one point, I \n counted my strokes per length and it was 27 spl. This is pretty high, \n but I didn't want to pull harder and bring the SPL down, because I \n didn't want my arms to get overly tired and exhausted. I wanted them to \n last the whole two hours!\n

\n

\n One thing I continue to do to simulate open water swimming is to not \n push off the end walls and glide. I basically give a little push and \n then start stroking right away instead of gliding. I also noticed that \n having to swim to the other side of the lane must add some time too. I \n was swimming at the same pace as another swimmer in the fast lane, but \n when I turned around and swam to the other side of the lane, I noticed \n that she was way ahead of me. I must have a slow turn and the wider \n lane also made me fall a lot behind her. It'll be interesting to swim \n in open water and see what my 100m pace times are. I'm hoping they're \n comparable! In open water, I'll have to take into account needing to \n sight while swimming and also swimming extra distance due to zig zagging.\n

\n

\n In the end I was able to swim over 4.0kms! I wasn't too tired when I \n hit the 4km mark so I decided to keep going for another 100m. However, \n I guess I read my watch wrong, because I ended up swimming 4.2 km. I \n felt good! I wasn't overly tired or exhausted. Nice!\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 42 - 100m laps (4.2km), total time: 1:59:50, avg pace: \n 2:51mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 984, "title": "Family bike ride and run", "date": "2007-10-06 22:10:37.0", "content": "

\n On Friday, I took a day off and spent the day with the family. Anne \n pushed us outside and we decided to go on a bike ride. We ended up \n biking through the greenbelt and up towards Hunt Club road. We did a \n loop around towards D'Aubrie school and then back towards Bell High \n School. It was a lot of fun! We've lived here for 16 years and it was \n the first time we've taken some of those trails! And there are other \n trails that I want to explore and see where they end up.\n

\n

\n On Saturday, Joseph, Elizabeth, and I went for a short run around Bruce \n Pit. Joseph did two laps around, and Elizabeth and I did 1.25 laps \n around. In total we ran around 5km. It was good for me since I have \n hardly done any running since the marathon due to my stress fracture on \n my left foot. However, I think it's about time for me to slowly get \n back into running again. I want to really start thinking about breaking \n the 4 hour barrier in next year's marathon! Yeah, lets do it!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 985, "title": "WK41-Swim", "date": "2007-10-09 23:04:27.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30pm. Had a \n good easy warm up tonight. My balance and core body rotation is off at \n first, but then starts to feel better once I get warmed up. My core \n body rotation seems especially poor at the beginning. I feel like I'm \n flat on my chest. It starts to feel better after a while, but I wonder \n if I'm still not rotating enough? I'd like to get a video of me \n swimming to see what I look like, and to see if I'm using correct \n technique.\n

\n

\n The older gentleman was there again, and I used him as my pace swimmer \n as usual. When he passes some slow swimmers, I usually follow right \n after him. He actually swims at almost exactly the same pace I do, \n around 2:40-2:45mins/100m. Near the end of the session, he stops and \n grabs a pull-bouy. He then alternates between back stroke and front \n crawl for several more pool lengths. After taking a shower, I saw him \n leaving from the change room and we both greeted each other.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 21 - 100m laps (2.1km), total time: 57:35, avg pace: \n 2:45mins/100m. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 986, "title": "Catching up on my data entry in Quicken", "date": "2007-10-12 21:15:04.0", "content": "

\n I spent last holiday Monday finally getting my data entered into Quicken \n for the Visa receipts, bill payments, etc. The last time I had done \n this was back in January 2007, around 10 months ago! Man, was I ever \n far behind. It takes about 30-45mins to enter the Visa statement for \n one month. I've got a pretty good system now, where I enter the Visa \n receipt and put the receipt in an ordered pile at the same time. I do \n this in the grouping that they have in the Visa statement, first my \n transactions, and then Anne's transactions. After entering all my \n transactions, I go and reconcile them all, and then I do Anne's \n transactions and reconcile them all. I got all caught up to the most \n recent August Visa statement. Phew!!!\n

\n

\n The rest of the week, I spent entering the bill statements and our \n investment statements. I'm pretty well all caught up and the networth \n should reflect our current status. It's nice to be up to date, and now \n I need to be disciplined to stay that way and not fall behind!!! I did \n analyse some of the reports to understand how our networth was growing \n and also looking at the expenses to see where our money was going. I \n need to get back into the financial discipline mode where I'm being more \n proactive, especially having our investments be as effective as \n possible. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 987, "title": "Huge car repair bill!", "date": "2007-10-12 21:33:38.0", "content": "

\n Well, I brought in my car on Wednesday to have the muffler replaced, and \n Pepper the mechanic told me there was a lot of other things that needed \n fixing. In total the repair bill was $4,200!!! Yikes!!! Oh well, I \n haven't spent anything on the maintenance of the car, so the way I \n looked at it, I was just getting all the stuff done at the same time. I \n also finished entering all my finance data and saw my networth grow, and \n now it's going to take a big hit and decrease a lot... :-( \n

\n

\n Here's the list of repairs off the top of my head:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Replace entire exhaust system - $2100: This was the single largest \n item. Pepper said that this would normally be just over $1000, but \n for some reason my car is just obscenely overpriced. There's a flex \n crossover system, two catalytic converters, etc...\n
    • \n
  • \n Replace radiator hoses, belts\n
    • \n
  • \n Replace Left Axle (boot was totally torn and CV joint was totally dry \n (no grease))\n
    • \n
  • \n Replace Right Boot (boot wasn't torn but was about to go)\n
    • \n
  • \n Replace right ball joint - Pepper said this would have given me a \n clicking sound. I thought this sound was coming from the back and was \n due to my brakes!\n
    • \n
  • \n Fixed leak in transmission (where a sensor was connected to \n transmission) - Pepper said I should have seen some oil drops on the \n driveway. Yup, saw this too. And I thought that this was due to my \n oil drain plug, since I had just changed the oil over the summer.\n
    • \n
  • \n Four wheel alignment\n
    • \n
  • \n Front brakes were almost seized and were dragging. Overhaul calipers, \n replace rotors. - This is why I thought my braking was so bad. I \n noticed that Anne's brakes felt way better than mine, and now I know \n why.\n
    • \n
  • \n Replaced one headlight bulb\n
    • \n
\n

\n I finally got my car back on Friday afternoon after three days in the \n shop. It felt good to drive, although I could now hear a high pitched \n whining sound. Pepper said that was due to the new belts and should \n disappear soon. I hope so! Anyways, my car should be better now and \n hopefully I can drive it for another 5 years...\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 988, "title": "Outdoor biking over, need to start using indoor wind trainer!", "date": "2007-10-13 22:49:06.0", "content": "

\n Well, it has been over three weeks since my last bike ride. I haven't \n felt great some weekends and other times I was just lazy. However, the \n weather is now turning cold, and I'll need to start training indoors on \n the wind trainer. Need to get that set up on my old bike and start \n riding! I'd like to get this set up so I have a cadence meter and \n speedometer on the bike so I can get my average speed and cadence for my \n indoor workouts. I'd also like to get some radio or TV/video set up so I \n can at least be entertained while I'm on my long lonely rides... :-)\n

\n

\n I also need to get into my running routine again. I had written \n previously that I want to break the 4 hour mark in the marathon next \n spring. I'll need to get my training started early and not get an \n overuse injury like this year. Get a training plan together and get \n started!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 990, "title": "Basketball net put away for the season", "date": "2007-10-13 23:13:13.0", "content": "

\n Earlier this summer, Anne bought a nice outdoor basketball net for the \n kids. We had some good times playing basketball with the kids. \n However, we need to drain the base of the basketball net and put it away \n for the winter. I've been trying to figure out how I can drain the \n base, and a feasible idea finally popped into my head. I would use the \n large shop vac I have and pump the water from the base. The large hose \n from the vacuum didn't fit into the base fill-hole, so I had to rig \n something up using a small tube from my small shop vac. I used a paint \n roller as an intermediate tube. I duct taped all this together and \n tested it out. It worked! The water was pumped from the base into the \n shop vac.\n

\n

\n Joseph and I did some experimenting and found that it took 1.5 mins to \n fill the shop vac container to a good level just below the shop vac \n filter. We then removed the drain plug and let the water drain onto the \n driveway and hedge. Replaced the drain plug and repeat the process. \n Actually I got Joseph to repeat this. He used the stopwatch to \n meticulously time the pumping of the water into the shop vac. After we \n got the base empty, I brought up my workmate table and leaned the \n basketball net on this with a milk crate and piece of wood. We removed \n two bolts and was then able to take off the back board from the pole. \n

\n

\n I brought the backboard and net downstairs, but had a little "incident" \n before I could actually bring it downstairs. When I first tried to \n bring the backboard downstairs, I found that it was dripping "rust \n water", so I brought it back outside. Of course I didn't notice this \n until I was in the kitchen and there was this rust water all over the \n kitchen floor and front entrance. Yuck! I got this all cleaned up and \n finally got the net downstairs. \n

\n

\n Next, we brought the base and pole to the back and put it beside the \n shed by the hedge. It was nice and tucked away in this position and \n should be safe for the winter. I also saw the maple tree back there and \n thought again that I wanted fill in the middle of the tree with the mono \n foam to help prevent the center from rotting. We did this to the tree \n in the front and I want to do the same thing to the tree in the back. I \n especially want to prevent the trunk from splitting like the other \n backyard maple tree we had. Get this done before the winter!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 991, "title": "Getting organized and cleaned up!", "date": "2007-10-14 22:32:24.0", "content": "

\n I've been spending a lot of time over the past few weekends getting the \n basement cleaned up and organized. I had gone with Anne and the kids to \n Wal-Mart after my birthday dinner at Biagio's and bought a couple of \n shelving units. I assembled the shelves and put them in the corner by \n my work area. I cleaned up my work area and got lots of stuff off the \n floor. However, the work tables are still full of junk and I need to \n get these tables organized.\n

\n

\n I also worked on the computer area. After I had entered all my \n financial data, I went and cleaned up all the old pieces of paper I had \n on the floor. I recycled them, or shredded them if they had personal \n info. I had a drawer that I put back in the storage room, and a tray \n that I put in my work area. There was also an old printer, and hard \n drive cases that I just put in my work area. I was able to put the \n table underneath the small desk and freed up some space by the bookcase.\n

\n

\n There are still large stacks of paper on the futon and on Anne's chest. \n I still need to figure out what I want to do with all that. I'm afraid \n that if I file this all away, I'll never look at it again. (I actually \n don't look at it now, but at some point, I really do want to! :-) ) \n How can I store these papers so that I'll be able to reference them \n again? \n

\n

\n There's still lots of work left to do, but it looks a little more \n organized downstairs. Just need to keep up the momentum and keep on \n organizing and cleaning!!! \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 992, "title": "October ORE Robotics meeting", "date": "2007-10-15 22:43:45.0", "content": "

\n I attended the October ORE robotics meeting tonight at Algonquin. This \n month's meeting was moved out one week due to the Thanksgiving holiday \n Monday last week. I was looking back at my robotics blogs and found that \n I haven't done anything since last May. Actually at first I was looking \n at the PAJE Robot Lab Book and found that I hadn't added any entries \n since Nov 2006! Then I realized that I had been capturing my robotics \n notes in my blog and not in the robot lab book. Phew! I thought I hadn't \n entered any info for over a year. It was good reading through the \n robotic blog entries since it refreshed my memory of the things I had \n done. I forgot about moving to the new 18F4620 processor and the work I \n had done on the Hummer base. I want to get into robotics again!!!\n

\n

\n The meeting was pretty quiet. Only Guy, Ron C. and Albert were there \n from the regulars. Norm K. was also there and I guess he's one of the \n regulars now. He was showing off his new robot firefighting base. He \n even has a speakjet chip in there! He was giving his plans on how he was \n going to have this up and running by November and "hopefully blowing out \n a candle". I'm wondering if he's being too optimistic. He hasn't even \n written one line of code yet!!! I think all the hard work is still ahead \n of him.\n

\n

\n There was also a new person there that I talked to for a bit. He know's \n the Algonquin teacher that opens the room for us (Warren?). His \n background is in hardware and software and firmware, so he certainly has \n the background to easily get into the hobby. He was getting excited \n about all the different projects we've done in the club. I told him \n about the nerfbots and GPS bots that we had done. All this has also got \n me motivated to "get back into the game" and start looking at my \n robotics stuff again. I think I'll look at the firefighting robot and \n see what I can do there. I'd like to be able to do some demos at Ron's \n house before the end of the year. I was reading the Trinity \n Firefighting Robot Project Development Plan (PDP) that I had put \n together last year. Lots of good info in there. Lots of planning has \n been done, just now need to execute!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 993, "title": "Excel hints and tips", "date": "2007-10-18 17:15:29.006", "content": "

\n I found some cools excel tips on how to copy outline ranges and also for \n pivot tables and using them as source data.\n

\n

\n First one comes from the web page at: http://archive.baarns.com/excel/faq/xvws.asp#7\n

\n

\n How do I copy, print, or chart only the visible cells in my outline?\n

\n

\n Keywords: Detail Data Outline Print Copy Chart\n

\n

\n Posted July 22, 1996\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n An outline added to your worksheet organizes data so that certain ranges \n can be visible at once. When you collapse an outline level, the data is \n only temporarily hidden from view. If you select the outline, your \n selection includes the collapsed cells. To copy, print, or chart only \n the visible cells:\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n 1. Hide the outline data you do not need\n

\n

\n 2. Select the outline cells with which you want to work\n

\n

\n 3. From the menu bar choose Edit - Go To command to display the Go To \n dialog box\n

\n

\n 4. Select the Special button to display the Go To Special dialog box\n

\n

\n 5. Choose the Visible Cells Only option\n

\n

\n 6. Click OK for Excel to modify the selection to include only those \n cells visible\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n NOTE: A shortcut is to use the Alt+; (semicolon) key.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n The other excel hint is from the web page at: http://www.mrexcel.com/tip004.shtml \n \n

\n

\n To further manipulate the pivot table, you will have to make it no \n longer be a pivot table. If you try and change cells in a pivot table, \n Excel will tell you that you can not change part of a pivot table. To \n change from a pivot table to just values, follow these steps:\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n * Move the cell pointer outside of the pivot table.\n

\n

\n * If the pivot table starts on row 1, then insert a new row 1.\n

\n

\n * Start highlighting in the new blank row 1 and drag down to select \n the entire pivot table.\n

\n

\n * Do Ctrl+C (or Edit - Copy) to copy this range.\n

\n

\n * With the same area selected, do Edit - Paste Special - Values - OK \n to change the pivot table to just static values.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n But here is the real tip for this week. Jennifer writes "I have \n continually run into the problem of using the pivot table option, to \n summarize reams of data, but it does not fill in the rows beneath each \n change in row category. Do you know how to make the pivot table fill in \n below each change in category?? I have been having to drag and copy \n every code down so I can do more pivot tables or sorting. I have tried \n changing the options in the pivot table, to no avail."\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n The answer is not easy to learn. It is not intuitive. But, if you hate \n dragging those cells down, you will love taking the time to learn this \n process! Follow along - it seems long and drawn out, but it really \n really works. Once you get it, you can do this in 20 seconds.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n There are actually 2 or 3 new tips here. Let's say you have 2 columns on \n the left which are in outline format that need to be filled in. \n Highlight from cell A3 all the way down to cell B999 (or whatever your \n last row of data is.)\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Trick #1. Selecting all of the blank cells in that range.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n * Hit ctrl+G, alt+S, K and then enter. huh?\n

\n

\n * Ctrl G brings up the GoTo dialog\n

\n

\n * alt+S will pick the "Special" button from the dialog box\n

\n

\n * The Goto-Special dialog is an awesome thing that few know about. \n Hit "k" to pick "blanks". Hit enter or click OK and you will now have \n selected just all of the blank cells in the pivot table outline columns. \n These are all of the cells which you want to fill in.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Trick #2. Don't watch the screen while you do this - it is too scary and \n confusing.Hit the equals key. Hit the Up arrow. Hold down Ctrl and hit \n enter. Hitting equals and the up arrow says, "I want this cell to be \n just like the cell above me." Holding down Ctrl when you hit enter says, \n "Enter this same formula in every selected cell, which, thanks to Trick \n #1 is all of the blank cells which we wanted to fill in.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Trick #3 (which Jennifer already knows, but is here for completeness) \n You now need to change all of those formulas to values. Select all of \n the cells in A3:B999 again, not just the blanks. Hit ctrl+C to copy this \n range. Hit alt+e then sv (enter). to Paste Special Values these formulas.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Ta-da! You will never spend an afternoon manually pulling down column \n headings in a pivot table again. \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 994, "title": "Early haircut day", "date": "2007-10-19 21:36:43.0", "content": "

\n We were going to get our family pictures taken next Wednesday, so Joseph \n and I were going to get our haircuts. We normally go on a Saturday, but \n Joseph is now starting his Advanced Rocketry ABC (Association for Bright \n Children) course at St. Paul's. So I decided to go on Friday afternoon, \n before dinner and Joseph's swimming lessons. I left work just after \n 4:30pm, picked up Joseph and went off to Carlingwood and Franseco's hair \n stylist. It was busy, but Claude was able to take us right after his \n current customer. Even Claude was surprised to see us on a Friday, and \n he commented "Is it Saturday already?". Joseph got his usual haircut #2 \n and #3 (?), and I got my usual haircut (#1 & #2 on the back and sides, \n and short on top). I could probably just use a shaver on the top of my \n head too now. Claude cuts the top pretty short.\n

\n

\n After getting our haircuts, we drove back home. I ended up taking \n Carling back and it was busy. I really don't like driving during rush \n hour. But it was a successful trip to get our haircuts! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 995, "title": "Event Photography - Sarah and Matthew's reception", "date": "2007-10-21 22:30:43.0", "content": "

\n On Saturday, I had my second paid photography assignment. I went to the \n home of John and Sandra to photograph the reception of Sarah and \n Matthew. They were married last week in Vancouver, and were holding a \n second reception for friends and family in Ottawa. I had met John at my \n first photography event assignment at Ken and Lynne Carmichael's \n "Evening Under the Stars". This was the plan: there will be around 50 \n guests at the home, and John wanted me to take pictures of Sarah and \n Matthew with each of the guests. I was also to take pictures of the \n house and decorations, the toast, and the cake cutting. John was paying \n me $100 for this assignment.\n

\n

\n I arrived at the house around 6:30pm. I was later than I wanted to be. I \n ended up turning on Greenbank from Hunt Club, and then realized that the \n house was off of Woodroffe, so I had to turn around and go back to Hunt \n Club. Anyways, this little detour cost me some time, and I ended up \n getting to the house right at 6:30pm instead of being early. The house \n is at 3 Abitibi which is just off Knoxdale and Woodroffe. I took some \n pictures of the house with candles in the front, and then pictures of \n the immediate family and Sarah and Matthew at the front of the house. I \n then went around and took pictures of the different rooms and the food \n in the dining room. I used my tripod for some of these shots because I \n wanted to get the feeling of the low room lighting and didn't want to \n use my flash. Without the flash, the shutter speeds were fairly slow, \n so I needed the stability of a tripod. For most of the party I was \n stationed right at the front door taking pictures of the guests with \n Sarah and Matthew as they arrived. Towards the end of the evening, John \n told me to go get some food, so I did grab some food to eat. I was able \n to chat a bit with Lynne which was nice.\n

\n

\n Sandra also wanted me to take some pictures with "the girls", so I took \n a bunch of different group shots. They also wanted to take pictures \n along the staircase, so I took a bunch of pictures there too. I finally \n left around 10:00pm. It was a good 3 1/2 hours work. I had taken over \n 300 pictures during the evening. The first thing I did when I got home \n was to copy the pictures to my hard drive on my PC.\n

\n

\n I then spent Sunday sorting through the pictures. I made up different \n folders for:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Sarah and Matthew with Family\n
    • \n
  • \n Sarah and Matthew with Guests\n
    • \n
  • \n Candid Group Photos\n
    • \n
  • \n House, Decorations, and Food\n
    • \n
  • \n Toast\n
    • \n
  • \n Cutting the Cake\n
    • \n
\n

\n I went through and moved the good pictures to the correct folders. I \n took two pictures of every group shot, so I chose the better of the two \n pictures. It is very good that I took two pictures, because a lot of \n people had their eyes closed in the pictures! I also removed any picture \n that had technical problems (blurry, poor exposure), where the people \n expressions were bad (closed eyes), and various other problems. In the \n end, I had 142 pictures.\n

\n

\n I also worked on a CD label. I had a really good picture of Sarah and \n Matthew at the front door. With this picture there was also a lot of \n background so I was able to shift the picture around the CD and position \n it where i wanted. Sometimes if the picture is cropped too close, then \n the picture doesn't cover the entire CD when I position the picture \n where I want. Need to remember this for all my assignments. I need to \n take pictures with lots of background for some pictures. This is \n counter-intuitive to what I normally want to do (zoom in as close as \n possible and make the subjects BIG!!!). Actually for digital \n photography, it is often useful to have a large background and then do \n your cropping afterwards on the PC. A bit of a change in mindset...\n

\n

\n I printed off the CD label and showed it off to Anne and the kids. They \n all liked it, so I made a couple of copies and put them on the CDs. I \n called John and Sandra to let them know the CD was ready, and I dropped \n it off in the evening. I went inside for a short while and showed the \n pictures using their computer. I think they liked it. Sandra said they \n were really good pictures. There was one picture with the candles on a \n glass table that she really liked (it was one of my favourites too). \n She commented it was like a magazine/postcard picture. Of course she \n really liked the family shots at the front of the house too. Another \n successful photo assignment!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 996, "title": "Joseph's 13th birthday... he's a teenager", "date": "2007-10-23 23:02:39.0", "content": "

\n Well, I guess it's now official. I'm a father of a teenager!!! Joseph \n turned 13 years old today. Wow! Time sure flies by when you're having \n fun! I had asked Joseph if there is anything he wants for his birthday \n and he said he couldn't think of anything. He's such a low key guy. He \n can't even think of anything he wants for his birthday! He's just \n modest and not impulsive at all. We had a small celebration after \n dinner, where we brought out a birthday cake and he got to blow out the \n candles. I took some pictures and video of the event. After we gave \n him his presents. He got a Guinness Book of World Records 2008, and a \n DS Gameboy game called PicaCross.\n

\n

\n Later that evening Uncle Charles came over and took Joseph out for a \n dessert at East Side Marios. I went swimming at Pinecrest and when I \n came back, the two boys had returned from the restaurant. Charles and I \n had a short conversation about my triathlon training. Anne drove \n Charles back home just after 10:00pm. Joseph showed me his present from \n Uncle Charles. It's a game called Speed Stack. You have to stack cups \n as quickly as you can. It's pretty cool. There is a timer that you \n put your hands on. First you reset the timer, put your hands on the \n sides, start stacking the cups, and then return your hands to the \n sides. The timer automatically starts when you remove your hands and \n stops when you put your hands back on the sides.\n

\n

\n This game really tests your speed and co-ordination. Joseph showed me a \n couple of times and I can see how smooth and quickly he does the \n stacking. I, on ther hand, seem heavy and not accurate in stacking the \n cups. I need a lot of practice...\n

\n

\n So Joseph is now a teenager. Anne and I are so lucky to have such good \n kids as Joseph and Elizabeth. Joseph is such a fine young man and I \n hope we can continue to nurture and teach him, and that he doesn't turn \n into a rebelling teenager. I'm hoping that there is too much respect in \n our household and that we always try to be kind to each other. I told \n Joseph that he and I should go out for dinner/dessert just like he did \n with Uncle Charles. I need to do that and have it become a regular \n routine. I think it would keep us close and maybe even bring us closer \n together. \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 997, "title": "Wk43-3 Swim", "date": "2007-10-23 23:29:02.0", "content": "

\n Ok, so my fitness training has been lacking lately. I've only gone \n swimming once a week for the past couple of weeks, and my last bike ride \n was four weeks ago. Ugh! Oh well, need to get into a routine again. I \n should get into a regular running routine. My left foot stress fracture \n is feeling ok so I should be good to go.\n

\n

\n I went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30pm. It is \n Joseph's birthday today and Uncle Charles took Joseph out to celebrate \n while I had gone out swimming. It was a good session. I had a good \n warm up today, which is nice. I really concentrated on not going out \n too fast, because I didn't want to develop a headache like last time. I \n went out too fast and had a wicked headache for the rest of the evening. \n I got to the pool at a really good time and was one of the first ones \n in. I think I swam 100m before there was anyone else in the medium \n speed lane. There were a couple of times I had to swim behind some \n slower folks, but for the most part I was able to keep my usual pace. \n Towards the end, as usual, the lane thins out and I try to pick up the \n pace. I did get some quick 2:30-2:35mins/100m laps during this time. \n This wasn't my fastest average pace, but I was able to swim 22 laps in \n an hour.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 22 - 100m laps (2.2km), total time: 59:57, avg pace: \n 2:44mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 998, "title": "Family pictures at the Superstore", "date": "2007-10-24 22:19:25.0", "content": "

\n We went to the Superstore today to get our family portraits taken. They \n had a special on for $25, but you only had 3 poses. We wanted a picture \n of all of us, the kids together, and the kids individually, so we needed \n at least 5 poses. We ended up getting a more expensive package with 6 \n poses. The set up in the portrait studio was pretty cool. They had \n soft boxes on arms that were attached to the walls. There was one on \n each side. There was a large tripod/pole with a horizontal bar which \n had the camera attached. I think it was a Fuji digital SLR camera.\n

\n

\n There were two girls that were working the photo studio. One seemed \n really experienced and was positioning us. She knew what types of poses \n would work. I think the other girl was newer, but she was the one \n taking the pictures. After taking the picture, she would ask the more \n experienced girl her opinion. The new girl did notice reflection off \n the glasses and would re-take the picture. I actually took off my \n glasses for the family portrait because they suggested it when there was \n reflection off my glasses.\n

\n

\n After the photos, we had to choose which of the pictures would be \n included in the package and the size of the pictures. They had sheets \n with different size pictures: 3 - 4x6, 2 - 5x7, 8x10, wallet size, \n etc... It took us a while, but we finally decided which pictures we \n liked best and the size of pictures to get. We got their top of the \n line package at $60 and 12 sheets if pictures. The pictures were going \n to be ready the next day! \n

\n

\n Once we were all done, we decided to go out for dinner to celebrate \n Joseph's birthday. We went to Collonade pizza in Kanata, in the Farm \n Boy mall. It wasn't crowded at all. We ordered a medium combination, \n and Joseph got a small hawaiin (he doesn't like mushrooms, so he didn't \n want the combination). Pizza was good! \n

\n

\n I'm glad we got more family portraits. I don't think we had formal \n pictures taken last year, so it was good to have some new ones. The \n kids are growing up fast! I like having these memories of our family \n portraits and seeing how the kids have grown.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 999, "title": "Joseph's birthday dinner", "date": "2007-10-27 22:09:50.0", "content": "

\n We had gone out for dinner after pictures on Wednesday, but the kids \n wanted to go out again for Joseph's birthday on Saturday after church. \n The two choices suggested were the Thai restaurant near Anne's parents \n house, and PJ Quigley's on Greenbank which had just got a new menu. \n Joseph couldn't decide, he just 'hemmed and hawed'. I find that he just \n doesn't want to commit and make a decision. I need to help him work on \n this. Making a decision is not the end of the world, if it doesn't work \n out, or he wants something different, just make another decision! I kept \n driving and by default we ended up going to PJ Quigley's since I was on \n Northside by now and heading in the opposite direction of the Thai \n restaurant.\n

\n

\n There was a Senator's game on that night, so the restaurant eventually \n got full by the time the game was on TV. Good thing we got there early. \n Our table was right beside the window and Anne, Elizabeth, and I were \n cold. I actually kept my jacket on for a while to get warmed up. There \n was a draft coming from somewhere and that's why it felt cold. I had a \n caesar salad to start and a quarter chicken with fries, coleslaw for my \n main meal. Anne had a chicken wrap, Joseph had a salad with chicken \n strips, and Elizabeth had chicken wings. I guess you see a pattern here. \n We all had chicken! Elizabeth's chicken wings were really good. The \n batter was very tasty. Anne was saying that their chicken wings were \n supposed to be really good, and now I guess we all agreed.\n

\n

\n For some reason, Joseph didn't have a birthday party this year. I guess \n we didn't get organized in time, and Joseph couldn't decide what he \n wanted to do. Another decision he couldn't make! Anyways, it was good to \n celebrate Joseph's birthday with the family. We had a toast during \n dinner to toast his birthday. It's hard to believe he's now a teenager! \n Happy Birthday Joseph!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1000, "title": "WK43-7 Swim", "date": "2007-10-28 22:07:17.0", "content": "

\n I was thinking of swimming on Saturday, but I never got myself out to \n the pool. This morning Joseph and I raked the leaves up, and then in the \n afternoon I went swimming. There is a public swim session from \n 1:00-4:30pm in the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday. This is a nice long \n session, so I decided to do another long swim for 2 hours. I started my \n swim just before 2:00pm. The medium lane was narrow, but there weren't \n many people swimming. I ended up never having anyone directly in front \n of me so I never had to adjust my pace. There were some people that were \n behind me, but I never got passed. I guess we all swam at a similar pace!\n

\n

\n My lap times were pretty slow today. Mostly 2:55-3:00mins/100m. I did \n feel good though and I had a nice warm up again. My stroke felt strong \n and during my breathing I felt like the water was moving around my head. \n It actually felt fast during my breathing. Time went slowly at times, \n but I never got really exhausted. At the 30 lap mark I told myself I was \n in the home stretch with only 10 more 100m laps to go. I had to take a \n quick bathroom break at lap 34, so I had a bit of a rest and my lap 35 \n was quick. I had to go to the bathroom again near the end, but I told \n myself to hold it until I was finished. I ended up swimming 43 laps, \n 100m more than my previous longest swim record! I counted strokes and it \n was around 28 spl. This is quite high, but I was trying to relax and \n wasn't over exerting on my arm pull.\n

\n

\n So, at my current swim pace I can now swim the ironman distance. I \n probably need to tweak my technique to become even more efficient. \n However, I think I should work on my strength so that I can get a \n stronger pull, but still keep my heart rate low, below 130bpm. Hopefully \n this would give me more speed! All in all, this was an excellent long \n swim. I am so pleased with how far along my swimming has come in the \n last year. From being a pathetic swimmer, to becoming a strong endurance \n swimmer. Yipee! Woo Hoo!!!\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 43 - 100m laps (4.3km), total time: 2:06:18, avg pace: \n 2:56mins/100m.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1001, "title": "Transferring mini-DV tapes to DVD", "date": "2007-10-28 22:27:59.0", "content": "

\n I have been planning to do this for a while now, and I finally got \n started today. I'm starting to transfer all our home movies on mini-DV \n to DVD's. Then, after that I want to start creating some edited home \n movies and putting them on DVDs. I started with the tapes from our \n summer vacation to Virginia, and Claire and Matt's wedding. I'll work \n chronologically backwards from the current tapes to the older tapes.\n

\n

\n Here's my setup. I'm using the firewire connection from the video \n camera to the DVD recorder. I have the power adapter connected to the \n video camera. I rewind the tape. Once it finishes rewinding and is at \n the beginning of the tape, I hit play and then pause right away. I put \n a blank DVD in the DVD recorder, and then hit the 'source' button, until \n it shows 'DV-in'. You should hear the DVD spin up and a DVD icon \n flashing on the bottom right of the screen. Once this icon stops \n flashing, the DVD recorder is ready. Hit record on the DVD recorder, \n and you should now see the camera start to play and the tape is now \n being recorded! I wasn't waiting for the disk to spin up at first, and \n I was missing the first few seconds of the tape.\n

\n

\n At first I was also trying to record at the highest quality level, but \n this only has 1 hour of video on the DVD. The tapes are slightly longer \n than one hour (62mins?). I'm not sure if this was the cause, but for \n some reason the first DVD didn't work. You couldn't play it and it \n didn't even seem to able to read the disk at all. So Joseph and I just \n left it on standard play (SP). (I forgot to mention that Joseph was my \n consultant, since he was the one that knew how to work the DVD \n recorder.) \n

\n

\n After the tape has finished playing and the DVD is finished recording, \n hit stop. Hit the source button and the DVD disk menu should come up \n with the video on the tape you just recorded as the first menu item. \n Hit the up arrow to get to the DVD options menu and then hit the right \n arrow. Scroll down to choose 'Finalize Disk'. Once this is done, the \n DVD is completed and now I just write the contents of the video on a \n yellow sticky and put it with the DVD in the case.\n

\n

\n I'll also have to find a good way to index all these videos and the \n scenes that are on them. Want to have a good searchable database that \n will allow me to find scenes and specific DVD's quickly. \n

\n

\n So I've started to transfer the tapes. Only about another 50 to go! \n :-) \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1002, "title": "WK44-2 Swim, missed robotics meeting", "date": "2007-10-30 22:49:36.0", "content": "

\n Today is the monthly meeting at Ron's house, and I was going to go, but \n then decided not to. I haven't touched my robot at all so I didn't have \n anything to bring. I really need to start getting back into working on \n the robot so I can enter the firefighting contest this April 2008! Get \n Joseph involved too!\n

\n

\n Since I didn't go to Ron's place, I went to the Pinecrest adult lane \n swim session from 8:30-9:30pm. I got there right at the start of the \n session. I had another good easy warm up. It seemed like right from the \n start there were a bunch of people in the medium speed lane, and I had \n to do a lot of passing to try and keep my pace up. I don't like doing \n this since it gets me out of breath and I'm swimming at a faster pace \n than I want to in order to pass other swimmers. I can really feel myself \n trying to get a strong pull when I try to speed up. Even at the end of \n the session, there were still lots of people in the swim lane. Usually \n it thins out, and I'm the only one there. I also developed a headache \n which just seemed to get worse at home. I think I was just carb-depleted.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 23 - 100m laps (2.3km), total time: 1:01:42, avg pace: \n 2:41mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1003, "title": "WK44-6 Run", "date": "2007-11-03 22:52:09.0", "content": "

\n I actually got out for a run today! My training has been very sparse and \n basically consists of one swim a week. Need to get some runs and bike \n rides (on the spinner) into my routine! I was able to drag myself out \n just before church and go for a quick 30 minute run around Bruce Pit. My \n heart rate was pretty high around 148-150 bpm for my pace of ~6:30 - \n 6:45mins/km. This is expected since I haven't done any running for \n almost 6 months. My left foot stress fracture on the middle toe \n metatarsal feels OK. I can still feel some discomfort when I pull the \n middle toe up. I can feel a slight pain when I press on the ball of my \n foot on that bone, and when I pull up the toe. It's not painful, but I \n can still feel some pain when I press on the area. When I press in the \n same area on the other foot, I don't feel anything. I don't know if this \n discomfort/pain when pressed will ever go away. :-( I'm hoping at one \n point it will be 100% healed, but it has been six months and I can still \n feel the pain. I want to start some running, so I'll just need to watch \n it very carefully. Ramp up my running slowly, and try to run on softer \n surfaces.\n

\n

\n It was a nice sunny day, around 13 degrees C. I wore my sweat pants, \n maroon cool max t-shirt, and black windbreaker jacket. I also had my \n gloves on. I was fine at the beginning, but then started to get really \n hot. I remember over dressing in my spring training in order to get used \n to running in hotter weather. I think that's a good strategy so I should \n keep using it in my training. I could feel my legs tire and my breathing \n was hard.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 5.2km, total time: 0:34:09, average pace: 6:36 \n mins/km, average heart rate: 148bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1004, "title": "More copying family videos to DVD", "date": "2007-11-04 22:41:57.0", "content": "

\n Spent some time on the weekend copying more mini-DV tapes to DVD. I was \n copying the tapes from our 2005 Disney vacation. It was fun watching \n some of the videos again. One of the videos had the Lights, Motors, \n Action show at MGM studios. It was awesome! The kids were there and we \n watched the whole show. The car stunts were just amazing. Other scenes I \n saw were the fireworks at Magic Kingdom, fireworks at Epcot, and the \n Rock 'N Roll Rollercoaster. This really was an awesome vacation and I \n would like to go back some time.\n

\n

\n I've got a bunch of these tapes transferred over to DVD now. I should \n try to create a DVD to test out if these videos work well as a source \n files. Maybe I can try to create a Disney vacation DVD. That would be \n fun! I wonder if I could get the kids involved somehow. So much stuff to \n do, so little time...\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1006, "title": "Roborealm robotics vision application", "date": "2007-11-05 22:19:17.0", "content": "

\n Ron Clough was telling me about this application in one of the previous \n robotics meetings. I think it uses the OpenCV utilities for its vision \n processing. This is a robotics vision application. There are also \n utilities for easily interfacing to the different vision processing \n functions (edge detection, path planning, object detection, etc.) Yet \n something else to play with!!!\n

\n

\n http://www.roborealm.com/ \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1007, "title": "WK45-2 Swim", "date": "2007-11-06 22:09:41.0", "content": "

\n Went to the adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30pm. This is becoming \n my regular swimming night. Unfortunately, it has been the only training \n I've been doing the past few weeks. My swimming feels really good right \n now. I'm not fast, but I feel very comfortable at my current pace. I \n feel very relaxed, and even my breathing seems smooth. I had a good \n warm up, going nice and slow ~3:00mins/100m lap. I settled down to a \n 2:40-2:45mins/lap pace. A couple of times I had to speed up to pass \n people, but most of the time I was able to swim without much traffic in \n front. I even did a 2:19 lap! This was because I didn't stop at the \n wall and just did a quick open turn. I had a bit of a headache when I \n came home from work and this carried on into my swim session. It \n actually got worse during swimming, and by the time I got home from \n swimming, I wasn't feeling well at all. I had a bad headache and was \n feeling nauseous. However, other than my head hurting, it was a good \n swim session. I'm swimming a half-ironman distance in about one-hour \n fairly comfortably. Now I need to work on increasing my pace! I'll \n need to work on arm and shoulder strengthening exercises. This would \n increase my pull strength which hopefully translates to a faster \n swimming pace.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 22 - 100m laps (2.2km), total time: 0:59:05, average pace: \n 2:41 mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1008, "title": "WK45-6 Run", "date": "2007-11-10 22:30:01.0", "content": "

\n Went out for a run Saturday afternoon. It was a nice sunny, cool fall \n day. I ran around Bruce Pit since it has a gravel path, and I wanted to \n run on softer surfaces to ease my foot back from the stress fracture \n injury. I can still feel a difference between my left foot and right \n foot. It's not painful, but there is a difference. My left foot feels \n a little tender, warm (?). I remember this feeling while training last \n year when I first started developing the injury. There was just some \n discomfort at the ball of my left foot. The left foot felt fine at the \n beginning of a run, but then it developed into more of a pain after \n running 5-10km. I guess my left foot is now like back then when I was \n just getting the injury. It doesn't hurt when I run, but I can feel \n there is a difference between my left and right foot.\n

\n

\n The run felt OK. My heart rate is pretty high for the pace I was \n running at, 6:30-6:45mins/km. My breathing was strong, but I wasn't out \n of breath. My legs felt good too. I remember last week, they were \n really getting tired at the end of the run. Today, they felt much \n better at the end. Last week I could also feel the effects of the run \n going up stairs and lots of soreness in my legs. This week, I didn't \n get any of that. No soreness and stiffness in the legs, even when going \n up stairs. Excellent! Making little baby steps progress. I'd like to \n run during the week to build up my mileage, but I don't know when I'll \n be able to run. It gets dark by the time I get home, so I can't run \n around Bruce Pit. I'll have to run on the bike paths. I could also try \n running in the morning, but I'll have to co-ordinate that with Joseph \n getting ready for school early. I'm his alarm clock for getting up, \n since he doesn't seem to be able to do it on his own at the moment. \n

\n

\n I've been consistent in going swimming once a week, now to add running, \n and then biking into the mix. However, there are other things I also \n want to do (such as getting back into my robotics), so I have to balance \n this all out. Just can't spend all my spare time training. I don't \n want to get so obsessed and focussed that I forget about all other \n aspects of my life. Also have to help Anne with maintaining and fixing \n up the house. Lots of repairs that need to get done on the house! And \n then there's the time I want to spend with the kids. I want to start \n the regular "dates" with both Joseph and Elizabeth to develop my \n relationship with each of them. I want them to be able to really trust \n me and know that I'll always be there for them.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 6.5km, total time: 0:43:15, average pace: 6:41 \n mins/km, average heart rate: 147bpm. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1009, "title": "WK45-7 Swim", "date": "2007-11-11 23:23:28.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Walter Baker pool to do another long swim. I got there \n right after lunch, and started my swim around 12:40pm. I had a good \n easy warm up with my laps being around 3:00mins/100m. There was another \n person doing the breast stroke and he was really moving! He lapped me \n about every 6 laps. Of course, I just swim at my own pace and ignore \n all the other swimmers. In the middle laps, I started going a little \n faster. I think I started concentrating on a stronger pull. Towards \n the end, the swim lane started to get crowded with other swimmers and I \n had to swim around other people at times. I had to take a quick \n bathroom break after lap 33. When I got back in the pool, I had a fast \n lap since I was rested, but then I felt pretty tired again. By the end \n of the session, my arms really started to feel exhausted. I couldn't \n pull very hard anymore. I also had to go to the bathroom again, but I \n held the urge so I could finish the last few laps. It's really \n uncomfortable to have to do this. Why does this happen? I wonder if \n there is something I can do before these long swim training sessions, so \n that it minimizes my urge to have to go to the bathroom during my swim. \n Maybe I just need to stop drinking before these sessions. Today I had \n two big bowls of won-ton soup (yummy!). Will have to watch this and do \n a little experimentation.\n

\n

\n All in all a good swim session. I can't remember if my arms felt this \n tired during my other long swims. Looking at the lap times, it looks \n like the last few laps of my last long swim were actually fast, so I'm \n thinking I felt pretty good during that swim. Today, I just didn't have \n any energy left in my arms. They felt pretty much like rubber. My lap \n times were all over 3:00 mins/100m after lap 40. However, I did add one \n more lap to reach 44 laps in total, making this my longest ever swim \n training session. I think I'll continue to do this and add 100m every \n long swim.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 44 - 100m laps (4.4km), total time: 2:10:11, average pace: \n 2:58 mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1010, "title": "WK46-2 Swim", "date": "2007-11-13 22:29:21.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swimming session from 8:30-9:30pm. My \n routine is pretty well set now. I gather my swimming stuff into my bag \n and grab a granola bar. I put on my contacts at around 8:00pm, and \n leave the house between 8:10-8:15pm. By the time I drive to the pool, \n change, shower and wait at the pool side, the previous pool fitness \n session just ends and the lifeguards are putting out the lane markers. \n I'm usually the first one in the pool.\n

\n

\n I had another good slow warm up again. I think I'm getting the habit of \n going nice and slow right from the beginning and not getting myself out \n of breath. I try to really relax and just try and stay quiet and \n smooth. Don't make any noise or splashing. By staying smooth and \n relaxed, I don't try to go out swimming too fast and getting myself out \n of breath. I'm getting better and better at getting into this zone. \n Even though I'm not getting out of breath, I usually have some negative \n self-talk about how hard this is and why am I trying to swim so far. \n Need to work on this next and break down my fear of the water. I want \n to develop my confidence and belief that I am a strong swimmer and get \n rid of this lingering self doubt and negative self-talk. Just looking \n back from where I was when I started a year ago... I've come a long way \n baby!!!\n

\n

\n I kept my nice easy pace through the whole session. There were a couple \n of times I had to speed up and pass people, but for the most part, I \n just lagged behind if needed and passed at the ends of the pool after a \n nice strong push off. Even when the pool thinned out, I didn't pick my \n speed and just tried to stay smooth and silent. "Like a nuclear sub" as \n Terry McLaughlin would say. Heart rate at the end was around 130bpm as \n usual. The whole swim session felt easy. Yeah!\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 21 - 100m laps (2.1km), total time: 58:48, average pace: \n 2:48mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1011, "title": "Retirement planning", "date": "2007-11-16 22:18:05.0", "content": "

\n I've done a lot of reading lately trying to understand the Nortel \n pension changes, and planning for retirement in general. I started to \n write down my thoughts and learnings. Here are my notes:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n I've been doing a lot of investigating and researching on investing in \n the past few weeks.\n
    • \n
  • \n Nortel is changing their pension plan to a defined contribution \n pension plan from a defined benefit plan.\n
    • \n
  • \n Nortel is also reducing their contribution to the pension plan (from \n ~4-5% to 2%)\n
    • \n
  • \n Due to all this, I need to control my investments so that I can reach \n my retirement goals.\n
    • \n
  • \n As I read more and more, I'm getting a clearer understanding of what \n pensions are. And they're not magic. There is a clear methodical \n strategy behind them.\n
    • \n
  • \n A company pension is a benefit that is provided by the company.\n
    • \n
  • \n The company will contribute to a pension (usually a percentage of your \n salary) (2-5%?) which is invested and grows until you start collecting \n your pension.\n
    • \n
  • \n A defined benefit pension calculates your pension amount based on a \n formula. For my Nortel Pension it is 0.8 X FAE X Pension Service Years.\n
    • \n
  • \n You can think of this as an annuity (although it is indexed to \n inflation) -> (How do you calculate annuity with inflation?)\n
    • \n
  • \n The length of the annuity is based on "life tables" (And actuarial \n calculations same as life insurance companies). These are just data \n tables that give the life expectancy at different ages.\n
    • \n
  • \n With this info, you can calculate the Present Value (PV) of an annuity.\n
    • \n
  • \n Once we have the capital needed (at the start of retirement), then we \n can calculate how much we need to save to hit our target capital \n amount. I actually take inflation into account and assume that the \n capital I calculated is in today's dollars and adjust to a Future \n Value of the capital at my retirement.\n
    • \n
  • \n Based on current investment value, I calculate what this will grow to \n at retirement.\n
    • \n
  • \n If there is a shortfall, then can calculate what additional savings \n are needed to make up this shortfall.\n
    • \n
  • \n Can look at different intervals: Saving For Retirement, Capital \n Accumulation <--------------------> Collecting Pension\n
    • \n
  • \n Another key concept to grasp is inflation.\n
    • \n
  • \n I will be collecting my retirement funds for over 30 years.\n
    • \n
  • \n The impact of inflation over long periods is very significant.\n
    • \n
  • \n One goal I MUST HAVE is to INDEX my income to INFLATION.\n
    • \n
  • \n Therefore, when calculating my capital needs, I must take into account \n inflation when trying to figure out my investment returns needed.\n
    • \n
  • \n eg. Desired Income = Income Return Rate X Capital Required\n
    • \n
  • \n Investment Return Rate = Income Return Rate + Inflation\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1013, "title": "More Investment Notes (and some Personal Development stuff)", "date": "2007-11-16 22:36:48.0", "content": "

\n I was looking at the retirement planning tools on the BMO Investorline \n website, and came across a Money Sense website that had some good info. \n There was an article on "Couch Potato" investing (which is an index \n investing strategy). I read a lot of the articles and wrote down some \n notes:\n

\n

\n http://www.canadianbusiness.com/my_money/investing/article.jsp?content=20060405_152254_1452 \n  \n

\n
    \n
  • \n Need to take emotion out of investing.\n
    • \n
  • \n ALWAYS LOOK AT THE LONG TERM!\n
    • \n
  • \n Tend to disregard past mistakes, and follow the next hottest tip. To \n combat this, always write down your thoughts, strategies, decisions. \n Frequently re-visit them to determine whether you were right or wrong.\n
    • \n
  • \n Trends strategies seldom last longer than 5 years.\n
    • \n
  • \n Hottest trends have so much money going in, profits dwindle, \n expectations are huge ---> Smart money has already moved on.\n
    • \n
  • \n Investing is a fool's game. Greater Fool Theory: Buy High thinking \n there is a greater fool that will take this off you for a higher price.\n
    • \n
  • \n To help with impulsiveness: Always think of your investments as long \n term. Always assume that you will hold your investments for 10 \n years.\n
    • \n
  • \n Also think of the normal distribution of the investment income return. \n If an investment return is on the high end (low probability on the \n curve), then the future returns will probably come down towards the \n investment return's average. In the long term the results will always \n look like the normal distribution curve. Always remember that!!!\n
    • \n
  • \n Don't get enamoured by short term results. This is just marketing \n hype. The fool's game.\n
    • \n
  • \n Remember the quote "Mutual funds are sold not bought." ie. It's the \n sales job for the mutual fund, not the quality of the mutual fund \n itself.
    \n
    • \n
  • \n Put together a list of "Paul's Rules for Investing".\n
    • \n
  • \n Also put together your investment policy statement.\n
    • \n
  • \n I was thinking of how Anne and I are savers.\n
    • \n
  • \n People would say we are sacrificing our lifestyle and quality of life \n by not "spending more".\n
    • \n
  • \n My thoughts on this are that my definition of happiness is not the \n consumerism lifestyle which is continously marketed to us.\n
    • \n
  • \n What is my definition of happiness?\n
    • \n
  • \n Using Covey's way of thinking, first be happy with myself, who I am \n physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.\n
    • \n
  • \n Have high self esteem.\n
    • \n
  • \n Then when you are happy with the person you are, work on the quality \n of your relationships with others.\n
    • \n
  • \n Of course the highest priority is your relationship with your family. \n I want it to be warm, nurturing, loving, supportive, intimate, caring, \n respectful.\n
    • \n
  • \n To me these are the important qualities of life.\n
    • \n
  • \n After the basic human needs of shelter, food, safety, I spend our \n money to improve myself (ourselves) and build my (our) important \n relationships.\n
    • \n
  • \n I've got my own views (often negative) of the "social ethic". What \n society defines as success and happiness.\n
    • \n
  • \n I don't like watching TV and movies because they often show and \n reinforce values and behaviour which to me are so negative (even \n repulsive).\n
    • \n
  • \n The values that Hollywood portrays are not my values.\n
    • \n
  • \n Also, I sometimes think why we often stop kids from watching certain \n shows because it's not good for them. If we're afraid of the impact to \n the kids, what about the impacts to adults?\n
    • \n
  • \n The world is desensitized to violence. People need to see more and \n more shocking things to get "their fix".\n
    • \n
  • \n Have we stopped caring? I still remember when I took a management \n "test", the evaluator said that I scored very high on the empathy \n scale. I really identify with other's feelings. I've always thought \n this is a good description of me.\n
    • \n
  • \n When I watch America's most funny home videos, I actually cringe \n because I feel for the person that has just fallen and crashed into \n their head...\n
    • \n
  • \n Also, the shows these days are so gloomy. I remember family shows, \n with family values and humour without the dark messages and violence \n and gore. Eg. Eight is enough, Happy Days, Love Boat... People would \n laugh now, and maybe the shows were "cheesy", but I'd rather have \n those values portrayed to me than today's shows.\n
    • \n
  • \n For today's TV shows, is this entertainment? I guess feeling emotion \n when watching these shows provides the entertainment.\n
    • \n
  • \n I guess I just don't like the negative feelings. I feel like they \n don't benefit me in any way. In fact it just gives me a negative \n feeling or negative image in my memory, which I just have to push away \n when it pops up.\n
    • \n
  • \n I also feel that the show directors are deliberately trying to get you \n angry. Get you all riled up. And of course that's exactly what \n they're trying to do. That's entertainment!\n
    • \n
\n

\n After I had written these notes, a few days later, I ran across some \n notes I wrote after reading a magazine article on the "Invincible \n Investor". Part of the article talked about "Life Worth" vs Net Worth. \n Your Life Worth is what is important to you, and often have little to do \n with money. This is exactly what I was writing about above when I talked \n about what makes me happy. Here is the excerpt:\n

\n
\n Invincible Investor Inventory\n
\n
\n Make people feel they can control things.\n
\n
\n Imagine there is a flood. You have 3 minutes to go into your home and \n grab 5 things. What would you take?\n
\n
\n Now take analogy to your life. You can afford only 5 things. What would \n those items be. Eg. Children’s education, health, time with family \n members.\n
\n
\n These items are:\n
\n
\n 1. Deeply personal\n
\n
\n 2. Highly passionate\n
\n
\n 3. Usually not expensive\n
\n
\n In adversity is the opportunity for clarity. What really matters. You \n can be standing on a mountain of networth and be miserable, but you can \n be nothing but happy if you have an abundance of life worth.\n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1014, "title": "WK46-6 Run", "date": "2007-11-17 22:11:25.0", "content": "

\n I went for another run on Saturday afternoon before church. It was a \n gorgeous sunny fall day. I wore my long sleeved coolmax, shorts, and \n sweatpants. I also had my grey knit gloves. I decided to run my 10K \n route past Bruce Pit and Trend Arlington park. I had been slowly \n increasing my mileage and 10K was a big jump, but I wanted to try it. I \n don't think it will hurt my foot. I kept my pace nice and easy, but my \n heartrate was still high at 145-150bpm. After I turned around and \n started heading back, I realized that I had been running in a tailwind, \n and now there was a nice strong headwind. Bummer. I just kept trodding \n along trying to keep my heartrate reasonable. Towards the end, my legs \n were really getting tired and my pace had slowed to almost 7:00mins/km. \n I made it home tired, but very pleased I ran my first 10K in a long, \n long time.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 10.8km, total time: 1:13:10, average pace: \n 6:45mins/km, average heart rate: 144bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1015, "title": "WK47-2 Swim", "date": "2007-11-20 22:14:47.0", "content": "

\n Went to the 8:30-9:30 Pinecrest adult lane swim session. I'm more \n organized now and getting to the pool just around the time the \n lifeguards are finishing putting up the lane buoys. I'm able to get a \n few laps in, before the crowd starts to grow. It was a really crowded \n tonight. I mostly just stayed behind people and passed at the ends of \n the pool where I can get a nice strong push off.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 22 - 100m laps (2.2km), total time: 1:01:49, average pace: \n 2:49mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1017, "title": "New DVD Recorder and Copying 8mm Video Tapes ", "date": "2007-11-24 20:33:00.0", "content": "

\n There was a sale at PC Cyber on a LiteON DVD Recorder for $57.00! I \n bought one... :-)\n

\n

\n I put this DVD Recoder in the basement on the Futon couch for now. I've \n set up the 7" DVD player as a monitor, and connected up the Sony 8mm \n video camera to play the 8mm video tapes. So now I've got another setup \n for recording our family videos to DVD. These family videos are the \n older ones from ~1995 to 2001 before we got our digital video camera. \n It was really neat watching these videos, since the kids were just \n babies. They were soooooo cuuuutttteeee! I can hardly remember them \n being that small. And now Joseph is getting taller than me. Wow, how \n time flies. I am so glad that we've got these memories captured on \n these videos. In order to keep track of all the scenes in the videos, \n I'll have to build an index of what is on each DVD. Also, like I put in \n a previous entry, I'd like to start creating some DVD video shows from \n all these family videos. I'll have to think of some good themes for \n these DVDs. Can group annual events like birthdays and Christmas, or \n create a DVD on a single event like a summer vacation trip. Lots of \n possibilities, lots of ideas, lots of opportunities... let the creative \n juices flow!!!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1018, "title": "Missed my regular Tuesday swim and the Robotics meeting :-(", "date": "2007-11-27 23:06:07.0", "content": "

\n I was planning to go to Ron's house for the monthly Firefighting \n meeting, but I bailed out at the last minute and decided to stay home. \n I hadn't been working on my robots and I wasn't too motiviated to go for \n some reason. I also was too lazy to go swimming. So in the end, I \n didn't end up doing anything tonight. Oh well, sometimes it's just good \n to do nothing... :-)\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1019, "title": "Copying more family videos to DVD", "date": "2007-12-02 21:51:51.0", "content": "

\n I'm continuing to copy the family videos to DVD. I have two setups. One \n for copying from the mini-DV tapes and another for copying from the 8mm \n video tapes. I've come a long way now, and have most of the mini-DV \n tapes completed. There are over 60 tapes I've now copied to DVD! Wow! \n That is a lot of video. Over the weekends, I've been hogging the DVD \n recorder upstairs, although I've been trying to make sure it is \n available to record the kids TV shows. However, I did forget once, and \n they missed recording one of their shows. Oops! Anne said the show was a \n repeat anyways, so it was OK. I'll have to be more careful and perhaps \n not even use the DVD recorder until after the kids show is recorded. \n I've also made good progress on the 8mm video tapes. These are longer \n and have 2 hours of video on them. This just fits on a DVD at SP \n (standard play recording quality). I will probably be finished all the \n tapes by next weekend.\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1021, "title": "WK49-2 Swim", "date": "2007-12-04 23:08:06.0", "content": "

\n Went to the Pinecrest adult lane swim session from 8:30-9:30. It has \n been two weeks since my last swim! I got there at my usual time. I'll \n have to get used to driving in the snow now that it's winter, so I'll \n have to leave a little earlier to give myself more time due to the worse \n driving conditions. When I got into the pool, there were two others \n just starting as well. One lady left, but the other lady let me go \n ahead of her. I had to pass the other lady, since I quickly caught up \n to her. I never felt out of breath at the beginning so I had a nice \n easy warm up. I also felt pretty strong, since I hadn't swum in a while \n so I had lots of energy. Most of the time I was able to swim at my \n pace. Near the middle of the session, I ended up settling in behind the \n older guy swimmer which I see here all the time. He usually goes at a \n 2:45mins/100m pace so that was good enough for me. I took my heart rate \n at the end of the session and it was 32 for 15secs or 128bpm. A nice \n easy session.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 21 - 100m laps (2.1km), total time: 57:59, average pace: \n 2:46mins/100m. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1022, "title": "WK50-2 Swim", "date": "2007-12-11 22:28:13.0", "content": "

\n Went to the adult lane swim session at Pinecrest from 8:30-9:30 pm. Had \n another easy warm up and a good swim session.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 20 - 100m laps (2.1km), total time: 56:23, average pace: \n 2:49mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1024, "title": "Merry Christmas!!! Shopping and more shopping... :-)", "date": "2007-12-25 23:42:43.0", "content": "

\n Well the Christmas season has now come. I'm reflecting back and writing \n my thoughts about this holiday season.\n

\n

\n Anne and I got our Christmas cards and letters out quite early this \n year. At least early for me, since it wasn't the last week before \n Christmas. This year it was almost two full weeks before Christmas. I \n actually liked doing it this early. No stress, and very relaxing. I \n had Elizabeth write down a list of highlights for the year which she \n typed up and printed out for me. It was quite the list! Of course, I \n could only write about a small handful of them, but it was really nice \n reflecting back on the whole year while writing out our family letter. \n This has become a real tradition for us and I truly enjoy this. As I \n wrote in the opening paragraph of our letter, I feel truly blessed with \n all the wonderful things in our lives. I'll have to put some links from \n my blog to our family Christmas letters.\n

\n

\n Christmas shopping was also stress free this year. Anne mentioned to me \n about a Grill being on sales at Sears. She wanted to replace our \n current Grill pan since the non-stick coating was peeling and was \n wearing down. I went with Elizabeth one morning to Sears and we bought \n the Grill. I also ended up buying a Breadmaker from Canadian Tire that \n was half price at $50.00! What a deal! Anne also bought some pajamas \n and a headset for our wireless phones which were presents for her. \n Bonus! So that was pretty much it for the Christmas shopping. We gave \n the breadmaker to Anne for her birthday.\n

\n

\n I bought some computer stuff to upgrade our computers. I got a 2Gig \n laptop DDR2 SODIMM memory, which was on sale at PC Cyber for $47.00. I \n was originally going to buy the 1Gig at $30.00, but the sales guy said \n the 2Gig was such a good deal. I agreed and went for the larger memory. \n I was hoping I could add this to the laptops without having to remove a \n memory stick, but it ended up that both Anne's and the kid's laptops had \n 2 sticks of 512MB memory. So I ended up removing a 512MB memory stick \n and putting in the 2Gig memory in the Acer laptop. So now I've got \n 2.5GB memory in total for this computer.\n

\n

\n I also bought a couple of 500GB hard drives. I'm not sure why I needed \n to get two, but I thought they were such good deals. I got the USB \n external cases for these hard drives for only $12.00. That's another \n good deal! I'm using one of the drives and consolidating all my program \n and data files onto it. Hopefully I can organize all the diverse files \n on multiple hard drives and start some type of organizing and filing \n system for the computer files. The other hard drive I am using as a \n backup media for the laptop computers. I am using Windows backup on \n both laptops to back up all the user files. The first couple of times I \n was saving the back up on to DVDs, but now I'm putting the back ups on \n the hard drive. The backups go much faster this way.\n

\n

\n I also bought more wire shelving for the basement to help organize all \n the papers, music, electronics, and computer stuff I have down there. \n About a month ago, I had bought some chrome wire shelving at half price \n from Canadian Tire for $15.00 each. These were really great. I bought \n 3 packages, but configured them as two shelving units. One I placed \n beside the kids computer and put the HP printer on top of that. The \n other I was able to actually put on my desk, above the desktop and \n laptop computers. This worked out really well. As it turns out, \n Canadian Tire had the same shelf, but now in black, on sale for 50% off. \n And the regular price of these shelves was cheaper than the chrome \n shelves, so I got 4 of them for $12.50 each. I built these shelves and \n put one on the small table where I had stacks of paper, one on the \n entertainment unit where I put my old stereo, and another one on my \n computer desk right behind my monitor. So now I've got tons of shelf \n space. Need to get cracking and get organized!!!\n

\n

\n We went to the 8:00pm Christmas Eve mass. It wasn't too crowded which \n is nice. It was the same choir as last year with an organist and a \n guitar player/vocalist. We did our usual opening presents on Christmas \n morning with me video taping and photographing the whole thing. I \n didn't take as many pictures as in the past. Normally I take a bunch of \n pictures of the kids with their own presents, and then the presents \n themselves. I didn't take any pictures of Joseph's presents just by \n themselves. Joseph got a RoboQuad which is a robot toy from the same \n company that makes the RoboSapien. Elizabeth got tickets to a Hilary \n Duff concert. Of course there were many other games and books and \n stuff. The kids were very excited and happy as usual.\n

\n

\n For Christmas dinner we went over to Jim and Lisa's place as usual. It \n was another great dinner which Jim cooked himself! He didn't want \n anybody to bring anything, so he ended up cooking the whole meal. Wow, \n that's amazing. Of course after the dinner, Jim was pretty tired and \n was on the couch resting! I tried to help a little by cleaning up and \n washing the good China dishes. The kids had fun playing, although \n Joseph spent the majority of his time playing with Raymond and Brendan \n on the Wii in front of the big screen TV. Anne's Mom was sick and \n didn't join us for dinner. Unfortunately she decided to stay home and \n recover from her stomach flu/stomach virus.\n

\n

\n I almost forgot to mention that Anne's car died on her on Christmas Eve \n morning when she was going to the Ikea mall to exchange some stuff at \n Michael's. She said she was stuck on some ice and when she finally got \n going, she realized that the car wouldn't accelerate anymore. Joseph, \n Elizabeth, and I went to the Ikea mall to help Anne. She called CAA to \n get the car towed to Doug's automotive. At first I thought it was the \n clutch, but Pepper from Doug's auto said that the right axle on the car \n was broken! Yikes! He also went on to say that this usually happens \n when the car is on ice and then hits the pavement. Wow, that's funny, \n since that's exactly what happened. Anne was revving the engine to try \n and get off the ice, and when the car tires finally hit pavement, there \n was so much torque on the tires that the axles gave out and broke. I \n never realized that this could happen. Now I know that I need to gently \n get off the ice!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1025, "title": "Happy New Year!!! New years resolutions, life goals, and all that... :-)", "date": "2008-01-01 23:51:17.0", "content": "

\n Happy new year to all! As usual, another year has flown by. I need to \n continue to live life to the fullest by focusing on family, friends, and \n activities that are very important to me. In our society it is \n traditional to both reflect back and to look forward to the new year \n with renewed hope, optimism, and goals. That is the tradition behind \n the New Year's resolutions. However for this to have lasting effects, I \n want to carry this much further than just thinking about changes. The \n setting of goals is just the beginning. I've read many times previously \n that there are many more steps you need to follow through on, in order \n to make your goals and dreams into reality. I should go back into that \n literature and refresh all that good info! One of the other things I've \n been thinking about is instilling these good habits of setting goals and \n moving towards them to Joseph and Elizabeth. I think teaching them \n these skills will help them tremendously throughout their lives!!!\n

\n

\n I want to sit down with them and ask them what New Year's resolutions \n they might have. How might they go about achieving these goals? Why \n are these goals important to them? Are they passionate about achieving \n them, or is it just some wish which they won't commit to or drive \n towards? There are many things that we want in our lives, but we need \n to distill them to a handfull that we can really focus on and achieve. \n We can then add more goals along the way as we achieve our current \n goals. This way of thinking and acting is very powerful, because YOU \n are controlling your life and going in a direction that YOU want \n to go in. It is really being self-aware and controlling your actions \n instead of mindlessly wandering through your life.\n

\n

\n As I'm writing this, I really like where these thoughts are heading. \n There are parts of your life where you are directed on what needs to be \n done, but there are also many parts of your life where we choose the \n activities we participate in. It is through being more aware of our \n actions and making these conscious decisions that we can truly unlock \n our potential and have very powerful actions. These are the thoughts \n and ideas I want to impart on my children!!! This is very, very \n powerful. How do I do this? If I can make them action oriented, goal \n oriented individuals, they can do anything with their lives!!!\n

\n

\n Reminds me of an incident I had with Joseph. I was getting upset at him \n because he was playing a new computer game (Armada Tanks) which he \n really enjoys. It's very similar to a game on the Wii which he played \n at the Lacelle's house. Anyways, Anne asked him to stop so that he \n could get ready for Church, but he just kept playing and was very upset \n when we forced him to stop. I tried and reason with him that we need to \n have the right priorities in our lives. The computer games are fun, but \n is it the highest priority? It's about decisions we make and how we \n prioritize all the demands on our time. I think we are going down the \n wrong path when we start prioritizing the computer games ahead of more \n important life activities. This is probably where kids can start \n getting addicted to the games. I wanted to reason and discuss with \n Joseph that he needs to be aware of this and make the appropriate \n decisions regarding his playing of computer games and prioritizing them \n appropriately. Finishing a game or finishing a level should not always \n be the highest priority. I did notice the next day when we asked Joseph \n to get ready for something and stop playing, he was much more positive \n in response. I am hoping that he does get our message.\n

\n

\n Our kids are truly wonderful. They are such smart, intelligent, \n respectful, and kind people. I am so proud to be their dad! I really \n like what I've written about how I want to impart New Year's Resolutions \n and the setting of goals to my children. \n

\n

\n Here's a summary of my own goals for this year:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Always prioritize family time at the top of the list. Schedule time \n with the family and really enjoy these precious moments I have with \n them. The kids are growing up so fast!\n
    • \n
  • \n Pay attention to our investments and review them regularly. Put \n together a quarterly report for our family corporation and review with \n the "board of directors".\n
    • \n
  • \n Investigate getting into Real Estate investments. If it makes sense, \n invest in a rental Real Estate property.\n
    • \n
  • \n Continue my fitness training (both running and triathlon training). \n Run the Ottawa Marathon with a time goal of 4 hours. Enter a \n triathlon. (If it's right hopefully I can do a half-iron triathlon \n this year.)\n
    • \n
  • \n Organize all my hobbies and activities. Organize all the papers and \n notes that I have on each hobby. Organize all the equipment and parts \n I have for each hobby. I want to spend time and improve in all my \n hobbies: Robotics, Music (Piano, Guitar), Fitness, Nutrition, \n Photography, Making family videos and slide shows, Computers. Set \n some specific goals in each of the hobbies.\n
    • \n
  • \n Be a top performer at work!!! This is a biggie and a tough one. My \n motivation at work is low and I need to really pick this up several \n notches. Work with Gil to determine where I should focus and where I \n can have the biggest impact for the corporation.\n
    • \n
  • \n Become a very powerful goal oriented person. Really focus on your \n goals and what outcomes you want to achieve. This will help direct my \n actions and minimize the more low value activities.\n
    • \n
\n

\n That's a good list to start. I think it captures the major areas. \n There are a lot of goals in there, but they are just touching each area \n of my life. Basically I can change the way I'm working on my life's \n activities and be more effective. Perhaps I can apply some of the \n aspects of process improvement that I've learned at work. Let's get \n going!!!\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1026, "title": "Centrios DVD Recorder has bit the dust...", "date": "2008-01-05 23:29:48.0", "content": "

\n Over the holidays, our DVD recorder that I got from Radio Shack died. \n The display doesn't light up and is now blank. I took the recorder \n apart and jiggled some wires, but couldn't get the thing to work. I \n guess all the DVDs I burned to capture the family videos was too much \n wear and tear for the DVD player. I think I created almost a hundred \n DVDs of our family videos!\n

\n

\n PC Cyber had the LiteOn DVD recorders on sale again, but this time for \n $50.00! So I bought another one. I took the one I had in the basement \n for copying the 8mm family videos and brought it upstairs. So there is \n at least a DVD recorder that Anne and the kids can use to tape their \n shows. The new recoder is still sitting in the box. I should unpack it \n and set it up in the basement. \n

\n

\n I should also figure out how to organize all the family video DVDs I now \n have. I need to have some type of filing and indexing system so that I \n can easily find a specific video or scene. I'll also need a systematic \n DVD labeling/naming convention. To build an index file, I was thinking \n of writing down the scenes and their times on the DVD and capturing all \n this in an Excel file. This could then become a database with DVD disc \n number, scene, DVD playing time, people in the scene, location, event \n (eg birthday, family vacation, etc.) and whatever other data is needed \n to capture. Perhaps I could the kids to help capture this index \n information. They really enjoy watching the family videos too!\n

\n

\n Now that I have all this source of family videos, I'd like to start \n creating some nice DVD shows. Cindy has created some really cool DVDs \n for her family. I remember one that she made for her Mom's birthday \n where she videotaped some of her Mom's childhood places and had Aunt \n Rainey narrate some of the video shots to talk about the memories of \n those places. During one of the New Year's Eve Partys at Jenny and \n Marc's place, Marc was showing a Christmas Video that his brother had \n put together. This was really cool too! It was basically a slide show \n with Christmas pictures and Christmas music of all the kids from Marc's \n family growing up. I'll need to come up with my own story ideas and \n themes and start creating these masterpieces. I think this would be an \n awesome and entertaining way to capture our family memories. Need to \n capture this on my list of things to do!!!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1027, "title": "Omnitech GPS hacked and unlocked!", "date": "2008-01-06 22:53:50.0", "content": "

\n I did an innocent search in Google to find out more about the Omnitech \n 15223 GPS that I got from Anne and the kids at Christmas. This is a \n really cool GPS which has voice guidance and text-to-speech (TTS) which \n says the street names. I had used it several times to go to the ski \n hills and driving around locally. It was really fun following the \n guidance of the GPS and I found that it was usually really good in the \n routes that it selected. The routing engine for the Destinator software \n is pretty accurate and effective.\n

\n

\n Anyways, I stumbled upon a forum site where they discussed how to \n "unlock" the GPS and get access to Windows CE OS in order to run other \n applications on the device. This was so cool! This is exactly what I \n was thinking when I got the device and wanted to know if it was even \n possible. And here were the guys actually doing it. They were running \n other GPS software (MioMap, TomTom, iGuidance), playing MP3s and videos, \n and other useful utilities on this handy little device. It truly \n transformed the GPS into a multi-use Pocket PC or Handheld PC.\n

\n

\n Following one of the threads, I was able to have a fancy desktop (called \n SystemInformation) with multiple virtual desktops that you could scroll \n to. Each desktop had a different set of applications (GPS, Tools, \n Games, Utilities, File Viewers, etc.) that you could invoke. There was \n also the Wolf toolbar which allowed me to switch between applications. \n I could also have my GPS software running and play MP3 music files with \n TCMP both at the same time! I hooked up the output of the GPS to my car \n stereo using the cassette adapter and had music coming out my car \n speakers. And, when there was a turn coming up, the voice guidance \n would come out on my car stereo so it was nice and loud! This was so \n awesome!!! I was tickled pink when I figured out how to do this.\n

\n

\n There's also a way to customize the NK.bin file, which is the Windows CE \n kernel that is loaded in at boot time. This method allows you to change \n the Registry entries contained in the NK.bin file and is the ultimate in \n customization since you would no longer need to run scripts after the \n machine booted up in order to set all the Registry entries that you \n wanted. I want to eventually move to this method, but I'm currently \n happy with the way my GPS works. It's so neat having access to the full \n Windows CE and running other applications. I especially enjoy running \n the GPS application and having the MP3 music going out onto my car \n stereo. I'm having lots of fun with my new toy!!! \n

\n

\n Here is the forum site:\n

\n

\n \thttp://www.techsmarttips.com/forum\n

\n

\n Other useful sites are:\n

\n

\n \thttp://www.navsupport.net/gps/15223 \n (original support site)\n

\n

\n \thttp://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=104008 \n (this is another good forum on GPS unlocking)\n

\n

\n \thttp://www.supa-tech.com (OEM \n manufacturer of this GPS device)\n

\n

\n The GoNav S1000 and Pharos 250 are equivalent devices to the Omnitech \n GPS. \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1028, "title": "Organizing Paul's Data files on Paulspc2", "date": "2008-01-11 22:09:39.0", "content": "

\n I have started to consolidate all my files onto an external USB drive \n which I've currently connected to the KidsPC as drive "J". I've moved a \n lot of the applications and videos onto this external drive and have \n managed to free up a 60GB hard disk! I've also freed up space on some \n other hard drives which contained my Nikon pictures, Sony pictures, and \n the Limewire MP3 files. I have renamed these volumes so that I can \n start using these drives for a specific type of file. Hopefully I can \n get a decent file organizing system going here, WHICH I MUST STICK TO!!! \n \n

\n

\n Now that all the assorted files are on the "J" drive, I'll need to prune \n these down and keep only the good stuff. There's lots of stuff in \n there, but I should really whittle it down to the applications which I \n will use. All the other stuff, although it may be interesting, I'll \n never really get to anyways so just start deleting them off the hard \n drives. For the stuff I want to keep, I'll need to figure out how I \n want to file them. There are applications with multiple versions. I'll \n probably want to keep some older versions in case I want to run these on \n older Windows operating systems. These will be stored on DVDs, so I \n want a good way of filing and sorting those DVDs so that I can find them \n again.\n

\n

\n Lately I've been downloading yet more stuff and filling my hard drives \n again, so I need to organize and sort these files too. I'll have to \n start religiously following the organizing credo: "A place for \n Everything, and Everything in its place." I really have to have a \n specific filing location for everything, whether it's a paper file, \n computer file, or some object. That's why a categorizing system is so \n important for me. Once I have a way of categorizing everything I get my \n hands on, I'll know where I should be putting it away.\n

\n

\n I want to have major categories, with sub-categories to as many \n sub-levels as needed. I took a stab at this way back when I was \n organizing my computer files. Dig this up and use it as a starting \n point. I think I also wrote some notes down using Outlook Notes on \n organizing my stuff. Dig this up too. I also have a categorizing \n system for my blogs, so maybe that is a good model. Just choose one and \n start working with it. JUST DO IT!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1029, "title": "January ORE Robotics Meeting", "date": "2008-01-14 22:26:20.0", "content": "

\n I finally attended the ORE monthly robotics meeting. I had missed the \n November and December meetings, since I was lazy and didn't feel like \n going. I need to get myself psyched up for my Robotics stuff again!!! \n Most of the regulars were there: Ron C., Mordecai, Albert, Guy, Norm K. \n and others. Mordecai was showing off a Wii controller and an \n application he had on the PC that could talk Bluetooth to it. (was it \n called Wiimot (?)). It was pretty cool. The controller has an \n accelerometer and an infr-red sensor, and with this PC application, you \n can read the values from the sensors. You can also turn LEDs on the \n controller On-and-Off. He also had a Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007 \n that he said he got for $40 from Factory Direct. I looked on-line and \n they seem to have more. Maybe I should pick-up another one. The new \n model is a lot smaller!\n

\n

\n Mordecai was also showing of a small wireless board ($20.00?) that is \n similar to a ZigBee. However he was having some problems with it \n because the sensor updates were very slow when using the wireless serial \n connection. When he connected directly using a cable, you can see the \n sensor values change really quickly, but using wireless, they were \n updating really slowly for some reason. Albert also had a new remote \n control toy he got from Wal-Mart for $89. It had the Omni-directional \n wheels and could do spins and go sideways! It was pretty radical. It \n was also solidly built.\n

\n

\n At the end of the meeting we started talking about the next RoboMagellan \n contest. We set it for early May. Rules will be similar to last time \n with Waypoints in a parking lot, but we are going to add obstacles on \n the course. The robot must navigate around these obstacles and get to \n within a few meters of the Waypoint. This sounds like fun and gives me \n a good goal/objective for my Robot. I'll have to put a plan together \n for this and start ordering some of the parts I'll need. I figure I'll \n at least need some ultra-sonic sensors for the obstacle detection. I \n also asked Joseph if he's interested in doing this and he said "Yeah!". \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1030, "title": "Getting organized and cleaned up!", "date": "2008-01-16 23:04:07.0", "content": "

\n I had written in a previous entry at Christmas that I had bought some \n more wire shelves for the basement to help organize myself. I just \n wanted to expand on this. I've got to change the way I organize all my \n stuff. Or should I say I need to start organizing all my stuff instead \n of my current ad-hoc, non-existent organization system. What does \n success look like? What is my goal? What are the steps I need to take \n to reach this goal? Am I committed to this?\n

\n

\n I guess the first thing to do is to admit that I have a problem. I'm a \n pack rat. I keep way too much stuff, thinking I will eventually get to \n it, use it, read it, etc. However that time never comes, and stuff just \n keeps piling up, and up, and up... OK, so I've known for a long time \n that I have a problem. I just haven't found the motivation, desire, \n impetus, need... to change. But I do want to change!!!\n

\n

\n The reason I want to change, is I don't like people knowing that I'm \n disorganized and messy. It hurts the ego. This reminds me of the time \n Joseph came down to the basement when I was working on the computer and \n he went "Whoa! Daddy you have a lot of icons on your desktop!". That \n just made me snap, and I told him (in an angry voice) "Yeah! I know! \n You don't need to tell me!" I guess it's a real sensitive spot. But \n you've got to "call a spade, a spade". I am messy, I am disorganized, I \n am not focussed and all over the place... Most of the time I can find \n the stuff I need, but all my stuff just looks messy and disorganized. I \n wonder what type of lessons my kids are learning from this??\n

\n

\n So, I've done the equivalent of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and \n admitted I have a problem. So what do I need to do about it? What do I \n want to do about it? I've attempted to become organized and cleaned up \n before, but I just end up shuffling some paper stacks around, making \n them neater, and then going back to my old ways again. How is this time \n going to be different? I have to make being tidy, organized, and neat a \n habit. But what does that exactly mean?\n

\n

\n Thinking about this, leads me to two main ideas.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n I have a lot of "stuff"\n
    2. \n
  2. \n I have no system for organizing and keeping this "stuff" neat.\n
    3. \n
\n

\n The first point is I'm a curious and inquisitive person. I subscribe to \n the adage of lifelong learning and always finding out about new things, \n becoming better, etc. This ultimately leads to lots of information, in \n many different formats (electronic files, paper files, magazines, books, \n equipment, tools, parts, etc...). In collecting all this information \n objects in the pursuit of knowledge, I have now become a "pack rat". I \n feel like I need to keep all this information because it will ultimately \n become "useful". I will learn something or do something with it. It's \n a psychological problem, almost like a "scarcity mentality". If I lose \n some piece of information, I'll never get the benefit of learning or \n knowledge from it. I have to turn this around into an "abundance \n mentality". There is so much information in the world, and I know \n exactly how to find it: using the Google search engine. If I ever \n wanted to learn about something, I will find a way to get the \n information I need. The habit I need to change are my thoughts and \n actions that every little piece of information I find interesting needs \n to be kept and filed away.\n

\n

\n OK, so I keep a lot of stuff. Trying to pare down all this stuff is one \n thing, but I know after I do that I'll still have a lot of stuff. Hey, \n I'm just a curious person!!! The next point is that I don't have any \n organization system for all this stuff. So things just get placed in \n the most convenient place at the moment. Usually this is the telephone \n table in the kitchen, the futon in the basement, the computer desk, or \n my electronics workshop benches and tables. And the stuff just starts \n to pile up more and more. Sometimes, I'll buy a shelf and get stuff off \n the floor or break up the multiple piles of paper, but in the end it's \n still disorganized stuff sitting on shelving units. I've also bought a \n bunch of plastic containers/boxes to keep more stuff. However, they've \n just been sitting stacked up and empty in the basement, because I don't \n know what to put in them. I don't have an organization system.\n

\n

\n Things are now starting to become clearer. Because of my innate \n curiosity and pursuit of knowledge, I keep lots of stuff. Because I \n don't have an organization system for all this stuff, it sits as a mess, \n scattered everywhere. The first thing I need to do is develop an \n organization system. Let's call it "Paul's Organization System". I've \n gone down this path before, writing down categories and sub-categories \n for all the stuff I have. I just haven't taken the next step and \n defined how those categories are organized. Need to follow the old \n adage "A place for Everything, and Everything in its Place!". \n This means I need to look at each category and define where that type \n of stuff is going to be physically stored (if it is an object) or which \n folder to file away (if it is a computer file).\n

\n

\n Objective: Write down a table with categories and sub-categories as \n required, and how these categories are organized physically and on the \n computer.\n

\n

\n Extending this a bit further, if I find that I run out of space \n organizing my stuff, I'll have to think about decreasing the stuff I \n want to keep. This addresses the first point above about me having a \n lot of stuff. How do I prioritize and decrease the amount of stuff I \n actually keep?\n

\n

\n OK, I've now got an actual plan. I will write down the categories and \n start physically organizing my stuff according to these categories. \n Let's GO!!!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1031, "title": "Installing Modem on a PC", "date": "2008-01-20 22:45:55.0", "content": "

\n It started off innocently enough with me trying to piece together a PC \n with a dial-up modem so Anne's dad can access the internet from home. \n Well, it was much harder and took much longer than expected. At times it \n was frustrating, but, hey, I got 'er done! Here's the summary:\n

\n

\n At first I tried looking for a modem card I already had. I found one, \n but then discovered that there weren't any drivers for it for Windows \n XP. I searched on the internet and tried installing different drivers I \n found, but none of them worked. So, off I went to look for a cheap one \n to buy. I looked on PC Cyber's web page and saw one for $35.00. On \n Saturday, just before going to church, we stopped by and picked it up. \n Bonus, it was only $20.00. The one I saw on the web page must have been \n a fancy one.\n

\n

\n When I went to install the modem card, for some reason Windows was not \n recognizing the new piece of hardware. I tried a bunch of different \n things, fooling around with BIOS settings, but couldn't get it \n recognized. I even re-installed Windows. I forgot what a joy that was... \n :-) At one point, the PC kept resetting part way through the install. I \n took out all the cards and a fan I had just installed, but it kept \n happening. While looking at the motherboard, I touched the processor and \n it was super, super hot!!! I looked around and found the fan connector \n wasn't plugged in anymore. Yikes!!! I quickly plugged it in, and hoped \n that I hadn't fried the processor. I was glad that it kept crapping out, \n causing me to turn off the computer and try again. After this, I was \n finally able to get Windows to at least start installing.\n

\n

\n The next hurdle I had was Windows installation getting stuck at the 34 \n minutes left mark, while trying to install devices. Again, I fooled \n around with BIOS settings and trying different things. I finally got the \n Windows install to get past this mark by removing all my interface \n cards. OK, so now I had a brand new Windows installation. I upgraded the \n Video Card driver to the ASUS 68000 driver instead of the Nvidia DDR \n default Microsoft driver. Now, more fun when I tried to install my \n interface cards.\n

\n

\n First the ethernet LAN card. The PC would no longer boot. It just hung \n at a black screen. What's up with that. After more fiddling, I found out \n that if I didn't have the ethernet cable plugged in the card, the PC \n would boot. But as soon as I plugged in the cable, the PC would hang. \n The mouse wouldn't move and the keyboard wouldn't work. The PC was just \n completely frozen. Next I tried the Soundblaster sound card. No dice. PC \n would partially boot up and then reset and re-boot. Lastly, I tried the \n new modem card. This was a newer card I had bought from Everbest \n Computer. The PC would boot up, and I could install the modem drivers, \n but after boot up, the PC would try installing the drivers and would \n fail. There was a "?" question mark beside the Agere Soft Modem device. \n I tried more things, different installation sequences, but nothing \n worked.\n

\n

\n I thought maybe it was my Windows install, so I re-installed Windows \n again. Yeah, oh joy again... I found out it takes about 20 minutes to \n get to the point where it asks you to enter info about the product ID \n and user name, etc... In total the install takes about an hour. If you \n do a full format, this would take longer depending on the size of hard \n drive you have. OK, new Windows install. Tried to install my modem and \n same old problems. Groan... OK, bring out the heavy artillery... or in \n this case, bring out my other PC (paulspc1) with the same motherboard. I \n hooked it up to the other monitor and booted it up into the BIOS. I then \n booted this PC to the BIOS and compared the settings line by line. \n Surprisingly there were a lot off different settings. I had originally \n gone and set the "Default Settings", but there were a few surprising \n settings. Here are some that I remember:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Plug 'N Play OS should be set to "N"\n
    • \n
  • \n PCI Interrrupt assignment should be set to "Auto"\n
    • \n
  • \n PCI Intr: "ON", IRQ7,9 were disabled and should be set to "Secondary"\n
    • \n
  • \n USB Drivers must be "ON"\n
    • \n
  • \n ...\n
    • \n
\n

\n I'll have to go back and see what exact settings cause the problem. I'm \n thinking it's the USB ports/drivers setting, because that's the only one \n I didn't try changing before. The IRQ settings could be the culprit too. \n I'm thinking that the PC hung up due to some interrupt. The next time I \n booted up the computer, I saw that PC recognized the USB ports and \n installed the drivers for them. The USB driver installation was \n successful! Now that I think of it, this is probably the cause of \n getting stuck at the "34 minutes left" mark during the Windows \n installation. Must be some conflict with installing the devices when \n the USB ports aren't enabled...\n

\n

\n So now that I had the BIOS matching my other PC, I tried re-installing \n the modem drivers ... and ... drum roll please... it worked!!! The modem \n card was recognized!!! I defined a new dial-up connection to Sympatico \n and it connected successfully. Woo Hoo!!! Another Big Dance...!!! All \n these issues because I had reset to the BIOS default settings which \n caused my interface cards to hang. Whoa, that was a tough one to figure \n out. I certainly have to keep this in mind when I go through another \n re-install or when I'm putting together another PC. I went and installed \n my ethernet card and sound card. Both installed without any problems. \n When I went to test out my ethernet connection, everytime I went to run \n Internet Exporer, the PC would want to dial-up Sympatico. I realized \n that there is a setting in Internet Options, on the Connection tab, I \n had it set up to "Always Dial" the Sympatico connection. I had to choose \n the setting "Only dial if there is currently no internet connection". \n After doing this, it would use the LAN connection to access the \n internet. OK, I'm back to normal and have a working PC with a modem \n card. Phew! ... What a journey that was!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1032, "title": "More PC work", "date": "2008-01-24 22:08:13.0", "content": "

\n I decided to put in the 30G hard drive, in case we give Anne's parents a \n digital camera and they start saving a lot of pictures. I was thinking \n of using Ghost to duplicate the files from drive C: to drive D:. \n However, I couldn't get my Ghost CD to boot up in the PC. It just \n seemed to hang after installing the CD Rom drivers... When I tried it \n again, the PC froze at a different point... I just decided to scrap \n that idea, and do yet another Windows install. Yup, oh joy... I think \n I'm becoming a Windows XP Installation pro now! :-)\n

\n

\n So I successfully installed the Windows XP on the 30G hard drive. I \n also installed the other applications again: Nero 6, Partition Magic, \n TreeSize Pro, and set up the Sympatico dial-up for internet access. I \n then tried to install the printer drivers for the Epson 600 printer, but \n I couldn't find any drivers for Windows XP. There were only drivers for \n Windows 95, 98, and NT. I ended up installing a driver for the Epson \n 740, which was for Windows 2000, but it installed after giving a \n warning. I printed a test page, and the ink was very faint and \n unreadable. I did a clean print heads, and printed another test page. \n This one came out nice and clear!\n

\n

\n I did a search on google and found out that Windows XP has drivers that \n should work with the Epson 600. Will need to try this out when I bring \n the PC to Anne's parents place! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1033, "title": "Successful delivery and installation of PC!", "date": "2008-01-26 22:10:21.0", "content": "

\n We went over to Anne's parents' house on Saturday morning after dropping \n Elizabeth off at her Dance class. Joseph came with Anne and I to help me \n with the PC installation. It was a good thing he came. He helped in \n routing all the wires and cables from underneath and behind the desk. \n The installation went really smoothly. I disconnected each cable \n individually and had Joseph grab the cable and route it to the tower \n space. After routing all the cables, we booted up the PC and started \n configuring the software.\n

\n

\n Rod had already signed up for National Capital Freenet, so I set up a \n new NCF Dial-up network connection with his user-id and password. I put \n a shortcut on the desktop. When I plugged in the Epson 600 printer to \n the parallel port, Windows XP recognized it and installed the drivers. \n We printed off a test print page and it worked! I turned off the \n computer and did a test run with Rod driving. He turned on the PC, \n connected to the internet by logging into NCF, and then logged in to \n hotmail to read his mail. Rod also downloaded some picture attachments \n to a local folder and viewed the picture.\n

\n

\n I think Rod and Janet were pleased with the new PC. Janet was even \n talking about sending an e-mail to Maxi. They were joking that they're \n going to need a sign up sheet for the PC... :-)\n

\n

\n I was happy to finally get the PC installed and working. I had spent \n quite a bit of time getting everything installed and working just right. \n Even installed Windows several times! All the preparation made the \n installation smooth and succesful. Chalk-up another happy customer for \n Huli-technologies!!!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1034, "title": "Installing Windows Vista on paulspc2", "date": "2008-01-28 22:49:49.0", "content": "

\n Just when I thought I was getting enough of Windows, I decided to \n install Windows Vista on paulspc2. Yikes!!! I must be going \n craaaazzzzzyyyy.... :-)\n

\n

\n In order that I don't totally screw up my current set up, I decided to \n move my key boot and system disks to the removable hard drive trays. My \n logic here was that I could easily move these drives around to get the \n right one to boot up. The reason I need to do this is that Windows \n Vista doesn't support a multi-boot environment with Windows XP. I've \n read previously that there is a way to get this working, but I'll need \n to learn about it. It isn't as easy as having a multi-boot set up with \n Windows XP, 2000, 98, etc... \n

\n

\n During the PC boot, there are two key drives involved: 1) Boot Drive, \n which has the master boot record, and 2) System Drive, which has the \n actual operating system. The Boot Drive, is always the first master \n hard drive on IDE0 of the mother board. Actually, I think it's the \n first hard drive that is connected with the search sequence being IDE0 \n Master, IDE0 Slave, IDE1 Master, IDE1 Slave, IDE2 Master, etc... I've \n always booted off the IDE0 connector. You could have no drives \n connected to the motherboard IDE connector, and boot off the Promise \n TX133 controller. The Boot Drive has a small bootloader in the Master \n Boot Record of the hard drive. This will load the NTLDR which is the \n windows loader. There is a "boot.ini" which is used to choose between \n multiple operating systems in a multi-boot scenario. Once the desired \n operating system is chosen, it is loaded off the System Drive where the \n operating system resides.\n

\n

\n I moved the drives on paulspc2 around so that the 3 removable hard drive \n trays had IDE0 Master, IDE0 Slave, and IDE1 master (from top to bottom). \n The IDE1 master drive was the System drive that had the Windows XP \n Operating system that I have been using for the past little while (drive \n D:). I had another drive as my boot drive, but there wasn't a \n bootloader in the master boot record, so it actually tried to boot off \n my Promise TX133 controller. I put my original boot drive at IDE0 \n Master, and it booted up fine. I then went and took out this hard drive \n and put in an empty 60G drive as IDE0 master. This is the drive that I \n installed Vista on. The install went very smoothly. It only stopped \n once to query the time zone and computer name and kept going on its \n merry way.\n

\n

\n After the installation, there were several devices that weren't \n recognized and I had to go and dig out some Vista drivers for these \n devices. One was the Promise TX133 controller. And another was the \n sound device on the motherboard. At first I was using the wrong \n motherboard CD! After I put the right one in, I was able to install the \n drivers and the sound worked! There are two other devices with question \n marks. One is a game port device, and the other is an "unknown device". \n I just left those as is for now.\n

\n

\n I did a search on dual boot of Vista and XP. I found there is a tool \n called EasyBCD that can be used to edit the configuration for Vista's \n bootloader. I will have to try and use this utility to see if I can \n dual boot my new Vista installation and my old XP installation. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1035, "title": "Ron's Robot meeting for Robomagellan", "date": "2008-01-28 23:22:04.0", "content": "

\n I went to the Robotics meeting at Ron's house last night. Martin, \n Mordechai, and Allen were there. Allen brought in his propellor bot, \n which was really cool. He has a neat yellow base from Lynxmotion, I \n believe. I is really well constructed. Very neat and professional. He \n has an LCD screen and some input buttons. He also had a really cool \n interface on his PC which he could use to wirelessly control his robot. \n He is using the wireless modules that people bought a while back. I \n think you can get it from QKits. Even his wireless module was cool. It \n was encased in a plastic box and very neatly assembled. I told Allen \n that he does very professional work. All his projects are very well \n constructed. And so neat! In comparison, my stuff is just put together \n with cardboard!\n

\n

\n The PC application Allen was showing was a window with some controls for \n moving the robot. There were also fields for values of the various \n sensors and robot position. I really need to learn how to program in \n the windows environment so I can make a nice GUI like that. I'll have \n to get my bluetooth wireless connection working so I can control my \n robot using this nice GUI. \n

\n

\n Mordechai sent me a link to the Visual C## GPS application he was using \n in his demo last year. This has code to read the GPS strings input from \n the serial port and then parse them. I can use this as example code for \n reading the serial port. There is also a form that I can use as an \n example. I want to add a text field for printing out the GPS NMEA \n strings. I can also add some arrow keys for controlling robot movement. \n This is what Ron and Allen have for controlling their robots. \n Hopefully I can also add in some video to the control interface at some \n point too!\n

\n

\n After the meeting, Ron suggested we go for a beer at Darcy McGee's. \n Martin, Allen, Ron, and I all went to the bar. We had some interesting \n discussions. Martin was saying he hasn't been doing any robotics. He \n went through a separation and now his son dropped out of high school, \n and moved out. Yikes. I think his son dropped out a few months before \n school end last year and then realized he would have to do the whole \n year over not just the month or so that he missed. Ron also gave a \n similar story about his son. However, his son realized that he didn't \n even have enough money to live with a bunch of guys and has now gone \n back to adult high school to get his diploma. He also got accepted into \n Carleton where you can "trial" the university to see if you have what it \n takes... Ron also said his daughter went to Carelton for two years and \n has now dropped out too. He said she's kind of in limbo, "don't know \n what to do with her life" at the moment. She works as a waitress in \n Kelsey's and apparently makes lots of tips so she's happy enough I \n guess. Allen said he himself dropped out of high school. He made lots \n of money dealing drugs, before he decided to get out. He got a \n university degree in Geology. They were telling Martin that you can't \n control what your son does. Just tell him that you're their to support \n him if he ever decides to go to university.\n

\n

\n Ron is auditing some courses at Carleton. He said it was always a dream \n to take some evolution courses, so he just looked up the Carleton \n University courses and found some 3rd or 4th year courses he wanted to \n take. He looked at what the pre-requisites are and is currently taking \n those courses. Ron also knew our waitress at Darcy's. He comes to this \n bar often, and has also seen the waitress at the Carleton campus. \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1036, "title": "More car problems!", "date": "2008-01-30 23:09:07.0", "content": "

\n Late last year I had brought in my car to get my muffler replaced. In \n the end I had to not only replace the muffler, but fix/replace my left \n CV boot, front brakes, and my whole exhaust system! The total bill was \n over $4000! Gulp...\n

\n

\n And after all that, I was still having some car trouble. This time with \n my charging system. We had gone skiing at Edelweiss last Saturday, and \n my car was acting really strange. The first sign was my airbag light \n coming on. I had never seen that before. Then I noticed that I \n couldn't even read my digital clock since it was so dim. I suspected my \n battery was weak, so I turned off all my electrical devices. I turned \n off the fan, lights, rear defroster, etc. When we got to Edelweiss, I \n stopped the car. However we were in a bad spot for parking and the \n attendant asked me to move the car over. I tried to start the car, and \n nothing happen. The starter didn't even turn. I told Anne and the kids \n to go ahead skiing, and I'll go home and get my battery charged. I \n helped them drop off the skis by the lodge and then went back to the \n car. I was able to find a ski instructor with a truck and jumper \n cables. We pushed my car back and he pulled in beside me and we jumped \n the car. \n

\n

\n I drove back home, took Anne's car out of the garage, put my car in the \n garage, and then hooked up my battery charger. Anne said to pick them \n up at 2:00pm, so I planned to leave by 1:00pm. It was around 9:45 am, \n so I had about 3 hours to charge the battery. I also charged my power \n booster packs in case I would need them. I was able to go pick up Anne \n and the kids and get back with no problems.\n

\n

\n On Wednesday, I brought the car into Doug's Automotive. He told me they \n checked the wiring and everything checked out, so it was a bad \n alternator. He replaced the alternator. Doug told me that the voltage \n for the alternator should be between 13.8V and 14.2V. Although he did \n say that you shouldn't go by voltage. It's better to go by current. If \n the battery voltage is really low, then it might not be in that range, \n but the alternator is still pumping out the needed current to charge the \n battery.\n

\n

\n However, there is still one issue with the battery and charging system. \n When I first start the car, in the morning when I go to work, and in the \n evening when I drive home from work, the battery light and emergency \n light stay on. The battery voltage is low around 11.5V to 11.8V. It \n stays like this for several minutes, and then I'll see the voltage jump \n up to ~14.0V. It's like the alternator has a lag before it kicks in and \n starts supplying the voltage. What could be causing this delay? Will \n have to monitor this and see if I need to go back to Doug's for him to \n check it out. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1037, "title": "Skiing at Mt St Anne!", "date": "2008-02-01 22:20:51.0", "content": "

\n The kids had the day off school today, so I took the day off and we went \n skiing! Anne planned our ski trip to Mt. St. Anne, which was our very \n first time on the mountain. It was going to be an interesting day, \n because the weather was supposed to be really bad today with a lot of \n snow falling throughout the day. Our drive there was OK. We only \n encountered blowing snow once we got onto highway 105 past Wakefield. \n We had our GPS and it was really easy. It got us right to the base of \n the mountain. There was a really steep pitch right near the ski hill \n which was a little scary, but it was bare pavement so we got up OK.\n

\n

\n The ski day was great! The hill wasn't that challenging. The runs are \n fairly long, but they weren't that steep. Anne and Elizabeth enjoyed it \n very much. In the morning, the snow was really soft and powdery. We \n were describing it feeling like "velvet", or even "chocolate". It was \n just really soft to ski on. Due to the overcast skies and flat \n lighting, it was hard to see the bumps and the hill at times. That made \n it challenging too. The mountain has two sides and you can get to the \n other side by taking a short trolley ride. We went to the other side \n right before lunch, but didn't like it as much. It seemed icier on that \n side.\n

\n

\n The mountain was not crowded at all, since it was weekday. We skied \n right onto the chair after our runs and it was like that the whole day. \n We stopped for lunch around 11:30am and easily found a table. We beat \n the crowd for lunch, and it didn't get too crowded anyways. After lunch \n the hills were getting icier. We stopped skiing around 2:00pm. \n Elizabeth was tired so I waited with her, while Anne and Joseph went for \n another run. I took some pictures of Joseph when he came down for that \n run. I was going to go for a last run with Joseph, but he said he was \n tired, and I ended up going by myself for one run.\n

\n

\n The drive back home was slow. We were in a slow convoy, which is good \n because the roads were covered in snow and the convoy made sure that I \n took it easy and slow. The worst part of the drive was when we got back \n into the city. At the curve along King Edward, I fish-tailed a bit, and \n then on King Edward it was slippery starting from a stop light. There \n is also a hill right after Rideau which was scary because the car ahead \n of me kept slowing down and went really slow up the hill. I knew that \n if I stopped, I might not be able to get moving again! In the end the \n car ahead didn't stop, and we got up the hill ok. That was the last \n scary part, and the rest of the drive went fine. The Queensway was \n busy, but it was moving. I think we arrived home around 4:30, so it \n took an extra half hour because of the slow driving. But that's OK, \n since the driving was easy and not stressfull. All in all an excellent \n day of skiing at a new mountain for us!!! \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1038, "title": "Dual boot setup on paulspc2", "date": "2008-02-02 21:54:20.0", "content": "

\n For the Vista install, I decided to remove the 60G hard drive and go \n back to the original 120G hard drive and just install Vista on the C: \n drive. The Windows XP install is on the D: drive, so I could still dual \n boot with this setup. The reason I wanted to do this was that the 120G \n hard drive had both the C: partition and the E: partition. I still \n wanted to access the E: partition which has all my MP3 music files on \n it. I wouldn't be able to do this with the 60G hard drive since I had \n to swap the 120G hard drive out.\n

\n

\n So I ended up formatting the C: drive which had an old installation of \n Windows XP (or maybe even Windows 98!). The installation went fine and \n I then went through the steps of configuring the bootloader using \n EASYBCD to dual boot Vista and XP. I currently have XP as the default \n Windows operating system.\n

\n

\n On the Vista system, I installed some appz. I tried installing Streets \n and Trips 2008, but it needs an activation so I removed it. I'll have \n to try Streets and Trips 2007 and see if I can get this to work. I also \n installed Quicken Home and Business 2008. This replaces Quicken 2007 \n XG. I'll have to see if I can get this working. I haven't yet copied \n over my data file. I also installed other utilities like Treesize Pro, \n WinRAR, and Nero.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1039, "title": "Hacking into Microsoft USB GPS module to add a RS232 Serial Connector", "date": "2008-02-03 22:14:00.0", "content": "

\n I had bought a refurbished 2006 Microsoft Streets and Trips GPS at \n Factory Direct a few weeks back. The GPS device that comes with it is \n actually an updated version of the one I bought a couple of years ago. \n I had the Pharos 360 model GPS, while this one had the Pharos 500 model \n with a SirFIII receiver. The SirFIII has better sensitivity and \n accuracy than the one in the older Pharos360 module (SirFII?).\n

\n

\n My plan is to hack into this GPS module so that I can connect it \n directly to my Robot controller. Mordecai was telling me that GPS \n module itself is just regular serial and there is a Serial to USB dongle \n in the cable itself. There is a web page I found a few years ago \n (actually when we were on our March break ski trip to Mt. Olympia and \n Chantacler), that talked about connecting the Microsoft GPS to a Gameboy \n Advance. It is pretty cool. In this article, there was a picture of \n the GPS and the serial pinouts. Here's the link to the web page, and \n the picture of the pinout.\n

\n

\n \thttp://www.msh-tools.com/GBA/gbagps.html \n

\n

\n \tMicrosoft GPS (Pharos 360/500) Serial Pin out \n

\n

\n \t \n \n

\n

\n Looking at the cable, I could see where the dongle was, and I cracked \n open the case. Inside, you can see the USB connections and the GPS \n module connections. My idea here was to cut the cable and have one side \n connect to the GPS module (pin outs in diagram above), and then add an \n RS232 connector which can then be connected to my robot controller. \n Doing it this way, I use the standard connector to the GPS which makes \n it nice and neat! \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1040, "title": "Bricking my USB GPS module :-( and then bringing it back to life :-) ...", "date": "2008-02-04 21:50:21.0", "content": "

\n I had a bit of a roller coaster ride with the Microsoft GPS the past few \n days. I was psyched in starting to use it for my robot. I had \n downloaded a GPS utility that Mordecai pointed me to. There are two \n programs called GPS Utility and SirFDemo. While playing around with \n SirFDemo, I changed the protocol to SirF protocol. After doing this I \n realized that in order for me to use the GPS, I needed to change it back \n to NMEA protocol. However, when I did this, it didn't seem to work. I \n then started trying other choices and one was "User1 Protocol". I'm not \n sure if it was this or just not being able to get back from SirF \n protocol, but the GPS was now a "brick". I had toasted it so that it no \n longer output the NMEA strings.\n

\n

\n I was pretty peeved that I had done this, and all kinds of thoughts went \n through my head. I figured I would have to go out and get another GPS \n module to connect to my robot. I thought, well, at least it was only \n $30 bucks... After moping for a bit, I was then determined to crack the \n GPS module open and fix it. I must be able to reset it somehow and get \n it back to factory default settings. I did a search on google and found \n a forum thread on GPS passion that talked about the same thing that I \n did! There were solutions in there about unsoldering the battery and \n getting the module to work again. Here's a link to some threads:\n

\n

\n \thttp://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=83128 \n

\n

\n \thttp://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=44809 \n

\n

\n I went and heated up the module with my heat gun to try and crack it \n open. I damaged the casing quite a bit, but I was finally able to crack \n it open and expose the inner metal casing. I opened this up and examined \n the circuit board. I saw the button battery and measured a voltage \n around 2.1V. I tried to pry and see if I could disconnect it without \n de-soldering, but no luck. I then tried to desolder it, but I couldn't \n get the solder to melt! I was using my fancy Weller soldering iron, but \n the solder wouldn't melt at all. I was afraid of damaging the circuit \n board, so I stopped to take a break and think about my other options. \n That's when I decided to connect up the GPS to the PC again, and to my \n surprise and amazement, I saw GPS NMEA strings on the hyper terminal \n screen. It's alive!!! Woo Hoo! I did a quick check on the battery and it \n was down to 0.1V or something really low. I think by heating up the \n battery with my soldering iron, I must have really dropped the battery \n voltage. I hope I didn't damage the battery! Anyways, the GPS module was \n back to life and working.\n

\n

\n So after this little episode, I have to remember to be very, very \n careful with the SirFDemo utility because it can put the GPS in bad \n states that are very difficult to back out and undo. Ron C. actually \n has a dead module too and I wonder if it can be fixed with the things I \n just did. Will have to talk to him and get him to try it out. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1041, "title": "Getting back into the swing of coding and using MPLAB, debugging Sumobot", "date": "2008-02-05 23:14:27.0", "content": "

\n I haven't touched any of my robots in a long time and I want to get back \n into it again. I dug up my old code and am now trying to familiarize \n myself with the code and the MPLAB development environment again. The \n first thing I wanted to do was make a copy of the latest version of my \n code and start from there. At first I just copied the folders with the \n source and MPLAB files, but then the MPLAB config is pointing to the \n wrong directories. I found a better way of doing this is to open up the \n current version of code and then doing a "Save Project As" into a new \n folder. This will make a copy of all the project files into the new \n folder with the new project name (and updated version number). For \n example, I opened up the Sumobot3 project, and then did a save project \n as to a Sumobot4 folder, with the project named to Sumobot4. \n

\n

\n The one tricky thing to remember is that the workspace is also saved, \n including the editor window. However, this editor window is still \n pointing to files in the old project folder (Sumobot3 in the example \n above). I found this when I edited one of the files and then doing a \n "Make", but no files were re-compiled. It was saying I hadn't changed \n any sourcefiles! I finally figured out that I was changing source in \n the old directory, so there weren't actually any files changed in the \n new directory. The best way to fix this is to close the editor window \n and then clicking on the project files window on the left to open the \n files again from the current project folder! Phew... tricky problem \n that I need to remember! I want to capture these steps into a help file!\n

\n

\n I was reading through some old robot notes in the blog, and found some \n really good info on getting into the test modes for my robot. This \n should go in my test file too!\n

\n

\n I also had to re-learn how to use the Stimulus files and UART input \n files for simulator debugging. This is really cool since it allows you \n to do testing without having the real hardware. You can create/open a \n stimulus file by going in the menu "Debugger/Stimulus". In the stimulus \n file, I had a clock input on pins RB4 and RB5 to simulate the encoder \n ticks. From experimentation previously, I found that 25,000 cycles low \n and 25,000 cycles high gave an encoder tick rate of around 10 \n ticks/sample in my wheel encoder routines. This was at a processor \n clock rate of 20MHz. You also have to remember to "Apply" the stimulus \n file. I think this only has to be done once. After that, everytime you \n open your project workspace the stimulus file is applied. \n

\n

\n Next, I checked my UART. Go into "Debug/Settings". This will bring up \n another window. Choose the "Uart1 IO" tab. Ensure that "Enable Uart1 \n IO" and output to "Window" is selected. You can also log your output to \n a file if desired. Just choose the "File" option and provide a log \n filename. When doing some GPS testing, I also had GPS input data coming \n from a file. This was useful for me to test my NMEA parse routines.\n

\n

\n After setting all this up, I ran the program in debug mode, and I could \n see the output on the UART screen. However, it was coming it super \n slow. I was able to fix this by turning off all tracing. I don't know \n how it got into this mode, but it helped when I turned this off. To do \n this, go into "Debug/Settings" and choose the "Osc/Trace" tab. \n Uncheck/de-select the "Trace All" box. Make sure it is not selected. \n Hit "OK" to apply the changes. Now if you run the program, the output \n to the UART should be much, much faster.\n

\n

\n OK, so now I have the development environment up and running correctly. \n Currently I have "Debug Simulator ON" to simulate a veer. This seemed \n to help the issue where after the robot hits the first target and stops, \n when it starts for the second target it does some weird veer thing. The \n y-value goes from 102 to 64. The x,y value should actually remain the \n same, since the robot is spinning. I was trying to adjust this debug \n switch and also the vt100 update switch when a NAV is occuring. \n

\n

\n I found the bug!!! The issue was after the robot hits the first target \n and stops, it spins and then heads back towards the origin (second \n target). However, the state machine data was showing that it was in the \n nav fsm spinning state for a long, long time, and then once it gets out, \n the y-value has magically changed from 102 to 64. So how does the robot \n do a spin and then move so far down the y-axis??? There are two things \n contributing to the behaviour and the results seen. The first is that I \n have a check in my main_sumovore routine inside the odomoters_flag \n section that checks the heading error, and if it is within a certain \n range, it changes the robot to move forward. However, it does not \n change the NAVFSM state which is still inside "nav_spin_cw_continue". \n So now we have a robot that is going straight and the NAV FSM state is \n still waiting for it to complete its spin. Since the robot is going \n straight, the heading error will no longer hit the check that is being \n done in this state (it's looking for a < 0.0 heading error). This means \n the only way to get out of this is the FSM counter check that I have \n which will only allow an FSM to run a maximum number of times before it \n goes to an idle state. This is basically a timeout. So, while the NAV \n timeout is waiting to occur, the robot is going straight and the NAV FSM \n is busy. The second cause is that I have a check in the main routine \n that doesn't call the VT100 display if the NAV FSM is busy. The logic \n here is that this routine is very slow and I didn't want to delay any \n detection of when a spin or veer should stop. But in this scenario, it \n means that I don't update the VT100 display and all you see are the FSM \n states being output for a long, long time. Finally when the NAV FSM \n counter times out, and the NAV FSM goes back to idle, we can see the \n VT100 display update again. At this point the robot has already been \n going straight for a while, and you can see that the y-value has changed \n from 102 to 64!!! And that's why we see these weird results!!! Phew!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1042, "title": "Debugging Sumobot serial communications", "date": "2008-02-07 22:50:47.0", "content": "

\n One of the key capabilities of the robot is having a serial \n communications link so that you can display debug data and also provide \n input to your robot. For Sumobot, I wanted to get my wired as well as \n bluetooth serial communications link working. For the wired serial \n communications link, I need an RS232 level shifter. I had built a small \n RS232 level shifter board last year, but I never tested it out. I \n connected Sumobot to one side of the level shifter, and then connected \n the other side of the level shifter to a cable with the DB9 connector to \n the PC.\n

\n

\n I have to get straight in my head the actual pins for DTE Rx/Tx and DCE \n Rx/Tx for each of these devices so I know which pins to connect to which \n pins. \n

\n
    \n
  1. \n PIC RB6,RB7 Rx/Tx\n
    2. \n
  2. \n PC Rx/Tx (pins on DB9 connector)\n
    3. \n
  3. \n RS232 Level shifter Rx/Tx \n
    4. \n
  4. \n BlueSmirF Rx/Tx\n
    5. \n
\n

\n For each device I need to determine if it's a straight through \n connection or a cross connection. I have the connectors working now \n with Sumobot, RS232 level shifter, and the cables. I had the serial \n communications working at 57,600 kbps which I think is the maximum data \n rate for the Bluetooth wireless module I have. I should try a higher \n data rate and see what happens!\n

\n

\n After getting the wired serial communications working, I debugged the \n bluetooth serial communications. I used the same wire connectors and \n brought them out to a breadboard where I had placed the bluetooth \n module. I finally got it working after a lot of trial and error. Here \n are the key steps.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Connect the BlueRadios to the PC Bluetooth BlueSoleil application\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Perform a Bluetooth Device Discovery\n
    3. \n
  3. \n You have to "attach" the BluesRadio device. The passkey is "default".\n
    4. \n
  4. \n After attaching, do a service discovery.\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Next Connect the device. This should create a virtual COM port.\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Open a terminal window and open a connection to this COM port.\n
    7. \n
  7. \n You must set the baudrate, parity, and stop bits to match the current \n UART settings. Default is 9600bps, 8 Data Bits, No Parity, 1 Stop \n Bit, and hardware flow control enabled..\n
    8. \n
  8. \n Type "+++" to go into command mode. You should get an "OK" response \n back.\n
    9. \n
  9. \n Now that you are in command mode, you can configure the bluetooth \n device using "AT" commands.\n
    10. \n
  10. \n Note that for the above, you are using the remote bluetooth RF link to \n configure the device. It is also possible to connect a wire to the \n local UART and configure the device locally throught the serial port \n UART.\n
    11. \n
  11. \n ATSI,2 - Gets friendly name\n
    12. \n
  12. \n ATSI,8 - Gets current UART configuration settings\n
    13. \n
  13. \n ATSW20 236,0,0,1 - Set the baudrate to 57.6kbps\n
    14. \n
  14. \n I found that the bluetooth device was getting hung up when connected \n to the Sumobot before a bluetooth connection is established. This is \n because I am sending an ASCII stream to the local UART and the \n bluetooth device is looking for an "AT" command string. I think this \n is hanging up the bluetooth device.\n
    15. \n
  15. \n ATSW25,0,1,1,0 - To fix the above, I used the command to tell the \n UART to ignore UART data while the bluetooth is unconnected.\n
    16. \n
  16. \n ATMD - Once you have finished configuring the bluetooth device, you \n must place it back into Data mode.\n
    17. \n
\n

\n After configuring the bluetooth devices, I was able to pass serial data \n at 57.6kbps! I connected to COM4 (the bluetooth virtual COM port) using \n hyperterminal and could see the FSM and debug data output from my RCP \n program!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1043, "title": "Family Ski Day at Calabogie Peaks", "date": "2008-02-09 21:57:34.0", "content": "

\n Went on a great day ski trip to Calabogie peaks with Anne and the kids. \n There has been lots of snow again in the past couple of weeks so the \n conditions were good. We left around 8:00am and got there just before \n 9:00am. I had my GPS out and was using it to navigate. I really like \n that it shows how much further you have to go and how much time you have \n left to your destination. I also had Elizabeth's songs from her MP3 \n player and we were listening to those songs on my GPS. It was fun!\n

\n

\n The day was overcast, but not too cold. There was someone trying to get \n rid of a lift ticket for half price, so we got an adult ticket for \n $20.00. Regular price is $44.00 for an adult ticket. We also got deals \n on the other tickets with the Nortel Ski Club, and Elizabeth was free \n with her Grade 5 ski pass. All in all, a very cheap ski day! The line \n ups for the chair weren't that bad. Usually we didn't have to wait for \n more than 5 minutes.\n

\n

\n Joseph and I did our usual runs: O'Brien's Fancy, High Falls, Barrett's \n Chute, and Barnett's Cooler. Barnett's Cooler is a small run off of \n O'Brien's Fancy which isn't groomed, so there are moguls on it. Usually \n the snow conditions are marginal, but today there weren't that many bare \n patches. There were also some good moguls formed, so I got some mogul \n skiing in. It was good practice for me. I was also teaching Joseph how \n to ski the moguls. I was telling him to really bend his knees and absorb \n the bumps, but he wasn't bending at all. Oh well, we'll need to work on \n it. All of us also went to the other chair and did Black Donald.\n

\n

\n A funny thing also happened on one of our chair rides, when Anne sat on \n Elizabeth! I guess we were shifted too far over, and Anne ended up \n sitting almost on top of Elizabeth as the chair left the loading area. \n I had to hold on to Anne and get Elizabeth to wiggle herself from \n underneath and get beside Anne. We were all laughing, but it was a \n little scary since Elizabeth was pretty stuck in there...\n

\n

\n We stopped for lunch at around 11:00 and it was surprisingly crowded in \n the lodge. We were able to find some good seats near the entrance by the \n windows. After lunch we skiied for another two hours and were packing up \n shortly after 2:00pm. The drive back home was easy and the roads were \n clear. At one point we did see an SUV up on the side of the road with \n it's back up against a hill. We were wondering if he had spun out \n somehow. The highway is two lanes from Ottawa to Arnprior, and there is \n only a short 10km stretch where it is a single lane before you turn off \n to highway 508 for another half hour or so. The drive is a little longer \n than Cascades and Edelweiss.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1044, "title": "More Sumobot Bluetooth debugging", "date": "2008-02-10 23:10:23.0", "content": "

\n I was working on my Bluetooth modules some more and got it working at \n 115200kbps! To use that speed, you have to put the Bluetooth module in \n Fast Data Mode. While reading the manual, I stumbled across the way to \n put the module in that mode. First I had to re-program the Tiny \n Bootloader to use 115Kbps and also my robot control program to intialize \n the serial port at 115Kbps. Here are the steps you need to take after \n powering up the Bluetooth module:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Discover the bluetooth device using Blue Soleil\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Connect to the device. The red LED on the Bluetooth module should \n light up.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Open up a hyperterm window \n
    4. \n
  4. \n Type "+++" to get into command mode\n
    5. \n
  5. \n If Bluetooth is not already set to 115Kbps, use: ATSW20,472,0,0,1 \n (this is saved in flash so you only need to do this once)\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Type "ATMF" to get in Fast Data Mode (compare this with "ATMD" to get \n into regular/slow data mode)\n
    7. \n
  7. \n Once you go into Fast Data Mode, you can no longer get into command \n mode with "+++". You will need to power cycle the bluetooth module to \n get it out of Fast Data Mode, and "+++" to get into command mode.
    \n
    8. \n
\n

\n After I did this, I was able to get the bluetooth module to pass data at \n 115Kbps. Woo Hoo, I now have a nice fast wireless pipe for my debug \n data!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1045, "title": "Dentist appointment", "date": "2008-02-12 22:16:39.0", "content": "

\n I had my bi-annual dentist checkup today. Anne, my dental hygienist, \n said my brushing was good, but my gums were bleeding quite lot. Was it \n stress? She also said I should try using Listermint mouth wash to help \n with the germs. She also mentioned Cepacol. The advertising said it \n was not worse than (what does that mean?) Listermint, or something like \n that. However, Listermint has a longer lasting effect (which means it \n continues to kill germs longer after the initial mouth wash). Anyways, \n we have Listermint Fluoride which I'll start to use and see if that \n helps reduce my gum bleeding. After my dentist appointment, I worked \n from home.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1046, "title": "Anne's radiator car repair", "date": "2008-02-13 22:21:22.0", "content": "

\n Anne noticed some greenish drops in the snow on the driveway on Monday, \n so we brought the car into Doug's automotive. It turns out that there \n was crack in the radiator which was causing the leak. Another $550 in \n car repairs. Cha-ching!!! Wow, we've sure spent a lot of money on car \n repairs this year. It seems like there's just one repair after another \n in the past few months. Hopefully the cars are now OK and will last \n longer before needing more maintenance and repairs.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1047, "title": "Family ski day at Mont Cascades", "date": "2008-02-16 23:02:47.0", "content": "

\n This weekend we went to Mont Cascades for skiing and it turned out to be \n a perfect super sunny day. It started off really cold around -14C. We \n left for the hill around 7:45am and got there around 8:20am. We got a \n really great parking spot only two rows from the front. We were sking \n by 8:50am and were one of the first down the hills. The chairs started \n at 8:30am. The snow was really nice, and the hills were flat from \n grooming. Everyone was commenting how nice the snow was. Going up on \n the chair, you could see your own tracks. I noticed that I still did \n too much sliding and not enough carving on my turns. I'll need to work \n on that more.\n

\n

\n We skied the main chair for a while and decided to go over to the other \n side. On the small black chair, they were only using every other chair. \n I guess they were trying to lessen the load on the chair. (?) There \n was a race going on, but I was still able to ski the main run and it was \n fun. The hill is much steeper on this side, and the ski runs were \n actually getting me breathing harder and warming me up! On my first run \n down, my left ski popped off while I was doing one of my turns and I \n slid on my side when I tried to stop. We went back to the lodge for \n lunch just after 11:00am. \n

\n

\n They had moved the terrain snowboard park to the other side of the main \n run on Facade. However this blocked off the access to the trails to get \n to the Black Chair, both going to and coming back from the other side. \n So you had to ski down to the bottom of the Black chair and hike a short \n distance to get to the lodge. We skied for another 2 hours after lunch. \n This is a new routine for us now. Get to the mountain early, stop \n early for lunch, and ski for another couple of hours after lunch. Anne \n commented that she like this better too, since it breaks up the day more \n evenly.\n

\n

\n Also, surprising there weren't any crowds or line-ups at the chairs. \n Only in the later afternoon after lunch did the crowds start to build. \n We were getting spoiled from not having to wait in any line-ups so we \n were always trying to find the least busy chair. On the way back home, \n Anne suggested that we stop by Edelweiss to pick up Joseph's sweatshirt \n that he left there a couple of weeks back during the St. Paul Ski Club \n ski night. Edelweiss was packed! There seemed to be way more skiers \n there than at Mont Cascade. I just waited at the front while Anne and \n Joseph went in to get the sweatshirt. It didn't take long and less than \n 5 minutes later, they came back with Joseph having a big smile and his \n sweatshirt in a bag.\n

\n

\n On the drive home, we decided to take Maisonneuve to avoid the \n Winterlude crowds. I took Lyon to the Queensway. This street has HUGE, \n HUGE speed bumps on it. I'll have to find a better route. Perhaps \n Bronson is better to get to the Queensway. I think taking Maissoneuve \n is a good route, since it avoids a lot of the downtown. I just need to \n find a good route to the Queensway from Wellington and the Parkway. \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1048, "title": "Guitar Pro 5", "date": "2008-02-17 22:24:33.0", "content": "

\n I found this cool application called Guitar Pro 5 which lets you enter \n music in tab and music notation format and then plays it (like a midi \n player). You can change the tempo and even the instruments! You can \n search for songs in Guitar Pro format just like searching for Guitar \n Tab. I also downloaded someone's whole collection of Guitar Pro songs \n from Azureus. There's hundred's of songs in there. I've been using \n Guitar Pro to learn a new guitar song called "Classical Gas" by Mason \n Williams. This is so cool. I can slow it way down and learn the \n fingering and strumming/plucking. I equate it to learning a song using \n my 4 track recorder and trying to slow the music so that I could keep up \n with it. Only with this method it is so easy to change the tempo. \n There's no key change or funny sounds.\n

\n

\n I had found this "Classical Gas" song a few years ago and tried to learn \n it, but it was so complicated. And when I listened to the song and \n looked at the tab, I just couldn't keep up and relate the music to the \n tab. However, with this application I can slow it way down and follow \n along with the tab. There's a cursor that shows which note is currently \n being played. I've had it at 0.25 times normal speed and that is slow \n enough that I can follow even a complicated section of the song. I've \n learned the first page a few weeks ago, and now I'm working on the \n second page. I'll have to think of other songs I want to learn, and \n this method will make it so much easier! It's fun! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1049, "title": "Unlocking Garmin maps for GPS", "date": "2008-02-18 22:14:08.0", "content": "

\n I had bought a Garmin eTrex Venture Cx GPS unit last spring which we \n used on our summer vacation. However, Garmin has a method for locking \n their maps, and I was only able to use the MetroGuide North America v7 \n map, since it didn't need an unlock code. Last December, I ran across a \n keygen for the Garmin maps that works for my unit too! Originally I \n think the keygen was used for the Garmin Mobile XT application, but it \n can be used for any Garmin Mapsource map.\n

\n

\n In order to use the keygen, you'll need the "Unit ID" for your GPS and \n you'll need the "Map ID" for the map you're trying to unlock. My eTrex \n VentureCX unit id is: "3341810275".\n

\n

\n I had a hard time finding the Map ID for the City Navigator North \n America V8, until I ran across an easy way to find it using a registry \n entry. Here are the instructions for finding your map id:\n

\n
\n NOTE: If your map is not included in the Map product list, select \n <custom mapset>, enter the corresponding MapID and hit OK.\n
\n
\n If you are not sure about your MapID, install it first into the \n MapSource, open regedit and browse for one of the following keys:\n
\n
\n [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Garmin\\Mapsource\\Families\\<YOUR MAP>]\n
\n
\n or\n
\n
\n [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Garmin\\Mapsource\\Product\\<YOUR MAP>]\n
\n
\n and check the "ID" REG_BINARY. That is your MapID (in HEX). You have to \n convert it from HEX to decimal (do not forget to reverse the byte order \n when coverting).\n
\n

\n For the Map "City Navigator North America v8", the Map ID is 0xAA = 176.\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1051, "title": "Connecting Sony Clie PDA to Windows Vista", "date": "2008-02-19 22:52:17.0", "content": "

\n Anne came to me and asked me to connect her Sony Clie PDA to her laptop. \n Unfortunately, the software I had for the Clie did not work on Vista, \n and Sony didn't have any updated software that would work on Vista. I \n did a search on google and found some forums that said this PDA would \n not work on Vista. I found somewhere that an application called \n XTNDConnect would work, but it still needed the right USB drivers to \n talk to the PDA.\n

\n

\n After more searching, I found that the Palm Desktop application had the \n drivers I needed to connect the Sony Clie PDA to Vista. I downloaded \n the Palm Desktop application, installed it on Anne's PC, connected up \n the PDA and it worked! Woo Hoo! I was able to sync up Anne's outlook \n calendar and contacts to the PDA. I've copied the Palm Desktop \n application to the Apps installation folder on PaulsPC2 in case I'll \n need to install it again on Anne's PC or on some other machine. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1052, "title": "Learning new songs on Piano and Guitar", "date": "2008-02-22 23:07:39.0", "content": "

\n I've been trying to learn new songs on both the piano and guitar. I had \n mentioned in a previuos entry that I'm trying to learn the "Classical \n Gas" song by Mason Williams. It's a really cool guitar instrumental \n song. I'm using Guitar Pro 5 to slow the song way down and learning one \n section at a time. The song is super fast and I don't know if I'll ever \n play the song at regular speed, but the song still sounds pretty good \n even when slowed down. I'm pretty proficient at the first two pages \n now, and am working on the third page. I've even plugged my acoustic \n into my amp and played the song using the amp and it sounds cool!!!\n

\n

\n The other song I'm learning is "Minuet in G-Minor" by Johan Sebastian \n Bach. I already learned the "Minuet in G", and this song is similar. I \n really like the Melody of this song. It has a brooding feel to the \n song. A little haunting and melancholy. I guess because it's in a \n minor key that it invokes these feelings. Joseph learned this song as \n part of his piano lessons, and I liked it so much that I wanted to learn \n it too. The way I learn a piano song is to slow the tempo way down and \n get the fingering and timing exactly right. Then as I get to know the \n song and reading the notes more quickly, I can speed up the tempo. \n

\n

\n This is in contrast to the way the kids seem to learn the song where \n they play at a fast tempo and just keep making mistakes over and over. \n I was thinking that this just reinforces the mistakes that they make and \n there's a lot of going back and correcting mis-played notes. By slowing \n the tempo down, you give yourself time to think about the right \n fingering and timing and play the song correctly all the time. You \n still make mistakes, but it gets easier to correct as you learn the \n song, and you get to the point where you can play the song perfectly, \n although at a slower tempo. All the while, you are reinforcing playing \n the song correctly.\n

\n

\n Joseph had left his music book at his lessons last week, but I had \n played the song enough that I have memorized the song. That's another \n benefit, is that as you play each section, and learn each section \n perfectly, you seem to automatically memorize the notes. So, even \n though I didn't have the music, I was still able to practice the song \n because I had it memorized. \n

\n

\n Another thing I've been practicing on the piano are scales. I'm \n practicing the two octave scales for the keys of C, G, F, and D. At \n first it was hard to used to the right fingering and the constantly \n shifting hand positions, but I'm starting to get better at it. I've got \n the C scale down, since it's so easy with no flats or sharps. The G \n scale with an F# is next. It has the same fingering as C, but I have to \n watch the F#. Then there's the F scale with a B-flat. The fingering \n for this is different in that I have to hit the B-flat with my fourth \n finger and then tuck my thumb under. Normally you tuck your thumb under \n your 3rd finger and then your 4th finger. With the F scale you tuck \n your thumb under your 4th, then your 3rd finger, then your 4th finger \n again. At the end of the scale, you end up with the F root note under \n your 4th finger instead of ending up with the root note on your pinky. \n I've never developed my skill at playing scales and this is really good \n practice for me!\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1053, "title": "Family Ski Day at Calabogie Peaks", "date": "2008-02-23 23:08:26.0", "content": "

\n We went to Calabogie Peaks today for skiing. We left around 7:45am and \n got there at 8:50am. The trip is about an hour and 5 minutes. I could \n have gone a little faster on the small highway to Calabogie, but you \n often get stuck behind some slower traffic. It was a beautiful sunny \n day with a high around -5 degrees C. There hasn't been any new snow, so \n in the morning the runs had very granular snow and the chunks were rock \n hard so it was difficult to edge and get a grip with your ski edges. \n During the latter part of the day, there was lots of ice and on the \n steep pitches it was really hard to turn and control your speed.\n

\n

\n One of my favourite runs, Barnett's Cooler was open and Joseph and I \n went down several times. During one run he even filmed me with his \n digital camera. The quality is pretty poor, but at least I have some \n video of me skiing a mogul run. The other good run down the chair with \n a steep pitch and moguls was closed due to race course set up on it. \n Too bad, I enjoy skiing on that run. We did our usual schedule of \n skiing two hours in the morning, and then stopping for lunch. On the \n last run before lunch, we stopped to get hot chocolate at Juniper \n Junction. This is a new run on the far chair. It goes right by the new \n condos being built. I overheard some people talking and found out that \n the condos are going for around low 300's. Yikes, $300,000 for a \n townhouse/condo by the ski hill. That's pretty steep.\n

\n

\n After lunch we skied for another two hours and started heading out \n around 2:00pm. Elizabeth said she was tired and didn't join us for our \n last run. I also found out later that Anne had a bad fall during her \n first run of the day. She eventually got some bruises from that fall! \n We had our usual car cafe on the way home and I had lots of water and \n trail mix. Also, we stopped at DQ and got "appreciated". It was \n customer appreciation day at our Dairy Queen, and we stopped to get some \n treats. I ordered a banana split and it was yummy!\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1055, "title": "WK09-01 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-02-25 22:43:37.0", "content": "

\n Well, it has been a while coming, but I did my first training session \n for 2008! I had signed up for the Marathon over a week ago (Feb 14th) to \n take advantage of the discount for early registration. However, it took \n me a while longer to actually get out and start training!\n

\n

\n I started off on the treadmill. I had read last year's entries and \n realized I started off at too fast a pace when I kicked off my training \n program. This year, I'll focus more on my heart rate and keep the effort \n level and heart rate around 137 bpm. That way I'll stay well within my \n aerobic zone and hopefully not strain my body as much as last year's \n training ramp up.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 5.2km, total time: 0:43:00, average pace: \n 8:13mins/km, average heart rate: 142bpm.\n

\n

\n After the run, I went for a swim. It has been over 2 months since I've \n gone swimming, so I expected to feel slow and rusty. It wasn't too bad, \n though. My balance felt good, although my arms felt tired pretty \n quickly. I need to get endurance back into my arms! My breathing was \n probably not that efficient. I think I was lifting my head too much and \n really causing a drag, slowing me down. I was pleased that I was able to \n keep swimming at a relaxed pace and not get too out of breath. \n All-in-all, a very good swim.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 19 - 100m laps (1.9km), total time: 1:03:31, average pace: \n 3:21mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1056, "title": "WK09-02 Run", "date": "2008-02-26 23:11:10.0", "content": "

\n I went on a treadmill run tonight at Walter Baker. I had to pick Joseph \n up at 8:30pm after his ski club ski trip, so I had to finish my workout \n after my run and I wasn't able to go swimming. Keeping the pace nice \n and easy, as I build up my endurance. However, I started to get the \n discomfort on the ball of my left foot, so that's really disappointing. \n I really need to watch this so I don't develop a stress fracture again. \n I wonder if I should change shoes and see if that helps.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 6.8km, total time: 0:52:30, average pace: \n 7:43mins/km, average heart rate: 138bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1058, "title": "WK09-04 Elliptical and Swim", "date": "2008-02-28 22:15:05.0", "content": "

\n Went to Walter Baker and did an elliptical workout. I decided to go on \n the elliptical machine so that I can build up my mileage without too \n much strain on my joints and bones. This is a low impact activity so I \n believe this will help. I could really feel the burn in my thighs! It \n was a really good workout and I think I'll continue to mix the \n elliptical machine into my training regiment. I picked a course that \n had two "hills". I'll have to experiment with the different courses.\n

\n

\n Elliptical stats: total time: 0:56:08, average heart rate: 137bpm. \n

\n

\n After, I went for a swim workout. It was after 8:05pm by the time I \n finished my elliptical workout, so I had to hurry down and get changed \n for my swim workout. It felt a little harder this workout than the one \n a couple of nights ago. I counted my strokes and it was 24-25 spl. Not \n too bad, since I don't push off the wall and don't get a long glide at \n the start. I also started to get a wicked headache after my swim \n workout. I've had these before and I'm attributing them to not having \n enough carbs in my body to replace the ones I burn during the workout. \n At home the headache just got worse and I even felt nauseous. I went to \n bed early.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 14 - 100m laps (1.4km), total time: 0:46:28, average pace: \n 3:19mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1059, "title": "Nortel Family Ski Night at Edelweiss", "date": "2008-02-29 23:17:47.0", "content": "

\n This Friday night, we went to the Nortel Family Ski Night at Edelweiss. \n We did this last year and had a lot of fun, so we decided to do it again \n this year. I worked from home Friday, Anne picked up the kids after \n school, and we left early for the ski hill at around 3:00pm. The \n traffic to go through downtown was pretty light. I took the route down \n Rochester, across the EB Eddy bridge, left on Tache, right on Montcalm, \n and then right onto highway 50. This really seemed like a good route to \n take. I'll have to think of taking this route again to see what it's \n like when we go skiing in the morning.\n

\n

\n It was a cold night for skiing, probably -15C or even colder with the \n windchill. I even got an "ice cream" headache from the cold. Then Anne \n reminded me to close my vent on my helmet and that helped a lot! We \n skied from just after 4:000pm to 6:00pm. We stopped for dinner at \n 6:00pm at the lodge, and we had chicken wings, nachos, and some veggies. \n We skied for another 1:30hours and then stopped so we could go tubing. \n Tubing was a lot of fun, except at the end where there weren't enough \n tubes. I got upset at the workers there for not getting enough tubes to \n the top. They were actually putting away the tubes! Anne got me to \n calm down, and I just forgot everything after that. This was a family \n night and we were having a great time!!! It was around 9:10pm by the \n time we started heading home. The snow was really coming down by then \n and it was good that I had some cars to follow on the way home. Lots of \n blowing snow and it was hard to see the lines on the road. Despite the \n poor road conditions, it was a relatively easy drive back home, and we \n were home by 10:00pm. Another excellent family ski night! \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1060, "title": "WK10-4 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-03-06 22:53:19.0", "content": "

\n My marathon training has begun with a sputtering start... I had planned \n on working out on Tuesday night, but I forgot to bring running shoes! I \n was actually driving down Cedarview and was almost at Fallowfield, when \n I realized that I didn't throw my runners into my gym bag. I wanted to \n try my other running shoes, so I took out the Asics, but I forgot to put \n in the Saucony shoes. By the time I got back home it was after 7:15pm \n and I had to go pick up Joseph at 8:30, so I just decided to stay home.\n

\n

\n Tonight, Elizabeth had her dance, Joseph was away on his Toronto/Niagara \n trip, and I went to Walter Baker for my workout. I had another easy \n tempo run. The shoes felt good and I didn't have any major aches or \n pains. I was noticing with my Asics that my left foot does a funny \n "flick" when I stride forward. With the Saucony shoes, this doesn't \n happen. I'm going to stick with the Saucony shoes, but I'm going to \n look for new running shoes. I think I'll get another pair of Nike Air \n Pegasus. I seem to do well with those shoes. For the run, I wore my \n heart rate monitor as usual, but I forgot to bring my data recorder. I \n just timed the 1 mile intervals and also had the average heart rate for \n the intervals. I've recorded this in my training log.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 8.0km, total time: 1:00:41, average pace: \n 7:35mins/km, average heart rate: 139bpm. \n

\n

\n After, I went for a swim workout. I'm still slow, and I don't think I'm \n as efficient as when I was swimming regularly. My strength and stamina \n in my arms is not great. I'll need to build them up again. Despite all \n this, my swim still feels pretty good. Nice easy relaxed pace, and I'm \n not breathing hard at all. Heart rate is around 30-32 beats for 15 \n seconds.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 12 - 100m laps (1.2km), total time: 0:38:39, average pace: \n 3:13mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1061, "title": "Huge Snowfall! and start of our March Break ski trip", "date": "2008-03-09 22:17:06.0", "content": "

\n Well, what a start for our March break ski trip to Sutton. This whole \n weekend has seen a huge amount of snowfall. In the end, I believe it was \n over 50cm! I grabbed my Nikon camera and took a whole bunch of pictures. \n You couldn't even really tell where the road was. Sunday morning, \n Elizabeth was to go to a soccer practice, but our street wasn't plowed \n so we didn't go. I ended up spending about 2.5 hours shoveling our \n driveway with Anne. Elizabeth had a birthday party at 1:00pm that she \n really wanted to go to. We tried to drive down our street, but I kept \n getting stuck. I followed a path that Tig had snowblowed to get to \n Gerry's house, but after that, my car kept getting stuck. The snow was \n higher than the bottom of my car! I found out later that snow was going \n up the bottom part of my grill under the bumper and was pushing up \n against my radiator. The small fins on my radiator were getting bent! I \n ended up putting a plastic cover over the bottom part of my grill to \n prevent snow from getting to the radiator.\n

\n

\n So I ended up backing up and going back into our driveway. Sorry, sweet \n sweets, we couldn't get you to your birthday party... :-( We spent the \n rest of the afternoon packing our ski stuff and getting ready for the \n ski trip. We had earlier seen the plow go by on foothills, but it never \n ended up going down our street. Around 5:00pm, I walked down our street \n and talked with Robin our neighbour at the end of the street. I told \n them that we were leaving for our March break ski trip, and I was \n thinking of shoveling a path on the road in order to get out. Robin \n said she would help! So we shoveled a path on the road so that cars \n could get out. We successfully got out!\n

\n

\n By the time I filled up gas, we were on the highway around 5:45pm. It \n was a good drive all the way to Sutton. The roads were well plowed so \n the roads were in good condition. My Omnitech GPS said to take exit 74, \n but Joseph's Streets and Trips said take exit 68. We took exit 68 to \n Cowansville following highway 139 all the way to Sutton. We didn't see \n our hotel at first and had to turn around, but we eventually found the \n hotel and checked in. It's a very nice room with a kitchenette and \n fireplace. It was just before 9:00pm when we got to condo so the total \n drive was just around 3:00 hours. This would be our home base for the \n next week as we go on our daily ski trips. Woo Hoo! \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1062, "title": "Awesome March break ski trip!", "date": "2008-03-15 22:37:21.0", "content": "

\n We've arrived home from our excellent ski trip to Sutton. I've written \n a trip diary, so I've put all the details in there. We ended up skiing \n 5 days: 2 at Mont Sutton, and 1 each at Bromont, Owl's Head, and Jay \n Peak. We had really sunny days at Bromont and Jay Peak. Jay Peak is a \n huge mountain with amazing 360 degree views. Bromont is also a large \n mountain with two summits and skiing on both sides of the mountain. I \n was alway disoriented and could never get my bearings. I brought my new \n Jazz camera which takes both videos and pictures. The quality isn't \n that great, but at least it's a small all-in-one device. I took lots of \n pictures with some video. Joseph also brought his Canon camera and took \n lots of pictures too!\n

\n

\n Leaving Mont Sutton yesterday, I was able to pack the skis with the ski \n bags and boots on top. I had Anne's skis with Elizabeth's on top. I \n left the empty part of the ski bag towards the front of the box. Next \n to that I put my skis, again with the empty part of the bag towards the \n front. Next I had Joseph's skis that were sitting up (one ski on the \n bottom the other on the top, instead of side by side). This is the best \n way for Joseph to stick his skis into his bag. By having the skis like \n this, there is a bit of space to put the boots in the middle on top of \n my skis. There is also space at the back of the box to put Joseph's \n boots, and then Anne's boots on top. I then had my boots and finally \n Elizabeth's boots nearer to the front. Somehow, I was able to close the \n box lid with all that stuff in it! \n

\n

\n On Saturday, we packed up the rest of our stuff and headed into town for \n Crepes. We had been trying to eat at the Creperie restaurant for the \n last few days, but they were always closed. This morning they were \n open! I had a breakfast crepe with tomatoes, bacon, and mushrooms. \n After, Anne and the kids had dessert crepes and I just shared with them. \n They were yummy! \n

\n

\n We left Sutton around 12:00pm and arrived home around 3:00pm. Another \n good drive with no problems. We took a little bit different route home \n going closer to Bromont and entering the highway at exit #74. We had \n taken this same highway when driving home from Bromont to Sutton. It's \n in better condition than #215, and even has some passing lanes on it. \n One thing I found is that some of the Quebec highways are in pretty bad \n shape. The road to Owl's Head is particularly bad. It was nice to be \n back home after our awesome March break ski trip! \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1063, "title": "WK11-7 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-03-16 23:12:27.0", "content": "

\n Well, it has been 10 days since my last workout. It had snowed really \n heavily on the weekend before we left for our March break ski trip, so I \n didn't venture out to go for my workout. We just arrived back yesterday \n afternoon from our trip, and I didn't feel like going on a run. \n However, today, I must workout! I wanted to go on a long run, even \n though I haven't been running consistently. I need to start getting my \n long runs in!\n

\n

\n I got to Walter Baker around 1:00pm and started my run workout. Kept an \n easy pace around 5.1mph and my heart rate steady around 137-139bpm. \n However towards the end of my run, my heart rate really started to \n drift. I think it's from not hydrating enough, and therefore my blood \n volume was going down. My heart had to pump more often to compensate \n for this. That's my explanation anyways... By the end of the run, my \n heart rate was up to 147-148bpm!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 16.0km, total time: 1:59:40, average pace: \n 7:29mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm. \n

\n

\n After, I went for another nice easy swim. I'm not leaving much time for \n my swim workouts, since I'm arriving fairly late. However the focus is \n really on my running and training for the marathon at this point, so \n that's OK. I'll balance out the bike and swim training after the \n marathon race in May.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 12 - 100m laps (1.2km), total time: 0:41:13, average pace: \n 3:26mins/100m.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1064, "title": "WK12-1 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-03-17 22:16:38.0", "content": "

\n Wow, working out two days in a row! I decided to work out again today, \n to try and catch up in my training. However, I'll need to be very, very \n careful about not over stressing my body and getting injured. I'll have \n to walk a fine line between ramping up my training quickly to get into \n shape and over doing my training and getting injured. I ended up \n pushing the pace and my heart rate climbed slightly to 143bpm at the end \n of the run. After, I went for another short swim workout.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 8.0km, total time: 0:56:32, average pace: \n 7:04mins/km, average heart rate: 139bpm.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 11 - 100m laps (1.1km), total time: 0:35:40, average pace: \n 3:15mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1065, "title": "WK12-3 Run", "date": "2008-03-19 22:34:47.0", "content": "

\n Went to Walter Baker to do a run on the treadmill. On Wednesdays, the \n leisure swim time is from 6:00-7:30pm, so I don't get a chance to do a \n swim after the run. Had another relaxing run, without pushing myself \n too hard. Set my pace to 5.3mph and my heart rate was around \n 137-138bpm. Can feel a slight pain on the outside of my right knee. \n However, it didn't last and seems to go away after a while. I will need \n to watch this closely.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 12.9km, total time: 1:32:52, average pace: \n 7:13mins/km, average heart rate: 138bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1066, "title": "WK12-6 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-03-22 23:07:27.0", "content": "

\n I was still sore from my run on Wednesday so I decided not to run on \n Thursday. My hip joints are sore, which is a bit disconcerting. I \n really need to make sure I don't get any overuse injurys! Friday was \n Good Friday and a holiday. We went to church at 3:00pm, and I never got \n out for a workout. So Saturday, I went for another run and swim. \n Tomorrow was Easter Sunday, and we were hosting the family Easter \n dinner, so I decided to do my long run today, since I probably wouldn't \n have any time to do a workout on Sunday.\n

\n

\n I got to Walter Baker around 12:50pm. I was debating what distance I \n should run. I didn't want to ramp up too fast, and since my training \n has been very sparse up to now, it meant that my distance couldn't be \n too long. I decided that 12-13 miles (around 20km) would be a good \n target. Kept my pace easy as usual at 5.2mph. My heart rate was nice \n and steady, and increased slowly as the distance and time went on. It's \n interesting to see that the point at which my heart rate starts to \n increase is further into my run. Last week's long run, my heart rate \n increased around the 6 mile mark, going from ~140bpm, and ending at \n ~148bpm at the 10mile mark. In today's run, my heart rate didn't \n increase until around the 10mile mark, going from ~140bpm to 144bpm at \n the 13 mile mark. The last few miles were difficult as expected. I \n could feel the soreness in my legs as my muscles got depleted of carbs \n and energy (just like at the end of the marathon). During the run, I \n also got soreness on the outside of my right knee, and under the kneecap \n of my left knee. I also started to feel some pain on the left shin. \n This is a new one. I'll need to continually watch these aches and pains \n closely.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 20.8km, total time: 2:33:35, average pace: \n 7:23mins/km, average heart rate: 137bpm. \n

\n

\n Since I ran for over 2.5 hours, and I started my training session a \n little late, I didn't get down for my swim until 3:45pm. Luckily, the \n swim session went until 4:30pm. I had thought that maybe it ended at \n 4:00pm. Still, I didn't have too much time to get some swim laps in. \n The swim felt pretty good. My legs were totally relaxed with a very \n small kick. I didn't get any cramps in my legs which is good, since \n they were totally bagged from my run. It did hurt to walk since my feet \n were sore. My first few laps during the swim usually feel really good. \n I think my stroke is fairly strong, and it seems easy to breath. \n Further into my swim, my breathing doesn't seem as smooth or easy. \n After a quick 9 - 100m laps, I jumped into the hot tub to try and \n massage my muscles after a long training session. This does seem to \n help the muscle soreness!\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 9 - 100m laps (0.9km), total time: 0:29:16, average pace: \n 3:15mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1067, "title": "WK13-2 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-03-25 22:26:09.0", "content": "

\n Skipped my workout on Monday. Still felt tired. After dinner, I layed \n down on the couch and fell asleep. By the time I woke up from my \n impromptu nap, I didn't feel like going for my workout. I was going to \n spend some time working on my robots, but I didn't do that either. In \n the end, I just vegged and watched TV for a couple of hours. Tonight I \n went for my usual workout at Walter Baker. I didn't start my run until \n after 7:15pm. I wanted to run for at least an hour, so I that meant I \n was going to have a short swim session again.\n

\n

\n For some reason, today I felt like picking up the pace a bit. I \n certainly did that. My heart rate was high, around 144-145bpm at the \n end of my run. I also wore my new Asics 1100 runners which I had bought \n last summer. I'm going to try experimenting with changing/rotating \n through my runners often. I'm hoping that this will help reduce the \n probability of getting overuse injuries. We'll see. At the beginning \n of my run, I had a real sore spot at the bottom of my left big toe, \n right above the ball of my foot. I was a worried that these new runners \n didn't have enough padding at the front of the shoe and that's what was \n causing my left foot to be sore. However, after a while, the pain \n disappeared. Hopefully, it's just my feet trying to get used to the new \n shoes! The heel absorption of this new shoe, however, feels really nice \n and cushiony!\n

\n

\n In terms of aches and pains, other than the left toe/ball of foot, there \n wasn't too much else to report. The outside of my right knee is a \n little sore, but just barely noticeable. Same thing with the bottom of \n the left knee, just under the knee cap. Towards the end of my run, as I \n kept up a quick pace, I did feel a little soreness in my hamstrings. \n For my pacing, I quickly got to 5.0mph, then went to 5.5, 5.6, and \n finally finished my last mile at 5.8mph. The pacing had me breathing \n hard, but I didn't feel like I was really pushing myself too hard. My \n heart rate was around 139-140, and climbed up to 144-145 towards the \n end. I was still able to drink from my water bottle at this pace. \n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 8.0km, total time: 0:54:32, average pace: \n 6:49mins/km, average heart rate: 141bpm. \n

\n

\n Right after my run, I quickly went down and changed into my swim trunks. \n By the time I showered and got in the pool it was almost 8:20pm. I had \n a quick first lap as usual and then settled down to my easy pace. \n However, at times I felt tired and my pull was weak. Looking back at my \n split times, though, I wasn't as slow as I thought. I counted my \n strokes and was around 25-26 spl which is OK. I ended up doing 9 - 100m \n laps before jumping out of the pool and jumping into the hot tub. I \n tried massaging my leg muscles with the jets. I stayed in the hot tub \n for around 5:00 minutes, before heading into the shower and going home. \n

\n

\n Swim stats: 9 - 100m laps (0.9km), total time: 0:28:00, average pace: \n 3:07mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1068, "title": "WK13-3 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-03-26 22:47:40.0", "content": "

\n Walter Baker only has a leisure swim session from 6:00-7:30pm tonight. \n Since I still wanted to swim after my run, I decided to go to the \n Pinecrest pool. They have a swim session from 8:30-9:30pm. I wanted to \n run around 1hr 30mins, so if I could start my run around 7:00pm, then \n that's a plan! Unfortunately, I was dilly-dallying after dinner. I layed \n down on the couch for 10minutes, and was slow to get all my stuff ready. \n By the time I was ready for my run at the treadmill, it was 7:20pm. I \n adjusted my plan to just run until 8:30pm.\n

\n

\n The treadmills at Pinecrest are older than the ones at Walter Baker. \n That's to say, they're not as nice. But they're functional. I warmed up \n for a few minutes and then set the speed to 5.5mph. This is a bit faster \n than my normal easy pace. Subsequently, my heart rate was higher at \n around 140bpm, and climbed higher from there. I took my usual drink \n breaks every 20 minutes. I was really sweating throughout my run and I \n had to wipe off the sweat from my forehead with my hands and wipe my \n hands on the back of my shorts. I didn't develop the pain at the ball of \n my left foot like my run yesterday. In fact, I didn't really get any \n pains at all. Perhaps a little soreness on my left knee, but very light. \n It ended up that I ran 7 miles and finished around 8:35pm. Not bad.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 11.2km, total time: 1:16:08, average pace: \n 6:48mins/km, average heart rate: 143bpm.\n

\n

\n I quickly changed and was at the pool by 8:40pm. There was hardly anyone \n there, so I didn't have to dodge any swimmers. After my first split, I \n was surprised how fast it was. I swam my first 100m in 2:47.9, which for \n me is fast. This just shows how short the Pinecrest pool is compared to \n Walter Baker (25 yards vs 25 meters). Due to this, my split times are 20 \n seconds faster. I was able to keep this pace up for the whole swim \n session! There were times when my pull felt really strong. Especially in \n instances where I wanted to speed up and pass someone. However, I really \n do notice that my left arm pull is much weaker then my right arm pull. \n I'm going to have to do some arm exercises to increase my pull strength! \n I was watching a guy in the fast swim lane next to me, and he was moving \n so fast when he stroked. Wow! If only I could develop that strength... \n I also counted my strokes and it was around 22spl. This is compared to \n the 26spl at Walter Baker. This stroke differential also accounts for \n the ~5secs difference in the 25m lap time, since I do about 1 sec/stroke.\n

\n

\n It was a really good swim. I went at a fairly fast pace, and I felt good \n the whole way. I rarely felt out of breath and when I did, I just \n relaxed and tried not to exert too much. This brought me back to a \n relaxed state, breathing easy, and feeling good again.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 17 - 100m laps (1.7km), total time: 0:47:30, average pace: \n 2:48mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1069, "title": "WK13-4 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-03-27 22:18:41.0", "content": "

\n Went to Walter Baker for my run and swim workout. I had a late start \n again, so both workouts were fairly short. Tried to pick up the pace on \n my run since it was short. Swim was nice and easy, although I noticed \n my times were still pretty good at around 3:00mins/100m.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 6.4km, total time: 0:44:53, average pace: \n 7:01mins/km, average heart rate: 133bpm.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 12 - 100m laps (1.2km), total time: 0:35:49, average pace: \n 2:59mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1070, "title": "WK13-6 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-03-29 23:09:57.0", "content": "

\n I decided to do my long run today, since I wasn't sure if I would be \n able to do it on Sunday. My long run last week was 13 miles so I was \n planning on doing 15-16 miles on today's long run. Anne and Elizabeth \n had a dance practice to go to Saturday morning, so it was just Joseph \n and I at home. I ate an early lunch (leftover salmon, yum!) and prepared \n my Gatorade drinks. I had a full waterbottle, and an extra container. My \n plan was to run until my water bottle was empty, then take a quick \n break, go down to the locker room and re-fill my water bottle for the \n rest of my run. I also brought a small handtowel to wipe sweat off my \n forehead. This worked really well.\n

\n

\n I got to Walter Baker just before noon and started my run. It was \n crowded, and I ended up using treadmill #2. I think the platform on this \n one is a bit stiffer and doesn't have as much give. I also wore my \n Saucony runners. (I'm going to continue to rotate through all my \n runners.) I'm not sure if I started off too quickly, but my heart rate \n seemed high from the beginning and just stayed fairly high. My pace was \n 5.2mph, and I just kept it there. I ran for 9 miles before I had to take \n my break to re-fill my water bottle. I quickly went downstairs, \n re-filled my water bottle, took a bathroom break, and went back into the \n exercise room. I decided to use treadmill #1 for the rest of my run. I \n set the speed to 5.2mph, and continued running. I'm not sure if the \n speeds on the two treadmills are different, but my heart rate stayed low \n (around 133bpm) at this speed. I bumped up the speed to 5.3mph and my \n heart rate went up slightly. However, it still felt quite easy. Nice! I \n wasn't breathing very hard. I ran for another 7 miles for a total of 16 \n miles. At the end, my heart rate had climed to 138-139bpm. Near the end \n of my run, I could feel a twinge in my right hamstring, right behind my \n knee. I think my hamstrings were getting really tired and maybe I had a \n slight pull on my hamstring. Other than that, there wasn't any pain. \n Excellent long run!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 25.6km, total time: 3:04:21, average pace: \n 7:12mins/km, average heart rate: 138bpm.\n

\n

\n After my long run, I changed and went for a swim. I didn't know how I \n would fare on the swim, but I was pleasantly surprised. I ended up \n swimming for 45 minutes at a nice easy pace. I didn't really feel my \n legs at all, since I used a real easy kick. There were some times that \n it felt like I was going to get a cramp in my leg, but I just tried to \n relax my legs. I never did get a cramp.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 15 - 100m laps (1.5km), total time: 0:46:12, average pace: \n 3:05mins/100m.\n

\n

\n After the swim, I went into the hot tub to help relax and massage the \n muscles. I haven't really felt sore after any of my workouts this year, \n and I'm thinking that doing a relaxed swim and then going into the hot \n tub is a key to this. The easy swim helps remove all the lactate and \n build up from the muscles, and the hot tub also helps massage the \n muscles. We'll see as I go into my longer runs outside if I develop any \n soreness, since I won't be swimming or going to the hot tub. Maybe, I'll \n drive there afterwards just to be able to jump into the pool or hot tub!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1072, "title": "Manang Florinda passed away", "date": "2008-03-30 22:08:46.0", "content": "

\n On Friday, Anne tried to get a hold of me on the phone, but got all \n choked up and couldn't leave a message. She told me to read an e-mail \n she had just sent. It was an e-mail from Manong Andrew informing family \n and friends that Manang Florinda had passed away. I couldn't believe \n it! How very, very sad. She seemed to be doing well when we were there \n a couple of years ago. The Costales family has always been close to our \n Family. I remember Manong Andrew stayed at our house a couple of times \n when he was a student at University of Washington and visiting Vancouver \n to see Manang Florinda. For some reason I remember him in our living \n room with us playing games and having a good time. I am planning to \n travel to Vancouver to attend the funeral.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1073, "title": "WK14-1 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-03-31 23:34:16.0", "content": "

\n Didn't get out on a run on Sunday, so it was a good thing that I did my \n long run on Saturday. Today I went to Walter Baker for another run and \n swim workout. I wore my Asics Gel Nimbus runners. At the start of my \n run, I could feel pain right away on the ball of my foot. What is up \n with these shoes that cause this pain? After a while, the pain did fade \n away, but I'm still worried that these shoes don't get along with my \n feet. I could feel the cushioning of the shoes, but it doesn't seem to \n be any better than the other shoes. These Asics runners were really \n expensive too (around $150, I think).\n

\n

\n I used treadmill #1. I tried to slowly ramp up my pace. I started \n around 4.5mph and after several minutes I bumped it up by 0.1mph every \n minute. I ended up averaging 4.7mph (12:49) for the first mile. I ran \n 4 miles in total, ramping up the pace to 5.5, 5.6, and 5.8mph. 5.8mph \n seems fast and I was breathing a little harder than normal, but my heart \n rate was still reasonable.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 6.4km, total time: 0:44:47, average pace: \n 7:00mins/km, average heart rate: 135bpm. \n

\n

\n I went out too fast on my swim and got those doubting feelings again, \n where I'm thinking I'm never going to be able to do a triathlon and \n wondering why I even train... I get into this state because I'm not \n being comfortable in the water, I'm feeling tired, and not strong at \n all. However, once I settle down, I feel normal again and I'm able to \n swim for a long distance. Did my usual hot tub routine after my swim \n workout.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 11 - 100m laps (1.1km), total time: 0:33:19, average pace: \n 3:02mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1074, "title": "Practice your music slowly", "date": "2008-04-02 08:38:51.0", "content": "

\n I was listening to CBC classical music radio this morning while driving \n from work and there was an interesting comment on practicing music. \n Itzak Perlman was speaking to a group of students from Julliard (I think \n this is a prestigious music school in NY). He said "I have two words for \n you: 'practice slowly'." When I heard this I laughed because this is \n exactly what I told the kids when practicing their piano. You need to \n teach your brain to do things right. If you keep making mistakes over \n and over, then you're practicing the mistakes and teaching the brain the \n mistakes!\n

\n

\n The radio announcer went on to discuss some researcher doing a study on \n what they called "tip of the tongue (TOT)" syndrome. That's where you \n can picture something, but just can't get the word out. The conclusion \n was that the longer you spent trying to get the word out, the worse you \n will perform, when asked about the same word several weeks later. If you \n get stuck with 'TOT', then consult a dictionary or use some other method \n of trying to determine the word, rather than struggle yourself and \n 'practicing' not knowing...\n

\n

\n I did a quick search on the internet and found this article. The text \n box on the bottom has some advice on "practicing slowly".\n

\n

\n http://www.stringsmagazine.com/issues/Strings121/coverstory.html \n

\n

\n I've copied the text below, in case the link disappears:\n

\n
\n \n
\n
\n Advice from the Maestro\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n Old joke: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. \n But according to Itzhak Perlman, that’s exactly the wrong way to get to \n Juilliard or other competitive schools.\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n "Whenever a student asks me for my autograph," he claims, "I don’t say, \n ‘Best wishes.’ I say, ‘Practice slowly!’ Practicing is really the main \n component in achieving something very satisfying when you play any \n stringed instrument, but the problem with practice is sometimes people \n put in the time, they’ve practiced four hours, five hours a day, and \n can’t understand why it isn’t getting any better.\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n "It comes down to listening. What are you listening for when you \n practice? Here’s my favorite example of how not to practice: You have a \n couple of notes that are out of tune, and you repeat them over and over \n for 20 minutes and it’s not working, and while you were doing that the \n bow was going in all bad directions, because you weren’t paying \n attention to your bow because you were only paying attention to your \n left hand. So your left hand is not working well yet, and you’ve \n practiced for 20 minutes with the bow wrong. So now you have to undo \n that, but you’re not paying attention to the intonation, so you’ve \n practiced for 20 minutes out of tune.\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n "So just reduce it to small increments, two or three bars, and try to \n get hold of everything at the same time. It’s difficult to concentrate \n on everything, so reduce it to one bar. You can accomplish a lot more in \n less time. Practicing slowly is extremely important. Then you can figure \n out what’s going on; nothing escapes you.\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n "Sheer time is not necessarily good; what’s good is the quality of the \n practicing. If somebody’s really serious, five hours a day is almost too \n much; no more than that. After five hours, the body doesn’t absorb any \n more. And when you practice, it’s got to be 50-minute hours, with ten \n minutes of rest."\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n No matter how well you may play alone in your bedroom, you can still \n fall apart in an audition, but only a good audition will get you into a \n good school. What to do? "Being nervous is what you really have to \n prepare for," Perlman says. "Try to make up some events so you can \n induce nervousness and learn how to deal with it. Invite some friends \n over, and play your audition for them.\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n "People say, ‘How can you not be nervous?’ I say, you don’t get rid of \n nerves; nerves are always there. The thing to do is be familiar with \n them–know your enemy. You have to learn what happens when you’re \n nervous. Everybody has different reactions; some people shake, some play \n faster, some feel they’re losing control. So it’s really, really \n important to induce nerves and prepare for them."\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n —J.R.\n
\n

\n Here are some articles on the tip of the tongue syndrome:\n

\n

\n http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401102954.htm \n

\n

\n http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/11/001113071544.htm \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1075, "title": "Traveling to Vancouver for Manang Florinda's funeral", "date": "2008-04-04 23:21:13.0", "content": "

\n Anne drove me to the airport this morning around 7:30am. I'm flying to \n Toronto and then to Vancouver to attend Manang Florinda's funeral. She \n passed away last week after a long two year battle with lung cancer. It \n is going to be a solemn occasion for our family and friends to get \n together, but it will be nice to see everyone again. I made sure to pack \n light; I had my laptop back pack, and a carry-on luggage bag. I was able \n to cram in my running stuff and swim trunks, since I was hoping to be \n able to workout during my five day stay in Vancouver. I would arrive on \n Friday in Vancouver, and then fly out on Tuesday night taking the \n "red-eye" flight back to Toronto.\n

\n

\n I arrived at the airport almost two hours before my flight. I inquired \n about changing my flight and taking an earlier one to Toronto, but the \n agent said it would cost me $40 to change! I spent some time at the \n departures level, before going through security and waiting at the gate. \n I was actually at the gate as they were boarding the previous flight \n before mine. After waiting for another hour, they started to board our \n flight. I like to get on the plane as quickly as possible, so that I \n ensure that I have overhead space for my carry on luggage. I had a \n window seat, so I stuck my laptop bag underneat the seat in front. \n However, I noticed that the aisle seat had a narrow space for a bag, and \n my laptop bag actually wouldn't fit if I had an aisle seat.\n

\n

\n Connecting through Toronto was painless. I don't end up doing much on a \n plane. I try mostly to sleep. Sometimes I'll watch some TV or read. I \n noticed that I had a "zit" on my back that made it painful to sit back \n in the seat. I later found that this "zit" was more of a lump in my \n back. This lump became alarmingly large. The long flight to Vancouver \n was very smooth. It was during the day, so I got to see the tops of the \n clouds. Going into Vancouver it was cloudy so unfortunately I didn't get \n to see much of the city of Vancouver. After going below the cloud cover, \n I filmed part of the city and the plane landing at the airport. I \n arrived around 1:30pm Vancouver time.\n

\n

\n I then made my way to the Hertz rental counter and got my rental car. \n Anne found a really good deal, and this rental was only going to cost \n $102 for 5 days. It was a Mazda 3 4-door sedan. It was a nice car \n except the interior smelled like smoke! The previous renter must have \n smoked in the car and it stank in there. Oh well. I turned on my GPS and \n made my way to Papa's house. I ended up taking Fraser, then cutting over \n to Knight, and then down 37th avenue. Some sights were familiar. There \n was a large swimming pool right on 37th ave. and Knight street. When I \n got to papa's house, I rang the doorbell, but it was the tenant in the \n basement suite that answered. She tried to call out for papa but he \n didn't answer, so she just closed the door on me. Doh! I took out my \n cell phone and called papa. He answered and I told him that I was at the \n front door. He came down, let me in and I went up to the main floor.\n

\n

\n I had a bad headache and I was feeling nauseous. I think it was because \n I hadn't really eaten anything since breakfast. I forgot to bring food \n to eat on the plane so I didn't have any lunch. Papa offered me some \n food which I ate, but it took awhile before I started to feel better. I \n even ended up taking a short nap on their couch before heading over to \n the prayer service around 6:00pm.\n

\n

\n When I got to the funeral home, I saw Justin just entering the hall door \n as I was getting out of my car. I entered the hall door, and one of the \n first persons I saw was Manong Andrew. I gave him a big hug and offered \n my condolences. He was very glad that I could come. It was really good \n to see family around, although there were a lot of people I didn't \n recognize. I saw Joe a while later. The 9-th day prayers were held at \n 7:00pm. After prayers, there was a short break where we all went into \n the hall for food. Of course, being a filipino gathering, there was \n lots of food! After eating lots of food, we went back into the chapel \n for the eulogies. \n

\n

\n Joe and I hung around after 10:00pm to help clean up. Then we headed \n off to Maple Ridge. At Joe's house, we set up the futon in the \n basement, Joe gave me some blankets and a comforter, and I went down for \n a nice long sleep. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1076, "title": "WK14-6 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-04-05 22:28:41.0", "content": "

\n I had asked Joe about fitness clubs in the area where I could work out, \n and he recommended the Maple Ridge Leisure Center where there was a pool \n and fitness room. It was really close by, so I decided to workout on \n Saturday. It was a lazy Saturday morning, and I didn't get out of the \n house until after lunch. I also had to return back to the house after \n getting into Maple Ridge when I realized that I didn't have my wallet. \n Doh! I finally did get to the leisure center. I parked in the \n underground parking. It cost $1.00 for 3 hours. Good deal! The entrance \n fee was $4.25. I asked the cashier about change rooms. There was one \n upstairs near the fitness center and another one on the ground floor for \n the pool. Since I wanted to use both the pool and the fitness center, \n she suggested that I use the one at the pool. Because the lockers cost \n 25 cents and I had to open up the locker between my running and swimming \n workouts, I had to pay an extra 25 cents.\n

\n

\n I did my run workout first. The Precor treadmills are very similar to \n the ones at Walter Baker. I did a quick start and set the speed up to \n 5.1mph. I ended up running for 2hrs20mins! It was a good run. Luckily \n the other treadmills weren't overly crowded so I didn't feel the \n pressure to get off my machine.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 19.2km, total time: 2:20:17, average pace: \n 7:18mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm.\n

\n

\n After my run, I changed into my swim trunks and went to the pool to do \n some laps. Unfortunately they didn't have any lanes open for lane \n swimming, so I ended up doing width's of the pool. I swam for about 45 \n mins before getting out to take my shower. I didn't keep track of how \n many laps I did.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1077, "title": "Manang Florinda's visitation at Ocean View Cemetery", "date": "2008-04-05 22:39:17.0", "content": "

\n Saturday night was the second night for Manang Florinda's visitation at \n Ocean View cemetery. Manang Cynthia led the prayers. Then we had a \n break for food, followed by more eulogies. Katherine was the speaker \n introducing the people giving the eulogies. Manong Christie gave a \n eulogy, along with Victoria Costales a relative of Manong Andrew. \n Co-workers from the PNE and Telus also gave eulogies. There were also \n lots of relatives that I hadn't seen for a while. Manong Arthur was \n there along with Manang Amor. I hadn't seen them since I was growing up \n in Vancouver over 20 years ago! Manong Arthur is working in Washington \n and lives in Maryland. I told him about a relative, Manang Betty that \n lives in Tyson's Corners. He said he's only about 20 minutes from \n there. I told him that we just visited Washington last summer. He said \n next time, we'll have to drop by and see him. He has 2 daughters, 20 \n and 22 years old, and a son, 18 years old that is just graduating high \n school. Manang Amor is in Newark, New Jersey.\n

\n

\n I also saw Manong Roly again. I had seen him at one of Manong Andrew's \n parties a few years ago. He had just retired then, and he was talking \n about how he and Manong Andrew had taken up golf. We also had talked \n about Vancouver Real Estate, and he reminded me about that discussion. \n He asked why I didn't buy any. The condo that he bought for his son has \n gone up appreciably so he was happy. Auntie Belen was also there. She \n was serving the soup and making flirty eyes with all the gentlemen \n customers... :-) Freddy and Sophie were there. Freddie introduced Joe \n and I to their good friends Eric Suzuki and ? (Eric's wife, I cant \n remember her name). It was interesting, because Eric remembered Joe \n from Hamber. He said "your nickname was 'sugar', right?". Joe just \n laughed. He said he hadn't heard that nickname for so long. It was \n from his high school basketball days, where he was known for his "sweet" \n shot, so he got the nickname "brown sugar".\n

\n

\n Joe and I helped clean up again and we headed home around 10:15pm to \n Maple Ridge.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1078, "title": "WK14-7 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-04-06 22:58:13.0", "content": "

\n Joe and I planned to do a quick swim workout before Joe's work on Sunday \n morning. We planned to go to the pool for 8:00-9:00am. Bonus for us was \n that Sunday was loony day so it only cost us a buck to get in! Joe swam \n in the slow lane. I started in that lane, but then switched to the \n medium speed lane. There was another strong swimmer in the medium speed \n lane that was doing drills: with a pull buoy, one armed-stroke, and then \n with a float and just kicking. I tried to stay out of her way, since she \n moved real quick. Looking at Joe's stroke, I think he holds his head a \n little too high. His body is not totally horizontal so I think he has a \n lot of drag and doesn't glide as much as he could. Shortly after 9:00am, \n Joe had to take off to so that he could get to work. I continued to swim \n for a little longer so that I would reach the 2.0km distance. Looking at \n my times, I figured that this was a 25m pool just like Walter Baker.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 20 - 100m laps (2.0km), total time: 1:04:37, average pace: \n 3:14mins/100m.\n

\n

\n After my swim, I changed and went for a run. At first all the treadmills \n were busy, so I went on the elliptical machine for a while. I then \n grabbed the same treadmill I used yesterday. I set a nice easy pace at \n 5.1mph. I wasn't sure how long I was going to run, but I just kept going \n and going. I ended up running 18 miles which was my longest long run \n this year! I was exahausted, but it was great building up my mileage. \n After my run, I changed back into my swim trunks and did a few laps \n before jumping into the hot tub. I hadn't noticed the hot tub yesterday, \n because it was blocked from view on the treadmill I was using. Today, I \n saw it from the elliptical machine. I think doing the swim and hot tub \n after my running has really helped in my cool down and getting rid of \n the lactic acid in my muscles so I don't get sore.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 28.8km, total time: 3:33:29, average pace: \n 7:25mins/km, average heart rate: 136bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1079, "title": "Prayers at Manong Andrew's house", "date": "2008-04-06 23:22:14.0", "content": "

\n There weren't any scheduled activities on Sunday, so Manong Andrew \n invited me over to their place for prayers. I decided to go to Manong \n Andrew's, but that meant I had to miss Mikaela's birthday dinner. \n Leanne and Joe were having Leanne's parents, Mike and Rita, over for \n dinner and celebrate Mikaela's birthday. Sorry Mikaela... :-(\n

\n

\n There weren't too many people at Manang Andrew's. Manang Cynthia and \n Claire, Manong Roly and Manang Loida, Manong Arthur, Manang Amor. After \n prayers we had dinner... more food! Then we started planning the prayer \n service and funeral. They were talking about the church hall and setting \n up the tables, chairs, table cloths, and center pieces. At first Manong \n Christie was going to organize that, but he was going to be cooking a \n soup for the meal after the prayer service. So they were looking for \n other volunteers. Of course they all looked at me, and I was nominated. \n I was now the "manager" responsible for co-ordinating all the work to \n get the hall set up. The plan was for us to get there at 3:00pm and set \n up the hall between 3:00-4:00pm. Manong Andrew also invited me to stay \n over at their place on Monday night so that it was easy to go to the \n funeral on Tuesday morning. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1080, "title": "Manang Florinda's Prayer Service", "date": "2008-04-07 22:28:12.0", "content": "

\n I had a nice slow start to the morning. Joe, Leanne, and the kids were \n off to work and school, so I was in the house alone. I packed my stuff \n up, since I was staying over at Manong Andrew's tonight. I had a shower \n and ate breakfast. I was off around 11:00am to Manong Andrew's place. \n It was pretty quiet when I got there. I had some pancit for lunch and \n some yummy cookies! Just before 3:00, I headed off to St. Mary's church \n to work on setting up the hall. I was the manager after all!\n

\n

\n When we first got there, the doors were locked. Someone eventually found \n someone inside who let us into the hall downstairs. There weren't that \n many people there. However, we were very efficient and were done \n shortly after 3:30pm. We had set up the tables and put 8 chairs around \n each table. The plan was to have 14 tables with 10 chairs at each table. \n However the tables only comfortably seated 8, so we ended up with 16 \n tables and 8 chairs at each table.\n

\n

\n After the hall was set up, I went over to Papa's to pick him up and \n bring him to St Mary's Church. The prayer service was led by the St \n Mary's CWL. Manang Florinda was very actively involved with the CWL. \n The main speaker from the CWL (I couldn't remember her name) had a very \n calming voice. She introduced the other speakers. There were more \n eulogies. Manong Arthur had a very sermon like eulogy. He would have a \n low voice and all of a sudden boom out a sentence. Freddy was \n commenting later that he was so convincing that he would ask "where do I \n sign up? count me in!"... Mark was the last to give a eulogy. It was \n very heart felt and often funny. He has a very good speaking presence. \n I was surprised. Later on, I found out that he actually does quite a \n lot of public speaking. He is the BC leader for Youth for Christ, and \n has spoken at rallys to 200 young people.\n

\n

\n After the prayer service, they served more food downstairs in the hall \n that we had set up with tables and chairs. It was really crowded there. \n I recognized someone from way back during my childhood days. At first \n I thought her name was Sonja, but it was Carmen. I recognized her \n husband, who she introduced us to, but he didn't recognize us. I'll \n have to look up their names in Manong Andrew's family tree. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1081, "title": "Manang Florinda's Funeral", "date": "2008-04-08 22:50:04.0", "content": "

\n John Paul set up an air mattress in their basement living room area. \n They have a really cool home theatre with a projector and a huge screen, \n similar to Jeff Wrinn's setup. It was awesome. Guys would envy a home \n theatre set up and pad like this. Anyways, I had a restless sleep. The \n air mattress was a little soft, and I just kept tossing and turning. I \n got up around 7:00am. JP's room mate was taking a shower. I started \n folding the comforter and sheets and took the air out of the mattress \n and folded that too. I then took my shower and went up for breakfast. \n Manong Andrew was already awake. He said he had to get up early and \n phone his friend that works for Sony Computers so that the friend could \n take Katherine's computer and see if it could be repaired. Manong Andrew \n offered instant oatmeal for breakfast. I had oatmeal with banana. It's \n been a while since I've had oatmeal.\n

\n

\n I slowly started getting ready for the funeral which started at 10:00am. \n I was thinking of getting there an hour early, but didn't end up leaving \n until after 9:00am. There was also a stretch limousine that came to pick \n up the family. I was leaving just as the limo was arriving. When I got \n to the church, I saw Papa in the pews. Later when I was talking to \n Rhodora, she was so upset at Papa, since they were all supposed to drive \n together. They were looking for him and he had already left to take the \n bus! I'm not sure if Papa is just being forgetful, or if he's just being \n stubborn and wanting to do things his way...\n

\n

\n Manong Andrew asked me to walk down the aisle behind the coffin with the \n Pall bearers, family and relatives. After walking down the aisle, I went \n through the pews and back up the side aisle to where Papa was sitting. I \n had left the cameras with him and was going to grab one and take some \n pictures. However, someone had already taken the camera, so I took the \n video camera that was left. I went to the front of the church on the \n side and started filming the funeral mass. I had a pretty good view from \n this side and was able to film the speakers. I remember trying to film \n Elaine during her reading, and her hair was hanging down the side of her \n face and couldn't see her face. I was able to film most of the funeral \n mass. At the end, I was at the church doors filming the people coming \n out. I missed the shot of the pall bearers putting the casket in the \n hearst.\n

\n

\n I drove Auntie Nora and Papa to the funeral home cemetery. It was a \n cold overcast day. My hands were freezing. I tried to film the putting \n of flowers and sand on the casket. The tape I had eventually ran out, \n so I switched to using my small handheld video camera. At the end of \n the line up, Jong and I went and put a flower on the casket. I touched \n the casket and said goodbye to dear Manang Florinda. I was sad, but I \n didn't end up crying. The funeral workers than came and lowered the \n casket into the grave. They had a bit of problems with the strap \n getting stuck, but eventually got it freed up. I then drove Auntie Nora \n and Papa back to the church.\n

\n

\n The church hall was crowded again. Manang Florinda really did touch a \n lot of people. She was an amazing person. The line up for the food was \n really long, so I ended up going to the dessert line first. I got a cup \n of "ginataan" (I don't know how to spell it!). I haven't had this \n dessert for a long, long time and it was yummy! It has a thick sauce \n with fruits and dough balls and other stuff. I'll have to see if I can \n track down a recipe for it! Eventually the food line died down and I \n grabbed more food to eat. \n

\n

\n There were lots of pictures being taken. So I was in a bunch of group \n shots. When I got back to Manong Andrew's place later that day, I \n burned a DVD with a bunch of pictures on them. I also ate some dinner, \n since I knew I wasn't going to eat much after I get to the airport and \n catch my red-eye flight back to Ottawa. I left Manong Andrew's place \n around 6:30pm and went to Papa's place. There I chatted with Rhodora \n and Papa for a long time. I left for the airport around 8:30pm. \n

\n

\n When I tried to return my rental car, there wasn't an attendant anymore, \n since they stop at 9:00pm. However, someone did come out and helped me \n settle the bill. It was just over a hundred bucks for the rental. What \n a deal! The rest of the trip went pretty smooth. We arrived a little \n late in Toronto, so I had to run to catch my connecting flight to \n Ottawa. The plane was already boarded by then, so I had a hard time \n finding a space in an overhead bin for my luggage. The stewardess came \n and helped me out. The problem I had was when I de-planed, I had to \n make my way back 4 or 5 rows to get to my carry on baggage in the \n overhead bin. Anne picked me up at the airport and we drove home. \n

\n

\n Phew, what a whirlwind trip to Vancouver. However, I was so very happy \n to be able to make it and share my condolences with Manong Andrew and \n family. It was a very sad time to come together, but we celebrated \n Manang Florinda's life and how she touched each of us. Bye Manong \n Florinda, for now. I hope to see you, Mom, and Denisa when I get to \n heaven some day...\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1082, "title": "Elizabeth's Dance Competition Road Trip!", "date": "2008-04-10 22:58:24.0", "content": "

\n I had just arrived on the red-eye from Vancouver yesterday morning. I \n worked from home on Wednesday on basically no sleep. OnThursday, I \n worked from home again, because we were going to leave for the big road \n trip to Elizabeth's dance competition at Blue Mountain resort near \n Collingwood, Ontario. I had put the roof rack and ski box back on my \n car. I packed all our bags up in there. I put a chair, which was a \n prop for one of the dance routines, cooler, food bag, laptop bag, camera \n bags, and other miscellaneous stuff in the trunk. We left shortly \n before 4:00pm. I had to fill up gas, and then we were on our way.\n

\n

\n We stopped for dinner at 5:00pm at Wendy's in an Esso Service center. \n We were on our way again by 5:45pm. I was starting to get tired and \n sleepy (probably from my lack of sleep!) so Anne did some driving. We \n stopped at another Service center at 6:30pm to change drivers. Anne \n drove for about 1 1/2 hours and we stopped at another service center to \n switch drivers again at 7:50pm. I quickly filled up gas. Toronto \n wasn't too bad. I took the 401 express lanes and then headed north onto \n highway 400 around 8:40pm. At 9:20pm we exited off highway 400 onto \n highway 26. Finally around 10:15pm we were at our hotel! Anne checked \n in, we grabbed a luggage cart, put our stuff on it and headed off to our \n room. Woo hoo, our short vacation has now started!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1085, "title": "WK15-5 Run", "date": "2008-04-11 23:12:43.0", "content": "

\n At our hotel, The Grand Georgian, there was a small fitness room with a \n bike machine, elliptical machine, and treadmill. I had a run on the \n treadmill on Friday afternoon. I kept a nice easy pace and kept my heart \n rate reasonably low.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 11.2km, total time: 1:21:25, average pace: \n 7:16mins/km, average heart rate: 135bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1086, "title": "WK15-6 Run", "date": "2008-04-12 21:52:12.0", "content": "

\n The fitness room was open at 7:00am, so I got up nice and early to start \n my long run today. However, when I got there, a person was already on \n the treadmill. Damn! So I started on the elliptical machine. I was on \n there for about 25 minutes. Then I got onto the treadmill. \n Unfortunately, someone else came in and was waiting for the machine, so \n I decided to cut my run short.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 12.8km, total time: 1:34:34, average pace: \n 7:23mins/km, average heart rate: 136bpm.\n

\n

\n After, I got on the bike machine and did another ~30 minutes. \n Considering I was planning to do a long run, ~ 3 hours, I got less than \n half that distance in. Well, at least I did some running on this trip. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1088, "title": "Elizabeth's dance competition", "date": "2008-04-13 23:19:28.0", "content": "

\n Over the past few days, we have been in and out of the dance hall to \n watch Elizabeth and her dance studio perform their routines. It's fun \n and exciting to watch them dance. They did very well too. The Newsies \n performance got an Emerald award! \n

\n

\n On Saturday night, the whole dance studio went out for dinner at \n Kelsey's in Collingwood. We sat at a table with Grand Parents of ?, \n Cathy, and Ashok and ?. \n

\n

\n On Sunday morning, Elizabeth went to watch some of her friends perform. \n Then we had to pack and check-out of the hotel by 11:00am. Joseph and I \n went back to the resort to get some Beaver Tails. We were going to \n surprise Elizabeth and Anne with them! We also walked around and took \n some pictures. I thought I had lost one of my camera batteries, but it \n ended up that I had left it in the front seat of the car. \n

\n

\n Elizabeth's last performance was their Family Vacation production. By \n the time we packed everything up in the car it was about 4:00pm. Anne, \n Joseph, and Elizabeth ate their beaver tails as we were heading out. We \n were travelling as a convoy, since Cathy and ? (little Emma's mom) was \n following us. I just followed the GPS and it got us to highway 400 \n pretty easily. We also took a different route as suggested last night \n by ?'s grandparents. \n

\n

\n He said that highway 401 dips south, so you actually go further south \n than you need to when you take highway 400 to the 401. Instead, we took \n highway 9 through Newmarket onto highway 404. This comes out at the Don \n Valley Parkway where you get onto the 401. We stopped for dinner at \n around 7:00pm at a Service Center right off the highway. We decided to \n eat in the car, since we still had a long drive ahead of us. The other \n two Mom's said they were OK getting back to Ottawa from here, so this is \n where our convoy split up. It was another 3 1/2 hours for us to finally \n get back home. Phew, what a long drive. Home sweet home. \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1089, "title": "Cyst on back and cheek", "date": "2008-04-14 22:23:27.0", "content": "

\n I had noticed a bump on my back during my trip to Vancouver. It was \n really bothering me on the plane because I would press up against the \n bump when I sat in the airplane seat. I also started to get a bump just \n above my right cheek near my eye. What the heck is going on?~*%&$ I did \n some research on the internet and found info on "sebacious cysts". Their \n non-cancerous and are caused by oil accumulating in a pocket under the \n skin. They don't list causes of the cyst. I read somewhere, that someone \n was able to get rid of their cyst, by applying pressure on it over a \n period of time.\n

\n

\n I tried pressing on the cyst on my back and at one point it started to \n "leak". (Similar to popping a zit (?), yuck...) I was using a kleenex \n and also asked Anne to put a band-aid on my back. Over the next couple \n of days, more stuff oozed out and I even got stains on my white t-shirts.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1090, "title": "WK16-4 Run", "date": "2008-04-17 22:19:57.0", "content": "

\n I've been sleeping late and haven't been running at all. I haven't gone \n swimming because of the cyst on my back has "popped" and it has been \n bleeding at times. I've covered it with a band-aid but it has leaked \n and has even stained my t-shirts. Luckily it only stains the t-shirt \n and not my dress shirts. I've also been pressing and massaging the cyst \n on my cheek and it has gotten smaller.\n

\n

\n So tonight, I decided I must go for a run. It's actually my first run \n outdoors this year! Can you believe it? My marathon training this year \n has been about half the amount as last year in terms of mileage and \n number of runs. As of the end of WK17, I've run 260.6 km in 19 runs \n compared to last year where I had run 551.6km in 40 runs. Wow, no \n wonder my long runs are hard!!!\n

\n

\n I ran down by Andrew Haydon and down Carling. I really tried to push \n the pace and which brought up my heart rate. I was able to keep pushing \n the pace through the end of the run, although my legs did get tired.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 11.0km, total time: 1:13:51, average pace: \n 6:43mins/km, average heart rate: 139bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1092, "title": "Elizabeth's birthday party, preparations, Cleaning out the basement", "date": "2008-04-19 23:04:51.0", "content": "

\n For her 11th birthday party, Elizabeth wanted to invite 9 friends over \n to play Dance, Dance Revolution (DDR) and Singstar on the Sony \n Playstation. Anne was thinking of doing this in our living room, but I \n just didn't think there was enough space for 10 girls and the dance mats \n between that piano and the couches. So, for the past couple of days, \n I've been trying to clean up the basement. I vacuumed the floor and all \n the cobwebs around the furniture and windows. I put lots of stuff into \n plastic containers that I had bought a while back. I stacked all these \n containers in my workshop area and the spare room under the addition (so \n now all these rooms are messy!!!). I also put the black couch up against \n the book case and moved my guitar amp by the filing cabinet so that I \n freed up space to bring down the TV and TV stand.\n

\n

\n On Saturday morning, Anne and I carried the TV down to the basement. \n Damn, that thing is heavy! I also went out to Wal-Mart and bought some \n area rugs. We put one down in that area a between the couches and the \n TV. It covered that area pretty well. This worked out, because standing \n on the rug was better than standing on the cold floor of the basement. \n Joseph and Elizabeth also decorated the room with streamers and \n balloons. We also put a beaded curtain at the bottom of the stairs which \n was neat.\n

\n

\n The girls started arriving around 2:00pm and they went downstairs to \n play Singstar. They also started to play DDR after a while. Anne brought \n down some munchies: chocolate covered pretzels, chips, gummy worms, and \n other stuff. At 3:00pm the girls went up for some ice-cream cake and to \n open presents. Then they went back down to play some more on the \n playstation. The girls started to get picked up by their parents after \n 4:00pm. I think they all had a fun time. Elizabeth was very pleased with \n how her party turned out. I think it was great that we had it down in \n the basement.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1093, "title": "WK16-6 Run ABORTED!", "date": "2008-04-19 23:10:49.0", "content": "

\n After Elizabeth's birthday party, I went on a run around 7:30pm. \n However running down the hill on old Cedarview, I could really feel my \n right hip starting to hurt. By the time I was running by the Queensway \n Carelton Hospital, my right hip was bothering me so much, that I decided \n to stop my run. I went to the end of the path near Richmond Road, and \n then turned around and started walking back. I walked all the way back \n home.\n

\n

\n I'm not sure what happened to my hip. It has been a little sore on my \n run, but it has never bothered me enough to cause me to stop. Today, \n the hip was really painful. It was OK when I was walking, but when I \n ran, it really hurt! This is not good. I'll rest for the next few \n days, and hopefully I'll be able to run again soon.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1094, "title": "Weeding the backyard", "date": "2008-04-23 23:15:57.0", "content": "

\n Since Sunday, I've been spending a lot of time weeding in the backyard. \n Last year, some animal was digging for grubs and dug up large patches of \n the backyard. This killed the grass and there are now lots of weeds in \n this area. I started to remove the weeds in this large patch, but also \n work on the whole backyard in general. This large patch is now mostly \n dirt, so I want to plant some new grass seed and hopefully we'll get \n some new grass!\n

\n

\n I've been spending about 2 hours a day digging at the weeds. It's slow \n going! Sometimes I think it would have been easier to just kill the \n vegetation and start from scratch. I've been reading some lawn info \n where they've described growing a lawn from scratch. They use \n "round-up" or equivalent chemical to kill the vegetation, and then plant \n grass seed. They even describe the watering rates needed to get the \n seeds to germinate.\n

\n

\n Here's a cut and paste of the steps posted by "bestlawn". taken from \n URL: \n http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg0400294531848.html?13\n

\n

\n 1. Get a soil test. Call your nearest county extension service for a \n test kit and details. It will likely take two weeks for results. If you \n need to apply sulfur, lime, or any other amendment per test \n recommendation (that is not applied in Step 6), you can do it after \n seeding if you don't get results back in time.\n

\n

\n 2. Apply that "R" word stuff and again one week after the first \n application. You can seed the lawn one week after the second app.\n

\n

\n 3. Scalp it down\n

\n

\n 4. Rake it up\n

\n

\n 5. Core aerate (or cheat with Nitron A-35)\n

\n

\n 6. Fertilize\n

\n

\n 7. Sow seeds\n

\n

\n 8. Topdress 1/4 inch layer compost, peat moss, or clean straw \n (weed-free).\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n 9. Irrigation schedule\n

\n

\n water 15-20 minutes twice a day for two weeks\n

\n

\n water 20-30 minutes once a day for one week\n

\n

\n water 30-45 minutes once a day every other day for one week\n

\n

\n water 30-45 minutes once a day twice a week for one week\n

\n

\n move into deep irrigation, increasing the time to provide 1 inch of \n water all over and decreasing the frequency to just once a week.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Starting off, the schedule supplies roughly 1/4 inch of water, then \n increases that amount while decreasing frequency of application at the \n same time. Like practically everything that concerns lawn care, this \n schedule is a general guideline and should be modified to accommodate \n your specific conditions. The lengths of time should be modified if you \n have an automatic sprinkler system since that will not take as long to \n provide adequate moisture. So, decrease amount of water (time) but \n maintain frequency as is. The tuna cans test is recommended. If it is \n still especially warm, you may want to irrigate 3 times a day (10-15 \n minutes if necessary) for that first couple weeks. Your objective is to \n keep the upper 1 inch of soil moist and not let the seeds dry out.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Baby the grass for the rest of year. Once the seeds begin to sprout, \n don't walk on it if at all possible. First mowing is when the new grass \n reaches two inches. Remove 1/3 of the grass blade, then allow to grow to \n 4 inches. Cut it back to 2.5 inches and maintain 2.5 inches mowing \n height. \n

", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1095, "title": "WK17-4 Run", "date": "2008-04-24 22:45:01.0", "content": "

\n I have been resting my right hip and not running for the past few days. \n Today, I decided to go for a run to see how my hip feels. I was doing \n my weeding just after dinner, so it was close to 9:00pm before I started \n my run. I decided to run along baseline since it was already very late \n and there are lots of lights on that route. I ran at a very easy pace. \n The hip was a little sore, but if I kept the pace nice and easy, it \n didn't bother me much.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 10.6km, total time: 1:13:49, average pace: \n 6:58mins/km, average heart rate: 131bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1096, "title": "Elizabeth's dance competition", "date": "2008-04-26 22:05:44.0", "content": "

\n Elizabeth had another dance competition this week. This was the \n CanDance competition that used to be held in Gatineau, but it has been \n moved to the Nepean Sportsplex. Elizabeth had a routine on Wednesday. \n On Saturday she was in three routines in an hour timeframe. Joseph and \n I went to watch these routines. When we got to the Sportsplex around \n 1:00pm there was no parking! There were so many things going on: Orchid \n flower show, Card Collectors Expo, Soccer practices at Minto Field, \n etc... We ended up parking by the soccer field, but in an area of the \n parking lot that had tons of gravel, dirt and debris. When I was \n backing up into a parking spot, I ran over a street sign! It made an \n ugly scraping sound. Hopefully there wasn't any damage to my car.\n

\n

\n The stage was set up in the hockey rink, with the judges right beside \n the boards. The audience sat in the grandstand bleachers behind the \n judges. Anne didn't like the set up and having to look down at the \n dancers, but I thought it was a good view. She thought you were too far \n away. It was a different view by being up high and further back, but \n you did get to see the whole stage. Joseph and I were able to get some \n decent seats right at the back of the first section to the left of the \n stage. \n

\n

\n We stayed for a couple of hours watching Elizabeth's routines. We \n wanted to see the other routines from her dance studio, but we didn't \n have a program, so we didn't know when they were scheduled to perform. \n I was supposed to call Anne on her cell phone to sync-up and get the \n program, but I wasn't able to get through to her. I don't think there \n was good coverage inside the building. \n

\n

\n It was fun to watch Elizabeth doing her dance routines. I think I \n should work with her on her stretching and techniques. I can see that \n her flexibility is not that good because her kicks seem low compared to \n the other dancers. Also her timing seems to be a bit off. Her turns \n are a little later than the other dancers. Over the summer I'd like to \n do stretching with her everyday. I think because she grows so much, she \n needs to continue to keep stretching to improve her flexibility and also \n keep up with her growth spurts! Also, I'd like to work on her spins, \n turns, and other techniques so that they are clean, crisp, and flawless! \n Hopefully I can work with her on all that!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1097, "title": "WK17-7 Long Run", "date": "2008-04-27 22:18:55.0", "content": "

\n It's hard to believe, but this is my first outdoor long run this year! I \n have really been slacking off in my marathon training this year. I was \n planning to run at least 32km. My first loop was down by Andrew Haydon, \n Brittania Beach, along the Ottawa River Parkway. I was going to run 10km \n out and then 10km back for a 20km total loop. I decided to just bring \n water in my water bottle. I also didn't bring any granola bars. What a \n mistake! The first part of the run went fine. At the ~11km turn-around \n mark, I had to go pee. There weren't any washrooms close by, so I had to \n find an inconspicuous spot in the trees by the water. It wasn't that \n inconspicuous, and I had to wait for a decent break where there were no \n people walking by. Desperate times call for desperate measures... :-)\n

\n

\n By the time I got back to Andrew Haydon park, I think I hit the wall. My \n legs felt like jelly and I had no energy left. I had to walk up the \n hills by Shouldice farm and up Cedarview. I basically took a lot of \n walking breaks. When I got home, I ate a granola bar and drank some \n gatorade. My second loop was a 5km out and back (10km total) out by \n Bruce Pit and Trend Arlington recreation path. This was a totally brutal \n loop. I walked a lot and was also looking forward to my next walking \n break during the running portions.\n

\n

\n I did so badly on this long run that I wondered if I had the fitness to \n finish a marathon. The marathon is only 4 weeks away, so I didn't have \n any more time to gain any further fitness. I was supposed to start my \n taper next week! Anyways, it was a humbling experience. I'm hoping that \n if I hydrate properly and have gatorade to replenish my carbs, that I'll \n do much better on my long runs. I'm going to have to make sure I get in \n all my training runs this week!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 31.7km, total time: 3:58:24, average pace: \n 7:32mins/km, average heart rate: 135bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1098, "title": "WK18-1 Run", "date": "2008-04-28 22:53:19.5", "content": "

\n Went on a run tonight. Took it nice and easy, since I had a tough long \n run yesterday. I really need to run more consistently and this week I'm \n going to do all the runs in the Higdon training program! I ran down \n Andrew Haydon, which is my usual night running route.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 10.6km, total time: 1:12:15, average pace: \n 6:49mins/km, average heart rate: 136bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1099, "title": "WK18-2 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-04-29 22:20:07.0", "content": "

\n Tonight I wanted to also go swimming so I timed my turn around so that I \n would get back by 8:15pm and then head off to the 8:30pm Pinecrest Adult \n lane swim. I ran the Bruce Pit, Trend Arlington route. I left around \n 7:13pm so I had to turn around before I hit the 5km mark. My right hip \n is still a little sore. If I go too fast, the hip hurts more, so I try \n to keep a fairly easy pace.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 8.7km, total time: 0:58:16, average pace: \n 6:42mins/km, average heart rate: 134bpm. \n

\n

\n I forgot to record my swim lap times, but they were around 3:00mins/100m \n laps. It was a good swim. I'm not getting any faster, but it doesn't \n feel like I'm working very hard so that's good. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1100, "title": "WK18-4 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-05-01 23:11:18.718", "content": "

\n I didn't do my mid-week long run yesterday, so I had to do it today. I \n also wanted to go swimming, so I got a really early start on my run \n around 6:30pm. I did the Bruce Pit, Trend Arlington route, and then \n down by Andrew Haydon. I had to turn around at the 417 on ramp by the \n Bus lane, since I wanted to be back by 8:15pm I also pushed the pace \n today. I wanted to do that on some of my runs to see if I can develop \n some speed.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 14.8km, total time: 1:37:30, average pace: \n 6:35mins/km, average heart rate: 139bpm. \n

\n

\n After I went to the Pinecrest swim session. A nice easy swim. I really \n like swimming after my runs because I really think it helps the muscle \n recovery and prevents soreness in the muscles.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 17 - 100m laps (1.7km), total time: 0:51:01, average pace: \n 3:00mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1101, "title": "WK18-5 Run", "date": "2008-05-02 23:09:04.0", "content": "

\n Friday is a rest day in the Higdon training program, but since I took \n Wednesday off, I ran today. It was a short 10km run (funny how a 10km \n run is now a short run for me!). I tried to push the pace, and this was \n reflected in my higher heart rate. My fitness is still not at the same \n level as last year at this time. I was hoping to have a heart rate of \n ~137bpm at a 6:00min/km pace. On this run, I had ~140bpm at a \n 6:20min/km pace. I'm hoping this improves, even slightly, over the next \n 2 weeks. I also went out too quickly. This gets my heart rate up too \n fast, and it's hard to bring it back down. Need to remember to keep the \n pace easy until I've warmed up and my body is in the aerobic burning \n region.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 10.4km, total time: 1:05:39, average pace: \n 6:20mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1102, "title": "WK18-6 Run", "date": "2008-05-03 22:06:01.0", "content": "

\n In Higdon's intermediate training program, the Saturday run, is used to \n "push" the body and make the longer run more difficult. So, I didn't \n want to slack off and made sure I ran today. I decided to run the \n Ottawa River Parkway route. Last week I did this as the first part of \n my long run, and I really died at the end. I wanted to do this run \n again, to prove to myself, that last week was just an off day. It \n worked! This run was much better. I didn't even bring any water with \n me. I turned around at the 9km mark just past Woodroffe Ave, since I \n didn't want to push myself too hard before my long run tomorrow. I was \n able to keep running and push myself on the Shouldice and Cedarview \n hills, compared to last week where I had to walk up these hills. \n Overall an excellent run with a decent pace at my target heart rate of \n ~138bpm.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 18.7km, total time: 2:03:14, average pace: \n 6:35mins/km, average heart rate: 138bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1103, "title": "WK18-7 Long Run", "date": "2008-05-04 22:44:07.0", "content": "

\n This is it, my last long run before I start my taper! I was hoping to \n run 36km today which would make this my longest long run this year. I \n also decided to run the Greenbelt path that goes towards Nortel. I was \n planning three loops in total, ~12km each. This would bring me back \n home to refill my water bottle and get more granola bars if needed. I \n also decided to bring gatorade and granola bars. I only brought water \n for the first loop of my long run last week, and I just died. I'm \n hoping that the gatorade and granola bars will help prevent bonking so \n early. Another thing I brought on this run was salt. I grabbed the \n small packets of salt from the cafeteria.\n

\n

\n The first loop went great. The path is now closed at the Queensway due \n to construction. So now you can't actually get down towards Nortel on \n this path. There is a big sign that says this route is closed at the \n Queensway from Spring 2007 to 2009. They must have just closed this \n route right after I did my runs last year, because I didn't notice that \n sign until now. The path ends at the train tracks and they put a fence \n up. I ran up to this point and turned around. This was a 7km run one \n way, so 14km for the total loop. After getting home, I took a quick \n bathroom break, and grabbed my other water bottle.\n

\n

\n The second loop was along the Ottawa River Parkway, same route as \n yesterday's run. I ended up running 18km on this loop for a total of \n 32km by the time I got back home. This week I felt way better than I \n did coming home on this leg of the run last week. I was even able to \n run up the hills at Shouldice farm and Cedarview! I was certainly \n tired, but I did not bonk! I think around the 20km and 30km marks I \n took the packets of salt. It tasted yucky, but I washed it down with \n some gatorade.\n

\n

\n The last loop by Bruce Pit and Trend Arlington park was tough. I was \n pretty tired, but I just kept a slow pace. I ended up walking the last \n ~2km as a "cool down". I removed the walking part when I calculated the \n average pace. I didn't want to skew the walking pace with my running \n pace. Overall I was pleased with this long run. My overall pace was \n half decent, and I felt stronger than last week.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 38.1km, total time: 4:14:35, average pace: \n 6:41mins/km, average heart rate: 133bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1104, "title": "More weeding", "date": "2008-05-05 21:42:40.0", "content": "

\n I've been spending a lot of time on the weekends weeding the backyard. \n There are now a lot of bare patches with just dirt, but it looks pretty \n good. The east side of the yard actually has some healthy grass, but it \n is in clumps with bare patches of dirt. This makes the yard bumpy. I \n had spent a lot of time getting the weeds from this side of the yard \n several years ago. Although there are weeds, it doesn't look too bad. \n The west side of the yard has lots and lots of weeds.\n

\n

\n I was focussing on getting all the weeds in the bare patch in the middle \n of the yard. This is where I want to plant seeds at first. If this \n works well, then I'll do other parts of the yard. So, on the weekends \n I've been spending at least 3 hours each day weeding. On the weekdays, \n I haven't been able to weed much, because I go on my training run and \n then swimming. \n

\n

\n It's taking a long time to do all this weeding, but I think the results \n are good. The way I think of it, I haven't done much weeding in the \n past 10 years, so the weeds have had a lot of chance to grow and \n multiply. Once I get over this initial hurdle of getting all the weeds \n out, hopefully it will be an easier job of weeding if I do it every \n year. Also, once I have a healthy, thick lawn, this will help prevents \n weed from establishing themselves. It will take some time, but I think \n I'm on the right track!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1105, "title": "WK19-2 Run and Swim", "date": "2008-05-06 22:58:10.0", "content": "

\n I went for a "short" 10km run tonight. I really pushed the pace on the \n second half of the run, since I started late at 7:11pm, and I wanted to \n be back by 8:15pm to go swimming. There was something wrong with my \n heart rate monitor, since it would show 240bpm every once in a while. \n This caused my average heart rate to be skewed too high. My breathing \n was heavy from the quick pace, but my legs still felt pretty good. I \n didn't get the lactic build-up feeling in my legs. A nice fast run.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 10.9km, total time: 1:08:48, average pace: \n 6:18mins/km, average heart rate: 149bpm.\n

\n

\n After the run, I quickly got ready for my swim. I forgot to mention that \n I had talk with one of the other regular swimmers at the pool last week. \n His name is Mark. He was mentioning that when he watches me swimming, it \n looks like I go so slow. But it's deceiving, because he's always letting \n me pass. I told him about the Total Immersion swimming method that I \n found and has really helped me become a good swimmer. It stresses \n balance in the water (keeping your chest and head down), having a \n streamlined horizontal body, and core body rotation for a powerful pull \n stroke. I mentioned last week that I would bring a DVD in for him, so \n today, I remembered to bring that DVD.\n

\n

\n When I saw Mark at the pool this week, I noticed that he had his head \n deeper in the water. I also noticed that he was swimming more quickly \n and I didn't pass him that often. At the end of the swim session, I \n talked to him some more in the change room. He said he was so excited \n about getting back to the pool this week and hoping that I would bring \n the DVD. Then he would have to settle himself down, since I might not \n even show up. He didn't want to build up his expectations and excitement \n too much. It's a good thing I remembered to bring the DVD. He also \n mentioned that he doesn't even have a DVD player or a computer to play \n the DVD. Hopefully he'll be able to watch it somehow!\n

\n

\n Anyways, I had a good swim. I started getting a headache during the swim \n because of running low on glycogen (I think). I had a hard run workout, \n and didn't replenish any carbs before coming to this swim workout. I \n just tried to stay relaxed and not push myself too hard. I am using the \n swim as a cool down for my run, so no need to push hard.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 16 - 100m laps (1.6km), total time: 0:48:36, average pace: \n 3:02mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1107, "title": "WK19-4 Run", "date": "2008-05-08 23:21:56.0", "content": "

\n Since I didn't do my mid-week long run on Wednesday, I did it tonight. \n This meant that I wouldn't be back in time to go for a swim session \n after my run. I started my run around 7:30pm. I ran the Bruce Pit, \n Trend Arlington route first. The first 10km I kept a nice easy, steady \n pace. I felt pretty good, so I picked it up for the second loop out by \n Andrew Haydon. Towards the end of the run in the last 4-5km my legs \n started to feel tired, but I still kept up a quick pace. Overall a \n really quick, longish run!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 19.6km, total time: 2:02:55, average pace: \n 6:16mins/km, average heart rate: 143bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1108, "title": "WK19-6 Run", "date": "2008-05-10 22:19:18.0", "content": "

\n I decided to run my regular Saturday route down the Ottawa River \n Parkway. I left around 1:00pm and didn't bring any water with me. I \n had problems with my heart rate monitor again. It just showed 240bpm \n most of the time, so I didn't get any good heart rate data for this \n workout. It's too bad, because I had a really fast run without too much \n effort. I think I stayed within my heart rate target of ~138bpm, but I \n can only use the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) as my guide. For \n basically the whole 20km, I was able to keep a 6:05-6:10mins/km pace \n which is quick for me. I'm hoping that my level of fitness allows me to \n run this pace for the whole marathon. This will give me a time of ~4:1\t\n 5-4:20 which I would be pleased with!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 20.4km, total time: 2:05:04, average pace: \n 6:07mins/km, average heart rate: 143bpm (estimated). \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1109, "title": "Bought a wetsuit!", "date": "2008-05-10 22:45:49.0", "content": "

\n Canadian Tire had a sale on wetsuits, and I went on Saturday morning to \n pick one up. It was on sale for 25% off at $89.99. This seems like a \n really good deal! I went in the morning so I didn't start my run until \n after lunch. I tried on the wetsuit, but it seemed so tight! I looked \n up and read some info on the net. Apparently everyone that tries on a \n wetsuit thinks its too tight. However, it's supposed to have a snug \n fit. There should be no air pockets or loose spots that trap water and \n keep you cold. There should also be good seals at the neck and arms to \n prevent water from getting in.\n

\n

\n Apparently there is also a correct way to put on a wetsuit. You have to \n make sure that the crotch is nice and snug and not hanging down. This \n was one of the mistakes I made when first putting on the wetsuit. With \n the crotch too low, then the upper body won't fit properly. When I \n lifted my arms above my head, it felt too tight and the wetsuit was \n pulling my arms down. \n

\n

\n So I tried to put the wetsuit on again. Correctly this time. One \n article said to keep your socks on to help your foot slide into the leg \n better. There is also a seam at the back of the knee that you need to \n make sure is positioned properly. This ensures that you have pulled the \n leg up high enough. Once you have both legs in far enough, pull up the \n waist and make sure the crotch is nice and snug. This is absolutely \n critical. If the crotch is not pulled all the way up, there is no way \n you can get the upper body correct. So make sure you get the legs and \n crotch right before going on to the upper body!\n

\n

\n Similar to the legs, when you put your arms into the sleeves, you need \n to make sure that the arms are in all the way. I had to slowly work my \n arms up the sleeves. You can also put your arms above your head to try \n to get the sleeves down further and snug onto your shoulders. The arms \n are put in correctly if there is no sag or extra space in your armpit. \n The wetsuit arms and shoulders should be snug up to your armpits. \n

\n

\n The last thing is to pull up the zipper in the back. The article \n mentioned that you should have someone help you pull up the zipper. \n Using the pull cord to pull up the zipper can put too much stress on the \n zipper and cause it to break prematurely. I'll have to remember this \n little tidbit of advice! There is also a velcro enclosure for the neck. \n Make sure this is nice and snug so no water can get in. However make \n sure it's not too tight and you can breath comfortably. \n

\n

\n I successfully put on the wetsuit, but it still felt weird. It was \n tight all over and will take a while to get used to. I tried putting my \n arms over my head and doing a swimming pull motion. I'll need to get \n used to swimming with a wetsuit! Now I just need a swim club or group \n that I can swim with in open water!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1110, "title": "WK19-7 Long Run", "date": "2008-05-11 22:53:01.0", "content": "

\n This was supposed to be the start of my taper week, with a reduced long \n run. However I still felt like I needed to get another long run in since \n I started training so late, and I haven't got in the amount of long runs \n that I needed to. I wasn't pushing myself too hard on these long runs \n too, so I thought I would be able to recover before the marathon 2 weeks \n from now. I was going to run the same first two loops as last week's \n long run. This would make it a ~34km long run (14km first loop + 20km \n second loop).\n

\n

\n I had spent some time washing and cleaning my heart rate monitor. I took \n off the strap and washed the plastic monitor with a brush. I then \n flipped it over and tried mounting it "upside down" from the way I \n usually wear it. The TIMEX logo on the front of the heart rate monitor \n is upside down. The monitor still worked, so I left it like that. This \n seemed to help because I got good heart rate readings for the whole \n workout.\n

\n

\n I was supposed to leave early in the morning, but I slept late last \n night and slept in this morning. I got two water bottles of gatorade \n prepared and left one in the fridge. I put 5 chocolate granola bars in \n my pouch. Finally I was ready to go. I didn't end up leaving until \n 8:48am. I was going to continue to use the same re-hydration and carb \n loading strategy as all my long runs. I was also going to continue to \n use the salt packets.\n

\n
    \n
  • \n 5-6 sips from water bottle every 3 kms.\n
    • \n
  • \n granola bar starting at 9km and every 6-9km after that\n
    • \n
  • \n salt packet every 10km (approx. every hour)\n
    • \n
\n

\n I'm hoping that the salt intake is going to help me prevent cramps in my \n legs which I've developed in the last two marathons. I'm not sure how \n much the salt intake should be. I'll have to read up on the net I \n remember reading something about 30g of salt per hour is the rate you \n should replenish at.\n

\n

\n The first loop by the Greenbelt and NRC went fine. I saw a couple of \n people walking their dogs and some bikers. I kept an easy pace which \n was a little faster than my previous runs, since I've gained fitness. \n Good to see. I had a granola bar at the 6km mark, and drank gatorade at \n 3, 6, 9, 12km. I had a salt packet at 10km. It was nice running \n through the trees, since it was nice and cool. After getting back from \n the first 14km I felt pretty good.\n

\n

\n The second loop was along the Ottawa River Parkway. I decided to run \n 10km before turning around. Up to the turn-around point I felt good. On \n the way back I started to feel tired. I was trying to keep up with a \n pair of joggers ahead of me. I had a salt packet at the 20km and 30km \n mark. I was feeling tired, but OK until the 30km mark, then somewhere \n around here I just ran out of energy. My legs were going slowly, and I \n had to really concentrate and push to keep my pace up. However, even \n this pace was much slower, around 7:00mins/km. When I got to the hill \n at Shouldice Farm, I walked up the hill. After that I mixed running and \n walking, and my pace was up over 8:00mins/km. What happened that \n caused me to crash so quickly? Was it the last packet of salt that I \n ate (and tasted awful)? I dumped the whole packet into my mouth and \n swallowed, and rinsed it down with some gatorade. \n

\n

\n Even though the end wasn't great, I still had a good run. The overall \n pace was still quick at 6:32mins/km. I still need to figure out the \n salt intake and how often I should be eating the granola bars.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 34.6km, total time: 3:45:51, average pace: \n 6:32mins/km, average heart rate: 134bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1111, "title": "WK20-2 Run & Swim", "date": "2008-05-13 23:12:36.0", "content": "

\n I'm starting into my taper, so my runs are really short compared to what \n I've been doing up to now. This week the runs are 6.5km, 10km, 6.5km, \n 6.5km, and 13km. So today's run is only 6km. After dinner I spent some \n time weeding. I was trying to get all the weeds with the purple flowers \n because I wanted to get them out before they seeded. I spent yesterday \n and today focussing on getting those weeds and managed to get most of \n them. I stopped around 7:15pm so that I could go on my run.\n

\n

\n I took the Bruce Pit, Arlington Trend park route and turned around at \n Greenbank. It is just over 3km at that turn-around point, so I thought \n that was close enough to my target distance. I tried to run at a \n quicker pace, but still stay well within my aerobic zone. My right hip \n was sore. More than usual. I think it was because of weeding and being \n crouched down. It eventually started feeling better, but it took a \n while. Comparing my heart rate/pace combinations to last year's \n training runs, I think I'm getting close to my fitness capacity last \n year. That's a good sign. I believe matching last year's time is now a \n very achievable target. Of course, I'll want to beat it!\n

\n

\n I got back home after 40 mins, and it was funny because Joseph said \n "You're back already?" I guess they're used to me going out on my hour \n or longer runs!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 6.6km, total time: 0:40:53, average pace: \n 6:11mins/km, average heart rate: 136bpm.\n

\n

\n I then got my swim stuff together and took off to the Pinecrest pool for \n my swim session. It was pretty crowded again today. And there were \n some fast swimmers in the medium speed lane. There was one girl I saw \n last week. She would lap me a few times. There was also another guy \n who was just a speedster! I think his 100m laps were 1:30 or so. He \n did flip turns and caused waves when he went by... :-) I guess all \n these fast swimmers caused me to pick up my pace, because I had a fast \n swim. At times I could feel my arms getting tired and filled with \n lactic acid. This is actually a good thing because I need to push \n myself more in swimming. I've plateaued at my current level swimming \n 3:00mins/100m for the last year. I have to start looking at doing \n intervals. \n

\n

\n Swim stats: 20 - 100m laps (2.0km), total time: 0:57:14, average pace: \n 2:52mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1112, "title": "WK20-3 Run", "date": "2008-05-14 22:09:33.0", "content": "

\n Continuing from the past couple of days, I went weeding after dinner and \n before my run. I got the rest of the weeds with the purple flowers and \n then started working on the clover. These weeds are like vines and grow \n numerous stalks along the ground. I have lots of these weeds so it will \n take some time to get them all. I was able to clear a small patch by \n the flower bed. I was out weeding from 7:00pm to 8:50pm. I started my \n run around 9:00pm. Elizabeth had just come home with Anne from shopping \n at Bayshore and said "You're going for a run now?" I told her I just \n finished weeding and hadn't gone running yet. It was OK because I have \n a good night time running route to Andrew Haydon park. It also started \n raining just when I went out. I had to go back in and get my K-way \n shell. This is the first time this year I've had to run in the rain. \n Other times I've just copped out and ran on another day.\n

\n

\n I had a really fast run. The fastest this year. My heart rate was over \n 140bpm and my pace was close to 6:00mins/km most of the time. I didn't \n feel like I was breathing overly hard, but I could tell from my heart \n rate that I was pushing it. At times I could also feel tiredness in my \n legs, probably due to the lactic acid build up. I won't run this pace \n in the marathon because I think I would blow up before getting to the \n finish line, but it was nice to see that I could run at that quick pace \n with not too much more effort.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 10.6km, total time: 1:03:05, average pace: \n 5:56mins/km, average heart rate: 139bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1113, "title": "WK20-4 Run", "date": "2008-05-15 23:01:27.0", "content": "

\n Spent more time weeding again before my run. Slowly getting through the \n weeds in the backyard. There are still lots left, though! I just need \n to continue doing this to get all the weeds out, and then plant some \n grass. I'm hoping that I can get a nice thick layer of grass \n eventually. One step at a time. One year at a time.\n

\n

\n It was 9:00pm by the time I started my run. I decided to go down \n Baseline to Greenbank. My running feels a little lethargic right now. \n My heart rate seems fast for the pace I want to run at. I'm hoping that \n I can get lots of rest before the marathon and feel refreshed, instead \n of feeling drained from all my training. Need to get lots of sleep the \n week before the marathon! Right now, just concentrate on completing the \n last few runs. Don't worry too much about the pace and fitness level. \n All the hard work is done, now it's just easing into the starting line.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 7.1km, total time: 0:44:07, average pace: \n 6:13mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1114, "title": "WK20-6 Run", "date": "2008-05-17 11:30:25.0", "content": "

\n More time weeding the backyard today. I think I spent 5-6 hours spread \n out over several sessions of weeding. I've been concentrating lately on \n the clover which grows likes vines on the ground. In parts of the lawn, \n it is very well established and the vines cover the majority of the \n ground, choking out the grass. In these sections, when I pull out all \n the vines, there is nothing left but dirt! I'll have to watch these \n sections carefully to see what grows back. I'm not sure how much of the \n clover roots I'm leaving in the ground. I'll just need to keep pulling \n them up!\n

\n

\n I didn't get started on my run until 9:40pm! I took the Baseline route \n again. Still not feeling strong on my run. Feels like I'm working hard \n to keep a 6:00-6:10 pace. I might need to scale back my pace during the \n marathon, if my heart rate is too fast. Need to watch this closely. \n After I downloaded my data, I realized that no heart rate data was \n captured. Bummer. I think it was around 141bpm average.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 6.98km, total time: 0:42:13, average pace: \n 6:03mins/km, average heart rate: 141bpm (estimated). \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1115, "title": "WK21-1 Run", "date": "2008-05-19 21:23:08.0", "content": "

\n This is it, this is the week of the Ottawa Marathon! Woo Hoo! I was \n supposed to do my last "long run" on Sunday, but I ended up doing a lot \n of weeding and then Anne went out to Maria's to watch movies with Cindy, \n Maria, and herself. The kids and I went on a short bike ride to the \n Lynwood Tennis club to read up on registration information. When we got \n home, the kids started playing Rock Band, and I just didn't feel like \n going out for my run after weeding some more.\n

\n

\n Monday was a holiday, so this morning, I went for a 15km run. I tried to \n take it easy, but in the end I pushed myself again. I'm still feeling \n lethargic, although halfway through the run, I started to feel better \n and felt like I was "cruising" at a decent pace without too much effort. \n I'm hoping I can get that same feeling in the marathon. In terms of \n aches and pains, my right hip is still sore. If I run too fast, that \n seems to really bother it, so I don't try to overstride. I also started \n getting a sharp pain on the front of my left hip about half the point. \n The pain eventually disappeared, but I wonder what it was? I'm also \n feeling a pain in the ball of my left foot right beneath the middle toe. \n This was a stress fracture I had in my training last year, so I need to \n watch this carefully. These runs are pretty short now, so I still have \n lots of energy at the end, and I pushed it up the hills at Shouldice \n Farm and Cedarview.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 15.53km, total time: 1:35:16, average pace: \n 6:08mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1117, "title": "Ottawa Symphony Orchestra Dress Rehearsal", "date": "2008-05-19 21:41:15.0", "content": "

\n This afternoon, we went down to the NAC and attended the Ottawa Symphony \n Orchestra dress rehearsal. It was fun! The concert was general \n seating, so we got there early and got some really good seats near the \n front and in the middle. We wanted to get a good view of the piano \n player. It was amazing watching him play. It didn't even look like his \n fingers were touching the keys. Some of the parts of the song, were so \n fast... it was amazing how he made it look so effortless. You could \n also see him hum or mouth the song melody as he played as well. Lots of \n expression. Joseph picked up on the "dynamics" too. \n

\n

\n I was mentioning this to him some time last week when he was practicing \n his Sonatina piano recital piece. I told him not to be sloppy in his \n practice. Practice it at the correct tempo, and also practice the \n correct expressions. Put some feeling and emotion into the piece. You \n could really feel this too when the orchestra was playing. There would \n be soft, peaceful movements, and then a build up to a crescendo where \n the adrenaline would flow. The music evoked these different emotions...\n

\n

\n After the concert some of the symphony members went out to the lobby \n with their instruments. Joseph went and talked to the Double Base \n player. He had a question about the tuning pegs on one of the strings \n that seems to be different than the other three strings. The answer was \n because you could take this string and bring it down one-half step with \n each peg. There were four pegs so you could go down a total of 2 steps \n on that string. Neat! They also served some juice and cookies. Yum!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1118, "title": "WK21-2 Run & Swim", "date": "2008-05-20 22:47:15.0", "content": "

\n Only a few more training runs left before the marathon on Sunday. I need \n to get more sleep, though. Last night I was reviewing another blueprint \n document for work so I didn't start getting ready for bed until 12:30am. \n It was close to 1:00am before I finally got to bed. That's not enough \n sleep and rest to get ready for the marathon! I should shoot for getting \n to bed at 10:00pm. Today's run was fast! I started pushing the pace from \n the very start. I was breathing quickly so I could tell that this was a \n fast pace for me. However, I didn't get the build up of lactic acid in \n my legs that make them feel heavy and "rubbery". After a while I got \n used to it so it wasn't so hard to keep the same pace. Even though I was \n still breathing really heavily, my heart rate didn't shoot through the \n roof. It was around 143-145bpm. Not bad. I'm just not used to running \n fast. After the marathon, I should do some interval training to develop \n some speed.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 5.0km, total time: 0:28:13, average pace: \n 5:39mins/km, average heart rate: 142bpm.\n

\n

\n After the run, went for a swim at Pinecrest pool. Swim pace was under \n 3:00mins/100m, so I continue to have a strong swim.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 18 - 100m laps (1.8km), total time: 0:52:27, average pace: \n 2:55mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1119, "title": "WK21-3 Run", "date": "2008-05-21 23:10:10.0", "content": "

\n Spent some time weeding after dinner again. It's taking a long time, \n but I'm slowly getting ALL the weeds in the backyard. Have to start \n thinking about putting some grass seed down now too. I did the Bruce \n Pit route, and just turned around at the end of the recreation path. I \n remember way back, when this used to be how far I ran. Tried to keep a \n nice easy pace with a low heart rate. All the hard work is done now. \n Just need to rest and wait for race day!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 6.5km, total time: 0:38:47, average pace: \n 6:00mins/km, average heart rate: 138bpm. \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1120, "title": "WK21-6 Rest and Race Preparation...", "date": "2008-05-24 23:05:02.0", "content": "

\n Today was supposed to be my last training run before the marathon. It \n was only 3km to loosen up the muscles. However, I ended up not even \n doing this run. In the morning, I drove Elizabeth to the Ice Breakers \n tournament just off St. Laurent and Conroy. When we got back after \n lunch, Elizabeth had to go to a dance competition. I stayed at home \n with Joseph and ended up doing a lot of weeding in the backyard. I kept \n telling myself that I'd go on that last training run, but in the end I \n didn't end up going.\n

\n

\n Race Preparation\n

\n

\n Anne has been cooking a lot of pasta dishes to help me carbo-load. We \n had tuna pasta casserole, ground beef with tomato sauce pasta, shrimp \n with pasta, linguine with clam sauce, and of course, spaghetti. I've \n also been trying to drink more water to make sure I'm fully hydrated. \n However, this has also made me want to pee more at night. I remember \n getting up several times the other night to go pee. \n

\n

\n I started getting my stuff ready shortly after dinner. I put my timing \n chip on my shoe, pinned my bib number to my shirt, mixed up some \n gatorade and filled my water bottles, put some granola bars into my \n waist pouch, and also put packets of salt in my pouch. I replaced the \n batteries in my heart rate monitor and Timex GPS. I checked the map to \n double check where I wanted to park. I thought I would get to bed early \n at 9:00pm, but I was dilly-dallying more and even went down to the \n basement to watch part of the 1st game of the Stanley Cup finals between \n Detroit and Pittsburgh! I did eventually get to bed around 11:00pm. \n

\n

\n I need to put together a race preparation checklist for running races \n and triathlons! \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1121, "title": "WK21-7 Ottawa Marathon Race Day!", "date": "2008-05-25 22:55:48.0", "content": "

\n Well, Ottawa Marathon Race day has finally come! I haven't put in as \n much training this spring as last year, although I feel like I should be \n able to run a similar time as last year. I woke up around 4:10am after \n my alarm went off. I had breakfast, cornflakes and a banana, and a small \n second bowl of granola crunch. I took my shower, and then got all my \n stuff ready. I left the house around 5:45am.\n

\n

\n Got downtown just before 6:00am. I went down Metcalfe instead of Kent. \n This was a mistake. I was on the East side of O'Connor. I didn't want to \n make a left turn from Laurier onto O'Connor, so I took a one way street \n to back to Kent. On that street, there was a police car and some people \n sweeping up brokoen glass on the road. I had to run over some broken \n glass to get past. Ugh! What a way to start the day.\n

\n

\n Eventually I got back to O'Connor and the same spot I parked last year. \n I grabbed my camera and went down Gloucester towards Elgin and city \n hall. Gloucester is a one way street going west. There were lots of \n meter parking spots available on this street that I could park at and it \n would be a little closer than the O'Connor parking spot. There is also a \n light on O'Connor so I can turn left easily from Gloucestor to O'Connor \n and get to the Queensway. I'll have to think of this for next year. \n It'll save me a block of walking.\n

\n

\n I took a bunch of pictures of the starting line, entrance to the \n athlete's area, and city hall. I went to the washroom. There are ones \n right by the entrance to city hall, but these ones already had a line \n up, so I went to the other one near the back. However, these ones were \n closed, so I went back and lined up for the other washrooms. I think it \n was around 6:15 when I lined up and the line up was around 5-10 minutes \n long. I walked around outside some more. I got a free Power Bar that \n they were handing out at the athlete's village.\n

\n

\n I then went back to my car. My feet were really sweaty so I took off my \n socks to air dry my feet. My feet didn't get fully dry. I took off my \n sweat pants, and put on my dry socks and runners. I put the water bottle \n into the holder. I locked the car with the spare key that I had clipped \n to a connector in my pouch. I didn't realize I had this in my pouch \n until last night! At 6:45am, I started walking to the starting line. I \n walked down Laurier, because I wanted to get to an open space where my \n GPS could sync to the satellites. I stood in the middle of the Laurier \n and Elgin intersection and pointed my GPS towards the open space over \n confederation park. The GPS seemed to sync pretty quickly (less than a \n minute?).\n

\n

\n After getting my GPS to sync, I walked back along Elgin to get to the \n Green Corral (marathon finish times of 4:00-4:30). While waiting, I saw \n a marthon runner in the lobby of an office building, and I thought I'd \n go in and take a last quick pee break. So I went in looking for a \n washroom, but a security guard said the washrooms are not available for \n the public. So I just went back outside and waited again.\n

\n

\n 7:00am came pretty quick. Frank Shorter gave a quick speech. He said \n don't go out too fast. "The race is two halves. The first half is 20 \n miles and the last half is 6 miles." I really liked that quote. The last \n 10km (6 miles) is definitely a gut check. Little did I realize how true \n this was going to be for me in today's race. Finally the gun went off, \n and the huge mass of people slowly started to move forward. First it was \n a walking pace, and as we got near the start line, people finally \n started to jog. I tried to go at an easy pace, but I just didn't ever \n get comfortable or have my stride feel easy. I felt like I was breathing \n hard. My legs also didn't feel fresh.\n

\n

\n I don't think I tapered well this year. My 34km long run two weeks \n before the marathon was probably too much, and I didn't get enough \n recovery or rest. It's just I thought I needed to get all those long \n runs in to get my fitness up. But I also think it wore me out. I was \n tired and not fresh. Another sign of this was that my left thigh was \n tight and felt like it might cramp very early in the race (around the \n 5km mark?). I thought I was going to be in big trouble. However, I took \n some salt at the 10km water station and this pain in my left thigh \n basically disappeared. I think taking salt this year was crucial for me. \n Otherwise, I think it would have been a repeat of my first marathon two \n years ago.\n

\n

\n Salt Intake\n

\n

\n Taking the salt had such a positive impact on my performance! I first \n tried taking the salt at the water station in front of the museum of \n civilization. I dumped a salt packet into my gatorade cup, but when I \n drank from it, I realized that all the salt had settled to the bottom so \n I probably only got a small amount of salt. I only tasted a big clump of \n salt in my last gulp. On the bridge, I opened up another packet, put \n salt on my hand, and licked it off my palm. I did this several times. I \n think I started to feel better after that. At the next water station on \n Mariposa (around 14km), I dumped a salt packet into my mouth and then \n washed it down with Gatorade. At 20km, I took another salt packet.\n

\n

\n Going down Colonel By, I felt a twang in my calf as a cramp developed. I \n took another salt packet. After, I was disappointed to realize that I \n only had one salt packet left! I took this salt packet at the 30km water \n station. I couldn't believe how good I felt going up Colonel By. I was \n trying to keep up with this lady that was running at a ~6:10 pace per \n km. There was also another older lady I saw that was running at a \n similar pace. I was working hard trying to keep up with them, but I felt \n good. My breathing was heavy, but my muscles still felt strong, not \n tired. I also wasn't cramping!\n

\n

\n I remember last year I had a bad toe cramp at the 30km mark. On Hogs \n Back road I felt strong today. I was passing people trying to keep up \n with the older woman pacing me. Compared to last year I was in much, \n much better shape regarding how my body felt. At the Vincent Massey \n loop, I noticed the 4:15 pace group was going up baseline, so I was only \n ~1km behind them. That meant I was only 6-7 minutes behind them. Yes!\n

\n

\n Going up the hill on Baseline (on the bridge) was tough. Prince of Wales \n was also tough because I was now feeling tired. My pace had slowed down, \n but I was still able to run. At the loop around the Arboretum (~35km) I \n was still running and passing people. I grabbed some sponges and put one \n down my shirt. However, after grabbing a gatorade and walking to drink, \n when I started to run again, my pace was slowing to ~7:00mins/km. I was \n just telling myself to hang on until the next water station, but I \n couldn't last. I ended up walking at ~39km mark and taking sips from my \n water bottle. The water station was only 500m later and I walked again \n to drink. In the last 3km, I walked 5 times!\n

\n

\n Although I struggled the last 4-5km, I was very, very pleased with how I \n felt most of the race. Taking salt really made a huge impact to my race. \n Unfortunately, running out of salt I think led to my struggles at the \n end. I think it was good though that I slowed down. If I kept pushing \n it, I would have gotten really bad cramps. As it was, both my thighs \n cramped at the end right at the finish line.\n

\n

\n I felt good deep into the race past the 30km mark and was passing quite \n a few people along with my pacing buddies. Now I need to figure out the \n right amont of salt to bring and ingest during the race. In my "Fitness \n and Nutrition" folder, there are some articles on salt and hyponatremia \n that I saved from web pages. It recommended ingesting 1 gram of sodium \n per hour. Note that salt is made up of Sodium and Chloride. 2.5g of Salt \n has 1g of Sodium and 1.5g of Chloride, therefore to get 1g of Sodium, \n you'll need to take 2.5g of salt. A teaspoon of salt is ~6.6g, so 1g of \n salt is ~1/3 teaspoon of salt.\n

\n

\n I was trying to figure out how much salt is in one of the salt packets I \n am using. I weighed a pack of salt and it doesn't even register on the \n scale. I also realized that my scale is only in 4g increments. 5 salt \n packs is around 4g. Given this, I probably need 2 packs per hour to get \n the 1g of sodium per hour that is recommended.\n

\n

\n Sweat contains 2.25-3.4g of salt per litre. You can easily sweat 1 litre \n per hour during exercise. Noakes says: 1) a fit acclimatized runner \n loses ~1.8g/litre sweat/hour, 2) a fit unacclimatized runner loses \n ~2.6g/litre sweat/hour, 3) a not fit, unacclimatized runner loses \n ~3.5g/litre sweat/hour. The actual body content of sodium is ~80g.\n

\n

\n Aches and Pains\n

\n

\n There weren't really any major aches and pains that I developed during \n the marathon. My right hip was slightly painful (almost from the start), \n but nothing major. I remember the outside of my right knee was a little \n painful at one point (ITB issue?), but again, nothing major. At the 30km \n mark, I felt pretty strong. I felt good all the way to the 35km mark. I \n started to feel tired after that and feeling cramps coming on. Last 3km \n from 39km to 42km I was bagged. I always wanted to walk. I didn't get \n any full on cramps, except at the end when both thighs cramped up.\n

\n

\n Hydration Strategy\n

\n

\n I took two gatorade cups at each water station. There was a point where \n the water stations were only 1km apart (at 19km and 20km?). I didn't get \n more gatorade in this case. At the first few water stations, the cups \n were really full. At times the gatorade sat in my stomach and I felt \n bloated. What causes this? Might need to experiment with this. I also \n want to figure out how my salt intake affects this bloated feeling I get.\n

\n

\n Race Summary\n

\n

\n Amazingly, my times this year and last year are almost exactly the same. \n After 4-1/2 hours of running, I almost got the same times! Gun time: \n 2007 - 4:28:34, 2008 - 4:28:37, Chip Time: 2007 - 4:26:23, 2008 - \n 4:26:14. My chip time was 9 seconds faster this year. I really slowed \n down the last 3-4km, otherwise I would have come in 5 minutes earlier, I \n think. Although the times are not much different, I am very pleased with \n how I felt throughout the race. When I get my salt intake strategy \n figured out, and then bring enough salt, I believe I can really improve \n on my performance!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1123, "title": "WK22-2 Swim", "date": "2008-05-27 22:49:14.0", "content": "

\n I was still pretty sore from the marathon. However, I thought I could \n go for an easy recovery swim and help the leg muscles recover. The swim \n was tougher than I thought it was going to be. I felt tired from the \n very beginning. Even after trying to totally relax during my stroke, I \n still felt tired. I guess that's the impact of running a marathon. It \n takes a while for your body to recover. \n

\n

\n Swim stats: 17 - 100m laps (1.7km), total time: 0:51:26, average pace: \n 3:02mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1124, "title": "ORE 'Bot Boys Lunch", "date": "2008-05-30 23:01:22.0", "content": "

\n Ron organized another 'Bot Boys lunch at Jack Astor's in Kanata Centrum. \n Ron C, Ron H, Mordecai, Guy, and myself were at the lunch. It has been \n a long time since I've looked at my robotics stuff. I need to dust it \n off and get into it again! The guys were talking about the next GPS \n contest, which was supposed to be in May. I told them that my robot \n would'nt be ready since I haven't looked at it in months, but I was \n interested in showing up to the contest and bring in my robot in \n whatever shape it was in. I also told them I would be on vacation at \n the end of June for three weeks. We decided to do a "technology demo" \n as an interim before the contest (probably in July or August?).\n

\n

\n Mordecai was talking about stuff he's done to his robot. He has a \n bluetooth connection and is now able to send the waypoints to the robot \n wirelessly. The robot would then navigate to the different waypoints. \n Mordecai was saying that he didn't like the BlueSmirF modules. Their \n range is only a few metres (instead of the 100's of metres) and he said \n their throughput is so slow. I remember getting mine to work at \n 115kbps, but was it truly that fast? I have to check the timing of \n programming my PIC using tinybootloader at 115Kbps using the bluesmirf \n modules and compare it to a direct serial connection.\n

\n

\n Mordecai also mentioned that he was laid off a few weeks back! Luckily \n he had a job interview the day after his layoff and was hired at a new \n company! Wow... The new company he works for is called Mmist and their \n product is an unmanned GPS guided parachute vehicle. The device uses \n the GPS to steer the parachute to a desired destination point taking \n into consideration the wind. Sounds pretty cool. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1125, "title": "Migrating to 18f4620 PIC processor - ISSUES", "date": "2008-06-12 22:25:47.0", "content": "

\n I've been trying to work on Screwybot to get it ready for the upcoming \n RoboMagellan contest. Last year I had worked on migrating to the new \n 18f4620 PIC processor and thought I had figured out all the issues. \n Well, I've just spent another week trying to track down other issues! \n Ugh! \n

\n

\n When I put the 18f4620 PIC processor on screwybot, the motors didn't \n work correctly. I put my motor testing code back in, and found that the \n right wheel was working ok (I could set the wheel speed), but the left \n wheel just kept running at full speed, regardless of the motor power or \n target wheel speed. I thought there might be something wrong with the \n AND chip or inverter chip. I thought it might have been settings for \n the PORT pins, setting them as Digital or Analog. I looked at the pin \n out diagram and found that CCP2, which was used for the PWM on the left \n wheel, could either be on Port C1 or Port B3. There is a "config" \n setting that you use to specify whether CCP2 is on Port C or B. I added \n a #pragma setting to set CCP2 to Port C (#pragma config CCP2MX = PORTC) \n in the main.c source file. However, this didn't seem to work.\n

\n

\n Then, during dinner, I had an "Aha!" moment. I realized that I was \n using tinybld to program the PIC processor, and this probably wasn't \n setting the config bits when the PIC was being programmed through the \n bootloader. I figured out that I really need to re-compile the tinybld \n bootloader with this config setting. When I looked at the assembler \n source code, I found that this config value was set to Port B. Yikes! \n So, I changed this to Port C, assembled the program, and then programmed \n it to the PIC chip using my ICD2 programmer. I then compiled the \n screwybot program, and programmed it with the tinybootloader. It \n worked. At least the right motor wasn't spinning like crazy. Both \n motors are now controlled by the wheel speeds.\n

\n

\n I tried testing the GPS target acquisition, but this didn't work at all. \n The distance to the target was always 32767 (basically uninitialized or \n undefined). Why was that? I tried dumping out some info on the LCD. \n When I displayed the x,y values for the current position and target \n position, I found that it was the target position that was undefined. I \n dumped the lat, long values and found those as undefined too. Why was \n that? Finally I figured out that the gps target array was an \n initialized variable and that I have had problems with that in my \n interrupt module (I had written about this in a previous entry). I \n created some initialization code in the behaviour init routine and it \n worked. I was now getting good target distance data. I had to \n initialize both the gps target and the gps target num arrays. The \n latter array is used to specify what order the targets should be \n navigated to.\n

\n

\n I need to eventually figure out what's wrong with the initialization \n code for MC18 compiler and PIC18f4620 processor. However, for now I can \n explicitly initialize any variables. At least I can now start working \n on the GPS RoboMagellan task instead of basic platform issues! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1126, "title": "WK09-2 Run & Swim", "date": "2009-02-24 22:11:36.0", "content": "

\n Ok, it has been a long, long time since I've entered a blog entry. I had \n fallen behind last summer, since I hadn't really done any workouts. We \n went on our nice summer vacation to Vancouver and the Florendo family \n reunion. I was writing down my notes on paper and I had grandiose plans \n of entering them in my blog at a later time. This way, I would have the \n blog database entry numbers be in sequence according to the \n chronological order of events. However, as it turns out, all it meant \n was I kept writing stuff in notes and never entering anything in my \n blog. Then, I also stopped writing notes down... Arrrrggghhh.\n

\n

\n Ok, new strategy. I'm just going to start putting stuff in my blog. Try \n to keep up-to-date with current stuff as it happens. And also go back \n and enter all my old stuff captured in my notes. So here we go...\n

\n

\n I went on a really long workout yesterday. I worked from home today, so \n I was able to have an early dinner with the family at 4:45pm. Joseph's \n swimming lessons start at 6:00pm, so we left at 5:45pm. Since the adult \n lane swim session starts at 8:00pm, I had time for a nice long run. My \n previous long run on the treadmill was 6 miles, and today I was planning \n on doing 8 miles. I did my usual warm up, walking for 1:00 minute, and \n then jogging for another couple of minutes. At the 3 minute mark, I bump \n up the speed to 5.2 mph which is my running pace for the rest of my \n workout.\n

\n

\n I felt pretty good. My breathing wasn't hard, although my heart rate was \n at 145 bpm. This was higher than it was last week when it was in the \n lower 140's. I think the treadmill I had last week (2nd from the right) \n might be a little slower. Whatever it is, I thought my fitness was \n improving with the lower heart rate last week, and then this week, my \n heart rate is higher again. This week I used the treadmill on the far \n right. I drank from my water bottle every 15 minutes, taking 4 to 5 sips \n each time. At the end of my run, I tried to take a salt packet, but \n ended up leaving a lot of the salt in the package. I was trying to be \n discrete about it, and tried to suck the salt out of the packet, but it \n didn't work.\n

\n

\n I was getting tired the last 2 or 3 miles, but I kept plugging along. I \n never felt like I had to walk, though. Up to now, I've only been working \n out (running and swimming) once per week. Need to really ramp this up \n and start getting my long runs in. Only 12 weeks to go until the \n marathon!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 12.9km, total time: 1:33:49, average pace: \n 7:16mins/km, average heart rate: 144bpm.\n

\n

\n After my run, I went down to the change room to get into my swimming \n gear. I had over 15 minutes to change, so I took my time. I had a second \n salt packet and washed it down with the last of my gatorade. I took it \n really easy on my swim. I tried to make sure I relaxed and have a very, \n very easy kick. My lap times were slower than they were last week, but I \n still had a very good swim. For the last couple of laps, I really tried \n to pick up the pace. I tried to pull very hard. My arms were really \n starting to get tired and burn. I don't think this is the way to swim \n faster. I'm getting into my anaerobic zone and building up too much \n lactic acid in my arms. Is it better to have a higher stroke rate??? \n I'll have to experiment with this. I also have to work on my sighting so \n that I can sight and swim without adding or wasting extra effort.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 20 - 100m laps (2.0km), total time: 0:58:48, average pace: \n 2:56mins/100m.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1128, "title": "Signed up for 2009 Ottawa Marathon", "date": "2009-02-11 12:47:07.0", "content": "

\n Anne has been reminding me that the deadline for registering for the \n 2009 Ottawa Marathon was coming up before the entry fees go up. I think \n the deadline is Feb 14th (Valentine's day!). So at lunch I went to the \n Ottawa Marathon website and signed up! I like to use my work laptop PC \n to sign up for these things because I'm wary of any viruses and trojans \n that are on my home PCs that might be tracking stuff like credit \n numbers. \n

\n

\n Anyways, the sign up was quick and painless. The total cost was $81.30 \n after fees and everything. I think the entry fee is $75.\n

\n

\n OK, now I've really got to start training!!!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1129, "title": "WK10-3 Run & Swim", "date": "2009-03-03 22:12:04.0", "content": "

\n Went for my weekly run and swim at Walter Baker. This is Joseph's last \n day for his Bronze Cross swim lessons. I'll need to keep going even \n after his lessons are over. I drove Joseph for his swim lessons, so I \n got to Walter Baker nice and early before 6:00pm. I was planning to do \n 9 miles today. Right from the start my heart rate was high. It was \n going as high as 147-148 bpm. After the first 5 miles, I reset the \n treadmill, and set a new lower speed (5.0mph). This made it easier and \n I wasn't breathing as hard. It's disappointing to see that I'm \n struggling just to keep a 5.2mph pace. Hopefully I'll start seeing \n gains in my fitness and my heart rate start to go down. I was reading \n some blog entries from 2007 and my heart rate was in the low 130's \n during runs at this time in my training season!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 14.5km, total time: 1:46:55, average pace: \n 7:22mins/km, average heart rate: 148bpm. \n

\n

\n I took some salt before going for my swim. There was a point where I \n got a cramp during my swim. I had to stop and stretch it out. However, \n after that, I was able to keep another cramp from coming on. I found \n that my pace was swim pace was slower tonight, too. \n

\n

\n Swim stats: 17 - 100m laps (1.7km), total time: 0:52:59, average pace: \n 3:07mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1130, "title": "WK12-7 Long Run", "date": "2009-03-22 23:05:21.0", "content": "

\n We came back from our March Break ski trip early on Wednesday afternoon, \n but I couldn't get myself to go out for my runs. Today, I finally got \n myself out the door for a run. I really need to continue my long runs. \n I decided to run outside instead of on a treadmill. I planned on \n running out by Andrew Haydon, Brittania Beach, and the Ottawa River \n Parkway. The weather was sunny, but cool at -1 C. I wore my shorts and \n sweatpants, and my long sleeved technical-T and black nylon jacket. I \n also wore the small knit gloves. I felt fine, except in the parts of \n the run where it was really windy. My ears felt cold in these sections.\n

\n

\n I tried to keep an easy pace, but my heart rate was still high around \n 145bpm. I think my pace was around 7:00mins/km, but I'm not quite sure, \n because I had my watch set at average pace, instead of current pace. \n Going down Cedarview it was really windy and this is where I first felt \n a little cold. Going down by Andrew Haydon on the bike path there was \n still a lot of snow. This area is shaded by the trees, so the snow will \n melt more slowly here. There were other areas where there were piles of \n snow, but for the most part, the path was clear.\n

\n

\n I turned around at the 10km mark. I didn't start my stopwatch until \n close to Bell Arena, so this distance is longer on my previous runs. \n The Woodroffe exit is around the 9km mark, so this turnaround point is \n about 1km past the Woodroffe exit. There is a little path that goes \n closer to the river and then loops back to the main path. There are a \n couple of benches that overlook the river. I was feeling a little \n tired, but not too bad. My GPS battery died around the 12km mark. \n Yuck! So I didn't get pace data after that.\n

\n

\n After passing Brittania Beach, right near the dome, I think I finally \n hit the wall. My legs were starting to burn. I started walking during \n my next water break. After that I started running for a few minutes and \n then walking. I ended up doing more walking than running. I could also \n start to feel a pain on the outside of my right knee. It felt much \n better when I walked. I walked up Shouldice hill and Cedarview hill. I \n was pretty bagged by the time I got home. My legs weren't sore though, \n they just felt tired. The ball of my left foot felt OK. I was worried \n that this was going to get sore, but that never happened.\n

\n

\n Back at home, I carbo-loaded to replenish my carbs. I had the breakfast \n mix that Lizzie drinks. I also had a bowl of yogurt. A short while \n later, I made some oatmeal. Then after that we had ribs for dinner. \n Yum!\n

\n

\n Although this wasn't a great long run, I'm glad I went out. I'll need \n to really get these long runs in for the next month!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 20.0km, total time: 2:42:29, average pace: \n 8:07mins/km, average heart rate: 138bpm. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1131, "title": "WK13-6 Bike Ride", "date": "2009-03-28 22:50:23.0", "content": "

\n The top of my right foot and my right should are still sore. I'm \n worried about my right foot, since this soreness is due to my long run \n last week. Sometimes it is sore when I walk, so I'm worried about that. \n I haven't run since my long run last Sunday, so that's worrisome too. \n I just need to walk the fine line between trying to maximize my fitness \n and overdoing it and getting injured. Getting injured is not good, \n since it takes me a long time to get healed, and I lose a lot of \n valuable training time too!\n

\n

\n So today, I decided to go out for a bike ride instead. I used my \n mountain bike, since I was planning to just take the bike paths and \n there is still snow on the trails. It was a beautiful sunny day. It \n was around 12 degrees C. I decided to wear my bike shorts, sweat pants, \n long sleeve technical shirt, and my yellow biking jacket. I got hot \n pretty quick, and had the jacket zipped down halfway. I think it would \n have been fine just in my shorts and perhaps just the long sleeved \n shirt. I also grabbed a bottle of gatorade I had prepared for my long \n run last week and never used. This gatorade bottle fit perfectly in my \n water bottle holder.\n

\n

\n I had to pump air into the tires. I decided to take the bike path by \n Trend Arlington but then head north towards Craig Henry. There is a bike \n path that goes towards Centrepoint and the transitway. I then took the \n path out towards the Ottawa River Parkway. I have taken this path \n before, but a very, very long time ago. There were some parts of the \n path that still had snow and I had to get off my bike and walk. It was \n too dangerous to try and bike through the longer patches. For some of \n the shorter patches, I did try to plow right on through the snow. Some \n spots were scary, though, as my tires slipped and I leaned to one side.\n

\n

\n Once I got onto the parkway, I did the similar route as my long run last \n week. I went a bit further, though. I tried to get to the Champlain \n Bridge, but there was a long patch of snow before the bridge, and I \n decided to turn around there instead of trekking through the snow. The \n route back was pretty good. I was really worried about the bike path \n from Brittania to Andrew Haydon park, but it turned out to be fine. \n Last week, this whole stretch still had snow on it. But this week, \n there was only patches of snow! A lot of snow has melted since last \n week!\n

\n

\n Going up the hills at Shouldice and at Cedarview were hard, but I could \n gear down to the really easy gears on my mountain bike. It was a good \n first bike ride of the season. I ended up riding for 1.5 hours (I \n thought it was closer to 2 hours, but the GPS data doesn't lie... :-)\n

\n

\n Bike stats: distance: 26.83km, total time: 1:28:14, pace: 18.2kph, heart \n rate: 134bpm. \n

\n

\n  \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1132, "title": "WK18-7 Long run", "date": "2009-05-03 22:44:26.0", "content": "

\n Today was my longest long run for this training session. I was planning \n to run at least 35km, since last week's run was 31km. I've been pleased \n with my progress in that the distances where I start feeling tired in my \n long runs are being pushed out further and further. For my 20-22km long \n run, the last 3 km were difficult. But on my next long run, getting to \n that distance felt much better. It was the last 3 km of my 31km run \n where I started feeling really tired. So all-in-all a good sign that my \n fitness is improving.\n

\n

\n My plan is to run the recreation path to Shirley's Bay for my first \n loop, then come home and do a refill and go out onto the Ottawa River \n Parkway for a ~20km loop. This should get me to 34km. Depending on how \n I feel on the Parkway loop, I could extend the run a bit before turning \n around.\n

\n

\n Elizabeth and Anne had a dance competition at the Nepean Sportsplex this \n morning, so they were out the door early at 7:30am. I had gotten up to \n say goodbye to them and then get ready for my run. I had prepared some \n gatorade last night so that was all ready. I packed my waist pack with \n granola bars and salt packets. It was around 9C so I decided to wear my \n black jacket and sweat pants. I was out the door around 8:00am.\n

\n

\n The first part of the run was a struggle. I don't know if it was \n because I was up early, but I just felt lethargic. My legs felt tired \n and sore, probably from all the 14km runs I did in the week. However, I \n just told myself to keep an easy, steady pace and I would be just fine. \n Unfortunately my heart rate monitor just doesn't seem to be working \n well. I don't get heart rate readings very consistently, so I didn't \n know what my heart rate was. From my breathing, I thought I was \n probably over 140bpm.\n

\n

\n The sun was heating up the day pretty quickly, and I was already too hot \n by the time I got to the wooded area. For my hydration strategy, I had \n 4 sips of gatorade every 3km. By the time I had run 12km, the gatorade \n bottle was almost empty. There were about 2 sips left. This means \n there are about 18 sips in a full bottle. This info might come in \n useful when trying to figure out how many sips to take and how long a \n bottle will last on a long run. I also took a salt packet and ate a \n granola bar just before the 9km mark.\n

\n

\n I got back home around the 13.5km mark. At home I refilled my gatorade \n bottle, ate a granola bar, had a glass of water, and took a quick \n bathroom break. I was out again on my second loop in 10 minutes. I \n actually was feeling ok at this point. I had taken off my jacket and \n sweat pants, so I was now running in my long sleeve technical t-shirt \n and shorts. I was pretty cold at first, because the wind was blowing, \n but I soon warmed up. My heart rate monitor started to work for a while \n and said my heart rate was 134-135bpm. Wow! I even told myself I could \n push a little harder if my heart rate was that low.\n

\n

\n When I got to Andrew Haydon and by Brittania, there were tons of people! \n I think there was some type of event going on. I ran with some people \n and even passed them when we got to the Ottawa River Parkway. I tried \n to keep my pace quick, and I think I was running around \n 6:30-6:45mins/km. I felt so good that I decided to make my turn-around \n point at the Island Park bridge. This would make this loop 12km in one \n direction, 24km all-together. I knew the last few kilometers would be \n really tough, but I thought I needed to push myself.\n

\n

\n For this part of my run, I had to make my gatorade bottle last at least \n 20km, so I was taking only 3 sips every 4 km. Just before the 12km \n turn-around point, I had a granola bar and a salt packet. It would have \n been nice to drink more, but I also wanted to have some gatorade at the \n end of my run too.\n

\n

\n After I turned around, I found out why it seemed easy. The wind was \n blowing against my face and I really slowed down! I think my pace fell \n to over 7:00mins/km as I fought the head wind. I didn't want to exert \n to much effort running against the wind, because I still had a long way \n to go. Just after the Parkway on the straight-a-way towards Brittania, \n I did pick up the pace a little bit, but then slowed down again to \n 7:00mins or more per km. I think I had another salt packet around the \n 20km mark. By the time I hit Andrew Haydon, I was pretty tired. But I \n told myself to keep running until the hill at Shouldice farm, and I can \n walk up that hill. And I was able to hang on until that point! I \n walked up the Shouldice hill and then started running again when I was \n at the top. I ran until the Cedarview Hill where I stopped running just \n at the end of the wall and walked up that hill too! Although I was \n walking at this point, I was feeling pretty good relatively speaking. I \n had run over 37km at this point and I didn't feel as bagged as at the \n end of some of my previous long runs. Yay!\n

\n

\n It was around 12:35pm by the time I got back home. At home, I drank a \n Carnation Instant Breakfast, and also Iced my right foot. I then took a \n quick shower, and then Iced my foot again. After that, I went to bed \n and took a nap around 1:30pm. I also did some stretches before I went \n down for my nap. Anne and Elizabeth got home from the Dance competition \n around 2:30pm and I got up from my nap. Anne made some fried eggs for \n lunch which I happily gulped down along with a bunch of water. At \n 3:30pm, I took another nap for around 40 mins. At 4:30pm, I made some \n oatmeal. I had a bowl of yogurt around 5:30pm. We had dinner around \n 6:15pm. Anne made drum sticks in tomato/barbecue sauce. Yum!\n

\n

\n So, the whole day was pretty well spent running and then recovering from \n my long run. However, it was a really, really good run, and here at the \n end of the day, I'm actually feeling pretty good. Of course my legs are \n tired, and it's hard to go up and down stairs, but I'm feeling fine for \n someone thats just run 38km. I hope I'll feel this good for my marathon \n run in 3 weeks. Cross my fingers!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 38.5km, total time: 4:22:27, average pace: \n 6:52mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm (guesstimate).\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1133, "title": "WK18-5 Run", "date": "2009-05-01 21:29:58.0", "content": "

\n Went for another run today. I was thinking of doing only 10km, but it \n ended up being a 14.1 km run. I did my 10km loop out by Trend Arlington \n and the recreation path, but then did two loops around Bruce Pit. I was \n feeling pretty good, and I wanted to keep my distance up, so I decided \n to keep running around Bruce Pit. My heart rate was surprisingly low \n for most of the run, even though my pace was pretty quick \n (~6:30mins/km). I found out why it was so easy on the way out. I had a \n tailwind and didn't even realize it. After I turned around, there was a \n nice headwind and my pace slowed to ~7:00mins/km. The hills at Bruce \n Pit were a challenge, but good for developing my leg strength in going \n up hills.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 14.1km, total time: 1:32:34, average pace: \n 6:33mins/km, average heart rate: 138bpm \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1134, "title": "WK18-4 Run", "date": "2009-04-30 22:41:06.0", "content": "

\n Another run down by the Ottawa River Parkway. I left at 6:50pm and got \n back just before 8:30pm. By this time it is getting pretty dark, so I'm \n timing my runs just right so that I'm not running in the dark along the \n Parkway path where there are no lights. Heart rate monitor is acting up \n again and not giving me good readings. I'm not sure what I need to do \n to fix this. I did the same route as last run and turning around at the \n 7km point near the Parkway road. There was a beautiful sunset while I \n ran along the river and I kept turning my head to look at the river and \n the sunset. Need to remember to enjoy the scenery and take in all the \n beautiful sights of nature as I go on my runs!\n

\n

\n Another thing, is that I've been going on my runs without my MP3 player. \n I'm really enjoying the peace and quiet and just listening to the \n thoughts in my head, instead of music. I think most of the time, I tune \n out the music anyways... It's funny, you think you need to listen to \n the music, because it would otherwise be really boring, but when I run \n without the music, I just think about how I feel, how much further I \n need to go, is my pace right, etc... I don't seem bored at all! \n Sometimes I'll also think of other things that don't have to do with \n running. To me, it's like a quiet time where my mind just gets to \n wander all over the place without me consciously directing it. The time \n seems to pass by quickly enough!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 14.4km, total time: 1:32:52, average pace: \n 6:27mins/km, average heart rate: 146bpm (estimate)\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1135, "title": "WK18-2 Run", "date": "2009-04-28 10:29:54.209", "content": "

\n Went for a "longish" run today. I did my usual route to Andrew Haydon, \n but I kept going past Brittania Beach and almost up to the Parkway road. \n I couldn't get my heart rate monitor working today. It's so \n frustrating! I need to figure out how to fix this! From my RPE (Rate \n of Perceived Exertion), I was breathing pretty hard and was probably \n 145-150bpm. My pace was ~6:30mins/km. This isn't that fast, and I \n would hope that my heart rate would be lower for this pace. However, \n this is probably reflective of the amount of training I've done so far \n this year (which isn't much), and my current level of fitness. Given \n all that, I had a good run. My heart rate and breathing was probably \n faster than I would like, but I still felt pretty good and strong \n through the whole run. Slow and steady progress!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 14.4km, total time: 1:32:06, average pace: \n 6:24mins/km, average heart rate: 145-150bpm (estimate)\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1136, "title": "WK17-7 Long Run", "date": "2009-04-26 22:07:25.0", "content": "

\n Today is my long run day and I was planning to run the same Ottawa River \n Parkway route as last week. I was going to run 1km further to make the \n loop 24km compared to the 22km last week. I was also thinking that I \n would do a second loop, since I needed to get more distance on my long \n runs. However, I was pretty bagged at the end of my long run last week, \n so I'll just take stock of how I feel at the end of the first loop and \n then decide at that point. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn on my data \n recorder, so I didn't get any data on that first 24km loop! The 12km \n turn-around point is right at the Island Park bridge. I was hydrating \n every 4km and also took some salt packets.\n

\n

\n Going up the Shouldice hill I felt pretty good. I was able to run up \n the hills and I could feel the burn in my legs. However, I could see \n that I was feeling way better than last week. I was also able to run up \n the hill on Cedarview. I just kept my head down and just concentrated \n on chugging along. I decided that I would go out for another loop out \n by Trend Arlington. I turned around at the park around the 3km mark. I \n was pretty tired during this loop and my pace was over 7:30mins/km. But \n I really need to get the distance in... The tiredness, soreness, and \n aches are all going to be there at the end of the marathon, and I'll \n have to really concentrate to keep running and have a decent pace. I \n need to keep pushing myself to get to that state of exhaustion, but I \n need to ensure that I don't injure myself too! Need to walk that fine \n line.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 30.6km, total time: 3:53:28, average pace: \n 7:37mins/km, average heart rate: 145bpm (estimate) \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1137, "title": "WK17-4 Run", "date": "2009-04-23 21:26:27.0", "content": "

\n I ran the Andrew Haydon park route today. However, I changed things up \n a little and went down the recreation path which cuts diagonally towards \n Carling, instead of just following Acres Rd to Carling and the Andrew \n Haydon parking lot entrance. They have just re-paved this path and it \n was nice and smooth, flat, and new looking... I also kept running past \n the 5km mark all the way to the Bus road at Brittania Beach. This is \n around 5.5km.\n

\n

\n I had more problems with my heart rate monitor again. The readings are \n very erratic. I pushed the pace and my heart rate and breathing were \n very fast, so my RPE was high.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 11.5km, total time: 1:12:56, average pace: \n 6:21mins/km, average heart rate: 145-150bpm (estimate)\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1138, "title": "WK17-2 Run", "date": "2009-04-21 22:52:55.0", "content": "

\n I ran my regular 10km route by Trend Arlington park. I think I had a \n headwind on the way out. After I turned around, it seemed a little \n easier and my pace was faster. Heart rate monitor was erratic at the \n beginning of the run, but then settled down and I was able to get good \n readings of my heart rate. \n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 10.6km, total time: 1:09:41, average pace: \n 6:33mins/km, average heart rate: 146bpm \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1139, "title": "WK16-7 Long Run", "date": "2009-04-19 22:16:45.0", "content": "

\n I'm finally going on a long run after 4 weeks off! On my last run 4 \n weeks ago, I must have hurt my right foot, because the tendon at the top \n of the foot was very sore after the run. I decided to take bike rides \n instead of going on runs to help stay off the foot. However, it is now \n crunch time, and I need to get my long runs in. Otherwise, I might not \n even be able to finish a marathon! \n

\n

\n I took my regular route along the Ottawa River Parkway and went all the \n way out by Westborough beach. It was a pretty sobering run. My pace \n was slow and my heart rate was high. I decided to turn around at the \n 11km mark right after Westborough beach. I was feeling OK but I pretty \n well hit the wall at Shouldice hill. I ended up walking this hill and \n the Cedarview hill. This is not a good sign for my marathon. I only \n ran half the distance, and I'm already bagged. I'm really hoping my \n long runs will help me gain the fitness I need to comfortably finish a \n marathon!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 22.36km, total time: 2:39:46, average pace: \n 7:09mins/km, average heart rate: 153bpm \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1140, "title": "Internet Camera development", "date": "2009-04-01 21:55:15.0", "content": "

\n The past couple of days, I've been getting back into my robotics. I took \n out my pan-and-tilt camera with object tracking. I connected it up and \n got it working again.\n

\n
\n - I need to document the set up steps for both the H/W and S/W.\n
\n
\n - H/W: serial connection, power adapter, USB connetion\n
\n
\n - S/W: Run RoboRealm first, run script for object detection, run \n Roborealm controller C# application\n
\n

\n I saw a bug where if I hit the servo home button, it only works for the \n X-axis. It doesn't always center for the Y-axis. Sometimes it will work \n on the Y-axis, but most of the time it doesn't. I think it is a race \n condition where the X and Y updates are sent so quickly to the servo \n controller, that it loses the second update.\n

\n

\n I added code to explicitly send the updated servo values rather than \n just rely on a value change event triggering an update. I also hooked up \n my game controller and moved the camera that way. However, I found that \n the camera moves much more slowly using the joystick compared to using \n the dialog slider bars. This is because I sample the joysticks at a \n fairly slow rate and, therefore, increment the servo positions at this \n slow rate. With the joy sticks, I'm basically just giving an up/down or \n right/left signal compared to the slider where I can put it at an \n absolute position very quickly.\n

\n

\n \"D-Link\n \n

\n

\n Another thing I was looking at was my D-Link DCS-920 internet camera. At \n first I was hooking it up to RoboRealm to see if I could use it as a \n videosource. There is a control you can use for a D-Link camera and I \n finally got that working. However, the frame rate is SO SLOW!!!! It was \n 0.5 FPS. There is also a read HTTP routine, but I get the same slow \n 0.5fps.\n

\n

\n During the investigation, I found there are several URL's that gave you \n access to te camera images:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n /video.cgi or /mjpeg.cgi - gives you the streaming jpeg video\n
    • \n
  • \n /image.jpg - gives latest jpg image\n
    • \n
  • \n /image.cgi - gives info on current image, resolution, saturation, \n contrast, etc.\n
    • \n
  • \n /user.cgi - gives user access control value\n
    • \n
  • \n /userlist.cgi - gives list of users\n
    • \n
\n

\n There were also others I found so trial and error. I basically looked at \n the web page control for the camera and then tried to find the command \n to invoke that directly.\n

\n

\n I then went searching for some C# code that could decode the MJPEG \n stream. I did a google search on "C# mjpeg stream" and found a cool \n Camera Vision application by Andrew Kirillov that is like a demo \n security and surveillance application. You can connect to different \n types of internet cameras, and there is even support for building views \n tih multiple cameras on the screen with the windows arranged in a grid. \n Cool Stuff!!!\n

\n

\n Unfortunately, my D-Link DCS-920 camera wasn't listed in the set of \n cameras in this application. There was a D-link camera there but it only \n had jpeg and not mjpeg support. I tried using one of the Axis cameras \n and adjusting the video.cgi URL, but I couldn't get this to work. I \n debugged it by setting a breakpoint at where the http request was sent \n and found the response triggered an exception "Connection was closed \n unexpectedly".\n

\n

\n However, I did get the JPEG working. This is where the client \n continously requests a new JPEG image from the internet camera server. I \n think there is an issue with the admin user which has a null password. \n Need to look into this.\n

\n

\n I did another google search and found another app by Scott Hanselman. \n Scott extended another app by Andrew Kirilov which did motion detection. \n Scott wanted to build a baby camera app. He fixed the motion detection \n app to work on the D-Link cameras. He had a different camera, but the \n web server was the same software!!! I know this because when I looked at \n my header's from the JPEG response, it was the same author. They \n actually spelled the work "auther" wrong! (Auther was Andrew Wu.) Scott \n actually mentions this in his article too! (That auther was spelled \n wrong.) Scott also talked about a TCP sniffer tool that he used. Need to \n look into that.\n

\n

\n I downloaded Scott's app and built it using MS Studio. I was having \n problems building the solution. I was getting some type of exception. I \n forgot to write down the error. I did a search on google and found \n someone fixed this error message by building just for the x86 platform \n instead of "Any CPU". Here's how you do this:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Open Solution Explorer\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Right click on solution and choose "Configuration Manager"\n
    3. \n
  3. \n For Active solution configuration, choose "Debug"\n
    4. \n
  4. \n For Active solution platform, choose "x86"\n
    5. \n
\n

\n Once I did this, I got the app to build properly. Yay!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1141, "title": "Camera app for motion detection", "date": "2009-04-02 22:18:33.0", "content": "

\n In the article Scott was talking about problems he had with \n authenticating with the Camera Server for the MJPEG stream. He \n described how he fixed this problem. I need to go back and understand \n his solution.\n

\n

\n http://blogs.msdn.com/coding4fun/archive/2006/10/31/912407.aspx \n

\n

\n I started the motion app, put in the URL for my internet camera, and \n log-in credentials, and it worked!!! Woo Hoo!!! I now have a \n standalone app to view the MJPEG stream from my D-Link internet camera. \n I then started looking into the code in more detail andmade some \n improvements and additions to the program.\n

\n

\n The motion app has an open URL dialog box for the MJPEG stream. These \n are just constants defined in the code. They are defined for the JPEG \n and MJPEG streams. I added my own URL's to this list:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n paje.dyndns.org/video.cgi or image.jpg\n
    • \n
  • \n 192.168.2.249/video.cgi or image.jpg\n
    • \n
\n

\n This allowed me to easily fill in the URL from the pulldown menu, but \n the login and password were still blank. I found that there is an event \n that gets triggered when you select from the menu drop down list. I \n added code to the event handler to fill in the login and password text \n fields if the URL was one of my two URLs. However, I found that these \n text fields weren't blanked out if I chose a different URL. I added \n more code to blank out the login/password fields if they weren't my URL. \n So now it's easy for me to connect to my camera. I select the correct \n URL using a drop down menu, and my login credentials are input \n automatically.\n

\n

\n I found a bug when I tried to connect with a JPEG stream. I debugged \n and found there was an authentication error. I looked at the JPEG \n source and found that the login field was not set correctly. It was \n using "name" instead of "login". I compared the MJPEG and JPEG \n procedures to make sure they were the same.\n

\n

\n In the camera viewer application, you can set how often you want the \n frames (ie framerate), but for the motion application, this isn't \n available. The motion app will just display the frames as fast as it \n can get them. I also noticed that the camera viewer app displays both \n the Kbps and fps statistics. The motion app only shows the fps \n statistics.\n

\n

\n I added the Kbps to the status bar of the motion app. I also added the \n # of frames to both apps. Continuing on, I also added the start time \n and duration to the status bar for both apps. I had a hard time getting \n rid of the fractions of second, but finally got it working. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1142, "title": "Robotics Projects and Project Management", "date": "2009-04-06 22:43:37.0", "content": "

\n I spent a lot of time this past weekend working on my robotics. I wanted \n to get my robot working for the ORE meeting on Monday. I also want to be \n better at focussing my development effort. This will make the time I \n spend on my robotics hobby more effective and reduce the amount of \n "wasted" time. I should have a view of all the different tasks and \n projects I want to get done and prioritize them. I also must have \n a view of how long tasks and projects take. I must get good at \n development estimates.\n

\n

\n I should also be clear on what my requirements are. State them as \n simple, basic things I should get working and then things for improving \n and optimizing. I want to break them up this way because I need to be \n able to estimate what it takes to get something working vs. improving \n and optimizing the system. The latter can go on forever if you don't set \n a goal or objective. It's OK to keep tweaking things, but you have to \n weigh this against all the other work items. What is good enough??? Need \n to set your priorities!!!\n

\n

\n It's funny and interesting how all the things I'm writing about are the \n knowledge and skills I need to use as a Project Manager at Nortel. I \n just want to be a better Project Manager at managing my own projects! \n This should really help me internalize all these PM knowledge and \n skills. I also have to become an expert at using Project Management \n tools like MS Project. Just need to jump into ACTION NOW!!! I have all \n these great ideas. DO IT NOW!!!\n

\n

\n Here are some of the things I did on the weekend and approximately how \n long the items took.\n

\n

\n 2 hours\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Replace encoder disc on right wheel. Had to assemble and dis-assemble \n several times. I thought glue didn't work, or encoder disc wasn't \n straight and flat. Also had to align screws with holes. Took a long \n time to put back together.\n
    • \n
\n

\n 2.5 hours\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Fixed my veer routines -> made some errors when trying to optimize \n system.\n
    • \n
  • \n Got Serial input working. When I added this, it hung myprocessor. I \n was using an incorrect type for the return value from ReadUSART. I \n changed this to just read the RCREG (serial receive register).\n
    • \n
  • \n Set wheel speed target from Windows app.\n
    • \n
\n

\n 2.0 hours\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Updated PIC program to send $ROBO data strings\n
    • \n
  • \n Updated windows forms to have tabs for different data.\n
    • \n
  • \n However, I was sloppy with the copy/paste and ended up with the copied \n text boxes which were renamed to generic names and no longer matched \n any code!!!\n
    • \n
  • \n I tried renaming but this didn't work since the original names already \n existed, but I didn't know where they were on the form designer!\n
    • \n
  • \n Tried refactoring (renaming) and I ended up breaking the form designer \n with duplicate names.\n
    • \n
  • \n Had to edit the designer code manually and eventually got it fixed.\n
    • \n
\n

\n 3.0 hours\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Updated RoboMagellan program to receive and parse $ROBO strings.\n
    • \n
  • \n Did this by cloning NMEA Interpreter parser and event handlers in the \n form code.\n
    • \n
  • \n I left the original code in and added my $ROBO_PARSER code.\n
    • \n
  • \n I defined new event handlers which were bound in from the form code to \n update the text boxes in my app windowsforms.\n
    • \n
  • \n My serial input routine works, but it doesn't quite behave the way I \n expected.\n
    • \n
  • \n "Read Existing" doesn't actually remove bytes from the buggers.\n
    • \n
  • \n Does it look for carriage return/line feed characters? (I read this on \n the net.)\n
    • \n
  • \n I dump the data from the serial event handler toa n output window, but \n the data sure looks weird. I read the same line several times before \n getting the whole line with "*" and "checksum" at the end.\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1143, "title": "Sumobot debugging", "date": "2009-04-04 22:10:57.0", "content": "

\n Got my robot development environment working again. I got my programmer \n working, using tinybootloader to program the PIC. I needed to use the \n RS232 level shifting board. I had to find a cable to connect this board \n to the Sumobot controller board. I ended up using two cables to connect.\n

\n

\n I found the latest code for the Sumobot and copied it to a new folder. I \n tested the code by running the simple navigation to a point and then \n return to origin. I found that the robot wasn't accurate. I tried two \n things:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n I changed the front slider from a felt pad to a lego slider. This \n didn't seem to have an impact.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n I noticed that interrupts (interrupt on change) were used for \n detecting encoder ticks. I changed this back to sampling.\n
    3. \n
\n

\n I noticed that the right encoder disc was all black. I had coloured the \n dark portion of the disk with a felt pen and it must have bled to the \n other side. I had to remove the bottom battery holder (it was a real \n pain to screw it back!). I removed the mounting screws for the right \n motor and the screws for the bracket holding the IR detector. The motor \n wires were still connected to the motor so I had to carefully free the \n motor toa ccess the disc. I removed the old disc and glued in the new \n one. I used contact cement, and I didn't think it was going to stick \n very well. The disc was sliding all over the place and it was difficult \n to keep the disc centered and flat.\n

\n

\n I ended up going and buying some crazy glue and then dis-assembling the \n motor again. But when I checked the encoder disc, it seemed to be \n solidly glued so I just left it.\n

\n

\n I wanted to redo the odometery calibration. I connected up the sumobot \n to my serial port so I could see the output data. I then manually turned \n the wheel. I put stickers on the wheel so I could count how many \n revolutions I turned. I found the left wheel was so inconsistent. The \n right wheel was a little better, but still inconsistent.\n

\n

\n This is when I realized that I was using the port interrupt on change. I \n remembered that I wasn't getting accurate results with that, so I \n converted back to sampling. I turned off the RBIE (Port B Interrupt \n Enable). I uncommented the wheel encoder sampling code in the main \n interrupt routine. After converting back to sampling the wheel encoders, \n I re-did my odometery tests. This time the results were much more \n consistent. I captured the results in an excel spreadsheet called \n Robotics.test.odometery.v03.xls. The average ticks per inch ~30.1.\n

\n

\n I then re-ran my navigation tests, trying to navigate to different \n target way points. I still get a lot of inaccuracy, and the robot has a \n large error when it tries to navigate back to the starting point. I even \n replaced the felt slider at the front with a lego slider. Still getting \n navigation errors.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1145, "title": "Sumobot debugging (cont'd)", "date": "2009-04-05 21:26:38.0", "content": "

\n I was looking at the Navfsm code and was trying to clean it up. In some \n spots I was setting the motor power values and I'm trying to move away \n from that. I want to set the wheel target speed and then have my motor \n PID routine control the motor power values.\n

\n

\n Writing about the PID controller, made me look up tuning a PID \n controller on google. Found some good articles on this. Want to tune the \n sumobot PID controller. With this info, I should also be able to tune \n the Hummerbot base which oscillates terribly!!!\n

\n

\n http://www.embedded.com/2000/0010/0010feat3.htm \n

\n

\n I had made some errors in my Navfsm code cleanup and wasn't restoring \n the proper values after a veer. This screwed up my veer routines, and I \n could no longer navigate to a waypoint! After I found and fixed this \n error, I was able to navigate to waypoints again. OK, so I'm back to \n square-one. I have my development environment working again. I can \n program my robot. The robot can navigate to waypoints, although the \n accuracy is not that good.\n

\n

\n I added code to my PIC robot program to read input data from the serial \n port. This is the same code that is used for the servo camera demo. \n However, there was a problem and my program just hung. The problem was \n with the ReadUSART call. The return value needs to be change from a CHAR \n to an INT. Instead, I changed this to just read RCREG (serial receive \n register). This code has worked in my previous robots and so I'll need \n to fix that for the others too!\n

\n

\n Once I got this working, I could set the wheels speeds from my Windows \n Robot Controller program. In my PIC program, instead of setting the \n servo position, I used the received byte value to set the wheel speed. \n "0" was "X" servo, now "LeftWheelSpeed", and "1" was "Y" servo, now \n "RightWheelSpeed". I could now set the wheel speed on my robots by \n inputing a value, or by moving scroll bars. Woo Hoo!!! This was cool!\n

\n

\n I added code to output robot data strings, similar to GPS strings \n ($ROBO1 and $ROBO2). I output X,Y Position info and target info, motor \n and wheel speed info. I then updated the Windows Robot Controller \n program to parse the Robodata strings. I created a RoboInterpreter which \n cloned the NMEA Interpreter class I got from a NMEAOS demo GPS app on \n Code Project. I left all the original NMEA code and just added code to \n handle the ROBO data strings. I defined the delegates for each event \n handler. This declaration specifies the parameters for the event \n handler. I also defined teh events for this class. A user of this class \n would then need to initialize the even handlers to their own procedures. \n Then I added Parse routines to pull out the data in the Robodata strings \n and then call the appropriate even handler with the data.\n

\n

\n In the forms code, I bind in the event handler. All the event handler \n does is update the appropriate controls (text box in this case) in the \n windows form. Looking at some of the other code, I saw something about \n "this.invoke", since you can't update windows forms from a non-GUI \n thread. This will be a problem if your event handler is called from a \n process/thread such as for the serial port or the RoboRealm controller \n which creates a new thread to send requests and get responses from \n RoboRealm. In this case, a new thread is already created when we Parse \n the input serial string.\n

\n

\n I also tried to clean up my Forms a bit, but ended up running into a \n problem. I was copying and pasting some controls when creating a new \n "tab". However, I ended up keeping the copied version and somehow losing \n the original version of the text boxes with my new names. All the text \n boxes and scroll bars now had generic names and no longer matched the \n names in the code! So now my code to send the servo values no longer \n worked. I tried to rename to the old names, but it wouldn't let me \n because these names already existed. But I didn't see them on the form \n any more! Somehow I renamed using "refactor" but then it complained \n about duplicate names and now I couldn't use the form designer anymore. \n (It came up with errors when I tried to bring up the form designer.) I \n was able to fix this by going in to the "formdesigner.cs" code and \n delete the duplicate names. Phew! Moral of the story is, if you're going \n to cut and paste windows forms controls, you must keep the originals \n in-tact!!! The new pasted controls will have generic names and will not \n be linked to any code in your program!!!\n

\n

\n I then started working on the platform where I could attach a camera. I \n had some nylon posts which take 4-40 bolts. However, these 4-40 bolts \n were still too large to fit through the tiny holes in the PIC \n brainboard. I used my drill press to drill bigger holes and then mounted \n the posts. I took some sintra and cut squares that were slightly larger \n than the PIC brainboard. To determine where to drill the holes in the \n sintra board, I put the posts on the board and traced a circle around \n the post. I marked the center of the circle and then drilled the holes.\n

\n

\n The holes were a little small and it was tight fit for the 4-40 bolts. I \n was able to force them through and since the holes were perfectly \n aligned to the posts, I was able to screw the bolts to the posts. So now \n I have a good platform for my camera.\n

\n

\n Next I needed to cut a slot in the platform so that I could insert my \n bluetooth serial module and a serial connector cable. I marked the \n approximate location of the hole, drilled a starting hole, and then cut \n out the slot. It was too narrow at first, so I used my rotary tool to \n widen the slot. The edges were no longer straight. It wasn't pretty, but \n now the slot is large enough for me to fit the bluetooth module through.\n

\n

\n I test fitted the lego camera by putting a lego strip down, mounting the \n camera to the strip, and then clamping the strip to the sintra platform. \n Worked well!!! At first I had the camera mounted on the back, but this \n made the sumobot tippy to the back, so I mounted the camera to the \n front. The camera ends up being very close to the bluetooth module, but \n it's still OK.\n

\n

\n Robot Controller Form, Navigation tab \n

\n

\n \"Robot\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1146, "title": "WK19-2 Run", "date": "2009-05-05 23:00:50.0", "content": "

\n I was feeling pretty good after my long run on Sunday. My legs were a \n little sore, but it didn't seem any worse than a normal run. Anne and \n Elizabeth had their soccer practice/dance practice tonight and left \n around 5:45pm. I spent some time trying to get my heart rate monitor \n working. I ended up getting the other heart rate monitor I bought off \n of e-bay and washing that with the nylon brush. I read earlier in the \n user guide about making sure the sensors are wet and positioned \n properly. The diagram pointed to the sensors, and they were on the \n pliable plastic part and not on the hard plastic. I always thought the \n sensor was part of the hard plastic. So when I washed the sensor, I \n made sure I scrubbed the plastic end parts very well.\n

\n

\n When I put on the heart rate monitor, it showed my pulse right away. \n Woo Hoo! I was now able to get good heart rate readings for this run. \n Unfortunately, I couldn't get my original heart rate monitor working. I \n don't know what happened. It seems totally broken now. \n

\n

\n I finally got out on my run around 6:30pm. It was really warm tonight, \n ~19 C. I wore my blue Cool Max technical T-shirt, and black shorts. I \n also wore my older Asics 1100 running shoes. I've been rotating among \n all my running shoes. I decided to run the Ottawa River Parkway route \n and go past the 7km mark. I ended up running to the parking lot (I \n forgot what the area is called). My GPS said 7.5km, but it didn't sync \n up until I was on Cedarview, so this really was close to 8km. When I \n got home, the GPS distance was 15.86 km. I was aiming for 16km, but \n this was close enough.\n

\n

\n I had a really good run. I kept my pace pretty quick. Many of my \n splits were ~6:10-6:15mins/km. I got tired towards the end, and my pace \n slowed down, but I was still able to run up the hills at Shouldice and \n Cedarview. It was a nice quick run, and my heart rate was reasonable \n too!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 15.86km, total time: 1:39:24, average pace: \n 6:16mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1147, "title": "Robot Projects", "date": "2009-04-08 22:22:18.0", "content": "

\n Continuing from my entry yesterday, I wanted to write down the many \n Robotics projects I have circulating in my head. I should prioritize \n these and schedule them so I can actually get these done!\n

\n

\n Tune Robot Motor PID Controller\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Build a system that allows you to collect data from the motor PID \n controller, graph the data, and determine the optimum PID gains for \n Kp, Ki, and Kd.\n
    • \n
  • \n Use this system to tune the PID controller for each of my robots.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Connect Sonar Sensor module to Robomagellan bots\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Build a mounting system for sonar module.\n
    • \n
  • \n Update S/W to support this sensor and update behaviour to use sensor \n input.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Update Robot S/W to usea Subsumption Architecture\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Read the David P Anderson articles on subsumption and write a \n framework for it.\n
    • \n
  • \n Convert to using this framework. This shouldn't be too hard, since \n I'm almost there. \n
    • \n
  • \n I think the main difference is a priority based handling of sensor \n input. That kind of logic is currently embedded in my behaviour FSM.\n
    • \n
  • \n Need to pull that into an "Arbitrate" procedure.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Build System to use Sony PS Controller\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Joseph has some Servo articles on this.\n
    • \n
  • \n Build a PIC program that can read a PS controller.\n
    • \n
  • \n Can then use this program as a controller for my bots.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Build a DEFCON type system\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Use vision to find targets adn aim a toy weapon system.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Build System to use MS GPS Sensor\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Build a connector for attaching sensor to microcontroller.\n
    • \n
  • \n Build connector for powering MS GPS module. (is it 5V or 3.5V?)\n
    • \n
\n

\n Update the Hummer Base H/W & S/W and get this working for RoboMagellan\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Find the latest working Hummerbot code and update for PID tuning and \n subsumption.\n
    • \n
  • \n Need to test and optimize Ackerman steering logic.\n
    • \n
  • \n The PID motor control needs to be improved greatly. Currently doesn't \n work. Oscillates too much. Delay betw. input and response is an \n issue. Read PID article to get hints on how to resolve this.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Build Sumobot\n

\n

\n Build Line Follower\n

\n

\n Re-Build Nerfbot\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Can I upgrade wheel encoders and mount them on motor shaft?\n
    • \n
  • \n Have some circuit boards I haven't touched for a long time, and need \n to get them working again. eg. Laser detector board.\n
    • \n
  • \n Have to mount my nerf gun again.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Call OpenCV functions directly for Computer Vision processing (rather \n than RoboRealm)\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Already found a good OpenCV wrapper.\n
    • \n
  • \n Need to become proficient at using Open CV utilities.\n
    • \n
  • \n Also look at the camera viewer application to see how to use local \n image capture devices to grab frames to use for the vision processing.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Use SubVersion for Source Code Control\n

\n

\n Build WRT54GL System for Wireless communication with Robots \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1150, "title": "Windows Robot Controller Program", "date": "2009-04-10 21:48:47.0", "content": "

\n The following was about 4 hours of effort.\n

\n

\n I had an idea of adding a compass to my RoboMagellan program to show the \n bearing of the robot visually. Currently the bearing is shown in a text \n box. I thought by having it visually displayed, I could watch the robot \n and the compass to see if the actual robot orientation is close to what \n the calculated orientation (theta) is from the odometry calculations.\n

\n

\n I did a search for C# compass and found a good program, but it was \n written for C++ and not C#. I'll have to look at it later to see if I \n can understand the program and perhaps convert it to C#. I found another \n project that implemented an airplane instrument panel. This was cool. \n Then I found a program that implemented a "guage" as a custom control. \n This was perfect!\n

\n

\n I copied the custom control to my project and added it to my project \n using the solution explorer. However, I didn't know how to add the \n custom control to my tool box. I found in the comments that if you add a \n reference to the "aGuage" program, you can then copy controls from one \n form to another. I created a new tab on my "form1" and pasted the guage \n in there. I had previously changed the guage so that it showed 0-360 \n degrees. I then added a line to the position received event handler to \n also set this guage to the bearing value. When I ran the program, it \n worked! The guage gave a visual indication of the robot bearing.\n

\n

\n However, since I had to show a new tab to see the compass, I couldn't \n see my motor power and wheel speed values at the same time as looking at \n the compass. I decided to bring up a different window to display the \n compass. I added a menu item to display a new form I created. At first I \n used show dialog, but that doesn't let you change focus. This method, \n must complete. You must close the window to get focus back to the main \n window. This is not what I wanted.\n

\n

\n I did a search on the web and found that you can use the "show" method \n for the form. I also had another bug that if you close the window, then \n there is an exception. This is because closing the window disposes it, \n and then I try to update the form after it is disposed. I had to go to \n the dispose method and then comment out the dispose code and replace it \n with a call to form.Hide() instead. I had to go searching for this \n method too. This hides the form, but keeps the object around. Ok, so now \n I can Show() and Hide() the form. I made this form a global variable in \n Form1.\n

\n

\n The guage I was using had a really wide needle. I finally figured out \n how to change the needle. There is a guage width property.\n

\n

\n \"Robot\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1151, "title": "Adding more Guages", "date": "2009-04-11 22:06:41.0", "content": "

\n The following was about 3 hours of effort. \n

\n

\n I really like the guage I put for the robot bearing. I decided to also \n add a guage for the heading error. I copied another guage and modified \n it to have a range of 0-360 degrees. This is when I also figured out how \n set the needle width (using guage width property). I tried it, and it \n didn't seem to work right. When I looked at the heading error values, I \n noticed that they can go negative and this wasn't shown on the guage \n (the guage just stayed at zero). I needed to change the range of the \n guage to be -180 to +180 degrees. I tested again and it worked! I \n added N, S, E, and W labels to the Bearing guage so it looked like a \n compass.\n

\n

\n Next I wanted to be able to set the motor power values. I created a new \n "command - FD" to send the motor power values. However I only used a \n "char" so value was only 256 and this wasn't enough to turn on the \n motors. I tried to send two bytes for the integer, but it took me a \n long time to figure out how. I found how to convert an INT into a byte \n array by searching google. Then I needed to figure out which byte was \n sent first (big endian or little endian). Another problem I had was \n that I was trying to shift the char in the message and casting this as \n an unsigned INT. I was trying to recombine the two bytes I had into a \n single INT by shifting the high byte and OR'ing it with the low byte. I \n couldn't get this to work. When I finally assigned the CHAR to a temp \n INT variable and then did the shift, it worked!\n

\n

\n I was finally able to send the motor power value and receive it \n correctly on the Sumobot. Fooling around with the values, I found that \n the maximum wheel speed is ~190-200 ticks/sample period. Max motor \n power value is ~500 at the max wheel speed.\n

\n

\n On the Sumobot, I found that the left wheel speed isn't that stable. \n The wheel speed seems to oscillate quite a lot. I swapped the encoders \n circuit with the right wheel and still it oscillated. I then tried \n swapping the motor connections and still have oscillations. I think its \n the motor or motor gears that are causing the problem. Need to keep an \n eye on this. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1152, "title": "Hummerbot Debugging", "date": "2009-04-13 23:48:55.0", "content": "

\n The following was about 4 hours of effort.\n

\n

\n I dusted off my Hummerbot and started to work on it again. I want to \n update the program so I can control it with my Robocontroller just like \n Sumobot. I found the latest version of my Hummerbot code, labelled \n "hummer3" from June 2008. I opened this project and then saved it as \n "hummer4" in a new hummer4 18f4620 folder. I remembered this time to \n close the editor window and then re-open the source files so they're \n pointing to the files in the new folder.\n

\n

\n The program already receives data from the serial port using the GPS \n 4800 baud. I commented out the GPS_AVAILABLE flag so that the other \n USART is opened. This is set to 57600 baud. I also changed this call to \n use RX_INT_ON (serial receive interrupt on) and CONT_RX (continous \n receive). I updated the serial receive routine to look for the commands \n from the RoboController instead of the GPS strings. I added the \n robodata.c and .h modules to handle parsing the input command bytes and \n to output the $ROBO data strings.\n

\n

\n I made a mistake at first and pointed to the robodata.c versions in the \n hummer3 folder. I noticed this in one of the build error messages. I \n removed these files from the project and added the ones from the hummer4 \n folder. I updated the main routine to check the serial string flag and \n call the read_robodata procedure to parse the string. Also added a check \n for robodata flag to output the $ROBO data string.\n

\n

\n After these modifications, I could now check and set the wheel speed and \n motor power values using the RoboController. I set the wheel speed and \n could see the motor power values adjusting. The wheel speeds oscillated \n quite a bit at the target wheel speed of 5. I then tried setting the \n motor power value as soon as I set it to 1, the motors raced like crazy. \n That's when I realized that this robot micro controller board uses \n NEGATIVE MOTOR POWER CONTROL!!!\n

\n

\n I compensated for this by updating the READ ROBODATA parsing routine to \n subtract the requested motor power value from 0x3FF to convert it to a \n negative motor power control value. By doing this translation on the \n robot microcontroller, I could keep the Windows Robot Controller using \n the normal positive motor power logic. The Robot Controller is then \n using the same interface for both positive and negative motor power \n control robots. After these changes, I could now go from zero to 1 and \n slowly increase the motor power. However, I found when I went from 127 \n to 128, the motors raced again, and I saw a value of 65408 in the \n RoboController window.\n

\n

\n It took me a while to track this bug down. It turns out the issue was \n with my "theMessage" receiver buffer. It was defined as an array of \n CHAR, therefore, any motor power value >127 is a negative number, and \n when this was converted to an INT, the sign bit was propagated to the \n upper byte resulting in the huge INT motor power. I thought I was \n handling this with the "unsigned int" cast, but it doesn't work that \n way. I changed "theMessage" buffer to an "unsigned char" array and it \n worked! I could now set the motor power value across the whole range.\n

\n

\n Now that I can set the wheel speed and the motor power values, I started \n to focus and turned my attention to the motor PID controller. It was \n still oscillating quite a bit when I set the wheel speed to 5. I added \n code which sets the motor power value to 480 if the target wheel speed > \n 0 and current wheel speed = 0 and current motor power value < 480. This \n helps reduce or eliminate the ramp up time when starting from a \n standstill.\n

\n

\n There were still oscillations. I reset Kp and Kd to 1 (they were 24/32 \n and 16/32). There was also some code which only did the wheel speed \n adjustment once every 5 times. I removed this. This seems to have \n helped, but still some oscillations. I also found that the "set wheel \n speed" procedure has a check for target speed > 0 and current speed = 0 \n and sets the minimum power value to 550 for the motors! Need to get rid \n of this since I already have this check in the adjust wheel procedure.\n

\n

\n After this tuning, the motor PID was working much better. It still \n oscillates, but not as badly.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1155, "title": "December ORE Robotics meeting", "date": "2008-12-08 23:32:37.0", "content": "

\n I demo'd my orbit web cam with object tracking at this month's ORE \n robotics meeting. Lots of people asked about my camera. I told them \n that it was $100 from Future Shop. It was a Logitech Orbit Cam. \n Moredecai also said you don't have to use a fancy camera like this, you \n can do the same thing with servos.\n

\n

\n I asked Mordecai about his C# code for RoboRealm. He helped me debug \n and showed me some good hints. (Eg. You can set breakpoints, using F9?) \n You can also scroll over the variables, after hitting a breakpoint, and \n see what the values of those variables are. Cool! You can also look at \n a "watch" window which will show the variables. Use \n "Console.writeline("debug string") to send debug info to the debug \n output window. You'll need to choose "view output" from menu.\n

\n

\n Mordecai also gave me an important tip regarding threads. I was binding \n in an event handler to output text to my window. But Mordecai said this \n was called from the process thread for sending/receiving RoboRealm \n commands. You shouldn't use this thread to output to text boex in your \n forms. He then changed my code. Basically you call yourself creating \n a new thread. \n

\n

\n Mordecai also brought in a mini helicopter. It was so cool! It was \n really stable. He said it had four channels. This is important. \n Helicopters can go up/down, left/right, and rotate about its axis. The \n rotation is important because it can point it's nose. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1156, "title": "Blade mini CX helicopter", "date": "2008-12-13 12:41:24.56", "content": "

\n I was telling Anne about the cool mini helicopter that Mordecai had \n brought into the ORE robotics meeting. I thought Joseph would really \n like it. I phoned Dynamic Hobbies on Saturday morning and the sales \n clerk said they normally don't have them in stock, but he does have some \n --> it's called the "Blade mini cx". I went that morning and picked one \n up. It was $157. Mike, the sales guy said it has been really popular. \n He said they've probably sold 30 in the last 6 weeks. \n

\n

\n I also bought some servos ($16 ea) and power connectors. Mike said the \n prices for servos has gone up about $2 since the summer when the \n Canadian dollar was really high.\n

\n

\n \"Blade\n \n

\n

\n \"Blade\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1157, "title": "BotBoy's lunch, Hauppage TV tuner debugging", "date": "2008-12-18 21:51:19.0", "content": "

\n Went to the BotBoy's lunch that Ron organized. It was at Jack Astor's in \n Kanata Centrum. Ron, Aaron, Adrez, Richard Cook, Ken, Albert, Guy and I \n were there. Andrez was talking about writing a simulator similar to \n Player. Andrez also works at Nortel in the VSE group. Richard works at \n Nortel in MEN. I talked about my Pan and Tilt I built. Andrez asked me \n what kind of camera I had or did I just use a cable. I told him it was \n just a web cam. Andrez said he has an internet camera, but it's not \n supported by RoboRealm. I told him I saw a control for an internet \n camera.\n

\n

\n Richard talks a lot. He blabs on and on. He hogs the conversation. One \n time he was talking and mid discussion he forgot his point. He talked \n about Finite Impulse Response (some matrix calculation). Andrez said it \n was just linear algebra. These response filters can be used on images \n for gaussian blur, finding edges, etc. Photoshop filter stuff...\n

\n

\n I was testing out my Hauppage USB TV Tuner, but Roborealm doesn't \n recognize it. In the video options dialog, it says the \n colour/compression format is HCW2, but a dialog box pops up and says \n CXF2 isn't supported. I can display the image using the AMCAP \n application. I searched on the forum and it says HCW2 format is now \n supported.\n

\n

\n I also found the response from the camera to be really slow. I turned \n off MPEG2 and response is now really fast. Why is that? Need to try and \n figure this out.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1159, "title": "Building 2 mini-ORE boards", "date": "2008-12-20 23:04:06.0", "content": "

\n I decided to finally build my other mini-ORE boards. I had two \n PIC18F2620's and Aaron said he had some he could give me. I have four \n empty boards, so I decided to build two now. I also thought building \n two together would be more efficient. Anne had a girls night out \n tonight, and the kids were watching Nemo, so it was nice and quiet.\n

\n

\n I set up my workspace at the kitchen table (see pictures). I brought up \n my white lamp from the basement and I put down an anti-static bag for my \n work area. This hopefully prevents static from damaging components. I \n started between 7:30 and 8:00pm. I was thinking it would take me 2 \n hours max. Boy was I wrong. It took me an hour just to put in the \n small RS232 level shifter and 402 caps!!!\n

\n

\n Anne came home around 12:30 and I was still working on my board. It was \n past 1:30 by the time I had finished putting in all the headers. I was \n using a small vice and it works pretty well. One problem though is your \n hands aren't supported by the table and your elbows, so my hands are \n really shaky! I tried to tuck in my elbows close to my body to \n stabilize my arms and hands.\n

\n

\n I need to get a new pointier soldering tip for my Weller soldering iron. \n The current one I have is too wide for the really small SMT devices, \n especially the really small 0403 caps. I think Aaron said 1.5mm tip??? \n Another hint is to "slide" the cap or resistor on first solder pad \n instead of push down. I find if I slide, I can keep the components \n flat. If I try to push down, inevitably the part swivels and is no \n longer flat on the board. I then have to heat the pad and push down \n component, but it usually moves! Also, need to heat the pad then bring \n in the solder. Otherwise the solder just melts on the tip and doesn't \n flow to the board or part.\n

\n

\n Aaron said he likes to put the ICs/chips in first so there's nothing in \n the way. I was starting with the smallest components and going up, which \n usually meant the ICs were installed last. I like Aaron's idea of \n installing the IC's first. The smaller devices like resistors and \n capacitors are easy enough to solder around the ICs. \n

\n

\n I started by soldering the RS232 max chip. This is really small! It \n probably took me 15 mins. just to get it tacked down and aligned \n correctly! I think one of my problems is that my soldering tip is too \n wide for these smaller components. The pads are so small its hard for \n me to heat them up and get solder on them. The next part is getting the \n IC aligned preoperly. I think this would be much easier if my arms and \n hands were resting on the table. They wouldn't be so shaky!\n

\n

\n Another tip is for the through hole components. Before I was putting \n the board upside down, but I had a hard time keeping the components in \n place. They would always fall out. Previously I had tried taping the \n components. Now, I put the board at a 45-75 degree angle and solder on \n the bottom looking up. It's a bit awkward, but I can just tack one pin, \n I can also hold the component straight (by header pins). Then I can \n turn the board over and solder the other pins. I do the "tacked" pin \n last. If you do it first the component will fall out! That pin is the \n only thing holding it down!!!\n

\n

\n Another thought: if I want to get good at soldering surface mount stuff, \n I need to practice. Keep making boards and practice a lot! Also need \n to get the right equipment. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1160, "title": "u-ORE Buildfest", "date": "2008-12-20 23:24:41.0", "content": "

\n Today is the buildfest day. I decided to start building the u-ORE boards \n at home. I wanted to solder the smaller, hard to do components at home. \n I ended up doing most of the bottom side. I also started putting stuff \n in a tool base to bring over. I ended up using my large blue toolbox. It \n has small compartments in the lid which I never used. I put a bunch of \n stuff in there. Very useful.\n

\n

\n Should put together a list of essential items I need to bring if I go to \n a competition. Tools, spare parts, documentation files on PC, all the \n stuff I need!\n

\n

\n Went over to the buildfest around 2:30pm. Aaron, Norm, Jim, Guy, Luc, \n Amjad were already there. I showed Jim and Aaron my new web camera \n tracking with Pan and Tilt. No one else seemed interested. I built the \n top side of the board. I lost a 100K resistor and 0.1 cap. They fell on \n the floor never to be found again. :-(\n

\n

\n I finished soldering the resistors, caps and LEDs on the top. Jim is \n putting a group order together for some micro-servos. I'm getting 16. I \n said 20, but he put down 16, that's OK. I thought these sould be really \n good for pan and tilt, they are so small!!!\n

\n

\n One thing I learned from Guy is to use a Clamp to hold your board (bar \n clamp, c-clamp would work too). Just need a heavy clamp that will be \n stable. Since the clamp is low, you can now rest your hands on the table \n when soldering and be nice and stable.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1164, "title": "Hummerbot - Improvement and Optimization Ideas", "date": "2009-04-15 22:56:34.0", "content": "

\n \n

\n

\n Positive/Negative Motor Power handling\n

\n
    \n
  • \n I have lots of code and #if checks for Positive/Negative motor power \n control\n
    • \n
  • \n I need to clean all this up!\n
    • \n
  • \n I should have everything use positive power control (min=0, max=0x3FF) \n and have one procedure where I set the motor power values.\n
    • \n
  • \n Then only in this procedure do I check the Positive/Negative power \n control and do a conversion before calling the Set DCPWM procedures. I \n thould only be calling the SetDCPWM procedures in one spot!\n
    • \n
  • \n This should control the setting of the motor power values better.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Global Variable Initialization\n

\n
    \n
  • \n There seems to be an issue with the initialization of global \n variables. Need to bottom this out.\n
    • \n
  • \n I was thinking of displaying the initialized variable using the Robo \n Controller to see if the variables were initialized.\n
    • \n
  • \n I wonder if there is a problem with a store trampler?\n
    • \n
\n

\n Servo Control Code\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Improve servo control code.\n
    • \n
  • \n My servo control code really needs to be cleaned up.\n
    • \n
  • \n Currently only handles one servo (laser servo) using interrupts and \n the others (trigger and advanced) use real time wait loops which will \n block all other code from running.\n
    • \n
  • \n Modify Servo FSM to be able to handle multiple servos.\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1167, "title": "Hummerbot steering servo control", "date": "2009-04-14 22:09:48.0", "content": "

\n The following was about 1 hour of effort.\n

\n

\n I added a new tab to RoboController for controlling steering servo on \n the Hummerbot. Added numeric up/down and hsscrollbar controls to set \n servo values. I looked at the current settings for servo center, left, \n and right to determine the range of these inputs. I updated the serial \n receive routine. I used the "FD" code and the 2nd byte 0 and 1 are for \n setting motor power values. I used "2" for setting servo value. I \n already had the code for receiving a 2 byte motor power value so I used \n the same code for receiving a 2 byte servo value.\n

\n

\n In windows form, I cloned code for sending motor power values and \n updated for sending steering servo value. After these quick changes, I \n was able to move steering servo by sliding the scroll bar. Cool!!!\n

\n

\n I found the values I had in the PIC code were pretty good. I can \n actually fine tune the values more, so that they don't oscillate at the \n extremem ends of left and right (servo trying to go past limits).\n

\n

\n I still have to figure out some good logic for controlling my steering \n when going towards a target.\n

\n

\n \"Robot\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1168, "title": "WK19-4 Run", "date": "2009-05-07 22:20:31.0", "content": "

\n We started dinner a little late, and I ate a huge dinner! I was so \n full. I actually went and lied down for 20 mins to help digest dinner. \n I ended up leaving 1/2 hour later than usual around 7:30pm. It was \n another warm evening again today. I wore my blue cool max t-shirt and \n shorts. I ran my usual route out by Andrew Haydon Park and Brittania \n Beach.\n

\n

\n I really had a quick run today. I kept my pace fast around 6:00mins/km \n and kept it fast until I got back to the hills. After all my fiddling \n with my heart rate monitors, I was having problems with them again! :-( \n Also my GPS battery died just when I got to the Shouldice hill, so I \n had to estimate my total distance. However, it still was a good run. I \n was pushing myself, and breathing hard. I think I was right at my \n aerobic threshold and starting to build some lactic acid. But I did \n hang on until I got back to the Shouldice hill. Although the total \n average pace was 6:14mins/km, the first 11km I was running a 6:02mins/km \n pace. Not bad!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 14.41km, total time: 1:29:50, average pace: \n 6:14mins/km, average heart rate: 143bpm \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1169, "title": "WK19-7 Long Run", "date": "2009-05-10 21:51:01.0", "content": "

\n I didn't end up running on Friday or Saturday, so this was only the \n third run of this week. I'm supposed to be in my taper, but I was \n hoping to get more running in. Oh well, my fitness level for the \n Marathon is pretty well set, I just need to maintain it and get some \n rest and recovery too! Today was Mother's Day, so when Anne and \n Elizabeth left for Dance at 9:00am, I quickly went to Loblaws to get \n Anne some flowers. I didn't leave for my long run until 9:30am. I had \n replaced the battery in my heart rate monitor and also my GPS, so I was \n hoping to get good data for my whole run. I decided to do just one loop \n out to Island Park and back. This is about 24km.\n

\n

\n It was freezing this morning! It was only 5 degrees C. I wore my \n Burgundy short sleeve cool max, shorts, sweat pants, and black jacket. \n I put more packets of salt in my waist pack and a Gatorade. The first \n part of my run is really tough. I really struggle until my aerobic \n system kicks in about 10 minutes into the run. I think I started off at \n too quick a pace, similar to my mid-week runs, but I have to remember, \n that my long runs need to be at a slower pace. I finally got into the \n groove and a good pace.\n

\n

\n My hydration and nutrition strategy was the same for this long loop. I \n drank 3 sips of Gatorade every 4km. At 8km and 12km (turn around point \n at Island Park) I took a salt packet. Also at 12km, I ate a granola bar \n before taking the salt packet. I was feeling pretty good. My pace was \n ~6:40-6:45mins/km, and my heart rate was <137bpm. However all that \n changed, when I got to the straight away around the 17km mark. There \n was another person coming from Richmond Rd. who came blowing by me. I \n mean he was motoring. I noticed that he had a GPS on his arm just like \n mine! Anyways, a few seconds later, an older guy went blowing past me \n too. I guess my ego must have been bruised because, I decided I wasn't \n going to let them get away. I picked up my pace! \n

\n

\n It was crazy, but I started to run around 5:40mins/km. My heart rate \n shot up to 150bpm and I started breathing really hard. Of course I \n couldn't keep up this crazy pace, and I couldn't even keep up with the \n older guy. By the 18km mark I was down to 6:00mins/km and by the 19km \n mark I was back over 6:40mins/km. By this time my legs were really \n screaming, although my breathing wasn't too bad. At the Shouldice hill, \n I kept running and was able to run up the whole hill. Same thing at \n Cedarview. My goal for the last few kilometers was to not let my split \n pace be slower than 7:00mins/km and I was able to achieve that!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 24.2km, total time: 2:39:32, average pace: \n 6:35mins/km, average heart rate: 138bpm \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1170, "title": "Hummerbot: tuning Motor PID controller", "date": "2009-04-15 23:15:49.0", "content": "

\n The following was about 2 hours of effort.\n

\n

\n I've been working on the motor PID controller for the Hummerbot. I read \n an excellent article on PID controllers called "PID without a PhD." \n (URL: http://www.embedded.com/2000/0010/0010feat3.htm ) \n It explained really well what the different components do to the \n "plant" behaviour, and how to tune these gains to get the best \n performance. The type of plant will determine the correct values for \n Kp, Kd, and Ki. \n

\n

\n Following the article, I set Kp=1 and Kd=10 (a large number). It \n oscillated too much, so I set Kd=4. Still some oscillation, so I set \n Kd=3. Although it overshoots, it settles down OK. It oscillates +/- 1 \n around target wheel speed. I did this testing with the Hummerbot on \n wood blocks so the wheels are off the ground. I tried to test with the \n wheels on the ground around the washing machine area, but the space is \n too small. It's hard to see if the robot settles to a steady speed.\n

\n

\n Next, I started to work on the integral term. In the article the \n integral term is really small around 0.0001 to 0.01. I set Ki=1/128. \n This seemed to help! Although wheel speed still varied +/- 1 from the \n target, it seems to be more stable. I haven't got a chance to test this \n on the ground. I really need to take this outside and see how well it \n performs in a larger area.\n

\n

\n I should also improve my joystick control so that I can set the wheel \n speed with the Z-axis and steering with the X-axis. I can then drive \n the hummergbot around using the joystick. I'll have to connect up the \n bluetooth so that I can have the robot roam without wires. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1171, "title": "Adding Bluetooth to Hummerbot controller board, Joystick control", "date": "2009-04-16 22:38:40.0", "content": "

\n I wanted to set up the bluetooth wireless connection on my processor \n board.\n

\n

\n 1.5 hours:\n

\n

\n I was trying to connect the serial port (after level shifter) to my \n external level shifter then to blue tooth. At first I made a connector \n on my level shifter board, and then I realized that my cable for the \n RS232 connector was the wrong gender to connect to the PC serial cable. \n So I ended up putting a connector (6 pin) for the bluetooth module on my \n robot control board. I put the connector right below the LCD. I tested \n the bluetooth serial connection and it works!!! I can see data coming \n out on my robocontroller. I can also adjust the wheel speed using the \n scrollbar.\n

\n

\n I also updated my joystick control. \n

\n

\n 2 hours:\n

\n

\n I worked on my robocontroller so that the joystick can be used to set \n wheel speed using Z-axis. I added code to the update joystick \n procedure. I could then set wheel speed with Z-joystick. Up on Z-axis \n is negative, so I had to negate the state.Z value. I noticed that the \n update was very sluggish and slow. (Output window had lines coming out \n slowly.) Then I realized that the joystick was polled and it was \n sending a wheel speed update all the time. This was set to 50 times a \n second. I also noticed that the bluetooth connection kept dropping. \n This was due to sending so much data and buffer overflow.\n

\n

\n I put a check to only send wheel speed if value was changed. This helped \n and the output window was back to normal. Next I set the steering servo \n based on the X-axis. I had to negate the X-axis to match left and right \n values for servo movement. I changed the polling rate to 4 times per \n second. This is actually the same rate as the robdata strings being sent.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1172, "title": "Subsumption behaviour", "date": "2009-04-17 22:05:23.0", "content": "

\n I am going to convert my behaviour control to the subsumption \n architecture. David P Anderson has an excellent article on the \n implementation of his subsumption architecture on his robots.\n

\n
\n behaviour()\n
\n
\n - call all tasks to read sensors and determine actions\n
\n
\n - call arbitrate\n
\n

\n I need to create a procedure for each task.\n

\n

\n I've been thinking how my navigate task should work. There are \n certainly some restrictions on how often I get position data, and when I \n can calculate a distance and heading error to target. GPS updates only \n come every second. However, I can only use the GPS bearing if the robot \n is traveling in a fairly straight line. Need to build some logic to \n check the steering calue and only calculate GPS Bearing if robot is \n going straight. (Might not have to do this, try without it first.)\n

\n

\n How do I want to do my heading adjustments? They'll almost have to be \n "ballistic" behaviours because the heading error calculation will lag. \n Write a logic flowchart for this.\n

\n

\n Actually, thinking about this some more, I don't really want the actions \n to be ballistic. I want to be able to responed appropriately to each of \n the samples. What I want to make sure is not to over compensate in my \n response. This is analagous to having a PID controller oscillate \n because a gain is too high. This is where I need to take the sampling \n period into account. I want to take action and have a response that is \n aligned with how long the sampling period is and, therfore, how long a \n response will go on for.\n

\n

\n For the steering example with my Hummerbot, I no longer could calculate \n the robot theta to determine when to stop turning. My initial algorithm \n was to turn the steering wheels for a certain amount of time based on \n how large the heading error was. I was trying to calibrate my robot to \n determine how many odometer ticks it would take to do a 90 degree turn \n to the right and to the left. However, I was ignoring any GPS samples \n until the turn is finished.\n

\n

\n I need to start thinking about this more in the context of a PID \n controller. I should make an adjustment, look at the next sample and \n make an adjustment again. The things I need to look at to build a \n stable system is the lag between steering command and response from \n servos, how much to steer (gain), and accuracy of samples (GPS errors, \n and also if I'm going slow, the errors could have a large impact on \n bearing calculations). I want to understand this more. The GPS error \n will be up to 10m, so how do I account for this in my PID algorithm?\n

\n

\n Another thing I can use is the compass reading to help here. In \n general, I should make an adjustment so that after the sampling period, \n I'm close to being correct. Then in the next sample, because I have a \n smaller heading error, I have a smaller turn which gets me even closer \n to the correct heading... I was picturing an asymptotic curve as it \n starts to approach a line. Actually as I thought some more, its like \n the graph of a well tuned PID controller!!! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1173, "title": "I2C on Robot Controller board, Hummerbot debugging", "date": "2009-04-18 21:42:51.0", "content": "

\n 1.0 hour:\n

\n

\n I wanted to get I2C working on my robot controller board. Had to solder \n an I2C connector. Looked at the pin-outs on the mini-ORE board. Took \n me an hour to make these connections. I tried to be neat and route the \n wires like the other ones. Haven't tested the I2C yet.\n

\n

\n 1.0 hour: \n

\n

\n Found a logic error in my Robot probram. I set adjust wheel speed = \n false when I receive an "FD" command. This was originally because I \n used it to set motor power, so I needed to turn off wheel speed \n adjustment if I wanted to set motor power manually. But I also used the \n "FD" command for steering. So I turned off motor control as soon as I \n adjusted steering. I wondered what was going on! So I changed this to \n only turn off adjust wheel speed if the second parm is a 0 or 1 for \n Right or Left wheel.\n

\n

\n GPS RoboMagellan Logic\n

\n

\n I'm trying to figure out logic for my GPS heading adjustments and \n steering for the Hummerbot. I think the confusion for me is that I was \n using the odometry of my other differential steering robots to determine \n my heading errors between GPS readings. For my Hummerbot, I can't do \n this. Therefore, I can't have a fast loop constantly adjusting my \n heading. I need to slow down my processing. I need to act on a heading \n error, but do so gradually. This action will go on for on second! Then \n I'll get a new GPS reading and then act on that. Need to realize that \n my sample rate is 1 second!!! I was thinking I could use PID for the \n steering values! Can have a differential and an integral term. (Might \n not need both! Do some experimenting.) In-accuracy of the GPS readings \n may cause problems with PID too. Need to be wary of this and compensate \n somehow...\n

\n

\n Algorithm:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Right now, let behaviour FSM be idle.\n
    • \n
  • \n Added code to GPS serial string check to set steering value based on \n heading error.\n
    • \n
  • \n Need to check the sign to make sure I got it right.\n
    • \n
  • \n Need to match the heading error sign with the value needed to steer \n servo left or right. (ie. to go left is negative heading error, but \n increase in servo value. This is negative relationship so I need to \n subtract heading error.)\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1174, "title": "Adding Graphing capabilities to Robot Controller App", "date": "2009-04-20 21:45:31.0", "content": "

\n Following on my work to add gauges to my Robo Controller, I thought it \n would be cool to add graphing capability. I was thinking of plotting \n the robot's position as it roamed around (by using the GPS \n co-ordinates!). It would be cool if I could show some type of map too! \n I did a search on code project, and what do you know, someone had \n written a cool graphing library! When I saw this, I thought I could \n plot my robot variables (eg. wheel speed, heading error, heading, etc.) \n As I thought some more, I was thinking I could plot my PID output and \n see how well my PID is performing. That would be awesome if I could get \n this to work. Then I wouldn't need any special code in my robot code to \n store data and later output to PC for plotting. Maybe I can do this in \n real time!\n

\n

\n I started looking into the details of the Graph library. I'm trying to \n understand the different methods for initializing the data sources, \n assigning the X and Y values, setting up the graph X-axis, Y-axis, graph \n colours, etc. It's confusing but I'm starting to understand it better. \n

\n

\n One of the key structures is Datasource.Samples. This is a collection \n of cPoint structures. Need to understand how to manipulate a list of \n cPoint structure (array) and pass it to the Graphing library as a sample \n array.\n

\n

\n 2.0 hours:\n

\n

\n I got Robo Controller graphs working!\n

\n

\n I cloned the Graph demo form and called it Graph Form. (I created a new \n form in my App and copied code from Graph demo form.) I called the \n Graph Form constructor when declaring the global variable. I added a \n menu item to show form. I modified the closed event handler to "hide" \n form and not dispose it. That's because I updated this form from my \n Mainform1 without checking that the form exists. If I disposed the \n Graph form, I then got an exception after.\n

\n

\n I updated the Robo data event handler in Form1 to save the received \n values into the datasource samples array. I used 3 graphs:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Graph 0 - Wheel speed\n
    • \n
  • \n Graph 1 - Wheel Target speed\n
    • \n
  • \n Graph 2 - Motor Power\n
    • \n
\n

\n I defined a global INT called "idx". In the menu item "view graphs", I \n initialized index to 0. I then saved the wheel speed received values \n using the index into the Samples array. The motor power was the last \n value received, so I called display.Refresh() to redraw the graphs and \n incremented "idx".\n

\n

\n This worked! I could actually see the graph being drawn, but when it \n hit the end of the X graph axis, it wouldn't scroll. The new points \n were off the visible area of the graph and it wouldn't scroll. Need to \n figure out how to make it scroll! There is a variable that says which \n sample to start drawing the graph at, but this is private and is not \n available to be set by the program. Need to figure out a way to expose \n this variable...\n

\n

\n One thing I found was that the window response was really slow. With \n all the graphs updating, I could see that the robo data sequence strings \n were skipping. I was missing input data. Also, when I tried to change \n wheel speed, it was like the window wasn't responding, but it was. It \n just responded very slowly.\n

\n

\n I ended up removing the display.Refresh() call from the motor power \n received event handler. Instead, I added a timer to the Graph Form and \n called display.Refresh() from the timer tick procedure. I had the timer \n go off 4 times per second. This helped. The window sepsonse was not as \n slow, but it's still not as "snappy" as I would like it. I also found \n that if I scroll the origin off the graph, this seemed to help the speed \n too. The input serial data scrolled at a fast rate...\n

\n

\n Another thing I need to enhance is to use event handlers that are bound \n in from the Graph Form rather than use the Form1 wheel speed received \n event handlers. Could also combine the wheel speed event handlers into \n one procedure to be more efficient.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1175, "title": "Optimized Graphing for Robot Controller ", "date": "2009-04-22 21:21:46.0", "content": "

\n Worked on my Robo Controller program. Defined event handlers to update \n the graphs, instead of calling controls from within wheel event handlers \n in the main Form1. Tricky thing here was that I had to pass the existing \n instance of Robodata (which was the Robo Interpreter class) into the \n GraphForm so that it could bind in the handler which was defined in \n Graphform. This is analagous to Form1 which binds in handlers to update \n controls in Form1.\n

\n

\n I did this by calling new GraphForm to create an instance of the \n Graphform, and then immediately calling a bind event handler method in \n Graphform to intialize the graph event handlers for Robodata. \n Complicated to say, but it works.\n

\n

\n I also cleaned up the code for initializing the graph data sources and \n other properties. Whenever I changed the graph views, the CalcGraph \n routine clears all the data sources. I didn't want to do this. I just \n wanted it to display all the existing data in the new view. I removed \n the code which cleared the data sources, and then moved the code that \n defined the data sources into the constructor for the GraphForm class.\n

\n

\n However, still didn't work. Problem was that I was assigning the length \n of the data source in CalcGraphs. I moved this to the constructor and \n then it worked. I could change views and then see the same data in the \n new view.\n

\n

\n I also had to fix my code for the scenario where you close the GraphForm \n window and open a new one. At first, I was only showing and hiding the \n form. But since I'm now binding in event handlers, I can create and \n dispose of the forms. Before I was setting control values outside of the \n form code. This caused issues and exceptions if the form didn't exist.\n

\n

\n There were some special checks I had to put in to know when to first \n create the GraphForm (when Robodata = null) and then a second case when \n I closed the GraphForm window and it is in disposed state.\n

\n

\n I then added code to display the robot position on a graph. I defined \n new event handlers in the RoboInterpreter to send position info (called \n Graph2ReceivedEventHandlers). I created the delegate target procedures \n in GraphForm and then updated a new graph with X and Y position \n received. This kind of worked. The problem is that all graphs scroll. \n The position graph needs to be static, so I really need to show this \n graph in a different window with a static X and Y axis which doesn't \n scroll. However, it was cool seeing the robot position updated on the \n graph and "driving" the robot around using the bearing gauge to see \n which direction the robot was pointing.\n

\n

\n I noticed that when the "origin" was showing, it draws a line from the \n last point plotted back to the origin. I noticed that this really slows \n the program down. The serial strings are slower and it misses a lot of \n strings (sequence #'s are skipped). If I scroll the origin off the \n screen, the serial strings are fast again and no longer miss or skip \n strings. This is weird. Why is that? For now, just scroll origin off \n screen and the response of the program is nice and fast.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1177, "title": "Robot Controller debugging", "date": "2009-04-23 22:41:32.0", "content": "

\n One of the things I couldn't figure out was how to access the public \n properties or methods of my Form1. I finally figured it out! It dawned \n on me that Form1 is a class. There must be a main program that must \n instantiate and run this form. I could vaguely remember seeing code that \n does just this. Well, I found it! It's called "PROGRAM.CS". It has the \n "main" procedure. This calls "APPLICATION.RUN" and passes it a "new \n Form1()" instance.\n

\n

\n The problem with this is that this Form1 instance is not assigned to a \n variable, so I can not refer to this instance in other parts of the \n code. I need to assign this object to a variable. I modified the code to \n declare a variable ("mainform") of class Form1 and then created a new \n instance of this object. I then call APPLICATION.RUN on "mainform".\n

\n

\n I need to understand the difference between CLASS and OBJECTS. Object \n references are required when accessing the public methods and properties \n of a class. (ie. The object references refer to a specific instance of a \n class.) You create an object by calling the CLASS Constructor with the \n "new" keyword.\n

\n

\n Now that I've figured that out, I can simplify the way my event handlers \n are initialized. I had to pass the RoboData object to my other Forms to \n bind in their event handlers. Now that I've assigned Form1 to an object \n variable, I can access RoboData from these other forms directly. I can \n now clean this all up and remove the calls from Form1. I can bind in the \n event handlers from each of the other forms in the constructor for these \n other forms.\n

\n

\n This makes a very clean interface. When the form is not being displayed, \n the event handlers are "null" so nothing is done. When a form is \n created, it binds in its event handlers which will then automatically \n update its own controls. Nice and clean!!!\n

\n

\n I need to move the Robot Position graph to a separate form. This is \n because this graph does not scroll, and there is no way to keep this \n graph static and have the other graphs scroll. I created a new class \n FormGraph2 and instantiated an object of this class called \n RobotPositionGraph. I already had a FormGraph with object \n RobotWheelGraph. As I added code for FormGraph2, I realized that there \n was a lot of code in FormGraph I wanted to use. Instead of cloning the \n code, I called the code in FormGraph from FormGraph2. I had to update \n some of the methods to be public and also to take parameters so I could \n act on the different variables from each form. This got me to thinking \n that I should really create a graphics utility class to do all this work.\n

\n

\n As I was working on this, I figured out how to have RobotPosition graph \n X-axis be fixed and not scroll! You do this by setting "AutoscaleX" = \n true. When this setting is true, the entire graph is shown on the \n screen. If I do this, then I'll be able to stick all 4 graphs in the \n same window. Woo Hoo!!!\n

\n

\n OK, so now I can display all my graphs in one window. As I look at the \n code some more and played around with the controls, there's an option \n item when ou right mouse click on the graph control. This brings up a \n graph properties window that can be used to modify the graph properties \n and display. The other thing I really want to understand are the two \n different classes: \n

\n
    \n
  • \n Class PlotterDisplayEx in module PlotterGraphEx.cs\n
    • \n
  • \n Class PlotterGraphPaneEx in module PlotterGraphPaneEx.cs\n
    • \n
\n

\n One is a control for a single graph, and the other is a control for \n showing multiple graphs in a single window.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1179, "title": "GPS Mapping", "date": "2009-04-24 22:36:03.0", "content": "

\n After I got my Robot position graphing working, I then thought, wouldn't \n it be cool if I could plot my position on a real street or satellite \n map?!?! I then went googling for GPS mapping applications and found \n some really cool ones!!! Two applications that I've downloaded and \n looked at the code are:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Open Street Map (OSM) Scout (URL: http://osmscout.codeplex.com/ )\n
    2. \n
  2. \n GMAP.Net (URL: http://www.codeplex.com/gmap4dotnet )\n
    3. \n
\n

\n They are really cool. They get the map images (tiles) from different \n servers so you can see Google, Yahoo, Virtual Earth, and Open Street \n Maps. You can also see street maps, satellite maps, or hybrids \n (satellite with street labels).\n

\n

\n I first got errors when I tried to compile OSM Scout. Here are some \n fixes I had to make to get it to compile for Visual Studio 2005 (it was \n written for VS2008):\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Had to add code for get/set. VS 2005 doesn't have automatic \n properties like the VS 2008 compiler.\n
    • \n
  • \n Had to make the start up project (program) the Slippy Map Project \n (windows form) instead of the Open Street Map API class library.\n
    • \n
  • \n Had to fix reference to NUnit and Open Street Map API.\n
    • \n
  • \n Changed solution file with text editor. Changed Visual Studio 2008 to \n 2005. Changed version 10.00 to 9.00\n
    • \n
\n

\n As I looked into the GPS mapping applications, there were a bunch of \n terms and applications that I didn't understand. I found an excellent \n article that explains many of the different terms and apps. It's called \n "Take Control of Your Maps" and the URL is: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/takecontrolofyourmaps .\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1180, "title": "GPS Mapping Terms", "date": "2009-04-25 22:17:37.0", "content": "

\n The Open Street Maps initiative has a lot of terms and apps that I need \n to understand. I've tried capturing some of them here.\n

\n

\n MapNik\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Combines potentially large amounts of graphical data with XML defined \n style sheets to output regular images.\n
    • \n
  • \n (from Open Street Map WIKI:) MapNik is a free toolkit for rendering \n maps. Tiles are rendered on the server (usually 256x256 pixels)\n
    • \n
\n

\n Slippy Map\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Is a term referring to the main OpenStreetMap.org Map display, a web \n interface for browsing rendered OpenStreetMap data.\n
    • \n
  • \n By default te Slippy Map is showing tiles rendered by MapNik.\n
    • \n
  • \n Other renderers (change by clicking "+" at top right of OSM Scout): \n Osmarenderer (by tiles@home project), CycleMap layer, NoName layer\n
    • \n
  • \n Slippy Map is an AJAX component. Javascript runs in browser which \n dynamically requests tiles from the server in the background. This \n implementation is mostly provided by open layers.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Open Layers\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Is an open-source implementation of a "Slippy Map" interface.\n
    • \n
  • \n It is a Javascript library released under the BSD License, and is used \n on the OpenStreetMap homepage.\n
    • \n
\n

\n GIS\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Graphical Information Systems\n
    • \n
\n

\n Geo Spatial Data\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Can be in many different formats.\n
    • \n
  • \n Shapefile - .shp, .shx. dbf extensions\n
    • \n
  • \n KML - XML based format\n
    • \n
\n

\n OGR Library\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Open source library used to open, read, write geo-spatial data vector \n files (support over 30 formats)\n
    • \n
\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1181, "title": "Installed Thingamablog on Ericsson laptop", "date": "2010-01-27 12:13:12.527", "content": "

\n I got my Ericsson laptop at the end of December just before the \n Christmas holidays and I'm slowly configuring it the way I want it. I \n just installed "thingamablog" on it today.\n

\n

\n Wow, it has been a long time since I've even opened this blog \n application. My last entry was back in May 10th, 2009. I didn't even \n enter my blog for the Marathon. So... I have a lot of catching up to do.\n

\n

\n Well, I've taken the first step and installed the application. Next, \n I'll need to get a list of all the blog entries I want to catch up. And \n finally, I'll need to enter all those blog entries. I'll have to search \n for all the notes I taken during that time!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1182, "title": "List of blog entries to catch up on", "date": "2010-01-27 12:20:42.0", "content": "

\n Ok, I thought I would just list the items, events, etc. that I would \n want to blog about and catch up on the last 7 months of non-blogging. \n Here goes...\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Training for 2009 Ottawa Marathon. I've got to fill in the last few \n training sessions, and also the Marathon itself.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Nortel bankruptcy\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Rob Tetreau telling me to sign up for "LinkedIn".\n
    4. \n
  4. \n PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. Downloaded lots \n of info and documents on this. Did some studying, but never applied \n for examination.\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Went to Guelph for Elizabeth's dance competition.\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Joseph was using the Acer laptop on the Guleph hotel bed and I think \n this somehow caused the laptop to start to overheat. I think it turned \n off on him once while he was in the middle of using it. At home, it \n died while Elizabeth was using it. I took it apart, and found the fan \n heatsink was totally clogged with dust! Something died on the \n motherboard. Couldn't fix laptop.\n
    7. \n
  7. \n Bought a new Toshiba laptop for the kids from Best Buy.\n
    8. \n
  8. \n Summer vacation to Shediac and St. John.\n
    9. \n
  9. \n After coming back from vacation Anne couldn't get her laptop to boot. \n Anne's HP laptop died. Bought her a new Toshiba laptop from Staples.\n
    10. \n
  10. \n Working with Nokia for one week after coming back from vacation. Going \n through auction and having Ericsson win. Freaking out, wondering what \n this was going to mean. Turned out well in the end. Ericsson is a \n great company.\n
    11. \n
  11. \n Did a lot of weeding over the summer. I didn't do any training. I \n basically spent all my time weeding! I started near the front deck and \n worked my way out towards the road. You could really see where I had \n weeded. One type of weed I was pulling up was actually strawberries!\n
    12. \n
  12. \n Lots of moss and I was pulling up the moss as I weeded. Found out that \n it was much easier to just use a rake to rake the moss up. After doing \n this, there wasnt' much grass left. Just a bunch of dirt and weeds. \n Then I just pulled up the weeds.\n
    13. \n
  13. \n After pulling most of the weeds, I started to plant some grass seed. I \n did this in Late August, so the grass didn't sprout up before the \n winter started. I'll want to re-seed in spring and add some soil too.\n
    14. \n
  14. \n Cut down the evergreen tree in front of the living room window. \n Borrowed Henry's electric chainsaw to cut it down. I'm glad I did. It \n would have been impossible to cut down without the electric chainsaw!\n
    15. \n
  15. \n Installed some flashing on the roof of the addition to fix the annual \n winter/spring leaks.\n
    16. \n
  16. \n Started to cover some of the old shingles, kept going, and eventually \n replaced all the shingles on one side of the roof! Had to remove all \n the old shingles and carry them down to the ground. Carried up all the \n new shingles too. I could only carry 4 shingles at a time since they \n were so heavy. In all, it took me several weeks to finish just one \n side of the roof. I need to buy a longer ladder!\n
    17. \n
  17. \n Replaced air vents with the "Maximum Air Vents".\n
    18. \n
  18. \n Fixed the bathroom vent through roof, and connected up the pipe vents \n through roof.\n
    19. \n
  19. \n Fixed the rear brakes on my Maxima. By this time, my brake pedal was \n pulsating like crazy. The rotors were badly worn and warped! The \n rotors were seized to the hub. I tried hammering them off, but they \n didn't budge. I ended up using the threaded holes and screwing in \n some bolts to break the rotor of the hub. The new rotors I put on \n didn't have those threaded holes, so I put lots of anti-seize on the \n inside of the hub. Hopefully this will prevent them from seizing! \n After replacing the rotors and pads, the brake pedal feel was so \n smooth. Nice!\n
    20. \n
  20. \n Went to the Ottawa Ski Show. Anne sold our old equipment. We sold \n everything except Elizabeth's old boots. Elizabeth and I also bought \n new skis! Yay! Joseph bought a new ski jacket. Also bought a ski bag \n (actually it was a snowboard bag) and boot bags.\n
    21. \n
  21. \n Kids wanted to take snowboarding lessons this year. So we went out and \n bought them snowboarding equipment. It was tricky trying to fit it all \n into the car. We forgot about this when buying the equipment! If I was \n planning ahead, I would have put on my ski box.\n
    22. \n
  22. \n At work I've been given an assignment as LTE Process integration \n prime. Working with Hans Lindberg in Kista, Stockholm, Sweden.\n
    23. \n
  23. \n Ericsson deal finally closed on Nov 13th. Met Marie Westrin, head of \n DU Radio (with over 8,000 employees!). Also saw other Ericsson execs, \n Johan Wibergh, head of BU Networks, and Hans Vestberg, incoming CEO.\n
    24. \n
  24. \n Kids signed up for Facebook. I told them that you have to be careful \n what you put up on there. You have to treat all information you put \n on facebook as public. ie. Don't put anything on there you don't want \n everyone to see.\n
    25. \n
  25. \n Waxed our skis in preparation for our Mont Tremblant ski trip. Can't \n find my cork to buff the wax, so had to skip this step.\n
    26. \n
  26. \n Skied at Mont Tremblant on Dec 31st and Jan 1st. It was fun!\n
    27. \n
  27. \n I signed up for Facebook when we were at Tremblant.\n
    28. \n
  28. \n The AIP (annual incentive plan) payout for Nortel was amazing this \n year. I've never had such big bonus payouts before! And to think the \n company was in bankruptcy protection. I don't understand it, but I'm \n not going to say "no" to the money! There will be one last payout in \n March 2010.\n
    29. \n
  29. \n On Jan 15th, we got our vacation payout from Nortel. Still more money! \n Woo Hoo!\n
    30. \n
  30. \n On Jan 14th, we got our first pay from Ericsson. Had to sign for \n electonic pay stub delivery at ePost. This will start on Jan 28th.\n
    31. \n
  31. \n Signed up for the Ericsson health benefits from ManuLife and \n investment plans at Standard Life.\n
    32. \n
  32. \n Kids started their snowboarding lessons at Mont Cascades. I'm also \n snowboarding. I'm very rusty and need to learn everything again. \n Slowly, it's coming back.\n
    33. \n
  33. \n Got caught up on my Quicken data entry. So now I can do my year-end \n family financial report as of Dec 31, 20009. Our family networth is \n over $920K!!! Wow! Maybe we can break the $1 million mark at the end \n of this year. Wouldn't that be exciting!\n
    34. \n
  34. \n Also updated my financial planner spreadsheet with the latest data. \n Added some new charts and tables. Need to go through and clean up some \n of the old worksheets that are no longer used.\n
    35. \n
  35. \n Haven't attended an Ottawa Robotics meeting for several months. Need \n to get back into this again!\n
    36. \n
  36. \n Bought some interior doors from Home Depot. We took Anne's car to get \n the doors, since the back seats folded down. Her front brakes were \n making a horrible scraping sound. Her pads must be totally worn down.\n
    37. \n
  37. \n Bought some front brake pads and installed them on Anne's car on \n Saturday, Jan 23rd after skiing. The repair went so smoothly. It was \n easy to take off the bolts, remove the old pads, and slide in the new \n pads. I have a brake spreader tool which makes it easy to push the \n piston back into its bore and make room for the new pads. It was \n tricky getting the jack low enough for the Camry's front jack point, \n but I was able to do it. In total it only took a couple of hours. \n All in all, it was a very easy repair. Yay!\n
    38. \n
  38. \n Installed the interior doors in Lizzie and our bedrooms. Lizzie's door \n went on smoothly. Our bedroom door took some finessing to finally get \n installed and working properly. Had to chisel the hinges location \n lower, and move the door latch mechnism so that it would lock.\n
    39. \n
  39. \n Installed the doors on the bathrooms. Also took some pictures and \n video of me chiseling out the hinges, and drilling out the holes for \n the door knobs.\n
    40. \n
  40. \n Installed the last interior door for Joseph's bedroom. The problem on \n this one was that I didn't chisel the hinge mortise far enough so that \n the door was hitting the door stop by the hinge. This made the door \n difficult to close. After I made the chiseled out area wider, the door \n closed nice and smoothly.\n
    41. \n
  41. \n Went on my first training runs this weekend (Feb 6th and 7th). Ran \n approximately 6 kms on Saturday (my GPS battery died, so I don't have \n the exact distance data) and 10 kms on Sunday. The weather was around \n -7 C so it wasn't too cold. I wore my red MEC T-shirt, long sleeve \n MEC shirt, and sweat pants. On top I had my black jacket and nylon \n pants. I wore my knit gloves. My hands were cold at first, but once \n I warmed up, I was fine. I had to zip my jacket open to help cool off\n
    42. \n
", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1183, "title": "WK05-6 Run", "date": "2010-02-06 22:53:41.0", "content": "

\n Went for my first training run this season. We had just come back from \n skiing/snowboarding, and I wanted to go for a run before going to \n church. I left around 3:40pm, and my plan was to be back by 4:30pm. The \n weather was sunny and cool, around -6 C. I wore shorts, sweatpants, red \n MEC technical-T, blue long-sleeved MEC technical-T, black jacket, nylon \n pants, baseball cap, and ear muffs. I actually was quite warm. Once I \n warmed up, I started to sweat, so I had to take off my ear muffs, and \n zip down my jacket to cool off slightly. My GPS battery died just 1.5km \n into my run, so I didn't get much GPS data. I ran down by Hillside park, \n Thorncliffe, and then down Richmond Road and Baseline. I calculated \n that I had about 50mins for the run, so I turned around at about the \n 4:05pm mark. The total run was about 6km.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 6km, total time: 43:00, average pace: 7:10mins/km, \n average heart rate: 140bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1184, "title": "WK05-7 Run", "date": "2010-02-07 23:15:17.0", "content": "

\n Went for another training run on Sunday. I really want to get into a \n running routine now. If I want to break 4:00hours for the marathon, I \n have to improve my fitness and be able to run at a faster pace with a \n lower heart rate. I left around 5:00pm, and my plan was to be back \n around 6:00pm for dinner. The weather was sunny and cool, around -6 C. I \n wore sweatpants, red MEC technical-T, blue long-sleeved MEC technical-T, \n black jacket, nylon pants, baseball cap, and ear muffs. This was the \n same as yesterday (except no shorts). At the beginning, running down \n Richmond Road, my hands were freezing! However, once I warmed up, I \n started to sweat, so I took off my ear muffs, and zipped down my jacket \n to cool off slightly. I did the same route as yesterday, but I kept \n running down Baseline. I planned on running 10km, so I turned around at \n the 5km mark. This ended up being the road I turn to when I go swimming \n at the Pinecrest pool. I actually ran down this road a bit since it \n wasn't quite 5km when I got to the light.\n

\n

\n I could feel a bit of pain on the outside of my right knee. The ball of \n my left foot was also slightly uncomfortable. Not really painful, but I \n can feel that it's not quite right. I was thinking that I need to go \n back and do the leg lift exercises for the pain on the outside of my \n knees. This should help the ITB tendinitis that flares up when I run. \n Need to do this!!! I should also go back to the stretches so I can keep \n my muscles flexible.\n

\n

\n The wind became a strong headwind when I was close to Richmond Road. I \n had to put my ear muffs back on. The hill going up Richmond Road towards \n Thorncliffe was also tough. My pace here slowed to over 7:00mins/km. It \n was also dark by the time I got back home (when I had left, the sun was \n just starting to set). It was just after 6:00pm.\n

\n

\n Overall I was very pleased with this run. It showed that I can be \n comfortable running during the winter (as long as the sidewalks and \n roads are fairly clear). Only my privates :-) got cold. How can I fix \n that? I didn't have shorts, so that might help.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 10.27km, total time: 1:10:51, average pace: \n 6:54mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1185, "title": "WK06-2 Run", "date": "2010-02-09 21:59:28.0", "content": "

\n Went for a run tonight. I had to pick Joseph up from skiing at 8:45pm, \n so I had to be back before 8:30pm. I left at 7:07pm and planned on \n running for an hour. According to Sport Tracks weather, the temperature \n was around -2 C. I wore my usual running gear for the past few runs. I \n actually ran the same route as last Sunday, going down Richmond road and \n then down Baseline. I kept my usual pace for most of the run. However, \n around the 6km mark I started to pick up the pace. When I got close to \n the lights at Greenbank, I was almost sprinting to try and catch the \n green light. I ended up missing the light and having to run down \n Greenbank slightly and then run across when I saw a break in traffic. I \n kept up the quick pace for another kilometer. My pace times for the 6th, \n 7th, and 8th kilometres were 6:27, 6:01, and 6:29. Most of the run I was \n around the 6:50 pace.\n

\n

\n At the beginning of the run, I was cold, but I warmed up by 2km into the \n run. I unzipped my jacket to help cool off. I didn't notice any \n discomfort in my knees or ITB, however, my feet felt sore. My arch \n particulary was sore. I just kept running through it, but I'll need to \n monitor and watch this closely. When I got home, I walked around the \n driveway a bit to cool off. I forgot to take my pulse rate right when I \n stopped running. I took it after cooling off for a minute and it was 30 \n beats/15 secs or ~120 bpm. I'm guessing I was around 136-140bpm for the \n most of my run.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 10.33km, total time: 1:08:46, average pace: \n 6:39mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1186, "title": "WK06-4 Run", "date": "2010-02-11 23:07:48.0", "content": "

\n Went for a run down Richmond and Baseline. I really noticed the car \n exhaust fumes on this run, and I realized I really don't like this route \n because of that. I planned on running a shorter distance, so I decided \n to run at a quick pace. I ended up running < 6:00mins/km pace for the \n first 5 km! That's fast for me! For the last 2km I eased up so that I \n could cool down. I still had a pace ~6:35mins/km which is still pretty \n quick. Weather was pretty cold today at -9 C. However after I warmed \n up, I felt fine.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 7.3km, total time: 0:44:30, average pace: \n 6:08mins/km, average heart rate: 147bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1187, "title": "WK06-7 Long Run", "date": "2010-02-14 22:17:24.0", "content": "

\n This was valentines day, so when Anne went to drop Elizabeth off at \n dance, I went and bought some flowers for my two sweeties!\n

\n

\n Well, this was my first long run of the training season. I had already \n run 10km, so I was hoping I could do 15km. But the question is, where to \n run? I wasn't able to run on Saturday, because right after coming home \n from skiing, we pretty well had to get ready for church. I guess that's \n ok. I really shouldn't ramp up my mileage too quickly, since that could \n cause injury.\n

\n

\n I ended up leaving around 10:30am and I planned to run for about 1.5hrs. \n The weather was -4 C and there was a light dusting of snow on the \n ground, so I had to be really careful with my footing. I wore my usual \n running clothes. I decided to run out to Westcliffe and Seyton and do a \n bunch of loops around the park and school.\n

\n

\n To get there, I ran down Stinson-Evergreen-Ridgefield. This is about \n 3.6km to Tyrell Pl and Seyton Dr. Each loop around the park is about \n 1.4km. In order to run 15km, I calculated that I needed to run 8-9km \n before heading back home for the last 3km. This meant I needed to run 6 \n loops around the park. I took an easy pace and did the 6 loops. There \n were some parts of the loop where there was a real stiff headwind. In \n the middle of the run, I was feeling pretty good, and I thought that my \n breathing was really easy. On my last few loops, my legs started to feel \n really tired and I could feel them getting slightly sore.\n

\n

\n I got back home around 12:20pm. I had a carnation instant breakfast to \n carbo-reload and then took a shower. All in all an excellent first long \n run. Now I just need to build from here.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 15.8km, total time: 1:51:44, average pace: \n 7:04mins/km, average heart rate: 137bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1188, "title": "WK07-1 Skating on Rideau Canal", "date": "2010-02-15 22:51:58.0", "content": "

\n Today is family day and a holiday in Ontario. I had the day off work, so \n we all went to go skating at the Rideau canal. We had hoped to get an \n early start, but everyone stayed up late last night and slept in this \n morning. We are all excited watching the Vancouver Olympics! We finally \n left around 9:30am.\n

\n

\n I entered the info in my GPS and off we went. We parked at the Patterson \n Creek area on Monkland street. This is one over from the street right \n beside the creek. We find this road is much less crowded and I was able \n to get an excellent parking spot right at the end of the road. From \n here, there is a short path that will take you to the heated \n building/hut where you can change your skates. Very convenient!\n

\n

\n We went for a long, long skate. The ice was really smooth! First we went \n towards downtown and the NAC. Then we turned around and went back \n towards 5th Ave and then Dow's lake. At the entrance to Dow's lake we \n stopped and had some Beaver Tails. Anne also brought some hot chocolate \n in a thermos. Yum! Very tasty snack!\n

\n

\n After our short break, we went to the Pavillion at Dow's lake and then \n over to Carleton University. Finally we went back to Patterson creek. By \n the time we got back it was 12:30pm, so we had been out on the canal for \n over two hours! Good workout! I had captured all our GPS data on my \n Garmin eTrex and downloaded it using MapSource. The track is stored in \n my GPS folder.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1189, "title": "WK07-2 Run", "date": "2010-02-16 23:10:17.0", "content": "

\n Tonight I have to pick Joseph up from skiing at ~8:45pm. I started my \n run late at 7:30pm, but I made sure I would make it back by 8:30pm. I \n decided to run the same route as Sunday but do fewer loops and run \n ~10km. It was a pretty mild night, -1 C and no wind chill. I ran out \n towards Seyton Dr. and did two laps around the park and school. I got \n back around 8:30pm, and I could see Anne just leaving our driveway. She \n said Joseph was already at the school. I guess I'll need to plan to \n finish my runs earlier, in case Joseph comes back from skiing earlier. \n Anyways, it was a really good run. I actually ran at a very quick pace!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 10.1km, total time: 1:03:22, average pace: \n 6:18mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1190, "title": "ORE Robo Magellan contest", "date": "2008-06-22 21:00:03.0", "content": "

\n Went to the MMIST parking lot which is out in Stittsville. I hadn't \n worked on my robot much, but I was able to add the IR detectors to the \n front of the Robot and update the software to use these detectors to \n avoid objects. It was cool!\n

\n

\n I was able to navigate to all the waypoints . If I went and stood in \n front of the robot, it would stop, veer, go around and then go towards \n the waypoint. All in all worked pretty well. Yeah!\n

\n

\n I also tried out my Hummer base. I just programmed some simple test \n routines which turned the robot a certain amount and then went straight. \n I was trying to calibrate the steering so I could make the robot turn a \n specific number of degrees. Couldn't really get this working well.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1191, "title": "Jordan Craig - photographer", "date": "2008-09-08 21:56:38.0", "content": "

\n Met Jordan at an ORE meeting. He is a professional photographer. He \n wants to go to Carleton to take Aerospace Engineering. He has to take \n some high school math courses, since he dropped out of high school. He \n moved to California and worked in the high-tech industry for a few \n years, and then came back to Ottawa. A very interesting fellow.\n

\n

\n In Sept. he invited us to a Gallery showing of photography work. It was \n downtown at Terrence Gallery. There were some really nice prints. \n There was one showing close ups of building architecture which I really \n liked. There was one in colour of reflections of fall leaves and trees \n in water which was also cool.\n

\n

\n I helped him debug one of his projects, and he was grateful. Said he \n would give me a deal on one of his photograph prints.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1192, "title": "Nikon D50 Flash Repair", "date": "2008-10-18 22:14:17.0", "content": "

\n My internal flash on my Nikon D50 has not been working for the last year \n or so. I remember on our trip to Virginia and North Carolina it stopped \n working. I think it was in the Hershey factory when I noticed that it \n didn't flash anymore. At first it was flaky, where I had to pop-up the \n flash and fiddle with it slightly and it might work. Then it just \n stopped working.\n

\n

\n I was able to find a Nikon D50 service manual on the internet. Using \n this manual, I took apart my D50. Gasp! I tried the disassembly in a \n different order, since I thought I could take some shortcuts to just \n remove the top of the casing. I ended up going back and removing all the \n other pieces to get at the screws for the top. It took a while to get \n all the pieces removed. There was also the screw on the right side of \n the body that I wasn't able to remove previously and this time I was \n able to get it out! From my previous disassembly, I figured that there \n was a bad connection on a wire connected to the flash. There is a switch \n which is on when the flash is popped up. I looked at the wires \n connecting this switch to a board inside the camera. Using my ohmmeter, \n I found one wire didn't seem to be connected.\n

\n

\n I used a piece of wire wrap wire and soldered a new wire from the switch \n to the board. I didn't want to remove the old wire and just left it as \n is. I tested the continuity and it passed! I tried taking a picture \n and the flash fired! Yippee! I put all the parts back together and \n ended up having 4 screws left over... Ugh! That always happens. I \n also didn't take any pictures of the camera taken apart. I should have \n done that, but I was at the computer table and everything was a mess. I \n might go back and do the disassembly again so I can take some pictures.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1193, "title": "Elizabeth has hair lice", "date": "2008-08-24 22:20:33.0", "content": "

\n Elizabeth has hair lice! Anne noticed something in Elizabeth's hair \n while she was sitting at the computer. It was a little bug. Lice! We \n found lots of bugs that night. I used a pair of tweezers to get them \n out of her hair. The next night we used the special shampoo to kill the \n lice. I had to use a special comb to try and remove the lice. For the \n next two weeks I went through Elizabeth's hair every night removing the \n eggs and any lice I could find. We did another shampoo treatment a week \n after the first. We had gone on a trip to St. John and after we came \n back, I found some lice in Joseph's hair. That's because Elizabeth and \n Joseph slept in the same bed. So then I checked both Joseph and \n Elizabeth's hair every night.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1194, "title": "Trip to St John to visit Andrea and Brendan", "date": "2008-08-30 21:24:01.0", "content": "

\n Brendan was diagnosed with bone cancer early in August. We decided to go \n visit Andrea and Brendan to help out. Anne booked a hotel with high \n speed access so that I could work during the day. It ended up being a \n really busy week at work because I was a delegate for Peter since he was \n on vacation. It worked out OK. I was able to dial in to conference calls \n from the MCS client and even run netmeeting. During the evening we went \n to visit at Andrea and Brendan's house.\n

\n

\n Brendan was looking pretty pale and thin. Andrea had us doing jobs \n around the house and one thing she had for me was to hang up some \n pictures. I was going to use some drywall anchors and screws, and when \n Brendan saw this he said I was doing it all wrong! He went and got some \n "monkey hooks". These are pretty cool! You can just push them into the \n drywall with your hands and they'll support 50lbs of weight. I had to \n hang up two pictures, and with these things, it was a snap! I also hung \n up the doorbell.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1195, "title": "Big Financial Meltdown in the US", "date": "2008-09-27 22:34:23.0", "content": "

\n The financials markets are getting clobbered. Lehman Bros goes \n bankrupt. AIG gets bailed out. Paulson proposes $700 Billion bailout \n package. Markets go on some wild rides. I ended up buying the TSX \n Index stock at when it was at 10,900 points. It went on to go below \n 9,000 points even dipping to 8500 points. Now it's going up and down \n around 9,000 points.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1196, "title": "Doctors appointment with Urologist", "date": "2008-10-20 21:42:49.0", "content": "

\n Dr. appt. with Dr. Girvan, urologist. My bladder was becoming \n uncomfortable. It always took me a long time to pee and my bladder \n seemed really small, I wouldn't pee very much. And I'd often wake up at \n night and really have to go to the bathroom. He said it's normal \n prostate growth causing my slow/weak urine. Didn't think it was an \n issue. He asked how bad a problem it was. He could prescribe \n medication, but didn't seem like it was worth it. I told him it was \n more of a nuisance. He wanted me to go to a lab to give a urine sample \n and scheduled me for an appointment to do a scan to ensure that I was \n emptying my bladder.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1197, "title": "Bump on inside right side of gums", "date": "2008-09-22 22:45:59.0", "content": "

\n Dentist appointment with Dr Hamburg to look at my molar. In my last \n dentist appoint with Anne (Hygenist) and Dr Ebrahimpoor I mentioned that \n there was a bump on the inside of my gum. Dr. E. said it was probably \n due to the tooth with a root canal and crown. She said it could be \n infected and leaking causing the bump. She also said patients complain \n of a "metal taste". Come to think of, I think I've had that sensation \n too. Dr Hamburg took some x-rays of the tooth and said that there is an \n infection in there. He could take off the cap (which wasn't meant to be \n taken off, and could be difficult) and remove the old material and \n refill the root, but the problem could come back. He couldn't make \n promises. He also talked about a tooth implant. I asked which is the \n longer term solution and he said the implant.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1198, "title": "500G Hard Drive to backup pictures", "date": "2008-09-28 21:48:36.0", "content": "

\n I bought another 500G hard drive and was trying to put all my digital \n pictures on it. I was planning to copy both the Nikon and Sony \n partitions over to the drive and then merge the two partitions together. \n However, I found that when I merged the partitions together, it just \n basically copies the files from the higher partition down to the lower \n partition so I get all new dates on the folders. I was trying to make it \n so that the folder dates get preserved. I found that I could do this by \n putting the pictures into an archive and then extracting the archive. \n Since the NIkon pictures were over 100G, I ended up copying the Nikon \n partition to a new partition on the 500G HD. I then created an archive \n with all the Sony pictures on it. It took several hours! Then I \n extracted that archive onto the new 500G HD into a Sony folder. So now I \n had all my Nikon and Sony pictures on a backup hard drive. The next step \n is to back up all of Joseph's Canon pictures and Elizabeth's Jazz camera \n pictures onto the backup hard drive.\n

\n

\n Actually I found a much better way to do this. There is an application \n called "Beyond Compare". This compares two folders and shows you the \n differences. You then have options to synchronize and copy files \n between the two folders. One option the application has is to "touch" \n the files and folders so that the timestamps match from the other side. \n This way you can synchronize the time stamps between two folders. This \n is exactly what I wanted to do for my pictures folder!\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1199, "title": "Boot CD and USB Boot disk", "date": "2008-09-07 21:55:27.0", "content": "

\n Manang Susan sent me an e-mail saying her hard drive had crashed. She \n ended up having to reinstall windows from a recovery disk and losing all \n her data. This got me to thinking that I really needed to backup all \n the data on our laptops.\n

\n

\n I started doing some research on boot disks. The Ghost Boot CD I had, \n didn't support external USB hard drives, so I couldn't save a ghost \n image on the external USB hard drive. I looked for boot disks on ISO \n Hunt and found one. I was able to boot off the CD and run ghost and save \n a ghost image on the USB drive. Yeah! I now had Ghost backups of the \n laptop hard drives.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1200, "title": "Fixed Anne's HP Laptop by sending it to HP for repair", "date": "2008-10-05 21:55:14.0", "content": "

\n While Anne was in NB helping out Andrea, I sent in her laptop for \n repairs. I had called HP and they wanted me to go through a bunch of \n debugging steps. I said I wasn't interested in doing that and just \n wanted to send my laptop in for repair since it had all the symptoms for \n the recall. Black screen, laptop wouldn't boot, wireless device couldn't \n be found, etc... They had sent me a box to ship the laptop back and just \n before I was going to send it in, I found out that they had made an \n error in my serial number. I called them back, and ended up talking to \n the HP rep for over an hour. She had to send me another box. I finally \n got the box.\n

\n

\n Before sending in the laptop, I wanted to back up all of Anne's files. I \n wanted to take a ghost image of the laptop hard drive, but my ghost boot \n CD didn't recognize USB drives. I took out Anne's laptop drive and stuck \n it in an external case and used the PC downstairs to take a ghost image. \n However, I kept getting errors when trying to verify these ghost images. \n I then was able to find a Windows boot CD image which had ghost on it \n and recognized an external USB hard drive. Bonus! I was able to boot off \n this CD and then take a ghost image of the laptop drive. I then took \n this ghost image and put it back onto the 250G laptop drive I had. I was \n able to boot off this new drive. So now I had a couple of backups of \n Anne's files so I felt secure. I went and reinstalled Windows using the \n HP recovery disk to wipe out all of Anne's personal files.\n

\n

\n I packed up the laptop and sent it in. We got it back about a week and a \n half later. I restored the ghost image to Anne's laptop and, voila!, she \n was back in business. Laptop seems to be working well now.\n

\n

\n I also found a "Hiren boot CD" which seems to have a lot of utilities on \n it. There was another Windows PE boot disk that I also found.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1201, "title": "Booting off USB Flash disk", "date": "2008-10-06 21:04:39.0", "content": "

\n I did more research on boot disks and found that you can actually create \n a flash disk that you can boot off of! I found some web pages that \n described creating a Windows PE disk. All you need is a Windows CD that \n has the files needed to create the boot disk. This boot disk used \n "grub" as the bootloader.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1202, "title": "Molar Tooth Extraction", "date": "2008-10-08 22:05:46.0", "content": "Went to Dr Ebrahimpoor and had my tooth extracted. It felt weird. She \n froze my mouth and started to pull on the tooth. It didn't seem like it \n was budging and she kept pulling and pulling. Then all of a sudden she \n said it was done. I guess once it comes loose, it is easy to pull. She \n looked at the tooth and said it was a good thing we pulled the tooth \n instead of trying to repair it. There was a crack down one of the roots. \n This is where the infection must have been leaking out. I got to keep my \n tooth! Dr E put some gauze in my mouth and told me to bite on it to help \n stop the bleeding. She also gave me some tylenol although I didn't want \n to take it. She recommended that I take it. Although it was \n uncomfortable, my healing process was pretty easy. It was tough at first \n to eat since I avoided chewing on the right side of my mouth for the first \n week. Then I started trying to chew in that area and it was \n uncomfortable. Now three weeks later, it's starting to feel a lot better. \n It doesn't really hurt to chew on that side, but I have to push food out \n that gets stuck in that area.\n \n \n

\n I developed a bump on the inside of my right gums and the dentist \n suggested it had to do with my molar which had a root canal and crown. \n The crown fell off very recently. She recommended that I have the molar \n removed and a tooth implant to replace it.\n

\n

\n Went to Dr Ebrahimpoor and had my tooth extracted. It felt weird. She \n froze my mouth and started to pull on the tooth. It didn't seem like it \n was budging and she kept pulling and pulling. Then all of a sudden she \n said it was done. I guess once it comes loose, it is easy to pull. She \n looked at the tooth and said it was a good thing we pulled the tooth \n instead of trying to repair it. There was a crack down one of the \n roots. This is where the infection must have been leaking out. I got \n to keep my tooth! Dr E put some gauze in my mouth and told me to bite \n on it to help stop the bleeding. She also gave me some tylenol although \n I didn't want to take it. She recommended that I take it. Although it \n was uncomfortable, my healing process was pretty easy. It was tough at \n first to eat since I avoided chewing on the right side of my mouth for \n the first week. Then I started trying to chew in that area and it was \n uncomfortable. Now three weeks later, it's starting to feel a lot \n better. It doesn't really hurt to chew on that side, but I have to push \n food out that gets stuck in that area.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1203, "title": "Adobe Lightroom", "date": "2008-10-07 21:18:12.0", "content": "

\n I upgraded to v2.0 of Adobe lightroom. I had catalogued my pictures, and \n I really want to start using this program. I found a book on lightroom \n and want to go through it so I can become a power user of this \n application.\n

\n

\n I have thousands of pictures now and I want to start organizing them so \n that I can find a picture when I need it. I'd like to develop an \n excellent workflow for working with my pictures. From sorting and \n organizing, to editing and enhancing, and then printing.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1204, "title": "Joe's ING Mortgage", "date": "2008-10-27 22:24:13.0", "content": "

\n What a pain in the butt this has been. It was delayed from Aug, then \n Sept, and now into Oct. A bunch of things one after the other. First \n the mortgage had to be only in my name, so we had to transfer the title. \n This meant that I had to get CMHC insurance (an extra $7000) and we had \n to pay land transfer tax ($6000). Then, Joe hadn't been paying any \n mortgage payments at all, and there was an extra $8000 that needed to be \n paid. What a mess! Then Joe didn't have things set up so that he \n could put the first payment into our ING joint account. I ended up \n having to put $1000 into the account to cover the first payment. Then \n ING puts a hold on the funds for a week so the money isn't actually in \n the account until Nov 3rd! I had put the money in Friday night, Oct \n 24th. But it didn't show up in the account until Oct 27th. And then \n it's held for 1 week, giving the Nov 3rd date. I ended up calling ING \n and they had to extend the payment date to Nov 3rd. Ugh... What a \n comedy of errors. I'm getting pissed on how complicated and \n disorganized this has become. Joe keeps asking me to do things... I \n just want this to be over so that they end up paying the mortgage \n payments and I can get out of the loop.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1205, "title": "Uncle Brendan passed away", "date": "2008-11-02 22:33:07.0", "content": "Anne got a call from Andrea that Brendan had passed away. What sad news! \n Anne was making plans to go to the funeral and I wanted to go too. On \n Monday, I asked Gil if I could take Thursday and Friday off and he said it \n was ok. The visitation was on Wednesday and the Funeral was on Thursday. \n Joseph and I had the Grade 9 Take Our Kids To Work (TOKTW) on Wednesday \n morning, so we could leave until after lunch on Wednesday. Since it is a \n 12 hour drive, we would get in really late on Wednesday night.Anne got a \n call from Andrea that Brendan had passed away. What sad news! Anne was \n making plans to go to the funeral and I wanted to go too. On Monday, I \n asked Gil if I could take Thursday and Friday off and he said it was ok. \n The visitation was on Wednesday and the Funeral was on Thursday. Joseph \n and I had the Grade 9 Take Our Kids To Work (TOKTW) on Wednesday morning, \n so we could leave until after lunch on Wednesday. Since it is a 12 hour \n drive, we would get in really late on Wednesday night.Anne got a call from \n Andrea that Brendan had passed away. What sad news! Anne was making \n plans to go to the funeral and I wanted to go too. On Monday, I asked Gil \n if I could take Thursday and Friday off and he said it was ok. The \n visitation was on Wednesday and the Funeral was on Thursday. Joseph and I \n had the Grade 9 Take Our Kids To Work (TOKTW) on Wednesday morning, so we \n could leave until after lunch on Wednesday. Since it is a 12 hour drive, \n we would get in really late on Wednesday night.Anne got a call from Andrea \n that Brendan had passed away. What sad news! Anne was making plans to go \n to the funeral and I wanted to go too. On Monday, I asked Gil if I could \n take Thursday and Friday off and he said it was ok. The visitation was on \n Wednesday and the Funeral was on Thursday. Joseph and I had the Grade 9 \n Take Our Kids To Work (TOKTW) on Wednesday morning, so we could leave \n until after lunch on Wednesday. Since it is a 12 hour drive, we would get \n in really late on Wednesday night.\n \n \n

\n Anne got a call from Andrea that Brendan had passed away. What sad \n news! Anne was making plans to go to the funeral and I wanted to go \n too. On Monday, I asked Gil if I could take Thursday and Friday off and \n he said it was ok. The visitation was on Wednesday and the Funeral was \n on Thursday. Joseph and I had the Grade 9 Take Our Kids To Work (TOKTW) \n on Wednesday morning, so we could leave until after lunch on Wednesday. \n Since it is a 12 hour drive, we would get in really late on Wednesday \n night.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1206, "title": "Cleaning up Office and Nortel Take Our Kids To Work (TOKTW)", "date": "2008-11-05 12:35:05.0", "content": "Joseph came to my work for TOKTW. I had spent some time last week and \n Monday night this week to clean up my office area. I put some stacks of \n paper inside my cabinets, and took the rest of the stacks of paper home. \n I had come in Monday night and filled up two Gym bags worth of paper and \n brought them to my car to bring home. The bags were heavy! I just dumped \n the papers in my workshop area for now. I really need to go through all \n these stacks and figure out what I want to do with them. Some stuff I'd \n like to scan so that I can keep the info for reference.\n \n \n

\n Joseph came to my work for TOKTW. I had spent some time last week and \n Monday night this week to clean up my office area. I put some stacks of \n paper inside my cabinets, and took the rest of the stacks of paper home. \n I had come in Monday night and filled up two Gym bags worth of paper and \n brought them to my car to bring home. The bags were heavy! I just dumped \n the papers in my workshop area for now. I really need to go through all \n these stacks and figure out what I want to do with them. Some stuff I'd \n like to scan so that I can keep the info for reference.\n

\n

\n For TOKTW, I volunteered to be a guide, but Joseph didn't end up being \n in my group. He said he had fun in the demos that he attended. There \n was also a slideshow put together which had a really catchy song in it. \n I asked Joseph what the name of the song was and he said "Stronger" by \n Kanye West. I was able to download this song, and I've been listening \n to it a lot! I really like it.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1207, "title": "Trip to St. John for Brendan's funeral. ", "date": "2008-11-08 22:44:10.0", "content": "

\n Nov 5th-8th, Trip to St. John for Brendan's funeral. We left around \n 1:20pm for Brendan's funeral. I was hoping to leave Nortel at 12:30pm, \n but Joseph didn't get back to the auditorium until 12:45pm. By the time \n we got home it was after 1:00pm. I rushed and got all the bags packed \n into the car and we were off in 20 minutes. Anne thought that was quick. \n She was worred when it was almost 1:00pm and we hadn't arrived yet.\n

\n

\n I had my GPS for our trip as usual. I really, really like the GPS. One \n of the cool things is that it tells you how much longer until your \n destination. For this trip it was about 12 hours. However, we found out \n that the GPS was routing us through the US. We were going to take our \n usual route through Quebec. Anne was saying that when she was driving on \n the highway, the GPS was continually telling her to get off and go down \n south. I never noticed this because I was sleeping... :-)\n

\n

\n We stopped at a McDonalds in Grand Falls for dinner. It was 8:30pm, but \n with the time change it was really 9:30pm. Charles called while we were \n having dinner. We were still 4 hours away from St. John. The drive from \n Grand Falls to Fredricton was relatively easy because it was a four lane \n divided highway. Also, since it's a new highway, the GPS couldn't always \n track us on a road, and sometimes had us in the fields! The scary part \n of the drive was when we got off the 4 lane highway at Fredricton and \n took highway 2 towards St. John. At first I was just following a truck \n but on some of the hills the truck slowed down quite a bit, so I ended \n up just passing the truck.\n

\n

\n The hotel we stayed at was very nice. It was just off the highway very \n near to Aunt Andrea's place. They had a free breakfast which included a \n wafflemaker.\n

\n

\n Brendan's funeral was at the chapel at the funeral home. Our family was \n part of the procession and we sat in a reserved section at the front. \n After the funeral, many of us went back to Andreas place. Later that \n night we all gathered in the living room and told our personal stories \n of Brendan. I actually piped up and told the stories about Brendan and \n his secret Caesar Salad recipe, the monkey hooks for hanging up \n pictures, and his passion of Photography.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1208, "title": "WK46-3 Swim", "date": "2008-11-12 22:59:24.0", "content": "

\n Swimming Pinecrest pool. My front crawl swimming stroke feels pretty \n smooth now. Especially at the beginning when I still feel fresh, I feel \n like I moving fairly quick, and I'm keeping my head mostly in the water \n when I breath, so I stay nice and streamlined. My lap times are also \n quicker around 2:45mins/100m, which is about 5 to 10 seconds faster per \n 100m. Heart rate is about the same ~128bpm (32 beats per 15 seconds).\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 21 - 100m laps (2.1km), total time: 0:56:00, average pace: \n 2:40mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1209, "title": "WK47-4 Swim", "date": "2008-11-20 22:00:07.0", "content": "

\n Swimming Walter Baker pool. Again, my stroke feels really good at the \n beginning of my swim. The first lap time seems quick too. I think at the \n beginning my pull is pretty strong since I'm not tired yet. I pull with \n a stronger force.\n

\n

\n Swim stats: 28 - 100m laps (2.8km), total time: 1:20:50, average pace: \n 2:53mins/100m. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1210, "title": "WK07-3 Run", "date": "2010-02-17 23:38:52.361", "content": "

\n I wanted to change up my exercise days, because I can't get my run in on \n Saturdays. I decided that Tues, Wed, Fri, and Sun would be my run days, \n with Sunday being the long run day. If I move to five days a week \n exercising, then I can add Saturday.\n

\n

\n I felt pretty lethargic on my run today. Maybe my body is getting tired \n with the quick increase in mileage. I also started getting a pain on the \n outside of my right knee (probably my ITB acting up again), and also my \n right calf (right in the center of the calf, deep in the muscle). I'm \n not sure what the calf pain is. I don't think I've ever had it before.\n

\n

\n There was some snow during the day, so there was snow on the ground \n during my run. I just tried to make sure of my footing and not have a \n long stride. I did a new route today. I went down Cedarview to Baseline. \n I had to run on the shoulder of Cedarview. There really isn't that much \n space. I didn't enjoy this part. After a short run on Baseline, I went \n on the road by the Sophia condos, then cut through St John the Apostle \n school and then back down by the road. I followed this road and then \n turned up another road which eventually curved to Greenbank. I turned \n around at the lights at Greenbank. Except for the part on Cedarview, I \n like this new route.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 8.8 km, total time: 1:01:17, average pace: \n 6:57mins/km, average heart rate: 135bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1211, "title": "WK07-5 Run", "date": "2010-02-19 22:49:44.0", "content": "

\n It was girls night out, so Anne was out with her friends. I was lazy \n tonight and took a while to finally get out of the house on my run. I \n was also actually still feeling full from dinner, and that was another \n reason for my late start. I did my route out be Westcliffe and Seyton \n avenue. I decided to run clockwise around the school tonight. I only did \n one loop. I picked up the pace half way through the run.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 8.58 km, total time: 55:23, average pace: \n 6:27mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1212, "title": "WK07-7 Long Run", "date": "2010-02-21 23:15:12.0", "content": "Today is my long run. I dropped Anne off at the airport last night. She is \n visiting Aunt Andrea for a week and helping her out. Aunt Andrea broke her \n hip in a fall several weeks back, and she asked Anne if she could come \n help her out for a while. Also Elizabeth didn't have any dance classes \n today due to the Flying Solo competition.\n\n

\n I slept in a little bit. Joseph's alarm kept going off and that \n prevented me from going back to sleep in the morning. I finally got out \n of bed around 8:30am. I had some breakfast and then started getting \n ready for my run. I put gatorade in a water bottle and was out the door \n around 9:30am. At first I forgot my water bottle so I had to run back. I \n thought I felt a little light while going down the driveway. It was \n snowing and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. I had to be \n careful with my footing on this run.\n

\n

\n For the long run route, I decided to try a new route. I would do a \n similar route by SJA and Greenbank, and then keep running east towards \n Centrepoint. I did a couple of loops around Centerpoint and even took a \n short detour out by Craig Henry Park. I was surprised that they actually \n clear the recreational path down here. I then retraced my steps back. \n Here are some of the mileage points. At Greenbank lights, its around \n 4.5km. When I got to the Centerpoint road, it's around 6.5km. A loop \n around Centrepoint is around 3km. I wanted to head back home from \n Centerpoint at around 14km, so that would give me 20km in total. I \n needed to find a 2km out and back to get me to 14km. That's why I ran \n down the recreation path out to Craig Henry park. I was very erratic for \n my hydration strategy. I didn't take my first sip until the 6km mark. I \n was then trying to take sips every 3-4km, but I kept forgetting again.\n

\n

\n I actually felt pretty good. I was slow at first, but once I got well \n into the run, my breathing was easy and my legs felt good. Halfway \n through the run, I could feel my legs tire, but all in all I was feeling \n good. I also decided to pick up the pace and stay around \n 6:45-6:50mins/km. And I actually felt good enough to pick up the pace. \n My breathing was still easy and I tried to stay relaxed. On the way back \n home by the Sophia condos, I saw a mountain biker. I had seen him a \n couple of hours earlier when I was heading out. I nodded my head and he \n nodded too. Then he stopped his bike, because he recognized me from \n earlier and he yelled out: "Have you been running all morning?%#?". I \n told him it was my "long run" and he responded back with "yeah, that's a \n long run".\n

\n

\n Funny how I don't really think anything of my long runs now. It just \n seems normal. But I guess it is intimidating to run for that long. I was \n able to keep up a good steady pace all the way back home. It was tough \n going up the hill at Richmond. I actually felt fairly strong all the way \n to the end. I was tired, but not completely bagged and exhausted like \n some of my early long runs in previous years. Yeah!!! Also, my right \n knee felt pretty good, except for the last few kilometers, where I could \n start to feel the pain on the outside of the knee. I also noticed some \n pain starting on the ball of my left foot. I've had this before and I \n think this was a stress fracture on the toe or foot bone. Will need to \n monitor these aches and pains closely!\n

\n

\n I am very pleased with this long run and how good I felt all the way \n through. My pace was 6:50mins/km which is already pretty good compared \n to previous years. I am already in decent shape so early in my training. \n I'll need to keep up this momentum so that I can have a 5:30 pace at a \n low heart rate (135-137bpm).\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 20.17 km, total time: 2:17:58, average pace: \n 6:50mins/km, average heart rate: 134bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1213, "title": "Teaching the kids about Goals", "date": "2010-02-21 23:31:07.0", "content": "

\n This afternoon, I sat down with the kids for about half-an-hour and \n talked about setting goals. I got them to bring a notebook where they \n could write these goals down. I told them about the importance of \n setting goals, because if you don't have them then you're not setting \n yourself any direction. I gave them an analogy of a ship in a vast ocean \n without having any direction. You just constantly wander around \n aimlessly. Whereas comparing this to having goals is like a map telling \n you exactly where you should be going and how to get there.\n

\n

\n I'm not sure if the kids bought into all that stuff, but we did have a \n pretty engaging conversation. We spent about 5-10 minutes writing down \n our goals. I told them that some goals are pretty personal, so you don't \n have to share your goals, but I did ask them if there were goals that \n they could share. Elizabeth had some good ones. She wanted to do the \n splits, run 4km in 20 mins (for cross country), and clean her room. \n Joseph wanted to do an animation and become a better snowboarder \n (especially doing jumps!).\n

\n

\n I wrote down a bunch of goals too:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Help Joseph and Elizabeth excel in school\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Run a marathon in 3:56:24\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Build a robotic arm\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Update family web page and get kids to start writing blogs\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Complete an Ironman Triathlon\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Participate in the ORE RoboMagellan contest on May 1st, 2010\n
    7. \n
  7. \n Be an organized person\n
    8. \n
  8. \n Clean basement\n
    9. \n
\n

\n In order to help our communication better, I talked about how some of \n the things we ask them to do is because I really care for them and I \n want them to really do well in life. It's one of my goals and desires as \n a parent. Although it might not seem like it, I do these things and ask \n them to do things because I care for them and love them very much. It's \n not because I'm trying to be a hard-ass jerk and trying to make their \n life miserable. I'd like to cut through all that bad karma, sniping \n conversation, yelling, and disrespectful talk. Like Covey mentions in \n his book. I want the communication to be easy, respectful, kind, and \n warm. This only happens if there are an abundance of deposits in the \n Emotional Bank Account and that all parties truly love and respect one \n another.\n

\n

\n I especially see Joseph reacting in this negative manner. He'll often \n raise his voice when reacting to a request. I really want this to \n change. I must ask him in a calm, respectful manner, so that gives him \n the opportunity to respond (not react!) in a similar calm and respectful \n manner. If I can get him to do this, then we will never go down the path \n of alienating each other and developing bad or negative feelings. I \n think it is too easy to go down a negative spiral when the teenager \n starts to exhibit his/her independence and rebeling against the parents. \n If I can show how my goals and their goals align, then we don't need to \n get into any misunderstandings and there should be no shouting matches.\n

\n

\n Note that this is as much about me not shouting at the kids, as asking \n the kids not to shout back at me. Also, I need to be respectful when \n asking the kids to do things. I should not assume that the kids are \n doing bad things and are therefore bad kids and so I should be shouting \n at them to change. I really want to work hard at this, because I \n currently have an excellent relationship with the kids and I always want \n us to be close like this.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1214, "title": "Religion and values", "date": "2010-02-21 23:50:48.0", "content": "

\n I read an interesting article in the Ottawa Citizen about a journalist \n who had converted to Judaism and wrote a book about his experiences. \n He's a pretty funny fellow and his answers to some of the questions were \n very funny... and bang on! I did a search online and found the article. \n The book is called "Jew and Improved" and the author is Benjamin Errett.\n

\n

\n One thing he talked about was Religion giving you a set of rules for \n living your life. I was equating this to Covey's foundationationl \n principles (eg. kindness, respect, humility, charity...) I really \n believe in this. Whenever I go to church I really resonate with the \n teachings of the reading and gospel, and the priest's homily. It really \n grounds me and gives me an inner peace, calmness, and tranquility. I \n sometimes don't totally agree with everything, but I always try to come \n back to that inner peace.\n

\n

\n Another interesting answer was to the question of if you're not going to \n practice your religion devoutly, then why bother? His first comment was \n priceless. He asked, "If you're not going to make it to the Olympic \n games, why bother jogging?". Heh, heh... Right up my alley. He goes on \n to say that it is not an all or nothing phenomenon. I think it's a \n journely. It's the development of your spiritual side. And that is not \n something that happens instantly.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Here's the text of the articles:\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Jew and Improved:\n

\n

\n How Choosing to Be Chosen Made Me a Better Man\n

\n

\n By Benjamin Errett\n

\n

\n HarperCollins; $29.99\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Unlike that dentist in the Seinfeld series who was not quite clear on \n the concept, Benjamin Errett didn't convert to Judaism for the jokes. \n Errett had plenty of his own prior to converting.\n

\n

\n Errett, a managing editor with the National Post, is a very funny man. \n He is also very frank and insightful. And he uses these tools to great \n effect in his new book, Jew and Improved: How Choosing to Be Chosen Made \n Me a Better Man.\n

\n

\n Errett's memoir is an intriguingly different spin on the classic \n goy-meets-girl tale. While studying biology at McGill University, he met \n and fell in love with Sarah Lazarovic, a filmmaker and illustrator whose \n Another Week cartoon commentary runs Sundays in the Citizen. And as the \n couple moved closer to marriage, Errett, a lapsed Catholic ("I was never \n sure enough to be an atheist, but I certainly qualified as an \n agnostic."), decided to convert to his fiancée's religion.\n

\n

\n But here's the kicker: neither Sarah nor anyone in her family -- who are \n Reform rather than Orthodox Jews -- ever pressured him, much less ever \n asked him, to convert.\n

\n

\n "Seriously, though, why would you go through with that," one of Sarah's \n cousins asked him. "For the food? Anyone can eat bagels these days."\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Errett's rationale: "I hadn't always wanted this job. I was quite happy \n to be unemployed, spiritually speaking. But when Sarah and I got \n engaged, I decided joining her tribe was 'the right thing to do.' Beyond \n that slogan for Quaker Oats, I couldn't quite articulate why I wanted to \n do this ... I knew I was searching for something, though I had no clear \n idea what that something was."\n

\n

\n And so Errett's odyssey begins. There are many bumps along the road.\n

\n

\n There are many rituals Errett hadn't initially contemplated. There are \n many classes. But he is nothing if not candid about his experience.\n

\n

\n Spiritual journeys are rarely laden with knee-slappers. But it is \n precisely Errett's whimsy that brings his journey to a place almost \n anyone can relate to.\n

\n

\n Yet while referencing everything from Albert Brooks to The Big Lebowski, \n Marshall McLuhan to The Brady Bunch, for laughs, Errett shows great \n reverence for the traditions of the religion he has embraced. And it's \n safe to say that now he knows far more about Judaism than many other \n practitioners.\n

\n

\n As Errett so succinctly puts it: "This is a book about a spiritual \n journey for people who don't read books about spiritual journeys. It's a \n primer on a major world religion and an answer to all those embarrassing \n questions about circumcision. And who doesn't love a book that features \n a wedding and a recipe for brisket?" True. Mighty hard to resist brisket \n recipes.\n

\n

\n And how's this for an explanation of Judaism, courtesy of Errett's \n rabbi-teacher at conversion class: "Religion is basically a game of 52 \n pickup; every faith deals the same cards, but the order varies. Jews \n believe in heaven and hell, but that card is at the bottom of the pack \n and rarely gets played." So be here now.\n

\n

\n When Benjamin met Sarah (sounds like a film already), he was editor of \n the McGill Daily. He conscripted her as the paper's culture editor. \n Their first encounter was during a staff party/squash game. She wasn't \n immediately impressed. Something about his pasty white legs, although he \n opined that "tanned legs would have been creepier."\n

\n

\n Errett had planned at the time to enter medical school at McGill, but \n later decided it would be much more fun writing "terrifically punny \n headlines" about popular culture. Probably just as well that Errett \n wasn't a Jew at the time he decided to abandon medicine for journalism, \n because he might have been disowned by the religion. (Hey, old \n stereotypes die hard.)\n

\n

\n In truth, Errett's parents were remarkably supportive. And Errett is \n also extremely grateful to his folks for having him circumsized at birth \n -- saving him, for the most part, from some potentially painful moments \n when he converted. Sarah's family and friends also rallied. It helps, of \n course, that Errett is quite the mensch who marches to the beat of his \n own bongo and who manages not to be swayed by current conventional, \n alleged wisdom.\n

\n

\n Errett has been married and Jewish for two years now.\n

\n

\n "Conversion hasn't been all bagels and lox," deadpans Errett, 30, over \n the phone. "It's been a fascinating journey. This is a culture with a \n lot of darkness, but obviously a lot of light as well." What he \n particularly relishes about his new religion is the constant dialogue \n and debate: "Take two Jews and you have at least three opinions."\n

\n

\n He expects his book will also provoke same: "There will probably be a \n lot of comment and discussion about it. And I hope that comes from \n people who have gone out and paid full price for the book."\n

\n

\n One of Errett's primary objectives was to avoid ramping up religious \n fervour: "When religion is discussed in the media or just about \n everywhere else these days, it's usually the crazies who suck up all the \n attention. What is so often lost is that religion can just be a very \n normal and helpful part of someone's life."\n

\n

\n © Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n 'I didn't know what I was missing'\n

\n

\n Benjamin Errett, author of Jew and Improved, spoke to Citizen columnist \n Peter Simpson about his conversion:\n

\n

\n By Peter Simpson, The Ottawa CitizenFebruary 21, 2010\n

\n

\n Why does a young man, baptized Catholic, become a Jew?\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n The short answer: I proposed to a wonderful Jewish girl, and though it \n certainly wasn't asked or expected of me, I wanted us to be on the same \n page of the same holy book. It took me a year to figure out why that \n was. The long answer is in bookstores now.\n

\n

\n Your own parents divorced, an experience that often leaves even adult \n children feeling alienated and unsatisfied. Was conversion in some ways \n a search for structure, for meaning?\n

\n

\n In a way. I think I reached an age at which I could consider religion \n anew without immediately fixating on its faults. And when I did that, I \n found it filled out a part of my life I hadn't realized was lacking. I \n wouldn't say I was alienated so much as that I didn't know what I was \n missing.\n

\n

\n What were you missing? Have you found it now, or are you just more aware \n of its absence?\n

\n

\n Basically, a set of rules for life. From the big stuff like how to mourn \n the dead to the small stuff like making sure cash gifts are given in \n multiples of 18, because that's the numerical value of the Hebrew word \n for life. I don't follow all the rules -- I still eat BLTs -- but \n there's comfort in knowing that they're there.\n

\n

\n So -- and I ask this as a person with no particular attachment to \n religion -- if you're not devout, what's the point?\n

\n

\n If you're not going to make it to the Olympics, what's the point of \n jogging? I see your point, of course, as I used to feel the same way -- \n but religion needn't be an all-or-nothing proposition.\n

\n

\n True enough, but since you went to the considerable effort of converting \n you must be determined to find your place in your new religion. At one \n point in the book, when you're visiting Israel, you look at the \n religious tourists around you and wonder how to distinguish the devout \n from the nutty. If those are the only two options, which are you?\n

\n

\n They're certainly the two most visible options when you visit the \n Western Wall -- and the ones that get all the press -- but I'd count \n myself with the vast majority of people who observe their religion's \n beliefs to the extent they see fit.\n

\n

\n In my case, it's trending toward devout on my own timeline.\n

\n

\n Let's say you meet an old friend who's been out of touch for a few years \n and doesn't know about your conversion: how would you seem different to \n him?\n

\n

\n He'd notice a marked improvement in my Hebrew pronunciation, should that \n subject come up. Otherwise, I hope I'd seem happier and more assured. \n Less angsty. More at peace. Improved, in other words.\n

\n

\n Final question: do you roll on Shabbos?\n

\n

\n I think bowling counts as oneg, or joy, one of the goals of Shabbat. \n Ergo, the Dude abides.\n

\n

\n © Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1215, "title": "HP Laptop died again! :-(", "date": "2010-02-22 22:39:10.0", "content": "

\n The kids were using the HP laptop after school and after dinner, and it \n seemed to have died again! The screen is just blank now. Looks like \n there is some disk activity, but nothing shows up on the screen. I \n guess the motherboard is just flaky. That's a bummer.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1216, "title": "More Lecturing to Joseph and Elizabeth about school work", "date": "2010-02-22 23:43:07.0", "content": "

\n I had another exasperating discussion with Joseph about his school work \n tonight. I asked him to show me his history presentation that he is \n doing on Wednesday and the work that he has done on it. At first I \n thought he was just ignoring me, and I really started to blow up at him. \n Actually he said he was going to get up and get his written notes. When \n he showed me his written notes it was a piece of paper with only 4 or 5 \n lines written on it. I asked him how long he had spent on that and he \n said about 5 minutes.\n

\n

\n I told him that just isn't good enough. You need to spend more effort! \n He says he knows, but he's just lazy. He doesn't want to do it. How can \n I get his attitude to change? How can I help him make it interesting, so \n he does get motivated?\n

\n

\n This was around 10:50pm and I asked Elizabeth to come and listen too. I \n just want the kids to be so good in school. I want them to be \n successful. I want them to be motivated so that they strive to be the \n best. I see Elizabeth working (she's always so busy with many things on \n the go), but Joseph just can't seem to get motivated. I asked them if I \n need to start cracking down and being more strict. There are too many \n distractions on the computer: messaging, facebook, games, ... I need to \n limit this somehow...\n

\n

\n I asked both of them if there are kids in their school who people view \n as smart? Elizabeth nodded and said yes. I asked her if she was one of \n them. She just smiled. I asked Joseph the same question. He said "there \n are other kids who think that way (that he is smart)". Wow, that was \n cool to hear. He is smart, but he gets by without having to put in any \n effort!@#$%! I really want him to develop a work ethic and to put in a \n lot effort!\n

\n

\n I told them about some new rules they must follow. I said that when they \n get home from school, they need to spend at least 1/2 hour doing \n homework before dinner. They can't just spend all that time goofing off \n and playing games on the computer. I also told them that they must start \n writing down where they are spending their time. They will write this in \n some type of notebook. And at night, before bed, we will review it.\n

\n

\n Is this going to work? I don't want them to get discouraged and have \n them resent me because I'm being mean and overbearing. How do I walk \n this fine line and still get them to change and get better? I must keep \n the lines of communication open, allow them to give me feedback, and use \n that feedback to improve our course of action to ultimately achieve all \n our goals.\n

\n

\n As I had written previously, this must be done in a manner and \n environment where kindness, respect, humility, and charity are upheld to \n the highest ideals. It's funny. I get so mad and upset at the kids, but \n in the end, I still feel for them and feel bad that I've treated them \n this way. I really, really do care for them. I want them to be the best. \n I don't ever want to lose sight of that...\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1217, "title": "WK08-3 Run", "date": "2010-02-24 22:42:10.0", "content": "

\n It was snowing fairly heavily on Tuesday night, so I couldn't go for a \n run. It snowed a little today (Wednesday) too, but the roads and \n sidewalks seemed clear enough for me to go for a run. I ran down \n Baseline to Greenbank. It was a pretty fast run. I could feel I was \n pushing myself, I was breathing pretty hard, and I could feel the lactic \n acid building up in my legs. I ran to the lights at Greenbank and \n turned around and ran the same way back.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 7.35 km, total time: 44:18, average pace: \n 6:06mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1218, "title": "WK08-5 Run", "date": "2010-02-26 23:02:20.0", "content": "

\n More wet snow on Thursday night prevented me from going on a run. There \n were still some big puddles on the road and sidewalks, but I was able to \n go on a run tonight (Friday). Elizabeth was over at Taylor's house \n working on a project. I picked her and Sabreen up at 6:30 and took them \n to Merivale Bowling lanes for Lauren's birthday party which started at \n 7:00pm. The party finished at 9:30, but Sabreen's parents were going to \n pick them up.\n

\n

\n It was around 8:00pm when I started getting ready for my run. It has \n been warm (above 0 C) so I decided to only wear my long sleeved coolmax \n without the t-shirt underneath. I also decided to not wear my splash \n pants, since the last few runs, my legs have been really sweating too. \n This turned out to be just fine. I was never cold.\n

\n

\n I decided to run out by Seyton Drive and ended up doing two laps around \n the school and park. I ran at a fast pace again and was able to keep up \n this pace for most of the 10km run. I really want to work on my speed \n this year. Instead of running all my runs at my long run pace (which I \n think I've been doing), I'd like to push that pace on my shorter runs. I \n believe this will help me improve my speed and allow me to run faster at \n a lower heart rate.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance:10.0 km, total time: 1:00:8, average pace: \n 6:05mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1219, "title": "WK08-7 Long Run", "date": "2010-02-28 22:37:25.0", "content": "

\n For this week's long run, I was thinking of running 25km. This would \n take about 3 hours. Elizabeth didn't start her dance class until 10:30am \n this morning, so the plan was to get up at 7:00am and run for 3 hours. I \n got up at 7:00am, but I had to get my gatorade ready and put on my \n running gear, so I didn't head out the door until 7:15am. It was warm \n again around -1 C, so I just wore my sweat pants without the splash \n pants, and my long-sleeve coolmax.\n

\n

\n At the beginning of my run the footing was TREACHEROUS. I was slipping \n all the time. I just made sure I was going slow and keeping my strides \n short so that if my foot slipped, I wouldn't be too off balance. My \n route was to run by SJA elementary school, and then out by Centrepointe. \n I decided to take the recreational route out towards the train tracks \n and Craig Henry park. I then ran along Craig Henry Drive all the way to \n Knoxdale. This is the end of the recreational path I usually run along \n in the spring. I ran down Knoxdale and then went down Conover to get \n back to Craig Henry Dr.\n

\n

\n After getting back to Centrepoint, I took the recreational path that \n cuts through Centrepoint park. There was another runner ahead of me, and \n I followed them when they took a short path that took them out by \n Hemmingwood Way. I followed this road until I got back to Centrepoint \n and Marble Arch Crescent. This was around 14km into my run. It's about \n 6km back to the house from here, so I decided to run back and then do a \n short loop of 3 or 4 km depending on how much time I had left. I needed \n to be home around 10:00am so I could drive Elizabeth to her dance class.\n

\n

\n It was around 9:43am when I got back to our neighbourhood. I thought I \n would run out for another 8 minutes and then turn around to head back \n home. I went out by Evergreen and Ridgefield, and turned around at about \n the 22km mark. When I got back home, I had run over 24km.\n

\n

\n I actually felt pretty good. I wasn't totally exhausted like some of my \n long runs in previous years. The second half of the run I was able to \n keep a very quick pace with my kilometer splits between 6:45 and 6:55. \n Not bad! I think the slower pace during the first part of my run was due \n to the slippery footing and being careful so I didn't fall. When I \n started running on the road, I was able to pick up my pace without \n having to worry about slipping. It was around 10:10 by the time I got \n home. I had to quickly change and then drive Elizabeth to Dance class. \n All in all an excellent long run! I am pleased with my current fitness \n level so early in my marathon training. I hope to continue improving \n which will allow me to run a sub-4 hour marathon. Keep up the focus and \n training!!!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 24.3 km, total time: 2:49:34, average pace: \n 6:59mins/km, average heart rate: 136bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1220, "title": "New Acer Aspire One Netbook!", "date": "2010-02-26 23:32:37.0", "content": "

\n I was working from home today. I was looking at the web pages for the \n local computer stores and I noticed that Canada Computers had the Aspire \n One 11" Netbook on sale from $399 down to $329. I'm not sure what \n triggered this, but I decided that I really wanted to get one of these \n for use on my robots. I had previously been thinking of using one of my \n laptops and putting it on the Hummerbot for the RoboMagellan competition.\n

\n

\n I ended up going to the store this afternoon and buying one! The \n salesperson wanted to make sure that the netbook could run the \n applications I wanted. He was telling me that another person returned \n this same netbook because it couldn't run Skype. He said that VOIP \n applications are very CPU intensive. I asked him about the 6 cell \n battery. He said that the Acer 6 cell battery is not as good as the ASUS \n 6 cell battery.\n

\n

\n I also bought a 500G 2.5" hard drive. I was thinking of using it on the \n Kids' computer. They actually had two different models on sale. One \n was $79, 5400rpm with 8M cache and the other was $89, 7200rpm and 16M \n cache. I ended up buying the more expensive one. In total the bill \n was almost $500! More toys for me to play with! :-)\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1221, "title": "Installing windows on Aspire One Netbook", "date": "2010-03-01 22:05:54.0", "content": "

\n I booted up the netbook and installed Windows Vista Home on the netbook. \n I then made backup copies of the recovery and application disks on DVD. \n It actually took me a while to get a working DVD connected up to the \n netbook. At first I tried to use my SATA DVD connected to the USB HD \n case, but that didn't seem to work. I connected a spare IDE DVD to a \n different USB case and that didn't work. I think the IDE DVD was bad. I \n then removed an IDE DVD from the kids' old desktop computer and put that \n in the USB case and it worked! I was finally able to burn all the backup \n DVDs.\n

\n

\n Now I decided I wanted to put Windows 7 on the netbook. I found a 32bit \n copy of Windows 7, put in the new 500G HD, and tried to boot. But there \n was an error and it wouldn't boot. I thought that it might be because \n there wasn't an MBR on the new disk so I removed the HD, put it into a \n 2.5" case, and brought it over to another computer. I used mbrfix to \n write a Vista MBR to the disk. Put the HD back into the netbook, but it \n still wouldn't boot. It wouldn't boot from my USB Flash disk either.\n

\n

\n OK, so now I thought I needed to format the disk. So I removed the disk \n from the netbook brought it to the other computer and used diskmgmt.msc \n to initialize and format the disk. I put the HD back into the netbook, \n but still no boot.\n

\n

\n I put the original HD back into the netbook and found I was able to boot \n off the DVD. So, I decided that I would "ghost" the C: drive on my new \n HD. However, after I did this, it still wouldn't boot.\n

\n

\n I did some surfing on the Web, and found a really good article on what \n happens during a boot-up sequence. From this, I realized that I needed \n to set the active partition. This tells the code in the MBR which \n partition to boot from. So I connected the HD to another computer, ran: \n "diskpart", "list disk", "select disk 7", "list partitions", "select \n partition 1", "active". I put the HD back into the netbook, and I was \n able to boot from the DVD!!! Woo Hoo!!! OK, so now I have to remember \n this. When I copied the C: drive to the new HD, it only copied the \n partition data. The partition bootsector was there, but the MBR still \n didn't have the active partitiion set. I didn't want to ghost the whole \n disk, because then I would only see a 250G drive, since that is the \n existing netbook HD size.\n

\n

\n So here's the sequence for initializing a new HD:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Use diskpart to create the partitions\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Use Ghost to copy data to a partition\n
    3. \n
  3. \n If this partition is not a currently bootable partition, need to write \n bootsector to partition\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Use diskpart to set the active partition\n
    5. \n
\n

\n Note that if the boot HD in the system doesn't have an MBR pointing to \n an active partition and a bootsector on that partition, you will not be \n able to boot off of a CD, DVD, or USB Flash disk!!! Lessons learned!\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1222, "title": "WK09-2 Run", "date": "2010-03-02 23:36:35.0", "content": "

\n I decided to make this a fast paced run. I want to have at least one run \n a week where I really push the pace so that I'm running faster than my \n desired marathon pace. I've alway been doing my runs slow and I don't \n think I've developed any speed. I also had to make sure I was back in \n time to pick up Joseph from his Ski Club. I ran out to Seyton Drive and \n did a couple of laps around the park and school. My breathing was hard \n and I could feel the slight burning in my legs indicating a build up of \n lactic acid. Almost all my splits were under 6:00mins/km pace. Nice!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance:10.1 km, total time: 0:59:05, average pace: \n 5:51mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1223, "title": "WK09-4 Run", "date": "2010-03-04 21:46:26.0", "content": "

\n I had a late start to my run. It was after 8:10pm and I had to be back \n by 9:00pm. Joseph was performing in a student concert show tonight and \n might need a ride back. Anne thought the show ended at 9:00pm, but \n Elizabeth thought it was 9:30pm. Since I had less than an hour to run, I \n decided to just run out by Richmond Rd, down to the lights by the United \n Church, and then turn around. I didn't have enough time to go all the \n way to Seyton Drive.\n

\n

\n I made this another fast run. I pushed myself even harder than Tuesday \n night's run and ended up having a really fast pace. This was going to \n be a much shorter run than usual, so I just tried to go fast. It was \n really different pushing the pace, breathing hard, and feeling my legs \n burn. I want to push myself out of my comfort zone on some of my runs. \n These different types of run will allow me to develop and improve \n different aerobic and anaerobic systems in my body.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance:6.6 km, total time: 0:36:10, average pace: \n 5:31mins/km, average heart rate: 145bpm \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1224, "title": "WK09-7 Long Run", "date": "2010-03-07 22:57:25.0", "content": "

\n It has been a pretty slow week for my running. I only ran twice so far \n this week, and one of those runs was only 6kms. For my long run, I was \n hoping to run 30km, but since my last long run was only 24km, this might \n be a bit too ambitious. I didn't start my run until after lunch, since I \n wanted to go to Canada Computers and get another netbook which was on \n sale, and then I had to pick up Joseph at 12:00pm. It was a really warm \n and sunny day, so all I wore were my sweats and long-sleeve technical \n t-shirt. I didn't put on my jacket or gloves. I prepared my gatorade and \n put on my belt and was out the door around 12:50pm.\n

\n

\n The plan was to run out by Centrepoint again and do loops around there. \n I took my usual route by Valley Stream, SJA elementary school, Briar \n Green and then Centrepoint. I took the recreational path by Centerpointe \n park and kept following that all the way past Woodroffe Bus Station. \n Here I followed the path which went right under the Queensway. At this \n point the path was full of snow so I just turned around and retraced my \n steps. This little loop is about 8km. When I got back to Centrepoint, I \n took the recreational path out by Craig Henry park and did a loop around \n Craig Henry Drive and Knoxdale. At Knoxdale, I headed out towards \n Woodroffe Ave and turned around, just to add some distance to the loop. \n Instead of turning back on Conover which I did last week, I kept running \n on Knoxdale all the way back to Greenbank. I then followed Greenbank and \n cut back in on the recreational path by the Church. There was lots of \n snow around here which I had to navigate through to get onto the road at \n Elvaston Ave. and Shoreham Blvd.\n

\n

\n I was really bagged at this point. My legs were starting to burn and \n felt like I had no energy. I wasn't breathing hard, but when I tried to \n pick up the pace, my legs would just burn. My splits climbed to over \n 7:30mins/km. I was wondering if I had run out of carbohydrates and was \n burning my muscle. Going up the hill under the train tracks, I walked \n and some gatorade. This part of the loop around Craig Henry and back to \n Centrepoint is around 7km.\n

\n

\n I struggled on the way back and took a walking break after each \n kilometer. Going up Abingdon Drive, I took a nice long walk. I also \n walked up the hill at Cedarview. I was exhausted!!! I finally ran the \n short downhill stretch from Bell High School, down Grangemill, \n Foothills, and Redfield. It was nice to get home!\n

\n

\n This long run was a humbling one. I was raving about last week's run and \n how good I felt. This week's run was the opposite. I ran really quickly \n for the first 19km or so, but then really died at the end. I think my \n pace for this stretch was around 6:45mins/km. After that, my average \n pace was probably over 7:30mins/km. Was this because I had hit the wall \n and didn't have carbs left in my body? Or is it that I'm just not used \n to these long distances yet and need to keep building my carb reserves? \n In the end, my average pace was 6:57mins/km so it wasn't too bad. I just \n need to keep building my stamina so that I can comfortably run the whole \n marathon distance and not suffer too much... :-)\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 27.4 km, total time: 3:10:48, average pace: \n 6:57mins/km, average heart rate: 136bpm \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1225, "title": "Bought another Acer Aspire Netbook 10\" !", "date": "2010-03-07 23:04:36.0", "content": "

\n As I was surfing the local computer websites on Friday, I noticed that \n they had refurbished Acer 10" Aspire One netbooks on sale at Canada \n Computers for $229. I thought this was a really cheap price, so I was \n thinking to maybe get one. I noticed on their website that the Merivale \n location had 4 in stock. After skiing on Saturday, I noticed that they \n were down to 1 in stock. But still I was hesitant to go and buy it. \n Sometime Saturday evening, I decided that I would go on Sunday morning \n to get one. I even postponed my long run from the morning and moved it \n to the afternoon.\n

\n

\n Just before 11:00am, I went to the Merivale store. I talked to a \n salesperson, and he said the one they had in stock was the demo model on \n display. He said he could talk to his manager about getting a better \n price, but since it was already on sale, he didn't think they would \n reduce the price any further. I was hesitant to get the demo model \n (which was already refurbished), so I asked about the downtown store. I \n asked the salesperson to call the downtown store and put it on hold for \n me. It was around 11:20am by the time I was heading out to the downtown \n store. I had to pick Joseph up at 12:00pm after he had given his piano \n lessons to Bastien and Daniella, so I was on a short timeline.\n

\n

\n I was able to park right near the front of the store by a meter. I \n quickly ran in and bought the netbook! I then went back and picked up \n Joseph just in time at 12:00pm at Don and Claudia's.\n

\n

\n I'll use this netbook for my robots along with the 11" netbook. I was \n also reading that folks have installed Mac OSX on these netbooks, so I \n want to try that too! The 11" netbook has a GMA500 video processor on \n this instead of the GMA950. The GMA500 is not supported for MacOSX. \n Need to do more investigating.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1226, "title": "WK10-3 Run", "date": "2010-03-10 22:13:24.0", "content": "

\n I haven't run much, and I won't be running much in the next two weeks, \n since we will be on our March break ski vacation, and then I'm \n travelling to Stockholm, Sweden for a business trip.\n

\n

\n I did my run out to Seyton Drive, did one loop and then headed back. I \n really pushed the pace again and my average pace was 6:07mins/km. I was \n breathing really hard and I could feel my legs burning. I'd like to \n continue to have at least one fast pace workout per week where I really \n push myself. Hopefully this will help improve my speed. However, I also \n have to be careful that I don't injure myself. I find it is when I try \n to go fast that causes injuries. So be careful!\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 8.36 km, total time: 51:13, average pace: \n 6:07mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1227, "title": "WK10-5 Run", "date": "2010-03-12 23:07:27.0", "content": "

\n I drove Joseph to piano lessons today, and I did my run while he took \n his lesson. I did loops around Walter Baker sports center and the \n surrounding neighbourhood. Each loop was around 2.7km and I did three \n loops. It was a good run, although I did feel slow. My pace wasn't too \n bad though.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 8.33 km, total time: 51:53, average pace: \n 6:14mins/km, average heart rate: 140bpm \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1228, "title": "March break ski trip to Mont St Anne", "date": "2010-03-20 22:33:25.0", "content": "

\n We had a great March break ski trip to Mont St Anne. I had to bring \n both skis and snowboards, so my car carrier was just packed. I was able \n to place the skis on the bottom, and then the snowboards on top. I put \n Elizabeth and my snowboard in a bag together and then put Joseph's \n snowboard on top of that. I then put the ski boots and snowboard boots \n in the remaining spaces. It was a bit tricky, but I did get everything \n to fit. \n

\n

\n The weather was really warm so the snow was soft and slushy. Joseph, \n Elizabeth, and I mostly did Snowboarding and Anne skied. We left on \n Saturday last week. The drive was pretty easy. On Sunday we went to Le \n Massif. We all skied. For the next 3 days we skied/snowboarded at Mont \n St Anne. On Tuesday night, we even went night skiing. On Thursday we \n took a day off and went to Old Quebec City. We went to the Crepes place \n for lunch and then walked around the area. They were setting up for the \n Red Bull skate downhill. It looked like a pretty wild course.\n

\n

\n We drove back on Friday, since Joseph had piano lessons Friday \n afternoon. The drive was very good until we hit Montreal. We were stuck \n in a traffic jam for over an hour! I think there were some accidents on \n the road. After being in the traffic jam for an hour we decided to get \n off the highway and take some side roads and re-enter the highway again. \n This was about a 20 minute detour, but when we got back on the highway, \n it was moving fast again. It was so frustrating being stuck in that \n traffic jam, but I think we did well to go on our detour.\n

\n

\n It was a great trip and we all had a great time. Our room was exactly \n the same one as we had when came here several years ago. There is a \n kitchen and dining room area. We signed up for internet access for \n several days so we could at least surf the net some nights. It is also \n so convenient being ski in/ski out. We had lunch in our room every day. \n We had to shed some of our ski clothing some days because it got so \n warm! I skied in my thin black nylon running jacket every day.\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1229, "title": "Installing VNC on PaulsPC1 and Ericsson laptop", "date": "2010-05-03 22:04:54.0", "content": "

\n Now that I've got a new Ericsson laptop and my PaulsPC1 Windows XP \n doesn't seem to boot, I've had to re-install some of my applications to \n get my computer environment back to where I like it. One of the things I \n wanted to get working again is my remote PC access. I was using VNC and \n SSH to do this. I installed and got F-secure SSH application working OK. \n I then tried to install Real VNC, but I couldn't get it to work. I kept \n getting a connection reset error. I did a google on this error message \n and found someone's blog that Real VNC free edition doesn't work on x64 \n bit computers! It suggested that I tried the open source application \n UltraVNC.\n

\n

\n \thttp://www.oblius.com/blog/view.php?ID=205\n

\n

\n Here's the text for the blog:\n

\n

\n RealVNC Connection reset by peer (10054)\n

\n

\n May 23rd, 2009\n

\n

\n Are you trying to connect to a RealVNC Free Edition server on a machine \n with Vista x64 and getting booted out right after entering your password \n with the following message?\n

\n

\n Connection reset by peer (10054)\n

\n

\n The free edition of RealVNC does not support 64-bit operating systems \n like Vista x64. To get RealVNC server to work on one, you will need to \n purchase the Enterprise edition of RealVNC.\n

\n

\n Screw that, I say! A cheaper and better solution is to get UltraVNC. \n It's a great open source VNC server with x64 support and has plenty of \n features and plugins available. Because VNC is based on a standard \n protocol called RFB, it is compatible with RealVNC, allowing you to use \n RealVNC viewer on an UltraVNC server or vice versa. The only things that \n won't work when you do this are the extra plugins and features specific \n to each program (like file transfers), but everyday remote desktop will \n work just fine.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n You can download UltraVNC from the UltraVNC website.: http://www.uvnc.com/ \n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1230, "title": "Windows Firewall command line options", "date": "2010-05-04 21:13:42.0", "content": "

\n I'm trying to get VNC working on my Ericsson laptop connecting to my \n home PC. There's an issue getting this working, so I thought I would \n turn off the firewall to see if this had an impact. I found a website \n that gave details on how to turn off the Windows Firewall using the \n command line. I needed to use this since this is the only interface I \n had to my home PC (SSH command line).\n

\n

\n URL: \n http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/winservercore/thread/5a438757-d294-483d-8619-df9eb5700561\n

\n

\n -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n

\n

\n A shorter command to completely disable the firewall could have been:\n

\n

\n netsh firewall set opmode disable\n

\n

\n As Zaubi points out you should avoid using this command because it \n eliminates the firewall as a security measure completely, which is a bad \n thing. Temporarily disabling the firewall might be useful to \n troubleshoot network connectivity. The command to enable the firewall \n again is:\n

\n

\n netsh firewall set opmode enable\n

\n

\n Firewall\n

\n

\n I recommend taking a look at one of the command lines below. I'll show \n you some examples of how to open up the firewall.I assume you use the \n Windows Firewall in the Default profile.\n

\n

\n To enable service exceptions\n

\n

\n The Windows Firewall in a Server Core installation of Windows Server \n 2008 comes with a couple of default firewall exceptions. You can enable \n these exception to allow specific types of traffic through the firewall. \n For example, to allow File and Printer Sharing you can run the following \n command:\n

\n

\n netsh firewall set service fileandprint\n

\n

\n If at any point you need help with the set service command just type \n netsh firewall set service which will show you some help. Extra command \n line switches may allow you to specify another firewall profile and/or \n specify a firewall scope (all, subnet or custom)\n

\n

\n To open specific ports\n

\n

\n If your situation demands you open up specific ports to allow incoming \n traffic through your firewall you can add specific port openings in your \n firewall. You can specify whether the traffic is UDP or TCP, which port \n number you'd like to open and which name you'd like to give your \n portopening, like this:\n

\n

\n netsh firewall set portopening protocol=TCP | UDP \n port=PortnumberHere name=AnyNameHere\n

\n

\n If at any point you need help with the set service command just type \n netsh firewall set portopening which will show you some help. Extra \n command line switches may allow you to specify another firewall profile \n and/or specify a firewall scope (all, subnet or custom)\n

\n

\n To allow specific programs\n

\n

\n Another way to open up the firewall is to allow specific programs to \n communicate with the outside world. The Windows Firewall will allow any \n traffic to the executables you specify. Again you can also specify a \n name for the rule. Use this command to allow specific programs:\n

\n

\n netsh firewall set allowedprogram program=FullPathToExecutable \n name=AnyNameHere\n

\n

\n If at any point you need help with the set service command just type \n netsh firewall set allowedprogram which will show you some help. Extra \n command line switches may allow you to specify another firewall profile \n and/or specify a firewall scope (all, subnet or custom)\n

\n

\n Advanced Firewall\n

\n

\n Alternatively you can use the spanking new Advanced Firewall, which \n enables you to control incoming as well as outgoing traffic, allows you \n to edit the firewall configuration in offline mode (so you can change \n the settings, without committing any changes yet) There's a nice webpage \n with more information on the Advanced Firewall functionality here. It \n shows you how to change settings through the commandline and how to \n change them using Group Policies.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1231, "title": "C18 compiler \"volatile\" and \"static\" keyword definitions", "date": "2010-05-21 16:44:02.325", "content": "

\n I was debugging my robot program and I found that I wasn't declaring a \n variable I was using in an interrupt routine as "volatile". I'm not \n really sure what this means, so I decided to google it. Found some good \n info. Volatile basically means that the compiler won't optimize the code \n since it can't assume that the variable will not be changed by code \n outside this procedure (such as in an interrupt service routine (ISR)).\n

\n

\n From URL: \n http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-24933.html\n

\n

\n What does the volatile declaration mean?\n

\n

\n Volatile is a hint to the compiler to tell it that the memory location \n where the variable which was declared "volatile" is stored can change \n without the compiler knowing about it. This is significant, because a \n common optimization that a compiler will make with variables is that it \n will try to minimize the number of times a variable is copied out of RAM \n and into a register inside the CPU. Meaning if you use a variable named \n "blah" several times in a function and it's stored in the memory address \n 1234, the compiler will copy the value from memory location 1234 to a \n register at the beginning of the function, then use the register each \n time your code accesses that variable, and then just save the contents \n of the register back to memory address 1234 at the end of the function.\n

\n

\n When you tell the compiler that a variable is "volatile" it means that \n it can be changed by something other than the code which the compiler is \n generating. So, when the compiler sees this, it does not cache the \n variable in a register and instead reads it directly out of RAM each \n time it is needed. Where this becomes important is on the digital I/O \n for example. The digital inputs are memory mapped (meaning to read the \n digital inputs, you just read a memory location). If these are not \n declared volatile, each time you access the digital inputs you may not \n be receiving the newest available data. So, if you go and look at \n ifi_picdefs.h, you'll see that all the CPU registers are declared \n volatile for this reason.\n

\n

\n And in another post:\n

\n

\n volitile tells the compiler not to assume the memory location of the \n variable retains it's value. It will check that the variable has the \n correct value whenever your code uses it.\n

\n

\n static tells the compiler to always retain the variable's value.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n You'll want to use static quite often.\n

\n

\n In the following example, divisor will increase in value every time \n My_stuff() is called, but x will always start fresh as 0 each time and \n increase to 1, before being lost when you exit the routine:\n

\n

\n \n

\n
\n void My_stuff()\n
\n
\n {\n
\n
\n static unsigned int divisor =0;\n
\n
\n unsigned int x=0;\n
\n
\n x++;\n
\n
\n divisor++;\n
\n
\n }\n
\n

\n Static means that only one copy is used of the variable in all instances \n of the function. For example,\n

\n

\n \n

\n
\n void foo(){\n
\n
\n static int count = 0;\n
\n
\n count++;\n
\n
\n printf("%d", count);\n
\n
\n }\n
\n
\n int main(int argc, char *argv[]){\n
\n
\n while(true)\n
\n
\n foo();\n
\n
\n }\n
\n

\n would print out 123456789101112, etc whereas\n

\n
\n \n
\n
\n void foo(){\n
\n
\n int count = 0;\n
\n
\n count++;\n
\n
\n printf("%d", count);\n
\n
\n }\n
\n

\n would just print out 1 every time since the function can't keep track of \n things between calls.\n

\n

\n As for volatile, it basically tells the compiler that it's possible that \n something other than the program itself could change the value of this \n variable, so don't try to do any crazy optimization stuff. Chances are \n that you won't really need it much (if ever), but it's good to know its \n there just in case.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1232, "title": "Robotics Notes", "date": "2010-05-11 22:36:16.0", "content": "

\n I attended the May ORE robotics meeting yesterday at Algonquin College. \n There were some new people there (from Carleton University Guy said), \n but I just chatted with Ron Clough and Aaron. It got me motivated to \n work on my robot again and hopefully have something working for the \n RoboMagellan competition this weekend.\n

\n

\n I basically had to start from scratch and dust off all my stuff, since I \n hadn't touched my robotics stuff for over a year! I had to return back \n my Nortel laptop so I had to re-install my whole development environment \n onto my Ericsson laptop and my Acer netbooks. I should really capture \n these procedures so I have a nice summary of all applications and laptop \n configurations I need to install and set to get a fully working Robotics \n development environment.\n

\n
    \n
  • \n I installed Visual Studio 2008 for C# .Net programming.\n
    • \n
  • \n I installed MPLAB IDE and the C18 compiler.\n
    • \n
  • \n I copied the files for tinyboot loader into Projects.\n
    • \n
  • \n I copied the files for Roborealm into Projects.\n
    • \n
\n

\n When you first start Roborealm, you get an error that the image format \n is not supported. The default image format for the Microsoft Lifecam \n NX3000 is MJPG, which is not supported by Roborealm. Go into "Options", \n "Video Format", and choose "YUY2" under "Color Space/Configuration". I \n also chose output size= 640 x 480 to get a larger picture. Note that for \n the small netbooks, it's better to have the smaller image size.\n

\n

\n I ran my RoboMagellan RoboRealm controller C# program. I was expecting \n the variables to be updated on the form, but nothing was changing. It \n was just displaying zeros. On the RoboRealm video, I could see the \n center of gravity and area move around and change, but there weren't any \n updates happening.\n

\n

\n I had this problem before when I first wrote this program. Mordecai \n helped me debug and then gave me a copy of his source code. I was able \n to get it working with his source. I looked at the code that opens the \n communication to Roborealm and saw that it used port 6060. Then it \n dawned on me that perhaps the RoboRealm server wasn't running. I \n investigated and this turned out to be the problem!\n

\n

\n To start the RoboRealm API server:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Go to "Options", "API Server" tab.\n
    • \n
  • \n Check box for "Activate Roborealm API Server".\n
    • \n
\n

\n OK, so I now have my RoboRealm and RoboRealm controller working. I \n should be able to get my camera pan and tilt working properly now. This \n is the demo where the camera tracks a cone as I move it around.\n

\n

\n I then wanted to work on my PIC programs. However the "!Projects" folder \n which was on my D-drive on my Nortel laptop wasn't available. I found \n that there was a copy of "!Projects" folder in the "Paul's Data Files" \n folder, but these were very old copies. I think the folders were from \n 2004. I believed that I sync'd this "!Projects" folder to my 2.5" \n external drive, but that was at home. I'll need to copy that folder to \n my Ericsson laptop when I get home.\n

\n

\n I also looked in a ghost image I had of my Nortel drive, but the folder \n wasn't there. I remember I had deleted smoe folders when I had a virus \n back in Dec. 2009 and I had to bring my laptop in to get re-imaged. Doh!\n

\n

\n I'm pretty sure that I have a copy of that "!Projects" folder somewhere. \n I just need to get my hands on it!\n

\n

\n When I got home, I was able to find my PIC Projects folder with all my \n latest SW changes. I noticed that I had cleaned up this folder. I \n changed the generic names of the project folders to be more descriptive. \n Here are the main projects that I'm working on:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Screwybot 18f4620\n
    • \n
  • \n Sumobot\n
    • \n
  • \n Hummerbot 18f4620\n
    • \n
  • \n Miniore Sonar\n
    • \n
  • \n Miniore Camera Servo\n
    • \n
\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1233, "title": "Robotics Notes (cont'd)", "date": "2010-05-12 23:07:10.0", "content": "

\n Ok, so now that I have my PIC source code, I needed to compile, build a \n load, and program a controller board. Easier said, than done... it \n didn't go too smoothly.\n

\n

\n First the existing projects pointed to the old location for the \n compiler, include files, and libraries for the toolsets. These were in \n D:\\MCC18 on the Nortel laptop. On my Ericsson laptop, they are now in \n C:\\MCC18. This will cause compiler and linker errors.\n

\n

\n To change the new locations, go the menu and choose:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Project / Build Options / Project\n
    • \n
  • \n Choose show directories for:\n
    • \n
  • \n \tInclude search path\n
    • \n
  • \n \tLibrary search path\n
    • \n
  • \n \tLinker search path\n
    • \n
  • \n Change all these to point to the new location.\n
    • \n
\n

\n When you compile, it will ask you if you want to use the new location \n ofthe compiler. Just say yes.\n

\n

\n Another problem I had was that it couldn't ifnd the linker files I had \n included in my project. I had changed the linker file for my GPS \n project, because I needed a bigger space for the long GPS strings. I \n should keep this in my project folder instead of the default linker \n folder. This way, it will be included in the group of files whenever I \n copy projects around.\n

\n

\n In other projects I had other linker files. I'm not sure why I did that. \n Perhaps, I didn't have the linker directory set correctly.\n

\n

\n Ok, so now I have a HEX file for my build and I need to program my PIC. \n I tried to use the tinybld bootloader to program my PIC, but when I hit \n "checkPIC", I got an error "No Response". I thought it was because of \n the tinyboot loader was no longer on my PIC.\n

\n

\n So I had to go find the source code for tinybootloader for a PIC 18F452, \n assemble it, and program it to the PIC using the MPLAB ICD2 clone.\n

\n

\n More fun! I could not get MPLAB IDE to connect to the ICD2. It kept \n coming back with an error. I was connecting to the ICD2 using my USB to \n serial converter. This was supposed to be COM7, but the error kept \n saying COM4. I think this is a bug in MPLAB. Actually it just numbers \n the COM port starting from 1 and doesn't actually use the name of the \n COM port! For me, COM port 7 was the fourth port in my list and MPLAB \n called this COM port 4!\n

\n

\n I ended up using the serial port on my docking station which was COM \n port 1. I connected to the ICD2 and it passed!\n

\n

\n I was then able to program the 18F452 on the Sumobot. After I programmed \n the bootloader in, I was then able to program the Sumobot program using \n tiny bootloader. I tried to use tiny bootloader using the USB to serial \n (COM7) and it failed!\n

\n

\n I found out that there is something wrong with the version of tiny \n bootloader (v1.91) I was using. When I downloaded the latest version \n (v1.98) it worked fine on COM7!\n

\n

\n So now I have my development environment working. I can compile a PIC \n program and program it into a PIC using tiny bootloader. The only issue \n I have is that I can't connect ICD2 programmer using my USB to Serial \n device. However this is OK because I only need to do this one time to \n program the tiny bootloader. After that I don't need the ICD2 anymore.\n

\n

\n I tried testing my Sumobot. The port baud rate is 57600, No Parity, 8 \n bits, 1 stop bit. I can adjust the wheel speeds using the dialog box and \n sliders. I forgot to mention that when hooking up the serial connection \n to the Sumobot, I had to usethe RS232 level shifter board. I had to make \n sure that the connectors are aligned correctly before connecting!\n

\n

\n Also note that the connetor from Sumobot control board to the ICD2 is a \n special one and need to make sure that this is oriented and connected \n properly too! I actually have to take off the top sintra board to get \n access to this connector.\n

\n

\n Next I wanted to get the Bluetooth working. I found out I have bluetooth \n built-in to my Ericsson laptop! I opened the bluetooth App (right mouse \n click bluetooth icon and select "Show Bluetooth devices" from the \n Windows task bar.\n

\n

\n I plugged the BlueSMIRF radios device to the Sumobot and turned it on. \n I had to connect and pair the device. The passcode is "default". I \n looked this up from my notes on Paul's Blog. This blog is really \n excellent. It has all my electronics notes from the past few years and \n contains hints and help I constantly refer back to. After this, I was \n able to see data using hyperterminal (COM11). That was easy!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1234, "title": "WK20 RoboMagellan, subsumption architecture", "date": "2010-05-17 23:21:25.0", "content": "

\n We ran the ORE GPS Robotics competition this past Saturday. I wasn't \n successful at all. My robot didn't go anywhere. I think the IRDS sensors \n weren't working properly and the robot always thought there was an \n obstacle in front. It would stop, and spin to avoid the obstacle. Other \n times it would do a quick spin. Either way, it didn't move forward for \n any length of time.\n

\n

\n I changed the IRDS routine to always return furthest zone, and I even \n changed to the "Odometer test" from "GPS test". But then it just went \n straight and the X,Y co-ordinates seemed undefined. Strange!!!\n

\n

\n Ok, so I need to go back to square one. My PIC code is really messy \n right now because I've just kept adding to it over all these years. It \n started off as code for the Nerfbot competition, then I added some \n odometery navigation, and finally I added the GPS navigation.\n

\n

\n I have a lot of logic and checks in there, and I'm confused with exactly \n what is going on. I wrote a while back that I wanted to convert to a \n "subsumption" architecture. I really like this architecture because it \n is modular. Each sensor module produces an output of direction and \n speed for the robot. This is all independent of the other inputs. An \n arbitration module then determines which behaviour should control the \n robot for that particular "slice".\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1235, "title": "Robomagellan work items", "date": "2010-05-20 22:38:59.0", "content": "

\n I have many versions of my software for Screwybot, Sumobot, and Hummer \n bot. I really need to get this organized. I've also got a bunch of flags \n for turning various functionality on/off and I need to document these \n too!\n

\n

\n Robo Magellan work items\n

\n

\n I must absolutely have a working robot on May 29th. I need to prioritize \n my work items so that I'll achieve my objectives.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Get Screwybot working 100% for GPS navigation. This is the baseline. \n Must be able to navigate towards targets.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Add obstacle detection. Use IRDS (infra red) first. Guy said he's \n always had problems with these sensors outdoors in the sunshine. I \n don't recall having these problems in previous GPS competitions... Update: \n I had some wire connection problems that was giving me flaky results, \n but after fixing these, the IRDS sensors seem to work quite well (even \n outdoors in bright sunshine).\n
    3. \n
\n

\n I, at least, want to get to this point. The robot will then be at the \n same point I had it a couple of years back at the RoboMagellan \n competition at Mordecai's work (MMIST parking lot). Next, I want to get \n my Hummerbot working.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Get motor control working for Hummerbot. I must be able to smoothly \n control my motor speed. Right now when I increase motor power, it \n jumps around like crazy. Why is that? Is PWM incorrect somehow?\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Should use the netbook to control Hummerbot. Start putting my robot \n control program on the netbook.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Add a camera and a vision task to navigate close to the cone.\n
    4. \n
\n

\n I started writing some notes on my code. Here's what is in "main.c":\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Initialize TRIS registers for input and output.\n
    • \n
  • \n Ensure PIC config bits are set properly.\n
    • \n
  • \n Initialize serial port.\n
    • \n
  • \n Motor control: Initialize PWM, set DCPWM for motor speed.\n
    • \n
  • \n Initialize LCD module.\n
    • \n
\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1236, "title": "More Robotics Debugging", "date": "2010-05-21 22:52:31.0", "content": "

\n I've been debugging some strange problems with my robot where my \n variables seemed to have weird or undefined values even though I'm sure \n that I'm assigning the variables the right value. Looking at my LCD \n output, I could see that my Xpos and target distance values were all \n screwed up. I looked at where I declared the Xpos variable and wondered \n if something is trampling these variables.\n

\n

\n So I declared some float "dummy" variables before Xpos variables. When I \n ran the program again, it worked! The odometer test now worked and I \n could see the robot navigate to all the waypoints. So this is weird... \n Moving the variable prevents it from getting these weird values. Do I \n have a store trampler? This is an issue that can cause these symptoms.\n

\n

\n I ran a few more tests. I removed the float declarations, and the \n problem came back. I also tried changing the linker file so that \n "bigdata" section was moved near the beginning of memory (instead of at \n the back). This seemed to make my program go all haywire!!! The motor \n power values seemed to be all screwed up and the wheels were randomly \n going fast and slow. So I changed everything back, and got the odometers \n test working again.\n

\n

\n So now I have to figure out what is trampling my memory. I also had \n another thought. Could this be causing my declaration initialized \n variables to be over written? One of the issues I had earlier when \n working on my Robomagellan was that my variables didn't get initialized \n during declaration. This happened when I converted to using the 18F4620 \n PIC processor and I thought it was an MPLAB C compiler problem. Could it \n be that the variables were initialized, but then were subsequently over \n written? Need to think about this possibility too.\n

\n

\n I started looking for pointers that could be uninitialized. I found only \n one pointer "msgptr" which is used to store the incoming GPS string. I \n thought I might have found some scenarios where I used an uninitialized \n pointer, but they turned out OK. I couldn't find any pointers that were \n used without being initialized... so I was at a lost of why this seemed \n to happen.\n

\n

\n Reading through the C compiler manual, I also found out about the "ROM" \n memory store. I can declare constants as "ROM" memory variables. I \n declared my GPS waypoints and also my target array structure as ROM \n variables to prevent them from being overwritten. These variables are no \n longer in the 0x70 - 0xFF area of RAM that seems to be trampled. And \n they are also "ROM" so they can't be overwritten anyways!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1237, "title": "D-Link DNS-321 NAS home server", "date": "2010-07-04 22:29:08.0", "content": "

\n RB Computing had the D-Link DSN-321 NAS on sale for $115. I bought one \n last week and finally got around to getting it up and running today. It \n was actually really easy to set up. The device was also a lot smaller \n than I thought.\n

\n

\n To install the hard drives, you have to remove the front cover by \n sliding it upwards. You then slide the SATA hard drive into the slot. \n Make sure the connectors are aligned! Push the hard drive all the way in \n until the connectors snap in place. Slide the front cover back on and \n you're done installing the hard drives!\n

\n

\n Next you need to configure the NAS. Log-in to the Administration web \n page. I just used the D-Link utility to display all the D-Link NASes on \n the network. If you know the IP address of the D-Link NAS, you can also \n type in the address in the web browser. Mine was 192.168.2.19, so I just \n type in http://192.168.2.19 and the NAS log-in page shows up. User is \n "admin" and password is blank. Click on "configure".\n

\n

\n You then go through the set up screens for setting up the filesystem \n type and then formatting the hard drive. It went by pretty quick (about \n an hour (?) for a 2 TB drive). I had another 2 TB which only had a few \n files on it, so I transferred these files to another 500G drive, and \n then installed this 2 TB drive in the NAS. I went into the configuration \n web page and formatted this drive. So now I have a NAS with 4 TB of \n storage!\n

\n

\n Next, I wanted to use the NAS as the target drive for my Windows \n Backups. When I tried to use this network drive, it came up with a \n user/password dialog box. I didn't have any users set up on the NAS and \n Windows wouldn't let me enter a blank username and password. I did a \n quick search on this and found that a workaround is to use "EVERYONE" as \n the username and any 5-8 characters for the password. I did this and was \n able to use the NAS as a backup drive! I created a directory called "PC \n Backups" where the backups will be stored.\n

\n

\n I now have a NAS for storing Anne and the kids' computer files. I'll use \n it for back ups as well. I think this is going to work out very well!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1239, "title": "Lonely Robo Magellan test runs", "date": "2010-05-29 23:07:06.0", "content": "

\n I had prepared all my stuff and rushed out to the Kanata parking lot for \n our Robo Magellan test runs and there was nobody there! They must have \n moved the tests to Sunday, but I forgot to check the mailing list. \n Elizabeth's dance recital is tomorrow on Sunday, so I won't be able to \n make it. Anyways, I made the most of it and ran some test runs.\n

\n

\n I set up four cones and got their GPS co-ordinates. I programmed these \n into Screwybot and let it loose. It was able to successfully navigate to \n all four waypoints! It actually worked really well. Even the object \n detection was working. The robot would stop, move backwards, spin, and \n then move forwards again. I took a video of my robot navigating to all \n the waypoints using my Sony video camera. I'll have to download those to \n the PC!\n

\n

\n All in all, very successful test runs. Now I have to get Hummerbot \n working!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1240, "title": "Quick test run at Robo Magellan", "date": "2010-05-30 22:23:32.0", "content": "

\n Joseph and I were heading over to Elizabeth's dance recital which \n started at 2:00pm. I asked Joseph if we could stop over quickly at the \n Robo Magellan test runs in Kanata and he said OK. The dance recital was \n at the Sacred Heart high school in Stittsville at the Abbott and Shea \n Road intersection. This was not too far from where the Robo Magellan was \n being held in Kanata.\n

\n

\n I was able to set up the waypionts and do a quick test run of my robot. \n There was a new guy there that I didn't recognize. He had a pretty cool \n robot too. I was only able to stay til around 1:30pm and then headed \n off to the recital. At least I was able to show that my robot was \n working.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1241, "title": "Hummerbot code", "date": "2010-05-31 22:49:11.0", "content": "

\n I wanted to start working on my Hummerbot code. I had various versions \n of the Hummerbot code around and I needed to find a decent working \n version. First I was comparing hummerbot v5 vs v6 code. Here are the \n differences (with v6 described first).\n

\n
    \n
  • \n v6 had updated ADC to account for 18f4620 PIC AD register differences.\n
    • \n
  • \n target distance far and close wheel speed updated\n
    • \n
  • \n added GPS test and Odometer test "#ifdef", close wheel speed and far \n wheel speed, target constants declared as ROM\n
    • \n
  • \n hummer v5 has "ifdef" to remove call to "update_robot_position" and \n "locate_target". Need to remove these calls for hummer base, since \n they're not applicable. I can't track robot position using odometery \n on a four wheel base.\n
    • \n
  • \n hummer v5 used GPS bearing flag to put steering servo back to center.\n
    • \n
  • \n hummer v5 sets up TMR0 differently (for old processor?)\n
    • \n
  • \n hummer v5 has different checks for receive serial character. Supports \n the new commands to set wheel speed, etc. from C# program on PC. \n However, this code comments out check for GPS string, so can't connect \n GPS anymore! Need to update this code to support both! Update: \n Actually, we can connect the GPS to the PC, so don't really need the \n robot PIC controller board to get the serial GPS data.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Since I was getting all confused, I decided to start with Screwybot 7 as \n a baseline and build up the hummerbot code. Screwybot 7 was latest \n working version for my Robo Magellan code. I used Hummer v5 code as a \n reference for what areas I needed to change.\n

\n

\n Start with Screwybot 7 as baseline for Hummerbot 8:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n every GPS string received, update gps_locate_target. This should set \n target bearing ad gps bearing (robot theta) and heading error.\n
    • \n
  • \n in behaviour FSM, set steering based on heading error\n
    • \n
  • \n need to have a global "steering variable" (steering servo position)\n
    • \n
  • \n can make more advanced by adjusting steering servo position based on \n the size of heading error.\n
    • \n
  • \n problems with using steering servo because this baseline didn't even \n have ServoFSM included in it!\n
    • \n
  • \n I included servofsm.c and .h but still had problems. That's because \n all throught the code, the servo code was commented out.\n
    • \n
  • \n I had put some IFDEFs for servo FSM to help clean this up, buth there \n was still a lot of commented code.\n
    • \n
  • \n NOTE: If you use "IFDEFs", you must include the right ".h" file \n otherwise, the "ifdef" will be undefined, and the code doesn't get \n included. Need to uncomment the ".h" file when you want to include \n the specific code.\n
    • \n
  • \n Finally got it so I could move the servo, but the steering was all \n wacko. It wasn't behaving correctly.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Next I wanted to fix the RoboData strings, so I could use the C# program \n to control the robot.\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Note that I set behaviour FSM to idle.\n
    • \n
  • \n If behaviour FSM is running it sends some debug output to USART. Need \n to clean this up.\n
    • \n
  • \n The open USART call was different from Hummer 5, so I copied the v5 \n open USART.\n
    • \n
  • \n I also found that the motor control was all different. Screwybot 7 \n and Hummerbot v5/v6 motor control are totally different. Need to \n check if Screwybot 7 motor control has the latest PID control values.\n
    • \n
  • \n I also had to turn off VT100 display 2 updates. Although I didn't see \n output to window, it might have conflicted with Robo Data strings.\n
    • \n
  • \n I was finally able to see Robo Data strings on the PC window.\n
    • \n
  • \n However, when I tried to use motor control, response was really weird. \n As I increased motor power, the motor turned on then off.\n
    • \n
  • \n When I finally looked at the motor power on the Navigation tab, I saw \n that it was going from 127 to 654xx or something.\n
    • \n
  • \n I had seen this before. It was the signed/unsigned problem.\n
    • \n
  • \n I had fixed this before by casting as unsigned INT. But I realized \n the received bye is not an INT. I really needed to cast the received \n char as "unsigned char"!!!\n
    • \n
  • \n Once I did this, it worked! I could now set the motor values \n properly. \n
    • \n
  • \n As a bonus, the steering now worked!\n
    • \n
  • \n OK, so now I have Robo data and PC control working.\n
    • \n
  • \n Still have problem with motor PID though. It still oscillates \n toomuch; overshoots, then undershoots.\n
    • \n
  • \n I'm thinking I should use a float for motor power values. And then \n just cast as INT when I set DCPWM.\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1242, "title": "Ackerman steering notes for Hummerbot", "date": "2010-06-01 22:28:05.0", "content": "

\n I need to figure out how to steer hummerbot. This is quite different \n than the differential steering used to steer screwybot. I made some \n drawings to help me understand how Ackerman steering works. It also \n shows why the GPS navigation has problems if you have a tight turning \n circle and are trying to use the GPS data to figure out your robot \n bearing!\n

\n

\n Trajectory of wheels for an ackerman steering 4 wheel vehicle.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n \n

\n

\n \n

\n
    \n
  • \n For each steering angle, need to determine how many odometer ticks for \n a complete circle (2 pi radians).\n
    • \n
  • \n From this, can calculate how many radians per odometer tick.\n
    • \n
  • \n Could also dothis for how many odometer ticks for 90 degrees (pi/2 \n radians) and calculate radians/odometer tick or conversely, how many \n odometer ticks per radian (per steering angle).\n
    • \n
  • \n For GPS robot, want to be able to correct robot bearing "x" radians \n (whichisthe heading error) before next GPS reading.\n
    • \n
  • \n Since there is a time component to steering correction, Ihave to take \n into account the wheel speed.\n
    • \n
  • \n For example, if I knew what the wheel speed is, I can calculate how \n many odometer ticks between GPS samples.\n
    • \n
  • \n Then if I know how many radians I want to turn robot, I need to \n calculate the steering angle which will give me that many radians for \n the given # of odometer ticks.\n
    • \n
  • \n Really need to calculate steering angle, and number of odometer ticks \n for pi/2 radians (or per radian?)\n
    • \n
  • \n Build a calibration table with columns: servo steering angle, # \n odometer ticks per 360°, degrees/tick, ticks/degree or radian.\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1243, "title": "Hummerbot steering testing data", "date": "2010-06-20 21:21:20.0", "content": "

\n I've started to collect some Hummerbot steering calibration data. Here \n are some excel tables. Still need to figure out how to interpret all \n this data and use it in the Hummerbot control program.\n

\n

\n \n  \n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n \n  \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1244, "title": "Using symbolic links instead of mapping network shares", "date": "2010-07-08 23:45:09.709", "content": "

\n Here`s an interesting article on using symbolic links rather than \n mapping network shares.\n

\n

\n URL: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24065972-WIN7-home-premium-mapped-drives-autodisconnect\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Forget about mapping drives.... create a symbolic link to the network \n share....\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n Here's some examples:\n

\n

\n 1. Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002] \n

\n

\n 2. Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. \n

\n

\n 3. \n

\n

\n 4. P:\\>mklink /? \n

\n

\n 5. Creates a symbolic link. \n

\n

\n 6. \n

\n

\n 7. MKLINK [[/D] | [/H] | [/J]] Link Target \n

\n

\n 8. \n

\n

\n 9. /D Creates a directory symbolic link. Default is a \n file \n

\n

\n 10. symbolic link. \n

\n

\n 11. /H Creates a hard link instead of a symbolic link. \n

\n

\n 12. /J Creates a Directory Junction. \n

\n

\n 13. Link specifies the new symbolic link name. \n

\n

\n 14. Target specifies the path (relative or absolute) that the \n new link \n

\n

\n 15. refers to. \n

\n

\n 16. \n

\n

\n 17. P:\\>net view \n

\n

\n 18. Server Name Remark \n

\n

\n 19. \n

\n

\n 20. \n ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \n \n

\n

\n 21. \\\\BRISTOL \n

\n

\n 22. \\\\DOWNSTAIRS \n

\n

\n 23. \\\\MOVIEBOX \n

\n

\n 24. The command completed successfully. \n

\n

\n 25. \n

\n

\n 26. P:\\>net view \\\\downstairs \n

\n

\n 27. Shared resources at \\\\downstairs \n

\n

\n 28. \n

\n

\n 29. Share name Type Used as Comment \n

\n

\n 30. \n

\n

\n 31. \n ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- \n \n

\n

\n 32. downstairs_C Disk \n

\n

\n 33. downstairs_E Disk \n

\n

\n 34. HP4 Print HP LaserJet 4 Plus \n

\n

\n 35. The command completed successfully. \n

\n

\n 36. \n

\n

\n 37. P:\\>z: \n

\n

\n 38. \n

\n

\n 39. Z:\\>mklink /d LinkToDc \\\\Downstairs\\downstairs_c \n

\n

\n 40. symbolic link created for LinkToDc <<===>> \n \\\\Downstairs\\downstairs_c \n

\n

\n 41. \n

\n

\n 42. Z:\\>dir LinkToDc \n

\n

\n 43. Volume in drive Z is Area 51 \n

\n

\n 44. Volume Serial Number is 84FF-0EA6 \n

\n

\n 45. \n

\n

\n 46. Directory of Z:\\LinkToDc \n

\n

\n 47. \n

\n

\n 48. 07/17/2009 01:50 PM 1,009 FRUNLOG.TXT \n

\n

\n 49. 11/16/2000 04:35 PM <DIR> DOS \n

\n

\n 50. 10/12/1995 12:56 AM <DIR> TEMP \n

\n

\n 51. 07/11/2009 05:39 PM 150 AUTOEXEC.BAK \n

\n

\n 52. 07/17/2009 09:58 AM <DIR> WIN98SE \n

\n

\n 53. 04/13/2002 02:29 PM <DIR> I386\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n MKLINK is the command used to create symbolic links... You can create a \n link on any NTFS filesystem, and the target can be another file, another \n directory, a network share, and more.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n NET VIEW was to list the servers on the LAN\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n NET VIEW lists the shares on the server\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n MKLINK /D created the link, that looks like any other directory to most \n applications.\n

\n

\n \n

\n

\n NEAT THING: Connection is established as needed when accessing the share \n via the symlink...\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1245, "title": "WK26 Robomagellan session", "date": "2010-06-28 21:12:43.0", "content": "

\n We had another Robomagellan session this Saturday. I hadn't worked on my \n robot, but I wanted to attend just to test my robot again and meet the \n guys. Ron had sent out the GPS waypoints of the 4 cones, where he \n averaged 3600 readings over an hour! I programmed these new waypoints \n into Screwybot 7. However, when I ran the robot, the waypoints seemed \n really far off. It turns out, I changed the code in the wrong place!!!\n

\n

\n Due to problems with initializing variables, I created an init procedure \n where I was setting all the waypoints. However, I found out some of my \n problems were due to a store trampler. I found I could also declare a \n ROM variable and initialize it. So now my waypoints are declared as a \n ROM variable and initialized. I should remove the code in the \n initialization procedure so I don't confuse myself with which code is \n actually initializing the waypoint variables.\n

\n

\n After correcting this, Screwybot was able to navigate to all the \n waypoints fine. I also tried to test the object detection, which seemed \n to work fine except it came very close to the object before stopping. \n Sometimes it even hits the objects! Need to adjust my object detection \n threshold so it's not so close. I also want to set up sonar for my \n object detection.\n

\n

\n After my successful Robomagellan run, I wanted to work on my Hummerbot. \n I'm just trying to get my basic motor control working. When I first \n tried it, my robot just took off!!! I had to chase it down and turn off \n the motors. Aaron and Ron laughed and said I was lucky to catch my \n robot. They came over and chatted with me.\n

\n

\n I'm not sure what happened to make my robot take off like that. I was \n just changing the wheel speed and it just took off! I tried this again \n and this time it reacted as expected. I set the wheel target speed to \n 20. The robot speed still seems to oscillate a lot! One thing I thought \n of was to have the steering set to all the way right (or left) so that \n the robot goes in a circle. Then I don't have to chase it everywhere!\n

\n

\n I want to experiment with the PID values to see if I can get the \n response to stop oscillating! (Eliminate Large oscillations) Use the \n circle trick so robot stays pretty close. The other thing I was thinking \n was to set up VNC on my Acer netbook so I can control the screen from my \n work laptop. This way I can control and see the output of my robot on my \n work laptop, whle the Acer netbook is on the robot wandering around. I \n won't have to chase the robot! I can control it just sitting down at my \n table and see the output and do all the debugging!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1246, "title": "Adding GPS to Robomagellan C# program", "date": "2010-06-28 22:02:48.0", "content": "

\n I started to modify my Robomagellan C# code to read info from the GPS. \n Since the GPS will now be connected to the laptop, the C# code must now \n read the GPS data and perform the calculations for target bearing and \n distance. The laptop will now control the robot and its navigation to \n the target wayponits. I need to think about the logic and framework for \n the laptop robot control. For the PIC program I had State Machines. What \n whould I use for the C# program?\n

\n

\n I copied the modules from the NMEAOS Demo code to my Robomagellan. There \n are now two serial ports defined in my program. One for the robot and \n another for the GPS. I renamed one to be robot_serial, and the other to \n be GPS_serial. The main form in NMEAOS Demo was alos called Form1, so I \n renamed it FormGPS. i ran the code and it worked! I could see the GPS \n data being displayed inthe window.\n

\n

\n I then modified the windows form to have tabs, and I put the original \n controls on a tab called GPS info. I added some more tabs, so I could \n input and display the target GPS positions and navigatino info to these \n targets (eg. target bearing, target distance, robot bearing, heading \n error, etc...) I intialized the targets in the code to the ones we are \n using in the Robomagellan contest in Kanata. I added procedures and \n functions to calculate the target bearing, target distance and heading \n error.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1247, "title": "Hummerbot C# code", "date": "2010-07-05 22:20:05.0", "content": "
    \n
  • \n I'm cleaning up my Hummerbot C# code. I defined "set_GPS_Target_number \n to set target # and update textbox.\n
    • \n
  • \n Center, Right, Left steering textbox, now uses constants so I just \n have to change the servo values in one spot. Updated the code to use \n these constants.\n
    • \n
  • \n Cleaned up and used routine for outputing a GPS point into text.\n
    • \n
  • \n Heading error converted to range +/- 180 degrees.\n
    • \n
  • \n Target heading converted to range between 0 - 360 degrees.\n
    • \n
  • \n Cleaned up update_target_vector procedure. Outputs text to textboxes. \n Change set_target_number procedure to call this procedure to update \n target info textboxes.\n
    • \n
  • \n Added missing code to set heading error gauge.\n
    • \n
  • \n Added timestamp to output debug info. Also added motor power.\n
    • \n
  • \n Made some textboxes in Form1 public so that I can access them from \n FormGPS. I was doing this by modifying the Form1.designer.cs code, but \n you shouldn't really do this, since it is autogenerated code. I found \n out that there is a property called "modifier" that specifies whether \n the object is public or private. This property is in the "Design" \n category. (You can sort properties alphabetically or by category.)\n
    • \n
  • \n Added a button to connect to Roborealm after the robot controller \n program has been started. The program automatically tries to connect \n to Roborealm when it starts up, but if it's not running then it just \n fails. if you start roborealm after you start the robot control \n program, then you must quit out of the robot control program and then \n start again. Now you can just hit the button and it will connect to \n roborealm.\n
    • \n
  • \n Set default GPS com port to COM4 and Robot comport to COM7. If these \n comports exist, they will also be opened automatically. Otherwise the \n right comport should be selected from the pull down menu, and I can \n just hit "open" button.\n
    • \n
  • \n Created new NMEA interpreter event handler called "Update target info \n event handler". After a new GPS location is received with GPRMC \n sentence, it is parsed, and the usual event handlers are called. At \n first I was adding code to calculate the target info (bearing, \n distance) to the position received handler. However, looking at the \n GPRMC parser, at this point, the bearing has not been updated yet. (It \n is later on in the procedure.) Therefore, I was using the old bearing \n for my new target data calculations. So I created a new update target \n info event handler which gets called after the whole GPRMC sentence \n has been parsed. This way I'll use all the latest values in my \n calculation. This procedure updates the target info and then prints \n out debug information to the output window.\n
    • \n
  • \n I found a good web page on how to output debug info. Use \n Debug.Writeline (string). Need to add "Using Systems.Diagnostics" to \n your program. I'm now outputing a lot of debug data which I can paste \n into a text file. Also set up debugging output to a text file. Appends \n to file if it already exists.\n
    • \n
  • \n Fixed the serial receive routine for GPS. It was causing multiple \n outputs of same line due to incorrect logic. I had fixed this in my \n robot serial receive routine.\n
    • \n
  • \n Removed the comport error dialog box. I had stuck this in the \n exception clause if the "try" for serial port read failed. Instead of \n a dialog box waiting for input, I now just write a line to the output \n window.\n
    • \n
  • \n Cleaned up code, consolidating common code into procedures.\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1248, "title": "WK27 Robomagellan debugging", "date": "2010-07-07 21:39:29.0", "content": "

\n I went for another Robomagellan debugging session last night. I have \n actually been going for the past few nights. On Sunday, I went to the \n parking lot across from the Chinese church, and on Monday I went to the \n GDC parking lot. Last night, I went to the parking lot near Northside, \n just east of Foothills. It's actually a really good spot. There is a \n fairly open area, lots of space. Only real negative is the car lights \n shining from the cars turning at the right angle turn on Northside.\n

\n

\n I had a really late start tonight. From my log files, it was 8:56pm! My \n first problem was an exception everytime I started the Robomagellan \n program. This occurred because I automatically tried to open the robot \n serial port, and if the robot control board is already turned on, this \n causes an error. This is probably because the robot is already spewing \n out strings and causing an overflow or something.\n

\n

\n I got the Lat/Lon of the target cone, but entered it in wrong. I was \n getting a target distance of 1848m! All because I entered 49 instead of \n 48 degrees for the longtitude!\n

\n

\n I really like my debug output. I've been adding info that I think will \n be useful. I'm also learning how to read the data and glean information \n from it. At first I was manually copying the debug data from the output \n window to a text file. Now I have the debug output written to a text \n file directly. This is working really well! I've now added some \n headers/titles when I start a test so I can find the various tests \n easily when I'm reading the debug output.\n

\n

\n The first test I ran was a Nav/Vision test. Robot went in a circle \n around 270°. Tried the test again and same thing happened. Really need \n to debug my waypoint navigation routines. I think my turns are too \n "strong" and confusing the robot when it's using the GPS bearings. This \n is the same problem that Aaron was having. Need to really tone down my \n turn. Currently the adjust steering value is set at 500. Set to 100 and \n adjust from there.\n

\n

\n Next I started some turn tests to collect more data. First I did some \n straight runs toward the target to see what the data looked like. I \n wanted to make sure that when the robot is going in a straight line that \n the Robot GPS bearing is fairly consistent and not jumping around \n everywhere. The data looks pretty good! The GPS bearing readings are \n within 5-10 degrees of each other. I see that the bearing tends to drift \n downwards (robot goes left). This is because I'm not going perfectly \n straight. Could run some calibration tests to find the right servo value \n for going perfectly straight.\n

\n

\n Looking at the data, I've come up with some interesting conclusions. \n First, I looked at the wheel speed and find when the robot starts \n moving. Actually from the Nav Vision test, I look for a movement of 100 \n odometer ticks before I look for a constant GPS bearing. Looking at Nav \n Vision data, I find that the GPS bearing is pretty consistent after the \n robot has moved 100 odometer ticks.\n

\n

\n Next I checked the steering to make sure that robot is going straight. I \n can see that the distance values are decreasing. You can also see the \n target bearing and target heading error. When the distance is less than \n 5m, you can really see the target heading error start to increase very \n quickly. The distance is still decreasing. When the target heading error \n is approximately -90° (or +90° if target is on the right), then this is \n the closest point to the target (assuming you stay in a straight line \n trajectory). I see this pattern consistently on my straight run tests.\n

\n

\n Armed with this new knowledge, I can adjust my logic for my final target \n acquisition. When the target distance < 5m, don't do any large steering \n corrections once the target heading error becomes very large. Go in a \n fairly straight line, robot can veer slightly left or right depending on \n sign of the heading error. Monitor target distance and heading error. As \n soon as heading error = +/- 90° or target distance increases, then stop. \n This is as close as you are giong to get!!! This point is a tangent on \n the circle that is intersecting your straight trajectory.\n

\n

\n After the straight run tests, I started looking at the 180 degree turn \n tests. Looking at the data, I can use the robot bearing to approximate \n how many degrees I turned. When doing these tests, need to go straight \n for a while (~500 odometer ticks), turn (~600 ticks for 180°) and then \n go straight for a while again. Take the GPS bearings before and after \n the turn to get how many degrees the robot turns. For 600 odometer \n ticks, the robot turns about 165°.\n

\n

\n I was just thinking that the way I've designed my turn tests has turned \n out to be really useful, flexible, and excellent! :) Being able to \n specify how long to go straight before and after turn, as well as how \n long to perform turn has allowed me to run many different tests. For my \n straight tests, I just set the steering straight and then how long to go \n straight. Since all three phases have steering straight, I can use \n either odometer count for how long I want to go straight. For my turn \n tests, I specify how long to go straight, how much to turn (in terms of \n odometer count), and then the same amount for going straight after the \n turn. By going straight before and after the turn, I can calculate the \n change in GPS bearing and, therefore, get a view of how many degrees a \n turn is. This is how I estimated that a 600 odometer count is approx \n 165° turn.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1249, "title": "Solarbotics L298 Motor Driver", "date": "2010-07-08 22:52:27.0", "content": "

\n I decided to put together my L298 motor driver from Solarbotics. I was \n using my computer desk for my soldering area, since I was supposed to be \n "working from home". Things went OK, except for the time when I soldered \n the 0.1uF capacitor in the wrong spot! It was a real pain to de-solder \n and remove that capacitor. I actually ended up ruining the solder pad \n when I used the solder wick to suck up the solder. Even with most of the \n solder gone, there was still enough left to keep the capacitor stuck to \n the board. It took a lot of heating and wiggling to break the capacitor \n free.\n

\n

\n After that minor nuisance, I was very careful checking the parts and \n placement, and the rest of the build went smoothly. After finishing the \n build, I did a quick test. At first it didn't work. The battery voltage \n kept going really low. It was like there was a short on the board. I \n took everything off, used a different battery holder, and double checked \n all my connections. It took more fiddling, but eventually I got it to \n work. When I put the input pins high, I could see the corresponding LED \n go on.\n

\n

\n Now I wanted to test my Hummerbot motors to see how much current they \n take. I had to find a way to connect my meter in series with the battery \n to monitor the current. I found some old PC power supply type connectors \n and was able to remove the wire from the connector casing. This \n connector fits perfectly on the battery connector. Using these wires I \n connected up my meter and ran my motors from my robot control program. \n The steady state current is around 1.15A. When the motor starts, I saw a \n peak of about 3A, but this settles pretty quickly to 1.15A.\n

\n

\n So the L298 motor driver should be able to handle this motor. Since \n there is only one motor to control, I was thinking of bridging or \n paralleling the outputs to get increased current handling. The L298 \n datasheet describes how to parallel the outputs. It states that you must \n connect outputs 1 & 4, and 2 & 3. There is a circuit diagram for the \n pins to connect together.\n

\n

\n \n  \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1250, "title": "WK27 Robomagellan Session", "date": "2010-07-10 22:12:30.0", "content": "

\n I went to our weekly Robomagellan Testing session and had some really \n good test runs. Just before the session, I added some code which turns \n the robot 90° or 180° if the target heading error is > 60°. This way, if \n the heading error < 60°, the robot just uses the small steering adjust \n to correct its heading. If heading error is > 60°, then "use GPS \n bearing" bool is turned off, and a one time correction is made. If \n heading error is > 135°, turn 180°, else turn 90°. Robot then heads \n straight and tries to get another GPS lock. (Two consecutive readings \n less than 15° apart.) If it gets an acceptable GPS lock, then it goes \n back to making small corrections again.\n

\n

\n Amazingly I tested this code and it worked first time! The robot turned \n so it was relatively facing the right direction. I also had vision \n turned on, and once it took over, the robot basically went right to the \n cone!!! I had to stop the robot from hitting the cone, but it went right \n to it. Nice!!! The only issue with these test runs, was that the robot \n would sometimes stop, and then ramp up again.\n

\n

\n The problem is with my wheel speeds of 10. My robot can't consistently \n go at that slow speed, it oscillates. Try a wheel speed of 15 to see if \n it is more steady. I really want to understand this PID tuning better. \n Do I need a faster sampling rate? More optimal PID parameters? However, \n I also don't want to waste my time on idiosyncracies of this particular \n Hummer base. Just need to understand all this PID stuff better!\n

\n

\n I met one of the new competitors today. His name is Diego. He has a very \n nice Robot based on an RC platform. It looks really well made. It has \n two plexiglass platforms and is based on the Propellor controller board \n from Parallax. He also has a cute flag that raisese up when the robot \n has successfully reached the waypoint. The robot is also really fast. \n Diego says the motor will stall if he goes slower or if the battery goes \n too low. This is the same problem I had with my tracked robot until I \n added motor/wheel encoders.\n

\n

\n When we went out for drinks after, Diego was mentioning that he was \n building a robotic arm, before he started to work on the Robomagellan \n competition. He had bought those tiny servos from Hobby King to use for \n the Hand of the Robot Arm. This tiny servo is also used to raise his \n flag. Diego seems really knowledgeable.\n

\n

\n At the session, Aaron was working on his IR detectors for obstacle \n avoidance. He was previously using sonar, but he said he was getting too \n many false wanings (from ground reflections?). In his testing, he's \n finding the detection range too short. He said he jams his robot into \n reverse to stop the robot, and even so he comes within inches of the \n obstacle.\n

\n

\n Actually, I have a similar problem where I don't stop in time and hit \n the cone. This occurs because my momentum keeps me moving forwards even \n after I have cut power to the motors. I need to do something similar to \n Aaron and jam the robot in reverse to stop. At first I was loathe to do \n this because I had read that my L298 motor driver brakes the motor when \n both inputs are low. I thought it was my Hummer base motor driver \n problem again. But I've changed my mind and I'll throw the robot into \n revers to brake. Aaron was saying his HB25 motor driver doesn't brake \n the motor.\n

\n

\n One way I've tried to solve this problem is by slowing down the robot \n during the vision routine as the cone gets larger. However, as mentioned \n previously, this slow speed causes a problem with my motor control PID \n and the oscillations in my wheel speed. If I can use a higher wheel \n speed, I can avoid these problems and if I brake, I can avoid hitting \n the cone. Not elegant, but it works!\n

\n

\n Ron didn't bring his robot today. He said he started coding his obstacle \n detection, but he hadn't finished. There was nothing new to test out, so \n he didn't bring his robot. Guy didn't seem to be doing much with his \n robot either. It was wandering off to the south of waypoint 1.\n

\n

\n We also had a special guest watching our Robomagellan testing session. \n Peter was from Tulsa, Oklahoma and he was in Ottawa for a conference. He \n found us on the internet and had contacted Aaron. He has also built his \n own robot (BlueBot) which he entered in the Sparkfun Autonomous Vehicle \n Competition (AVC). I went to his web page and was very impressed with \n his robot. Peter had a YouTube video of his robot navigating among chair \n and table legs. Very impressive!\n

\n

\n His web page is: http://www.bluerwhite.org/\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1251, "title": "Toyota Tundra robot base", "date": "2010-07-11 22:45:29.0", "content": "

\n I was sitting in my workshop area last night when I spotted the wheels \n and steering assembly for my Toyota Tundra base. I started looking at it \n and decided I was going to stick a servo in it. I found my servo savers \n (which will absorb an impact to the steering wheels, so the servo gears \n aren't stripped) and installed them on the servo. I tried to align the \n servo head so that it was in the middle of its servo travel.\n

\n

\n On the Hummer bot, I positioned the servo so that it was on one end of \n its range which corresponded to the extreme left (or right, can't \n remember) of the steering. The problem with this is that when I'm at the \n max travel for a steering direction, I wasn't sure if it was because of \n the limit due to steering, or I hadn't aligned the servo properly and \n I'm hitting the limit of the servo, before hitting the limit of the \n steering.\n

\n

\n I put the servo on the steering assembly and then found out I couldn't \n install the steering arms on the servo saver horn. So, I had to take the \n servo out, along with the steering arms from the steering knuckle and \n then put the steering arms on the servo horn first. Note that the left \n arm (looking from the bottom) is shorter than the right arm. I then \n stuck the steering arm back onto the front steering knuckle. Ok, so now \n I have a steering servo for my truck base.\n

\n

\n Keeping up the momentum, I decided to put the motor encoder disc and \n sensor on the truck base. This entailed taking apart the rear wheel \n assembly. This is very similar to the front wheel steering assembly. \n After removing the shock tower, shocks, and separating the rear wheel \n assembly from the main body, I was then able to unscrew and pry apart \n the two halves. I had to be careful as the differential gears started to \n fall out as the halves were separated.\n

\n

\n There was also grease all over the gears. I freed the motor and glued \n the encoder disk on the back of the motor shaft. The first disc I put on \n was not well centered, so I took it off and tried again. The second one \n was also off center, but it was close enough. I also had to level the \n disc. Next, I glued some sintra strips which the sensor was giong to sit \n on. These didn't sit quite high enough, so I took a thinner piece of \n sintra and glued that on top.\n

\n

\n I bent the sensor leads to leave an appropriate gap (about 1mm) between \n the sensor and the encoder disc, and then glued the sensor leads to the \n sintra. Looking at some photos of the Hummer base sensor and encoder \n disc, I soldered wires to the sensor leads using the same color wire \n scheme. I soldered a male header on the the other end.\n

\n

\n When I tried to put the motor back into the rear assembly, I found that \n there wasn't any room for the sensor and sintra pads I had put on the \n back of the motor. I had to cut away the plastic around this area to \n open up the back and make room for the sensor. I used aviation snips to \n cut away the plastic. It works ok, but it's hard to be precise and \n accurate with those snips...\n

\n

\n I test fitted the rear assembly halves and everything fit together fine. \n I put some grease on the gears before finally fitting everything \n together. I bolted the halves together and connected the whole rear \n assembly to the main chassis. I wanted to run a test to see if the \n sensor and encoder was working. I connected up the sensor to my Hummber \n control board and manually turned the wheels. Nothing! I looked at the \n sensor and it had been pushed up against the encoder disc. I pried it up \n slightly to put a little bit of a gap and tried it again. This time I \n could see the wheel speeds change as I turned the wheel.\n

\n

\n I connected the netbook up to the robot controller board, and ran the C# \n robot control program. I wanted to see the odometer ticks and also the \n wheel speeds. On my Hummer base, the max wheel speed is over 90. When I \n checked the Toyota Tundra base, the max wheel speed is just over 60. So \n the Toyota Tundra base is about 30% slower. I'll have to see if this \n makes a difference when this robot base is finally on the road.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1252, "title": "July ORE Monthly Meeting", "date": "2010-07-12 23:36:15.0", "content": "

\n I decided to bring some of my robots to demo for the July ORE meeting. I \n packed up my Hummerbot, Screwybot, and my vision demo. At first I tried \n to use my small folding cart, but the Hummer base was too wide and \n wouldn't stay on the base well. So I brought out my larger folding cart. \n I put Hummer bot on the bottom, laid the lid on top, and then put \n Screwybot on top of that. I used the built in bungy cord to tie \n everything down. There was a bit of pressure on the top box of the \n Hummer. I later found out that the rear posts had punched through the \n box, and the box was now resting on the Hummer body.\n

\n

\n It was a pretty low key meeting. When I first got there, only 3 people \n were there: Mordecai and two other people I didn't recognize. I went to \n the back corner of the room because there was an outlet there and I \n wanted to plug in my laptop and control board. Mordecai came by and \n asked about my Hummer base. He said he hasn't seen it before. I told him \n that I've had the base for a while, but I'm just now trying to get GPS \n working on it. Aaron also came by.\n

\n

\n I showed them my program. Aaron commented on the "Sumobot Robomagellan \n v3" title and I told him that it's the same program I used to prototype \n and test my vision system using servos and then Sumobot. I showed the \n graphs which display the oscillations in the wheel speed until it \n settles down. I also showed the gauges which display the Robot bearing \n and heading error.\n

\n

\n Mark and Douglas (?) came by and we had some interesting discussions. \n Douglas described his method for reflowing solder using a regular oven \n (for surface mount components). Mark was describing a "brain" show that \n he watched called Connections. Scientists were taking slices of animal \n brains and teaching them different things... even flying an airplane!!! \n I described my vision program and how it worked with colour filtering to \n perform object detection. I was going to set up my web camera with pan & \n tilt, but then I realized that I didn't bring my serial connector for \n the mini-ore board. So I just ended up showing the Roborealm screen and \n the tracking of the "blue box" on there.\n

\n

\n After the meeting, Aaron and I went to Darcy McGee's pub. Guy and \n another fellow came by later. This other guy was an interesting fellow. \n He just came back to Ottawa after being abroad in Korea for 8 years. \n He seems to be related to the Tech industry somehow, and also something \n to do with the arts. He talked about the "Art Engine" here in Ottawa, \n and the equivalent in Europe which is much bigger. He also talked about \n building an air-powered robot to mow his parent's lawn (in Smiths \n Falls). He had moved here with his wife, but his wife got home sick and \n moved back to Korea. It seemed like he was being well paid in Korea. \n He was also connected in with some important people. He talked about \n the electronic flea markets and all the cool stuff you can get there. \n Also, since he had been away for so long his driver's licence had \n expired. He had to go through all the graduated licensing! Right now \n he has a limited licence so he can't drive in the evening. He's getting \n around this by riding a scooter. By the way he was talking, it was more \n like a motor bike than a scooter.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1253, "title": "Connecting Sonar sensor to Hummerbot", "date": "2010-07-14 21:05:48.0", "content": "

\n I worked on connecting up my Sonar sensor to my robot controller using \n I2C. At first I thought that I had to wire up an I2C connector on my \n robot controller board, but I had already wired one up! I had done this \n a while back and I forgot. Next I started writing code to support the \n sonar module. I created two new files: sonar.c and sonar.h. I copied the \n code from my mini-ORE test sonar code into sonar.c. I added a Sonar FSM \n so that this sensor is called similar to all my other sensors. It took a \n little debugging, but I got it easily working and I could see the sonar \n data debug output.\n

\n

\n Next, I worked on mounting the sonar on the front of my robot. I took \n two "L" brackets and connected them so that one bracked could be mounted \n on a vertical surface, and the other on the sonar sensor. The brackets \n can be swiveled so I can adjust the tilt of the sonar. I used a little \n stand-off to connect the sonar circuit board to the "L-bracket". I \n wanted to mount the sonar at the center front of the robot, so I \n measured the top base and then drew a vertical centerline. I put the \n camera lens on this center line and then mounted the L-bracket for the \n sonar sensor.\n

\n

\n I had to make sure that the sonar wasn't obstructing the camera image. \n Actually when I first mounted the sonar, I didn't have the foam tube, \n and after I installed the foam tube, it obstructed the camera view. I \n had to move the sonar down a bit so the foam tube didn't block the \n camera view.\n

\n

\n I also drew a line on the camera to designate the correct tilt for the \n camera. The camera tilt will determine how far out in front of the \n robot the cone can be detected, and also how close you can get to the \n cone before you start losing part of the cone off the bottom of the \n picture.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1254, "title": "Adding \"brakes\" to Hummerbot", "date": "2010-07-17 22:25:57.0", "content": "

\n I found out last week that Aaron puts his robot into reverse to stop \n itself when it detects an object. I was having problems when trying to \n stop before the cone. My robot would continue to move because of its \n momentum and plow right through the cone. At first I was loathe to put \n my robot into reverse to stop it, but when I found out Aaron did it, I \n was more receptive to the idea.\n

\n

\n I also read the datasheet for the L298 motor driver and found that it \n acted as a "motor brake" when the motor inputs are both "L" or both "H". \n But I decided to implement the put the wheels in reverse brake mode. I \n wasn't sure if the motor driver "motor brake" was strong enough to stop \n the motor quickly.\n

\n

\n First I had to extend the set wheel speed message to also include a \n direction. It's amazing that I never included this from the beginning. \n My robot could only go forward! It couldn't go backward! I guess up \n until now, I never needed to go backwards. After I got this working, I \n had to change my state machines to go into reverse and stop. I tested \n this with my robot jacked up. I started the Nav Vision test, and then \n brought the cone close so that the COG_Maxsize threshold wasreached. I \n could see the rear wheels slam into reverse and go in the reverse \n direction for a while. At first I had the reverse going for 10 FSM \n cycles (1 sec). This seemed long, so I changed it to 1/2 sec.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1255, "title": "WK28 Robomagellan Testing session", "date": "2010-07-18 23:37:10.0", "content": "

\n I went to another Robomagellan testing session on Saturday. The only \n change I had made to Hummerbot was to add the braking. Unfortunately, my \n robot just didn't behave today. It couldn't navigate to any waypoints at \n all! The motor control wasn't working well either. I had put in new \n batteries for the Hummer base and now the robot goes really fast, then \n slows down and stops, and then starts up again, and stops again. \n Aaarrrgh!!! That is so frustrating.\n

\n

\n When the cone was in the vision field of view and the robot was heading \n toward it, I could see the robot actually stop quickly. So at least my \n braking is working. But this didn't do much good since the robot \n couldn't navigate to the waypoints anyways.\n

\n

\n I had to leave the testing session early, since there was a party at Ray \n and Daphne's house for Richard and Jan and their kids Brandon and Zack. \n They were in town for their vacation. Too bad, no drinks at the bar \n after Robomagellan. Also frustrating that my progress went backwards \n this week!\n

\n

\n After the testing session, I looked at my debug logs. I found that when \n the robot slowed down and then stopped, the GPS bearing was jumping all \n over the place. The robot was stopped, but the GPS errors would cause \n it to have a bearing and a speed. The GPS speed is very small, usually \n 0.7m/s or less. In order to handle this scenario, my thought is to \n check the GPS speed and if it is less than 0.8m/s, then the robot \n bearing is not updated since the GPS bearing is not accurate. This is \n only a code change in "GPS_Bearing_Received" which now checks \n "use_GPS_bearing_for_robot" and "GPS_current_speed > 8.0" before the \n robot bearing is updated.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1256, "title": "WK29 Robomagellan Testing session, long distance IR sensors", "date": "2010-07-24 22:30:08.0", "content": "

\n Although I hadn't worked on my robot since last week, I still attended \n this week's Robomgellan testing session. I had a theory of why my robot \n performed so poorly last week and I wanted to test the simple code \n change which hopefully fixes and greatly improves the behaviour. The \n battery I'm using is getting lower in power so the robot isn't \n overshooting the target wheel speed, and then stopping. It's still \n slowing down, but it's not stopping. The behaviour seems to be pretty \n good now!\n

\n

\n The robot is navigating to the waypoint, and even using vision to go up \n to the cone, and then stopping right in front of the cone. The robot \n braking also seems to be working really well. I can definitely see the \n robot stop abruptly instead of coasting to a stop. I was very pleased \n that the robot behaviour was so much better than last week. I'm slowly \n optimmizing the robot behaviour and gracefully handling more and more \n real world scenarios.\n

\n

\n The next issue I see is that the vision detects other "red" objects that \n are not the cone. Here are some of the objects:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Yellow parking lines - can eliminate most of these by setting the hue \n threshold\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Aaron's red miata\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Stop sign on the road, south of waypoint #1\n
    4. \n
\n

\n I can eliminate these "false" red objects, by checking the target \n distance. If the robot is not close to the target, then just ignore any \n red objects, until a distance threshold is reached. Once the robot is \n close to the target, start acting on any red object seen. This should \n eliminate most of the false triggers and having the robot navigate to \n the wrong red object.\n

\n

\n Ron had brought his robot this week. He had installed a medium range IR \n sensor, which was mounted on a servo and allowed the IR sensor to be \n panned back and forth. Ron was testing his code for this new IR sensor. \n He was changing the sweeping pattern when an object was detected. His \n robot is so smooth when it moves. I'm jealous! Mine ramps up so slowly \n and then overshoots its target wheel speed.\n

\n

\n Aaron didn't bring in his robot, but he brought in the package from \n Acroname that he received yesterday. It was two of the long distance IR \n sensors (GP2Y0A700K0F) that we were talking about at the ORE monthly \n meeting a couple of weeks ago. They are big suckers!\n

\n

\n \n \n

\n

\n Size comparisons of various Sharp IR sensors.\n

\n

\n \n \n

\n

\n There is also the GP2Y0A710YK , which is a slightly smaller version of \n the GP2Y0A700K0F. Here's some pictures of the GP2Y0A710YK.\n

\n

\n \n  \n

\n

\n \n  \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1257, "title": "WK30 Robomagellan Testing session and Custom cables", "date": "2010-07-31 22:45:33.0", "content": "

\n This week's Robomagellan testing session was really quiet. It was a long \n weekend, so I guess most people were busy. I was there with Guy. I did a \n bit of testing, but then Guy and I started discussing other stuff. Guy \n said he was hoping Mordecai would come so that he could show him how to \n do the vision stuff with Roborealm. He also showed some of the changes \n he had made to his robot. He had moved his electronics down one level to \n free up the top level to install the Asus EEE PC netbook laptop. The top \n level is connected with a hinge, so he can easily lift the platform and \n access the eletronics underneath. It looked really good. Too bad I \n didn't have my camera to take some pictures. I need to remember to bring \n my camera and also to take lots of pictures!\n

\n

\n I asked Guy about his connectors and where he got them from. I told him \n that I was using wires and connectors from old PC cases. He said he was \n doing a job for a guy and they were doing the same thing, but it got \n harder and harder to find old PC cases. Guy did some research and found \n that Polulo sells wires with the crimped on connectors. You can also buy \n the connector housings separately. Now you can make your own custom \n cables with the appropriate number of connectors!\n

\n

\n Mark also came a little later. He's the one that's selling some old \n stepper motors that he had bought for his old business. (I should look \n at getting some of these.) He also brought his robot. It is a \n differential drive with a caster wheel on the back. It was heavy duty!!! \n The motors are from an OC transpo surplus which someone had brought to \n an ORE meeting 7 or 8 years ago. (I didn't Mark was around back then!) \n He also had these super expensive wheel encoders (several hundred \n dollars each?). There was a 10Ah Ni-Cad battery pack which Mark built \n himself. I tried lifting the thing and it must have weight 50 lbs! It \n was damn heavy. I jokingly said Mark could ride on this thing. I think \n Mark agreed.\n

\n

\n He started describing some of the electronics. He was using an RC radio \n to control the robot. The receiver was hooked up to a Motor Driver \n board, which was huge. Mark said it could handle up to 60A. It was made \n by RobotEq. I did a search on the net and found it. The model is called \n the Roboteq AX3500 and handles 20 motors up to 60A. I tried to find a \n price on the RobotEq website, but it doesn't look like the online store \n is up and running any more. I did a search on google and found that \n RobotShop has this motor controller and is selling it for $455!!! \n Yikes! That's an expensive motor controller.\n

\n

\n We went back to Mark's car and he showed us a bunch of stuff he was \n planning to put on his robot. There was a small camera, that was used \n to go under a car and inspect the underbody/under carriage. He said he \n wanted to put a mount with two cameras so that he could have stereo \n vision. Mark said he has been looking at OpenCV and really wants to \n learn how to use this. He also showed a servo with one of the Sharp IR \n distance rangers. There was another sensor module with an XBee wireless \n serial device on it. I think there was other stuff in his parts box, \n but I can't remember them all. Mark said what Sparkfun is doing now, he \n was trying to do ten years ago. I think he was in San Diego at the \n time. However, at the time, there wasn't internet ordering yet, and his \n business didn't take off. He did say he was making a living from it, \n $4K per month (?). Anyways, interesting discussion we had.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1258, "title": "WK31 Robomagellan Testing session, IR rangers for obstacle detection", "date": "2010-08-08 23:40:44.0", "content": "

\n Attended another Robomagellan testing session. However, I got there \n really late at 1:30pm because of problems I had with some code changes. \n I was trying to code up the obstacle detection and avoidance algorithms. \n However, I ended up breaking my code and then nothing worked! There were \n some weird bugs in there. One that I couldn't figure out. So I set some \n breakpoints and then the code started working. But I didn't change \n anything. It just started behaving the way I expected it to.\n

\n

\n When I finally got to the Robomagellan parking lot, only Guy was there. \n And he said he was packing up and getting ready to leave. Diego came by \n a short time later. He had put on some IR sensors and additional ping \n sensors on his robot.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1259, "title": "ORE monthly meeting", "date": "2011-01-10 22:20:49.0", "content": "

\n I finally attended an ORE robot meeting. I think it has been over three \n months since I've last attended an ORE meeting! It was fun to see the \n guys again. Some of the guys have been up to a lot.\n

\n

\n I was talking to Diego and he's been doing some cool stuff. He said last \n month he brought in his robotic arm. It plays tic-tac-toe. He originally \n made the robotic arm from Lego, but it wasn't very stable. He then got a \n base and shoulder from Lynx motion. The other parts are a mixture of \n Lego and other parts. Sounds cool! He's using the propellor processor \n as the controller.\n

\n

\n Diego also said that he is working on a Quad-copter with a friend. He \n said it was pretty easy. They got the plans from the internet and \n they've ordered parts from Hobby King. He said he's also building a \n fleet of remote control boats. He was asking Aaron about the motor \n drivers on the 3kg sumo-bot boardo he was showing off.\n

\n

\n Aaron had built these boards and had a couple he wanted to sell. I told \n him I was interested in buying them if they were available. The motor \n drivers on this board can handle 3 amps and stay cool. They can handle \n bursts up to 5 amps. He had a demo board hooked up to a his 2-channel \n reciever and some motors. He had some example code that took the servo \n pulses from the reciever and made the motors go forward, backward and \n turn using the remote control.\n

\n

\n Mordecai brought in some robot parts that he wanted to get rid of. There \n was a nice base with some gear motors that I took. Aaron tried to \n hook-up his demo board to this base, but one of the wheels kept slipping \n so it didn't work too well. But I now have this good base with some \n pretty strong motors. Mordecai said the motors aren't too fast, but they \n certainly seemed like they have a lot of torque. The base also had some \n nice really big wheels. Hopefully I'll make good use of the base. I feel \n a little guilty taking the base, but if I make really good use of it \n then it should be OK.\n

\n

\n I also talked to Guy for a bit. He has finished the CNC machine he was \n building. I looked at a picture of it and some of the pieces he has cut \n using the machine. This is cool, I want to build one too!\n

\n

\n After the meeting some of us went to Darcy McGee's for some beer. Norm \n K. brought someone (Brett?) who was visiting from Australia. They work \n together at Nortel and they were bought by Ericsson so there are a bunch \n of them here for meetings. Guy was talking about his visit to Mike's \n house in Smiths Falls. This is a guy I had seen at a previous meeting. \n He was working in Korea for a while and was now back in Canada. One of \n the funny stories is that he was away for so long his driver's licence \n has expired. But he now has to go through the graduated licencing for \n his new licence! That's why he's riding a scooter around. You don't \n need a licence for that.\n

\n

\n Guy said they have several workshops for woodworking, mechanics, etc... \n We talked about having a club field trip to visit the workshop. Made me \n think of the mess I have for my work area. I really, really need to \n clean it up. Make it a cool work space to build cool stuff!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1260, "title": "Created Disneyworld vacation photobook", "date": "2011-01-08 21:35:52.0", "content": "

\n Before Christmas, Shoppers Drugmart had a special of 40% off Photobooks. \n I've never created a photobook before and I thought it would be really \n neat to make one. The deadline was midnight on Dec. 24th, so I spent a \n couple of hours on Thursday night collecting pictures from the \n Disneyworld vacation and organizing them into a photobook. I phoned the \n store today and they said it had come in. I was so excited!\n

\n

\n I went before church to pick it up. It was really cool. The cover \n seems a bit thin and flimsy (I ordered a soft cover photobook), but it \n was neat looking at our pictures this way. The graphics and layout \n really add some interest to the photos. I really want to create some \n more. I was thinking of getting all of my best pictures and putting \n them into a photobook. (eg. Landscape nature, butterflies, city scapes, \n etc...)\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1261, "title": "Hacking together a Power Supply", "date": "2011-01-11 23:25:10.0", "content": "

\n I had a used power supply I had bought from Computer Supply Warehouse \n several years ago. Tonight I decided to wire up a plug and try and use \n it. After I did this, I found that the 12V outputs aren't working. :-(\n

\n

\n I had some old computer supplies laying around, so I wanted to get them \n working. I did a google search and found some information on converting \n the computer power supply to a bench power supply. The key information \n is that the green wire needs to be connected to ground so that the power \n supply will turn on. On older ATX power supplies it was also necessary \n to have a load on the +5V rail. They used a 10 ohm, 10 watt resistor to \n provide this load.\n

\n

\n On my power supply, I found I did not need this load. I made a jumper \n from household wiring (it has the right thickness to fit into the \n connector) and connected it between the green wire and ground. After \n plugging in the power supply and turning it on, I could see the power \n supply fan start to turn. That was a good sign. I took out my voltmeter \n and measured the output between the yellow and black wires to be just \n under 12V. I connected up the battery charger and it worked! I was able \n to charge a LiPo battery and NiCad battery. Now I need to run some tests \n to see the max current that is usable for charging batteries before the \n input voltage drops too low and causes an error. But now I have a decent \n working power supply!\n

\n

\n I was using the power supply from my Yamaha keyboard, but I can only use \n about 1A max current for charging my LiPo's. I'm interested to see what \n the max current is now.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1262, "title": "Dinner with friends: Mike, Sophie, Samir, and Diane", "date": "2011-01-14 23:12:34.0", "content": "

\n We had a nice dinner and social with some old friends we hadn't seen in \n a while. Mike organized it. Thanks Mike!\n

\n

\n We had run into Mike and Sophie at the Toronto airport on our way back \n from Disneyworld. They were coming back from a cruise they had just \n taken. Shortly after that, Mike and Sophie invited us over to their \n place for drinks and we had a really nice chat and visit.\n

\n

\n I hadn't seen Samir in a social setting for a long time. I see him \n around in the hallways at Ericsson, but that is not too often. It's \n funny. I can't remember if I've met Diane before, but Anne said she \n looked very familiar, so Anne thinks we've met her before.\n

\n

\n We ordered take-out dinner from a Thai restaurant in Centrepointe called \n Baan (I think). Apparently its had some good reviews on the internet. I \n did a search and found the restaurant dinner menu web page at: http://www.baanthairestaurantottawa.ca/dinner.html \n \n

\n

\n We all chose a dish to order. Sophie picked Panang (#19). She said it is \n one of her friends favorites (or her favorite?) and she has a recipe \n that she has cooked before. I chose "Gaeng Garee Gai" (#20) which is \n chicken and potatoes in yellow curry. Anne ordered Pad Thai. I can't \n remember what the others ordered.\n

\n

\n Of course we had a lot of interesting conversation. Here are some of the \n topics I can remember:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Diane and Samir are members of Virtua Car. Its a car club where you \n can reserve cars for short periods. Very interesting concept. They \n live in Westborough and there are 7 or 8 cars available within a 15 \n minute walk of their house.\n
    • \n
  • \n Diane had an old car, and instead of replacing it, she heard about \n this Virtua car and joined this instead.\n
    • \n
  • \n Samir takes the bus to work. \n
    • \n
  • \n Diane and Samir went on a hike in Mount Washington last summer. On \n their way back down, Diane got her foot caught between two rocks and \n tore her ACL. Ouch! She told us of the Physio she had to take at \n Carleton University. During exam time the gym smells really bad. She \n said its the B.O. (body odour) from all the stressed students taking \n final exams.\n
    • \n
  • \n We talked about Joseph having to take final exams in his classroom \n instead of all together in a large room with all the other students in \n the same course.\n
    • \n
  • \n Hockey gear smells bad. They have a system downstairs where they hang \n up all their equipment to dry.\n
    • \n
  • \n Sophie has learned that you don't mess with their "hockey time".\n
    • \n
  • \n Mike's company is renting space on a ship to deliver some of their \n equipment. One of his employees is travelling on the ship. I think \n its going to take 8 days to cross the Atlantic. The company was \n bidding on a contract for some work, and they were told to include a \n ship. A ship? Where do you find a ship? They asked around and Mike \n said he found some consultant that looks for ships for you. He is an \n old sailor.\n
    • \n
  • \n That day, Sophie had just bought a bedroom set for her brother. She \n found it on used Ottawa. I think they buy a lot of their classic \n furniture that way. Sophie is a real bargain hunter.\n
    • \n
  • \n Mike and Sophie are going to Hamburg Germany for a conference. Diane \n is of German descent. She said she lived in Germany 30 years ago when \n she was 21. We had found out in an earlier conversation that she was \n over 50 years old.\n
    • \n
  • \n Diane was saying that Berlin is a very cosmopolitan city. Friends say \n that it's even better than Paris!\n
    • \n
  • \n Joshua was involved in an accident a few weeks back. He was \n rear-ended. The other driver paid them $1000 for the repairs. Now \n they are debating whether to fix the van, or just sell it.\n
    • \n
  • \n Josh is looking to buy a car with his own money that he has earned \n while working at the Red Lobster as a bus boy. Wow! That's amazing.\n
    • \n
  • \n \n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1263, "title": "Lizzie created a Disneyworld 2005 Photobook!", "date": "2011-01-15 21:58:41.0", "content": "

\n Shoppers Drugmart still has some specials on photobooks and I was trying \n to encourage the kids to work and create one. On Friday night and \n Saturday, Elizabeth created a photobook on our trip to Disneyworld back \n in 2005. It was great.\n

\n

\n She was learning to do things that I didn't know you could do.\n

\n
    \n
  • \n You can drag pictures from a page and put them on your work table.\n
    • \n
  • \n You can drag pictures from your work table to a page. This is how you \n can move pictures around.\n
    • \n
  • \n You can resize pictures and move them around.\n
    • \n
  • \n We found a way to temporarily move pictures to a page so you could add \n a new page and then move pictures back. Adding a new page gives you a \n front and back instead of facing pages.\n
    • \n
\n

\n She did a really good job. I can't wait to see the finished product!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1264, "title": "Joseph's electric motor", "date": "2011-01-16 22:18:19.0", "content": "

\n Joseph has to build an electric motor for his physics class. We had \n wound a coil stator a week ago and now we were trying to mount it on an \n axle so that it could spin. I found an example on YouTube where someone \n used K'nex to mount his motor. Joseph built something and put his wood \n axle through a K'nex bar with holes. However there is too much friction \n and the axle really doesn't turn freely enough.\n

\n

\n We decided to put some small nails into the ends of the wooden rod and \n put the nails through the holes in the K'nex bar. This was much better. \n The axle was able to spin much more freely. We set up the brushes \n properly on the commutator and then hooked up the battery and switch. We \n manually spun the rotor to get it started with the magnet held in space. \n To our surprise, the rotor kept spinning! It works! As we moved the \n magnet closer, we could see the rotor speed up. Cool!\n

\n

\n We videotaped our success. We used the Kodak camera because it has a \n mode where you can record at 60 frames per second. I asked Joseph what \n his Physics teacher was going to use for measuring the RPMs of the \n motors and he said a strobe light. He showed this in class and it was \n cool. I have an inductance timing light, and I wonder if I can modify \n this to be an adjustable strobe light. I'll have to investigate this.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1265, "title": "Maxima car problems on a freezing cold day!", "date": "2011-01-17 21:31:02.0", "content": "

\n It was bitter cold this Monday morning, -25C with a wind chill of -30C. \n Brrrr!\n

\n

\n Well, I went out this morning to start my car. I missed pressing the \n accelerator for the short time it started and the engine died right \n away. After that the engine wasn't even close to starting. I went and \n got my Battery Charger/Car Starter and tried again to start the car, but \n no luck. I left the charger on the battery, so that it would fully \n charge the battery.\n

\n

\n I decided to work from home this morning, and I went out several more \n times to start the car, and still no luck. I went to work after lunch, \n since I had meetings in the afternoon.\n

\n

\n That evening, after dinner I went back out to the car to try and start \n it. I hooked up the charger/car starter and this time it started right \n away. Yay!!! I let the car warm up for 10 minutes and then went out for \n a drive to fully warm up the engine and fully charge the battery. I'll \n have to watch the battery carefully and hopefully there aren't any more \n problems.\n

\n

\n I had left the car in the driveway most of the weekend. The last time I \n drove it was on Saturday afternoon to go to church. Then on Monday \n morning I had problems starting it. I wonder if I could have started it \n if the car was driven on Sunday? Anyways, my car is getting old and \n I'll have to baby it so that it lasts for many more years!\n

", "categories": "", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1266, "title": "Cleaning and Organizing the basement", "date": "2011-01-21 22:19:06.0", "content": "

\n I am trying to clean up and organize all my stuff in the basement. My \n workshop area is so cluttered now that there is hardly any space to walk \n in there. Same with the computer area. This needs to be fixed! How do I \n become an organized and neat person? I really want to change! I don't \n want the kids to pick up my bad habits...\n

\n

\n One thing I need is to define a spot for everything, and then make sure \n I put all my stuff away in their right spot. Funny thing is I usually \n have a spot for stuff, and I can remember where things are, but they \n just happen to be places that were convenient at the time. It's not \n really organized, logical, and efficient.\n

\n

\n I started by organizing all the cables and adapters that were on top of \n the filing cabinet. I put together the black wiring shelving and put all \n my audio components on there (Sony receiver, Roland GP8 guitar effects \n processor, 4-track tape player). I then took some plastic shoe boxes and \n sorted all the different audio and video cables. I put the plastic boxes \n on the wire shelf.\n

\n

\n Next I worked on the computer area. There was a bunch of stuff on the \n floor that I put away and sorted into plastic boxes. Much of this was \n electronics stuff, which will need to be better sorted at a later time. \n There was also a bunch of computer odds-and-ends that I put in the blue \n bins. These will also need to be better sorted at a later time. Then \n there's all the pieces of paper that I have piled everywhere. This is \n taking me a long time to sort through. I don't want to throw anything \n away, and I don't really have a good set of organization categories so I \n just do a lot of paper shuffling from one pile to another.\n

\n

\n The area is starting to look better, but there's still quite a way to \n go. Need to clean up the desktop area and the bookshelves. But it's a \n good start!!!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1267, "title": "Charging batteries", "date": "2011-01-22 23:42:01.0", "content": "

\n Now that I've got a good power supply for my battery charger, I was \n trying to charge all the different batteries that I have. I had some \n NiCads 1000mAh that are used for the air compressor. I \n discharged/charged one and it had exactly 1000mAh and the other one was \n just over 900mAh. So the labels no these batteries are pretty accurate.\n

\n

\n I also tried to charge my 9V batteries. However these 9V batteries were \n so low that the charger just gave an error message and wouldn't charge.\n

\n

\n I also charged a Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) battery from my un-interruptable \n power supply. This battery seemed to charge fine.\n

\n

\n I charged my 9.6V battery packs. Some of them don't charge very high, so \n I think some of the battery packs are now faulty.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1268, "title": "More Maxima car problems", "date": "2011-01-24 22:47:07.0", "content": "

\n If you can believe it, this morning was even colder than it was last \n week. It was -27 degrees before the windchill. It was bitter cold. And \n my poor car didn't start again this morning. I even drove the car last \n night in anticipation of this cold morning, but it still didn't help. \n The car engine barely turned over... it almost started for a \n micro-second but that was it.\n

\n

\n Anne drove me to work again this morning. After I got back home, I used \n my car starter to help boost the battery and the car started right away. \n Yay! It was still -17 degrees C but the car seemed to start pretty \n easily. I let the car idle for 15-20 minutes to let the engine warm-up \n and also top up the charge on the battery.\n

\n

\n I'm not sure if there is anything I can do to help my car start in the \n extremely cold weather. I'm thinking I could replace the spark plug \n wires, but I don't know if that is actually going to do anything. I \n could replace the battery, but it still seems in good shape. I can see \n the green light on the top of the battery indicating that it is fully \n charged.\n

\n

\n I'll just keep monitoring the situation and see if my car has any \n further problems if it dips really cold again. Hopefully, it won't even \n get that cold again!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1269, "title": "More Cleaning...", "date": "2011-01-29 22:40:38.0", "content": "

\n I spent more time on the weekend cleaning again. There were a couple of \n plastic bins in the computer area with stacks of paper that I went \n through. I was able to sort a lot of it into existing categories of \n computer, fitness & nutrition, finance and investing, robotics and \n electronics, and family newsletters. These categories already have \n accordion file folders that I'm using. I just added the papers to those \n folders. It was fun reading through all the old notes. Took me back to \n when all those events were happening. I like that I capture such a \n detailed log and history of all the stuff that I've done!\n

\n

\n I was able to go through about 1 1/2 bins and have about 1/2 bin left to \n go through. I actually need to find a good spot to keep the accordion \n file folders. Right now they're just sitting on the floor underneath the \n weight bench and keyboard. The bookcase would be good spot if I can free \n up some space.\n

\n

\n I started to clean up my electronics workbench. It was a mess! There \n is just a bunch of parts, boxes, papers, tools, etc. all over the place. \n It took me a long time as I shifted stuff around, but I did make some \n headway. Lots of the small little parts and I'm not sure what to do \n with them yet. I have lots of parts organizers. I just need to start \n using them and categorizing all the stuff! Its funny, I've bought so \n many bins, containers, and small parts cabinets, but I just don't use \n them! Stop the procrastination! Now is the time to take action and \n become neat, tidy, and organized!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1270, "title": "Camry car problems", "date": "2011-01-30 22:11:59.0", "content": "

\n It has been a pretty tough winter for our cars. I've been having some \n car starting problems during the severe cold weather in the past few \n weeks. Anne's car seems to be doing OK, but today she had a problem with \n her car. Anne was going out Sunday afternoon to pick up Elizabeth from \n dance. However, she came back into the house and said her car wouldn't \n move. At first I was afraid that she had broken her front axle, which is \n what happened a few years ago. But her car has just been sitting in the \n driveway, how could the axle be broken?\n

\n

\n I got into the car and tried to move it. I could instantly tell what \n Anne was talking about. The car wouldn't budge. It was like the brakes \n were on. I think the parking brakes were seized! I tried to rock the car \n back and forth and managed to get the car to move. I heard a big bang! \n And I thought it was the axle again. Luckily, it was not. It was \n probably the parking brake breaking free. However, all was not well yet. \n Anne was saying I was moving, but the right rear tire was not spinning. \n It was just skidding on the ground. Yikes!\n

\n

\n I tried rocking the car back and forth some more, but the right rear \n wheel remained stuck. I even pulled into the garage so that the tire \n would be on concrete instead of snow and still no luck. Finally, we just \n left the car in the garage and picked up Elizabeth in my car.\n

\n

\n After dinner I went to look at Anne's car again. I turned on my workshop \n heater to get it warmer in the garage. My thinking was that the parking \n brake was frozen and the heat would help thaw out the brake. Anne said \n that Friday she brought her car into the car wash and that could be the \n reason for the freezing problem. After about 15 minutes of warming up \n the garage, I tried to drive the car. Still no dice. Wheel was still \n stuck.\n

\n

\n OK, so now I had to jack up the car and inspect the disc and caliper. I \n brought up my electric impact gun and an extension cord from the \n basement. I jacked up the car, removed the tire and inspected the \n brakes. I looked at the parking brake cable, but I couldn't figure out \n how it was connected to the caliper. I took out my handy dandy Hilton's \n Camry car repair guide and found out that there is a separate drum \n brakes used for the parking brake. Wow!\n

\n

\n So I read some more and found out that there is a rubber plug that you \n can remove and get access to an adjustment star wheel. This will allow \n you to back off the brake shoes which would then free up the wheel. \n However, you need to turn the wheel so that the access hole is at the 6 \n o'clock position, since that is where the adjustment star wheel was. But \n I couldn't turn my wheel! Arrrrgggghhhh, what a catch 22. The access \n hole was around the 8 o'clock position. I removed the plug, but I \n couldn't see the star wheel which I was supposed to adjust.\n

\n

\n I also read about some plug on the backing plate that can be removed to \n access the adjustment star wheel. I looked and looked, but I couldn't \n find it. I read and re-read the service manual and looked and looked \n some more, but still didn't find anything. Then I realized that this \n access hole is only for rear drum brakes. So I pretty well resigned \n myself with having to take the car to Doug's to get it fixed. I used a \n rubber mallet to hit around the disc and caliper to see it this would \n help. I put the wheel back on and took the car off the jack.\n

\n

\n Anne was going to drive with me to Doug's to drop off the car. When I \n drove the car out of the garage, I could tell right away that the wheel \n was no longer seized. Yay! I let Anne drive the car around the \n neighbourhood. We let the car coast to ensure the brakes weren't engaged \n and it seemed to roll fine. Yay! OK, so after all that, I was able to \n free up the seized brake.\n

\n

\n After we got the car back in the garage, I realized that I forgot to put \n back the rubber plug on the access hole. I'm usually really careful and \n make sure I don't forget to put back anything, but this time I forgot \n that plug. I had to jack up the car and remove the wheel again. I turned \n the wheel so the access hole was at the 6 o'clock position and now I \n could see the star adjustment wheel! Just for kicks, I decided to turn \n the wheel to loosen the parking brake more. However, I was actually \n tightening the brake and therefore, I couldn't budge the wheel anymore. \n I turned the adjustment wheel the otherway and now was able to loosen \n the brake.\n

\n

\n I went and pulled up and down on the parking brake lever lots of times. \n I even pulled it up as high as I could a few times. Then I released the \n parking brake and checked both left and right rear wheels. Both were \n able to turn freely. Woo Hoo! Parking brake was now normal. I covered up \n the access hole, put the wheel back on, and lowered the car off the \n jack. Phew. That was good. I was able to fix the problem and avoid a \n trip to Doug's for more car repairs. Yay!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1271, "title": "Interesting discussions with Pravin", "date": "2010-12-10 22:23:04.0", "content": "

\n I always have some really interesting discussions with Pravin. We \n usually go off onto some interesting topic. Pravin is usually very \n opinionated and always has some valuable insights. He's a strong Project \n Manager, always challenging the aggressive schedules and demands of \n upper management. Reminds me of a conversation with Richard Stewart on \n the Sprint Project and how he wasn't going to be a "Yes" man. Pravin is \n a "No" man. He will always say no until he believes the project, \n schedule, etc. is a viable and achievable plan.\n

\n

\n We've had some good discussions on Projects and how to make them \n successful. These include having some "experts" review your project plan \n and tell you where there are problems. Are your planned intervals \n realistic? Have you estimated the effort correctly? Have you covered all \n required work items? Do you understand alll your dependencies? Have you \n obtained agreements with those dependencies (schedule, timing and \n quality of deliverables, fix deliveries infrastructure, fix turn-around \n time, etc...)\n

\n

\n You could start a consulting business and provide this service. Pravin \n was putting together a super guide for project management.\n

\n

\n We also started talking about the emerging markets and how China and \n India are growing. He said China's growth is driven by their \n unrealistically low currency. China doesn't let their currency float. \n It's set at a specific value (relative to US currency?). I told Pravin \n that the US economy is in trouble with their large deficits and China's \n and India's economy are growing. But Pravin doesn't agree. He said \n something about starting a war and other stuff I don't remember.\n

\n

\n Here's an e-mail Pravin sent me with books he suggests I read:\n

\n

\n \n

\n
\n The book that I had mentioned was : "The Next 100 Years" by George \n Friedman. You can read the first few pages here:\n
\n
\n http://books.google.ca/books?id=tBdRJ5r43CAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=global+intelligence+canada&source=bl&ots=lWERBInCtI&sig=mTFSfOsQ9r3NKjU5Ac8q8afRkq4&hl=en&ei=_RQ5TKz9DIKC8gaKleSoBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CDAQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q&f=false\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n The other interesting things to read online for general knowledge & \n deeper insights are:\n
\n
\n Oil Policy & Politics\n
\n
\n http://www.globalpolicy.org/iraq/iraq-conflict-the-historical-background-/history-of-oil-in-iraq.html\n
\n
\n http://libcom.org/history/articles/iraq-1900-2000\n
\n
\n http://libcom.org/library/oil-wars-aufheben-12\n
\n
\n http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/4037/42/\n
\n
\n The above links give a brief history of what happened in Iraq over the \n ages.\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n Good Global Intelligence Analysis\n
\n
\n http://www.stratfor.com/\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n Regards,\n
\n
\n Pravin\n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1272, "title": "Maxima car repairs - replace rear catalytic converter", "date": "2011-02-08 22:39:50.0", "content": "

\n After we got back skiing from Calabogie last week, my exhaust noise is \n really loud. I thought I had a hole in my muffler, but when I looked \n underneath the car, I could see there was an exhaust leak underneath the \n front seats. I brought my car into Doug's and he said that it was the \n rear catalytic converter and the welds on the connector that were \n rusted. I had just replaced my whole exhaust system 3 years ago. He \n gave me a good price on a new catalytic converter (basically at cost). \n Still it ended up over $400 for the repairs. Oh well, at least my car \n is still running. I want it to run for a lot longer!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1273, "title": "Joseph driving on the main road!", "date": "2011-02-20 22:15:49.0", "content": "

\n I've been taking Joseph out driving several times now. We first started \n off in the Ericsson parking lot getting him used to the clutch and being \n able to start the car moving. We then went on the side streets around \n Lynwood village. And finally today, we started going on the main \n streets. His shifting and clutching is actually pretty good now. When we \n were on the main streets, he was nervous so he puts a lot of gas so he \n won't stall the car. But he did really well. I told him to be ready to \n start moving the car as soon as the car in front starts moving and he \n did just fine. I told him that people will get impatient if it takes you \n too long to start moving.\n

\n

\n I've been recording our driving sessions on the GPS, so we have the \n routes that we took. Now that Joseph is starting to get comfortable on \n the main roads, this opens a lot of possibilities of where to go for the \n driving lesson. Just need to ease him slowly and get him confident on \n the main roads. He's still nervous, but he's doing fine!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1274, "title": "February ORE meeting", "date": "2011-02-21 23:30:19.0", "content": "

\n Since the 2nd Monday in February was Valentines day, we moved the ORE \n meeting to the following Monday. It was a really busy meeting today! \n Aaron brought in all his line followers he has been building and has for \n sale. They are really cool. Ron has been working on building up a \n library of functions so it is easy to get started on these robot line \n followers. He had a couple of robots following a simple line. Aaron also \n had several examples of robots on a pretty complicated line track. I \n told Aaron I was going to buy one. I went to the ORE Wiki page on the \n line followers and Aaron is trying to set up a Canadian National \n Robotics Games (CNRG) Ottawa Regional competition for May. Maybe I can \n get Joseph and Elizabeth interested in this too! \n

\n

\n Brian, who is another active member, was doing an oven reflow \n demonstration. He has brought in several line followers and sumo bots in \n previous meetings. He was telling us about a special solder paste that \n he uses called Amtech Syntec. I later found an ORE message he had posted \n to the group about this solder paste and where he ordered it from. They \n come with some syringes for you to apply the paste to the PCB.\n

\n

\n The procedure was pretty simple. He put the paste on the pads using a \n long thin bead from the syringe. He repeated this on the other row of \n pins. Then he put the surface mount IC on the pads. Brian said it \n doesn't have to be exact. The surface tension will pull the part into \n place. Cool!\n

\n

\n He put the PCB into his $18 toaster oven, set the temperature to 425F \n and started a timer. We watched and about 3 minutes in, the solder paste \n went from gray to a silver color. Brian said once that happens, let it \n sit for another 10-15 seconds and then he turned off the oven. After \n letting the part cool, we inspected it with a small handheld \n magnifier/microscope. Brian was also saying that this paste doesn't \n need refrigeration and doesn't have to be cleaned (flux cleaned off?)... \n Wow he knows a lot about this...\n

\n

\n This is so cool and easy. I'm going to build boards like this myself!\n

\n

\n Overall this was a really good meeting. Lots of stuff being brought in \n and demo'd by the guys. I've got to start getting back into it and \n bringing the stuff that I'm doing! \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1275, "title": "2011 Ottawa Marathon this Sunday!", "date": "2011-05-23 21:52:24.0", "content": "

\n The 2011 Ottawa Marathon is this Sunday! Wow! My training this year has \n actually been pretty good. As of the end of WK20, my training mileage \n has been 645.1 km. This is my second highest training mileage total \n after 2007 training where I had 691.8 at the end of WK20. Here's a list \n of my training mileage over the years at the end of WK20:\n

\n
    \n
  • \n 2006 - 388.1 km\n
    • \n
  • \n 2007 - 691.8 km\n
    • \n
  • \n 2008 - 478.8 km\n
    • \n
  • \n 2009 - 364.1 km\n
    • \n
  • \n 2010 - 396.6 km\n
    • \n
  • \n 2011 - 645.1 km\n
    • \n
  • \n Higdon - 671.4 km\n
    • \n
  • \n Higdon II - 912.9 km\n
    • \n
\n

\n Comparing to the Higdon training program, I'm very close to the Higdon \n novice program. The Higdon Intermediate II program has 50% more \n mileage! I was actually running very similar distances to the \n Intermediate program, but I just started 3 - 4 weeks later. I had 5 \n runs over 30 km, with the longest run of 39.5 km in WK 16. All my long \n runs were very slow, about 7:30 mins/km average pace. My heart rate was \n around 120 bpm. For most of the long runs, I was running around 7:15 \n mins/km, but at the end I was usually really exhausted and would slow \n down considerably for the last 4 to 5 km. This would bump up my average \n pace to 7:30 mins/km.\n

\n

\n For my runs the past two weeks, I have been really pushing the pace. I'm \n thinking I'd like to run a 4:30 marathon, but that would mean I need to \n have a pace of around 6:20 mins/km. I'm nowhere near that right now! So \n I thought I need to push my pace to see if I can run at a faster pace \n but not put out that much more exertion. I can really see that my \n breathing is a lot harder, but I also found that my heart rate did not \n climb too high! For my faster runs my heart rate was about 130-135 bpm.\n

\n

\n With the much faster pace around 5:45-6:00 mins/km, I can really feel \n the lactic acid build up in my legs and the heavy sensation when this \n happens. My legs have also been really sore and tired. For this week \n I'll need to have much more relaxed runs and get lots of rest to recover \n my muscles. Then I'll be peaked and primed for the 2011 Ottawa Marathon \n this Sunday!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1276, "title": "Garmin Nuvi", "date": "2011-05-22 22:17:23.0", "content": "

\n I bought a Garmin 1350T Nuvi GPS this weekend from Staples. It was on \n sale for $129.99 from a regular price of $169.99.\n

\n

\n It's actually a really nice unit. It has Lifetime Traffic Updates, and \n that's why I wanted to buy another GPS. I also wanted to get a Garmin, \n because I can get updated maps for it. The Omnitech GPS which I \n currently use is now several years old, and I don't know how to update \n the maps for this GPS. I also have a Samsung GPS which I run Garmin \n Mobile XT. I can use Garmin Maps for this, but the limitation is that \n the Garmin Mobile XT doesn't have TTS, so it doesn't say spoken street \n names. I know, nit-picking, but I wanted to try a Garmin with Traffic \n Updates anyways... :-)\n

\n

\n So now, I had to investigate how to get the newer maps on the Garmin \n unit. I was able to find torrents of the 2012.10 version of the Garmin \n North American NT maps. I did a bit of reading and research and found \n that there are several methods to update your maps. One of the easiest \n is to get an unlocked IMG map and stick this file onto an SD Card in the \n Garmin folder.\n

\n

\n I tried plugging the Garmin GPS with a USB cable at the back of \n Paulspc1, but a drive never showed up in the "My Computer" window. I \n thought that I needed some updated Garmin USB drivers for this unit, so \n I went to the Garmin website and downloaded the latest Garmin USB \n drivers. After I installed the USB drivers, I still couldn't see the \n Garmin unit. The Garmin just booted up to its normal screen. However, \n when I later tried connecting the Garmin to the PC using a different \n cable, I saw that the Garmin booted up differently. There was the Garmin \n splash screen, and then a progress bar showed up. After that, that there \n was an icon showing a GPS connected to a computer. It worked! I went to \n "My Computer" and I could see the I: drive named Garmin Nuvi.\n

\n

\n So there was an issue with the first cable I was using. I went back to \n try that cable again, and same thing. The Garmin boots up, and goes to \n the navigation screen. It doesn't seem to detect the USB cable. This is \n weird because this is the cable I use to connect my 2.5" external hard \n drives to my PC. I can't use the hub because it doesn't supply enough \n power for a 2.5" external drive. And now I find that this USB cable \n doesn't work, but using another cable to the hub does work.\n

\n

\n Next, I installed the Garmin USB drivers onto my Ericsson work laptop. \n I connected the Garmin GPS and I could see the drive. I ran mapsource \n and received data from the Garmin GPS. To my surprise, it dowloaded the \n tracks for the drives I took the past two days. One was picking up \n Joseph at Edmond's house, and the other was a drive lesson I went with \n Joseph. Wow! This is the same data that I get on my small Garmin eTrex \n Venture handheld GPS. This is cool. Now I can get my GPS tracks all in \n one unit, instead of a separate Omnitech GPS and the Garmin eTrex.\n

\n

\n So now I can see the Garmin as a USB drive, I could browse the contents \n of the Garmin. I could see the hidden .Systems folder and the map file \n that I need to replace in order to update the maps. I also saw some of \n the configuration folders like "voices" and "vehicles" where you can \n customize your GPS. So now I can start to play with and customize the \n Garmin GPS, similar to what I did for the Omnitech GPS. First I need to \n back up all the data currently in the Garmin GPS so that I can revert to \n the factory settings!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1277, "title": "WK28-06 Getting back in the saddle... Bike ride to Gatineau", "date": "2011-07-16 21:06:49.0", "content": "

\n My bike saddle that is... On Saturday, I literally dusted off my road \n bike, wiped off the frame and tires with a wet cloth, and took it for a \n ride up the Gatineau hills. It was a tough ride! I guess I could have \n picked a much easier and simpler route for my first bike ride in a long, \n long time. But, hey, I always like a challenge. And I should still be in \n reasonable shape from my marathon training... Right?\n

\n

\n My plan was to leave around 7:00am. I got up at 6:40am, which is my \n regular wake up time for a work day. I had a banana and some water for \n breakfast. The night before, I had prepared two water bottles of \n gatorade for my ride. I grabbed my bike from the basement and put the \n water bottles in the holders, and stuck some money and my phone into the \n seat pouch. It was a really tight fit to get my phone in there!\n

\n

\n I finally left the house around 7:12am. I went out to Cassidy Rd. and \n started up the hill to Bell High School when I realized that I didn't \n have my heart rate monitor on. Darn! I went down by the high school and \n Hill Side Park and looped back towards home. I ran inside and put on my \n heart rate monitor and left for a second time around 7:19am. I also \n fiddled around with the timer so I lost the parts of my ride. I captured \n the main portion which was ~68km, but the total route is ~73km.\n

\n

\n I took my usual route down the Parkway recreational path to Island Park \n bridge. On the bridge I noticed that my left pedal was loose and I found \n that I couldn't click in. Turned right on Boulevard de Lucerne and then \n up to the entrance to Gatineau Park. I stopped here for a while to look \n at my pedal, but couldn't find what was wrong. I also stopped my timer \n here and forgot to restart it for a while. Lost more data!\n

\n

\n I stayed on the road to Rue Gamelin where there is a visitor's centre. I \n still remembered much of the route. There are rolling hills which aren't \n too bad. Then you get to the hill to Pink Lake which is fairly steep and \n a real workout to get up. Then there is another short up hill and then a \n down hill to get to the turn-off for Champlain lookout.\n

\n

\n After this turn-off there is a fairly hard hill. Then there is a nice \n down hill break near the Mackenzie King estates. Shortly after this is \n the longest hill of the ride. It's not as steep as the one to Pink Lake, \n but it's close. There is a sign to Mulvihill and Lauriault Trail that \n marks the beginning of this long hill. When you go up it's deceiving \n because there are twists and turns in the road, and you think that the \n latest turn is the last one, but when you make the turn, you see that \n the hill keeps on going up!\n

\n

\n It was a hot day and my legs were already starting to cramp up, even \n before I got to Champlain Lookout. At the lookout, I took a short break \n and had my granola bar and some gatorade. I switched my gatorade bottle \n so that the full one was on the front bar. I like to grab this water \n bottle to take a drink from. I find it's easier to take out and put into \n the front water bottle holder. I stayed at the top for just 2-3 minutes \n and then started to head down again.\n

\n

\n My legs were pretty shot by now. On all the hills I could feel the legs \n start to cramp up, and I had to not exert too much effort on the hills \n or else I could have a full cramp (!). I was able to make it all the way \n down to the entrance of Gatineau Park and from there I just took it easy \n all the way home.\n

\n

\n Bike stats: 68.32 km, total time: 3:16:12, avg speed: 20.9 kph, avg \n heart rate: 133 bpm.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1278, "title": "Ottawa 2011 Marathon", "date": "2011-05-29 22:42:31.0", "content": "

\n Well, it's time for the Ottawa marathon. I did my usual preparation. I \n parked in my excellent spot on Nicholas, this time there were a couple \n of spots open when I parked. It was pretty early still.\n

\n

\n When Joseph and I went to the Runner's expo to pick up my race kit, we \n bought a new Garmin Forerunner 305! I wore it for today's race. It took \n a long time to sync-up. I was worried that it would never sync-up.\n

\n

\n Final results: Gun Time: 4:33:22, Chip Time: 4:30:05, Chip Pace: 06:24.\n

\n

\n \n  \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1279, "title": "WK28-07 Run and Bike", "date": "2011-07-17 23:02:15.0", "content": "

\n After my inaugural season bike ride to the Gatineaus, I wanted to keep \n up the fitness momentum. I suggested to go to the Alcatel's bike ride on \n the Parkway to the family, and Elizabeth was the only one that expressed \n any interest. I decided to go for a short run and then go on the bike \n ride with Elizabeth. It was going to be a leisurely ride, so I thought I \n would be good to go for a run.\n

\n

\n I went on my usual route towards Andrew Haydon, taking the pathway \n towards Carling. I turned around at Carling Ave, because I wanted to be \n back by 8:30am and get ready for my ride with Elizabeth.\n

\n

\n Run stats: distance: 8.8km, total time: 0:55:04, average pace: \n 6:16mins/km, average heart rate: 143bpm.\n

\n

\n When I got home, I had some breakfast and then got the bikes ready. I \n had to pump some air into tires for both bikes. I rode my mountain bike \n and Elizabeth rode her new mountain bike with streamlined wheels. We \n took the recreation path out by Brittania Beach and on to where it meets \n the Parkway. We then hopped on the Parkway and rode all the way towards \n downtown and stopped at the War Museum.\n

\n

\n Here we had a short water break. There were large stages set up because \n the Bluesfest was going on. Later on that evening we heard on the news \n that a big windstorm came through and knocked the main stage down. Whoa! \n That's pretty scary.\n

\n

\n We retraced our route and headed back home. It was a nice ride. It was \n great to spend time talking and chatting with Lizzie. I need to do this \n more with the kids. I'm not really close to them as a Dad. Need to build \n that relationship!\n

\n

\n Bike stats: distance: 32.4km, total time: 2:22:32, average speed: \n 13.6kmh, average heart rate: 113bpm.\n

\n

\n \n \n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1280, "title": "WK29-06-07-Bike", "date": "2011-07-23 23:16:08.0", "content": "

\n I did another two rides to the Gatineau's this weekend. I had to remove \n my old pedals and put on some new ones. On my old pedals, I broke the \n left pedal clip-in mechanism and lost a bolt in the process. The new \n pedals were ones that I had bought to put on my old ten-speed and use on \n the trainer. Luckily I had them lying around and could use them to \n repair my bike!\n

\n

\n It was a good ride on Saturday. I took the bike path at the entrance to \n Gatineau park. The road during this stretch is pretty narrow and I \n always saw people on the bike path. Today I decided to try it out. It's \n actually a really good route. It's not as quick, but the hills don't \n seem as bad either. On the way back I took the path again. The down side \n of this route in this direction is that you have to use your brakes \n constantly. They're going to wear down quicker!\n

\n

\n The hills didn't seem as bad today. Going up Pink Lake hill, there were \n two women riders and I had to pass them because they weren't going too \n fast. Normally I don't like to pass people, because I'm not a strong \n rider and I don't like leap frogging where you pass someone and then \n they pass you back. Although going up the hill is hard, I found that I \n was at the top pretty quick. It didn't seem like a long grind. The \n dreaded Mulvihill climb was also do-able. It was hard, but it never felt \n insurmountable.\n

\n

\n The ride on Sunday was similar. My legs were a little tired, but again \n the hills didn't seem too arduous to climb. Maybe my legs are getting \n stronger!\n

\n

\n I've changed the way I show my bike stats by not including the stopped \n time. So now it only includes the time when I'm actually moving and not \n when I'm stopped or on a break.\n

\n

\n Saturday Bike stats: distance: 72.86km, total time: 3:15:54, average \n speed: 22.3kmh, average heart rate: 133bpm.\n

\n

\n Sunday Bike stats: distance: 73.79km, total time: 3:20:38, average \n speed: 22.1kmh, average heart rate: N/A.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1281, "title": "Lusk caves spelunking!", "date": "2011-07-30 21:34:23.0", "content": "

\n On Saturday, we went to the Lusk caves. This has become one of our \n annual family outings in the summer. It's really cool. We met some \n families there and we told them how we bike from the beach and then hike \n to the caves. We make a day outing out of it. For the bike ride there, \n Anne didn't like the hills. She also said that she wanted an automatic \n bike so she doesn't have to shift. I think the problem is that she \n struggles because of her fitness level, but she's focusing on the bike \n and how uncomfortable it is. But then again, that's just my opinion. I \n could be totally wrong.\n

\n

\n The road for the entrance to the camping area was washed out. So they \n built a temporary road which starts at the Parking lot to the beach. \n Since the road is only one car wide, there is actually a light on each \n end to control traffic. Just like in a construction zone when it is just \n down to one lane. It was funny seeing a traffic light here, so I took a \n picture of it.\n

\n

\n During the bike ride and hike there were lots of downed trees on the \n path. At one point, we had to lift our bikes over a tree! At another \n downed tree we were able to just squeeze by one side. On the hike, \n Joseph tried to hop over a tree but clipped his foot and ended up \n tumbling over and landing on his back. Luckily he wasn't hurt!\n

\n

\n The caves were cool as usual. The first time we went through, we were \n pretty much by ourselves. However, the second time through there was a \n huge group right behind us and they were loud and excited. It was their \n first time and they kept saying how cool this was. We also met some \n families who did part of the caves, but weren't dressed to get in the \n water. We told them how we bike in from the beach and they thought that \n was a great idea.\n

\n

\n On the way back there is a huge hill as you get back to the campground. \n I was able to get up this hill quite easily and my breathing was easy \n too! I think this is an example of how my biking fitness is really good \n with my hill workouts to Champlain Lookout!\n

\n

\n When we got back the closed parking lot beach, Anne and Joseph took a \n trail path to the other parking lot, and Elizabeth and I stayed on the \n road. There was an up hill on the road, but then there was a down hill \n as we got to the parking lot. We got down to the beach around 1:00pm. At \n the beach we relaxed and had lunch. Elizabeth and I actually played some \n pepper with the volleyball. Elizabeth's volleyball skills are quite \n good! We had fun setting, spiking, and bumping the ball.\n

\n

\n While we were there, someone came by and we did a survey about Gatineau \n park. Something about protecting the park, would we support user fees, \n and how often we use the park. On our way back home, we stopped at an \n ice cream place which is on the highway. It was Lizzies idea, of course! \n She saw the Ice Cream stand when we came to the park. Anne and I had \n shakes that were really good. Joseph and Lizzie had Sundaes.\n

\n

\n All in all a very fun day!!!\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1282, "title": "WK30-6-7 Weekend Bike rides", "date": "2011-08-01 22:48:46.0", "content": "

\n This weekend was a long weekend. Woo Hoo! I ended up riding on Saturday \n and Sunday, but not on the holiday Monday. I got up on Monday and my \n legs were feeling sore, so I just slept in. Don't want to overtrain... \n well that's my excuse!\n

\n

\n We went to Lusk Caves on Saturday and we were leaving around 8:30am in \n the morning. So I had to finish my ride by this time. I decided that I \n would drive to Gatineau Park, bike up to Champlain Lookout, and then \n drive back home. I figured I had to start my ride around 5:30am, \n allocate 2 hours for the ride, finish around 7:30 and then head back \n home. This would leave some time to get my bike on the rack and change \n my shoes after the ride.\n

\n

\n It was really cool in the morning. There is enough daylight at around \n 5:30 to be riding. I left the house later than I wanted around 5:15, and \n got to the parking lot around 5:30. I started my ride at 5:41am. Right \n near the beginning of my ride I saw a black thing on the road and \n realized that it was moving and it was a bear! I stopped and watched the \n bear walk along the road. At one point the bear turned around and looked \n at me, but then just kept going. I looked at my watch and it was 5:50am. \n I followed behind the bear for about 5 minutes when it finally went into \n the woods. Shortly after that a car came by on the road. I wonder if it \n was the car that made the bear go into the woods?\n

\n

\n Later on during my ride, I saw a deer on the right side of the road. It \n startled me because I had my head down and didn't notice it until I was \n right beside it. It just stood there as I quietly pedaled by... Cool!\n

\n

\n The rest of the ride went uneventful. When biking up Pink Lake hill, \n after I was near the top, I noticed that I was still in second gear! I \n had ridden up this hill in second gear! Wow, that was surprising for me. \n The rest of the ride went well and I felt good going up Mulvihll hill. \n The hills aren't as daunting anymore. Nice!\n

\n

\n I was able to finish my ride and get home just after 8:00am. We then had \n a really nice day at Lusk Caves and Lac Phillipe beach.\n

\n

\n My ride on Sunday was good too. And guess what? I saw another bear! This \n time it was a Mama bear with two cubs. I first saw the Mama bear come up \n from the side of the road, and then two bear cubs came up. There was \n another rider on the other side of the bears that had also stopped. This \n time the bears didn't hang around long. They went back into the woods by \n a guard rail. The other rider passed by me on my side of the road and \n gave me a wave. We both looked at the woods where the bears left to make \n sure they weren't coming back to the road. Another exciting wildlife \n encounter!\n

\n

\n I decided to climb Pink Lake hill in second gear again. I'm thinking \n this will help my leg strength when I pedal in a higher gear. Just need \n to be careful that I don't hurt my knees. Another good hill workout!\n

\n

\n Saturday Bike stats: distance: 37.75km, total time: 1:44:00, average \n speed: 21.8kmh, average heart rate: 133bpm.\n

\n

\n Sunday Bike stats: distance: 73.82km, total time: 3:15:17, average \n speed: 22.7kmh, average heart rate: 129bpm.\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1283, "title": "Bike cleaning", "date": "2011-08-01 23:02:24.0", "content": "

\n I didn't go for a bike ride today, so I decided to clean my bike. I \n watched some YouTube videos on how to clean your chain with a chain \n cleaner. So I pulled out my handy dandy MEC chain cleaner, filled it \n with some bio-degradeable degreaser and cleaned my chain. The chain was \n very dirty. I had basically ridden it for about 1500km in 2007 and this \n year without doing any maintenance on the bike.\n

\n

\n I then saw some other YouTube videos about measuring the wear on your \n chain. I guess your chain stretches and when it gets to a certain point \n you need to replace your chain. There is a special tool you use to \n measure your chain wear. One video I saw said that you can check your \n chain by putting it on the largest chain ring and then try to lift the \n chain up. If you can expose a whole tooth, then you should replace the \n chain. I tried this and I found I could expose the whole tooth. So now I \n decided to also replace my chain!\n

\n

\n I had a new chain which I bought way back in 2007 when I was getting \n bike parts and equipment. I read some reviews on the MEC website on this \n KMC chain and they were really good. Basically this chain doesn't \n stretch! Something about the bearings (which is where the chain \n stretches when it starts to wear out). Anyways, I put the new chain \n beside the old chain so that I could make them the same length. I \n removed the unused links with my chain tool and put the new chain on the \n bike. There's a special link that you use to connect the two ends of the \n chain. There's this waxy sticky stuff on the new chain. With the chain \n on the bike, I put a drop of oil on each link. Then I went and wiped \n down the chain by pedaling and holding a wipe cloth against the chain.\n

\n

\n I also found that I could take off my front chain rings by removing the \n allen bolts. First I took the chain off the front chain ring. The cranks \n stay on the bike, while the small and large chain rings can be removed \n by maneouvering them around the right crank shaft. With them off the \n bike it was simple to clean each tooth and get them nice and shiny!\n

\n

\n I tried wiping down the cassette, but didn't get it too clean. I want to \n remove the cassette from the freehub and give it a good cleaning, but I \n need to get a chain whip and the right Shimano cassette remover tool to \n do this. It'll have to be another day.\n

\n

\n I had also seen some YouTube videos on adjusting your front and rear \n derailleurs. I went and adjusted both derailleurs. I found that my \n chain would always come off when I went from the large chain ring to the \n small chain ring. I tried a bunch of different settings and \n configurations on the front derailleur, but it still occurred. After \n some investigation, I found that it happens mostly when I'm in the first \n two gears at the back. But it occasionally happened with the 3rd gear \n too. I even tried to stop pedaling, change to the small front chain \n ring, and then pedal slowly. But this didn't work either! I finally \n found a solution! What I had to do was stop pedaling, click the small \n lever to go to small chain ring, small click on the large lever to have \n the front derailleur move over slightly, and then start to pedal again. \n This seems to work 100% of the time. The chain never came off if I used \n this method. The trick now is to remember to always use this method \n when I'm riding!\n

\n

\n All-in-all a successful bike cleaning and maintenance session! I'm \n learning more and more about my bike and how to maintain it and keep it \n running in top condition!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1284, "title": "YouTube is your friend!", "date": "2011-08-02 23:31:43.0", "content": "

\n Well your education partner, anyways! What I mean by this, is that any \n time I want to learn how to do something, I inevitably do a search on \n YouTube and find the information that I need. I did it when I was doing \n some roofing and shingle work on the house. I did it when maintaining \n and repairing the cars. I do it when I want to learn new songs on my \n guitar. And just recently, I've been doing it to learn about how to \n maintain and take apart my bicycle, as well as bicycling knowledge, \n techniques, info, etc...\n

\n

\n YouTube has just been a valuable resource in this regards. You can \n usually find some really useful and accurate information that makes \n whatever job you want to do easy and painless!!! Two thumbs up!!! Five \n stars!!! And all that rating stuff...\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1285, "title": "WK31-6-7 Bike", "date": "2011-08-07 22:23:34.0", "content": "

\n Keeping up my momentum, I did my bike rides to Gatineau on Saturday and \n Sunday again. Saturday I had a strong ride. I felt fast and even on the \n way back on the recreation trail I was pushing myself. This was evident \n in my higher average heart rate for the ride of 138bpm compared to \n 125bpm on Sunday. At Champlain Lookout, I took some pictures since I \n brought my Jazz camera with me. This was a tip I heard on a video about \n riding tips from a professional rider. I really liked his attitude. \n You're up in the mountains, don't forget to take in the beautiful \n scenery!\n

\n

\n One scare I had on this ride was when a deer ran right in front of me. \n This was near the park entrance. I was pedalling at a pretty good clip \n when a deer darted from the side of road. I'm not sure how far it was, \n maybe 5m? But I can clearly remember seeing the spots on its back as it \n ran and the sound of its hoofs on the cement. Phew! Close call!\n

\n

\n On Sunday it was a different story. I actually took a different route \n and went down towards Chemin Lac Meech and up Promenade Lac Fortune. \n Just past Chemin Lac Meech on Promenade de la Gatineau, the road had \n sunk down and there was a huge dip/hole and cracks in the pavement. The \n road was closed and blocked with gates! I was going to turn around and \n ride back up from where I came from, but there was someone else there \n and he said you can get around the barriers. You just have to get off \n your bike. So I followed him and we got around the two barriers and kept \n riding on Promenade de la Gatineau.\n

\n

\n I chatted with him for a bit. He had a Giant road bike. He was from \n Cantley. He said he used to live just by the park. He said have a good \n ride, which I then took a hint as he didn't really want to ride and \n chat, so I sped up a bit and rode ahead of him. He later passed me on \n Promenade Lac Fortune. I vaguely remember the hills on this route. There \n is a fairly steep hill as you go up and then turn onto Promenade Lac \n Fortune. Then right after the gates there is another steep hill with a \n hairpin turn. Although the hills are fairly steep it's not as long as \n Pink Lake hill and doesn't seem as hard. It doesn't take too long and \n you're turning onto Promenade de la Gatineau and heading towards \n Champlain lookout.\n

\n

\n At the lookout, I took my usual break. I had my Jazz camera with me but \n I couldn't take any pictures because it was totally foggy. I ate my \n granola bar and switched my water bottles. The ride back down was OK. I \n really took it pretty easy. By the time I got to the recreation path I \n was pretty tired. Not like yesterday. I just took it easy and at times I \n even had to rest from pedaling. I guess the workout from yesterday \n really took something out of me.\n

\n

\n Saturday Bike stats: distance: 73.63km, total time: 3:02:21, average \n speed: 24.2kmh, average heart rate: 138bpm.\n

\n

\n Sunday Bike stats: distance: 78.04km, total time: 3:28:25, average \n speed: 22.5kmh, average heart rate: 125bpm.\n

\n

\n \n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1286, "title": "Garmin Nuvi 1350 hard reset", "date": "2011-08-25 09:57:34.271", "content": "

\n I was having problems downloading my GPS tracks to Mapsource. It kept \n giving an error. So I decided to do a hard reset on the GPS to get it \n back to factory settings. I did a search on google and found a web page \n for doing this:\n

\n

\n http://www.fixya.com/support/r4782177-garmin_nuvi_1350_hard_reset\n

\n 
    \n  This tip will describe how to perform a hard reset of the device, and how to backup your 'Favorites' in case the hard reset erases them. The next step in fixing your Nuvi when it doesn't start properly is to update its system software using Garmin WebUpdater.\n\nA hard reset (or Clear All User Data) has been known to resolve unit quirks and strange behavior. It's generally recommended to perform it after a firmware update but is not required by any means. However, if you're seeing quirks and strange behavior with your unit after the firmware update, it is a good idea to do a hard reset of the unit.\n\nBackup and Restoration Procedure for Favorites:\n\nThe Hard Reset procedure has been known to delete your Favorites, so back them up beforehand.\n\n    From the Nuvi drive, copy '/Garmin/GPX/current.gpx' to a backup location on your computer.\n    After the hard reset, copy your backed up 'current.gpx' from your computer back to the '/Garmin/GPX/' folder on the Nuvi, but be sure to rename it 'temp.gpx'.\n    On the next power cycle, the Favorites will be read from 'temp.gpx' into the non-user accessible memory area on the Nuvi where they are actually stored.\n\nPerform the Hard Reset:\n\n*Note that this will clear all user selected settings on the unit\n\n    Power the unit off.\n    Remove the battery and wait several minutes.\n    Install the battery.\n    Press and hold (and continue to hold) the bottom-right corner of the screen while powering the unit on.\n    Continue to hold the screen until the "Do you want to erase all user data?" prompt appears.\n    Press "yes" and the unit will reboot. This resets all your location settings and user preferences. \n\n\nIf possible after the hard reset, let the unit sit outdoors in the open for about 30 minutes or so to let the unit re-acquire the satellite almanac data.\n\nYou have now performed a hard reset of your Garmin Nuvi 1350 series GPS unit.\n\nI hope that helps.
\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1287, "title": "Catching up on my data entry in Quicken... again!", "date": "2011-10-20 10:28:44.995", "content": "

\n I was looking back at my finance and investing blog entries. It's hard \n to believe that my last one was way back in Oct 2008! That's over 3 \n years ago! Yikes! I guess I've just been blogging about Robotics and \n Fitness stuff.\n

\n

\n One of these finance entries was about getting caught up on my Quicken \n data entry. I thought this was funny because I've just spent the last 3 \n days entering my Quicken backlog and I'm still not done yet! In my Oct \n 12th, 2007 blog entry I mention that I was 10 months behind. Now, on Oct \n 17th, 2011, I was over 16 months behind! This was for my CIBC Visa \n entries. Back in April 2011, I started organizing to enter some Quicken \n data, but I only entered the bills. I never got around to do the Visa \n expenses. And now finally, 6 months later, I'm entering the data. It has \n taken me 3 days to enter the June 2010 all the way to the June 2011 Visa \n statements. I still have to enter July 2011 to September 2011.\n

\n

\n I have set a goal of getting caught up on my Visa entries by Friday this \n week. That's because I'm going on a business trip and leaving this \n Saturday. I started entering the data, and now I just want to keep up \n the momentum and finally get caught up. There's also the bills and \n banking statements to do, but I don't think I'll get to them this week. \n Oh well, maybe when I get back. Still it feels good to finally get the \n entries in Quicken. Why do I keep putting this off for so long? Like I \n said last time, "It's nice to be up to date, and now I need to be \n disciplined to stay that way and not fall behind!!!"\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1288, "title": "More catching up on my Quicken data entry and 2011 Year-end financial statement", "date": "2012-02-04 21:16:42.0", "content": "

\n I spent some time getting caught up on my Quicken data entry again. \n However, this time it isn't too bad. It's only been 3 1/2 months since I \n got caught up. I wanted to do a 2011 year-end analysis, so I needed to \n get all of last year's data entered to do that.\n

\n

\n One of the things that took a while was all the data entry for the \n Ericsson SPP and DCPP accounts. I hadn't done any of the detailed \n transaction input for those accounts since they were opened in 2010. It \n took a while, but I figured out how to enter all that data. I am using \n an Ericsson Benefits income category to capture the deposits into my \n Ericsson SPP account to reflect the company contributions. This is \n actually a good way, because these become taxable benefits once the \n purchased stocks vest after 3 years. (Should I have an Ericsson Benefits \n "unvested" and "vested" category???) I also used the Ericsson DCPP \n account statements to enter all the fund purchases and now I'm all \n caught up. I need to remember how I did all this so that it becomes part \n of my Quicken workflow.\n

\n

\n After catching up on all the entries, I updated my Financial Planner \n spreadsheet and updated the Networth and Cash Flow data tables to \n include the latest data up to Dec 31st, 2011. This updates all the pivot \n tables and charts so I now have the latest info. I then updated my \n Family Financial Statement 2011 Q4 powerpoint presentation with the \n latest tables and charts. I actually used a link to them so that I could \n just "update links" whenever I changed the excel spreadsheet. This seems \n to work pretty well. Because I link using the excel filename, I'll run \n into trouble if I create a new version of the excel spreadsheet with a \n different filename. I'll have to figure out how to handle this issue, \n but for now it's working great!!!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1289, "title": "Tax Filing", "date": "2012-02-05 22:28:32.0", "content": "

\n I got a notice from CRA that I had to submit my 2010 Tax Return within \n 30 days of this notice (which was Jan 24th). So I had until about Feb \n 23rd to submit my tax return. I did a search on google and found an \n application called Studio Tax that does Canadian Tax Returns. I tried it \n out and it works pretty well. I downloaded all the versions that I could \n find, which went back to Tax Year 2004.\n

\n

\n I installed Studio Tax on both my home PC and my work laptop. I entered \n all the data from my T4's, T5's, T3's, and donation receipts for all the \n tax years from 2004 - 2010. It took a while but I got it all done!!!\n

\n

\n I had previously used an excel spreadsheet called Free Tax, but it was \n stopped being released in 2007. I had previously filled in my data for \n Free Tax up until 2007, so I could now compare the two. I found some \n differences, but I was able to make changes in both applications to get \n both returns to match exactly. Woo Hoo! So I'm pretty confident that the \n data and the calculations made by the applications are correct.\n

\n

\n Before I finally submit my tax return, I need to fix a couple of items. \n For the Children's sport tax credit, I have to find out how much to \n claim for Joseph. I can claim the maximum $500 for Elizabeth. Also, Anne \n made some income working for Elections Canada in the Federal and \n Provincial elections. I have to figure out how much money I need to \n claim for Anne's income. Currently I only have the interest income she \n earns from the ING account, and our BMO joint account. Lastly, I need to \n look at the Home Renvation tax credit and see if we spent more than \n $1000 and can get some tax credits. I need to do all this before Feb \n 23rd!!!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1290, "title": "Maxima rear brakes replacement", "date": "2012-03-24 20:24:06.0", "content": "

\n The brakes on my Maxima have been getting progressively worse and worse \n the past few months. I could feel the brake pedal pulsate as I pressed \n it down. On the drive to and from Tremblant, and driving at highway \n speeds, I can really feel the pulsating just touching the pedal. And \n when I try and press it down hard, you can feel that the rotors are \n warped pretty badly.\n

\n

\n Now, just on my drive to work, I can feel the pulsating at the lower \n speeds. The braking power also seems diminished and I have to push \n harder on the pedal to stop, and I feel the pulsating even more. So, \n I've decided to fix the brakes. I'm not sure why, but I had it in my \n head that the rear brakes were the ones with the warped rotor.\n

\n

\n On Friday, after work, I stopped at Benson's and bought rear rotors and \n pads for my 98 Maxima. I started to work on my Car around 8:00pm. I \n jacked it up, using a piece of wood on the jack saddle so that it would \n span the width of the axle brace/cover. I should have also used jack \n stands, but I didn't do that until the next day. The jack stands were \n placed under the front portion of the curved brace/cover. Luckily, the \n axle wasn't resting on the jack stands at all.\n

\n

\n I made a big mistake, by not reviewing and looking at the repair manual \n before starting the work. I was being cocky and assumed I knew how to do \n this because I've already worked on the rear brakes before. Well, guess \n what? I screwed up. I missed a critical step of disconnecting the \n parking brake cable (this allows you to actually move the caliper) and I \n also did things in the wrong order (I should have removed the caliper \n pivot bolts instead of the mounting bracket bolts first).\n

\n

\n So I removed the mounting bracket bolts and the caliper wouldn't budge. \n I then removed the caliper pivot bolts and tried removing the caliper \n but it wouldn't budge. I tried gently hammering on the bottom of the \n caliper, but it only moved slightly. I tried tapping on the top and same \n story. It would only move slightly. This is when I decided to read the \n Haynes Maxima repair manual, and I read about disconnecting the parking \n brake cable! Yikes! No wonder the caliper wouldn't budge. The parking \n brake cable was holding it in place!\n

\n

\n Ok, so I disconnected the parking brake cable and was now able to remove \n the caliper, pads and the mounting bracket. I bought some new brake \n hardware which fits on the mounting bracket and allows the pads to slide \n freely. However the mounting bracket was rusted and the new hardware \n didn't fit well. I spent a bunch of time sanding down the areas so that \n it fit better.\n

\n

\n When I went to put everything back together, I found that I couldn't \n budge the caliper piston. I was supposed to turn it so that it moved \n into the caliper body to make room for the new pads. I was using a \n special tool that had bits that fit into notches in the piston head and \n then using a 3/8" ratchet you would rotate the piston. However, it was \n seized on! It would not budge! I know that I shouldn't do this, but I \n even used my impact gun. What made me think of this was it was written \n on the special tool, not for impact use. But I did it anyways. I ended \n up braking many of the protuding bits before finally giving up. In \n hindsight, it was good that the piston didn't break free. The impact gun \n would have turned it so many times, I probably would have overtightened \n the caliper the other way!\n

\n

\n So I gave up trying to use this caliper. I would have to buy some new \n ones. In hindsight, this was a very good thing. I really should have \n replaced the calipers the last time I worked on the brakes! I worked on \n the left side brakes and removed the caliper and mounting bracket so \n that it also would be ready for the new caliper. It was midnight by this \n time and I was ready for bed! Four hours working on the brakes and I \n hadn't gotten anywhere yet...\n

\n

\n DAY 2\n

\n

\n On Saturday morning I phoned around to get prices on the caliper. I \n called Canadian Tire, $214 with $40 core. Benson's was $175 with $70 \n core. I also phoned Parts Source and the calipers were on sale $147 with \n $75 core. So I ended up going to Parts Source to get the calipers. I \n bought some other parts for the Camry: brake spring kit, hood lifts, and \n parking brake shoes ($75!). The total was over $600. Yikes!\n

\n

\n When I started to put on the new mounting brackets I found that the bolt \n was really tight. I tried to tighten with a ratchet and then realized \n that I was probably stripping the threads. I tried the left side \n mounting bracket and found the bolts went in really easily! So the \n threads on the right side mounting bracket was all wrong. I ended up \n using my old mounting bracket and moving the new caliper guide pins to \n the old mounting bracket. I put everything together, and it all went \n together very easily. I remember last time that I had to hammer the pads \n in place because it was so tight. The brake hardware kept falling off. I \n think I even used a C-clamp to try and squeeze the pads in place.\n

\n

\n That of course was all wrong! The pads should have been free to move! \n This should have been a sign for me, but I didn't really realize it. Now \n I know that the pads should be easily put in place and must be able to \n slide freely. I was now able to easily put the pads in place (after \n filing the old bracket and removing the rust). The right side also came \n together easily. On this side, there was even more room for the pads and \n it seemed like there was even some leeway. I was able to use the new \n mounting bracket and it was very smooth and flat where the brake \n hardware sits.\n

\n

\n When I tried to connect the parking brake cable, I realized that I had \n to remove something from the old caliper and put this bracket on the new \n caliper. I quickly did this and connected up the parking brake cable. I \n did this on the other side. I double and triple checked the tightness on \n all the bolts.\n

\n

\n Joseph was out on Saturday afternoon, so I asked Elizabeth to help me \n bleed the brakes. I had her press and release the brake pedal as I \n opened and closed the brake bleed valve. I also had to remember to fill \n the brake fluid reservoir as the fluid was drained.\n

\n

\n After bleeding the brakes, I checked everything was put together and \n tightened the bolts again. I put the tires back and lowered the car.\n

\n

\n Wow, finally around 2:00 pm on Saturday I was done. I worked for about \n another 2.5 - 3 hours to complete the job today. Yay!!!\n

\n

\n SUMMARY\n

\n

\n Looking back, I wanted to capture some hints and advice for the next \n time I tackle this job.\n

\n
    \n
  • \n The mounting bracket bolts are really tight. I was able to use the \n breaker bar to budge it. There was just enough room on the wheel well \n to fit the bar vertically for the top bolt. On the bottom bolt, I was \n able to have the bar horizontal pointing to the back.\n
    • \n
  • \n For the rear brakes, remove the top caliper sliding pivot bolt. You \n can then swivel the caliper down to access the pads. You don't need to \n remove the caliper if you're just replacing the pads. For the front \n brakes, you remove the bottom bolt and swivel the caliper upwards.\n
    • \n
  • \n Probably the first thing to check are the conditions of the caliper. \n If you cannot rotate the caliper piston, then it is seized and should \n be overhauled or replaced.\n
    • \n
  • \n If you are replacing the caliper, you will get a new mounting bracket, \n guide pins, boots, etc. So there is no need to waste time trying to \n clean and file the rust off the old one.\n
    • \n
  • \n To remove the rotor, I hammered on the side of the rotor, and then on \n the face. I was able to break the rotor free after hammering on the \n face. These rotors didn't have a place to put bolts that you could \n tighten and break the rotor free.\n
    • \n
  • \n Like last time, I put anti-seize compound on the inside of the rotor \n and on the hub face. I'm hoping that this prevents rust from seizing \n the rotor to the wheel hub.\n
    • \n
  • \n Make sure the pads are able to move freely. If they are too tight, \n file down the mounting bracket to remove the rust. This should free up \n space to allow the pads to slide freely against the brake hardware.\n
    • \n
  • \n Looking on a You Tube video on someone working on the front brakes, \n they turned the wheels so that they could access the mounting bracket \n bolts. Brilliant! I really have to remember that for next time.\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1291, "title": "Replace Maxima hood lifts", "date": "2012-03-25 22:34:23.0", "content": "

\n When I was buying the brake parts from Benson's on Friday night, I also \n bought some new hood lifts (struts). My hood was not being held up by \n the old hood lifts, and I had been using a piece of wood for a long \n time. I was able to find this part on Rock Auto, and decided to check if \n Benson's had this part. They did, so I bought them. They were about $30 \n each.\n

\n

\n On Sunday, I decided to replace the hood lifts. I looked on You Tube and \n found some guides. It was really easy. You just need a 12mm wrench to \n remove the bolt on the top and bottom. The only tricky part was lifting \n the hood to relieve pressure on the bolt to remove it after it was fully \n loosened. I also found a You Tube video for similar hood lifts that I \n bought. There is a round metal strip that you lift up using a small \n screw driver. You can then snap the connector onto the ball head.\n

\n

\n I also found that the old lifts still had pressure in them. They were \n hard to compress, but I guess they didn't have enough pressure to keep \n the hood up. After replacing the right side lift, I found that the hood \n stayed up. However, I decided to replace both sides just to be super \n safe that the hood will stay up.\n

\n

\n The ball head bolt for the new lifts were 13mm, so I had to go get \n another wrench. Other than that, the installation went really easy. I \n did both sides and now my hood stays up. Yay! I left my piece of wood \n there just in case these ones fail at some point in the future. \n Hopefully my hood will now always stay up and I won't have to use the \n wood prop again. \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1292, "title": "12wk12.7 Long Run", "date": "2012-03-25 23:20:58.0", "content": "

\n I went for a long run on Sunday morning right before Elizabeth and Anne \n left for dance around 9:00am. My last long run was last Saturday. I ran \n about 18.5 km. I am trying a new strategy and not running as much. I \n will do long runs and try to get them to over 40km by the end of my \n training.\n

\n

\n This week I ran along the parkway. I got to the 10.75km point before I \n turned around. I felt pretty good most of the run. My pace was steady \n around 7:10 mins/km. About 16-17km into my run with about 5km left, I \n started to get really tired. Going up Shouldice Hill I started to walk. \n My legs were burning just going up the hill. I also walked up the hill \n on Cedarview. I also realized that I was getting cold as I walked along \n the overpass. I think I had spent all my energy and I didn't have \n anything left to heat my body!\n

\n

\n I finally got home and my total distance was 21.5km and time was 2hrs \n 38mins. I thought this was a good distance for where I was in my \n training, but when I looked at my old data, I found out that I ran 30km \n on March 27th, 2011. So now I think I'm a week behind! Bummer. I'll \n have to shoot for 30km next long run. That'll be tough considering how \n I felt today. I will bring gatorade and granola bars with me so I'm \n hoping that will help my endurance. We'll see!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1293, "title": "12wk13-6 Long Run", "date": "2012-03-31 21:40:54.0", "content": "

\n On Saturday I went for another long run. I started fairly early, leaving \n around 8:20am. My goal today was to run 30km. I thought I was doing OK \n in my long distance, but I found out last week I'm probably a week \n behind my distances from last year. That was the reason for a big jump \n from 21.5km last week to 30km this week.\n

\n

\n The plan was to run the first leg out by Bruce Pit, Arlington Park, and \n along the recreation path all the way out to Woodroffe. This is one of \n my usual 10km routes. However I wanted to run about 15km, so I ran \n further to Woodroffe and when I came back, I went through the woods in \n Bruce Pit and out towards Hunt Club. This added enough distance to make \n my first leg 15.5km. I did not bring any water with me on this first \n leg. I felt pretty good. My pace was steady at 7:00mins/km. Near the end \n when I was running by Hunt Club, I started to feel little tired.\n

\n

\n When I got back home, I quickly grabbed my gatorade and granola bars and \n headed back out. This time I ran my route out by Brittania Beach and \n along the Ottawa River Parkway recreation path. I figured I would run \n out to around the 8km mark and turn around. This would be right by a \n look out and parking lot just before you get to Woodroffe. My pace was \n still decent as I got around to the turnaround point. However, just past \n Brittania I started to hit the wall and my pace slowed down even more. I \n walked up Shouldice Hill and Cedarview Hill. My legs were really tired \n and would burn if I exerted any effort, so I just tried to stay relaxed \n and take it easy. I was glad to get back home.\n

\n

\n The total run was 32.4km, with a time of 3:54:42, average pace 7:15, \n and heartrate of 139. I was happy with that! I took my usual nap after \n my long run. I find that this really helps in my recovery and that my \n feet and legs feel much better after the nap and aren't as sore. Really \n good tip for me!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1294, "title": "Maxima front brakes repair", "date": "2012-04-01 22:19:19.0", "content": "

\n Ok, after replacing the rear calipers, rotors, and pads on the 98 \n Maxima, I could still feel the pulsating on my brake pedal when I pushed \n down hard. So I needed to inspect my front brakes. I jacked up the front \n and put the jackstands on the frame by the sides. When I looked at the \n rotor, it looked really good. Nice and shiny and smooth!\n

\n

\n So I removed the caliper and hung it with a piece of wire from the strut \n spring. Next I removed the mounting bracket/torque member bolts. As \n usual these were on really tight. I had to use my big breaker bar, and \n it took some "fanagaling" to get it at an angle so that I could apply \n some force. For the top nut, I was able to bend the handle so it was \n outside the wheel well. I had to make sure the socket was still well \n seated on the nut. On the bottom nut, I was able to point the breaker \n bar handle out the front. This is where the ratcheting breaker bar was \n really useful because I could adjust it at finer angles than the fixed \n breaker bar.\n

\n

\n After, I saw a You Tube video where the guy suggested turning the front \n wheel so that you have better access to the brakes. What a creative \n solution! I've never seen that before but it's so simple and brilliant. \n Once you do that, you have access to the torque member bolts and the \n breaker bar handle can easily point outside the wheel well. Really need \n to remember that tip for next time.\n

\n

\n After removing the torque member, I now had to remove the rotor. Before, \n I was using the threaded holes on the hub mount to push the rotor off. \n Now I've got a new, better technique. Hammer on the side of the hub \n mount with a steel hammer, right beside each lug bolt. Turn the rotor as \n you hammer beside each lug bolt. This will unseize the rotor and it will \n just fall off. This has now worked for me on all four rotors on the \n Maxima. Another tip I need to remember! I really don't need to put on \n the anti-seize compount on the inside of the hub mount, since none was \n placed on the front rotor, and I was able to take it off using this \n method.\n

\n

\n After taking off the rotor, I found the problem with my front brakes. \n The inside of the rotor was all rusted and rough. The inside pad was not \n contacting the rotor at all! Looking at the pads on the torque member, I \n saw that the inside pad was totally seized. Doug's Auto was the last to \n work on my front brakes and I bet you that it was always like that when \n they replaced my front brakes. This was on the right side. When I \n removed the left side, I found the same thing. The inside of the left \n rotor was all rusted and the inside pad was seized.\n

\n

\n So now I had to fix this problem. From my learnings on the back brakes, \n I knew I had to take the torque member and file off the rust where the \n brake hardware sliders were seated. I removed the brake hardware sliders \n and filed the torque member so that all the rust was removed. Now when I \n put on the pads, they slid super easily. Yay! I was able to fix the left \n side the same way so that the pads slid very easily.\n

\n

\n Another thing I wanted to mention was that the brake hardware kit and \n other brake parts usually come with some grease to put on the sliders. \n There was one type: silicon based grease that was really thick like a \n paste. I think this is awesome stuff for the sliders Need to remember to \n get me some of that stuff so that I always use it on the sliding brake \n parts.\n

\n

\n I already had some front rotors and pads lying around in my basement. I \n was working on my Maxima brakes several years ago (back in 2006). \n Looking back at some pictures, I actually replaced the rear calipers, \n rotors, and pads at that time too! However, back at that time, I didn't \n have the right bolts to remove the front rotor using the threaded holes, \n so I didn't do the front brakes. But now, I know how to remove the rotor \n with my super easy method! Also, my new rotors didn't have the threaded \n holes in them, so I was going to drill holes and use a tap and die set \n to create a threaded hole. But again, I no longer need to do this. I can \n just use the rotor as is!\n

\n

\n Inspecting the caliper, although the outside was rusty, I could still \n slide the piston in to make room for the new pads. So I was happy, I \n didn't need to replace the calipers. I put everything back together and \n now I have shiny new front brakes with a new rotors and pads. Woo Hoo!\n

\n

\n What a huge difference now that I have new brakes all around. The pedal \n is super smooth. And I just need slight pressure on the brake pedal to \n slowly come to a stop. Nice! Also when I'm coming to stop, I quickly \n press the brake pedal hard and the car jerks to a stop. My braking \n problems and issues are now solved! Woo Hoo!\n

\n

\n SUMMARY\n

\n

\n After working on the front and rear brakes on the Maxima, I realize that \n there are some simple preventative maintenance things I should do to \n maintain the maximum performance on my brakes.\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Be wary of your brake pedal feel. As soon as you start to feel \n pulsating, you should jump on the problem and try and fix it right \n away. The problem will only get worse if you ignore it. (This advice \n is relevant in many of the things I do!)\n
    • \n
  • \n I need to regularly look at the calipers, pads, and rotors. It's \n quite easy to jack up the car and inspect the brakes. Only a few \n hours. Should schedule this once a year during the spring. The \n spring is a good time, because you can see if the harsh winter has \n caused anything to seize up.\n
    • \n
  • \n The rear brakes seem especially problematic. Inspect the caliper and \n turn the piston to make sure it is moving freely and not seized. \n Hopefully doing this regularly will prevent the piston from seizing. \n Also do this with the front caliper piston, although it doesn't seem \n to seize often.\n
    • \n
  • \n When taking the brake hose off the caliper, use a bolt and nut with \n some rubber washers to prevent brake fluid from leaking out. The \n Haynes manual suggests using a rubber stopper, but I couldn't find \n anything the right size.\n
    • \n
  • \n I should learn to bleed the brakes with my vacuum pump. This method \n should work quite effectively. I just need to buy new clear hoses of \n the right size to snugly fit over the bleed valve.\n
    • \n
  • \n I've never had to replace a brake hose, but should I learn how to do \n that too? At least inspect the brake hose to ensure there are no \n cracks in it.\n
    • \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1295, "title": "Camry rear brakes repair", "date": "2012-04-07 23:08:29.0", "content": "

\n Wow, as if I didn't have enough brake repairs working on the Maxima, I \n decided to look at the Camry rear brakes today. I took Thursday and \n Monday off so I had a super long Easter break weekend. Five days off! \n Yay! Anne was at work, so the garage was free. I went to Parts Source to \n get some new pads for the Camry. I also picked up my hood lifts and \n parking brake drum shoes. I started to work on the car Thursday after \n lunch around 1:00pm. I jacked up the rear and put the jack stands on the \n underside of the body under the doors.\n

\n

\n When I turned the rear wheels, I could see that they were still tight \n and hard to turn. The parking brake shoe must still be contacting the \n drum, causing the wheel to be slightly seized. I actually found if I \n tried to turn the rotor, I could barely do it. I needed the extra \n leverage of the huge tire.\n

\n

\n In retrospect, looking back at all the frustration working on the \n parking drum brakes, I really don't like working on these suckers. I \n think working on regular drum brakes would be easier, and probably OK, \n but the parking brakes are a pain in the butt! The hub totally gets in \n the way and it's so hard to put on the springs with this darn hub in \n front of everything. Anyways, here's the stuff I did!\n

\n

\n The rear caliper mounting bolts on the Camry are slightly different than \n the Maxima. There is a lower bolt which is 12mm. This bolt actually goes \n all the way through and screws into the torque member. On the Maxima, \n there is a threaded pin that slides inside the torque member, and the \n caliper mounting bolt just screws into the head of the pin. On the top, \n the caliper just slides off a pin that is bolted on. The head of this \n bolt is only 10mm. The bolt goes through the pin and threads into the \n torque member. You grease the body of this pin when you put the caliper \n back on.\n

\n

\n I hung up the caliper and started to work on the torque member bolts. \n These had a 14mm head and as usual were really tough to get out. To make \n it even harder, the top bolt had the nut on the strut partially in the \n way. This strut nut meant there was zero clearance on the socket when it \n was placed on this bolt. I also had to use a small extension so that I \n could put a ratchet head on. I was able to use my ratcheting breaker bar \n to get the right angle so I could apply pressure and break the bolt \n free. Luckily, I was able to do that.\n

\n

\n On the Left side, when I was trying to remove these bolts, I ended up \n rounding the bottom bolt head. It was my fault that happened, really. \n There was a bunch of rust and dirt on the bolt head and I took some if \n it off. However, I didn't take it all off. The result was that the \n socket was not fully seated on the bolt head. And when I applied a lot \n of pressure, it rounded off the bolt head. Doh! Another reason this \n occurred was I wasn't using the light. It was all shadows in there, and \n I really didn't see that there was still a bunch of gunk on the bolt \n head. I should have used a light right on that area so I could see what \n was going on. Next time I have to be much more careful.\n

\n

\n So back to the right side brakes. After removing the torque member, the \n rotor was still stuck. However, because of the parking drum brakes, I \n couldn't use my previous method. I had to use the bolts in the threaded \n holes of the rotor to push the rotor off. I probably shouldn't have done \n this, but I found that the long caliper mounting bolts were the correct \n size and thread to fit these threaded holes in the rotors. It took a \n while, but I was able to push the rotors off. I could hear the drum \n brakes creaking and scraping, and some springs falling off. I also saw \n that the brake shoes were stuck to the rotor and coming off with the \n rotor. Finally, I was able to break the rotor free and take it off the \n hub.\n

\n

\n Inside, the rotor was full of brake dust. Tons of it! I could also see \n that it was all rusty inside with the drum shoes. I tried to remember \n where the different pieces fit as I started to remove the various brake \n parts. I should sit down and draw a diagram of everything. I looked at \n the new parking brake drum brake hardware kit I bought and saw similar \n parts: springs, hold down washers, adjusters, and stuff. I was able to \n remove the shoe hold down springs, and return springs and remove the \n shoes. They were still connected together by the bottom spring. \n Everything was covered in rust and brake dust. I compared the shoes with \n the new ones I bought and they were the same. Good.\n

\n

\n I found that the parking brake lever connected to the back shoe was \n seized on the shoe. I could barely move the lever. I put some WD40 on \n the pivot point and slowly worked the lever free. I tried to remove the \n parking brake cable, but I just couldn't do it. Then I realized that I \n could just remove the parking brake lever from the shoe and then connect \n it to the new shoe. I removed the pinch washer from the top of the pivot \n point and slid the shoe off. I slid the lever onto the pivot point of \n the new brake shoe.\n

\n

\n I connected the other new brake shoe, with the bottom spring and the \n aduster. I flipped everything up and put it in place around the hub. Now \n came the hardest part: putting on the hold down springs with the lock \n washer on top. I didn't have the right tool, so I was using needlenosed \n pliers to do this and it was a total pain in the butt! I started to \n curse at times because I was so frustrated and angry at how hard this \n was. Eventually I was able to get this done.\n

\n

\n However, when I tried to put the rotor back on, it was super tight. I \n couldn't get the rotor on. Then I found my issue. I was using the old \n adjuster for some reason, and I realized that it was longer than the one \n I had in my new brake hardware kit! So I ended up having to take off the \n hold down spring again! Damn! I bit the bullet, removed the hold down \n spring and put in the new adjuster. Then I spent more time cursing \n trying to put the hold down spring on again. After doing this, the rotor \n slid easily onto the hub. Yay!\n

\n

\n I realized that I couldn't remove the rotor on the other side, because \n of my rounded bolt head. So I just put everything back together. Pads \n were still seized, but I was going to work on that after I finished the \n parking brake. I moved the car back onto the driveway and parked Anne's \n car in the garage.\n

\n

\n Day 2\n

\n

\n I continued to work on my car on Saturday. I bought some extractor \n sockets from Canadian Tire to remove the rounded bolt head. I actually \n bought two different sets. One socket set used a 3/8" drive and the \n other socket set had a hex head. I wanted to use my 1/2" breaker bar, so \n I ended up using the Mastercraft extractor sockets. I found the one for \n 14mm nuts. This socket had a hex head which fit a 22mm socket. So armed \n with my extractor socket I went to remove the dreaded rounded bolt head. \n I lightly tapped the socket onto the bolt head, and put the 22mm socket \n with breaker bar on. It was tight, but I was able to fairly easily free \n up the bolt. Yay! After taking the bolt off, I found I couldn't take the \n bolt out of the extractor socket. It was stuck! I ended up putting the \n bolt back onto the torque member. After tightening the bolt, when I \n applied a little pressure in the clockwise direction, the socket slipped \n right off. I was then able to loosen the bolt with a regular socket. I \n bought another bolt since the old one had a rounded head. It was a \n metric M10 bolt with a fine thread. However this new bolt had a 17mm \n head instead of the 14mm on the original. However this was OK since I \n there was enough space to use the bigger socket on the bottom bolt.\n

\n

\n This is an important tip when using these sockets. After breaking the \n bolt/nut free, tighten the bolt/nut in the clockwise direction to break \n the socket free from the nut. You can then use a regular socket to \n remove the bolt/nut.\n

\n

\n After that, everything was the same as the other side. I had bought some \n new bolts that fit the threaded holes in the rotor. The bolts were \n metric M8 with coarse thread and 70mm long. As I pushed the rotor off, \n the brake shoes were coming off with the rotor and I could hear the \n springs falling off. There seemed to be a lot more rust on this side. \n After removing the old shoes, springs, adjusters and stuff, I tried \n scraping all the rust off. I put in the new parts and started to \n assemble everything together. I did figure out one of the parts I missed \n on the other side. It's a washer that fits on the bottom of the hold \n down spring and has a little hook that fits in a hole in the brake shoe \n which holds the washer in place. I bought a brake shoe hold down spring \n tool which helped a lot! However, it still takes a lot of fiddling to \n get everything in place and push down the spring to lock it.\n

\n

\n I also found a helpful method when putting on the rear brake shoe. I \n used a small C-clamp to hold down the shoe while I put the hold down \n springs on. Also, the hole in the hub is off the center of the hold down \n spring so you have to stick the brake spring tool through the hole, get \n the washer in the tool (it will be at an angle because of the offset \n hole), and then you need to fiddle with the washer to get it centered in \n the brake spring tool. You can then bring the brake spring tool slowly \n over so that it is now centered over the hold down spring. I think I'm \n starting to get a handle on this. Hopefully these steps will go more \n smoothly!\n

\n

\n The last thing to put on are the return springs at the top. I saw a You \n Tube video that showed how to use another brake tool to put these \n springs on, but because the hub was in the way, I couldn't use this \n method. Instead, I found that using some needlenose locking pliers works \n well. I grab the spring with the locking pliers and then pull the spring \n hook over the post. Again it takes some "fanagaling", but it does work.\n

\n

\n After getting everything together, I found that the rotor was impossible \n to put on again! The problem on this side was that the parking brake \n lever was still pulled over. The springs on the parking brake cable were \n no longer pushing the lever back into the neutral position. So I took a \n screwdriver, placed it on the lever, and then lightly tapped on the top \n of the screwdriver handle to force the lever back in position. I tried \n to WD40 the spring and scrape off the rust, but it didn't help. \n Everytime I pulled on the parking brake, the lever would not return \n back. I'll need to get a new parking brake cable!\n

\n

\n Well, after all that, I still won't be able to get my parking brake to \n work. At least I don't have the rear wheel seized anymore. I looked at \n the parking brake cable and how it is routed under the body of the car. \n There is a cover where the cable goes into the passenger compartment in \n the center console. It'll be a pain to remove this cable and replace it. \n On the drum brake side, I could see two bolts that seem to be holding \n the parking brake cable. I'll have to do this after I get the new cables.\n

\n

\n I ended up removing the center push rod on the left rear brake cable. If \n someone pulls up the lever, the brakes won't engage at all. I should \n really do the same thing on the other side.\n

\n

\n I put everything back together and now both rear wheels move freely. I \n took a test drive and could feel the rust on the rear rotors cause the \n brake pedal to pulsate slightly. I drove around with my left foot on the \n brake to try and remove some that rust. When I got back to the driveway, \n I could smell the brakes. I could also feel the heat coming from the \n wheels when I put my hands close to them. Phew! I need to be careful \n when I do that sort of stuff. This was really hard on the brakes and \n really caused them to heat up. Need to be conscious of the effect on the \n brakes when I drive like that!\n

\n

\n All in all, not a bad couple of days work. I at least got my rear brakes \n to work again. I've also freed up the rear wheels so that they're not \n seized anymore. And now I understand how the parking drum brakes work \n and should be able to more easily change the parking brake cable. Two \n Thumbs up!\n

\n

\n Epilogue:\n

\n

\n I was thinking the other day, why did the rear parking brakes get so \n rusty? There must have been water trapped inside for a long time!?! \n Then I thought, perhaps the car went through a really deep puddle where \n the water level was as high as the rotors. I'm not sure why, but I \n vaguely remember doing something like that. When? Where? I'm not \n sure... But it does provide a possible explanation of why the parking \n brake mechanism got so rusted inside the rotor/drum.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1296, "title": "Auntie Belen wins Governor General's Caring Canadians Award!", "date": "2012-04-17 21:56:41.0", "content": "

\n Today was an amazing day! But this journey started yesterday when I \n picked up Auntie Belen and Earnest at the airport.\n

\n

\n Auntie Belen flew in from Vancouver last night. We had dinner with \n Auntie Belen, Earnest, and Raymond. Anne and the kids met us at Izakaya \n restaurant at Elgin and Waverly. This is an Asian Fusion restaurant. \n Dishes were elegantly presented and vary tasty.\n

\n

\n Tuesday morning, I told them that I would be at the Lord Elgin Hotel at \n 9:00am. It was already 8:40am when I left our house. 10 mins later than \n planned at 8:30am. As soon as I got to the Queensway, I knew I was in \n trouble... it was bumper to bumper traffic. My GPS, said the route was \n delayed and added 4mins, then later 7mins to the time. It said that I \n was going to arrive 9:01am, then 9:04am. Just after Maitland, the \n traffic started to speed up again. However, after I got off the exit \n ramp at Kent, the traffic was bumper to bumper again.\n

\n

\n I finally got to the hotel around 9:10am. I texted Earnest and then gave \n him a call. He said he was on the bus with his Mom and that Raymond and \n Jean should be in the lobby. Luckily, I was able to park in front of the \n Hotel, in one of the two parking spots there. I gave Raymond a call, and \n told him I was in the Lobby, and he said, ok, he could see me... And I \n could hear his voice faintly as well. When I looked up I could see he \n was at the other end of the hallway towards the Starbucks.\n

\n

\n We got into the car and left for the Governor General's place. I turned \n right on Elgin and then had to circle back. I got onto Wellington, and \n then turned left on Sussex. I followed Sussex all the way around to #1 \n Sussex. At first I was going to park on the side road like Anne and I \n discussed yesterday, but Jean and Raymond said we have an invite so we \n can go inside. So I backed up and got into the line of cars for the \n gate. There were 3 cars ahead of us.\n

\n

\n When we got to the guard, he asked us for our names and I said \n "Florendo". He flipped some pages and he said "Evelyn, Earnest, and \n Raymond", made some check marks, and waved us through! Woo Hoo, we're \n in! Up the long driveway, they were starting to park the cars on the \n other side of the road. The guard pointed to the spot in front of the \n currently parking car. I nodded my head, and went up the driveway \n further, where I made a U-turn and then parked. The guard waved \n indicating I could back up more, and then told me to stop.\n

\n

\n We walked up to the entrance. There were two guards in full uniform with \n the furry hats. I thought they were going to ask us to show our \n invitations, but nope. We just walked right in. I just keep being \n paranoid... Need to act more cool! :-)\n

\n

\n Inside, there was a crowd standing around in the lobby. There was a \n reception desk where they directed you to check-in, but I avoided that \n desk because I knew I wasn't on the official invite list. They opened up \n a small room next to the lobby and we went in and sat down on some \n couches. I took a few pictures of the room and then of Jean, Earnest, \n and Raymond. At around 10:00am, people started to line up for the other \n set of doors. The line slowly went through. I hung out at the back of \n the line, not knowing if I would be let in or not. As the line dwindled \n and I got closer to the front, I could see that there still a copy of \n rows empty. I smiled at the hostess as I walked by. I spotted the guys \n sitting on the second to last row, and went and sat right behind them. I \n was in!\n

\n

\n There was a band playing some very nice classical music. I only noticed \n it after I had sat down. I should have taken some video and pictures of \n them. I took some video of the room from my seat. Again, I should have \n gotten up and taken some nicer pictures. I was still trying to remain \n low key and not attract any attention to myself. The ceremony started \n right on time at 10:30am.\n

\n

\n The award recipients came in first. I saw auntie Belen. She was smiling \n and beaming! Then they announced His Excellency Governor General David \n Johnstone and his wife. There was a bit of a pause, but then they came \n in.\n

\n

\n The Governor General gave an opening speech. It talked about the history \n of volunteerism and the many organizations in Canada and how they got \n started by specific individuals or groups. Next the wife of the late \n Romeo Leblanc gave a nice short speech. Next the announcer for \n describing all the award recipients. His voice was loud and clear. It \n sounded so good. His French also sounded so perfect.\n

\n

\n When Auntie Belen went up, I could barely see her head. It was at the \n same lever as the people in the front sitting down.\n

\n

\n After the ceremony, there was a reception in another hall. This was a \n neatly decorated room. It looked like the inside of a tent. The fabric \n was bright red/pink stripes. The food was really good.\n

\n

\n Auntie Belen kept trying to get us to go and take pictures with the \n Governor General, but her kids kept saying we will. He's probably busy \n right now.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1297, "title": "Noisy trip back from Toronto", "date": "2012-05-14 20:36:06.0", "content": "

\n Elizabeth had a dance tournament in Toronto/Markham this past weekend. \n It was a fun trip. We left Thursday night, with Anne, Elizabeth, and I \n in the car. Joseph was already in Toronto on a Physics school trip. I \n picked him up at Wonderland on Friday afternoon. I took my usual route \n Highway 416 to the 401 and the traffic wasn't too bad. I wanted to drive \n nice and easy, and most of the time I was driving at 117kph on my \n speedometer (112kph on my GPS). However at times, I did speed up to \n 125-130kph when I went in the left lane to pass trucks.\n

\n

\n When we got to Toronto, I noticed that my engine was louder. I must have \n put a hole in my exhaust somewhere. So now I was driving around in a \n loud car. I hate that... The sound was like those souped up cars or cars \n with the free-flow mufflers. It was annoying, but not too bad.\n

\n

\n However, on the way home it got worse. Much, much, worse. It happened \n when we were on highway 404 just getting to the Don Valley Parkway and \n the 401. The hole in my exhaust must have gotten bigger, because the \n sound was now really loud. Whenever I tried to accelerate, the car would \n vibrate, and the exhaust noise got really, really loud! Later, Anne was \n saying she was afraid we were going to have ringing in our ears from the \n loud sounds on the drive all the way back home.\n

\n

\n The next day I phoned Doug's Automotive and he was able to take the car. \n He had to replace the front exhaust assembly which has two catalytic \n converters. He said it costs over $900! Yikes! However, this part was \n under a 5 year warranty, and I had it fixed in Sept 2007. I just made it \n under the wire. It was a good thing that the exhaust blew at this time! \n Saved myself some big bucks! I looked on Rock Auto and the price for \n this part was around $500, so it is a pretty expensive part.\n

\n

\n So now everything is fixed, and my car is nice and quiet again. Yay! \n And what an adventurous noisy trip to Toronto.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1298, "title": "Lawnmower died...", "date": "2012-05-16 21:21:40.0", "content": "

\n My grass is really long right now and cutting the grass is overdue. \n Yesterday, I started to mow the backyard, but near the end the lawnmower \n sputtered and then wouldn't run anymore. While mowing the backyard, \n there were instances where the engine ran rough and it looked like it \n was going to stall, but then it would go back to normal and run fine. \n During one of these episodes it actually just died.\n

\n

\n At first I thought it was because the lawnmower was low on oil. I \n remember being at Andrea's cottage when she was mowing the lawn, and her \n mower kept dying. When she asked Brendan about it, he said check the \n oil. Sure enough it was low on oil. So I filled up the oil, but \n unfortunately no dice. The mower would start, but then die right away. I \n inspected the air filter, and it looked fine. I took out the spark plug \n and it looked fine. So now I had to go do some research.\n

\n

\n I did a search on google and found some youtube videos about overhauling \n your lawnmower carburetor. I also found a web site that had a \n technicians manual on the Tecumseh small engine.\n

\n

\n http://www.scribd.com/masterviking/d/26830208-Tecumseh-Service-Manual\n

\n

\n I tried to download and save it, but I needed to register on the \n website. I looked through here to try and understand the different parts \n of the carburetor and how to take it apart. Page 14 had a table on \n Carburetion troubleshooting. There was a column for "will not idle" and \n one of the causes was "Idle Port Restricted". I'm not sure why I zeroed \n in on this cause, but I thought that this might be the cause.\n

\n
\n Fuel Bowl Retaining Nut: The retaining nut contains the transfer passage \n or metering jet through which fuel is delivered to the high speed and \n idle circuit of the carburetor. If a problem occurs with the idle \n circuit, examine the small fuel passage in the annular groove in the \n retaining (metering) nut. This passage mustbe clean for the proper \n transfer of fuel into the idle metering circuit.\n
\n

\n So, tonight after getting home from work, I brought the lawn mower to \n the garage. I tried to suction out the gas as much as I could. I decided \n to look see if I could remove the fuel bowl nut without removing the \n carburetor from the engine. I was able to use a wrench to remove the \n bowl nut. There was just enough clearance to access the bowl nut under \n the carburetor. After loosening, fuel started leaking out, so I put some \n paper towels down. I loosened the nut the rest of the way by hand and \n took it off. A small plastic piece also came off. Oh, oh... I wasn't \n sure how this thing goes back into the carburetor.\n

\n

\n I examined the bowl nut, and lo and behold, there was a small rock, \n stuck in the fuel inlet port. Wow, this might be the problem. I stuck \n the plastic piece up in the hole and then screwed the bowl nut back on. \n At first it didn't go in, but eventually I got it started and tightened \n it all the way. I put gas back in and tried to start the lawnmower, but \n no luck. Anne called me in for dinner, so I took a short break.\n

\n

\n After dinner, I went back to work. I now decided I needed to totally \n remove the carburetor from the engine and examine it. I was a bit wary \n of doing this, but in the end, it really wasn't too bad. Here are the \n steps I did:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Remove the muffler. I thought I needed to do this to remove one of the \n bolts from the inlet pipe, but it really wasn't necessary.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Remove inlet pipe bolts. The top bolt was easy to remove. The bottom \n bolt doesn't have enough cleareance for a socket. I thought I needed \n to remove the muffler to get at it, but that doesn't help. I was going \n to use a wrench, but I noticed the bolt had a Philips head on it, and \n I was able to use a Philips screwdriver to remove it.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Remove air filter cover and air intake. The other end of the \n carburetor is connected to the air filter assembly. I used a small \n socket to remove these bolts. The back bolt is very hard to see and I \n had to feel around to get the socket on. After removing these bolts, \n you can actually remove the whole air filter assembly.\n
    4. \n
  4. \n With the air filter assembly removed, you can actually see the whole \n carburetor. At the back, there were still some connections to the \n engine.\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Remove the primer pump. I saw that the primer pump was just clipped in \n from the top. I popped it off and then pried the hose off the bottom \n of the primer pump. I removed a bracket so that which held the primer \n pump hose to the engine body.\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Remove links to the governor. First I removed the link which had a \n spring to the governor lever. The other link required more slack on \n the carburetor which was still being held by the fuel hose.\n
    7. \n
  7. \n Remove fuel hose. I tried to squeeze the hose clamp with some needle \n nose pliers, but the clamp just broke in half! I then slowly pried the \n fuel hose off with a flat blade screw driver. You can now remove the \n fuel tank by slowly pulling up on it. There are no screws or bolts. It \n is just friction fit with the plastic slots.\n
    8. \n
  8. \n The last link was to the governor lever and I was able to move the \n carburetor to remove this last link. The carburetor was now free!\n
    9. \n
\n

\n So now I had the carburetor freed from the engine. I removed the fuel \n bowl nut again. I slowly twisted the fuel bowl and removed it. I looked \n around for the small plastic piece, but I didn't see it. When I looked \n in the main hole, it looked empty, but when I looked closely I could see \n what could be a plastic piece. I had dreaded thoughts of putting the \n plastic piece in the wrong way and ruining the caburetor. I was very \n disappointed. At first I tried to remove the plastic piece with a \n needle, but all I did was spin it around and poke some holes in it. I \n then turned the carburetor upside down and then tapped it lightly, and \n guess what? It just dropped out. Yay!\n

\n

\n I looked at this plastic piece and tried to install it the other way \n from what I had done before. However the plastic piece didn't go down \n and there was no space to screw in the bowl nut bolt. I took it out and \n then put it back in with the narrow end first, and the larger end on \n top. I figured this must be the way it is supposed to go. So now I \n started to put everything back together. One tricky part is putting the \n fuel bowl on right. There is a dent on the top of the fuel bowl and this \n must be away from the hinged side of the float. Here's what was in the \n technicians manual:\n

\n
\n Install the float bowl by placing the detent portion opposite of the \n hinge pin. Make sure the deepest end of the bowl is opposite of the \n inlet needle. The bowl has a small dimple located in the deepest part. \n The purpose of this dimple is to minimize the chances of the float \n sticking to the bottomof the bowl caused by stale fuel.\n
\n

\n I put everything back together. I took some video and pictures with the \n Sony Video camera. I also cleaned up the outside of the engine since \n everything was apart. After I got everything together, I put more fuel \n in and tried to start the engine. I pushed the primer button a bunch of \n times and pulled the starter cord. I tried for about 5 minutes and could \n not get it started. I was starting to resign myself to the fact that the \n engine was now broken. I also noticed that the starter cord was starting \n to fray a bit near the top. However, I kept trying and one of the times \n the engine started! Woo Hoo! It's alive.\n

\n

\n I then started to mow the lawn. Everything seemed to be working OK, \n until I saw smoke coming from the muffler. I looked closely and saw oil \n was leaking. At first I thought it was because of an air connection I \n didn't make properly. I took off the air filter assembly and put it back \n making sure the back was connected to a hose that was there. I put \n everything together and started to mow again. After a few minutes, smoke \n starte to come out again. I looked at the engine again, and this time I \n saw that oil was coming out from the inlet pipe. Then I realized that \n the gasked was bad and this was causing a leak from the inlet pipe. I \n remember seeing that the gasket was ripped and only parts of it were on \n the flange on the inlet pipe. I tried to tighten the inlet pipe bolts \n and run the motor again, but it still leaked.\n

\n

\n So now I have to go get a new gasket. Although there's still one more \n thing to fix, I very happy that the lawnmower is now running. I've \n learned something new and can now take apart my lawnmower. I think I \n should be able to keep the lawnmower running for a long time. I can even \n take it apart to clean it. All in all a very successful repair job. Woo \n Hoo!\n

\n

\n Here's a good website that has the parts for my mower engine. The engine \n is a Tecumseh TVS115 57004C. There is a good picture with an exploded \n diagram of all the engine parts. Cool!\n

\n

\n http://www.partstree.com/parts/?lc=Tecumseh&mn=TVS115-57004c\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1299, "title": "Replaced carburetor gasket on lawn mower", "date": "2012-05-17 22:19:07.0", "content": "

\n I did a search on the internet and found a store which sold lawn mower \n parts. SOS Power Sales near Carling and Clyde had the gasket I needed, \n and I went down during lunch time to go buy it. The part was \n inexpensive, ~$5.00. But then again, it was just a piece of paper cut to \n the right shape...\n

\n

\n I had to scrape off the old gasket before I could install the new one. I \n used my small screw driver which was able to scrape off the old dried up \n paper. I had to be careful not to scratch the aluminum surface of the \n engine block. After I took off the old gasket, I installed the new one, \n and tightened everything up.\n

\n

\n I started the lawn mower and checked for leaks. Everything looked good! \n No leaks and the lawn mower seems to be running fine. Yee haw!\n

", "categories": "\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1300, "title": "New tires for Maxima", "date": "2012-08-11 21:55:56.0", "content": "

\n I finally got around to getting new tires for my Maxima. I had bought \n some winter tires from Costco last year, but my all-season tires I use \n in the summer need to be replaced. The treads are getting quite worn, \n and the tread isn't wearing evenly so the sides of the tread are very \n low. Also, the tire shakes which causes my steering wheel to wobble and \n shake quite a bit. Especially at highway speeds.\n

\n

\n I was going to get some Michelins from Costco again, but I missed the \n sale period. I saw Canadian Tire had a sale on the Motomaster AW Touring \n tire. I went on Saturday to buy them, but the auto salesperson said \n these weren't very good tires and sold me the Goodyear Allegra Touring \n Tire instead. He showed me they were $146 regular price and gave them to \n me for $110. They also added in a bunch of charges for Road Hazard and \n stuff like that. Total bill was over $650.\n

\n

\n I wanted to replace the tires before our trip to Waterloo for Joseph's \n Student Life orientation course. The tires are pretty good. The wobble \n in the steering wheel is gone, and the ride seems very smooth. Feels \n just like when I had the Michelin X Ice 2 winter tires on. So now the \n car drives quite nicely on the highway.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1301, "title": "12wk34.7 Bike", "date": "2012-08-26 23:44:37.0", "content": "

\n I've been doing bike rides once a week to the Gatineau hills. I've \n missed the past few weeks because we were on vacation, but I got into it \n again today. We got home on vacation last Wednesday, and I meant to go \n for a ride since then, but I kept giving excuses not to go. I even \n didn't go on Saturday. I kept sleeping late and putting it off. Finally, \n this Sunday, I went for a bike ride.\n

\n

\n I did my usual preparation the night before. It's becoming a good ritual \n now. I prepare my two water bottles of Gatorade and stick them in the \n freezer. I actually freeze both bottles now. By the time I want to sip \n from the bottles near the Island Park bridge, the gatorade has melted \n enough for me to get some sips. I also take out 4 granola bars. I get my \n heart rate monitor and Garmin GPS from the drawers downstairs and put \n them on the kitchen counter. I also get my helmet, gloves, and bike \n shoes and bring them to the mud room by the back door.\n

\n

\n I've been getting up at 5:00am and leaving the house at 5:30am on my \n bike rides to the Gatineau. I really like leaving early in the morning \n since there is no traffic. It is also cooler in the morning and I get \n back home in 4.5 hours around 10:00-10:30 before it gets really hot. At \n this time the temperature was around 16-17 degrees C. This is about the \n coldest it can be for me to just wear my bike jersey. If it is colder \n than that, then I need to wear my long-sleeve coolmax t-shirt.\n

\n

\n For the Pink Lake hill, I went up in 4th gear. For King Mountain hill, I \n went up in 3rd gear. I don't think I'm going any faster up the hill, but \n I believe I'm getting stronger using the higher gears. Although it's \n hard, the hills don't seem as daunting as when I first tried going up \n them many years ago. I'm getting to know the hills better too.\n

\n

\n I am now doing the ascent to Champlain Lookout twice. Once taking the \n Promenade de Champlain and the other taking the Promenade du Lac \n Fortune. On the way back from my second ascent, going back up the hills \n from Lac Meech and Chemin Kingsmere, my legs were really dead, and I was \n even getting cramps. I thought I would have to get off my bike and rest, \n but I was able to keep pedalling (as easy as I could) and keep on going \n without stopping. I eventually did make it up all the hills and back to \n the Gatineau Park entrance. I kept a really easy pedalling effort so \n that I wouldn't trigger another thigh cramp!\n

\n

\n I saw lots of people on the ride this morning. Way more than compared \n to Saturday morning. I also rode on the Parkway, since it is closed to \n cars on Sunday morning.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1302, "title": "12wk35.6 Bike", "date": "2012-09-01 22:20:50.0", "content": "

\n Went on my usual Saturday bike ride to the Gatineau hills. Unique part \n of this ride was that I was able to go up Pink Lake hill in 5th gear. I \n think this was the first time ever! I was pedalling really slow, since \n the gear was so high, but I did make it up the hill! Also, I rode up \n King Mountain Hill in 4th gear. I did this last year too, but this is \n the first time I've done it this year.\n

\n

\n It would be interesting to go back down to 1st gear and go up the hill. \n I wonder if I would be able to pedal faster and go up the hill faster.\n

\n

\n Going up the hill on Promenade du Lac Fortune, my legs were really tired \n again. I decided to take Promenade de Champlain back on the descent \n instead of re-tracing my route on Promenade du Lac Fortune. This saves \n about 5km and I wouldn't have to go back up the hill. This is where I \n got cramps last week when I rode that route.\n

\n

\n I didn't see as many riders as I saw last week. I think there are many \n more people riding on Sunday morning compared to Saturday morning. I did \n see a deer and fawn. Tried to slow down and take a picture or video, but \n the deer got startled when I turned on my Jazz camera and it makes the \n "brriinngg" start up noise.\n

\n

\n On the parkway recreation path, I passed a biker and then had to push \n myself to keep up my speed. The biker wasn't going too fast, so it was \n easy to catch up to him and then pass him. But I wanted to keep up a \n good pace, so I pushed myself and got the heart rate higher too.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1303, "title": "Car shopping", "date": "2012-09-08 21:39:39.0", "content": "

\n I've been noticing a gear rattling noise from the transmission for a \n while now. Now that Joseph is at the University of Waterloo, I expect to \n do a lot more driving to visit him and moving him back and forth after \n each term. I brought the car in to the Doug's to get the noise \n inspected. He told me that the noise was coming from the transmission \n and was just due to age. He didn't recommend replacing the transmission \n due to the age of the vehicle. It's $2000 just for a used transmission \n and it might be hard to get.\n

\n

\n So that prompted me to start looking at replacing the Maxima. I have \n been monitoring the Autotrader.ca website for 4 door sedans with manual \n transmission. I've been looking mostly at Accords, Mazda 6's, and \n Altimas. Ideally I'd like to spend $11,000-$12,000 before taxes. There \n were a few Accords that were available, but then sold. In the past few \n weeks, there were a lot of Mazda 6's available. This week I saw a 2010 \n Mazda 6 that only had 17,000km on it!\n

\n

\n I decided to go on Saturday to go look at cars. I first went to the Car \n Club on Moodie to look at a 2008 Accord, but it was no longer available. \n I then went to Luxury Motors near Innes road. I talked to Elie a \n salesman there. I went for a test drive. However the weather was really \n crappy. It was pouring rain and I could barely see the road. Not very \n conducive for a test drive, since I couldn't hear the car at all, and \n difficult to drive and test the different parts of the car (steering, \n brakes, suspension, steering...).\n

\n

\n After the test drive I talked more with Elie. I asked abou the price and \n he said it was already pretty low. He said he could go down to $14,700 \n (original price was $14,900). With taxes, it would be around $17,000. \n After I got home, I did the calculations and it was less than this. I \n found out later that they charge an Admin fee of $400!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1304, "title": "Car Shopping", "date": "2012-09-08 21:58:22.0", "content": "

\n I've been looking at cars on the autotrader website the past couple of \n weeks. The models I've been looking at are Honda Accord, Mazda 6, Toyota \n Camry, and Acura TSX or TL. I also looked at Ford Fusion, Subaru Legacy, \n and others. On our trip to Waterloo my transmission was making a \n rattling sound. It has been doing this for a while. I brought it into \n Doug's Auto and he told me that the transmission is starting to go. I \n asked how long I have, and he said he couldn't tell me. It could last \n for a long time before it fails...\n

\n

\n So that gave me the excuse to start looking for a new car! In \n autotrader, I found a Honda Accord at the My Car dealer in Bells \n Corners, and a Mazda 6 at Luxury Motors in the east end. On Saturday, I \n went shopping for cars. It was raining, so it wasn't a great day for \n test driving cars. I went to the My Car dealer in Bells Corners, but the \n car was already sold. I drove out to the east end. It was pretty easy to \n get there. Take the Queensway 417 and exit at Innes road. Then take Star \n Top road to Cyrville road.\n

\n

\n The Mazda 6 was basically brand new. It only had 17,000 km on it! I \n took a test drive, but it was pouring rain so the conditions weren't \n great. I couldn't hear anything and had to drive carefully so I \n couldn't push the car at all. Still the car drove fine and I really \n liked it.\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1305, "title": "Bought new car - Mazda 6!", "date": "2012-09-12 22:42:26.0", "content": "

\n Well, I talked to Anne about it over the weekend and she was OK with the \n idea to buy the new car. I went back to the Luxury Imports dealer on \n Monday just before lunch. I took another quick test drive and this time \n we went on the highway. We drove south down the 417 for about 10km. Then \n we got off and then back on the highway heading back north.\n

\n

\n Back at the dealer, I talked to the salesperson. He said this was a good \n deal. Only 17,000km. And he could bring the price down to $14,700 from \n $14,900. There is also a $400 dealers fee. Total is $14,700 + $1911 + \n $400 fee. Elie, the salesperson, also showed me the Car History Report. \n The previous owner was from Pembroke. The car had not been in any \n accidents.\n

\n

\n I ended putting down a $500 deposit using my Visa credit card. So I'm \n buying a new car! Woo Hoo!\n

\n

\n We went back on Wednesday to pick up the car. Anne and Elizabeth came \n with me. It was a nice sunny day. Anne and Elizabeth checked out the car \n as I filled in the paperwork with Elie. I had to pay for the license and \n registration and give him the certified cheque. Elizabeth rode home with \n me in the new Mazda 6. I was going to stop and fill up gas, but the \n dealer had put some more gas in (I noticed on my test drive that the gas \n tank was almost empty). I think it was after 3:30pm when we were driving \n home so the Queensway was stop and go by that time. But it was a good \n ride in our new car!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1306, "title": "Elizabeth's parent teacher interviews", "date": "2012-10-18 21:46:23.0", "content": "

\n Anne and I went to St. Paul high school this afternoon for the \n parent-teacher interviews. We met with Ms Dillon, the English teacher, \n and Ms Andeolleti the Religion teacher(?). Elizabeth is doing well in \n school. The teachers really enjoy having her in their classes. She is \n hard working and restpectfull. What a fine person she is!\n

\n

\n They also say Lizzie is shy and quiet in class. This is something I'd \n like to help her work on. I talked to her before about putting up her \n hand in class and trying to answer questions. I want her to develop her \n confidence.\n

\n

\n We saw Mr. Thomas in the hallway as we were leaving. Lizzie was with us \n now, since her volleyball tryout was over. Mr Thomas asked about Joseph \n and we replied that he was doing fine and adjusting well to university \n life. Mr Thomas also asked what our "secret" was to raising such great \n kids. Wow, that was a nice comment. I mentioned that Anne staying at \n home was a big factor.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1307, "title": "Ottawa Ski Show", "date": "2012-10-20 22:19:17.0", "content": "

\n We went to the Ottawa Ski show at the CE convention center this morning. \n This is the first time that we've attended the ski show at the CE \n center. It is a nice new building. There was one room being used for the \n display floor and it was about the same size as the display floor when \n the show was at Lansdowne. We got there just after the show opened \n around 10:15am. It was already pretty busy by then. We had to leave \n before noon, so that we would be back home by 12:00pm, since Lizzie had \n a friend coming over to work on a school project.\n

\n

\n Last season I lost my goggles at the main cabin when Elizabeth and I \n were skiing at Mont Cascade. I thought the goggles were perched at the \n top of my helmet but they had fallen off as I was walking to the exit \n with Elizabeth. When I went back to look for them they were nowhere to \n be found. Someone obviously saw them fall off my helmet and then took \n them. Damn!\n

\n

\n So I was shopping for a new set of goggles. I really liked the Smith \n pair of goggles I lost. The foam on them was comfortable and they \n didn't fog up. I was able to find another pair of Smith goggles in the \n Kundstadt area. They were $120 on sale for 40% off. Still they were \n over $80 with taxes. This is the most expensive pair of goggles that I \n have bought! I found another decent pair for only $20 at the Tommy and \n Lefevre area and bought them too! So now I have two pairs of goggles...\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1308, "title": "12wk42.6 Long Run", "date": "2012-10-20 23:07:07.0", "content": "

\n I haven't been running too regularly, but I do want to keep running even \n through the winter. I want to be at a much better fitness level when I \n start my marathon training for next year. I keep having a target of 4 \n hours for the marathon, and the only way I'm going to hit that goal is \n if I train for a much longer period. I don't want to push myself too \n hard and get injured. I want to slowly get to the fitness level needed \n to run a 4 hour marathon, and that just takes time. I need to keep \n running and get to that fitness level slowly!\n

\n

\n I did my usual long run down the Ottawa River Parkway out towards Island \n Park bridge. It was a really nice sunny day, around 14 C. I ran with \n just a long sleeved cool max and shorts. It ended up I ran with the \n wind on the way out, and then against the wind on the way back. The \n wind made me cold, but otherwise I was dressed right for this run.\n

\n

\n I had a quick pace at the beginning of the run, around 6:30 mins/km and \n then settled down at around 7:00mins/km. I was able to keep that steady \n pace until the 18-19km mark where I started to slow down considerably. I \n really hit the wall around Brittania Park and Andrew Haydon Park. My \n legs were dead and I started to take long walking breaks. I had only \n brought one Gatorade bottle with me. I remember hitting the wall during \n marathon training this year and I started to bring two water bottles \n with me. I'll have to start thinking of doing that for my next run.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1309, "title": "12wk43.6 Long Run", "date": "2012-10-27 22:27:51.0", "content": "

\n Ok, long run two weeks in a row. Woo Hoo! I'm not biking anymore, so I \n need to keep up with my long runs. I ran about 22km last week and my \n plan this week was to run all the way to Island Park bridge. This would \n make my run over 24km. I made 2 batches of Gatorade for a total of \n 1000ml. I filled up my usual Gatorade bottle and then 1/2 filled another \n smaller Gatorade bottle. This smaller bottle I was going to throw away \n during my run. I also brought 4 granola bars.\n

\n

\n I had a steady pace around 7:00-7:10 mins/km for most of the run. Near \n the end, I slowed down quite a bit again, but not as bad as last week. I \n used my standard carb re-load strategy of drinking 3 sips of gatorade \n every 3km, and eating a granola bar every 6km. I ended up only eating 2 \n granola bars. I finished the half filled gatorade bottle around the 10km \n mark and threw away the bottle at a garbage bin there.\n

\n

\n I felt slower during this run. My heart rate seemed high around 145bpm \n even at the relatively easy pace of 7:00mins/km. However, I didn't feel \n out of breath or feel like I was exerting myself too much. It was just \n my heart rate seemed high. I was thinking of what I had read previously \n where there are parts of the body that respond the quickest and improve \n the quickest when exercising. These body systems are also the fastest to \n lose that gain. Perhaps the heartrate is a body system that I lost my \n fitness gains the quickest.\n

\n

\n Near the end of my run, my legs were pretty dead as usual. They felt \n sore and were starting to burn, like when I have too much lactic acid \n built up in the muscles. I tried to keep up my pace, but just couldn't \n because of the light burning pain and having no energy left in the legs. \n As tired as I was today, I still think I felt better overall than I did \n on my run last week. It's obvious that I felt much better at the same \n distance as last week. Where I was dead at 18-19km last week, it was \n more like 21km this week. My total run was 24.7km, with an average pace \n of 7:05 mins/km, and an average heart rate of 144bpm. Need to keep on \n improving!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1310, "title": "Interesting Video and Audio tasks", "date": "2012-10-28 22:52:33.0", "content": "

\n Elizabeth had video recorded her solo workshop and Anne was asking if I \n could get the audio from it. They are going to work on the solo routine \n at Dance today, but they didn't have the music. I didn't know how to do \n this, but I did my trusty google search and found the info. You can \n actually use VLC to extract the audio. There is a "convert/save as" \n option. Here you can specify how you want to save the audio file.\n

\n

\n After I did this, I wanted to be able to play the video file on Lizzie's \n computer. Right now the Sony video camera has an H.264 encoding which \n Lizzie's laptop can't play. The video is frozen, but you can hear the \n audio. I believe this happens because the laptop processor is not fast \n enough to decode the HD video. I thought that I could convert this to an \n "avi" file that could be played on the laptop. VLC also has an option to \n transcode to different audio/video encodings, but I couldn't get this to \n work at all. VLC just kept crashing.\n

\n

\n I did a search and found an application called Mediaconverter by \n Arcsoft. I found a torrent and was able to download the application and \n install it on the PC. This utility has an option to convert to a format \n that can be played on the iPad. That's cool! However, couldn't get it to \n work. It would do the conversion and produce a file, but the file \n couldn't be played at all.\n

\n

\n It took me a while to figure out how to sync with the iPad to get the \n file down there, but I couldn't get it to work. iTunes did not recognize \n my converted file as a valid file. I tried it several times, and even \n tried an iTouch output format with no luck. Finally, I tried it with HW \n acceleration OFF and it worked! I was able to play the file on VLC and \n then sync up with the iPad and play it on the iPad. Neat! So now I've \n learned how to get stuff onto the iPad.\n

\n

\n I also downoaded an HD video of Psy Gangnam Style from YouTube and \n converted it to iPad format. I added the file to the iTunes library and \n then sync'd up the iPad. The file shows up in the movies section on the \n iPad. If you select Get Info, there is a field that lets you select what \n type of video file this is. I changed it from Movie to Music Video, and \n now the file shows up when you select Music Videos (there is a tab up at \n the top that lets you select Movies or Music Video). More cool stuff I \n can get on the iPad!\n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1311, "title": "Ebooks on the iPad", "date": "2012-10-28 23:05:03.0", "content": "

\n Continuing with the iPad theme, I started looking at how to get eBooks \n on the iPad. I have tons of eBooks downloaded from torrents and I wanted \n to get them on the iPad. Most eBooks I have are in PDF format, and it \n took me a while to figure out how to add them.\n

\n

\n First you needed to add the books ot the iTunes library. Then you sync \n the iPad. However, when I open the Books application, I couldn't see the \n books on the bookshelf. After searching on the web, I read that there is \n a separate bookshelf for PDF files. You have to choose the option to \n view PDF in order to see the PDF books. You can also swipe the bookshelf \n to move between the PDF and eBooks.\n

\n

\n After this, I could see all the PDF books I added to the bookshelf. \n Cool!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1312, "title": "The Future of Learning - Michel Thomas method", "date": "2012-11-02 22:12:41.0", "content": "

\n I started reading an eBook called The Future of Learning - Michel Thomas \n method. I actually quite enjoy reading an eBook on the iPad. The font \n size is large enough that you don't feel like the type is too small, and \n you can adjust the brightness so that it is comfortable to read no \n matter what the room lighting is like.\n

\n

\n The beginning of the book is like propaganda where they criticize the \n existing school system as a "Mind Prison" where kids are forced to \n attend these institutions and they don't actually learn. Topics are \n only covered at a surface level and the focus is on rote memorization \n with no deep understanding of the topic.\n

\n

\n Once you get past this and start reading about the actual method and how \n language instruction is taught, the book starts to get interesting. \n There are some pretty novel ideas.\n

\n
    \n
  • \n Eliminate tension in the learner\n
    • \n
  • \n Don't try to remember\n
    • \n
  • \n Responsibility for learning is on the teacher. If the student doesn't \n remember, then it's the teacher's fault\n
    • \n
  • \n Teacher has to guide the student to think through and get the correct \n answer\n
    • \n
  • \n Teacher doesn't correct the student. Student corrects themselves by \n having teacher guide them\n
    • \n
  • \n No writing things down. No homework. No trying to remember.\n
    • \n
\n

\n Some of these ideas or so radically different than what you would \n normally associate with learning in a normal school classroom. I think \n the don't try to remember part is saying that you should constantly \n focus on the teacher and what he or she is saying. As soon as you try to \n remember, then you are focussing on your own thoughts and being \n distracted from what the teacher is saying.\n

\n

\n I want to review all these ideas and see how they can be applied to my \n learning.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1313, "title": "Trip to Waterloo in new Mazda 6", "date": "2012-11-04 21:38:23.0", "content": "

\n Anne and I took a weekend trip to Waterloo to visit Joseph. Elizabeth \n did not want to miss her dance classes, so she stayed in Ottawa. This \n was our first trip in the new Mazda. It was a very comfortable drive. \n Nice and quiet and smooth.\n

\n

\n We left from Ottawa around 4:00pm. I worked from home on Friday, so I \n was already home when Anne arrived from work. Anne made sandwiches for \n us to have in the car. Yummy! The day was overcast and the roads were \n clear. It rained when we were near Toronto, but only for a short period. \n I took my usual route of Hwy 416 to the 401. We also took Hwy 407 to \n bypass the traffic in Toronto. The traffic was fairly light all the way \n through the trip.\n

\n

\n The Mazda 6 is very smooth on the highway. It's acceleration is OK. Not \n fast, but enough that I can accelerate and pass trucks and slower \n traffic fairly easily. The engine revs fairly high at 120kph, even in \n 6th gear. I think 6th gear on the Mazda is equivalent to 5th gear on the \n Maxima. The interior noise is also pretty low. After we arrived at our \n Comfort Inn hotel in Cambridge, I felt pretty good. I didn't have a \n headache, which I sometimes get. I wasn't fresh, but I wasn't overly \n exhausted either. I am attributing how good I felt to the Mazda's low \n interior noise and smooth, easy driving. The trip is about 540km one \n way, so I put on over 1000kms on the Mazda over the weekend.\n

\n

\n I was using the cruise control, and it took me while to get used to \n where the buttons are. There was a switch to turn set your cruise speed, \n and then another switch to increase or decrease your cruise speed. I was \n also fooling around with the info display. Here I can display my current \n fuel consumption, average fuel consumption, average speed, and distance \n remaining on the tank of gas. I was trying to see what my highway fuel \n mileage would be. I think it ended up being around 8L/100km. This ends \n up being 29 mpg. I was surprised that it was this low. I think this is \n the mileage I get from my Maxima! Here's a cool link for converting gas \n mileage to various units.\n

\n

\n http://www.1728.org/convmlge.htm \n

\n

\n It was a nice visit with Joseph. It was really good to see him. We went \n to his dorm room on Friday night. We parked at the meter parking for an \n hour (cost $2), and hung around his room for that time. We gave him the \n stuff we brought for him. This included a winter jacket, wall clock with \n outdoor temperature sensor, and some banana bread that Lizzie baked! On \n Saturday morning we picked Joseph at at 12:00pm. He wasn't out front, \n and it took a while before he came out. I tried knocking on his window. \n At first, I wasn't sure which window was his, but I saw the wire from \n the temperature sensor that Joseph had placed on the window sill on \n Friday night. Lucky I remembered that! But still, no answer from Joseph.\n

\n

\n I walked back to the car, and shortly after that Joseph came out. We \n went to a nearby mall to have lunch. There was a Country Style Donuts \n restaurant where we had lunch. After lunch we went shopping at Conestega \n Mall. This is a huge mall, about 10 mins from Waterloo, on King St. \n Joseph said he has heard a lot of people talk about going to this mall, \n and now he knows where it is and has been there. Joseph bought a pair of \n jeans at the Wal-Mart. He got a size 32 waist/32 inseam, although we \n tried to find a 32/34 size, but couldn't find one.\n

\n

\n After the mall, we dropped off a package for Shayna. Joseph texted her, \n and we met her in front of her building EBY Hall. Joseph chatted with \n her for a bit. We invited her to join us for dinner and she accepted. We \n went back to Joseph's dorm for the rest of the afternoon. I dropped Anne \n and Joseph off, and then went to park the car at Parking Lot X. This \n parking lot is on the other side of Columbia street near the athletic \n stadium, and is free on weekends. It is only a 5-10 minute walk back to \n Joseph's dorm.\n

\n

\n Joseph did some homework as Anne and I hung around his room. I lied down \n on his bed for a while and ended up falling asleep for a while! Anne \n said I was snoring. Doh! I need to get more sleep...\n

\n

\n We picked up Shayna at 5:45pm and went for dinner. We had planned to go \n to Kelsey's but we asked Shayna where she liked to eat. She recommended \n a Sushi restaurant called Ye's Sushi. We decided to eat there instead. \n It is very close to the Conestaga mall where we were this afternoon. It \n is an all you can eat buffet sushi restaurant. Shayna is a vegetarian so \n she picked her own items. I had lots to eat as usual. My favourites were \n spicy salmon sushi and the spicy dragon roll. We also had the gold \n dragon roll which was good. Shayna ordered Edamame (green bean) which we \n had when we went for sushi with Yvette and Chris in Houston. She also \n ordered a Deep Fried Dumpling. This has a cheese filling which is very \n tasty and soft, like a very soft cream cheese. We had an excellent \n dinner, and we thanked Shayna for recommending this restaurant. It was \n funny, because Joseph couldn't recommend a restaurant, since he hasn't \n eaten off campus at all!\n

\n

\n We dropped Joseph back at the Dorm and went back to our hotel. The hotel \n is ok, but I don't think we'll stay there again. The first room they \n gave us reeked of cigarette smoke. We ended up changing our room, and \n getting the one right next to it. It had a cigarette smell too, but it \n wasn't as bad. The breakfast was ok. I had a couple bowls of cereal, \n hard boiled egg, and a yogurt.\n

\n

\n On Sunday, we picked Joseph up at 11:30. We went to Rise and Shine \n Family Restaurant. It is a small neighbourhood restaurant that Anne \n found on-line. It was packed when we arrived, and we had to wait about \n 15 minutes to get seated. I had an omelette and it was pretty good. \n After breakfast, we went outlet shopping at the St Jacob's Outlet Mall. \n Anne and I went here the last time. It is a small mall, but it has a \n Levi's outlet. Joseph was able to find a pair of jeans in the 32/34 size \n that he wanted. We also went to get a strap for his watch, but the \n salesperson ended up just giving him the small loop that holds the strap \n end down. Bonus!\n

\n

\n We went back to the dorm, and hung around awhile before saying goodbye. \n We left waterloo just after 3:30pm. This was a good time, since we would \n get into Ottawa around 8:30. The drive back was smooth and quick. We \n took the 401 to 407, down Brock road to 401, and then 416 to home. We \n ended up getting home around 8:10pm, in time to watch the Amazing Race. \n A very nice (and quick!) weekend visit with Joseph!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n\n\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1314, "title": "Poster size photo enlargements", "date": "2013-01-11 21:29:34.308", "content": "

\n Staples had a 75% off super special on for Photo Poster size \n enlargements. 75% off!!! What a deal. I really wanted to enlarge some \n pictures to see if they would look good. I kept putting this off, until \n the last minute just before I had to leave on my trip to Sweden on Jan \n 4th.\n

\n

\n I ended up looking at previous pictures that I have enlarged to 8x10 and \n decided which ones would look good at poster size. I chose five pictures:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Vancouver downtown skyline from coal harbour - 24x36in\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Bruce pit at dawn, with moon and venus - 20x30in\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Red Maple Leaves, front yard - 18x24in\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Bee on flower - 18x24in\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Highway 416 with Green street lights and car light trails - 18x24in\n
    6. \n
\n

\n I used Photoshop to re-sample the image to 200dpi at the output size for \n the poster. I used the bi-cubic algorithm which it states is best for \n enlargements. I also used the unsharp mask to sharpen the images. I \n fooled around with a few settings, but I don't remember what I finally \n settled on...\n

\n

\n When I went to the Staples service desk to print the posters, they \n charged $5.99 sq ft. and then took 75% off. However, after I got the \n posters back, I noticed there were specific prices for the 24x36in, \n 20x30in, and 18x24in sizes and they were cheaper than the $5.99 sq ft. \n Oh well, I'll have to remember that for next time. I still got an \n awesome deal! It cost around $35.00 for the 5 poster prints I made!\n

\n

\n Anne picked up the posters, and I got to see them when I got back from \n my trip to Sweden. They turned out really well! I was especially \n impressed by the Vancouver skyline poster. It looks super sweet. When \n you look closely at the print from a few inches, you can see the "noise" \n in the picture, but when you step back and look at the picture, it looks \n super sharp and clear. The re-sample using Photoshop worked really well. \n When I told the Staples clerk that the pictures were at 200dpi, he said \n that it might be too low, but it turned out just fine. I might try \n 300dpi next time just to see if there is a discernible difference. \n However, you now have to be wary of the maximum file size...\n

\n

\n So now I know that my pictures can be enlarged to poster size and still \n look good. Now I just need to wait for another amazing sale and print \n off more!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1315, "title": "Poster photos framed and photos database", "date": "2013-01-12 22:51:05.0", "content": "

\n Back in early December, Michael's craft store had a super sale with many \n items 50% off. I had bought some poster frames for 24x36in posters. Now \n that I had some photos enlarged to 24x36in poster size, I have a frame \n that I can put them in! I put my Vancouver Coal Harbour photo in the \n frame and it looks great! I showed it to Anne and the kids and they \n thought it looked good. We were looking for a place to hang the photo \n and we decided to take the butterfly pictures down which were hanging in \n the entranceway, and replace it with the Vancouver skyline photo. Wow, \n it looks really good. I'm impressed!\n

\n

\n Now I know that my photos can be enlarged to poster size, I want to go \n through all my photos and pick out the best ones. I should use the star \n rating system in Lightroom to tag my best pictures. I also want to \n capture information on the pictures and the events and circumstances \n connected to each one. Capture the story behind the pictures.\n

\n

\n While looking through Paul's Data Files folder, I found that the \n Photography folder has some excel and word documents where I tried to \n capture info and technical data on the rolls of film that I had shot. \n This hasn't been updated since 2002 and the entries end at roll 74. I \n should really go back and try and enter the information for all the \n slide film I have shot.\n

\n

\n For the digital camera pics, a lot of the technical data is embedded in \n the digital image file, but I should capture the story behind these \n pictures. Need to go through my trip logs, journals, and other stuff to \n pull out this information. I can keep them in the same files.\n

\n

\n OK, now I have a purpose, let's go do it!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1316, "title": "Frost on inside of Windshield", "date": "2013-01-20 23:05:21.0", "content": "

\n On very cold, sunny days, I have suffered from Frost on the inside of \n the windshield on the Maxima. Now, I'm finding that my new Mazda 6 is \n doing the same thing. Ugh! Also, Joseph is driving the Maxima to his \n co-op job at RIM and this is happening to him now. Anne said that this \n is also happening on her Accord when she drives home from work at the \n Canadian Cancer Society. I need to find the cause of this and implement \n a solution.\n

\n

\n I did a search on google and found some good forum discussions on this. \n Basic cause is too much moisture inside the car. The biggest culprit are \n the damp car floor mats because of the snow that is tracked into the \n car. Anne and I brought in our car mats into the kitchen and let them \n dry out. I found out that Joseph doesn't even have driver side car mats. \n The carpet on the driver side was frozen solid!\n

\n

\n So, over the weekend, my project was to bring Joseph's car into the \n garage and then dry out his carpet. Luckily, it was a very warm weekend \n and the temperatures were above zero. When Anne drove Elizabeth to \n dance, I drove Joseph's Maxima into the garage. I felt the driver's side \n carpet and it was sopping wet! I was thinking of getting my small heater \n and then drying the carpet that way, but then I thought of my shop vac \n that can pick up water. I started using my small shop vac, but then went \n and got my large green shop vac. I tried vacuuming as much water as \n possible. I couldn't tell if it picked up much water, and carpet was \n still very wet.\n

\n

\n Next I brought in my small heater, put it on high, and then tilted it \n towards the carpet. After about 15-30mins, the carpet would start to \n feel dry. I would push the carpet down and water from the carpet padding \n would get the carpet wet again. I repeated this heating and vacuuming \n for several hours. Finally after 4-5 hours, the carpet started to feel \n dry again.\n

\n

\n Anne went out with the kids and also bought some rubber/vinyl car mats \n which were on sale at Canadian Tire. I bought one driver side winter \n car mat. Anne and Joseph bought the 4 piece all-season car mat set. We \n all placed them into our cars. Hopefully Monday we will see if this \n works. It is supposed to be a cold (-20 C), sunny day so the conditions \n are right to get frost on the inside of the windshield. I hope that we \n don't!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1317, "title": "Frost on inside of Windshield - Update", "date": "2013-01-21 21:46:43.0", "content": "

\n Success!\n

\n

\n All of us reported that our windshields were frost free when driving \n home from work today. Woo hoo! That means we're on the right track, \n since today was really cold and sunny. These are the ideal conditions \n for frost to form on the windshield.\n

\n

\n I actually did something different today. I parked in a closer row and \n faced in the other direction (south) than I normally do. I also went out \n after lunch and opened the car doors to let the warm (moist) air out and \n let in some cold air. This obviously helped my car prevent frost build \n up.\n

\n

\n However, it was really good to hear that Anne and Joseph were also \n successful in not having frost build up on their windshields. I was \n especially happy that Joseph's car was frost free. This was a chronic \n problem with the Maxima during the winter. I put up with this issue for \n so long, and now it seems to be fixed! Too bad I didn't try fixing this \n earlier. I always thought the problem was because the car was getting \n old, and there was water trapped in the heating box. In the forums that \n I read, they mentioned that there would be a "sweet" smell if there was \n anti-freeze leaking in the heater box. I definitely didn't smell this. \n But now I'm pretty sure that the cause of all these inside frosted \n windshields are the damp car mats.\n

\n

\n We'll keep monitoring this and hopefully it won't return.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1318, "title": "February 2013 ORE Meeting", "date": "2013-02-11 21:55:36.0", "content": "

\n Ok, it has been a long time since I've been to an ORE meeting. Looking \n back at my blog, the last entry I had from an ORE meeting was back in \n Feb 2011, two years ago! Yikes! I really need to get back into my \n robotics hobby. I've let it slide for way too long...\n

\n

\n I asked Joseph if he was interested in going to the ORE monthly meeting, \n and he said Yes! That's good. I really want to get him interested in \n this stuff and to learn more about the Electronics side of Electrical \n Engineering. I think he really enjoyed the meeting. He said it was like \n a Science Fair with guys just showing off their projects.\n

\n

\n Aaron brought in his 3D printer called PrintbotJr. Joseph listened to \n some of the details of the 3D printer. It costs $400 and uses a plastic \n roll which you can order from Montreal. There were some demo objects \n that Aaron was printing out.\n

\n

\n Mordechai brought in his Robomagellan Robot. It is using a Google \n Android Tablet computer as its main controller. There was other stuff he \n was showing off, but I didn't get the details.\n

\n

\n Geoff Hall brought in a Raspberry Pi and an STM32F4 discovery board with \n an ARM processor. He had a demo where if you lifted the board up, a \n female voice would say, "Please put me down." It was funny! \n Unfortunately one of his connectors had a broken wire so he wasn't able \n to program it. I think it was the Rasberry Pi.\n

\n

\n I brought in my vision detection demo. It's pretty old now, but people \n always find it interesting. It didn't take me long to get it working. I \n still had all the stuff together in a laptop bag and was able to get it \n working pretty quickly.\n

\n

\n Here's some tips to get this demo program working:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n I have to remember to start the Roborealm vision program first before \n I start my Robomagellan C# program.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n I have to open the serial COM port and make sure that the BAUD rate is \n correct.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n In roborealm, you need to change the video output of the webcam. For \n some reason the default is YUV and you need to change it to ???\n
    4. \n
  4. \n You might need to install the driver for the USB to Serial converter \n device.\n
    5. \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1319, "title": "April 2013 ORE Meeting", "date": "2013-04-08 22:17:35.0", "content": "

\n I attended the April meeting and demo'd the STM32 F3 Discovery boards \n that I ordered from Digi-Key. I really like these boards! I spent a lot \n of time trying to figure out the SDE for this ARM processor. I've got it \n working now, and I need to document my set-up.\n

\n

\n I took the STM32 F3 demo program and successfully compiled it in my SDE. \n Then I went and started changing the code to try and understand how to \n program the processor and sensors, and how the example demo program \n worked. I defined some outputs to move a servo. This took a while to get \n working, because I didn't program the alternate functions (AF) for the \n pins properly. I finally found where this was defined in the \n documentation and was able to do this correctly!\n

\n

\n After I was able to move a servo, I took a sample USB Serial Port code \n so that I could have a serial port to the F3 discovery board. Then I \n could send commands to the board and get it to move the servos. Cool! \n Finally, I was able to incorporate some vision tracking code in Python \n using SimpleCV and then send the serial commands to the F3 discovery \n board to move the servos and have the camera track an object.\n

\n

\n I had also brought in my balancing Sumobot. It wasn't balancing yet. \n Yagnish, who I met last month, said that the motors aren't good enough \n for a balancing bot. He thought that there was too much play in the \n gearbox. Yagnish is a contractor from India working at Ericsson and he \n works in Steve Legrow's department.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1320, "title": "May 2013 ORE Meeting - balancing bot demo!", "date": "2013-05-13 23:03:45.0", "content": "

\n I worked on my balancing robot. I actually built a whole new base! I \n thought that the motor drivers on the sumo balance bot weren't strong \n enough to handle the high currents of my upgraded sumobot motors. The \n motor driver chip was hot to the touch! I ended up using the L298 motor \n driver board that I had bought previously. The build went pretty well. I \n had also bought some new 2X25 connectors to build a shield for the STM32 \n F3 board. This worked well and the shield is one of the platforms of the \n robot.\n

\n

\n After I got a new base, I started working on the code. One of the \n biggest breakthroughs I got was when I got rid of the Kalman Filter code \n and started using the Complementary Filter! I saw that the robot \n behaviour was much better and I could see the robot actually try and \n balance. After that breakthrough, I was able to debug my code and \n incrementally make progress on the balancing algorithm.\n

\n

\n Here's a summary of the steps:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Find the balance point. Here I changed the balance point until the \n robot was falling equally in either direction. I started with a \n balance point where the robot alway fell in one direction. Then \n slowly increased it until the robot fell in the other direction. Then \n I knew a range where the balance point should be.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Increase the Proportion value for PID until the robot is balancing, \n but oscillating strongly.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Increase the Derivative portion to dampen the oscillation.\n
    4. \n
  4. \n I didn't fool around with the Integration portion. Would this help at \n all?\n
    5. \n
\n

\n After doing this, I had a balancing robot! Hooray!\n

\n

\n I actually put the same code into my sumo balancing robot and it \n balances too! Cool! At one point I brought up both robots to the \n dining room table and had both robots balancing at the same time. \n Really sweet. I took some pictures and video of this momentous \n occasion. One thing to note is that the robots balance much easier on a \n soft surface like a rug or padded dining room table. On a hard surface \n like a tile floor, the robot hunts much more to balance. On a soft \n surface it almost stands still while it balances.\n

\n

\n I brought my new balancing robot to the May ORE meeting. A lot of \n people were interested in it and seeing it action! I also brought in my \n vision tracking demo that runs on Python.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1321, "title": "2013 Ottawa Marathon", "date": "2013-05-26 22:52:54.0", "content": "

\n Well, I just ran the 2013 Ottawa Marathon. The good news is I finished; \n the bad news is I had my slowest time for all the marathons I have run \n thus far. However, I'm not going to be too hard on myself and too \n disappointed. One of the things I've definitely learned about this race \n distance is that your race is only as good as your training. And this \n year, my training has been very sparse! Actually I continued my once a \n week long run training regiment from last year, but the problem was I \n didn't get enough long runs in! I started late, and then I missed some \n crucial training runs due to sickness and travel. So in the end, I only \n had 8 long runs for a total of 243km. This is compared to last year 2012 \n where I had 11 long runs for a total of 309km.\n

\n

\n What this meant was that my pace was much slower this year. I had to \n keep this slow pace in order to have my heart rate low, 140-145bpm. But \n I was able to keep this pace almost through the entire race. I slowed \n down quite a bit the last 5 or so kilometers, but I never walked. Now if \n I want to run a faster race, then I need to have these long runs at a \n faster pace so that I will have the low heart rate at my desired racing \n pace. Like I said at the beginning, your race is only as good as your \n training! And you can't fake that. If you try to run at a faster pace \n with a faster heart rate than what you trained for, then you will \n suffer, and probably not finish!\n

\n

\n On the marathon morning, I did my usual preparation as in previous \n marathons.\n

\n
    \n
  • \n 4:05 am - Alarm went off\n
    • \n
  • \n 4:10 - got up,\n
    • \n
  • \n 4:10-4:45 - ate breakfast,\n
    • \n
  • \n 4:45-5:15 - showered,\n
    • \n
  • \n 5:15-5:30 - got ready and put on my running gear,\n
    • \n
  • \n 5:30 - left for downtown.\n
    • \n
  • \n 5:45 - arrived downtown\n
    • \n
\n

\n When I got to my regular parking spot, there was only 1 free spot left! \n Boy was I lucky. I had to parallel park and it was a tight squeeze. I'll \n have to do a search for backup parking spots for next year. Seems like \n my favorite spot is becoming popular. I believe people are parking there \n overnight.\n

\n

\n I went to city hall and went to the bathroom. I walked back to my car \n and got in the backseat to rest and change. I started to walk to the \n start line around 7:15am. I positioned myself right at the back of the \n 4:00-4:30 corral. My pace was very easy from the start. I think I was \n running around 6:30mins/km. One mistake I made during this race was \n drinking too much at the early water stations. I was drinking two cups \n and this quickly made me feel bloated, 5 km into the race! The other \n problem was that I felt like I had to go pee... Yuck. I finally had to \n go by the bushes at around the 15km mark and then I had to go again a \n few kilometers later. More Yuck. Other than that, I went at a slow \n steady pace and felt pretty good most of the way. I also saw Cyndy \n during the race. We had a quick chat and then went ahead as I kept a \n faster pace than her.\n

\n

\n The other thing I did was to take salt packets through the whole race. \n This year I took 20 salt packets to ensure that I wouldn't run out like \n I had in previous years! I ended up taking ~9 salt packets. Only during \n the last 5 km did I ever feel like I was going to get cramps, so I think \n this strategy helps me.\n

\n

\n At the end of the race, my pace had slowed considerably. But I didn't \n walk except through the water stations. I can't drink and run at the \n same time, so really do need to walk through the water stations. I \n believe it is the long run training that helps me with being able to run \n the whole distance. I'm also keeping a fairly steady pace and I passed \n quite a few people during the second half of the race.\n

\n

\n After the race, I got my picture taken by one of the wandering \n photographers, and then walked through the recovery area. All the food \n was gone. There was a tent where they were giving out these chocolate \n protein shakes. They were yummy!\n

\n

\n I walked back to the car and drove home. I took a quick nap, showered, \n and then headed off to Lizzie's dance recital!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1322, "title": "13WK23.7 Gatineau bike ride - first of the season!", "date": "2013-06-09 22:54:24.0", "content": "

\n I had my first bike ride to the Gatineau hills this morning! I got up at \n 5:30am and was out the back door around 5:55am. I had prepared two \n waterbottles of Gatorade and 4 granola bars. I pumped up my tires to \n 110psi. I put my phone, credit card, and 20 dollar bill in my bike seat \n bag.\n

\n

\n I had run a fast 9km last night, so my legs didn't feel fresh. I tried \n to take it easy because of that. I went up Pink Lake hill in 2nd gear. I \n told myself I wasn't going to push it hard, but I was able to keep going \n up in 2nd gear. The last few hundred meters was really tough, but I was \n able to persevere. The rest of the hills I just went up at a pace that \n didn't cause my legs to cramp. The last part of King Mountain hill was \n also tough.\n

\n

\n On the descent, again I kept a decent pace that didn't cause my legs to \n burn. On the hill just past the Fortune Parkway turn-off, I kept pushing \n hard so that I could make it over the hill. I didn't quite make it to \n the top, but I was fairly close. There are also smaller hills that I \n tried to drive over. On the parkway I stayed on the bike path and still \n kept it easy. The last hill on Cedarview, I was able to go up in 4th \n gear.\n

\n

\n I ended up taking about 15-20mins longer on this ride than I usually do.\n

\n

\n Sunday Bike stats: distance: 73.82km, total time: 3:33:17, average \n speed: 20kmh, average heart rate: 128bpm.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1323, "title": "Fixing Mazda 6 Rear brakes", "date": "2013-11-16 22:44:08.0", "content": "

\n Wow, it has been over 5 months since I have put an entry in my blog. I \n started using OneNote to capture some information, so that could be part \n of the reason, but I really should continue to capture my activities and \n information in this blog.\n

\n

\n A couple of weeks back, I was changing from summer tires to winter tires \n on Joseph's Maxima and my Mazda 6. I had changed the tires on Anne's \n Accord the week before. When I took off the rear tires on my Mazda 6, I \n noticed that the left rear brake pads were totally worn. The inside \n brake pad was almost down to the bare metal. There was only a few \n millimeters of pad left! At that time, I told myself that I needed to \n change my brake pads. I also used my brakes sparingly over the next few \n weeks!\n

\n

\n I drove my car into the garage and jacked it up. It took a while, but I \n found some really good jack stand points on the side of the car, right \n below the rear doors. Most of the underside here is covered by plastic, \n but there is an indentation which I believe is used for a jack point. I \n put the jack stands there and it fit and worked perfectly! Only tricky \n part is that the wheels are only a few inches off the ground. Might \n need to use a higher setting on the jack stand, but this also means I \n need to jack up the car even higher to get the jack stands underneath.\n

\n

\n The caliper bolts and mounting bracket bolts had 14mm heads and were \n really easy to loosen and remove. This was compared to working on the \n other cars where I had to use a breaker bar to break these bolts loose. \n On the left rear brake, I used a lever bar and hammer to remove the \n pads. They were really seized on there. On the right side, I moved the \n pads slightly and then removed the caliper mounting bracket bolts. I \n could then slide out the caliper mounting bracket with the pads still \n on. Just need to move the pads enough so that they clear the disc rotor. \n This is way easier than trying to move the seized brake pads completely \n off the mounting bracket.\n

\n

\n I removed the brake pad shims and springs, and then filed down the \n mounting bracket/torque member where the brake pad ears slide. I have \n done this several times before on my other cars and am becoming an \n expert at this now. I still remember a time when I used to hammer in the \n pads when replacing the brake pads. What a bad mistake that was! The \n pads were already seized when I installed the new pads! They were not \n sliding freely. Now I know much better and file down this area so that \n the pads slide easily.\n

\n

\n When I install the mounting bracket/torque member and then the pads, \n they slide right on. I used needlenose pliers to turn the caliper piston \n to push it into the caliper body. This is another area where I sometimes \n get stuck working on the brakes. A seized caliper piston usually means \n you have to replace the caliper. I should really maintain my brakes so \n that they don't get into such a sorry state!\n

\n

\n I installed the calipers back on, and then went to fix the right side \n rear brakes. This went smoothly as well. I took lots of video and \n pictures of the whole procedure. I looked at some of the previous videos \n I have taken on my car repairs and I really like that I have this \n archive. I sometimes forget the little hints and tricks I've come up \n with before to make the repairs a little easier.\n

\n

\n Another successful repair! I put the tires back on and torqued the bolts \n properly. Went for a little test drive and my job was done.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1324, "title": "Repaired Accord rear brakes, put on snow tires, and changed the oil", "date": "2013-10-19 22:19:13.0", "content": "

\n Anne informed me that her car was making noises, so I went out on a test \n drive with her. There was a scraping sound coming from the rear and I \n concluded that it was coming from worn brake pads. So today, I am going \n to replace her rear brake pads. I bought a full set of front and rear \n brake pads from Benson's auto in Bells Corners.\n

\n

\n I put Anne's Accord in the garage, loosened the lug nuts, jacked it up \n and put it on jack stands. I worked on the left rear brakes first. The \n outside of the rotor was starting to pit and rust. Not good! I removed \n the caliper and put it aside. I tried to remove the brake pads, but they \n didn't budge. I used a lever bar and hammer to remove the brake pads. It \n took a lot of hammering to get them out! They were stuck in there really \n good. I guess you can tell by the surface of the rotor, that there \n wasn't any pressure being applied on the rotor from the brake pad. I was \n finally able to remove the pads.\n

\n

\n I loosened the top mounting bracket bolt, but had a lot of difficulties \n with the bottom bolt. There isn't much space for the socket and ratchet \n bar, and I think things were not well aligned when I applied pressure to \n loosen the bolt. I think I ended up stripping the bolt as I started to \n loosen it. It was always tight and hard to turn, while on the other bolt \n I could loosen it by hand. I ended up not removing the mounting bracket \n and tightening the bolts back up.\n

\n

\n I still had to file down the surfaces on the mounting brackets so that \n the brake pads slide easily. I filed these surfaces down while this \n bracket was still mounted on the car. I put the brake springs back on \n and test fitted the pads and they slid easily. I put grease on the pads, \n slid them in place, and then put the caliper back on. I had to push the \n caliper piston in by turning it with the lever bar used like a large \n flat blade screwdriver. You also have to align the slot onthe caliper \n piston head with the pin on the back of the brake pad.\n

\n

\n After getting everything back together, I tightened everything up and I \n was done on this side. I repeated everything on the other side. Here I \n noticed that the emergency brake lever on the caliper was not working \n properly. When I pulled up the emergency brake handle from inside the \n car and then released it, the cable would remain tight at the caliper \n end. There is spring that is supposed to pull the cable back, but it \n seems too weak to pull it back. I think I need to replace the caliper \n with a new emergency brake lever. I'm not sure if I would be able to \n take this section apart and try to fix the spring strength.\n

\n

\n For now I left it like this. It means that the emergency brake will not \n work well and if used, the brake may remain engaged. Will have to put \n this on my list of car maintenance things to do.\n

\n

\n After fixing the rear brakes, I put on the snow tires instead of putting \n back on the summer tires. I then jacked up the front and put snow tires \n on the front. While I had the front jacked up, I also changed the oil. \n Wow, lots of maintenance done on the car!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1325, "title": "ORE OB1.4 3D Printer buildfest", "date": "2013-12-08 23:47:56.0", "content": "

\n I went over to Aaron's house to start the build of the ORE OB1.4 3D \n printer! He has been tweaking the parts and they are now all printed.\n

\n

\n During the day, I started to play around with the RAMPS and electronics. \n I built a power cable that would connect to the PC power supply. This \n way I can power the RAMPS board from the PC power supply. I found a \n RAMPS1.4 test program. I programmed the Arduino Mega and then connected \n the RAMPS board and PC power supply to it. I powered it up and connected \n a stepper motor to the Step Stick. However the motor just jittered and \n the Step Stick got really hot!\n

\n

\n I had previously found a Wiki page on the RAMPS board and read that the \n default setting for the Step Stick was 1/16 steps and all jumpers on. I \n started to remove the jumpers and when all jumpers were removed, the \n motor started to turn! However, the test program was supposed to turn \n the motor in one direction for 5 seconds, and then turn the motor in the \n other direction for 5 seconds. It seemed random on the motor direction. \n It would turn in one direction for 10-15 seconds, and then it would turn \n in the other direction. Sometimes you could feel the motor jitter and it \n would change direction. Sometimes it would jitter and keep going in the \n same direction. I ended up just leaving the board alone. I'll have to \n re-visit this later.\n

\n

\n I googled Aaron's address 107 Monty Dr in Constance Bay. It is 34km and \n a 30 minute drive. I had packed all my stuff into my large yellow \n toolbox. I brought my PC power supply, cut open beam, linear rod, \n threaded rod, electronics. and other miscellaneous parts. I left around \n 6:30pm so that I would get there for 7:00pm. It's quite a long drive to \n get there. When you turn off March Road onto Dunrobin Road, I think \n that I'm almost there, but there is still another 15kms to go! \n

\n

\n The build went pretty well. There were a couple of assemblies that were \n really hard to put together. We spent a long time trying to jiggle the \n parts into position. Aaron had his printer as a reference model. It's a \n good thing that he had this. It helped a lot. I also took some pictures \n as I went through the build. To put the pieces together, I first put a \n screw and washer through the hole in the assembly and then tightened a \n nut until the screw just peeks out by the nut. You then had to slide in \n the open beam with the nut fitting into the open beam channel. This was \n tricky if there were multiple nuts on different sides of the open beam \n that you were trying to fit through. We also had to drill the screw \n holes a little larger so the screw could spin freely. Here's a rough \n set of steps for the assembly.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Assemble the front railings. There are 2 - 330mm railings, one on top \n of the other. The linear rod would eventually fit in between these \n two railings. You first fit one corner and then you need to slide in \n the linear rod holder, stepper motor holder, and then another linear \n rod holder. This went fairly smoothly.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Assemble rear railings. This is the same as the front with 2 - 330mm \n railings, one on top of the other. The corner pieces here had an \n angle brace on the top connected to it.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Assemble the left and right side railings. You had to add the front \n first, then slide in the assembly to support the vertical railing, and \n then slide in the rear railing.\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Assemble the vertical railing and angled railing. This part took the \n longest time! The vertical railing piece was too tight and the screws \n and nuts were not sliding in. We took the piece out and filed the \n piece down. Aaron said that the corners were round and the open beam \n wasn't aligned with the holes. We filed these pieces so that the \n holes would line up. Even after doing this, it still took quite a bit \n of fiddling to get the open beam to slide in. We did the same thing \n with the other side, but I had a hard time getting it to fit. I tried \n a different method and separated the vertical piece holder. I was \n then able to lift up the piece for easier access and inspection, put \n my fingers in to line up the nuts, and then the beam finally slid in!\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Assemble the top horizontal railing. This also took a lot of time. The \n pieces that fit on the vertical railings were super tight. Aaron said \n he test fitted this with a spare open beam and it fit ok. Fairly snug, \n but it would slide in. On the vertical pieces that were on the 3D \n printer, it was super tight and would not slide in at all. We took \n these pieces off and filed them down. Aaron also measured the open \n beam with a digital caliper. The spare open beam that fit in was \n 14.6mm. The vertical pieces on the printer were 14.9mm. Wow, amazing \n that the 0.3mm would make such a big difference. After filing the \n pieces down, we eventually were able to get them on. It was around \n 11:00pm at this point.\n
    6. \n
  6. \n The basic structure of the printer is now assembled. Aaron asked how \n I was going to cut the linear rod, and I said I was planning to use a \n hack saw. He said this would take forever. The linear rod material \n is made of hardened steel. He said he used an angle grinder with a \n chop-off blade. The X-axis linear rod was 515mm, and I only had 500mm \n rod. Aaron traded me a couple of 600mm rod for 500mm rod. For the \n Y-axis and Z-axis, we measured against the frame and eye-balled the \n right lengths. We measured and marked the cut-off lengths of the \n various X, Y, and Z lengths, and then went into the garage to cut the \n rods. Aaron doesn't have a vice, he just clamped the rods to the \n table and then used the chop saw. It was pretty wild. Sparks flying \n everywhere, and Aaron wasn't even wearing any safety goggles. \n
    7. \n
\n

\n After cutting the linear rod, we decided to call it a night. It was \n 11:30 by then and we would get together again during the week. I left \n my toolbox and all my stuff in Aaron's basement. Tomorrow is the ORE \n monthly meeting, so maybe we can continue this on Tuesday night.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1326, "title": "ORE OB1.4 3D Printer buildfest, part 2", "date": "2013-12-10 23:27:29.0", "content": "

\n Monday night was the monthly ORE meeting, so we continued our 3D printer \n build on Tuesday night. Aaron had a sore throat so he missed the ORE \n meeting, but he said it was OK to continue the build tonight. I arrived \n at his house around 7:00pm. I took lots of pictures and video of the \n build so hopefully I can capture the build steps in reasonable detail.\n

\n

\n We started by aligning the frame. Here's the sequence of steps:\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Measured the front and back rails and made sure they were parallel. \n Tightened up the mounting bolts for those rails.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Measured the left and right side rails for parallel. Tightened up the \n mounting bolts for those rails.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Used a square to check the vertical rail and make sure it was vertical \n and at right angles to the side rail. Tightened up the mounting bolts \n for those rails.\n
    4. \n
\n

\n Next we installed the Y-rails and carriage and made sure they were \n aligned correctly with the frame.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Installed the Y-rails. These are the rails that carry the carriage and \n allows it to move forward and back. We drilled out the linear rod \n holders. The linear rod just pressure fits into these holders. \n
    2. \n
  2. \n Install a pair of linear bearings on each linear rod before mounting \n the linear rod. The mounting brackets for the Y-rail are loosely \n tightened.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Install the carriage holder onto the carriage. Aaron built me a small \n carriage using a small piece of MDF wood. This carriage holder fits \n over the linear bearings on each linear rod. Tighten the nuts snugly. \n Do not over tighten since this will cause the linear bearing to bind \n and not move smoothly.\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Now we need to center the carriage in the frame. This is done by \n measuring the distance from the linear rod to the side rail and make \n sure this is the same length on both sides.\n
    5. \n
  5. \n After aligining Y-rails and linear carriage, tighten all the mounting \n bolts. The carriage should now move freely up and down the Y-rails.\n
    6. \n
\n

\n Install Y-axis stepper motor.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Install the G2 pulley on the stepper motor shaft. Put two grub screws \n into the G2 pulley. Make sure one of the grub screws is contacting \n the flat surface of the motor shaft. Tighten both grub screws.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Install the stepper motor into the motor mount.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Install a G2 pulley onto the pulley mount. This pulley is used as a \n spacer to make the toothed belt clear the bottom railing.\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Repeat with the G2 pulleys on the back of the frame. In this case \n there are 2 G2 pulleys. One to clear the toothed belt above the \n railing and the other to clear the belt below the railing. Leave the \n pulley mounting bolts loose at this time.\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Align the G2 pulleys with the center of the carriage. The toothed \n belt is clamped to the centre of the carriage and this belt will go \n over the G2 pulleys on the stepper motor shaft and the idler pulleys.\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Tighten all the mounting bolts once the toothed belt is aligned. It \n should run smoothly through the pulleys and not pull to one side or \n another.\n
    7. \n
\n

\n Install X-axis linear rods and stepper motor\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Install the linear bearings on the X-axis hot head carriage.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Install the linear rods on one side of the X-axis mounts. Slide in \n the X-axis carriage. Install the X-axis mounts on the other side\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Install the GT2 pulley on the motor shaft. Need to be careful, some \n nuts need to be put in place before you bolt in the motor.\n
    4. \n
\n

\n Install Z-axis linear rods, stepper motor, and threaded rod\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Install the Z-axis linear rods through the top rail mount, X-axis \n mount, and bottom-rail mount.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Install stepper motor in bottom rail mount.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Install Z-axis threaded rod. To install the backlash springs and nuts \n use the following steps. Thread a nut about 3 inches into the \n threaded rod. Place a spring on the bottom and then put it through \n the X-axis mount. Now compress the spring as you install a second nut \n and thread it up. The spring should be compressed about the width of \n a nut.\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Once you have the nuts positioned correctly and compressing the spring \n correctly, you can turn the threaded rod and lower it until it is at \n the motor shaft. Install the coupler which joins the motor shaft and \n threaded rod together. Orient the motor shaft so that the flat is \n pointing toward the opening between the two coupler pieces. I think \n this gives the most surface area contacting the coupler.\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Repeat these steps on the other side. Adjust the threaded rods on the \n Z-axis until the X-axis is horizontal.\n
    6. \n
\n

\n Install toothed belts on X and Y-axes.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Install the toothed belt on the X-axis. The belt loops around the G2 \n pulley on the motor shaft, and the idler G2 pulley on the opposite \n X-mounting bracket. The ends are looped around holes in the X-carriage \n and then zip tied to clamp them in position. The tension on the belt \n should be tight enough that they can be plucked like a guitar string. \n That was Aaron's technical description... :)\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Install the toothed belt on the Y-axis. The belt loops around the G2 \n pulley on the motor shaft, and idler pulley to put the belt below the \n lower rail. On the other side, there are two idler pulleys. The ends \n of the belt are clamped against the bottom of the Y-carriage. The \n bolts go through the top of the table and are M3 X 40mm long.\n
    3. \n
\n

\n Install the Wade's extruder and J-head hot head.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n There are several pieces that you need to assemble to make the Wade's \n extruder. Install the 608 skate bearing, Eckerteck hobbed bolt, and \n quick release mounting bolts. Mount the whole assembly onto the top \n horizontal rail. Thread a compression fitting on the top. This is \n where the plastic filament will pass through and go to the X-carriage \n which has the hot J-head. \n
    2. \n
  2. \n Install a compression fitting on the top of the X-carriage.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Install J-head hot head.\n
    4. \n
\n

\n The 3D printer is now almost all built. It took about 5 1/2 hours \n tonight to get to this point. Including the 4 1/2 hours on Sunday night, \n the total build time is now about 10 hours! Wow that took a while. The \n build could be optimized a bit, but I think we went pretty quick. Maybe \n doing some assembly steps in a different order would make the build a \n little easier, but not too much. All in all an excellent build so far!\n

\n

\n \n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1327, "title": "3D Printer is alive!", "date": "2013-12-15 23:33:58.0", "content": "

\n I've done more work on the 3D printer and now have some test prints!\n

\n

\n Electronics\n

\n

\n I had to get the Arduino, RAMPS 1.4, and stepper motor drivers working. \n It took a while, but I finally figured it out. There was a test program \n that I downloaded that would turn the motors one way, and then turn them \n the opposite direction. However, when I ran the program, the motors just \n jittered and made strange noises. I don't know why I didn't think of it \n earlier, but I finally looked at the Robot Digg website and found \n information on this. Some wiring on the motor connectors had to be \n swapped around! This is so that it would match the pin-outs on the motor \n connectors on the RAMPS 1.4 board.\n

\n

\n The info on the Robot Digg website, says that you need to swap the \n Yellow (2nd) and Gray (3rd) wires so that the output pins on the motor \n connector match the stepper motor connector on the RAMPS 1.4 board. \n Here's a link to the web page:\n

\n

\n http://www.robotdigg.com/news/26/Reprap-Stepper-Motor\n

\n

\n After I did this, the motors turned nice and smoothly. Woo Hoo!\n

\n

\n Next, I installed the limit switches. The parts that Aaron printed off \n for me, were for attaching a limit switch by itself. I had bought a \n limit switch, with a board and connector, so it didn't quite fit on the \n limit switch mounting bracket. I ended up using a cable tie wrap to hold \n the limit switch in place. This seemed to work quite well.\n

\n

\n So I wired up everything on the 3D printer and ran the test program \n again. Now I could see the motors on all three axes turning! That was \n cool too! It's alive...!\n

\n

\n Software\n

\n

\n I next worked on the Software. I downloaded Marlin firmware for the \n Arduino board, and Cura and Pronterface for driving the 3D printer from \n a PC application. I loaded Marlin into the Arduino SDE and compiled and \n downloaded the software to the Arduino board. It takes a few minutes to \n compile and download the program. I left everything at its default \n values. I learned later that the "confuration.h" file has all the \n parameter settings you need to check for your specific printer \n requirements.\n

\n

\n Using Pronterface, I was able to manually move the X, Y, and Z motors. I \n also flipped the connector over if I needed to change the direction of \n the motor depending on which way I wanted to be posiitive or negative.\n

\n

\n Next I worked on the limit switches. I was seeing some really strange \n behaviour and it took a while to figure it all out. First you need to \n make sure that the limit switch is connected to the right pins on the \n RAMPS1.4 board. There are pins for Xmin, Xmax, Ymin, Ymax, Zmin, and \n Zmax. Second, you have to set whether the switch was active high or low \n (endstop inverting) and whether you wanted to connect pull-ups or not \n (not needed since I was using a circuit board instead of a bare switch). \n Third, in the SW you have to tell it whether the limit switch was at min \n or at max. I was just changing this value in the configuration, but not \n moving the actual physical connection on the board. So when the switch \n was at max in SW, it was behaving like a min switch. And that was \n because that was the connector pins I was using! When I finally moved \n the connector to the right pins, I finally was seeing the behaviour I \n was expecting.\n

\n

\n Now that I had the limit switches working correctly, I could home the \n extruder head on all X, Y, and Z axes. The head would go home, and then \n I could correctly move the head after that. Note that the position is \n set to zero when you go home, and then you can see the X, Y, and Z \n position values change as you move the head around.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1328, "title": "3D Test Prints", "date": "2013-12-16 22:36:10.0", "content": "

\n I'm slowly getting my printer up and running. I can now move the bed and \n the head around. Next is to hook up the extruder j-head heater and the \n glass bed. I found the cheap picture frames that I had bought last \n Christmas at Michael's craft stores. They were 99 cents each. I didn't \n have a glass cutter yet, so I just took the large piece of glass and \n clamped it onto the wooden MDF bed on one side. These were some plastic \n spring clamps that I had lying around.\n

\n

\n I bought some Green painter's masking tape which I put on the glass. I \n was now able to start some test prints. I found some objects on \n thingiverse to print and tried them out. I printed a thin-walled cube, \n but the head kept crashing into the walls as they were built. I also \n printed a calibration circle and a holetest. The calibration circle, \n printed OK, but the holetest had the hole on the vertical wall more like \n an oval. The circle on the horizontal x-y plane at least looked like a \n circle.\n

\n

\n I figured out that my z-axis was not accurate. I found that my threaded \n rod threads were becoming cross threaded. The thread spacing was \n changing and the impact was to "squish" my z-axis. I printed off an owl, \n and when Joseph saw it, he said it was "squat". I flipped the z-axis \n threaded rod so that the worn threads were now at the top, and the \n "good" threads were at the bottom. When I printed the owl again, it was \n much better (and taller). I measured the height, and it wasn't quite as \n tall as what the CAD dimensions said, but it was close.\n

\n

\n I also printed out some 3D text, but it came out backwards and mirrored! \n I then flipped the y-axis so that the bottom left corner was the origin, \n instead of the top left corner. I then read something that gave me an \n "a-ha!" moment. I was using the printer bed movement as the +/- \n direction. What you really need to look at is the movement of the \n printer head with respect to the object being printed. In this case, \n when the bed is moving up towards the limit switch, I thought this was \n going to the maximum Y-value. But if you look at the head, it's actually \n moving down and heading towards y-min. After I figured this out, I had \n to move the y-limit switch to the y-min connector position and change \n the configuration.h settings to match. I printed out another 3D text \n object and it now comes out properly.\n

\n

\n I wanted to be able to print out my name, so I figured out how to create \n my name in 3D text. I used Sketchup to create this. It took me a while \n to get used to the user interface and how to create these objects. \n Here's a summary of steps. Create a rectangle and extrude it out 3mm. \n Click on the top face, and then insert a text object. Choose the text \n and extrude it out 3mm. I also installed an add-in that allowed \n Sketchup to export "stl" files. I created the stl file and printed it \n out. It worked like a charm! Now I can easily create 3D text \n nameplates or whatever text you want to have.\n

\n

\n I sent Aaron some pictures and videos of the 3D printer printing out \n some test pieces. He was impressed that I got the printer up and \n running so quickly! It was cool that my 3D printer is now working. \n Lots of stuff I've learned in the process of set up, debugging, \n calibration, etc. I love these challenges and problem solving. Also \n lots of more stuff to learn, as my journey into the 3D printing world is \n just beginning...\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1329, "title": "3D Printer progress", "date": "2014-01-11 23:26:32.0", "content": "

\n I want to capture all the stuff I've been doing and learning on the 3D \n printer in the past month. I first got my 3D printer working in \n mid-December and lots of things have happened since then.\n

\n

\n Cracks in top bar bracket\n

\n

\n I noticed there are cracks starting to appear on the top brackets. I \n first noticed these cracks on the top right bracket, which occurred \n because I was carrying the printer from this top bar. I need to stop \n doing this! Now I carry the printer from the base.\n

\n

\n I also now see cracks on the top left bracket. These cracks are due to \n me pushing on the extruder hard to push the plastic through. Sometimes \n the plastic slips and the hobbed bolt just turns without feeding the \n plastic through the extruder. I push hard on the plastic to see if I can \n get it to feed through again. But this really puts a stress on the top \n bracket and now I see cracks. I was thinking of printing new brackets \n and replacing these.\n

\n

\n Extruder slipping\n

\n

\n Sometimes I will get an air print where the plastic is no longer coming \n out the hot end nozzle. This is because the hobbed bolt is no longer \n grabbing into the plastic and pushing it through. THe hobbed bolt teeth \n are slipping and chewing through the plastic. This leaves lots of bits \n of plastic inside the extruder.\n

\n

\n I removed the extruder and vacuumed up the inside, to clean everything \n up. When I put everything back together, I tightened up the bolts and \n nuts with pliers. The springs were fully compressed! Ever since I did \n this, I haven't had any air prints! Knock on wood!\n

\n

\n I think making the extruder adjustment bolts really tight has made the \n difference. It also means the quick release doesn't really work because \n the springs are fully compressed. It is really hard to remove. I also \n tried using some stronger springs I ordered from e-bay (used for the \n heated bed), but the diameter is too small. These springs were made for \n M3 bolts, and I'm using M4 bolts right now.\n

\n

\n I will continue to monitor this, but it looks like the issue is fixed. I \n need to tighten the extruder bolts with pliers to get enough pressure on \n the bearing against the PLA.\n

\n

\n Z-axis threaded rod becoming stripped\n

\n

\n I noticed the threads on my z-axis were being worn and stripped. I first \n thought this occurred because the M5 threaded rods and nuts were too \n small to support the weight of the X-carriage. I now have a new theory.\n

\n

\n I think the two z-axis stepper motors are becoming mis-aligned, because \n one of the motors is skipping steps. When I look at the z-axis couplers, \n they don't always move the same amount. From this I'm concluding that \n one of the motors is skipping steps. This means that after a while, this \n mis-alignment could cause pressure on the nuts and threaded rod to cause \n stripping of the threads. I wonder if there is a way to test this theory?\n

\n

\n I had flipped over one of the threaded rods so that the good threads \n that were on top were now on the bottom. I also find that the linear \n bearings really keep everything straight and square. There's not much \n play at all. The springs and backlash nut don't do anything on the \n z-axis. The force is always down due to gravity, so there isn't any play \n when you change directions.\n

\n

\n One of the things that I thought I could do to correct the mis-alignment \n is to loosen the z-couplers, align everything up again, and then \n re-tighten. I'm thinking this would help put the x-carriage back \n straight and square. How often do I need to do this?\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1330, "title": "3D Printer notes", "date": "2014-03-01 22:52:15.0", "content": "

\n When printing the Gear Hearts, I noticed that the in-fill wasn't being \n printed well. I thought the PLA wasn't coming out fast enough, so I \n increased the hot-end temperature from 200degrees C to 220, then 230 C. \n I still had problems though. The in-fill looked messy with lots of \n strings everywhere.\n

\n

\n I figured out later that when the print head does not cross any \n perimeters, the printer does not do a retraction. So you'll see these \n little strings. I then concluded that the head was moving too fast to \n lay down the plastic correctly for the in-fill. I decreased the in-fill \n speed from 60mm/s to 30mm/s which is the same as the perimiters speed. \n Also the first layer speed is 30% of the regular speed. I remember Aaron \n talking about this. He said he prints the first layer really slow, so \n that it sticks well and provides a solid base for the rest of the print.\n

\n

\n I also found that I need to print the first layer thick as well. When I \n was printing at 0.3mm, the first layer was laid down fairly well and \n stuck to the bed. However, when I tried printing at the 0.1mm layers, \n the first layer never was laid down well. I realized later that it was \n because I was trying to lay down such a thin first layer.\n

\n

\n I changed the slicer configuration to make the first layer 0.35mm, and \n the first layer printed much better. This was a problem I had with \n printing the Heart Gears at 0.2mm layers. I could never get the first \n layer to print well. Now I know why!\n

\n

\n Actually, another reason I found was that the max feedrate on the z-axis \n was not set correctly. After homing the head, the height is set to 5mm. \n It then waits for the head to reach the set target temperature. When the \n target temperature is reached, the head is positioned at the first layer \n height. However, both z-axis moves where the height is set at 5mm and \n then the first layer height are never done!\n

\n

\n This is where my printer makes that buzzing sound and the head never \n moves on the z-axis. This means all my prints start at the z-home \n height! No wonder I always had problems printing the first layer. When I \n printed at 0.3mm first layer, it usually worked well, but when I tried \n to print at 0.2mm layer, the first layer was crappy.\n

\n

\n This was because the head was never adjusted to this new layer height. \n And that's why things worked when I had all my prints start with a \n 0.35mm first layer. Because that is where the head was!\n

\n

\n The reason for the buzzing sound and the head not moving was that the \n max feedrate on the z-axis was set too high. It was set to 5mm/s or \n 300mm/min. You can move the head on the z-axis using command g1 z5 f300. \n This would cause a buzz. If I used f180, then it would work.\n

\n

\n The reason the default did not work for me was because I have 5mm \n threaded rod instead of the usual 8mm threaded rod. This means I have a \n finer pitch, more turns per mm, and therefore my z-axis can not move as \n fast! At least now I've got to the bottom of this problem.\n

\n

\n Another thing I found was that the default slicer feedrate is 60mm/s on \n all axes. This is way too fast for the z-axis and I read on a website \n where someone asks if this was correct. The answer was yes, this was \n correct. The firmware should limit the maximum feedrate that the \n printer supports. In this case, I changed Marlin to have maximum rate \n of 180mm/min on the z-axis. This way when I issue a g1 z01 f300, the \n command worked. The z-axis would move, but it would be at 180mm/min \n which is the maximum in the firmware.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1331, "title": "3D Printer Auto Bed Levelling", "date": "2014-03-29 22:33:37.0", "content": "

\n In the February meeting, Aaron showed a new 3D printer that he had \n built. It was really small and compact. Here's a link to the 3D printer \n called Smartrap Mini: http://reprap.org/wiki/Smartrap_mini.\n

\n

\n One cool feature that Aaron had was the auto bed levelling feature. \n There is a Z-probe connected to a servo near the hot-end. The probe is \n lowered and the bed height is measured at 3 different points. This info \n is then used to calculate the plane for the bed and the z-height is \n adjusted for each x,y position as the hot end moves around. It is cool \n to watch! The Z-axis basically keeps moving (both up and down) as the \n current layer is printed.\n

\n

\n The limit switches I was using on my printer are on circuit boards and \n have an LED and pull up resistors connected. This board is larger than \n the switch by itself. So in order to raise and lower the z-probe, I have \n to lift the hot-end enough to clear the probe end with the limit switch \n circuit board. I manually tested this, and the height needed to clear \n the probe was around 12mm.\n

\n

\n You can manually set the servo using the M280 P0 S[servo angle]. Eg M280 \n P0 S0 and M280 P0 S150. P0 is the first servo, and S is the angle you \n want to set the servo at. For my servo, S0 was at the lowered z-probe \n position, and S150 was at the raised z-probe position. You then have to \n put these angle values into the Marlin firmware. Once these values are \n set, you can use the M401 and M402 commands to lower and raise the \n z-probe respectively.\n

\n

\n I had to change the Marlin firmware to put this extra step of raising \n the hot-end before lowering or raising the probe. It took some tries to \n get it working. The tricky part was that the z height was adjusted \n according to the z-probe offset, but it didn't take into account the \n raising or lowering of the z-probe which I added in. It finally worked \n after I added code to compensate for the movement of the z-probe to \n allow it to clear the bed when raising or lowering.\n

\n

\n I also found a good series of steps to calibrate the z-probe offset.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n Put a piece of tape on the bed, with an 'x' on it. This is your target.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n Lower the z-probe and place the limit switch on the 'x'.\n
    3. \n
  3. \n Now reset the hot-end position as 0,0,0 (x,y,z) using the g92 x0 y0 z0 \n command. Can check with the M114 command.\n
    4. \n
  4. \n Now manually move the hot-end head so that it is directly over the \n 'x'. The z height should be adjusted so that when you put a piece of \n paper on the bed, you can start to feel resistance from the head as \n you move it around. It shouldn't be so tight that you can't move the \n paper.\n
    5. \n
  5. \n Check the offset from the probe using the M114 command. This will tell \n you the offset in x,y,z (eg 25,30,-5).\n
    6. \n
  6. \n You now need to enter these values in the Marlin firmware, recompile \n and download it to your Arduino board.\n
    7. \n
  7. \n You also have to enter the probe positions in the Marlin firmware. \n Note that the probe offsets are subtracted from thes probe positions. \n For example the left most position of the head is at x=0, and the \n probe will be at the x probe offset. Therefore, your x probe position \n must be greater than the x probe offset. This also must be done for \n the y probe positions.\n
    8. \n
  8. \n After updating the Marlin SW, you can now test your calibration values.\n
    9. \n
\n

\n Testing your calibration values.\n

\n
    \n
  1. \n G28 x0 y0 F5000- home your x and y axis.\n
    2. \n
  2. \n G29 probe your bed heights\n
    3. \n
  3. \n After this, your x,y and z values should now be set.\n
    4. \n
  4. \n G1 x85 y88 F5000 - move the hot end to the middle of your bed (adjust \n x and y for your bed).\n
    5. \n
  5. \n M114 - display the hot end current position. You are interested in the \n z value.\n
    6. \n
  6. \n Lower the hot end on the z-axis until z=0. If you are calibrated \n correctly on the z-probe offset, there should just be a paper's \n thickness between the hot end and the bed.\n
    7. \n
  7. \n If it is off, determine how much higher or lower you need to move the \n head until it is at the correct distance from the bed.\n
    8. \n
  8. \n Now go back and adjust the z-probe offset based on the adjustment you \n made above.\n
    9. \n
  9. \n Re-compile and download the updated Marlin firmware.\n
    10. \n
  10. \n Re-run steps 1 to 6. Your z-probe offset should now be really \n accurate. Repeat again if needed.\n
    11. \n
", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1332, "title": "April ORE Meeting", "date": "2014-04-14 23:30:48.0", "content": "

\n I went to the April ORE meeting and met some new people. They have been \n to previous meetings, but this was the first time I talked to them.\n

\n

\n Everett was interested in my 3D printer. He said he was interested in \n building one, but didn't know which type to build.\n

\n

\n Sean was showing me a laser distance finder setup that he had. He used \n a laser pointer to point at an object and then used a webcam and \n triangulation to find the distance of the object. He said he was \n measuring distance changes in millimeters! I think I saw a similar set \n up like this. He was using an Arduino and Raspberry Pi. He had the \n Raspberry camera. He said the image capture throughput was higher than \n USB cameras.\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"}, {"id": 1333, "title": "Car problems in Waterloo", "date": "2014-04-21 22:36:32.0", "content": "

\n This Easter weekend, we drove down to Waterloo to pick-up Joseph and \n bring him back to Ottawa for his work term. We drove down Sunday and \n drove back on Monday. There was a huge accident on the 401 around Guelph \n and the traffic was backed up and bumper to bumper. My GPS said there \n was a 30 minute delay. While we were in the stop and go traffic, Anne \n noticed that my car was making a funny scraping sound. It was coming \n from the front left tire.\n

\n

\n We decided to get off the highway at the next exit. We then wound our \n way through Guelph and the smaller roads until we finally got to \n Waterloo. When we were at the Comfort Inn hotel, the sound from the \n front left tire seemed to be getting louder and louder. It was getting \n me worried.\n

\n

\n I got up early Monday morning at 6:45am, and brought my car into the \n Canadian Tire near the hotel. Luckily, it was only down Weber street \n just 1km away! I was first in line at 7:30am and the lady got my info \n and I left the keys at the counter. At 8:15am, she called me back on my \n mobile phone while I was walking around the CT store. She told me that \n my wheel nuts were loose and they didn't find any other problems. Doh! I \n should have checked that myself.\n

\n

\n So moral of the story for me is to ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS check my wheel \n lug nuts after changing my tires. I could have saved myself these \n headaches if I had just followed procedure and done that. In the end, I \n was charged $30 for CT to tighten my wheel lug nuts. I guess it was \n good that it was nothing major! After I got back to the car, I took out \n the lug net wrench and tightened all the bolts on all the wheels!\n

", "categories": "\n", "author": "Paul Huliganga\t\t"} ]