Category Archives: OTHER

Snow on Spencer Butte

Posted on January 22, 2012 | 2 comments

Last week (1-16-11), Angel and I decided to go hiking on Spencer Butte for the first time since we moved to Eugene. We can see the butte from our home, with it just being 4 miles away. I have ridden my bike around it, but we just haven’t ever gone hiking there. Eugene seems to have enough inside the town to keep us busy for quite some time. With the snow falling the day before, we really wanted to get in the hills to get good photos of it. I got great use out of my new Merrell shoes in their first real hike, and I used the GoPro with its head mount to get some nice photos and videos on the hike. The video of the hike will be posted later.

Panorama Photos
I also took some great panorama photos. Follow the links below to view them in their entirety.
• 360° spherical view on the path up the butte in the woods on the trail(Here).
• 360° view up at the summit(Here).

*Update: Video from the hike(Here).

Photos of the hike and climb up to the summit of Spencer Butte, Flickr Set.

2 Comments

Posted in OTHER, Trips, Video

Tagged app, eugene, hike, Oregon, photo, video

SOPA and PIPA

Posted on January 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

SOPA and PIPA Stop censorship on the internet. These acts would effect everyone from large webpages like Wikipedia, Google, and Twitter. As well as small bloggers like you and I.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

First Snow in Eugene, Photos & Videos

Posted on January 15, 2012 | 3 comments

Today(1-15-12) was the first day it snowed in Eugene, Oregon this season. It didn’t snow much, some heavy flurries, but nothing that sticks. Angel and I walked around a bit and took some nice photos and videos of the day. I wish I could have gotten up in the hills where it looked like it was frosted over, and might have stuck to the ground a little more.

Short Video I took during the first snow fall.

Time-Lapse Video of the snow fall.

3 Comments

Posted in OTHER, Video

Tagged camera, eugene, GoPro, iPhone, Oregon, snow, Time-Lapse, video

Video: South Willamette

Posted on January 12, 2012 | 5 comments

I shot some video with my helmet camera riding North Bound on South Willamette, between 24th and 29th. The city is working on plans for South Willamette that are hopefully going to include good facilities for bicycles, pedestrians, and motor vehicles. To read more about the city’s plans, here is more information.

Video was taken going North Bound on the roadway on January 11, 2012 around 3:40pm.

You can see/hear how bad the roads are right now, and that there is no place for cyclists to safely ride. I live right off of this street and find this road very uninviting in its current conditions to both pedestrians and cyclists. When walking on the sidewalks, there are frequent driveways going out into the street, and if you (or a driver) aren’t paying attention you could easily be hit by someone pulling in, or exiting any of these driveways. Angel and I feel like we are cut off behind this road with no side streets that can truly get us anywhere necessary. The road is too narrow to allow for 4 full lanes of cars and bicyclists to ride safely alongside. You can see in the video 2 cars squeeze by me, the second aggressively honking, then squeezing between me and another car quickly only to stop a couple of yards ahead at an intersection. I am an experienced cyclist, and used to conditions like this, but would not recommend for other cyclists to ride on this street in this condition. I myself don’t enjoy riding on this street and avoid it whenever possible. Hopefully the new plans will address some of these problems, making it safer for all to use.

5 Comments

Posted in BIKE, News, Videos

Tagged bicycle, bike, eugene, GoPro, Oregon, video

New Bike & Cellphone Laws on the Books

Posted on January 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

Some new traffic laws have come into effect here in Oregon pertaining to both cyclists and car drivers. The law were put into effect on 1-1-2012.

As mentioned in Eugene’s First Bike Only Traffic Signal, Senate Bill 130 has now taken effect. The main thing is that the bill adds bike only traffic signal to Oregon’s list of traffic control devices that can be used. It also defines that bicycles must follow all traffic signals just like all other road vehicle. Most in Eugene might already realize we have these signals placed in on the Alder St. cycle track. Portland also has a couple of these signals around the city.

Here’s a biggy, House Bill 3186 amends ORS 811.507 which allowed cell phones to be used if “A person operating a motor vehicle in the scope of the person’s employment if operation of the motor vehicle is necessary for the person’s job“. With no way of knowing whether drivers were using their phone for work, there was basically no enforcement of the law. Anyone could use their phone if they just claimed it was for “work”. With HB3186 it removes this loophole, No drivers will be able to use a cellphone (with the exception of emergency vehicle drivers), and there is absolutely no texting by any drivers at all. Drivers can still use hands free devices while driving, but putting the phone on speakerphone doesn’t count.

These are 2 great laws that have taken effect, keeping all of the users of the roads safe for cars, bikes, and pedestrians.

For more about these and more about other traffic laws in effect read it here on Oregon Live.

Review: Moleskine Planner

Posted on January 3, 2012 | 4 comments

Moleskine is a producer of legendary notebooks. Originally handmade by French bookmakers, Moleskine has a lot of history behind them, being used by the likes of Oscar Wilde, and Vincent van Gogh. Sadly, in 1986 the Moleskine style notebook died out. In 1997, a small company started reproducing these notebooks, and in 2006 Moleskine became the company we know today. Making a wide range of notebooks, planners, travel notebooks, and other specialty notebooks. Now there is even a digital form of this beloved paper book as an App.

I have used a couple different notebooks, using the larger notebooks for drawing and note taking, and the pocket sized notebooks for ideas. But the one I use the most is my Moleskine 12 Months Weekly Notebook Diary/Planner, red hard cover, large. I have used this same planner each year for the past 3. Angel had given me the first one in 2010. I used it for it at first just for writing down events, but after I moved to Oregon in the spring and bought my LHT it has been used everyday to keep track of my miles and time ridden on my bike for that day. Angel got her own extra small (pocket sized) Moleskine 12 months Daily Diary/Planner, with a black soft cover.

Moleskine consists of great features for useful planner. The first few pages consist of a list of international codes, holidays, conversion charts, time zones, and travel log. The pages are nicely organized, whether it’s a daily, weekly, or monthly planner in any size. In the back they have a small pocket to store loose notes. The larger planners come with a removable lined booklet that can be used for anything. When I got my first Moleskine planner you could get any color, as long as that color was black (a la Henry Ford). The red was special, so that is the one I got. In the past 3 years Moleskine has started producing planners and notebooks with covers in every color imaginable, as well as embossed designs to choose from, with multiple page layouts (graphed, lined, blank, ect.). So you’re likely to find one that fits your style and need.

4 Comments

Posted in Reviews, Reviews

Tagged app, bike commute, book, library, review

REI Year-end Garage Sale

Posted on January 1, 2012 | 7 comments

Saturday December 31st, 2011 was the REI Year-end Garage Sale in Eugene. This is a big sale at REI, where they sell slightly used gear, returns, and display items. This was the first time I have been able to go to one myself, and let me just say it was well worth the short wait in line to get in. There was a lot of great gear to pick up there and I got myself some presents that I’m quite happy about.

ALPS Mountaineering Mystique 2.0 – MSRP $199.99 bought at $9.83
This is the first real tent I have ever bought, but it seems like it will be perfect for me: 3 season, fits 2 people, pretty light at 5lb 2oz total, packs pretty small. I’m quite excited, the only thing is the tent was not cleaned up before packing away after the last use, so it smells like the outdoors (Angel claims it smells like mossy earth and radishes). No visible mildew, but I should clean it as soon as possible. If anyone has any ideas on how to clean it in the middle of winter, indoors let me know. The biggest problem right now is all the rain we’re getting, so I can’t set it up outside to clean it out and hang. So I’ll need to do this inside maybe in stages. If I can’t get it cleaned out well enough it’s no big loss, it was $9.83.

Novara Arosa Bike Gloves – MSRP S29.50 bought at $9.83
These gloves fit very well and should be a great cool and dry weather glove, when my Novara Stratos Bike Gloves are just too warm. On the tag, the reason for return was “not warm enough”, but these will work well for me. They just needed a little stitching fix, and now they are perfect. I can’t wait to get to use them this coming spring.

Merrell Chameleon3 Stretch – MSRP $120 bought $19.83
The shoes are hardly broken in and all the tread is there, including the fine tread that wears off fast. They should be great for hiking and walking.

GoPro HD HERO Camera – MSRP $239.99 bought $99.83
It was a big surprise for me to find this, and it was a hard decision to get it but I did. Angel and I shoot lots of videos together and we have always talked about getting one. This price was too fair to pass up. I can only imagine no one got it before me because: A. They didn’t know what it was, or B. They don’t do video editing themselves. The camera is in perfect condition. The reason for return was “didn’t like product”, and I don’t really know why they didn’t like it, but I like it already. It has HD video up to 1080p at 30fps, with 127º wide viewing angle. 60fps at 720p and WVGA resolutions allowing smooth slow motion playback with 170º wide viewing angle. With a waterproof case allowing it to go to depths of 180ft (60m), my Fuji XP10 depth is only 10ft (3m). Comes with mounts, including a one for vented helmets. This should get a lot of good, fun video footage that we can use. Great for long bike rides, or trips to the coast. Can’t wait.

I’m excited to get to use these new items and after I will write reviews for them, so stay tuned. There will be new videos as well with the help of the GoPro Hero.

7 Comments

Posted in BIKE, Events, Reviews, Trips

Tagged bicycle, bike, bike commute, bike tour, camera, eugene, GoPro, hike, Long Haul Trucker, Oregon, REI, review, video

Lichen Terrarium

Posted on December 28, 2011 | 2 comments

We got the greatest gift from my sister for Christmas. She got us a wonderful little terrarium from Tiny Terrains on Etsy. Angel and I had both suggested to a couple different friends to give terrariums as gifts for Christmas this year. But we were mainly referring to succulents terrariums or bowls. We have several neat succulents of our own. Succulents are still a great idea, they are easy to take care of for most anyone, and just look cool. But the one we got from my sister was a small lichen terrarium. This was awesome, Angel and I both think lichens are interesting. They look cool and are easy to take care of.

If you don’t know what lichens (wiki) are, they are not moss, even though most people might think they are just because they grow on trees and rocks similar to moss. But lichen are a symbiotic pair of a fungus (structure) and algae (photosynthesis). Angel and I both have personal experience with lichens from Environmental Science classes where we did tests using lichens as bio-indicators of air quality. It’s really cool once you know what they can tell you about the environment around you. They are literally everywhere here in the Pacific Northwest. Also, they look really wild close up.

Our terrarium came with a pyramid shaped glass, small polished rocks and assorted lichens. Everything is individually packed and you get to place it all yourself; which is really quite fun and peaceful. Then just keep it in bright, indirect light, and give it the occasional light misting of water. Pretty simple for most all people to take care of. I think these are great gifts for friends, family, or yourself, if you like little green plants.

If you are interested in getting yourself or a friend a lichen terrarium, check out Tiny Terrains on Etsy.

2 Comments

Posted in OTHER, Reviews

Tagged Oregon, plants, review

Winter Break with Family, Photos

Posted on December 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Here are some photos from my Instagram over the past week with Angel’s sister and dad visiting. We spent lots of time in Portland with her sister walking around, hiking MacLeay City Park and Ecola State Park along the beach, as well as some other things through out the week.

Review: New Bike Maps App for iPhone

Posted on December 13, 2011 | 1 comment

A new app has been released recently to help with navigation on your bike if you own an iPhone. Bike Maps – Bicycle Directions for Commuting and Touring by Burning Robot is the new app offering turn by turn directions for bikes.

This is a review for Bike Maps Version 1.o.1 (12-13-11), I will try and do updated reviews if and when the newer versions are available.

Features
• Turn by turn directions
• Search by keyword or address
• Get bike directions from your current location
• Prioritizes bike paths and lanes
• Avoids busy streets

I downloaded this app for $1.99 to try it out myself. The app uses the power of Google Map’s Bike Route feature. Over all this app is very clean, and works fast over 3G cell service, but might be lacking some features some people might like. Some of what it is lacking is due to some flaws with Google’s Bike Routing, some are things the app developers might have not decided to add in.

The app is quick to access. Runs well pulling up maps over the 3G. When you open it up it takes you straight into the map, with a Search/Address bar at the top. Pretty bare bones which can bee good. You simply type in what you want in the search bar. Say “bike shop” it will give you the shops in your location, just like Google would. You click the pin on the map then it brings up information about that location, and you can just click the “Bike Directions” button on the page. From your current location only, you will be given a single suggested bike route to that location (the best bike route, according to Google, including distance, and time it will take). The route is highlighted on the map and the written directions are shown one at a time at the top of the screen, allowing you to see the map and directions at the same time. You then can click through arrows at the top right to use the turn by turn directions, which give you the distance and where to turn each step of the way.

Here are some things the app is lacking in comparison to the full desktop version of Google’s Bike Route feature. It doesn’t show highlighted bike routes, instead it just shows the standard map view. It would be nice if it showed the highlighted map view, then you could use it to plan your own routes. The app also doesn’t suggest multiple routes to choose from, it uses the very first route that would come up if you used the full desktop version. This can be bothersome because in many situations the first choice Google suggests is not the best one. Also there is no way to edit routes yourself. And the app only allows you to get directions from your current location. For the most part this will be fine, but it would be nice to be able to plan out routes from other locations.

I like this app even with what it might lack right now, it’s a good, straight-forward bicycle routing app and it lets you use Google’s Bike Routing feature on your iPhone. So if that is what you want, this will work for you. Also, there are no ads, which is always good.

~~To Burning Robot LLC or the developer:~~
~~I have not found a way to contact you. I would like to find out more about what they are working on. So if you are out there please contact me.~~