Sports

Minimalist Shoes

I took a quick run before the rain today to try out my new Merrell Trail Glove minimalist shoes. I picked them up recently using my REI dividend. They worked out really well. They’re really light weight, and their Vibram outsoles keep me running up on my toes instead of heel striking.

My knees feel just fine right now, and there is no sign of my recurring shin splints either. Although, I only ran two miles and it was only my second run since last fall and first since March. I guess time will tell on those typical problems.

Running on your toes does lead to really tight calf muscles. That’s a new one for me, but that should improve with time too.

Kayaking
Movies

Kayaking 2010

I’m finally getting around to posting some video from my kayaking trip last fall. I went up to the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior to check out the sea caves. Well, the original plan was to do some island hopping and camping, but the weather didn’t really cooperate completely, so I made it about the sea caves. Read the rest of this entry »

Electrical Engineering

Not Pending

My post frequency has certainly dropped since I switched roles at work back in April. As a nice non-sequitor, it was at that very job today that I found out something related to my previous job.

Some time after I left Banner Engineering and started a Logic PD, I was contacted about a patent application that two of my Banner colleagues were filing. With the two of them, I was involved with the design covered by the patent, so they sent me the application to review.

Today, I was going through some old files on my work PC, and I discovered that application. Curious about what had happened with it since 2005, I looked up the application number online. It turns out that the patent was awarded, I’m listed as the third author, and I had no idea.

So I’m officially on the big board. Patent #1. (Well, it’s actually US 7,329,854.)

Photography

In the Park

Last Sunday was a warm sunny day, and I got out to Como Park with my camera again. I was playing around with my long focal length lens (Canon 75–300mm), some shots with shallow depth of focus, some with extreme close-ups and blurred backgrounds, and some with full focus from a safe distance. Read the rest of this entry »

Cooking

Chiffonade

As much as I enjoy oppressive humidity and biting insects, I have to say that fresh berries are higher on my list of things to like about summer. Granted, the berries I can get my hands on come mostly from the supermarket and are available year-round, but fresh berries feel like summer. Read the rest of this entry »