Former [N&amp;O outdoor writer Joe Miller][jm] has had some good Raleigh greenway news recently that I just caught up with. First, the [House Creek Greenway][hcg] is going to connect the area near the NC Art Museum and Meredith College with the Crabtree Creek Greenway right behind Crabtree Valley Mall. That'll make it possible to ride from east of Downtown near Millburnie, through Umstead and then south to Cary's Black Creek trail. That's serious riding. Then, there's the [Neuse River Greenway][nrg], which will open in phases and run from Falls Lake Dam to Johnston County. It'll hook up with the Crabtree Creek Greenway and the Walnut Creek Greenway, too. The first stretch is slated to open in April 2011. I'm still looking forward to the Crabtree Greenway extending west across Duraleigh Road and connects to the north-side of Umstead, but this is a fantastic investment for Raleigh. I'm looking forward to some epic all-greenway rides in the years to come. [jm]: http://www.getgoingnc.com/ [hcg]: http://www.getgoingnc.com/2010/02/house-creek-greenway-construction-to-begin-in-april/ [nrg]: http://www.getgoingnc.com/2010/02/neuse-river-trail/ 2010-03-06T19:23:06-05:00 Forthcoming Raleigh greenway goodness 58 false 2010-03-06 raleigh-greenway-goodness 2010-03-06T19:23:29-05:00 I gave a lightning talk at the [2010 Durham Developer Day][dd] this past Saturday. [Fred Medlin][fm] was nice enough to capture video and [post it to YouTube][yt]. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NN9eOjbCatg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NN9eOjbCatg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Here's [the slide deck][deck]. When you attend tech conferences, local or not, take the opportunity to give a [lightning talk][lt]. My five minute presentation took about an hour and a half to put together and I had a great deal of fun. [dd]: http://developer-day.com/events/2010-durham.html [fm]: http://fredmedlin.com/ [yt]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN9eOjbCatg [deck]: http://wallscorp.us/presentations/change_is_hard/change_is_hard.pdf [lt]: http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2004/07/30/lightningtalk.html 2010-03-01T21:16:08-05:00 Change is hard and easier than you think 57 false 2010-03-01 change-is-hard 2010-03-01T21:16:59-05:00 I'm checking out the newly announced [Aperture 3][ap3] info. There's a lot to like about being able to split libraries, merge libraries and use brushes as to make adjustments. But, my hands down "Holy crap, oh my God that's awesome" moment is seeing that Aperture 3 can use an iPhone photo to hint at GPS coordinates for digital photos from a different camera. Alternatively, you can use an iPhone app like [RunKeeper][rk] to record a GPS track. Then, from the RunKeeper website, download a GPX track, [which Aperture can then read][gps]. That seems far more flexible for cameras without internal GPS than [a GPS attachment][gp1]. By itself, that sells the $99 upgrade for me. [ap3]: http://www.apple.com/aperture/ [gps]: http://www.apple.com/aperture/whats-new.html#overlay-places-gps [rk]: http://runkeeper.com/ [gp1]: http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Miscellaneous/25396/GP-1-GPS-Unit.html 2010-02-09T22:01:40-05:00 iPhone + Aperture 3 = GPS-tagged photos 56 false 2010-02-09 aperture-iphone-gps 2010-02-09T22:18:56-05:00 <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/5by5/4334803707/in/set-72157623365232900"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/4334803707_44534bd60e.jpg" alt="Nathan eating doughnuts" title="Nathan eating doughnuts, by 5by5" width="407" height="500" style="clear: all; float: right;" /></a> Last year, I [photographed the Krispy Kreme Challenge][kkc09]. This year, with WebAssign sponsoring the event, I took the opportunity to run the event while [Robin took photos][kkc10]. How did I do? Not bad. I finished in 1:21:25 in the casual division. I ate seven doughnuts on site, two fully on the way back and the remaining three after I crossed the finish line. After running about a mile and a quarter with no real training program to speak of, I switched over to fast walking. I managed to keep the doughnuts down, though in a couple of stints at running on the way back, that seemed iffy. The after-effects aren't much to speak of, save the normal and completely expected pains of over-exertion. Next year will be different. Taking into account my own fitness level and the event logistics, I'm noting several things I want to do differently, in order to compete in the Challenger category: - Be able to run four miles. I'm not even close to this right now. At a 10 minute pace, I should be able to complete the challenge in under an hour. - Practice eating doughnuts. Easier, at least until considering I'm not talking about eating one or two, but six or nine, then running. This is [a different sort of brick][brick]. - Bring my own water. The Krispy Kreme water station was at the back of the parking lot. With 6,000 people or so trying to drink or just eat doughnuts — well, it was very crowded and you spend a lot of time trying to get something to drink. - Plastic bag or paper towel. Something to help me mash multiple doughnuts together without getting my hands quite as glazed. - Hand wipes. See the aforementioned glaze problem. - Bottle of OJ or coffee on stand-by. I'd like something to cut the sweetness just a bit. All-in-all, though, the weather stayed decent, I had fun and I didn't injure myself. That's a win. [kkc09]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/base10/sets/72157613478773364/ [kkc10]: http://www.flickr.com/photos/5by5/sets/72157623365232900/ [brick]: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/Enrico%20Contolini/Introduction_to_bricks.htm 2010-02-07T22:38:53-05:00 After-action review: Krispy Kreme Challenge 2010 55 false 2010-02-07 krispy-kreme-challenge 2010-02-07T22:39:12-05:00 I blogged about [smartphone-augmented travel][travel] over on the Crazy Like That blog. Check it out. [travel]: http://www.crazylikethat.com/blog/2010/02/smartphone-augmented-travel/ 2010-02-07T15:30:26-05:00 Smartphone-augmented travel 54 false 2010-02-07 smartphone-travel 2010-02-07T15:31:15-05:00