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Whilst on my ride yesterday, I was testing out a SPOT tracking device along with the SPOT integration into the new Yahoo! Fire Eagle geo-social service.

I’ll do a longer post when our house is not in so much chaos (birthday part deux is going on), but here is what this cutting-edge, super-cool (HTML 6 needs a <sarcasm> tag) device/service managed to pick up yesterday:

I had it in tracking mode (phones home every 10 mins) most of the time and actually deliberately sent a few “OK” check-in messages (that Fire Eagle picked up but does not show in the messages history of the SPOT site). It missed the whole island trek and the trees on the Burke-Gilman seemed to cause it major angst. Those check-in messages were also supposed to make it to my phone & e-mail but never did.

Again, I’ll go into more detail about how it all is supposed to work, but I wanted to toss up a quick post on cautioning folks to perhaps wait a bit for the device and/or service to mature a bit before investing in either.

Mary was gracious enough to let me burn a day off work to get in a long ride. I knew Friday was going to be gorgeous and we needed to do other stuff for Tori’s bday anyway, so it worked out pretty well all ‘round.

This is one of my favorite long rides in the greater Seattle area, partly because it involves crossing the Sound. I modified the route from the Seattle Bike Tours folks as this one is easier to follow, was over fresh asphalt that was very conducive to cranking on the road bike and also kicked it to a full 50 miles.

Ascent says I did 53.3 miles with a total climb of 2483 feet and an average speed of 14.4 mph. Here’s the summary data and the elevation chart for the ride:

The full Flickr set of snaps I took along the way is available for viewing, but be warned they are iPhone camera phone pix, so the quality is “meh”.

I’ve posted the GPX and KML files for anyone’s use (despite my pathetic pace & cadence stats). KML is really cool since Google Maps and Google Earth both import it well (though Ascent has a feature to do the import and put Google Earth into “fly-by” mode automagically). Google Maps even lets you share:

View Larger Map

(multiple segments because I must have hit the start button multiple times on the burke-gilman part)

Despite the fact that it is not such a good idea to be listening to music while cycling (hey, I kept the volume low and my sports earphones - not earbuds - are designed to be raised enough to let in ambient noise), I went through multiple cycles of In The Company of Angels - A Call to Worship, In The Company of Angels II - The World Will Sing and a Death Cab for Cutie mix as I passed through Downtown Seattle, Fremont & The U District (it just seems appropriate to play Death Cab in Seattle-proper for some reason). I like being reminded I am in the company of angels as I ride in far-out places and the extended time of mobile worship was awesome.

Now, off to play chauffeur for Jarrod, pick up “pizza” (they do not really have pizza out here) for Tori’s bday sleepover and prep for visiting @janewygle

I’ve got a decent number of folks on Twitter who are also in my OS X Address Book and I wanted an easier way to keep their Twitter avatars in sync than just manually downloading and updating the images. Enter Taabu [297K DMG], my Twitter Avatar to OS X Address Book Updater.

As long as your OS X Address Book contacts have one URL field with their http://twitter.com/twitterid account in it (and you are following them), you will be able to use Taabu to update their OS X Address Book pictures with their Twitter images.

This currently works for up to ~98 contacts (all depends on your current Twitter API rate limit status, which you can use the widget in the previous post to keep track of) and is fine for me since I have far fewer than that I need to sync. Post a comment if you need that functionality as it will mean some coding to allow processing of your local contacts in batches (due to the rate limit situation). There’s a “README” in the DMG download that gives a bit more info and some additional screenshots.

Requests, bug reports, complaints, accolades, etc are all welcome. (And, yes, there is a spelling error in “Downloadig” - will fix when I post the next release which will also contain the full, ugly Objective-C source code :-)

For those who are developing anything that uses the Twitter API or even if you just like to experiment with Twitter standalone or alternate web-clients there is a hard limit (currently 100) on the number of calls per hour. This, however, is not made obvious since it requires grabbing an XML file from an http Basic Auth protected URL.

Enter the “Twitter Rate Limit” Dashboard Widget:

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With it, you will know how many API calls you have left and when the counter gets reset.

This is version 1.1. Version 1.0 was inspired by @aadom who was also the UI designer of 1.1.

Version 1.2 will be out in a bit as I really need to fix the gauge colors.

Drop a note in the comments with your suggestions/gripes/accolades.

I was musing on Twitter about the need for the ability to get the status updates from friends who only use Facebook incorporated into my Twitter feed (so I do not have to view Facebook as often). While writing a bot would have been cool, I dislike re-inventing the wheel and came up with a way to do it by pairing some web “services” together (not actually using web services per se).

To do this, you’ll need to setup a new Twitter account (I suggest using your “TwitterUsername_fb”), unless you want all your followers seeing all your friends’ updates. You can secure the updates to this account if you wish. You’ll need to use a secondary e-mail account (Twitter does not allow dups). I also really don’t like giving my main Twitter credentials to external services.

I also suggest getting an OpenID as one of the sites you’ll be using is twitterfeed and it prefers OpenID logins (I have a free OpenID through Verisign, but you already have one if you are an AOL, Blogger, Flickr/Yahoo, or WordPress users [and others]…full details on the OpenID link I provided).

With those credentials in hand, fire up your browser and head to Facebook and then choose to use the old Facebook (it’s just temporary, but one step will fail if you’re not in “old Facebook mode”). Highlight “Friends” and select “Status Updates”:

On the status update screen, look on the right under “Subscribe” for a “Friends’ Status Feed” link. Right click on it and copy it (however you do that with your browser/system). Save and protect this URL!!! It has direct access to the status updates of your friends (and, hence, part of your account) so you should not disclose it without consideration.

The next step is to go to twitterfeed and login:

Once you login, create a new feed and populate it with your alternate Twitter credentials and Facebook Friends’ Status RSS feed URL. I highly recommend testing both your login and feed (via the provided links). You can tweak the other settings to match your preferences. The only downside is that if your friends have any more than five (5) updates since the last check, you will miss them. You can choose an alternate feed-post-to-Twitter provider (or roll your own) if this becomes an issue).

The last step is to follow your alternate Twitter user id and you will begin receiving updates every 30 minutes (or longer, depending on how often your friends post status updates).

This setup is only as robust as Twitter, Facebook RSS and twitterfeed, so you have no guarantees from me on how stable it will be, but it has been working well since I configured it.

If you have an alternate solution, definitely drop a note in the comments!  Continue reading »

Today was our last official session with our counselor, Bent Meyer (Grace Groups NW). While we’ll be checking in again in about a month, we are heading out into our new, uncharted waters together.

God has been doing some amazing things in both of us. More on that in another post, tho. I just wanted to drop a quick note to let folks know the good news and progress update.

Those who use cadence sensors have probably had their fair share of pedal magnets fall off. Between accidents and just minor wear, I go through 1-2 of my Garmin magnets per year, partly due to how poorly they are designed to attach to the pedal.

I was at Gregg’s Cycle up near the Alderwood Mall (Lynnwood, WA) and noticed a cheap replacement Cat Eye cadence pedal magnet and decided to give it a try. The way it attaches is much more secure than the Garmin magnet and it works perfectly with the Garmin wheel sensor.

You can grab it directly from Cat Eye for less than $2.00 USD (hit that page and search for “169-9766”) or from Gregg’s for just a bit more (but, it’s local if you happen to be in the greater Seattle area).

I have been remiss in blogging but not without excuse. My MacBook Pro took a power dive and was in repair, Liz visited and we’ve had quite a bit going on all around.

Life continues to be challenging, but the counselor Mary & I have been seeing has been extremely helpful and much progress has been made on that front. Daughter #2 could really use some prayer (just pray that He would become the center of her life…can’t get into more details).

God has truly been working in my life as evidenced even today in something that occurred on the way to Thursday Men’s Morning Prayer @ Mars Hill - Wedgwood. Down towards Lake City, it was very apparent that a nasty accident occurred sometime earlier that morning and that the responders needed to use some serious gadgets to rip the roof off of the Volkswagen that has been pretty mangled. There were still tons of response vehicles on the scene and one could easily see what was left of the VW.

My heart sank and my stomach severely churned. I immediately thought of whomever was in there and their friends and family members. The state of the car had to mean some pretty serious injuries, possibly fatalities. Bob 2.0 - without pause, and now communicated without boasting - immediately asked God to be with those who were hurt and their friends and family members. This is solely as a result of His Spirit working and directing my thoughts and actions.

I can tell you what Bob 1.0 would have thought: he would have assessed and analyzed the damage, made some calculations as to the likelihood of the scenario and wondered how long the cleanup had been going on. He would have acknowledged that folks were injured and been thankful that the responders were there. He probably would have also been glad that it was on the other side of the road and that it was not going to impact how he was going to get where he was going. The whole thing would have been objectified and colored through the lens of self.  Continue reading »

Managed to actually, finally get to listen to “Big Blue Sky”.

Wow.

This is amazingly on target and really caused an unplanned surge of emotion.

Perhaps She’ll Wait

They say you cannot walk before you crawl
I wonder why, I wonder why
Because everybody dreams before they fall
A wonder world and then we lose it all

But I wil dream of tomorrow
Where the past will not be in my way
Passion lives another day
And I will dream of tomorrow
Where perhaps she’ll wait for me

And every single heart that I have held
In my hands, in my clumsy hands
I fumbled them around until they fell
It’s much safer ground just keeping to myself

But I still dream of tomorrow
Where the past will not be in my way
Passion lives another day
And I still dream of tomorrow
Where perhaps she’ll wait for me
And perhaps she’ll wait for me

Well, I had some time post-4AM and pre-leave-for-work and had been wanting to make it so I could actually eat breakfast at, you know, the breakfast nook in the kitchen.

All of us in the house have a bad habit of just tossing stuff on available horizontal space and leaving it there and this counter is an extremely good target.

I took it upon myself to be the one to clean it up this time and I thought it would be a good surprise for Mary. Well, the kids got up and out without supervision and managed to turn my nice surprise into an lovely AM annoyance for her and my mom. There were two vases, one with a rose and one that Jarrod made (“pen flowers” in dry beans). Because I made the stools accessible and the counter area free to access the items, Ian took the beans and scattered them all over the floor.

Sigh.

We both got a good post-event laugh out of it, tho, and the space is clear now (for how long remains to be seen)…

(post title is from the opening of a Caedmon’s Call song - “Trouble”)

Faith and patience are difficult items. It’s easy to write about and advise about, but living it with the type of situation I/we are in is a completely different thing. A friend wrote about “shifting sand” (another Cademon’s Call reference) today and it’s amazing how one’s heart can go all over the place, even when there is evidence of God having done great things and real progress being made.

I’ve been a fan of “The Upper Room” since Harvey introduced it to me and while I’ve ignored far more than I have started to consider over the past 10 years, the daily e-mails (along with the devotional materials I use daily) are wonderful. I was having another “shifting sand” morning (despite a good 4AM time) and finally got around to reading today’s e-mail update.

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. -James 1:2-5 (NRSV)

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. -2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

A great deal of damage was done over a great deal of time. It’s supposed to hurt. It’s going to take time. The outcome is (as it always has been) in God’s very capable hands and He will be on the other side of it either way.

I’m not sure if my previous posts have effectively indicated where things really are. Mary & I are in “try” mode. Restoring trust and love is not a given. It may not happen. This journey is truly into the unknown at this point. I have faith, hope and trust in God to make a way. That does not mean that I am not concerned, sad, confused, and - yes - worried - at times that this will not turn out the way I would like it to.

Make no mistake, I love my wife. I understand what that means now and I am absolutely in love with her. She is also the most beautiful and intriguing woman I have ever met. So, on top of being in love with her I am crazy about her as well. I would and continue to do anything in my power and available with our resources for her.

I covet prayer for the Holy Spirit to reawaken the love she once had for me. All I can do now is live in God’s will, be a real husband and servant to my wife and work on restoring relationships. I pray almost constantly. Everything is in God’s hands at this point (not that it wasn’t before, but you know what I mean).

With God back at His proper place in my life, the lack of reciprocal love from my spouse is not devastating. It hurts and does have an impact on my productivity (I really need to do my extracurricular writing for a whole host of reasons and this situation is killing my concentration…not having a trustworthy Mac has been extra hard as well). My stomach is in knots (off-and-on). My brain understands the trust-in-God “thing”, but my heart just aches at times.

I pray to God to fill Mary & I with the real knowledge and recognition of His presence and to provide all the joy, peace, happiness and love in Christ she deserves. I ask that He send His Holy Spirit to unite us in love…to knit our hearts back together…to restore our family. If I could set part of my consciousness on infinite loop, I would.

My reading and private times give me the sense that this can only happen if I allow Him to make me into the man/person I need to be for Him, for Mary and our children (it isn’t the only thing, though, but many items are not “open source”). I ask God to break, dissolve and disintegrate me every day and to help me rely on Him when I stumble. He must show through every step, every gesture, every action, every word.

Bear in mind that He has already moved a situation that was impossible, dead, defunct, etc. to “try”. He has done many things that I cannot share in a blog post. I never forget the marvelous works He has already performed and am inspired to believe that He can fully restore “us”.

Tori & I are in the process of completing the membership program at Mars Hill and will be kicking up our involvement there soon. While I may still be in “intensive care” mode, I am compelled to do more than Sunday worship, every-other-week community group meeting and weekly Men’s prayer. I must serve. While I/we have needs that are great, the world does not revolve around Mary, I and the kids.

I really have to get back to work, but wanted to share that Psalm 40 (my primary devotional Psalm this week) was just what I needed this morning. I am focused greatly on Psalm 40:1a and asking for His help to enable me to wait patiently for the Lord.

It’s been seven days since the last post. God has not been idle.

A situation that was all but sealed in stone from a human perspective has been given an opportunity. What I and we do in response to this gift holds the key to where this journey leads.

I started counseling Monday and Mary came with me. I won’t go into details, but, just re-read that sentence. We *both* went. There is now “try” where there was “over”.

Yesterday was the date of our 18th wedding anniversary. Mary & I spent much of the day together (work has been more gracious that words can convey). She is truly a wondrous creation in Christ. Make no mistake, this is a journey we have ahead. (When I prayerfully consider what to blog on this, I receive the distinct impression that this is about as “open source” as I should be on this subject for a while). Just know that God is abundantly good and is most certainly working.

As far as the rest of the family goes, you’ve missed a birthday for Jarrod, a dance performance for Tori and a grooming for Pippin (and something from yesterday which I need to get pictures of before disclosing). I promise to get some things posted this weekend. Time has not been an ally this week and my finger therapy and skitzoid MacBook Pro (it has an electrical short somewhere) have also not contributed positively to the situation.

Please continue to keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers and that God would continue to use His Holy Spirit to heal all of us.