Trans Alipine Run 2012. Scenery Shots

Trans Alipine Run 2012. Scenery Shots

They just released the finishers certificate for the TransAlpine Race.

They just released the finishers certificate for the TransAlpine Race. We got ripped off by a few kms as the real total should be at least 320km!'

I just pulled up the statistics on Garmin connect for the last couple of months, this includes all the running in...

I just pulled up the statistics on Garmin connect for the last couple of months, this includes all the running in the Rockies and the Alps. Some amazing figures there for me, considering my lack of base and experience. 
I have to attribute the success to Bernadette, her tireless support and encouragement got me through all the difficult days.

Italian sign..

Italian sign..

http://bernadettedownunder.blogspot.ch/

http://bernadettedownunder.blogspot.ch/
http://bernadettedownunder.blogspot.ch/

360 Panorama from little moose, our last mountain run on our last day in Canada.

360 Panorama from little moose, our last mountain run on our last day in Canada. Moose mountain is the pointy one with the fire lookout on top.

Looking ahead to the Trans Alpine Race!

Looking ahead to the Trans Alpine Race!

Ok, a year ago it was so easy to think this would be a good idea!

It's an 8 day stage race through the Alps, I'll be trying to keep up with my record setting sweetheart...

Here is the 50km first stage..

Running Statistics.

Running Statistics.

Yesterday was 44km with at least 830m of elevation gain, possibly as much as 1250m if you turn the altitude correction off ;-)

My legs are starting to show signs of wear after an epic month that is now averaging over 100km a week in distance and a total elevation gain of 12,000m!

I've had by Garmin forerunner 305 for a couple of years now. I have worn it sporadically for most of the time, although lately I have been more likely to wear it.

It now records my total distance run as 4,761 Km and I would guess this is missing at least 30% of the distance when I never bothered to wear the Garmin.

I'm also on 543 Hours of running, 62km of elevation gain and over 300,000 calories.

 FYI 300,000 calories earned me 857 full strength beers and 25kg of  80% dark Swiss chocolate ;-)

For the last year my distance run each week and elevation look like this...

I took a lot of photos yesterday, like everyone else I tried to capture the amazing scenery as we climbed up and...

Originally shared by rolf schatzmann

I took a lot of photos yesterday, like everyone else I tried to capture the amazing scenery as we climbed up and over the ridge. I tried to set-up panoramic shots where possible and some of them turned out quite well, considering that I was using a cheap waterproof digital point and click and holding the camera in my hands..

I took a lot of photos yesterday, like everyone else I tried to capture the amazing scenery as we climbed up and...

Originally shared by rolf schatzmann

I took a lot of photos yesterday, like everyone else I tried to capture the amazing scenery as we climbed up and over the ridge. I tried to set-up panoramic shots where possible and some of them turned out quite well, considering that I was using a cheap waterproof digital point and click and holding the camera in my hands..

I took a lot of photos yesterday, like everyone else I tried to capture the amazing scenery as we climbed up and...

I took a lot of photos yesterday, like everyone else I tried to capture the amazing scenery as we climbed up and over the ridge. I tried to set-up panoramic shots where possible and some of them turned out quite well, considering that I was using a cheap waterproof digital point and click and holding the camera in my hands..

Upload GPX files to your Garmin Forerunner 305 from linux...

Upload GPX files to your Garmin Forerunner 305 from linux...

Use GPSBabel and the following command:

gpsbabel -i gpx -f your_file.gpx -t -o garmin -F usb:

Use the excellent 3rd party garmin connect plugin for linux to download..

http://www.andreas-diesner.de/garminplugin/doku.php?id=start
http://www.andreas-diesner.de/garminplugin/doku.php?id=start

Here is a panorama I just made of the view from the top of the ridge we ran along today...

Here is a panorama I just made of the view from the top of the ridge we ran along today...

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/206636228

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/206636228
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/206636228

Another epic day!

Another epic day!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/206296342
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/206296342

Drinking possibly the worst beer in the world kokanee red!

6GB of free space on Wuala

I have been testing different cloud storage providers for quite a while now. The companies I am planning to keep dealing with long term are Dropbox, Google Drive, SpiderOak and Wuala.

They all have different things to offer, and whilst there is a part of me that longs for the simplicity of 'one cloud to rule them all' , the reality is that they are all better at something.

Wuala has a fine pedigree having been created by LaCie, and now bought by Seagate. They offer secure cloud encrypted storage similar to SpiderOak, but their software is far more advanced. You are able to go back in time to find that old version of a file in case it gets corrupted or you need to roll back to a previous version, this is a killer feature.

As the data is all encrypted before it leaves your machine and only you hold the keys, you really can be certain that it is secure and private.

Wuala have a referrals program like most providers, and if you sign up for a free account using the link below you will start with a Free 6GB account.

http://www.wuala.com/referral/K54B6FMP3M4NG3F4H6JH

Another thermic winter flight!

http://youtu.be/VrGNGIbgY9A

http://youtu.be/VrGNGIbgY9A

http://youtu.be/VrGNGIbgY9A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrGNGIbgY9A

If you are looking for a cheap Android smartphone. $49 fits the bill nicely. 

You can get the LG Optimus P690 Shine/Net/Spirit at Coles for $49 with a fly buys card or at a similar price on Ebay or at Australia Post. (With up to $10 credit and 1000 bonus points!)

The phone is a Hel$tra branded phone and comes with all their crap, however you can flash a clean Android Rom in about 15 minutes and have a fast and unbranded phone.

You can get the unbranded Indian Rom here:

http://csmg.lgmobile.com:9002/swdata/WEBSW/LGP690/AINDBK/V10e_00/V10E_00.kdz

Then follow these simple steps...

Sadly, you have to be running a version of windows, XP and 7 both suffice.

Get the LG USB drivers here and install them:

http://www.lg.com/au/support/product/support-product-profile-mobile-redux.jsp?customerModelCode=LGP690F&matchedModelCode=1400007741&searchEngineModelCode=LGP690F&initialTab=warranty&targetPage=support-product-profile

Then download and install the LG software update program:

http://csmg.lgmobile.com:9002/client/app/B2CAppSetup.exe

Download and extract KDZ_FW_UPD_EN.7z from XDA Developers:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=420545&d=1287222698

Configure your phone: Settings -> Applications -> Development, Tick USB Debugging

Connect your phone to the Windows PC using USB cable and wait until Windows has completed the installing drivers part...

Connect the phone but DO NOT turn on USB storage

Run KDZ_FW_UPD.exe as Administrator

Set Type: 3GQCT           Phone Mode: DIAG

Select the V10E_00.kdz file you downloaded at the start and click Lauch Software Update...

Be patient and 10-20 mins later your phone should reboot and you are Telstra Branding Free!

If it fails to reboot, try pulling the battery. If that fails try the Android 3 finger salute on this phone press Volume Down, Home and Power and release when you see the android...

That's pretty cool, an unbranded android device that works on the 850mhz (Next G) and 2100 3G networks as well as all the GSM networks, but how is this!

Download the Box application on the phone and register a new account (or even log in with your existing account) and get a FREE LIFETIME UPGRADE TO 50GB of storage. FREE. FOR YOUR LIFE!. Just for having an LG phone. 

If you have bought this phone for someone who struggles with small screens and complicated buttons, then you should consider installing this:

http://biglauncher.com/

It makes the phone very simple to operate and is great for the very old or young.

I had a nice flight on the Perfex yesterday.

I had a nice flight on the Perfex yesterday. Cold fingers setting it up and pulling it apart.. Considering it was the shortest day of the year the thermals were a real joy. 
I remembered that I had forgotten to adjust my harness after it was last borrowed, nothing worse than not being able to get comfortable...

My thick motorbike gloves stopped my fingers freezing, but make operating zips and buttons impossible!

It took me nearly an hour to setup and then pull apart the Perfex, out of practice and cold fingers to blame...

Despite some niggles it is always a joy to fly Mt Bakewell and look down on the surrounding countryside, so lush and green at this time of the year.


Winter Solstice Hang Gliding at Mt Bakewell York
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOhO-Eo9JFs

If you are running Linux and you have a joystick with a POV hat that is not working with software designed with...

If you are running Linux and you have a joystick with a POV hat that is not working with software designed with windoze as the reference, there is finally a great solution. Jhat was good, this is much better.

http://wilmer.gaa.st/blog/archives/73-uhat,-using-your-joysticks-hat-switch-in-Linux-flight-simulators.html
http://wilmer.gaa.st/blog/archives/73-uhat,-using-your-joysticks-hat-switch-in-Linux-flight-simulators.html

Congenital Short Hard Heel Syndrome

Congenital Short Hard Heel Syndrome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqBQiBByVgE

Title

Originally shared by rolf schatzmann

Free Online Cloud Backup Solutions

There is no longer any excuse for losing your data!

There are now several online services that offer you free data storage that can be used for backup. They vary a little and so I am going to go over some of them here and explain the differences. 

These are in no particular order, as I think they are all great services. *

Firstly if you are looking for a fast and secure way to backup one or multiple computers and your mobile devices, then Spideroak is one of the simplest options.

Just download their clients onto your computers & phones and then select what you want to sync. That's it! No complicated schedules or doing anything at all.  It means you can also access the same stuff from multiple machines, and share files too.  They give you a free account with 2GB storage for life, but if you use the link here, you will get an extra 1GB for free!

Get a free online backup solution, which includes Full Encryption of your data, together with dual keys for extra security. The free account comes with 2GB of space for life. Use the link below to sign up and get 3GB Free!

Spideroak is enterprise grade software and includes clients that automatically sync your data. It works with all computer operating systems and mobile phones too. If you find you need more space 100GB is around $10 so there is no excuse not to back up all your data now!

https://spideroak.com/download/referral/2aef3c1be970b57726b27f795ab6253f

Dropbox are better known, they offer a cloud hosted solution that lets you sync one or multiple folders from your machine. They don't encrypt your data like Spideroak and so it's up to you to make sure that you have enough laters of security around anything sensitive. 

Dropbox also have clients for most operating systems and phones.

Dropbox give you 2GB of free space, but you can get an extra 500MB by using the link below:

http://db.tt/OQJgYXd

Other Options....

There are also other cloud based services like Ubuntu One and Google Drive that offer free space. Both these options give you 5GB of free space for life when you sign up.

The Ubuntu service integrates nicely with the OS and also your mobile devices.

Google drive is the new name for Google Docs, it's early days yet, but presumably they will have some decent clients and backup options out soon.

And my favourite Operating System is?

My personal OS recommendation for most people is Ubuntu. It is fast and stable and dynamic, but most importantly it is FREE. I have not used Windows (except to play the occasional game) since 2006. You don't need Windows, there is a better life after Windows, seize it!

Ubuntu is much more than just a single OS. It runs on virtually any hardware. It comes in different flavours that are optimised for Servers, or Graphic Design or Education. 

If you are using Ubuntu One you can add extra storage space for just $29.99 per 20GB per year.

*Except for this one! 

(There is also the Micro$haft Skydive option, but given their history of mediocre security and locked down products I would avoid it like the plague. It also requires a windows live account *shudder*)