iTestThings

Travel Roller

leo.flor — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:42:06 +0000

Knowing my obsession with foam rolling and yoga, my sister bought me what I now consider the greatest gift ever, the Travel Roller. The highlights:

Hard plastic roller
Three varying tension balls
Compact design and easy to travel with (get your roll on anywhere)
Made from earth friendly materials, TPE Foam
Includes an instructional DVD from the creators who are both Kinesiology grads.

Admittedly I didn’t watch the videos until after I had been using it for weeks. No one knows my body better than I do and I enjoy trying to figure things out on my own at times. Rolling on top of the tennis ball sized tension balls provides localized pressure that I found really effective for targeting pain spots.

The North Face Etip Glove

leo.flor — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 22:21:17 +0000

Got my hands on another glove that was specifically built for using touchscreen devices: the North Face Etip Glove. I had high hopes for these gloves as my previous endeavor into this realm, the Burton Touchscreen Liner was rather disappointing.

The verdict? These gloves are much better than those Burton ones but still leave much to be desired. The touchscreen pads work quite well; this time the downfall lies with the fact that the gloves don’t keep your hands warm (a glove’s primary function). Even in temperatures close to the freezing mark, I found my hands cold.

Three other comments as stated in my previous post:

the palm and other fingers should have “stickier” padding;
the touchscreen element should wrap around the index finger and thumb so that you can use the sides of these digits;
the glove should expand to the size of the users hand to ensure a tighter fit.

TRENDnet Wireless N Day/Night Internet Camera

leo.flor — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 17:52:16 +0000

Rather than buying a baby monitor, I decided to set up a webcam instead. So I picked up an inexpensive one from www.newegg.ca, the Trendnet TV-IP121WN Internet Camera. The advantages are three-fold:

There are numerous apps (some free) that view the camera from an array of different platforms (iOS, Android, PC). On the iPad at home I use SecurView and I can even look in when I’m out and about using my Google Nexus 4 using TinyCam Monitor Free.
Once I no longer need a baby monitor, it easily becomes a home security camera.
It’s a cheaper than most baby monitors.

The picture quality is not bad either and it’s a Day/Night cam so it works even when the room is dark.

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More info on the TRENDnet TV-IP121WN 640 x 480 MAX Resolution RJ45 SecurView Wireless N Day/Night Internet Camera:

Very easy to set up. If you know how to set up a router, you can set this camera up pretty easily. Once it’s on your wireless network you can view the video on any number of devices.
It has other functionality such as motion-detection capture, it can even email you (I haven’t yet tested this).
Cons: The main complaint with the camera, which I knew about prior to purchasing, is that the colour is a little off. For some reason the video comes out with slight pinkish hues.

my divorce from Telus and casually dating Wind Mobile

leo.flor — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:28:59 +0000

After mulling it over for a few months, I decided it was time I got a new phone (a Google Nexus 4). I’d been using a Blackberry for a while now and although things started out rosy, it was time to move on to a better smartphone.

I knew that once off Blackberry, I would need more data than I was getting with my current plan. (Blackberry uses push technology which is typically more efficient data use vs polling.)

While researching wireless plans, my coworker recommended I check out Wind Mobile. They had a plan that was unlimited everything and a promotion if you brought your own phone. Being that a Nexus 4 is sold by Google unlocked, it seemed like a good way to get a new phone and tie it to a plan that wouldn’t punish me for using too much data.

After talking to Telus customer service a couple of times about my plans, they couldn’t negotiate my existing plan into anything resembling the neighbourhood (cost and features) of Wind. So I decided it was time to leave even though I was still on contract. Because of the price difference in my plan, I save almost 40% on my bill per month. This pays for me breaking my Telus contract after 5 months. It pays for my new phone in two years. Plus Wind requires no commitment (and I have an unlocked phone) so I can keep shopping for better plans if something comes up.

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So how is Wind?

Because I live in Toronto, my Wind network coverage is pretty good. The only problem I experienced was when I went up to Collingwood to snowboard. Couldn’t get a signal on the hill at Alpine Ski Club.

Further re: unlocked phones

I will realize the biggest benefit to having an unlocked phone when I travel. When I visit the states or go back to the Philippines, I can buy a local prepaid SIM, pop it into my phone and enjoy calls/text/data without worrying about a huge roaming bill.

quick and dirty guide to newborns

leo.flor — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:18:39 +0000

Definitely wouldn’t call myself an expert but my family has survived the first three months of our first child and I wanted to share a couple of things that helped me get through it.

1) The Five Ss: (What is this?)

Swaddle – I do have some experience folding things.
Side/Stomach – I’d carry him like a football, in one arm or two arms; on his side or belly.
Shush – I’d make my own shhh sound or use a white noise maker (a friend got me sleep sheep).
Swing – I would rock the baby or dance with him; kinda like a waltz or something side-to-side.
Suck – Try a pacifier.

2) Baby Language: A friend showed me the Dunstan Baby Language on Oprah (there was a YouTube video which has been taken down, you can check out her site or Wikipedia).
While I didn’t consistently hear these exact sounds from my son, it’s still a short checklist of possible issues he could be experiencing:

Neh – means: “I’m hungry”. This sound I definitely heard. Also based on last time he ate/how much you can get an idea if he’s hungry.
Eh – means: “I need a burp”. There are different ways to burp a baby, when I’m having trouble, again I try dancing, this time salsa steps (or something back-and-forth or up-and-down).
Eairh – means: “I’m gassy/need to fart”. For this I’d lay the little guy on his back and grab his legs by the calves, one in each hand and I’d alternate between making him do bicycle kicks and push both up to his chest.*
Owh – means: “I’m sleepy”. Do pretty much whatever you can to try to get them to sleep (feed, slow rocking, white noise).
Heh – means: “I need a change.” Try the smell test. If still unsure, have a peek.

Hope this helps!

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* Update, we took the little big man to a baby massage class where we learned some belly massages that relieve gas. Any interested readers should learn this from a licensed health professional. (The class instructor was Margaret Wallis-Duffy RMT, who was Jedi-like with her baby whisperer skills.)

RED Shaun White Hi-Fi Helmet

leo.flor — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 17:06:21 +0000

One of the ways I notice I’m evolving into a parent is in the things I buy and don’t buy for myself. Such is the case with this upcoming snowboarding season. Despite finally getting an opportunity to pick up the Craig Kelly inspired Burton Mystery with my instructor discount, I instead decide to update my HELMET (who am I?!). New snowboard money has been reallocated to the baby fund. :(

Though definitely not on the same level of awesome, the new RED Shaun White Hi-Fi Helmet is cool in a couple of ways:

my Skullcandy subwoofer earpiece is still compatible
there is now an Air Band inflatable bladder in the lining of the helmet, making it even more comfortable to wear; similar idea to Reebok Pump

a review of reviews

leo.flor — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:40:40 +0000

Since I typically write about some product about a month or two after I acquire it, I don’t often comment about durability or ownership over an extended period of time; that is what I’d like to do with this post. Here are a couple of products I’ve written about in the past and some quick comments about how I feel about them now.

Macbook

Still my favourite computer I’ve owned. Quick boot-up, still a good battery life, great at everything I want it to do from surfing to watching media to editing video to typing out documents. Hard to imagine I ever buy another PC on the Windows platform. Very happy I splurged on the anti-glare screen.

Beats By Dre Tour In-Ear Headphones

Within the first year I owned these headphones I had to submit a warranty claim because sound stopped coming out of one ear. The wire is not as durable as advertised, a rip appeared in the rubber near the joint where the one wire diverges into two.

Blackberry Torch

This is likely the last Blackberry I will buy. I’ve had phone envy since purchasing an iPhone 4s for my wife last year. While I still like the keyboard, the device’s shortcomings are most evident in:

Lack of app support
Poor quality camera (the delay makes it difficult to take pictures that aren’t blurry unless you own a blackberry yourself and are used to it)
OS seems to hang intermittently when context-switching. This is a deal-breaker for users who are heavy multi-taskers

The main reason for moving away from Blackberry once I get my next upgrade is that I have no faith in Research In Motion’s development team. Lack of leadership combined with laying off a lot of your R&D personnel generally means you will have buggy products.

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Addendum commentary:

Recently I explored upgrading to an iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S3 but didn’t feel either offered enough value to jump to without a full phone upgrade credit from my provider (Telus). The maps issue I find disconcerting on iOS while the Android phone just didn’t inspire me to part with my money. Anyway the longer you wait for technology the more you get. It’s rather amazing to me how the smartphone market has evolved into such a state where people treat these expensive, sophisticated devices as so disposable.

Pro-Tec Athletics Roller Massager

leo.flor — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:54:01 +0000

While I continue to be a major proponent of foam rolling (and myofascial release in general), I needed some way to make this practice portable. I was on the hunt for a 12″ version of a foam roller when I stumbled across the Pro-Tec Athletics Roller Massager (acquired at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Buffalo, NY but available on Amazon). Decided it was worth a shot since I was aware of trainers and professional athletes using something like this. I distinctly recall seeing Brett Lawrie on TV using it on his own quads while sitting in the dugout during a Toronto Blue Jays game.

Like the foam roller, you HAVE TO get one of these if you are active or if you have nagging chronic muscular pain (or if you have a body that moves at all). I find for some body parts it’s easier because you can use your hands, rather than rolling on top of something, which requires some balance and coordination. The trigger point ends are also quite useful and provide something different to rolling.

Best part? With a friend/partner you can roll each other.

Ferrari 458 Italia and Porsche 997 Turbo S

leo.flor — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 02:48:48 +0000

Because of my on-going pursuit of the perfect RIDE, I went back to Exotics Racing when I was in Las Vegas last month. I fulfilled both destiny and fantasy by trying two cars that I’ve had an eye on: the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Porsche 997 Turbo S.

The 458 Italia is a couple of generations removed from the Ferrari I used to daydream of when I first graduated and the prospect of hitting a stock option lottery was still on everyone’s mind, the 360 Modena. These cars are a perfect blend of form and function, the purposely curvy styling makes for delicious auto eye candy as well as being aggressively aerodynamic. The car launches smoothly into the upper regions of the speedometer with only moderate coaxing of the throttle. The paddle-shifting is so buttery-smooth that you barely feel the car change gears at all (though you can certainly hear it). The handling is absolutely phenomenal, you can bend corners as easily as fly through straightaways. In short, Ferrari 458 Italia is the greatest car I have ever had the privilege to drive.

To make the most of the trek to Las Vegas Motor Speedway from the Strip, I opted to try a second car; one that also spent time in my brain over the years, the Porsche 911 (997 Turbo S). To me, the 911 is the supercar that approaches the realm of being practical as a daily commuter and somewhat broaches the possibilities of being affordable. As an unfortunate result of scheduling, I was in the Porsche less than 5 minutes after coming off the track in the Ferrari which I’m convinced has ruined me for all other cars. I couldn’t quite get a handle on the 997 until my later laps, totally under-steering and under-braking. The pickup was as peppy as advertised but shifting felt jerky. Lesson learned: prepare to be underwhelmed driving a Porsche is if you drive a Ferrari immediately before. I think I need a do-over.

As unfair as it is to compare the above cars to each other, I won’t compare them to the Lamborghini Gallardo that I drove last year. I’m going to wait to try out the monstrosity that is the 700 horsepower Aventador to see how that feels as versus the Italia.

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Addendum:

Is it absurd to try to compare a Ferrari 458 Italia to Porsche 997 Turbo S? In short yes, the design approach is completely different and they aren’t in the same price range. My brother (who used to work at a dealership that sold and serviced exotic cars and is knowledgeable in such things) succinctly summed up my issues after I described my experience with him:

“Rear engine weight distribution, all-wheel drive grip, and turbo can be quite the handful after mid-engine, hi-revving, rear drive. Very different skill sets required.”

Maybe he was just trying to make me feel better!

Nike Dri-Fit

leo.flor — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 16:34:50 +0000

If you’ve read other articles in this blog, you might know that once I like a particular product, I usually start collecting a variety of the same (e.g. shoes, gloves, snowboarding socks), such is the case with Nike Dri-Fit shirts. I find nothing more comfortable to play sports in. I hypothesize, for example, that I would shoot a lower percentage while playing basketball if I had to wear a regular cotton tank-top or t-shirt vs a Dri-fit shirt (because bio-mechanics would be restricted by clothes sticking to me). I also wear long sleeve Dri-fit shirts as a base layer when I snowboard because sweating leads to freezing.

Here’s another tip, I wear Dri-fit under my dress-shirt when I go to work. It’s been a hot and humid summer and I am noticeably more comfortable in the office when I have a dri-fit on. Put one on under your club gear when you go out on the town so you don’t end up a sweaty, hot mess.