Google Today, SkyNet Tomorrow: My Birthday Edition

I was surprised to see this when I fired up the ol' Lappy 486 yesterday:

Yes, it's probably just based on a simple date in my Google+ profile (yes, I have one. no, I don't use it. yes, I'm still ashamed to have one), but it's nonetheless indicative of the coming SkyNet takeover.

And yet, I still like that it was a screen just for me.

So thanks, Google, for personalizing my internet experience yesterday.
And even more, thanks to all of you who made it a great day by wishing me a happy birthday through calls, texts, in-person greetings, and Facebook wall posts!

I'm who I am today because of all of you! Muchas gracias!

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Happy Birthday, Nikola Tesla!

Tesla was a genius. He deserves a birthday shout-out.
Way cooler than Edison, but gets little to no credit.

He was "quirky", but invented a whole bunch of useful gadgets (here's his Wikipedia page).

Here's the short version intro of Tesla vs Edison:

Some of his awesome inventions/discoveries included:

• AC (alternating current) electricity - better than DC (direct current) for a lot of reasons (link).
• Radio - yes, radio. Marconi got credit initially, but Tesla did it first.
• Fluorescent and neon lights - where would Las Vegas and Atlantic City be without Tesla?
• Hydroelectric power plants - Niagara Falls was a good place to start that one.

Here's a looooooong (but wonderful/excellent/fantastic) graphic from theoatmeal.com to explain it:
Apologies in advance to my readers for the swearing.

Hope you found that informative and simultaneously humorous. I sure did.

So happy birthday, Nikola! And Thomas Edison can suck it!

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Earth-Gazing Makes Me Want to Be an Astronaut

I gotta get to space.

I don't care that NASA isn't sending up more shuttles.
Maybe someday I can afford a private flight up to space so I can see this with my own eyes.

Remarkable view, isn't it?
My childhood desire to be an astronaut has been renewed by the video below.

Watch it full-screen HD, and be prepared for a state of awe and appreciation for our world and its beauty.

OVERVIEW from Planetary Collective on Vimeo.

One of the astronauts used the term "poetic", which I think is perfect.
It's amazing to see our planet from space.

Definitely poetry-inspiring.

We're on this beautiful rock together.
We are all connected.

So is anybody willing to lend me $250K (US) for a seat on Virgin Galactic?
I'll even take the seat next to Justin Bieber if I have to.

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Behind the Scenes: Making "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

The movie Raiders of the Lost Ark hit the big screen 32 years ago today.

Nine Academy Awards nominations and four wins followed, as well as plenty of fans over the years.

Including, of course, my family and me.

So to celebrate the birth of the Indiana Jones series, here's a Robot Chicken video:

Spot on.

Let's just hope any future Indiana Jones movies follow after Raiders and not after Crystal Skull...

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The DFW Monorail

Ah, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW).

Every time I go through this airport and have to switch terminals, I have the opportunity to remember the classic 'Monorail' episode of the Simpsons.

If you've never seen it, you need to look up a clip or at least read the lyrics. Actually, no, only watching the clip will suffice.

For example, it includes such lines as:

Apu- Is there a chance the track could bend?

Salesman- Not on your life, my Hindu friend!

Just go watch it.

Update: Since I love you guys so much, here is the clip.

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Lecorpio User Conference 2013

Our company held its first (annual?) Lecorpio User Conference on Friday, and it was a dandy.

The Utah team got to fly out to the Bay Area for it, which was cool, other than having to wake up before 4 am to make our Thursday morning flight. After landing in Oakland, we drove down to the office for conference prep and also to get our company shirts.

I think he doubles as a shirt model in his spare time

Our hotel was in Burlingame, so we'd be close to the conference in the morning.
For convenience, we hit up a restaurant in that area for dinner. Mmm, I love a good steak.

Everybody was at the venue early on Friday to set up, and we started meeting the clients right off the bat.

There were various speeches, presentations, and panels throughout the day, including giving the attendees a chance to air their thoughts and requests for updates to the software. Good stuff.

Thanks for a great time at the conference, Lecorpio friends and attendees! See you again in 2014!

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RIP Google Reader

When I went to check this morning which of my friends had posted blogs, I was met with a rude awakening.

Why, Google?! Why?!

Here's the story if you want to know more about the history and their reasoning.

So now I have to figure out how I'll follow my blogs.

Any suggestions? Other programs you guys use?

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IMHO: Don't Tear Your Achilles Tendon

It isn't worth it.

Really, there's almost no upside that I've been able to see so far.

Day 1: Tues, Sept 25
I tore an Achilles tendon a couple weeks ago on a work trip to the SF Bay area.
As is apparently the norm for these injuries, I was playing basketball when it happened.

Funny thing is, I had a feeling beforehand that I shouldn't play.
Didn't have my basketball shoes or ankle braces that I'd normally wear, and it just didn't feel right.

Well, ten minutes into the game, I was playing well and then, when going after a rebound, I suddenly felt like someone had kicked me in the Achilles as hard as they could. Searing pain and an inability to put any pressure on the ball of my foot were what got me worried immediately about a ruptured Achilles, but I hoped it was just a really bad sprained ankle. I really, really, really hoped.

On the night of the injury;
yes, that's a McDonalds to-go bag filled with ice.

Day 2: Wed, Sept 26
The leg continued to hurt like crazy the next day, and I couldn't walk very well on it. However, since we were on the business trip, we still went to the client site and I just hobbled around.

Hobbling through the airport was not too fun, but I was happy to be getting home where I could rest easier and get it checked by a doctor if it didn't feel better after a few days.

Next evening, back in SLC

Day 3: Thurs, Sept 27
My family had a few Bledsoe boots laying around from high school injuries, so I used one of those to be able to get around and function semi-normally. Driving my car was impossible, since it's a manual transmission, but my dad was kind enough to lend me his auto transmission car for a little while.

Day 7: Mon, Oct 1
Unfortunately, my walking ability hadn't improved after a week of that, so I figured it was time to visit an orthopedic specialist.

The docs at TOSH were booked through November, but they referred me their colleague, Dr Spencer Richards, at Intermountain Healthcare's Sports Medicine Specialists Group up in Bountiful, UT.

Fortunately, he could fit me in for an appointment the next day.

Day 8: Tues, Oct 2
Dr Richards was very friendly and easy to talk with, and he used an ultrasound to see clearly that my Achilles tendon had fully ruptured.

Let's just say the big black gap in the middle is a bad thing

Since Dr Richards doesn't do too many reconstruction operations, he referred me to Dr Troy Gorman at LDS Hospital, who has lots of experience and could probably fit me into the operating schedule soon.

Day 9: Wed, Oct 3
Wearing my Bledsoe boot, I hobbled into Dr Gorman's office, and he was able to quickly agree with Dr Richards' conclusion. Just to be sure no bone fragment had been ripped from my heel when the tendon tore, he took some xrays of my ankle. Thankfully, my heel was perfectly intact.

Things seemed to be moving very quickly at this point, and Dr Gorman said he could fit me in for surgery the next day. Yikes. I was a little nervous, but I knew it needed to be done and that I'd rather do it sooner than later, so he added me to the operating schedule and I spread the word to family, friends, and work.

Day 10: Thurs, Oct 4
My mom gave me a ride to LDS hospital bright and early. I checked in, filled out the necessary paper work, and got into this super awesome patient get-up. One nicety is that they let you wear your own underoos plus those pants, so your derriere isn't open to the world in the back of the smock. It's all about the small victories, right?

I kept the other sock, too, so I'd have a matching pair after.

As for pain management during the operation, they used both a nerve blocker and a general anesthetic, so I didn't feel anything and I couldn't even move my leg to cause any complications. I'm glad they did, because it would have been weird to be awake for the 1-1.5 hr surgery.

I don't like needles, but this one was absolutely necessary.

Afterwards, I was in the post-anesthesia room for a bit, and then my mom and I got to hang out in a private recovery room for maybe 30-45 mins. When I felt ready, they wheeled me down to the front doors, put me in the car, and let my mom take me home.

Yes, I was groggy at this point, but aware enough to ask my mom to take a picture haha

I know I've still got a lot of healing and then rehab ahead, but I'm glad to be on my way to recovery. And I'm grateful to all who have helped so far as well as those who will help in the future.

You can bet there will be updates and further posts in this 4-6 month long road to full health.

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Metallica Monday: Fade to Black

I like to pick a Metallica Monday song that fits what's going on in my life, either in the title, the lyrics, or the subject matter of the video.

Which is why this week I chose:

Fade to Black

More extensive post to come, but I had surgery last Thursday to reconstruct a torn Achilles tendon.

Going into the hospital, I thought I'd just get a local anesthetic and a nerve blocker during the procedure, but the surgical nurse and anesthesiologist informed me that I'd be knocked out.

It kinda makes sense, and I'm glad they did, because laying still on my stomach for an hour and a half would be tough, and it'd be one more concern for the surgical team to worry about.

Anyway, after a minor anesthetic, they injected the nerve blocker in the back of my knee, and then they completed the trio with a stronger anesthetic which quickly made everything "fade to black".

Next thing I knew, I woke up in the post-op room.

Yes, there really is a Metallica song for every occasion.

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My Little Rascal-ly Amigo

I'm behind on my blogposts, and some of you may not even know I tore my Achilles tendon.

Well, before I'd been to the doctor to find that out, I just thought I'd majorly sprained my ankle.

And during that pre-knowledge-of-torn-Achilles time, I realized a life-long dream when Nick and I stopped by Walmart to get some keys made for the office:

I rode around the store on an Amigo.

Yep, that's a motorized shopping cart I'm rocking.
Not quite as sleek or sexy as the Rascal I'd hoped for, but an acceptable substitute.

I do have to admit something, though.

After riding the Amigo for a few minutes, I felt awkward.
The cart is ridiculously slow, and even with my hurt foot I didn't feel right or like I fit the profile of a person who would normally be driving one around a store.

So when we stopped to look at sunglasses, I ditched it and walked the rest of our time in Walmart.

Oh well, it's still something to check off my bucket list.

Have you ever ridden one of those bad boys? What was your experience?

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Would You Ride a Cardboard Bike?

I love technology, especially when it's reinventing something familiar in a new way.

So this article really interested me.

Who thinks of this stuff?
Building a bike out of cardboard?

And making it strong enough to be able to carry almost 500 lbs?
Now that's durable!

Granted, I don't envision many 500 lb people riding bikes (props to those that do), but what about people transporting water or other supplies? This could really come in handy in developing countries.

Or it could just be a convenient around-town bike, for those who don't want their nice bike to get stolen.

Would you try riding one? I'm gonna keep an eye on this.

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Check Out Spurfly in the iPhone App Store

Spurfly has been approved and is now available for download!

After a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, plus two kickoff events (read here and here), my friends reached the point that their app could be submitted for approval. The iPhone app store gave it the go-ahead, and now you can check out this social networking app for yourself.

In case you haven't heard about the app yet from either my friends or me, here's a quick summary
[Note: Some changes from the original release]:

Spurfly (Spur-of-the-moment, on-the-fly) is an app that let's you share activity ideas or plans with a group (avoids spam texts or mass emails) or share free time availability when you want to get looped in on activities. For example: share last-minute lunch plans with a specific group to loop in people that want to join, or if you're headed to a movie and don't mind if a couple people join you, then post your plans rather than send a mass text. Friends and acquaintances who are free and checking the app can tag along, too. Helps you get connected or be more inclusive by looping in people who want to join without resorting to a text to everyone you know each time you're planning something.

Check it out here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spurfly/id523286124?mt=8

Thanks again for all the help, we'd love your help in spreading the word around and trying it out. We think when we get critical mass that this will be an awesome way to make socializing more inclusive since it will make it lots easier to include people who want to tag along for everyday activities rather than just huge plans.

Best and thanks again,

Dave Marble & Seth Wheeler (along with Scott Clark, Jeff Chambers, Sam Owen, Staci Wheeler, Reed Farnsworth, Tyler Delange, and Bill Doolittle)

I know they've put in a lot of hours to make a quality app that will enhance our ability to coordinate activities and be more social with less effort. Check it out and let both them and me know what you think!

Note: So far the app is only available for iPhone, but a web-based browser app and Droid app should be coming in the hopefully-not-too-distant future.

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Spurfly Kickoff #2: Twinkie Brunch

Remember the first Spurfly Kickoff event? It was awesome, so we figured another was in order.

Thus the Spurfly Twinkie Brunch.

Thankfully, the weather played along nicely, and our brunch could be picnic-style in the backyard.

Check out some shots:

The Twinkie Berry Trifle, this event's crowning glory.

You've gotta have more than just Twinkies for brunch.

Rolling up the sleeves in prep for attacking the food table.

Great spot on the lawn for a bite to eat and some conversation.

Classic and scrumptious. The Twinkie, I mean.
On second thought, the gal, too.

Thumbs up for this trio.

Definitely some good brunch banter going on.

Bright spring/summer colors!

Even the photographer likes to be in a photo once in a while.

Hugs if you like Spurfly!

Practically semi-pro hip-poppers.

Representin'.

Another great event, and we still have a whole lot of Twinkies.
I wonder what's next in our saga to use all 1,000 of them...

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