Furby this evening has both said ‘Work that core’ and something about wanting a protein shake. I must have been talking a bit too loudly about the 30 day abs challenge around it.
Month: May 2014
Burping, Farting Furbys
So a month and a half ago, I proudly announced that I’d been accepted as a speaker to OSCON, on the strength of the a topic called ‘Arduino + Furby Broken Build Notification – Oh, You’ll Want to Fix It Quick’. The pit-stop ahead of OSCON is Next Century’s annual Women In Computing Day (link is for news of 2013 event… 2014 event is June 8), where Furbys will headline the Robotics talk area.
So what appeals to young ladies, roughly in the area of 8-12? Why burps and farts, of course! (Research acquired through both my own daughters who are suspect through parental influence, and through their friends, and through work with young ladies in our church over the years.) Grand accomplishment of the afternoon: an Android app that allows a user to push a button and make a Furby fart _and_ burp on command. I think Women in Computing will be a grand success.
Quantified Self (health and fitness-wise, anyway)
I’m something of a gym buff. 3-4 times a week, sometimes more, you’ll find me at the gym at the crack of dawn. For a while, that included working out with a personal trainer once a week. To what end? Welp, the weight I could lift went up, but so did mine, and my clothing size stayed the same. I kept the same trouble areas, but had great muscles in my back and arms.
After more than a year of this, I figured I was missing something key. My friend Kim had recently lost more than 20 pounds, and her fitness exhertion, while growing, was nowhere near what I was putting myself through. But, she was getting results and I wasn’t.
Enter actually tracking what I eat. I’d generally tried to eat healthy, but never formally tracked. For one, food diaries seemed like a pain – beyond keeping track of what I ate, I’d then need to figure out its calorie counts. Beyond my level of dedication, until Kim mentioned MyFitnessPal.
It lets me scan food barcodes, enter recipe ingredients, keep track of recent foods…. So far, only lost 3 pounds (and may be gaining it back, given a recent backslide to Rollos and beer), but if I can keep with it, looks useful.
Rugby team update
This Saturday, my rugby team, Severn River Rugby, heads to the Nationals quarter and semifinals. This is the 2nd time I’m headed to the premiere contest for my division, and the third time in four years for my team overall. Last year, we lost in the final game, bringing home the silver medal. We don’t like second.
The games this weekend are in Pittsburgh, so we’ve been coordinating car pools and hotels. If we win both games, we’ll be headed to Wisconsin for the final game, needing air tickets, hotels, and car rentals. Although software wonks make a reasonable living, most of my team fits more in the student / waitress / otherwise breaking into their career category. Can’t win without us all there – can you help by contributing to our IndieGogo campaign? Every bit helps! We’ve also worked a stand at the Ravens stadium, are holding guest bar tending nights in Annapolis (Dock Street, May 14th, and likely Stan & Joe’s the following week), and are selling T-shirts to our fans. Orioles raffle coming, too!
We are a 501(3)(c). We’re also recruiting team members to join us for the summer sevens and fall seasons – come play with a winning team who knows to have fun! Watch the contribution box over to the right, or head directly to our IndieGogo campaign. Great perks, befitting a rugby team and its fans!