craigmwilson.net

I got an iPhone a week ago. In that time, nearly everyone I show it to or talk about it with asks one of two questions: those who don’t have one ask: “What’s it do?". Those that do: “What apps do you have on it?” Here is my answer. In addition to the basic utilities everyone knows about: Calendar, Camera, Maps, Weather, Notes, Browser, Calculator, iPod, Photos and Phone, I have downloaded the following applications. Total cost for all listed below <$20; most are free.

•Free RSS » simple RSS reader, bookmark feed URLs, access in 1 click.
•Days Until » simple countdown with pictures. (156 days until IMCanada).
•LinkedIn » app for LinkedIn.com.
•Facebook » app for Facebook.com.
•Have2P» public bathroom finder based on my current GPS coordinates with user contributed notes.
•NPR Mobile » summary and links to their audio reports.
•Google Mobile » voice interface for Google search as well as quick links for all things Google: Reader, Docs, Talk, Photos, Earth, YouTube, Maps, Google 411 (call this if you haven’t before: 1-800-466-4411)
•WebMDmobile » First Aid info, Drug & treatment data and Symptom Checker.
•Gasbag » find nearest gas stations and prices based on current GPS coordinates.
•reQall » categorical voice to-do list, log and emailer.
•Urbanspoon » fun slot machine type random local restaurant finder.
•Measures » convert distance, weight, volume, currency and just about anything else.
•TwitterFon » fantastic and free Twitter client.
•Twitfire » launch camera and upload pic to TwitPics.com and post to Twitter with comments and tinyURL to the pic.
•Y! Fan Pro » manage Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball Teams.
•ICE » In case of Emergency, vital personal data with emergency contact info.
•Reflector » bright blinking reflector like image integrated with above ICE.
•GPS (MotionX) » advanced GPS, route finding and tracking utility.
•WikiTap » quick search of Wikipedia.com.
•Wapedia » similar to above, I haven’t decided which I like better.
•Air Sharing » connect to my PC as a mapped drive via WiFi, transfer files easily with utility for reading many common file formats, turns the phone into a wireless thumbdrive ($4.99).
•WorldWiki » encyclopedia of countries with images, and audio.
•beamME » transfer my contact information (vCard) to any email or mobile device in one click.
•REI Snow Report » set your mountains, 1 click to current conditions.
•Dictionaire » free dictionary.
•Constitution » the entire US document, easy to search.
•Yoga Trainer » 70 images of poses with audio, instructions and optional set programs with timer.
•WordRef » English to Spanish & Spanish to English dictionary with audio samples.
•Shotgun Pro » silly shoot ‘em game.
•Crayon Ball » very impressive game that has you manipulating rolling balls using the iPhone’s Accelerometer. My 6 year old crushed my high score in her third game.
•I See Ewe » my 4 year old’s favorite game. Follow audio instructions to find or match shapes, colors, objects, animals and more.
•Bus » Game. Every parent knows the song The Wheels on the bus go round and round. Click around on fun cartoon images as you sing along.
•Drink Pro » searchable Drink recipes and local bar finder.
•APOD » Astronomy Picture of the Day.
•Lifecards » enhance and decorate phone pictures before sending. Think postcards. see image my daughter made in 2 minutes.
•eReader » utility to read digital books. Works with Amazon Kindle files, adjust fonts, margins, bookmark, etc.
•iMapMyRide » turns the phone into a Garmin route tracker, easy upload to MapMyRide.com.
•SnapTell » take a picture of a product, click a button to get product reviews, local and online prices. Currently the technology only supports books, DVDs, CDs or games but they have plans for everything else. It worked for the book “Omnivore’s Dilemma", but not “Fit Soul, Fit Body", Mark Allen’s new book.

That’s it so far. But I have a lot of Gigabytes left to fill. If you have any other recommendations, I would love to hear them. More applications are listed here on Apple’s site.

I was playing with it the other day when suddenly it starting making a strange noise and vibrating which had me wondering what button I had inadvertently pressed that caused it.
It was the phone ringing.
Rigghhht! It. Is. A. Phone. I now want to go get lost for a weekend in a new city with nothing but a wallet and this device…

I share a laptop with my wife, Chris, who works for SkirtSports. Often I get to see some cool stuff that is part of her work, such as dozens of pictures taken of models at one of their photo shoots in the Boulder hills. The other day my blurry eyes awoke at still-dark thirty for my usual routine of propping open that laptop to check my email and I encountered this picture staring me in the face: [click the pic to see it all]

… ya …

Apparently, it is the hang tag for their new spring line of running attire on its way to stores now.

No need for coffee on that morning - I was wide awake .

I don’t think I have gone for a run in the last 5 months without being accompanied by my iPod (and sweet Bose earbuds). It’s all music, all the time when I run. My pace is definitely in part dictated by the music currently running through my ears. I warm-up to something mellow then flow into something with a bit more punch after the blood is flowing. My Thursday mornings now consist of long running workouts and a whole lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers as I continue to prepare for The Marathon that I decided I am not going to run. Coach Mike has me working on mile repeats on the track, adding a mile each week. This week had me at 8 repeats on 60 seconds rest at 6:15/mile pace. I am trying to learn to be more consistent in keeping a set pace, something I have never been too good at. I was between 6:10-6:18 for these, so I’m getting there . This is just as good a mental exercise as it is physical as I usually want to stop two-thirds of the way through the set. I have yet to do so. Hopefully I can keep this up, next week brings another mile…
–
I booked my lodging in Penticton for IM Canada. We will be directly off the end of the bike course loop at the Northwest end of Skaha Lake. Now I need to get The Fam passports.

Saturday I awoke to find that some piece-of-sh#t had slashed the car tires on our vehicles as they sat in our driveway. Then I noticed I wasn’t the only one, up and down our street those jacka$$es had a field day: probably 20 homes hit. When I called the police they said the previous weekend had seen several other neighborhoods in town hit. Nice to know after the fact, isn’t it? Spent the rest of Saturday cleaning out the 3-car garage so that it could house more than bikes. Then pedaled for an hour and ran for an hour to try and burn off the frustration.
—
Sunday was the annual BTC run at the Boulder Res, an event I have undertaken four years now. I like doing the same run year after year since it lends itself to some perspective on my fitness. Each year I have managed to lower my time on the 30K course I choose to do. This year was 8 minutes quicker than last year despite spending the last 15 minutes in cool-down mode. I am happy to have maintained a sub 7″/mile pace on the dirt trails for 2 hours.

When I returned home, I filled up the bath tub for an Epsom salt soak and when it was full I learned we had no hot water and I had a tub full of cold. Good for the legs, right? So in I went for a 5 minute shiver-fest, which I can’t say I am eager to do again. Then off to the neighbors for a shower, and wore the Skins around all day for the first time in months.

Apparently, the high winds had blown out the pilot light in the hot water heater that sits near the outside air vent in our basement. Damn, that’s a lot of wind! I’m glad I didn’t have to replace the hot-water heater, that would have been a crappy bookend to the weekend…